December 9, 2013 - Week 12

The big news this week in South Africa was the passing of Nelson Mandela. The Death of Mandela has not been to crazy. 

We haven’t really done anything to special for his death. We got a text from the president to make sure we were careful, and watched for people rioting. He has been everywhere in the new here. Every home we go into has on the news, and he is on every single program.

The weather has been good here this past week. We have had a lot of cloudy weather, and it has kept it nice and cool here. I am really grateful for the nice weather. It has rained a bit, but not a ton.  I wish we had snow here, but I am glad it isn’t cold. It is weird for people to be talking about Christmas because there is no snow. It doesn't even seem like Christmas time. Not having a white Christmas will be weird.

Thank you for the Christmas presents. We have been trying to open a present every night. I am grateful just to have a tree and presents, so don’t worry about it being made of fabric.  It means a lot to open a present every night. You but a lot of effort into finding all those scriptures for each one.  I will send a picture of the tree next week.

It doesn’t seem like Christmas. We see a few houses with decorations, but not many. In the malls there are decorations all around, so it brings the Christmas spirit a little bit.

So big news about the new companion. I am going to be a trainer. I get to train a new missionary that is just coming out of the MTC. I have a training meeting later today, and then I meet him in the morning. I am pretty nervous about training. I hope I can be a good example. I feel like I still don’t know what I am doing as a missionary, but I guess if president was inspired then I need to train. I will let you know next week who my son is. In mission terms you call your trainer your father, and your trainee your son.

Thank you so much for the packages. I got 2 of them this week from you. The Mexican food, and the DVDs. I ate some Mexican food, and it was really good! I miss Costa Vida a whole bunch, so it was good to have some Mexican food.

I am missing you during this holiday season, but I know I am where I need to be. I hope everyone is doing well. I love you and I am hoping you can continue to stay positive.

Love Elder Mitchell Brown