Baptism!

He had a baptism this last week! He was really excited about it :) "Onward ever onward!  This Sunday was incredible, I had a baptism!!! oh my goodness, I have missed the water, as a missionary we don't get to swim, and its summer season here in Africa and I live next to the beach and don't get to swim. So its a little extra incentive to baptize people so you can get into the water... (that's a joke, not the reason why we don't swim or why we get baptisms) so this awesome man Cebo is 15 years old but he acts more like he around 18, really a level headed guy who knows what he wants in life and he is so young! He could make such a great missionary and leader on day! so we have been teaching him for a while and he has really grasped the gospel with two hands and has not let go for even a second! I was honored with the opportunity to perform the baptism with him and dunk him in the water twice. His head didn't go all the way under the first time because he slipped so we had to do it again, not fun because the water was really cold..... He bore a powerful testimony afterward about what he knows to be true, it was short sweet and to the point. just the I like it! So mission isnt about how many people you can dunk in the water or anything like that but more about the love you give and the love you feel but a baptism doesn't hurt :) There is a special feeling at baptisms of just new life beginning and old habits dying and new joy soon coming."

"Pictures of them and cebo. The other man in white with the little girl is 

Thula and his sister Bushla, he baptized her the same day."

He said he had a really great week! He started teaching a new investigator named Darril. While they were teaching him he suddenly was just hit with a wall of happiness! He couldn't stop smiling and he hoped Darril was feeling it to. I loved reading that because that's what the gospel is, it is happiness! While there are some hard times and sadness in life, the gospel brings us light and happiness to get us through those dark times. Mikel has always been the happiest person I know and so he has been a great example of what the gospel brings.

His caption was "trying to be like my brother Jered". He was in Guatemala on his mission and was always sending pictures of creepy little bugs. gross! haha

"GUESS WHAT!!! God lives! and so does his son Jesus! and best of all they love you!!!!

so today was the end of transfers, Elder Sibeko is leaving me and I am getting Elder Adams. Elder Sibeko is a great guy and a fantastic missionary, he is going to go die in his last area only having 3 months left on mission. sometimes when people get close to the end of their mission they get trunky and want to go home and not work, but not this guy, he is to power. We worked really hard in this area and I can look back and say we did all we were supposed to do and all we could do #NoRegrets He was always quick to complement me which is something that I think helped me a lot, to feel like I was actually a good missionary and can do this. I am thankful I got to know him. so now I have had a companion from Zimbabwe, and two from South Africa. Now I get my American buddy/German  So Elder Adams is from the USA but has lived in Germany for the past 5 years. He is in my MTC group meaning we are the same age on mission, he was serving in Bloemfontein which I was able to visit about 2 or 3 times a month while I was in Kimberley so I got to know him pretty well and I love this guy so when I heard the news, I literally flipped, I cant wait to see my brother again! Usually you don't get two young missionaries put together like us. young on mission I mean. we both are only six months out and are serving together! so needless to say I am looking forward to the next couple months :)

Consecration is the only surrender which is also a victory.

I love this scripture in 2 Nephi 33:10

 hearken unto these words and believein Christ; and if ye believe not in these words believe in Christ. And if ye shall believe in Christ ye will believe in these words, for they are the words of Christ, and he hath given them unto me; and they teach all men that they should do good."

Him and Sibeko with Alfred, one of the members.

"We had a ward Christmas party which was off the hook crazy, well as crazy as a Mormon party gets that is!  That means there were skits, food, and laughs, and some time to mingle after haha. I really enjoyed it and even us missionaries got to participate. We did the 12 days of Christmas song, I saw some people recording it so I will have to get it from them to send you guys, I think you would get a kick out of it." I would really like to see this video! Haha. 

He got my package!!! I'm so happy because I didn't think he would get it before Christmas. But he said he's waiting until Christmas to open it so that's good :) I'm excited for him to open it! He gets to talk to his family this week and I am so excited for him! It's crazy that it's Christmas on Friday. It sure doesn't feel like it.

In his mass email he mentioned that his mom informed him of an option for those of you who are deciding whether or not to serve a mission, so I thought I would share that here. "My mom informed me of an awesome opportunity you all could have! So if you are trying to decide if a mission is right for you and you arn't really sure.  Maybe your worried about being home or how hard mission life is.  Well I have good news for you! You can go on a mini mission for 6-12 weeks, living and working with the full time missionaries and get to have and experience the joys and rigorous of mission life, you will get to feel the same kind of giddy happiness that I felt as I have taught the "good news" to people in my mission. Then after those 12 weeks you can know for sure if you could handle it and how it is.  So don't delay, call your bishop/Stake Pres. now to start your own mini mission to help you decide if mission is right for you!!......"

His emails to me were so good this week. It's such a blessing to be able to email with him every week, even if it's just for a few minutes. :)

"I am not surprised that you are progressing faster than anyone because you are the most drivin person I know, when you put your mind to anything I know that you can and will do it so I knew that you would progress well and that is why I also know that this isnt going to set you back but push you further as now you have seen life without soccer and what its like not to play and to watch and it will make you work harder and play harder to do better to be stronger! 

Thats actually insane, I dont thing you have ever gone that long in your life, I dont know how youve kept your feet from moving! You are going to feel so much better just by juggling and be more like yourself again! :)

I actually like this companion of mine he has been really good to me and I am going to miss him, I get a new companion tuesday. members sometimes dont like him because they feel he isnt genuine 

thats power, so good to be done with finals I am sure! stressful time!

Of course they would pick you! :) I would ;) haha thats awesome that hopefully you were able to be a light to her, ah I miss utah and just the temple and all of the snow and haha everything. Im sure there reception was super cute, ah my heart achs it misses you when I read about how happy they are it makes me just long to be with you and to smile like I did then, to feel like I did when I was with you, yes I am happy and feel good but there is a definte hole the is missing something and its you! one day!"

Amanzimtoti is a beautiful place!

"In Margate for a meeting then went for some grub at the beach, 

from left to right. Kaitoo, Dean, Knight, Hamilton, Me, Sibeko"

There are so many people we know who are getting married lately... which is kind of scary and weird but at the same time I can't help but think about getting married myself! Obviously it's a little while away but I've been thinking about it, and honestly the only person I can see myself with is him. And I wouldn't want it any other way.

"dont like them, love them! you are the bestest girlfriend ever, I mean you make it so easy to want to marry you haha. all this talk about jered and his girl and the girl on your team has just made me in a marry mood haha (marry as in happy and as in like make you stuck with me forever)

read 1st john 4:18 first two sentences. (There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear) I love you and that is why even though I dont know what he future holds and I know there will be struggles and life is tough and all I dont fear, and its because I love you I am not afraid to say I want to marry you and be with you. :)

but its so true because I was thinking so much about the logistics behind it and how am I going to make things work but as soon as i just thought no I love her and thats the truth then the fears settled as I knew we would climb them together, Yes it will still be hectic and hard and scary but at the same time I am not afraid with you by my side, with you I know I am stronger and can get through anything"

Roller Coaster

It's finals week, so this post has definitely been pushed to the back burner. BUT this week was probably the best ever because I actually got to email back and forth with him!! It's probably been at least a month and a half since we've done that, and it was so good and refreshing to be able to do that.

He started his mass email with asking where November went... and I was thinking the same thing because wow that flew by! My first semester of college is officially over! Crazy crazy. But with December comes Christmas!! I liked in his email how he said that in Spanish mas means more so when we read Christmas it means more Christ! How perfect that is for this time of the year. Christ is truly the reason for the season. He shared a short testimony about this: "I know with all my heart that the son of God, Jesus Christ, the way of truth and light, came to earth, just as you and I have. Unlike you and I He did something extraordinary. He gave us this incredible gift I have hinted to. He suffered, bleed and died for us. through Him we may return to Heaven with Him. I know it to be true! Guess what, SO CAN YOU!!! I encourage you during this time of Christ-mas to find out who He is to you."

This is Jude the crab we caught. We like catching crabs... he is so cute :) I tried to feed him my cheerios. 

Elder Sibeko thought that the crab looked quite tasty.

"Mission life has been pretty great here in Amanzimtoti. Love is the key, they are the door. If you want them to open up to you, Love them. You need to key to open the door. When you love the people you meet on mission your mission becomes something else entirely. When you gain a love for the people you serve your whole attitude changes, you begin to have a new found source of strength and energy to get you out knocking doors, talking to people. You love them and want the best for them. We know that the gospel truly is the best thing for everyone and that's what pushes us to go from door to door, gate to gate, after rejection again and again. If you dont love the people you will not love your mission I can promise you that. I am thankful that the people her in Toti have made it so easy for me to fall in love with them. Loving them makes every day a good day!"

drawing and picture from his sister Taylynne. He always made weird faces in his yearbook pictures so she wanted to keep the tradition going :)

His lessons have been going well, they have a baptism scheduled for next week! It is for a 16 year old boy named Cebo (the c is a click sound). He has loved seeing his understanding and testimony grow as they have taught him the gospel.

He doesn't really like his companion all that much but he has learned to deal with it and to be happy regardless. It's sad because even the members of their ward don't like his companion :( But he sounds like he's doing well otherwise and is happy!

Went to a less-active members house that was actually abandoned and found this cool little mermaid painting.

I wish I could say that things have gotten better for me, but they haven't really so I was venting to him about it in my email last week about feeling lonely and sad. he was so sweet and I loved what he said in response: 

"being lonely is the worst thing ever. That is why I got into that whole shenanigans with bre, I missed being in a relationship I missed the feeling of thinking I wasn't alone, the feeling of someone telling me they were there constantly and just enjoying doing stuff, but the feeling of loneliness led me into a huge mistake where me and Bre really didn't have real feelings for eachother, I cant really say it was a mistake because its what led us to be best friends. but anyways it sucked being lonely, but sometimes we need to endure. sometimes life sucks and is tough, we just need to be tougher. and I know you are. I think back of the fault in our stars, I am on a roller coaster that only goes up. I think we past that part of the roller coaster and we are on that down hill. but you need that down hill to enjoy the rest of the ride. does that make any sense? on a roller coaster we go up up up for a long time then everything seemingly all at once just goes down hill and seems like its going to crash but just at the last second and the brink of it all we are raised up and then begin to enjoy the rest of the ride. Life i think is similar, we had our up and maybe this is the down so that we can get trough the rest of the ride together. If a roller coaster never had its down you would never gain the speed (strength) to make it through the rest of the ride. Its essential but sucks. as I always say Life is tough but its meant to be and when we step back and thank God we realize what we have to be happy about. I love you babe and we will get through this together, no matter how alone you feel, You are not! I am here, always and always."

It really has been a rollercoaster since I got hurt. So many ups and downs, not just recovery wise but socially and in school as well. But if we don't have the hard times we can never truly enjoy the good ones :)

 "We are having a nice Braai my killer pork chops are to die for"

Elder Kaitoo

I decided that I wanted to start asking him questions every week that both of us would answer so that our emails would be more interesting and we would still be learning things about each other :) So this weeks question was: What are your short term goals, in the coming weeks and months? What are your long term goals, 1 year, 5 years, 10 years? 

"Eish babe haha well goals have never been my thing, I am starting to try and be a more goal oriented person because I have seen the effects there of and it is something I really admire and love about you is how goal driven you are. so short term goals, right now I am trying to be more patient and not get upset and argue over little things, You know how I am and if I have an opinion on something I say it, I am not very patient when it comes to that kind of stuff so I will be working on that. 1 yr, well I hope to be able look back and see a change in myself, right now yes I have learned a lot and changed a little but not much, I am still the same guy with the same faults and I hope to be able to feel like I have grown not just in intellect and understanding but in who I am. I also have a goal to find my reason for being in each area I serve, who I am there to find or what it may be. I also have a goal to Love everyone I meet, which is difficult, I am not a nice guy so hopefully that can change a bit. I do love the people here, but I want to love every single one of them. I want to in a years time have read D&C, pearl of great price, JSH, and have a better understanding of the new testament. I would like to become a better teacher by asking more questions in my lessons. haha I dont really know what else my goals are for the next year. 

the next 5 years would be to come home from mish and to get married haha go to school, be financially independent, have a job, know for surety my career pathway. and I may want a child by then. ah man this is hard I am not sure. maybe Ill know more next week. be in my last year of schooling or something like that. Revisit my mission with you my wife. 

10 years, Have a family, have a solid career, have a cute little home, to continue with soccer in some aspect, I dont really know besides that, I know I want to be able to provide for a family and I want a family and those are the two most important things to me, anything else is just sugar on top."

Welcome Home Elder North!

Mikel's little brother Zane :)

His older brother, Jered, came home from his mission in Guatemala last week. So naturally, they made a sign of Mikel's face and I got to keep it hahah.

"sometimes I wish dreams were reality. not seeing you is so hard. I miss you so much, just last night I was talking a bout you telling my companion about some of the dates we have gone on and just how much fun we had and how we went to the temple together and how we grew together and just how I would love to be with you forever and how weird it is to think that and I am so young but how true it is and just how much I love you and never want to let you go again and how much I cant wait to see you and how hard it was at first and still is and we just talked and talked, well, I just talked and talked haha also about you being just so amazing at soccer and the work you had to put in to get to where you are at today and how incredible that is and how much of an insperation that is to me and well everyone and ah I just love you okay! haha reading emails from amber makes me miss you because she is just falling in love with this boy and it reminds me of us and how we used to be and how giddly we used to get over everything and I just miss cuddling and holding your hand but most of all just being able to hear you and look into your eyes and see you and feel the pain you are going trough and be able to atleast be physically there for support and now I am so far and it sucks and is hard and I dont know what to do to make things better ever and I wish I was better and emails and letters and being interesting but anyways wow that was a lot and I havnt reread any of it to make sure it makes sense haha so oh well. anyways ya sounds like a great dream, I love you!!!!!! haha.

Love,

Elder North"

5 Months!! :)

I was on vacation last week so I didn't get the chance to write a post. So this week's post will include last week and this week's emails! :)

In last week's group email he mentioned how he feels much more like himself now and much happier! He seemed to be a little down in his last area for some reason, but now even just reading emails I can see his personality again and he does seem much happier. He feels like he is really settling in now and beginning to love the people. Loving the people is so important!

Sand art at Toti Beach

"I had the awesome chance to go on exchanges with Elder Knight in Margate which is further south from Toti. I had such a fun time with him, sadly my camera died at the beginning of the day so I didn't get to take many pictures of the beautiful are we were in. He is such a great guy our personality's just clicked and I had a super fun day! we got the chance to explore an abandoned house that was super creepy but cool, ended up finding two people that are living in this unfinished house. We taught a baba who lives two hours away from the chapel but he drove all the way to come and visit us and have a tour of the church, It was power!!!! Later I found out that Elder Knights grandpa is Elder Cook the apostle so that was cool too!"

Mikel with his companion, Elder Sibeko

It's water, don't worry. hahaha

"My companion be older was weird at first but no I am used it it and we get a long pretty well. I have now had the two oldest people in the entire mission as my companions so that cool. but He is a cool guy, everyone I have talked to dosnt like him but he is okay, I definitely like him a lot more than my previous comp, but I did learn a lot from mashava and definitely grew a lot as well. Well you say your life is repetitive but mine is more so haha thats why I love just hearing about your days they just seem so interesting. I am doing good, I am actaully the happiest I have  been in prob 2 or 3 months just because I feel like my goofy self again and get to laugh with the members, we meet a lot of less actives and that my goal is to work with the less actives not to baptize so you find that if you come to ttheir house and just say church church church they wont want you to come because you are just giving them fire and making them feel guilty and bad so I go and try and be their friend which means having fun and when I have fun with them I grow to love them and then when you see them come to church ah you just die you are so happy!!!!

Me and my current companion work so hard and we are super obedient to the rules, which causes for some hard and good work so we have been enjoying because I actually like working hard, even though I am lazy when it comes to getting out of the house into the area to teach, there isnt much better :)"

QUESTIONS from mom...
1. When was the last time you laughed with your companion and why? What makes you laugh in your area? How do you stay light hearted?  Um I think the last time me and my companion laughed we were at a member’s house and we were just talking and making jokes. I love just trying to make others laugh and so Ill dance my silly little dances and just have fun. Something that Elder Agyman would always say was no one will make your mission fun for you, you have to do it yourself. so I always just try going into people’s house to make them smile, if you get to actually love them then the work just comes naturally, this gospel is about love. Like Joseph smith says you could call our religion kindness.

2. What has your mission president been doing to inspire the mission? What do you love about your mission president?  I love our mission president, President Z! is the best he just encourages us to be a creative mission to think outside the box to get people to see the joy of the gospel, he encourages us to go forth with zeal and enthusiasm!!!

3. Are there any inside jokes in your mission? What is your current mission theme right now?  Um, Inside jokes about mission, Im not sure, we call those females that get missionaries in trouble snakes. you need to be careful... they bite

our them or mission vision is 2 Nephi 20:13

4. What was your favorite meal from members during the mission so far?  um back in Kimberley we had just some nice chicken it was cooked so good and we had the best mashed potatoes. we dont eat mashed potatoes much so it made me think of home which is why I loved it so much!

5. What is your favorite smell in your area right now? Least favorite?  my favorite smell haha um probably my deodorant haha but actually I like the smell of the ocean or if it rains. The worst smell is the burning of trash in the township, that smells terrible.

6. What are some of the local sayings and interesting things people say in your area?   well the best one is what they call white people if you are in the township. its gqongqa. thet q's are clicks and so its hard to say but its awesome haha Ill go to people and just say in zulu that my name is gqongqa, I have learned quite a bit of Zulu now and can ask a nice handful of questions, it will be cool to tell you some during Christmas!

Mutton and Curry!

In this week's email, he talked about how much he loves doing magic tricks for the little kids in his area. He was pretty good at a few card tricks in high school I remember, so I'm sure the kids there love it. He said he also does a coin trick for them that just makes them lose their mind haha. He is loving learning Zulu because it shows the native people that he came from the US to embrace, not to enforce. He loves the culture and the people so much.

:)

Monkeys!

"Since we have been working with a lot of less actives we have been doing fun activities like these to give them a spiritual thought and let them see that the gospel can be fun and they should come back to church. No one wants someone to come into their home and give them fire telling them they need to repent or they need to do 1,2,3 but rather just having them enjoy your company will make them want to come back. when you see a missionary your first thought is church, we dont have to mention it. but by constant visits and being a friend they usually gain the desire to come back again."

Rope Swing!

Mikel and Elder Kaitoo (K2). HE says that he is really cool and he enjoys being around him a lot!

Elder Kaitoo emailed his mom and said he just wished he could give her a hug, so she sent him this blanket :) haha!

QUESTIONS from mom:

1.     How has the atonement strengthened you as a missionary this week?  I love the atonement and it is the source of my testimony and love for this amazing gospel. I love that the atonement is for each of us and helps us repent and all that but its so much more, Christ literally felt our pain and struggles and sorrow, and doubt and grief and torment, but thats not all, he isnt just with us in times of deep sadness and trouble but almost more so he is there in the times of great joy and peace and love, he is all around us trough the good and not just the bad! when we smile, he smiles, when we cry He cries. It makes me think of Heavenly father and how He is just like any great parent. you find that as a parent you now find joy in the accomplishments of your children and I may be able to say you find more joy in theirs than in your own! so again, when we laugh, smile and jump for joy you better believe He is as well!!! :)

2.  How often do you do laundry?  Do you have a washer and dryer in your apartment?  

I have a washer in our boarding but its super small so you can only do a couple of shirts so I do laundry every week sometimes twice to thrice a week and then we have racks we hang them on to dry.

3.  Are there street vendors in your area?  If so do they offer good food?  Snacks?  

In the townships there are what they call tuck shops which usually can sell candy and that kind of stuff and then there are some that sell magwinya's which are like scones and they sell chips (frys) and you just put tomato sauce on it. That's the most common but at times they can sell other stuff but I've never bought anything besides sweets and gwinyas.

4.  Do you feel like you are an equal participant in the lessons that you teach?  Me and me companion do a pretty good job at switching off when to speak, our teaching styles are a little different but that's okay.

5.  How do you like your ward?  Do you get fed more member meals in this area then in Kimberly? My ward is nice, I love the people and the members feed us! its awesome to change from not getting fed before to now being fed just about every night!!! 

More pictures from his window... so pretty!

Right now, I'm having a hard time with this whole emailing thing. It was hard at first of course, because I was so used to talking to him every day, but it's especially hard right now. His emails to me are really short and not very descriptive. I'm not being critical of him at all because I know he has a limited time and other people to write, but our emails to each other are just kind of getting repetitive. I'm not sure how to fix that either, so it's making me sad :( 

It's crazy that he's been out for 5 months now when day one feels like it was just yesterday. Life has changed so much since then, it's like I've gone through different "stages". The before he left stage, the while he was leaving stage, the after he left stage, the soccer season stage, the injured stage, now I'm in the recovery stage. And each stage feels like a completely separate part of my life. I was a different person in each stage, I felt different things, there have been different people involved in my life in each stage. It really just feels like none of the "stages" are connected and I was changed by each one but as I've gone through another I've been changed again. My gosh there's been too much change in my life since June. Mikel left, all of my guy friends have left/are leaving, my girl friends left for college as well and are leaving on missions in the next 6 months or so. I moved out of my house, I haven't made a single friend outside of my soccer team in college. I can't play soccer for the time being. I know that change is good but I haven't felt like I've been in a comfortable situation where I felt that I could relax in months. I just don't feel like myself. I think part of that is because having him with me became a part of me, and it's good that I'm learning to be independent. But mostly I think that not having a friend group or someone to talk to constantly has made me put up a wall for other people. I don't talk about myself or share my feelings with anyone because I'm not comfortable enough with anyone yet. So for the most part, me not feeling like myself is my own fault because I haven't made friends yet and it always takes forever for me to open up to others. Ugh. I'll try again next semester.

19 months to go!