Catching Up!

 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!