Ah man... When I first left home more than a pregnancy ago (meaning nine months) I was super bummed to learn that Cafe Rio hadn't made its way to South Africa yet, nor Beto's, nor any Mexican food at all. But man oh man, I hadn't discovered the joys and sorrows of Indian food yet. It took me a few months to find, seeing that I was in Kimberley, ten hours away from Durban, the largest Indian population in the world outside India, but once I found it, Mexican food became a thing of the past. Curry and biryani are two of God's greatest gifts to mankind, among the ranks of taquitos, salsa, and sweet pork burritos. Granted, Jim Gaffigan's jokes relating Indian food to a runny stomach are generally accurate, but it's just a small price to pay to satisfy your taste buds and leave you craving spicy food all hours of the day. One of our buddies we're teaching told us about this Indian place in town called Al-Habbib that we've really taken a liking to. We hit it up every Friday after weekly planning and get the biryani special. Man, it's delicious and the owners are so cool. They're from Bangladesh and can't speak English that well, but friendship isn't bounded by what language you speak or even what religion you are. They're Muslims, which means we can't teach them without special permission from Big Z (something about Islamic families being able to disown any members for converting to Christianity), but that doesn't mean we can't laugh together every time we bump into them there. Hurrah for Israel!
Man oh man what an inspiring week this has been! We kicked it off with new trainer training from Big Z, which was supposed to be at the chapel, but ended up in our living room due to electricity still being out. As the good book says, the mission president may come to your house like a thief in the night, so you gotta be ready at all times in terms of cleanliness. Big shoutout to Elder Marumo for making sure our boarding wasn't an embarrassment (also to the cockroaches for staying outside and in the walls and stuff).
Zone conference is always rejuvenating, but this one especially. The major focuses were consecration, hard work, making the best use of our limited time, and talking to the most people we possibly can. I've always kinda kicked myself for not talking to as many people as I probably could, but I was glad to find out I wasn't the only one. Talking to my good friend Elder Childs, I found he has sorta the same feeling. I like to make a to-do list after zone conference to put into practice the things I've learned, so Elder Marumo made it a goal to make 40 contacts this week. So watch out cashiers at every place we shop, here we come!
After Tuesday, we hopped right back in to hastening the work of salvation. Big Z promised us as we made efforts to get out earlier and come home later in the day, we'd be blessed with an outpouring of the Spirit and plenty of people to teach. We found this to be true. Elder Marumo and I had time to go less-active finding this week and were able to find a couple families. The Maharajh family were actually the first members to be baptized in Newcastle! How cool is that? So I guess the church has been established in this part of the vineyard for just over thirty years now.
We had time to go finding a li'l bit this week too, and eish... I learned a lesson in being prepared. I forgot to reload my backpack with Books of Mormon before we left... Had to be a little creative with talking to people without it, but we were able to teach a couple people. Should've listened to them Boy Scouts I guess. "Preparedliness is next to godliness." Is that a thing? Ah well, it is now.
The work is moving forward. We were able to put Gregory on baptismal date this week! Ah man, he's so excited. He understands the commitment he's making better than anyone else I've met. President Zackrison was mentioning something at zone conference. If you feel like missionary work isn't that spiritual, you're not doing it right. We're not teaching lessons for numbers... We're teaching people lessons so that they can learn and make covenants, and when people are able to understand their divine potential and the covenant they're making... Ah, there isn't a more satisfying feeling. :)
So I guess we can learn a little bit of Zulu... Elder Childs just taught me this. "Ixoxo liyenqa umkwaqo!" translates to "The frog is crossing the road!" As far as pronunciation, the "x" is a click that you make like you're trying to get a horse to come to you, and the "q" is a click you make by pressing your tongue on the roof of your mouth and pulling it back. Family... I'll help you with it when we Skype next month. Everyone else... Have fun trying. ;)
Weren't able to slaughter the chicken last week like we were planning on. The Biyelas had just fed their chickens medicine that said "do not slaughter for 14 days." -__________- So hopefully next week. Stay tuned.
The church is still true, the book is still blue, and the work is hastening as fast as ever! Sala kahle this week my friends. Stay positive, love your lives.
Much love,
Elda Johnson
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