Week 81: If you could all be flies on a wall

Hello Friends and Family,

This week was great!

On Tuesday we drove 2 hours out to a place called Klerksdorp to drop off a refrigerator and to pick up a few things.  On the drive we passed by the World's deepest mine.  It wasn’t that spectacular but at least I can say I’ve seen the World's deepest mine!  On the drive back we began playing I spy.  Let's just say this game turned into an hour and a half long game until we arrived back at the office.  My brain was hurting after playing.  Here’s an idea of how deep this I spy game got. “I spy something that starts with an E.... Exhaust pipe!" "I spy something that starts with an S... South Africa!. “ it was an intense game.

On Wednesday we had Zone Conference.  It was pretty crazy when my companion, Elder Spencer, got up to bear his final testimony!  Time flies.  I still remember the good ole days when we were chilling together in the East Rand in 2017!

On Friday we had interviews with President Leavitt.  I’m pretty sure each interview I have with him gets better and better!  You always leave an interview with President Leavitt feeling loved, motivated to do better, and confident.  Also after a long day of tracting in town with no success we returned to our car.  As we were approaching our car a car pulled up next to us and asked if we were from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day saints.  It turns out as we were tracting he saw us and recognized us because he had met with missionaries a few years back in Bloemfontein.  We scheduled an appointment to see him that Sunday (yesterday).  His name is Jermaine.

Well once again this week we had an experience where I wish all of you could have been flies on the wall.  Lately, we have been struggling to find new prepared people to teach.  On Sunday we were all feeling a bit heavy with the knowledge of knowing we didn’t have many people to teach or people that were progressing.  After sacrament meeting we met two ladies whom a member had brought to church.  They were both super excited to be there and to have us come visit this week.  One of them kept saying “come teach us at my hair salon because there will be a lot of people there who will be able to listen as well!" After church we decided to go check on a less active member.  On arrival we discovered that the member no longer lived there.  We decided to ask the lady who did live there if she knew anyone who would be interested in hearing our message (she didn’t seem too interested).  She referred us to a house a few doors down.  As we knocked on this house a colored lady came out. She actually recognized Elder Willison because he had contacted her a while back when he was on exchanges in this area. The missionaries back then ended up never visiting her.  She allowed us to come in to share a message right then.  After talking about Joseph Smith and the first vision she stated “I felt this warm feeling as you talked. This has to be true.” The spirit was very strong in her home.  We are excited for our future lessons with her.  After that lesson we ran over to the lesson we had scheduled with Jermaine.  When we got there his brother, sister, and girlfriend were all there and joined the lesson (they are all in their 20’s).  They each had many questions, his brother Wayden in particular.  Wayden grew up Christian and still has Christian beliefs.  He expressed however that with all the confusion that is in the world he is beginning to think that the theories behind science are actually true.  He said he really wants to believe Christianity but he just doesn’t know what to believe at the moment.  After we finished sharing about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon, Wayden made some comments that caused the spirit to rush in even more.  He said “ Wow Joseph Smith was similar to me. I guess I need to do what Joseph Smith did and God will answer me.  If the Book of Mormon is true then I will be convinced that I need to join your church.  Man there is no one else that has this.”  They each happily accepted a Book of Mormon and an invitation to read it. 

Our prayers were answered this week.  Each time we feel like we can’t go any longer or work any harder the Lord has blessed us with new people to teach.  He has given us a renewed sense of hope.  I know the Lord is aware of each of our circumstances and desires.

Love, Elder Rash

 

The Three Amigo's (Elder Spencer, Elder Willison, and Elder Rash)

Sunday dinner with Bro. and Sis. Truman (Senior Couple)

Relaxing in Elder Truman's Lazy Boy Chair

Week 80: Three is a good number

Hello Friends and Family,

Well Elder Spencer and I have a new companion!  We will be in a trio for the next 6 weeks with Elder Willison, from England.  Elder Willison is a great teacher! He is able to teach in a way that grabs everyone’s attention and they are able to understand.  Elder Willison has been on mission for about 10 months.  He is in the same MTC group as my son, Elder Bindrup.  We are having a blast together.  One of the highlights of us all being together this week was Elder Spencer and Willison teaching me how to drive a manual! 

This week Elder Spencer and I lost quite a bit of sleep due to having to wake up at 4 am two days in a row to make airport trips.  In total we drove to the airport 3 times this week. 

We spent quite a bit of time tracting this week.  We witnessed the Lord test our faith once again but he blessed us in the end.  After about two hours of tracting with no success the Lord blessed us with a return appointment on the last house we knocked.

On Friday we had the privilege of attending the temple!  I’m so grateful for a modern day prophet and the revelation he receives on our behalf.  I am also eternally grateful for temples. The past week or two have been stressful.  Filled with many questions and concerns about the future.  As I sat in the temple and pondered, I was able to receive much comfort and many answers that I was searching for.  The temple truly is the house of the Lord. 

Love,

Elder Rash

Missionary Work at it's finest

Missionary Training

Saying Goodbye to Elder and Sis. Wold heading home to good ole Mesa Arizona

Week 79: Some of the strongest members of the Church are in Africa

Hello Friends and Family,

This week was great. We were able to move 2 flats this week, take the Wolds to the airport (they are headed back home to good ole Mesa, AZ), and get all the necessary preparations for the transfer done.

On Sunday, there were some amazing testimonies. Many if not all were focused around the atonement of Jesus Christ. One of those testimonies came from the Sister I talked about in my letter last week. She also mentioned how grateful she is for the Relief Society and the service they render. We also had an amazing lesson in Sunday School. The discussion covered many different topics from the past 2 weeks come follow me lessons. We even had a few people we are teaching give input during the lesson and one of them gave the closing prayer. 

The Florida 1st ward is amazing at fellowshipping and making visitors feel welcomed and a part of the ward.

We had the privilege to attend ward council on Sunday. Our newly called bishop, Bishop Ntombela, is doing an amazing job in his stewardship over the ward. He is one of the humblest men I’ve ever met. He still has yet to accept the title of Bishop. Anytime we call him bishop he gets uncomfortable, laughs, and tries to convince us and himself that he’s not the bishop. He is a very dedicated servant of the Lord. When the church receives guidance from the Lord through the prophet and apostles he puts it into action. We saw this during ward council. 

As I was sitting in sacrament meeting, I looked around at all of the members in the ward. Many of which are still very young in the church. As I heard their testimonies an impression or realization came to me “Some of the strongest members of the church are here in Africa and many, if not all, are converts.” 

I’m so grateful for the blessing I have to be serving in Africa. I’ve been called to teach the people of South Africa, but honestly they are the ones teaching me. The gospel is true. It is the same throughout the world and it is touching the lives of many, especially mine.

Love, Elder Rash

President Leavitt needed a ride home.....he volunteered to sit in the middle!

Week 78: Minister to those in need IMMEDIATELY

Hello Friends and Family,

Well I’m falling behind on my letters. Life is hectic and a blur. We had a great week last week. 

Elder and Sister Truman invited Elder Spencer and I to go with them on a trip to Pilanesberg and Sun City, because they are planning a senior couple trip out there and this happened to be part of one of my former areas. So with the permission of President Leavitt we took our P-Day on Saturday instead of Monday and had a great time with the Truman’s being their tour guides. It was great being able to drive through my old area Phokeng. I wish I had more time there.

The highlight of the week came on Tuesday last week. Over the past two weeks or so we have been trying to see a particular family who had been inviting us over so we could share a lesson with them and have dinner. Multiple times it has ended up with them canceling last minute. On Tuesday we were able to get into their home. However, as we walked in all we found was the wife sitting on the couch and the kids all doing their own thing. We could tell, and have been able to tell, that she has been super stressed. She finally broke down and told us how she has been told that her cancer has returned, she has no idea how long she has to live, and she spends all her time and little energy that she has at work. As her husband walked in and joined she asked for a blessing. I will forever remember this blessing that the Lord gave her through Elder Spencer and I. The Spirit filled the room from the moment it began.  I have a testimony that the Priesthood is on the earth once again. I know that the Lord is aware of our circumstances and our faith. 

This week I was also able to see the power of ministering. I saw this through the example of our Relief Society President. She is powerful. There are too many experiences we have had with her to share, but I’ll share one. Sunday evening we were at her place for dinner. After sharing a message with her and before eating we told her about this lady in the ward I spoke about earlier in my letter. We explained the struggles she has been having and the feelings of loneliness she expressed to us. The Relief Society President's mouth dropped. You could see the concern immediately come to her. She didn’t wait a single second to take action. She first shambocked us for not telling her these things immediately when we found them out. Then, she said she would pack our dinner in Tupperware for us to take home because she was going to go right then to visit this sister. She asked that we lead her to where this sister stays. She then immediately called Sis. Annah (the recent convert that was baptized 3 weeks back) and told her she was coming to pick her up to go ministering. Sis. Mbele did exactly as the Savior would have done. Why can’t we all? Why is it that when we here of someone in need we call someone else to inform them that they need help? Why do we wait till the next day or next week to reach out to the person in need?  I will admit, I’m guilty of it myself. 

May we each follow the example of our Savior, Jesus Christ, and Sis. Mbele and minister to those in need IMMEDIATELY. May we each be selfless and feed His sheep.

Sincerely, Elder Rash

Friends with no names.....

P-Day with the Truman's

Protest on the highway blocking traffic both ways

View?

Hard at work putting together the Transfer Board

Breakfast with the Leavitt's

Enjoying the fruits of the labor

Zone Conference training with Sis. Leavitt

Stake Conference

Homemade Chicken Madeira...as good as the Cheesecake Factory

Seeing the sights on P-Day

P-Day

Now that's a BIG Elephant

P-Day a couple of weeks ago playing some sports games

Week 77: Happy Birthday Elder Rash!

Hello Friends and Family,

This week has been great! Elder Spencer and I have continued to see the hand of the Lord in our work. 
We had some great lessons this week; one of which was with a lady, which I won’t say names. This lady has quite the past. She has struggled with many commandments in her past, such as the law of chastity and the word of wisdom. We brought Elder Truman, one of the senior missionaries, along with us for this lesson because we felt we needed a little more mature man to be there for the topic that was going to be talked about. In preparation I was able to read a talk from Elder D. Todd Christofferson titled “The Divine Gift of Repentance”.  Not only did I learn a lot that I was able to share in this lesson, but it also opened my own eyes. Through much discussion we were informed by this lady that she was actually pregnant with twins. We learned about her rough past as a teenager and the feelings of loneliness she frequently experienced. It was an amazing lesson we were able to have with her, that was filled with smiles and hope. Here are a few quotes from Elder Christofferson's talk that stood out and that we were able to share with this lady.
-“Repentance is a divine gift, and there should be a smile on our faces when we speak of it.”
-“Surely the Lord smiles upon one who desires to come to judgment worthily, who resolutely labors day by day to replace weakness with strength. Real repentance, real change may require repeated attempts, but there is something refining and holy in such striving.”
Repentance is such a joy and is by far my favorite thing to teach to people and to help people do. This past week was filled with repentance and it has put a smile on my face as Elder Christofferson mentioned.  There is a scripture that he quoted in his talk that stood out to me the most. It reads “he who is not able to abide the law of a celestial kingdom cannot abide a celestial glory” D&C 88:22 . If you are not abiding the law of a celestial kingdom, repent, because you cannot abide in a celestial glory. And why procrastinate the day of your repentance and fall further and further from the celestial law and glory?  Repentance is a joyful process.  It can bring embarrassment, but nothing can be more embarrassing than standing before God with your garments stained with sin and being unable to enter the house of the Lord. Repentance brings joy and relief. 
I had the opportunity and privilege to drive and drop off a missionary at the airport who was returning home early from his mission to take care of some things in preparation to return and finish his final 20 months. It was a joy to be able to council with and advise this young Elder and see his worried demeanor turn to excitement and hope for the future. I am excited to see him back in the mission field in May this year. The atonement is real. It is such a blessing and we should each use it every day.
Love, Elder Rash
P.S. Thank you all for the wonderful Birthday wishes. It was an amazing Birthday!
Also, in other news, what made it such an amazing Birthday was finding out I made it into BYU while I was Skyping my family!!!  My companion also got in and we had an amazing lesson with a very prepared man. It was a Birthday I will forever remember. 
Note from mom:  With the new missionary policy on communicating with families on P-Day's and Special occasions, we were able to video chat with Devon on our Wedding Anniversary (Friday) and then HIS Birthday (on Sunday evening).  It was such a blessing to see his face and hear his voice.  He is happy and enjoying every minute of his time on his mission....no regrets!

Down time on P-Day with the Zone

They had Stake Conference on Sunday and he was able to see lots of familiar faces
from when he served in his first area of Soweto.  Here are a few of his favorites.
Mncedisi is preparing to turn his mission papers in soon.

Bro. Mncidza standing next to Devon

Sis. V.

Bro. Mbobo

The Phanyaphanya Family

Taming the wild beasts in Africa

Birthday dinner with the Zone.   Ribs...Devon's favorite!

Elder Rash and Elder Spencer both received their acceptance letters to BYU-Provo. 
Best Birthday Present EVER!

Week 76: Everything happens on the Lord's time

Hello Friends and Family,

I feel like I have so much to say about this week but don’t have the words to describe and explain it. I guess I’ll go ahead and try.

Let's just say that through the week and the buildup of past weeks both Elder Spencer and I were beginning to develop feelings of “I’m done with this area and these unprepared people”. Multiple times I just sat there talking to myself and elder Spencer asking “when is Heavenly Father going to finally bless us with prepared people after all the hard work we’ve been putting in?” On Friday we were both feeling pushed to our limits. I wish I could explain how the final 2 days of the week unfolded and the things that happened.

On Saturday we were able to find many people within our area that seemed interested. Some of which we met with on Sunday. We had one lady come up to Elder Spencer, as he was talking to someone else, interrupt the conversation, and state that she was interested in learning more. It turns out she use to attend church in Elder Spencer’s home ward in Zimbabwe.

On Sunday is when we really saw the hand of the lord present in our work. First off Elder Spencer and I were able to speak in church which is always a great opportunity. We also had the Baptism of Sis. Annah and her two granddaughters Gabriella, and Angela. It was such a sweet moment. I was also privileged enough to have been asked by Gabriella and Angela to baptize them. Later that day we went and visited a man named Isaac who we had talked to on Saturday. We had a great lesson with him. He has had some unfortunate events happen in his life which has left him questioning “why does god allow bad things to happen to good people?” He is excited for us to continue to meet. He has a wife and 3 children as well. After the lesson with Isaac we went to check on a few people. As we were walking up some stairs a colored lady called to us and asked us if we were from the church. She asked that we give her a book to read and for us to come visit her. She has a great desire to change. After that we decided to check up on a person who the Assistants met that claimed to be a member who stayed within our boundaries. We were able to find her home and after talking to her a bit we learned that she wasn’t a member and that none of her family was either. She met with the missionaries a while back in the eastern cape but ended up moving to where the church wasn’t very accessible. Her exact words to us were “I’m not a member, yet!” Elder Spencer and I were both just taken back. We set a return appointment and hopped in the car. As we sat there in the car we both just turned to each other and started laughing. We had gone through the fiery furnace the past few weeks but the Lord finally blessed us and we definitely recognized it.

I know that missionary work isn’t easy. I also know that it isn’t impossible. I have gained a testimony that Heavenly Father is aware of our circumstances as well as the desire of our hearts. I also know that Heavenly Father doesn’t make it easy. He tests our patience and our willingness to do his will. This is his work and it is all done in his timing.

Sincerely,

Elder Rash

P.S. I was also able to go on an exchange with Elder Ricks. Elder Ricks is from the beautiful land of Mesa, Arizona!!! We had a great time together and I enjoyed being able to pick his mind about how ASU football and Basketball have been doing. Let's just say he’s new enough on mission to have a very up-to-date report on those subjects lol. Elder Ricks is a great missionary with a solid testimony. If only he didn’t go to Mt. View...

Baptism of Gabriella, Sis. Annah and Angela (grandma and grand-daughters)

Elder Rash and Elder Jenkins

On Exchanges with Elder Ricks (from Mesa, Arizona)

Selfie

Biking in Elder Ricks area

A different part of Florida, South Africa...NOT in his area!

Zone Conference - Mission Office Zone

Elder Rash helping out during Zone Conference

Mala Magodu - YUCK!!!

What a beautiful family!

Week 75: SLAMMED is a good thing

Hello Friends and Family,

Well first off sorry for the late weekly email. On Monday we were slammed with things we needed to get done and I'm just now having time to email.

Last week was a good week. It consisted of a lot of tracting when we didn't have appointments or things to do in the office. 

On Tuesday we attended MLC. In the past we wouldn't attend but 2 weeks ago there were some changes and president turned the Office district into a Zone so Elder Spencer and I are acting zone leaders now.

On Thursday, we headed down to Kwa-Thema to move two flats. After a little bit of tetras and ingenuity we were able to fit both flats into one trailer and truck. It was an adventure. As we were moving the stuff into the new flats we were hit with a bit of rain which made the move even more interesting. At the end of the day we were able to get them all moved in. I was also able to meet up with Bishop Radebe, Bro. Boykie, and Bro. Nabula from the Kwa-Thema ward (which just split into a ward and a branch a few weeks back). It was a fun but exhausting day.

The rest of the week consisted of a lot of finding.

I love you all and I'm doing well.

Love, Elder Rash
note from Devon's mom:  With Devon working in the office now, we may not always get a letter from him on Monday's (his "supposed to be" P-Day).  They still have assignments on P-Day's and that may keep him from having time to e-mail.  But he PROMISED his mother that he would send a letter sometime during the week.  They have permission to e-mail during the week if they don't get time to e-mail on Monday's.  He is doing so good and is loving serving in the office and with Elder Spencer. 

Elder Rash and Elder Spencer enjoying their time tracting

 

Packing up two sets of missionaries to move to different apartments

What packing skills

Elder Rash reunited with Kwa-Thema Bishopric

Enjoying steaks after a busy day of moving missionaries

Tracting with a view

Fruit for smoothies!