So Transfers Happened Again

Wow! Caleb actually sent an email 2 weeks in a row!!!

That is something. Some of the news I shared here last week,

but this week was exciting for him 

as he saw three new members enter the waters of baptism.

He's been playing a bit more volleyball which he loves, of course!

He didn't really have a net or ball to play with in his other areas,

so he's loved having a church building with those things. 

Here is his email from this week (the emojis are cracking me up),

 along with a picture from the baptism: 

Hello Everyone! We hope you are well!  Last time I emailed I had just reaffirmed that I was the Social Media Leader in Mayville 2 area....but i got transfered again so you can forget that

I am now serving as a zone leader in the Mayville 1 area! So i pretty much am serving in the same area but i moved down the hall from my previous apartment and now I don't have access to the internet My new Companion is Elder Herd he is pretty cool, he is from Orem amd has been serving mission for 15 months just like me

This week I had the opportunity to go on exchange with some other Elders, while we were on exchange we had a very special interaction with a dude on drugs, he made sure to tell us that he wasn't racist but he didn't like Zulu people, but he isn't racist. And that he has to sacrifice someone to the Roman Catholic Church. Sooooo that was cool. 

I tried making brownies this week, I needed butter and 4 cups of sugar. But i had butter so I used oil. And then it apparently only had 1½ cups sugar, so i used some brown sugar. But i was still a cup short, so I used powdered sugar but they turned out pretty good, no one complained about them soooo.

We had 3 baptisms this past Sunday! All of them were children of members, it was pretty awesome, it has been a while since i performed the ordinance so I felt privileged to participate!

I think thats about all that happened this week, I love hearing from you all so feel free to reach out!

Love,

Elder Roskelley 

 

 

 

 

 Caleb sent an email on August 3rd titled "So, It's Been A While." 

That was the last email he sent out until last week October 4th.

What was that email titled? "So, It's Been A While!"

So he's in the same boarding complex he's been in since he was transferred to Berea

from Bluff several transfers ago. 2 transfers ago he got moved from Berea to Mayville,

but still lived in the same boarding. It was at that time he was assigned to be

a social media elder. Well, transfers happened again last week and he got to move...

down the hall to another boarding in the same building!

He's in the same area (Mayville) but has been given a new assignment. 

He was called to serve as a zone leader.

I think he enjoyed his time as a social media elder, but I think

he was ready for a change so this will be a great opportunity for him.

He has not personally baptized anyone since moving to Bluff,

but the ward he's in right now has had several join the church in the last year

so he's meeting with a lot of new members.

 I love to hear that he doesn't care if he is the one that baptizes people. He's just happy

to see so many make covenants with our Heavenly Father 

and become members of Christ's church.  

Here's the email he sent last week:

(this was typed a day before he found out about his new assignment)

Hello Everyone! Sorry its been a while, I've been terrible and remembering to send emails

I really don't remember really what i said most recently so here are the quick updates

- I'm currently serving my 2nd transfer as a Social Media Leader for my mission,

- I'm also serving in Mayville area, its petty much the heart of Durban! Its a blast.

- Messenger is not an approved app for the Africa South Area anymore, so if you have tried reaching out on messenger, that will no longer work

I'm about 15 months into my mission its a total blast in my current area, there are many cool people and members that we've had the privilege of meeting.

Our chapel has a volleyball net and I've managed to convince the other Elders in our district to go play in the mornings as our exercise, its been so awesome I'm definitely a little out of practice

Our mission is getting so BIG over the past 2 transfers our mission has grown by 30 or so missionaries, and this up coming week its gone grow another 30 more its super exciting to see what is happening here.

In our mission there are currently 4 districts and 2 stakes, however there has been a large push to help build STAKES of Zion here in the Durban Mission. Over the course of my mission this has been an over arching goal. Recently our mission president told us that pretty much each of those districts now qualifies to be a stake 

As I watched general conference is was touched by the thoughts of Elder Dale G. Renlund as I've reflected on my mission experience i realized there were many times where I disregarded the miracles and mighty works of the Lord that I had seen, and focused on the unpleasant circumstances which were right in front of me. But truly the times when I feel the most joy and see the hand of the Lord are when I focus on that, seeking Him and his might strength.

Thats all for now, I'll try to right more uyathembisa

Love,

Elder Roskelley

 

And here are some pictures  from the past couple of months

 

with his former companion, Elder Lym.

 

His new companion is Elder Hurd from Orem, Utah.

 

Elder Lym, Caleb, and not sure who the Elder on Caleb's left is.

  

 

 

 

 

So It's Been A While

 It's been a while since I've blogged, and it had been a while since Caleb e-mailed the

latest news from his mission. About a month or so ago he was transferred to Durban

and was given a new assignment to serve as a social media elder. 

I think he was excited about the assignment. He serves for several hours during the day

in the mission office. He does wish he spent less time there and more time teaching.

I will post videos he makes as they get posted. 

 He seems to be really get along well with his new companion. They've been teaching a man named Vito

and he's hoping he'll commit to baptism. I'm gathering it's harder to find people to teach 

in the larger areas of the mission.  

Anyway, he continues to do well. Here's his latest e-mail and some photos:

Hello Everyone! Hope you are doing well! I know its been a while since I've emailed soo maybe I'll miss a few things

I'm now a social media Elder! So i get to help film and make videos of missionaries to post on Facebook and Instagram! Its pretty cool! 

My new Companion is Elder Lym! He is from Washington state, hes pretty awesome! Hes super funny and full of energy.

As a social media elder we spend half of the day doing social media work and half the day doing regular missionary work, its kinda whack and its certainly a big change of pace compared to my previous areas but I've started to get in the rhythm I think

I now serve in like the heart of Durban pretty much which is pretty neat but its super hectic, driving is not my favorite, especially cause the road set up is sooo interesting but its not like the worst

Nothing else super crazy to report on yet

Love,

Elder Roskelley

 

                               Some more pics of food that I'm sure Caleb thought was tasty!

 

                                                         Getting ready to make a video.  

 

                          Not sure what this is on Elder Porter's shirt, but he seems pretty calm!!!

 

 

 

The Past Two Weeks from The Bluff

 We weren't able to talk to Caleb last week on the phone, 

although we were able to text through our fb chat.

I was grateful to talk to him last night. My mama heart has been a bit

worried about him the last couple of weeks as he was heading

into  "shelter in place"  mode before some scheduled political protests.

I have watched several video clips and news reports out of Durban

and was grateful that the protests weren't as violent as expected.

Missionaries don't need to shelter in place anymore, although I'm

sure they will still be extra cautious as they are out and about!

He got to meet with a family and have dinner with them,

after which they sang and taught them a Zulu dance. I'll post a video clip of that.

He also has a friend who is hoping to get baptized soon. I hope Caleb is able to 

witness that, but transfers will probably happen beforehand. We'll see.

This has been a hard area. No baptisms so far, but he's met some great people.

Here are his email from the last two weeks:

 

 From June 29th: Quarantine?

Hello Everyone! I hope you are doing well! As for me, I'm well but bored  

Highlight this week ️ 

One of our investigators reached out and said he missed us at church and asked if we were okay. And that he'll be at church next week

Lowlight this week

The political tension across south africa is bad enough that all the missionaries have been told to just stay inside our apartments, hence we weren't at church its not very fun

Other than that not much else

Spiritual Thought

In one of the most prolific sermons given by Christ, He discusses how God feeds the birds of the Sky and and covers the grass of the fields so obviously God will take care of YOU because you are His child, more than a bird or the grass. And this rings true today and forever. God knows your circumstances and will provide for your needs, if you rely on Him and put your hand to the plow

Love,

Elder Roskelley

 

 

From July 5th: I Made It Through!!

 

Hello Everyone! I hope you are doing well. As for me I'm doing just splendid

Our lock down of sorts ended this week on Thursday, so we were shut ins for about a week. Me and Elder Kate had the opportunity to pass the sacrament to each other. And clean the boarding until it was shining 

Although we haven't returned completely back to normal, the protests and riots were not as bad as originally conceived which is a miracle I think. Unfortunately, there are still many missionaries who are unable to return to their areas right now but this gave us a unique opportunity here in Bluff! For Thursday- Saturday, we got to have 2 elders join us, Elder Randrianomenjanahary (i served with him in steadville) and Elder Nomenjanahary (nomen for short). Both from Madagascar  

Elder Kate had the pleasure of walking around the chapel with elder Nomen while me and Randri got to drive around to different places in the area. It was a bunch of fun and certainly saw miracles!

One or the families we visited was an absolute blast! They taught us how to dance like a Zulu and then they sang for us before we left (videos on my album) and then they gave us food as well it was certainly an interesting and unexpected experience

One of the powerful things that has happened over the course of the past few weeks is to see how the Spirit continues to work on those we teach. We have a friend named Danny, when we first met him, he said he would attend our church for 2 weeks and then a different church for 2 weeks in the month, and said hes been baptized before so he doesn't really need it again. Then the next time we saw him, he said he wants to start just coming to our church cause he doesn't like the other one that much. Then a little bit later we talked about the temple with him and he said, maybe next year I'll get baptized. And then just the other day he said he would like to get baptized next month at the end of August. All of these conclusions have occurred to him not while we are there, but as the Spirit of the Lord has worked on him between visits, its truly wonderful.

I think thats all I have to report on, lemme know if you have any questions!

Love,

Elder Roskelley

                           A meal from this week. Doesn't look too bad. Looks pretty good, actually.

         A bright spot while shopping before he had to shelter in place. He loves chocolate oranges!

                               Maybe not the most limber dancer, but looks like he's having fun!