Monday, March 28, 2011

Rainin' on the Missionaries

Hello everyone,

How is everybody doing? Thank you so much for the love and support that you all are giving to me. So I got some more letters this week from Trent and Kiaya (or was that one last week...? time goes too fast I am telling you). So its been a more challenging week this time but that is ok that is how the lord makes us stronger to do his work. There is a quote off of the joesph smith movie that I like it says "The lord calls us in our weakness but he qualifies us for his work." It is so true. The lord plays with our challenges but before we even realize it those weaknesses are made strong.

So me and my companion were walking most of this week again. We only have the car on Wednesdays and Fridays. And this week it has been raining ALOT! but that is ok because apparently from what the other missionaries say is that the more that we get rained on as missionaries the more beautiful our wives will be. So with one of the other missionaries I told that to he just stopped walking and said "Well by all means lets just take our time" Haha.

So yesterday we had six of the baptisms that we were hoping for. There was two older ones but the other four were young ones but that is ok because also as joesph smith says "Every soul is precious in the eyes of our lord". We were suppose to have eight but then we had a mother and a daughter of a family who are members but when we were coming up with the program for them on saturday night the family brought up concerns whether or not the mother should be baptised. There are some problems with the mother mentally I guess that they really havent opened up to us totally before now. So for now the mother and daughter are going to wait. But that is ok because we are working closely with the family and them and also President Poulsen. Eventually all will work out and the family will be able to be together all as one instead of all of them going seperate situations.

So also this week we have had people just kind of drop off the possibilities I guess you can say. Because some of them are having family problems and others are having problems that they dont want to bring up and not willing to change anymore. So this week has just been a more difficult week. But it was also a good week dont get me wrong. I will always love this week and every week of my mission because I will always be learning something.

So you know how fast time goes? This transfer (six weeks) is already over. This saturday we are recieving news whether or not we will be staying in the area or if we will be going to another area or what new callings are and all of that. It seems like only yesterday that this transfer started and now its already over. Time only gets faster and faster I dont know what to do.

Well I got to get going but I love all of you and again I thank all of you for your support. I will write more of our progress and all that is happening in the area next week but for now the internet is slow so I dont have much time. Keep the lord close and nothing will stop you.

-Elder Aaron Giles Lindsay

Monday, March 21, 2011

Mission stories

Hello everyone,

How is everyone doing? I hope all is well in all places around the world. I have been getting some letters from people and my birthday package from my family. Thank you so much everyone for the letters, fruit snacks, chips, m&ms, Reeses, Camera chips, yoda pez, the tie, and most especially the cake mix. All the missionaries have been enjoying the goodies as well not just me so they say thank you as well. I was so excited to read and look at the pictures from the kids at dan petersons I almost started crying. I miss my kids so much.

So this has been a good week. We have been keeping busy and there have been its struggles trying to keep us from working like rain and unplanned car problems like tires and unplanned meetings. But over all everything is good. Yes there has been challenges but that is how the lord works to help us build our faith in him.
So I got some great stories to tell this week. So first is about a guy named Earnest. Well one day me and my companion get a referal from the missionaries in Krugersdorp (another area), and we went to see him. When we got sitting down he pulls out a stack of books of; a few book of mormons, doctorine and covenants and pearl of great price, teachings of brigham young, and our heritage and some other books. Well we asked him how he came to have all these books and he said he was walking one day and he walked past a garbage bin with all these books and he just decided they were perfectly good books he would just take them and read them. Well he read the book of mormon and some of the other books all the way through and he knew that they were true and fell in love with them. well in front of one of the book of mormons was the phone number for the missionaries in Krugersdorp and he calls them and they refer him to us. Well now he is on baptism date and we are teaching him and his whole family.

So that is story number one now for number two. Last week me and my companion went on exchanges with the zone leaders. I was with elder Oliage in the Florida (not USA) area. We were tracting and we were going down one road when he said he wanted to turn around and go down the other side. But as we were turning I saw someone at a house on the corner and I told Oliage that we should go try them. Well we went and we knocked and it sounded like they were angry when they told us to go to the back door. But we still went and the father tells us to come in and sit down. Apparently him and his wife had just barely been fighting over which church to go to. Well just a little time before we came another person came by and gave them a pamphlet and just left so they didnt think much about it. Well when we came we sat down and talked with them and taught them lesson one (the restoration). Well they loved the lesson so much that we were able to put them on date for April. Well apparently they have been coming to church and have just fallen in love with it. And Elder Oliage just told me yesterday that the bishop in that ward met the family yesterday and moved up their baptism to this coming sunday! And the family is so excited and working hard for that day.

These stories just show a few of the many different ways in which the lord works to prepare his children for his gospel. These things have strengthened my testimony of this work so much and its just a few of the amazing stories I have whitnessed while I have been here on my mission. I am so grateful I decided to come and there is nothing I would exchange for this experience. I am absolutely in love with my mission and I am going to be heart broken when I have to leave. I already almost cry just thinking about and I have over a year left. I hope my family doesnt take this the wrong way but I dont want to go back home but I do at the same time. Im being torn into two different pieces. A part of me will always be here in south africa and I will never be able to recover that part after I leave.

I thank the lord for this experience he has given me and I thank all of you for your love and support. I love each and everyone of you and I hope you are doing well. I miss you and pray for you always. Stay true through the thick and thin of things.

Love you.
Elder Aaron Giles Lindsay

"The sweet caress, the twilight, theirs MAGIC everywhere"
-Timon (Lion King)

Monday, March 14, 2011

Out of Time

Aaron ran out of time this morning and so he wasn't able to write a blog letter. However, our stake asked him to write a letter for a missionary activity they are doing. He asked us to post that letter, so everyone at least has something to read.

Dumalang (Greetings),
So I heard that you are all having the stake MTC. I am so jealous. I remember my experience with the stake mtc and it was AMAZING. I will tell you that before I attended there I had no desires to go on a mission. When I first heard about it I just wanted to go to give me something to do over the weekend. But the thing is I went and I had an open mind to all the things the people were teaching me. And that is what made all the difference. Because I went with an open mind the spirit was able to work within me and was able to tell me the things that I needed to do, which was to prepare myself to go on a mission. Well the sunday after I surprised my family and everyone else when I mentioned in testimony meeting at church that I was planning on going on a mission someday.
Well let me just tell you that I have never regreted the decision that I made in order to come. So here in the great land of South Africa there have been many ups and downs. I wont lie to you and say its all fun and games. But it is an amazing experience and you will never regret the decision to go and serve the lord for two years. I have many trials where the devil has tried to get a hold of me and I will admit I have almost given in a few times but as long as I hold strong and keep to what the lord wants me to do that is when I get all the difference and that is when all the many blessings will come.
So maybe none if not a few of you could be called to the same mission as me. But I have kept in contact with some close friends I made from the MTC and they all say the same things about their missions as well. You may not be like me and have to eat chicken feet and heads and cow intestines and many other exciting things and you might not have to adapt to 12 other languages. But I promise you as you go on your missions it will be the most exciting and rewarding time of your lives.
I am so happy that you all have decided to put the trust in the lord and to prepare yourselves for his work. Keep strong and keep the basics of reading, praying and attending church. If you do those simple basics I promise you that you cant go wrong. You all are in my prayers with my friends and family. I wish you all the best.
Salasentle (Farewell),
Elder Aaron Giles Lindsay
Johannesburg South Africa Mission

Monday, March 7, 2011

Visit to the temple

Hello everyone,
So just to start out I would like to say that I am sorry if everyone doesnt get a reply from me this week with their emails its just that I am so busy sending pictures for people and such. Its great to hear from everyone though. This week I got a letter from my sister Heidi with pictures. And I also got a letter and pictures from Emily as well. Thank you both so much.

So this week has been a stressful hard week because trying to balance alot of different things at once but that is ok. The missionary who broke his collar bone is still away from the area so we have been working in two areas sort of. Hopefully he will be able to come back to the area soon. So a few amazing things happened this week though. I was able to attend the temple on friday and it was AMAZING! It gave me the spiritual boost I needed and the temple it self is so beautiful. The surrounding areas of the temple are amazing as well. Pictures will be coming soon. Then the other thing that was great is that this weekend it was stake confrence and Solly (a branch missionary from Khutsong my last area) came to visit me. IT WAS AMAZING AGAIN! I got to ask him lots of questions about the area and I learned alot. There was some good but also some bad. It makes me wish I could go back all the more. But its great to know how everyone is doing though. So other than that it has been a typical week. We are keeping very busy and just cant get enough of the work. Thank you everyone for the love and support you give me and thank you for your prayers. I love you all and I hope all will be well with you this coming week.

Love you all.
Elder Aaron Giles Lindsay
 
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