I wasn't able to send this last week because right before I was going to send it, the power went out. So, I will be sending two weekly's this week :)
Hello there! Not a lot happened this week, but a lot has been on my mind. Just about life, and the stresses that it brings. I am grateful that we got to watch General Conference. The words of comfort that our church leaders gave was wonderful! I really felt Heavenly Father's love for all of God's children. It is easy to lose sight of how much each and every one of us are worth when there are struggles, and problems in life! But when he spoke, I just knew that all of us matter to Heavenly Father. It's even why I am in Zimbabwe. The Lord loves these people and needs them to return to live with him! I get discouraged when they don't want to hear the gospel, or sometimes the members who already know the gospel don't come to church! I can't count how many times they spoke about staying on the covenant path, and holding on. So we won't give up on these people!
The Lord blessed us with some really amazing people to teach. A man named Tinotenda just showed up at church two weeks ago. He is a college student, and was previously taught by missionaries. He then went on break, and now is back for school. He told us that they didn't have the church in the area he was from, but he brought his Book of Mormon home, and even shared it with his mom.
Another person we are now teaching is named Robert. He is the nephew to some members. We weren't sure if he was serious, but wanted to give him a chance anyway. The first lesson that we taught him was the Restoration. After we finished teaching him, we asked how he felt about the message that we shared with him. He then said," I want to know more." The message of the restoration invites the spirit so strong. It is the most unique message in the whole world. Other churches will teach about faith, Jesus Christ, Baptism, and the bible. But you won't hear the story of Joseph Smith humbly kneeling in prayer to ask God the question of his heart. The spirit will not deny that he saw God the Father and our Savior Jesus Christ.
On Sunday night, I was feeling very discouraged. We had hardly any members come to church, let alone those we are teaching. I thought to myself," Why am I even here? I am not making a difference, and the people that we baptize won't stay active anyway." ( I realize now that those thoughts are from Satan) About an hour later, I received a phone call from my recent convert in Enterprise, named Owen. He updated me about his life and just how happy he was. A couple weeks ago he baptized one of the Sister's converts. He also is preparing for his mission by saving money to buy a passport. I was lovingly chastened by the spirit when I got off the phone with Owen. The Lord does need me here, and I am making a difference. I am not telling you this to brag, or try to look like a perfect missionary, because I am not even close. BUT Heavenly Father does use us as instruments in his hands to find those who are truly prepared. I can't give up hope just because things aren't easy. Satan sees our weaknesses and tries with all of the energy he can to discourage us. He blinds us to help us feel like we aren't ever going to be good enough. Honestly, we never will be good enough. But Christ takes those imperfections that Satan tries to make ugly, and Christ makes them beautiful and STRONG. Don't let Satan win.
I love you all so much!
Sister Kershaw
(Sorry again for the lack of pictures... The connection is so bad these days!)
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