Monday, June 3, 2013

June 3. 2013


Family,
This week was crazy. I'm officially in the Johannesburg mission to stay. After a 6 hour drive from Gaborone to Johannesburg, I found out that I am going to be serving in a place called Lenyenye which is in the Limpopo province. Which was then another 6 hour drive all in the same day. It was hectic. And to add on top of it we were held up at the border coming back into South Africa because one of the Elders had accidentally overstayed his time in Botswana and wouldn't let him go until he had treated the police department to lunch on the church.
My new companion's name is Elder Pedersen. He's from a place in Nevada near Elko. He's 19 years old, has been on mission a little over 3 months, and really reminds me of Sid the sloth from  Ice Age the movie. I like him a lot though. He's a cool guy, really funny too.
I live in a flat in a place called Tzaneen which is about 30 minutes from my area with two African Elders named Kavindja and Msangi. They're alright.
The car we share is a big truck, because the stuff we have to drive through everyday is crazy. It's pretty cool.
The area is really green and full of mountains, it's almost tropical I would say. It looks kind of like what I'd imagine the garden of Eden looking like. It's a pleasant change from the arid desert of Botswana. And the best part is. wait for it... We have running water all the time. AND, a shower. AND, legitimate places to get food. AND, more than KFC to choose from when we want to eat out. Awesome.
The branch I'm serving in is really small. The building is really cool, but there are like no strong members at all. We're even still teaching a lot of the branch presidency missionary lessons over again. This place has a long way to go, but hopefully we'll be able to make a dent in the work that needs to be done here.
I love and miss you all. Have a great week. I'll see you in 5 months.
Elder Balmforth

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