Week 43: Elephants, Rhinos, and Zebras....OH MY!!!

Hello Friends and Family,

This week was good. On Monday we went to Pilanesburg National park as a zone. It was tons of fun. We saw many animals up close and personal. We saw elephants, rhinos, zebras, warthogs, hyenas, wildebeests, giraffes, impalas, a cheetah, hippos, and many other animals. Of the Big 5 however, we only saw two, Elephants and rhinos. No lions, water buffalo, or leopards. They are there, they were just hiding or something. But it was a ton of fun. And rhinos have definitely become my favorite animal!

This week was filled with Elder Bindrup and I finding new people to teach. We are really focusing on finding the elect and sometimes that means finding 15 people a week and dropping 14 of them in the following weeks. We were able to find 13 new investigators this week all of which are very interested and loving people. It is such a joy to just walk the streets greeting people in their language and sharing the gospel with them. Some of my favorite days this week was when Elder Bindrup and I just walked, knocking doors and talking to people.

Transfers were this week as well. There won't be any changes in our district. We are super excited to all stay together and see the work flourish in our district.

Also yesterday morning we arrived to the chapel and about 10 minutes before the start of church I was asked to speak in church. Luckily I had been planning on being asked to speak in church and I had already planned a topic and a talk the previous Sunday. I was able to speak about the sacrament, the importance of it, and the importance of arriving to church on time. Funny enough right before we began the meeting one of the counselors leaned over to me and asked me if it was appropriate to administer the sacrament at the end of the meeting since not many members had showed up yet. The church is still very young here in Africa. They are learning. One thing that they do know and have is a strong testimony and love of this gospel. I have never met more devoted members of the church than those here in South Africa. Many are willing to sacrifice anything to keep the covenants they have made.

Other than that not much happened this week. Elder Bindrup and I are just continuing to work hard and are excited to see the work really start to take off. I love you all. Have a great week. Talk to you next week.

Love Elder Rash