First Week in Africa

WOW!  What a week.  I've been outside of the US for exactly one week now.  About four of those days was consumed by travel.  I left SLC on monday morning of last week.  I arrived in Africa on Wednesday of the same week.  President Spendlove and his wife were their to greet us.  They are So different than what I had imagined they would be.  They are hilarious, and joke around a lot.  One of the elders who came in with us was from New Zealand.  The teased him about his accent ALL the time.    When we arrived we were assigned to our different areas.  I was then told that I'd be serving in Dondo,  a very small Jungle Town about an hour west from Beira.  To get to Beira one must take a 17 hour bus ride.  President Spendlove couldn't get any tickets for the bus that left that following day or on Friday, so we stayed at his house for a couple nights until Saturday morning at 3a.m. we made our way to the bus stop where seven of us missionaries began the long haul to Beira.    The bus ride was uneventful and the only thing I thing that I could say about it concerns the road conditions.   They were bad!  When we were about 5 hours away from Beira the roads were so terrible and so filled with potholes that the bus was going everlastingly slow.  We arrived in Beira well after dark and a Missionary Couple picked us up and drove us to our respective homes in Beira.  I stayed at the Beira 2 house because I'd be heading out to Dondo the very next morning to meet my trainer and arrive just in time for church.  The Beira 2 house is one of the better houses in the mission, other than the ant infestation which practically every house has.  I slept on the floor with a spare mattress, but didn't have a mosquito net or blanket......so when I woke up the next morning.....I had bites all over my arms.  

I then arrived in Dondo at about 15 minutes before Church started which is at 9.  So,  first off,  Dondo has the very best house in the mission, it is also the most expensive of course.  We also hold church services in this house.  I'll be sending pictures to go along with this email.  

This week, other than all the traveling, has been a great week.  I've only been in Dondo one day, and I know it's going to get better and better.  

Until Next time!