Elder Benson - South Africa Jo-Berg Mission

Elder Benson - South Africa Jo-Berg Mission

Monday, November 14, 2016

No rest for us here.

Wow!  What an awesome week!  I'm glad Dad is home and is alive!  He's the talk of the whole mission, "Your Dad's powerful!" "You look like your Dad!"  It's pretty entertaining.  Everyone here in SA is devastated that Clinton didn't win the Presidency.  They keep thinking that it's the end of the world.  

News for me: I'm a ZL!  Eish, there's no rest for us here.  Only 1 night this week has involved retiring to bed before 12 am.  What excitement!  What's more, we had to drive some missionaries to Joburg for medical checkups so I have a super short time left to email!  I'll post you more next week about everything!





Monday, November 7, 2016

Update from KaNyamazane

Here's an investigator named Shadow. He's always willing to do epic photo shoots with us. He's currently preparing to be baptized on November 20th! We always get a kick out of reading the 'Incwadi kaMormoni" aka the Book of Mormon in Zulu. We're both getting to read it pretty fluently, since it's so close to siSwathi.


Again, with Shadow. We're currently looking down the Ntokozweni Valley, a part of our area. It's such a joy to fellowship and nurture such strong and noble youth in South Africa.


This is one of my favorites, taken by Shadow himself! I feel like this is such a symbolic photo as I'm overlooking the beginning of Lekazi, the main part of KaNyamazane. In my hand I clutch 'Incwadi kaMormoni', otherwise known as the Book of Mormon, translated into Zulu. Being a missionary in this land of many colors is such a privilege. As I stand as a witness of Christ, I stand on a sure foundation of Jesus Christ himself. This photo plucks my heart strings kakhulu!



Yes, what you see here is beef and fries. But can you guess what part of the cow?

Yes, ladies and gentleman, what we are eating here is COW TONGUE!! It's actually pretty delicious, believe it or not!! I highly recommend this dish to anyone who wants a good South African dine!


Here's a candid photo with one of my good friends here in KaNyamazane, Thabang. We've been on a lot of adventures together: teaching investigators, music producing (funny story for another day), eating kakhulu, too many to count! He's preparing to serve in the next year, so it's exciting to see his desire grow to share the gospel!


Another with Thabang!


This is one of my favorite acts of service we get to do in KaNyamazane: delivering water to families! Luckily we drive a truck/bokkie (as they call it here) so there's the opportunity to fill the bed with these 20 liter buckets. In the picture is my Zimbabwean brother, Peter. I had the privilege of giving him a copy of the Book of Mormon, and he finished it just last week! He's stuck in a common problem where he is too far away to afford transport to church, but he's recently acquired work, so he can save up to come to church and FINALLY be baptized! He's helped us teach many people already, and his gospel knowledge is so vast for someone who has just learned about the truth.


Another one of my favorites! This is Peter's family that he lives with. I love the dynamic nature of the photo, with the kids playing my violin, Elder Latu and Given checking out their selfies, Gilbert+More Blessing looking through the hymn book, and Peter doing who knows what! This is one family that will always have a place in my heart.