Hey everyone!!
Transfers have come again, which seems surreal because I feel like I just got back to Harare. I'll be staying put in Eastview with Elder Byrom, and I'm excited to continue working together! I know the title implies that I'm unhappy to be sticking around, but it's just the opposite. I was just referring to how we got the truck stuck in mud this week. Elder Byrom suggested that we take a different way home since a lot of the water has dried up, but we ended up getting stuck in a foot of high quality madhaka. We were there for about 30 minutes, but luckily Zimbabweans can do basically anything so some guys helped us get out. It was pretty funny in hindsight.
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| With Elder Larson |
I was able to go on exchanges twice this week. My first exchange was with Elder Larson. He's from California and we are in the same group. We lived across the hall from each other at BYU the summer before mission, and it's been so fun to catch up with him and remember the good times at the Y. Halfway through the day, we just stopped and talked about how we didn't think we'd ever be where we are now. He knows a lot about the gospel and we had a great time working together. The second exchange that I went on was with Elder Williams. He's from Arizona and is also in the same group. He's been the district leader out in Marondera, the furthest part of our zone and has been a huge help to us. It's been a blessing to serve around good missionaries, and it's always fun to talk to other elders from my group. There are so many of us and we've been scattered across the mission, so it's always good to catch up.
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| Golfing with the district |
One of the highlights of our week was finding new investigators. Last week we had a tougher time finding people to teach with everything that was going on, so we decided to talk to more people and put in some extra work this week. We met our goal and found 20 new investigators! It was so incredible to teach so many people, especially because our teaching pool had been decreasing a bit because we've had several people that needed our focus. We also taught an investigator named Faith. She was found by Elder Byrom and Elder Gunther last transfer and was progressing super well, but just dropped off the map for the whole transfer. We found her again and set up an appointment. As we were teaching her, it became apparent that she had forgotten the things she learned and the feelings she had. However, as we retaught the message of the restoration and bore testimony of it's truthfulness, it seemed that all the good feelings that she had before just came rushing back. She attended church with us this week, and we are excited to teach her again. In the recent weeks, I've learned the importance of bearing testimony. In zone conference, Sister Hamilton taught us about pure testimony. She said that pure testimony isn't a travel log or an expression of love for family or interesting experiences among other things; it is a simple, heartfelt declaration of truth that we have come to know by the Spirit and is centered on Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the restored gospel. As I have tried to apply what I learned, I have felt the Holy Ghost so much more during our lessons and felt so much more joy. In the words of President Packer, "a testimony is found in the bearing of it." I am so grateful for the testimony that I've gained while serving as a missionary, and I feel so humbled to be able to share what I have come to know to be true.
We have a big week for baptisms coming up this week, so keep us in your prayers so that everything will go smoothly!! I love you all and hope you have a great week!
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