Road Trip to Nelspruit

Zoning in with the Soweto Zone in Nelspruit:

(Nelspruit has recently been added to our Soweto Zone. Due to the mission division, we were able to keep this area, which was previously part of the Pretoria Zone.) 

We arrived in the evening of Tuesday July 21st to Nelspruit and found 4 happy Elders.
Elder Lea'atiou, Elder Edeyoach, Elder Xalabile and our newest Elder Allen.
President Dunn interviewed each of them while I enjoyed time chatting about Etiquette and having soup and bread together.  The wonderful Senior Couples, Swans and Scotts, met us for a quick dinner before we began interviews and we conducted the interviews in the Scotts flat. They offered great insights and advice about Etiquette as part of our discussion.

We enjoyed the chance to study with the 4 Elders bright and early the next morning. Here we are in the Nelspruit flat sharing scriptures and insights.

I loved hearing from each Elder what they have learned so far on mission. The topics ranged from perspective to progression and the love of the Book of Mormon.

Here are 4 Elders ready for the day. Elder Allen and Xalabile are heading to the village of Kanymazane where they have investigators and contacting to do. Elder Lea'atoiou and Elder Edeyaoch are coming with us for a 1.5 hour drive to Lydenberg, where they have been teaching a group of people that come to church in Nelspruit. We are ready for the road trip. The Scott's are also joining with us.

The Scott’s and 2 of the Nelspruit missionaries are going there 2-3 times a week to teach memebrs and investigators.

We stopped first at the Laramie Spur *which is funny since they are all named cities in the west or in the USA.

We met  Calisto Mafola who was the first member they baptized. He is originally from Zimbabwe and had been initially taught there.

We also met Lettie, far left, who also is a cashier at Spur. She is taking the missionary discussions.

Simon and Lindi (pictured below) were baptized last week. They are a great couple and they both work in the kitchen at Spur. They are married with 3 children. 

Elder Scott is so friendly with everyone. You can tell all these great people just love the missionaries. He just took of Simon's hat so we could see his face better! :)

As we left, Elder Scott told the rest of the Spur employees to come to church and that they would see him again soon. You can tell there is great rapport and a true friendship.

We then went to Calisto’s house and met his wife Christine and also their child Esther, who was tending another child. It is humbling to see how they live. We could hear the church hymns playing before we even entered her home area.

We enjoyed meeting Olgar. She is a member and also works at Spur. We were honored to be able to travel tot he township and see these great people in their homes. On a typical lot, there are 3-4 dwellings The nicer house in front, has rooms or sheds to rent in the back. It is amazing how they make use of every single bit of space and call it home. 

Next stop was a few blocks away. Steven is also a member. He lived by Calisto and was contacted by him.  We were invited in and shared a thought in his humble and very neat home.

We then ended up at the Masings’s house. There are 6 members of this family and 3 are members. Today we got to visit with the mom, Evelyn and the 20 year old daughter, Peace It was sweet to hear their story of how they came to meet the missionaries. Their home feels peaceful and the spirit is there. 

We enjoyed our time in Nelspruit and Lydenberg with all these great people. We are planning ot come back on September 5-7 to do a "Bears and Prayers" fireside for the members and investigators in Lydenberg and also visit members in Nelspruit and Kanymazane.