Sorry for the week late post! But now ya'll get two emails this week!!
I made a list and am doing this email first so you can all know about this Mhlongo (white boy).
... so I over exaggerated when I said my clippers exploded. I mean they sparked and I nearly jumped back to America in a single hop, which caused the right side of my head to look like i ninja dodged a katana. It's grown back since then and now I have clippers regulated for the high voltage of this country. I look like a stud once again.
Weeks here go super fast. It's already one month into the field and it feels like I was just on the plane yesterday (never again: that flight sucked). It's super busy work but I love teaching and talking with the people here. I ask about how life and the culture is like, and they ask me how many maids a normal American family has... The assume about America the same way we assume about Africa.
So I'd like to say I miss my mother, but Sister Maebela makes that really hard. Elder Eki introduced me the the south African version of my mother. Imagine my mom but shorter and of African decent. That's Sister Maebela. She feeds us every Sunday, and she's an awesome cook (almost as good as my Mother... almost).
Speaking of Eki, I'm sure you all want to know about him. I'll open up by saying that if Wesley Castro was my companion, he'd be Elder Eki. He cooks (and teaches me), and behaves just like my good friend Wesley... Wesley we gotta get you to meet him. He speaks French as his primary language and absolutely loves mirrors. He's a good trainer, but usually is super quiet in the car.
Oh, and it's a driving mission because we live 25 kilos from Etwatwa. I'll tell you I have never seen poor until I got here. When little kids make toys out of cereal boxes and hangers... there's no words to describe how sad I am. These people are super happy yet they have nothing. NOTHING... it's hard to see how they live life with a sheet of metal that they call their home. It's hard to see how people have dirt floors, and how when a power box breaks it takes 2-4 WEEKS to get their power back. And it's hard to know that this isn't even the worst part of Africa. It's the best...
That being said, service has come naturally. Me and elder Eki did yard work, painting, and math all in the same day. We went and cleaned the yard of Sister Maebela and I can not tell you how many times I quoted my father telling Eki to get back to work, or how I had to teach him how to use certain tools. I'm proud to say I became my father for he taught me how to have a good work ethic.
After te yard work, we had some Kota. A Kota is their form of fast food and there is no one bit of health in it. It's a half loaf of bread that's been hallowed out and filled with cooked paloni (baloney) and chips (fries). It is not healthy, but it fills you up for R10 (which is less than $1).
We then went to go paint a hair salon for soon to be baptize Lizzy Ratchisue. While we were painting, Eki randomly said "How are you?" I said fine and then he said no. I turned around and he was looking at himself in the mirror...
That aside, there also was a really cool experience this week. We are teaching Ronald and Shadraq. Shadraq is really wanting to know more about us and we had to get stern wit him telling him he needs to do his part or we can no longer try and do ours. We gave him a BoM (Book of Mormon) and he promised to come to church with us last Sunday. I couldn't tell you how heart broken I was when we showed up at his front door and no one was there.... A few days later we met with Ronald, his bro whom we also had been teaching. We started talking about the Plan of Salvation and it ended up with him asking to become like his brother. I was startled and asked what he meant. He said that ever since we gave him the BoM, he has done nothing but read it and go to work. He read it day, night, he stopped drinking, and he even wanted to find the answers to Ronald's questions. I have known no joy like in that moment. He had found for himself the truth and he had inspired his brother to do so aswell.
Which brings me to the power of the BoM. If you read it, ponder upon it's words and message, and pray with a sincere heart to know if those things are true, I can promise you you will find an answer of yes. I have seen it in these men's lives, and I have heard of it in the testimonies of the members here.
Also, there's this place called Romans. It's less that $6 of 2 large pizzas and it tastes way better than Cesars back home. Just want to say that.
If I could ask you all that read this to do my a big favour, it's that you go to your favourite burger place, order a hamburger, and just before you eat it say
"This is for elder Schnepf."
then you devour that thing. I miss those things so much.
To close, This is what I have decided for myself. This gospel of Christ turns boys into men. Then God asks those men to go out and become Elders. As Adam Kimble said to me on a powerful night,
"A mission is like a baptism of fire."
He is right.
-Elder Schnepf
