Brian's email from Sept. 8

Subj: None of us is as dumb as all of us!

Alright everybody, so life had taken a bit of a change. I now have a solid companion, his name is Elder Munyariri. He is from Zimbabwe and he is a stud! I don’t really feel like I'm training, because he came out prepared. He is a convert to the church, which is very powerful; he was baptized 3 years ago and sacrificed a lot to come serve a mission. He had been going on splits with missionaries back in Zim for a long time prior to coming here. It’s great to work with someone who is new and excited about the work. We are blazing some new trails and getting this area on fire.
First I'll share a cool experience, So I found a family from Zimbabwe two weeks back and I was excited because I new I was getting a companion from Zim and they were all very interested. Well, we came to find that the landlord where they stay isn’t friendly with Mormons... But we didn’t let that bother us, we found a nearby member and she opened her home to the family. This was a great blessing because she also brings this family to church as well, and her husband isn’t a member so having us in the house might lead to a chain of events. Time will tell. But now the family is on the path towards baptism and eternal life! I'll keep you updated their progress.

So dad asked about my area and the culture there and other aspects of the region. So I am in Soweto but it is a new part of Soweto on the outside parts. It is probably the most well off part of the entire township, which also means that it has be very westernized.
There is still lots of Culture of course, but only they have only kept the most important parts of their culture. Men Drinking alcohol seems to be the most prevalent piece of culture that has been maintained. But there are other things. There is still a lot of Witchcraft and other Traditional practices.
Sangomas are people who slaughter animals as sacrifices to Ancestors; we have a lot of investigators ask if they are members can they still go to the Sangomas to do cultural things. And we have to kind of kindly explain that that is the devils work. And some of it is really scary stuff.
But over all life isn’t too different. Most people can’t afford a vehicle, and they live in modest homes. The homes here almost all have electricity and indoor plumbing though, so life is pleasant. Yup that’s about its, I’m sure there’s more but I can’t think of anything.
So I hope everyone is well, Love you!
Elder Brian Spencer