April Showers Bring May ... Maize??

helloooooooooo family! I get to talk to you all in 6 days holla! i'll be calling home at 14:30 Zambia time... so 5:30 for seattle (sorry kari), 6:30 for b-town, and then i think vermont and philly are the same which is 8:30?? and i get 90 minutes!

But hey this week was a really good week!!! We had some wonderful members who were so willing to work with us, and our recent converts inviting people to sit in on their lessons!!!

also one of our members literally lives at the border of the congo... super far away... but we walked out of the lesson thursday night and the stars.... so beautiful. i wanted to break out in song, "there..... out in the darknes.... a fugitive running... " but i restrained myself.

Simanwes: a recent convert family who is just the best!!! They were so excited that Sister Brown had never had nshima before so they made this big feast for us on Tuesday. Seriously it took them so much work, and it was so nice of them. They have seriously become my Zambian parents:)

Baby Zohner: So our recent convert selina's... her sister had her baby yesterday. Gave birth to him at 7:30 and was back to the house by 17 walking around like a champ. But here the culture is that the mother's father (i think) is the one that gets to name the first child... and so he doesn't have a name yet... but we've convinced the whole family to call him "baby zohner" until he gets a name... hahaha nd they actually do it.

Greg: he is actually serious this time!!! He came to church again this week.... and so we put him on date for June 11th... (ONE YEAR MARK BABY) He asks such great questions and after investigating for like 9 months i feel like he is finally ready!

Samba Family: ookay so they have been eternal investigators. LIke taught 2 years ago by elders... and then about 9 month ago they were found by the sisters... and they have been taught ever since. Sister Samba has a testimony... so strong but she has been hesitant because of her husband. We showed up on Wednesday ready to drop them... but then surprise it was their 35th wedding anniversary... so we're like maybe we'll teach temples... but then obviously the Spirit was pressing on the both of us to teach Baptism. We start teaching it and we taught how Jesus Christ was baptized.. and how for a baptism to count it needs authority, immersion, and followed by the holy ghost. and Brother Samba just stopped us and was like, "you mean my baptism doesn't count??" and his wife was like, "that's what they've been telling us this whole time... You have finally softened your heart and listened, God has finally answered my prayers" wow wo wow. i didn't know how to react... and then right as we were about to commit them to church Sister Samba was like, "well mr. samba if you're going to get baptized, you have to start going to church" It was amazing. They had a wedding that they were hosting at their house this past sunday so they couldn't come... but please pray for next sunday!!!! They are such an amazing family who could do so much to help the church!

Brother Justin: a recent convert!!! he just got called to be in the Sunday School presidency... so we had to teach this past week... and we were pretty nervous for his to teach gospel doctrine so we had been going over to help him. We went on Saturday and he pulled out 2 pieces of paper wiht 25 questions to ask the class with answers and scriptures to back it up... almost brought tears to my eyes. I walked out that night, looked up at the stars (this sounds so cheesy) but I just realized how lucky I am to have been placed here. I know this is where I needed to be.

Everything else is great!! Mercy and Linda will be getting interviewed this next Sunday!!

Funny Story: we were teaching a member seminary at her house... and we walked out and my shoes were missing!!! (zambian culture you take off your shoes) and we couldn't find them... we finally found one but we had everyone in the house searching... finally we looked at the back of the truck and it was sitting there with tiles inside of it. hahah who knows what little kid it was but we were all convinced i was going to have to go out with just one shoe.

We are teaching the district president's grandson who thinks he knows everything... well he pretty much does. he has read the whole standard works... so more than me. (embarassing) but he is so stuck in the law of moses... and asks the deepest questions without understanding the basics... so I called him a Pharisee... oops. my bad. but good thing he wasn't offended... just a 19 year old boy. 

I'm been studying the New Testament in the mornings and the Old Testament at night.... and i'm learning so much. I really should have taken Seminary seriously... but it is really cool. it just is so cool to see that the gospel makes perfect sense... and everything matches perfectly together.

Pretty much life is great. I love being a missionary and love the city of Ndola:)

Love you!

Sister Thueson