Elder Dallin Johnson's Mish: Is it already almost August?

Family, friends, and udda people, HELLO!

I have a lot to report on, but very little time, so I'll be brief!

I left off at the MTC right? Yes...So we finished up there our last few days there, and I LOVED it!!! Last Saturday was the 10th anniversary, so there was an open house. Our only job was to look pretty and focused while African officials toured the place, so that was awesome. President and Sister Reber were fantastic. Sister Reber has a picture in her office of Nephi with the caption "And now the story of a wealthy family who lost everything, and the one son who had no choice but to keep them all together." If you recognize where that's from, we can be friends. ;)

But we left the MTC a week ago today at 5 in the morning to catch our plane to Durban! I got to call the fam while we were there, and got caught up on a few things. I hear it's been very hot back in good ol' Utah, eh? Suckers... ;) But our goodbyes to the Uganda Elders and the flight were quick. Only about 45 minutes, and then we were picked up by President Zackrison and the APs. I LOVE President Zackrison! More on that later... But the drive to the mission home was BEAUTIFUL. It's winter right now, which is aka the dry season here, but it was still very green. Palm trees everywhere, which is never a bad thing!

When we got to the mission house (which is...holy cow, one of the most beautiful houses I've ever seen! There's even a swimming pool!!!) President Zackrison gave us his opening shpiel. He focused on obedience using your best judgment, testimony, and teaching by the Spirit. He's gonna be spectacular. As we were there, different Elders trickled in and out picking up their sons (that's mission terms for trainees). We were interviewed, practiced driving (they're like the Brits here...left side of the road!), and eventually, Elder Jeppeson and I were the only ones left, because we had to catch an all night bus to our first areas...

You know how when you're playing volleyball and the ball lands just barely outside the lines, and there's ALWAYS someone that makes that stupid joke "It was in!" and continues to draw a box around where the ball landed? That's literally how Kimberley is. There's the mission boundaries at the far west side, and a box that extends out to include our li'l town. It took a bus from 8 PM til 5 AM to get to Bloemfontaine, and then it was another 2 hour drive from Bloem to get there, but we finally made it! Literally, the drive from Durban to Kimberley is farther distance-wise than the flight from JoBerg to Durban. So that gives you an idea of how far it is!

And fun fact... I dunno if I ever mentioned Elder Sidumo from the MTC, super classy kid... But Kimberley is his hometown! So I met his brother this week, and he was so stoked to hear about him! There's a picture of him and Elder Brimhall (AKA Elder Brimtall...he's 6 foot 7!) in the chapel, so that was fun to see.

But Kimberley is sweet. It's nowhere near as green as Durban... In fact it's quite brown. But that's ok, there's work to be done! My companion's name is Elder Kruger, and he rocks. He's super chill, so we get along great. He's native to Cape Town, he loves an animals, and he's even skinned a few dead ones he's found on the road... There's a fox skin drying on our roof right now!

Teaching is tough... Very different from teaching in the MTC. In South Africa, there's the town, and then there's townships, which are essentially just the poor parts. It's hard to call them houses, but that's where most of the ward members live (oh! We do have a ward here, 80 members strong and growing!). They're kind of like shacks, on a dirt road, but that's where essentially all the work we do is. Elder Kruger's taken the lead in all the lessons this week, and I jump in where it gets quiet and where the Spirit prompts me to share a scripture or thought. The training process goes on for 12 weeks, so I'll be in Kimberley for at least 3 months!

It's winter down here, so all the natives bundle up while I'm in a short sleeve shirt... I think it's in the 50s or 60s Fahrenheit most days. One of the young men in the ward asked me if I was cold, and I told him about those nights in Logan that it hit -17 degrees, and he couldn't believe it! So I'm fairing quite nicely. :) I did buy an extra jersey though (that's what they call sweaters down here...and also, traffic lights are called robots, so that's fun) and it's tan, seeing as lighter colors are now allowed.

Lots of interesting lessons... I'm trying to think of how to put this in biblical terms... You know those times you're teaching a lesson and the investigator decides to pull out her supple bosom and start breastfeeding her infant? Yep, we're up to three times with that. Modesty isn't really a thing down here. We do have some strong investigators, but keeping them committed on the Law of Chastity and Word of Wisdom have been tough. On weekends here, virtually everyone is drunk or high. Daga (South African for weed) is very prevalent. Saturday's are rough, but the rest of the week is usually pretty good.

We only went tracting once this week, and it was very different than expected. After selling pest control this summer, I was ready to knock doors and get rejection everyday, but just about everyone in the townships will let you in and share a message about Christ with them. It's good, but it makes it difficult to find out who the serious investigators are.

Mondays are P-day, and the two of us in Kimberley drive down to Bloemfontein for district meetings. We drove down Sunday night this week though, because the zone leaders invited us to sleep over at their place. Elder Francom is one of the ZLs, and he's actually Connor Cook's cousin! We talked late into the night, and then got up this morning and made a big breakfast before district meetings. After that, we ate at Spur, which is a burger place that reminded me a lot of Chili's or Applebees... Getting some greasy American food was FANTASTIC. ;)

Oh! And I've eaten at McDonald's and KFC down here... Good, but different. The menus are entirely different. KFC has like chicken burgers and stuff, and I didn't even try to explain to the cashiers what a Mini Mac or a McSnitchin is... And the biggest difference, there's no fountain drinks! I couldn't believe it... Soda from a can, and they're called "cool drinks" here... These South Africans and their crazy terminology.

Well, I hope I can get pictures out next week! This computer isn't reading my SD card. But stay posted.

Here's the random thoughts that would otherwise end up on Twitter for this week:

- The MTC: The wrong place to yell out "What a hoe!" Need to remember to say "harlot" next time.

- I'm going to ruin chocolate for anyone who tries to tell me caffeine is against the Word of Wisdom.

- "OMG IT'S SO COLD. SATAN Y U DO DIS?" --South Africans when it's 50 degrees

- "OMG YES THE CHURCH IS TRUE IT'S SO WARM" --Aggies when it hits 50 degrees

Love you all lots! Stay positive, love your lives!

Johannesburg @ the MTC - Done!