Salibonani Week 98!

Transfer #16 is now done, and my last 4 weeks have officially begun!

This week brought many surprises, but sadly I don't have time to explain it all today. I am now an Assistant to the Mission President in Harare. It was a very unexpected change for my last 4 weeks, but I am excited for the new experiences I will have as an AP. The crazy thing is their are three of us as AP's now, and I am now back with my old companion Elder Whiting. The other companion in the trio is Elder Scoresby, a fellow elder in my group. I was in Cowdray Park for only a short time, but I will always remember my time there. :)

I wish I could write more but it has been a crazy day of transfers. Just know that I am now in Harare serving in the mission office. I will explain more when I get the chance. I won't have much time to write all that I would like these last few weeks, so don't think I have forgotten to do it! haha :)

I love you all and wish you a Merry Christmas from Zimbabwe! :)

Salibonani Week 97!

Hello and Happy Holidays from Africa! :)

This week brought us a smile as our investigators, Iphi and Bongie, were baptized and confirmed! After 5 weeks of hard work in Cowdray Park, the Lord has blessed us with success. We are grateful, and will keep working with them in the coming weeks to keep them going in the right direction. I was also told that some of my old investigators in Kadoma will be getting baptized soon as well, which makes me super happy! We are still working with more people and continue to find and teach each day. The final week of the transfer has now arrived, Week 6 as we say. 

This past week was my final Week 5, and this week is my final Week 6. After that there is only 4 weeks (28 days) left to go. The transfer news will be coming out this weekend, so soon you and I will know how and where my mission is going to end, whether it be in Cowdray Park or another place! It's pretty exciting waiting for your final transfer news. I have been anxiously waiting for transfer news every 6 weeks for the last 23 months, so it's weird to think that after this week I will never have another one to look forward to. Things are slowly coming to a close. 

This week we were busy preparing Iphi and Bongie for baptism, but we also found some new investigators. We also were able to help a member family prepare their fields (garden) for planting. In Zimbabwe during the end of November and throughout December, people are always busy in the fields, preparing and planting various things in preparation for the rain season to come. This week was much better, with rain coming off and on, and clouds in the sky. It was good to help them out and do some service! Just trying #LighttheWorld right? :) 

It has been a great transfer full of learning and growing for me and Elder Vave. No matter what the news is at the end of the week, I know the Lord is the one behind it all anyway! I am becoming very anxious and excited in these remaining weeks of my mission. I know I will be back home soon, and I know that I still have a bit more time to give to the Lord. This week on Thursday we will be going to Gweru for a Christmas Devotional with other people throughout the mission. I am excited to see some old friends. It might be my final zone conference, so I will do my best to enjoy it! There will be a baking competition, and a talent show as well. I plan to participate in both, haha :) We will see how it goes!

Merry Christmas everyone! I love you all and wish you a wonderful week wherever you may be. :) 

Salibonani Week 96!

Yebo! Lingani? I hope you all are doing well. :)

Another week gone, and another week begins. The way time works on a mission is quite different from back home, and days and weeks just run together. After you have been serving for as long as I have, you will know what I mean! :)

This week went well, and we are preparing for a great last 2 weeks to end the transfer. Elder Vave and I continue our work in Cowdray Park, and we are going to have some good things happen soon. Our investigators, Iphi and Bongie, are both preparing for their baptism this week on Saturday, so we will be busy this week to help them get ready for it! After 4 weeks of work, it will be awesome to see them be baptized! We also have some great new investigators that are keeping us busy, and we ended up 7 investigators at church. We will be working to help more of them make progress as well! :)

We had a pretty normal week. The weather was very very hot and sunny throughout, and no rain. We are hoping that more rain will come soon to cool the temperatures down a bit. I was able to go on one of my final exchanges this past week with Elder Dore, a native Zimbabwean serving in the mission until he gets his visa to go to his assigned mission in Cape Town, SA. We had a good day together. He knows my former companion Elder Sekerere, they are in the same ward in Harare. 

This past Sunday was Fast Sunday, which means that I am now left with only one Fast and Testimony meeting as a missionary in Zimbabwe. December has begun and the holidays are in full swing. It's not the way things are back in the USA this time of year here in Zim, but that's ok! I have now begun my final 6 weeks. My final transfer is on the horizon.

Today I handed over my guitar that I purchased early on in my mission to my good friend Elder Condie. It will be weird to not be able to play it over the next 6 weeks, but it's ok. I couldn't justify taking it back home when I already have one, and Elder Condie really wanted it so I gave it to him so that it can be used after I leave! I won't have to worry about lugging it around with me which is nice. :)

Some great news is that my former area, Chegutu, now has 2 branches instead of 1! Chegutu Branch was split yesterday into 2 branches to prepare for the organization of a district  in Chegutu and Kadoma this coming weekend. The church sure is growing! I am glad my work has contributed to the wonderful things that are happening. The mission is now at 1,985 baptisms for the year and our goal of 2,000 will be reached in the coming weeks as we end the year of 2017 and begin 2018. Lots of good is happening!

I love you all and wish you an awesome week wherever you are. Happy Holidays! :)