Beautiful skies

Add  caption

Jenna's last day with Sister Talemwa

"I may not be my Sister's keeper, but I am my Sister's sister." 

This week was actually incredibly crazy in contrast to last week haha. Let's start from the beginning. I know you are all itching to hear my transfer news, but I am going to make you wait until the end MWAHAHA. 

So last week on Monday we got some bad news from the Mission Office. Because of the new bond notes that Zimbabwe introduced (you can Google it, but the situation is crazy), banks have been either really busy or have not had any money. We were supposed to be able to receive money on the 1st of December, but we haven't been able to get any even until now, the 5th of December. We were running out of money before we even heard the news, so we were in big trouble this week haha. We fasted quite a few meals! We haven't been able to buy groceries, so we have been eating a lot of random stuff that we still have left over in our house. We are experiencing a little bit of a tight budget right now! We need $4 for transport everyday, so that is our main focus. I have some money that was sent with me for emergencies, and we have been using a little bit of that, but we are trying not to in case we can't get money for even longer. This is the main part that I want you all to focus on, though. I didn't tell you about our unfortunate situation so that you would feel bad for us. I told you because this is what I have learned from the situation. THE LORD TAKES CARE OF WHAT IS IMPORTANT TO US WHEN WE TAKE CARE OF WHAT IS IMPORTANT TO HIM. Even though we didn't always eat before we left the house, we always went to the area. Each day we have been giving our all to the work we have been called to do, and we have been blessed beyond measure. I can't even count the miracles I have seen this week. I never felt hungry when I was working hard. On Friday at Zone Meeting, some Elders from Masvingo offered to buy us lunch since they had been able to receive their money. On Saturday, our District Leader gave us $6 to buy some groceries with. On Sunday, our Branch President's wife gave us a huge carton of eggs. Heavenly Father loves His children. I have a testimony of the promise that He made to take care of His missionaries. In the Bible and in the Book of Mormon, Jesus Christ told his apostles to not worry about anything but preaching the Word of God. I know that the same rule applies to me. I have no need to worry about food because my Father in Heaven will provide for me! I am so blessed. 

So this week was week 6 of the transfer, or the last week of the transfer. Week 6 is hard because you have been working so hard for so long, and you know transfer news is coming soon, so Satan tries to tempt missionaries to not work hard during this week. Sister Talemwa and I worked as hard as we could, though, since we knew it would probably be her last week in our area. We WORKED, you guys. It was awesome. This week has been so incredibly rewarding. 

So, here is the much anticipated TRANSFER NEWS (drum roll please) Sister Lewis is...Still in GWERU!! Yaas! I feel so incredibly blessed to be able to spend some more time with the people here. The sad thing is, though, is that Sister Talemwa left me today. We both knew it was very likely to happen, but we were living in a lot of denial. Sunday was one of the hardest days I have had on mission because we spent the whole day visiting all of the people that Sister Talemwa really loved. It was so hard to watch her say goodbye over and over again. When she left me this morning, I cried. She is safely in Harare. Her new area is called Epworth. 

My new companion is called Sister Namugenyi! I haven't met her yet, she is still on her way from Harare, but she is ALSO FROM UGANDA! #blessed I love my Ugandan people! I am so excited to meet her. She is 6 weeks older than me mission wise. She is just one transfer ahead of me! The Lord decided that I was to be the Senior Companion, though. I keep joking with people that me being the senior companion is like a baby leading a child because Sister Namugenyi and I are so young on mission! I am so excited for the opportunity, though. I know we will enjoy Gweru together! 

I am doing so well here in Zimbabwe. People ask me how home is and I forget that they mean America. I usually answer in relation to Zimbabwe haha. I can't imagine leaving this place. OH! By the way, I found out from the mission office the exact day I will start heading home! I board a flight on Tuesday, March 13th, 2018. Just a fun fact for anyone who is counting down my coming home (shout out to you, Mom). I had no idea when I was supposed to leave because of the way the transfer ends that month, so I checked. I will be praying to have the days go by slower because right now I am almost 3 months old on mission which is CRAZY. Does anybody have a time machine?

So the last part of this email is about the Light the World campaign that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is doing. Every year, the church finds some special way to remember Jesus Christ during Christmastime. This year, it is Light the World. The idea behind it is to do some act of service every single day that will make someone's day brighter! It is the coolest thing. We as missionaries have been given a lot of information concerning it, and we are all actively participating. GO TO GOOGLE and type in #lighttheworld or look up Light the World on MORMON.ORG and read more about how you can help Light the World this year for Christmas!

A Christmas Message from Mormon.org #LIGHTtheWORLD ... mormon.org Jesus Christ is a perfect example of serving others. We invite you this Christmas season to #LIGHTtheWORLD and to serve others as Jesus did.

I hope everyone at home has a good week! Don't forget to read your scriptures! Say your prayers! Enjoy the Christmas season! 

Love, Sister Lewis