Rocklands 2 Area - Week 62

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!! I am so excited for 2018! This is going to be a great year. Why? Several reasons, but number one is because I go home this year!!

I have 3 New Year's Resolutions which I'll share:

1) Help a father-led family make covenants to bring them closer to Heavenly Father.

2) Eat healthy.

3) Finish my mission strong!

We ended off 2018 with a bang. Here are the highlights of the week:

Earlier on in the transfer we found this 17 year old guy named Vuyo. We have been teaching him and he has been very receptive! We also taught his grandpa once (who he lives with) and gave him a Book of Mormon in Xhosa. At the beginning of the week we took President Nyatshoba (the stake president) to work with us and he came to see Vuyo. When we were there Vuyo opened up about how he wanted to quit smoking, and we didn't even know he had that problem. President said that he sees a future missionary in him!

Flash forward to our next appointment. Vuyo's grandpa was drunk. He basically talked down to us for 30 mins and kicked us out of his house. The whole time Vuyo was apologizing to us. On Sunday, Elder Simayile had the great idea of having one of our returning members, Bro. Jubane, give Vuyo a ride to church in his truck. We came to his house and I think his grandpa was still drunk, and he started saying a bunch of things. I was worried he wouldn't give us permission to take him to church. But when we asked him he said okay, just bring him back. So Vuyo came to church, and President Nyatshoba was there as well so he basically took him under his wing.

Then after taking the sacrament, something even more amazing happened. We are teaching a recent convert's husband, Ntate Jobo. Mamsy Jobo, his wife, was baptized in July but hasn't been to church since October. Ntate Jobo has been progressing very well and is on B-Date for Jan 28th. After taking the sacrament, he walked in with his Mamsy, their daughter Lerato, a family friend, and 11 other children that live near their home!!!!! Imagine the shock on my face when that happened. I probably looked funny with my mouth wide open during the middle of sacrament meeting.

God is a god of miracles. Miracles still happen every day, we just have to be paying attention to see them. I can testify that this is true.

2 Nephi 2:11 "For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not so, my firstborn in the wilderness, righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad. Wherefore, all things must needs be a compound in one; wherefore, if it should be one body it must needs remain as dead, having no life neither death, nor corruption nor incorruption, happiness nor misery, neither sense nor insensibility."

We will not be without challenges during this new year. Without challenges we will never grow, progress, become better, etc. I hope that you all have a great year, notwithstanding the challenges that may lay ahead. We have a loving Savior, Jesus Christ, that will be with us every step of the way.

Happy new year,

Elder Austin LaHue

Bloemfontein, South Africa

Found this spider while cleaning the Rocklands chapel..

First time eating Burger King on my mission!