Letters 10/29/2012

Into my soul

What a week this was. It seemed to flash by in a second, but as I look back, it feels like an eternity passed. We were all eagerly anticipating the arrival of Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, and we couldn't help but wonder what his visit would bring. The last time that he spoke in a missionary meeting was just over 4 years ago, and it happened to be at the same chapel that we were to see him. After that meeting four years ago, he hasn't been to ANY other missionary meeting. He mentioned how noisy, disrespectful, and disobedient they were, and from his own account, "I was spitting fire. I'm surprised this building was still standing when I had finished." He also said that he was never more angy than he was at that time. Because of that, he refused to speak at other meetings. Luckily, he said that we were quite healing to his soul. Before the meeting began, he asked to shake all of our hands, and he noted later that it was the closest thing to an interview that could be made in such short time. As I shook his hand and stared into his blue, small pupiled eyes, it seemed as if he was staring into my soul. I was excited and frightened at the same time, and when he asked me how I was doing, I blurted out a very bumbly and unintelligent "I'm good." I sat back down with my face quite flushed. We Heard from the area president, as well as Elder Clayton again, and we finally got to Elder Holland. He is a very passionate man.... the majority of what he said was directed towards our honing and perfection, which he was quite animated about. He talked of becoming God's investigators, and doing more than what we wanted our investigators to do. He said "Do you want your investigators to pray harder? YOU pray harder. Do you want them to read more often? YOU read more often. Do you want them to pray harder? YOU pray harder and more passionately. Do you want them to repent? YOU REPENT!!!" 

Following this, he told us of the creation of preach my gospel, and the purpose it has to convert and educate the missionaries so that they slowly become more converted and don't become inactive when they return home. He then proceeded to passionately chastise us, as is his style, and I think each and every person in the room left feeling that they weren't working hard enough becuase the looks on every face were quite solemn. I know mine was. Another observation I made was that Elder Holland is very short. It added a bit of comic relief to the suspensful drama that had previously taken place. I have great respect for that man.

On Sunday, we had a few more baptisms, one of which was the Sister that lost her child a few months prior. She made the comment afterward that she felt closer to her daughter Praises. I don't think I can describe the joy and compassion that I felt in that moment. This morning I continued my studies in the book of Luke, and I noticed on several occasions where it mentioned the compassion Christ had towards several individuals, then proceeded to the topical guide to count the others. There are many.

During our studies this morning, we were interrupted by a knock at our door. It was a pastor that lived in the flat below us, and he informed us that a burglery had taken place the previous night between 12 and 2. Our flat complex has 12 apartments, and surrounding the complex is a large stone wall with razor wire and an electric fence. Someone broke into several flats, but some had security doors so he passed by them. Unfortunately for us, we don't lock our door at night. This very same pastor heard a commotion in the complex as the assailants fled the complex with their loot, and he called the security service. When they arrived, they checked all of the flats and talked with their occupants, and when they came to ours, our door was wide open. They entered and proceeded to look through the house for us, and when they did, they found us fast asleep. They attempted several times to wake us, but they could not so they left and told the pastor to inform us in the morning. After saying goodbye, we went about the flat checking for missing items, but many evident things were still there. My camera and wallet were on the table safe and sound. Nothing was gone. Why they didn't take anything we do not know....but we have some very good suggestions.

Love,

Elder J William Davidson

Letters 10/22/2012

Times and Seasons

This passed Sunday, we had the opportunity to have Elder L Whitney Clayton attend our stake conference. It was quite a wonderful experience. What was even more interesting, was that he winged his whole 30 minute address, and it seemed to flow flawlessly. At one point, he changed the flow of the conference and randomly asked one of the missionaries present to stand and bear his testimony. I was relieved that it wasn't me. An Elder King from St Louis was the unfortunate one. He sauntered up to the podium, face beet red, and coughed and squeaked out his testimony and sat down. I felt quite bad. We are all highly anticipating Elder Holland on Thursday, yet at the same time we are a bit tentative to rejoice. He has a colored history here in Joburg, in the form of chastizing missionaries, which is very much his style. I'm interested to see how things work out.

We were visiting with one of our investigators who will be baptized this coming Sunday, and before we could ask her how she enjoyed conference, she blurted out "Wasn't that conerence just lovely? That was the best time that I have had at church. And, that President Monson, he is so normal! He is so meek and gentle and kind. Isn't he just a wonderful person? I felt like he was talking to me, and I KNEW that what he was saying is true." She went on for another  10 minutes... I won't relate further, but this was the part that struck me the most. The spirit had testified to her heart that what she heard was true. It had moved her because she was CONVERTED to the gospel. The power of the gospel is real, we just have to be meek, humble, and submissive in our approach to "search, ponder, and pray." I wish all of my investigators were as this sister. The relief society president came up to us after church a few weeks ago, and she explained how this sister was very active in the lesson, and that she seemed to possess  the knowledge of a member that had been in the gospel for a long time. She said that she didn't know that she wasn't a member until after church when she started a conversation with her. It is awesome to see how beautifully the spirit works when it is cultivated properly, and a person truly lets conversion happen. It makes a missionary feel good.

Love, 

Elder J WIlliam Davidson 

Letters 10/15/2012

The highs...and the lows

This week seemed to fly by,  but not without its striking experiences. The greatest of these happened friday night. As we were preparing for bed, Elder Beenfield received a call from President Omer informing him of the death of his grandfather. He was seemingly devastated, and I couldn't help but feel compassion and much empathy for him. I know all too well the sting that death brings. The wonder though, is the knowledge of the plan of salvation, and the hope that it brings. I have never thought about this in relation to those I knew that had passed on, and in a brief moment, I came to feel the comfort that I lacked after the deaths of Ben, Matt, and Tyler. I seemed to feel the love of God  through the comforting thoughts that I would see them again, and in the words of Joseph Smith, "..it will be a glorious reunion." In addition, the wife of one of the councilors in the bishopric passed away last monday. She was very young, and I couldn't help but feel for him as well.
I have been doing my best to keep him involved in the work, so that his thoughts don't linger upon these thoughts.
We watched conference this weekend, despite much technical difficulty, and while we could only watch the Sunday sessions, I felt  a strange feeling, one which I cannot fully describe. It came to me subtly, and I felt a profound sense of urgency. I felt excited, yet concerned. I felt a stirring in the very fiber of my being, and I began to ponder of my own personal duty and stewardship. I thought of the path to discipleship, and the many twists, turns, and obstacles along the way. I won't describe all that I thought and experienced, for much of that which I received, I feel constrained that I should not speak...or write. 

My flat is clean, my body is healthy, the work is progressing, and I feel my saviors love along with the love of everyone that I have left behind. I thank you for it.

Love,
Elder Jared William Davidson

Letters 10/08/2012

Elder Beenfield


The new transfer has rolled in like a storm, and everything has been moving quite well with the new companion. His name is Elder Beenfield and he comes from Hennifer, Utah (I had never heard of it before now.) He is a lot different than Elder Mcknight, save for the fact that he likes to pump iron. It took a while to adjust, but things are running smoothly. He is a great guy, and he is willing to work. If we would have had Zone Conference this transfer, we might have had high hopes for my second MVC. His testimony of the gospel is strong, and it is easy for each of us to testify from what the other has said. Give it another week, and we should be running full steam ahead. I don't recall if I had mentioned already, but I bought a piano a few months back, and I have been practicing quite a bit. Practice really does make perfect, though I'm still struggling with the hymns made easy. Elder Beenfield has a guitar, so I have been having a good time. A member gave us a large stalk of sugar cane, so we have been chewing wood and playing good music all week. 
     One of our investigators, a young man named Nature, has recently agreed to be baptized at the end of this month. We had just finished teaching the law of chastity, and he made the comment that he wanted to be like Paul. He said that girls were too much of a distraction at that age of his life, and he wouldn't consider dating until after his mission. He is a powerful young man, and he has been coming to church for some time now. On Saturday night, a mob came to his house, full of members of his previous church. They said that he could not leave their congregation, and they put some strange band on his wrist. They threatened him to the point that he wouldn't come out of his house to talk to his best friend (a member) Sunday morning. We have yet to see him due to a busy schedule, but it is interesting how Satan attacks just at the time when someone starts to make good growth. I will try to make note of the results of our visit next week. 
     It was also nice to see an old gogo stand to bare her testimony Sunday. We had visited her all winter, and she hasn't been to church in over 5 months because of severe arthritis, intensified by the cold. She stood for nearly 10 minutes. I guess she made up for the other testimony meetings that she missed. Her home teachers hadn't visited her throughout the entire duration of her exile, and she made note of that and how the missionaries were the only dependable members of the church. It was quite touching, and quite sad how poorly the wards operate here. People aren't willing to do their part or magnify their callings. The workload usually gets thrown onto the shoulders of the few willing and faithful members.
     We get to watch conference next week, but we heard about the new age limits for Elders and Sisters. I got a strange feeling in my stomach, and I thought a great deal about how the work we are doing is progressing faster and faster. The time is drawing nearer and nearer to the end, and the work is being pumped up. It will be interesting to see how everything will turn out. I'm sure there will be a great deal of stress on the missionary dept for a while. I look forward to the increase though. 

All is well, and all is as it should be.

Much Love,
 Elder JW Davidson

Letters 10/01/2012

The transfer is coming to an end, and Elder Mcknight is headed home. He is ready to go. I'm glad he was able to finish strong. It has definitely been an enjoyable 3 months. I should be out of Daveyton in another 6 weeks. I really need a change of scenery and some new experiences. I love the people here, and the thought of leaving is quite sad, but it is a necessary, not to mention inevitable, change. I don't know who my new companion will be, but Elder Mcknight said that it was an African. He saw his picture next to mine in passing as he left his final interview. I'm sure he will be an ok guy, but if not, I will only be with him for a short 6 weeks. This last week has been full of goodbyes for Elder Mcknight, so there hasn't been much that has gone on. We went to see a sister on Sunday, and not wanting to break the sabbath, she sent her 7 year old daughter to a kota shop to buy Elder Mcknight his last Kota. On her way back, she dropped both of them in the dirt, so we had to go through and remove everything inside and put it on fresh slices of bread. We also had the opportunity to go to a few weddings this week. If the people get married in the church, they have a combination of traditional and modern syle wedding. It is really quite interesting for some parts (mostly the traditional ones,) but there were many boring parts as well. Hopefully the coming week is full of change...we shall see...
Much Love,
Elder JW Davidson