October 23, 2017 "Newcastle"

As I mentioned last week I was transferred! So now I am in a place called Newcastle.  It is a nice town that is very racially diverse (kinda). There are blacks, colored(half and half), Indians, and whites.  The reason I say kinda diverse is because all the different races stay in separate areas.  It is crazy to see white people here! In Umlazi we never saw them except for albino black people. Well I love it so far and I feel much safer here than my previous area. The weather is a bit less rainy but here in a few weeks we should be getting a lot of rain.  

My new companion is named Elder Kumar.  He is so different from my last companion.  He is a lot younger and more talkative. We came out in the same MTC group so we know each other from then pretty well.  He comes from Fiji but he is Indian.  I get to drive again this transfer which is pretty nice.  We are planning on working really hard this transfer. Missionary work here in a town is a bit more difficult than in Umlazi.  People are a lot less humble here but they are still great. The people here area also a lot more educated which makes it nice and easier to communicate. I am very excited to try the Indian food here because I hear it is bomb, and very spicy.

The elders around me are really great too.  We played soccer this morning which was a blast. I am improving my skills and getting a lot better!  We just got a new trainee in the zone that is from England and he is super cool.  I love getting to know all of the elders here. 

Well the future is bright for this area.  The branch has about 75 who attend regularly so we are really working hard to increase that number.  The branch president is going through some issues at the moment so we are trying to be extra helpful to the branch.  We have some solid other leaders here so we will be fine.  

Well thanks for all the support and prayers.  I really appreciate it way over here in Africa! I hope that everyone has a great week!   I love you all and cant wait to hear from all of you!