I bless the rains down in Africa

Hello my wonderful family and friends, Mamukase! (Ma-moo-ka-say) That means Good Morning in Shona 

You know how last week we had a devotional by Elder Neil L. Anderson? Well, apparently there was a news station there AND all of us missionaries were on TV. We had so many of the people that we are teaching call us and say," Sister Omondi, Sister Kershaw! We saw you on TV with the Apostle.' Ha, I am famous in Zimbabwe now.

Like the heading says, the rainy season has started in Zimbabwe! It started on Thursday and didn't stop until Sunday afternoon. On Friday, we were heading to an appointment all the way across town, and it started pouring. Like not even within 5 min the streets had water rushing down them. My companion and I just laughed and went on anyway. I started singing 'There is Sunshine in my soul today' and danced in the rain. We got to the appointment, and we were DRIPPING wet! We were so wet and cold that after we were finished at that house, we went home to shower and clean up to go to our next appointment. I love the rain, though. It has cooled off a ton and feels so nice. 

This week on Wednesday and Thursday we came to the mission office for a trainer and trainee meeting. Because I came in the middle of a transfer, my companion hadn't started the 12 week program with me. The meeting was so nice, and gave me some motivation to give this my all. They talked about the importance of exact obedience. I committed that day that I would be exactly obedient, even if I was the only one. This mission kind of struggles with obedience. I just know that a mission is hard enough. I need all the blessings from my Heavenly Father to help me get along, so I am really striving to do the things that I am asked. My companion is very obedient as well, and that is so nice. I also got to see two of the elders that I came with here. That was nice to talk to them and have someone sympathize with how I am feeling. It was fun catching up and hearing about some of their adventures in their areas. That night, we went to dinner at President and Sister Makasi's house. When we pulled up to the house, I thought in my mind," Am I in Zimbabwe anymore?  Their house looked like an American home, and it was so nice to be there and feel like I was at home. 

Their youngest son, Tino was my buddy all night long. He is three years old, and told me that I am his companion. At dinner he even came and whispered in my ear that I was cute. Don't you just love little kids? That night we stayed with the STL's and I am really grateful for them. They are so kind, and one of them is from Washington. I was able to talk with her how I was feeling, and she was so loving towards me. She even wrote a note and stuck it in my scriptures. I found it on Thursday when I was feeling homesick because I knew it was Thanksgiving. Tender mercies are so real! 

 On Thursday night, we were back in our area, and I cooked Thanksgiving dinner. Sadly, I could not find a turkey last week, so I made chicken instead. I also cooked mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, rolls, and for dessert, a chocolate cake! All of the sisters in the house, other than me, are from Africa... so they had no idea why I set the table nice and made them all say what they were thankful for. It's all good though, I was satisfied that I celebrated a tiny bit. 

One of our progressing investigators name is Lenna. She is 18 years old, and has a three year old baby named Kisha. She had some rough teenage years, and is not with Kisha's father. She was a referral from Dumasani, the man we baptized a couple weeks ago. This gospel can bless people so much. We give her a commitment, and she ALWAYS keeps it. I am so proud of her in her conversion to the gospel, and her desire to learn. She even told us that when her old friends come and hang around the house, she leaves because she does not want that kind of life anymore. I am so happy for her!  We extended a baptismal date, and she is going to be baptized in December. 

This week wasn't easy for me, I felt extremely homesick. I realized though that the best cure for homesickness is work. When we go and work hard in our area, I don't have time to think of home. I really enjoy coming home after a long day knowing that I gave it my best. I am so thankful that Heavenly Father answers prayers, I know he is watching over me. 

I am a real Zimbabwean-carrying things on my head

I love you all SO much! 

Sister Kershaw 

I shook another apostle's hand!

This week was really good. I feel like I am getting more comfortable with Zimbabwe and the culture. I really love the people, too. It is so different from America, but I am happy to have the opportunity to be here. 

I am going to start with the highlight of the week! 

Elder Neil L. Anderson came to Zimbabwe! We knew he was coming for a couple of weeks, but knew he was only speaking to the youth and young adults. We didn't think that we were going to be able to hear him. On Friday we got the news that the missionaries were invited!!! He talked about 5 things: Education, marriage and families, testimonies, the temple, and the Savior. My favorite two topics were temples and the Savior. The temple here in Zimbabwe will start construction next year, at the end of the year. I am so excited for my people here to have a temple! Then he ended and talked about the Savior. He said," Just like your faith in a temple is not in vain, neither is your faith in the Savior. He will come again, I can promise you that." I got chills! The Savior is not absent from the world, and he will come again. I can't wait. After the devotional, President Makasi told the missionaries to stay around, because Elder Anderson wanted to sake our hands. As he came out, he greeted all of us and we even took a picture with him. He said that he was so grateful for us and our efforts, and that he would report back to the Prophet good news.

One lady we met a couple weeks ago is so special, and I want to tell you about her! Her name is Duduzile and we met her on the street. I said hello to her, and then I had a prompting that I needed to tell her who I was, and why I was in Zimbabwe. She then invited us into her home, and told us that she hasn't gone to church in a while, and was looking for one. She has come to church twice, and we even already extended a baptismal date. The only problem is that she is not legally married. In Africa, most people don't get married, the male just pays money, or labolla, to the female's family, and they call it good. So, we just need the husband to start coming to church, so the bishop can marry them. They have two little boys, Quinton and Marcus. they are really cute. Anytime they see us in the street, they yell," Sister Omondi! Sister Kershaw!" They are my buddies :) She braided my hair this morning! 

At the beginning of this week, I was really feeling bad about myself. I just felt like I am not adjusting very fast and that I am not being the missionary I pictured. Satan tries really hard on us sometimes. I just felt so inadequate compared to all these other missionaries that I see. I was then reading in Alma 36 I realized that I need to be patient with myself. I am trying my very best, and even if I fail at something, I can try again next time. That is the only way I am going to be able to learn. The Lord loves me no matter what, because I am his child and he is grateful for my sacrifice. Know that the Lord loves you no matter where you are in your life. He wants to hear from you, he wants you to try your very best, and he wants to bless you. Do your very best, and the Savior will make all the difference for you. 

Sadly, I have not seen any cool animals yet! Zimbabwe is more modernized than you would think. The area I am in is mostly city...I hate the city so much, I miss farm life! Hopefully I will see at least one lion before I leave. The wildlife parks are mainly in Bulawayo mission, but I am bound and determined to go on a safari. 

I haven't eaten very much weird food yet, because we still aren't allowed to eat in people's homes from the Cholera outbreak. My companion, and one of the other sisters LOVE this dish called matemba. It is dry, whole, tiny fish that they fry. I really don't like it at all! so, I would say that it's the weirdest thing so far. I haven't had REAL Zimbabwe Sadza yet, but one of the sister's from Congo makes Fufu and it is similar to sadza. It is the corn that is ground. I love it! Okay so, when I come back to America, I feel like I am going to want to stuff my suitcase with avocados. They are the size of my hand!!! Even the bananas here are SO much better than America. I haven't tried much other fruit, but those two things are my favorite so far! 

Tonight we have a meeting with our Bishop, which will be so nice! Like I said before, Our ward is not that active or involved in missionary work. We have a lot of less actives, and us as missionaries cannot see every single one of them. So we are going to make a plan tonight for how to have the ward be more involved. 

Kids, chairs, and dirt, this is how primary looks every Sunday. 

I can't believe that this next week is Thanksgiving. We are going shopping after I email, and I am going to see if I can find some turkey to cook. I probably won't find any, so eat lots just for me! I miss you all so much, and I am really trying  my hardest to stay positive, even with the holiday season coming up. Also- today is my Mirthday (mission birthday) I've been out for 2 months! whoop whoop! 

I love you SOOO much! 

Sister Kershaw 

Bindura and Baptism

This week was such a fast and great week!

 It all started on Tuesday, when we left to go on exchanges in Bindura. Bindura is BEAUTIFUL!!!! I didn't want to leave. When I pictured Zimbabwe, I pictured Bindura. It is rural, in the mountains, and was not in the city. It was so calm and a great change for me. My companion that day was named Sister Gubler, and she was so kind. The sisters we exchanged with are the STL's in Bindura. When we went to visit people, I saw cows and goats! I couldn't stop smiling. I am a country girl at heart, for sure! There were fields with wheel lines and I think I was in heaven. I want to serve in Bindura some day. When we were tracting in Bindura, it started to rain so hard!! We were walking up a path to go to a person's house, and we were slipping and sliding everywhere. By the time I got there, my shoes were soaked and covered in red mud and I was dripping wet. It was really great! 

On Thursday night when we got home, I was taking a shower and I heard screaming. I thought the sisters were just playing, and joking with each other. I got dressed and started to go outside of the room, when I heard," Sister Kershaw, there is a mouse!" So, I closed the door quickly. It ran into another room, so I was able to come out of my room. We then all ran and jumped on top of our desks. I am sure we looked so ridiculous. The only brave one was Sister Mtombile and she was the one who finally killed the mouse. That was a crazy night! 

On Saturday, we did service with our District at the local hospital. We weeded their gardens. Looks like going on a mission didn't exclude me from weeding in the garden. It was fun to have a break and to do some service. Our district is really cool as well, so we had a fun time. 

On Sunday, Dumasani was baptized! It was such a happy day. At the church, they don't have a font inside the building, it is a pool looking thing outside. We started filling it up that morning, but it was not moving very fast. We started just taking water from the tanks and putting it in buckets. We then carried the buckets on our heads and dumped it in the tank. It was pretty awesome. Dumasani was so happy that he was finally baptized. He bore his testimony and said that this gospel changed his life. He is a new man because he has the knowledge of the everlasting gospel. It was so powerful, and I am so blessed to see how this gospel can truly change lives. 

 

Fun fact about Zimbabwe- The public transportation is called Combes. They are 15 or 12 passenger vans that go all over the place. They cram as many people as they can in there and they head off, bouncing down the road! They also blast African music.It's so great. At first they overwhelmed me, but now it is an adventure! 

My companion and I are going to try really hard in the coming weeks to help build up the ward. We have a lot of less actives, and even members who aren't that involved in the missionary work. It is so difficult because the country is in an economic crisis right now. Everything is so expensive, so people do not have enough money for transportation. We can't really count on the ward very much, but we need their help! So we are going to really try to involve them more and get their help with less actives and fellow shipping our investigators. 

This week was a very great week. I am being more patient with myself and am just allowing myself to adjust. I realize that it won't come overnight, and I just have to be patient with myself. The relationships that I am building are really helping me to adjust. Especially with my companion and the people we are teaching. I also kinda realized that I need to cowgirl up. I can't have one foot in America and one foot in Zimbabwe. I either give this my all or I am miserable. I can become a consecrated missionary as I do so, and I will be so much more happy. I am going to enjoy every day I have here in Zimbabwe because this time will go by so fast. 

I love you all so much!

Love,

Sister Kershaw 

Everything is Bo Bo

(Bo means good in Shona) 

This week has been a lot better and I am adjusting really well! I hope you had a great Halloween, I ate a piece of licorice to celebrate. I think that is the weirdest part about being in a different country, they don't have the holidays that we do! haha AND it's so hot! We are in November, but it sure feels like July. The smells and things I see are becoming more normal. Being in a different country is so different. I miss America so much,but I really am happy here.  Shona is coming along okay... haha I only know how to greet people basically. But I am learning! I have more of an appetite and am eating better. 

We had a Stake conference on Sunday, and it was so good! The theme was ministering. One quote that I loved said," His call for us to minister is a call to be like him." We are truly being asked to become like he is. That is why I am a missionary right now, I want to become like my Savior. I am also so grateful that he is with me every step of the way. I couldn't do his work without him. 

Two people I wanted to tell you about! 

Dumasani- This is an investigator that we are teaching and he is going to be baptized next week! This man has a testimony. We teach him often, and most times I am just learning from him! The ward also provided transportation to the stake conference, and he contributed to the fund. He isn't even a member!!! I was just blown away by his faith and dedication to the gospel. I am so excited for him to be baptized.

Hazel- Hazel is 35 years old and is blind. She got a brain tumor a couple years ago and because of it, cannot see. Her parents also passed away not too long ago either. On the day we went to go see her, she was just crying. It was her mom's birthday. We talked to her and cheered her up a bit. Then she started talking to us about marriage. She told us to not get married right after our missions because we would miss out on all the good things in life. She said that too often people get married too fast and it doesn't last. I said," If it is in the temple, then it can last for eternity." She was super curious about the temple and marriage for eternity. I was then able to testify to her that families can be  together forever through temples. We explained that we can do our ancestor's work in temples, and she asked us how she could do that for her parents. We told her you need to be baptized, and we set a date! I am so excited for her and hope that she follows through with her baptism in December. 

Funny story of the week- Another person told me that he loved me... But this is what he said," Ahh Murungu. I love you and I love your cousins. Tell them that I follow them on Facebook." hahahaha ya, he probably doesn't follow my cousins on Facebook. Sister Omondi and I had a good laugh. 

I just want to close and say that I know that Heavenly Father hears and answers our prayers. He is involved in the details of our lives and is aware of how we feel. He loves his children so much and I promise you that he is watching over you. He has answered my prayers and has helped me so much. 

Have so much fun in North Dakota and give Ryley a BIG hug and kiss from his Auntie Hannah in Zimbabwe. I can't believe he is going to be one. 

Lots of love,

Sister Kershaw