week 88

Man, can't remember what I said last week haha, but it must have been pretty terrible!

Well to be straight, I'm struggling with my companion, he can be kind of lazy. When he gets upset with me for making him work he won't say anything at our appointments. Ack nier... I talked to the Zone Leaders though and there may be a change.

A good thing might be that the struggles I'm having with my companion and flat mates are serving as an opportunity to strengthen my relationship with the Lord. This week I studied the Book of Mormon about five hours a day and wow has it been outstanding. I'm going incredibly slow, currently I'm at 1 Nephi 13, but I've never gotten more out of it.

In connection with all this studying the spirit was extremely strong and as such the week was amazing! There are a whole bunch of "eternal investigators" here; it seems some previous missionaries have been afraid of saying what needs said; I fixed that this week. I've never testified of Christ and the restored gospel so strongly, the confirmation that comes from the Spirit when you cease to fear is amazing. It is hard to say, well explain everything that happened this week. I suppose some of it is best kept private anyways, but I feel like a different person than I was a week ago. It is almost like I'm a brand new missionary again, but with 22 months of experience. It has been great.

One thing I've struggled with recently is finding happiness in the work, but this past week was amazing. I've completely lost my fear to do what needs done and say what needs said and it has been absolutely amazing! The lessons this week were outstanding, we should even have two baptisms in a couple of weeks. Please pray for Thozama and Kablo, they are on date for the 30th, but you know how the devil is, has a way of ruining things!

I also felt a new thing this week. I realized how much I miss everyone, I suppose I have tried to avoid feeling it for the most part for the past while, but wow am I excited to get home! As of tomorrow I have 10 weeks left. Hopefully they all go as smoothly as this one past.  I'm not sure what has come over me, but it is like I've been lit on fire or something. I don't feel that I've ever been a better missionary then I was in this past week and I really hope I cant keep that up. I feel that after a time of struggling I'm being helped to finish strong by the grace of Christ.

Time is about up. Have a good week!

Love, Elder Kelly

week 87

Let's see, well this week wasn't exactly what I expected to be honest. So my new companion, Elder Kenyah, is from Ghana. He is about 6 months behind me on mission. He is cool. As far as Attridgeville, it is a bit rough. I was assaulted twice this week by drunk racist black dudes. Didn't go well for them, but I suppose that's a matter to discuss once I'm home.

The ward is uhm, alright I guess. Again, being the only white guy there, I can tell they look at me differently. However, the work is going amazing, and I had a dozen or so amazing lessons this week! My companion is still in that phase of "teach everything as fast as possible" while I like to take it kinda slow, and I think that's what this area needs right now. The investigators I have visited except for one were a bit off track. For example, one was drinking and drinking and drinking, but Kenyah kept teaching away haha. But we are fixing it now, and that's what matters.

This morning we went on a hike with the men of the local church and had a braii afterwards. It was amazing, until I jammed my knee on the way down. It is all sorts of swollen now. Oh and guess what? I managed to burn my hand again, it took my entire allotment to pay to have it taken care of, so I don't know how I'm going to eat this month. I literally have less then 3 usd at this point. But thus far Heavenly Father has always provided a way when I had nothing, so I'm sure it will be fine.

We should be having some baptisms soon, and I have met quite a few amazing people who I'm sure will be on date soon enough.

I've felt quite lonely again this week to be honest. I'm in an apartment with three Africans who seem to cling together wherever I'm not, and this area seems to be full of blacks who dislike whites, and that has been a bit disheartening. I've managed to find comfort in the words of Christ. I've been reading the book of Mormon and have been able to gain a lot of positivity.

With that I'm out of time.
Love, Elder Kelly

week 86

Well this whole transfer has been extremely challenging for me. In fact, I'm not sure if I have ever experienced a harder time in my life. Up to somewhere around 18-19 months the mission was quite easy for the most part, of course there was the occasional struggle, but it was far from an every day sort of thing, but these last few weeks have been rough haha. I'm still trying to figure out why, but hopefully it has passed because these past few days have been quite awesome.

Saturday morning President Wilson called me and told me I'm being transferred to an area called Attridgeville to be with Elder Kenya on Tuesday. My seventh and most probably final area. Oh yeah, President doesn't know when I'm going home, but he said if he had to bet it would be the end of October. Better yet I'll be flying out of Botswana according to the current plan, so that should be awesome! So I have twelve weeks left, which goes by in just about the blink of an eye. Also, I think I'll be flying into Seattle, which days of the week does Kurt go to that side? I think my step dad will pick me up, and it would be awfully convenient if I could ride back with Kurt.

Anyways, towards the middle of the day on Saturday it kind of hit me I'll be leaving so we went home a bit early so that I could begin the long process of packing all my junk. After a few minutes I gave up and began writing, for some reason I seem to feel the Spirit strongest while writing poetry. Not sure why since I don't really find it to be one of my strong suits, but I had a wonderful confirmation that Heavenly Father loves me. I had been trying to find that for months. I've never been home sick, but the longer I've been here the more distant everyone feels, I'm down to getting 2-3 emails a week (I started at about 30 a week haha) so it was good to have that experience on Saturday. Life is quite hard when you feel you're going about it alone.

I'm getting new clothes and such to bring home, luckily they are pretty cheap this side, so it makes it easier.

I've started a new thing for these last three months. I'm going to read the Book of Mormon through every month until I go home, and each time I'll be looking for different things.

Anyways, times about up.

Also, thank you for your emails this week especially, they made me feel the Spirit, and that right there is lekker.

Also, I'm going to a Tswana area, so in the next three months, I'm going to do all I can to learn Tswana. Hopefully that goes well, I'd like to share my testimony my last Sunday in Africa in a local language.

Love, Elder Kelly

week 85

Well, the hike last week fell through. Long story. At the African shop I got a whole lot of stuff, but I ended up giving my tekkies to an African and that was a bit sad. Oh - tekkies are shoes. 

Let's see here, man so much happens, but once Monday comes my brain is empty. 

For the next week, we have to go to Pretoria today, exchanges with the Assistants to the President on Tuesday, Zone Conference in Pretoria on Wednesday, no appointments yet on Thursday, and Friday there is a game on we can't watch haha. Darn. 

Right now I feel like a mission should be 18 months. Then I was still all excited and spiritual and such, but now... I'm just tired of everything. I'm tired of ward leaders, I'm tired of worrying about what people will say during lessons and talks at church, I'm tired of people not keeping commitments, I'm tired of always being told what to do and just about everything else. It seems like everyone else over 18 months in my district feels the same way. It is even hard to get out of bed. The "glamour" of Africa has worn off. I told my Mission President this, and he laughed and said "yeah that happens." Not as helpful as I was hoping he would be haha. But I guess it is good to know it is normal to feel this way. The Mission President said I've been running for 19 months and it is time to start walking. He also said this avoids a crash once I get home. But I just need to keep moving.

I'm still not sure what I'll be doing in three months. Funny enough, I've been thinking a lot about the military lately, and I got an email from a recruiter this past week. I will have to get to work. I might go to university the following fall, or maybe join the military in spring. 

I just tell you the same things over and over haha... then again, I guess mission is the same thing over and over... so it makes sense why I do that. 

I'll try and get robbed or something this week so I have something exciting to write home about. 

Love,

Elder Kelly 

week 84

Well, the hike last week was awesome to say the least. I suppose it was more of a walk then a hike, Africa is kind of flat... but we saw some awesome sights and a bit of wild life. I'd send pictures, but the computer I'm using surely has viruses on it, so I don't want to plug my camera in. Today we are going on another hike, and it actually is a hike this time. The church owns a mountain on the other side of Pretoria, so we are going there, and afterwards we are going to an African shop and I'm going to trade my old worn out things for stuff I can bring home.

It is kind of cool, they are splitting our ward and making a new branch. This is just a couple of weeks after they made a new stake and a half dozen or so wards in the Pretoria area. The work is really moving forward! Not so much in our area unfortunately, but as a whole it definitely is. We are struggling right now to help a whole bunch of less active recent converts. There was a string of missionaries a few transfers back and they baptized anyone and everyone. One of them is even a witch doctor. I just don't understand some people.

Anyways, let's see here. I have an email in to President Wilson, I'm trying to figure out when I'll be home. They keep going back and forth and such so it has left me a bit confused. All he said was"Elder McClellan- Hooray for you!" ...what does that mean haha? Well this is awkward and I'm still in the dark. Awesome.

I've pretty much given up on BYU- Idaho. Of course that leaves me with a problem, there ain't really anyone to date anywhere close to where I live, but I guess that doesn't really matter. I'm too poor to pay attention so I most definitely don't have money to spend on women. In fact, I'm still kind of in the mind set that the more I spend on women the less I have to spend on guns and things that won't disappoint me.

I've been working out a bit lately. When I came on mission I wore XL shirts and now I'm down to medium. Pretty great. Unfortunately that means none of my stuff fits, but Africans don't understand the concept on having things fit properly, so no one really cares. Now I think I actually need to stop losing weight and start gaining it though. But I'm kind of lazy, so we shall see.

I have either 14 or 20 weeks left. I'm hoping for 14 to be honest. I'm getting tired haha. I'm still thinking about joining the army, at this point its mainly just to get back out of Manson once I get home. I'm sure my desire to date will return soon enough and I'm pretty sure any girl worth thetime of day has left for university since I've been gone. The stake is forever away. So yeah, it may be best if I just get out of Manson again. Still praying about it though. In fact, if I came back here Icould be married within a month haha, for some odd reason there are a fair few women who have shared with me their interest. And now that I have rambled on to the point of writing what seems tobe a decent length email I feel content. I'd share more about the area, but its just been disappointing lately since no one seems willing to do anything to help themselves.

Also, there is a good chance I wont be able to email next week. I'm kind of out of money. So yeah. If you don't hear from me don't be worried or anything. I'm just poor.

Love, Elder McClellan

week 83

Let's see here. This week was amazing. We taught a lot! We met a whole bunch of new people and had to go to Pretoria twice. On Wednesday we went and met President Wilson. He seems pretty great and on Friday we had Zone Meeting. It was funny though, with the change in boundaries our zone is more like a district, haha. Not many of us at all. 


At the start of last week I really wanted to find something in the scriptures that would help me to finish strong. My motivation comes from Paul (Romans 12:1)

"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."

I found this scripture a day or two after interviews last week and it helped me to realize that I may be in Africa and teaching the gospel, but in a few ways I've never made the sacrifice that was asked of me. But with this as motivation I was able to break through a few of those disruptive habits that I either brought with me from home or picked up from past companions. I feel better now than I've felt in a long time, my study time has been more productive, and the guidance of the Spirit has been stronger. And that is why this week was so great I guess. I still have plenty to work on of course, but I'm sure now that these last 3.5 months will be the best yet. It is also awesome to be able to see the wisdom of Heavenly Father in this, if I had stayed in Johannesburg I'm sure I'd have stayed the same until going home. It was just kind of the norm, but now that everything has changed it has given me an amazing opportunity to see where it is I need to change.

With the help of Bridger I found a new option for when I get home. WVC has two year degrees that transfer directly to WSU in horticulture, physics, mechanical engineering, and computer engineering. Pretty cool since those are the majors I'm interested in. As much as I don't really want to go to WVC it seems kind of like a smart choice since it costs next to nothing. Do that for two years, WSU for two, then go somewhere else for graduate school. What do you think? (Also this is how I understand it works, but I very well may be confused.)

For the first time in three months we are actually doing something fun for P-day. We are going on a hike! The other guys like going to the mall in Pretoria and such, but that's uhm... never really been my idea of a good time. But a hike? That'll do.

Oh, Saturday was great. We went to President Nish's home (Branch President of Witbank) and did some service. I was given a sledgehammer and told to go and destroy a bridge. Awesome. Next we lit a field on fire and controlled the burn across it. Awesome. It made me miss working.

I asked President Wilson if the mission change affected my going home date. Basically he told me I'd be a waste of space if I stayed until December haha. Not really, but that's how I took it. He says he will get back to me when he figures it out. The problem is my visa expires. So yeah. Its complicated.

Anyways that's what I got. Please make sure if you can that Joe sends me his contact details.

Love, Elder Kelly

week 82

How is the new mission? Well nothing has changed as of yet. Still in the same place with the same people, doing the same things. There is literally nothing to do here. There are no game parks, no hikes, no nothing. I'm pretty tired of Kwa Guqa to be honest. I'm probably feeling negative because nothing happened this past week. It was a holiday so there was no one at home. We didn't meet any new awesome people because almost everyone was drunk. We didn't teach any good lessons because no one was home. So yeah.

Uhm, lets see here. I'm sending three pictures. The one of the house is a typical African township house. Notice it has a TV dish on the outside? But if you were to go inside there would be no food.
Interesting eh? 

The other two are of me and my zone saying goodbye to President and Sister Dunn.

Oh, I'm not sick anymore. So that's good news. Basically everything I could tell you I already have, so yeah. Not much to say. Sorry Neh?

Love, Elder Kelly