Elder James Bryner A LDS Missionary In God's Army In Johannesburg, South Africa: Stand firm on the foundation you have set yourself on

Email #40
Area: Secunda
Companion: Elder Wilombe

Hey Everyone,

Another week gone like that. This week definitely went by faster than last week, but we are still trying to build this place! I have already seen someone's life change. He is a less active named Thato, but now is starting to come every week now for 4 weeks. So yeah he is moving back. He and his girlfriend got pregnant and they both fell away from the church, but now since I have been here he is starting to come back and we are trying to get the other one back as well. All you can do in that circumstance is to just show them love and that everyone makes mistakes, that it is part of this life to mess up. The Atonement is real and I have felt its power and teaching the Plan of Salvation is my favorite to teach to someone. Life is hard, but it is what makes you or breaks you. Never lose your faith in what you believe in. Times are hard, but that doesn't mean that God leaves you in the dark. He is actually carrying you down the dark and dreary path! God won't forsake you as long as you don't forsake and forget him! This time is precious on earth and you only get one chance to make it right, but God gives you many chances to correct your wrong doings! We met another less active and his name is Futhi. He told us how he was baptized when he was 8 and just loved the church and he grew up and has the priesthood and everything but something that seems to be that same counter effect on going less active is the law of chastity. He had a child and he was preparing to go on a mission and he found out that if you have a child, you can't serve so after that he just fell off the edge. So now we are trying to support him and get him back on his feet. He has just been facing challenges. His younger brother died last year and he was at his place and went missing for 3 days. It was a Monday when they found his body in the Kinross park at the pond. He said that he slept walked and he blames himself for this happening. It was just a strong spirit that was there and that he opened up like that and just shared a tender subject with us. Trials will come, there is no trying to out run them. Just take them head on and stand firm on the foundation you have set yourself on and that foundation will never let you fall.

Love,
Elder Bryner

Excerpts from Mom's email:

On Pdays there really is not really anything to do so we just hangout at the chapel and go shopping and at the mall, but today we are going to go hangout with that less active guy Thato I was talking about. I have found that when you just go and to hangout sometimes especially on Monday, because he knows that it is our pday he feels that love we have for him. It also just develops such great relationships with them. Well let me answer those questions, the interview with President Dunn was really good and I loved it, he is just so relaxed and we just had it in a room with couches and with Pres. Omer he would do it in his office so it was a nice change and just was so nice! Yes there is a shop and a mall it is fairly new. Members don't usually feed us. The branch pres feeds us every other Friday and sometimes this white couple feed us on Saturdays, but on Sundays we come back to the flat and just make lunch. There is a town with white people and a township/town with black people and there are Muslims in that area as well. It is called Kinross and the town is called Secunda. Well we are trying to just find some new ones, because the ones that we have right now dodge our appointments. No senior couples, but there is a couple that comes to church that works in the area office and is from Texas named Elder and Sister Kyle!