Guest Testimonies

Showing posts with label Following Inspiration. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Following Inspiration. Show all posts

Monday, September 21, 2015

Purification in 42 Easy Days!

Elder Smith was released as Zone Leader after seven months and transferred to Pimville in Soweto for his last transfer.  Here he is with his new, and last, companion, Elder Manuma.

Purification in 42 easy days!
                Here in the SAJM, all the elders were issued the “purification challenge” for the Sept/Oct transfer. Put simply, we are purifying ourselves of 3-4 specific things that don’t allow the spirit to fully testify through us. Each companionship in the mission is assigned a day to fast, making a 42 day fast throughout the entire mission over the course of this transfer to help us purify ourselves.
                The story where the challenge originates comes from a missionary in Uruguay who describes his experience:
                “A member informed us that he had an investigator that was ready to be taught and he volunteered to attend the first discussion. The discussion went along as usual. At the conclusion, my companion and I bore witness of Joseph Smith and then turned to our friend. He paused for a moment, looked at the young lady and said, “I know that Joseph Smith was and is a prophet of God.” The room filled with an extraterrestrial force. The investigator started to cry.
                As we walked home, I was baffled. The man said the exact same words that we had said but the result was dramatically different. When he spoke he had an influence that we did not have. There was no question that the influence was the Holy Ghost, but this man seemed to have it in a different way...”
This elder goes on to describe how he searched for how he could gain the same power and eventually spoke to a well-known church leader who told him how he must purify himself to have the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. He said:
                Go home and fast for a day in the attitude of fasting and prayer. Make a list of every behaviour that ‘pokes’ at your spirit. Once you have made your list, then go to the Lord. Covenant with the Lord that you will fast from the things on your list for 42 days. In other words, for 42 days you will do nothing that appears on that list. You cannot just stop old behaviours and start new ones. You need the help of the Lord. Each morning go to the Lord and specifically promise Him that you will avoid each item on your list. Ask for His help so you can have extra strength. At night go over the list with the Lord, if you have failed on some items, figure out why. Tell the Lord. Ask for more strength the next day.”

So this is what we are doing! And its only been two days now but on Wednesday, Elder Manuma and I saw 2 investigators and the spirit was very strong in both lessons. It came to the point where they started crying as they felt the love of the Savior for them and the personal relevance of the plan of salvation. Nosipho, one of the sisters told us how she has felt for a while that this is the path that is right for her but that it just hasn’t been the right time until now. We explained that she could not only see her mom again but that she could live with her in the celestial kingdom forever! She was very attentive and then began to cry as we testified that her mom was being taught these same truths in the spirit world and was waiting for her. She then agreed to be baptized on the 11th of October! How sweet is that!? How great is the power of the spirit!! And how wonderful it is when we decide to humble ourselves to obedience and sanctification so we can carry the spirit more in our teaching! I love it! Pimville AND its missionaries will be totally different after 42 days! 


Tuesday, February 17, 2015

"The Lord knows ALL of His children and so he knows how to match them up so that the greatest good can be accomplished!" (Leaving Nelspruit)

Bandile Mdluli decided if I was leaving, he would
spend the rest of my mission with me, on my shoulders.  
Well, it never gets easier when it comes time to leave an area; especially when that area is Nelspruit. I think the emotions of leaving are then compounded by the fact that it was a total surprise that I would leave this transfer. It’s been rough saying goodbye for the last time and people telling you, “just ignore what he (President Dunn) says and stay here!” haha if only it worked that way :P
                I’ve learned that instead of being sad or bummed about it, it really helps to be thankful for everything that this area has taught me! I can say that the phrase: “you don’t teach town as much as town teaches you” is very consistent with Nelspruit and boy am I grateful for everything I learned! Being able to be with elders Kankkunen and Ah Wong as well as being with my other parents the Scotts and even the Kanyamazane elders and the Swans. Haha from day one up here I asked myself, “what did I do to get sent up here!?” and even 4 months later I still ask what I did. I guess if I had to answer it I could only say that the Lord knows ALL of His children and so he knows where, when and how to match them up in this mortal life so that the greatest good can be accomplished! (Moses 1:39) Haha, I laugh but maybe it’s to avoid some tears that want to come as I think about just how loving He is to us! Do we understand that? Maybe not fully but maybe we won’t ever understand it fully but we can sure catch glimpses here and there; my glimpse has been 4 months long :)
The last District Meeting Breakfast with the Nelspruit District.  R-L:  Elders
Kankkunen, Willombe, & Pulley, Me, Sister Scott, Elders Scott & Swan.  
                There is a lot that lies ahead of me and I look forward to it! Who knows where I’ll go and who I’ll be with but it’s nice to know it’ll be the right place to be. What really gets me is that the group that goes home tomorrow has some of my favorite missionaries! And I was there when they celebrated their year mark and here they are going home! What the heck!? Haha Elder Perez and Dalton from the Joburg district, Elder Reed from Joburg zone, my mission-grandfather Elder Lucking, and Elder Kewuti from Daveyton!! Eish, time won’t stop and it’s starting to be... scary! I want my two years back!
                We had a great (what I found out to be my last) week this week and I’d say an even greater weekend! We saw Ben and Thuli after like a week of no contact and after a follow-up lesson on prayer and praying about the BOM, we weren’t terribly satisfied with Ben’s answers just because I guess we wanted him to jump up and yell, “Its true!!” haha But what happened after was his wife looked back and forth between us and was kind of laughing. She looked at Ben and said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about” then looked at us and continued, “He already SMS'd the pastor and told him we’re leaving that church.” Now it was time for me and Elder Kankkunen to jump up and yell “IT’S TRUE!!” hahaha Can you believe that!? All of the prayers and fasting have been paying off (and we’re keeping them up) to the point that they are making the transition between churches! Hahaha yes!!! I have no doubt that they will all be baptized as a family just because 3 missionaries decided to listen to the promptings of the Spirit! They came to church and participated fully yesterday :) Could you ask for more?? Maybe only for no hugs  ;)
                Saying goodbye is very hard, not knowing if you’ll see people again is even harder, but the hardest is the hugs that come from girls when you can’t hug back…. Let’s just be real! Haha I can say my conscience is clear and I’m glad I always keep the rules but it sure is awkward when you don’t hug back! I’d rather just avoid it :P haha What am I talking about!? Oh well its part of my weekend so I guess it has some relevance ;)
                Can’t wait to see what lies in store for me next week! I’ll make sure to give an update next week! Until then, Salani Kahle
Ngiyakuthanda,
Eldah Smeeeth

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

"A Week in the Life of a SAJM Missionary! (It might get long but here we go!)"

"When you’re right, you’re seldom wrong.”
                And if you know that, you’ll get somewhere! Haha! More wisdom from Elder Scott.
                So I know that a while ago I sent a “day in the life of a SAJM missionary” but now I was thinking I want to attempt “a week in the life” post where each day’s activities I’ll write down. Haha! 
Disclaimer: this might get long but here we go!
Monday:
                Ahh, P-day J I think it’s one of the funny ironies of mission that it’s a lot easier to wake up on p-day than on any other day. I mean we get up at the same time but the motivation must be different  :P I woke up at 6 and did my morning devotional and then took some time to fold and put away my clean laundry. We got ready for the day and from 8 till 10 we had our studies. At about 1030 we headed over to the Scotts for email; my favorite part of the day:) . We had lunch at the Swan’s place and me and my companion got haircuts from Sis. Scott and then the 4 of us elders took off for Sabie. We spent our afternoon going to 3 different waterfalls in Sabie. We went to Lonecreek which was my favorite one from our last trip (New Year’s Day) but then we went to another one that none of us had ever been. We went to Bridal Veil Falls. When we got there it was raining pretty hard and we contemplated just not walking up but decided that we were already here and that a little water wasn’t going to scare us. So we started making our way up the trail and the mountain, walking carefully to avoid the small river of water that flowed down the middle of the path. We got up there and looked and, at first we weren’t too impressed because there wasn’t a ton of water falling. But then we found a path that took us right up to the fall and even behind it! So we walked up behind  it when all of the sudden, Elder Willombe starts laughing as he walks up to the water and then he stands under the waterfall and raises his arms and gives a victory shout! Haha we all turned around and started laughing and then all followed suit. We each took turns standing under the waterfall and let me tell you, it was freezing!! But it was so cool because how many other people do you know that stand under waterfalls!? Haha not many! We were soaked and we dripped our way back to the car with our waterlogged socks/shoes, this time taking no thought as to the small river of water running down the path that we previously had avoided. We ended our adventure by going to Horseshoe Falls. When we got there it was past 5 so we got in free! One of the dogs that belonged to the caretaker followed us and even led us the whole way! Haha it was pretty cool to have a dog-guided tour of the falls! Still soaking, we hopped in the car and made the 45 minute drive back to Nelspruit. We got changed and went to dinner at Panarotti's at a district. After that, we started our exchange where Elder Pulley is now with me here in Nelspruit and Elder Kankkunen and Elder Willombe are in Kanyamazane. And here we are now! I’m excited to be with Elder Pulley because I’ve already learned some great teaching AND finding ideas! So we’re planning on doing those things tomorrow! But that was our Monday and now, as it is 1027, my purpose as a missionary is to sleep :)
A Trip to the Waterfalls in Sabie
Tuesday:
                Wow, today I felt like I was being trained all over again! I had to adjust at the very start of the proselyting day but once I kind of humbled myself and embraced learning, I got so much out of today. I was on exchanges with Elder Pulley today and I’m sure glad I arranged to have him come with me here in Nelspruit because I needed him.  We had a good morning with a workout and study and all those things and we kicked off our day with a lesson with Ben and Thuli. We had a great lesson where we answered their questions using the Book of Mormon and then we introduced the Book more fully. Elder Pulley uses a whiteboard to teach (same as Elder Bizimana used) and now I know I REALLY need to get one! The visual aid that it gives with teaching and comprehension is perfect! From there, we tried a new method of finding that I’m going to call “smart and sneaky finding.” We went to I’Langa mall and started walking around and went into some shops where we were looking for people who were kinda bored at their job and would be willing to just have a simple conversation with us. From there we develop a relationship and introduce the gospel. This can happen over the course of one conversation or may need to happen after several visits to the store. It takes a bit more time and patience but it’s better to talk and really get to know someone so they can feel that what you have to share really applies to them! That was a great time and I’m thankful that I learned that from Elder Pulley.
                We picked up Elder Scott and drove to Barberton (40km) where we met a less-active sister named Carol Mashile and then after we went to her brother’s house who stays about 15km further in the Consort Mine. We had a great lesson there and they all want to figure out how they can get transport to church! When they do, that’ll be 7 people reactivated! The nice part is that we now have a repeating appointment with them every Wednesday at a time when everyone will be home. We raced the rain home but it caught up with us and it hasn’t stopped since! (I’m writing this Wednesday morning btw so yes it’s still raining)
                We had a great lesson with Bro Elvis, another less active member who is striving to come back. We told him not to stress about church right now but that he should put all his focus into reading the Book of Mormon daily! We gave him the story in Helaman 7-9 so we’re excited to see him read and start to build his faith again. After that lesson we rushed back to Nelspruit to meet a new lady that Elder Kankkunen and I tracted into. Her name is Nombuso and it’s actually a miracle how we found her! We had been tracting a street that had already been tracted but this time getting all the houses that weren’t home. We had no success up to that point. Then we saw a house and I said “nah we already went there and nothing.” Immediately after I said that I thought that we had better go try again. My companion must have thought the same thing cause that’s exactly what he said. When we were knocking on this gate, a voice behind us asked: “Can I help you??” we turned around to see a lady and her daughter who actually lived in the house. We made a return appointment and knew that it was supposed to be that we met her. So back to Elder Pulley and I, we did a “how to begin teaching” lesson and it turns out that she is a doctor and works at the same hospital as Sis. Majate (fellowship) and is a single mom who knows the blessings of religion but might be looking for something more! She invited us to come back so we’re excited to continue that!
                We ended our day there and had an end of exchange inventory where we talked about some things and strengths mostly and how to be better missionaries all around. It was a great exchange and I’m thankful that it happened because I was able to get to know Elder Pulley a lot better and, as I said before, I learned a ton! We went and swapped back companions that night and came home, did some quick planning and went to bed! Tuesday is finished!
Wednesday:
                Well Wednesday worked out to be a correlation/service day! After our usual morning studies, we went over to the Scott’s flat to talk about the week ahead and discuss how we would best work together to make things happen. I a very much grateful for this meeting because we get to enlist the help of the Scotts in accomplishing everything that we have to do and all the things that we have to teach. From there, we dressed down into grubby clothes and went up to Pres. Manjate’s house and helped him with his garden and yard work. After that we had to leave for a teaching appointment that ended up ditching us -____- haha so we went back to Pres. Manjate’s house and started our correlation meeting with him! We’re pretty excited tho because he told us that this Sunday we would be getting a branch mission leader! From there, Elder Kankkunen and I spent some time doing a bit of finding and following/checking up on our investigators until our scripture study class began at 7. We drove Elder Scott to go get the pizza for the class and when we returned, we were blown away by the attendance! Ben came, 3 other investigators came! We had 2 recent converts and a less active show up as well! Haha not to say we weren’t hopeful but we were not anticipating that many people! That was a very fun thing to have happen and to see the success of our innovative missionary work. To end the night tho, our car broke…again. On our way home from dropping our ward missionary off, the engine started to fail, oil lamp came on and the temperature was beyond HOT! Luckily, thanks to angels pushing us I’m sure, we were able to get home and park our car. Now we just hope that it won’t be out of commission for too long.
Thursday
                Well, talk about a good day where nothing goes as you plan yet it all seems to turn out. I had to go to the dentist this morning and get a cavity filled. That was more fun than p-day….. Yeah not really. As much fun as it is to have the dentist and assistant speak Afrikaans the whole time when you don’t understand, it isn’t haha. He drilled and put some medicine in the cavity so it wouldn’t turn into a root canal (if it does... smh) and gave me a filling! My mouth was numb for about 3 hours and that was super distracting but funny because Elder Kankkunen slapped me in the face and I couldn’t feel the sting haha.
                So after withdrawing an arm and leg from the ATM to pay for it (it was double what he estimated...  we’ll have to work on his quoting skills) we returned home to start our studies and weekly planning. My mouth stopped being numb by the end of personal studies so I began to talk again and it was very nice to be able to feel my face! But right as we got started into making our phone calls in weekly planning, we got a call from a member who was looking for our flat. We guided him to it and he took a look at our car (I guess the Scotts told him what happened). We found out earlier that morning that our oil was good but the coolant was DRY as a bone! So we filled it up, let the engine idle it thru and topped it off again. We then drove it to the dealership.
                Now we’ve become so famous at Westvaal Chevy that we didn’t even have to go inside but the shop director came out and greeted us in the parking lot asking, “What’s the matter with your car now?” we told him and he was confused because he said he watched them fill it up with coolant. Idk what could have happened but anyways they took the car in and the Scotts were kind enough to shuttle us back to our flat to resume our planning. We finally finished in time to go teach a very good appointment to a family where the daughters are investigating the church. It was a great lesson and the light of understanding went off in their heads as we taught about how to really pray and understand the doctrine of the Godhead in application. Haha they were kind enough to feed us muffins and juice but we were kind of scared because that night was the district throw-down challenge at Spur! We were kind tho and ate their very good treats, praying that we would have room still for dinner.
                That night, we headed to Spur for the first (And last) annual Nelspruit district pig-out haha. Thursdays at Spur is all-you-can-eat ribs and wings and we had a contest between Nelspruit and Kanyamazane elders who would win. So we arrived and the waiter had already prepared a table for us and sat us down and we started eating. The first plate was finished quickly followed by the second plate. Kanyamazane’s strategy was to alternate who ate all the wings and who ate all the ribs but our strategy was just this: eat! Haha we got to our third plate when the restaurant started looking at us, the manager came by and said, “I’ve never seen this before!” and we requested our 4th plate. Now keep in mind, these are full stacks of ribs and like 8 wings per plate!
                We all started slowing down and the thought of a 5th plate just about made us lose it haha. Because of time, Elder Kankkunen couldn’t order a 5th plate (Even tho he wanted to, which we should consider a win) and Elder Pulley and I decided to settle the contest with an uphill sprint. We went outside and ran a 50yd sprint uphill and we were neck and neck the whole time. At the end he pulled ahead just barely and beat me by half a stride. Shame! haha but it’s all in good fun and we all had fun! We also all never want to see another rib or chicken wing again haha
Friday
                Today we had the privilege of having our zone leaders up for zone meeting and exchanges! Zone meeting was sweet and we got to learn about how to have more success in getting people to listen to us. We also talked about the teaching skill of listening! I’m glad that I had a trainer who emphasized that for me because it’s been a part of my mission from the beginning. I probably can’t teach the greatest but I know that if we all listen with love, we won’t need to worry about our teaching level because the spirit will attend us and they will know that we truly love and care enough about them to listen.
                We took off afterwards with Elder Thompson (Vernal, UT) and headed on our way to Lydenburg to see Calisto! We had a great meeting with him where we discussed obedience and following the living prophet! I was so thankful for Elder Nelson’s talk from general conference because it was able to bring that “home-run” witness to the end of our powerful lesson! We also got to see a member family whose son just turned 8 and we get to help him prepare for baptism! We had a fun lesson about the gift of the Holy Ghost and at the end we blindfolded him and told him to listen to his mom’s voice to direct him to our scriptures while we did our best to be loud and confuse him. The whole day turned out well. Elder Thompson is kind of a serious guy so we didn’t have too many laughs but it was a good time regardless.
Saturday
                This morning we ended our exchange and went and taught a freaking sweet lesson with an investigator named Pharaoh! Elder Ah Wong and I tracted him in our complex and he was kind of on and off but we got to see him after a while and we just had a fantastic lesson with him! He wanted to know how to follow God the correct way, how to build his faith and how much faith he had. We were able to use the book of Mormon in Alma 32 to help guide our discussion but by the end he said: “I think I need to be baptized!” haha we said yes! And then explained how it would be his decision and that we would be there to help him make it so that he can be sure he is doing what Heavenly Father wants him to do.
                Our branch had a combined youth activity and since our branch doesn’t do a lot of those, we decided we needed to be there to support, give extra attendance and then help clean up. It was a fun time and we got to build our relationship with the members. From there, we went and saw Ben and Thuli. It was a great lesson and they had stellar questions which they felt were answered by the Book of Mormon but we left feeling... unsure. The ball had to drop sometime with the whole “if our church is true, you need to dump your pastor no matter how nice he is” and today is when it dropped. We left them with a bold commitment that if they prayed sincerely that God would help them find the TRUE way, they would receive their answer. Now, it’s up to their agency and the spirit but we sure hope it turns out well. I think one of the more difficult things is KNOWING God’s will will be done but wanting it to be your will as well.
                We got to go up to our branch president’s house and give him a priesthood blessing of comfort as his son had another seizure (2nd within 8-9 weeks) and they just got out of the hospital. Boy, I can’t imagine how scary it is to be the parent in a time like that. I know what it’s like to be a brother whose sister had them, but seeing as I don’t have kids, I can only imagine from what I’ve seen here. We were just glad we could help minister in such a small way.
                From there we went to our last lesson of the evening with the Nkosi family where we talked about prophets and the priesthood. It was a wonderful lesson and they understood even to the point of expressing their desire to be baptized by the priesthood! Now we just have to work on helping them establish the connection to the message of the restoration and coming to our church vs. their church…. Do you notice a pattern? Hahaha all in all Saturday was great! And President Dunn called and expressed his love for us and his desire to have all the districts and district leaders on board for February, the month of miracles! Haha he’s got no worries up here! We’re all stoked.
Sunday
                I always love Sunday, that never changes! Plus I’d have to say that it only gets better on fast Sunday with testimony meeting! I think universally missionaries worry about inviting investigators to church for testimony meeting but not here in Nelspruit! It’s always powerful! We had Portia attend and she said that she loved it and loved Sunday school as well! Our new branch mission leader is Bro. Sigauke and he is fired up! His first day and already he has the whole priesthood committed to talk to a friend and give us their details! Haha MONEY!!! Couldn’t ask for a better blessing!
                After church we took a chance to study and then prepared for our lesson with Debbie. We’re helping Debbie see the difference between the doctrine of Christ which we teach and the doctrines that all the other churches teach. The cool thing here is that she notices and loves how “right” it feels! So our lesson today was helping her to see how she can know all those things for herself (plan of salvation, atonement, etc.) if she learns about the restoration. Great lesson!
                We were kindly invited over to Sis. Purine’s house for dinner and we had a great chicken and rice dinner with a lesson on service afterwards. Isn’t it amazing how selfless we can become when we serve? I think that’s my favorite part!
                We then ended our day with an official lesson with Portia. We followed up with church and then the question was asked: “what do you think sets our church apart from the church across the street or all the other churches?” and she replied, “I think it’s that you guys are teaching the truth.” Wow, wouldn’t ask for anything better! So we had a great lesson in helping her to recommit to living the standards of the gospel and keeping commitments :) hopefully she’ll be baptized in March!
                Wow, a lot happens in a week! Haha like I think I’m done typing for now or else my fingers will fall off :P
                I love this work! It’s hard sometimes but the miracles make it worth it! It’s like the shot in golf that keeps you coming back! Or the save in a lacrosse game that gets everyone fired up! I love it! And I love you guys! Have a great week!
-Elder David Spencer “Tony” Smith, GOALie


Saturday, January 31, 2015

New Year's Epistle: "Making Goals Our Goal"

January 1, 2015

Dear Friends and Family,
                 You know how I know I’m changing? There are many ways but let me share a couple stories that have a lot to do with the goal-setting atmosphere of the New Year.
                This Friday in district meeting, the topic in which I was to prepare the lesson was “Making Goals Our Goal- how to set realistic and realizable goals.” (Now I know “realizable” isn’t a word so I just substituted attainable.) So this made me excited to teach because I have a lot of personal experiences with goals! Not in a boasting or prideful way, I have strived from the beginning of my mission to always have some sort of goal that I can work on. I looked through all of my planners thus far and each week there are personal and companionship goals. Some of them are fun and goofy like “destroy Elder Perez in Magic on p-day” or “give weird compliments to ward missionaries” but they were always coupled with a serious, growth oriented goal. Every week or period of several weeks/months I’ve been able to work on something to improve on as a person, as a missionary, as both! And that has been from week 1 till year 1 and its still continuing.
                Needless to say I was really excited to see how I could put something together to help us make goals our goal! So to kick it off, I thought of something Elder Kankkunen said the first day of our companionship concerning goals and desires. It might have been a somewhat insignificant sentence but the fact that he used goals and desires as two separate things really stuck out to me! So I decided to use that to open my lesson. We talked about desires being things that we want and things that drive us and goals being the things that get us to, or help us achieve our desires. Thanks to inspired comments from Elder Swan and Sister Scott, we learned about making sure our goals are within our sphere of influence so they aren’t futile. This allowed for us to discuss the SMART method of goal setting.  SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time) goals were something I remember learning in my sports med class from Coach J. they apply in sports, life, and the gospel! If we set goals that are SMART and we write them down, then we will achieve them!
                So we look at what goals are, what kinds, and how we should set them but what about the kinds of goals we’re making as missionaries? We set personal development goals (the ones I work on most often) like Christlike attributes and physical things but we also set key indicators every night and even weekly! These are the ones that allow us to fulfill and magnify our missionary purpose. As I was going thru this train of thought, I received an inspiration that key indicators are the goals that are directly related with the Doctrine of Christ. Key indicators allow ourselves and those we come in contact with to experience all the blessings of the fullness of the gospel which is now on the earth. Key indicators indicate what people should be doing as a result of being taught; ultimately exercising faith and repenting unto baptism.
                “I am so thoroughly convinced that if we don’t set goals in our life and learn to master the techniques living to reach our goals, we can reach a ripe old age and look back on our life only to see that we reached but a small portion of our full potential. When one learns to master the principles of setting a goal, he will then be able to make a great difference in the results he attains in this life.” Elder M. Russell Ballard
                Like I said at the beginning, being able to put this lesson together was exciting for me. Being able to say that I am a goalie as well as a GOALie is something that I take confidence in! I have been looking back in my journals from a year ago and it’s amazing 1) to hear how I’ve changed and 2) to see how simple it was then and now to just set a goal, work for it and know that if you keep working and if it’s righteous, the Lord will help you change. That is the Life of a GOALie.
                So what are my goals for this New Year? One is a continuation of a lifelong goal to be more obedient and to be Joyfully Obedient! The other is to draw nearer to the Savior by counseling with Him daily.
                In my effort to be more obedient, I was looking through our new mission policy manual. I came across the mission’s policy for music and found that a bit of my stuff was inconsistent and that a lot of it was music that I had gotten from other elders. Until that point I hadn’t really thought that it was pirated music but I realized that I needed to do something about it! So I invited each member of our district to bring their memory storage devices and I set aside some time after district meeting in which we could take care of all those things. Haha I was very careful not to try and force but I knew that I would be the only one who would do it. But after a while, Elder Kankkunen even hooked up his hard drive and so now the Nelspruit Elders have legally obtained music that is consistent with what our mission president wants and it feels good to be able to be more obedient!
                In my effort to draw nearer to the Savior, I received inspiration in December of a way that I could accomplish just that. I decided to start another journal. In this journal I can take the time to counsel with the savior by speaking to Him reverently but as I would speak with a friend. In order to be able to do this, I have to wake up a bit earlier but the sacrifice of a little sleep is well worth the reward that I get from doing my whole morning devotional. From 6 to 6:30 I kneel and pray, read the Book of Mormon, counsel with the Savior thru journaling and pray to keep the spirit with me throughout the rest of my day. J its one resolution that is really helping me to be able to come closer to Jesus Christ!
                When it all comes down to it, goals are about improving ourselves and being more efficient with our time here on the earth. “For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God..” and we are able to do that if we have a desire to be clean before God and we work towards our goals that will help us get there.
                Friends, I am really thankful for the things that I have learned so far on my mission. I am thankful for the changes that have occurred within me as I’ve been trying to do my best. And I know that that isn’t just the case for me but for each one of us! My challenge is for us to set a goal if we haven’t already done so. If we have, let’s not make it as trivial as “destroy Elder Perez in Magic” but rather let’s work at something that will bring us closer to God. He’ll help us get there :) I testify of that in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Monday, December 29, 2014

"As we were willing to work, we've had an incredible month; we've had amazing miracles and found wonderful people."

Audio Blog: "We've found December has been one of our most rewarding months! As we were willing to work, we've had an incredible month; we've had amazing miracles and found wonderful people.  And it's just going to get better!"
Elder Smith's Tree & stocking
Elder Ah Wong's tree & stocking
Elder Savage (the "grandson") in the old Daveyton (Benoni) flat
Santa remembered Elder Smith!
The Nelspruit & Daveyton Districts have a Christmas Eve sleepover in Benoni.
A fetching photo of Elder Allen and their Christmas Day breakfast at the Mission Home in Johannesburg.
They finally got their KFC! ;)
Elder's Smith & Ah Wong doing splits with their Zone Leader.

Elder Swan has a visit with Santa.

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

In which Elder Smith spends 7 hours in the car and then learns a lesson he'll never forget.





With Bro. Lebogang, the Facebook referral from Arizona!

Elder Ranjato gets ready to go home!  Elder Willombe will have a new companion
Nelspruit Area

ICYMI- Elder Smith wanted a new feature added to his blog, "Guest Testimonies."  Click the tab just under the title banner to hear testimonies from missionaries and members serving with Elder Smith. 

Monday, September 29, 2014

the life of a GOAL-ie

Elder Tony- GOALie
               Ekse fedi, yizo re kaofela! Ey eye y kasi life is too nice! And yes mom, this IS the fastest way to lose any knowledge of proper English and grammar ;) Haha so get your red pens out and get ready to correct cause here comes the blog of the week  :) (Mom’s Note: Just for the record, I have not corrected, or even mentioned, his grammar once in the last 10 months.  I guess he’s just emotionally scarred from the 19 years previous… )

             I guess first things first: the name of the blog has changed into something that I feel is far more appropriate! Not that “tha’s ‘bout it” wasn't good but this is better!




Elder Clegg
                “The life of a GOALie” better describes what is going on here in the life of Elder Smith :) Here’s my explanation and the story leading up to it: So during weekly planning and inventory this week, Elder Clegg was able to give me some solid advice on how I could be better! And that included the personal goal of actually writing down my goals.  This would make it so that I could be more accountable to something as well as be able to put it on my wall so I can look at it! So I did just that but as I was trying to be creative and name it something cooler than just “goals”, I saw out of the corner of my eye some lacrosse pictures that my family sent me!  *inspiration moment*
I thought about all the great life lessons I’ve learned from lacrosse, all the growth, all the sports analogies used to explain the gospel, as well as all the fun and I knew my title had to be lacrosse related. Luckily, the inspiration kept going and the best position in the game actually has the word in it: GOALie! And so there ya have it:  this blog is about a lacrosse goalie who is serving a mission and trying to become a consecrated missionary by setting goals- The life of a GOALie!
                I’m very amazed at and grateful for the events that transpired in order to lead me to this new frame of mind and motivation for achievement. I know Heavenly Father answers prayers because this is the answering of many recent prayers! The event that started the chain reaction was so simple and I think that is what makes it that great! So let me start by saying how much I love, admire, and respect my companion, Elder Clegg. On Wednesday he gave me a small torn card with a little quote on it from Pres. Uchtdorf and it said “I am doing a great work and cannot come down.” Man, that hit home as I remembered this talk from conference! I asked if he had the whole talk and of course he did! Before I go any further, I urge everyone who reads this post to read that talk! But it talks about the story of Nehemiah in the Old Testament. As he was building the walls of Jerusalem, he was tempted to come down but knowing the danger, he refused with the phrase “I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down” (Neh 6:3). President Uchtdorf then goes on to explain how we need to be careful to keep our attention on the things that matter most! And despite temptation and distractions, we need to remember that we are “doing a great work and cannot come down.” What a great reminder!! It’s what I needed to read right at that moment and I thank Elder Clegg for listening to the promptings of the spirit :)  It led me to desire to write my goals down and if you read the above paragraphs, you know the story! So anyways now we’re at the lacrosse junction. I know it’s a blessing that I got those pictures! Cause now, not only can I show people that rugby and soccer aren’t the best
 BUT I can also have a reminder that I am goalie, I’m (Elder) Tony, I’m a GOALie. So each of my missionary planners from here on out will have a picture of CH Lax and a picture of the Savior as my reminders! See how the Lord works in many small and simple ways to bring about the salvation of His children? How oft will he gather us? Amazing :) Ahh the gospel is true!
                As far as events go, this week has been pretty sweet and not nearly as crazy as last week- haha. No near stabbings or funerals but just great missionary work and spiritual growth! We have been able to help several people come closer to Christ than they may have been last week and that makes all the difference! Oliver is one of those people and his is an exciting story! He is preparing for baptism on the 12th of October and so we have been teaching him all the lessons and this past week we have focused on the commandments. When Oliver heard the law of chastity he took out his earrings and he hasn’t worn them since. When he heard the Word of Wisdom, he said “oh I already live like that!” This guy is sweeeeeet! Haha it’s been such a blessing to find him through Lesedi (one of our ward missionaries), begin teaching him, and be able to see him baptized in 2 weeks! What a blessing! This week we also got to go on exchanges, have Zone Meeting,

Elder Smith made this cake from items sent from home.
celebrate the Daveyton birthdays (Clegg, Myself, Ronnie, Shimi, Nature, and Sipho) with a cake from home,


and I even had the privilege of doing the confirmation of Bro. Excellent Mavodze in Sacrament Meeting on Sunday! How can you complain about such a week!? I guess the only sad thing is the high-ish potential I have to leave this area on Oct. 14 :(  I’ve been in Daveyton 5 months now and so things are looking like I might leave :( BUT, we never know, I could stay for 7 ½ and remain with Clegg or something but either way I shall “Act upon this land as for years” (D&C 51:16-17).
                It’s been a fun week and a fast one as well! Too many great things happening here in Msanzi. I am now double digits in my mission age and that’s ridiculous! Clegg and I only have 2 weeks in the transfer and time doesn’t seem to be slowing! But until next Monday, Salani Kahle :)
-Elder David Spencer “Tony” Smith


It's all about the dogs this week...




He loves his lollies!  Thanks Sue Greene :)
"Fast Food"  It's not exactly McDonald's but it's a great little place to grab a Kota!
Kota! = Kasi sandwich made from a hollowed out kota (or quarter) of a loaf of bread stuffed with fried chips (French Fries), boerewors (SA sausage), Russian Sausage, Vienna Sausage, fried polony (bologna sausage), atchar (pickled veg & fruit) and sauce.  Yum.  

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Even in the face of very apparent danger, if we stick up for what we believe we will be okay. (A multimedia presentation!)



               Here’s Elder Smith coming right at ya with his own typie! Haha I don’t know what I did to deserve such a great gift for my birthday but I hope that the words that I will be able to put into my weekly letters will be able to make this gift well worth it! But wow! What a hectic week! Both great and…less great happened to us this week and so buckle up, grab your popcorns (yes, multiple popcorns, that’s how we do it here ;) ) and enjoy the week in this unique day-by-day perspective (something happened almost every day so here we go!)
                Monday: since I’ve been sick for 9 weeks, Sis. Dunn and I decided that it was about time that I recovered and got well. So I had an appointment Monday morning at the doctor office with the concern of whether or not I had TB… its prevalent enough here in SA and I have been coughing for 9 weeks so it’s only natural (but stressful, can you imagine? Eish it was a trip). So anyway, Dr Van Niekerk was telling me that I could get a chest x-ray, skin test, or even an expensive fluid test but he didn’t think that I had it so at first I felt good. But then when he was checking me out and getting vitals, he got stern and suggested: “I think you’d better get a chest x-ray.”  “Oh great, that’s what you said I needed if you thought I had TB” is the thought that went thru my head as I went across to the radiology room to get my x-rays. So that’s what I got to stress about until 3:30 p. when I saw him again that same day (keep in mind that I had to spend my precious p-day hours doing all this stuff). Luckily, he examined the x-ray and said I don’t have TB but that if I take these prescriptions, I’ll be a better man. Sign me up! I’ll be a better man! Haha well, what he didn’t mention is that like in the Ekurhuleni municipality, there was like no pharmacy that had these pills :/ and I got to spend 1.5 hours driving around finding no luck (still on p-day.. haha) luckily, thanks to the help of an amazing mission mom, I was able to get my medicine! And so I’m TB free and on the way to being a “better man”. This crazy Monday set the tone for the rest of the week!
                Tuesday: well, time to add to the list of crazy events. And as I relate the beginning of our proselyting time, keep in mind that no matter how stupid it may sound as you read it, this was extremely scary. So remember Samuel from my last 1 or 2 posts? The super prepared guy that bore his testimony at his first time at church? And stopped smoking and drinking after reading the pamphlet? Well we went to visit him and here is what happened to the best of my memory (maybe check Clegg’s version if I miss any details). We walked in and it was Samuel and his friend sitting in the main room. So we greeted (the friend only spoke Sotho at this point) and sat down to begin our visit. He seemed caught off guard and told us that he was expecting a call for our next appt. even though the time we were there was the appointment we had set with him. So we offered to reschedule when he would be ready but he said, “no don’t waste energy since you’re here we can pray.” Now, normally I would have been like, “okay sweet, we get to teach another lesson!” but for some reason my mouth just started talking and again asked if we could reschedule and come another time (not knowing what we would do in the meantime). And for the 2nd time he insisted that we sit and stay. So then I asked who would pray for us and it was like someone flipped a switch and Samuel’s whole attitude changed. He asked, “how did Jesus Christ teach His apostles to pray?” and so we tried to answer but were cut off by another, more strict “HOW did Jesus Christ teach His apostles to pray!?” and this process repeated about 4-5 times as each time he didn’t listen to us but got more aggressive and started throwing pamphlets on the table. This is when I got the sickest feeling in my stomach but more on that later. His friend now chimed in and started speaking Sotho so we didn’t know what he was saying (add that stress and worry) but Samuel got up and went into the other room to fill up a glass bottle with water. Anyway, he came back in, slammed the bottle on the table and went and shut and bolted the door shut. Now here is the reason for the sickness in the stomach: I realized that 1-we were now locked in the house of a 2-man who has been in/out of prison and 3-is getting mad and aggressive and thanks to the slamming of the bottle on the table, 4-there is an open knife on the table… for those of you who don’t know a lot about SA, knives are worse than guns; especially in the hands of a aggressive ex-con. So for what felt like an eternity, my stomach was in knots. Only 2 times previous have I felt that way and they were both when a gun was involved. So after this eternity of being fearful, I realized that I didn’t need to be! We weren’t doing anything wrong and we were simply here to proclaim a message of hope; so why did I lose my hope!? I realized that fear and faith aren’t the same thing so I changed  my fearful prayers (you’d better believe I was praying from the start) into faithful prayers and I felt the fear in my stomach just  go away. There are promises given to us as missionaries and I’ve seen the evidence of guardian angels many times in my 9 months here so I knew I had no reason to fear what would happen but to have faith that the Lord would deliver us from any harm. So now that the fear was gone but the adrenaline was still very up, Clegg and I were communicating via looks and it was clear that both of us were trying to find a way out. During this whole time, Samuel and his friend are just spitting the most false doctrine and getting mad at us for “lying” to him about how Jehovah isn’t Jesus Christ and that its really God and how we shouldn’t pray to him cause he gets annoyed and how Jehovah taught how we can drink but not get drunk and all this JW doctrine * (see * below.) But Clegg has the stroke of genius to hand me the phone with a message typed in Spanish “vamos?” (I thought this was very wise because they could’ve grabbed our phone and if they read it and understood, who knows what they would have done but they didn’t know Spanish.) So now me and Clegg were on the same page and I had the phone and an idea. So as I’m keeping eye-contact with Samuel and his friend, (who are both drunk we’ve figured out….didn’t they just say “drink but not get drunk?” Anyways…) I am sending “Please Call” requests to Daveyton 2 like crazy! And then I put the phone in my pocket and waited for the return call. Again, another eternity has passed but the phone finally rang! I pulled it out of my pocket and answered and pulled the biggest fake call I could muster haha! I made it sound like the other missionaries were in trouble and that, since we had the car, could we come get them now-now (South African slang for “immediately!”) (Poor Elder Melese was pretty confused on the other end of the line haha). So Clegg and I picked up our bags and walked right out and without a return appointment but with Samuel saying “I’ll come to church and testify of the truth.” Alright buddy, you do that. At least we were out! We then went to the other guys and told Elder Bizimana (the District Leader) what happened and then called President Dunn and told him as well. CRAZY! And it sounded so crazy and even dumb every time we retold the story but eish, at least from my side, it was super scary. And upon reflection, I was trying to think about what the Lord could have been teaching me in that situation and these are the things I got: He was teaching me that “faith is the antidote for fear!” and that I have no need to fear when we have many things on our side protecting us! It was almost like a 2 Kings 6:15-18 Kasi edition! He was also teaching me about courage to stand up for the truth! Even in the face of very apparent danger, if we stick up for what we believe we will be okay. There was a time where I didn’t really stick up for what I believed and that moment still pains me today. It has moved me to greater courage to stand up and let my light shine and be an example and all those things. During the course of being yelled at for “lying” to Samuel, there was a big temptation to be apologetic and deny the things we taught. I mean this guy was angry and if you’ve been to prison here you know how to use a knife; pretty big temptation right? But the painful memory came to my mind and I knew that I could not deny what I knew to be true. So during the course of this “lesson”, if you can call it that, I did not deny the truth that I knew and believed. We bore testimony that what we had taught him was what we knew and believed to be the truth and reminded him that we had simply invited him to pray! So reflecting upon that period of time made me glad and gave me strength in knowing that if we stick up for what we know, we can and will speak with the tongue of angels, or by the power of the Holy Ghost.  And all throughout the rest of the week, I’ve been lucky enough to see how the lessons the Lord taught me on Tuesday were and are preparing me for bigger and possibly tougher situations; here goes nothing!
*We claim the privilege of worshipping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may. –A of F #11
                Wow, Tuesday was a long day and that whole deal only lasted 45 min. Haha! Anyway moving on!
                Wednesday: actually nothing huge happened on Wednesday except the Lord gave us a huge opportunity to serve! We had a fairly normal day and were coming off a super sweet 6:00 lesson where this new family had kept their commitments to pray about the Book of Mormon! It was sweet cause they’ve noticed the difference around their yard since we’ve been coming and they’ve been reading! So we were happy and we were going to finish our day by visiting a less active family, the Mabodlas, that lives in a far part of our area called Chris Hani. When we got there, we found out that their son had passed away and was being buried on Saturday. Elder Clegg shared a wonderful scripture in Mosiah 16:6-9 about how the sting of death is swallowed up because of the Atonement! It was a very comforting spirit that accompanied his words and testimony.  :)  We were very blessed to have been able to have the kilometers to visit this family and find out about this tragedy because no one from the ward knew about it at that point but luckily the tender mercies of the Lord are on all of His children! So we were able to report that to the bishop and get the most help for this family.
              Thursday: now Thursday was the promised day!!! Why? Because the Zone leaders came and I got my medicine! As well as my birthday package!!!!!!!! =D =D =D 
The Birthday Package!
          Eish, it killed me to have to wait till I got home to open it but I made it and thankfully I was able to push it out of my mind during lessons haha. I was extremely overwhelmed at the size of it, overwhelmed that the Youlton family would be so amazing to bring it all the way from West Jordan for me, :) and even more overwhelmed at the presents inside!! And what was more meaningful than the items themselves was the thought and love that went behind EVERY single one of them! Typie; rechargeable batteries for my camera; A USB with music, Mormon messages, photos and conference talks; USB recorder for blog posts and music recording :) ; toooooo much food stuffs (birthday cake mix, stuffing, CAPN CRUNCH!!, seasonings and sauce mixes)!!!! Haha and American sweets (jolly ranchers, lifesavers, Werthers, Sees pops, and Sue Greene’s lollys! Thank you!!)!!! Plus it was really funny to see Elder Bizimana (from Rwanda) eat Pop Rocks and to see his face haha :) I also got stuff to make a belated birthday party; (balloons, candles, and a sign that reminds me that I’m 20!) as well as a Frisbee from dad; personal lax ball from Lou; amazing drawing from Bekah; Liahona magazines; guitar pics; lacrosse stickers; lax pictures so people can see what sport I play haha; my Nike hoodie; and my work gloves for when we give service. I can’t believe how spoiled am! Now you can see why I was overwhelmed! And again I just have to point out how there was personal meaning behind each of those gifts! And the ones that probably brought the most love were the pictures and thoughts from my family! I got 36 minutes worth of mission stories from my dad! I got a picture of the Savior! I got a picture of Grandpa Richards and me the night before I left for SA with the caption “companions” because he is watching my back :) THANK YOU! NGIYABONGA! REALEBOGA! Is there a bigger word that Thank you? Does it mean more in Zulu or Sotho? Either way I am very thankful  :) It was so much more than I could have asked for and it definitely made my Thursday GREAT!  Thank you to Brother and Sister Youlton for making that birthday package happen.  :)

                Friday: THE coolest experience! Especially coming off listening to my dad’s story about being arrested in France and then giving away 4 copies of the Book of Mormon! You’ll have to listen to the audio recording from my USB for the story :) We’re getting crazy adding sound dynamics to the blog! Haha!  It truly was the coolest!! Ahh the Lord is Great! This gospel is true!! Now go listen! Oh and Gogo Mhlanga signed the papers for her house to be the new meeting place for the church in Daveyton East (Chris Hani, Sgodi, etc)!!
                Saturday: Today was a great chance for us to give more service as well as have a new cultural experience known as the African funeral. We were all 4 able to go to the Mabodla’s son’s funeral and I’m glad we did because we were the only ones from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who were there. Even though we were late, we still got to give our love and love from the bishop and ward as well as help with the dishes! Haha- There is a lot of food served for everyone at funerals here so there were a ton of dishes!! All hand washed in tubs out back by the missionaries :)  Haha! We had fun and we hope it helped the family by taking it off their minds. Maybe they’ll decide to come back to church! Saturday we also got rain and lightning so it was just super cool! The rain is probably my favorite part of the summer!!
                Sunday:  Ahh the Sabbath day :) My favorite day of the week for sure! Being able to go to church and be spiritually recharged for the upcoming week is soo necessary! And I’m glad I’ve been able to learn that here because I’ll take that home with me and keep the importance of Sunday in my mind. We had the amazing experience of 3 baptisms in Daveyton 2!  Thoriso and Kewaka Molefa and Excellent Mavodze were baptized today and the service was very nice and the spirit very strong as we got to witness these people commit to follow Christ for the rest of eternity! Its times like this that make me excited for 1-being a missionary but also for 2-knowing that if we endure to the end after priesthood ordinances, we can live with God again! Is there a greater reward? Is there anything more we can do during our 4 minutes? (“Your Four Minutes” –Bishop Gary E. Stevenson) Remember that we’ll have eternity to look back! Let’s look back on a gold medal performance :)
                WHEW! There is the week for ya! Haha pretty long eh? It was a great week and I’m now looking forward to a great p-day and even better week! Haha I’ve got some cracks on my grammar (or lack thereof) so I hope this makes sense! Haha I already know there are spelling errors and grammatical inconsistencies but what else is new? I haven’t spoken proper English since I got here and I’m proud of it! :P Haha! I love you guys :) Carry on back home and remember to follow the spirit in ALL things! God indeed IS in the details of our lives! :) 
Cheers! 
Love, Elder David Spencer “Tony” Smith
                PS. I LOVE YOU MOM AND DAD! :)