Monday, April 26, 2010

MOLO!

Dear family and friends,

Well Mthatha is really boring when it comes to Pday. nothing to do. at all. Today is really busy in the email shop. Its holiday here. So everyone is out of school and busy on the internet so its really slow. Roads suck. People are interesting. We ran into a really drunk guy yesterday that we couldn't understand what the heck he was saying. I think he was saying something about us not knowing what Christ is and such. We laughed at him and took a video of him it was funny. He was just yelling at us. So i get to drive everywhere. My comp can't drive so me the designated driver haha. its fun.

Its definitely different than Capetown thats for sure. We now shop at SPAR and its more expensive but i'm getting by. Elder Rimuwa and i cook lunch together and then on our own for breakfast and dinner. We have lots of pop and potatoes and rice. He is going to teach me how to cook pop haha. not hard just boil water and had the powder stuff till it gets thick. it tastes good with sauces. We are in a 4 man boarding which means its a 4 man district. i was in a 4 man district in Meadowridge too. I thought i mentioned that. oh well

we have 3 baptism date candidates. Beauty, she is awesome, she is so excited about the gospel and everything. her friend, Loretta, who is a RC introduced us to her since they are friends and work at the same place. Panarotties pizza and pasta parlor. Its really good pizza we go there every thursday night for all you can eat pizza :) She will begetting baptized on the 9th of May....the other 2 candidates are what we call eternal investigators. they were found back in 2008 buy Elder Whillhite who is going home at the end of May. but anyway they, Anda and Akim are boyfriend/girlfriend that will get baptized just don't know when. they have some problems with getting married cause of the Labloa. (have to pay for the wife). so yeah hopefully they will get everything figured out soon. at the moment they are using the marriage issue as an excuse to not get baptized....

Zone conference was great. We left on Tuesday night about 6:15 and got there in Queenstown about 9:00. Elder Turner drove there and then i drove back on wednesday afternoon. the theme of zone conf was the importance of 'finding them that will receive you" We have had alot of BD so far this year but they have decreased cause they are getting baptized haha so Pres told us that finding is an eternal principle and that we need to be finding people that will progress. Mthatha really needs priesthood holders. I don't like the small congregations. We watched the sunday sessions of conference yesterday i really enjoyed the afternoon session. especially Elder Fosters talk about mothers. Related it to cows and calves :) and made me think of my mother back home. I love you mom thank you for teaching me so that i know just "enough" of the gospel to serve my mission. I love you!

Families truly are of god. I love you guys. i miss you a lot. i miss that i couldn't be there to help with the Branding. Hopefully things will go better next year. ....sorry for not expounding on how to say Mthatha. I'll do better on these Xhosa words haha. i'm getting the clicks down. Yeah!! HAHA its so cool!
MOLO-hello
enkose-thankyou
Iqaqa-skunk (have fun with that one haha the q is a click)

We will be watching the preisthood and saturday morning session on tuesday. I would love a copy of the ensign.
Well i love you all! have a good week and keep well!

Your Missionary,
Elder Robert S. Rigby (CTM)

P.S. mail will take longer since i'm closer to Durban.


*Here is a map to give you an idea where he is. Note: Umtata was renamed Mthatha.

Monday, April 19, 2010

and the news is

Dear family and Friends,

Greetings!! From South Africa in the eastern cape! Yup i got transferred on thursday. I'm now in the Queenstown Zone in Mthatha! My new comp is Elder Rimuwa. He is originally from Malowey but his family moved to Zimbabwe. Hes a great missionary. He is older than me and knows what he is doing he's 25 and been on mission the same as Elder Heydenrych. So 15 months. The Plane ride over here to east london was about an hour or so and then i got to see my father (aka Elder heydenrych) again it was nice. They were all at the airport waiting and then i got to see Elder Lindstrom! We were so happy to finally see each other. haha gave each other a big hug and and laughed and joked around till it was time to drive 3 hours to Mthatha. yeah long drive i drove and yes i'm quite good at driving on the other side now haha. we drive or fly everywhere. some areas are walking and others have bikes.. Elder Zulu and i were quite ready to be out of the car by the time we got here to Mthatha. elder Lindstrom was here but now in Queenstown. He loved it here so i'm looking forward to it. So Elder Zulu and i got here and met our new comps. Elder Turner, from Joburg, is the other missionary here so there is a total of 4 missionaries in Mthatha.

So a little about Mthatha...Its Banishment!! haha thats what we call it cause its so far away from other missionaries. and there isn't anything fun here to do on Pdays so we get to be creative today! haha. Its a 4-man district and boarding its awesome. we have been having some fun moments when we come back at night. don't have a shower at the moment so we get to bath every morning haha the last time i took a bath was at least 15 years ago i think haha... both companions have cars and the roads are horrible the city needs help. pot holes and bumps everywhere. but its not about that its about the people. Xhosa people so yes i get to learn some Xhosa haha. clicks are fun. i'm getting the hang of it...well kinda. it is difficult thats for sure. Its a branch. very small probably 40 to 60 people come. it was different for me, i'm not used to "small" congregations. So we missionaries do alot on sundays. give talks in sacrament meeting, teach sunday school, etc. so i get to have "fun" studying for that. shouldn't be too bad i guess. there is no keyboard or piano so we sing without it haha. sounds alright. so yeah! thats banishment haha

I'm doing fine though. I like it here so far! Zone conference is wednesday so we get to take a 3 hour "road trip" to Queenstown. haha excited about that. Glad to hear everyone is doing well. Good to hear that the other 3 missionaries are on their way and excited. They will have fun. Mission is great its the funnest and the hardest thing a person can do. :)

So back in Meadowridge Bradley will get baptized i don't know when since i'm not there anymore haha. Ezecail we didn't see. so he isn't good hasn't come to church either. and David we saw last week. he and his family are fine. still pretty interested in the Gospel. but Elder Larson and Elder Ripeste will take care of that.

I am working hard. i promise. if i don't i have a crappy day. so work is key haha. Well i love you all and miss you.

Your missionary,
Elder Robert S. Rigby (CTM)

Transfer Week

Dear Fam and Friends,

Ello from Cape Town South Africa! :) loving the life over here. Some people are kinda crazy but yeah thats the world for ya! its been another busy week. We saw Bradley Friday afternoon for his Baptism interview and we found out that he had finally talked to his parents about it and well they really aren't happy about it at all. so we came to the conclusion to post pone the baptism till next month so he can get things figured out with his folks. They are kinda anti-mormons but at the moment they are just scared that hes going into something thats not true cause they have heard that bad rumors about the church. So hopefully Bradley can get them to calm down a bit and get their support on his decision. he WILL get baptized though!! He made that very clear with us haha. so we aren't too worried. So at this very moment he isn't getting baptized next week. shame

Other than that the week has been good. We dropped a few more investigators cause they won't act. Michael, actually dropped us. He sent us a text saying that he didn't want us to come see him anymore. probably cause we were really bold with him the last time and told him that if he wasn't gunna come to church then we weren't gunna come see him. So he knows how to pray and where the church is and has support from his family, mostly Ryan. (ward missionary). We also dropped Yohane. He hasn't been acting either. so we saw him yesterday afternoon and watched a church history DVD with him and gave him the "Drop Talk". so yeah! fun stuff.

We have the 2 families that stay in Capricorn (Township) Elvis and then Charles and Vanessa. Elvis came to church yesterday! we were so glad to see him and he really enjoyed it. So he's looking forward to seeing us this week and then next week at church and he said that Silvia will be there too. Unfortunately she had to work yesterday so she couldn't come. but will next week. They are doing so good. loves to see us and loves the gospel... Charles and Vanessa are doing well too. they didn't come yesterday were not sure why. they said they were and that they were positive that they would be there. but didn't show. so hopefully we'll have a good lesson or 2 with them this week and get them even more excited about it. they've been reading and keeping commitments.

We did some tracting yesterday for 15 min. no success. but met some really interesting people. One lady said that she has been to Salt Lake and that she went to the Temple there and that they wouldn't let her go all the way. Duh i was thinking but most people don't know that. So yeah she wasn't interested as well as everyone else we spoke with on that street. wasn't very long of a street.

Well questions- I do my laundry at the boarding. We are fortunate enough to have a washer in our Flat. Its a piece of junk but hey it washes clothes! haha then i either hang it on the drying rack or take it to the complex dryer to dry it for R8 which isn't bad. Today i just but it on the drying rack. didn't feel like spending money on that haha. My pants hole is on the butt. right in the middle where the seam is. so i can probably get someone to fix it for me.

Well i love you all and hope everything gets better! Get well! Glad Grandpa is doing well too. I love you!!! Oh i got a package from the young women back home. it was nice of them to send. tell them thank you for me! Loves

your missionary,
Elder Robert S. Rigby (CTM)

P.S. dont know if i'll be going or staying here in Meadowridge. I'll know Tuesday night. Everything is going good. Today we are gunna go to a members place in fish hoek and play some pool and see our cool designs for a tshirt that Brother Turner is putting together for us. its cool.

Rest of questions cause i forgot haha-

We have a ward of about 100 or so. Starts at 9:00 yes there is an organ and 3 pianos. Bradley plays for priesthood haha. No i don't print off emails. costs to do that.I email at 10:00am or 11:00 depending on the cafe and how busy it is.

Well loves again haha

Elder Rigby

Monday, April 5, 2010

Another week gone!

Dear Family and Friends,

Hello! :) How is it back in the Snowy Burg? haha thats funny that it snowed on Easter! Its nice and sunny here! Its cooled down alot though i'm so glad! Getting tired of the heat i about die of sweating all day. So yeah winter is coming! :) I've been having fun driving and stuff. Its not as bad as i thought it would be, getting used to the other side of the road. its like driving a tractor down the road. kinda haha. So no accidents yet! :) I'm glad you are all doing well.

Its been another busy week. we had 2 people at church yesterday. it was a wonderful fast and testimony meeting. Spirit was there. a few of our Recent converts got up and bore their testimonies and they were good but they need a bit of help on knowing how to bear testimonies haha. we had a lesson in Priesthood on that actually. so the ward knew. Ivan came for the first time. he just stayed for sacrament meeting but thats whats most important. he said he enjoyed it so hopefully he'll come again! Yes i know i was a slacker back home. But mission is changing that. I asked My comp if he has ever missed church on Mission and he said no, been to every one. so Looking forward to that...Bradley is doing so well. Baptism in 2 weeks!! He will be going to school in the eastern states mom. and he has a girlfriend that is probably going with him. Its been a lot of fun teaching him cause he knows all the basic stuff so we get a bit of a challenge on knowing what to teach him in the lessons. Yes, his piano success makes me wish that i would've stayed on my piano playing. I practice Sweet Hour of Prayer at the chapel when ever i get the chance its coming along. So maybe when i get home i'll be able to play a few hymns haha. we'll see how it goes the next 21 months. wow i've been out 3 months. doesn't feel anything like it. been so busy that the weeks just fly by. having too much fun! :)

We have 2 new potential priesthood families that we're teaching. Charles and Vanessa and then Elvis and Silvia. We are hoping that we can really make a difference in their lives and bring them to baptism. Praying for them. We fasted for them. Fasting has gotten easier. Had a purpose and have done it more than once so every fast gets better. Had a good sunday afternoon. Visited members and a few investigators but nothing big. Easter is really big over here. especially Good Friday before. No shops were open and not too much traffic. it was nice. easter eggs everywhere and people partying of course. Wow we met these men yesterday that were just drunker than drunk. they wanted us to pray for them and join them in their little get to gether. We testified that wine is against the commandments and that they needed to change they were very repectfull about it. which i was shocked. but yeah some people are pretty crazy!..The world cup is going to be madness! Parties every night, traffic madness etc.They are making the N1 and the N2 oneways for it. crazy stuff! Elder Larson is glad that he won't be here for it. I get to have that joy and be here and go through the madness. but hey! I was there in 2010!

Well i love you all and miss you. I'm so grateful for your love and support from each of you! I know that the savior lives and that he loves each and every one of us individually. I know that the Book of Mormon truly testifies of Jesus Christ and his Gospel. I love easter weekend. really brings the spirit of the Resurrection into our minds we need to reflect on it. have a wonderful week!! :)

Your Missionary,
Elder Robert S. Rigby (CTM)

Friday, April 2, 2010

Howdy

Dear Fam and Friends,

Howdy! another busy week.... Tired.... but thankful to be here doing the lords work. We had to drop some investigators this week cause they aren't keeping commitments. its not cool having to do that and then not finding more people to teach. So we were busy with Bradley and the rest of our investigators. we only really have Bradley who is progressing. He is so ready to be baptized. So our lessons now are just to clear things up and to answer his questions that he has. his parents are anti-mormon so he really isn't getting any support from them which isn't good. but they said thats its his decision and they're cool with it. So yeah. He is such an awesome piano player! He plays mostly classical pieces like phantom and those you know haha. he has his own Grand piano. and is preparing to go to school in the States to get his masters. we were joking with him and asking him if we could call him Dr. Bradley Burrges and he said yes haha cause he's going to get his doctorates in piano haha. we had fun. but yeah that bradley. hes 23 if i haven't mentioned that before.

had exchanges with the ZLs this past week. I went to Khayleshtra with Elder White. Wow that guy knows how to teach. he's from Utah. had appointments all day. I'm used to appointments all day now. These past 2 weeks has been hectic and busy. We were/are so tired haha. We also had to go to somerset west for a district leader training meeting with the APs. So elder Larson had that meeting and then i went with 2 other missionaries and worked in somerset west area. it was fun. knocked on one door and they let us right in. haha so we kinda briefly taught the restoration to this family. great stuff.

Yesterday was a good day even tho we were tired. Went to church and only had Bradley come to church. I don't get it! why do people say they are going to come and then they don't??! Doesn't make sense to me! Its what were having the most problems with. People not coming to church. so we are very tempted to go to those and say to them we aren't coming back to see you till you come to church. don't know if thats the best idea but we aren't gunna waste our time with them if they don't come. so yeah!... then we went to fish hoek to support a baptism. Sonya Turner. It was awesome the spirit was so strong. its such a cool experience to witness baptisms of people who are so ready for the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost. Elder Butelizi baptized her and then her father-in-law confirmed her. they did the confirmation right after cause the family was all there from joburg. it was cool. had lunch with them and then came back to meadowridge and met with Bradley and then visited Members. Scheepers family, coloured family. they are awesome. Bro Ian Scheepers rebuked us for not having him come with us on appointments haha. He didn't get the privilege of serving a mission so he likes to go out with the missionaries. He and his wife are planning on serving a mission later on in life. they still have very young kids so it'll be a while before they can go. but yeah that was sunday.

General Conference is set back 3 weeks. they are rebroadcasting it so more people can watch it. its gunna be in each unit. so that'll be nice so that weekend will be cool. priesthood session friday night, saturday sessions on saturday in the afternoon and then sunday sessions on sunday at 9 and then we'll have a ward lunch and then watch the last session.

not sure what we are doing for P day today. might go to the Silvermine on top of the mountian between fish hoek and us. so i don't know.

Well i love you all! Miss you guys. Thinking and praying for you. Have a wonderful week!

Love your missionary,
Elder Robert S. Rigby (CTM)