November 21st

Today we emailed you guys for a bit and then we went to FUNLAND!!!! it was so cool! for 115 Rand we got a bunch of tokens for an arcade, Free Bowling, Bumper cars, and a free Lunch:))) it was great!!!! I had a lot of fun... but I'm a terrible bowler! hahaha 

After Funland we went to the mall for elder Nielsen so we could get him a white shirt... he got a fricken expensive shirt! it was like 300 rand!!!! but then I went to the store next door and got a rubber football! I'm really excited for it! I've wanted to play catch sooo bad these last few weeks!!!

Then we came back to the apartment to get changed and showered, cause it was SUPER hot and muggy! For dinner and family home evening we went to the Reises again:) guess what we ate.......... I'll give you a hint.. IT WAS DELICIOUS! We ate OSTRICH spaghetti!!!!!! Instead of beef in their sauce they mixed it with ostrich! It was soooo good:)))

But I'm all sweaty again and they shut off the water to our street so they can conserve water in South Africa.. I guess they do it all over the place but just by sections of each town.. and  I guess tonight is our night:/ I wish they'd give us a heads up though! luckily i had just done laundry so my clothes all got washed, so I put on a wet t-shirt and I'm just gonna sleep in it as my shower for the night... its so hot and humid here..

sleep tight, 

merry Christmas,

Elder Mitch Merritt

November 24th

We went to Funland and we all got black light pens.. ya know the ones with the invisible ink... well they work really well so we drew all over the place and you can't see ANYTHINGGG!!!!!! its so cool:))) and at night when we turn all the lights off its like a little party house! hahaha

We've been teaching lots of people and talking to a lot of new members lately:) it's been a lot of fun! and it's really cool:) its not so much BLOW THEIR MINDS with a huge powerful lesson, it's more testifying of what I know.. so thats super nice:) 

today were about to leave for ZTM, Zone training meeting, so im excited to see all the missionaries in our zone:)

Well, the missionaries in our zone are really cool! Elder Adams was there and he served here in Toti as well.

But last night was really fun, we actually went to the Reises house for Thanksgiving so that was really nice to have... they obviously don't celebrate it in Africa...

Friday November 28th

Crap I lost my thing in my closet and didn't write in it the last few days... sorry about that!

Sunday November 27th

Max's mullet is looking SIIIIICCCCKKK!!!

and I'm loving it over here! this week wasn't too hot but today is the start of a heat wave....... wish me luck! haha... and I wish I could send you some more pictures but something happened and all of them got deleted? I need to log onto the computer that I used last time and see if I can save them? But I haven't been taking a lot because its annoying, everytime I take a picture I have to wait like 60 seconds or more.. and nobody wants to stand for a picture that long... so I have to just hope I get a good one the first try:/ 

I can look at cameras around here and check back with you next week? 

and I heard the ducks lost:( oh well i guess it just shows who are the true duck fans:/ but on a dropped game winning pass is really sad:(

I love you! I will try and find my pictures and take more:) 

This Thursday for the Worldwide Day of Service our Goal is to Teach FORTY LESSONS IN ONE DAY!!!!

I'm excited to try this but I know its gonna be EXHAUSTING!!

and we've only had 1 baptism but were hoping for 6 by Christmas! wish us luck:)

November 14th, Night of my first P-day;)

Wow. I love this place:) besides the driving (I've been getting car sick) but I love these people! we did family Home Evening at the Reise's house and they're so much fun:) they made us like some sort of stew with curry rice, which was pretty good:) then we had a little lesson and got to know each other... I've noticed that whenever I tell a white person I'm from Portland Oregon they ask me if I've heard of grim and we have a good conversation! and when I tell a black person I'm from Oregon they ask me if I've ever been to Compton!! because the ghetto areas here, like illovo, is very similar to Compton i guess... minus the guns!

I'm getting tired of all these monkeys though... one tried to steal my little notebook thing they give me.. but it set it down, I left it on top of the car and saw the darn monkey holding it.. so i yelled at him and he dropped it and ran away! oh apparently a missionary killed a monkey last year and what's interesting about this type of monkey is that they have blue nuts! so the Elder cut off the monkeys scrotum and sewed it into a little coin purse. true story. it was a BRIGHT BLUE! they're almost neon blue... or baby blue!

Also, the driving here is very strange! like if someone wants to thank another driver for something they flash their hazard lights at them a few times... its kinda weird to think about but its kinda nice:) also, the stop lights (they call them robots) don't have cameras and sometimes they stop working and will just stay red for like 15 minutes or more.. so its ok to drive through red lights when its safe... or anytime when the roads are empty.. that's kinda sketchy. also people here are CONSTANTLY walking on through and all around the roads! SO MANY PEOPLE GET HIT BY CARS HERE!! they're so stupid for that!!!! They drive us crazy!!!!

November 15th, 2016

today was pretty good:) it went by really fast!! max asked me what the most "first world thing" they have here is... guess what it is... their McDonalds has the greatest meal deal of all time!!!!!! its called a "share box" it comes with 2 big macs, 2 cheese burgers, 2 large fries, 2 small fries, to medium drinks, 2 small drinks, 10 chicken mcnuggets, 2 dipping sauces, and 4 ice cream sundaes! all for 160 Rand!!!!! so thats equivalent to only 11 U..S. Dollars! It's beautiful! my companion and I shared and on one of my burgers they forgot the Patty! so that was funny! hahaha like it was just Bread>cheese>ketchup>bread. 

anyway after lunch we got a phone call to go give an old Indian man a blessing.. he was about to have Liver Surgery and was a little nervous.. i know id be! but he was a nonmember so i hope surgery goes well and he gives us a call again:) he was a really nice guy...

but African Hospitals are supperrr sketchy! I saw two dead bodies with like the cloth over their bodies.. and they were doing construction on the building.. they were laying more bricks on it like 5 stories above us and people were just walking on by underneath.. no care in the world that a giant brick might get bumped and fall off from the top of the building and come falling down on an innocent civilians head... I don't remember getting a Hard hat.. ya guys really should have laws that prevent stuff like this from happening!

sorry that was me ranting about African Hospitals.. I don't trust them...

also, we went tracting today and ive decided Zulu people are super cool!! they're probably the nicest people ive ever met! and they love white missionaries so they'll ask them a bunch of questions.. which leads to lessons, which leads to Dinners, which leads to friendship, church, baptism, and BOOM next thing ya know they're in the celestial Kingdom and its all cause im White!

my companions been here for 14 months so hes teaching me some Zulu.. its pretty difficult but I'm kinda understanding a bit of it! hahaha 

ok I'm gonna get some sleep:) love ya to the moon and back and then alllllll the way from me to you! :)

November 16th 2016

Ttoday went really well!!! I had a lot of fun street contacting:) all i do is share a very brief message about the gospel of Jesus Christ and then I give them a pamphlet to read with our number on the back:) and literally every. single. person. asks to have the little book:) its so nice! these guys here are so chill and nice:) I'm starting to really get used to it here, and really appreciate everything and all the people.. and talking to the people here is really easy:) I'm getting used to it:) oh but they've said in our teaching lesson time they really really realllyyy emphasize talking like the people and trying to be like them as much as possible.. talk like they talk, walk like they walk, eat what they eat, and all that.. so I'm picking up a bit of a weird accent.. and they said ill know how to speak Zulu when i get home and maybe even Afrikaans:) so that'll be cool

Oh and today we went down beach road to talk to the people.. in Africa if you need money people will put on  neon vests and help other people back out of their parking spots and they help direct them to open parking spots.. its actually pretty cool, it gives the homeless guys something to do so they don't just beg for money.. they help us out, and we give them a small thank you:)

anyway, we talked to all those guys today so whenever they see us they smile and are all chill and want to be our friends:) they're actually cool guys:) I don't remember any of their names cause they're all Zulu people... but we made lots of friends today:)

one guy stopped us in our car and asked for bread.. so we gave him like less than 1 rand.. then another guy asked us for weed and we were like "bro we don't smoke.." and he was like "whaaaaaaaattt? what do you do then, cuz?" so we explained the church and mission stuff to him then gave him a Word of Wisdom pamphlet.. he said he'd read it and give us a call! Hahaha

November 17th, 2016

today I gave a lesson to a kid named Jarrod about the restoration:) my companion and i taught the restoration he was really getting into it and he loves what we have to teach him:) we ended up watching a little movie about Joseph smith and how are church came to be.. the spirit was really strong and he said hes gonna come to church next week.. and we gave him a book of Mormon:) hes a pretty strange kid thats SUUUPPPER dyslexic.. so when he texts us its pretty funny! hahaha but ya know, the gospel is open for anyone so next lesson I'm gonna ask him if he wants to be baptized so that'll be fun;) 

so far mission life is really fun.. i love talking to the members in our ward and playing games with them:) I'm already getting comfortable with these guys and having fun:) yesterday we went over to Phindy's house and she's about to go out on a mission in a few months so that's super exciting! She feeds us every Wednesday and she cooks A LOOOOTTT of food for us! and she makes us eat ALLLL of it! otherwise, we don't come back! her family is super cool so we played tons of games!

Today went by really fast and I'm tired so I'm gonna get some sleep! I love you and i'll see ya in like 23 months:)

love, Elder mitchie.Com

November 18th, 2016

Today we did a TONNN of service helping a family at church! they own a fish shop.. like they sell live fish.. not the dead ones... so we helped them move all their aquariums and fish tanks over to their new shop which only like 100 feet down the street.. they have some really cool fish there! but the coolest fish tank is at their house! We ate there on Monday, the Reise's, it's the prettiest one I've ever seen. They have all the fish from Finding Nemo except a puffer fish and starfish.. they even have the little crab guy!  I'm quiet jealous!

November 19th, 2016

Today we finished helping the Reises move their fish tanks and it takes forrreevvverrr! They're so heavy and they break and then there's glass.. It's a mess! But afterwards we went and made dinner at a girl in our wards house, Zama.. she lives in the inna street ghetto part of South Africa and it was tight yo! then we got some delicious freezerburnt ice cream! 

Today I saw a few new animals! first, i saw a Huge lizard while walking to our car! second, a baby gecko... actually I saw like a ton of them.. its getting hot so they're all coming out to stand in the sun! and finally, my favorite, I JUST SAW FIREFLIES FOR THE FIRST TIME!!!!!!!!!! They're soooo coolll!!!!! At first i was like huh.. some guy must be burning his field, cause that's what they do here.. when their field gets overgrown they just light it on fire and its all good... anyways I thought it was an ember or spark or whatever but then it came a little closer and i was like, what the heck why is it green? THEY'RE SO COOL!!!

Anyway, I'm really tired cause we worked for 11 hours today.. I'm gonna go to bed! 

I love you<3

Missing home

Nov 8th, 2016

hey guys:) i miss you and I'm realllllyyyy happy that my alpha smart works:) and my mission president ok'd me to have it so that's awesome!

I'm sorry I don't think i ever told you guys what we do at the MTC.. my B..

So these guys are teaching us everything we NEED to know about the gospel! and then they teach us how to, you know, teach it to other people:) so most of the time its reading, highlighting different stuff, and role playing with my companion or someone else from my district! then we later have a "investigator" that we teach! for example, today we finished teaching Jake Awuni, he own a small business in Johannesburg and is engaged to his girlfriend, they have two kids, and before we came to teach him he was wondering why god gives us such huge challenges... today was our second time teaching him and we got him to commit to baptism! that was pretty exciting to do:) however, when you teach Jake hes actually one of the MTC teachers so its super stressful teaching him because he knows wayyyyyyyy more than i do about the gospel and how to teach investigators! but I'm starting to get it all down and tomorrow we teach Benni, who was an atheist before we started teaching her but tomorrow were gonna invite her to baptism as well! 

one of my favorite teachers here is either brother Wentzel, who grew up in Durban and served a mission in England, or brother Ramiaramanana ( yes thats how you spell it... i checked haha). Rami is from Madagascar and served his mission in south Africa and it actually saved his life going on a mission. When he got to his mission he had heart problems and needed open heart surgery, an he never would have survived if he had done it Madagascar because south Africa is much more civilized than Madagascar.

Anyway, I love you guys and I wanna see pictures of Max's game and hear more of the stats and scores that happened! hows Trevor doing, and Jake, and Milo? Has Max had any sacks? He told me he basically won their game on Friday after Trev knocked the ball lose and I'm really excited to hear how he does this week! it sounds like its gonna be a really good game and I'm super happy you're team is starting to realize how good you guys actually are! Tell everyone good luck and that I love them:)

NOV 11th.. First day in Durban

Wow. This place is just how I pictured Africa to be:) Kinda civilized but it has a bunch of African trees! like the ones on the lion king:) it is beautiful here! I went and saw the temple sighting and its in such a perfect spot! it looks over a cliff and is beyond perfect! and they said it should be done when im still here! meaning, i may get to usher people through for the open house:)) im really excited!

i haven't met my companion yet but his name is elder....... crap i forgot:/ but i got called to serve and be trained in  the  Amanzitoti area! its the lowest area in my mission area, and i heard my mission home looks over the beach! I'm really excited!

Today I met another elder who picked us up at the airport, his name is elder Adams! hes so cool!! He's from Germany! BUT GUESS WHAT!!!! he  grew up in OREGON!! hes awesome!he lived in madras mostly, and a little bit in Portland, Eugene, and bend. we talked about OMSI, Seaside, he actually stayed in the same hotel that we did after the Astoria game!so that was really nice! hes a duck fan too!!!! he also served in my first area that im going to! he said I'm gonna get fed a lot!! and he told me one family that is apparently SUPER COOL!! and LOVE to feed the missionaries! I'm so excited! 

Also, I drove on the left side of the road for the first time! like behind the wheel! its so weird because there's tons of new road signs, everything  is in the metric system! kilometers, Celsius, everything!!!!! it sucks! and I'm not used to it yet! hahaha ill get there though!

Nov 12th

Well it was my first day with my companion and he seems pretty cool so far! his name is Elder Lesueur! hes from Arizona aaannnddd.. yeah! i got to our mission home and its pretty darn nice! its got a huge ocean view! its so nice! and its built for 4 missionaries so I'm here with elder Neislsen who was in the MTC with me, and some other guy that i don't know very well? hahaha

but today was cool! we went into town and did a little shopping and when we were driving there was a really baad accident. imagine you're on like HWY 26 and waiting in traffic... now picture a bunch of guys going through the grass to turn around! TONSSS of cars did that! its extremely illegal in the US but the cops don't enforce any traffic laws here! like you could literally speed RIGHT passed a cop and they'd just sit there! one time a cop actually did pull over an elder and the cop tried to write him a ticket but the cop was SO DRUNK that he couldn't so he let the elder go! hahaha or at least that's what my trainer told me...

I also saw my first albino black guy.. they call them "creatures" here because they're all homeless and come up to your car and beg for money! they're so scary! ill try and get a picture of one to show you! cause they also don't have all their teeth, a bunch of birth mark skin tab things, and ya know black people hair? well its white with a little orange..I feel really bad for the guy! 

but whats nice is today was pretty easy, tomorrows Sunday so it'll be easy, and Monday is our P-day! so its a nice break! hahaha

Sunday, November 13th 

well today i met my ward and they're really nice:) its less than 80 people which is actually pretty big over here. tomorrow were gonna go have dinner with them and i get to email! im so excited!and at church i helped teach the primary kids about reverence:) they're so flippin' cute!!! 

oh and i went to give an old lady the sacrament today so that was a lot of fun:)) except, she said Toti gets really hot and most of the time its 80-100% humidity here during the summer so im not looking forward to that:/

but today I saw so many monkeys! like at least 20 or so! it didn't rain so they were all over the place! im gonna try and send a bunch of pictures but most of them are blurry and bad so don't share any of the bad ones! hahaha

I miss ya and I love ya to the moon and back!

-Elder Merritt:)

Made it there safe and sound...

October 28:

Hey mom and dad... well I made it here safe and so did the other missionaries:) the airplane ride was easy but I couldn't sleep much.. actually I've  only gotten like 4 hours of sleep in the last two days! so I'm gonna get some sleep.

I emailed you earlier today but they only gave me a few minutes to do it and Africa has terrible WiFi! hahaha but everyone here's pretty cool and I think my P day is gonna be on Wednesdays i guess? idk? we'll see! 

I miss you and I love you and I'll message you when I can!

also, let me know how Max does on Friday:) tell him good luck!!

October 29:

All the other missionaries showed up.. a lot of them are actually from south Africa so its kinda been nice asking them what Durban is like. A sister missionary that's been called to Madagascar grew up in Durban and she said, with a heavy accent, "oh ya goin'a love Durban. They gonna feed ya very very well there you know." but then she told me I might eat worms or even DOG so I get to look forward to that I guess... but she did tell me that it is gorgeous! I don't know if I can trust her though.. I mean I told my buyers that my pig was gorgeous and you say the same about Mary.. haha just kidding.. that would be very mean to say about the pig.

Later today she gave the closing prayer in Zulu! It's the one that has all the clicks, knocks, and kissing sounds.. It was really neat!

Also, we got to play a little basketball and about half the guys at the MTC are from some part of Africa or Samoa.. you'd think they'd just be tearing it up on the court but another Elder and I, Elder Maughne (sounds like Lawn but with an M),tore em up.. in half court basketball where nobody keeps score! haha nah hes pretty cool, he's from Idaho and is also going to Durban. Did you know they don't send any sister missionaries to South Africa because the crime rate is so bad? There's only three sisters here and they're all Africans going to Madagascar..Also I got my first companion today, Elder Ott. 

Update on the other guy that got off the plane in Atlanta.. he went home. and his mission has been delayed so keep him in your prayers. I don't know his name but he looked like a Lloyd? haha

October 30:

Remember if you write me a letter or send a package in the mail,  when you write South Africa to mark it "S.A." not "SA" because it sometimes gets mixed up with southern Australia! just a heads up:) 

The other day I was showing a bunch of the South African Elders how to play American Football and oh my goodness! I thought teaching 5th and 6th graders how to play was difficult. hahaha

Then the next day they taught me rugby, and it looks like I'm really bad!! Elder Iloa, from Samoa, taught me.. he's in my room actually and hes going to Botswana. But I had a lot of fun and got to hang out with another missionary from London England! he has a realllyyy cool accent! haha his name is Elder Summers and I'm pretty sure he's going to Jo-burg..

At the MTC there's about 28 people, 11 Americans (Idaho, California,me, and the rest are from all over Utah), 3 sisters from SA going to Madagascar, 1 from England, 1 from Canada, 2 from Samoa, and the rest are guys from African! Just a heads up so it gives you a better picture:)

Sundays are really easy! We even got a nap.. and after  the nap I got some free time so I hung out with a different kid from Durban, Elder Lesch.. he's the only white African at the MTC... anyway he showed me where to find all the animals! he said the monkeys are all over the place and are seen a bit more than raccoons! And zebras are seen as much as deer! But the elephants, hippos, lions and giraffes are all gonna be out on reservations...if i get sent out towards Kimberely I'll see them a lot more often! Also, the penguins are mostly down in Cape town! but its common for some to swim up to he Durban beach!

October 31:

Happy Halloween guys:) this is the first year I haven't celebrated it, and it kinda feels weird? hahaha let me know what Max and Mary were and send pictures of Brinley too!!:)

today Elder Simiyile (sim-uh-ee-lay... or elder smiley) explained the rules of rugby to me a lot better and I'm kinda getting the hang off it:)

 Ionly have ten more days here and they're slowly speeding up.. I'm learning a LOT about the gospel and it's all coming to together for me.. I mean, before I came I knew a lot of all the bits and pieces of the gospel but now they've taken all those bits and pieces and glued them together! Which is pretty sweet! But I wanna get out of here ASAP! hahaha

November 2:

Yesterday i got to email you guys and it was realllllyyyy nice! i miss you guys a lot! It was really nice, but when they took our laptops away it started pouring down rain.. and it was also sports time! so we played Rugby in the rain! I scored SIX times! im really getting the hang of it and I'm having a lot of fun! but then the lightning started so we had to go inside.. the lighting here is CRAZZYYY!! there's WAY MORE than ANYTHING i've seen before in my life! it's so cool:)) 

Today the lightning started again! you know how you guys are going into winter right now? well they're going into they're Summer.. and i guess its also their rainy season.. and with the heat and rain they get SOO MANY LIGHTNING STORMS!

Also, today a guy came and talked about all the disease and crime stuff! And now I'm terrified! hahaha he just said be clean, be smart, and be careful! I'll do my best! haha

November 3:

Today we went to the temple and it was GORGEOUS! the Jo-burg temple is a lot smaller but the sealing room was, in my opinion, prettier than Portland.. is that ok to say? Idk? But the celestial room is much smaller than Portlands. Outside of the temple was gorgeous! I forgot my camera today but were going again next week so I'll be sure to take some then! 

Oh just a few hours ago we got new companions! I got Elder Iloa actually, the super buff tongan that taught me Rugby:) He's a really nice guy and had troubles getting a visa so hes been out on his mission for two and a half months already, he served in Tonga:) OH and president Ashton made me the senior companion which is really exciting!:) I'm having a lot of fun here but at the same time I want to get back out of the gate! 

Today was also the most terrifying day of my life! Today we drove on the LEFT side of the road! I really hope they don't give me a car because I would have crashed at LEAST ten times just on the way to the temple! hahaha and the people that drive here are terrible drivers! The roads are smaller! And the cops never pull anyone over! While Ii sat in the car I looked at the houses in the city and they all have electric fences AND razorwire fences!! Some of the fences have like blades and knives at the top! The crime must be REALLY bad I guess!they also taught me that when you stop at a red light beggars come out and walk through all the cars! SOMETIMES if you have say a phone on the dash board people will run by your car, smash the window reach in and take it then run! But they stay away from the first car because if he drives the other cars can follow, but if they leave it alone everyone else is trapped!

buuuuuut.. no need to be scared I will be fine! hahaha

I love you guys!

P.s. Apparently all of the internet goes down in South Africa so if I don't email you for a couple weeks, I'm not dead! haha its pretty common I guess? haha

November 4:

Today was pretty good! I got a compliment from President Ashton's wife after rugby! She said I was the fastest white boy out there! I laughed so hard when she said that! hahaha:))

November 5:

Awww today was a really sad day! Elder Summers, my friends from England went home just out of nowhere! He didn't tell anybody that he was feeling homesick but apparently he was getting literally sick, like ill, because he was missing his family so much:( Remember to pray for him.. and we were just starting to get to know each other, he got transferred and put in my district (my classroom) and he sat right next to each other.. we were partners a few times and we teased each other and made fun of each others accents! hahaha.. I'm gonna miss that guy but I guess I can follow him on instagram or something when I get home:/

Other than that we played rugby again and I scored two or three times and had two other assists! Monday we're gonna play American football so I'm really glad I brought my gloves:)

Oh and guess what stinks! when you fast on your mission they make you do a super legit fast! It started at 5 PM today and we can not eat anything until 5 PM tomorrow!!!!  WHAT HAPPENED TO OUR AGENCY THAT YOU'VE BEEN TEACHING US ABOUT!??? Sorry I'm getting hangry cause its 10 o'clock and i havent eatten in FIVE HOURS! Tomorrow is gonna stink:/ I'll let ya know how it goes in tomorrow night! But I miss ya and excited to go to Durban and meet my first companion next week! Also NEXT Tuesday I'll send you guys a few pictures:) #iloveyouguys.<3

Nov 6th 2016... Fast Sunday!

Well its noon, church is over and we have five more hours till dinner.. today was nice because in class President called me and Elder Mnisi to the front and said that he would be very happy, and confident if tomorrow morning him and I were white washed into an area and went straight out on to the field! As long as you testify of what you know. (whitewashed: when the previous missionaries are BOTH sent out of that area at the same time and two new Missionaries, that have no idea what the area is like, are put in their place).. that helped  a lot because I can't really read President Ashton, I couldn't tell if he liked me or not? I think this means he does? Either way I'm excited to get out of the MTC and start talking to other people!

Today President Ashton called me over to talk to me, he told me he thinks I should really consider playing college football when I get back:) If that's for a small local school that is kinda cheep, maybe I can do that for two years or so:) maybe even go talk to George Fox and play with Trevor:) or Linfield, or even Western with Twister:) I don't know but I'm gonna see when i get back, and I'll do my best to stay in shape while im here... well maybe that's cause I fasted for 24 fricken hours!

hahaha I love you guys and im excited to see you on Christmas! haha

The Best Two Years

Elder Merritt left Oregon on October 25th and headed to South Africa. He was in the Missionary Training Center until November 10th. That was the day he headed to Amanzimtoti to meet his first companion and begin serving the people of this area. I am looking forward to sharing his pictures and his emails on this blog for everyone that is interested in following him the next two years.