Howzit-Elder Flexy!

Elder Flexy 5:2 -email-

Mama!
this week has been great we taught this one family for two and a half hours because they were asking so many questions! it was great i think they will be baptized soon. so we just got to the internet cafe and one of the elders was getting money out of the ATM and someone stole his card that was pretty intense idk whats going to happen.
1.transfers isn’t for four more weeks so not for a while.
2.we are not sure who will leave at this point it could be either way.
3.ya elder martin has been here six more weeks than me.
4.investigators are doing well very slowly but surely.
5.it should be a white Christmas but I’m not 100% sure.
6.ya we do, do tracting pretty consistently but its not very efficient.
7.our ward is about 180 members
8.ya they give us referrals and some come with us to fellowship so they are helping tons.
9 Are any investigators coming to church? Are the members supportive when you bring investigators to church?
9.ya investigators come sometimes but that is just sometimes and the people welcome them when they come.
10 Anything on the pictures? I asked the lady that I know who is from Durban. She suggested having the members make a CD for you to send home. Is that a possibility?
10.pictures i’m getting a little desperate so i might have to break down and put them on facebook.
11.yep every p-day we play soccer!!!
12 Are there any other fun things you do on P-days?
12.we got permission to play soccer on the beach one p-day it was pretty fun.
Special question of the week:
13 If someone was having a hard time forgiving others, what would you say to help them?
13.good question first i would say that it is a commandment from God and that if Jesus could forgive us for all our sins than we can forgive the petty things people do to us.
anyway i’m glad all is well in zion. i better stop love you.

                                                                       Love Elder Flexy

Baba!!!
ya awesome that my brothers colter and scott are doing great and are doing the work. so on Sunday i taught the lesson on the responsibilities of parents in the family. and it hit me that you and mom did a fetching good job!! Yes there were some rough patches but its been awesome being your son and i will enjoy that forever!! anyway things are going great we are working very very hard. ya and i’m glad your in scouting again you teach these boys how to be men they may take time to learn but you are still teaching them. well i better stop love you Dad.

                                                                                Love Elder Flexy

Riley
My Bro!!!! dude you need to get a life!! ya man you should do more mechanics stuff in collage cause thats probably what i’m gonna do so it would be really fun. and also make sure you you have god on your side make sure your saying your prayers and reading your scripts cause you need his help and you can sort your life with him.anyway life is freakin awesome and i love you bro!!
                                                                                    Love Elder Flexy
Kelsey!
I’m so proud of you you will be an awesome missionary!! yes the adversary works you trust me it gets worse when you are set apart but you will be fine he can’t tempt you more than you can handle. i hope you go some where cool let me know ASAP. anyway better go love you kelsey keep working hard. love you
                                                                                       Love Elder Flexy
P.S.thats awesome tell andrew congrats from me.
   
Em Dog the big cheese!!
Hey!!!!!!!!!!!! hows life my little sister!! yes you better be working hard at school and at work did jacob quit as well and how is karen and kathy? you better be getting good grades you don’t want to end up like me!!! anyway halloween was pretty lame here most people don’t celebrate so it was dumb. anyway i love you too Em!!
                                                                                       Love Elder Flexy

Howzit-Elder Flexy!

Elder Flexy 5:1 -email-

Mama!!

this week has gone by so fast!!! so we saw conferance yesterday and it was amazing!! it made me miss home just a little bit. the best talk to me was Richard G. Scotts talk about building your character. it was so good because if you build your character around the gospel than you don’t even have to think about obeying it just comes natural.
1.ok i’ll send photos home asap so you guys can see them.
2.investigators are coming slowly but surely they don’t want to change but they are doing great.
3.ya we found this new family that both parents are pastors for a differant church but they are progressing well.
4.well Elder Brown my good bud from the M.T.C. is in my zone now so thats good he is a brother!!!
5.well weather is freakin hot!! its summer now so its very warm.
6.nope it never snows here and its pretty hot all year round
7 Are you warm enough?(I forgot it’s summer down there now! dumb question)
7.yep
8 How is your coat, shoes and suits holding up? Do you need any more shirts?
8.they are doing fine and if i need any i’ll buy them myself or i’ll let you know.
9 Any spiritual teaches? Tell us about it!
9.yes we have this video that we use its called finding faith in jesus christ and it just brings the spirit into any lesson and we are teaching well.
Special Question of the week-
10 Why do we need the priesthood? and how does it bless our lives?

10.we need priesthood because all of the revelation is received through preisthood and all saving ordinances is through the priesthood 

love you tons!!!

                                                                     Love Elder Flexy

 

 
Baba, 
Holy Cow you rode 180 miles in three days!!!!!! i would have died that fifty miler was killer as it is!! thats good that you got the trailer winterized and i’m glad Emily is getting some teaching experiance. Anyway i hope things continue to go well for you dad. Love you

                                                                            Love Elder Flexy
 

Hey Flexy, 
So…I have officially decided to go on a mission!! Woohoo! I talked with my bishop today, and started filling out my papers earlier tonight. I’m way excited, but scared at the same time. I cry every time I think about it, because the witness I had that told me to go in the first place was so strong, and when I talk about it to others it brings that feeling back. It’s crazy. I’ve turned into such a cry baby. I’m hoping to leave close to January so we can come home about the same time. Wouldn’t that be so cool? Anyways, how are things going for you? I hope everything is great. Well I better go now. Love you to bits and pieces. Love, Kelsey

 
Kelsey!!!!!!!!
 My Elder SEESTER that is flippin awesome!!!! you will love it so much, its great fun and its what the lord wants us to do. you had a witness telling you to go on mission that is so freakin sweet! you better let me know where your going that is so exiting ya if you leave in january you will be coming home close to when i come home!!! oh that totally just made my day!! anyway things are going great. I love you too!!!

                                                                      Love Elder Flexy

Howzit-Elder Flexy!


Elder Flexy 4:4 -email-


Mama,

              This week has been great we have had some powerful lessons after hearing from Elder Holland it has been powerful. we had a missionary return home to our ward due to sickness so he has been coming with us to be a member present. its been great!
1. acually Elder martin is staying for another transfer so either i’m staying in my greeny area for six monthes or next transfer i’m leaving Elder Martin here. but i don’t know whats gonna happen.
2 Have you run into the senior couple Elder and Sister Ward? Their daughter is on the missionary moms email group?
2.i think i have met them but just breifly i haven’t spent much time with the senior couples.
3.no i heven’t met him. Swaziland is a six hour drive from where we are so we don’t see them much.
4.Ya Swaziland is kinda coveted but it has its downfalls too. the missionary work goes great there because the people are humble… but the power co. has to be paid with our alotment so you have to budget like crazy there which is something we don’t do well.
5.no i haven’t heard about the nativties but i’ll check them out if i’m sent there.
6 I am going to send your Christmas box this week. I will send some good stuff. Any requests, besides letters?
6.well i would love some pictures and any food that you think could survive the trip. but i don’t mind what you send whatever you send will be appreciated.
7.investigators are doing good they are slowly progressing but they will come around.
8.ya we saw frank the other day to do service, help him put up curtains, and we had a powerful lesson afterward it was awesome.
9 Anything new on the pictures? Ask one of the senior couples if they can help you make a cd to send home?
9.I know how to make a CD its just that sending anything thicker than paper in the mail and they open it and take whats inside so i just don’t want ti risk anything like that. 
10 Do people have cats and dogs as pets? are there any unusual pets, but common down there?
10. they have basicly the same pets here there are just more parrots than back home. but one family we teach has a pet tortoise that is pretty cool!!!
11 Do you often see safari type animals? you know giraffes, elephants, etc.
11.not at all those animals are only in game reserves now it kinda stinks but we will go see them sometime. but there are lots of Vervet monkeys we see tham almost every day!
12.the zone conferances are held in a very simmilar place as where we work so its about the same.
13.people are nice as long as they are not racist then it gets pretty scetchy!! but the people are super nice 95% of  the time.
14 If you could say something to someone who is struggling with life, what would you say, and how would you encourage them?
14.well when you struggle you should look at it like God is telling you that you are tougher than you think you are. Because its true He won’t send anything you can’t handle and the harder it is the more God knows how strong you really are. so take that as a challange and be the person God wants you to be.
anyway things are going great. Love you tons!!!!

                                                               Love, Elder Flexy

 
  

Baba,
         I went last Mon. with mom and dad to the lake to winterize it. Ya remember pulling that dead skunk out of the trailor man that was truely aweful!!! I miss mountains there are none here there are just pasy hills but they are pretty to but i want to see big rocks!!!! thats good that your getting all that work done i’m proud of you Baba! Love You

                                                             Love Elder Flexy  

Howzit-Elder Flexy!

Elder Flexy 4:3 -email-

Mama!

1. this week was awesome we did some amazing work our stats this week were probably the best i’ve had on mission!!! we have two more B-dates and we had about ten investigators at the conferance with Elder Holland!!! it was a power week! we had the soccer game on saturday the missionaries vs Berea ward. And we stomped them 4 to 2 and an Elder named Sechinga did a awesome bicycle kick it was sweet!
2.Elder Martin finds out if he is leaving tommorrow so i will let you know whats the deal next week.

3 Have you figured out how to send pictures yet? I was thinking maybe a member has a computer at their home and would make a CD for you to mail home.
3.sorry i haven’t figured it out yet i want to send pictures but i’ll find a way.
4.ya i’m getting letters from home i have received letters from lots of people and they are so nice.
5.yes we do our own laundry
6 Do you have to hang it out to dry? and do you have to iron it to get rid of those flies? (like Uncle Ian used to in Zimbabwe) 
6. we hang dry our clothes and we have to iron them before we wear them but idk about the flies i haven’t seen them.
7 Where do you do your laundry?
7.in our boarding
8.ya we eat at members house sometimes and they make really good food so its great.
9.ya we met Elder Holland we had a meeting with him with just the missionaries. it was freakin SWEET!!
10 Did he say anything specific to South Africa and the missionary work there?
10.ya he in roundabout way said we stink at doing missionary work and we need to improve. 🙂 it was kinda funny
11.no we still haven’t seen conference
12 If so, what was you favorite talk and why?
12. –
13 If someone asked you if they should go on a mission, what would you say? Are you glad you went?
13.Heck Yes!!!! you should go on a mission when the gospel is all you eat, sleep, and drink you come to realize how wonderful it truly is!!! yes i’m very glad i came out on mission its Freakin Awesome!!!
Its so nice to hear all is going well at home. well see you in a minute!! love you.

                                                                                                Love Elder Flexy

Baba, 
            Its probably a good thing that you switched classes it helps your teaching skills. Ya i get to teach the investigators class in church once a month its pretty fun! so we met this racist guy yesterday he was so funny he was this old white guy and he spoke to us right after the conferance with Elder Holland. He is very interesting man and we might teach him at some point. 🙂 Ya there was a bike race in the city so finding parking for the conferance was super hard but we finally found one. anyway better quit. Love you

                                                                                                  Love Elder Flexy

Howzit-Elder Flexy!


Elder Flexy 4:2 -email-

Mama,

this week was good Elder Martin has been very sick this week so i have had lots of study time. they say i might have to get checked but i’m not worried i feel awesome. that makes me happy to hear riley is home tell him to write me a letter!!
1.no we still havent seen conferance but this sunday we get to meet with Elder Holland as missionaries and he is speaking to our stake as well.
2. transfers haven’t happened yet, they are next thursday.
3 Do you have investigators that are progressing?
3.ya we kinda have progressing they are at the very beginning of the journey though.
4.we had an experiance when we came to a return apointment and we had commited this man Squinsico to read from the book of mormon and we came in and he told us he knew it was true that was pretty powerful.
5.we actually have a car because our area is too large to walk and public transport is kinda dangerous the taxi drivers are terrible.
6.i don’t think there are any that ride bikes just walking areas.
7 Have you met any Elders from back home? Like the Dame’s cousin?
7.Ya i met Elder Shaw the Dames cousin and some other elders from utah.
8.ya they drive on the opposite side of the road and the car!
9 What is the weather like? is it getting hot?
9.it is hot hot HOT and very humid which makes it even worse but i’m enjoying it.
10.we wear our suits for important meetings and church but other than that its just short sleeve shirts.
ya mission life is going great i’m doing the work and having fun. Love You!!

                                                           Love, Elder Flexy 
 

Baba!!

Woop i made my first goal in soccer man it was freakin awesome. i’m getting better and better. we are playing the Elders Qourum in our ward in soccer on saturday and its gonna be great we are going to massacre these old guys!! ya yesterday the Berea Elders had four baptisms its awesome. but we work just as hard as them and no one in our area is ready for baptism it kinda stinks but oh well. anyway things are going great I’m getting used to this place and i’m growing to love it. anyway thats all for now. Love you Baba.

                                                                     Love, Elder Flexy

Howzit-Elder Flexy!

Elder Flexy 4:1 -email-

Mama,

1.This week has been awesome! Elder Martin had two 7 hour meetings and a three hour meeting this week so i went and worked in Bluff with Elder Sechinga and Elder Reike it was very fun i enjoyed it a lot.
2. We didn’t get to see any of the conference but we will get a DVD of it soon.
3.our investigators are doing well thay are very stubborn people so they don’t like change much but they will come around.
4.Frank is playing hard to meet so we haven’t seen him in a while but we will i’m not worried.
5.when we can we are teaching him.
6 Did you check into sending a CD or attaching photos? We would love to see some of them.
6.I’m working on that I’m going to copy them on to CDs and then send them Via email and then i can clear the memory cards so i can take more pictures.
7.ya we have roaches but we just use Elder Martins deodorant spray and burn them. its kinda fun in a twisted sort of way.
8.Transfers are in two weeks and i’m pretty sure Elder Martin is leaving they don’t keep Elders too long in our area its a tough area.
9.shoes and clothes are doing fine the shoes are starting to get a little worn but they are doing great.
10 We are planning on sending you a package at the end of October. It will probably be your Christmas package. Any requests?
10. For my package just fill a box with letters from anyone you can think of. also if you can/will send me some Arizonas preferably mucho mango, watermelon, and strawberry kiwi that would be awesome!!!!
11 Do you need more ties? 
11.no my ties are doing fine plus Elder Sechinga knows a place to buy cheap ties so i’m good for now.
(Colter is Alex’s best friend. He just got his mission call to Utica, New York.)
12.Colters Call is awesome I wish he was going foreign just cause its such an awesome experiance but he will do great he is steadfast in the gospel and he will kick bum!!! I’ve noticed since I came out that you don’t know “anything” about the world till you leave the U.S. this place is so differant. anyway things are going fine. Love you

                                                      Love, Elder Flexy


Baba!

Thats awesome that you get to play sports. this coming week we(the missionaries) are playing the ward in soccer its gonna be sweet and we are gonna kick bum!! i’m getting a lot better but these African Elders kick me to the curb they are very very good. Ya i got a letter from Tiff and i haven’t had a chance to write back. MAN!! these letters from home are so nice its great to know everything is going great back home. anyway i better stop. I love you.



                                                  Love, Elder Flexy 

Howzit-Elder Flexy!


Elder Flexy 3:5 -email-
   
  Mama!!
So this week has been awesome!!! I went on splits with an elder that just got here a week or so ago. so it was basically  two greenies in one day of work but we did really good in the end. i caught a bug so I’ve been a little sick but nothin big.
1.well i like our flat but elder martin said its one of the worse in the mission.
2.we have beds and we sleep very well.
3.P-day we do any odds and ends we need to take care of and sports and thats pretty much it.
4.Moses Mabida stadium is in our area and the ocean are the only really big sites in our area.
5 Do the internet cafe’s have the capability to burn a CD? One of the missionary mom’s said their son would drop off their memory card at the cafe in the morning and then pick it up later with a CD. They would then send the CD home. When the CD had arrived safe and the parents had downloaded the pictures, then the elder would erase the memory card
5.I’m not sure about this one but i’ll look into it.
6 Can you attach and email some pictures each week? 
6.i will test this one next time and see if i can send them.
7.our area has both rich and poor we have a place called La Lucia and its super rich nice mansion houses and than places like Overport that are just poor apartment buildings.
8. ours is a ward they just combined Beria branch and Durban north branch to make a ward and its a good ward nothing like at home. our ward is basically a convert ward there are very few born members in the wards so it makes things interesting.:)
9.we eat curry, Briani (kinda like rice),samp which is like very soft corn kernels, and Pop which is like mashed potatoes but different but its good.
10 Have you eaten anything fruit or vegetable that you have never heard of before?
10.well we had these lime things that were dipped in chili sauce so its sour and spicy and its wasn’t good.
11.yes Elder Martins family are active in the church his dad is the stake president back home
12 Are you teaching well together? 
12.we are teaching ok the ways we teach are so different so its hard but we are working good together.
13.i do stick out like a sore thumb people a lot of the time just stare at me its kinda funny.
Anyway things are going great and I’m working hard. love you

Love, Elder Flexy      

Baba,
thats good that you have been painting. we were painting these peoples roof the other day and i almost fell off! it was pretty funny but mission is going great there is a possibility i might get a new companion this next transfer because this area is a hard area they never keep someone there too long. so we will just wait and see. Ya playing golf sounds really fun right now but we will be playing soccer in an hour or so anyway. well talk to you soon.
                                                                      
Love, Elder Flexy

Howzit-Elder Flexy!

Elder Flexy 3:4 -email-
I found a way to get a little more info from our Elder. I number my questions and he answers them without having to type as much. The questions in red are mine with the answer after. 
Mama!!
My week was great! so about the memory card don’t worry i didn’t send it yet. I said i would but then i heard some stories about them being stolen so i’m gonna find a way to send them home through E-mail instead cause i’m not gonna lose those memories.
1.we email at an email cafe in central durban.
2.ya it does cost its five rand [a rand is about .15 US] an hour so its super cheap.
3.there isn’t a time limit but we are only supposed to do it for half an hour.
4.yes elder martin emails as well.
5-Maybe you aren’t writing much because you don’t want to make him wait?
5.no we just don’t have that much time to email so its hard to get it done.
6.yes me being not a great typer is part of the problem.
7-Do you email your President?
7.no i don’t email him but we fax him a letter once a week usually.
8.we are still teaching like crazy and finding like crazy too!
9-Would you like us to write letters?
9.yes i would like real letters they are very nice, also while we are on the subject if you send me a christmas package (you don’t have too) just fill a box with letters from anybody you can think of and send it and also if you can find a starwars sound track (yes that is ok) for p day that would be sweet! 
10.so i didn’t tell anyone about your blog that is me i check it once in a while just to see whats happening.
11-Have you met anyone who you feel a special bond to? Like you have known them before or like you just click with this person?
11.well there is this investigator named ___ and he seems to have a soft spot for me he has this trust in me and i have vowed to baptize him.
so there is a reason why i haven’t gotten into to spacfic things in my emails is really because this is a very scetchy place lots of dodgey things happen. and i didn’t want you to worry because i know nothing is gonna happen but it is a dangerous place. about four months ago an elder was kidnapped and held for ransom but the lord prepared a way for him to escape. so don’t worry the lord protects his special ops. force without fail so don’t worry. but i have seen lots of cool things like the indian ocean. we saw a beached whale. its super humid and hot here its pretty brutal but i’m starting to like it. anyway thats all for now love you!!!
                                        Love Elder Flexy
Baba!
things are going great here!! thats great that you get to build these shelves and stuff its good for you. ya well your bucket of responsibilities has always been full so thats no change!!:) i guess people just need your services. ya i’m glad Keifer got his eagle. my companion told me that scouts here is bad news. he said one time his troop they stripped one of the kids naked tied him to a chair and left him on this old Gogo’s [a gogo is a grandma in Zulu] porch!!!! i thought that was pretty funny. yes we do quite a bit of service in the morning because no one is home to teach. this last saturday we scrubbed and painted this indian families roof it was fun we will do it for a long time because its super big. anyway the work is going great. Love you.
                                       Love Elder Flexy

Howzit-Elder Flexy!


Elder Flexy  3:3 -Letter-

Mama, Baba,
Things are going great I’m learning so much. And my testimony has grown so much already. I’m trying to be a good teacher today, we went on splits and I was in charge. It was pretty scetchy cause  I don’t know the area well. But it worked out good. About your question: “Why do we have to go through hard things in this life?” Well, first this life is a test and it must be hard. In the words of Elder Martin my companion, “We are like a soccer team, if we play against little girls, we don’t get any better. But if we play against the best we become the best.” And God won’t give us a trial we can’t overcome. Anyway, better stop for now. Love, Elder Flexy

Howzit-Elder Flexy!


Elder Flexy 3:2 -email-



Mama Baba,

sorry the computer i’m using is trippin bad so i’m just gonna say that our baptism isn’t a set date cause she wants to be ready. so its in november and we are doing awesome keep us in your prays this computer keeps deleting my email as i’m typing so i better quit sorry i’ll write extra next time.Love you guys.


Love Elder Flexy