January 19, 2015
Hi Everyone,
Mom told you a lot of great information but did not say where we are. We are assigned to Richards Bay. It is two hours north of Durban on the Indian Ocean. It is a big sea port. When the mission president told us it was the hottest location in the mission. Mom about passed out and was going to say something but I gave her a look that she should not complain so here we are. Richards Bay is a district with five branches in the District. We are assigned to labor in all five branches. The mission president wants us to choose from two of the branches with the greatest potential and put all our efforts on one branch. We visited one of the branches yesterday and will visit the other branch next Sunday. There are a set of young elders assigned to each branch so we will be working and help keep track of 10 missionaries. Each transfer we will do an apartment inspection and a vehicle inspection. We did these inspections this past Friday.
The first four days we were here the weather was really hot with high humidity, but it has rained throughout the night and it has been cooler and much more bearable. We will survive and the winter here should be very nice. We just have to get through the next 3-4 months. We will not be complaining about where we live. We live in a three bedroom, two bath, separate office home. The home has air conditioning in each bedroom but we only run the air conditioning at night and if it is really hot. Electricity is very expensive here and in short supply. They have rolling brown-outs throughout the country. We have not had one yet but they are saying Richards Bay could get some this week. We have been buying candles and making sure the flash lights have working batteries. The owners mother lives in an addition on the back of our home. She is a very delightful widow and we have enjoyed getting to know her. At the mission office they told us we have the nicest place to live for any of the senior coupes.All the other couples are jealous but mom doesn't care about the best place. She would be happy or happier in an apartment. The owner of the home has given the church a very good deal because he wants someone reliable to help keep an eye on his mother. We live in a very nice neighborhood made up of mostly Caucasian people. Due to the high crime rate throughout the country people hibernate at night and do not come out. Every home in the neighborhood has bars on its windows, high fences with wire or steel posts on top and a metal gate in front and most have wires with electricity going through the lines. Unless we have a specific place to go we do not go out after dark You do not open any windows at night. We have been told so many times to not go out after dark. We live in a very nice home and it is such a contrast when we go to the townships and see the living conditions. Mom told you about the home of the branch president we went to yesterday. The people are so humble and happy and they have very little as far as worldly comforts.
We do not live in the townships because of the safety issue. Even the young missionaries do not live there. Two young sisters were raped and beaten here so there are no young sisters in our mission at all.
I have gone on too long. We love you and pray for all of you.
Dad
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