Kunjani peeps

Another week down!  I think these weeks keep going by faster and faster.  Its week 4 in my second transfer now and there is already talk going around saying I'm leaving and some say I'm staying!  At first I wanted to leave but now that our entire zone is full the best kids, I think I'd rather stay.

Its been getting hotter and hotter here and its killing me.  I miss the snow and the freezing cold.  Like the heat just makes me sluggish and dead.  All my clothes are just getting gross and ew.  But we are trudging!  The thing is though is the area I am in usually one of the more milder climate I guess you could say. Like there is a place called Richards Bay which is just miserable in the summer time so I kind of hope I don't go there next transfer where it will be the hottest!

Anyways the work is going great!  We are teaching tons of peeps and some of them are bogus and some are actually way cool.  Basically one of the best ways for us to teach someone is mention cooking especially to Ma's.  They are like "how?  You don't know how to cook!?  Come, come I teach you." And then they want to know more about us and boom baptized.  

This week though!  HERITAGE DAY!  It was technically yesterday but everyone is celebrating it today!  But we went to a huge branch party and there was super cool zulu dancing and the 70 year old Ma's were just partying like crazy!  I've never seen 70 year olds be able to dance so good and with so much energy!  I took a ton of videos but I cant send them... sorry.  

So they fed us Tripe which is cow intestines and I've never hated food so much.   The smell is really what killed me but it was so potent.  And also the cow brain was nasty!!  I'm just glad I wasn't an elder who got one of the eyeballs.  

Anyways crazy week but here is some pics.

So this is me with the 1st councilor baba Moloi

And Nelli and Neo

and then this is my homie Elder Isooba from Uganda.  We became best friends the beginning of this transfer.    

Change is repentance.

What up  you crazy Americans!

So I can't really remember what happened this week because it went by really fast.  It feels like I'm in a weird dream and then I wake up on a computer and write about what I think was my dream.  

Anyway, we had zone conference this week and our zone is full of the coolest people.  I have made some of the best friends out here.  All these Africans just rave about McDonald's its crazy.  The only time I've eaten McDonald's out here is when President paid.  My companion is always wanting to eat fast food and I am just not down.   Its because all the American fast food here is not as good as back home.  So yeah its nasty and prefer eating at all the local Indian food places!  The curry here is crazy hot but its so so good!

We had some drunk guys call us over and ask what were are doing so I said we go talk about Jesus and we go to Jesus's church and he said "You go to the JESUS guys real church? And I said yebo baba (yes sir) and he told us he would come but never did.  Nobody comes to church here.  We had 28 people in sacrament last week. But if they would just stop being drunk then maybe they would. angazi (I don't know)  

So on a spiritually note we committed a guy to baptism on our first lesson on Sunday.  I knew right when I met him that this guy would get baptized.  He is just super humble and wants to change.  So note to yall umfanas change is repentance!  Any change is repentance and any change that is good is of God.  Kind of obvious but YES!  

As far as Africa goes it is still crazy relaxed!  Everyone is super chill here which makes it hard for me to teach people when we go into shacks we just relax and talk about weird stuff but no worries we always leave a message.  

So yes thank you for all the support and keep having fun!

Love you all.  

PICS

Don't drink cave water!

Unjani peeps!  

      So this week was a little insane.  On the hike I drank some water coming out of these rocks and I thought it was clean but its Africa and nothing is clean here so I got really sick and was throwing up all day Tuesday and Wednesday.  So much fun.

     Also it was very sad this week because I had to say goodbye to my best friend, Elder Thorsen... He's back home in Texas now with his family and he emailed me saying how weird it is to be home.  He kept telling me don't come home but I like home so I think I'll come back one day. 

   So my new companion is a Indian kid from Fiji.   This kid says he will teach me how to make good curry!  (Mecinna pay attention to this) So when I get home I'll be able to make some good curry!  Anyways I might struggle a little this transfer so please pray for me!  You have your agency though so you don't have to pray for me, its just a suggestion. But thanks if you do:)  

    Anyways we ran into a huge family the other day and taught them but the oldest sibling is 25 and she provides for the family and then there is 10 siblings in all and they all live in the same house!  Its crazy but they all are super happy and they are all best friends.  But yes the work must go on and it really is sad some of the living conditions here.  It truly makes me so grateful for the life I have back home! Never take things for granted for sure.  It seems like even though these people literally have  their family and the gospel and little to nothing else they couldn't be any happier.  So I know for a fact now that family and the gospel is truly what creates happiness and although the worldly things are great and fun the big painting contains only a few colors.

Have fun back home and I love you all!

Peace and Blessings 

Birthday in the field:

Landon had mentioned in his family email that he decided for his birthday that he wanted to buy a couple cakes and take it around to ward members and investigators and share a slice with them  So they did.  "So yeah it made me happy and that was my birthday wish, to celebrate it with everybody"

Week 9: Safari and getting a new companion.

Yebooo! This week was another fun week!  Since my companion is going home we have been doing everything possible.  We talked the senior couple to take us on a safari and it was a bucket list event for sure!! We saw lions, zebras, and so many weird  looking animals I cant remember the names of them all.  But we jumped in the back of a truck with a huge cage around it and they took us to see these huge lions and took us all over this hill side to see almost everything.  I really was hoping to see a hippo but its fine.  I will make sure to send pics.  And I will be sending pics for the next couple weeks of these animals.   We got to see baby lions and let them chew on our fingers.  

So yes today is my 2 month mark and I am finished with my first transfer!!  It's going fast.  But since my trainer goes home Thursday I will be getting a new companion.  All I know about the Elder is he is only one transfer ahead of me and he's from Fiji.  So it will be an interesting week because I am now leading my area. Madadeni 3 is one of the hardest areas in the mission so I guess I have Presidents trust.  

Had a good week so far and since its Monday night  l will talk about my morning!  So we decided to go hiking at this golf resort with a massive mountain range.  We were going to do the 14 kilometer hike but then we decided that the 20 kilometer trail looked way more intense.  So we starting hiking and when we got an area we were enjoying the view of the summit of the mountain with a huge cliff.  And we notice a tiny trail going straight up to the peak.  So of course we were down.    We ended up free climbing many cliffs and climbing through little holes and up sheer grass walls!  But we found the summit and ate some food at the top. But we kept noticing better things to go play on.  So we continued climbing up things and had a lot of fun.  We then traversed and bushwhacked it across the entire mountain range ridge and had too climb down a very sketchy wall but we made it and had one of the best adventures I have ever had!  

But for this week I will send some animal pics because I took so many.

cheers and love you all.

Week 8: Magwinya Ice Cream

Magwinya with blueberry ice cream - Love this Tag photo.  

Sawubona yall!  This week flew by just like the rest and I'm coming up on the end of my first transfer!!  My companion is going home next week so I have to learn the area like the back of my hand.  So I have been driving for the past 2 weeks and it is insane!  The drivers here are crazy and there is no law.  haha but I guess that's okay!

On Monday we went golfing and payed 70 rands for 18 holes which is like 4 bucks. But you get what you pay for because the coarse was basically dirt and the greens havent been cut in a long time.  But it was still fun.  

This week we actually have taught some people that might care!  They seem interested so thats a first! We usually have around 35 people show up to church on Sunday and its a miracle if we get an investigator in there.  Yesterday was the first Sunday in a year for my companion to not pass or bless the sacrament!  So that is huge! 

So they make these really good things called magwinya's and what they are is basically fried bread.  (Like a donuts) Super good.  We had a great idea to make one and hollow it out and put blueberry cheesecake ice-cream in it!  Probably one of the best things I have ever eaten! 

Since I am talking about food, I bought a blender and have been making the best smoothies!

Man I hope home is good and I hope America is doing good.  

Nothing too exciting happened this week.  We got to go to another unveiling which is basically like a farewell.  A lot of food and relaxing. Since its Africa culture there is dancing and rituals.  Everyone passes around qobothi which is African beer and everyone eats with there hands and drinks out of the same bowls.  So like we were sitting down with some babas (dads) eating pap and cow head and drinking some sort of soup out of a bowl. But you just get the idea of being sanitary out of your head and just chow.  We're always laughing with these old guys.  These guys are like 70 years old and literally running around playing tag with each other.  They are chasing each other, yelling zulu,  laughing, and sticking their tongues out.  It kills me.  But another week down.  Hope you all enjoy 
 Sala kahle. (stay well, or goodbye in zulu)

love you all!!

Helping in the kitchen

This is in his laundry area.  Big Black widow

Week 7: Islam in the Bible???

hahaha howzit peeps!  

So Islam in the bible huh?  This one Muslim proved it! haha not really he was stretching everything way far.  On Saturday we were invited to this preaching with Muslims so we went.  It was actually a really cool experience and I learned a ton about Islam.  They worshiped us kind of because were from America and they fed us and treated us like kings.  So yeah definitely something I wont forget.

Mission is going by faster then ever!! These weeks become days out here it feels like. My companion is going home in 2 weeks. It's sad because he is seriously the best.  We have become so tight out here.  We made plans to go to Burning man (music festival in the desert of Nevada) when I get home.  He's from Texas and he's a total frat boy. He is funny and I've never heard the gospel be taught so simple by anyone else.  

Early this week we went hiking through this canyon kind of thing in a mountain. Ate some pizza and had a good time.  That was our last hoorah for Elder Eastmond.  I miss that kid!   Mission is crazy out here and I've been catching lizards and having BRAAIs!  (Grilled meat)  Which is huge down here!  We get a bunch of meat and then grill it and make pap and chakalaka (a refreshing spicy tomato  bean relish.) and mmm!  The food here is soo good!  I haven't eaten anything crazy yet but that is good I think!  

As far as teaching goes we have been trying but everyone is so stubborn.  Here in Madadeni everyone does not care.  That is the motto for this place.  No one cares. Which sucks for us and makes it so difficult.  It is one of the hardest places in the mission and go figures they send me here.  Because I love people who don't care!  haha and then I become best friends with them and I tell them the church is true so they believe me! (there is more detail to that)  haha I've already made such good friends and I know its going to be so sad when I leave Madadeni.  But life goes on.  

I love you all and have fun in the USA

cheers!

Pictures!!!!

Unjani - (How are you?)

Zone conference

Good morning from Africa!  I hope everyone is partying and having fun with me where ever you guys may be!

So yeah this week was pretty good. Nothing crazy scary happened this week, which is good.  We went tracting for like 3 hours and that was bunk.  We have been working hard though.

So one thing about Africa is there is garbage EVERYWHERE.  It is super gross, because all the animals come trotting along and then eat a babys diaper or whatever.  Very appealing.

But I am fully adjusted to everything and the other day I went on exchanges with Elder Isooba from Uganda so I had to drive.  It was way fun and I am use to being on the left side of the road now.

I came out here to invite others to come to Christ, not force them.  I love to get to know these people for who they are and I love hearing there back stories.  I have made so many friends out here who are not members and they are impressed by what we do and they see us as friends.  Which a doubt in my opinion the way to get people to come unto Christ.  Just by  showing love and becoming friends.

So yeah another week down and I am loving every second!  I can't believe I have already been out more than a month.  It is flying by.

Love you all!

This is the cow we helped sacrifice for the Zulu cultural feast 

Madandeni - The poorest area where we go and find people to teach

P-day - district

This was taken from the mission blog.  Landon and his companion Elder Thorsen at Zone meeting

Singing at the Zone meeting