Week 1 in South Africa

Hello people of America! (and other missionaries around the world)

It's been over a week since my last pday and email, so there's a lot to cover. But there's so many cool things! There will be some remaining days from the MTC but most of it will be about Africa!

Saturday (MTC): From what I can remember from this day was the temple, when we did sealing children to parents. Awesome experience and can't wait to see the Joburg temple!

Sunday (MTC): It was very similar to my Sunday experience last time at the MTC but still very cool and spiritually uplifting!

Monday: The final day in the MTC! We had a great last day with packing, bag check, and our last classes. I'll miss my teachers but saying goodbye to the district was the hardest part, even though I flew with a few of them.

Tuesday-Wednesday: These days were our travel days, so there's not a whole lot to talk about. We saw two sunsets in less than 24hrs, so that was pretty cool. Airport food was alright, but I'd still prefer something home-cooked. On Wednesday night we arrived in SA! President Holmes along with the office elders and APs picked us up. Me and a few other elders stayed the night in the office elders flat, and it was tight. Way better sleep than the MTC though!

Thursday: The first day of doing things the whole time in SA. We woke up and went straight to the Pretoria chapel to have our orientation. I don't remember much from it, though. After that we had our interviews with President Holmes and got our first companions in the field! My comps name is Elder Gutierrez. He's native to Mexico and doesn't have a license, so I had to drive first thing to get to our flat. It was 4 hours on the wrong side of the road! Anyway, he's awesome and likes to teach me as we go, so I don't need to ask many questions. I've learned a lot from him so far.

Friday: The first real day as a missionary! We got up and got ready, then left to get to our area. We had district council first thing at the small chapel there then separated to go to our specific places. On my first day we met with a new person, had discussions with a few friends, and had lots of fun learning the area! All in all, very productive and fun. 

Saturday: This day was the same as before, but now I knew the place a little better. I didn't need as many directions and I've started to pick up some key words in the native language. We met with a few new people, and started a plan for discussions with a great man called Treasures! He seems eager to learn the gospel and was happy to schedule again for Sunday afternoon.

Sunday: Sunday was great! We got up to go to our little branch, called Teakyline (idk if I spelt it right, but that's how it sounds). We had around 30ish members show up, and i got to introduce myself to all of them. After church, we had a baptism to perform. Elder Gutierrez did the ordinance,  and I had the opportunity to confirm him right after! It was such an aging experience and I'm grateful I got to. After that we waited around for the rest of the elders in our district to finish up their Sunday meetings, so we could all go to lunch. I got to confirm on more convert before we left the chapel. Amazing and faithful people! I can't wait to see what other opportunities I'll get! Anyways, we met with Treasures again and he seems to have a good understanding so far, and we're gonna reschedule again. I also discovered that the kids here are extremely playful and happy, especially to see a white guy in their area, so I got to play around with a lot of them. Sunday was a very fun day.

Now today, pday, we're going to shop, eat and meet some more people. I can't wait!

Spiritual Thought: This weeks spiritual Thought comes from my personal study. I restarted the Book of Mormon, and decided to mark a different aspect with a certain color each time it appears. This specific color is for mentions of the Godhead, or God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost. I found it absolutely fascinating when every single page had up to 6 mentions every time! It's so cool to see how often Christ is talked about in the BoM.

Love, Elder King

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