The work is hastening!

Dear All,

As hoped, we are becoming increasingly busy.  It seams that every time we see President Zitshu (the Motherwell Branch President) he has some more people he wants us to assist in some way.  Without exception, each family we have visited has given us a warm welcome and have become instant friends.  We visited the father and grandmother of a missionary now serving in Ghana.  Neither are church members and we heard they did not like the church because their son/grandson left for a mission after becoming a member.  They both agreed to allow us back to teach them the things which there son is teaching the people in Ghana.  They had a neighbor visiting and he even agreed to listen to our message.  We're excited to share the gospel message with these fine people!   

  

We are making progress in learning the members names and putting them together with faces.  It has been more of a challenge than we realized it would be.  Most families don't speak English in their homes so the children don't learn English until they go to school.  The adults and children have a strong accent and so it is difficult to understand what they are saying unless they speak very slowly which they don't normally do.  They also speak very quietly which is not good for two people who don't hear well but the Lord is blessing us everyday and we are making progress.  This is a wonderful place and we love the people so much.

We attended our zone conference this past week and enjoyed the company of our mission president and his wife, President and Sister Merrill, along with his first counselor and his wife, President and Sister Pershing.  The Merrills recruited the Pershings and had some influence in so doing because the two men are first cousins.  We might be concerned about the nepotism but it so happens that Elder Watson is a distant cousin to both men.  Anyway, the conference was great as we received valuable training and were able to associate with some great people. 

The young woman here (we call her Joy because she is) is a member and her mother here is planning to be baptized next month.  They are examples of how the youth are leading the way!

The Powerful Port Elizabeth Zone

See the family resemblance!

Loving the People of South Africa

Dear Family and Friends,

We have said it before but will say it again, we love the people with whom we now spend our days.  Amidst their meager circumstances and the normal challenges which life brings, they are happy and find joy in the simple things of life.  We see boys playing football (soccer) in the streets with a ball made from plastic bags stuffed with whatever.  We often see them playing with cars made from small cartons with roughly fashioned wheels, or simply finding pleasure in rolling an old tire down the street.  Above all, they find joy in singing and dancing.  There are many who attend various Christian churches and you see them walking in their finest clothes to church on Saturday (Adventist) and Sunday.  The church members here have a deep love for the Savior and declare such with conviction.  They sing the hymns loudly, beautifully, and from the heart.

Well, we went from not being sure if we were going to be kept busy one week ago to being a bit overwhelmed with all that we have to do.  We have two Elders in our branch and we are now assisting them in teaching a few people.  Also, the branch president has asked to teach the Strengthening Marriage course to six different couples.  Also, we are beginning to teach temple preparation classes to a few different couples.  All these will be taught individually and in their homes.  Sister Watson also had a couple ask if she would teach them to play the piano and, even though she hasn't played in many years, she happily agreed to do so.  We continue to teach English and gospel principles to two different groups of children, who we have already come to love.

We took a little time last Monday for fun and went to the Kragga Kamma Park.



It's a relatively small park near Port Elizabeth which you are able to simply drive through and enjoy a pretty up close encounter with quite a few different animals.  My birthday was last Friday and, while I did miss being with family, we did have a very nice day.  We spent the morning in District Training Meeting, and then went to dinner with our dear friends, President and Sister Pershing.

God lives and we are His children.  He guides us and protects us each day as we learn and live according the the teachings of His beloved Son.

Our love and best wishes to all!
Elder and Sister Watson

We got pretty close to these guys.  Didn't realize how big they are!  Such beautiful creatures!

This is the preschool class we teach on Thursdays.  They start singing the ABC song very loudly as we walk in the door!

These are most of the kids from the older class we teach.  As you can tell, they love to have their pictures taken.  The girls sang and danced for us this week and it was awesome!

This is Elders McCarrol and Ivans, the missionaries who live next to us and work with us in Motherwell.  They are great missionaries and are really taking good care of us. The young woman is Lisa (English name she adopted). She is preparing for baptism in about two weeks.

Lisa was progressing from 8th grade this week and was super excited as it is a big deal here, as you can tell from her beautiful dress and all.

Settling in at Bluewater Bay

Hi All,

We completed our first week of missionary service and are loving South Africa and its people.  We have settled into a nice little condo in Bluewater Bay, a small community off the coast of the Indian Ocean about 20 minutes North of Port Elizabeth. Our assigned area is Motherwell, a nearby township of about 140,000 people.  It was established in the late 1980's and is comprised people who were previously squatters in two camps near Port Elizabeth. They are very poor but are happy and extremely friendly.  The unemployment rate is about 50% and those who do work only make about $10-15/day.  Xhosa is the native language and is a tonal language; that is, the same sequence of consonants and vowels can have different meanings when said with a rising or falling or high or low intonation. Needless to say, we won't be speaking the native tongue anytime soon.  

One activity we have already done is teaching English to children.  One group is about 20-30 kids of preschool age. They are darling and very eager. Another group is at Bishop Jane's church.  She is a minister who has a church which meets in a very meager tin structure with benches (no backs to them).  When we pull up in our car about 40-70 kids from about 3 to 12 years of age come to meet us.  They quickly go into the church, take a seat, and are ready to be taught.  They are awesome and the experience is so great. We teach English and then finish by teaching some gospel principles.

We attended the Motherwell Branch yesterday and watched General Conference with them.  They were dressed in their finest and were super attentive to every talk which was given.  We already feel of their faith, love, and devotion.  It is a privilege to be associated with them. 

'Till next time, our love to all,

Elder and Sister Watson

This is our condo and the complex it is in.  Security is a big issue here as there are so many who are poor and hungry.

This is Bishop Jane (nearest) with here two assistants, along with the kids who showed up this week for class.

The Motherwell Branch meets in two classrooms at this school.  About 70 to 80 attend each week so it gets crowded when all are in one room.  The church has purchased land nearby and construction of a new building is hoped for soon. 

We've Arrived!

Dear All,

After a wonderful week at the Missionary Training Center in Provo, and 36 hours of travel, we enjoyed 3 amazing days in beautiful Cape Town.  We were treated royally while there by the President and Sister Merrill and the two office couples, Elders and Sisters Andrews and Hansen.  

On Saturday morning we flew to our assignment area of Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape Province.  We were warmly welcomed at the airport by our dear and longtime friends, Van and Vicki (President and Sister) Pershing.  Van was my close friend in high school and we left for our missions at the same time...52 years ago.  (First major miracle, we were able to fit all 5 large suitcases and ourselves into a small Chevy compact!)  It is marvelous that we are now able to serve missions together with our wives. Van is the 1st Counselor in the Mission Presidency so he will be directing us...and how great that will be to have him and Vicki assist us!

We attended General Conference broadcasts at the Port Elizabeth Stake Center yesterday and were able to meet quite a few of the members and missionaries here.  Each one was extremely friendly, warm and welcoming.  Today we will be traveling just outside Port Elizabeth to the Bluewater area were we will be living.  Tomorrow we will enter the Motherwell Township, our field of labor, for the first time to meet some of the people there.  Motherwell has a population of more than 140,000 very poor but wonderful people.  We look forward to meeting the church members and others there and to assist and instruct as those opportunities are found.

South Africa is amazingly beautiful, the people are kind and loving, and we are blessed to be here!

Our love to all!

Elder & Sister Watson