12/21/2015 - MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM ELDER HEPWORTH

Hello everyone and Merry Christmas!! I really can't believe that
Christmas is this week. December has just flown by. I'm happy to hear
that it has been snowing a lot back home because I miss that stuff but
I pray you will all be safe this holiday season. Out here there aren't
any Christmas trees, lights, or spirit. So maybe that is why I don't
realize Christmas is here. Out here the work is going good but it
always slows down during the holidays. Many people are going to visit
family members and go on vacations. Here Christmas time is also summer
break for the kids so we get a lot of see you in January haha. We did
have a cool experience this week and are finding more people to teach.
We have a family that we are teaching and some of them were struggling
to get to church. As we were teaching them I felt that I should invite
them to a tour of the chapel during the week. They accepted and we did
so. It was awesome to see there response and the man came on Sunday and enjoyed it. We also had a woman who came up to us and said that
she wants us to teach and baptize her daughter. I still love Christmas
on mission because it puts an emphasis on Christ like I've never
experienced before. I can now see that it isn't all about the gifts
but the gift that God gave us. I pray you will all find ways to put
Christ into your Christmas. I'm very grateful for all that God has
given us including his son. Enjoy the holidays and all the blessings
that God has given you and I'll do the same. Have a great week!

Elder Hepworth

12-14-2015- MADE ZONE LEADER AND REUNITED WITH A PREVIOUS COMPANION ELDER ADJIN

I have been reunited again with a old companion. I'm now serving in Kagiso which is a township with Elder Adjin. It's awesome to be with him again because we served together in Khutsong and we were loving it. It has been so hot this past week and being back in township means back in the shacks which are like ovens haha. It's crazy how tired the heat can make you feel. It finally cooled down though and it is raining right now and I love it. This area is pretty great even though I haven't been here for long. I've met some really cool members and investigators. Being a zone leader is pretty awesome. Being a leader or not being a leader doesn't make you any different in God's eyes though. I'm having fun and working hard. My motto is work hard play hard. It's the only way to live but keep the commandments still haha. Live each day in a way that you will never wish there was a time machine so you could go back and do it differently. 

 

Elder Hepworth

 

 

PICTURES FROM ELDER HEPWORTH'S PREVIOUS AREA!

 

The Moodly Family!  Lisa has become friends with this family.

Elder Taylor far right and Elder Hepworth next to him

 

12/07/2015 - CALLED AS ZONE LEADER and MISSION TOUR

I am now 21 years old and 21 months on mission. All I can say is time flies. I had a great birthday because the members here are so awesome. We have had a pretty good week. On Tuesday we had the mission tour and Elder Hamilton from the area presidency visited us. A lot of people seem to be going on holiday and it gets hard for missionary work out here but we keep pushing. It has been an interesting transfer. If I have learned anything from mission is that it is full of suprises. I'm leaving this area already. I'm getting transfered on Tuesday. I don't know where I'm going but I know that it is one of seven areas because I got called as a zone leader. I'll see where this new journey takes me. Have a great week everyone and enjoy every moment. This is a season of family and joy.

Elder Hepworth

11/23/2015 - REUNITED WITH ELDER TAYLOR

I have some interesting news this week. My companion Elder Ainslie went home from depression. He was a great guy and was tossed about it for some time but the Mission President and others decided that it was best for him to go home and get better. I have learned a lot about depression on my mission. I have had two companions that suffered from it and it has been inspiring to see their strength. I have a lot of sympathy for those suffering from depression and I thank the Lord for all that I have and am.

My new companion is Elder Taylor. Elder Taylor and I knew each other in my last district and became good friends. We wanted to be companions and I prayed for it but it was kind of strange how it happened ha. This week we didn't have much else going on. I had the privilege to go to the temple with our zone and Elder Ainslie on Friday before he left. It is always great to be in the temple. We had stake conference this week and they talked about paying tithing and self reliance. We hear about that a lot here lately. I don't know about everywhere else though. I'm looking forward to my time with Elder Taylor though. We are going to have fun and work hard. I'm also looking forward to this week with Thanksgiving and my birthday on Saturday. Can't believe that I'm turning 21. Have a great week everyone.

Elder Hepworth

Elder Ainslie and Elder Hepworth

11/16/2015 - MISSION SUMMIT

We had a family home evening with some members and they gave me jolly ranchers. It was cool because I haven't had them since home. They got them from some import store.  We got our car serviced this week and they kept the car the whole day until the next morning which was dumb because all they did was change the oil and oil filter so we didn't get anything done that day. We had a big mission event on Wednesday called the mission summit where the whole mission was there and we listened to some speakers and talks by the mission Presidency. One of them was a lady from South Africa who summitted mount Everest and I decided that I'm never doing that ha. She isn't a member but her message was awesome. She said that when your purpose is greater than your challenge there is no finish line you can't reach. Then we went on a hike. It was cool but not cool because it was so hot and I think half of the mission practically got heat stroke. Later we went to a members and held the ice water to our heads to cool us down. The rest of the week was pretty simple and normal until Sunday. It seemed like a lot of people who are necessary for the ward to work nicely on Sunday weren't there. So we gave the prayers in Sacrament meeting and almost had to help with the sacrament and there were many errors. The church is still true though. The four that were baptized last week got confirmed this week and I did one of them. I messed up the name pretty bad I think because it was an African name but God knows what I meant ha. It is definitely summer here and it feels like last years summer in Limpopo. Even members are saying it is way hotter than usual. It is so hot because we are going through a drought here in South Africa. There hasn't been much rain and we are praying for it. Everything is going great though as my time here slims down quickly.

Elder Ainslie and Elder Hepworth

 

Elder Ainslie and Elder Hepworth

 

BAPTISMS 11-15-2015

 

 

ELDER HEPWORTH CAN COOK!!!!!!

11/09/2015- FOUR BAPTISMS

This week we had four baptisms. It was awesome but very stressful I have to admit. The preparation was difficult like no other baptism before and then the water at the chapel quits. So we ended up having the baptism at a members home in his swimming pool ha. It was cool but I'm glad it's over and that they got baptized. Both of them were completing families and now they just need to get to the temple. I do have pictures but unfortunately they are on my companions camera so I will have to get them to you guys next week.  Another cool experience we had was when we were going to visit a member and unfortunately she wasn't there at that time. Then as we stood there a guy came up and said are you the Mormons. We answered yes and said are you? Turns out he is a member that moved here from Malawi a month ago and has been looking for the church. It is great to have experiences like that and see how God works. God is definitely in control. My week was good. This week I'm hoping to be a lot better. We need to find more people to share the gospel with and it isn't so easy in town. 

Elder Hepworth

11/02-2015 - ELDER WORTON GOES HOME AND HALLOWEEN PARTY

It was a fun week for us. On Tuesday we went to transfers even though we weren't getting moved to see Elder Worton and Elder Holloway bare their final testimony and go home. I was super proud of Elder Holloway who has experienced many challenges on mission. Those 3 transfers with him were awesome and won't be forgotten. This week we got 4 people prepared for their baptisms on Sunday. It will be awesome because both of them are completing families who can now prepare to go to the temple. The only sad thing this week is that a lot of investigators are dropping us so we will have to do a lot of finding to see who is next for the waters of baptism. It is funny the way they get rid of us here. Since they are behind huge walls, gates, and complexes we had some who just block our number. They could have just said no though ha. We think some of them went to the internet and looked up the church and got their opinion from there. It makes us sad because they definitely won't find the right answer there. Like if you are sick you go to the doctor because every time you go to the internet you end up with cancer. It is the same way with the gospel. Holidays on mission is the towns here are super fun. Many people may thing that I had even forgotten it was Halloween this weekend but I didn't because we had two Halloween parties to go to with members. It was super fun. I think I forgot it was Halloween last year because I was in township and nothing was happening but not this year. I can't wait to see how Christmas goes ha. My companion and I dressed up as Super Elders.  Halloween here isn't as big as back home but it is evolving. Especially with members of the church.

Elder Hepworth

 

 

 

 

 

10/26/2015 - DERICK'S FRIEND ELDER WORTON IS HEADED HOME TO IDAHO

Well it's coming down to four months now and I can't believe it. This week Elder Worton is going home and I remember when I was in the MTC and he came to visit me. This week was pretty slow. My companion was sick for most of it. I guess there is a virus going around it some water where you get a bad headache and throw up. I just hope I don't get it. We still got a little bit of missionary work done though. We had some interviews for baptism this week and planned on a baptism this Sunday but it didn't work out so they will be baptized on the 8th of November. We have the coolest members here. The members we ate dinner with yesterday were awesome. Their son owns a few snakes and he brought them out to show us. I told him to keep them on the other side of the table away from me ha. They told me I need to get a picture with one before I go and I know it would freak out my mom so I think I'm going too. This week as my companion and I were sitting around we started talking about mission and life. This is where my thought for today comes from. Don't worry... Be happy. We were talking about how I'm getting close to home and how I don't feel ready. Then we realized that we didn't feel ready for mission or most things in our lives but life carried on and all was okay. We tend to worry a lot but most of the time there is nothing to worry about. I know our Heavenly Father wants us to be happy and not worry much. When we follow the path Jesus Christ set there is nothing to worry about. Have a great week everybody.

Elder Hepworth

10/19/2015 - MAHARA FAMILY BIRTHDAY PARTY

This week was awesome. It started off kind of bad but turned out amazing. On Monday we went to our appointment and had forgotten our phone to call the person so we couldn't get in the big gate and it was a bummer. Then on Tuesday we did service at a home for special people. We feed the little kids and it is a cool experience to be around so many humble and perfect spirits. Then there wasn't much the rest of the day. On Wednesday we got a knock on our window at 6:30 by the zone leaders saying that President wanting to come teaching with us. So we scheduled an appointment and President and sister Dunn went teaching with us and it was super spiritual. Then that set up the rest of our week. We decided to go check a referral and as we were talking to him a lady said hey Elders. So I went and talked to her and it was a member. She had been praying for missionaries the night before and it just happens that we met her on her way to work. We are going to visit her this week. It was a cool experience. On Thursday we had a birthday party with some members and I think we had more fun that them. Then later we found out if was another members birthday so we got a lot of cake ha. This weekend we watched general conference and it was really good. Personally I think the theme was faith, hope, charity, and love. I like how the spirit guides them on what they should talk about before and then we get to see it all come together. I don't remember who it was but they had the wheels spinning in my head. I was thinking about what it meant to be cool. Growing up and in school usually the ones who are cool are the ones who are unique in a certain way. Like really good athletes for example. These days the world is such a way that everyone can be sinners. It is more unique to be a follower of Christ as we are. We are cool. You are cool and don't forget that. Have an awesome week.

Elder Hepworth


Birthday party with the Mahara family.

10/12/2015- STILL LEARNING THE ROPES OF A "TOWN" INSTEAD OF "TOWNSHIP"

Unfortunately I still don't have any pictures but I will take some this week. I have had a better week because I'm starting to get used to town. Last Monday we had an awesome family home evening. Then on Tuesday we had to go to the mission home for scheduled interviews with President. If you remember I had those a few weeks ago but because of the change and zone change I went in again. It was funny because President keeps track of how old we are on mission and we have interviews every three months so he said you are 21 months now. I was like ha no ways I'm still 19 you saw me two weeks ago President. He was like oh yeah haha. On the way to interviews we got stuck in heavy traffic which I don't really like. When we were sitting there I was looking out the window and then my companion starts freaking out and the car in front of us hits us. I don't now what he was doing but he rolled back like ten feet and made a nice tent in the front. I couldn't believe what had just happened ha. One senior couple told me if you can drive here you can drive anywhere. The rest of Tuesday and Wednesday everything cancelled on us. We even have cancellations for Rugby games. Cancellations can really get on my nerves. God is more important right? We were supposed to have a baptismal interview on Tuesday but something went wrong with the family and we weren't able to see them the whole week. We think that they got kicked out of the house that they were renting. Life can get tough. I just hope that we can work out there baptism still and they get things fixed. The rest of the week was pretty good. Members feed us good here. We had Roman's pizza for one visit which is like Pizza Hut and a Braii (BBQ) for another. Then our Sunday dinner we had spaghetti and salad with cake for dessert. Once I figure out how to work town well and get comfortable I will be loving this place. We have some pretty cool investigators that we are working with. Each come with there own challenges though. It is fun being here. I'm looking forward to seeing conference this weekend. I hear there was some good stuff. Well my time is up so have a great week everyone and don't forget what is really important.

Elder Hepworth

09/05/2015 - BEDFORDVIEW ORANGE GROVE- FIRST TOWN

Well it is interesting being in town and this place is very town. This place is part of Bedfordview but the area is called Orange Grove. I feel so out of place because it isn't just black people anymore. There are black, white, and Indians in our ward. I was so nervous and looked like a greeny baring my testimony yesterday. I will get comfortable soon. I kind of feel homesick for my last area and my last district but it's good to be here. My new companion is Elder Ainslie from England. He has been out for 11 months now. He  is a cool guy. I don't know how to work in town so he is teaching me the ropes. This week was pretty good. We don't teach as many lessons as missionaries teach in township but it is still a good amount. There isn't much to talk about this week because it has been a week full of trying to get used to things here. I'm finding it weird how hard it is to adjust to the change. When you talk about something or are taught something it can be a lot easier said than done. Well I hope everyone has a great week. Don't forget to enjoy life.

Elder Hepworth

09/28/2015- TWO BAPTISMS and EMERGENCY TRANSFER

Okay well this week has been interesting. It started off pretty harmless. We had a good P-day and on Tuesday we had interviews with our mission President which are always good. Then on Wednesday three of us in the district got sick and the zone leaders were coming to do our baptismal interviews. Three of us stayed home and the others went to Khutsong. They passed their interviews and the baptisms went great.

Leonard, Elder Hepworth, and Selo

Leonard and Selo's Baptisms

On Thursday and up until now I am still sick and I'm sick of being sick. On  Thursday it was heritage day here in South Africa so for our heritage we had a good old American BBQ. It was pretty awesome until I got a call from mission President. In the mission field their is this thing called an emergency transfer or ET. Long story short I'm leaving Khutsong just like that in the middle of the transfer to go help another missionary. I wasn't ready to leave Khutsong but I'll go where he wants me to go. I hate saying goodbye though. It is amazing to serve in South Africa but it is very far away from home and will be difficult to visit.  I feel a little nervous for my new area because I'm going to my first town area. I have been in township my whole mission and haven't taught one white person ha. Life is full of surprises and opportunities I guess. One thing I have learned is to go into things more positive. Over my mission there has been times when I felt like this sucks and then come to find out I love it two weeks later. Life is meant to be spent in joy. Men are that they might have joy so be happy. I love you all.