Update from South Africa

Thirsty after some soccer

Date:  February 8, 2016
Area:  Amanzimtoti, South Africa
Companion:  Elder Rakotomalala
Week 33

Elder Rakotomalala. yes I know its long, you can say malala for short, plus its fun to say. malala. malala. malala.... sorry 

Any how it has been a power week for sure! so my new companion again is from Madagascar and he is such a power dude! His english is so so, he can understand just about everything you say but not real deep conversations and speaking can be challenging for him. I have been so impressed with his desire to keep learning and not just English but to continue his learning and growth in the gospel and all aspects of his life. He really wants to learn all he can and its so great to see and I hope  I can pick up on the trait as well.

Although his English can be spotty and hard to understand, when he testifies, he testifies. By that I mean he is powerful. You can feel it so strong as it floods the room of uber goober goodness! He is way funny and we laugh a lot together, I think he could very easily become my favorite companion on my mission! I enjoy every minute thus far with him and its only been one week! He is humble and loves to laugh, I love to laugh so it is a good combination.

Elder North and Elder Rakotomalala

He always says, we work hard, then we enjoy! I love it because its been my thought on mission. there is a balance to everything and we need to work and give it all we got out here but at the end of the day we need to be able look back and have enjoyed the day, enjoyed the work, and enjoyed the people. No one will make your mission fun for you, you have to do it yourself. And so far we have worked hard, and we are definitely enjoying!

So funny but terrible story of the week. We went to a members house for food the other day but we were in a hurry so we got it to go, but she insisted that we stay for some cake. now I dont eat cake if you dont know. It usually makes me sick. still I tried to eat it and be polite but after one bite and thinking hmmm. and a second bite and thinking NOOOO I had to tell her I dont eat cake and apologize. the cake had fermented..... poor elder Adamas was left to eat it all with no excuse to give it up. It was so so so terrible and the taste lingered in my mouth long after I had eatin it. to make it worse, its the second time in a row she has given us expired food.... hahaha nice lady though another crazy story is when I almost died! Again Elder Adams and I were driving down the road when a huge garbage truck swerved into the middle of our lane coming right at us. Its a one lane road both ways so we had no where to go, luckily they were able to serve out of the way just in time and we squeezed right past... scary.... and to prove our manliness we didnt even sequel, of course not. we are men and screaming like men do....

An interesting thought I had this week was a correlation of two scriptures. 2 nephi 2:25 which reads "Adam fell that men might be, and men are that they might have joy" and Alma 34:32 which states "For behold, this is the time for men to prepare to meet God;yea, the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors" the correlation I saw between the to is that we are here to prepare, and to have joy. but these to things are interdependent, the way I see it. If you want to have joy, you prepare to meet God which means you are living the gospel of Jesus Christ. by living the gospel you find true and everlasting joy. if we really want to have joy then its simple, live and love the gospel and I can promise you that your life will be filled with measurable joy. I have felt it, I have seen it, and so can you!

So I guess I should speak a little bit a bout members. ie (Sister Tish read my blog and was highly disappointed in me for not mentioning her... ;) ) So there are two families here that I would like to talk about. First would be Brother Johan and Tish's family. Their family consist of two girls and two boys. Steph, the oldest who is preparing to go on mission and will be a fantastic missionary, Jen who is 15 I believe and going through the struggles of High school (our condolences) then the two boys, Andrew who is I think 13 or 14 and Michael who is 13 or 12. Michael is a hoot, he always comes up to me on Sunday and tells me a new terrible joke which inevitable makes me laugh and starts the Sunday of with a cheerful mood. Andrew and Micheal enjoy their mincraft so I think they would fit in with my family quite well seeing as how my younger brother lives and breaths mincraft. Now Sister Tish... boy oh boy where do I begin!  and then there is Brother Johan. He is a way cool guy and father. He does this wink when he shakes your hand which is just the best thing ever haha I guess you would have to see it to understand. He loves soccer and coaches the church's soccer team so we have plenty to talk about plus he supports Man U!

The second family is the Cebekulu fam. I'll talk about them next week so this email wont be as long.

And now for Sister Tish, (you always save the best for last) She is the mom of this wonderful family which has been taking care of us missionaries. she is so so funny! we constantly throw jokes back and forth and just laugh and have a good time, and we also have times where we can #realTalk and get serious about the gospel and feel the spirit. She is an awesome lady and has really made this area a place I am glad to be in. I wish I could explain how cool she is and how much fun we have visiting and teaching her family.

Any who, I love you all and pray for you. I love hearing from you all!  to end I'll say a spiritual thought...

Life is a journey not a destination. sometimes we get so caught up in the future and the end goal, we lose sight of where we are and what we should be doing. sometimes we become overwhelmed by the various possibilities of multiple destinations. but you will never know till you get there. we need to just enjoy this journey that we have been given and ride it to the end. I would say more about the quote, I have much more on my mind about it, but I would like to leave more up to your own interpretation.

Love you all!

Elder North