It was great to hear form the ones of you that emailed me/ sent letters (the others of you who didn't know who you are. . . =P) but it is all good because I had plenty to read today. Now for the news.
This last week has been great. I am now making a list of the different things I have seen that are cool (animal wise) in my PMG. This week I saw 3 chameleons and 3 giant snails. (pictures to follow)
This week was not very scary like last week (no dangerous experiences). But if you want to know what things look like, check out satellite view on google maps of Mutare, Zimbabwe. The scenery here is quite beautiful, and reminds me of a game I have played (far cry) good game by the way. It is nice to know that home is such a green place (I do think of this place as home now, for the next 2 years at least)
We had a great baptism this week, and a great Christmas party afterwards (I won't need to eat the rest of the week now =P). 4 people were baptized, and 3 are already confirmed. Names are according to the attached picture(left to right) Wonder, Tinashe, Leonard, Advice (with me and my comp, Elder Hayes).
Leonard and Wonder are going to be powerful priesthood holders, and between the 4 of them, the will increase our average church attendance by 10%
I can't wait to teach them all the more in depth RC lessons. It has been great to see the changes in their lives so far. As some of them have stumbled on their way to baptism, crazily enough, it is their non-member friends who have been seeing the change in their lives who 'slap them upside the head' and say "what are you doing?"
As I said, I have seen 3 chameleons this week and 3 GIANT snails (one as long as my whole hand, wrist to fingertips).
now onto the questions which have been asked (answers in bold)
Questions:
GMA-
1 Have any of the members there had the opportunity to go to the Temple?
yes. Our old Branch pres. is sealed with his wife, and many other members have been. They occasionally do a temple trip (get a comby arranged to take them to the Jo-burg temple for a day or 2)
2 How far is it to the nearest Temple there?
in Johanessburg. about- 1100 km, so 14 hour drive
3 Do they have such a thing as Santa Claus there?
I honestly don't know for sure, but I don't believe so
Nathan:
What other wild animals have you run into?
there are lizards everywhere, all small, mostly 2 breeds. A skink, most common. And something similar to a bearded dragon, almost as common (both are everywhere). In Mutare, there isn't much wildlife other than lizards and. . . you guessed it. ANTS freaking cow, people. These ants are big. Some are as long as half my pinky (so maybe close to an inch) and their pincers are big and strong. I let a tiny one (much less size than these) bite me and it actually drew a little blood and stung a bit. I have been told that the big ones hurt like a mother, and I have no doubt that if enough swarmed someone, they could eat them. They are also really hard to kill (for ants) and stink really badly when they die.
Have any moments where you're like "Nathan would have said that!!"
Not that pop out. Most people here don't talk like us =/. The missionaries I live with have come to call it an 'Elder Williams' whenever I (or someone else on accident) says something extremely literally or just opposite of how it's meant. (I do this without thinking, but am getting better at not doing it =P)
ex. do you know what blows me away? *a shotgun
ex 2. This is stupid. *no, that is a chairHave any moments where you're like "I've been there before"
not really
Do you wish that it snowed where you are?
No. the people would probably die of fright if they saw snow in their areas.
Does it rain quite a bit?
When it rains, it RAINS. like, jack loads of water. We don't know what a rain storm is in Utah =P
If it does how does it smell?
The rain is fairly dirty, and leaves dirt on my coat (Yes, I sadly brought a coat instead of just a rain jacket, I thought I brought the one that separates but I guess not. =/ It weighs like a gajillion pounds) It smells fairly bad, but not horrible. (but we live near Sakubva river, nicknamed "poop river" so it is understandable about the smell)
What's the biggest challenge you've had so far?
probably getting used to not believing hardly anything people tell you. We even have kids readily lie to us. It seems to be bred into them to tell people "what they want to hear" even from birth.
Did you know that mice will eat the brains out of dead mice?
no
Did you go "Wow, that's gross"
Did you think "wow, that's gross" when I told you a members cat ate the heads off of all of it's kittens right before I got to Zim? It's name is Foofie. =P
Seen any spiders?
Gladly, almost none. (Except in the baptismal font a few weeks ago)
Did you jump into your partners arms like scooby doo and shaggy?
If it wasn't in water, and my comp not next to me, I would have. But the spider did grab onto the broom I was using to pick it up. Scared the crap out of me. I thought it was going to crawl up the broom and eat me =P (it was about 1.5 inches in diameter, legs extended so decently sized)
Where are your companions from? I don't think you've said anything about that.
My Comp, Elder Hayes, is from Arizona (near Phoenix). E. Toomer, is from Utah, and Elder Sefatsa is from near Jo-burg South Africa.
What's the spiciest food you've had there?
When I made Chicken curry the first time. Apparently, the people here like spicy food about as much as most of my family. It sucks. For sure, when I get married, my wife and all my kids will be cultured into LOVING spicy food, so I don't have to make food as mild as milk water when I cook for them =P. (plus, then I can make out with my wife after eating at subway, you know, where I have them load literally a pound or so of Jalapenos on my sandwich as well as spicy sauce etc. . .)
Th-Th-Th-Th-That's all Folks!
If you have any questions you would like answered, feel free to ask them, (otherwise they probably won't be addressed.)
~Elder Taggart Williams
I honestly don't know for sure, but I don't believe so
Nathan:
What other wild animals have you run into?
there are lizards everywhere, all small, mostly 2 breeds. A skink, most common. And something similar to a bearded dragon, almost as common (both are everywhere). In Mutare, there isn't much wildlife other than lizards and. . . you guessed it. ANTS freaking cow, people. These ants are big. Some are as long as half my pinky (so maybe close to an inch) and their pincers are big and strong. I let a tiny one (much less size than these) bite me and it actually drew a little blood and stung a bit. I have been told that the big ones hurt like a mother, and I have no doubt that if enough swarmed someone, they could eat them. They are also really hard to kill (for ants) and stink really badly when they die.
Have any moments where you're like "Nathan would have said that!!"
Not that pop out. Most people here don't talk like us =/. The missionaries I live with have come to call it an 'Elder Williams' whenever I (or someone else on accident) says something extremely literally or just opposite of how it's meant. (I do this without thinking, but am getting better at not doing it =P)
ex. do you know what blows me away? *a shotgun
ex 2. This is stupid. *no, that is a chairHave any moments where you're like "I've been there before"
not really
Do you wish that it snowed where you are?
No. the people would probably die of fright if they saw snow in their areas.
Does it rain quite a bit?
When it rains, it RAINS. like, jack loads of water. We don't know what a rain storm is in Utah =P
If it does how does it smell?
The rain is fairly dirty, and leaves dirt on my coat (Yes, I sadly brought a coat instead of just a rain jacket, I thought I brought the one that separates but I guess not. =/ It weighs like a gajillion pounds) It smells fairly bad, but not horrible. (but we live near Sakubva river, nicknamed "poop river" so it is understandable about the smell)
What's the biggest challenge you've had so far?
probably getting used to not believing hardly anything people tell you. We even have kids readily lie to us. It seems to be bred into them to tell people "what they want to hear" even from birth.
Did you know that mice will eat the brains out of dead mice?
no
Did you go "Wow, that's gross"
Did you think "wow, that's gross" when I told you a members cat ate the heads off of all of it's kittens right before I got to Zim? It's name is Foofie. =P
Seen any spiders?
Gladly, almost none. (Except in the baptismal font a few weeks ago)
Did you jump into your partners arms like scooby doo and shaggy?
If it wasn't in water, and my comp not next to me, I would have. But the spider did grab onto the broom I was using to pick it up. Scared the crap out of me. I thought it was going to crawl up the broom and eat me =P (it was about 1.5 inches in diameter, legs extended so decently sized)
Where are your companions from? I don't think you've said anything about that.
My Comp, Elder Hayes, is from Arizona (near Phoenix). E. Toomer, is from Utah, and Elder Sefatsa is from near Jo-burg South Africa.
What's the spiciest food you've had there?
When I made Chicken curry the first time. Apparently, the people here like spicy food about as much as most of my family. It sucks. For sure, when I get married, my wife and all my kids will be cultured into LOVING spicy food, so I don't have to make food as mild as milk water when I cook for them =P. (plus, then I can make out with my wife after eating at subway, you know, where I have them load literally a pound or so of Jalapenos on my sandwich as well as spicy sauce etc. . .)
Th-Th-Th-Th-That's all Folks!
If you have any questions you would like answered, feel free to ask them, (otherwise they probably won't be addressed.)
~Elder Taggart Williams
--
Remember: Pray always, and look to the Lord. Write often, and live life to it's fullest.
Doubt is the seed of failure. ~Taggart Williams
Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not. ~God (D+C 6:36)
NOTICE: This email message is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply email and destroy all copies of the original message.
No comments:
Post a Comment