First full mission report!

So there's a lot to say and not a lot of time. Here we go.

 

The first day was very hard for me, they didn't have us busy and we had way too much time to think. Me and my roommate went to bed very sad that night, but since then it has been amazing! I love my roommates, my district (I'm a district leader... wooohooo!) and my companion. My companion's name is Elder Moyake (muy-ah-key). He is from Port Elizabeth and reminds me a lot of Marcus.
 

South Africa is.... different. Never before have I seen such an obvious division of wealth and poverty. There will be a mansion with a brand new Porche parked out front, then across the street there will be slums. The food is awesome! Pretty much American food just with a twist. They use a lot of spices and such and things are quite tasty. Due to lack of water we drink a lot of juice.

 

So in this past week I have had an awesome experience. Spiritually I have made a huge amount of progress, the scriptures are more meaningful, the talks are more interesting, and the personal revelation I have received has been life changing. I guess when you study the scriptures 3 hours a day and have 6 hours of classes you make some progress in your spiritual understanding haha. I love it here so much, you could not make or pay me to leave at this point. The people here are amazing and they have a great accent. Oh yeah by the way my companion is a Cosa (a tribe like the Zulus but not famous) and he can speak in clicks!

 

My district is awesome, we get along super well. As I said me and my companion are district leaders. We have two teachers, Brother Marmman and Sister Ndwaline. Bro Marmman is my favorite teacher, he served in Australia and got back about a year ago. So we do this thing where our teachers act like investigators. The first lesson we taught we gave "Grace" a Book of Mormon, forgot to explain what is was, then walked out without setting a follow up appointment.... Oops. I've improved so much though! The understanding I have for the gospel now and how to teach it has probably quadrupled.

 

So yesterday we had a security and heath briefing. This was my favorite part: "If they want your cell phone give it to them. Don't fight back, if you do guess what? The will stab you in the dome with a screw driver... then guess what? You ain't got no cell phone." It may not sound funny, but the way he presented it was hilarious. We walked to the store today and I only thought I was going to get mugged once! I'm not too worried about safety, I know as long as I'm doing what I'm supposed to the Lord will keep me safe. However food and water will be a different story once I leave the MTC. Sounds pretty sketchy. I'd rather be stabbed in the dome than contract some of the diseases and parasites they talked about.

 

Went to the temple yesterday and got to see my companion go through for the first time. What an experience! The temple is small, but has the MOST beautiful grounds I have ever seen, I think it puts temple square to shame to be honest. At the distribution center I bought a Giraffe scripture case and a Zebra hymn book. (they were killed for food, not to make the case and book, don't you judge me).

 

I love it here, I love the people, and I've even come to love the MTC. President Reber is an inspiration! This is like his 8th mission! Only 4 days left in the MTC.

 

Hmm hmm what else...  So we have an hour of sport everyday, I've been playing volleyball and yesterday I was the "mvp" haha... No clue how. There are 27 elders and 4 sisters. There are no sisters in my mission because it is far too dangerous. Every house here has a tall fence and barbed wire and an electric fence, then most have armed guards on standby waiting for an alarm to go off! Pretty intense haha. The people here drive terribly! Brother Mackie is a mad man while driving us around! But it makes it exciting haha. Oh yeah here is a bro Mackie quote (he is the MTC director). "Harry Potter? I cannot stand Harry Potter! How is someone a hero if all they do is lose? Harry Potter is GAY! Hey you know what if you like Harry Potter you're GAY!" Haha it was so funny, though out of context here it might not seem so.

 

It's really weird here, so there's like modern parts, then slums, then giant grave yards, then mansions all interconnected. There is no clear definition between nice parts of town and sketchy parts.

 

So much more to write but no time to do so! I just want you to know that before I came out I was not so sure of what I was doing, but I now know for a fact that this is the true church of God without a doubt in my mind and I am so thankful for being here. If people knew what it was like they would never consider not going on a mission. Though its the hardest, saddest, most tiring thing I've ever done it is also the best experience of my life to date. I cant believe I was going to skip a mission for a girl! That's just rubbish!
 

I miss everyone so much! I pray for everyone that I love back home daily, and can't wait to see you all again, though I hope it doesn't come too soon. Only 723 days left! Can't wait to hear back from y'all, hopefully Pday (Preparation day, when missionaries write letters, do laundry and shopping) will be Monday from now on (it's Thursday in the MTC), but I probably won't be able to write this Monday.

 

Love,

Elder McClellan