Hi I'm Roelof

I worked on cruise ships where I met a girl also working on the ship who was an inactive member of the church. We fell in love and got engaged and married, all in the space of three months. We found our way off ships back to my home country of South Africa where two of our daughters were born. My drinking and smoking habits escalated and were causing a lot of strain on my marraige and family environment. The political situation in SA led us to the decision of leaving for Canada. My wife and kids went first, and I followed nearly a year later due to a long wait for paperwork to be cleared. I knew I had to change my life if I wanted to keep my beloved wife and children. So, landing in Canada, being cut off from my friends in SA, I had the courage to start taking the missionary discussions. I prayed for strength and together with the stop smoking program of the church, I managed to quit 'cold turkey' and never smoked or drank again. I was baptized two weeks later and as I came out of the font, the Holy Spirit showed me that all my sins were trapped in that water; to me it looked like brown muddy water, to everyone else the water was clear. I will never forget that moment of being clean and perfect and how I was born of water and took the name of Christ upon me.

I have a very important calling in the church. I have to co-ordinate service projects, organize social events and look after the members and families temporal and spiritual needs. I study the scriptures daily, hold family home evening once a week and have family prayer before my children goes to bed. I download and listen to general conference on my I-pod at work.