MTHATHA

Hello from Mthatha!!!!!

Things here are crazy! I'm the whitest kid out here! 

No city, no large buildings, just one main street and everything else is township.  This Is really Africa.

I'M LOVIN" IT!!!

We had an appointment last week where I don't think I heard one word of english...all in xhosa.  Thankfully though, most people here speak english so that was an exception.  It was weird though.

I stay in a nice neighborhood (not township) in a house. That's right, a house with a yard and everything.  All the Elders in the district stay together, it's really cool.  Elder Nielsen and Elder Simpson (both past comps) are the other companionship in my district.  So far it's been a fun time.  The house has three rooms, one bath and kitchen with a lounge area.  Pretty roomy, I like it.  We all have our beds in one room and the other two rooms are used for the study rooms.  We have a member who lives in a small house in the back and has a cool job where he makes documentaries.  He owns a Mac and said I'm free to play on it. BOOM, who knew...out here in Mthatha I would find a Mac user.  Hehe.

My comp, Elder Lewatle is from Joburg and we are getting along really well. He's a cool kid. He's been out about 13 months.  He has these little funny comments that he is always making (sound familiar?) we'll be great together.

The only downside to this area are the roads. I remember Chelsea always complaining about potholes being fixed and didn't understand why people can't just go around them.  Well, come out here to Mthatha, Pothole city.  There are so many! You never drive straight down the road because you have to weave in and out of these massive holes. And most of our area is dirt roads anyways.  It rained a lot last week so the roads were muddy as mud and it was some crazy drivin! I'm learning though.

We have some great members out here in this tiny, little branch.  They meet in a small building that used to be a hotel and the missionaries mostly run the Branch.  They expect a lot out of us...I have a feeling I might even get a calling!  But Like I said, a lot of great members.  They just love the missionaries and always are willing to do stuff for us.  Everyday since I've been here, we've had a minimum of two fellowshippers with us the whole day.  Their choice.  What diehards they are!

Our teaching pool is a good side but Elder Lewatle and I are going to try to find a lot more people this week. We had some amazing lessons last night with a couple of people. One was with a group of sisters and we talked about how the Book of Mormon is the proof of the restoration and Joseph Smith.  The spirit was very strong as we bore witness of this powerful book. ITS TRUE. READ IT IF YOU DON"T KNOW THIS. READ IT IF YOU DO.

I'm going to increase my Xhosa knowledge while I'm here, hopefully I'll be able to speak more of it by the time I leave.  It's an interesting language.

I do miss Cape Town....lived there for over a year...I was sad to leave it. I'll go back one day...I could even see myself living there :)  Oh how I have fallen in love with the Mother City.

Well, I hope that you all have a great week and know that I think of you oft.

Can't get my camera to connect to the comp...sorry :(

Stay Classy,


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theELDERNAYLOR

Well hello my friends! How are you all?

Did you have a great week? I think about everyone back home often, hoping that all of you are doing well. You guys are in my prayers, that's for sure! 

This week has been a pretty cool...little weird though. In the words of Bob Dylan....'Times are a changin'

That's right, I'm leaving and going somewhere else.  For this first time in over a year, I'm leaving Cape Town.

Yep, me and the mother city are parting our ways and moving on.

I'm going off to a distant land called Mthatha (pronouced Mm-ta-ta). The very tip of the Eastern Cape, farthest you can get away from the office.

It's going to be sweet.



It's a pretty Rural area of the mission and it's you and three other elders out there. You all live together. My first four man boarding. It is going to be way different to the city life of Cape Town that I have been living in for the past year, but it will be quite the experiance.  But have no fear, I will be completely safe, probably more safe than I am in Cape Town!!  I think that I'm in for yet another great part of my mission, different, but awesome nonetheless.

As for mowbray, I'll miss this area, it has been a great time here. I have learned a lot in the six months that I have spent here. Some great members and some great people that I have taught.  

For some reason, I don't have too much to say this week.  We had a another busy weekexcept for saturday when all our appointments dropped on us.  It was weird but we survived.

I'm really sad about leaving Elder Parry though...he's been one of my favorite companions!!!! I will definately be going to Whales to see that man.  

This week you guys get some picturrrrrrrresssssssss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11111!!!!!!!!!!!1!1!!!!!!!! be exciteeddddd!!!!!!!


Just some photos of the past few weeks that I've taken.

I love you all and next time you hear from me, I'll be in Mthatha!!!


BTW, my new comp is Elder Lewatle from SA and the otehr guys in my district are Elder Neilsen and Elder Simpson (two past companions!!!!)

I LOVE YOU ALL AND HAVE A GREAT WEEK!!!!
hope the pictures work...this computer is about to be thrown out I'm that frustrated with it. Where's Clifford? :(
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theELDERNAYLOR

Hello all!

Here is another week here in the Mother City of Cape Town! Things have been going well, Elder parry and I are the busiest we have ever been on our missions and we are just having a grand ol' time!  This past week has been full of some great appointments and great people.  The only downside to the whole week was the fact that only one investigator came to church yesterday, but that is okay, we'll keep pushing along.

We had an appointment with Stocklyn on saturday and we gave him the Book of Mormon, he seems eager to keep learning...it has been great visiting with him.  He seems to have the most potential out of most of the people that we see.  The other guy, Sylvain is doing pretty good.  We were unable to have a good appointment with him this week but we did go and see him at his book stand in downtown.  We stopped by his house last night to see how he was and he was a little startled that we were there...he said "I never have anyone visit me..." I think we are earning the trust of him!  

Another neat story was on Saturday we talked to a confused Jewish lady that has been reading the New Testament and just trying to figure things out.  We gave her a Book of Mormon to read and hopefully she'll read it and give us a call (she wasn't too keen on giving us her details due to her husband being pretty strict with being a Jew)

Elder Parry and I are getting along really well and working incredibly together!  He's a great guy and I think it's because of the great unity that we have that this area is doing so well right now.  Just some great things happening here in Cape Town right now.  

On Saturday night we had to move flats. A Elder was having health problems and his flat had a geyser break and it leaked everywhere...so they had them move into our flat(it is the most clean around) and after they repaired their flat and repainted it...we moved in.  At first I wasn't to happy with having to move again (fourth time in this area) but today we cleaned the whole place and put the furniture the way we like it and now it's not that bad! Hopefully I'll get to live there a little longer to enjoy the hard work I did with cleaning.  

Another thing is that a member let me borrow his guitar and I've been playing around on it for a bit and I wrote a comical song towards Elder Parry on Saturday...he recorded it on his camera(mine was out of memory)...it's called Song of the Lambs....I'll get a copy of it to watch when I come home.

Things are going well and I'm very happy!

This gospel is very true and this is Jesus Christ's one and only true Church on the Earth and I'm so Happy to be a member of it!!!

Have a great week!!!

Sorry yet again no photos...I forgot my card reader at the office...next week!

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theELDERNAYLOR

I AM BACK AMERICA!!!!!!!!!!


Hi, I'm Elder Naylor....remember me?

Yep, I kind disapeared there for a bit...didn't I?

Well, things happened and I'm now not fully in the office anymore (still go in for a few hours a day just to finish up training people) so I should be back to my weekly emailing, so that means a lot more updates from this part of the world, from this guy.

My companion right now is Elder Parry from Whales...we get along a little too well but we work really well together and we have been working hard in just the past week that we have been serving together.  Some people say that he looks like Mr. Bean...and kinda acts like him in some sense, so go figure that we would get along. We spent most part of the other day acting like people with italian accents... the members that we went to visit thought we had gone bonkers!!! I have a feeling that these next few weeeks are going to be fantastic!

We found someone that may turn out to be a golden...His name is Stocklyn. He lives in Camps Bay (google it, it's a pretty cool place.) He is a servant for this really rich guy that stays in this big house. Stocklyn lives in a small room by the garage. He is really smart and the other night when we commited him to baptism, he said "With no hesitation. Can we do it right now?" His uncle was a member and tried to get him to join the church years ago but wouldn't....now his uncle has passed, he thinks there is a reason why he ran into us that one day...he went off on a huge testimony thing how incredible it was how we met him. (Elder Parry and Elder Simpson helped him move a mattress one day when they were stopping by a members house)  I'm really excited to see him progress.  We also had some other success with another guy. This man sells books on the street in downtown cape town and we had talked to him a few times and the last time, we asked him to come to chuch and he flat out said that he couldn't because he needs the money he makes on selling his books on sunday. Well, we went off on how he needs to exercise his faith in jesus christ how how important it is to show that faith.He agreed...probably just to get us to lay off him. We set up an appointment with him for saturday night and off we went. Well saturday rolls around and we are trying to find where this guy lives and just can't...by the time we finally do find him, it's too late and we have to reschedule with him for another day, but before we left we once again commited him to church...once again he gave the same excuse.  but he said yes.  So sunday comes around and we didn't think about him coming but there I'm am sitting in the back of the chapel during sacrament and low and behold....he walks in! Made me so happy! Before he left after church, we thanked him for exercising his faith and coming to church...we have an appointment with him this week...we'll see how things go.

What else is happening?

I saw some downhill longboarders yesterday and followed them going down a steep hill in heavy traffic (THAT'S REAL SMART)...once at the bottom I made Elder Parry pull the car over and I got out to talk to them. They were rude though and kinda ignored me....oh well, it was cool seeing a longboard!!!!!

I'm really enjoying serving in the heart of cape town...way cool area, so much to see and so many people!  Oh....I found a subway in cape town and ate lunch there the other day...it was good but just not the same as home. Miss the five dollar footlongs.  The guy at the till asked me where I was from and I said Utah and he responded with "Oh, mormon country right?"  Sure thing....I guesss?

Sorry no photos...don't have a card reader or a cable....maybe another time.

Love you all!!!

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theELDERNAYLOR