Emailed on 10/29/2011

I am doing well and everything is going great! I leave on Tuesday for Zambia and will be out in the mission field.  I am really excited about being out in the mission field. 

Today I am going out proselyting.  I am excited about that and I think that it should be fun.  I hope it is goes better then my day did yesterday.  Yesterday was a bad day.  The days are long, I was exhausted, we worked so hard, and our investigators are not making any progressing; hopefully we can turn it around before we leave on Tuesday.   However, I feel like I could teach anyone.  I find it so easy to talk with people, listen to people, and know what their needs are by listening to the spirit.  It is so amazing how the spirit works, how it guides you, and inspires you.  I feel like I know what the person needs to hear and what I need to say at just the right moment.  However, I have learned that you have to prepare.  I have learned that the spirit cannot draw from an empty well.  I am studying daily and I have almost finished the Book of Mormon.  You should see my new scriptures.  I have marked them so much that it looks like I have had them for 20 years. 

Sometimes we play rugby.  I am really good at it even if I do say so myself.  When we do play I “juke” a lot of kids out (ha ha).  I am not super fast but I am quick (at least that is what they tell me).  They always say that my size is deceptive and they underestimate my quickness!

I have to go for now.  I have lots and lots to do today!

Emailed from Devin on 10/22/2011

I’ve been here now for two weeks and it has been great.  The MTC is awesome and we are known as the party district because everyone wants to come hang out with us in our room (ha ha).   I have lost about 20 pounds.  The food here is really healthy, very good, and the portion sizes are controlled.   I am learning a lot in the MTC.  Right now I am learning a language/dialect called Zulu and another one that I am not even sure how to spell yet!  We went to the temple the other day and it was so great!

My testimony has grown so much during my time here.  I have changed so much and I feel the spirit with me all day and the spirit prompts me on what to say and it just makes all the difference.  My companion and I got to teach Jeffery R. Holland, and he called us apostles with a lower case “a”.  How cool is that! I have been working with 4 investigators one of them we got to come to church with us. It was awesome.  The others are pretty close to being baptized!  

I miss everyone and pray for my family daily. I pray that they will be safe, that there will be peace at home, and the spirit will rest upon you and protect you and guide you in the way that the lord would have you follow.

Emailed from Elder Jasper on 10/15/2011

The food here is awesome. They eat a lot healthier here.  I especially love the meat pies and a dish called fat cake it is really good.

The weather here is great! It is a lot like Utah only better (ha ha)!

My schedule here is crazy.  For now my e-mail day will be on Saturday and when I get out into the field it will change to Monday. We are busy every minute of the day and every minute of free time we have my companion and I study.  My companion, Elder Minzi speaks 11 different languages (crazy).  We teach our first investigator today.  I know I have only been here for a short time but it feels like I have been here for weeks the days just seem to blend together here.

Tell Riley and Jaden that I miss them. 

Africa is awesome and I will e-mail again on Saturday.

The big send off....

After much preparation, I left for my mission on October 11, 2011.  I left the Salt Lake City airport at 12:50 p.m.  I arrived in Johannesburg South Africa on October 13, 2011 at 9:30 a.m. It was the longest flight of my entire life! I was extremely tired and lost my appetite.  I had a 12 hour layover in London England.  I did not care much for the food.  I ordered a sandwich and chips(fries).  I learned that in Europe they do not cook the meat and I thought my sandwich was pretty gross. However, they did have a lot of cool shopping center.

Africa is super cool and I got to meet my new companion his name is Elder Mimzi.  Elder Mimzi is from Durban South Africa.

I have only been here for a short time but, I am already learning some interesting facts about South Africa.  In addition, I have already been taught some things in the African click language.  It is extremely difficult.   I am still getting use to driving on the other side of the road.

I received my mission call on May 22, 2011.   I was extremely excited to serve as a full time missionary for the Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter Day Saints in Lusaka Zambia.