Makadii Week 19!

Hello friends and family!

Things are very crazy, but good here in Harare Zimbabwe, and the cash crisis is still just as nuts. Smiley and I had a successful week because we ended up baptizing 4 people this last Saturday, as we had planned to! Chengetai, Malvern, Kelvin, and Samantha were all baptized, with 3 of them being confirmed on Sunday. Hopefully the 4th will happen this next week. Even though the week did have many frustrations for me, ending it with a baptism always makes it worth it. :)

We are going to do our best to build our teaching pool back up in the next few weeks, and we are going to really focus on our recent converts and help them to continue to come to church. Hopefully we can get some referrals from that as well!

This coming week is the last week of the transfer for us! That means that next week, I will be able to tell you if I will be going or staying where I am, and if I will receive a new companion. Seke has been a great companion and I've learned so much from him. If I stay and get to kill him off so be it, but I have no idea what will happen at this point. I don't know if I mentioned it before, but he wants to be involved in the entertainment industry in some capacity. He isn't quite sure yet, but he will most likely be leaving Zim in the near future. He has 7 weeks left before he goes home.

Transfers are oh so exciting! (Sometimes :) haha). I have found so much success my first 3 transfers, with 23 baptisms and confirmations, and 2 marriages to show for it! I am very blessed to have made such a difference so early. I hope I can continue to have an impact, even if baptisms don't happen as frequently,

1. I have been decorating my planners, journals, and books with cutouts from church magazines. It helps make them not look so dull and boring! :) My arts and crafts aren't the best, but I feel like I do a pretty good job! Lot's of other missionaries do it too.

2. People open bottle caps with their teeth here. I have absolutely no idea how they do it. I tried once, and it hurt my teeth! Haha :)

3. We saw some chickens riding on top of a combie this week, as well as on the back of someones bike as they were riding. Man, things sure are different here. Monkeys are very common to see at church at the moment.

4. The word for the week is kweche, which means score. When you score a goal playing bhora (soccer), you can yell kweche!, to rub it in a little :). You can also use it any pretty much any other sport too.

I love you all so much, and please know that your Father in Heaven does too. Where ever you might be, and what ever you may be doing, know that I pray for you and love you very much. I wish you all the best of luck in your lives. Never give up! You have angels cheering you on, and they will always be there to help you and guide you throughout your life.

'Til next week shamwari! :)

(Also, I apologize if some of you haven't received my group emails the last few weeks. Some of my contacts were taken out for some reason, but I got them all put back I hope. If there is anyone else who is wanting to receive my emails, please let me know!)

In the pictures, the bag is made from ostrich and the letters and map of Africa are elephant.