10 Months today :) May 26, 2014

Elder Sanders, Grant, Shanice and Elder Truscott getting Pizza

Well I'm completely assuming that this was my last week in Grahamstown....cause I haven't heard anything about transfers.....it sucks. I was thinking that I was for sure leaving....but doubt has crept in. Hahaha. But it was a nice week :) when you're leaving you can see how people love you and how great they are!!
Well last Monday we were in East London, so I already talked about how much fun that was, riding elephants and things! We had no trips or anything this week, so between the highlights it was just an average week of trying to teach people!
Wednesday morning we had another one of bro. Alan's world famous Grahamstown tours, haha. He took us around to all the schools here in GT. The schools here pretty much suck and everyone wears uniforms....it's not even an option to go to a normal school, hahaha. More like prison! But we got to see the different high schools and the prep school (elementary) that Alan went to....and then following the tour we had a few appointments. One with a SUPER cool guy named Ednel. We spent lots of time with him before going to see Emerald and her family :)
Precious, the lady we're sitting with from his people church, invited us to eat lunch at the Rhodes dining hall on Thursday for lunch, so that was pretty fun....and then of course we had a heated appointment with her....haha, I look forward to them, but I don't know how productive they are. Haha.
So I've been pretty much telling people that I'm leaving, and they pretty much think so too cause they know I've been here for a long time....so on Saturday Elder Sanders kept the night open, so on Saturday night, after a day of really fun appointments, we went to a restaurant for dinner. We got some pizzas, and then walked in Grant and Shanice!! It was a surprise goodbye dinner party for me!! :) we all chilled and ate pizzas and had such a fun time. I seriously love them so much!! I'm going to miss them so so much, it seriously makes me sad to think, but they are so cool they are like, "it won't be goodbye cause you're coming back!"
Sunday we had a Emerald and her family at church, and they stayed for all 3 hours so it was super nice! Besides being my 10 month mark, we had some great appointments and saw some cool people. Sis. Letitia was super great. We went and saw her, and she had written little letters for me cause they all think I'm leaving. So she wrote me a letter that i will put with my journal that is super cute and makes me sad! haha.
This morning we went on a walk/breakfast with Bro. Alan. He took us up around the botanical gardens here in GT and around town....and then we went back to his place and he cooked us a nice big breakfast! It was really nice and it was the last thing planned (besides goodbyes) that Alan had put me down for to say goodbye.
I will definitely miss the people here if I do leave...which I’m thinking I am....but they are great. They have been so great to me too.
I love and miss you.
Love,
Elder Truscott

5-19-2014 This morning was super cool! We rode elephants!! :)

Elder Truscott and Elder Sanders at  Grant and Shanice’s place 

Elder Truscott riding Elephants in East London, SA

This week was a pretty average one to be honest! We were in Grahamstown all week until this morning when we came to East London for p day! But this morning was super cool! We rode elephants!! :) There is a place by East London that we went to, since it was zone p-day, and we got to ride them around the game reserve for about an hour. It was actually really cool, lots of fun! I will send some pics of it :)

Next Monday is transfer news....so my time here in Grahamstown is dwindling for sure, but there are some great people that we're seeing here. It seems like my emails are getting more and more boring as I'm here in Grahamstown, ha ha ha. I've got to leave so something cool can happen! But we just had a nice week of appointments.

We did have a few nice appointments or times this week though. I always look forward to going and seeing Solomon, cause he is just such a sweet guy. So we went over and saw him on Thursday night and had a great appointment over KFC with him, ha ha. Friday after district meeting the four of us got together at the other guys boarding and made a huge thing of nachos for lunch. It was a good time, and they were pretty good... So of course I needed some pictures! Well I put my camera on the stairs on timer and took a few pics.....before it fell off and landed right on the lens. Ya it broke...... I bought a new one at the little picture store in GT and it was the best one that they had....but the freaking thing takes super blurry pics! I don’t know if it is just a setting problem, or what??? Ha ha ha. I will send you a few of the pics now

Then Saturday Grant and Shanice had planned for us to come over that evening and spend some time with them. They were going to cook the food and We were going to cook the dessert :) so Saturday afternoon the other guys had a baptism, which was really good. The lady's name is mama Stella, and she's been being taught for a while, and wanted President Wood to do the baptism. Since it was branch conference this week he was in town so he baptized her and confirmed her while he was here. It was cool for her! So after that we went to our place and grabbed that brownie mix that you sent me, and one of those pans, and went to Grant and Shanices place :) it was fun, we had brownies and ice  cream.....the brownies were a bit burnt around the edges, but they worked ;) and we had a nice meal by them and it was lots of fun :)

Sunday was branch conference and it was really good. I was happy, Emerald and her family came to church, so at least we had a few people in sacrament meeting! The best thing about Grahamstown is the people. I really love the investigators that we have. The Sinama's are great, the only problem is how they live so far away from the chapel.... Grant is such a cool guy. I wish he would be married to Shanice and then baptized, and in time sealed with her and Casey! The new people that we've been teaching have been doing well, holding appointments for the most part so that is a plus ;) we totaled it up during our planning this week, and we have 22 people that are seeing us, so that's isn't bad! The only problem is getting them to baptism! Ha ha, but it's been good.

One more week in Grahamstown most likely, So hopefully it's a good one!

I love and miss you so so much.

Love,

Elder Truscott

I got to Skype home! 5-12-14

Elder Truscott Skyping home for Mother's Day 2014

It sounds like you had a really nice Mothers day  mom :) Some nice gifts, and a nice while of Skyping me made it lots better for me on this end, and I’m just guessing the same for you there :)

Tell me about the "once I get a taste I want more...." I want to Skype so bad...hahaha, after seeing you guys, the typing seems boring. hahaha. But I'll take what I can get! I turn 10 months in about 10 days!

But as far as making things hard for me...not too bad. Of course I really miss you guys, and saying goodbye was tough....that is to be expected. I really needed to talk to you guys though.

I don't even really know what to say about my week besides the fact that I got to Skype home....cause all week I was pretty much just looking forward to skyping. Haha. Plus I'm super happy I have Elder Sanders over the skyping time, cause he's cool....and it's better to have a cool companion when you're skyping! But getting to see you was great mom :) I love and miss you so so much, and I'm very grateful to have you as my mom :)

Honestly this week was pretty average until Sunday! Just a week of appointments! But I guess some cool stuff did happen. So that younger guy we've been teaching, Sean, well we went to go see him again this week and his step dad was there for the first time....turns out he has sat with missionaries before, and remembered tons of stuff, even Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon! The missionaries sat with him in 2006! But we had a powerful lesson on the plan of salvation with them and he was really interested! So that should be a good father led family to start teaching!!

We started teaching another new guy this week too. He's a really funny older guy named Bro. Peterson. He's a cool guy, loves talking about Jesus, so that is pretty cool too. We were just walking and he has a million yard decorations, so Sanders commented and I was like, lets tract it, so we did and he let us in and made a return appointment :)

All week we were waiting for Mother's Day.....so Sunday was a good day :) we showed up to church and all these American guys were there like I told you! They were super cool guys! Out here in SA for a hunting safari! I talked to them quite a bit, haha, it was nice to talk to some American people here!

The branch did a special Mother's Day thing, so all the moms got cupcakes and cookies and stuff after sacrament, so that was nice for them. After church we went up to see our Grahamstown mom, mamma Sinama. Since it was Mother's Day we thought it was only fitting....so we bought her a cake and took it up to her. It sucked though, she was suuper sick, like she couldn't even get out of bed, so we left the cake, gave her a blessing, told her happy Mother's Day and left!

Then the highlight of my week/past few months, I got to Skype home :)

That pretty much sums up my week this week! Haha.

Love,

Elder Truscott

May 5, 2014 Mother's day countdown

Elder Sanders and Elder Truscott at the Sinama's house for Kuhle's birthday 

Trevor with his Birthday package! Finally, only a month late thanks to SA Customs

I got quite a few packages this week mom! Thank you so much :) I finally got the birthday ones!!
Another week down here in Grahamstown! I'm still super happy about my companion. Elder Sanders and I are getting along really well and it seems really nice :)
It was a pretty average beginning of the week. Monday we had an average Grahamstown p-day of doing nothing....haha.
Tuesday was an average day, we had a few dropped appointments, but taught a few lessons before we went to the Sinama's house cause it was Kuhle's birthday :) Sanders and I bought her a cake and took it up there and they had a nice dinner and then we all had dessert :) made for a nice night!
Wednesday was slow, but Thursday was a really good one. We had 6 lessons Thursday so that was nice, we were always busy so that made for a nice day! It's so much better to be busy. Ha ha ha.
Friday we had zone meeting, so we drove down to East London for the meeting, which was fine....nothing special, just a pretty average meeting. The Boyce's, the senior couple in East London, it's their last transfer, so they told us all after the zone meeting that they were taking us all out to lunch! It was so nice of them! The whole East London and Mdantsane zones they took out to a nice lunch! So we got on the road after that and then got back to Grahamstown :)
Church on Sunday was good! It was a really nice meeting actually! Letitia was confirmed, and she said that she wanted me to do it. It's kinda cool to have them choose you to do things like that, always makes you feel good :) so I baptized her last week, and confirmed her this week :) Some of the testimonies were actually really good, and it was nice. We had some good investigators there. And one lady came named Precious, who is a really nice lady. Well she came to ours, and then invited us to go to hers! So Sunday night we went to His People Christian church with her, and it was a pretty fun time. I enjoyed it.
The people are doing good...nothing really to say other than they are how they were last week. Ha ha. Not much of a change!
But it wasn't too bad of a week, I can't complain! Just that it was pretty boring. haha.
I can't wait to chat on Sunday for Mother's Day!!
I love you guys,
Elder Truscott