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
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