Week 56: Drinking is bad.....very, very bad!

Hello Friends and Family, 

This week was transfers. I was able to see and say goodbye to Elder Blackburn, he finished his mission on Tuesday. The rest of my MTC group extended their mission by 3 weeks so I'll say goodbye to them in 2 weeks. 

On Tuesday night when we came home, we were stopped by a lady as we were driving down the road within our flat complex. She warned us that there was someone passed out drunk in the middle of the road up ahead and that she was going to get security. As we approached the man we discovered it was one of our investigators. lol. We parked the car and then went and stood around him as we waited for his wife and security. After some time he woke up and immediately took is shoe off where we discovered a nice gash on his ankle. His wife then began explaining they had had a fight and he was abusing her so she locked him in the house. He then proceeded to kick out the back window which explained the nice gash on his ankle. He got up and hobbled back to the window of their flat where he crawled back in.  His wife then requested us 4 missionaries to stay while she packed her and her 5 month old daughters things. So we all went into their flat where we discovered our investigator sitting on the couch, drinking a beer, and soaking his ankle in water. The flat looked like a war zone! Blood everywhere. Our investigator was pretty chill. He wasn't aggressive or anything. We ended up having a bunch of laughs with him which turned into us going outside and conducting sobriety tests with him lol. I was able to summon a little bit of my inner cop which was fun. It runs in the blood.  We played some games with him and made an agreement if he lost then we got to take his beer but if he won he got to keep it.  Let's just say he lost and 4 missionaries each got a beer lol. It was a pretty crazy night. 

Later in the week we were able to check up on this investigator and share with him some of the Addiction recovery and 12 step videos. They really hit him hard. He has a very strong desire to quit drinking and smoking. He loves his wife and daughter and knows and see's how alcohol is going to cause him to lose them. He has been sober since Thursday. Him and his wife were going to come to church but he was on call for work so wasn't able to.

Well I got sick on Wednesday/Thursday with the Flu. Friday we went to the area for a bit but then came back to the flat so I could rest. On Saturday I was still feeling pretty bad but we still went to the area but ended up returning around 6 pm because it just got worse. So Saturday night I decided to try a South African remedy that everyone says gets rid of the flu. It's a mixture of some medicine and a ginger drink. They say you drink it and then get in bed and wrap yourself up in your blankets. You're suppose to stay like that all night and you will sweat it out. Well... I tried it. Within a few minutes of getting in bed my body was sweating. I wasn't able to sleep at all that night. The next morning I woke up still feeling the same. The one positive is I probably lost some weight from sweating so much. But I'm feeling better.
This week we are having Zone Conference.

But that is basically all that happened in SA this week. 

I love you all. Elder Siale and I are doing great and working hard.

Love Elder Rash

Elder Rash and Elder Blackburn entered the MTC together

Broken window from a mad investigator

Elder Rash can't believe what is happening!

That SMILE!!!!  I love it!!!

Even when he's sick....all smiles!

Now that's called SWEATING IT OUT!!!!

Week 55: Trials not only make us stronger, but allow us to help others

This week was a lot better than last week. This week we were able to go on exchanges with the Mayfield missionaries, Elder Bishop and Almeida. I went to Mayfield with Elder Almeida. We had a blast! Mayfield is a biking area so I got to bike for a day. The best part was we put our member presents on our handle bars while we biked to appointments. I forgot my camera that day so I don't have any pictures from our exchange . I really enjoyed being able to get to know Elder Almeida, who is from Brazil. He is a very hard working missionary with a very strong testimony. I loved hearing his conversion story and how despite all the challenges he has faced since being baptized, such as being kicked out of his home at age 17 because he joined the church, he is now here on a mission and has basically left everything to be here. He is also super hilarious with his broken English. On Saturday Elder Siale and I did a lot of tracting around the area that we live. Let's just say Elder Siale and I have a lot of fun tracting lol. We were able to speak with a lot of people and get return appointments but we had a lot of experiences where we were only able to get out one sentence before they stopped us and walked away. One experience left us dying laughing.  We knocked on the gate and a black man walked out from behind the house. We asked him if we could give him a book. He immediately said no and began to make his way behind a wall. I quickly asked if I could ask him one last question, which he ignored me, so I began to ramble off the question as he disappeared behind the wall. Elder Siale and I just busted out in laughter. We are pretty sure the man heard us dying of laughter in front of his house. I'm grateful I have the companion I have.

On Sunday we had a new investigator from a few weeks back in Northmead named Khumbu come to church. When he got there we were surprised to see he had brought his mom with him. they both enjoyed church a lot. We talked with his mom after church and she said she loved it and that she would see us next week. 

Our zone did great this week. We finally saw the breakthrough we have all been waiting for. Every companionship in the Zone is working hard and everyone is seeing the fruits of their hard work. We reached basically all of our Zone Goals for the month of September and we still have 2 weeks left. This was just one of those weeks where everyone was smiling at the end of it.

So the biggest thing that happened this week was on Tuesday evening. Tuesday night I received a phone call from President Leavitt. He informed me that he was needing my help. He proceeded to tell me that he had an Elder that was about to embark on the same journey I embarked on about 2 years ago. He asked if I would talk with him and give him advice and encouragement. I was taken aback by this request but also more than happy to do it. He gave me the next 40 minutes to think about what I would say before I talked with this Elder. My mind quickly raced through the experiences I have had and faced starting about 2 years ago. Later that evening I was able to talk on the phone with both President Leavitt as well as this missionary who was about to return home but had a strong desire to return. I'm so grateful for this opportunity President Leavitt provided me. I know exactly how that young missionary was feeling and I was able to provide some comfort and insight on what he was about to face and how best to handle it. I was able to answer many questions that this young missionary and President Leavitt had. I know I would have been grateful to have been able to talk with a missionary who had already done what I was about to do. 

I have truly come to realize that the trials and challenges we go through are not only to strengthen us but to also allow us to help others who will face those same challenges. I'm grateful for the trials I have faced in my life. I know the best way to utilize those trials is to not be ashamed of them but to use them to help others. I know this gospel is true. I know our Savior lives. I know His atonement is real. That is why I returned to South Africa. Three years is a small sacrifice if you compare it to the ultimate sacrifice our Savior Jesus Christ made. Apply the atonement in your lives. It will only bring happiness and joy.

Love Elder Rash

Elder Rash and Elder Siale love being companions

Note from mom:  These pictures were taken from the mission Blog.  They had interviews a couple of weeks ago and must have had a team building activity.  Love seeing my boy smiling! 

After a year on the mission, it is time to break out some of his new shirts!  Can you tell which
one is two years old and which one is brand new?

Week 54: Missionary or Firefighter

Well friends and family, this week has been an adventure for sure. I believe Elder Siale and I can now put "Firefighter" on our resume lol. 

So on Tuesday we were headed to our next appointment when we saw a huge black mushroom cloud coming from a plot of land not too far from where we were at. So we decided to go and investigate because it was on the way to our next appointment. When we arrived we discovered hundreds of old tires completely engulfed in flames at the back of someone's property. When we got there, there were many people standing around taking pictures and videos including a few police officers. So we joined in, thinking it was a controlled fire since you see them everywhere in Africa. After a few minutes Elder Siale and I realized this might be more serious than we thought. So we ran across another plot that was full of dead grass that was at the back of the one that had the fire. When we arrived we found 3 people frantically moving other tires, that had not caught fire yet, to make a fire break. We also found someone slapping at the fire, with leather straps, that had caught the dead grass on fire on the back plot. Elder Siale quickly jumped the fence and began helping any way possible. We began using whatever we could to try and prevent the fire from spreading to other properties. After about an hour of fighting the fire and trying to keep it controlled, the fire department slowly rolled in lol. About 20 minutes after arriving they finally began putting out the fire. Needless to say no one was killed or injured, and the house was safe. Elder Siale got a burn on his hand and later that day I discovered many of my arm hair's were singed lol. I also can now say I think I know what it feels like to be a smoker. We were dead beat tired the rest of the day. My body was also sore practically the rest of the week.

The rest of the week we were in the process of moving flats. We moved out of our old flat to a new one that is in our area. In is in Crystal Park, a mostly black town. This completely wrecked our week and schedule. We have been trying to recover from it. This week should be much better now that we are all moved in. 

On Saturday there was a Stake Family Braai. We intended to get some food and socialize with some members and investigators, but we eventually found ourselves serving food the entire day. I didn't mind, I have come to love serving people and members of the church. 

Sunday was just one of those Sundays where you look around at the lack of investigators you have at church and you just want the day to be over. This week was just one of those weeks that everyone has on mission. We are excited for a new week.

I love you all. Talk to you next week.

Love Elder Rash

Week 53: Learning more than just sharing the gospel

Just to let you know I don't have much time to email today.

We had a Zone Activity today which was awesome! We bought a pig (not hard to find a pig for sale), slaughtered it (Elder Siale, Elder Sande and I killed and cleaned the pig) , and then cooked it Umu style (an islander way). An Umu is basically an underground oven and it took 2 1/2 hours to cook. It was tons of fun. I'll upload as many pictures as I can, but I will have more next week. 

This week was really good! It was very busy and flew by. We had a lesson with 2 new people from Northmead. We found them tracting the other week. Their names are Dino and Hendrico. It was powerful. Dino just expressed how he knew Heavenly Father had led us to each other. Immediately after the lesson he asked where the chapel was, what time church started, and what he needed to wear. He told us to call him Sunday morning when we wake up to remind him. On Sunday him and his brother Hendrico showed up to church. After church they both said they loved church and they will be back next week. Elder Siale and I are seeing many tender mercies. We will be meeting with them this week and are really excited to see them progress. 

Also this week we went on exchanges with the AP's. I went to their area with Elder Zimba. It was a lot of fun and I was able to learn a lot from Elder Zimba. 

The work is picking up a lot in Northmead. The trust with members is increasing significantly. Serving in town is definitely harder but is definitely more rewarding. I am starting to enjoy serving in town more than township. I never thought I would ever say that. 

Elder Siale and I are having a blast serving together. We had a ton of fun as a zone today. I wish I could put into words how this week was. We saw the hand of the Lord in our week many times this week. I wish I had more time but I better wrap this up.

I'm so grateful I made the choice to serve a mission. I know the gospel is true and that it was restored through Joseph Smith.

Love, Elder Rash

Benoni Zone Labor Day Activity

Kind of hard to knock on the door with this tall wall surrounding the house

Preparing the pit

Covering their feast

 

Burying their feast

Enjoying their feast

Umu Style (the Islander way)

Getting ready to enjoy a sheep head?!?!?!