For those of you that have not heard, I have a Tongan companion.  No he is not very big, he is bigger than me, but that's not hard to do.  I am still in Gugulethu and am now leading the area.  Trying to teach an area here is very hard because the roads make absolutely no sense.  Why?  OOOOH a good question.  So here in Gugs every road is an NY.  Now you would think that NY's are good, there's NY1 and then the next street would be NY2, right?   WRONG NY1 is on one side of the area and NY2 is on the other side and guess whats in the middle NY134.  Where the heck are the other numbers.  Luckily I know them but trying to teach them to a new guy is not fun.  Stories for the week though, Eh?

Story Number One:  Tripanionship

So the first day with Elder F. we were getting ready to go to the area and we get a call from the Assistants, and were asked if we could take Elder T. with us to our area today.  Of course we can and it was absolutely perfect Because Elder F. was not feeling well at all so it surely was a blessing from God, and he was  a super powerful Elder. 

Story Number two: Pickled Fish

So the Capetonians, yes that is the correct terminology for that, have a tradition.  Every year on Easters you eat pickled fish and hot cross buns.  Luckily one of the ladies in our Branch her name is Mama Xesi, makes the best pickled fish.  And I am gonna have to be honest, that fish was super nice.  The buns were all right but the fish was awesome and it was the first time my companion had had fish on mission. He has served in Eastern Cape his whole mission.  He was very happy to have fish.  

Sorry for the shorter letter today there wasn't a whole lot happening in Gugs. We hiked table mountain which was absolutely breathtaking. I would send pictures but I did not take my camera up the mountain with me. Xolo.

So long and thanks for all the pickled fish!

Elder Tucker 

Yeah! Stay on your Satan that side. Zenande K.

So to explain the subject line, we were seeing one of our recent converts, named Zenande.  Now he lives in area with a lot of shacks, and we have tried to see all of the guys that live there but they run away from us. It's very funny because Zenande gives them so much crap for it.  That is what he told them this week.

So stories for this week: 

Story Mvulo:

So we had a baptism this week a wonderful Nama named Nama M.  She has been prepared and ready for baptism for about three weeks now. Her original date was on the twenty sixth of March, but due to poor planning and things on the parts of  some people *cough* Elders *cough*.  She was not baptized. So we were going to do it the next week, until we found out that friday that were watching general conference so no bueno.  So when we saw her we told he no matter what that she was going to be baptized this week.  She was but it was not without trials.  We got to church all is well, everyone's happy. We don't have a flash drive to print the baptismal program luckily they have internet so we used google drive.  Then comes the time for baptism and the jump suit is too small, we have no idea what to do. It was one of the biggest ones we have, so we go to another chapel to get some jumpsuits. They were too small as well. Elder Gillis and myself are running around like chickens with our head cut off because we have no idea what to do. We find out she has a white dress at her home so we went to go get it with  her son and her daughter, but then they found a dress at the chapel that fit.  My comp and I were stunned.  We looked through the baptismal clothing at least twenty four times with no prevail.  So the Lord blesses us with tender mercies and the baptism went on as planned, except that it was about an hour and a half late and it was a fast sunday. It was awesome, we didn't get pictures though because of the fiasco. Xolo

Story Lwesine:

God listens to every single prayer.  Even those about food.  So to make this a little bit shorter, I don't like fish.  My family can attest to that.  I also am not a really big fan of pap, it feels weird when you eat it and has very little taste.  So we were at a DA(dinner appointment), and they serve us fish and pap.  That's it.  I don't want to be rude so: I said a prayer to Father in Heaven to help me eat this without vomiting. I only almost threw up once, but I covered it up. So BOOYAKASHA!  Thank you Heavenly Father.

I am getting a Tongan companion Elder F. Elder G is going to Eastern Cape in Mdathsane. 

That's what i got for you today have  Ube Imeani Mnandi(Have a nice day)

Elder Tucker

So same time next week

Heeey Chomies. 

Alright so first things first I don't really remember this week because Elder G. and myself were helping out the Assistants with their exchanges. So we were up about four in the morning three days in a row to drive them to the airport.  This week is very much hazy Sorry.  

Give me the money! AWW!

So we were given about a thousand new pass along cards; and I hate to say it but they really don't do a lot for progressing the work. While riding on passenger side of the car I decided to write our number on the card and just hand them to pedestrians as we drive by.  While I was doing this yesterday through a heavy traffic area; A young man saw me with a card in my hand and he thought it was a rand note, so he starts hollering to us, "GIVE ME THE MONEY!  So I did, as we are driving off we just hear an incredibly loud AWWW!  Why was he disappointed he got a picture of Christ with my phone number on it?

We have been teaching and are hopeful. We didn't do any service this week, except driving the Assistants to the airport AND WAKING UP FREAKIN EARLY. That's service right there.

Mom asked me why our churches had fences surrounding the church? The fences and gate have barbed wire on top with a guard inside the fence.  In Cape Town our church guards aren't armed.  Basically there is not a lot of barbed wire on top of our fences because people keeping stealing it. That is the reason for the guard in the first place. 

General conference was awesome we watched it at the church. Its very nice to do it, in the evening rather than in the morning. 

Any who.  Have a lovely week. Elder Tucker

Please give us a drop so we can eat.

Good Morning People.  To Explain the subject would be this last Saturday.  My comp and I Elder G. made sandwiches for lunch. Our first appointment was at eleven so we didn't want to eat before that because it's too early, so we packed it up and left.  Well noon hit and i was starving. All I could think about was my sandwich in the back of the car.  So we continued on trying to make our lessons go fast to have a break but everyone held.  Very unusual for a Saturday but we pressed on. It came to about five and I told my companion that I could not continue without food so we stopped and ate it was nice!

Stories for this week. One was agitating, the other awesome!

#1:

 Tuesday we went to meet an investigator who I had never met before (taught on exchanges). Apparently he was quite awesome. When we got there there was a man sitting there with him and I don't remember his name, but he was a pastor of the International Faith Temple Church or whatever.  We do what you always do and did some "how to begin teaching" then "following up".  When we did that we were told, "this guy had done what we asked and had a few questions about Joseph Smith".  We were stoked so we asked to open with a prayer.  We did. They didn't want to pray. From that we were a little bit shaky. Then his friends butts in.  "Who is Joseph Smith?" We share with him a bit about him. He hands me a bible and says, "WHERE IS HE IN THE BIBLE?!"  I was like whoa man calm down. My companion starts talking and the guy doesn't want to hear it. So I throw some Ezekiel his way. Yeah that's right 37: 16-20.  He tossed it aside as "an assumption". Then asked "how I knew he was a prophet" and I told him.  He asked "how old I was" so I told him. THEN This man had the audacity to say someone of my age could not receive an answer from God. That threw me a new one. My comp testified, I testified and said " to have a nice day". Then we left, it sucked.

#2:

On Thursday our Elders quorum president had told us we needed to fellowship a less active brother.  He didn't know why but he knew we needed to go there.  We went and usually when we tried to see this guy he is never home. This time we went and had a super powerful lesson with him. The president had found out it's because he was going through a lot of the same stuff he had already gone through.  It was awesome and he was at church on Sunday and told us he will never miss a sunday again! This was cool because the Elders quorum president listened to the spirit and knew we were supposed to go see this man! Listen to the spirit my friends, you never know whose life you'll change.

Sincerly,

Elder Tucker ( TEA-CAR) The French Pronunciation

Ezekiel 37: 16-20  Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions; Then take another stick and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions:

17 And join them one to another into one stick: and they shall become one in thine hand. 

18 And when the children of the people shall speak unto them saying, Wilt thou not shew us what thou meanest by these?

19 Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God;Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one mine hand. 

Before you get too high. Do you have a minute we could share with you the Book of Mormon?

It's Elder Tuckers weekly email time, we hope you will enjoy the script! bah bah bah bah  ( to the tune of sergeant peppers lonely hearts club band)

Anywho Good morning friends and family around the world. So first of let me tell you a little something I have been finding here on my mission.  If we don't visit people they come to church.  Why? no idea, but when we try to visit people we don't see them at church sometimes. It's strange but it works.

There are still people to see and souls to save! In other words I would like to sleep. But! That's not why you're here, you want to read a funny story or a spiritual story. 

Story number one

The Subject comes from a lesson we had in Langa on exchanges, we were trying to visit an investigator and teach about the Book of Mormon. Unfortunately he was not home. We saw another gentleman just across the way beckoning to us, or so we thought.  We went running and went in to find about ten or so people all in a circle, we looked at them and said,  "Hello, we are Elders M. and Tucker and we want to teach you about KaYesu Krestu, Do you have a few minutes?" They did and they let us teach and it was a pretty good lesson.  One guy was a little bit confrontational but said he would read the book and it was pretty convincing.  But as we were teaching I was thinking. Why are they in a circle?  So I looked around for clues and saw lighters and a guy with a joint in his hand but hey get thee hence satan right? 

Story Numero Dos

When we get dropped we usually go test the promises of God.  When I was in Langa my companion and the guy that was with him did this. They met a super powerful young woman. When testing the promises you say a prayer and set hard goals. One of the goals we set was to find an investigator that will get baptized.  Needless to say they only taught one lesson that time.  So we had a follow up appointment and we were sharing the restoration again because there was a lot of new people there.  We had the investigators that had heard the lesson before help us. We wanted to see how much they remembered. They remembered quite a bit of the restoration. Turned into just an incredible lesson!  We invited them to read the pamphlet and pray about it, they said they would! Then they asked us where the church was? We get this a lot so we gave them directions and hoping they would show up on sunday.  AND THEY DID!  It was fantastic. So it just goes to show If you ask ye shall receive, if you knock it will be opened unto you.

I wish you all the best of luck in your endeavors and have a beautious week

Elder Tucker

As good as free food is, I think sleep is more fun.

I was thinking of trying to do a movie greeting but my quotes are very limited. Now I do not see many shows or movies. So hello there, hows it?

Anywho to explain the subject line.  During the transfer the Assistants go on exchanges with the zone leaders of the different zones and sometimes because of the size of the mission they have to fly.  The Assistants to the Assistants, we call them the Asians, couldn't take them to the airport because they had an early appointment.  So we are next in line to ask.  They gave us free food, which was very very good, and then asked us to wake up and take them to the air port at five in the morning.  So we did. Then we went back to pick up the elder that was coming here whose name was Elder A. Then we did the same thing the next day to get the Elders back where they belong.  Those teaching days were super hard.  But we got through them.

Some emails asked about our investigators.  So just to share most are doing great and progressing very well, but we have a hard time getting some of them to church because of transport money and things like that. We did have a baptism this Sunday.  Which I will share more about and also were having another baptism in a couple weeks.Both investigators were brought to us by a young man that was just ordained to a priest.

The investigator that got baptized this Sunday is super powerful and his name is Koko (nickname).  But the hard part is he is just fourteen and so we needed to teach his mom in order for him to be baptized. The previous missionaries that taught him before me, and taught his Mom once. We found his mom and taught her again! However we still needed to teach her one more time and she had dropped two appointments. This was Friday so we were hoping she would be there for this lesson. Before we went to check, I looked at Elder Gillis and said, "In the words of my mother, WE NEED TO PRAY!" So we PRAYED and we went and she wasn't there. His uncle was there and he knew where she was. The uncle got her but Koko wasn't there. We tried calling him and tried to find him but to no avail. He eventually came in the middle of the lesson with his mother though so it was awesome. His mother committed to coming to church to see the baptism. His Mom said "that she didn't want to change churches but she wanted to sit in on the lessons from now on". KoKo's mom is friends with the branch president. We will keep teaching her. 

Mom was there the day Koko got baptized by his friend that brought him and was our new priest.  It was absolutely incredible! The new priest also brought his mother. She will be baptized in a few weeks that was the first baptism she saw, and it was performed by her son! Mom was super happy and it was just an incredible day!  

The highlights of my week that I hope you have enjoyed. Elder Tucker

New Campanero, New-ish Area

Goooooooood morning People around the world.  I would have specified but that just worked better.

Anywho welcome to this weeks email of Elder Tucker #1's adventures in Gugulethu (googooletoo). Today We wish to fill you in on a story I forgot last week but is very funny.

To begin with that, remember how I said that we had to shower in the other missionaries boarding? So last monday I went down because it was my turn to shower.  Once I was down there and showering they all left because they were hiking up and over table mountain that day; which takes about six hours for them all together.  Luckily they left me a key, unluckily the key didn't work.  There door doesn't lock but the security gate does.  When I finished up I went to leave and the key wasn't unlocking the gate.  I didn't have a phone nor could I yell to the other Elders because apparently one of our neighbors hates us. Dont know why, she hasn't bothered us with anything since I have been here; but I don't want to make that change.  I was stuck in the AP's boarding for thirty minutes trying to unlock the gate. Finally another Elder that stayed with us came down and asked what was going on. I Explained.  We both started laughing because they had been joking that I was stuck.  NOT BOTHERING TO CHECK EARLIER THOUGH! But then I got out almost breaking the gate but its better than being stuck. It looks like Elder Tucker and locks don't get along well.

Two More Stories:

One because we merged areas, that's why its new-ish,  We were over scheduled.  As in we had three appointment scheduled for five on saturday, which we ended up dropping all of them. Unfortunately because we were asked by a member to help him move. Now being the muscles I am we went and helped him move. The day was Kushushu kakulu (very hot).  To make things better we were fasting but we got everything done and rescheduled with everyone.  I am crazy sore!

Next story, we have an investigator that goes by the name of Koko. He is super powerful and is getting baptized this week.  We teach a mission prep class for the branch for all those that desire to serve missions.  And he wants to serve a mission so he came. We were talking about teaching the restoration simply.  Later that night we were seeing his mother because we still need to teach her a few lessons in order for him to be baptized. The lesson was on teaching the restoration, so we had an idea. Lets have Koko teach. Which went awesome! He taught incredibly and we just bore testimony at the end. We are seeing his mom this thursday, and he invited his mother to be baptized which was incredible! 

That's what I have for you this week, except my companions name is Elder G and He sleep talks. I have been trying to help him with his Xhosa (click like beckoning a horse then osa) and we were working on q's which is like a popping a cork type click. Now fast forward to two nights ago and this guy was practicing in his sleep. AT FOUR IN THE FREAKING MORNING!! It scared the heebeejeebees out of me. But so is missionary life.

Cheers