June 11, 2018 - Hitting the Ground Running

Hey friends and family!!

I hope you all have had a great week!! This week has literally been the craziest week of my mission! Elder Hansen and I have been all over the place trying to run errands and figure out our area, but it's definitely been an adventure. 

With Elder Hansen

First, a little bit about Elder Hansen. He's from Orange County, California and is 6 months behind me. He's super funny and a great missionary. He was trained by my buddy Elder Byrom, and I love being his companion. On Monday and Tuesday, we were helping the assistants out with transfers, so we were constantly moving missionaries around and helping them find their houses; not to mention the fact that we had to find our own house, which is on the far side of Harare. We barely had time to take a breath haha. We eventually did find our house and our area. The house is pretty nice, but because it's mostly tile and windows, it acts like an icebox on these cold winter mornings and nights. We've been doing our best not to freeze. I don't know if living in Zim has made me vulnerable to the cold, but it's frigid these days! Southlea Park is actually a lot like Eastview: a high density, developing area with lots of dust. The only difference is that Southlea Park is flat and has less farming area. However, it is no less devoid of potholes and craters in the roads. We just have a sedan and I'm really missing the truck haha. The branch here is also just 2 years old, but they've only had a meetinghouse in Southlea Park for about 10 months. Since then, the branch has been growing like crazy and the future is looking great!

We finally got to our area on Wednesday, and we had no idea where to go. We had names of people to find, but nobody seemed to pick up their phone. We were able to speak to a few people in Shona and got directions to our meetinghouse. The first guy gave us directions to the local Jehovah's witness church....facepalm. We finally found the place and eventually found a member family and a few investigators. On Thursday we had more success because we found a branch missionary that showed us around to a bunch of investigators and members. Our branch president is cool as well. He served a mission in Ghana and knows a lot about missionary work. He already gave us a few assignments that we plan to fill.

Once we started working with a member, we stopped getting lost as often. One thing the branch president asked us to do was to proselyte in the low density area of Southlea Park. That's where most of the more wealthy people stay, and there aren't any members there. Well, we decided that we would go check it out when our plans opened up. We went and knocked a few doors, and the first three people we met let us in and listened to our message! We were so surprised and excited! I can't wait to meet more people there! We had another miracle yesterday when we went to follow up with someone we met in the low density area. He wasn't home, so we were driving back with a member and happened to see an investigator on the street that we were supposed to see. On top of that, he happened to be in front of a house where a friend of his stays, and he had been planning to refer her to missionaries. We met her and set up an appointment there and then. Coincidence? I think not!

With Saru at stake conference

Another amazing experience was our stake conference yesterday! We all met at the big stake center in Mbare, and Elder Joni L. Koch of the Seventy was there! He and other speakers gave great messages about ministering to others and allowing people to minister to us. It's always special to be taught by a General Authority. In addition, Southlea Park is in the same stake as Chitungwiza and Seke, so a ton of the members were there and it was amazing to see them. Among them were two of my recent converts, Saru and Sister Kwaramba and her son Tasha!! I can't explain how amazing it was to see them still active in the church!! Seeing things come full circle with them was incredible! The Lord's plan is definitely perfect! 

One last quick thought: as I've been adjusting to the whitewash and not knowing half of our zone, I've realized how important it is to rely on the Lord. When we try to use our own strength and wisdom alone, we will feel lost, confused, and inadequate. I'm happy to know that I'm not meant to do everything alone. This is the Lord's work, and He helps us accomplish it!

Love you all, have a great week!!

Love Elder Barlow