Spiritual Week!

Wow, what a week.  On Friday, we went to the Temple, which was so nice.  I felt the spirit so strong and was able to have a great time.  On Saturday and Sunday we finally got to watch General Conference and man that was amazing.  I especially enjoyed Elder Holland's talk and even teared up a bit.  It was cool to look around the chapel and see many others doing the same.  It's amazing how the Spirit works!

This is a picture of Elder Cazier and I just outside of the township Chief Lethuli!

We are teaching a lot of sweet people namely Georgina, Leonard and Tisetso.  They should be ready to be baptized next month.  All is well in Rynfield and time is flying!  I am safe from the riots, but not from load shedding.  What can you do?

I would encourage all of you to watch the General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Take the time to hear the words of God from our living day Prophets and Apostles.  I know their words are true and they will help us all in our everyday lives!

Have a great week.

Elder Segil

Load Shedding!

Are you sure another week went by because I'm not quite sure.  I believe this to be one of the fastest weeks on my mission and guess what, it was one of the most productive weeks as well.  We had over 20 quality appointments with investigators and members.  It was a great week!

Well I have two things to talk on this week and they are load shedding and the Joburg Riots.  First, load shedding is where the South African power plant will shut off all power to different parts of a province at different times to save power and money.  Why do they do this, because people don't pay for power and steal it from telephone poles, street lights and you name it.  So instead of shutting off power to those who don't pay for electricity, they shut it off for everyone, regardless of where they live or their payment history.  It is quite annoying and is really making the South African people frustrated, us missionaries included.

The Joburg Riots are happening because some South African people are tired of foreigners such as Ethiopians, Zimbabweans, and many other Africans from all over Africa coming across the border and starting businesses. They usually don't take jobs from the South African people, but find their own ways to make money, such as opening a store or recycling trash.  In the grand scheme of things, a lot of South African people are getting lazy and are finding someone to blame, which happens to be the people who are foreign and willing to work for money and don't expect handouts.  The jobs here are for everyone, they just have to want to work and do a good job.

Other than that, life is sweet and my mission is quickly coming to the end.  Four months from today, my family will be picking me up here in South Africa and we will tour around this beautiful country.  Until then it is time to work even harder and find those who are ready for the Gospel of Jesus Christ to bless their lives.  If you are not ready, get ready!

Cheers, Elder Segil

Rugby and Riot!

Wow, so much happened this week and man I just love my mission!  We were able to do the "Week of Witnessing" and go around telling people about this awesome video about how Christ Lives.  And because he lives, so will all of us and so much more that you could ever imagine.

  #BecauseHeLives outside Spar!

I also had the opportunity to go to a pro Rugby game.  It was The South African Blue Bulls against the Australian Reds.  Elder Raymond is from Australia and this is his home team, so this made this game so much more fun.  It was a lot of fun and I totally forgot what it was like to be in an environment like that. Brother Solomon took us to the game and he is also our Ward Mission Leader.

Pregame Braai!

These guys are so big!

Brother Solomon, Elder Cazier and I

 The Stadium inside...

....and out!

The Bulls Cheerleaders!  ;)

Toss in from out of bounds

 The Holmes Family have us over for dinner quite often and I love playing with their dogs!

Me and the Holmes's Dogs!

I can't remember what this riot was for because they happen all the time.  I think the power might have been out or something like that.  We almost didn't make it out of the township because they blocked off the roads.  This is the other Elders area, we were here doing some finding and helping them.

The Etwatwa RIOT!

While we were driving through the township about 10 kilometers an hour, a kid ran into, not in front of, but into our car.  I was in the back and all of the sudden heard a loud smack and saw a kid laying on the ground.  He got up and ran to his mother with lots of scrapes and bruises.  I tried to talk to them, but they just went into their house.  The Church offered to pay for the kid's medical bills in a nice private hospital, but the parent"s declined. They decided to go to the Police and report a hit and run and demanded money.  The Church sent their Lawyers and got it all straighten out.  The Church is so powerful in so many ways!  Well that about does it for this week.

I love you all and hope you have a great week!

Cheers, Elder Segil

Happy Easter!

Wow, another Easter away from home, but I have heard Montana had a snowy Easter, which sounds amazing.  I sure do look forward to coming back to the snow even though I will freeze for the first year or two.  I already freeze here and it is like 40-50 degrees or something in the morning when we work out.  Other then that, I am very happy in my new area called Rynfield located in Benoni.  It is a very wealthy town with a township, so that is pretty sweet.  My new companion is Elder Cazier from German.  We have served around each other a bunch and he will be completing his mission in June, so that is pretty sweet.

Well I have a miracle of the week.  My first day here in Rynfield we went shopping at Pick n Pay and as we were putting the stuff in the car, we heard people speaking in American accents.  We got to talking to them and come to find out they are from Bozeman, Montana.  It was so sweet to be able to meet someone from my home state, not to mention they live twenty minutes away from me.  I gave them my home phone number, so Mom and Dad, someone should be calling you soon to tell you they met your son all the away in Southern Africa.  They were so cool and friendly just like people are in Montana.  It made me a little homesick, but now I am Lekker!

Today is a very special day in history.  It marks 185 years since the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints was restored to this earth in these latter days.  It is also the Saviors birthday today and what a wonderful weekend and day it is to be alive.  The Church is true and it will be until the end of time.  It has blessed my life so much and I have seen it bless the lives of thousands of people as I have served these people here in South Africa.  I hope you all will find out for yourself as I and millions of other have done.

Have a wonderful week!

Elder Segil