4 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS!!!!!!

Alli emailing!

FAmily!!! I CANNONT WAIT TO TALK TO YOU THIS WEEK!!!! It has been crazy trying to figure out how to get all the missionaries able to call/skype home so I really hope everything all works out. I feel so blessed that we get to call home though!! Some exciting news came this week though...our new mission president is coming in July and his name is President Kupu and he is from TONGA! We are super excited!! 

This week was crazy and this upcoming week is so busy as well. There is just too much work to do and thank goodness for Sister Zohner who is keeping me sane. She really is so so great and I can't wait for you all to meet her. I told her that for sure when she gets home she will have to come do a special fireside for you. 

 

Tuesday: We had our zone meeting and we met the new elder in our district. His name is Elder Chatier from Twin Falls and his bishop there is bishop bingham so thats cool! but 3 of us are from Idaho in the same district which is crazy! That afternoon we met with Justin, the 14 year old that is neighbors with Selina and has been coming to church for the past 6 months, and had a really really good lesson with him about baptism. He has been coming to church yet i have never seen him so serious about the church then I did that day. He really has a strong testimony and a desire to enter into a covenant with our Heavenly Father. We encouraged him to talk to his parents to get permission and we ended up calling him every single night this past week to see how it went and he only talked to his grandma but she was supportive! Tomorrow we are going to see his parents and I really hope it goes well. we saw the sambe family and ended up having a 2 hour lesson!! hahah sometimes that happens when we bring members to lessons but this family...i love them with all my heart but they are just really struggling with finding the courage to accept the gospel. I have really learned through them though that we need to trust in the Lord and His timing. I have such a strong testimony that our work as missionaries extends for years and we may just be planting seeds but someday those seeds will grow into magnificent trees. 

Wednesday: We had our first lesson fall through and both of our backups and with the no tracting in our mission we decided to go and contact someone we had met once. We were walking to her house when I saw a lady going into her house that we  had asked one day if we could help her plant maize. I waved at her and said, "Mulishani" and then before we knew it, she was inviting us into her home! We had a good first lesson with her and her husband and their two grandchildren. As sister Zohner and I left her house we were so grateful for that blessing we experienced. If our first lesson had of worked out or one of our back ups been home, we wouldn't have found this new father led family! We both were so humbled by the Hand of the Lord and both felt a deep appreciation for Heavenly Father's plans. We had a great lesson with Barton Zulu about the word of wisdom and have been calling him every night to check up on him. During that lesson with him, I was really touched by the weaknesses that we all have that allow us to turn to the Savior. I was also touched by the responsibility that I have been given, and all the missionaries in the world, of helping God's children to overcome their struggles and find peace and healing through the Atonement of Christ. This calling is the greatest ever and I love being a missionary, especially this time of year. We taught two young brothers, Gift and Greig and commited them both to baptism. Gift is going to the Congo for a couple months but Greig is really excited about the gospel and knows that it is true. After a really great lesson with them we were walking out of the church and Gift says, "So after we are baptized, can we be missionaries like you?" I honestly didn't even have words because I was sooooooooo happy to hear this! Wouldn't that be incredible to have them both serve missions? For our last appointment we asked Sister Thole from the branch to come teach with us. The man we were supposed to see was busy so we had to come up with a new plan. We went through every person we could possibly think of and EVERYONE was busy! I started to get stressed because i felt bad just standing there with Sister Thole who probably had lots to do. Sister Zohner then suggested we go see Sister Sinkiwae, a less active that we wrote down in our planners, yet haven't seen in months! Well we decided to go visit with her and you should have seen how excited and happy she was to see Sister Thole!!! She kept saying over and over, "I have been missing you so much and in fact have felt impressed to go visit you this entire week!" This reunion between these two really was so special and I felt soooo grateful that we once again had been led without us really knowing to this daughter of God who needed us to visit her. She then opened up to us as we talked with her and told us that lately she has felt so far from Heavenly Father and the Savior and hasn't even felt like praying or reading the scriptures. She has felt so alone and lost but as we shared a spiritual thought from the Book of Mormon, we left her with a smile on her face and her home filled with the Spirit. I love this work with all my heart and the chance that we have been given not only to share the gospel but to warm hearts and cheer up the sad. 

Thursday: The busiest day of the week but always my favorite! Pamodzi and Chifubu has sooooo much work and its almost stressful trying to fit in all the appointments. Even with the car back we don't have enough time to visit all the investigators, less actives, and members. How about you all come be missionaries here to help us out?? We had a lesson with Aaron Mupundu finally!! You probably don't remember but they are the super humble family that we haven't been able to see in awhile but had a lesson with his wife last week. and guess what...HE CAME TO CHURCH!!! I was sitting in front since I was playing the piano and I could not figure out who this one man was and so when he came up to me and said hi I was so excited that he probably thought I was crazy but I couldn't stop saying, "I am so happy you are here!" Hahah I really did say it 3 times in a row to him. Anyways I know how hard it was for him to come to church and I am so grateful for his example that he has shown me and the way he has put his trust in the Lord. During our lesson with him, we found out that he had been illegally put in prison for 5 days but he had the most positive attitude about it and told us that the entire time he was telling everyone in prison about this amazing new church he has found. What an incredible man! We finished the night up with a lesson with the Chalwe family. We had quite the adventure getting to their house with all the rain lately but we made it! It was really special being all gathered in their small one room home and teaching the kids about the plan of salvation. At the end Sister Zohner bore her testimony about how through the plan of salvation we learn that we are daughters and sons of Heavenly Father and it doesn't matter how many clothes or things that we have, nothing will ever change that. My love for this little family continues to grow each and ever time I meet with them. The little boys don't speak much english but they have cute smiles and are really good at singing primary songs. Sister Chalwe is the branch primary president and I wish you could here them sing or more especially feel the Spirit as these precious children sing the simple truths of the doctrine. We sandg, "I belong to the church of jesus Christ" and these words really touched my heart. Go read them and then picture being with this family. Its the best!

Friday: I woke up at 3:47 am and we started the drive to Lusaka around 4:30! Don't worry...we bought lots of snacks and mountain dew to keep me awake and Sister Zohner was really good at keeping me awake. we made it safe and sound to Lusaka...went to immigration for Sister Zohner and then we had a training meeting that afternoon. Then the combined zone conference started!!! It was amazing and I wish i could tell you everything that I learned and felt but really I just realized there are so many things that I need to improve on not only as a missionary but just as a person. I was overwhelmed by the opportunity mission is for me to learn and grow and to build a strong foundation for the future.It really was just an amazing conference!!! I got to see Sister Thueson which was THE BEST! I miss that girl. We did a fun gift exchange with everyone and had Christmas dinner....pizza and fried chicken! Then we watched A Christmas Carol but Sister Zohner and I were practically falling asleep the entire time. We were so dead....but funny enough that night we had a really long, but super spiritual conversation about things that we wanted to work on and how we were going to get through some of the challenges that we have with our area and the sisters in our zone. I love how sister zohner and I can talk and laugh like best friends and then get serious and really feel the spirit. 

Saturday: We finished the conference and had a testimony meeting which was really really really incredible to hear so many testimonies of missionaries!! THis Christmas activity will be one that i will never forget. The Hulls and the other senior couple bore their testimony and the entire time all i could think about was Mom and Dad being missionaries and the great suppport and strenghth and example they will be to the elders and sisters. I am so excited for you!! We then started our drive back to Ndola and instead of the usual 5 hour car ride, we got caught in a huge rainstorm and terrible traffic so it took us over 7 hours!! And it was the most adventurous car ride of my life (ok besides Leslie Gulch of course). The cars in Lusaka drive crazy so that was fun and also our tail light only works half the time and our trunk isn't finished getting worked on so it sticks up halfway and then it kept opening up! And then remember that one time where I almost got a wreckless driving ticket???? Hahah well they have police stops all the time on this road and when we stopped the police officer told me to go and pull over because i was getting a ticket. So we drive forward to pull over and then wait to pay but in Africa I guess you have to walk to the police men. So we go talk to them and they want to cite me for wreckless driving and they tell us we have to pay 900 kwacha. Sister Zohner and I literally had a combined total of 195 kwacha so we had to explain this to the policemen and they were like ok go get it. hahaha so we totally dropped them down from a 90 dollar ticket to a 20 dollar ticket and then we gave all the policemen pamphlets and talked to them about the church. By far the most expensive contacts ever but i guess it was worth it. I think the policemen see that we are white so try to get us to pay more and honestly I tried to argue out of the ticket because their reasoning was super lame but oh well....it makes for a good story right??? AFter getting the ticket our trunk would not stay closed so we ended up tying the trunk closed with some ties we received from the gift exchange....guess the good ol idaho red neck came out of us!! We got home at 8 that night and we were exhausted! but soooo grateful we arrived home safely.

Sunday: It was a glorious day as Sundays always are on mission. During the sacrament I was so touched as I looked around the congregation and realized how many lives I have been blessed to see changed in the branch. That sacrament meeting Justin was confirmend which is always soooooooooo special. Brother Simanwe not only participated in the blessing but also blessed the sacrament. Sister Simanwe was called as second counselor in the Relief Society. Selina was early to church! Barton came to church instead of going to the anglican church. Benson who is a less active was there with a white shirt!!! All of these things may seem small but they mean soooooo much to me. The other sisters had a baptism and then cletus was interviewed for baptism and will be baptized on Saturday!! 

This time of year is truly wonderful as we get to celebrate the birth and life of our Savior Jesus Christ. I can't even begin to express my love and gratitude for the Savior and how much I have been strengthend by Him as a missionary. Today I read from D&C 76:22 and I want to add my testimony to that of the prophet Joseph Smith that He Lives. I am so grateful for the past 6 months that I have been able to be a representative of Him and to invite others to come partake of His grace, mercy, peace and joy! As i was waiting to email I read the account of Samuel the Lamanite and was especailly impressed by Helaman 14: 11-13. I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and feel of the Savior's love. I am beyond excited to talk to you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

 Cotton Candy & an escalator ride!

Nakulaya ukwate Christmas esuma (I wish you a merry christmas!)

Sister Bingham