17th June 2013, Zone Leader, Queenstown South Africa

                                  SORRY EVERYONE IT WAS A CRAZY WEEK

Molweni!

Happy Fathers Day! For lack of time I will combine my fathers day message with my happy b-day message that I re-sent separate. I hope you had a nice one! It sounded like you did! I'm glad you all had a busy and eventful week! Monday we didn't really do anything, just made some chapati's (its like a thicker version of a tortilla) with Elder Mukongoro, and I enjoyed my letters and packages! Thank you so much Aunt Terri!

This week was nice! We once again exceeded our goals for lessons this week. Also I was on exchanges with Elder Hixon in Sada on Tuesday. It was nice to see their area! On Thursday we tries to fit in a lesson, but in the area we got a flat tire, so we went and got it fixed for our trip to.... Drum roll!!!! MTHATHA!!! Woo! So Thursday we took the 3 hour drive down to Mthatha, had all you can eat pizza, then slept at the Elder's house there. I was able to see some old faces again which was nice! On Friday it was exchanges and I got to go into my old area and see our investigators who were baptized the week after I left Mthatha. They are doing awesome! They are still super strong and are trying to read the whole Book of Mormon in one year by reading 3 pages a day. We had a Family Home evening there. It was awesome! I also got to see the another family so we taught some nice lessons that day as well, and one was with a family I was teaching before. I loved it! We came back on Saturday.

 

 

 

Sunday was also awesome! We have some awesome investigators! The biggest problem for us is getting people to church on Sunday... our area is quite far from the chapel, but we have a ton of investigators. Last night we taught a family that we found the other week, and after we finished the lesson they wanted to know when church was so that they could come and visit! That was awesome! If the whole family came, that would be incredible! But... most of the time people don't have cars, and they can't afford to take the whole family to church by taxi. It's R20 per person, and that adds up quick! But the work is pressing forward! I am seeing the tender mercies of the Lord every day! This is His work, and I just need to be the tool in His hands.

 

 

 

Well, I'll explain the pictures quick. So Saturday night, I cut my hair then I took a shower to get rid of all the hairs on me. When I was in the shower, I turned around, and right by my face was this GIANT spider!!! Luckily it was on the other side of the glass. My first thought (because it was so ridiculously huge) was that it was fake and that Elder Mukongoro was pranking me. But that thought quickly left me as a realized that I'M IN AFRICA!!! So I quickly finished my shower, escaped through the second shower door, and took a few pictures. My companion (from Kenya) wasn't even phased... I was freaking out about how huge this was and he says to me, "It's harmless..." So I went and found a nice clear container with a lid, and trapped it inside (accidentally chopping off two of it's legs in the process).

 

 I took it with me to the other Elder's boarding while we took reports, and they were all freaking out! Then Elder Mukongoro opens the container and puts his hand in and starts playing with the spider! Once he opened it everybody ran away and were scared. Then he took it by it's back leg and held it up as if to eat it. I quickly grabbed my camera and took a pic! After, I thought of how awesome that picture was, so I opened up the container, grabbed it's back leg and also did the same! So that's the pictures. By the way, the spider was still alive in those pictures. It was probably very poisonous (this is Africa), but later we let it out in a clearing by the railroad. That was scary but awesome!!! I know mom, I shouldn't do that, and you are right.

 

 

I hope I don't see any more big spiders in my house. But that isn't the biggest spider I've see here, but that was just the biggest inside my house that I've seen. I guess is was looking for a warm place because it's getting very cold here. It's getting into the negatives at night and we are waking up to frost almost every morning now. I just need snow!!!! Anywho... So that's my update for the week! I love you all and that you all for the support and love that I'm constantly getting!

-Elder Jones