Real Africa

Yo! This Friday I got to Queenstown: it was a 1 1/2 HOUR flight to East London then a 2 1/2-hour drive to Queenstown. But leaving Stelliies was a little sad.  I miss the Sethlabane family and my old comp Elder Howard. But, I'm excited to be here in Queenstown and Illinge. Illinge is the village we cover here. We cover 2 units: part of Queenstown and the Illinge ward. And Illinge is awesome.  It is just a straight village and all the roads are dirt roads. However, there is a turf soccer field in the village, so that will be great to practice on.  There are cows, goats, donkeys, chickens, and sheep roaming all over the village.  It is so funny. The church building in Illinge is straight up a couple shipping containers built together, lol.  

 

A cool experience we had on Saturday, my first day in IIlinge, we had a great lesson with one of our friends, whose name I can't even pronounce yet, and after we asked if she had any questions and she said "yeah when can I be baptized?" So, that was really cool and we set her on date for April. We also have 4 or 5 more individuals on date here, so it should make for a busy few weeks.   

 

Another fun thing happened on Tuesday in Stellenbosch. My parents sent us some soccer balls to give out to the kids in Kayamundi (they normally use plastic bags wrapped together and strung up with string to make soccer balls). So right as I gave out the first ball, all the kids just came running to us to get one. It's amazing to see the look on their faces. It made them so happy and they were so thankful. Also, in Stellies we were visiting the Sethlabane family one last time and all the little kids on their street ran up to us and hugged our legs.  It was so cute. I'm gonna miss them.  

 

But I don't have a ton from this week. I'm just trying to get adjusted to Queenstown, Illinge, new elders, etc so it's a lot of new it feels like I'm starting mission again, lol. But something I've been focusing on is more meaningful prayers and also on being here in the moment. I know that through prayer God comforts us when we're anxious and stressed. That he can put peace into our souls and mind. The book of Enos is one of my favorite books in the Book of Mormon. It helps me understand how much prayer can really do. And being in the moment is something that's hard for me, but I've been trying to be better at in on my mission. To just focus on what the Lord needs me to do for him right now. But also, so that I don't miss out on the amazing moments and relationships that a mission offers. Even though it's hard learning to be in the moment and asking God to help us do so will truly make us happier. I know that God and our Savior Jesus Christ love us.  

 

Love ya'll 

 

-Elder Quick