My First Game Park!

Dear Family,

It sounds like everyone has had an action packed week. I could not even keep track of all the places you went from your emails.. but it sounds like everyone had fun. I had to laugh that Grant babysat Grandma!

Well little Elder Williams is pretty tired at the moment. I just got back from my first game park! Leslie, the father of the exciting family I just baptized wanted to take Elder Hughes and I out for a treat. He picked us up this morning and drove us to a game park called Mokolodi (just before gabs). It is a very nice park, mainly for the upper class, and apparently President Bush visited it a while back. For this game park you ride in one of their trucks and drive through this 400 acre park. We were able to see everything from giraffes (tons of them) to a rhino, and even a cheetah from a distance. This was very nice because this park has "tracking" just to see rhino's and cheetah's on each of these trips to "track" them are 500 pula (roughly $80) a piece. But lucky us we were just on the normal tour and we got to see both of them!

We saw SO many giraffes! It was very exciting and I am glad that I was able to go, although there were pretty much only white people there and it makes me laugh how awkward I feel around white people now. Afterwards on the way home we stopped by this place on the side of  the road by a village that was making traditional Botswana food. He enjoys the place so he wanted us to taste it. It looked really good, but it unfortunately was a while from being ready, so we had to just leave. At least I know where it is now, so I can stop off later and get some true blue African food.

Before I forget, this week is the phone call! We are going to just have you call our cell phone. No cheating, this number is for mother and father only and is to only be used Sunday at 7:45pm my time (I think that is 10:45 your time?). The number is (00267) XXXXXX. The XXXXXX is my Botswana number, and the 00267 should be the number that you are to call for South Africa. I realize that this will probably be right in the middle of church for you, but that is all we could get worked out, sorry! I am not sure how you want to do this, whether it will be a conference call, or just those present in Canada, but I am only allowed one phone call. I will have from 7:45-8:45. I cannot go over that time or else I will get in the way of Elder Hughes phone call.

Make sure you make a list of questions or topics you would like to hear about before hand. This will be the only phone call until Christmas!

I am glad to hear so many good things from and about Axel. Tell that kid I said hello, and that I lost track of who's turn it is to write.... him or his turn to write me. I think I originally said that he is coming to South Africa, but my new guess for Axel is New York, or somewhere cold like that where there is a lot of people. I get so excited to hear about the mission calls, so make sure you email me when he gets his call!

I hear that there were also a lot of very bad storms in America lately. Elder Hughes is getting all the updates, but be sure to keep me updated on large events such as that. It is nice to hear about what is going on in the world. The only updates I get is every time I walk into a home, the TV is either showing soccer or large conflicts going on in the world. I need updates!

Sadly, I don't have too many updates from the week. It was a good week, I guess one notable event was that we were in a lesson with this 20 year old man and he had a lady friend visiting. Throughout the lesson he was asking all kinds of intellectual questions (trying to prove everything with the bible, which by the way, my companion can prove EVERYTHING with the bible, its pretty nice!) but the lady visitor seemed pretty interested in the message. As we were leaving we got to talking to her more and found out that her cousin was the one who had been in the Ghana prison for 9 months as a missionary! Because of this event her family has grown interested in learning about the gospel, and we are going to meet with them tonight! That's pretty exciting.

Other than that, I would say that my excitement from the week has come from personal study this week. I have decided to stop reading straight through the scriptures and have been doing more study on specific topics. This weeks theme is the Atonement. It has really made me enjoy study much more, and this week I have grown a greater appreciation for the Atonement. I have also been studying the attribute test in Preach my Gospel, and have been striving to improve on my weaknesses.

Well I just got 2 more emails, so I better go check them with my 3 min left.

Love you all and look forward to speaking with you on Sunday.

Elder Blake T. Williams

PS:  Tyler, that is crazy about you being 1/4 of a doctor!  I am almost 1/2 missionary!