June 30, 2014 - Nothing too crazy this week

Elder Truscott Bowling on P-day

Nothing too crazy, but it was a good week cause we got 5 new investigators, which is pretty good!!  So last Monday was Zone P-Day.....and we were planning on going to the monkey land place, but because some kids were complaining about who knows what we had to do a group vote at the mission office. Well we ended up going bowling. It was pretty fun though, so we all went and did a game of bowling :)

Tuesday I was on exchanges with Elder Hale, the other zone leader. He is a super cool guy! We got along really well for the day so it made it nice. We stayed in Table View and had a really good day! Our first appointment was with a new guy. His name is Kevin. So we met this guy while teaching a lady named auntie Suzie, and he was there. So we made this appt with him. Elder Hale and I went in and had a super good lesson with him! And when we came back later in the week he had read the pamphlet and prayed about it! I have high hopes for sure :)

 This week, the zone leaders were doing a "surprise boarding inspection" to make sure our flats were clean. So Wednesday we cleaned A TON! We were motivated though, cause the cleanest flat in the zone gets some prize that I'm not sure of, but we wanted to win so we cleaned our place really well! I think they just want to get everything nice and ready for the new mission president (who comes in tomorrow!).

Friday I was back on exchanges.... This time with Elder Rasmussen  working in Milnerton.

Saturday night was kinda fun, Pulu and I went out to a restaurant for dinner after our last appt., and it was like a grill type place, and they have live music all the time, so Pulu (since he did music at home and is crazy talented with that stuff) got up after we ate and did 2 songs. It was pretty cool. Haha, I took a video of that so you will be able to see :)

 Then Sunday was church, and Yomi came, so we had one investigator here at least!  We are getting some good investigators now though! Yomi is good and hopefully he keeps coming to church! Riann and Elsje, the couple I was super excited to teach, well they called this week and said they were sick but they want us to still come when they get better, so we just need to follow up with them this week for sure!

 Earlier this transfer we met a guy in our flat complex when he needed a jump start. I started talking to him and we've been sitting with him. He's a 20 year old guy who is super cool! His name is Donald. We have high hopes for him as well, but he's deciding if he wants to go back to Zimbabwe to study, but either way he's awesome!

 Not tons happened this week.....just a few exchanges to keep me busy :)

I love and miss you guys like crazy!

Elder Truscott

June 23, 2014

Elder Truscott with Elder Pulu

Views of Table Mountain from Table View

This week was already week 4 of this transfer. And it was pretty good. Some scary stuff happened !  We just had a normal p day last Monday of playing basketball, we  played pretty much all day, and it was alright.....even though I don't  really like basketball.....but there wasn't much else going on. Beggars can't be choosers.

 But Tuesday we had zone conference! So I got to see all the  missionaries around Cape Town! It was a good one, President Wood's last  conference, and it was on scripture study....why it's important for us  and why we need to help investigators study properly. It was nice. A loooong time, of course, we were there at 8 and got done around 5:30.  But each zone puts together a musical number, and ours was very last so  we did the first bit of Army of Helaman, and then we transitioned to  the one that's like "God be with you till we meet again", and on the  third verse everyone joined in and stood up.....ya it was a tear jerker for President and Sister Wood. hahaha.

 Then Wednesday we had interviews with President Wood. It went good, we  just talked about Table View and how I'm doing good! It was funny, he started talking to me about an accident that happened in GT, but he didn’t know that Sanders was driving....so after he learned that it wasn’t me things were better :)  I was happy with it though that's for sure....

Wednesday night was when things got freakin wierd....but let me tell  the whole story. Ok so for about a week or so before this, we had been  leaving before our last few appts at night, and when we got home there  would be a light or two on....and we swore we had all the lights off,  but whatever, it was probably us, right? Well then on Wednesday we got  home from our last appointment, and most of the lights were on, and we  knew we didn't leave that many! So we went up, and as always our  security gate was locked up. So we unlocked and went in, and Elder  Pulus ukulele was across the room from where it was, the lotions that  we had on the counter were knocked off onto the floor, And when we  turned, the three top cupboards in the kitchen were wide open....and  they all go different directions so it wasn't wind.....well safe to  say we freaked the heck out! We ended up calling the zone leaders, who  told us to dedicate the flat, get the complex security, and then go  sleep with the district leader, Elder Swacina, and Elder Rasmussen.  So we did.....but daaaang!! We were freaking out! Nobody else has  keys....and nothing was stolen at all!  So I bought a gopro to try and set up if wierd things kept happening  to try and see what it is....but since we dedicated it nothing has  happened....but it pretty much scared the crap out of Pulu and I!

 The rest of the week was just appointments as usual.....did some  knocking to try and find some new people, and a lot of people have actually let us into their houses! It's been nice :) so we found a few  new people to hopefully see in the near future and then saw the ones  we had appointments with already. It wasn't too bad of a week, besides  being haunted....haha.

I love you!

Elder Truscott

This week in Table View was pretty uneventful 6-16-14

Elder Truscott Ice Skating on P-day

Elder Mashigo and Elder Truscott Ice Skating

Elder Truscott with Kimberly

This week in Table View was pretty uneventful, haha.

Last Monday we were going to go and play some basketball before we went ice skating, but the chapel was locked and the ones with the keys were out doing something, I can't remember what, so we just all went to ice skate. It was a nice big group and it was lots of fun....the skates still suck, but it's alright ;)

Then that night we had an appointment with a new couple that we found tracting through a nicer area, and the appointment went really good! We mainly just talked and got to know each other, and then we introduced the restoration and they said they were very interested and took the pamphlet! We see them again tomorrow so I'm looking forward to that one for sure :) so far there isn't tons of quickly progressing investigators from what I can see, so I have high hopes for some new people that were trying to find :)

Tuesday I was supposed to be on exchanges with the district leader, Elder Swacina, but they forgot that they were taking their car into the shop on Monday.....so it was still there on Tuesday and they never came.....so I just went with Pulu for our normal Tuesday.

Wednesday was exchanges with the zone leaders. So I went with Elder Wilde into his area, which is in Mowbray, and we had a nice day! Their boarding is super nice.....it's like a nice hotel room....and since our boarding is super cold....you can literally see your breath in it....we went to the office and grabbed a heater before going out for the day :) it was nice though, I got to meet a really cool member there named Bro. Mike.

The rest of the week it was mainly just appointments and trying to find people cause we had a bit of empty time.....but it was good! And then Sunday was Father's Day, and we were with some members for most of the day. On Sunday we celebrated a little girl in our wards B-day,  Her name is Kimberly and she turned 10, and she loves One Direction, ha ha, so we bought her a one direction poster book earlier in the week and gave it to her. She was super happy and it was pretty cute :)

So I've got to tell you about this one guy that we met.....his name is Anton. We were doing some service around the township part of our area and he saw me and was like "what are you doing here?" So I told him that we're missionaries and all that....and he was out preaching and stuff too.....so he was like "well let's set a time to meet....I want to get to know you guys" so we did. We met him, and he was talking about how we should team up and how "it's for the ministry" and stuff, so we were just kinda playing along and stuff, and he invited us to another meeting. Well we show up, and he was having it in a mall, and he was trying to like start a business or something and he was having some focus group about it and we were there and he was asking us what he can do to help us, and what we can do to help him, and how we can be part of his business/ministry efforts.....he is crazy. Like for real he's wierd. Hahaha. But it was pretty funny :)

Some of our best investigators at the moment are the Zulu family, they are really good, and apparently the one son has come to church a few times. And one guy named Yomi, both live in the township part so transport is hard....but they are cool.

This week we are having Zone Conference tomorrow, and then President Wood's last interviews on Wednesday! So he'll be going home soon, later this month. 

I love you guys and I miss you like crazy! 

Love,

Elder Truscott

June 9, 2014

This week was pretty much average. Nothing too crazy happened, just a week of meeting people still and getting to teach a few appointments. When I got here the first time we planned and there was a huge list of investigators, and we didn't really see many of them, so this week we kind of narrowed it down to the people they saw last transfer, and then decided who we really wanted to see this week, so lots of this week we were just trying to meet and set up appointments for next week. Mixed in with a few dropped appointments......

Wednesday we had a full day of appointments, like completely booked from 10:30.....and then we taught only 4 of them, which still isn't bad, but so far I think there are lots of dropped appointments here, ha ha. Luckily I'm with Elder Pulu who is super cool so it's not all bad!

The rest of the week we just tried to find and teach people.....we had a few appointments each day, and we tried to find new people, so hopefully a few of those appointments hold this week! We will see!

I really like the members in this ward though, they are really nice and super cool to visit....so that always helps! Ha ha. Plus from who I've met so far we have some pretty good investigators that I think could be really good, so I'm still excited! Ha ha, the highlight of my week this week was seeing a dude on a bullet bike eat it on the road. He was flying through traffic in between cars, and then had to swerve out of the way of this Audi that was just driving...and then he ate it! His bike just went flying and sparked all over when it was hitting the road, and we thought for sure the guy got ran over by the Audi....but then he was just walking towards his bike, hopped right up! Ha ha. It was crazy.

This week was pretty uneventful, just Pulu and I working around Table View, but next week I have exchanges twice I am with the district leader on Tuesday, and the zone leader on Wednesday.....so I'll get to go out to the different areas and hopefully something cool will happen ;) ha ha.

Well that is it for this week

I love you

Elder Truscott

Well.....I'm officially out of Grahamstown - June 2, 2014

Leaving the Bouwer Family (Emerald and her family) was tough. They are
super cool.

Saying goodbye to the Sinama girls...it was pretty tough :(

Sanders and I departing at the airport.

Elder Pulu and I at the mission home in Cape Town...it was rainy., ha ha ha.

Well I'm officially out of Grahamstown!! I'm working back in Cape Town now! An area called Table View, with Elder Pulu. He's a Tongan guy who has been out on mission for about 5 months now. He's super cool too.

So far were getting along really well....which is probably good since it's only been a few days, hahaha.

So I got my call on Monday night, when they told me I was coming back to Cape Town! Sooo I pretty much started my packing up cause I had tons of stuff to get out of Grahamstown. Haha.

Tuesday I was finishing up my packing and went around and said goodbye to the people there. Haha, I had to buy 4 boxes from the post office and ship tons of stuff to myself....so I should be getting all my stuff soon ;) haha. But I said my goodbyes on Tuesday too....and it was pretty tough. I was in Grahamstown for 6 months, and I was ready to leave, but I also really loved the people there. I went and said goodbye to a bunch of people throughout the day, and then it got really hard toward the evening time. When I went over to Grant and Shanice's place, Letitia was there. They had been planning for me. Shanice and Letitia had baked a double layer cake for us to have while we talked and said goodbye. It was a nice time, we laughed and joked, and ate the cake. Then it came time to say goodbye. It sucked. And Shanice and Grant said it's an "until next time" cause I'll come back after with you guys. So I was saying goodbye and Letitia was tearing up, and then I turned to Shanice and she was holding Casey and she was tearing up, and it was really hard. I dare say Grant was too but he stepped out, and they even bought me a little gift to say goodbye. I love those people so much. It was hard for me!

After that I went up to the Sinama's, and I was super disappointed cause the mom had been off work all week, and was supposed to be off....so I showed up there, and the kids were all sitting there, and they told me that mom had been called into work :( it really sucked....so I said goodbye to the kids, and then they called the mom at work and I said goodbye to her over the phone. That family was really hard to say goodbye to too.... But I managed to say goodbye to most people, so it was good.

Then Wednesday morning we woke up super super early and drove to East London so I could get on my flight. And off I was....back in Cape Town! Being back in Cape Town made it a really nice week for post, cause now I didn't have to wait for them to ship it out to Grahamstown  who knows when.....so I got to pick up all the packages waiting for me :)

Hahahahahahaha, yes.....I got Alex's package.....that kid is freaking funny. Hahaha, Pulu and I laughed so freakin hard. It is legendary. And then I got a few from you guys too :) I got the one with the cereal, Mac and cheese, jerky, oatmeal, and other goodies! Thank you so much. Then I got the one with the new towels, and then the camera came! Aaaaand just as a cherry on top the vitamin waters came too :)

Thank you so much mom :) it's great getting them, and I really appreciate it :) I love you so much!!

This week Elder Pulu just kind of took me around and I got to know the investigators and some of the members, and it was nice. There are some nice people here that I've met so it's been good. I still miss Grahamstown a bit, mostly the people I mean, but Table View will be good I'm sure :)

I miss you so much!

Love,

Elder Truscott

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