May 25, 2015, Family Home Evening

This picture was taken in the home of one of the Queenstown Ward family's home. Right to left are Sister Ndabeni, Elder Thayne, Brother Ndabeni, Sister Jabanga, Brother Jabanga, Sister Farnsworth, Elder Farnsworth. I know you know the last two. I just had to be "smart." All of us "older folks" sat around talking while the daughter finished fixing the dinner.

We held a Family Home Evening there. The family fixed a nice chicken dinner. The Elders made a campfire out in the back yard & we introduced them all to "s'mores." They were a big hit with everyone! We used "tennis biscuits" which were similar to graham crackers, large pink & white marshmallows, & Cadbury chocolates. Yum!

Brother Jabanga asked for volunteers to bear testimonies but ended up asking 5 including Elder Farnsworth to bear their testimonies.  We then sang the 1st verse of "Praise to the Man" to close & then had the closing prayer. It was fun!

Another Week Has Gone By!

It's hard to believe that we have been missionaries for just over a month, and that we have been here in South Africa just over 3 weeks.  The time seems to be flying by already.  Our daily routine is settling in now and we are starting to adjust to everything, the layout of the city of Queenstown, how to blend in with traffic, and the people in the areas we are assigned to work in.

To start the mornings we get up, have breakfast and then go for a morning walk.  Our walk usually lasts about an hour and we have tried to take a different route each day.  One thing we have noticed that seems to be a standard here is that every yard is gated and barred, and that most every vehicle is pulling some type of a small tote trailer behind them,

As we are walking and pass people and they stare at our name badges, we tell them hello and good morning.  They always respond with a perky "hello and good morning" back to us.  The people are just kind and hospitable.

Yesterday I had to meet the Zone Leaders at the Chevrolet dealership at 7:30 am so that they could drop of their vehicle to have the brakes checked.  While waiting there I went up to a young lady who was working at the cashier counter and started talking with her.  She told me that I must be from America.  I asked her why she thought that and she told me it was my accent.  She said she loves American accents.  I told her that we had something in common and that I enjoyed South African and British accents.

As we chatted she noticed my name tag and asked me about what I was doing here.  I told her that Sister Farnsworth and I were here in Queenstown by assignment from our church as missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  She told me that she didn't know anything about our church but would like to know more someday.  I then took the opportunity to tell her where the Queenstown ward was located and invited her to attend with us this coming Sunday.  She said she would.  I then had her write her name down for me and gave it the Elder Thayne and her went back to talk with her and confirmed the invitation for Sunday.  She told him that she was planning to attend.

Last night we met the Elders in Ezabline to leave a short message and celebrate the birthday of an investigator they are working with.  While we were giving the lesson, her uncle came in and wanted to meet the new missionaries,  When I introduced myself he asked me if I was from Texas, because I had what he thought was a Texas accent.  I told him that no, I was not, I was from Utah and it was probably just my "Utah" accent.  He laughed and said I still sounded like I was from Texas.

Part of the birthday celebration was a "Red Velvet Cake" that Sister Farnsworth had made for the occasion.  It was just one of the cake mixes from the store, but the frosting was one that she makes from scratch.  The cake was a hit, but frosting was the thing that everyone loved most.  The two sisters that we were teaching want to know how to make the frosting so they can impress their friends and family.  They want Sister Farnsworth to help them learn how to make it.  I thing she has made friends for life.

All in All its' been a very nice week so far.  Today I'm supposed to have my windshield replaced, or should I say "windscreen" like they call it down here.  Then we have keyboard lessons to give in Sada this afternoon.  Friday we are driving to East London to spend the night for Zone Conference with President Merrill and Elder Evans of the Seventy.  Friday evening we are joining all the senior couple in the two zones for dinner.  We will get to meet more of our counter parts in the Eastern Cape. We will then drive back to Queenstown of Saturday afternoon and attend Church in Illinge on Sunday.

Thanks for following us on this blog and we'll be back to update soon

Elder Farnsworth

Our First Full Week in Queenstown.

We arrived in Queenstown on Friday afternoon, April 17, 2015.  We were met at the East London Airport by Elder and Sister Stapley, who we replaced in Queenstown.  We were driven to Queenstown, which is about a 2-hr. drive north, and unloaded all our luggage in our new boarding.

Our Boarding In Queenstown

After we were shown our boarding, we were taken to dinner with the Stapley's and President and Sister Merrill.  We had an enjoyable meal and were able to tell all about ourselves and get to know our Mission President.  After dinner, we retired to our boarding and were able to unpack our clothes and try to get some sleep.  Sleep was a little strained, mostly because it was the first night in new surroundings, with strange noises, scents and just trying to adjust.

On Saturday, April 18, we were taken to the Queenstown LDS Ward building where President and Sister Merrill were conducting a Zone Training.  As Senior Missionaries, one of our duties is to prepare the lunch for the Elders during these trainings.  This was good for us because we were able to meet all of the Missionaries who are in our Zone, and they were able to meet the new "Senior Couple."

We had a little break after we put the luncheon on and were able to go to the store and get some needed groceries for the rest of the weekend.  Later in the evening, we were again taken to dinner with President and Sister Merrill and Elder and Sister Stapley.

On Sunday morning with the Stapley's, we drove to a town called Sada, which lies 45 minutes southwest of  Queenstown, to attend church.  This is one of the wards we will be working with while we are here in Queenstown.  We met the Bishop and some of the members and then spent the first 2 hours of Church watching the Sunday morning session of April General Conference.

The Sada Ward Chapple

After church, the Stapley's had us drive around Sada and we were able to lock in the locations of some of the ward members, and Sister Farnsworth's keyboard students, into our "Garmin."  Later Sunday evening, we went to the home of Brother Jabanga and his family where we had been invited to have dinner with them.  Brother Jabanga was the first black convert to the Church in Queenstown. He has served as a Branch President, Stake President, and is now serving as a Counselor to the Bishop of the Sada Ward.

On Monday, April 20, the Stapley's had us drive to Illinge, which is the other ward we are assigned to work in.  We drove around and entered GPS coordinates for areas of importance as we did in Sada.

We then returned to Queenstown and drove around the town and continued to enter more GPS coordinates for locations of importance to us. At about 2 pm, the Stapley's departed for East London and our independence began. 

The Illinge Ward Buildings

Tuesday, April 21, we drove to Sada and Sister Farnsworth and I accompanied the Relief Society President, Sister Gevesa, and her two counselors to the home of Sister Maselo whose young daughter had passed away. The rest of the day we spent finding our way around Queenstown and getting stocked up on groceries.  

On Wednesday, we went to Sada again and Sister Farnsworth began giving keyboard lessons to the young members who are taking the classes. These people look forward to these classes and they are showing promise.  We drive to Sada on Wednesday, the Illinge Ward on Friday, and the Queenstown Ward on Saturday to give these lessons.  

Sister Farnsworth with Anelisa and Siphelele

 during a keyboard lesson.

On Thursday, April 23, we met the Elders Thayne and Freitas in Ezibeleni, where we went with them on splits.  We visited with a couple of investigators and gave a short lesson at each home.  The highlight of the evening was when we stopped into the home of a member who was sick.  After visiting with her for a while, the Elders asked her if she would like a blessing.  She said she would and asked Elder Thayne to anoint her and asked me to give her the blessing.  This was a special time for me, because I didn't expect something like this to happen to me so soon into my mission.  I was also asked to give a blessing to another sister on Friday evening when we again met with Elders Thayne and Freitas.

Elder Thayne (L) and Elder Freitas (R)

On Saturday, April 25, we went to give keyboard lessons at the Queenstown Chapel, but the students were in a seminary class.  The Bishop was there and after talking with him, he told us that he would make sure that the seminary would be over in time for keyboard starting next week.

On Sunday, April 26, we attended the Illinge ward for church.  This was the first complete ward meeting block we have attended here in the mission field,  The meetings are conducted in English with a mixture of the Xhosa language.  It's difficult to understand at times, but I decided that I just need to listen with my heart and be patient until the language and the accents get easier.  After the meeting block was over, the Elders conducted a baptism of a young sister.  All in all, it was a great day.

This is a great mission to which to be called. The people are wonderful, so full of love for the gospel and for each other.  They have accepted us into their hearts and lives like we are part of their families. The next 18 months promise to be full of many opportunities for growth and testimony buildng.

We are in the Mission Now!

Wow!  What a whirlwind.  We entered the MTC on April 6, spent the week there studying and practicing with "Preach My Gospel".  Went home for the weekent to finish packing and then flew out for South Africa on monday, April 13th.

The Flight was long and tiring.  We were able to spent a couple of hours in the Portland airport visiting with Kay's daughter Tracie and then we had the long flight to Amsterdam.  When we arrived in Amsterdam we had an hour and ten minutes to make it from one end of the airport to the other end, go through security again and board our flight.  That was like running a marathon while carrying heavey bags.

The flight from Amsterdam to Cape Town took 11 hours and 15 minutes.  The seating was tight, not much leg room and the cushions in the seat were hard about 5 hours into the flight.  All-in-all, we were glad to finall land in Cape Town.

We arrived in Cape Town about 9:15 pm local time, went through immagration, then through customs and then met with the Halversen's who were at the airport to pick us up.  The Halversen's had parked the Mission Van on the upper level, but the elevators were not working so we had to push our luggage carts up to the second level on the esclator.  We loaded the van and finally made it out of the airport.

We were driven to a B & B called "The Links".  It was a nice place and "Mick" the owner treated us like we were royality.

Time is short for right now so I"ll end here for now and continue our journey in my next posting.

Our Farewell and Mission Update

This past Sunday,March 22nd, our Missionary Farewell was held in our ward.  It was a great meeting, the Spirit was strong and filled the building.  The attendance was also good, the chapel was filled to capacity and overflowed in 1/2 of the cultural hall.  In attendance were members of our ward and stake as well as many family members and close friends. 

My two daughters gave the opening and closing prayers, our grandchildren sang an intermediate song and Kay's daughters sang the closing song.  The remarks by those attending were very complimentary of the program. 

We had a small get together afterwards called, "A Linger Longer".  As we met with friends and family we sensed a strong feeling of love and support.  This past Sunday was a very wonderful day.  I again would like to thank all those who travelled from far distances to attend with us and show their love and support.

This morning, March 24th, we enjoyed another Skype call with President Thomas, a counselor to our Mission President.  He introduced us to Elder Stapley, who we will be replacing in Queenstown, SA. 

We received information about our new assigned area, what assignments we may be involved with, and what will be taking place our first few days in the mission.  It seems like we better get all the rest we can get before we leave, because we're going to be very busy as soon as we arrive.  The work is progressing and the church is growing very fast in South Africa. 

We are so excited for our mission to begin and look forward to this new chapter in our life.

Area of Assignment

We were asked by the Cape Town Mission office on March 13, 2015, to forward them a copy of our passports so that they could make airline reservations from Cape Town to East London, South Africa. We are going to be assigned to "Queenstown, South Africa!"  We'll arrive at the East London airport, obtain a rental car, and drive to Queenstown.

Today was a special day for us.  We started off early this morning by attending a session at the Ogden Temple.  We went an hour earlier than we have in the past.  One hour made a big difference, the session was a little smaller and the spirit seemed to be felt more than usual.  We will also be attending Saturday evening with out ward for our monthly ward temple night.  The session will be the last one we can attend before the Ogden Temple closes for cleaning.  Fortunately the Temple will re-open again after cleaning so that we may attend one more time before we leave on our mission.

The other event which was special for us was we had two young men from our ward's young men's organization came to dinner and afterwards presented one of the missionary lessons.  This is missionary month for the Young Men and Young Young Women, and on nights like tonight they go to a members home, have a dinner with the family and present a lesson out of "Preach My Gospel."   It so refreshing to have young men like Kendall and Judd, who have such strong testimonies and wonderful spirits, come to our home.

Tonight I found a video about the Book of Mormon I would like to share, which bears testimony of the power of this book.  Please follow the link and share your feelings with us.   https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2009-03-11-a-book-with-a-promise?lang=eng

May the Lord in his wisdom bless you and your families.