Hey, everyone! 

So this group letter today is going to be crazy short and boring because I am super tired today and nothing very eventful happened this week haha.

Tuesday - We had District Meeting! I love District Meeting. I was laughing so hard because one of the elders shared a scripture about increasing the beauty of Zion...he was telling us all to baptize wakanakas (beautiful people). Some boys never change, you know? We were all laughing so hard though. It was just the joke that we all needed to start off the week well.

Wednesday - Sister Talemwa and I met this CRAZY AWESOME lady by accident (though nothing ever happens by accident, does it?). So she was a nurse for a long time, but she got this sickness that made her have to amputate both of her legs. She is a really devoted church goer, so every Sunday she WALKS on her prosthetic legs to get a combi to her church. A few weeks ago, a combi driver didn't see her and hit her with his combi. He ran over her hand. The whole time she was telling us this story about her life, she was telling us about the gratitude she has for her Father in Heaven. I learned so much from that lady. Wow I loved meeting her. How many people do you meet without their legs and the use of one hand who says she is grateful for everything that God has given her? It made me realize that I never have anything to complain about!

Thursday - I didn't even realize it was Thanksgiving until 8:00 p.m. I ate cereal for dinner because my companion and I didn't feel like cooking lol. 

Friday - We got to visit one of my favorite families in the ward. Their name is the Mhuri's. In Shona the word Mhuri means family lol so whenever I say Mhuri Family I always giggle a little to myself because I am just saying, "Family Family." The things that make me happy are so dumb sometimes haha

Saturday - It rained on Sister Talemwa and I all day! It was so fun haha. We ate chibage (corn) before we left our area and it was like heaven to eat something hot when we were so cold! 

Sunday - The Sabbath is always a good day! It was especially good because we spent almost the whole day visiting members and asking for referrals. They fed us a lot of food on Sunday  Also I have been spending the past two weeks in Primary because as much as I love Relief Society...I was missing having children in my life! I LOVE playing with those Primary kids! They love Sister Lewis, too!

Guys really this week was so good, but I am drawing a blank as what to say haha. Transfers are this week, so the next time I write a blog post I will have a new companion, probably. I also could possibly be leaving Gweru, but maybe not! We will see! I will miss Sister Talemwa like CRAZY!

Have a great week! Say your prayers and read your scriptures! I am on my second time through the Book of Mormon on mission and I am loving it. I have the worst memory, so every time I read it, it is like I am reading it for the first time! Haha it is awesome.

I love you guys! I will see you in December!

Love, Sister Lewis

11/21/16 

Promises, Prayers, and Pig Feet

Masqer asi, shamwaris! (Good Afternoon, friends!)

I had a great week here in the land of Zimbabwe! Gweru is great as usual! The rains are still coming down over here, but usually only at night time. I haven't been drenched...yet!

Promises - Sister Talemwa and I had another baptism this week! Let's call him Charles; he is 58 years old. So Charles met with missionaries THREE years ago for the first time! They gave him the Book of Mormon, and he read it through twice, but he never prayed about it. Sister Talemwa and I have been meeting with him since the beginning of my time here in Zimbabwe, but Sister Talemwa even met with him when she was still being trained by Sister Erickson. We had taught him and his wife the Restoration almost every time we met with them because they were confused about a few things. They were not progressing, and Sister Talemwa and I knew that we probably needed to stop seeing them soon. We bore powerful testimonies to Charles and his wife, invited them to be baptized, and then left them knowing that we would only come back one more time before we had to drop them. When we came back for the last time, we were SHOCKED at what Charles had to tell us. He told us that he prayed, and he knew that our church was the ONLY true church in the world. He had previously been going to a Methodist church for his whole life, but after that day that he prayed, he never went back. Yesterday, Charles was confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I have never seen a happier man. He is so, SO excited about the gospel. He loves learning. Something else incredible about Charles was that he had a problem with smoking. He smoked about 20 cigarettes per day. After we taught him about the Word of Wisdom, he cut back to ONE cigarette per day! He is following the Word of Wisdom with all his might, and smoking is no longer a problem for him! Charles is one of my favorite people ever. He always asks Sister Talemwa and I, "Is is too selfish if I ask you to come twice this week?" He is such a cool guy. The coolest part, though, is that he made covenants with his Heavenly Father this week. Charles has entered into the path of eternal life!

Prayers - This week we had a lot of fall through appointments. These are normal in missionary life, but Sister Talemwa and I were a little bummed about it. We turned to prayer and were comforted. Heavenly Father asks all of us to be patient in all things. I find patience a lot easier when I use prayer ALL DAY! 

Pig Feet - Yesterday, the Branch President's wife (Sister Kwenda) made us pig trotters! It was actually surprisingly really good. I would eat it again for sure haha. I tried my hardest to just not think about what I was eating haha. They really don't waste any part of the animal here! I have now eaten intestines and hooves! What a powerful country!

I am starting the Book of Mormon over again, and I am so excited about it. I read it during my first month here, and then I read Doctrine and Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price. Now I read Jesus the Christ in the morning (best book ever holy cow) and the Book of Mormon at night. I could not live without my scriptures wowowow. 

I hope you all have a great week! I love you and keep you in my prayers. Don't forget to pray! 

Love, Sister Lewis

P.S. Gweru is getting SO beautiful! These trees with the red flowers on them are everywhere!

 

 

 

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11/14/16
 

THE RAINS CAME TUMBLING DOWN! It finally rained in Zim for REAL! The sky was dumping buckets of water on Friday! We didn't even get to leave the house at all because it was raining ALL DAY! That won't usually happen, though. We definitely get to proselyte during the rainy season, but Friday was just not safe. AFRICAN LIGHTENING AND THUNDER IS SUPER SCARY AND SUPER COOL! I was telling my trainer Sister Talemwa how much I loved the thunder and lightening that was happening, and she was like, "Companion, African lightening is scary! People die! So don't go outside, okay?!" And I was like, "Oh, shoot. Yeah. I'll stay in and watch!"

Another beautiful week in Zimbabwe! This week was kind of crazy, but it was fun! 

Monday - Just a P-Day like usual! We got to go to a member's house for Family Home Evening again, but I didn't get thrown up on this time 😋

Tuesday- Zone Meeting! It was so nice to see all of the elders in our zone! We only get to see the ones that live far about once a month, so it was cool to see them all again. I got to see Elder Barrus (missionary from my hometown), since he is in my zone, and we had fun talking about Viewmont and people from back home. It is so fun just to all get together and talk about how we can all help each other and our investigators.

Wednesday - Normal proselyting day! We had some cool lessons, but nothing crazy happened haha. 

Thursday - Exchanges! Sister Nafula and Sister Ngwenya came and did exchanges with Sister Talemwa and I! I got to work with Sister Ngwenya on Thursday. She is a powerful missionary! I learned a lot from her and had a really fun time walking around with her. It was cool because it was the first time I was like the senior companion in my area! I DIDN'T EVEN GET LOST! It was a miracle.

Friday - Like I said before, the rains kept us inside. I was super bummed because Sister Nafula was supposed to be my companion for the day on Friday and she is one of my favorite people! She is from Uganda like my companion, and she is so hilarious. We studied all day and had some REALLY COOL gospel discussions! It was powerful. 

Saturday - Normal proselyting day! I had missed my companion! It was so nice to teach with Sister Talemwa once more!

Sunday - Church! Sundays are always our busiest days. We leave the house at 8 a.m. to make it to church, and then after church we proselyte all day until like 6. Yesterday, we had dinner with a family in our ward, so the zone leaders came and picked us up from our area at like 8! We were in our area ALL DAY LONG! We were so tired! 

So pretty much everyone and their dog is asking me if I knew Donald Trump was voted President. I didn't actually find out for myself until yesterday. I had no idea! Everyone has an opinion about that guy haha. It is funny, though, because no one in Zim knows the actual political stances of Trump and Clinton, they just don't like Trump because they say he is racist. Either way, I don't really care about all of that because I am in Zimbabwe preaching the gospel! I have heard that there have been some riots, though, so I hope you guys all stay safe there in America! I am blessed to be on the other side of the world right now haha. 

I love you all! I hope you have an incredible week! Don't forget to read your scriptures and say your prayers! Toonana! (See you!)

Sister Lewis 

Masqerasei, Shamwaris! (Good Afternoon, friends!)

This has been another incredible week in the land of Zimbabwe!

So I thought I would start the week off with a funny story. Last week, after we finished up emailing, we went to our Branch Mission Leader's house for Family Home Evening. It is the same family that we saw that Sunday, too, for Sister Talemwa's birthday. So Brother Shenjere (Branch Mission Leader) has a 5 year old niece who lives with him and his mom. She ate a TON of food at dinner. After, while we were all cleaning up and talking, she came and laid on the couch. I was sitting on the floor at the time, right by the couch she was laying on. All of the sudden, she turns and PUKES ALL OVER ME. We were DEAD LAUGHING. Sister Talemwa, Brother Shenjere, and I were laughing so hard we couldn't even clean up the mess for a solid five minutes. Lilian felt SO BAD that she threw up on me, but I really didn't care. It was the end of the day, and we were just going home after dinner with them. I still laugh when I think about it. Missions are powerful, you guys!

You guys remember that guy I was telling you about last week who had a huge change of heart? HE IS STILL PROGRESSING SO WELL! We love that guy like crazy. He is so excited about the gospel. He told us that his only regret was that it took him 60 years to figure out the true gospel!!! He is so excited about Joseph Smith and reading the Book of Mormon. The gospel changes people for real, you guys. SO MUCH! Even me. I am 200% sure that I am a totally different person than I used to be. I am glad that I have been able to see the changes in myself, as well as in my investigators. 

Being a missionary is so cool guys. So yesterday was Fast Sunday, right? Sister Talemwa and I were talking about how crazy people who didn't have the gospel would think we are. Voluntarily, my companion and I refrained from eating and drinking all day yesterday until 8 o'clock in the evening. We went to church from 9-12 and then walked around all day in the heat teaching people with empty stomachs. IT WAS SUCH A HUGE BLESSING! Fasting is so cool. I love doing it! I feel the blessings that come every time I fast. To even have the strength the whole day to teach the gospel to people without eating or drinking anything is evidence of the blessings that we are given for fasting. I read my scriptures that night after we got home, and I understood my scriptures SO WELL! I understood everything that I came across. It was a huge blessing. 

I am doing well! I wish I could think of cool things to tell you guys about Zimbabwe, but since I live here and this is my normal life now, I can't think of anything being cool or weird haha. OH! Here is a good one! The other day I took a combi that was supposed to legally seat five people, including the driver. We had ELEVEN PEOPLE in the car hahaha. There was the driver in his seat, two people in the front seat, four people in the backseat, three children and and adult in the trunk. I was dead laughing the whole time haha. Zimbabwe is so legit. 

This week I also got to do some cool service! There is a Reverend who is investigating in our church and we offered to come and dig and weed in his field. He has a small garden with some different foods in there, so Sister Talemwa and I dug around in the garden and did weeding. I think it is the first time in my life I have actually used a garden hoe haha. It was so cool. Sister Talemwa's family back home has a bunch of HUGE farms, so she was in her element. She taught me how to be a better farmer! The things I am learning in Zimbabwe guys haha I will be pretty well rounded when I get home!

I miss you all! Hope you have a good week! Toonana! (See you!)

Love, Sister Lewis