June has been crazy!!! Just going, going, going and haven't
taken time to stop and share news of Caleb's mission.
Caleb turned 21 two weeks ago!!! He didn't email home that day,
but we were able to talk to him. I've become friends on Facebook with
a sister who is serving in Caleb's mission, so she and her husband helped me
get a gift to him. He mentioned he needed more ties because he kept
giving his away!!! So we got him some ties along with some treats!
Grateful for the Lindsay's and their willingness to help me out!!!
I have been watching a bit of news out of South Africa and asked Caleb about it.
There is some tension rising amongst South Africans who are not very happy about
immigrants coming into their country. I won't go into a lot of detail (you can actually look up
news reports about it). Anyway, there are some protests organized for June 30th,
but it sounds like some are already happening, so beginning this Thursday,
everyone in Caleb's mission will be staying inside their boarding indefinitely.
I know this will be a challenge for Caleb. He'd rather be out and about
meeting people, etc. He struggled with everything being shut down during the Covid pandemic,
but, hopefully he'll be able to learn some things during this time.
They will mostly spend their time contacting people on the phone.
Please pray for the missionaries and South Africa...for those individuals
who are native as well as those that are immigrants.
Caleb is a total optimist! I'm sure he's nervous to some extent,
but he loves South Africa and all of those he has met while he has served!
Here are his past two emails, both titled "Another Week in the Bluff":
From June 15th--
Hello Everyone! I hope you are well! As for me nothing to much is going on
Elder Kate keeps hyping up his buttered chicken so hes making it this week for me
check in next week for the review
I've been trying to improve my musical ability recently.
I've been locking in on learning Hymns on the piano and trying to actually sings parts on the hymns instead of just the melody
for no particular reason just kinda felt like it.
There's
some political tension rising here between native south Africans and
immigrants from surrounding countries. As of right now nothing that
affects the missionaries but keep South Africa in your prayers for
greater peace to be found here
Today I attended a funeral for a member of this ward
The sister was 85 years old and super awesome and so is the rest of her
family. The service was very touching and especially to see so many
people brought together by this single person was truly wonderful.
This
week for EQ we studied a talk recently given called "I Would Lay Aside
All of My Sins" and it speaks of the conversion of King Lamonis father
in the Book of Alma. And as this great king learns of God he boldly
proclaims that he would give up everything he has to know God. We can
learn much from this story but for me the most profound bit of this
story is that the king immediately seeks the Lord in prayer. He had just
learned about God and his first thought was to pray. Even for us we
should always be seeking the Lord in prayer.
Anyways thats all for this week, love you all
Elder Roskelley
From June 22-
Hello Everyone! And a happy fathers day to all those that celebrate
Especially
to my own father who set a wonderful example for me in so many ways
from teaching me to do common house and yard work to being a good
steward of the Priesthood I've been trusted with.
This
week I attended not 1 but 2 funerals! Both were vastly different from
each other. The first was last monday for a sister that was a member for
50 years, the oldest member in the ward. She was well loved the funeral
procession was very reverent and spiritually nourishing. Felt just like
a funeral back home. The 2nd funeral was not for a member of the
Church, as such the service was lead by the pastor of the church they
attended, and lets nust say, it was very lively compared to what I'm
used to
This
week the tensions between South Africans and Immigrants has begun to
become even more apparent. While contacting in public we saw some people
being deported
it was quite a shock, we decided it would be a good time to go take our
lunch hour somewhere else. Truly prayers of peace are needed
Elder
Kate made Buttered chicken for me! So although Elder Kate is from
England, his parents are 1st generation immigrants, meaning that he grew
up with the authentic Buttered chicken. He made it for me, it was quite
good
, although it took him like 4 hours so honestly store bought is good enough for me
We
had 5 friends at church!! For the past transfer and some, we haven't
had more than 2 friends at church, so this was an awesome break through!
And all of them were treated so warmly by members of the congregation,
it was truly a miracle.
Over the course of my mission i have finished the Book of Mormon 3 times, and when I went to start again I felt
motivation to read it again, but the Prophet and Apostles encourage us
to read it every day. Following the advice of my mission president, I
decided to start reading the Book of Mormon at an almost snail
like pace. A few verses will take me 30 minutes to read + write my thoughts down.
One
of the thoughts that occurred to me is, "how often do I act like Laman
and Lemuel" often we would say that we obviously are like Nephi because
we are members. But honestly when I exam myself closely and compare it
to Laman and Lemuel, there are similarities. One is not seeking divine
guidance. Nephi's Brothers would always neglect to seek God's guidance,
and honestly so do i sometimes, but as I've tried to be more intentional
in looking for the Lords guidance when making choices I have truly seen
the Lords hand in my efforts.
Anyways, not too much else going on in life
Love,
Elder Roskelley
And here are some pictures and video from recent weeks:
Early Birthday Dinner with his companion, Elder Kate. Elder Kate is from London.
Caleb was hoping to make himself a birthday cake on his birthday. He ran out of time,
but he did get himself this treat a couple of days before his birthday. Looks like a good substitution.
(Caleb has really loved the food for the most part, especially in his current area).
Here are the ties I ordered Caleb for his birthday. A sister in the area makes
African themed ties, and I found out after Caleb's birthday that she makes
other items like bracelets. Maybe next year before he comes home!
Caleb receiving his birthday gift from the Lindsays.
I'm assuming this is from a recent zone conference. We should all sing this song like this!
I imagine Caleb and Elder Kate will be doing more of this
while they're confined to their boarding!
