Happy Birthday Elder North!

Today is his 19th birthday! On his 17th birthday, we had only been dating for a month or so and he had a game that day, so we just went to dinner and had pie at his house with his family. Last year for his 18th birthday we ate razzles at a park and swung on the swings before we went to dinner and saw a movie. It's weird not to be with him on his birthday this year but he's spending it in the best way - serving the Lord! He said he had a dream about me last night though: "Haha funny story, I had a dream about you last night. I came home for something I cant remember but we got to spend the whole day together but I was having to leave again to come back here and I was sad and gave you another last kiss goodbye which I never want to do. I hate good byes!!!! but It was nice to see you and we were being our goofy silly selves running around an apartment building haha it kinda made me happy. it was like a secret birthday present from you."
I'm kinda bummed because I sent him his birthday package over a month ago and he still hasn't gotten it, and since he got transferred he won't be getting it for a month or so. Oh well.

It's crazy to think back on how much time has passed since we started dating. We were only 16 when we met and that feels so young and so long ago but honestly I still don't feel much older than that. Time is a strange thing. We're coming up on 9 months since he left and that just blows my mind. It's been amazing to see the changes in both of us as we have grown and matured over the time of knowing each other, especially in this time of being apart. From just little 16 year old kids to 18 year old saying goodbye to 19 year old "adults" haha. I'm thankful that I've had him by my side through all of it.

"So yes I have left the country of South Africa and entered into the mountain Kingdom of Lesotho. The language spoken hear is Sotho and you find a lot of people who don't speak English so that tough. I learned a lot of Zulu in my last area where I could greet and ask some questions and some simple demands. I know no Sotho so I feel so lost in the language and communicating with people. It's a beautiful and mountainous place. It does in fact snow here so I am hoping to get the chance to go snow boarding. That's right snow boarding in Africa! Who else can say that?

My new companion is Elder Woodland from Davis Utah. He is a fun guy and we have been getting along really well. but his teaching needs some improvement. I am not really sure if he knows why he is here, he needs to learn the order of the lessons a little better but overall we have been having fun but I am worried that we will ahve to much fun. I really want to work and do good here but I am not sure if he feels the same haha but we have worked pretty well adn since I am his leader I get to really decide what we do and if I want he has no say. so I know we will end up working had which will be good. haha I have been likeing him though. being a district leader dosnt mean much, leadership positions are just a part of mission if you get it or not it dosnt matter. and so its nothing really special. I just have to call in and safe every night and host our district meetings each week and interview the missionaries in my district and just a few other things. but its been good.

We are excited to pick up the work here in Lesotho. I work in an area called Maseru. It's starting to cool down. It is no where near as hot as Toti is right now and it's really dry here and my lips are chapped... eish.......

Missing my families in Toti but already off to a great start here in Lesotho. We started off Friday morning with a cultural day to celebrate Moshoeshoe Day, who is the king of Lesotho I believe. We slaughtered 2 sheep early in the morning so I got some lekker pictures of that. We ate the heart and the men ate the intestine. haha....... ew........ Just about as good as you could imagine which for me wasn't that good haha, we got to be apart of some of the dances and things like that so it was really cool.

The Sotho people are famous for their blankets that they wear all year round, their hats, gum boots, and Shepard sticks. Hopefully I can get some of these traditional items.

The currency is different here so thats cool, it's the same as the rand in terms of economical strength."


"I have to pay to email now which is a bummer but you gotta do what you gotta do.

Yay for extra allotment. so in Lesotho things are more expenisve and you maybe get fed once a week.... if you are lucky. So you are on your own breakfast lunch and dinner every day which gets expensive. now we get the same amount of money as the rest of the mission and it just dosn't work, missionaries have been talking to president and it sounds like we should be getting a little extra money from now on... I sure hope so haha.

Well I have been loving this beautiful place and people already!!! oh ya and domelang mean hello!"


"Well my birthday is um... just another day haha. I actually didnt realize it was my birthday till I was looking in my planner around 8 oclock this morning and saw it said birthday at the top haha. nothing special planned. I did eat french toast though which was pretty lekker.

Love you always babe

Elder North"

Happy 19th Birthday Mookie!

Lesotho

A lady in the area he was serving in sent this picture of him to me on Facebook this week :)

"Now for the subject of the email. Lesotho! Transfer news came today and I am going to Lesotho, for those of you who don't know Lesotho is a country completely surrounded by South Africa. and for those who also don't know South Africa is a country not southern Africa. It is like saying Nigeria, or Uganda or Kenya. It's South Africa not Southern Africa, even though it is in Southern Africa (Check out a map if I confused you). Anyways I will be going to a new country to serve in Maseru Lesotho. (Lesotho is pronounce le, sue, two) I have been hoping I would get to serve there so this was good news to me. Especially since I will be there in the winter time. Remember our winter is your summer. I will be able to see snow!!! It is on the other hand sad to leave this place. Many friends have been made and I will deeply miss them and always leave a part of my heart here in Toti with them. I can't wait for the day to visit again and see them all again."

I remember when he got his call (a year ago last week - crazy!!) and we saw that Lesotho was part of his mission he kept saying how much he hoped he would get to go there. So I'm sure he's so excited!

He said that he will be companions with someone named Woodland and he gets to be district leader there, so that's exciting! I'm looking forward to hearing more about it on Monday.

"So Elder Malala and I were going to visit an investigator we are teaching named Jaxon. Jaxon is a power dude, he is Zulu and lives in Kwamakhutha which is the township here. He lives in a certain suburb that I can't remember the name of, but we already know it to be a more dangerous part of the township. We went and had our fantastic appointment with him and taught a great lesson. He is really understanding the concepts well and looks forward to being baptized on the 3rd of April. As we left we were talking to some people by the truck shop and then one of them started telling us to give him stuff. Now this is not uncommon. Simply because I am a white guy dressed nice I should have money, sadly this is not true for missionaries. I am broke..... so we get asked for money and food a lot and just have to say sorry to people, usually they don't leave you alone but they don't get violent. Well this guy I guess really wanted something that we had so he decided to pull out his knife and hold it firmly. Of course the guy was drunk and probably wouldn't have done this if he had been sober but none the less he pulled the knife on us and asked us for something again. I looked down and saw the way he was holding the knife and decided hmmm... we should leave.... now....... so I made a brisk escape to the car, my companion wasn't too frighten by the experience seeing how he had his bag in his hand ready to swing at the guy if he made any move haha. so that's my great story of the week :)"

Um ok scary story I didn't like that one haha.

"I got to have a fantastic meal this week.... macaroni and chicken heart! I ended up eating probably like 20-30 chicken hearts haha, I thought they were livers until half way done when we realized they were hearts. by then I said well... taste good! haha"

"my comp malala and me, wearing matching pants"

"We had a baptism this week of Qiniso. It was such a wonderful opportunity to officiate in his baptism. I have been with him, pushing him for four months now and missionaries long before me trying to get him to this point but we finally did it! It was incredible! This has been the best baptism I have been apart of because we had to work so hard to get him to where he is today to be able to baptized and come into the church with a heart of gladness and thanksgiving. He has made some incredible changes in his life and it has been a great chance for me to see the impact the gospel truly does have on peoples lives."

Short & Sweet

He didn't have much time to email this week, but he did send some pictures so I'll post those :)

"its okay though, I think two years of loneliness dosnt compare to eternity of companionship.

Aye sitting on the bench is never fun. Believe me I know haha #benchbuddies haha kind of funny because I would have never thought you would also be on the bench, the difference is I wasnt injured I just sucked haha.

I love that talk and I just love how he says if it (the gospel) isnt working for you then just step back, its supposed to be simple and dont make it complected.

sorry not much time this week :("

"Cute pics with Elder Malala, Pinkston and Kaitoo"

"I spray painted the back of my phone while doing service with spray paint with a member. I think it looks quite lekker (nice)"

"I also ended up covering my hand in paint, sadly not picture because I obviously don't want paint on my camera, I sprayed my ring as well haha, hey why not."

"It's better in person, I promise."

"Elder Katioo, me, Pinkston"

"Paintballing!! Accept the message or die.."

Power

"This was a pretty power week, it went by way to fast though, I feel like Monday was two days ago but here I am again.

We had zone conference this week which is always awesome, to make it even better we finally got to watch the world wide broadcast to all the missionaries, this happend like a month ago but because it would have been aired while we were sleeping we watched it later. It was awesome and I learned a lot of things from it. Its so funny how much I enjoy things like church, conference and talks compared to when I was home and struggled to get through them looking at the clock wishing the time to go. But now! I love it, maybe its because its talking about my life pretty much, they talk about gospel things and as missionaries we eat and sleep the gospel, heck I dream about teaching investigators, or investigators being bogus and want not haha.

Teaching is not talking, it is listening and observing. this is what David A Bednar stated in a teaching discussion he had. I really liked this because he talked about how we need to be present in the lessons, when our companion is teaching we need to be teaching as well by paying attention and discerning the investigators needs. there was so much taught that I would love to share but I realize that it would be quite boring for me to practically teach a missionary conference to you."

His Zone, Umlazi

One of their investigators that was supposed to get baptized last week bunked them for his interview and they haven't been able to see him again to see what's going on. Mikel said that makes him sad because he's worked with him since his first week in this area and knows that he's sincere and wants to be baptized. Hopefully they can figure out what's going on. He wants to see him make those first steps towards the Savior and be baptized before he gets transferred.

Last week I was telling him about how badly I want to be able to play when we go on our international trip in May, even though that's probably not very realistic. I just thought it was cute what his reply was :) "I knew it would be your goal to play by then, and I have been praying that you will be able to atleast play a minute while there. I always worry that you will push yourself to hard though and it scares me, so remember to listen to your traineer, and I am sure they have said the same thing to you way to many times and I am the last person who you want to hear it from but I love you and want you to be 100 percent as fast as possible with no unexpected set backs. I always smile when I hear about your improvement and I can just hear the joy in your voice when you get to touch the ball. I miss playing soccer with you!!!"

A bird in their apartment, still alive

I also was telling him about how I've been feeling lonely, which isn't new because I've been feeling that way pretty much since college started haha. It's hard to find friends in such a big school and I'm not a super outgoing person so that makes it even harder. Some days are better than others and I will say that I'm very happy right now and most of the time I don't feel lonely, but there are occasions where I do and it's not very fun. He told me that's he's feeling pretty lonely too which always makes me sad. I wish there was a way that I could fix that.

Washing their clothes in the sink because their washer broke

"My favorite pictures :)"

Railroad!

"So I really like Elder Adams, He is awesome and I got a long well with him and our personalities really matched up, he was only here for 5 weeks then got transfered. When he left it was crazy to see how much the members really loved him and it made me feel I guess inadequate would be the word. I was here longer but I dont feel like I have made the impact that he did and that everyone likes him so much more #curseyoupride And Elder Adams calls Kaitoo, who lives with us and who he talked to often while here but he never calls me and I always just feel like I suck haha I mean I was his companion and I really like Adams and thought we were good friends but he hasnt called me once and calls K2 twice a week or more, so It makes me feel kind of lonely too, and throws me back to High school where I felt the same way, I had friends but were they really really my friends and did they actually want to be around me.... I dont know I just felt like sharing with you especially since I think it relates to you also feeling lonely. we can be lonely together haha. It makes me ever more greateful for you and having someone that actaully makes me feel loved, someone who I feel actaully sincerley cares about me, for me. I am so lucky to have you. thank you, and I cant say it enough of how much I love and respect you. You are an example to me every single day and I desire to become more like you so much, you are so amazing and when I look at myself I honestly dont see how we ended up together and how I managed to even know someone as special as you.

always with love,
Elder Mookie"

8 Months!

"I learned that malala means "I am sleepy" which fits Elder malala quite nicely so it was kinda funny.

So there were a few tender mercies this week which is always just fantastic. We were in town tracting which means we were ringing buzzers. You don't knock because there is a gate so you can't get to the door so instead you just ring the buzzer and hope they answer. If they do answer they tell you to go away. So we finished an hour of rejection and headed back to our car. We were almost back when a guy stopped us and asked if we could speak. He is a pastor of another church and he recognized us from the area. It just went to show that we need to be out, even if we are thinking we are unproductive and getting no where. People see us and people recognize us. So I am looking forward to our meeting with him.

Every night I wake up with at least 5 more bug bites and it has been pretty annoying. I ended up spraying bug spray all over my bed to go to sleep haha."

HAHA this made me laugh out loud :)

Something that Mikel and I talked about in our personal email this week was what I learned at my institute devotional. Marshall McDonald, a famous composer, came and spoke to us about direction. He talked about how we may not always know where we are going, but if we just keep moving God will direct us. It's easier to guide something while it is moving than when it's standing still. I loved that because sometimes I feel like I am just going through life without any real direction and I want God to tell me right away where I should go. But that's not how He works :) He will guide us as we are moving, not while we are waiting to be told what to do. I loved what he said about it: "That is such a true thought that we need to be moving and let him guide us. I have seen it in my own life that God will wait for us to act then help us along the path we have chosen or help us correct back to the right path but he usually doesnt just answer our questions, trials, and fears off the bat without any of our own effort."

"My fav soccer player!" :)

"Okay so I said I would talk about the Cebekulu family, Well I hope I spelled their name right because I honestly have no idea haha. They are one of our favorite families ever! We get to see them once a week and share a short message or join them for FHE and they always feed us. When they feed, they feed. What I mean by that is by the time you leave the house you have gained 2kg (thats about 2.5lbs)  its crazy, its like they want to kill us..... with food! It's a love hate relationship for sure. The best part is they are a strong family and when you go there you just feel at home. You can have fun, laugh and enjoy and also get real serious when you need to talk about the gospel. It is an appointment we look forward to every week. They are a Zulu family and we always have a good time visiting. The family consist of Ma and Baba, then Hle, who has a child 8 years old named Buhle which means beautiful and then Pindi who is 29 but looks 19 and Toola who is 22.

A Mormon message which made me think of and miss Zaner.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWU6UbGgmT4" (Zane is his little brother who is the cutest little guy! Love him.)

I love this picture!

This week he will have been out for 8 MONTHS. WHAT. Where has the time gone?? It still feels like every day is so slow but every week is so fast. This week also marks 4 months since my knee surgery! That's gone by fast too. I'm so thankful that I still have his support and love in everything I do, even if he is 10,235 miles away. Here's to an even quicker 16 more months! ;)

"Yes definitely a not ideal valentines day. especially when all I think about is you and how many awesome adventures we went on and how much fun we had. and how much I love you and miss just being able to snuggle you and give your forehead a kiss as I am enchanted by the smell of your perfume that makes me fall comfortably asleep haha.. aye I miss it so so much!!!!

well my week was pretty good I would say :) We had some great tender mercies and met some cool people that seem interested in coming church or coming back to church which is always a good thing, but we will see if they actually follow through. Sorry didnt mean to scare you, I am fine. exhausted and sore from all the soccer I have been playing. we practice on friday and then the missionaries got together and played again on saturday. I am happy not because I am out of the GK position. they decided I would play midfield because they dont have someone that will track back to defend and hold the ball to get up, so itll be nice to play there now. Elder Malala is still great! Miss you a ton still, which after 8 months it still physically hurts to miss you, which I guess is a good thing haha. Malala caught me sitting on my bed looking at pictures of you the other day. I just said hey, what can a guy do haha.

You should totally talk to tish! she is so funny! friend her on FB! I know my mom has haha. Oh ya I may have mentioned you here or there while we were visiting portia and sam.... okay you got me, maybe I talked about you a lot a lot.

Love,

Elder North."