April 23 2012 - Second Week in Mutare

Family :)

Things have been fantastic, but there is also something I need help on. To be honest I have fallen a bit and I am struggling to get back up.  Please, if you think you can help me please help.   I am sorry for being so down, but I felt like I could come to you about it. You seem like you always no what to say. You are the most POWERFUL mother in all of the world and it is because you raise your children with the spirit. But as for my week...

The week was really great. I served around Elder Mninzi when I first arrived in Harare, so I was very excited to be with him! He killed a missionary last transfer (it was Elder Shields last transfer), so the area is a bit weak as to missionary work. But I feel like Elder Mninzi and I will do wonderful things here. We had a few POWERFUL lessons in the week, but there was one we had on Tuesday that was amazing! We were looking for a guy by the name of ***. When we arrived at his house we found his mom and she had a visitor over. We asked if we could teach them and they said it was okay. We began as usual, asking what they knew about God and there faith (religion). The mom is Methodist and the visitor said she was born and raised Catholic, but when she married she became apostolic. I was about to teach about baptism, but my companion was inspired to teach about prayer. We started to teach about how we should pray in secret and that we should not yell. The visitor started asking a lot of questions. She was very...I guess I can say...emotional about religious things and she was asking about how when she prays she gets into it and feels like she needs to stand and yell to show her love (or that is what her church teaches) and she even stood up in the lesson and had a very excited and loud voice. Ha Ha! I was enjoying so much. I opened a few verses in Mathew and my companion and I calmly explain about how Jesus Christ taught us to pray. The spirit was just so strong and towards the end of the lesson i could tell the visitor could really feel it. She become more calm and asked less questions. She had a spark in her eye. It was like I could literally see the spirit working in her. As we finished and closed with a prayer. I was surprised to find out we answered the moms prayer. She was silent the whole lesson. I thought we were only teaching the visitor, but the mom said she had been praying silently and secretly lately and she had felt like God was listening now. She said that we had answered why she felt that way. I was so excited until we asked the visitor where she stayed. She said she lived in *** and she was going back the next day. I was sad, but grateful for the experience. Ha Ha! I was actually kind of taken down by the visitor. She reminded me of ***. Ha Ha!

The week was really POWERFUL though. I was just struggling in mind and on Monday we were playing soccer and my companion was being a beast playing, but he stepped on the ball and fell. When he fell he took the tip off of his left thumb. It is okay now. That was the reason why we were stuck home on Monday and thus giving me time to be lazy. "An idle mind is the devil's playground" I remember a seminary teacher telling me that.

The area is great. A lot of ups and downs. i come home tired every night. The Branch President is amazing. He is very willing to work with us and is actually on our case giving us fire if we are not doing everything right. Ha Ha! he is a POWERFUL small man. Ha Ha! the house is really cool. Lots of room. In the house we have Elder Skwati (from Cape Town, South Africa who I have been around every transfer), Elder Mason (from Aurora, Utah and I met him two transfers ago), my companion Elder Mninzi (from Joburg, South Africa and he was in my district two transfers ago), and then Elder Haltom (from Roy, Utah and I have been with him the whole of mission). It is so great in the house. We all cook. We always hang out. Elder Skwati and I have tickling wars and he also yells at me in the morning when I take all the hot water. Ha Ha! This has probably the funnest house I have been in yet.

Zone Leaders are Elder Tuai and Elder Maruza. I lived with Elder Maruza my first transfer and he is dying (going home) this transfer. Elder Tuai was my ZL in Blues! He is hilarious and a lot of fun! He is a Tongan from California. We also have sisters in the District/Zone.  Sisters Fagan and O'bar are pretty cool.  That is everyone in Mutare!

Thank you for all the help and support you give. Even with my feelings about leaving Domboshawa.  (he was sad to leave)
I am taking photos and I plan on sending today. The place we email at is POWERFUL!
No dearElders letters yet. (I sent three and he hasn’t got them yet)
Man, i am getting closer and closer to a year! This is not cool. I do not like how fast mission goes!
Happy Endowment Anniversary! (to his mom ☺ )

Thank you for always sending packages to me. I hope I get it soon. Make sure there are things inside for my companion!

Guess what?! I finally found a chameleon! We found it this morning and we took pictures with it!

(Jake’s friend is having a hard time, he has a difficult companion)  What?!   Well, we each experience different companions. I sent Josh a letter like on my 3rd transfer. Can you find out if he has gotten it yet? I guess my first one got to him in a time he needed it. I hope he got this last one and that it was able to help. You should send him a can of chili and a box of mac n' cheese and tell him that I say he needs to cheer up and make him and his companion some chilli-mac-n'-cheese-samitches!  I hope he is doing all right. Let me know what you find out.
 

I still need to get to the Grandma and Grandpa's letter.

Thank you for all that you do. i always find strength in the emails I get every week. I love you all so very much. Do not worry about me. I am doing everything I can to give myself to God. and just as you said I have angels surrounding me. May God bless us all! I love you all like nuts!

Keep the Faith

Elder Tom