Elder James Bryner A LDS Missionary In God's Army In Johannesburg, South Africa: Works is going great even with a flat tire

Email #5
Area: Pimville Zone 1
Companion: Elder Wiltse

Hey everyone!
Another good week and we had some challenges this week that tried us. The investigators and members are getting really tough, because they are leaving for the holidays until next year and it's tough to see them leave. My companion and I are growing closer everyday and becoming such great teachers and finders in our area. The baptism got moved to next week so I'll be sure to send pictures next week. They keep having conflicts and its mostly the parents with work and everything so we just try and work around it. This week we had to take the car to get the oil changed and check up and it was out in the most remote place it looked like back home. Really farm like and lots of fields and everything. On the way there we got a flat tire and we were in the middle of no where so that was an experience. Also this week we were headed to an appointment and we trade with the other elders with bikes one day and the car the next. So we were on bikes and on the way there we were headed up this hill and the bike I was riding was brand new that morning and I was riding and the chain broke right in half.... I couldn't believe it. Luckily we knew this guy one of the investigators that had tools and it took us two hours to fix it so we got it fixed and luck has been really on my side ever since!! I also drove for the first time this week and that was the most scary thing of my life. On the opposite side of the rode and opposite side of the car!!! Sooooo scary and the car is a stick!!! That's my week, I hope that everyone is doing well!
Elder Bryner

Alma 26: 27 Now when your hearts were depressed and we were about to turn back, behold the Lord comforted us, and said: Go amongst thy brethren, the Lamanites, and bear with patience thine afflictions, and I will give unto you success. Wow such a powerful scripture.

Alma 17:10 And it came to pass that the Lord did visit them with his spirit and said unto them be comforted and they were comforted.

Excerpts from Dad's email

...The work is great and I'm really enjoying it, but sometimes its a little frustrating because in one lesson we taught a pastor from a different church and we taught him the god head and at the end he said " so yeah we agree that God is a spirit and he and Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost are all one spirit". Are you serious we didn't even say anything like that, but its a father led family so were trying really hard to baptise this family. The kids are amazing they know more about the gospel than I do, the recent converts not the investigators. They are so easy to teach and one of my favorite people to teach are the kids but we are trying to teach more families, the kids open the doors to the families. Yeah the members are feeding us usually on Sunday, but last week it was just chips and bread. They call fries, chips so that's new and I like saying chips.

Excerpts from Mom's email

...We have a microwave and a washer and just drying racks for our clothes its definitely different! I eat a lot of sandwiches just like back home not much change there haha!!!! We get about 130 dollars a month and that's hard to manage that with food and everything, but I'm trying not to use my home card a lot so I can learn how to manage money. They supplied an adapter which was nice. The investigators are great very easy to talk to and really accept the gospel, I love it.