"YOU" MUST BE YOUR GREATEST CONVERT

I cant believe Cameron is home and that Caity is graduated! Things seem to be changing rapidly at home for the Good. That must have been a very sweet reunion with Cameron at the airport. I cant wait to see him again. Thank you for the fax number and I am wondering if it would work to email you the receipts or do they have to be scanned? In any case I think I will just fax them to you. I should be able to do it today but I am not sure. We had a great week this week. We taught the most lessons I have ever taught in a week. We taught 29 lessons this week 10 of which came from Tuesday alone. We have been teaching like crazy and I having been feeling the spirit more than I thought was possible! I cant even begin to describe the wonderful feeling that comes from feeling the spirit work through you and touch the lives of others. We have also started a Saturday movie night that has turned into a huge success. Last Saturday we had less actives and investigators there with the members and everyone had a great time :) We showed "How to train your Dragon" which is a great movie. we had one confirmation on Sunday and we have one baptism coming up this Sunday so the work is going very steady and good. Being on the Lords errand is one of the greatest experiences of my life and I know that mission is just the launching pad for bigger and greater things. I was able to speak with my mission President not to long ago and the topic of returning missionaries came up. We talked about how in many cases missionaries will abandon most, if not all, they had learned while serving the Lord. It was him who told me that serving a mission is but a mere launching pad upon which we should base our life choices off of. Yes we do a lot of good in serving others and bring salvation to those who otherwise would have fallen by the wayside but when all is said and done you must be your greatest convert. We must learn all we can to be able to take those things that we do learn with us throughout our lives both spiritual and temporal. I am learning things that are opening my mind to new possibilities and understanding of our Father in Heaven and His great Plan of Salvation for us. I am seeing things as I have never seen them before and I thank God everyday for this new understanding. I am so grateful to be here in South Africa at this time learning these lessons in the way my Father in Heaven would have me. I know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been Restored to the Earth by Christ's duly called and ordained prophet and that through him His Kingdom has once again been established upon the Earth with His teachings in beautiful simplicity. I know that Jesus is the Christ, the very Son of the very living God, and that He lives. How grateful I am to know this and to be able to share this message with the world for the rest of my life.

Thank you for all that you do for me. I just sent a letter in the mail this last week so it should be there by the end of this week or beginning of next week. Thank you for the birthday wishes, its gonna be weird being 20 but I guess it had to happen haha. Have a great week.

 

I LOVE MY NEW AREA

Sounds like things are going good at home though. It doesn't surprise me that Jordyn is in the top 10% of her class but that is awesome! I am sure Chad is getting to be a giant now, it will be weird to see him when I get back. He will probably be able to beat me up by then haha (not likely). You are now a ward missionary! That is so cool! I used to not understand how that calling completely worked but now I realize how important that calling really is now. If I could give you one piece of advise it would be to get a "Preach My Gospel" manual and study the lessons in Chapter three. There are five lessons that we teach as missionaries and in that chapter is everything we need to teach to prepare people for baptism and enduring to the end. Once you know all those lessons you will be a powerful missionary for the ward and a great asset to the Sisters. The Bishop of our ward just yesterday asked us to start a Preach My Gospel class for all the ward missionaries and my companions and I are very excited to start teaching it. I am in a threesome right now and it is a blast! Elder Ray and I are already great friends and are working are tails off. The area I am at was just combined from being two areas so President is seeing if there is enough work to keep one or two sets of missionaries there. It is called Protia Glen and it is a massive township. We have about 20 lessons already scheduled for this week and we need to plan about 20 more so that week can see everyone. We also have a lot of less actives. There are about 150 or a little more at church every Sunday but the ward has 700 members so we have our work cut out for us and I love a good challenge. We have two baptisms scheduled for this Sunday and they are every excited to be baptized.
I love my new area and I love my new companions. Working is the best way to stay focused and concentrated on the work. The Lord is truly pouring out His tender mercies upon us. This work that we both are engaged in is true and Christ is at the Lead. He calls those that are prepared and that are able to help His children to return to Him and our Father in Heaven The Church is true but even more importantly the Restored Gospel is true and is the only way back to our Heavenly Father and we have it :) Oh the joy that fills my soul that I am on the path of redemption and that we have the great opportunity to be together forever in eternal happiness. Love you mom, have a great week and know that I am well and doing what is required of me and am having a blast doing it.

It is Starting to Get Colder

Things are going good here in South Africa and yes it is starting to get a lot colder. The teaching is going good though. We have about 6 people planning on getting baptized in June but I think only 3 will really be ready. The less actives we have been seeing are still the same though. It is frustrating that some people just cant forgive and forget or are just to prideful to admit they were wrong but it is a labor of love and I love it. It is teaching me patience and long-suffering for sure :). I love and miss you and cant wait to write more next week.

The Gospel Continues to Amaze Me

Things have been going really good this week for us in our area. We have been working very hard and have accomplished almost all our goals that we set and this week is look just as good.

The Gospel continues to amaze me. That was an amazing story that Dusty told and at the same time terrifying. I could not imagine having such an experience.. Its funny how being on mission really makes you have the desire to have a family and to be closer to the family you already have. Most missionaries I have spoken to have always expressed that if they could go back in time they would spend more time with their families and I wish the same thing. I never truly realized how awesome and great our Family is. I miss you all so much but I know where I am at is where I need to be and I am loving it. Seeing families drawn together because of the gospel is amazing and beautiful. I feel everyday the need to progress even more and learn more. It is so true that we are able to be taught directly from God. He wants to teach us and help us in any way possible if we but let Him and search out those righteous desires of our hearts. I love you mom. I know that Families can be together forever in joy and happiness. I know that My Redeemer lives. I have felt of His love and of His tender mercies in my life and looking back He was directing me more closely than I could ever imagine. Revelation is real, we can communicate with our Father in Heaven and He will answer us. I cant wait to share everything I have learned with you and the rest of the family. I am happy and I am doing well. I will let you know if I need anything and please let me know if you need anything. I may be on the other side of the world but I can still help with some things :) Love you mom. I will give you a quick call on Saturday to let you know what number to call on Sunday. Have a great week.

Progression is Hard but Worth It

-- I'm glad to hear things are going good for the most part back home.
Things have been good here. Elder Brey and I are getting along good but there is always
room for improvement. Its been kinda rough though these past few days
just because of the lack of work. We are trying really hard to get the
work moving along but its been hard for one reason or another. Also on
packages from now on only put missionary supplies on it and $20 as its
worth. Please tell everyone at home that who sends packages here.  Also
on the packages put Sentimental value as the price of the contents.   Time
flies by out here and I feel sometimes it goes too fast.
 There is so much to do and so many people we need to help that I feel to
rushed to do anything sometimes.

It sounds like Cameron is doing well though. He is writing
weekly now and that's nice. I love you mom and I hope you know that I
am happy and having a good time its just the Lord is teaching me a few
things and it is when we pass through trials and hard times that we
learn the most. I have decided and come to understand that the more we
endure and the more trials that befall us means the more our Father in
Heaven knows we can handle and wants us to learn that much more.
Progression is hard but it is worth it. Never has there been so much
promise and potential for greatness than the time we live in now. I
know the Gospel is true it burns within me and I cannot and I will not
deny it. This week we met with a less active family that we had never
seen before. They invited us in and right as we sat down we were
hammered with the most anti-mormon literature and doctrine that I had
ever heard in my life. My companion was so mad that he was almost
brought to tears but all I could feel was sadness. I looked upon these
choice sons and daughter of God and saw in them their own destruction
and fall because of their pride. I was in no way shaken nor confounded
but I felt a sadness I had never before felt in my life. It has been a
hard week but this new week is full of promise and joy. I love you
mom.

Love your son,
Elder Caleb Coon

THINGS ARE GOING GOOD HERE

Things are going good here. I am getting a new comp tomorrow so that will be nice. I am gonna miss Elder Larson a lot though. We got along really great and I will be staying in contact with him. He's from Spokane Washington so he's close by as well. My numbers have been good though and so has the rest of my health. I won't be able to send pictures today because I still haven't had a chance to go through them which is good because it means we have been busy.We finally got to watch General Conference this last weekend. We get it two weeks late because of the time difference and also because of Easter. I got a lot of my questions answered and have a lot to look forward to these next few months in the area's development and in my own development. I love and miss you all and hope things are going good for all of you.

Played with Baby Tigers

I am glad things are going good back home and that you got to have such a good time with
everyone. I will admit that I have been a little homesick lately but
that comes with the field of missionary work I guess. Things are going
good here. We just had some members take us to a wildlife preserve
today and we saw so many cool things and I even got to play with baby
tigers this time. I will be sending pictures in the near future. I
also sent a bunch of letters out to you guys so they should be there
either this week or beginning of next week.

This is also most likely my last week with my companion and he will be getting transferred.

I have really enjoyed being here in Randburg and hope I get to stay here in for another six
months. I love and miss everyone.
Love you MOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!