Staying In Bluff

January 21, 2019

How many more transfers can I take? 5? 6? I'm not really sure, but it looks like I'll be spending a quarter of my mission in the blessed place.

We have been teaching a lot of Plan of Salvation, which really shows to me how big of a deal it really is, and how bad all of God's children really need it. Lately, so many people have been coming to us from nowhere, asking us to teach them what we have. It is so cool to have people recognize us Christ's representatives. Everyone is entitled to Christ's Atonement.  We are teaching a lot of women who have suffered from either drug abuse or rape or any of that terrible stuff. It makes good talk for the plan of salvation, which is one of my favorites. I hope we are teaching it how they need it. It is nice, because we get to teach to their needs and REALLY focus more on them instead of just trying to power through the lessons.

The temple doesn't open till late this year. I am so eager to go again! I love showing people we teach pictures of the temples. It really takes their breathe away and they have a desire to go there.

So in Africa right now, there are so many things happening from Ebola outbreaks and country shutdowns, and civil wars on the rise. It is kinda discomforting, but at least we know God is on our side. I feel like If something were to happen to me, I am in good standing with God, and that gives me comfort. I'm happy happy happy! 

This week has been a hard one. We got stuck in the rain a few times and I got all my stuff wet, but at least that means my future wife is getting more attractive, neh? We have been putting in WORK, and that includes setting appointments for 8 in the morning.... heh. yeah.

In the mornings I do a lot of crunches and a lot of situps. If I run at all my thighs grow a lot and it makes my pants not fit haha. But all the walking we do cuts the weight out. It is good to hear that Porter is visiting you guys more. I  would hope he does because we never visited Keith's parents after he left, and I still feel really guilty about it. 

Thank you so so so much, Grandma and Grandpa, for sending the gummies and choccy milk! I knew you had something to do with it because it was much to specific! Also, those plant things are the COOLEST PRESENT! Thank you mum!

Well, everything that happened this week has now flooded my mind, but ya'll have a good week, eh?

-Elder Hoser

yer Bluffing.

January 14, 2019

I always feel like my emails need a title, so I apologize for the lack of creative juices.

This week we have worked our tails off. We have met some really cool people in some interesting circumstances. We Taught a man the lesson of the restoration in a small humid room ( I was dying) and the lesson went really well, until he started asking out of context questions, and brought it all back to 7th day worship. I'm not really sure why we have been running into so many 7th day Adventists.

We also met a really cool lady on a taxi who is in need of this Gospel. she asked me questions about infant baptism, procrastinating repentance and prayer. She is very prepared, because she has had a rough past and is looking to shape things better in 2019 because of her small family. 

Yesterday, while looking over the ocean after a long day, we talking to a man and his wife and got onto the subject of fishing. He was really impressed with all the things I know about fishing and I guess it must have made us earn his respect because Him and his wife invited us to their home to share our message with them. Hopefully all goes well with that, I'll have to give an update next week...

We also got caught up in an area called Clairwood past the times that the taxis function. It's because my son was on a roll with talking to people, but I was trying to tell him we needed to go because I didn't want to be stuck in Clairwood. Sometimes we gotta obey the spirit of the law, ya know? Anyways, we were stuck in Clairwood which is known as the place you go to die after hours. I was scared being the only mulungu in sight, but we were rescued by a ward member who happened to be close by. That will never happen again. Sorry mum hehe

The most popular place in all of the bluff is Bluff meats. The place is huge and it is constantly getting customers like crazy! Look up the size of the building. All they sell is meat. Family life is around 2 kids on average, and both parents usually work. african women don't usually work, but the older Gogos get pension money and use it all to buy food, so the older the woman, the bigger she is. It's kinda sad.

I love the bluff. This is a legendary area and I am glad to be a pioneer of it. January is the Hottest month of the year, and we are beginning to feel it, but with our flower scented bleach, we are fighting our shirts from smelling too bad. 

What is all ya'lls new year resolutions?

loves youz!

-elder Moser

#1 No, that is not sweat. 

#2 Purdy sunsetttt

The infamous bank card package sent in August finally arrived.

Contents of said package plus a Christmas card from Uncle Curtis & Aunt Adie

Birthday gift tiny scripture set.

Happy birthday to Me!

Bradley Moser	Mon, Jan 7, 2:13 AM (13 days ago)
to me

I can't believe I'm gonna be 20! That is so weird and I still feel 17.

I'm not gonna be able to write much today because there are so many emails! I might not even be able to write a group email!

Thanks for putting up with me through all the dumb things I used to do hehe. I'm sure I was the hardest kid to raise and I probably received the most reprimand. I just hope I turn out good in the end.

Also, I had a dream last night that Jack Maxwell was telling me to get Marcus to come back to church. Could you somehow get me Marcus's email? Thanks.

Brother Roelof van Helsdingen made sure I had a birthday cake.
He had his wife make her famous mudd-slide chocolate cake.

Happy New Year

December 31, 2018Hey everyone! It's almost 2019! How crazy is that?

Not much happened this week that would be interesting for ya'll to know, except we had a really cool experience where elder Ndlovu shared the first vision in a lesson and I felt the spirit the strongest I have ever felt in my whole mission career. Super cool.

Everyone is drinking right now, so I get the feeling this is going to be a slow next week.

Happy new year!

-Elder Moser

#1 Me and Atkinson with our ward mission leader, Roeloff.

#2 Just your average missionary with a plumeria.

#3 LIGHT THE WORLD :D

#4 We found this little critter in our sink..?

Merry 24th of Dezemba!

December 24, 2018

Hello family and friends! I hope all of you are having a very merry Christmas, wherever you are! And I hope it's a cold one, because all of you have to make up for the heat I am feeling. This week we hit 40c here in Durban, and my shirts are starting to turn yellow! XD My son pointed that out to me and now I'm just a touch embarrassed about it.

We have been working and walking till our feet hurt, and we have been looking for opportunities to serve people. We are trying to light the world during this season, and we will continue to do so even after Christmas, working towards Easter.

I'm so grateful for God and for giving us the gift of our Savior, Jesus Christ. I find so much comfort and joy in knowing that through following him, all of us can return to live with God again, and that is the greatest gift imaginable!

One thing we do on mission is bring families closer together. An area authority gave a talk on what it is that makes us yearn for home (me especially) and he concluded that it is the people that make it up. I encourage all of you to set aside some time to really connect with your family members and celebrate the birth of Christ.

I love you all, and Merry Christmas!

-Elder Moser

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Roelof van Helsdingen <roelofvanhelsdingen123@gmail.com>
Date: Sat, Dec 22, 2018, 9:04 AM
Subject: Durban Mission
To: <mosermomma@gmail.com>, <moserdoc@gmail.com>

Dear brother and sister Moser, 

I want to take the opportunity to give you some feedback on how well your son is doing on his mission. He was sent to the Bluff ward along with Elder Atkinson in September. 

Our Ward has been working hard on our Missionary efforts in the hope that this will allow Heavenly Father to bless us again,  by answering our prayers, and sending us missionaries after some years. Elder Moser and Elder Atkinson has truly been a great blessing to the ward and to me and my family. I have enjoyed working with them as the Ward Mission Leader and now will still be working with Elder Moser and Elder Nglovu as the Elders Quorum President.  

Elder Moser is a fine young man who has shown the utmost commitment to his calling as the Lords Shepherd. He has been a wonderful example to my son who will be handing in his mission papers in Jan next year. Due to his well balanced nature and impeccable work ethic my son has learned by going out with the missionaries that a missionary can work hard and have fun at the same time. 

My wife and I love talking to Elder Moser about music and have found him to have a fast knowledge and love of a variety of music (thanks to his dad's influence). We have even been entertained by his energetic and strange dance moves. 

I always feel for the missionaries and their families during Christmas Time and we have invited the Elders to come and join our family for our Christmas Eve dinner. My family and I would like to ensure you that Elder Moser will be fed very well and will be with people who love and appreciate him. 

Congratulations on raising a wonderful man, you have good reason to be proud of your son. I hope and pray that my son will also embrace his responsibilities in the mission field with the surety and confidence that I see in your son. 

Have a Mary Christmas and thank you for your sacrifice. 

Best wishes, 

Roelof and Joanne van Helsdingen

DEZEMBA!

December 12, 2018

It's ya boii

I got my son this week! His name is elder Ndlovu from Joburg, and he is super pumped up and ready to do some missionary work. It is fun being a father, and I see a lot of myself in him from when I was being trained. Like being scared to talk in lessons, or not saying much in lessons. That will change quickly though. He is teaching me how to speak Zulu!!! I am such a slow learner, but I am hoping to be able to pick up a bit for when I come home and find a zulu girl at BYUI.

We have been working our tails off and have met all sorts of people. We met an Antichrist dude who tried telling us that Our church is a cult and that he needed proof and all sorts of stuff, but I bore testimony of the Book of Mormon, and gave him a copy, trusting that he will read it, because He seemed like the person that will. 

We also were walking to an appointment when a lady in a bakkie stopped to ask us what church we were from, with a friendly smile on her face. We told her, then she asked if we have a service on Sunday. We said yes and invited her, while trying to give her a Restoration pamphlet, when suddenly she Flipped on us! "Nowhere in the bible does it say to worship on Sunday! We are supposed to worship on Saturday! Go read your bible! I'm trying to give you salvation!" and lots Of stuff like that. We tried explaining to her that the day we worship doesn't matter as much as if we set apart a day dedicated to God. And really, we should be worshiping the Lord every day of our lives, but she wouldn't let us speak and then drove off. Elder Ndlovu was a little bummed after that, so I had to calm him down. Interestingly enough, 7th days are the only church that ever want to fight with us here...

We have walked a lot in this heat, and it is paying off. We had a lesson with a Zimbabwean lady who got robbed on a busy street in the middle of the day and she was pretty upset because she lost everything. We Taught about the Plan of Salvation and she was a lot better after that. There was also an 11 year old girl who listened in and I was really impressed by how smart she was and the questions she was asking. Both are scheduled to be baptized. 

Ha. haha. I am interested to see how well my small talk is with people that are not missionaries. Small talk with black people whose predominant language is Zulu is a lot different than talking to white people. 

Sister Howell is Awesome! With the recent Transfer, she and her husband took us to a place to eat called Spur. I wasn't too hungry, but we got to talk to them a bit, and I like them. They have already served a mission in Singapore, which is where Bradlynn Christiensen is right? It's also where Ben Delis from Belize is. I got my packages and all the missionaries were trying to get me to open it, but I held my ground. Sorry to disappoint them, but I just am really trying to exercise discipline.

Love youz guys! I'll catch ya next week!

-Elder Mozer

I'm Pregnant!

December 12, 2018

Hello dearest family and friends.

Before you hear it from someone else, I want you all to know that I am indeed expecting...

A BOY! I am going to be training this transfer! This is a very big step in my mission, and I just hope that I am ready. I'm sad to say that elder Atkinson is leaving, but we had a good run.

Speaking of which, we had another baptism yesterday. Yvonne Mukokeri, from Zimbabwe. It was fun teaching her, even though she talked really quiet.

The rain here has been super crazy. Almost every day this past week it has been pouring and the Thunder has been SO LOUD. like, it has scared me sometimes. YO. I took a recording if ya'll wanna hear.

TIS THE SEASON! And I hope to hear from you all about what you are doing this Christmas to spread the joy of Christ's birth.

First off, I didn't know that the missionary death was at the South Africa MTC. That is crazy and it just breaks my heart. One of the missionaries that was in that group will end up being my son, so I guess when he gets here I can find out more about it. I don't know.

The first card that you sent just got here, so That is funny and honestly makes me kinda mad. Oh well I guess, what can ya do?

I think the spiritual Highlight this week would have to be the fireside for sure. The sister that gave a talk about loving pure light really touched me, because there are people here that from first glance would make you want to not talk to them, but if we are really representing the savior then we need to remember everyone. Even the Lord remembers the Heathen!

I am getting along super well with my comp which makes me really sad that we are separating:( He is going to Mapotsoe in Lesotho, so that is a good area to go into.

Yes the white handbook is memorized. It is super boring to read at this point, but I get the feeling I am going to be reading it a LOT for the next 6 weeks.

um... I don't have much toothpaste. This is the first time I have gone through a full tube by myself before Elise could visit home and steal mine! This is an accomplishment for sure.

People from Zimbabwe are Golden!

December 3 2018

Howzit? My whole body is crying right now, and by that, I mean I am sweating in ways I never thought imaginable.

Things right now are kinda slow because a lot of the people in our teaching pool have disappeared, or they just don't want us visiting anymore. We have spent some time tracting lately, and that really isn't fun in the sun. This week has FLOWN by though, so I guess when you are having fun, the time really does fly. I mean, it isn't really the funnest thing in the world, but c'mon. You know what I'm saying.

We met a lady from Zim, and when we visited her to teach her, she stays with a plethora of other ladies from Zim! So we can pretty much consider them baptized already because the people from Zimbabwe are always golden investigators. 

We taught another lady who is from the Congo and she speaks French and Swahili. We had to teach really slowly through a translator, and they were just laughing the whole time and I had no idea what was going on.

Transfers are coming up next week and Me and Elder Atkinson are hoping to stay together. We have been finding a lot of success, and it would be nice to spend Christmas with someone I have already gotten used to, ya feel?

1. We will probably grab some Schwarmma at a local place called Honchos. It is actually really nice, I think I like them more than burritos. That is all we can really do though, I don't have money so we can never do anything fun ;/

2. Yeah, so.... I wrote in the morning for about 10 seconds and then I got kicked off, so Later in the day I was allowed to use a ward members computer to finish. I usually write around 2 or 3 hours since the internet sucketh.

3. Grocery shopping messes with my brain because the Rand value is so low, so everything appears so high. Try buying honey for what looks like 50 dollars lol. There are entire aisles dedicated to drinks and candy. The people here are big on cool drink, which is soda, and also beer...

4. Elder Atkinson is from Washington, and we get along SUPER well. We are actually hoping to stay together another transfer, that would be cool. Then we would get to celebrate our birthdays together! He has been out for 10 more months than me. I'll be at 14 months when he goes home. also, he is getting mail like crazy, I don't understand.

5. For breakfast this morning I had porridge. Can you believe that? After all these years of complaining about malt o meal, I'm eating porridge as a regular routine. Ace instant porridge is SO GOOD! And cheap. If I don't have that, I will usually eat Wheat bix, and I don't know how to explain what that is. Maybe just look it up?

6. I don't know how to interpret this, but I'm gonna assume you are talking about the place that a lot of people work at, and if that is the case, Then it is bluff meats for sure. Literally right by our boarding is this HUGE store that only sells meat. The place is always packed with people and so many people work there. Africans sure do like their braai!

7.  Shoes are doing great! Totally worth the wads of cash that I paid to get them! I am sure they will last me till the end of my mission. I might even get some for hiking when I get back.

It is getting even hotter here, which I guess is nice because I haven't been homesick for Christmas, mainly because it doesn't feel like it. 

Anyways, pray for me to find comfort swimming through this hummid air!

love youz guys!

-Elder Moser

p.s. My favorite quote now is "it is better to prepare and prevent than to repair and repent"

Lots to be Thankful for these days

JAMBO JAMBO!! (That's Swahili. Yeah, I guess I'm learning that too)

November 26, 2018

WHAT... A crazy week this has been. 

To start off, Yvonne has been reading the Book of Mormon like a maniac. Earlier this week, she was in 1st Nephi, and then 2 DAYS LATER she was in the middle of Alma. She is getting baptized soon soon.

Me and Elder Atkinson are getting in the habit of saying everything 2x. The people here do that, and it is kinda an annoying thing for me to do, just because I am now conscious about it.

We had two baptisms yesterday. Dwayne Allen and Amissa Nyakura. The baptism went quite swell and They both asked me to give a talk, so I kinda had to write it in the middle of sacrament meeting. It was sweet and to the point. Both of them were so happy after getting dunked in the water.

We had zone conference with Elder Koch, one of the General Authorities in the Africa South East Presidency. He is a very very straight man, and as it turns out he is from Brazil so it was fun listening to him and his wife's accents. It was a combined Conference with the Durban, Hillcrest and Richards Bay zones, so there was around 50 missionaries and 100 fun. 

Thanksgiving din-din was Panarotti's, an all you can eat pizza place. Me and my comp both downed 15 slices of pizza, and just when we thought we could not feel any worse, we went to McDankies and got large shakes to fill in any nook and crany that was not filled yet. THEN we continued to walk around 2ish miles back home, and The way I was feeling almost brought me to my knees. We literally ate until we wished we were dead.

Well, This Thanksgiving season and Christmas season is going to be one that will open our hearts to the Lord and everything that he is helping us with. We have seen it so many times everyday, The tender mercies we are given. One thing I can really say I am thankful for is my increasing love and testimony for the Gospel. The past months I have been here on mission have really touched my heart and increased my knowledge, and that alone has made this experience the best.

Love youz guys! Chow! (That is also Swahili)

-Elder Moser

1. Hey. Look what this sign says. This is actually a really popular name here.

2. See our faces? That is what we call a broken smile, as we struggle getting our ice cream down on thanksgiving day.

3. The Durban Zone

4. Baptismzzz...Mishinnnnn...

El Nino, Who dis?

November 19, 2018

Ladies and Gentlemen, I am sweating buckets these days and it looks like things are gonna get worse :') We are gonna be affected by El Nino this year so we are going to hit temps of 40c. I don't know what that calculates to, but honestly I'm scared to.

We have had a good week despite the terribly sunny weather. All of the people we are teaching are progressing nicely and we will have another 2 baptisms this next week. One of our investigators is 16 and She is having trouble with getting her mom to allow her to be baptized. At a bible study, some people attacked her for trying to get baptized into the church and now her mom feels the same way, so we are going to talk to her this week so she is a little bit more educated on the matter.

We have taught some less wealthy people this week and it is really humbling to see their situations. We taught a referral that we got from a member, and when we got there she started inviting anybody who wanted to come listen to her "personal Pastors!" That was interesting, and the lesson was all over the place. Most of the women were drunk, saying a lot of random things and I was really just trying to not laugh and get my head on straight so I could continue teaching. Afterwards my companion got his hat stolen by one of the people that listened to us so we had to spend some time getting it back.

The flying ants have been flying around full force and It is getting old. There were some little kids in a member family who spend a night catching them so they could eat them. I took pictures, but my computer ate stupid-o's for breakfast, so until next time.

Love you all! Enjoy the snowy weather back at home! hugs!

-Elder Moser

Questions from home:

1. Have you eaten anything weird or gross?

2.  What is something comical that has happened today? (Ya'll gotta laugh.)

3.  How is your belly?

4.  What is the internet shop like? Do you sit at a table, a desk, a counter, a cubicle? Do they offer food?

5.  How do you do your laundry?

6.  What is the biggest difference between homes in SA and homes in the US?

7.  How many wards do you cover? or do you cover a ward?

8.  How do you get around mostly? Walking, bikes, car, taxi?

9.  How can I better pray for you? What is your biggest challenge?

10. How to you make sure the progress you are making now will carry over to regular life here?

Let me answer your questions right quick

1. Well to be honest, The nastiest thing I have had is Tripe back in Lesotho. Here in the Bluff we don't get anything gross because people are more civilized. However, Sometime in the future I can imagine myself eating chicken head( That means everything in the head and the skull itself)  and sheep brain which is actually a delicacy here. The Xhosa and Zulu people here, When eating chicken, Eat everything including the bones. I have been trying to get into that habit, eating the bones. Is that bad?

2. Last week we had a dog from a members house almost follow us all the way back home which is super far away. On the way, We passed some BIG dogs, and we were in between them, and Slippers: The dog who followed us. They tried attacking each other and we found our selves in there as well swinging our bags around trying to break up the fight, all while people were walking around us. Super dodgy, that was.

3. My belly is... fine. Honestly. Of course some things have made me sick, but nothing out of the ordinary.

4. The internet shop we are at right now has these little cubicle things that we sit in. You pay R10 an hour and it is very hard to upload pictures because these computers have cancer or something. they don't offer food, but we bring some every now and then.

5. We hand wash. LOL not really, but sometimes I do if my shirt is smelling a little raunchier than usual. There is a community washing machine we use and then we hang dry our clothes. We have an indoor drying rack for our Garments that we keep in the bathroom because the bathroom is the only area big enough to fit it haha.

6. All windows, doors, and properties have burglar bars and large gates. The richer the area, the taller the gates and the higher the security system. The people here are really suspicious, and that is why we never see anyone when we walk and when we say hello to people they look away. It is crazy. People here have a hard time making something out of themselves, so the poor get poor and the rich get richer. You should go onto google maps and look at some of the houses on Marine Drive in Bluff.

7. We cover one ward but the boundary is GIhugeous. Is that a word? I reckon walking from one end to the other would cover 15 miles. The ward is in the proccess of getting split, so then there will be two ward buildings and a new set of missionaries.

8. We walk and Taxi. No cars in the mission anymore except for Couples, Zone leaders and Assistants. Walking stinketh because it is HOT and taxis are fun because how they drive. Street laws? What street laws.

9. My biggest problem is confidence. My hair. I'm trying to believe in miracles that it will grow back, but when I was praying about it, the thought that came to my head was "Stop worrying about it" so yeah.... I don't know. Maybe pray about my home card so I can buy a sun hat haha.

10. persistence? I don't know how to answer this one honestly....

Hope this gives you all the information you need. love you mummy!

WE GOT A BAPTISM!

November 12, 2018

YOOOOOO What is going on all the people that I love back at home? This past week has been a pretty good one. 

First off, I went on an exchange with the AP's this week because President Thompson wanted to see how well we were doing in the area. I lead the area with elder Guymon, and my comp went to Berea, and since the exchange, President has been telling a lot of people about how amazing our work is going. It feels pretty good.

Along with that, we have found a lot of success this week. We Got to baptize sister Ntombikayise Ngidi (Try saying that mum) and we had 84 ward members attend and all our investigators that attended want to be baptized sooner than ever!!!

Everyone that is progressing with us right now is from Zimbabwe, apart from the Afrikaneers that we are teaching. They are just the best people and the spirit must draw us towards them!

Parker Webb, and Elder who served here 3 years ago, is in bluff right now and he has been taking us to lunch and dinner and also taking us other places in town so It has been super fun to have him around. He is planning on taking us to some returning members who stay a little far away. He speaks like, every african language. Even south African Sign Language. It is CRAZY.

It has been a good week. One of those that makes you say, "it has been a good week!"

Love you all!

- Elder Moser

Singing outside of Stake conference at City Hall:

Look at this GIANT Voortrekker bible.

Aint The Book of Mormon just tastey?

Sister Ntombi and her son Neo who baptized her