Week 5: Opening my mouth is getting easier

Hello friends and family!

This week has flown by! I don't really know where to start because all of the days melt together and I don't really remember what happened. I'll try my best though.

So this week was really busy. We had full days every day. Friday we went to the temple and it was awesome. It was nice to get a break and get out of the area.

So in our flat it's just me and elder Thompson. But 2 other sets of missionaries in our district live in the same compound as us just in 2 different flats. So each set of missionaries get their own flat.

On Saturday we did 2 service projects and had a Brai (barbecue) after at the members house. We didn't get back to the flat and showered till about 3 and then I went on exchanges. The DL went with Elder Thompson in our area and I went with Elder Ansumana, from Sierra Lione, to his area. He's just finishing up his first 12 weeks. It was really fun and it was nice to get to teach with someone else and talk to someone else. We get along really well.

I learned last night that Elder Thompson knows my cousin Kimmy. They were apparently in the same art class at Snow college.

Sunday morning I got a call from a member of the Branch Presidency and he asked me to give a talk on the pre-earth life/plan of salvation. He called right before church!! Well I gave the talk anyways. It went alright. I'm use to teaching the plan of salvation simply, that when I went to give my talk just on the pre-earth life I kind of forgot some of the specific points I was going to talk on. Oh well. I love the kids here! There's a little boy about 3-4 named Kapelo in the branch and I played with him basically all of the last 2 hours of church. He's so cute! When I was sitting on the stand before sacrament meeting he came up on the stand and started talking with me.

On Sunday we attended a baptism for the Glen Ridge area. They are part of our district. There's Glen Ridge, Pimville, and us Protea Glen. Us and Glen Ridge share the same chapel. They are in a ward and we are in a branch. All 3 of those areas are within Soweto. So my area is Soweto. So on my map you can mark Soweto Dad. We currently have 5 investigators on date for baptism. We have about 10 progressing investigators, and we have about 25 people we are teaching and that could be considered progressing soon. The work is going great here!

Thapelo attended the baptismal service on Sunday. We are still trying to work with his mom to move his baptism date sooner. They went and met with him the day we were on splits so I'm not sure where we're at with his mom. Apparently she wasn't there when they visited him so we haven't been able to talk to his mom.

So the weird things I've eaten since being here. Yesterday we were fed chicken livers! They actually weren't that bad. They just had a weird texture. I had fish this week, not my favorite, but I downed it anyway. I've had pap a lot! It's not bad. It seriously has no flavor. Its pronounced pop by the way.

I love it here. Although I'm exhausted at the end of everyday it's worth it. I love preaching this gospel. Before coming out on my mission I was scared to talk to people and was super nervous doing it, let alone about the gospel. Now it's so easy and natural for me. Sometimes I just have to push myself to make the effort to talk to someone but once I do its smooth sailing from there. I know this gospel is true. I love and miss you all. Talk to you next week.

Love,

Elder Rash