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