Happy are We!

President Kupu asked each companionship to give a gift to the Savior. He extended the challenge to have each companionship baptize on Christmas day so we will have a mission-wide baptism! So awesome right? Sister Reid and I have been praying and working diligently to find teach and prepare someone to make the sacred convent by entering the waters of baptism on that special day. We were able to put a lot of people on date for Christmas but unfortunately they weren’t able to come to church yesterday. We did have 2 of our new investigators come to Church though and we still have plenty of time to accomplish our goal and show our gratitude for the Savior. But I was getting a little bit worried until a miracle happened…..so flashback to Blantyre a couple weeks ago. I was kneeling in prayer one day and I felt the prompting to begin praying for whatever area I would be serving in for my last 6 weeks. I started to consistently pray that the Lord would prepare hearts for me to find and invite to come unto Christ. Within a few days the call came that I would be transferred. Ok now flash forward to this week. I continue to pray as an individual and as a companionship that we will be guide to those who are prepared for the gospel. 

 Family Home Evening!!!

Sorry its blurring and sort of crooked...it was probably the first picture Bana Geni has ever taken:)

Monday night we come home and our night guard Joseph was holding the back cover of a Liahona that was torn out and had been thrown away earlier that day. I asked him if he would like a copy of a complete Liahona and he said yes. I went inside and sort of forgot…oops. Well then I was reading the October 2016 Liahona and it has a story about a man who finds a Liahona with a  picture of king Benjamin on the front and after reading it and meeting the missionaries he ends up being baptized. When I read the story I hurried into closet and looked through the stack of old Liahona’s. GUESS WHAT I FOUND??? The same Liahona that the man in the story found in the old flat!!!!! I quickly grabbed it and ran it outside for Joseph. Next morning I go out to run my morning laps around the parking lot (it seriously isn’t even as big as a basketball court) and Joseph tells me he has read 5 talks and loves it! That night we gave him a Book of Mormon and as of yesterday he was in 2 Nephi 10. He actually stays in the Elders area so they were finally able to teach him on Saturday and he is on date to be baptized on Christmas!!!! It was a huge tender mercy as I realized that he was prepared by the Lord and through us missionaries, he is now able to learn of the restored gospel. Mission is just incredible and filled with so many moments like these!

Ndola District!

 Gift and Vincent Nkhole were confirmed last week and we were able come teaching with us a couple times this past week. Gift is 11 years old and is the spunkiest girl I have ever met. We went and taught an investigator who didn’t come to church. He assured us that he would come this next week and before we could say anything Gift goes “You better come to church or else I will punch you!!” Lol she is adorable. We finally were able to teach her father this past week and it was incredible to watch her testify and teach him. Most families that I have taught in both Zambia and Malawi are very reserved with each other. Especially when we ask a child to teach their father, they get very quiet. I think it is a part of their culture and how they show respect but not with Gift. She went right ahead and was telling him about how much she loves the gospel! We had shown him the picture of his family’s baptism and it softened his heart so much! We could sense a longing in him to also be dressed in white like his wife and children. He asked a lot of questions about baptism but had a concern about being baptized twice. Before Sister Reid or I could even respond Gift goes, “You can be baptized twice but Heavenly father only counts one baptism. The one that is done by the priesthood power of God.” She continues to amaze me. I am in 3 Nephi now and I couldn’t help but think of her as I read the account of the Savior blessing the children one by one. 

 Teaching with our recent converts!!!

We got a referral from the other sisters and were surprised to discover that when we met him he was the driver of a taxi that Sister Reid “bumped” into 2 weeks ago. Hahah I saw him and asked, “wait how do I know you??” hahah but he is so great!!! We saw him twice this week and he came to church. The best part of teaching him was when we followed up on his prayer about Joseph Smith. He said he still hasn’t felt a sure confirmation yet but he said that he is so grateful he now knows how to pray. He continue to explain to us that before when he would pray he never would listen. He would just say his prayer and then chapwa…that’s it. But he said that he began to listen and it has made his prayers more meaningful and he feels the Spirit. He thanked us for teaching him how to pray. We don’t know what will happen with Andrew. So far he is progressing really well and even stayed for our baptism on Sundaybut as we left the lesson with him on Friday I felt so much JOY to know that we helped him know how to communicate with his Father in Heaven. We helped him to understand better and strengthen the most important relationship that he will ever develop in his life. My heart was overwhelmed once again to be a missionary and to get to experience such miraculous events in other’s lives.

I gained a testimony of visiting teaching this week. Remember last week when I talked about Sister Lunia and not knowing how to help her but then she came to church?? Well this week when we went to see her it was a complete 180 from last week! She couldn’t stop smiling and when we asked her about the concerns she had last time, she said they weren’t even a problem anymore. Another tender mercy for me as I learned that we may be inadequate, we may not know what words to share, but if we humbly follow the Savior’s call to find his lost sheep, we will rescue and save them. 

There was one day this week where things were just not going as planned and I was SO tired. I have been blessed my whole mission with an incredible amount of energy and health! But on Friday I was dragging….I started to doubt why exactly I was sent back to this area. But I received a lot of answers to my questions as to why I need to be here. One reason is to learn once again from the members. I will share with you one story. Sister Chalwe lost her husband last year. She has 3 children and doesn’t work. Ok well she sells charcoal but she buys a big bag for 70 kwacha and she makes a profit of 8 kwacha, 10 if she is lucky, which is equal to loaf of bread. Anyways during a lesson we asked her to share to the investigator how she is able to sacrifice to come to church. She shared how she walks over an hour to get to church each week with her kids, whether they have eaten or not. Hearing her testimony moved me to tears because never once have I heard her complain or not smile. She is one of the happiest saints I know! I am grateful that the Lord called me back to Ndola so I can be reminded of the faith and obedience of the members here and so that I can build my own testimony to be like theirs. I was asked to give a talk in Sacrament meeting and as I sat in front, I loved looking at each of the members. Then as we sang “How great the wisdom and the love” I thought of how great the wisdom of the Lord to allow me to be here. How great his love he gives to me in allowing me to serve in Ndola. And how great His plan is! How great it has been to serve in Lilongwe and Blantyre! How great is my calling!!!

 Bernard's Baptism!

The week was great!!! Since I only have 4 weeks left I feel a lot of temptations to think about home which is frustrating because I know how precious my time is and i want to serve with all my heart, might, mind and strength. but at the exact same time I don't feel like i am leaving at all. I feel like it is all I have ever done and all I ever will do. We did a super fun service project and the whole time i wished you could have been with us. I worked really hard and have blisters and my back has been so sore but I loved it!!! it made me miss working in the yard so much. One of the elders was sweating so bad from his head and it made me think of you - Dad! 

 Service Project

We helped move dirt and rocks and the new meetinghouse in Masala...I'm still sore!

We tried to get youth activities started in the branch so i got them to play games. We only havd about 5 youth so not as great as Ndirande but we are laying a foundation. I am happy it is getting colder in Eagle!! its getting hotter here and the rains are finally starting. we couldn't teach a couple lessons this week because it rains so hard on the iron sheet roofs that you can't hear anything!! mid lesson this week a roof came flying off and hit the house we were teaching in. i thought we were going to die!!! hahah funny thing was that we were teaching about the spirit world when it happened.

The work continues to move forward. We taught with a member of the district presidency yesterday and he wants to work with us in creating a group in our area so that the members don’t have to travel so far to get to church. I am sooooooooo excited!!! It is going to take a Lot of hard work and planning and I probably won’t be able to see the results but it is amazing to see the work of our Savior hasten onward. Thank you for your prayers, love and support. I couldn’t do it without you!!!!

Nalikutemwa Sana,

Sister Bingham

 Missionary Outfits

Sister Arok used to roast me on my outfits cause they never matched....things get boring after 17 months of serving so i took this picture just for her but i thought you'd enjoy. Especially Dad since he always makes fun of my mismatching outfits. 

Sister Asemnyinah

This is Sister Asemnyinah (try saying that one) and she likes to do cute poses!

 Helen...she doesn't like the camera

Kukamba Sana Sana Sana

Baptizing souls and killing chickens....what more could I ask for?

Hot season is up and roaring! I forgot how hot the Copperbelt is....nonetheless missionary work is bwino bwino!! I know I wrote a lot about how great it is to be back in Ndola once again but even after all the reunions the work is progressing and we were able to witness SO many tender mercies! 

We went and visited Sister Lunia who has recently become less active. We shared with her "Joy and Spiritual Survival" by President Nelson and to be honest....it was a struggle to get through the lesson. She shared with us that she has been less active before but that time, she actually missed church. Now she doesn't have any desire to be there and it is just too much work to get her kids ready and go to church. Everything that we would share with her, and each time we would testify of the importance of the Sacrament and obedience to the Lord's commandments, she would just sort of shrug her shoulders at it. There were many times that I just didn't know how to help her or what to say. But we bore our testimonies and at the end of the lesson I felt a strong prompting to not invite her to church. WHY??? I had no idea. Why should I not invite her to church? how could we teach that whole lesson and not invite her? It was so weird as I ended up just committing her to finish the talk. We prayed and left her house and as we were walking out the gate...she runs over and gets sort of quiet and says, "Sister Bingham, i think I am going to come to church on Sunday" It was then that i realized the reason behind my prompting. She needed to make that decision herself. The choice for her to come and the desire to do so needed to come through her own spiritual impressions so that it would be more powerful and lasting. It was amazing to see her speak out and say that to me after spending the previous 30 minutes refusing to come to church. AND GUESS WHAT?!?!? SHE CAME TO CHURCH!!! AND TAUGHT THE LESSON IN RELIEF SOCIETY!!!!!! This helped me to learn so much about my role as a missionary. SO many times I just want them to realize the importance of our message and almost force them to act upon our invitations because I know how much it will bless them! But it all goes back to the fundamental principle of the plan of salvation...agency. It truly is one of God's greatest gifts that He has given us and we have been sent here on earth to learn to make correct choices and follow the Savior, Jesus Christ. It made me so grateful to know that I have been called and set apart to help people learn to make small but eternally significant choices in their lives. I have to be worthy, I have to be faithful, I have to be happy, I have to be bold, and I have to testify and then trust that through the Holy Ghost they will make that right choice. I am so grateful for Sister Lunia and her courage to do what is right!

Our area is really big and we struggle to find people to teach near the actual town part of Ndola. It is important for us to teach here as it is close to the church and often has more self-reliant people. Wednesday morning, Sister Reid and I prayed right before going outside. Sister Reid prayed that we would be able to find new investigators to teach within our center of strength to help establish the church. During her prayer, I had a calm, peaceful feeling rush over me and in that moment I knew that we would be guided to find someone. We went through the day, busy as always, it feels like we never have enough time!!!! We had a few fall throughs but felt like we should go visit a less active. it was hot....i had drank all my water and I started to doubt. We walked into the less actives home and found her daughter at home who initially told us she wasn't a member. She actually is but just didn't want to tell us....anyways she showed us to her neighbor's home and within 20 minutes we had found 7 new investigators! I am grateful for the faith of my companion who petitioned the Lord to help us overcome one of our stumbling blocks. And it truly is amazing how it all works out....often through ways we wouldn't initially think of.

Thursday one of the sisters this side was told she was being transferred to Malawi last minute so we rushed to drive her around her area to say her last goodbyes. She got emotional while saying goodbye to some recent converts and investigators and of course it made me cry. It gave me an opportunity to reflect on my months of service (since it was my 17 month mark) and think of what I have done. I thought of all of the people that I have developed relationships with in each area I have served. It was a really hard hit for me to think my time is far spent and that I won't be doing this everyday for the rest of my life. Honestly it feels like this is all I have done my whole life and really all I want to do for the rest of it. I have learned SO much but this week I was most especially grateful for the opportunity I have been given to love. I think they should change the lyrics to "Called to Love." Unless you have served as a missionary you may not know exactly what I am talking about but it is so hard to walk away from the home of someone you have prayed for, studied for, taught, cooked with, served, laughed with, worried over, learned from and wonder if you will see them again. It was hard to watch Sister Brown say goodbye but it was a big wake up call for me to cherish this time that i have left and to express greater gratitude that the Lord allowed me to come back to see those I love so much. We taught Yimali that afternoon and Sister Asemniynah, who was in a threesome with us for a few days, testified to her of her own experience of walking to church in Ghana and committed her to sacrifice to make it to church on Sunday. AND GUESS WHAT??? She came. It was soooooooo great to see her but the best moment of all was Sunday evening hearing Sister Asemnyinah talk about how happy that moment made her! I love watching the other sisters find success and joy in the work!!! Its been humbling and really inspiring to discover there is so much more happiness that we can experience if we rejoice with those around us. Too often we find ourselves comparing ourselves and wishing we could do better that we miss out on great spiritual experiences that are family and friends are having! I have come to find the same amount of joy and have learned so much from the other sisters and elders and their successes! 

We had a FHE with the Nkholes who were baptized last week and their father joined us for the lesson!!! The sisters haven't been able to teach him and he is pretty hesitant to learn but we taught from the family proclamation to the world and it was incredible how it softened his heart. There is so much power in families and always connecting the message we teach back to the family. Brother and Sister Simanwe came with and shared how the gospel has blessed their family. I have heard them do it plenty of times before but the spirit was so much stronger because they have been to the temple! We also visited another member who went to the temple and she had the most amazing glow about her and couldn't stop smiling. I wish you could hear their testimonies.....

 Water Problems

 Saturday morning the elders called us and asked us to come help them fill up the baptismal font at their meetinghouse because they didn't have water. We made about 5 trips with 12, 20 liters bottles full of water. It was hectic but we are so grateful everything worked out and the baptism was wonderful!

Saturday we spent the morning filling up a baptismal font for the elders and then we stayed to watch the baptism. Even though I had never met the baptismal candidate I was so touched by the service. I tried to soak it all in and as always there was the sweetest spirit there. I love love love being able to witness sacred ordinances performed so often! On Sunday the Nkhole's were confirmed and it was the best. The words in the confirmation of "We your brethren" really touched my heart. It made me remember that we are all part of Heavenly Father's family and he loves us all so much! It made me grateful to be able to work hand in hand with the members in Ndola to bring about the purposes of God. It made me want to go out and shout from the housetops about the restored gospel!!! I have found so much joy lately in literally talking to every person I can about the gospel. Despite their response or progression, it makes my own testimony and love for the Savior grow each time.

So the week was great! Mission is great. My companion is great. I love being a missionary and the promise that we read in Helaman 3:27 "The Lord is merciful unto all who will, in the sincerity of their hearts, call upon His holy name."

Nalikutemwa Sana,

Sister Bingham

Ndola Branch!

My hair dressers

Look how big the Nonde girls are!!!!

Home Sweet Home

This may have been the happiest week of my mission and might possibly my life!! It has been filled with the sweetest reunions as I have been able to be back in Ndola. There are so many stories to be shared but the highlight was returning back to the Simanwe's home Saturday morning we pull up to their house. Poor Sister Reid...it took my all to just not sprint into their house!!! Olivia comes running out screaming and gives me a big hug. Then Sister Simanwe comes running. I think she gave me 30 hugs! But guess what??????? THEY WENT TO THE TEMPLE!!!!!!! Sister and Brother Simanwe and Olivia were sealed this past week in the Johannesburg, South Africa Temple. I hardly had words for them as we sat there and they told me all about it! I thought that going through the temple and being gathered with my own family was the best moment of my life. But honestly, seeing this family, who just over a year ago, was taught about the Restoration, to now have made sacred ordinances in the temple......was the happiest moment ever.

 The Simanwe's and their sealing certificate from the temple!!!!!!

It felt like I was home Sunday, as I sat in the Ndola meetinghouse. Sister Maggie still hobbled up in front and bore the most powerful testimony. Selina stood there and bore testimony about the importance of the Sacrament. Brother Simanwe conducted the meeting as he is now the first counselor in the branch presidency. Sister Simanwe taught the lesson in Relief Society. Brother Thole taught our gospel principles and told another amazing story that built my faith. It really is the biggest blessing that I have been able to return to this area to see the growth and change over the past 10 months. I have missed so many of the members and it is humbling to know that the Lord has called me once again to serve them and learn from them. There is a lot of work to be done but I am grateful for all the things that I have improved upon since I last served here so that now I can serve more diligently and with greater faith!

We had our Mission Leadership Council this past week in Lusaka. It was great to be gathered with so many of the sisters that I have developed dear relationships with! The Kupus....are incredible. Each time they speak to us missionaries, I am amazed by them. They have so much faith and humility and a desire to be completely obedient to the Lord. I am grateful for the trust and love they extend to us missionaries. As we were instructed by our mission president, I felt the strongest desrie to not disappoint him but to do my best to fulfill what he expects and asks of me. I am grateful that President Kupu has been able to help direct my focus to the Savior so that I can learn who my leader is. We did things different this MLC and we went out proselyting in the evenings with the other sisters serving in Lusaka. I was able to go out and teach with a couple different sisters and learned so much from them!!! I taught with two sisters who have been out for less than 3 months and they have so much fire for the work!!! It got me pumped for my last 6 weeks. It was also so great to immediately put into practice what we were taught that morning. We were able to witness many miracles together as our president asked us to go and find a family. At the end of MLC President Kupu announced that Sister Thueson, Sister Owusu-Afriyie, and myself would be leaving soon. I had totally forgotten!!! He thanked us for our service and then guess what the closing song was...."God Be With You Til We Meet Again." Obviously I cried. It was a hard hit as I all the sudden realized how little time I have left and how much I sincerely LOVE my calling as a missionary. And it was the last time that Sister Arok and I would see each other before i go home and Sister Newey and I would no longer be serving in the same zone. It was sad but I will forever be grateful for what i experienced with both of those sisters. Sister Newey has been the biggest strength to me as we have served the past 9 months together. But I know the Lord has great plans for her!!!!

Ndola is so great. Our area needs to be built up again and so we have our work cut out for us in the upcoming weeks! Which is the biggest blessing for me so that I can finish out my mission strong. When I first arrived to Lusaka in June, President Erickson interviewed me and shared with me a few things that he knew I needed to and could do as I strive to humbly and faithfully serve the Lord. It was interesting to hear President Kupu share almost the exact same words to me as I begin the close of my mission to the same area.  This is the Lords work. He has called me and knows me. He knows my imperfections. He knows my weaknesses. But He also knows my potential. Sister Reid and I have already seen great miracles. We set a goal for the past 3 days to find new investigators. In our very first day we found and taught 7 new investigators!!! Ever since I was told I would be transferred, I have been praying for the Lord to prepare individuals for us to find, teach and baptize. Then yesterday, I was able to fast for the same purpose. I was surprised to find the Lord answer my prayers different then I expected. Rather than just sending the people right to us, He was able to bless me with a great enthusiasm and energy so that I was able to contact and talk to SO many people despite the heat and exhaustion that accompanies missionary work. And we found a great, self-reliant, noble family that agreed to meet with us this weekend. I know that Heavenly Father ALWAYS answers our prayers. I also know that what we read in D&C 58 that we need to be anxiously engaged in order for those desire and wishes to be given. We were blessed to have baptisms on Sunday. The Nkhole family was baptized and I already feel a great love for them!!! Vincent, the 19 year old son, has been teaching with us everyday for the past 3 days!!!!! 

I love being a missionary. I love Ndola and am grateful for all the many blessings I have been able to witness this past week!!!

Ofa Atu,

Sister Bingham

 Comps!!!!

 Sister Reid

 sistas

sistas round 2

Nkhole Family's Baptism

 Selina and Justin!!!

 Selina and Justin.....she still is carrying her little brother to church!

 This is Stephen. His mom was pregnant when I left Ndola but she came running to tell me that she finally went to church like she promised after he was born!

 Hiding from the rain at the baptism

back with Mercy!!!!

Pictures from November 2016 MLC

November 2016 MLC