Well it has been a good week, though nothing real exciting has happened. We did have a Zone Activity last week, we went to Lake Cheveru and played soccer and had a braai. It was a really fun day and for whatever reason I was actually doing really good while we played soccer. It was weird, usually I am just ok at it, but last week I was doing powerful. We also had another Specialized Training on thursday. It was really good. We had instruction from Elder Taggart, he and his wife are the senior couple in Zambia. We also heard from Elder Mayfield, I told Sister Mayfield that you guys saw the video, she was happy that you got to see it. We also heard from President Dube. We are planning to do a Bi-Stake Family Fun Day on May 7. Each of the ward or branch leaders are supposed to assign members to bring less actives or to bring a referral to the activity. They will be playing all kinds of games and things. Each ward or branch is supposed to put together a soccer team and then they will have a tournament. The winner of the tournament will play the missionaries, but they don't know that they will play us yet, that is a surprise. I hope that I will still be in Harare for that. But I will know tomorrow though because we get our transfers tomorrow. I have know idea whether I will stay or not. We are pretty sure that this is the transfer that President want's to get us in the mission that we will be in. So we will see. They won't have a satellite broadcast at the church. We are going to President Dube's house to watch it. It doesn't start until like 6 at night here though. The wards and branches will get to see it when the DVD's come in like May. We are still planning to baptize Nyasha and one of Brother Musauki's kids (the other two aren't ready yet), and also another girl who we thought was a member already named Josephine Mbiriwiri. So hopefully that will take place.
I got an email from Bishop Eves today and was able to reply to him. I sent Rhett a letter 3 or 4 weeks ago. I am surprised that it isn't there yet. I was actually expecting a reply in the next week or two. That's great that there are some teaching jobs in Parowan again. I will pray for you to get one. That is great that Brandon is going to Pennsylvania. I haven't heard about anyone going anywhere since I left.
Dad I actually read that message from President Uchtdorf yesterday, I really liked it. It was actually something that I had been thinking about this week. I can't believe that the final four has that many lower seeds, it sounds like it has been a powerful tournament. Cheer for Butler for me. I will be waiting for the results. No I actually miss a washing machine more than someone to wash because we had to pay for her to wash for us plus we still had to do our garments which are the worst to wash. A washing machine would be a lot easier. So I either have to be the DL or ZL here in the Harare South Zone or an AP because those are the only houses that I know of that have a washing machine.
Well I hope that all is well at home. You are always in my prayers.
Love,
Elder Cecil
Monday, March 28, 2011
Monday, March 21, 2011
Zvillie Sey?(in case you are wondering, I spelled it wrong last time I used it.)
So this week went really well. We had 5 baptisms (Taurai, Justice, Valentine, Pamela, and Adeline) and all of them but Justice were confirmed yesterday. By the way Mom, Justice and Pamela are not married. Far from it actually, Justice is 28 and Pamela is 15. But we talked to Justice and he now understands how important being confirmed is. So he said he would be there early next week to make sure he doesn't miss it. Adeline is the girl that we thought was a member but wasn't. After the baptisms we had an activity for the recent converts and investigators. There wasn't very many investigators but we had a lot of recent converts and it turned out really nice. Thye helped mend hymn books and then we palyed some games with them. It was funny when Valentine got interviewed for his baptism because he has a very interesting accent. It is kind of a mix between a deep south white man and a shona. It makes it difficult to understand sometimes even though he speaks English well. For example, when he says God, he pronounces it Goad. But it was funny because it was Elder Murdoch interviewing him and I knew that he was going to have a hard time understanding him. When they came out Elder Murdoch looked at me and just laughed. Then Valentine left and I asked him how well he understood, and he said that he had to ask him to say things over and over again because he was so hard to understand. Elder Murdoch even asked him if people ever told him that he had an accent, he said that it happens a lot. But the look on Elder Murdoch's face was priceless when he walked out. Well Brother Musauki is back but the wife isn't. But we think that his kids will be baptized on April 2nd along with one of Valentine's friends named Nyasha. But things are beginning to really pick up lately because we have been really focusing on them receiving revelation through prayer. So our investigators are beginning to keep their commitments more. I have been feeling a lot better about things though.
I actually had a really cool experience on Saturday though. It was nighttime, we were really tired and we were already late for our last appointment. So we were about to call and reschedule with them but I just had a feeling that we needed to go. So I told Elder Sefatsa and said we'll just go and follow up on their reading. So he agreed and when we got there we met just the father. We greeted him and made some small talk for a few minutes, then opened with a prayer. I asked him about his reading and he said that he was reading but it was taking a while. I then asked him if he was praying about the Book of Mormon and he said yes, so I asked him if he had received an answer yet. He said not yet. Then Elder Sefatsa asked if he knew how the answer would come. When he said no we went to Galations 5 and read about the fruits of the Spirit, and helped him to understand that he would have those feelings when his answer came. He said, "I understand now but I just feel angry." I was confused by this so I asked him what he meant. He then began to explain that he had had a very good job and that he had a lot of things going really well for him. But then he developed epilepsy and soon lost his job and now he works for a low paying security place. Since then things have just been going very wrong for him. He said he was praying but that nothing was getting better. Once he finished I was given the words in which to say, I thought about the talk that I had prepared for Sunday last week and some of the scriptures I had found. I shared a few with him that talked about how those who put their faith in the Lord would be supported in their afflictions and that they would be lifted up at the last day. So I asked him if he was really putting his trust in the Lord when he prayed or if he was doing it halfheartedly? He said, "I guess I haven't really believed that it would help. But now I feel that I need to try to do that in my prayers." The Spirit was for sure guiding me in what I should say. I now know that the talk I prepared wasn't really for the members of the Glenview Ward but instead it was for that situation with that father. I think that he will get baptized but it will take a while with him.
That's cool that Kim saw that thing on TV. Yes I do know the Mayfields. I know them pretty well. Some of the ones that went to the Temple on that trip are in my area. Some of their experiences were cool to hear.
Well the P-day at the soccer stadium didn't happen. Because the people at the stadium were xing and didn't cut the grass so we couldn't play there. But we did still go to Chi-town. I met Last, Brother Jena's son, but I didn't get to see Brother Jena which was disappointing but it's okay. I did receive that package with the pictures as well, maita basa. I really liked them. I do receive the Dear Elder emails. I get them the week after because they print them at the office. I will be looking forward to that one about Nick. It is always good to hear about the other guys on mission. I am glad that things are going well for you all. You are always in my prayers.
Love,
Elder Cecil
So this week went really well. We had 5 baptisms (Taurai, Justice, Valentine, Pamela, and Adeline) and all of them but Justice were confirmed yesterday. By the way Mom, Justice and Pamela are not married. Far from it actually, Justice is 28 and Pamela is 15. But we talked to Justice and he now understands how important being confirmed is. So he said he would be there early next week to make sure he doesn't miss it. Adeline is the girl that we thought was a member but wasn't. After the baptisms we had an activity for the recent converts and investigators. There wasn't very many investigators but we had a lot of recent converts and it turned out really nice. Thye helped mend hymn books and then we palyed some games with them. It was funny when Valentine got interviewed for his baptism because he has a very interesting accent. It is kind of a mix between a deep south white man and a shona. It makes it difficult to understand sometimes even though he speaks English well. For example, when he says God, he pronounces it Goad. But it was funny because it was Elder Murdoch interviewing him and I knew that he was going to have a hard time understanding him. When they came out Elder Murdoch looked at me and just laughed. Then Valentine left and I asked him how well he understood, and he said that he had to ask him to say things over and over again because he was so hard to understand. Elder Murdoch even asked him if people ever told him that he had an accent, he said that it happens a lot. But the look on Elder Murdoch's face was priceless when he walked out. Well Brother Musauki is back but the wife isn't. But we think that his kids will be baptized on April 2nd along with one of Valentine's friends named Nyasha. But things are beginning to really pick up lately because we have been really focusing on them receiving revelation through prayer. So our investigators are beginning to keep their commitments more. I have been feeling a lot better about things though.
I actually had a really cool experience on Saturday though. It was nighttime, we were really tired and we were already late for our last appointment. So we were about to call and reschedule with them but I just had a feeling that we needed to go. So I told Elder Sefatsa and said we'll just go and follow up on their reading. So he agreed and when we got there we met just the father. We greeted him and made some small talk for a few minutes, then opened with a prayer. I asked him about his reading and he said that he was reading but it was taking a while. I then asked him if he was praying about the Book of Mormon and he said yes, so I asked him if he had received an answer yet. He said not yet. Then Elder Sefatsa asked if he knew how the answer would come. When he said no we went to Galations 5 and read about the fruits of the Spirit, and helped him to understand that he would have those feelings when his answer came. He said, "I understand now but I just feel angry." I was confused by this so I asked him what he meant. He then began to explain that he had had a very good job and that he had a lot of things going really well for him. But then he developed epilepsy and soon lost his job and now he works for a low paying security place. Since then things have just been going very wrong for him. He said he was praying but that nothing was getting better. Once he finished I was given the words in which to say, I thought about the talk that I had prepared for Sunday last week and some of the scriptures I had found. I shared a few with him that talked about how those who put their faith in the Lord would be supported in their afflictions and that they would be lifted up at the last day. So I asked him if he was really putting his trust in the Lord when he prayed or if he was doing it halfheartedly? He said, "I guess I haven't really believed that it would help. But now I feel that I need to try to do that in my prayers." The Spirit was for sure guiding me in what I should say. I now know that the talk I prepared wasn't really for the members of the Glenview Ward but instead it was for that situation with that father. I think that he will get baptized but it will take a while with him.
That's cool that Kim saw that thing on TV. Yes I do know the Mayfields. I know them pretty well. Some of the ones that went to the Temple on that trip are in my area. Some of their experiences were cool to hear.
Well the P-day at the soccer stadium didn't happen. Because the people at the stadium were xing and didn't cut the grass so we couldn't play there. But we did still go to Chi-town. I met Last, Brother Jena's son, but I didn't get to see Brother Jena which was disappointing but it's okay. I did receive that package with the pictures as well, maita basa. I really liked them. I do receive the Dear Elder emails. I get them the week after because they print them at the office. I will be looking forward to that one about Nick. It is always good to hear about the other guys on mission. I am glad that things are going well for you all. You are always in my prayers.
Love,
Elder Cecil
Monday, March 14, 2011
This has been pretty good. We were able to get over 50 extra contacts along with 21 lessons. On Friday I went on exchanges with Elder Johnson (he is the big guy in the pictures with the baby lions). Elder Johnson is Elder Clark's son and we call him Baby Cub because he is big and extremely hairy. But he is a very awkward person but we all love him because of it. Though I felt like I was training him for the day. But it was a very good day and I enjoyed it a lot. Taurai and Justice are both ready to be baptized this week. They are both doing very well. Also I think that Valentine is ready as well. There is also another 11 year old girl who we just taught for the first time yesterday because we thought that she was already a member as she was at church every week will probably be baptized. Pamela we are not sure about, she will be baptized but we will see tomorrow after we have met with whether she is ready this week or not. The Musauki's still haven't come back from Bulowayo but we called them and they said that they were coming back today. But their children who are staying with their aunt came to church yesterday as well as the aunt. So probably they will get baptized on the 2nd of April. We've taught a few new people who seem very very interested especially Charles, he has been reading and praying about the Book of Mormon. He wasn't able to come to church yesterday though because he said that he had to work out some family issues. He was a contact that I made a few weeks ago at East Gate the mall. Yesterday was my first talk in Sacrament Meeting. But I didn't know about it until Saturday morning. What happened was that our Ward Mission Leader was assigned to give a talk but his mother had to go to the hospital so he asked me to give it for him instead. When we were in PEC I asked how long I would have to speak, I was told 8-10 minutes. So I thought perfect, that is a good amount. I was scheduled to be the last speaker but then as they announced the program they said that the 2nd councilor in the bishopric would be the concluding speaker. But seeing as the two sisters who spoke before me were very short I was like good I still have my time. Then I got up to speak and I started off really well, I was feeling the spirit as I was speaking. I had written a few notes of things that I wanted to touch on. Then 3 minutes into my talk they gave me a slip that said "time up" and I was able to wrap it up nicely but I was really surprised. But I got a little upset that the 2nd councilor got to speak for almost 20 minutes. Afterward everyone told me that they wished that I could have spoken for longer. I did too, but I was able to keep my patience and ended up having a good day. The topic was overcoming adversity by the way.
That is really unfortunate that Ohio St. got a no.1 seed, but at least the others are good. I didn't even know that San Diego St. was even any good at basketball. Keep me updated about the tournament That's too bad that those guys are struggling that much. I expected it to be rough but not that rough. Hopefully they can improve throughout the year.
On P days most of the time we play soccer or something like that. It's funny because when little kids see playing soccer they always call me Wayne Rooney, and not just because I wear his jersey but because they think that I look like him. I have actually had quite a few people ask me if we are related. But last week we were able to go paintballing at a member's house. This guy is extremely rich, and has a really cool paintball course at his house, so he allows the missionaries to go every once in a while. Today we are going to go to Chi-town because we are renting out the soccer stadium there. We were able to get it for really cheap because Brother Jena's son, Last (he was named that because he was supposed to be their last child. He wasn't) played club down in South so he has connections. Last was baptized a few weeks ago, I was really happy to hear that. But I think that Brother Jena will be there so I am really excited. Also I am pretty sure that the package with the pictures in it is here but I will see later. The rain suit works very well. The only problem is, that if we ride hard I get really sweaty and I'm all wet anyways. But it does protect my planner though so it is worth it. My first transfer, the planner got dominated by rain.
Dad, as for your frustrations out in Milford, read D&C 24:8 and Alma 36:3. They have really helped me on Wednesday and Saturday this week when things didn't go exactly as planned. I hope all is well at home and that you all have a good week. I love you and keep you in my prayers.
Love,
Elder Cecil
That is really unfortunate that Ohio St. got a no.1 seed, but at least the others are good. I didn't even know that San Diego St. was even any good at basketball. Keep me updated about the tournament That's too bad that those guys are struggling that much. I expected it to be rough but not that rough. Hopefully they can improve throughout the year.
On P days most of the time we play soccer or something like that. It's funny because when little kids see playing soccer they always call me Wayne Rooney, and not just because I wear his jersey but because they think that I look like him. I have actually had quite a few people ask me if we are related. But last week we were able to go paintballing at a member's house. This guy is extremely rich, and has a really cool paintball course at his house, so he allows the missionaries to go every once in a while. Today we are going to go to Chi-town because we are renting out the soccer stadium there. We were able to get it for really cheap because Brother Jena's son, Last (he was named that because he was supposed to be their last child. He wasn't) played club down in South so he has connections. Last was baptized a few weeks ago, I was really happy to hear that. But I think that Brother Jena will be there so I am really excited. Also I am pretty sure that the package with the pictures in it is here but I will see later. The rain suit works very well. The only problem is, that if we ride hard I get really sweaty and I'm all wet anyways. But it does protect my planner though so it is worth it. My first transfer, the planner got dominated by rain.
Dad, as for your frustrations out in Milford, read D&C 24:8 and Alma 36:3. They have really helped me on Wednesday and Saturday this week when things didn't go exactly as planned. I hope all is well at home and that you all have a good week. I love you and keep you in my prayers.
Love,
Elder Cecil
Monday, March 7, 2011
My week has been really good. I am just really happy with the progression of some of our investigators. So Shelton still isn't back yet and we have no idea when he will actually come back. So I guess we will see. And as for his older brother Stanley, we haven't seen him for like a week and a half. Apparently he got a new job and works a lot. But he was beginning to have doubts about baptism because he didn't want to be baptized again. The Musauki's, the family who stopped us on the street went to Bulowayo so that the father, who is a member, could get treatment for his heart condition. They are supposed to come back this week so we will see if we can get them ready for the 19th. Otherwise they will be on a later date. Taurai is doing very well, he hasn't had a drink since we taught him the Word of Wisdom. He is now ready for baptism on the 19th. Brother Justice and Sister Pamela, who are referrals from the Gondokondo's, are aslo set to be baptized on the 19th. Once we teach them the commandments they will be ready. They both really love coming to church. They have both come several times. We are also teaching a guy named Valentine, we had taught him three times before stake conference but he didn't come. When we went to see him this week, he was never home, but then he came to church yesterday. So we taught him after church and he too really enjoyed church. He may or may not be ready by the 19th but we will see. These are the ones who are keeping their commitments and progressing very well. Tatenda Mavhiki, the kid who was baptized but not comfirmed a few weeks ago was confirmed yesterday. I was very happy because if he didn't we would have had to rebaptize him.
Yeah the weather has calmed down as far as rain goes but now it is just ridiculously hot. But at least we can keep working when it is hot. On Wednesday night I hit a pot hole that I couldn't see on one of the better roads and it bent the back rim on my bike really bad. So on Thursday I had to ride all day with my tire rubbing on the fender constantly. It felt like I was just riding with my brakes on all day, it was so bad that I had to pedal hard to go down a hill. It wasn't fun and I was so tired that night. But Friday we had some time to fix it and it was really nice to ride without a restriction.
Relief Society President eh? Well don't worry I know you can do it. Just put your trust in the Lord and things will work out. Alma 26:12. I did like Dad's suggestion for your councilors Mom. But I guess that it will work out anyways. "Remember faith, hope, charity, and qualify you for the work." D&C 4:5
I'm glad that things are looking up out in Milford, and that is cool about seeing those eagles. I hope that things will continue to progress. I have decided that there are two things chete (only) that I miss about home besides you guys of course. 1. A washing machine, I really hate hand washing all of my clothes and more importantly 2. Baseball. I have realized just this week that it is baseball season now. I really wish that I could play baseball here. But oh well doing the Lord's work makes me really happy as well. You can still talk to me about what is going on Dad, it will just be delayed a little bit.
I hope that you will all have a good week.
Musalde zvakanaka (good luck saying that one, but it means stay well),
Elder Cecil
Yeah the weather has calmed down as far as rain goes but now it is just ridiculously hot. But at least we can keep working when it is hot. On Wednesday night I hit a pot hole that I couldn't see on one of the better roads and it bent the back rim on my bike really bad. So on Thursday I had to ride all day with my tire rubbing on the fender constantly. It felt like I was just riding with my brakes on all day, it was so bad that I had to pedal hard to go down a hill. It wasn't fun and I was so tired that night. But Friday we had some time to fix it and it was really nice to ride without a restriction.
Relief Society President eh? Well don't worry I know you can do it. Just put your trust in the Lord and things will work out. Alma 26:12. I did like Dad's suggestion for your councilors Mom. But I guess that it will work out anyways. "Remember faith, hope, charity, and qualify you for the work." D&C 4:5
I'm glad that things are looking up out in Milford, and that is cool about seeing those eagles. I hope that things will continue to progress. I have decided that there are two things chete (only) that I miss about home besides you guys of course. 1. A washing machine, I really hate hand washing all of my clothes and more importantly 2. Baseball. I have realized just this week that it is baseball season now. I really wish that I could play baseball here. But oh well doing the Lord's work makes me really happy as well. You can still talk to me about what is going on Dad, it will just be delayed a little bit.
I hope that you will all have a good week.
Musalde zvakanaka (good luck saying that one, but it means stay well),
Elder Cecil
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