It started out rough as I puked up the first meal given to me but ever since then it has been all uphill! The food is here is wild! I have no idea what I am eating the majority of the time. There is no such thing as breakfast in Africa so a lot of the time it is just normal food, for example, we have microwavable hotdogs a lot for breakfast and baked beans, this morning we had tuna fish sandwiches. For lunch every day we had some sort of beef dish with a side of either rice or noodles. And for dinner every night we have a chicken dish with a side of rice and usually a side of something else. I have made it a goal to at least try a bite of everything they serve us so that I can become used to it, whether it is fried bananas or something crazy like that! Last night we had a chicken leg and rice, and with the rice the gave us a spoonful of this black sauce, I decided that I was going to give it a try and ate a big fork full of rice with the black substance. Turns out the black substance was the African version of wasabi and my mouth was on fire the whole night!
African People are very nice and funny, I have been asking a lot about culture to the different elders that I have met. The MTC has about 150 missionaries and 60 of them are from America and 60 are from the different African countries. There are about 20 sisters and three of them are white. All the white sisters are french speaking too so I don't really ever see them. My companion is Elder Marshall, he is from a small farming town in Southern Utah and is really cool. He likes sports so we have someone in common, he is on the quiet side which is a little weird because I am not used to being friends with quiet people but its going good. Also in my room is Elder Hollenberger, he is from Meridian and imagine my cousin Kelly but times 100 and with a girlfriend that he wont stop talking about, he is really funny and we all get a good laugh from him. His companion is Elder Kamara from Sierra Leone, it has been good to pick his brain about the country and cool to hear how he was Muslim and is the only LDS member of his family.
The MTC has been a lot of busy work but it has gone pretty well. The first night I was here I got called as a District Leader!!! Like me????? But it has been going really well and our district is super tight. We have great teachers and we love laughing and having a good time.
Yesterday we went to the temple, it was way cool. It was so cool to see how ThLord'sds work and gospel is the same all around the world. It was a really cool experience because about half of the native African elders had not going through the temple yet. So the Temple was actually closed they just opened it up for us!!!
The hardest challenge right now it trying to understand everything that the teachers and the African elders because they are talking in a totally different way. I am picking up quick and love the people. It has also helped me with my faith as I am praying most parts of the day to Heavenly Father to help on this journey. I still haven't gotten a full nights sleep without waking up in the middle of the night but I am sure that will come.
I love this gospel and can't wait until I am out in the field, most elders say they hate the MTC because we are trapped and it is low key like a prison, but I will the enjoy the hot showers, ac, and pre cooked meals while I can.
Elder Hendricks
Attached are pictures of Elder Marshall and me, elder Kamara and I, the view out our room window, and us at the temple
