Don't even ask

Primary...SOS

Baptism! Netsai and Tsungay!

The couple!

Selfie

I didn't look!!!

District Leader

Jonathan (that is what she named her car)

6/26/17

Hey Fam! I hope everyone had a great week. I know I did! Let me try and remember what even happened haha.

Monday: Normal P-Day stuff. Nothing fun this week.

Tuesday: Interviews with President! It was a loonnnggg day, but a good day. We had to be at the chapel by like 9 and we were there until 3. President Mkhabela and I had an incredible interview. He is such a great mission president. I love being around him and hearing his counsel! He told me I am doing a good job, and I was happy to hear that. After interviews, we had some few appointments, and then we went home to study.

Wednesday: So we ended up having District Meeting on Wednesday instead of Tuesday since we had interviews. MY COMPANION gave the Doctrinal Study, and she absolutely killed it! She did so good for her first time. It was a great District Meeting. After our District Meeting, we grabbed lunch and then we went out to teach! We saw Brother Mssa, who is probably the coolest person I have ever met. He is 19 years old and is so smart. Before each lesson, he reads the pamphlet so well and understands everything to the extent that he teaches us instead of us teaching him. He is getting baptized this weekend and wants to serve a mission as soon as possible. I love that guy!

Thursday: Weekly planning! We taught some good lessons to some people who were preparing to be baptized.

Friday: This day was literally hectic. SO MANY LESSONS. We were running all over the place trying to get our interviews done and teaching people. We spent the whole day in Retreat.

Saturday: Wedding and baptism for Brother Tsungayi! Baptism for Sister Kaingo! It was a crazy day and we were running around like chickens with our heads cut off trying to get everything done. It was a great day, though. At the end of the baptisms, Brother Tsungayi and Sister Kaingo bore powerful testimonies. Brother Tsungayi said, "I want to thank the sister missionaries who took my life seriously." I almost started crying right then and there. I LOVE MY LIFE GUYS. Being a missionary is literally the most rewarding thing I have ever done.

I love you all and I hope you have a great week! I know this email was kind of short and terrible, but I am soooo tired today haha

LOVE YOU!
love Sister Lewis

6/19/2017

Young MacDonald Had a Twin

Oh my heck. What even happened this week? I don't know. My life was so busy haha. It was a good week, but it was SO HECTIC. ALL of the things are happening. EVERYONE wants to be baptized haha. My companion and I literally have time for nothing except to eat, sleep, and preach the gospel. 

Monday: You already know last Monday we went hiking! I will try to send some pictures of our hike. Yoh it was beautiful at the top.

Tuesday: Halfway done with mission? WHAT?! I hit my nine month mark on mission! I go home on March 13th, so I was exactly halfway done on Tuesday. It felt so weird, to be honest. I feel like I have been here for two days, not nine months! Also it was my brother Jesse's birthday! We went to District Meeting, and I had to give the doctrinal study. Funnily enough, it was all about service and how serving others can open up their hearts to our message. Due to my wonderful parents and their incredible hearts, I have pretty much grown up around service my whole life, so it was easy to testify about. After District Meeting, all of the sisters wanted to take a picture with me looking pregnant for my 9 month mark haha. It is kind of a tradition on mission. The picture is boss, though, so I ain't even mad. After lunch we taught some nice lessons! We got to end the day with the Pepa Family, recent converts, who I love and adore. 

Wednesday: Lessons on lessons on lessons. We extended baptismal dates to four people, and they accepted! Everyone in Retreat is getting ready to be baptized haha. This group is going to turn into a branch faster than I can say, "Ndinofara!" (I am happy). P.S. Happy birthday to Aunt Bonnie!

Thursday: Weekly Planning, as always! We got to have some good lessons and we discovered even MORE of Retreat, so blessed. We extended two baptismal dates and they accepted! 

Friday: HAPPY BIRTHDAY ELDER HUNT!!! Shout out to my best friend in Chile for turning 19. We taught some really really nice lessons and extended two baptismal dates, and they both accepted. 

Saturday: MAKOROKOTO to BROTHER MUCHENA for being baptized! It was a really nice service, and after his baptism Brother Muchena bore a beautiful testimony. He has been one of the most prepared investigators I have ever come across. He came to church one week after being invited by Brother Kaingo, and then we taught him the lessons and baptized him 3 weeks later. We didn't even really have to teach him because he would read the pamphlets so much he almost had them memorized! Awesome dude. We taught a few lessons after the baptism and extended three baptismal dates, and all of them accepted!

Sunday: HOLY COW GUYS I HAD 15 CHILDREN IN PRIMARY THIS WEEK AND I ALMOST DIED. It was fun, though. Lots of adventures for sure. I had twins this week, too, and they are like both 2 years old haha. Most of the kids I have to teach are below the age of 8 and I am supposed to keep them busy/happy for two hours and they don't understand English. BUT. God loves me and He gives me strength each and every time. The twins are called Michael and MACDONALD. Macdonald is so stinking cute guys hahaha. 

So this week was crazy and hectic. We currently have 19 people on date for baptism, and most of them need to be married legally before we can baptize them. I will be so tired of marriages by the time I get home that I won't even want to get married myself haha. We are sooo busy right now, but good busy! We are loving it! Not everything that happened this week was good, but I am so glad that I have a Father in Heaven who loves me and constantly encourages me and strengthens me just when I feel like I have hit my limit. I am grateful for the Atonement of my Savior, Jesus Christ, who loves me with a love unending. I am grateful for the Book of Mormon which brought me so much peace when I was failing to find it through other sources. 

I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY AND I AM SOOOO SAD I HIT MY HALFWAY MARK. I want to be a missionary forever! 

Love you all! Have a great week! 

Sister Lewis

Gorgeous Rainbow

9 months lol (Hump Day-Jenna's halfway mark on her mission)

Selfies as always

Tonga looking cute as always!

Bro Muchena's Baptism!

Weird Mission Tradition for hump day!

Post hike last week!

Sister Namugenyi got tired

From the top

6/12//17

Baby it's cold outside

A

Angie Hunt sent facemakes haha

Exchanges with Sister Burt!

                                     

FAM

Palagi

REUNITED

Removing Braids

District Leader Elder Tu'ua

Weekly Planning

Rutendo!My best friend

6/12/17

Hey fam!

Another incredible week in the land of Zim! Last week I was so lazy to write because my companion and I braided our hair (lol predictable). This week was full of blessings, so let's hope I remember them all!

Monday: Sister Tonga and I plaited our hair, emailed, and then went home haha. Nothing too exciting!

Tuesday: Hapana District Meeting because Zone Conference was on Friday. We got a few extra hours to go out to the area and work! DO YOU GUYS WANT TO HEAR THE CRAZIEST STORY EVER?! So this week we got a media referral, which never happens. I guess there was this guy that stays in the boundaries of our area who was chatting with a missionary in the East Coast about the church, and they sent the referral to us. We taught him on Tuesday and gave him a copy of the Book of Mormon to read. THAT NIGHT we get a call from AMERICA. It was a sister missionary following up on the referral she sent us. WANT TO HEAR SOMETHING CRAZY?! THIS SISTER WENT TO MY HIGH SCHOOL. Her name is Sister Erasmus and we had a bunch of classes together in High School because she wants to be a nurse too. So we just casually found out that WE KNEW EACH OTHER. WHAT ARE THE LITERAL CHANCES. So mission is cool, hey? 

Wednesday: Exchanges! I got to go on exchanges with Sister BURT (from Idaho) in Chiwaridzo (which is in Bindura). It was so fun! She goes home in like 9 weeks. She is so happy and awesome. I met my first atheist in Zimbabwe. Cool story, actually. So we met this lady who was telling us that she goes to church with her husband, but she doesn't know if she actually believes in God. We were trying to figure out why she didn't believe in God, but she wasn't really telling us. I felt prompted to tell her about how I felt the love of God in my life. I shared how the time when I knew God loved me the most was when my older brother, Jared died. She looked at me for a second, and silence passed. Then she told us that her mom died some years ago and that is when she stopped believing in God. Can we all just admire our Father in Heaven for a minute? What are the chances that I would be going on exchanges that particular day to meet that particular lady? God knows each and every one of us. We all have a time and place to come to know of the truth of the gospel. I am forever grateful for a Father in Heaven who knows me and each one of us individually. I am glad I was able to share my experience about my grief to help someone feel connected to something. I am grateful for the Holy Spirit which told me what to say. 

Thursday: Weekly planning! Then plenty of lessons in Retreat. 

Friday: Zone Conference! I SAW SISTER NDHLOVU GUYS. Literally she drove into the parking lot, I ran after the car, and then we both screamed and hugged each other for a solid 5 minutes. She launched into all the things that are going on in her life. I miss her, and I love her! It worked out amazingly, too, because Sister Ndhlovu's companion is Sister Leatu'u, who is from TONGA! My companion was so happy! She was just speaking her language for the first time in three weeks haha. It was a good conference, though! It was long. We left Bindura at like 8 in the morning and then got back at like 7 at night. #pakayipa 

Saturday: No baptism for the first time in like three weeks haha. Honestly, it was a nice break. This upcoming Saturday we have a baptism, and then the next weekend we have a double wedding and baptism. If all goes to plan haha. We just taught lessons!

Sunday: WOW TODAY WAS A POWERFUL DAY OKAY! So our branch changed the time we meet from 8 am to 9 am and wow it made a difference haha. Our sacrament meeting was FULL, which made me so happy. I was kind of disappointed that one hour made such a difference, but I was happy. Like if church starts at 8, just show up at 8 for goodness sake haha. BUT! We had so many people come to church AND MY LESS ACTIVE BEST FRIEND CAME AGAIN FOR THE SECOND WEEK IN A ROW SO HALLELUJAH BECAUSE BLESSED. I seriously love being a missionary. Have I ever said that before? No? Let me say it again. I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY. We had 13 investigators come to church this week so blessed. I love Bindura so much. It is the Promised Land! I will cry my eyes out when I have to leave in 9 weeks. 

Monday: Again... We went hiking this morning! Sister Namugenyi, Sister Beckstead, Sister Tonga, and I climbed a mountain. It was so cool. We just picked a random mountain and climbed to the top. It was super duper steep haha. It was sweet, though. I was leading so go me lol. 

So this week was a great week, like always. Happiest human alive, probably. Definitely. I LOVE BEING A MISSIONARY. I love you all and I pray for you all the time. Stay well! Musare mushe! PS my Shona is so good now! I love speaking it. 

TOONANA!

Sister Lewis

6/5/17

Hey!

Guys I am so lazy to write a group email today haha I am sorry. Let me just tell you really fast about the highlights of the week!

Pretty much my companion and I had a ton of powerful lessons with powerful people. We invited 6 people to be baptized in June and they all accepted! We are anticipating to have some more marriages and baptisms this month!

BROTHER KAINGO WAS MARRIED AND BAPTISED WHAT WHAT!! I was so excited. Brother Kaingo was a referral and from the beginning he was just amazing. He started calling church "our church" from day one. He was so prepared. His wife is preparing to be baptised this month, as well. Cutest family ever. I was so happy.

Sister Tonga is amazing and wonderful and I don't even have to stress about training her because she is just already a great missionary! All I need to do is just be a good example to her, and the rest follows. She is seriously the sweetest person that I know. She is so positive! She has never said one negative thing about mission, and I respect that so much. CUTEST DAUGHTER GUYS CUTEST.

This past fast sunday was amazing. I love fast Sundays always. I received a HUGE answer to prayer that just reaffirmed to me that God is there watching out for me. I know that my Redeemer lives and loves me. I know that this gospel IS my happiness.

I am sorry I am lazy to write today. I hope you all have a great week, though! I LOVE YOU NDINO KUDA ANDITI

Sister Lewis

(Jenna's Mom has a little insight--Jenna refers to herself as "lazy" but she is anything but that!!! She is exhausted today and gave us the best that she could give! Since she has been a new trainer for the past few weeks she has also become the main Primary Teacher. These children do not speak English!
It takes all she has and more to teach them a lesson on Sundays and keep them occupied until their Primary time is over. I have to say I am so proud of Sister Lewis and all that she does. She has never had 1 negative thing to say about her mission or a companion or her living conditions or anything! What a great example she is to me!)

Trainers

The famous Primary Children that Jenna teaches each Sunday!

SOS!

Promises Baptism!

Companions

Isn't she beautiful!

The wedding!

The Baptism!