06/29/2015- ELDER HEPWORTH TRANSFERRED TO KHUTSONG

My last email for the month of June. Well I have been transferred to another township called Khutsong. It is a great place and the missionary work is booming. There should be some baptisms very soon. There are a ton of return missionaries here and men and women preparing to go on mission. It was a little intimidating when I bore my testimony of Sunday to introduce myself ha. I met a sister who got back from the Zambia mission a month ago. I felt like asking her if she knew Elder Barrett. She did and served with him and I thought is was a crazy coincidence. The food that they give us here is great. It is so good and we get fed a lot. I will have to keep up with my exercising so I don't get fat. This area is very big and it is gong to take me awhile to learn everyone and everything. We have a full time car which is nice but I'm driving all the time because my companion doesn't drive. I'm with Elder Adjin who is from Ghana. He is a little younger than me on mission and he is the district leader. We made a cool discovery this week. We have the same first name- Derick. I thought it was pretty crazy ha. We actually stay in a house all to ourselves. It is the first time I haven't lived on the second story in a flat (apartment) complex. It is a nice place too. I don't have any pictures from here yet. I'm still sending ones from my last area. I do miss my last area and companion though. Change is always a weird thing. What I have noticed is no matter how hard it is to make a change it is possible with God. No matter how nervous or scared you may be. We also found out yesterday that our mission boundaries are changing. Some 3 zones and 45 missionaries are now changed into the Botswana/Namibia mission. Included in those areas is one of my last areas in Limpopo. So I have no hope of going back there. We will miss those Elders and our mission shrunk greatly but all is well. I am so grateful to stay in this mission. A few days ago President could have sent me to one of those zones. This mission has felt right from the beginning. I hope everyone is enjoying there summer. Have a good week.

Elder Hepworth


PICTURES FROM PREVIOUS AREA- TSAKANE AREA- Everyone is going to miss Elder Hepworth

 

 

 

06/22/2015 - ELDER HEPWORTH'S 6 MONTH TIME IN TSAKANE HAS COME TO AN END

TSAKANE AREA MEMBERS

 

Well my time is up in Tsakane. It has been a great stay. I can't believe I have been here for 6 months. The time has flown like crazy. I have had so many experiences here and this is definitely my favorite place. This week being my last was good. We found 3 new investigators and there will be a baptism on Sunday. The people are so great here. The Lord is preparing them and Tsakane has great things is store. I knew it was my last week so I prepared people. We had our 3 recent convert young men come with us each day and they loved it. I had many people tearing up or crying. I took so many pictures with people yesterday that I don't even know what pictures to send. I won't forget this place. On mission I've had to act like it doesn't hurt and let God make me stronger. So much of life depends on that and then everything will turn out okay.This week we had the scariest lesson. I won't disclose her name. When we first met her she was awesome. She mentioned that he had a chronic illness which turned out to be bipolar. Then as time went on her grandma passed away. We kept stopping by after losing contact but never found her. When we finally found her she had just got back from the hospital. She had been sedated for 2 weeks for depression. We could see that she was suffering from serious depression but she was okay. Then this past week when we went the only way I can describe it is she was a zombie. Her eyes were so hollow and looked like nobody was there. He mom told us what had been happening. She said weird things and did weird things that I won't mention. I could see it was a huge trial for her and her mother. What I'm getting at though is that I'm so grateful for all that I have. I'm grateful for who I am and all the blessing I have in my life. So much of the time we look at ourselves and say we go through way worse than everyone else but I say look up and see everyone is going through something.  When I realized that is less than two weeks I will have been out here for 16 months I thought a lot about the future. So much of the future is written and you can't help to fear if you will make all the right decisions. There are such big decisions to make when I get home like school and marriage.  We must make the best of the future or before we know it we are old and looking back at so much potential lost. It is times like these where you put everything into God's hands. I hope everyone has a good week. You are in my prayers. 

 

Elder Hepworth

 



06/15/2015- Elders Hepworth and Hollingsworth with Thuli

 

This is a selfie with Thuli. She is a very outgoing YSA that is a good friend of ours. 

Now it is halfway through June. I hope everyone is having a good summer and that it isn't moving as fast for you as it is for me. Well it isn't summer here it is still very cold. Not as cold as back home but I'm South African now. We had another good week. Just another usual week. I might say that a lot but when you get older out here the usual is all it is ha. This week we met with an investigator named Micheal. He has been investigating for a year. He is powerful but he needed to get married first. This last week he finished his marriage and he will be baptized on the 28 of June. When we were there I was prompted to have a testimony meeting and it was powerful. His testimony proved to us that he is ready. I'm not sure if I will be seeing him baptized because it might be the week after I leave. I have been here for 6 months now and I believe it is my time. It is pretty sad to think about leaving this place and people. I will miss them greatly. This coming Sunday might be pretty emotional for everyone if my prediction is right. When I mention I think I will be leaving soon our branch mission leaders says people are going to cry when you leave. Our young men recent converts want to spend a lot of time with us because I said I think I'm leaving ha. It's cool with me. Yesterday I told one of our investigators and she started crying. All of this and the memories and good things we have done here makes me feel like I have done what my Heavenly Father sent me here to do. I'm very grateful for this area and my companion Elder Holloway. It has been mentioned many times how we act like brothers. He is my best friend and will definitely be a life long friend. Yesterday those young men who were recently baptized got the priesthood and we stayed to see it. They were really excited about it and we will get them administering the sacrament this Sunday. Yesterday we didn't have any lunch appointments and our flat is about 15 km from the area. We were nonetheless freaking out about it and complaining. When we decided to go home and were about to leave when we got a call from Branch President saying someone offered for us to come over. We kind of crashed a birthday party but we got fed and had fun. We also sang happy birthday in Zulu. One thing that is hard for me to understand is the Lord's timing. I'm constantly trying to be humble and patient. The Lord really will bless us with what we need we just have to have faith and hope. He does love you and I. Don't ever forget to look heavenward. Have a great week everyone. Enjoy the heat. My feet are cold.

Elder Hepworth

Elders Hepworth and Hollingsworth

06/08/2015- 9 MONTHS LEFT! SERVICE FOR A SISTER

 

 

 Sawbona (hello),

It is offically been 15 months and I am shocked everytime a month goes by. I am now down to 9 months left. Seeing those single digits is crazy because I remember when I had only been out here for 9 months.

 

This week was very good with a lot of success just like usual. On Wednesday we had zone conference. Zone conference is when we meet together and get taught by the assistants, President Dunn, and his wife. Just some take aways from that include if we can't live the celestial law then we can't live the celestial glory. Plus success is what becomes of a missionary after he gets home. I think about that a lot. I really want to be a changed person when I get home and stay changed. The assistants which includes Elder Worton the one I graduated and went to school with taught about tesifying. It was great for me because it was what I was slacking on. I have been trying to testify as much as possible and I have felt the spirit more. A testimony is what you know and never a wrong answer. I think we should be a lot less afraid to share it because people need it. We meet with a lot of recent converts each week and we have a lot. I have really come to love these people. Especially the Dwenga family. As we went to teach them we talked about our purpose in life. I asked them  what was their purpose and they bore powerful testimonies. It even shows in their young daughter when they pray, read scriptures, and sing hymns each night. They said she lead the music out of no where and it was really funny. Just one of those funny things kids do but a witness that they are watching and following the parents examples.

 

 

 

Saturday we did service for sister Qwaka. Don't try to say that name because it has a click in it ha. With the load shedding that has been happening a candle attacked her house and burned some of it. Houses are made of bricks so it didn't burn down. We helped repaint the ceiling for here. It was fun and always feels good to help others.

 

On Sunday we had an American family from Farmington, Utah attend church. They were going to Zimbabwe to do a service project and stopped in South Africa on there way. They were connected to the senior couples/temple couples somehow and visited our church. It was a father and mother and the typical Mormon Utah family with 7 girls. Yup 7... It was super weird seeing white American girls haha they seemed like a great family. In testimony meeting a lot of our recent converts bore testimony thanking us and bore strong testimonies. The spirit witnessed to me that I was doing what I was supposed to be doing. I love mission. I love this church and the gospel. I know that it is true without a doubt. I hope everyone has a good week. You are in my prayers. May God bless you always. 

 

Elder Hepworth

06/01/2015- NANA BAPTIZED- AGE 10

Nana- Age 10 Baptized
05/31/2015

Hey everyone,

I just want to start off by wishing a Happy Birthday to my brother, cousin, and father on the the 3rd, 4th, and 5th this week. Everyone is getting so old including me. This week has gone by fast but wasn't easy. Some weeks it feels like we went through the furnace of affliction but obviously not that bad. We had half as many lessons this week as last but still it was good. On Tuesday we went to the Doctor as a district because our District leader who is from Ghana needed medical attention and we are the drivers. It was kind of a relax morning but a lot of driving. Then mission life requires you to go straight to the area when you get back so it was extremely exhausting. Especially because not many things worked out like it was planned to this week. What made the week worth it was the baptism. We baptized a 10 year old girl who we call Nana. That is more of her nickname though. She is the daughter of a member and very smart. She was so excited and our Branch mission leader baptized her as well. She bore a amazing testimony. She thanked the Branch President for letting them go to the temple yesterday and can't wait to get older and go inside. I love all the success but seeing that they are all powerful is just mind blowing. On top of the baptism I gave a talk in sacrament meeting. Of course it was on missionary work ha. No matter how many times I stand in front of people I get nervous. I would have to say I was the least nervous this time. I don't know how much time I was given but I spoke for around 15 minutes. It was funny because I wasn't trying to make it long. When I was younger it was like how can I talk more and now it is like how can I talk less haha. It is great to hear that summer is now there. Winter is on it's way. We are all getting sick which is not exactly what we want. This week we taught how to be a (PRO)fessional at the gospel. By (p)rayer, (r)eading, and (o)bedience we can all be a pro at the gospel. I hope everyone has a great week. Thank you for all the support. You are in my prayers. 

Elder Hepworth

Nana, her family and Elders Hollingsworth and Hepworth

Nana and her family

Nana

05/25/2015- Siyabonga means thank you in Zulu.

This is a place by our flat. Siyabonga means thank you in Zulu. We thought the sign worked great for missionary work too.

This week was very good. We had a lot of success. At the end of the week we had taught 33 lessons which is a lot. I think it is or pretty close to the most lessons I have taught in a week. It wasn't like we were just trying to pump out lessons too. We had quality lessons and saw all the people that we really needed to. On Monday we had family home evening. It was really fun because she is the primary president so we played a lot of fun games. As we were leaving they told us to sit down because they made dinner. It was Mokgodu and Dumbolo. I'm not so sure if I spelled it right and you probably will not be able to pronounce it until I get back. Dumbolo is a very nice bread that they make. I love it a lot. Mokgodu on the other hand is not nice. It is the intestines of cow. Most of the time it smells like poo but she cleaned it very well and made it like a stew. It wasn't nice but we got it down. The worst part was we got burps that night and they tasted so gross haha. Oh the things we eat here. On Sunday we had 6 confirmations in sacrament meeting which took up like half of the time ha. 3 of them were ours and 3 were the other guys. The success we are having is so nice but what makes me happier is how powerful they are. On Sunday we picked up Nhlanhla our recent convert who has been baptized for a month. We didn't see him at church and we asked what happened. He said he did go to church but went in a neighboring ward to just visit and see how it is there. We believed him because he talked about the things he had learned and it was the exact stuff we learned about. He said he commented and everyone starred at him and he thought he said something wrong but they were just amazed at how spiritual he is. Later we were teaching an investigator who came to church and said she loved it and can't wait to become a member. We really need to put her on date but we haven't been seeing her for very long ha. The lord is sending us awesome prepared people. Anyways as we were there she talked a lot and she has been through a lot. She asked Nhlanhla to pray before we left and his prayer was sincere and for her. As he was praying I was like wow and then after we saw she was crying. It is a rare occasion to make an investigator cry. He is going to be a great missionary and do great things. This week I set goals to meet this transfer. Goal setting is very important. If we don't set goals and learn how to reach them. Then we will get old and realize we only reached a part of our potential. Heavenly Father stretches us and forms us into what he wants us to be. If you feel comfortable you might not be doing enough. At least that is what I have learned. Have a good week everyone. You are in my prayers. 

Elder Hepworth

05-18-2015- OLGA BAPTIZED

Olga baptized by the branch mission leader Mduduzi

Hello everyone,

Olga and Her Friends from Church 05-15-2015

Another week down. It is weird to think that time is also running back home. Hearing that my siblings are almost out of school for the second time and my brother will be 17 is crazy. I don't know if I have talked about this before but I want to mention load shedding. It is something that has been affecting us greatly over the past few months and seems like it will never end. Basically it's the power company turning off power in certain areas for two hours. We have gone to watch the Restoration DVD with people and it goes out. We have had candle lit lessons and it is really annoying. The power company is Eskom. It is the only power company in South Africa and runs everything and does what it wants. That is a clear example why there are no monopolies in the good old USA. Everyone in the district stayed this transfer but on transfer day some other guys took our car so we were stranded at the flat all day and it was super boring. This week we had another baptism. Her name is Olga Kola and it sounds like coca cola. She is awesome. We had two interviews for her this week. One by our district leader and one by the mission president. He said she is super ready for baptism. Mduduzi our branch mission leader baptized her. On Saturday we had kind of a Mormon Helping Hands haha. We were at the chapel and the grounds are huge and there are tons of weeds. So the men wacked and burned weeds while the women cleaned the chapel. Burning everything is just how they do it in South Africa. We took Nhlanhla the recent convert with us to teach. He loved it and said he has liked how he felt all day. He also realized mission isn't easy though. There is a big garden at the chapel with chillis in it. We had a chilli each and they were so hot we were crying. I hope everyone had a good week. As the summer approached have fun. I will be bundling up here. Lastly I would just like to talk about the atonement. I taught the atonement in gospel principles yesterday and it went great. We all know what the atonement is but I want to talk about why and what we need to do. The reason we have the atonement is because there are two things separating us from God...spiritual and physical death. The atonement built bridges over these gaps and it is free to get over physical death. Spiritual death we much pay by living the gospel. Jesus Christ is so important to us so prove it to him. 

 

Elder Hepworth