09/24/12

I.....AM.......SO....... TIRED!!!!!!!!!!  This is not easy.  The last few weeks are known to be the hardest and its even worse because its Elder Cowey's last week.  So its like I'm dying before I'm dead!  We have had an okay week as far as work goes.  Mission really is like life and towards the end you get a bit slower. But we are really trying!  Our investigators have been so busy this week.  Three of the people we are teaching are students and that's a very busy schedule plus they have exams this week so they have been hard to meet with.  The Dewaal family is doing well.  We love them.  Brother Dewaal is struggling to feel ready to come to church.  It's hard to help him resolve this concern because he just says he is not ready.  What do you say to that?  I wish he would come because my testimony of church attendance has really grown.  I learn so much at church and with this being our time to prepare there is nothing better to help us prepare then going to church.

We have been helping our landlords clear their yard for construction and it was so bad the other day they bought the yard next to them which was owned by an old man and that yard was all grown over and had TONS of rubbish buried in long grass.  I mean ropes, tubes, trash, garden tools, even an old toilet! ,Hahaha we took two loads to the dump and still have more.  We collected all the scrap metal and Brother Fourie said he would take us to dinner with the money he got from the scrap metal hahaha.  We love the Fourie family we have cake with them every Sunday night and love to visit with them. 

Elder and Sister Taylor leave this week so that will be sad but the new couple is really nice.  When we fetched them from the airport Sister Sherbert looked at my tag and said "hey I know you...I have read your moms blog" haha I was a little nervous about that!  Oh well, they seem awesome.  Well, I think today we are going bowling because the weather sucks.  We helped out at the family history center this morning digitalizing some records.  That was cool. 

We also went to George and Knysna this week.  The new missionaries are awesome.  I feel bad for the one because his flat was broken into and he lost a lot!  Anyways I'm doing well and trying to die strong!  Its not easy but its possible so I can do it.  Happy Birthday this week to Tiffany and Kathy, I hope you guess have a great day.  Well, that's it, love you all.

Love,

Colton

09/17/12

HELLO!

Wow the weather has changed, its so hot here.  Its been a crazy week with transfers but luckily this time no one in PE or George and Knysna missed any flights!!!!!!!   It was a crazy week but we are all where we need to be now.  Our new companion Elder Andriamenentena from Madagascar is awesome he is a ton of fun and loves to work so I will die quite nicely.  Elder Cowey leaves in two weeks, we will miss him but he is ready to go.  I think it will hit sooner though. 

So we had an awesome lesson with Ruchenda.  She is doing really well.  We were planning on teaching about the Plan of salvation but we listened to the spirit and it took us a whole different direction.  We taught an awesome lesson on prayer and baptism and how you find the truth.  I honestly have never followed the spirit so well.  Both Elder Cowey and I were directed the same and it was so powerful.  We talked about it afterwards and we honestly received the same promptings the whole time.  God knew what she needed to hear to know that what we were saying was TRUE!  SHE EXCEPTED A BAPTISMAL DATE FOR OCTOBER 14TH! oh crap I wasn't looking at the screen and I just realized it was on caps lock hahaha whoops.  It was an awesome lesson.  One thing I have really learned is how to follow the spirit.  As if its really hard.  More just accepting what it says even if His plan is different.  It will really be better. 

So we have been teaching some awesome people and I hope to have some good baptisms before I go. 

So the other day Elder Cowey and I were boiling some eggs and we just sat there at the table reading and all the sudden we hear "chirp chirp.....chirp chirp".   I look at Elder Cowey then at the boiling eggs and think.....NO WAY!!!!   So one by one we take the eggs out until the chirping stops.  We just threw it away because we had no desire to see what was chirping hahaha, not the end you all were hoping for but still pretty cool.   The eggs here are natural so the are brown and usually have the poop or feathers still stuck on them....yummy ey?

We were also invited to the Vansickles for a Braii.  It was for the Taylor's who are leaving. ;( so we go and then walks in Bishop Mahaluba and his wife from Kwano.  I loved them.  We keep running into each other so she says HEY WENA (you) who's following who, ey?  Hahahahahahaha it was so funny.  Then Bishop asked why I'm not going home?  Seems like I've been here forever I guess.

We ate at the Malekis' yesterday and Sister Maleki asked Elder Cowey to pray and so he started arguing about it with their 9 year old daughter and she just firmly said FINE you don't want to talk to God ey??? Hahahaha it was so funny. 

Well all is well here, we have a ton of exchanges because everyone in our zone is training!  So we are off to George tomorrow.   I hope its cooler down there.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA'S and CALEE!  I hope you all have a gret birthday, I will be thinking about you.  Marilyn, I get your faithful letters every week and I promise you at least one letter even though you deserve way more.  I also get letters from Grandma and Oma, Mom and Grandpa and Mer and Terry and Laura and I'm not worthy of them because I'm so lazy and busy to write back.  I love you all and hope you have a great week!

 

Love,

Colton

Running on empty.....09/10/12

Hello!

Well I really do not have much time.   Today we are going to the Cheetah park and to the driving range I'm still really bad at golf but its way fun.  I cant wait to go with the Cockaynes.  If they can still swing with those prego belly's hahahaha.  Amy and Emily......and DAN hahaha just kidding!  This week has been great.  We had a lot of exchanges and that kept us really busy.  Its fun to go work with other elders in their areas. We are going to George and Knysna next week and that will be cool. it might mess with my emailing time but we will see how things go.  There are so many new elders coming this week, like 20!   All but one in our zone is training so we will have tons of exchanges!  We are excited though it will be fun!

Were doing well in our area.  The De wall family is progressing really well.  We love going there.  Also Alan came to church!  He is a student from Zimbabwe that we teach and he is really cool.  He is friends with Luthando who is in the ward so he has an awesome fellowshipper!   I forgot my planner and I forgot what I was going to write about!  Dang!  Oh well. 

Well I am doing awesome, our third companion Elder Andriamenentena will be here on Wednesday and we will be three until the 4th of October when Elder Cowey leaves.  Sad day, but hey its all good.  The weather is starting to change and its an awesome place to be in the spring, summer time.  Right on the coast!  OH DUH Carey and Karen in Bellville were baptized on Sunday!  I was so excited to hear.  I cant wait to see them again!  Anyways I hope all is well.  I love ya, thanks for everything.  Sorry this is short I will have a better one next week!

 

Love ya,

Colton

. . . . . . . . . 09/03/2012

Hello All,

WOW what a week, we have been so busy all week.  We had Elder Carl B. Cook of the seventy come down to Port Elizabeth and it was great.  We had an awesome zone conference with him and the Woods.  It was all about true conversion to the Gospel.  It was a really good conference and we learned a lot.  It was sad because it was my last zone conference!  Next one will be a zone training.  So at your last zone meeting you bear your final testimony.  This was Elder Cowey's last one because he leaves in the middle of next transfer.  So he bore his testimony and also some other elders who are leaving and Elder and Sister Taylor.  It was fetching sad.  I hate change!  I'm glad I still have a while before that!  Or at least a few weeks. 

We are teaching an awesome girl who is dating a return missionary in the ward.  She is brought up Methodist but explains that she feels different when she comes to church with us and she loves it.  She says she has leaned a lot.  We taught her the other day at Brother and Ssister Parker's house.  They are the BEST!!!!!! and actually its now President Parker he was called to the stake presidency.  Anyways it was an awesome lesson and Sister Parker who was also raised Methodist bore powerful testimony!  I think it really helped he.  Also yesterday at stake conference we rushed up to the stand after and introduced her to Sister Wood (mission presidents wife), she is the best and was baptized the same age as our investigator.  They talked for a good 20 min and it was really good.  So we will see her on Friday again at the Parker's. 

We are also teaching an awesome family.  Its the one I told you about.  They are doing so well and they are reading the Book of Mormon.   Last night we taught a great lesson on prayer and so after the lesson we knelt down and the father offered an awesome prayer!  He plead with God to tell him if what we were saying was true.  After he just said I felt so peaceful.   I just felt like he was listening!!!!   It was so cool. they are pretty happy clappy so getting them to pray with out saying, "YES LORD or THANK YOU JESUS"  was quite the task.  Even though it seems so fun, I have had to stop my self from joining them hahahahaha if I didn't know that this WAS TRUE I would so be happy clappy hahahaha anyways they are doing great! 

We are also teaching a cool catholic.  I just had to mention that one for Oma :)!

I will tell you about the other guy next week he is doing great though and reading the Book of Mormon.  He is a super genius and says he tried to prove the Book of Mormon wrong but couldn't, so now we are teaching him and its going awesome!  So I will tell you about him next week.

We had stake conference this week with Elder Cook he called a new stake presidency.  He called the First Black stake president in the mission!  Cool ey?   I saw some friends from Kwano, do you remember those two girls we fasted with a long time ago so their parents would let them get baptized.  Well, I saw them at the conference and they are strong baptized members!!!!!!  Its good to see that!

Well,  I'm doing great you can tell summer is coming its been pretty warm.  Except today it is cloudy and raining!  Oh and HAPPY BIRTHDAY LYDIA< JENN< JODI< DEANN< and BROOKE> I think that is everyone?   PS- that is honestly off the top of my head so if I forgot someone I'm really sorry. 

I love you all, have a good week.

 

Love,

Colton

Long Lost Miracle!!! 08/27/12

Hello Everyone,

At the beginning of 2011 I was serving in Knysna with Elder Nzuki.  I remember one of my last days in Knysna.  I had already received the call that I was going to George.  On one of my last days we were doing some finding.  I remember Elder Nzuki asked me, "where do you feel we should go finding?"   So, I remember thinking and driving to a certain area in the Knysna township.  I parked the car and we got out and began tracting.  We didn't have any immediate success until we saw a lady siting under a tree in the shade.  She was holding a really new baby.  We began talking to her and then she invited us in her home. Her name was Yoliswa.  We asked if we could share a message with her and she said, "yes" and so we opened with a prayer and taught what I remember to be a pretty good lesson.  We set a return appointment that would happen only after I left Knysna.

This week I went on exchanges in Knysna with Elder Andriamenentena.  He was taking me around and then told me we could go visit a sister who was in the relief society presidency.  So we pulled up to the house and I recognized it as the same house as Yoliswa.  Elder Andriamenentena then told me how she and her family were baptized and they are powerful members!  So, we walked in and I saw Yoliswa and her two kids.  She shook my had and looked at my tag and said hello......then she paused and yelled, "ELDER BALMFORTH", I thought I would never see you again!  She just was so happy and said thank you.  She said that day we came she never thought that she would be this far, this close to her heavenly father and this happy.  Its not like it was anything I did.  I met the woman once.  It was so awesome to see how much the gospel and heavenly father has helped this awesome family!

So my exchanges in George and Knysna were awesome!  I was able to see a lot of great people that I love! The drive was really tiring but it was fun.  Sister Botha and Carey and Shaun from Bellville came all the way to George to visit me!  Man, they are the best!  It was awesome to have lunch with them!  So we got back on Friday night.  This week is going to be another really busy one!  We have Zone Conference with Elder Carl B. Cook of the seventy.  So we are organizing that, it will be on Friday.  George and Knysna are coming up the day before.  Oh on our way to George we get a call that An Elder is in the hospital ready to have his appendix out.  So he had it out while we were there.  So it was good that we were going down he is doing well and living it up with the senior couple haha. 

Oh and last week we were looking for some members and when we found the address we met a different family who had just moved in.  So we asked if we could come back on Sunday.  So last night we went there and met the coolest family.  A mom and a dad and three kids.  It was a way spiritual lesson where they told us about alot of challenges they were facing and the father said he was always so confused about why there are so many churches.  He also said he was praying for someone to come and help strengthen his family!!!!!!!!!!  It was so cool!  So its been a great week with lots of miracle's.  I love missionary work! I love you all thanks for everything.

 

Love,

Colton

Elder Balmforth and Elder Cowey with the elder who just got his appendix out.

The tree where Elder Balmforthand Elder Nzuki first found Yoliswa in Knysna.

Elder Balmforth and Yoliswa and two of her children.

Elder Balmforth in the middle of a bunch of signs pointing to different churches.

Great Week in PE 08/20/12

Well its been a great week.  Things are definitely looking up in PE!  We found a lot of new people which was really needed because there was NO one!  So we focused on referrals and we got seven!  That's pretty good here!  So we have had some awesome first lessons.  We have also been teaching the Sanadyo Family. They are recent converts and there doing great.  We taught a lot about the priesthood.  We committed Brother Sanadyo to pass the sacrament.  He was so nervous but understood the importance of magnifying his calling and exercising the priesthood.  It was a really cool experience to see him pass the sacrament on Sunday.  He did awesome. T hose are some of the best moments in missionary work!

We also went to Knysna for a partial Zone meeting.  George elders met us there and it was a great meeting. We have really been focusing on obedience and how we all need to be obedient.  I really don't get how its so hard I mean, yeah I'm not perfect but there are reasons were obedient and its not because we don't want to get caught it should be out of love.  A love for God and the Savior.  Again I'm really not perfect or anything close to it, but that is what has helped me to be better.  Within the next 2 months we will have over 40 new missionaries and they will pretty much follow what ever we do (except I won't be here) but the training has helped every one step it up.  Going to Knysna was a blast its about a 3.5 hour drive and George is 4.5 hours. We are going to their District meetings and having exchanges down there this week.

This week we also had a cool service project.  We planted three good size gardens at an orphanage that will help them become more self reliant.  It was fun and the whole PE ward was in on it.  We also committed a girl named Lithi to baptism.  So now we have one person haha.  But its all good.  We will find more and help them progress. 

We are all getting excited for the next Zone conference,  Elder Carl B. Cook will be coming so it should be good.  Our stake is also getting a new stake president and maybe some boundary changes so every one is speculating about that.  We live in a flat behind some awesome members named the Fourie family.  They fed us yesterday and it was really good.  Sister Fouries' cake is awesome it was granadilla cake!  I will miss all the fruits and vegetables here.  Anyways I'm doing great and loving it here in PE.  Elder Cowey is fetchin awesome and were having a blast and working hard.  I hope every one is doing well.  OH, I have been bad at birthdays_ so Happy Birthday to, Marianne, Janet, Mer, and next week Lydia and Jen!  I hope I didn't forget anyone.  I love you all, have a good week.

 

Love,

Colton

Zone Conference in Cape Town