Sorry to write all of you on Monday now, my p-day has changed so it will be on Mondays from here on
out. I love you all and miss everyone, thanks for the pictures i hope everyone is doing well. Right now I am sitting in a email shop in Bononi
(right next to our area). It cost 16 rand for an Hour and a half, which
is only about $1.60 USD.
So i am finally out of the
MTC, I left this past Tuesday so i have been in the field for about a
week. My first area is a place called Rynfield. It is actually a very
nice area. It is rough though. The work is incredibly slow , we can't
really even tract because everyone has these fences that go all the way
around their house. Some of them are even electric and EVERYONE has huge
dogs. We do the best we can though and the ward is really receptive to
us. We have a dinner appointment just about every night, so much for
losing weight. My very first night here I had McDonald's for lunch (it is
a little different but pretty similar) and the member we had a dinner
appointment with fed us pizza (it was from this pizza place here called
Roman's, again similar but different like the toppings were bacon and avocado...i just don't chew here and don't question what I am eating
anymore). Like I said the area is actually really nice, but it is still
incredibly humbling to be here. By St. George standards all of South
Africa can't compare, but our area is safe and relatively clean (mom can
stop worrying now). Part of our area does extend into a township. So
basically there are three types of areas: Town, Township, and squatter
camps. Rynfield is a town, which like the majority of towns is mostly
white, with nice homes and fences. However, they are not very receptive
to the gospel and the work is very tedious and really just comes down to
happening upon potential investigators. Now townships i only have a
little bit of experience with, but like i said we do have a part of one
in our area. They are made up of very small homes, much humbler people,
dirt roads, and mostly black residents. They don't have much but are
much more receptive to our gospel message, and the people there are some
of my favorite people i have ever met. They are just really happy and
funny, most of the time with them I
am just laughing because i have no idea what is going on. There are 11
different languages and not everyone speaks great English so I am still
figuring everything out. So far I haven't had too much trouble, and i
haven't had to eat anything too weird. I have had to wash my hands in a
bowl and eat with my hands quite a bit though. At first it was weird but
you just kind of get used to it. Here they eat this stuff called "Pap"
(pronounced pop but i am not sure how to spell it). Picture really thick
cream of wheat that you eat with yourt hands, it almost has no taste so i
can handle it. They also feed us a lot of rice, which is a little
different than the rice back home. Plus there is always some kind of
meat, I think it is usually chicken or some kind of beef but i can't
really tell so i just eat it and be happy. My favorite thing here so far
though is the juice...seriously so good. They sell most things here
(juices and soda's) in
concentrate form, so you have to dilute everything.Squatter camps are
basically huts made out of anything they can find. Definitely the saddest
areas in South Africa, but I have only driven by them, never been
inside one yet.
I got to drive on the left
side of the road for the first time this week. It was an interesting
experience haha, it wasn't too bad though because the steering wheel is
on the left side too, so as long as you think about it you drive fine.
Everything here is in kilometers which I still haven't figured out. Also
gas is called petrol here and is measured in liters which is new. I
Actually really like driving, because for the other half of the week we
are on bikes. Biking is fun for the exercise but it is so hot and our
area is so big we seriously bike forever between appointments. Plus
everyone drives crazy so most of the time I feel like we are about to
get ran over haha. It is fun though, and seriously everyone we meet asks
us for our bikes which is funny too. I love the little kids here, they
are awesome. I will play soccer with them and race them on my bike and
they love it. They are pretty funny too, they make fun of my accent.
While I am
talking about them i should mention Joyce. She is an African woman who
lives in the township in our area. Basically she is grandma Taylor, but
black haha. She is super funny and her grand kids live with her. She is a
recent convert and we have been over to see her a few times.
My companion/Trainer is named
Elder Wheatley. He is actually a good guy. I get along pretty well with
him, we are a little different though and we are still getting used to
each other. He is from Brigham City Utah so we relate pretty well. He
will be my companion for the next two transfers (6 weeks each) but we
get along well so no worries there. He is basically as new as me though,
he has been out for like 4 months but to be honest i feel like we are
just kind of making it up as we go haha but we will get on top of things
and get the work rolling in rynfield soon. I live in a four man flat,
and we are all American. Actually our whole district is, to be totally honest i think it is because our area is kinda racist. A member actually
told me that Malloy is a Zulu surname (spelt Maloi i think) and he was
worried i would be black, but he can see the lord has been good to us. I
didn't really know what to say so it was a little awkward haha. The
member is a good guy though. I miss everyone back home and i am sorry
my email is a little bit all over the place, but i have a lot to say and
not a lot of time.
Mom-Love you, thanks for the
pictures...please send me some mission approved music, i am sick of
mo-tab. Our President is pretty lax on the music, basically as long as
it is conducive to the spirit it is okay. I am trying to find some here
but it is hard. Check out the bands, The Arrows and The Lower Lights for
me please, thanks a ton.
Dad- Things are good
here...They love soccer (blacks) and Rugby (whites) so that is about it
as far as sports go. We are playing rugby with the ward tonight for p
day sports so it should be fun.
Logan- Did you get a car yet?
Way to not work on Sundays, thanks for being a great little brother.
Miss you man, you would love it here. Don't flunk out of High School for
me.
Taylor- Giraffe it is, I will
be back at the temple next week so i will pick it up from the
distribution center. Love you and miss you.
Abby- You should see the moon
here, the sky is so big. Plus the weather is crazy. It rains so much
this time of the year, and the day before i came it hailed really hard
and the pieces were literally the size of baseballs.
Madi- I miss you Madi moo, how
is school? I hope you are doing good...will you draw me a picture of
the family and send it to me in the mail?
Lindsey- How is my room? I
hope you like it, i miss you pim. Be good for mom and dad. Draw me a
picture of jello and send it with Madi's.
Sidney- keep that picture of me, i hope you will still remember me when i get home. Love you squib.
