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| Outside the Johannesburg Temple |
Area: Kimberly, South Africa
Companion: Elder Jena
Week 3
Well everyone what can I say? I'm in Africa! Its kinda weird because, no there aren't lions walking the streets and there are buildings... haha It kinda feels like I'm just in some other state or country, not Africa until you go to the township than it feels like Africa.
So some sayings and things I've learned that are cool..
My companion and boarding mates like to say God is good.... and then someone else says, all the time. so remember that God is good all the time. its ture!
When walking through peoples gates to get to the door you hold your bag down by your feet so you don't get bitten. Dogs aren't pets here, they are security!
Everyone says YO! or like JYO so thats cool haha
When knocking on doors in the township or if its a shanty (tin house) you yell clo clo but its a click and sounds really cool. its like saying knock knock.
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| Cool tire art in Kimberly |
The most famous thing they say is Eish like when something bad happens or you are like oh crap you just say eish.
There is a word baba which means something along the lines of dude i guess. Like we call each other baba sometimes. ( Ill say eish baba when my companion does something) and that's what you call your trainer. You also call your trainer your father and you are born in your first area. (That is normal mission lingo) So I was born in Kimberly which is what we like to call outer darkness because its like we aren't a part of the mission. We are so far from everyone that we are left to fend for ourselves. There are two other missionaries in our boarding. (apartment) Elder Katimbo and Elder Angyman. My Companion is Elder Jena they are all black.
When you serve in an area with a lot of Indian people you will sometimes put the toilet paper in the fridge because the food is so hot that well you know.... What goes in must come out and that cool toilet paper will really feel good haha
Grandmas here are called gobos. So there are phone signs that say yobo gobo which means hello grandma haha I don't know, its sounds funny to me. but when we meet with elderly women we call the gobos. For example we wouldn't say Sister Matwaba we would say Gobo Matwaba.
A really cool quote I heard this Sunday was "You don't go through the temple. The temple goes through you" and that is so true! I love the temple and I'm sad I don;t get to go to it for 2 years :(
My companion and roommates also say Life is tuff all the time haha and My brother but you need to roll the R's and say it like them.
People here are super Homophobic which is different and just interesting.
Yes the toilet does flush the other way.
I tried pap! its eh. it doesn't taste like much but it sits in your stomach all night and makes you very tired.
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| Pap, also known as mieliepap in South Africa, is a traditional porridge/polenta made from mielie-meal and a staple food of the Bantu inhabitants of Southern Africa. |
So anyways, Here I am in Kimberly. So I left the MTC and went to the mission home where I met the mission president and his wife. Way cool and nice people! They announced where I was going and it happens to be Kimberly which is the furthest place in the mission. I got on a bus that night around 7pm I think and then got to Bloomfentein around 5 in the morning. From there I went to the boarding (apartment) in Bloom and stayed the night with the Elders there. The next day we got up and played some soccer which is fun! Then drove the extra two hours to Kimberly (like i said outer darkness) My companion is Elder Jena he is from Pritoria which is above JoBurg. He is a pretty cool guy but sleeps too much haha.
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| Sister Mickleson, Elder North, and President Mickleson |
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| Elder North and Elder Jena |
Its been ruff being away from home, family and friends. And I've been getting home sick but hopefully that goes away soon! The next day we went straight to work tracting and all. It's weird teaching lessons, my companion does a lot of the talking while i just bare testimony to what is being said.
I've been driving a lot here and every now and then I forget and drive on the wrong side of the road which is the right side back home. I'm lucky too because the car we have in Kimberly is an automatic.
I have had some incredible experiences already! We are focusing on a lot of inactive work. We were teaching a women named Martha who hasn't been coming to church so we had a powerful lesson with her where I shed some tears and had to fight not to cry the whole time. At the end of the lesson I gave her a blessing and I could just feel the spirit directing me in what to say, what she needed to hear. I hope she starts coming to church. That was my first big step into loving the people here. I know if I can love them then I won't miss home so much and I will start to love my mission.
Me and Elder Jena teach mostly in the town which are the nicer houses. All the houses here have gates with crazy spikes on them and on top of the walls so its hard to get in. We do teach in the township as well. those houses are
about the size of my living room back home maybe a little bigger. It depends on the house. Usually they also have shanty's behind them which are the tin houses which are about the size of a singe car garage space maybe a little more. It really humbled me and showed me how blessed I am. The people in the township are much easier to get into their homes and teach. Where there are high walls there are high walls is what we say about the town. People don't have grass here so they just have sand/dirt and instead of watering their lawn they rake their dirt yard.
There are spikes like this on the walls of every house in the town. Townships only have small link chain fences so nothing this fancy, plus they have nothing to steal so their gates aren't locked and you just walk in. But the towns have high walls with these spikes and dogs the bark like crazy.) My companion from the MTC has already been bitten in the butt by a dog so you gotta be careful out here haha
They also use the word mission different here. For example I'm not on my mission I am on mission. Or I don't know people going on a mission I know people going on mission. haha that's weird.
To welcome me to south Africa and my area in Kimberly, we didn't have water from Friday to Sunday night so that sucked haha no water for three days! but hey its Africa haha.
The milk we buy here is called long life milk and last for a year, but taste pretty good.
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| Soccer |
Elder Jena and I went to a soccer match. Soccer is huge here and there were so many people there!!! In the township I am the only white person haha. No white people live in the township so when I was at the soccer game people thought I was from the Daily Sun news because I was dressed nice and white :) I also thought I was going to get mugged but didn't so that's good!
Also some more about Kimberly...
I have eaten more rice in one week here than I did in three months or more at home. I have rice every night with dinner and usually with lunch. My companion and Elder Angyman do a really good job at cooking for all of us which is nice because I really miss mom cooking for me. Let me tell you all moving out aint all its cracked up to be, you have to do EVERYTHING and it kinda sucks a little. Especially when I can't just call to ask how to do something or come visit.
Elder Angyman is from Ghana and Elder Katimbo is from Uganda Kampala.
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| This was a really cool door of a less active we went to visit.. |
The women here all carry their babies on their back so that's something different that I've never seen before. They also do carry stuff on their head so that's cool.
There are no white people in the township so whenever we go there I am the only white guy. Since the people there don't have any money they put gold on their teeth to make it look like they do have money. To me it just makes it look like they have a bunch of cavities and its super gross.
Another word that they say in all of Africa is powerful. They say it for everything. Things aren't good, they aren't strong, they aren't spiritual, they are powerful!
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| Celebrating Elder Thorkelson's birthday was a blast at the MTC. |
In the township you see kids on every other street playing soccer in the road which is way cool. They don't have goals or anything so they put a brick on both ends and you hit the brick instead of going through a goal. Its really cool and a fun way to play because its hard to score. We played that way this morning for p day with a way flat ball because that's all we had.
when you shake peoples hands here a lot of time you put your other hand on your elbow and kind of bow to be respect full. there is also this way cool snap thing everyone does when you shake their hand, as you pull your hand away you curl your fingers and put yours and the other persons thumbs together and pull and it makes a snap sound.
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| Jo'Burg Temple |
Its cool but different and I miss you all! I know this is where I need to be and I would really like to hear from all of you and have your support! I know this church is true. I can feel it! It's so hard and sometimes I honestly just want to come home, but I cant, because I know something that the people of south Africa need to know. That is that God loves each and every single one of his children, he sent his son Jesus Christ to suffer and die for us that we may see him again. I know families are forever. That the relations built here on earth don't end here. I know that there is a plan for all of us, a perfect plan to know where we are from, why we are here, and where we are going. I know that through faith, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the holy ghost and most importantly enduring to the end, we can come to know our Father in Heaven and the love He has for us. I love you all and really wish I could still be with you but I more greatly desire to grow and become the person that the Lord needs me to be. To grow from the boy I am to a man, to a father, and someone willing to put his shoulder to the wheel.
I haven't gotten any mail yet which is a bummer and since I'm in Kimberly I get mail less often because they won't travel to give it to me. So I'll get mail prob every six weeks or sooner if we have to drive to bloom for something. But I would love to get letters from you all so don't hesitate to send me some:)
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| desk at the MTC |
Please write me! Love
Elder North
It costs $1.20 and you can buy forever international stamps.
Elder Mikel North
South Africa Durban Mission
PO Box 1741
Wandsbeck 3631
South Africa
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