"I am an African ... because my soul is at home in Africa"

 (This post was sent on Monday, September 15, 2014)

“This is the new South Africa, where we can live together!” 
             ~Nice man on the street where we were contacting

I am an African
Not because I was born there
But because my heart beats with Africa’s
I am an African
Not because my skin is black
But because my mind is engaged by Africa
I am an African
Not because I live on its soil
But because my soul is at home in Africa
~Wayne Visser
(See the full text of this poem here.)

This week has been a great one!  Again, full of miracles and full of learning! We had zone conference and it was pretty dope if I can use that word to describe a zone conference. Haha! In all reality though, it was wonderful and uplifting and we learned a lot; at least I did. This whole week has been about learning! Whether it was in a conference or in the area, this week has helped me to continue growing as a servant of the Lord and as a lifelong disciple of Christ :)

                Some of the miracles we have been experiencing are continuations of miracles! Elder Clegg and I have been trying our hardest to be the most obedient we can be and we think (hope) that that is why we are seeing such great success in our area! Many of the less-active members' hearts are being softened as they desire to come back to church and keep commitments, our investigators are feeling the spirit more and more and are seeing the fruits of planting and nourishing their own seeds of faith! One investigator, Sis. Anna, told us that she knows the Book of Mormon is true! It’s extremely cool to see her drive to come to church! As the investigator, she is more so the driving force in getting the family to church than her husband (who is a less active member but still a sweeeet guy.) Another miracle this week occurred during a lesson with one of our investigators on date to be baptized. We planned to teach Oliver the law of chastity but were concerned because of the slight language barrier that exists because he can’t always comprehend gospel words/topics in English. Luckily, his friend and our ward missionary Lesedi was able to translate into Pedi (a Setho dialect) when we needed it and Oliver not only understood and committed to live it but liked what it was about and agreed with it! We’re talking a 21 yr old guy living in the kasi (South African slang for ghetto) who agrees with the law of chastity! Miracle! Haha! Oliver is truly converted and it is our privilege to be a part of his acceptance of the gospel!

Homes and a playground in Daveyton

Daveyton homes are 1-2 rooms with concrete floors
and corrugated tin roofs. 

                But now for the update from Zone conference!! It’s lacrosse camp again!  I’ve used this analogy 3 times now but it’s still the best way I can describe the feelings that I feel as I am able to learn from President and Sis. Dunn and the Assistants. It was a different dynamic than in the past but it was still good! We had a lesson on the Book of Mormon and its role in conversion from Pres. Dunn and that was eye opening! We were able to see the promises that are contained as we use the Book of Mormon and the spirit in our teaching! Simple things such as reading passages with people enable them (and us) to feel the spirit and power associated with Another Testament of Jesus Christ. It reminds me of the cool scripture in Alma 31:5 about the power of the Word of God! Haha I’m not going to quote it so you guys can have the chance of looking it up yourselves and seeing how cool it is! After that great lesson we were then split up by zones into different “workshops”. We first went to sis. Dunn’s about being FIT for the kingdom”. It was a really cool presentation on how we can all be a little better at using our 30 min to exercise each morning! It was nice not feeling guilty since we’ve been running for the last 3 months; as well, feeling good and healthy is probably the biggest plus. Then we went to the AP’s workshop which was probably my favorite! “What to do when there’s nothing to do” helped us to find activities to do when we have “nothing to do” (ie. Appt falls thru, current finding method isn’t working, etc). I say this was my favorite because I really like the focus on using The Lord’s time wisely and not wasting it! It was really cool, we found out that after taking out the time for: food, preparing, studying, meetings, sleep, p-day, and travel we really only have 6 ½ months worth of opening our mouths proclaiming the gospel! Haha time to get working! We got a lunch break where we got a nice lasagna from the senior couple missionaries (THANK YOU!!!!!) and then we went to our last workshop given by Pres. Dunn about engaging with members. It was cool because we talked about the basic mechanics of cogs. (yes, Elder Allen and I did quote The Incredibles) we talked about “mesh-inary work” and how we as fulltime missionaries can mesh better with the members to help the work progress further! After the Workshops we had a Q&A from the ZLs and played a PMG game to kinda build unity and end on a fun note. It was definitely different than I am used to but it was great! It’s nice to look back on the zone conferences with the Omers and to see how much I learned and then look at the current setting and KNOW that the Lord has called the Dunns for this time and for us as individuals! One quote that I love on my companion’s wall is a picture of small flowers with the caption “He is in the details” and He truly is! I feel that the sooner we are all able to learn that better, life will cease to be as stressful and rather we will learn how to become more like Him. And that’s what life is all about: learning! Whether its lacrosse camp, zone conference or just plain life we are here to learn! And don’t worry, we can smile and have fun while we’re doing it :) That’s where I am thankful that Elder Allen’s zone and Elder Graham’s zone were with us so we could chill and have fun joking again. To end, ZC was dope!
                On a sweet lacrosse/mission/adult life note, we adopted a new mission maxim of “if it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right.” And in the AP’s workshop we talked about not being discouraged about past events. Do both of those sound familiar to my fellow CH laxers? “First time, every time” and “it is what it is” –two of the greatest sayings from the man that I have come to admire more and more as I go thru life as an adult, Coach Matt Evans. We didn’t see it as high school punks goofing off at practice or during the bus trips or even during the weeks of running and running and then running even more as punishment for not running enough the first two times. But now, I see clearly that Coach Evans was preparing us for real life. It is what it is! Deal with it and learn from it and move on towards greater things! And first time every time! If you’re gonna do something, do it right instead of doing it again. Nobody likes excuses in lax as well as in real life! So I guess this note is just my way of saying thanks coach :)

Elder Clegg's birthday was 3 days before Elder Smith's!  They
helped make each other's birthdays fun and memorable.

Elder Clegg and I are killing it here in Daveyton and having fun while we do it! I’m very glad to 

Elder Clegg's birthday breakfast
made by Elder Smith

have him as a companion because he helps me be better! And man, this guy’s testimony and ability to teach astounds me every lesson! Haha! 
What a missionary to learn from! And what a friend to have as we become the best we can be together! 
Life on mission is good, the greatest, even the best! I love you all and I love Jesus Christ :)
Tha’s ‘bout it!  
Elder Smith

Usually Elder Smith & Elder Clegg are the only two
mulungus in the ward as pictured above.

PS We weren’t the only two mulungus (Zulu word meaning "whitey" or "white person") at church yesterday! A father and his 3 sons from good ‘ol Cache Valley, UT joined our ward! Haha imagine seeing white people in a township ward and you’ll be as shocked as we were! Haha Clegg and I may have even been a bit jealous that these guys were ruining our reputation as the only 2 white guys in Daveyton! Nah! The dad does robotics for the mining companies here so he was on a business trip but let his boys tag along for the weekend so they could go to the Kruger wildlife park (jealous fa sho!) and see South Africa! So it was fun to talk to fellow Utahns and see how small the world is! And even better, the sons go to Mountain Crest High School!  So there ya go dad! 

Proof that Missionaries are still just 

18-, 19-, 20- and 21-year-old kids! 

 

Life Lessons from a Lax Bro: "The lessons that I have learned from all my coaches ... have benefited me in many ways here in the mission field"

             Well, we’ll skip the corny opening cause we got some straight dope to get to this week! Yo yo yo big news and big headliners! So transfers are Tuesday and alas, my time with my best friend has come to a close but it has been a great 3 months as companions! Yo it’s weird to look back on these 3 months and see how fast they’ve flown as compared to my first 3! But now it’s finished and time to move on to a new companion! ** We hit new records in our statistics this week to set Daveyton up to be the best area in the mission! And what would we do without friends to help us thru the dull and/or rough times. All this week has been full of crazy happenings and sadly one of them is that Elder Graham is getting transferred and that means that Typie (*AlphaSpeller) will be no longer! Haha! Shame no more intricate blog posts for now because I’ll have to go back to typing it in the email shop and there just ain’t time for that!

                But man eish, it’s crazy that Stilgoe’s and my time together is finished! It was a killer companionship and we had fun and worked hard and felt the spirit! No better way to do things! I learned a lot from him in ways that I haven’t learned before and it’s good; it helps me to grow in many more ways! We were able to work together to set turn this area around and set it up to be a baptizing area! And not just for the statistic of baptism but for legit convert baptisms! One of the crucial things that we are able to constantly learn is the need for the Spirit in this work. This companionship helped to reaffirm that within myself. I could go on but in the spirit of brevity, this was a great time to be the duo of Smith and Stilgoe! Now it’s time for him to move to his next area and for me to get my new companion! Elder Graham is leaving (as I already said) and so that means that Elder Kewuti will be staying and getting a new companion as well as myself. And I can’t wait to see who my new companion will be!

                It was a great week to finish our companionship on! We were able to achieve the standard of excellence by teaching 30+ quality lessons this week and 5 father-led families!!! This is the first time on mission that I’ve been able to teach 5 FLF in a week! Good things are happening! We also got 8 new investigators to add to our teaching pool so we will not have a dying area! It was definitely hard work for 3 months but it paid off along the way and has now been extremely rewarding! It makes everything worth it.

                So one of the nice things about being here, as I think I may have mentioned before, is being able to set goals to make yourself a better person and a better missionary. What’s even better is when you add a friend to the mix who sets the same goals and you can both help each other to get better! It’s been really cool to become friends with Elder Allen (Seattle) who is serving in Etwatwa just next door to Daveyton. Yo he’s a honey badger for sure! As we have both set goals to not talk crap on others and not sing music that isn’t consistent with our calling, we are able to check each other and help each other keep as close to 100% as possible! The nice part is that every other night when we go running with the missionaries in the complex, we follow up with how our day went as far as our goals were concerned! It’s too nice! Haha And we’ve found that we can distract ourselves from music by quoting a bunch of movies and as well as “East vs. West” by Key & Peele! haha Eish it’s too much a good time!

                These are the things that have been happening so far this week but, as my last time on “typie”, I want to share something that has impacted me this week. I know I shared a couple quotes by Coach Evans last week but sharing those made me reflect on my time as a Lax Bro pre-mish. 1st- I couldn’t be more grateful for the talent I was blessed with to be able to play at the level I did. It was that which put me in the position to appreciate #2. 2nd- the lessons that I have learned from all my coaches and all my experiences have benefited me in many ways here in the mission field. Things as simple as our team mottos: “No Excuses” and “First Time, Every Time” and sayings like “it is what it is” have turned from a lacrosse perspective to a real life perspective. Coach knew what he was doing when he gave us those mottos and ingrained them into our minds thru the use of pushups, planks, Mary-Katherines, etc when we gave an excuse or only played 50%. For that I am grateful because they come into mind here in South Africa. Believe it or not, when we graduate and finish high school lax, we still are able to come up with excuses! Haha they don’t just magically disappear! But when you are able to take a lesson learned and apply it to post lacrosse life, you get somewhere! There are many things in the work and in companionships that are prime opportunities for excuses. There are more than enough tasks to complete that could be done 50% or even 75% and called “good”. What we were able to learn however is that isn’t a very good show of sportsmanship or, as it’s called in the real-world: character. Because I’m a missionary and I love making parallels to the gospel, our Heavenly Father doesn’t like it when we give excuses either! He wants us to do his commandments the "First Time, Every Time!" And just like push-ups or what-what to correct our mistake, our God has given us the ability to repent. Through the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we are able to fix our mistakes but it means "No Excuses" and we should really do it the First Time if we want it to matter. One of the things you realize as well is that whatever you go through, "it is what it is!" You can’t redo what happened in the past but you can learn from it and move forward! Because of these valuable lessons that I was able to learn in lacrosse and specifically from my coach, I feel a step ahead of the game as far as accountability goes and if I am able to continue learning to not give excuses and to do my best the first time, every time, I know that I, and all those who learn the same lessons, will be able to become the person that I, my family, my coach, and my Father in Heaven know I can be.

                 But that’s TTFN! Stay golden and Lax on!

    Love,

         Elder David Spencer “Tony” Smith

(** Editor's Note: Elder Smith has been asked to serve as a trainer so his next companion will be a new missionary.  They will train together for 3 months. Missionaries refer to this as being a “father” and gaining a “son” because they have the opportunity to train, teach & serve the new missionary and help prepare them for the rest of their mission.)  

"I learned a valuable lesson this week, and it turns out we all have a choice!"

♪♫ It’s a beautiful day in the mission field, a beautiful day for a p-day. Would you be mine, could you be mine? I have always wanted to be a missionary just like this, I’ve always wanted to be in the mission field like this so, let’s make the most of this preparation day, since we’re emailing, we mind as well say, will you reply, will you reply, won’t you read my email. Won’t you read? Won’t you please? Please will you read my email? ♪♫  Takin' it back to Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood this week!
                But aanyway kids it’s been a fast week this week! That’s a good thing and a bad thing but, as the wise mkhulu (1) Coach Evans would say, “It is what it is.”  Nah but it was a great week! Last p-day we had a fun zone activity, I learned a valuable lesson this week, and it turns out we all have a choice! Stay tuned =D
                So last Monday, we had our zone activity and it was actually something different than braai and sports! Haha we went to East Rand Mall and did a photo scavenger hunt with our whole zone! It was too funny! We had to get pictures with stuff like an “Afrikaaner”, “a nice looking girl with an ugly guy” and “a white waiter” haha and a bunch of other stuff that is unique to mzansi (2) J haha it was a blast and so we got 3 points for a picture of the item and 5 points if a missionary was in the picture! The best part was that our group (Daveyton 1 and 2 and Etwatwa) won!! So we got bragging rights and a Cadbury dairy milk bar :) so that was a fun way to switch up the p-day routine!
                Then, in addition to being the zone scavenger champs, I was able to learn a valuable lesson over the course of the week. So on Thursday in weekly planning I set the goal to, as the white handbook says: “avoid all forms of worldly entertainment” by not singing worldly music. The thing is I forgot to write it down in my planner so I forgot about it. Then on Friday at district meeting, Elder Allen and I started singing “Die Young” by Ke$ha (yeah great choice right? Haha who knows where that came from but it did) and my companion reminded me of my goal. Well, I kinda had some pride and came up with an excuse that I had changed my goal. So that was Friday but then Saturday came. So we were going to a lesson and a car pulled up behind us bumping “I’m different” by 2Chainz and so I started rapping along. It’s not a very good song and definitely a “worldly form of entertainment” but I justified singing it. During the rap I got the impression I should stop because of the goal I had set on Thursday. I justified though and said it was too hard of a goal for me and that I could work on it later in my mission. Well, that was a mistake. So we went into this lesson and simply, I couldn’t teach. My questions weren’t inspired and just plain bad questions and my thoughts were just empty words. I struggled thru that lesson but for the life of me I couldn’t figure out why! In a later lesson where we were teaching about the Holy Ghost, my comp said something that really hit me. I can’t remember word for word but it was too the effect that he was able to have the spirit with him always as a missionary. Not because of his badge but because he had learned what he needed to do to keep the spirit with him. This hit me really hard and right then and there I knew why the previous lesson was so hard: I didn’t have the spirit. So I decided then and there to work for my goal and sing music that is in line with my calling. Again, as the wise mkhulu Coach Evans would say: “No Excuses!” And I realized that the spirit can help us keep our goals as well as give us the motivation! So how’s that for a pride-swallowing valuable life lesson!? And it isn’t even finished! At church, in gospel principles class, we learned about agency and I learned something that caps off my life lesson. When we make good choices, it strengthens our agency and makes it easier to make more good choices!! Hence the motivation I received to keep my goal and not allow myself to tell myself it was too hard. On top of that, consider this: if good choices strengthen our agency, then what do bad choices do to our agency? And who influences those bad choices? Things to consider :) but until next time, it’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood! And thanks coach! Cheers :)
Tha’s ‘bout it!
-Elder David Spencer “Tony” Smith

(1) Mkhulu is Xhosa for a wise & revered grandfather or elder.
(2) Mzansi is the Xhosa word meaning the country of South Africa.

"...Johannesburg City is too dangerous for missionaries!" (alternately titled "...I love all the fatherly figures I have in my life.")

“...And now to Elder Smith with the Mission Update.”
“Well guys we have a pretty crazy week happening here in the South Africa Johannesburg mission. News highlights for you include Johannesburg areas getting closed down by a member of the Area Seventy, Father’s Day, transfer updates, Elder Smith can drive, and a cancelled temple trip. Stay tuned....”
Haha it’s a good thing I haven’t run out of bad blog openings ne!? Haha This week has been very eventful! Starting with transfers that happened on Tuesday! Our whole district still stayed together for another transfer which is nice! Me and Stilgoe are getting along better and better and Kewuti and Graham are still working hard and seeming to get along as well. The other guys in the flat next to us had some changes though; my mission brother (trained by Matos) went DL, Raymond and his son got Joburg 2 closed and are now opening Sebokhang 2 in the south part of the mission. Man that bummed me out for sure! Both of the areas I’ve served in now are closed -_____- I guess the Lord has some purpose to bring about that I don’t know about! Still a shame though, I hope those who are on baptism date don’t fall through and that the Ward can handle it all. And that even brings me to the next crazy part of the week. In district meeting we got an SMS from another area in the Joburg zone saying that ALL the Joburg areas were now closed!!!! =O WHAAAAAATT!?!?!? They pulled Elder Dalton and his companion out of Joburg 1 and now all 3 of the Joburg areas are closed! I called him up and found out that Elder Cook from the Quorum of the Seventy heard about what happened to Elder Raymond and closed the areas because Johannesburg city is too dangerous for missionaries. It makes sense having served there for 5 months but man that news is just crazy! I’ve heard that the church will be doing some surveillance to see how to move along the work there in Jozi. Crazy stuff!! And on top of that bad news, we found out that the Benoni Zone’s temple trip this transfer (we get one every-other transfer) is cancelled :l Duhhh! Haha What’s going on these days! We are hoping that it will just be re-scheduled instead of cancelled.
                But “enough of the poopy stuff”, it’s time for the cool stuff!!! Like first, I finally got my permission to drive so I’m back behind the wheel :) and secondly but most importantly, Father’s Day on Sunday!!!!!!!!!! And from the Daveyton District of Stilgoe, Smith, Kewuti, and Graham, we wish all of you fathers a HAPPY FATHER’S DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And from my side, man I don’t know how to put it other than I don’t know how I would have gotten this far in life, much less mission without my Dad, someone who has been there for me from before day one. How blessed I am to have a dad who loves his family enough to have prepared himself even before his family. I think it sets such a cool example for all of us sons and daughters to live in a way that when we start families of our own, we have solid a foundation to start upon. And so I don’t brag too much but all I need to say is that I love my dad with all my heart! As well, I love all the fatherly figures that I have in my life. From my Grandpas and Uncles to my Lacrosse Coaches and Priesthood Leaders/Teachers and everyone in between, I have been blessed to have “fathers” in my life that have taught me valuable lessons. I express the feelings of many when I say thank you for everything you have done in our lives!
Well, tha's 'bout it!
-Elder Spencer "Tony" Smith

"Wow, that's exactly what's happening now! Where can I buy this book?"

April 28, 2014
5 MONTHS TODAY!!!!!!!!! BRINGO!!!!!!!!
Eish it’s been a while! How is everyone back home!?
Eish I can’t even remember the last chance I had to write a blog post it’s been pretty hectic here! (And the fact that we have limited time once a week also adds to that but excuses are 10 pushups so there is no excuse... right coach?) Man I don’t even know where to start! This month of April has been both freakin’ sweet and freakin’ hard! We’ve had a baptism, tons of finding and tons of appointments, exchanges, you name it, it happened! I also found probably my new favorite chapter in the Book of Mormon!
This transfer has been the fastest I’ve had thus far and sho! it went by fast haha but I guess the big news is that Elder Smith is leaving his beloved "greenie" area tomorrow and being sent somewhere that, according to President Omer, "is a wonderful area" so I can’t go wrong right?? Man that’s all I’ve been able to think about this whole weekend is how much of a change it’s all going to be! A new comp, area, ward, people, cultures, flat, transportation situation, etc. I’ve been able to keep telling myself that change=growth so I’m looking forward to it all and will face it with a smile and humble heart so I can learn all that I have to learn! However, this experience is bittersweet and so I very much have mixed emotions. Bitter because I love this place! Central Jozi is the place to be! It’s crazy yeah and a bit dangerous but I got to serve in both of THE Johannesburg wards; the latter being the City itself! I’m very lucky and with that assignment have been able to make very many friends with members and investigators alike. It’s bitter because I have to leave all these people I’m close with; my families away from my family! Elder Raymond and I have also grown super close as we have struggled to rebuild this area and get it pumping again (when we got here, the previous missionaries that we both replaced were only teaching 4-5 lessons a week and this past week we finished with 21 lessons). It’s been hard and we've had to find unique ways of finding (you can’t tract in town, too dangerous) but we have made it work! Finding in parks was our go to and it was successful because we went from a teaching pool of 3 to a pool of 15+ QUALITY investigators! Like I said, I've been very lucky and blessed to have served here! It is a sweet experience though because it means I am progressing on mission! As Elder Matos and I always talked about, progression is an eternal principle and so we've always got to move forward! I’m excited to see what the rest of my mission has in store for me and the people that the Lord has for me to meet and learn from! Again, I’m blessed! 
Some other fun news from elder Raymond's side of transfers is that he will be staying and training for his first time! He is super excited with the trust that has been given to him and is anxious to teach his "son" the best that he can! I’m excited for him as well:) Raymond is a solid guy and a great friend that I am lucky to have learned from and worked along-side!
Like I said, this month, on the 20th, we had another baptism in the 1st ward! Ruth Mayimbi (DRC) was baptized by her Husband Alpha and then confirmed a member of the church yesterday! That is a cool story for sure! Sis. Ruth and Alpha were married up in Congo and he came back down to work to save up money to move her down here (he is Congolese but has lived in SA for a while). So she came down here and she wanted to be baptized because she didn’t have the chance before she left Congo. So elder Matos and I began teaching her and preparing her for baptism! The cool part was that sis. Ruth couldn’t speak English and we sure couldn’t say more than "bonsoir, comment ça va?" haha So Bro. Alpha helped us to translate. It was so cool to see the love he had for his wife that was made evident thru the way he translated and made sure that she understood every principle! she progressed towards the date and Elder Raymond and I finished teaching her and she was ready for baptism but was already converted to the gospel:) they are now preparing for the temple in 1 year to be sealed for time and all eternity! The thing I will not forget about this unique teaching experience is the fact that no matter what language you do/don’t speak, the Holy Ghost works on ALL people and in a "language" that is understandable to all that will humble themselves and seek for the truth believing that they can and will find it!
Other than that, Raymond and I have been finding, finding, finding and as a result, teaching, teaching, teaching!! Haha we  have been able to sort thru all the jokers and find father-led families and all sincere seekers of the truth! One of those guys' names is Michael Ndlovu. Mike found us in Pieter Roos Park as we were contacting and he stopped skating and ran over to Elder Kusi-Poku (Ghana) and I (we were on exchanges at the time) and asked if we were guys who talked about God; we said "yes we do!" From there he proceeded to tell us a story about how some Satanists were also going around the park telling people like him and his friends that there was no God and that Satan had all the power and all that rubbish. So Mike was confused because he didn’t go to church but he still kind of had a belief in God and now he was confused! So he asked us how we could help and we talked about how faith and strengthening what faith we have can help us withstand even the hardest influences of the devil.; right at that moment, my mind turned to the story of Sherem in the 7th chapter of Jacob in the BoM. So I followed the prompting that I had and said something to the effect of "hey man, how about we read a story from this book about a similar situation?" and he agreed. Once we had read thru verse 20, he said "wow, that’s exactly what’s happening now! Where can I buy this book!?" and we told him it was free, mahala (SA slang = free of charge) and that it was his! From there, he started reading and praying and even loves the story of Joseph Smith and is currently praying to know whether or not it’s true. He came to church yesterday as well and said "I loved it man! It feels so good!" but he has definitely been my friend and is preparing to be baptized on the 8th of June:) YO! I love this work!!
Mission life is great! I get to work with and under some great leaders here in the Africa South-East Area and we even get to interact with the Area Presidency! In fact, Elder Renlund was in our ward a couple Sundays ago so that was pretty cool! As well, President Omer is an inspired man of God and a very humble Christ-like servant who wants the best for all of God's children. When we get the chance to interview with him, I can just feel the love he and the Savior have for me! The interviews are very reverent and spiritual moments that I hold closely and am very much thankful for. 
I’ve gotten the chance to go on several exchanges with our DL (District Leader) and with his companion and those are always fun! I get to see new areas and meet new people and also learn from different teaching styles! I’m also getting better at driving on the wrong side of the road! ;) 
But guess what!? If any of you remember a conference talk by Elder Ochoa a couple of conferences ago where he talked about South Africa? Specifically about a boy named Thabiso who was in the Priests Quorum in the Kagiso ward? Well, the other day Elder Raymond and I met Thabiso as he was working at the BK in Park Station! Haha small world of the church I guess:) 
But man this month in our SAJM BOM challenge I found one of, if not my favorite chapter in the book of Mormon! As I was praying to start my study, I asked if I could read and gain an insight into something that I could apply right at that specific point in time. Then I opened up and started reading in Alma 26; which has become my favorite! Ammon takes this time to praise the Lord and to Boast not in his strength, but in the strength, goodness, and mercy of our Heavenly Father! I felt like I could immediately relate to that because in verses 11-37, it’s exactly how a missionary feels!! I love verse 22, echo the thoughts of the latter part of v. 16, and in v. 27, we learn what we can do when anything gets rough. And like Grandma Richards would say "It’s all worth it!" in verse 30. I encourage all of you who get the opportunity to read that and reflect upon the whole chapter because I guarantee that it will be worth your time! And for those that don’t have the opportunity, remember that excuses are 10 pushups and make the opportunity for yourselves!
I love you guys and hope to hear from you soon in letters :) Cheers!
Tha’s ‘bout it!
-Elder David Spencer "Tony" Smith