The sisters!!
Ok I lied last week...I am even happier than ever this week!!! My heart is overfilling this day as I have reflected on this past week. SOOOOO many crazy and spiritual things happened and I wish I could share them all with you!! Can you just please come move to Ndola??
Tuesday: Sister Motsi and I presented in District Meeting about how to develop Christlike attributes. It was a great opportunity for me to think about myself and how I am changing and becoming more like Christ as a missionary. As I read through the attributes in PMG I started to become disappointed and discouraged as I realized how much I need to improve and that it really is a commandment from Heavenly Father for us to be perfect I then remembered an email that Rebekah had sent me about how we have our whole life to become like Christ. I doubt I am the only missionary who has felt this way before but sometimes I get stressed by thinking that I only have 18 months...now only 13...to be the best I possibly can. Well I realized that life isn't over after mission and that those experiences I will have after are going to help me grow and develop. BUT mission is an incredible opportunity for me to leave behind all the things of the world and focus on what is most important. I know that I will never ever get an opportunity like this again so from now on, I am going to work even harder. Not only just to develop myself but to help as many people as I can to "come unto Christ and be perfected in Him." I am also really really grateful for my district! I love all the sisters and the elders. Their testimonies and the things they share each week have helped me to see my weaknesses and how Sister Motsi and I can further the work in our area. Its is sort of like my family here as they encourage me but also push me to be better. Thank you for all sending me so much love and support and also for your inspiring words. We saw the Simanwe's daughter and uncle later that day and they each have a baptismal date and are progressing. Justin (the uncle) can't read and really needs glasses and it was so touching to hear Brother Simanwe tell him that he would buy him glasses because Justin NEEDs to read the Book of Mormon. Brother Simanwe has a strong testimony of the Book of Mormon. Sometimes with new investigators I am a little hesitant to introduce the Book of Mormon in fear they won't understand or other dumb reasons but every time Brother Simanwe teaches with us he always teaches them about the Book of Mormon. He always ends with a testimony that he knows the book is true without a doubt and how much it has changed his life the past 3 months or so. That night, right before driving to Luanshya for exchanges, guess who called us?????? RAPHAEL!!!!!!!!!! He is finally back in Ndola after going MIA for 4 months!!! Honestly I was sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo excited! Sister Motsi and I could hardly believe it!!! We rushed to go see him and oh it was the best seeing him again!! He is doing well but everywhere that he went for work, there wasn't a church. We set an appointment with him for Saturday and started making plans for him to get rebaptized. Well he left town again but his boss said he will be back in 2 weeks....We are praying that he really does come back this week. I thought of the prodigal son and I know this doesn't compare to anywhere near what Heavenly Father feels but I think I got a glimpse of how He feels when we come back to him. This week I gained a testimony of Heavenly Fathers love and that we really can't ever go too far that He won't accept us back with open arms. I am humbled by the many times that I have made mistakes yet when I repent, I feel forgiven. This gospel is the best!
Wednesday: Oh what a day!! I was on exchanges with Sister Ratema again which I love that sister!! We started the day with a wonderful lesson with our less active, Eugene Kapato. We spent about 30 minutes explaining how we receiving answers to prayer and how the Holy Ghost works. I didn't realize until then how vital this is. I also didn't understand how the Holy Ghost works with me personally until I came on mission. I wish I would have been more in tune before coming but I am grateful for what I have learned and that I have developed the ability to hear and feel its promptings now. It is soooo important for a missionary to know how the Spirit works but it is just as important for those we teach. I have a lot of faith in Eugene and know that when he comes to recognize the Spirit that he feels when he reads from the Book of Mormon or prays, that he will come back to Church. After that we got a call from the Zone Leaders and we had to run a couple errands and we ended up taking something to the elders in Masala. We were coming back to Ndola and I was stopped at a T junction, wanting to turn left. I was waiting for the cars to pass so that I could go when....BAM we got rear ended by a mini bus!!! Don't worry Mom...no one was hurt besides just a headache. We pulled over and everyone got off the bus and started moving to another bus. This hilarious man kept yelling, "I am a witness!! It wasn't your fault! I saw him hit you!! I am a witness! I saw with my own eyes!" Hahah but I started getting the bus drivers information and everything and it was kinda awkward and I honestly felt so bad for him. I don't like when things like this happen! Luckily Sister Ganesh's husband randomly showed up and pointed me in the direction of the police station. We got to the police station and boy was that quite the experience! hahah I really can't describe it but we started getting all the info and turns out we didn't have any of the right papers in our car. We walked to an email shop and the office elder emailed us the papers. The bus driver didn't have the papers but I think the bus owner does. The police officer was really yelling at the bus driver though and I felt so bad for him! They also were going to lock him up unless he pays 400 kwacha. They then turned to me and said, "You work for Jesus so you're going to pay for him right?" And then they were all trying to get us to pay for him and saying we weren't true missionaries. It was awful and the poor bus driver was such a sweet and humble man. I learned a powerful lesson of the law of justice and mercy and I am really grateful for the Savior. Everything that we experience in life helps us to learn and build our testimonies. I am grateful for what I learned from this experience and how much it made me realize that I need my parents! hahah I really just wanted to call Dad because they were trying to explain all the things I need to do and no one from the mission was giving me advice or what to do but hopefully it all works out! As for now we are just waiting for the bus owner to produce the documents and we need to take the car to some garages and find out how much it costs. Until we figure out how is paying for it and what not Sister Motsi and I are back to walking!! I really don't mind the walking at all BUT it really has affected our work. I was most worried after the accident about our investigators and I am so scared that their progression will be much slower as we won't be able to see a lot of them as much. We will but our trust in the Lord though and remember that he is mindful of all of his children. Later that night we went and visited Violet to read the Book of Mormon with her and my mind really was not focused on the lesson because all the sudden it just hit me how blessed we are. We could have been seriously hurt! I know Heavenly Father watches over his children and especially his missionaries! I also felt very grateful for the prayers of my family!!! keep praying!
Bye bye Ndola corrola
Thursday: We obviously forgot that walking takes A LOT more time than driving because we jam packed our day with lessons in Pamodzi and Kansenshi and then only got to a few of them but it was such a good day! We went and visited Aaron Mupundu (meaning twin) and his family again. We taught about the Restoration and it went really, really well. The best part was at the end of the lesson when we reminded them about church. Brother Mupundu told us how much he wanted to come to church and that he could get there on his bike but that he didn't want to go without his family. He loves his family so much and when he said that I realized what an incredible priesthood holder he would be! He explained their circumstances and it would be a great sacrifice for them to get to church but my companion and I felt impressed to share with them our testimonies. I shared that if they put their trust in Heavenly Father, He would provide. Its amazing to be able to promise someone that. The words just came from my mouth. I personally could see that it was so difficult and near impossible for them to come but through the Holy Ghost, I testified of something different. What they needed to hear and I learned that God's ways are not my ways. His thoughts are not my thoughts therefore we must trust in Him and His plan. I am excited for this family and although they didn't come to church this week, I know someday they will. If not in this life, the next life they will have the opportunity. How great is the Plan of Salvation! They gave us a bag of 10 bananas and then he even tried giving us money to pay for our bus fare! The humility of this man and his wife are so touching and I feel so grateful that I have been able to be changed by them! We visited the Sambe's and they couldn't stop talking about church! They really enjoyed it and had soooo many questions. Brother Sambe of course had the funniest questions and comments but he is learning a lot and progressing! We had a rushed lesson because we had to go pick up some sisters who had traveled to lusaka and help them get on a bus to Kitwe but it was really encouraging to hear them talk about how much they enjoyed church! Most people aren't that excited and Sister Sambe said she learned a lot. Slowly but surely this family is gaining more and more light and I have seen how even their countenances have changed. They seem much happier and full of love! The gospel of Jesus Christ changes lives. It has changed mine but I LOVE watching it change other peoples lives. Especially those that I have truly come to love!
Friday: We taught Claytis but our member we working with was late and then he had to rush to class so it was kind of fast but he is set for baptism on Nov. 29th! he hasn't been to church in the past couple of weeks but he always calls us and apologizes and wants to meet and learn more. Hopefully we get to teach him tonight! My favorite part of the day was teaching Selina about the temple. I was talking to her about when I got to go through the temple and was in the celestial room with so many of my family members and how i got to experience a small piece of heaven. As I told her about that experience I felt sooooooooooo much love for my family and that we get to be TOGETHER FOREVER! We challenged her to set a goal that day to make it to the temple so that someday she could experience that same thing. I was so excited for her baptism but I am even more excited for her to go to the temple someday. Uhh I just wish we had a temple here but I guess I just need to work harder so we can get one!!
Saturday: We taught Manesh who is about 25 years old and haven't been able to see him in a LONG time. The lesson was good but what was the best was at the end of the lesson we asked him to pray. In previous lessons he has been soooo opposed to praying but that day he said the prayer. It is incredible to see hearts soften and miracles occur each day. This week I found a lot of joy and success in the little things and hearing our investigators pray was one of them that i loved. To hear them communicate with our Heavenly Father and really yearn for and seek the truth is incredible! We had a lesson with Elizabeth and we broke down 2 Nephi 31 for her. We really have to go slow and before i used to want to rush and teach her so much but as Sister Motsi and I have taught according to her needs, we have been amazed to see how much she understands. The gospel really is so simple and when we put our faith in it and the Savior, we will be helped in the way that we need. We will understand what we need to. We taught Barton Zulu that night with President Kapato and he is soooooo ready to be baptized! We re-extended a baptism date of December 6th and you should have seen how excited he was because he is the 6th born in his family! Oh Barton...he never fails to put a smile on my face! But he shared at the end of the lesson how he received the answer that he needs to leave the Anglican church and that he has found the truth. I know how hard this decision will be for him because he is very involved there but he told us that it just feels right. That's exactly how i feel about the gospel. It just feels right. I know I already shared this but the change that has been seen in Barton is incredible! He talked about how he thinks he doesn't have much time in this life left and how he wants to do all he can to choose the right. He made me think about how short this life really is. I hope that I can use my time wisely here so that I may stand before the Lord and be welcomed into his arms. One day at a time though is how we do it....
Sunday: We were walking to church and ran into those boys that gave us such a hard time two weeks ago. They ended up coming to church BUT they were drinking alcohol during gospel principles class... they are crazy!!! Sister Daka came to church....she is the mom of a girl we taught once. she said she met the missionaries 13 years ago and was on the internet today when something about Mormons popped up so she thought she'd come to church and find out for herself. She stayed all 3 hours and even for the baptism! She said she really enjoyed it and learned a lot. The Lord works in mysterious ways but how amazing is that! I can't wait to see her soon! To answer Mom's question...i now play the piano each week but a couple of the keys are broken so its pretty funny! Selina's baptism...i really can't explain everything I felt. it was the best! Half an hour before it started though we got a call from her mom and dad that they wouldn't be there. My heart broke and I started to cry and was frustrated that her parents were going to miss such an important part of their daughters life! I was also overwhelmed by the love and support that I have from my own parents. Mom and Dad...i love you and appreciate you so much!! I didn't understand why I could have parents like mine and then Selina's parents would miss her baptism....I didn't want to break the news to Selina but I pulled myself together and asked her if she would like to postpone the baptism for next week. She looked at me and without a doubt said, "Nope. I want to be baptized today." Selina's faith once again gave me so much hope and strength. This young 14 year old girl has forever changed my life and will be one of my biggest heroes! We helped her get dressed and tie up her hair and it was so special. She looked beautiful in white and man i love her! The service was great and I gave a talk on the holy ghost. The spirit was so strong as she was baptized and she was glowing when she came out of the water! Her testimony was so sweet and powerful. This girl is going to do amazing things! Sister Motsi and I gave her a Bible and a triple and then I gave her some quotes and pictures. I told her they were from my mom and my family. I told her that they all love her and are praying for her and she said thank you!! I really do appreciate your concern and prayer for the people here! They love you all!! After the baptism we had a lot of fall throughs but we went to visit Elizabeth to see why she didn't come to church. Right when we got to her house it started POURING!!! We didn't prepare at all and it was coming down so hard. We had to get to an appointment so we finally left her house despite her trying so hard to convince us to stay. hahah she even told us that we would get malaria!!! We started walking to the bus station to go to Hillcrest and in a matter of seconds we were soaked!! It was sooooooo much fun though and we couldn't stop laughing! The streets were flooded and so dirty! I could not believe how much water there was! I wish sooooo bad that I had my camera but I forgot it at home. We were in water up to our knees at one point! We got to the bus station but they weren't going anywhere because right then the PRESIDENT WAS DRIVING PAST!!!! President Lungu was in town for the soccer game against Sudan so that was cool to see his procession of cars! The people were going crazy. We got into a bus and oh man....i about threw up. We were PACKED inside this minibus...way too many people than should have been in there and it was so steamy and sweating and the smell was too much for me to handle. hahahah it was insane! we had to wait for the traffic but finally we starting going and the driver had to keep wiping the windows with a rag and I thought we weren't going to make it. We ended up getting out of the bus early and finished the way walking. But the traffic was crazy!!! We were going to see Eugene Kapato and they stay right next to the stadium. The game had just finished so everyone was coming out of the stadium. I wish you could have been there!!! There were people and cars everywhere! Yelling and screaming and honking and dancing and running! It was such an adventure!!! There were these big semi trucks full of boys in the back singing the soccer anthem uh i was in heaven!! We finally made it to the Kapatos only to find Eugene not there but we saw a couple other investigators and then tried to make our way back home. The traffic had NOT moved in the hour and a half that we were gone. There was no way that we would get a bus so we started the walk LONG walk home. It actually went by really fast but it was long and kinda scary but we made it safe! Dirty, wet, and tired, yet with big smiles on our faces! I love being a missionary with all my heart and soul!!! There is nothing better and nowhere else I would rather be.
Thanks for being the best ever!!!! I love you all and I love the Savior and His gospel.
Narikutemwa,
Sister Bingham
Selina's baptism!!
Selina, President Webster Chisilongo, and Brother Nzima.
The older lady in the picture is Mrs. Daka...she just randomly came to church and really really wanted to be in the picture...hahah
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