I am now umsotho!

Sorry I couldn't email yesterday...I was at a zone activity at Semonkong. You could probably Google it and find it. We hiked all the way to the falls and the water from the mist soaked us. We then hiked up and had a braai (bbq) and it started to rain so we carried the braai stand all the way up to the bakkies (trucks) and put it under some cover and continued our braai haha in the pouring rain and the lighting here by the way during storms is as loud as a gunshot holy cow....But it was sweet! Then I drove on some muddy roads through the mountains and almost got stuck a lot haha But didn't!!! :)

Our winter is still coming and it is still summer..ish here; rainy season. But winter will come in April or May, I think. It MAY snow but maybe only in the mountains. It gets cold but the people here wear these blankets as cultural wear so I'll probably just do that.... The water isn't completely clean but my body has grown accustom to it. Also, those purifying bottles don't work cause they were going to give them to us but apparently they don't do much so they stopped giving them. It's OK, I am now umsotho; a person from Lesotho. I don't need any jackets and I don't need any boots. I'll be fine. People survive here with what they have so I can also. I find if you really want to love the people you live like they do with the exception of the sacred calling we, as missionaries, have. So I'll get through don't worry. If you send anything I'll probably just give it to the African kids that need it. There is no air conditioning in any houses in SA or Lesotho. It\s cool. The houses are colder or hotter than outside cause they are built out of concrete. haha We have ways of making it hot though so we'll be fine. We're just being cautious with bed bugs. The mission has helped but there are still some in some areas. Not our boarding for now though.

We have to find an email shop to email. In Lesotho, it's hard sometimes because the internet can go down and most shops then won't have it....The scariest thing here is the drivers!!!! This place has the craziest drivers!!! It's even worse than South Africa and that is saying something haha. Man!

It's pretty peaceful though, because it's mostly rural where I serve; just poor people with their farms and stuff. We eat alright; the people don't feed us really because they don't have enough. Branch President does, they give us some crops sometimes. We get corn now because it's in season. We also got some pig meat cause a family slaughtered one not too long ago so we cooked it on a fire outside our boarding.

My companion and I are getting along really well and we are doing a lot of good work here. I love this place!!! We are surrounded by mountains and there are people just riding by on horses or donkeys herding sheep or cattle. 

The language is coming. We have many people that are beginning to trust missionaries again and many are starting to accept this message and choose to follow Jesus Christ and be baptized. This, of course is only the beginning of their journey though. Well I love you all and I hope you have a nice week!!!! Ngiyanithanda! Ke le rata! Sala kahle Sala Hontle!!

Love, Thando, Rato,

Elder Petrie