Septemer 17, 2012

Hey Everyone,

I can't stop the weeks from flying by. This window of opportunity keeps getting smaller and smaller. I have re-convicted (is that a word) my self to making these 'the best two years' they're meant to be. The place to start of course is the Savior. What can I do to really understand to the Savior.

We got one of those tough rejections this week, a couple we had been introduced to told us never to come back. The mama was yelling at us for about 2 minutes strait. In Zulu of course so i didn't catch most any of it but I could tell what she was saying, and my companion explained a little bit to me later. It hurt because the things she was saying were exactly the sterotypes I have spent my mission to try and break down. Manly 1: Because I'm white I think my culture is better than yours, 2: Because I'm from 'the west' I think I'm better than you are, 3: I do not care nor do I have to listen to what you have to say, I only want you to listen to what I have to say, and 4: I want to take away and break down everything you know and love about your religion so I can force you to join mine.
I can not stress enough how none of that is the way I feel, and all of that is how we are perceived a heart breaking amount of the time.

I don't say so because I'm discouraged, or to be discouraging, I love my mission, and I love these people. Even though I've been out for a while I still am learning and growing, The thing I want to learn to do more than anything is figure out someway to truly get my feelings across to people without coming off route, or overbearing, or pushy.

Something a little more uplifting is an experience I had last Tuesday, The weeks go so fast I actually can't recall if it was this last or the Tuesday before so I apologize if I repeat my self but we were teaching an investigator named Mbongeni (M-bo-ngen-ee) about our purpose on Earth. We read with him in 2 Nephi 2 where is says ' Adam fell that men might be, and men are that they might have joy' and explaining how that meant that one of our main purposes in life is to be happy. Also that Adam needed to fall in order to have children. He was a little confused by our explanation and told us that the way he thought it meant by ' Adam fell that men might be' is that Adam, and all of us needed to fall so that we could learn to be 'Men', so that we could learn to stand on our own two feet, learn to endure tests and trials and become who we are supposed to become. I thought that was a more than inspired thing to say.

I love you all,
Elder Scott Brazee