From This

Now don't expect this page to get much fancier,

I probably won't have much time to edit it.

Here are some pictures of my mission thus far. 

Click on the name of the Photo to view it or 

select the composite page to see all the pictures 

from that area in one page (page loading time will be longer this way but all pictures from the area will be available on one page.

To This

Area, Duration of Stay and a Short Description of the Area

Selected Pictures from the Area

Mission Training Center 

8th Nov 2000 - 27th Nov 2000 - 3 Weeks

    My stay at the MTC was short compared to some. The best temporal aspect of the MTC would have to be the food, which is second only to the spirit there.  At the time I thought that the food was rubbish compared to Mom's. But now after many months of mission and my own attempts it is a rare delicacy that would be cherished if had. The biggest down side would have to be the endless classes that last all day. Try to imagine sitting for 10 hours with 2 breaks in which you eat and then return. I overcame the urge to nap for the first week but the need eventually got me. Another positive was having sisters in our district which is a definite plus. They make such a difference. Hawaiian Punch became an addiction that developed into a quest to build the temple to reach the ceiling. My district was awesome. We did everything together. At the time, I thought the MTC was going to be the hardest part of mission, but now I consider it to be the easiest. Everything was planned and you didn't have to worry about your appointments bunking you or getting doors slammed in your face because those don't exist here. Rigorous yet spiritual.  

MTC Composite Page

Phoenix

29th Nov 2000 - 5th Apr 2001 - 4.5 Months

Indian Township - Walking Area

    My first area. I must admit that I had almost no idea what to expect when I arrived here in South Africa and Phoenix was definitely an eye opener. Everything was different. The people, the houses the landscape, everything. The boarding was frightening. I later found out that it was about the worst boarding in the mission. Also my first few days were mildly disturbing. I now was responsible to feed myself and I just wasn't ready. I thought I would starve. But I have survived till today so I guess things weren't that bad. As far as my memories go of Phoenix go, I remember walking and sweating above all things. Durban is too humid for my tastes. I can honestly say that while in Phoenix I sweated more than any other time of my life. There are just so many hills that just don't end. And then when you arrive at the house you are traversing to, there are steps that go up 10 meters that you must conquer to get to the actual house. The Branch of the church in Phoenix was small while I was there but it is growing. Elder and Sister Penrod the Missionary Couple assigned there were a great blessing to the people there. In my opinion they, worked miracles. The church there still meets in a small public school for Sunday meetings. Humble beginnings of what i hope to be a strong stake of the church one day is the future. 

Phoenix Composite Page

Ladysmith

5th Apr 2001 - 11th Aug 2001 - 4.5 Months

Small town - Biking Area

    My second area. Quite a difference from what I had then knew as mission life. To begin with my companion was just a green as I was because we had come out together and were in the MTC together. Elder Cahoon and I were, I have to admit naive. We really didn't know what we were doing. Neither one of us was trained properly so we just did what two greenies would do. In Ladysmith the branch is new and small, and is also a branch of the mission so Elder Cahoon and I were the Branch Clerks. I actually enjoyed it which sounds strange enough. I was able to see how things work that you normally don't get to see. Paper work and that sort of thing. The bikes in my opinion also weren't that bad. I was there while it was winter so the heat wasn't a real issue as mush as was the cold. The coldest it ever got while we were biking home one night was 5 Degrees Celsius or 41 Degrees Fahrenheit for those non-metric friendly nations (my own being the only one). But the bike did me good. I was slightly in shape for a short while. The only real stress that came from riding was the two hills in the area. Unfortunately we lived at the top of one of them, which meant that it was traveled twice some times thrice daily. Another blessing of the area was a branch chapel. But as fate would have it, it was scheduled to be torn down to make way for a new larger one to take its place. So we once again began to meet in a Government school. And during the middle of winter the rooms with no electricity and no heating almost turned people away from attending, but most kept on coming.  

Ladysmith Composite Page

Madadeni

11th Aug 2001 - 24th Jan 2002 - 6 Months

Black Township - Car Area

    My first township. Prior to serving here, I just looked at township areas like they were something that I would never get to do. They just seemed to be much more intense and different than to the places I had served. Probably because I had never really been to a town ship so it was just new to me. And this area became my favorite of the three that I had to date served in. Here was also my first car area. I almost couldn't contain the excitement. I was denied the pleasure of driving for 10 months now and I was finally set free. The drive to the town ship from the city of Newcastle where we lived was about 15 Km's. The branch in the township was also much larger than the two that comprised all that I knew about the church in South Africa. It had about 250 people in attendance each Sunday. There were also 8 missionaries in the township which a huge increase to the 4 which I was used to. I taught here more than I had ever taught before, which was a great encouragement to me. Yes, things were a little in the township than I was used to. Cows walking aimlessly through and across the roads with no presumed owner nearby. Or the constant social atmosphere of the township roads, which were always filled with people walking, talking and some just doing nothing. The township is just a different way of life. Here I saw the extreme poor and destitute and their daily struggle to survive. Here is where I realized how blessed I have been in my life. People here have struggles that I have never faced and most likely never will. 

    Here also is where I learned the bulk of my understanding of the Zulu Language. I can speak a few simple sentences, but my current comprehension isn't that great. Mostly I have had difficulty understanding what people speak. I even have trouble understanding the English that they speak, and the Zulu is even less comprehensible. I at one time was determined to learn the language but I have realized that any serious attempt would just be futile. So I gave up. 

    One of the most memorable events that happened while I was serving there was the snow day in which all manners broke down and missionaries became children and played all day because proselyting  was stopped for the day. 

    All in all the area was a good eye opener for me. But when I left it was time to move on. And I am glad that I did.

 Madadeni Composite Page

Kloof

24th Jan 2002 - 7 Mar 2002 - 6 Weeks

Rich White Area - Car Area

    Kloof was my first solid white area. It was here that I taught my first discussion to a white person. I almost thought that I was going to finish my mission with out ever doing it. It was far less intimidating than I thought it was going to be. Mostly I was afraid of teaching smart people that might stump me. Here was also where I was in my first actual ward on mission, one that actually functioned properly. And after 14 months of branches I was defiantly excited. Here also was the first place that felt like home. The culture and people here just seemed more what I was used to and the caring families here also made my stay and important experience. The work wasn't as productive as the teaching in the township though. We spent a lot of time tracting, which after I sprained my ankle playing volleyball it began to be much more of an effort to finish one street. I also for the first time learned the teaching skill behind the "Truth vs. Religion" questions, and I know that I will use this when I get home. It is simply amazing. The decrease in teaching did get me down a little, but in comparing Kloof to other areas I would have to concur with a local's saying that "Kloof's the best ay?" The suburb style of a town and the people here are just what I want in my life and just fit right in with me.  

Kloof Composite Page 

Pietermaritzburg

7 Mar 2002 - 30 May 2002

Medium Town - Bike Area

   In the few weeks that I have been here, PMB has already become my most successful area. In my third week here we set my highest weekly teaching record and then the following week we reached even higher. So here I am defiantly happy with the way things are going. I partly must lay credit to our success on the fact that prior to arriving to the area I sprained my ankle making it not advisable to the riding of a bike. So... I managed to arrange for a car to be lent to me until it was time for it to be sold which was proposed to be in one weeks time after transfers. But the call never came from the guys in Jo-berg so my rental time grew from one week to two weeks and then to a full month. So needless to say the car had a dramatic impact on the boost of the stats for a few weeks. But now we are back on the bikes. My new companion Elder Dredge is a brand new missionary from Midvale Utah. He and I have been together for about a month now and have about worked ourselves to exhaustion. The six weeks that I have been with him have been the greatest days of my mission life. I have great hope for the people that we have been teaching here. We aren't the highest teaching companionship in the Zone any more because one companionship in the township of Mpumalanga cheated by teaching a choir which almost doubled his stats. I know that it isn't all about numbers so I really didn't mind. I only worked here for 3 months, but I know that it has been the area with my hardest work and achievement. 

PMB Composite Page 

Swaziland - Manzini

30 May 2002 - Current Area

  When I heard that I was on my way to Swaziland I almost couldn't believe it. I never would have guessed that for my final area I would be in the furthest area in the mission. At first I was disappointed to leave Elder Dredge and Pietermaritzburg, but the idea grew on me. And I am now excited to be in "Real Africa." Another plus that I found out later was that I would also be in a driving area with not just a little car but a brand new off the lot Bakkie(truck). Most of the roads in Swaziland are dirt except for the main roads. Hence driving a normal car would be unwise, which brought about giving the missionaries a Bakkie to traverse the land. In addition to these I will be the sole Zone Leader there. The Swaziland Zone has only 8 missionaries, which makes it the smallest in the mission. And due to it's smallness there is only one Zone Leader rather than the 2 as in the other Zones of the mission.

   After 6 weeks of serving here I have developed a great appreciation for the church which acquires our needed visas for and on behalf of us missionaries. Except for here where I, the Zone Leader, am required to do all the grunt work of mostly waiting in the queue to see the immigration officer, which now accounts to about 25 to 30 hours since I have been here. 

   Another thing that I have found difficult is the numbering system of the houses here in Swaziland. They don't do it. So nobody knows what their street address is. everyone has a P.O. Box where they get their mail. But as far as physical addresses go, they become directions like down that road turn right at the big tree and it is the next left and the 3rd house on the right with the blue gate.  

    The local branch is also small with about 40 in attendance. This is now my 4th branch that I have served in during my mission. I hope to be able to help them in any way that I can. 

    The Bakkie has proved to be a great friend so far. The first three Preparation Days were spent having a drive and Braai. Since then everyone has become bored of the idea, even me. But doing so does allow us to see the beautiful country here.  

Family Trip Around South Africa

12 Nov 2002 -