Hi there,
It looks as though I am pressed for time again, so you'll just have to consider this and yesterday's E-mail as one complete E-mail.
Where do I begin?
I might have to start this E-mail on a sad note; Sister Ross, who came in to replace Sister Armour as a senior missionary working in the office, passed away some time during yesterday. We just got the news this morning. This came as a shock because three days ago, they told us she would be fine. So our thoughts and prayers are with Elder Ross right now, and even though you don't know him, I think it would be nice to remember him in your prayers also. He came back here on Saturday and Sunday to help clear up some things in the office and possibly to get their luggage to go home, but we don't even know if he got back to South Africa in time to say good bye. So, that news has saddened the mood a little bit today, but we hope the best for Elder Ross and his family.
In the meantime, things are still pretty hectic here at the office and such, so maybe you could say a prayer on behalf of President Gaya and his wife, and Elder and Sister Wilson as well - they've got their work cut out for them in picking up the slack on top of everything else they already do. This has taken up most of my thoughts today, so I don't know what else to report. Life continues, and so do we.
The mission work is much slower than it has been, but there are many contributing factors involved. We are doing what we can to progress and make things work. The mission is an intense experience, and through all of this intensity, I've come to different conclusions, and made many great friends - people I hope to be friends with long after this experience is finished. There is yet many more conclusions to reach, and many more friends to be made, and I am looking forward to that.
The mission is a difficult, but rewarding experience - if you do it right. At times, it was ONLY difficult and seemingly not rewarding at ALL, depending on my mindset. It is difficult and unpleasant when your focus is on the numbers and how other people would gauge success, and the people you teach become numbers and lessons - a problem I have seen with some missionaries (myself included) at times. But when you really try to serve with the desire to help people and come to know and love the people you teach, then it gets even harder, but it becomes worthwhile and more enjoyable. The mission becomes even more difficult when this happens; when someone you had so much hope for rejects you and everything else in the end, it hurts a lot more. Really, it sucks. But, when somebody gets it, and then does something about it, that is why I must care, despite all of the inevitable and painful rejections and disappointments I will encounter far more often. So there you have it, the mission isn't allowed to be easy, even if you're doing it wrong, but it can be wonderful at the same time if you do it right.
I'm still figuring things out, and maybe all of these thoughts will amount to something that makes sense in the future, we'll see I guess. Thanks for the letters. You are in my prayers, and thank you for yours in my behalf. I'm out of time so, tiako ianareo! Veloma!
Elder Draper
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