(13 April 2009)

Dear Family, (13 April 2009)
I hope that everyone had a good Friday and a happy Easter. Almost everyone here goes to church on Friday. I find it a little weird how everyone calls it Good Friday. What exactly do they mean? I mean The Savior did not have a good Friday all those many years ago. The real good part was that He lived again, and he lives now. I don’t know, it is a wonderful occasion though where we get to remember our savior even more. It’s pretty crazy to think about but I will not have anymore Easters here in South Africa.
We had a pretty sad occurrence happen this week. We received a really good referral from some other missionaries but once we spoke to the referrals father he didn’t want us to have anything to do with his family. He said don’t come near my family. We tried a couple different times to get him to understand but he thought he knew better. We only spoke to him on the phone, but it really hurt to get rejected like that. I didn’t feel like I was human, I felt lower than dirt. I was reminded of a couple scriptures “woe unto men who are learned for they think they are wise.” And also the one found in Matthew 7 “beware of false prophets which come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravening wolves.” This guy was a pastor and thought he knew about our church. He had been taught his whole life false doctrine and therefore he thought it was right. Just because a belief or practice has been done for a long time doesn’t mean it is right or best. Well I forgive him and hope that one day he will repent.
We were able to follow up with 2 families with the talk about program that we did with them. We filled out a family mission plan with each family which the mission provided. The Mtshali family made a plan to have Family Home Evening with some of their neighbors and invite us the missionaries over to share some things. The other family, the Mokgabudis, made a plan and set appointments with their neighbors for us to come over and share the Restored Gospel. The Talk About program really works, and I am looking forward to working more with these families and their neighbors.
We taught Samuel and his family again this week. Samuel and Inocencia are doing really well. Again, Samuel’s mother and siblings are members but he is not, and only his 10 year old son in his family is a member. Samuel and Inocencia proudly told us that Samuel has been off alcohol for 3 months. Also Samuel is really taking to heart what we teach. A couple Sundays ago I taught the Gospel Principles class about Faith. I gave them an example, it is as follows: The Savior is on one side of a great pit and we are on the other side. He is calling to us to come to Him and we are praying to God that we can be with Him. Christ then gives us the commandments or stepping stones to get to him. If we do not follow and take the steps then our prayers are in vain because of ourselves. They all came to church again this week; I was very pleased to see them.
It’s nearing my time to leave Soweto. I don’t want to go. I really love these people and am excited about the new people we have found.
We had a very powerful baptism this past Sunday, 2 young single adults friends were baptized together. It was wonderful. Their names are Tebogo and Samukelisiwe. I was privileged to perform both baptisms. Tebogo’s mother came who is not a member but I’m sure she felt the spirit bear witness to her that what her daughter had taken part in was real and true. As Tebogo came out of the water she was smiling and as she was coming out of the font she was laughing and saying how good she felt. She wasn’t even exactly sure why she felt so good. I know that it was the spirit bearing witness to them that they had not just gone under water to join another church but they had entered into a covenant to serve God, and by doing so they became daughters of God and had entered His kingdom here on Earth. Baptismal services always bring a great weight on my shoulders and I feel a lot of pressure. I am glad it went well and that the pressure is now gone. I also look forward to having more pressure and more relief as my mission goes on for this is what brings great joy. God stretches you and then you are able to form into that stretch, this is how we grow. If you never do anything hard then you will always stay the same. There is so much to write about but so little time. Thank you for reading.
Love,
Elder Lane


Dear Family, (6 April 2009)

Finding people goes quite well when you have the spirit. Whenever it’s time to go tracting or try finding people to teach it can be hard to start. You can be unsure where to start, who to talk to, and what to say. You can be a little scared. Once you get started though it goes well, especially when you have faith. In my first 2 areas, Secunda and Alberton there was a lot of tracting and find, and it was everyday. When you have to find everyday and it becomes routine it can be very hard to have the spirit. I am finding though that here in Dobsonville where the work goes well I am able to have more faith as I find because we are not doing it all the time. I’m not saying that’s the way it should be but it is just something that I have noticed about myself. When you go out all day trying to find people and everyone shuts you down it’s hard to have faith. In finding people to teach you should always have faith and you should try to teach everyone you come across with the end in mind. I’ve been able to do more of this, and really try harder to let people know what the truth is. I give up less easily. I hope that if I go back to a more hardened people I will be able to carry this faith to find each day, even if it will be everyday all the time.
One of our investigators has a problem with smoking. I think I’ve mentioned her before. Her name is Motlalepula. Well this past week we bought her and her uncle some sweets to eat instead of smoking. Motlalepula told us that she didn’t think we were this serious. When she saw that we had sacrificed some money to help her she saw more of the importance to quit, and now she had more of a motivation (She didn’t want to waste our money) Her uncle, Sipho came to church for the first time this week which was really cool. He is progressing well; they even both said that the sweets were helping them a little.
On Monday we had Family Home Evening with a member and her sister’s family. The member’s name is Sarah Thoahlane, and she came from Bloemfontein to visit. Her sister’s name is Elizabeth. When we came to teach FHE she didn’t seem too excited, she is a Born Again Christian. She even seemed a little opposing to what we shared; she didn’t think it was appropriate for the whole family even though it was a General Conference address that is given to our church as a whole. On Friday we stopped by to say hi, Elizabeth was sick. We found out that she had actually been sick for a couple weeks, and that she was probably sick when we taught her on Monday, and that might have been the cause of her attitude. Elder Rajohanesa was impressed to pray for her. We then told her we hoped she would get better and we left. The day after, on Saturday we heard a cry from a taxi as it drove by. It was Elizabeth, her countenance was totally changed. She was going out of her way to say hi and seemed pleased to see us out and about. She said something to the effect that she would see us during the week. She seemed to have a different attitude towards us after we saw her that Friday. I hope we can continue to gain her trust.
General Conference was this past weekend and it was wonderful. I was filled with the spirit. I especially liked what one of the speakers said about Family Home Evening. He said that it was holy. When I heard this I likened it unto the Sabbath day which is also holy. When he spoke I felt that FHE was something which needed to be observed at all costs. As the Prophet spoke during Conference this thought came into my mind, “It has been easy for me to follow Christ most of my life. Would I still follow him if it was hard?” I was then reminded of the covenant I enter with Him when I was baptized. I promised Him I would take upon me His name, always remember Him, and keep His commandments. I must follow Him when it gets hard. I must follow Him always. I believe, and hope that I can be strong no matter what happens in my life. Elder D. Todd Christofferson gave a wonderful talk on covenants I recommend listening to it.
I am learning so much in this service and I am becoming Someone, I am becoming as Christ is, and so should all of us. Serving a mission is a dream come true. Happy Birthday to our Savior and to the Restoration of His church!

Love,

Elder Lane


Dear Family, (31 March 2009)
Sorry I did not write yesterday, circumstances prevented me from doing so. Missionary life is so wonderful. One of our investigators named Miriam was having some troubles with the first of the 10 Commandments; Thou shalt have no other Gods before me. We told her that this included worshipping and praying to ancestors. She had a very tough time with that and told us that she couldn’t give certain things up because it was her culture. She told us she was raised in her culture and that she would die in her culture. It seemed as though we had a major barrier in front of us. Well a couple days later her daughter went on a temple trip with the primary and this brought up the conversation of work for the dead. We felt the spirit strongly as we shared about ancestral work. I believe this helped Miriam to understand the commandment more and what was good and what wasn’t. This can be a problem here amongst the Africans. Their culture is their culture.
We had a similar encounter with another of our investigators. He was also brought to the topic of work for the dead. He was reading the Family Guide Book, and came across ordinances for the dead. This man’s name is Sifiso Nhlapo, and his wife is a member. He had a lot of questions about it. We answered him the best we could. It was nice talking to him about this topic though because he made the connection more easily. He saw that his tradition’[s and culture were as he put it “demonized from the truth.” I then proceeded to tell him that all beliefs and religions branched off of the truth at some point, so each belief has similarities to the truth but they are altered and not correct. Sifiso was very excited to see the truth, and how it related a little to his old ways.
Elder Rajohanesa and I had a wonderful exchange this Sunday. He complimented me on a Gospel Principles class taught well. As I thought a little bit on the compliment he gave me I realized that the night before I had prayed that I would teach a good lesson. I even prayed that I would be able to teach like Elder Rajohanesa, for he is a great Gospel Principles teacher. I told him that, I said, “you want to know why it was so good, it was because I prayed that I would be able to teach like you.” The Dobsonville Ward, and area are going very well, and I think it is because of our great comanionship unity. Just the other day we had Bro. Mtshali, Elder’s Quorum instructor, request that we come to his home and get referrals from him. I was so pleased to hear a member requesting that, it is a wonderful thing. I’m continuing to fast for our goals and we are receiving help. We had received news from some other missionaries that an investigator of there’s who is on date has moved into our area. It is great stuff.
We had Zone Conference this past week on Wednesday, and as always it was very helpful. President Poulsen has a saying that he always says. It is “if you always do what you’ve always done then you’ll always get what you’ve always had.” I really like that saying. It helps you see that if you want to do better and receive increasing results then you have to find more and better ways to do them. I recently enjoyed Matthew 11:29-30. The reference may be off a little but it is the scripture that talks about the Saviors yoke, and how his way is easy. Truly if you take Christ’s yoke upon you then you will be able to get things done, and life will be easier and happier. Thank you all very much for reading.
Love,
Elder Lane
Dear Family, (23 March 2009)

Last Monday after email I found out that an investigator of mine was baptized from my first area, Secunda. Elder Yarrington and I found him tracting. His name is Martin Mabaso, and he was baptized last month some time. I was so happy to hear that another person that I found was baptized. This brings great joy to my soul. When I think back to our meetings with Martin they were very good. He had a true desire to learn. He was a busy man so it was hard for us to see him on a regular basis. When I was there he only came to church once, and it was after church was over. He came in his work clothes just to see where it was.
This week we taught Maselwa again, and we put him on baptismal date for the 26 April 2009. He had some good questions about the life after death, (probably because his father had passed away recently.) He read 3 Nephi 11 that we left with him. He said he read it 3 times so that he could understand it. He then was able to explain the chapter to us in detail. He believes what we share it true, and feels good about it. He came to church again this Sunday. His prayers have not yet been answered but he says he prays about the Book of Mormon everyday.
There is a less-active part-member family that we have been teaching. We had some spare time this week so we decided to visit them. The investigator in the family is Sifiso. His wife is the member, Esther. In the past it didn’t seem like Sifiso would go anywhere, but this week he asked us how he could be a member of the church. We told him he needed to be baptized and that our visits were to help prepare him. He seemed like he wanted to be a member so I asked him why he wanted to be baptized and he said because he wanted to know how the other life style was like. He wants to change from the way he is now he told us, and find out what it’s like. Our last visit with him was on Sunday. He read 2 Nephi 31 and Mosiah 18 that we had left with him. He said that he felt enlightened when he read. He said for the first time he marked scriptures that stood out to him. This visit on Sunday was nice because he didn’t speak so much. He listened more. Usually Sifiso has a lot to say, and has a lot of questions, but I think now he sees that what we share is good, and whatsoever is good is light, and light is truth. We will probably put Sifiso on date soon if he can come to church a couple times in a row. He hasn’t been in a while. Oh and also when we had visited them that first time in a couple weeks Sifiso said that he had thought about calling us to see where we had been. He told us not to give up on him.
Miriam, another one of our investigators on date for baptism had a wonderful experience with the Book of Mormon. She gave us an excuse that she was going to court and that caused her to be nervous and a little worried so she hadn’t read. We told her that if she read the Book of Mormon before she went to court then she would feel better. Well she read the Book of Mormon and the court case went well, in favor of her.
The Mdlalose family is doing well. Sunday was a tender moment for Sister Mdlalose I’m sure for the event even brang tears to my eyes. Probably for the first time she had all of her children at church, (excluding Dumisani who just left for mission.) and her husband. They all sat together as a family. Hopefully Samuel, who we have been teaching, will have his whole family as well to sit with him and his mother, and the res of the family. Samuel’s wife Inocencia should be coming to church next week. Hopefully they will one day be able to all be baptized and go to the temple.
Sorry I can not update you guys on every investigator and how they are doing. I wish I could. I hope you get an idea of the wonderful experiences that I am having here in South Africa. I love these people and I love this place.

Elder Lane


Dear Family, (16 March 2009)

I received some great news last Monday. Mbuso our recent-convert who had a concussion and was in a coma is back to full health. His leg is still messed up, but he is able to walk with crutches. Bishop Tshabalala gave me the news, and told me that I should call Mbuso. It’s funny because I had been thinking about calling Mbuso earlier anyway. Well I spoke to Mbuso, and it was amazing, it was like I was really talking to him. The previous times I had spoken to him he was totally out of it and didn’t remember me at all. Now he remembers and was very happy to hear from me. He was well enough to go with his mother, who is not a member, to church down in Durban this last Sunday. My prayers have been answered. It’s great to have Mbuso back.
This past week we started teaching a family, Samuel and his wife, Inocencia. Samuel’s mother is a member, and she is Dumisani’s mother as well who just left on his mission on 6 March 2009. Samuel has been to our church in the past but he was never really motivated to go anywhere. His son Khaya is about 10 years old and was baptized a couple years ago. He has very good support from his grandmother. Well Samuel is progressing very well now. He is coming to church often, he enjoys it, and he is learning a lot. When we taught him and his wife the Restoration Samuel was able to make sense of things because of the few times he had been to church previous to us coming to his home to teach him. He tells us that he really wants to change, and you can see it in his face that he is ready to do what it takes. His mother, Sister Mdlalose, is very excited to see her oldest son progressing towards baptism. She asked us on Sunday when his baptism was. Maybe this will motivate her husband to change, who is having similar challenges.
We have 3 baptisms planned for the 12th of April. One of the candidates is an 18 year old young woman who is also a relative to the Mdlalose family. Maybe when Dumisani gets back from mission his whole family will be members. Well anyway this young woman’s name is Tebogo and she has been coming to church very often. Sister Mdlalose is also a great support for her, and she is making lots of friends in YSA. Last week when we taught her we asked her to think and pray about a date that she would want to be baptized. Just before we asked her to do this I said a silent prayer that she would be baptized when the Lord had planned her to be baptized. Well just on Sunday we found out that she had chosen the same date we were planning for her to be baptized, the 12th of April 2009. Truly this is when the Lord foreordained her to be baptized.
The days are going by faster and faster, which means the work is going well here, and I love it. I am gradually noticing the change that has been coming over me this past year or so. I hope this change will stay with me the rest of my life, and will continue to help me make more changes, to repent more and more, and to become more Christ-like, unto perfection someday.
I was able to step out of myself a little these past couple of days and see myself how investigators may see me. They see me as a disciple of Christ, not just someone who is teaching the Gospel but as someone who is living it. This was apparent to me when one of our investigators shed some tears when she found out that her missionaries weren’t going to be here forever. I am a missionary for the Lord Jesus Christ; He has not only called me to teach His gospel, but to live it, and as I do so I am able to have the power to convince men by His spirit.

Elder Lane


Dear Family, (9 March 2009)

This week has been a good one. We had 15 investigators at church. It felt so wonderful to have that many people come who are not members yet. There was one guy who came who was invited by the missionaries to come a long time ago, but I don’t remember if it was me or not. It sounds like it might have just been a pass along card sort of thing, like just a quick street contact. Also there were some other people who came for the first time with friends who were members, and we were able to speak to them and set appointments with them.
We have a really smart investigator named Gomza, and he is fun to teach. He is 22 years old. He came to church for the first time last Sunday. We saw him during the week and he had a lot of questions, as he always does. This time though he had a sense of urgency as he asked his questions. Church wasn’t what he expected. He didn’t feel fulfilled as people bore testimony of Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. He was a little puzzled and confused. This is probably because we hadn’t really taught him about them. Our first lesson with him was the Plan of Salvation. When we saw him this week we decided to teach him lesson 1, The Restoration. As we taught his doubts started to go away, and he felt the spirit. When we committed him to pray about Joseph Smith he said “well I must.” That felt really good to see an investigator really understand what you are saying. The people, for the most part, here in the township are a simple people.
Another one of our investigators named Jabulile has received an answer to her prayers. We taught her this week about the Resurrection, Judgment, and the Kingdoms of Glory. When I asked her about her prayers she told us that she wasn’t sure if she had received it. I then asked her how she felt and she said that she had felt good, and then she told us that she had even cried in her prayers. She told us that she felt very peaceful, and happy. Even while we taught her and talked about her prayers she started to get a little teary-eyed. Before she thought that her answer would come by ear, but we reminded her that it comes by the Holy Spirit which gives us overwhelming feelings of happiness, and wholeness. I committed her to ask one more time now that she knew what to look for. I felt the spirit strongly in that lesson. We then committed her for baptism on the 12 April 2009. It was very nice too because I had an MTC Elder with me, and he was able to have a sweet experience before he got out into the field. We take the missionaries from the Missionary Training Centre with us on splits for about 2 hours 2 Saturdays out of the month.
We did the Walkabout/Talkabout again this week. This time we did it with one of best recent-converts, Nana. We walked around her neighborhood and talked to her about her neighbors and planned certain things which Nana could do to introduce her neighbors to the Gospel such as giving out a pamphlet, or a Proclamation to the World: The Family. She even introduced us to a couple neighbors right then and there. One of the neighbors Nana introduced us to was named Tebogo. We asked her if we could briefly share with her but she said she was too busy with the dishes. We tried to tell her we could do the dishes for her but she didn’t accept. Nana hearing this then physically pulled her away from doing the dishes so that we could teach her. It was a little awkward with her forcing Tebogo from the dishes but she was able to be persistent and accomplish that which she was set out to do. We then took action and sat down with Tebogo and briefly spoke with her and set a return appointment. While we spoke to Tebogo Nana preceded to do the dishes for her. Tebogo and Nana seemed to know each other pretty well so there were know hard feelings. I guess Tebogo realized the importance of what we wanted to share. It was a real cool experience. Sometimes it takes different ways to get across to people the urgency of the message. This work is the Lord's, and it is awesome!

Elder Lane


Dear Family, (2 March 2009)

This past week has been powerful. I have felt the spirit of the work very strongly, and I believe in miracles. I’m trying my best to have faith to be able to accomplish our goals, and I’m trying to exercise that faith by my works. I made a little deal with our Father in Heaven, and I pleaded with Him that He would help us accomplish our goals. I asked Him to help me have faith and I told Him that I would fast every week up until the last full week in April if He would give us help. I’m going to do what I said I would do and trust in God that He will do what I have asked Him to do. I've got to work, work, work.
One of our investigators, named Mamokete, took the challenge that our Heavenly Father gives about the Book of Mormon. She read the book, pondered it and prayed to Heavenly Father asking Him if it is true. A while back she told us that her home was very busy and that it’s hard to find a quiet time their. We told her to find somewhere quiet that she could pray even if she had to go somewhere else. At our last appointment with her she told us that she had waited until around 11:00pm for everyone to go to sleep, and then she took some time to ask God about the book. She said that she felt good, and that she believes that the Book of Mormon, and the prophet Joseph Smith are true. Mamokete had faith, and she took the time to set aside time to really ask the Lord and she received her answer, the answer. I was very pleased to hear her testimony.
We have a family of 3 that we just put on baptismal date this past week, Miriam, the mother, her daughter Palisa, and her son Paris. Miriam is scared of water, but we told her that baptism is what our Heavenly Father wants, and that this is the true baptism so He will protect her. It was very nice to hear Paris pray for us. He’s in his teens but doesn’t have much experience with prayer. We asked him to pray for us and his prayer was almost identical to the way Lesson 1 pamphlet teaches people to pray.
On Saturday we tried this Talkabout Program that our mission president has introduced. It’s where the missionaries walk around with the members of the church in the member’s neighborhood, and talk to their neighbors. We tried this with a member of our bishopric and we were able to set an appointment with one of their neighbors. It didn’t work fully the way it is suppose to but with time us missionaries will be able to do better at it.
We have 9 people on date for baptism as of this past week. Seven of which have been to church at least once. The other 2 who are the closest to baptism have not been to church yet because it is really hard for them to get there. We are trying to encourage them and give them hope. They are scheduled to be baptized the 22 March 2009. Elder Rajohanesa and I are trying our best to help this stone "cut out of the mountain without hands” roll as fast as the Lord wants it to. Things are great here in South Africa.