"Life changing" week

October 12, 2015

Hello Family!! Sooooo my companion says that everything ïs life changing" and this week you could say that was our theme. We had some BIG BIG things happen this week in the Mandala area of Blantyre Malawi. sneak peek: MANDELA WAS BAPTIZED. 

 Matching in denim shirts yo

 Henry's family

Mandela's baptism

first of all: ZONE CONFERENCE. MY FRIENDS THIS WAS MPONVU. Dang President Erickson is powerful. He changes my perspective on life almost every time he talks haha. Soooo first big news. NO TRACTING NOVEMBER... but it's more like NO TRACTING EVER. Our mission is no longer a tracting mission... we are no longer doing the cliche missionary thing of going door to door. Now my comp and I haven't set time aside for tracting in a long time, maybe 2-3 months because we have been too busy with other appointments.. but in some areas this may be a BIG change and kind of hard. We are supposed to focus on building relationships with members and then gaining their trust to lead them to want to give us referrals. so FUN STUFF GUYS. 
 Sister Solomone and I had to present at Zone Conference... pressure!!! But it didn't go awful haha yay. 

We each got 3 chocolate chip cookies and ice cream. Shout out to Sister Beal for making the best lunch I've had in 4 months. 

Then once again President gets up and blows my mind. So here in Malawi and Zambia we are trying to establish the kingdom" not "spread the gospel" and so we are really trying to build stakes here in the mission. WE have 3 districts and one stake... because guess what stakes lead to? TEMPLES. and what to temples lead to? EXALTATION. and that is the end goal my friends... these people need temples. I never realized how lucky I was to have 12 temples within 2 hours of my house. But so we are trying to build up the church strong in certain areas to one day have a stake. Blantyre has the potential to become a stake soon... we just need it stronger. so I like to think that currently we are building the foundation for the temple... one day I pray that there will be one aroud here.

But yes Zone conference was just wonderful.

Henry's Family: So we started teaching this family with 6 kids! They were a referral from one of our recent converts!!  The mother doesn't speak any english and only 2 of the kids speak english... so we have to have all of the lessons translated. Which is kinda hard for us as missionaries because it is hard to see if they are truly understanding. BUT THEY ALL CAME TO CHURCH SOOOO THEY ARE WONDERFUL. I think they will take a little longer, but 3 of the kids are over 8 so they can be baptized as well. But i'm super excited for them, and we might try to teach the mother english!

Yamikani: he is so great... he used to be so closed off and now he just seems so happy and smiling and me as a missionary with missionary goggles on am convinced it's because he has gained a testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ. just some of my thoughts

Madilitso: We had yet another random person just show up to church. How does this keep happening? I dunno but major tender mercies from the Lord. He was investigating the church down in Cape Town but he moved back to Malawi and so now we are going to start teaching him!!

okay so Sunday was just such a wonderful and amazing day.

1. MANDELA WAS BAPTIZED. My friends.... we did it. We got him baptized. oh he kills me... he never doesn't make me laugh. After he was dressed in his white jumpsuit he was just running up and down the hallway saying "mponvu mponvu" meaning powerful powerful. hahaha what? he was just sooooo stoked to be baptized. he couldn't even control his excitement. The whole time we were taking pictures he was just flashing different hand signals and whatever. And then when he was bearing his testimony after he just kept cracking jokes... but there really was a spirit there. Sometimes to feel the spirit it doesn't need to be dead quiet, but you can feel it through the joy someone has for the gospel.

2. KHUMBO BLESSED THE SACRAMENT. and he did it perfectly. He was just beaming with excitement to be able to use his priesthood.

3. HENRY'S FAMILY CAME TO CHURCH.

So sunday was just a happy happy day. SANGALALA KWAN BIRI.

Personal Study: I studied the book of Mosiah this week and man it's poewrful. especially chapters 3 and 4 just bear strong testimony about Jesus Christ. I've been thinking a lot this week about the Faith the people in the Book of Mormon and Old Testament had. They had faith in a christ who hadn't even come to Earth yet. Today we have so much evidence and scripture about Jesus Christ's life and sometimes it's still hard to have faith that he sufferered and died for us, but these people they just had so much hope and faith in the future, and they will be so blessed for their faith.

Well family that was my week. I'm constantly amazed at how Heavenly Father helps to make sure his work is progressing... because it is HIS WORK. We wouldn't be able to do it without his divine assistance. Me i'm just a girl walking around Blantyre with a name tag... but when guided by the spirit i'm able to witness kwan biri miracles.

I LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH. 

T-MINUS 2 WEEKS UNTIL I GET TO WATCH GENERAL CONFERENCE.