Elder James Bryner A LDS Missionary In God's Army In Johannesburg, South Africa: My new 26 year old son

Email #27
Area: Cosmo City
Companion: Elder Kwabaisi

Hey Everyone,

So I got a new greeny and so far it has gone by really slow, but it is really good. I have enjoyed it so far. I think it is going by slow because it is the beginning of the transfer and he is a new missionary. I have to show him everything there is to know about missionary work. It is hectic at times, but then that would mean that he knows everything and he doesn't need trained. He is from Uganda and has a strong testimony about the Gospel and all that is within it! He is a good guy and it is just going really well. Patience is required when training, because questions are asked and you just have to bare it well and know that the Lord is teaching both of us. It is really picking up and we are having a baptism in a couple weeks with a husband and wife that have just finally accepted the gospel into their lives. We put them on date when Elder Perez was here and now they come to church with their daughter and she will be turning 8 soon so the father will get to baptize her. They know that this church is the only true church on the face of the earth and they are willing to follow all the precepts of the Book of Mormon. We have a lot of progressing investigators so we plan to have more baptism next month as well.

Everything in a lesson just goes as planned and is just taught by the spirit and we have had some really cool spiritual experiences. The lady that showed up to church and wanted to become a member, we taught her and she has 2 kids and one of the friends were there and we taught all of them and they all were really receptive. They are progressing as well and want to be baptized, but they need more time to think about what they are doing. The commitment that they are getting into and to make sure that they are truly looking for the truth and that this is where they want to be. They are simply looking for the truth and with the Book of Mormon that is where they will find all the truth and all their answers can be answered. Looking forward to telling how everything goes with the up coming baptisms!

Love,
Elder Bryner

Excerpts from Mom & Dad's email

Wow what an experience it is to be able to train! It is so different and so much is relying on you as the trainer and it is just overwhelming at some points, but it is what the lord wants me to be doing at this point in my mission so I am enjoying very much. ...Pres told me what ever you share and teach and everthing that you do is on you and his tactics, his way of doing missionary work relies on you to teach him the proper way of doing things. His name is Elder Kwabaisi and he is from Uganda and he does know a lot, but considering emailing haha he has no idea haha right now he is just typing really really slow and just using his index fingers to type and it is just to funny and he is 26!!!!!!!!!!!! 26 years old and serving a mission that is definitely dedication. He is really a good guy and he is a good first son... He is also a doctor and received a certificate for being a laboratory guy that takes blood and examines it. He determines if they have any diseases or anything so he is smart, but not to street smart. When we were picking up the new missionaries waiting for them to come and they each bear testimonies and when he got up and did his, whoooo I thought it would never end. I said to myself that is my new greeny right there and what do you know it was him. Crazy how things like that happen you can feel that you know who they are before you even get assigned to each other!!!