She's Home!

ZHM 2018-2020

6 areas. 11 companions. 18 months. 

Did I really just do that?! 

What a ride this has been. I am so grateful for these last 18 months on my mission. They were so hard, but because they were hard, I grew so much. I have had some very crazy adventures and had to go without comforts that I definitely took advantage of when I was back home. Things like no water or electricity, handwashing clothes, and eating with my hands became completely normal. Huge spider or mouse in the room? No problem. Being the only white person at church? No problem. Being locked inside the house for a week? No problem. Looking back, I am so grateful that I experienced these things. It humbled me and helped me to relate better to the people. They were suffering from some of the same trials. 

I have met some of the coolest people I've ever met in my whole life! Seeing the atonement change their lives gave me so much hope that Jesus Christ is the Savior of all mankind! I know that God loves all of his children, and that's why he sends missionaries to Zimbabwe. They have so much faith, and that's how I know that these people are going to be okay. The things that matter most to them is god and their families. With a country that is struggling in every other way possible; they know what they have is enough. They are so humble, and they love the gospel SO much. Before I came on my mission, I really prayed to find the people that Heavenly Father needed me to. I know that the people I met and taught were inspired by the Lord. And if I am being quite honest, I needed Zimbabwe and these sweet people more than they needed me. I am changed forever and am so grateful. I wish I could talk about them all, but there are just too many to count. I really created bonds and friendships that will last a lifetime! I will just have the rest of my life to share their stories and the miracles I saw on my mission.

I have a testimony of my savior Jesus Christ. I know he lives. I have felt his love and come to know him better than I have in my whole life. He knows us individually and will carry us when we cannot go any further. He helps us see people as Heavenly Father does, and to love those we feel that we could never love. This is the only true church on the face of the whole earth. Joseph Smith truly did see Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, and through the gift and power of God, he translated the Book of Mormon. The Book of Mormon will bring us closer to Jesus than any other book! It brings us peace. The comfort I felt from the scriptures during all times in my mission made the biggest difference! The gospel brings joy. I have never been so happy in my whole life, serving a mission was the best 18 months for my life! 

I hope I will be able to see you on Saturday... It was a very crazy week with church canceled, and coronavirus literally exploding. As far as I know, I will still be leaving the great Zimbabwe on Friday. I love you all! Thank you for the love and support from these last 18 months. Mom and Dad, I am on my way to come give you a BIGGGGGG hug! I will find a way to get back home. :) 

Love, Sister Kershaw

LAST ZONE CONFERENCE EVER

Hello Family, Friends, and Anyone else who still reads my weekly emails ;)

We had the craziest week ever, so I hope that this email is more exciting for you guys, because I have a lot of stories to tell you! 

We met the coolest guy named Ignatius. He approached us last Sunday night, and we were a little hesitant because it was dark, and we were rushing home. We talked to him anyway, and he said that he was really interested to learn about our church. We ONLY had a Plan of Salvation pamphlet, and so that's what we gave him. We set an appointment and didn't think much else about it. When his appointment came this last week, he shared with us that he had lost his father and brother. He attended a church, but they took advantage of him and he wasn't interested. He is the coolest guy ever, and we are so excited to continue teaching him. 

We had a zone conference this last week and it was with Elder Sitati of the seventy. What an amazing experience that was! He opened it up for discussion and questions, and then he taught us. He was so in tune with the spirit, and I couldn't have asked for a better last zone conference. He talked about obedience and used the parable of the sower and Lehi's vision. I never thought of those being able to connect, but he did it beautifully. Both had examples of people's conversion, and what happened based on their levels of conversion. The moral of the story is to always stay on the Lord's side. Do what's right and we'll be happy. 

Brother and Sister Bwanyire were referrals from a member in the stake presidency. She was taught by missionaries a long time ago and has been reading the Book of Mormon. She was attending a different church, however. Her husband taught school in Ethiopia and was not very religious at all. She could not get him to go to church at all and prayed he would soften his heart. When he moved back to Zimbabwe, he met the member in the stake presidency, and he eventually got him to come to church. Sister Bwanyire was so shocked that her husband had softened his heart, that she said," This is not a coincidence. There must be something with this church." They said in our appointment that they are ready to learn, and feel this is right for them. 

The CRAZIEST thing happened on Friday night. We came home on Friday night and things in our house just did not seem right. Our broom had moved from the inside to the outside, and we got inside and our window handle was broken off and missing. It was obvious that someone got into our house. We called our mission leaders and they didn't want us staying there until they figured out what happened. So we moved our beds and clothes and everything over to the sisters across the street. By this time President Makasi showed up, and he made some phone calls. TURNS OUT that our landlord brought plumbers to fix our water problem, and when they fixed it, the tap in the house was on. So because of water on the floor, she gave them permission to break into our house. All of this happened, and she didn't even think to tell us. So that was so much fun hahahaha a crazy memory to have, for sure! 

Love you all so much!

Sister Kershaw

Trio Life= PARTY

At this point, I am going to be honest... I am kinda struggling to know what to write in my weekly emails because I come home in 2 1/2 weeks. I will just share the highlights of the week :)

-Jimmy was baptized. It's actually awkward, we figured out his name is Jaime. The baptism was interesting. We reminded the ward mission leader and the elders Quorum President to fill the font, and they said they would, but that never happened. We got there at 10 am to an empty font. The baptism started 3 hours later. At least he got to be baptized! He was the cutest at sacrament meeting when he got up and bore his testimony; we were so proud! 

- Sister Mokoena had me dye her dreadlocks. It reminded me of when I dyed Amanda's hair on Christmas Eve like 7 years ago. ;) 

-ALL of the new people we found this week were referrals from members. That is so exciting because they have built-in fellow shippers already. One of them named Lindy came to church with her sister, which was amazing that she came! 

-The Halverson family were living in an apartment, and the Landlord knew they were foreign, so he was charging them an outrageous amount of money for rent. They were not able to pay that amount, so they were getting kicked out. They were so stressed and found out they had 7 days before they were kicked out. they prayed and fasted, and the day after, someone called them and said they found a house. We talked to the son Mike, and he said," Sisters. Heavenly Father is aware of our family. This church is so true." ahhhh I love them so much. 

-We are loving the trio and are enjoying every moment that we get to spend together 

Love, Sister Kershaw

Exchanges and Trio round 3

My name is on the departure board, and I cried

This week I got to go on exchanges with a sister named Sister Goff. I don't know if you remember, but a LONG time ago, I took HER on exchanges. Now she is an STL, and I got to go to her area. We had so much fun together! I am grateful for her, and for her friendship. She said that she considered me one of her "mission moms". She is a sweetie! Exchanges are just an excuse to get to have a sleepover and talk with your good friends on mission ;) hahaha just kidding! I did learn a lot from her. 

Highlights of the week:

-The Halverson Family all got callings, and the men got the priesthood. The ward is fellowshipping them, and they are doing great! 

-I learned to make chapatis. They are like East African tortilla and are heavenly. (Don't worry, I'll make them for ya'll back home)

- A lady we've been teaching for a really long time finally came to church. Her name is Mai Adele. 

-Dinner appointment with the Mahoni family (We are teaching their son Jimmy) Jimmy, Divine, and Craig are so funny. 

-We are now in a trio :) Sister Kisby joined in the fun in Marimba Park because I will be leaving mid transfer. We could be twins, and I think people will get us mixed up, but it's fine. hahaha, I will send a picture of us next week! 

It was the last week of the transfer, and so nothing exciting really happens in week 6. Sometimes you get the "week 6 blues"

I love you all SO much! 

Sister Kershaw

Hello family! 

We had the busiest week ever! We were preparing for the wedding and preparing for the baptism, so it flew by. These weeks are flying by, and I don't know how I feel about it. 

We have to have interviews with the people being baptized, so we met our district leader, and then it decided to POUR rain. I sat in the interviews for 3 hours dripping wet. Oh, the lives of missionaries!

Okay so... I made the huge mistake of baking the cake for the wedding. I thought I could just bake a chocolate cake and frost it, then it would be nice. HA ya, I am not a baker, that's for sure. I poured the batter in and let it bake. When the timer went off and I checked on it, the outside edges were burnt, and the middle was sunk in and not cooked. The next morning, I tried again in the round pan, (okay it was a round frying pan) and it did the same thing. The third batch wasn't too bad, so we stacked the two together, and then frosted it. It didn't look the prettiest, but at least it came together, and a cake was at the wedding. SISTER CHIRWA looked so beautiful! It was fun to see all of her family there; there was a lot of love and support. We danced, and had a lot of fun at the wedding ;)

The next day was the baptism. All 6 of the Halverson family were baptized, and also Sister Chirwa. It was so amazing. The spirit that was in the room was soooooo strong. Converts were baptized that day. On Sunday at church, they all bore their testimonies. Sister Mokoena and I were just balling. They are so grateful for the blessings the gospel has brought to their families. The father really got us emotional too. He said," I love Jesus Christ. I know that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God. and I LOVE my family. This gospel is exactly what we needed." 

I am doing great. I have loved my mission, and am going to love every moment of these last 4 weeks. I am grateful for my companion, she is an angel. Honestly, we are just best friends  I love the area, and I love the ward. I love the gospel, and I love being a missionary. I don't think I've ever been this happy on my whole mission :) 

Love, Sister Kershaw

JOY comes through HIM

Hello Family and Friends,

This week I have been asking the question, "WHY?" Life is just so difficult, and there is so much suffering in the world.  The world has an endless supply of difficulties. When, where, and HOW can we ever feel relief? As I was studying this week in 3 Nephi, the Holy Ghost gave me the answer. 

It's Jesus Christ. He is the source of all peace. While Zimbabwe is suffering and people are losing hope, their answer is Jesus Christ. He is our healer, our peace, and our life. When we turn to him, he helps us become whole. When he visited the Nephites, he healed them one by one. He blessed them and extended a hand of mercy. He will heal us one by one, and his light will shine brighter than all of our fears. I have a testimony that Jesus Christ is here for every, single. one. of. us. 

We had a zone conference this week, and it was probably one of the funnest zone conferences that I have been to. I just felt the spirit so strong and loved listening to the councils from our mission leaders. One thing that President Makasi really spoke about was repentance. We read scriptures to talk about the effects of repenting and not repenting. I would love to share them with you because they were so good! 

In Mosiah 4: 3,12,13 we read about the effects of repenting: 

1. We will have joy and peace of conscience 

2. The constant companionship of the Holy Ghost

3. Faith in Jesus Christ increases

4. Retain a remission of our sins

5. Always rejoicing and be filled with a greater love

6. We will grow in knowledge

In Mosiah 2: 36-38 we read about the effects of NOT repenting:

1. WE withdraw ourselves from the spirit

2. We stop progressing and learning

3. There is no place prepared for us 

4. We are in open rebellion against God

5. We are an enemy to God

6. Filled with guilt

7. Mercy has no claim on us

8. Our final doom is never-ending torment

So ya... Let's repent, cause it will make us and God happy 

We are getting a TON of referrals from members. One family has a son who was never baptized and isn't a child of record. His name is Jimmy and he is 9 years old. It is so much fun teaching him because he already knows everything! He is so funny, too. We were trying to get him to remember what we called Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost (the godhead) So we said it begins with God... and then we pointed to our heads. He then said," Godbrain?" We died laughing! hahaha, he is so fun. 

The Chirwa family got their marriage license, and so the wedding is on for VALENTINES DAY! I am so pumped! It will be a fun evening. The Halversons are beyond ready to be baptized. While we were teaching the family about the commandments, we asked the father if he would live the commandments. He said," Of course I will. It's from God." They are some of the most prepared people that I've met on my mission. Stay tuned for next week for lots of wedding and baptism pictures ;) 

I love you all! 

Sister Kershaw

I will never be 20 in the United States :)

Hey there! That's right, this Sister Missionary had a birthday ;) the big 21!!!! I can't believe I am that old already. My birthday was really fun; We got permission from President Makasi to go out to eat at a nice restaurant in town, and I got to talk to my family  I couldn't have asked for anything more than that. 

A miracle that happened this last week regards my last week's email with our wedding situations! One of the nights this week we went to go and see Sister Chirwa and her husband with our bishop. We talked to them about how they can have a simple wedding, and we will help her with everything, the only thing they needed to do was get the 100 bond for the marriage license. They were so appreciative of the help from the ward and said they were more than happy to sacrifice to get the money. We are praying that the husband is humbled by the wedding, and has a desire to follow his family in the gospel. We will continue to help make this family a forever one! 

Also, another miracle! We have been teaching Bishop's sister in law named Deliwe. She is 18, but sounds and acts like she is 8 years old... not even kidding! haha, we really struggled to teach her, because she was so shy and wouldn't talk in previous lessons. She really seemed like she was not interested, and wasn't keeping commitments very well. We went and saw her on Friday, and she was a different person!!!! (She also attended church 2 Sundays in a row) She was answering our questions and could explain what the priesthood was. She even told us the story of the first vision! We are excited to see her continue to progress, and she has an amazing support system as well. 

I am sorry that this email was just short and sweet, but we are seeing miracles in our area, and are working hard! Hope you all enjoy your week.

Love you!

Sister Kershaw

The sister missionaries walked, and walked, and walked!

This week was another great week in Marimba Park. We are getting to know more people who were being taught by the elders, and we are getting to know the members better, and it is all AMAZING! We are teaching some "eternal investigators", which means that they have been taught by missionaries for years. They are some of the sweetest people EVER! The only thing holding them back is marriage issues. We promised them and the ward that they have to get baptized before I go home! So we are planning more weddings, and working everything out! One couple is called the Kandiwa's. I feel like they are my second parents. Honestly, some of the best people I've met in my whole life. He lived in Ireland for a long time, so he has an Irish accent, and he is so stinking funny. He hugged me this Sunday, and it was so uncomfortable, but it's fine HAHAHA  He came up to me and said," Ah, my daughter!" Then went in for a hug, and there was no going back. haha I know he doesn't know it's not really allowed. The craziest thing that happened this week, for sure! Anyway, they always feed us dinner, and they have gone to church for so long, that it feels like they are already members. He was married to a second wife, but they never got legally divorced. They are separated, but the legal part is the issue. He needs to get permission from basically the whole family to divorce her, so it's a big drama haha The second couple is named the Chirwa family. She is interested in the church, but her husband isn't. They just don't have money to buy the marriage license which is 100 bond. (that's about 10 US dollars) We are going to figure something out so that she can earn that money. We are going to get her married and baptized! Her children are all members and she comes every Sunday to church. 

We are teaching a girl named Hillary. She is a 16-year-old girl who has a 6-month-old baby.  She is completely on her own, too. Every time we see her, she says," Sisters, life is so tough right now." My heart just breaks for her. I pray for her every day that the gospel will change her life for the better. She wants to change, and she wants to have God in her life again. For a long time, she said that she felt like God wasn't there for her and that she was completely alone. It is amazing to be able to show her that God IS there, and he loves her, despite everything she has been through in her life! 

We are working hard to find more people to teach, and our area is SO HUGE. We literally walk everywhere, and I feel dead by the end of the day! haha but, it goes to show we are working hard, and I made myself a promise that I would not get lazy these last couple weeks. President Makasi saw me this week, and the first thing he said to me was," Sister Kershaw, you've lost so much weight, are you okay?" hahaha I told him it was just all the walking I was doing! I also have my tan lines back... which is AMAZING! haha, sadly, my nose got sunburnt so bad, that now it is peeling... but that's the Zimbabwe sun for you. 

 Today we went to a game park, and we saw some zebras, giraffes, and some other deer things haha It was a fun activity with the sisters! 

Also- we had Stake Conference this past Sunday, and it was such a spiritually uplifting Sunday. Of course, I took pictures with kids, cause I love them so much!

I love you all! 

Sister Kershaw

Marimba Park Miracles

Hello to my beautiful family! 

This week was a very crazy week, and I am glad that my companion and I survived it! 

The beginning of the week started off with meetings and getting to meet my companion for the first time. Sister Mokoena and I get along really well. I was so scared when she told me that she was 29 years old... hahaha but my fears were settled very quickly when I realized that she is humble and ready to learn together, so I don't even worry about that anymore. When we got to our house, it was a total mess! The elders before didn't take care of it at all, and it smelt like boys hahaha so we really worked hard to clean it and make it a bit more girly. BUT it really is such a nice home. To make things even more fun, the area book was last updated in November. (The area book is where you keep all of the information about the people you were teaching) We had basically nothing to go off of! The first call I made was the Bishop, and he referred us to some people. We worked with so many members this week, and I am so grateful that we have such an awesome ward. They were so helpful and organized, and we could not have done it without them. We had many dinner appointments, and it shows how sweet these people are! 

There is a family that we are teaching named the Halverson Family. Before they came to Marimba Park, they were taught by elders in Harare. This family is actually from Congo; they are refugees and were forced to come to Zimbabwe in 2012. They are some of the most HUMBLE people I've ever met. They told us that they want to be baptized, and have come to church many times before. After I extended a baptismal date, I got really emotional. I was so touched that they were refugees. I felt the spirit witness to me that despite their challenges of having to leave their country, the Lord provided a way for them to meet the missionaries. There is no such thing as a coincidence, and the way the Lord prepared for them to hear the gospel was through a really difficult challenge. The Lord is definitely in the details of our lives. 

I am grateful for this challenge of white-wash-training my last 9 weeks. While it has been difficult to adjust to a new area, walking again, and taking the lead; it is great! I am learning, growing, and applying everything that I have learned for the last 16 months. It feels like everything so far on my mission has brought me to this point. So bring it on! I am going to make every second count. 

I will give you more updated details about the people we are teaching next week, we are still finding more people. :) 

Love, 

Sister Kershaw

A week full of adventures

Hello everyone! This week was so crazy. It all started off in Harare for my final Mission Leadership Council. It was really so amazing. I am so grateful that President and Sister Makasi are the mission president and wife. They are inspired, and truly love the missionaries so much. One thing that president instructed us to start doing, is to try and connect family history work and missionary work. In reality, there is no difference. He wants us to find, retain, and teach using family history every opportunity we have! He shared a quote from Wendy Nelson talking about how these people's ancestors in the spirit world are praying for us to find their relatives so that they can do their temple work. We will be led and guided to those that need to do their ancestors's work for. I thought about how we found David. I don't know if I told you, but his mother passed on when he was only 3 years old. I am sure that she was in the works of us being led to David so that she can accept the gospel. Speaking of David... he isn't too good to be true! He came to church on Sunday, and is really committing himself. It was kind of a struggle to get him to understand that he needed to act on the knowledge that he received about the Restoration, but I think he is ready to commit to the true church. He agreed to be baptized on February 1st :) 

Sovereign was baptized on Saturday, and it was so special. Her husband baptized her, and it is just amazing to see how much they are strengthening one another! They are doing this together, and I can't think of a better way to bring a family together than the gospel. 

6 weeks are already up, and to make things fun and exciting, I got transferred! I only was in Mutare for one transfer. I am no longer a sister training leader, and I am actually training a new sister from South Africa. Her name is Sister Mokoena, and I will meet her on Wednesday. To make things more fun and exciting, I am pink washing an area! That means that elders were in the area before, but they both left and President now put sisters in that area. The area is called Marimba Park. There has never been sisters in Marimba zone (at least since I've been in ZHM)... so it will be an adventure for these last 9 weeks. I am really excited, though. Ready to work hard, and see miracles! Because of transfers, Sunday was absolutely crazy! We had people wanting us to come for dinner appointments, sister's luggage to pick up, and I had to pack. Mutare is also 4 hours away from Harare, so we left super early this morning. I am running on about an hour and a half of sleep  The other sisters in Mutare zone (Sister Dallimore and Sister Sikei) stayed the night with us, so we had some fun with all the craziness going on. I love those sisters so much, they were my saving grace this last transfer. They are both in Harare now, so we will see each other around. 

A quote mom sent me this week really stuck out to me: 

"Going through things you never thought you'd go through will only take you places you never thought you'd get to." 

I am going to be honest, this last transfer was really tough. I was feeling guilty for being so excited to go home, and I was just really struggling. My lack of motivation was almost to a zero, and I just wanted to give up. While difficult, I learned that Heavenly Father really does answer our sincere prayers. He gave me strength to overcome these trials I was facing. I honestly struggled with that my whole mission: Making my prayers meaningful. We pray all the time as missionaries, and I just felt like mine were always a routine. I am grateful for the hard time that brought me to my knees, and caused me to strengthen my relationship with my Father in Heaven. I am not perfect in my prayers, but I am thankful for the experiences that are helping me to improve. 

I love you all so much! 

-Sister Kershaw 

Professional Wedding Planners

Happy New Year! We had a fun and busy week, I'll share with you a few of the highlights of the week! 

1. NEW YEARS. Last year, I fell asleep early and did not get to celebrate the New Year. But this year, we had a companionship of sisters with us that night because we took them on exchanges the next day. We had so much fun! 

We stayed up and stood on our balcony, and screamed when it turned 12:00. I am sure our neighbors did not appreciate it, but at least we had fun. We also yelled," The year we all go home!" We got pretty excited. I can't believe it is 2020... I am so grateful for 2019! I spent all of it in Zimbabwe, and I have learned and grown so much. It was really hard at times, but I am now able to look back and feel so happy that I did it. I overcame those trials and I couldn't have done it without my Savior, and the encouragement of my family. I am grateful for 2019, but happy to look forward to what 2020 will bring... It brings me to Idaho, so that's probably the most exciting thing everrrrrrrr! 

2. GABRIEL WEDDING. Sovereign and her husband got married on Friday night. It was a very simple, but sweet wedding. It was so fun planning for it, and preparing for it! Sovereign told us that we are ready to plan our own weddings now :) Sister Mtyoblie did her hair and makeup, and she looked SO good! President Makasi asked if he could be the marriage officer, and that made it even more special! I am so grateful for him and his family, Their support and help meant everything to Sister Mambassa and I and the Gabriel's. He gave counsel to them that I will use for my companions now, and in the future with my forever companion :) He said three phrases to NEVER forget to say.

 1. I am sorry 

2. Thank you 

3. I Love You  

They are all very simple, and yet so crucial to any relationship! We all need to be more forgiving, grateful, and loving. Sovereign would've been baptized this week, but there was a district conference, so it will be next week. 

3. DISTRICT CONFERENCE. I always enjoy going to district or stake conferences. I love hearing from the leaders, and their counsel to the members. It was a lot of the same counsel given in previous conference I was in. They need to prepare for the temple! They also encouraged the members to pray and fast as a whole district for rain. The last thing that Zimbabwe needs right now is a drought. Because of the economy in the country, people need their crops to survive. The rains need to come so soon, or else we will all be in trouble. I will keep you updated with how the fast goes. I know Heavenly Father will bless these faithful saints. 

Love you all so much! 

Sister Kershaw 

My best buddy Rachel. This is how Women carry their babies in Africa