Super Sunday

The Powerful New Investigators!

Bro L.

We got this referral from other Elders in our Zone, and they told us to visit this one guy, because he is super nice and super cool. And well, Bro. L. fit everything that they said. At first we kept coming to the house and he was gone basically every time. But then finally one day we decided to randomly stop by and he was there! We were able to teach him a lesson and it was super powerful. We taught about the Restoration and how Jesus Christ's church is back on the earth today and it was only possible through the restoring of the priesthood power and authority. And during the whole lesson he was like, "Yeah this makes sense!" Before we visited him, he said that he was super open to religious teachings. But he said that for us, the message made sense and he believes that Joseph Smith must be a true prophet that saw God the Father and Jesus Christ. And that everything clicked for him! It is so amazing how much power that the gospel message has. I was thinking about it, and it just makes sense. The Restoring of the church and everything that happened in order for the authority of God to be back on the earth. It is another testimony to me that I know that The Church of Jesus Christ is the true church restored back on the earth today.

Bro. Paul

We randomly ran into this guy. So we were going to visit an investigator of ours, Bro. Crispen. But instead we just ran into his son, Bro. Paul. And he didn't have much time, but he said that he heard about our church and Joseph Smith, and said that he was looking for the Book of Mormon. Luckily I had one right there with me so I gave it to him, and we set a return appointment to him. When we came back to visit the very next day!, he read the introduction and Joseph Smith's testimony of the book. It was amazing! And he said that he believed that it was true. We then taught him a lesson and at the end of it invited him to be baptized and he accepted! It was quite an amazing experience and I truly love the Book of Mormon and the truthfulness that it has behind it!

Super Sunday!

Another wonderful and sorta hectic Sunday. So we got to church, and well, the building didn't have any power or water, so they decided to only have Sacrament meeting that day. But church attendance was so great! So many of our investigators were there and the family from last week also was able to come! It was so great! So after the sacrament meeting we had the baptisms for 3 of our candidates! It was so awesome! Ashly, Nioami, and her son Lynell were all baptized. Although i was a little hectic because there some complications with water, baptismal clothing and electricity. Everything was able to work out and the baptism made me so happy.

I am absolutely loving Kadoma and the people here. I am also so thankful for all the many miracles and people we have been able to meet in this place and how receptive the people are. I know that this church is true as well as the Book of Mormon. I love you all and hope your weeks were amazing!

Love,

Elder Parco

I love miracles!

A Week of Miracles!

Wow! I can say that I have seen so many miracles in just this one week spent in Kadoma! It has been insane! And I truly thank Heavenly Father for all that has been provided for us this week! This week has honestly been the the most miracles I have seen on my mission, and the great thing about this is that I get to share it! It has really strengthened my testimony that God really looks out for us while we are serving with all of our heart. And I know that with faith miracles can happen. Elder Clark, one of the elderly mission couples spoke about sacrifice in sacrament meeting this Sunday and said, "Sacrifice is what makes miracles." And that is 100% true. We can't expect miracles without any effort. It comes through our desires and actions that create miracles. 

Happenstancial Investigators

Bro. Stephanie

Basically with this investigator, we had nothing to do with it. So Elder Barrus has this name that he wrote down before I even came here. And so we called this young man and asked to set an appointment, which was on Thursday. We set up to meet with him at the chruch and when we got there, wow he was super prepared. He basically told us that he has been taught by missionaries before, has come to church a couple times and that he wanted to be baptized. We were like, "Wow! That's awesome!" He told us that he had a family situation with his brothers and how they were not fans of the church. So he wasn't able to join until he turned 18. And so that is exactly what he did! He turned 18 and then came to us. We reviewed all of the lessons, and he knew all of them! Super super well. So we set for his baptism this weekend. It was quite an amazing miracle! 

Bro. Silas

On a Wednesday afternoon. Some of our plans fell through, so we were just walking through the streets, contacting. We found some interest here and there, and then Elder Barrus talked to this one fine gentleman that was on the street. We talked a bit about the gospel, and said that he would be interested. We then asked him if he had time to be taught, and he agreed. We went into his house with his family and basically talked about what the church was all about. He said that he has been looking for a church that he could find peace at, and one where he could just learn about real doctrine, rather than just knowing Jesus is good for you, and prosperity and praising and all of that. It was so amazing! Elder Barrus and I were literally thinking, "Wow, that is exactly what our church is all about!" And we left him with a message to read, and invited his whole family to come to church. And they agreed! With 100% certainty! It was amazing! And to think, while we were walking on the street, we almost didn't even bother to talk to him. Just one little thought of, "I'm too tired to talk to this man," could of wasted a wonderful miracle that happened.

Bro. Ashly 

Ashly is a friend of a member, Prince. And before, he was just a friend of Prince's and that was it. So right before I came here, Ashly started to pick up interest in the gospel. So we decided to teach him about the Restoration of the Gospel and about the Book of Mormon. The lesson went so well! We told him to read and pray about the book and know if it is true. The next day, we also set an appointment to come and vist him. When we got to Prince's house, (Where we usually meet) Ashly was outside the house with two of his friends. So we then taught him and his two brand new friends about the Plan of Salvation. But before, we asked Ashly if he read and prayed about the Book of Mormon. He looked at us and said, "Yes, I read it and I prayed, and I know that this is the true gospel." It was so amazing! And the coolest part about it, is when we were teaching, Ashly kept talking to his firends and saying, "This is the church I'm going to join, isn't it so cool!" It was quite a miracle, and we also invited both of his friends to come to church that Sunday. 

Miracle Sunday

Church starts at 10:30. But we decided to go and pick up some investigators before the church started. Except the only problem was, that the zone leader, (Who had the car) already left, and we were left to go to church using public transportation since our house is so far away from the church. And in order to get there, we would have needed to take two combies (transportation, people packed, vans). We left at 9am, and walked to the street to wait for a combie. We waited, and nothing. And then a combie passed. We waved it down, but shouted at us saying, "Too Full! Too Full!" Then right after, another combie came. But... with the same response. We waited a little longer, and flagged down this other car. He said, "Are you guys going to church?" And we were like Yes!! He stopped and gave us a ride all the way to where our investigators lived. Which saved us a second ride of transportation. And, he didn't charge us at all! It was a miracle! So we go to our investigators, and sadly, Lucy couldn't make it. So we go to Bro. Silas house, and they were getting ready. But he said that they would come with their family and their sister! We trusted their word and said that we needed to leave for church so that we could be on time, and we would meet them there. We started walking super fast, since we knew that we would probably be late. But then, miracle! Another guy shouted at us in a car and said, "Are you guys going to church?" And he gave us a free lift to the front of the church building! IT WAS Such a miracle! 

But then for church! So we got there, and right when we came in, it started downpouring, And I was a bit worried on if the Silas family would come or not! But then, most of all of our investigators came! I said a little prayer that the Silas family would make it and then a couple minutes later, Silas and his family and their sister came to church! Then Ashly came with one of his friends, Stephanie came, Lymon came, and a boy named Earnest came with friends as well! And then a father and his son came! It was one of the most miraculous things ever!! In total we had 11 investigators at church! With most of them being new investigators from just that week! I was so awesome! And I honestly think that the Lord blessed us too much! haha 

After church we had the baptisms of Lymon and Stephanie, and it went great! Silas and his whole family stayed to watch the baptism! It was so spiritual and amazing! Even now I still can't get over how miraculous our week was. Truly one of the greatest blessing in my life! And it made me so happy!

I Feel Dark Again

Monday is the day that I am writing this, but the coolest thing happened today! So apparently my companion, from Farmington, Utah is famous or something in Zimbabwe, because the other day he got this random call saying that one of his friends from his hometown is going to be in Kadoma today (Monday!) Oh and also did I mention, there is a gym by us,(nicer than Bindura) So I am continuing to get swole. But anyways, at the gym there was this lady working out there, and then randomly after she was done with her workout, she was like "Is there an Alex here?" And my companion was like yeah, that's me. So apparently my companion had a connection with her with her brother in law being related to Elder Barrus or something. But it was cool! And later that day we were going to see his friend/acquaintance, from his home. So when we got there, there was so many white people! haha I was almost blinded by the sight. But they were going around Kadoma doing a bunch of Charity things and handing out toys and wheelchairs and stuff! It was really cool. So we got to help them today help give Zimbabweans the things that they brought. But it was so cool! And haven't really seen that many white people since I have been home! haha  I felt super dark. But it was just a little random act of service, that was super fun to do, and got to meet people from Kadoma, the States, and South Africa. It was really fun! And Also got some American candy and a BYU shirt from them! It was awesome!

But yeah, that was my amazing and miraculous week! Oh and during the week our car got stuck in a river randomly formed in the middle of the street. We had like 10 people help us lift the car and get the wheel out of the little river that it went it. (Yeah the roads are that bad here and there has been a huge amount of rain!) But everything is great here in Kadoma, and am enjoying the work!

I love you all and hope that you have a great week!

Love,

Elder Parco

Pictures:

Baptism, Car in Mud, And Past Pictures from leaving Bindura. Oh and one of them is from the service that we did today. Guess which one?

Goodbye Bindura!

I Don't think We're In Bindura?

I have officially left the wonderful place of Bindura. After 6 great months serving there with the ward, I have finally left. It was such a hard moment to leave this area. The waterworks even came in a little. I have met so many great people and have come so close to the ward that I have served with. They are truly wonderful people and they absolutely love the missionaries. If I could of, I would have stayed there my whole two years, but change has to happen some time. 

And life moves on into better and greater opportunities for serving the Lord.

So now for the news, where in the world did I go? Well to answer that simply, I have been transfered to this lovely place called.... Kadoma! From what I have seen so far, it is like a bigger Bindura, getting closer to Harare size. And a little bit nicer, as of houses go. I am serving with Elder Barrus, who is from Farmington, Utah! How cool is that? I'm from Farmington Minnesota and he is from Farmington Utah. So we are basically from the same city. But he is such a nice guy and I am super excited to be serving with him. Also the house we are in is like a mansion! It's pretty big! A lot bigger than my last house and I thought that was a decent size. Apparently it is one of the nicest house for Elders on the mission. 

Also another cool fact. Elder Robison has been our AP (Assistant to the President) for 9 months! And now he is finally out! And guess where he is? Kadoma! And Elder Robison and his companion are staying with us together in the house. I have feeling that this transfer is going to be really great.

And as for my companion Elder Young Yen, he will be staying in Bindura, and he is going to be training! I'm very excited for him to have this opportunity. I know that he will do a great job and I am proud of him.

And now for the zone. I am in the Kwekwe zone, and it is huge! It covers three cities, and here's another thing. They just added sisters into the zone! 8 new sisters in fact! So that will be something new. And 4 of the sister are in our district. Oh and I am now a district leader for the district. I am a little nervous, but like for training, I think I will eventually get the hang of it. Just might be praying a little more harder than I was before. haha

So that is all the new things that are happening. I am excited for this new opportunity to be serving in another area, and I am excited to see what it is like! I am also determined to continue to work hard and no matter what happens, I just need to trust in the Lord to do his work. 

I love you all and hope that everyone has such a great week! 

Love,

Elder Parco

(Sorry I have so many pictures to share, but I need to find a way to send them, since there is no card reader for cameras at this internet cafe.)

Rain, Mud, and Perfect Lessons!

A Rainy Week

This week had so much rain! IT was crazy! Rained pretty much every day. And when rain happens, mud happens. Let's just say that all of my shoes turned brown by the end of the week. 

But Wednesday, me and Elder Young Yen went to Kingston, and yes I forgot an umbrella, but luckily it wasn't pouring outside. Just a drizzle. But it was super muddy and we were sliding all over the place! Quite an adventure! But the lessons we had there were great! Everyone that we met that day were so interested in the message and have been super committed. It made up for the muddy trip! But.. on the way back, I think I was getting too prideful in my ability of walking in mud, because I happened to slip and loose my balance! But luckily my reflexes were too good because before I slammed into the puddle that lied ahead, I was able to put my hands down to stop myself form completely falling. And the greatest thing about it was that there wasn't even a hint of any type of mud splatters on my clothes! A little miracle!

Sunday Floods

Sunday was a day full of water! Lots and lots of water! Enough water to prevent over half of our branch from even being able to make it to church. Let's just say that it was one of the least attended sacrament meetings since I have been here. Only a mere 30 people. And none of our investigators were able to make it, but they were by far excused. But just have to say, the water was pretty sweet! It down poured hard right as it hit6:30am! And didn't stop until 12! On our way to church, streets were pretty much flooded with rivers flowing down the sides of them, and there was even a part where we had to walk through this one street with the water coming up to our shins. It was quite an adventure to church. But that's not all! There is this small bridge at (least 10 feet long) near the church that connects Progress to Gedikai, and the water was so high that it was basically covering it. Now that was a sight to see. Sadly though, no pictures... But the memory will stay in my head. And although church attendance was really low, it was still great. But lots and lots of water.

The Perfect Lesson

On Thursday we visited a referral given by a wonderful member Sister Chiono. And we had the absolute perfect lesson. It was amazing! We started out introducing ourselves and getting to know her, then went into teaching about the gospel of Jesus Christ since one of her concerns was on how to repent. And it was awesome! The spirit was super strong and Sister Chiono even gave some inspired words to add in. At the end of the lesson, we were even able to connect it super smoothly to the Restoration and about the priesthood authority from God. It was one of the greatest lessons I have had. You could feel the magnitude of the spirit that was in the room. Something that I have realized when teaching, is that as missionaries we are learning how to most effectively invite the spirit. Because it's not the missionaries that teach, it's the spirit that teaches and testifies of the truthfulness of the message. It's truly amazing when you can feel the spirit. And I know that it is real. 

I hope that everyone had a great week this week! I love you all and wish you all the best!

Elder Parco

Being an answer to a prayer

Being an Answer to a Prayer:

A really cool experience happen this week. We have and investigator, Bro. Kaswa, who is this wonderful, kind older gentleman who is very committed to the church and wants to join, but we just have to solve a little bit of a marriage situation that he has. So this man has gone through a lot in his life, with things both physically in his health, and mentally through the hardships that he is going through. So on Sunday we decided to check up on him, since we didn't see him come to church that day. When we visited he said that his legs have been having much pain and didn't have enough strength to go to church. But he really wanted to go. We taught him more about Jesus Christ and the atonement and at the end of the lesson we agreed to give him a blessing. And wow, can I say what happened next was amazing. My companion gave a blessing, for his legs and his welfare and afterwards Bro. Kaswa was so touched. He told us that everything in that blessing was exactly what he had been praying for the night before! He said he was so grateful to know that God loved him. And he said that he didn't know how his prayers were going to be answered. But when we came and blessed him, all of his questions and desires were answered. The spirit was super strong in the room and it was such a powerful moment to see the work of God at hand. I am grateful to be serving a mission here in Zimbabwe. I know that it is exactly where I need to be and that if we follow the will of God, miracles will happen. And I absolutely love it here!

My Favorite Missionary:

I just have to tell you about one of my favorite members! Bro. Rapson. He is an older gentleman as well who loves loves loves to talk about everything in his life and retells stories in his life every time we come over to visit. And let me tell you, he is also has a sense of humor. More of like a grandpa one. Him and Bro. John (another older gentleman) have the most funniest arguments ever! And I don't know how to explain it but every time he answers to Bro. John, he cups his hands, crosses his legs, leans backs, and answers  with something like "Ahh That is very good. But you know..." In like a very slow and sophisticated voice. Then after his answer he laughs like "Heh, heh ,heh ,heh" Separated and slow, and after he is done responding he looks at us and says "Am I right?" Every time I go there I just crack up all the time at the conversations that happen. True, it is hard to keep lessons on topic, but I would say that it is worth it. But the most amazing part of Bro. Rapson is all the wonderful missionary work that he has been doing for us. He was the one that helped us catch "The Big fish" which was Bro. John who is the most powerful member/convert that I have seen in my whole mission. Then just this weekend we just baptized another one of his referral, Bro. Naluso. And also this week he invited another friend Bro. Admore in the lessons with us. And he was very receptive and even came to church this week! We later found out that he absolutely loved church and is going to invite his family of 4 and his wife next week! So Bro. Rapson is truly my favorite person because of his personality and his amazing missionary work that he has been doing! I will sincerely miss him when I leave this area.

"That Wasn't Very Smart"

Haha so now for the Not so very smart moments of my week:

On Friday morning, we went to the gym, worked hard, got big, and then came back. So me and Elder Young Yen have been sharing this protein powder that we bought. So when I got back, my plan was to take a glass of it... or at least that was the plan. I went to the kitchen and saw that there was only a little left, so I asked Elder Young Yen if I could have the rest, and he was like "Go ahead, finish it off." So I guess I was a little too excited to "Finish it off" Because right after he gave me a green light, my little hands holding what little protein was left, got all fumbly, and the container started to slip out of my hands. I juggled the container for some moments, lost control and the container flew into the air, and landed on the ground with the hole for the lid facing the ground, letting all of the rest of the protein fall on the floor. Haha and then Elder Horlacher commented, "I don't think that's what he meant by finishing it off, but I guess that works." Haha it was such a funny moment, but never got to get my glass of protein...

Also another story: (Yep there's more!)

So after a long day working hard in the sun, the zone leaders dropped us off at our apartment. Before we arrived though we stopped at a store to buy some things that we needed... one of them being toilet paper. (Didn't have any for like 3 days!) So when we got back, I really had to go and use the freshly new toilet paper that we just purchased. I rushed inside, went to the secret office, and then right as I was about to sit down and do my business, a geko just randomly fell from the ceiling almost landing on my head! I freaked out and yelled "What the Snaps!!" haha and ran out of the bathroom as fast as I could! haha again great and memorable experience. But it disrupted my usual bathroom breaks.

Well I hope that everyone had a great week! Make some goals for this new year!! And I love you all! Also enjoy the pictures!

Elder Parco