Amanzimtoti Area - Week 64

Elder & Sister Hicks

I'll recount this week like a narrative. On Tuesday morning I arrived in Durban via bus. Elder Hinnen sat next to me until he got off in Ladysmith at around 3am. I had been asked to stay awake to make sure nobody misses their stop, so we talked and caught up, sharing funny stories. It was pleasant. Once the missionaries got off I slept for around 3 hours and got off of the bus in Durban. I was pretty drained at this point.

The APs drove some of us to the mission home where I met my new companion, Elder Sala. He is from Harare, Zimbabwe. He is very funny and I enjoy being with him! I drove to Amanzimtoti, which is about 30Ks away. I dropped off my bags, bought food, and unpacked. Except I didn't actually unpack because our boarding is filthy. I cleaned the bedroom for over an hour to at least make it decent. Then we drove back to the mission home to pick up the missionaries who work in Umlazi and take them to their home since they are walking. After that we got home at night and I was finally able to unpack and get some sleep. It was a very long day. On Thursday we had our missionary leadership council for 2 days. This one was way too long but we learned useful techniques to apply in our teaching and ways to help and inspire other missionaries.

Amanzimtoti is a beautiful area. We live right next to the coast. It is hot and humid here, basically everything reminds me of Florida. Luckily I am pretty deep into my mission now, otherwise I'd be missing home too much. Every time someone tells me that we can't come because they are going to the beach it still hits me a bit.. haha. The ward is very nice and they love missionaries. They also love feeding the missionaries... One of the members is named Gordon Greg, and he used to be a bishop for a ward in Florida!! Not sure which one. This is the first area I've been that is in town, and also the first ward with white people. Still adjusting.

I hope that you all had a great week and are doing well! Until next time!

Love,

Elder LaHue