March 26

Kimberley is good. We're starting to get the work moving at a rate that it should be. We haven't been able to teach those three guys yet, but we will call them this week, and hopefully set up a day that we can see them. That's really cool that Stevon Anderson got back and gave a great talk. That's kinda funny that he spoke about standing in holy places because we were having lunch at the branch president's house yesterday (I love having young branch president's who are RM's like Pres. Mkhize because they're so fun to talk to) and we were talking about something similar to that.

That story about Stevon's sacrament meetings have tons of distractions is so true. I heard a quote from I think President Spencer W Kimball that when he was asked what he does in boring sacrament meetings, he said "I don't know; I've never been in a boring sacrament meeting." That obviously means that it's up to us to make the sacrament meeting good no matter what is happening around us.

All is well with the food and everything. You can trust that I'll never go hungry and that I eat plenty of fruit.    I love that story about the Nephites getting the Lamanite guards drunk and them bailing. Just another reason why God as commanded us not to drink alcohol. I also love the other story you mentioned. I love how the 9 were focused on their own salvation but the other 3 were focused on the salvation of others. It's so cool. All 12 will receive the same reward, but I think that the 3 will have more joy because they were able to work among the children of God for longer. That's where joy is found--working for others and helping them to find joy in the gospel. I also love where Nephi, the son of Nephi, son of Helaman, Helaman preaches with so muc power that the people could not disbelieve his words, and so great was his faith that angels did minister unto him daily. That's so powerful. I would love to be half the missionary that he was.

Everything is good though. I'm still trying to write those letters to all of you. I'm so grateful for all your love, support, and prayers. It means so much, and I'm sure that it has helped more than I could ever imagine. I love you all so much. I told dad a nice little story about the schlemiels in Free State. Give it a look.

Elder Steed

March 19

You said that Kanesville was just a stone's throw and a hair pull away from hooper? Pretty Hoop. He's from California though, so I don't think that's them.

The area is really good. There's so much potential there. We've started to find a lot more people, but we're still in the process of separating the wheats and the tares, so we won't know how well it's going for a few more weeks. We've been blessed with a few miracles in the past couples weeks though. One happened yesterday at church. Three men walked into church wanting to know more about the church, which was fantastic because I had really been praying for miracles in this area, and they are coming. These three men were walking past the church two weeks ago sunday, and they wondered what we are about, so they asked one of the young men who was standing just inside the fence what it was. That young man goes teaching with us, and he said, "Well, I can't tell you through the fence. Why don't you come see next week?" So, they came this week, and they loved the service. None of the three are from Kimberley, but they stay in a flat while they work during the week, then they go back to their families for the weekends or something like that--but apparently they are in kimberley on sundays because they came to church. They asked a lot of questions in our investigators' class in sunday school. They seem to be very promising, but the hardest thing will be getting hold of them because of their random work schedule. We have a branch in Kimberley.

I've heard that story from Bro King. I always wonder if I'm receptive enough to the Spirit. I feel like I am, but there's always room for improvement. I wonder how many more miracles I would have seen if I had been paying closer attention to the Spirit. I feel like I'm getting the hang of it because as I tract, we're starting to get in more doors and I feel more guided as I do so. It's always a great experience to walk down a street, knock on a door, and find someone who has been looking for the truth, even if they didn't know they were looking. With a few experiences, I've realized that when that experience came knocking, the time for preparation was past, so if I wasn't ready then who knows what would have happened. It seems like the best stories (like brother King's rocking pushing story) usually end up bad with the person looking back wondering why they didn't follow the promptings of the Spirit or why they weren't receptive to the Spirit. Personally, I'd rather have questions about what would have happened if I didn't listen to the Spirit instead of having regrets about what did happen and wondering why I didn't listen to the Spirit. I love you so much. Have a great week!

Elder Steed

March 13

That's cool that the boys are playing good football. What's Dayvin been up to lately? I might get that letter sometime soon, but if I do, it will be at zone conference on the 16th. The reason being that I getting transferred to a town called Kimberley. Lesotho, Swaziland, Free State, and Newcastle provinces in South Africa constitute what is known as 'Outer Darkness' because they are all so far away from the mission office that the zone leaders are not able to go to the office because it's so far away. If it's in the office before the 16th, then I'll get it at zone conference. If it's not, then I'll get it in about 3 months or something like that. I'm really excited to be transferred, but the only thing that kills the excitement is the 9 hour bus ride required to get to Kimberley. Not to mention the fact that the nearest missionaries from Kimberly are about 4 hours away. I really hope I get along with my companion, or it will be a very long transfer. Elder Redford is going to be my new companion, and I've heard that he's pretty cool. I'm sure I'll get along with him. Elder Preslar (who is currently serving in Imbali 1) was in the same mtc group as him, so that's how I've learned about him.

Kimberley is way cool. It's a lot like Saint George as far as size and weather. We're the only missionaries in Kimberley, so we have the whole city to ourselves. Oh, and the reason I'm emailing on a tuesday is because we had zone conference yesterday in Bloemfontein. We woke up at 5 to get ready then drive for 2 hours, and zone conference went until 3:30, and we got back to Kimberley at about 6 pm, so most of the email shops were closed. My comp is Elder Redford. He's from California and he's pretty cool. The area is a bit skimpy as far as investigators, so, I'll be tracting a lot, which is a good thing because I like to find my own investigators instead of inheriting them from other missionaries. The area has so much potential. There are something like 75,000 people in Kimberley, so there's no shortage of people to teach.

I'm sorry that this email is really short. We have quite a few appointments today, so I can't spend as much time as I'd like to, but I'll definitely read the rest of your email next week. I'm glad to hear that everything is going well. I love you all so much!

Elder Steed

March 5

Marcus told me about his flight experience, and it sure sounds like God is watching out for him. That would have be awful to have to wait at the airport only an hour's flight away from home. I'm sure buddy remembers him by now, and I'll bet that he's had a few sleepless nights on the master's assistant's pillow since then.

I can relate to that experience that Mike had. If you remember when we bought the 7 chickens, we tied their feet, threw them into the trunk of the car, and drove back to the flat to slaughter them. I'll probably do that again sometime throughout the rest of my mission.

I think I mentioned last week that we were going to the PMB botanical gardens to have a braai (barbeque). Here's a tree that we found, and I took a picture next to it just after we ate a ton of food, so I look something like the tree.

I'm running out of time, so I won't re-cap the transfer news story to you other than to say that I'm getting transferred to Kimberley in Northern Cape. I'm pretty excited to go there, but the excitement dwindled a bit because of the 9 hour bus ride required to get to Kimberley. I'm not sure how the transfers are going to work other than I'm going to sit  on the bus forever until I get to Kimberley.

The woman who was baptized is doing fine. She is reading the Book of Mormon a lot and she's loving it. She's learning a lot from it, so it's becoming more and more important to her with every verse that she reads. She's about half way through Mosiah, so she's well on her way to finish the Book of Mormon sort of soon. I love you all so much. I'm sure that everyone's thrilled to have marcus back, and I wish everyone the best. I always pray for your happiness and safety.

Elder Steed