Mice eating and Malaria free!

Mbewa:

So Wednesday we visited the triplets who we recently baptized! They are all super fun to be around and I always learn a bunch of Shona words from them! But communication can be a bit hard because they struggle a bit with English. But anyways we visited them at their house and they were so kind enough to serve us some sadsa and some scorched black meat. And I had no idea what this meat was, all I knew was that it was very chewy. So it was a little hard to eat, but with a help of a very sharp knife we were able to eat it. So after some of the unidentifiable meat, they offered us some more meat! Again it was scorched black to a crisp and I still really didn't know what it was. At first sight I thought it was like a leg of some bird or something. So with everyone watching me, I slowly but surely put the meat to my face and took a bite. And it wasn't so bad. It was actually pretty good. But after I took the first bite, one of the triplets said something like, "Make sure you don't eat the head" Then I looked down and realized that there actually was a head! SO I was eating the meat from the neck or something!! But I still didn't know what it was... maybe a bird or something. THen later on in the night we met with these awesome people and we sat down and talked to them. We got on the topic of food and asked if we have ever eaten Mbewa. And I was like no I don't think I have, but then Elder Luvuno my companion was like Yes!! And was nodding his head with wide eyes. Then he said that we just had it today! And I was like... wait we did!?! And he explained it was that one meat the triplets gave us. Then I asked what exactly was mbewa and I got my answer.. It's a mouse!! SO i just ate a mouse!!! Haha so that is officially the strangest thing I've eaten on the mission... although I still don't know what that first meat was... so that could be even stranger... let's just hope it was something normal. haha

Baptisms!:

So Saturday we had another day of baptisms which is always a great day! We baptized 8 people which was pretty awesome! Most of the people that we baptized were kids. And 2 of them are children to parents who also want to be baptized! But they just need to get married first. Since one of the problems in a lot of the African countries is being legally married. A lot of people don't get married because of something called Labola. (Or however you spell it) It's where you have to pay the wife's father a certain amount of money in order to marry. So people get married culturally and not legally because of it. But the great thing about these parents is that they want to be legally married and we are planning their wedding and their baptism! So that is pretty cool! But anyways the baptism went really well! I got to baptized again which is always cool! Also someone in the ward named Bret who is about 17 got to baptized as well! It was his first time baptizing and did pretty good! I always love baptism days cause well it just makes my day! It's such a great feeling to be able to see people come unto Christ and know that they are doing the right thing in life! Haha it's a great feeling.

Free Food:

So Tuesday a quick little story, we were by the shops and this one lady called us over who was cooking roasted maize (corn) and she gave us some for free! It was so nice of her. But apparently she has met with the missionaries before and wanted us to continue to teach her. It was so awesome! And that was the reason why she gave us free food as well! So that was pretty awesome! Also Thursday we went to our usual place where we buy grilled burgers and the people there said that we were loyal customers so they gave us free chips (fries)! SO that was cool too! haha

Good News!:

So Good news! I don't have malaria!! SO I might have been sick again yesterday, and I might of had a high fever of possibly up to 40 degrees Celsius, which might have caused me to go to the hospital. But if that did happen, it's all good because I'm recovering and am feeling a lot better today than I might have been yesterday. But anyways, they checked me for Malaria and when the test came back the lady with a smile was like, "So what do you think the results are" And I was thinking, "Well sure hope not malaria" And then after an awkward pause of silence she said "You don't have malaria!" Haha I was like oh thats really good! So yeah I don't have malaria! Which is good! But also Sunday was yet another miracle because I did all of these things at church again and still had the energy and strength to do them. It wasn't until after church that the sickness hit me hard. And also the fact that with all the times that I have gotten sick they have been super quick recoveries which I am super thankful for! It just comes to show that the Lord is looking out for the missionaries because it is so unreal to me how fast my recoveries have been!

So I hope everyones week has been good! I love you all!!

Elder Parco

Buckets Buckets Buckets

Oh Buckets!!

It all started on Tuesday morning September 13^th…  It was a normal day in our apartment. Elder Ray just got out of the shower. And I was ready to take mine. I go into the bathroom to turn on the shower, water starts running. Then right as I was about to take a step into the shower… the water starts slowing down, then drips, and then finally stops… I was like what?!? Literally right when I was about to get wet the shower just stopped! Pakaipa! I checked the water pump and realized that the electricity was out… So buckets!! That is what I had to resort to, buckets! It wasn’t really that bad at all actually. And with the power, we found out that our electricity bill ran out and we didn’t get it back until two days later, meaning buckets, buckets and more buckets! But it was all good because we had running water outside of the house that we would fill the buckets up with. And for cooking we had a gas stove. So Thursday we got the power back so everything was normal. But then Saturday came along. This time I just got water from the faucet to drink, meaning power works, then I enter into the shower , turn it on, then right as I take a step in… it stops again! Our power didn’t run out this time but there was a power outage in the neighborhood! Haha I was like Again!?! So yes back to buckets. Lol but this experience definitely made me so grateful for the electricity that we have in our house! A lot of people don’t live with it and man does it make life harder. Also during the week we talked to a member about their mission and I learned that Zimbabwe has it nice. There are other countries in West Africa that aren’t so lucky. It might sound weird but from the talk it made me so blessed to be in the country of Zimbabwe! Also from the lack of electricity gave me a great idea. Since I was able to see how dark it was in the house… meaning pitch black dark, I came up with a “brilliant” idea of playing a game of hide in seek! Haha the four of us in our apartment played it Friday night for like 20-30 minutes before bed and man was that fun! We were basically walking around blind looking for people. Then afterwards we celebrated my companion Elder Luvuno’s birthday and had cake! So it was a good night!

Godknows

I also just wanted to share this awesome progression from one of our investigators. There is this guy named Godknows who is about 17 years old and man he is really progressing. We had a visit with him to review the Restoration message with him, since we didn’t finish it with him last time. But last visit we told him to read the rest and we would follow up! And man did he read! He understood everything and basically taught us the restoration! It was awesome! Then we went into the Book of Mormon and taught about what it was about. The spirit was very strong in the discussion and could feel it throughout! It was very powerful. After we were done explaining what the Book of Mormon was, Godknows said, before we even said anything, “I want to read that book!” IT was such a Miracle!! He is so ready for the gospel! And I am so happy for him! So Sarturday we gave him a copy of the Book of Mormon, after we had a game of soccer with some members and investigators, which was awesome and fun but hot!!!! And on Sunday he showed up to church and afterwards he said that he really really liked church and would be there the next following weeks! He definitely is a perfect investigator. It comes to show that people truly are ready for the gospel, and all they needed to do was find it! God knows his children!! This experience really strengthened my testimony of the truthfulness of the church. Missionary work is amazing and I’m looking forward to the future!

Sunday! Sep 18th

Today was church day! And also my birthday! Haha So this weekend we really celebrated a lot! But I would say that today was even a miracle. So to start off, that morning I wasn’t feeling well at all… I felt very queasy and super weak, and later had a fever, but at least I didn’t throw up this time… Oh which reminds me, I was sick like over a month ago but forgot to tell you. It was on a P-day so I decided to keep it on the down low. Then I forgot to mention it later. Sorry mom. Haha But at least both of these sicknesses only lasted for a day. But anyways I was at church and had like no energy. And it so happened that this very day I helped out a lot at church, but it was all worth it. So 2^nd hour of church I was invited to share to the Primary children about missionary work and the blessings that come from it, but before that , without having any prior knowledge beforehand, I was asked to help teach the primary kids a song! Haha so I sang the song all the way through alone then had all the kids join! It was actually very fun! Then 3^rd hour, in the middle I helped give a blessing to a mother’s child. And After church I taught a lesson to some of our investigators that came. Then the most tiring part! Since Sister Masasu knew beforehand of my singing skills, (which is why she asked me to sing the primary song since she is the Primary teacher) She asked me if I could help the Relief Society sing this song for a district competition that was going on between the different branches. So I helped them sing hymn #29 “A Poor Wavering Man of Grief” None of them really knew the tune, which was a part of the competition, (An unknown hymn to sing) So I got in front and sang the song for them and then continued singing the verses over and over again. Haha we went through it so many times, and at this point I was so weak and exhausted, I definitely almost passed out in front of them! But luckily I didn’t. So that was my super busy and tiring Sunday! It was the most tirest I have felt! And it was a miracle that I got through theSunday!

But I hope everyone is doing fantastic!! I love you all!!!

Elder Parco

Pictures:

1. Elder Odunga!! WHich is Elder Ray's new companion. He's hilarious

2. Post Soccer playing on Saturday! MAn was it hot!

3. Another one for Ryan Sleeps!! haha Man was I sick!

A week of fun!

A Week of Fun!:

So to start off I had a great week! There were so many fun things that happened. Also I am done with 6 weeks now and have 6 more weeks left in training. So that also means that transfers were this week. Sadly Elder Ambanya is leaving our apartment won't be in Woodbrooke anymore. Man he was such a funny guy! But Everyone else in our apartment stayed. 

Besides that I also found out that our zone is the zone that is leading in the mission, and not only that but our district (basically our apartment) is leading the mission! haha I would say that it's because we are just so awesome missionaries but really it is the area. They are so accepting here and especially in Elder Ray's and Ambanya's area there is this place called Stonden which is a 2 hour walk from church (and they all walk) that is blowing up with the gospel! It's so crazy how committed and accepting they are down there! I am so blessed to be in a place where the gospel is thriving, although sad part is when I leave...Ahh pakaiba! (hard times)

Too Much Sadsa!:

So Tuesday, my companion was missing sadsa, because we haven't had it for a week! And sadsa... well it's like this flavorless mashed corn maize. It has a texture of a grainier bowl of mash potatoes and you usually eat it with like meat or chopped lettuce (Excepts it's not lettuce.. cause I forgot the name) But we were missing it so we decided to get a big plate of it when we were walking back from our appointment. So we chomped down on that. And I was super full after that, I didn't even finish my plate! So we were walking home right, and then we stop at a members house to see how they were doing. And then the sister there offered us a plate of sadsa! And let me say, this was without warning, so when I saw it I was like, "How in the world am I going to eat this.." But I managed to eat as much as I could haha it felt like my stomach was about to burst. But after that well... let's just say we didn't want to see or hear the word sadsa again for a long time.

Bro Mukuero (Definitely butchered the name)

So I just wanted to say that this brethren is so amazing and hardworking. We found out that he has made a garden, like a huge garden near his house in some fields. And he doesn't really sell it, he just grows it for his family and freely offers it to neighbors and people in need. But he is also a musician and writes music and does all this other amazing stuff! Haha and he also gives great advice about vision and marriage. Also he wants to buy this field behind his house so he can make it into a community park and plant trees for the whole community! And he also serves in the presidency! But when we talked to him we found out that the church wanted to make a video of him and interview him about his garden and being self sustaining. And it's going to be on Youtube so look out for him! But yeah he was just so inspiring with all of his hard work and his kindness. Definitely someone I highly look up to.

Loose Some Gain Some:

Very sad but the Kingston/ Porta area will no longer exist anymore... It is very sad. Everyone  there will soon have to leave. Which is super sad because that area was super accepting to the gospel... But some good news also. We have been contacting in this new area and we have found many new investigators which is awesome! But Jimmy this one investigator loves to talk! haha you could plan a 5 min lesson and it will turn into an hour topic! Man and he knows the bible like the back of his hand! Makes me realize how much I don't actually know it... But I love this man, he is always so fun to talk to and he is so close to the gospel... he is like right on the edge!! I just pray that he will feel the spirit and have a knowledge of the this I know to be true!

Fun Saturday!

Saturday we had a ward activity and it was a big success. But first off we went to a baptism of an investigator who lived in Kingston but moved to other sister missionaries area, but she wanted my companion Elder Luvuno to baptize her which was pretty cool. So the activity was in Stonden. The place I mentioned before and there was so many people there! Members and nonmember We played soccer there and then ate some pork with bread! It was super fun and was so happy because I was really starting to miss playing soccer! And let me tell you a bit about Zimbabwe culture. With soccer they wont start unless that have 11v11 even if they are one or two short they will wait. And it was also cool because someone had a whistle and reffed the game! Man they are official and serious about soccer! Haha They wanted me so badly to make a goal... But I didn't.. but hey I got 2 assists which is worth something!

P-Day

Today we went to this place called Paradise and holy guacamoley is it beautiful! We bought some stake and chips and bread and had a district lunch there! And we walked and adventured around the area! It was definitely a highlight of Bindura and would go back to that place any day! But Elder Mishungu brought some sausage he had that he got from a previous investigator from Harare and man was that the best sausage that I have ever tasted! It was so Good!!! Haha 

But yeah that was the jist of my week! It was super fun and made some memories! Well I hope everyone is doing fantastic back at home! Love you all!

Elder Parco

5420- Our Zone  of Bindura!!!

5576- Sooccerrr!

5497- Ward Activity

5498- Stonden Area

5626-  Yummmy Yummy sassage and meat!

5623- So these guys passed by and showed us the fish they just caught! This one was huge!

5630- Beautiful view of part of the area

A week of Faith!

A week of Faith!

I missed the Solar Eclipse!!

So yeah! To start off, I missed a solar eclipse that happened on Thursday!! (When the moon covers the sun) We must of been inside or something to miss it!!! Man that will never happen again in life! But apparently this solar eclipse was unknown because it came to a surprise to everyone! Usually if one were to happen people know days before but this just came out of surprise! But oh well, Just something you can learn in life.. Don't always be looking at your feet, Look up!

The Piano Man:

So when I first came here, I thought I wouldn't be playing piano because well... there is only one piano in like all of Bindura area! haha which is a pretty big area. But this weekend was special, it was conference weekend. (where all of the lds churches from around the area gather for a meeting in one area) So yeah President ask me to play the piano on Sunday! And well I accepted under a condition, if I could practice. Which I was able to, but it was hard because the piano they had didn't work so they had to buy a new one! haha And also note: this would be the first time that I actually have played the piano for a church congregation. And this congregation was way bigger since all the wards around the area was there! But yeah definately had to have faith! When Sunday rolled around though I did great! And it was really good! Although people in the back said they couldn't really hear it much ( But i'm fine with that) I was truly blessed though! And it was nice to play again.

Conference

So Besides the playing Conference was really good!

On Saturday there was a talk about power and the priesthood and they showed a video on it. It talked about that power through God can only be used through righteousness. And it compared it to power like in power lines, if you don't have righteousness in your life then the connection breaks and you can't use that power. And things that can break the power can be unrighteous dominion, pride, and sins. It was a good reminder of how the power of God works and how it can be used. 

On Sunday here are a few things that I liked to note:

President Mhkabela spoke and he gave some great words on sacrifice. There is this quite from Joseph Smith that states something like "A religion that does not require a sacrifice of all things will never allow us to have faith" And when I thought about it, it's so true! Sacrifice has to be made in order for our faith to grow. If there was no sacrifice then we wouldn't need much faith in things. Then he spoke about this elderly man who wanted to join the LDS church so he walked 4 hours to a town just to find it. There one of the church members told him of a LDS church that was closer to him. He later was baptized, and President when he was a bishop would always find this man sitting outside of the church before and after Mhkabela left. And one day he asked this man why he was sitting outside the church after church was well over with, and he said that he was sitting on this bench to regain his strength before his 1 hour journey back home. It was such a sacrifice for him, and about 12 months or so down the road this man wanted to go into the temple and he did. And 3 months after he went through he died. It was such a touching story of sacrifice and what he did just to be able to go to church. It should be an example to all of us of the sacrifice we must give in this life.

Also something else that I wrote down is this: It relates to service

"It doesn't matter WHERE you are called to serve but HOW you serve"

These talks really helped me during this week and it was so nice to hear those talks. The spirit was strong that day!

Well I hope everything is going well back home, I love you all!!

Elder Parco