A Storm of Blessings

Hey Everyone!

I know that I'm not going to be able to write all I want to, I'll try to get as much down as I can.

Last Monday I thought I had the topic for this email down, I was going to title it "Please... No more Fanta Grape". I had a few run ins with too much Cool drink, we are fed way too much of it! Last week I was on an exchange with one of the zone leaders and he pushed our Branch missionary into downing the last of the Fanta Grape. Afterwards our Branch missionary felt really sick. For the next half hour he was throwing up, it took us a long time to get to our next appointment. Anyway, that's the abridged version. Each day another experience tops the last and the plan for my email changes.

This week has been fantastic! Elder Sicotte and I have been more blessed than ever. Just in these last two weeks we taught 32 new investigators! Almost all of them just fell into our laps. Many of these new people we have begun teaching have recognized the witness of the spirit within the first vist. At least six of these people told us of the wonderful feelings they felt when they prayed to know if what we shared was true. I reported during Branch Preisthood meeting that blessings are being poured upon our branch, that we have a great responsibility. My biggest concern is that we won't be able to live up to this responsibility. I know the Lord will provide. I think we'll be going on a lot of splits in the near future. The work in Mamelodi is exploding!

On Saturday we had the chance to do Baptisms for the Dead with the Branch at the Johannesburg Temple. It was a wonderful experience. Almost all of the members had brought the names of their ancestors to have the work done. I will always remember how Brother Hlongwane, our Elders Quorum president broke down in tears when he Baptized one of the youth for his deceased sister.

After the Temple trip it felt like everything was going wrong. Elder Sicotte's bike had a low tire, when we tried to pump it up it exploded. We made it to one end of the Area only to find out that the family wasn't in town. We were at the very edge of our area, and the rest of our apointments were quite a ways away. They looked to be really promising too. We hadn't eaten so we ordered Spachlo then tired to fix the tire. We soon found that we would need to replace the back wheel. As we ate we joked about how things were going so poorly and that next we would be struck by lightning, a few minuites later we saw a bolt in the distance. Fortunatley it didn't rain very hard. After the Spachlo we both needed the bathroom. I had heard rummors that they make you pay to use them at the Mauhbe Mall (the very spread out, outdoor mall we were at). We went to them and found them locked with a steel gate in front of them. We asked around to find the key, but no one seemed to know. By now Elder Sicotte really needed to go. One person directed us to the Security tower. We went over there, and found it packed with people, we squeezed through to the bathroom only to find there was no toliet paper. Elder Sicotte ran back out and asked the crowd where he could get some. The security guard responed "you need to use your own" she was completely serious. He threw up his arms and said "But, I don't carry paper!" That's South Africa for you. Anyway, we journeyed on and finally found a bathroom at the Petrol Station.

We had to cancel our appointments since they were too far to reach. It sounded like most of the people weren't home anyway. We decided to check on a DVD referal in the Area that we'd been given the other day. It was probably one of the most powerful experiences I've had on my mission yet. The whole family had been fasting to bring themselves closer to Christ. I was stunned by their faith, they had such a strong trust in the Lord. We taught about the restoration and felt the Spirit poured upon us. Everyone felt the spirit, for a time the mother could hardly look at us since tears were streaming down her face. I am so excited to go back and teach the family.

I had a several other great experiences, but I'm about out of time. We gave a blessing to Sister Moghaswa, one of our investigators with a devout testimony. She hadn't been able to make it to church because of so severe pains in her leg - she walks to church each week. I really felt the spirit during the blessing, and afterward felt promted to bear my testimony. This Sunday she was 20min early, she was beaming. She couldn't wait to tell us that her leg was completely better.

I know that we've been extremely blessed. There's so much more I wish I could share. Each night I feel like such an ungrateful servant because I can hardly record everything in my journal. It's a struggle to plan for everyone each night.

Well I need to go, I love you all,
Sala Pila (Stay well!)
Elder Halterman

One Thousand Thank You's

January 11, 2010

Hey Everyone,

First, here are the answers to your questions:

1) How is your health?

It's pretty good. I've had a bit of a cold the past two days, meaning a runny nose and sore throat in the morning. But it’s nothing that's slowed me down

2) Are you still losing weight?

I think I was only losing weight the first few weeks in the MTC and upon entering the mission field. I just noticed that I had lost the weight later on.

3) You were at 175 lb and now you lost 15 lbs which = 160 lbs - how much do you weigh now?

I weigh about 162 now.

4) Do you know why you have lost weight?

I'm pretty sure it's just because I am no longer lifting weights, It sounds like the same thing happened to several other missionaries in the flat - then they started gaining weight, but as fat instead of muscle.

5) Do you have any other health problems?

Not that I know of. Occasional Sunburns. I try to wear sunscreen, and they're never very bad. I feel great, just that I'm getting over a chest cold.

6) How are your health problems (if any) being treated?

There aren't any that I've had to be treated for. The conditions aren't that bad out here and I don't know any missionaries that have had parasites. I'm doing well and I'll make sure to talk to the mission health advisor if I notice anything or lose more weight.

You really don't need to worry about me; I'm very well taken care of. So long as I live up to my calling I seriously doubt much can hinder me, I have the prayers of so many friends and family members, the wonderful blessings contained in my personal blessings, as well as the myriad of promises contained in the scriptures. Please don't be unduly concerned, I have the whole of heaven watching out for me.

The Christmas package you sent arrived last Tuesday! I loved the notes and candy from everyone. I especially enjoyed all the pictures! They turned out really well. The framed picture now hangs above my desk and the picture book sits beside my clock. Thanks for all the thought you put into it! I really appreciated the laminated card with my setting apart and Father's blessing on it! I really like the watch you sent, the one I brought out is pretty scratched up now. The Stockings were great too! Elder Sicotte gives his thanks for the one you sent him. Thanks so much!

A Christmas package came from Grandma and Grandpa Ward too. It had a calendar with pictures of things we've done during the last several years. It was really thoughtful. I loved looking through the pictures on each page. It now hangs right beside my desk. They sent a letter with it, a 2G memory card, and a copy of the Ensign. Let them know that I received it and make sure to thank them, I really appreciated it. I'm planning to send Grandma and Grandpa a letter today, but it will probably take a while to reach them. My scriptures, the calendar they sent, and the pictures you sent are now my most prized belongings.

I'm so thankful for all the support that I've had. I'm still anticipating the Dear Elder letter from the seminary class, but I've received several Christmas cards and supportive letters from ward members. I'm sure you have, but make sure to thank everyone the ward for me! There were so many great examples of service. I often use examples of people from the ward when I talk about service, dedication, or keeping the Sabbath day holy. As I look back they've all made such a difference in my life.

The elders in Mamelodi West know a member that has a computer and is willing to burn pictures on to a CD; hopefully I'll be able to send one within the next week. I'm sorry that I haven't been able to send more.

This week was awesome! Just this Sunday I had the chance to Baptize Sherifah Manyathella and her daughter, Amogelong. I also confirmed Ayesha, Sherifah's older daughter a member of the church. The father, Samuel has become much more open to our message and is willing to pray about our message. We have high hopes for him!

During the week Elder Sicotte and I brought out two ward missionaries and went on splits, because of it we were able to find several new father led families! Two of those fathers came to church this Sunday! I am really excited for them. We have taught several others who have recently received the witness of the spirit that these things are true! The work is going really well! I love serving and being able to see the blessings being outpoured in these people's lives!

Once again I'm about out of time. Thank you so much for everything! I really feel blessed to have such a wonderful family and such loving friends!

Love,

Elder Halterman

January 4, 2010

Thank you so much for all the emails!

It's really good to hear that things are going so well. It was inspiring to hear about all the ways that you have found to serve, and all the prayers that are said in my behalf. It's given me an increased determination to live worthily. I can really feel the outpouring of those blessings, thank you!

It's great to hear that everyone is staying so missionary-oriented. Whenever I participate in church service I hope and pray that I can live up to standard our family has set. I'm striving to learn to teach in a way that will not only pull in hearts of those listening, but invite the spirit and inspire them to press forward. It's such a blessing that our family has been able to serve so much in the ward.

Elder Sicotte is my new companion. He's much shorter than Elder Robinson, he has brown eyes and dark hair. He's from Boston and also misses the pizza on the East Coast. He went to BYU for a year before his mission and has been out for 14 months. He has a dedication to the work and is very willing to follow the rules. I'm really excited. The work in our area is exploding. If we do our very best, I know that we will see a lot of success!

If there was ever such thing as weekly mission theme, I'd say that this week's was prayer and fasting. I have learned a lot about prayer and fasting.

I was reading about prayer in the Bible dictionary and it told how prayer was often accompanied with sacrifice. While living the law of Moses, the children of Israel would burn their sacrifices. Christ later fulfilled this law, but in fasting we still sacrifice. Instead of burning an offering, we give it to bless the poor. The Lord tells us that "inasmuch as you have done it unto the least of these my brethren you have done it unto me". When we fast we are sacrificing to God and blessing others in doing it. It really feels like a fruit of the higher law.

Another cool thing is in the Old Testament. Fasting was said to go along with mourning and sorrow, people would wear sackcloth and disfigure their faces to show they were fasting. However, when Christ came he taught that we should fast in humility without drawing attention to ourselves. In D&C we learn that fasting is a form of rejoicing. We have a chance to sacrifice for the love of others. I've really felt the blessings of fasting, I know that by fasting we are brought much closer to God. I've seen the inspiration and added portion of the spirit that we receive when we fast, It's made such a difference in the work!

Once again, I wish I had time to write more, there is so much to share.

Thanks for everything!

I love you all,

Elder Halterman

Christmas Crackers and Cow Tongue

Hey!

It was great talking to the family on Friday, though now I feel like there's not much left for me to say.

I tried to upload my pictures to photo bucket using a card reader, but my SD card is formated wrong, I'll have to try next week using a cable from the camera. If that doesn't work I'll have to attempt mailing them.

Soon after talking, Elder Robinson and I went to with the other missionaries in out flat to their Branch President's house. We ate christmas dinner with them! They knew that we normally eat turkey on Christmas so they cooked a small one especially for us. It wasn't the main dish though, apparently they don't eat turkey very often out here, it was the Branch President's second time cooking turkey. They had several other meats, the main one being cow tongue. They had tons! It was thinly sliced, but when she told us it was tongue we all saw the resemblance. It wasn't that bad though, it was hard to classify the taste. I'd say it tasted similar to bologna. Of course they served it with cool drink. They had Christmas Crackers too! I was surprised that none of the other three missionaries had seen them before. After we had been stuffed with food they got out a crate that had been filled to the brim with sweets. I was already feeling sick from all the cool drink. After passing around at least a dozen bags of sugar coated wine gums and banana flavored marshmallows they decided it was time for desert. They then proceeded to serve a delicious custard candy nut jello salad - I wish that I had been able to enjoy it, instead I was trying my hardest not to die. After I had taken a few bites the mother came around and scooped ice cream into my bowl... I'm pretty sure that I am diabetic now. I was so glad to get home, lay down and settle to the refreshing taste of water.

Oh, just two days ago I found out that Elder Robinson is being transfered to Botswana. I was still getting lost in New Jersey after living there for 6 years. I've been here six weeks and now I have to run the area. These next few weeks are going to be very long. Elder Robinson is excited though, he says he feels like a great burden had been lifted. So many people in this area come so close to baptism, but almost all trip over some obstacle and can't seem to pick themselves back up.

This sunday we had a baptism, there were supposed to be two. Ayesha Manyathella and Solomon Desonto, but a problem came up in Solomon's family and he's been out of town. Ayesha's baptism was sweet though! It went really well, she bore a her testimony and told about how she decided to move her baptism forward two weeks. She said that she knew the church was true and that she needed to be baptised, she thought about the savior and how he didn't shirk or delay his Atonement for us, and that she wasn't going to shirk or delay her opportunity to follow him.

I love you all, and wish you a happy new year!
Elder Halterman

A Nice Exchange

Hey Everyone!

Everything is going really well! This week has been really good!

First, about letters, I can only really write them on P-day, but even then I don't have much time. We wont' be proselyting on Christmas or New Years, so I'll have some time then to write a few letters.

DearElder letters - It would be great if you can put your return address and date you sent it, otherwise it's somewhat confusing and I don't always have an address to send back to.

This week was a huge success! I've been most excited that Solomon, a father we've been teaching, was finally able to quit smoking! We had been fasting with him two weeks ago and it really helped. He's going to be baptized next Sunday! We have 3 others that will hopefully be baptized the same day, a mother and two of her daughters. They all have firm testimonies, stronger than many of the members, Sherifa, the Mother, just has some family problems that have been weighing pretty heavily on her.

We had a fantastic baptism this Sunday for an Young Woman named Ursula. Sherifa and her family attended. The speakers were really good, the first two were recent converts and very close friends to Ursula, one of them was baptized the week I came. Then Elder Robinson, a branch missionary named Karrabo, and I sang "Come thou Fount of Every Blessing". After the actual baptism Ursala bore her testimony, it was really moving. She talked about her struggle before she knew about the church, and that she had been blaming God for many of the problems in her family, but once she came to church and learned about the restored gospel everything changed. She told how she now had a new family, a family in the church, and how it had helped change her life. I think the testimony especially touched Sherifa, it seemed to address the exact concerns that she had. It was amazing how everything tied together so perfectly!

Even after 4 weeks I really feel a close connection to the ward. I've felt the same thing Ursula was talking about. It's amazing how the gospel unites people. I can't wait for each Sunday to see everyone at church.

On Saturday my idea of a exemplary missionary completely changed. I went on exchanges with Elder Niced from Australia. He taught with such power and clarity. When he taught the plan of salvation it felt like it was completely new to me. He explained everything so well that I couldn't help but think of the elegance of Heavenly Father's plan for us. He's really good at asking thought provoking questions and teaching with examples and stories. What's more he lives up to the highest standard of a missionary I've seen. He's constantly looks for chances to serve those around him. He's done a really good job of developing Christ-like love. I'm trying to set a course so that I can learn to serve like he does.

Several people have asked me what advice I would give to prepare for a mission. The best I can say is to learn to love the scriptures. Soon after coming out to the field I realized that two hours of scripture study each day is barely sufficient. Our mission president said that our study plan for the next two years should first focus on studying Preach My Gospel and the Book of Mormon, then if we need more to go on to the New Testament. Elder Niced said that throughout your whole mission you will wish you had more time to study, but that you'll have to wait till you get home for that. My advice would be to fast and pray for a desire to study the scriptures. Learn to apply what you learn in both your life and in teaching. Your investigators need you to know and love the scriptures. Take advantage of the time you have to prepare.

Everything is going well here. Yesterday we had two meal appointments within 3 hours of each other. We were stuffed! It was terrible trying to ride bikes after that. There's so much that I wish I could include in these emails.

I love you all,

Elder Halterman

Mission Life- Uncensored

Hey Everyone!

Some concerns have been voiced that I am censoring my emails since, aside from my springy mattress, I haven't written about the bad side of being a missionary. Honestly there's been little to hold back, missionary work is awesome, but rest assured that this email will be censorship free.

To balance the scales here are a few of the rough patches:
Two weeks ago I was sick, It lasted for three days. I think I caught it cleaning out stagnant water from the baptismal font when the pump was broken. It wasn't too bad though, just energy draining.

In South Africa it's almost a joke to drink water. People serve us either juice or "cool drink". Cool drink is just another name for soda. We drink a ton! I hardly touched soda back in the states, in fact I quite loved water - I still do. Cool drink quenches thirst really well, but I was so thankful when a recent convert ran out of soda the other day and served us ice water instead. I think my stomach has growled and turned more out here than it has in my entire life.

A few days ago I got a mosquito bite on my left hand. I think it's the first one I've had. It was a tiny bug, but the bite swelled up and stayed that way for 2 days! Don't worry though, I don't have malaria or west nile, I just had a chubby hand for a few days.

In other news, I found out that I've lost 15 pounds! In the MTC I was basically eating 4 meals a day. I eat a ton out here too, I went through 15 eggs and two loaves of bread this week! (I finally figured out why the bread in our house seemed to disappear). I thought I had gained some weight, and that would have been great, I've been looking to go up to 185, but now I'm around 162. Don't worry though, I'm still really healthy.

Yesterday (Sunday the 13th Dec) I felt the starkest contrast of emotions I think I've ever felt. In the morning we biked by the homes of several investigators to walk with them to church. We were concerned for each family, these people had received a testimony, but they were letting life get in the way of eternal life. They'd been struggling to read and come to church. These families had promised that they'd let nothing get in their way, and one family planned to stay for the baptism afterwards. We had agreed to come by in the morning and walk with them, we went by two families, and had a ward missionary go by the others. For one reason or another none of them came.

We were disappointed, but we still had nine investigators at church. During sacrament meeting I really felt the spirit, and when I was sitting in our gospel principals class I looked around and noticed that I was surrounded by people who I knew and had been closely working with - people who were excited to take hold of the gospel and were changing their lives. I was overwhelmed with love and joy. I began to understand how Alma felt when he rejoiced in the success that the Lord had blessed him and his brethren with. The day continued, we had a fantastic baptism - it was for Laybo Seketa, the young man that I talked about last week. I was one of the speakers, and once again felt overwhelmed with joy to see him baptized and his mother there watching.

Later that day we had an appointment with the Serreo family, one of the families we had stopped by to walk with to church. The father hadn't read or been to church in 3 weeks, even with our repeated visits. He knew it was true, he's just too busy. Elder Robinson and I were at a lost for what to say. We were both searching for something, some way to tell them how important this gospel is. I was on the brink of tears at several points. They talked most of the time, we addressed a few concerns. They saw that we were upset though. They're an awesome family, but there's little more we can do for them...

Overall things are great! I love missionary work! As the Savior promised, It's hard, but it's worth it!

I love hearing from everyone. I'm glad things are going well!
Love Elder Halterman

The Runaway Investigator

Hey Everyone! Everything is going really well!

So I have a few more questions to answer:

What is Chutney, and what about it can possibley make non-NY pizza taste good?
Chutney is like a mix between barbecue sauce and peach jam... It's hard to describe, it's like a ketchup in that it's eaten with almost anything. At the MTC I think we went through at least a bottle a day. It's pretty sweet, they put it on pizza like they sometimes do with barbecue sauce in the states. It made the pizza pretty good.

How big is your Branch/Ward? Do you have a building? Does it rely on local leadership or mainly on the missionaries?
I work in a brach, we have about 200 members, but many are less active. Normally we have 100-150 in attendance. We meet in a small chapel that was built 20 years ago. A strange thing about chapels here, they all have vaults where the library would normally be. Even with the vault, the computer in our chapel has been stolen twice. Someone went through the ceiling tiles... The leadership in our branch is really strong, Elder Robinson says it's the strongest he's seen in a township branch. We have quite a few return missionaries. I wouldn't be surprised to see our branch become a ward while I'm here.

Have you seen any cool wildlife?
I haven't seen any of the typical African Animals, but I do see a lot of strange chickens, goats, and cows in the township. Most are wild and eat garbage that piles up in the area. I saw one cow that looked more like a camel than a cow, it had a huge hump above it's neck. I do see a lot of lizards though.

Things in Mamelodi are going really well, we have twenty people with set baptismal dates, and a large pool of other investigators to teach. This week we began teaching eight more! The hardest task is getting the people we teach to come to church, this week the attendance was especially low, we had nine (normally it's over 20, and even that should be much higher).

We have a baptism coming up this Sunday. It's for a boy named Laybo Seketa. He's 16 and has been coming to church for a while. He lives with his family Stoffel Park. Stoffel Park is a huge stretch of land at the base of a several large hills. The developers sell small plots of land to people who are then free to do whatever they want with the land. It's a place where people are pretty industrious, they live in tin shacks, the roads are made of dirt, there are pipes for water every 100 meters or so. There's no electricity, but some people have generators.

Anyway, Labo's interview for baptism was on Saturday. We went up to his house with the Zone leaders and found that he'd just had a falling out with his parents while they were mixing cement to lay around the house. Laybo had run up into the mountain. We went with his father and older brother to search for him. We went way up into the mountain when his brother whistled to us and began running. We were running up the hill for almost 30min before we found Laybo walking back with his brother. It was an amazing view though! I could see clear across the valley. I felt like I was in the Lion King, the mountain was covered in rocks, bushes, shrubs and small trees.

We had the interview up in the mountain, then went back with Laybo and helped mix cement with him until they were done. It's Laybo's birthday next week, we're planning to bring a lunch and have a lesson with him up in the mountain.

I've had so manny more great experiences, I wish I had more time to tell you about them. Being a missionary is fantastic! It's amazing to be able to look people in the eyes and promise them that what you are sharing is true. I wish more people would realize how important message really is! It's devastating to come back to a person's house and find out that they haven't been reading from the Book of Mormon or that they haven't asked God if our message is true. On the flip side, it brings the greatest of joy to hear an investigator tell you they've been reading and their feelings as they read, or to see an investigator walk through the entrance to our church building with his entire family! Being a missionary is awesome! I'm so grateful that I have this chance to share the message of the Restoration of the Gospel! I love you all and can't wait to write again soon!

Thanks for all your prayers!
Love,
Elder Halterman