We stayed in Kadoma!

Transfer News!

Transfers were this week and well... Both me and my companion Elder Barrus will be staying in Kadoma! Which will be really exciting. However Elder Blignaught will sadly be leaving Kadoma. But will be training a fresh out of the MTC missionary for the last 3 months he will be on mission. BUT... Sadly 2 sisters in our district had to go home early 2 weeks ago, and it was sad to see them go. As well for the transfers, the other 2 sisters got transferred out and 2 new Elders came in. So Elder Barrus and I will be taking on that huge house that the sisters had with the two new Elders that are coming in. All Elders district, New House, BUT no couches.... Oh haha and we just found out that the sisters accidentally took the keys to the house, on the bus, leaving Kadoma... So the 6 of us Elders might be sleeping in the same house tonight.

Gannet!

He is truly a golden investigator!! And! We got to visit him this week! We met outside of a members house to meet with him since he says it probably wouldn't be safe to meet at his house. We taught, and WOW HE KNEW BASICALLY EVERYTHING WE TAUGHT HIM! He understood everything and had so many good questions! Haha but in the middle of the lesson, there was this man, around 40 years that interrupted us, and asked, "Can I have one of your Books?" We were like, do you mean the Book of Mormon. But then he had this confused look on his face, and said, "No." Apparently he thought we were some Jehovah Witness missionaries and he was looking for a bible or something. haha So being the missionaries we were, we gave him pamphlet and invited him to come to church on Sunday. He said that he wanted someone to pick him up, so Gannet!!! Volunteered to pick him up in the morning! It was so cool! So on church on Sunday, we walk into the meeting and guess who we see? Gannet!...with no one else with him. He said that he looked for this Emanuel guy all morning, but couldn't find him. We were just so happy that he came to church! And felt so bad that he looked all morning for this guy! But we asked him how his reading was going, and he said he has been reading the Book of Mormon, the pamphlets, and the Teaching of the Prophets books that he receive from church! IT WAS AWESOME! This guy is truly amazing and truly converted! I feel so lucky to be able to find someone like this guy. He is progressing so well and we have planned to baptize him on the 12th of March! I am so looking forward to that day! And I know that he will be ready!

Keep Trucking Through!

So on Wednesday, we planned just to visit our contacts and to just find new people. It went... alright. Our goal was to find at least 1 new powerful investigator. So we started the day visiting houses of people that we have contacted on the street during he transfer. And well, we didn't have very much success. In the morning we had two return appointments which was good, but nothing came out of it. Then basically the whole day we were finding, we had no success!  Like nothing! But we kept trying to find people. Then it was starting to get late and decided just to go on this one street. So we walk down and see this guy. We talk to him, and... he seemed pretty interested. So we set an appointment to meet with him. Then later on we walked over to another house, and the son of the person that we planned to visit was there and agreed to visit with us as well! THEN, we were walking back on that same street and we start talking to this guy, and he seemed really interested in the gospel! So we got his contacts and told him we would meet with him! It was so cool! We had all of this success! And it wasn't until the very end of the night when it all happened!

Although in the end, sadly all of the appointments we found that night fell through, but something I did learn from that day was that the Lord tries us. He tests us and sees if we will continue to strive. Then when we show our diligence, he rewards us.

I hope that everyone had a great week this week! I hope you all spend it well!

Love,

Elder Parco

Pictures:

1.Our Zone

2. Baptism Last Week

3. Members awesome Garden!

4.Giant Snail on our Car!

5. Saying bye to Elder Blignauht

Little Miracles and Golfing

The Miracle Guy!

I just wanted to update a little bit on one of our investigators Gannet. He is truly an amazing person, and was ready to hear and be in the gospel that God has for him. So just a little reminder, last week we were in the streets and these people call us over to their house to hear what we have to say. And we go there teach, everyone didn't really seem too serious or interested. But there was this one guy named Gannet that said he doesn't think he could come to church because of things he has been wanting to stop before. So we told him that everyone is welcome at church, and through inspiration left him with a Word of Wisdom pamphlet. (Talks about how as members we take no alcohol, drugs, coffee, tea, and tobacco) So we left not expecting much, but then last Sunday he came to church! And after sacrament meeting, he told us that he took water for the first time instead of taking alcohol! So we told him we would meet him at the shops at a certain time that week so that we could teach him more about the gospel. We left him with a Book of Mormon and a pamphlet on the Restoration. He has no phone, and doesn't want us to meet at his house, so finding him that week was a struggle. We missed seeing him at the shops, and that whole week we were trying to find him, but wasn't able to. So we just hoped that he would show up to church once again! And Miracle!! He did! And he showed up early! After Sacrament meeting, my companion Elder Barrus, asked how the smoking and drinking was going. And this next part made me so happy... He said that ever since last Sunday, he stopped smoking and hasn't touched one since. He also said "I think that I can go on in my life without smoking" It was sooo cool! Then he also said that he read a bit of the Book of Mormon and read through the entire pamphlet! It was amazing! 

Bro. Gannet is truly a testimony to me that the gospel of Jesus Christ can change lives, no matter what someone is going through. The best route to abstain from an addiction is from God, and the help of the Atonement of Jesus Christ. Gannet really helped me see the effects that the gospel has on people. It can help people, it can give hope, it can give peace and happiness. And ultimately it changes peoples lives for the better. This life is hard, and something that I realized is that it is even harder alone. But we will always have someone to be there for us at every step of our lives. We just have to be humble and ask for his help.

Golfing!

So I did something I never would have expected I would do in Zimbabwe. We ate pancakes for breakfast, drank some cool-aid (from America) and then went out and golfed! 9-hole. It was really fun! And took most of the day today! But it was worth it. Although I really really did bad, and kinda got a bit frustrated, it was fun. We just got to do it again so I can do even better next time. haha Can't beat some good ole golfing in Zim!

Little Updates!

We had a baptism on Sunday as well which went great! And also transfers will be this next week. I think that I will be staying but, who knows, anything could happen! Also we had a baby bamboo tarantula in the house when washing dishes, so that was exciting.  

Well I miss all of you guys and hope that you all have a great week! Love you all!

Love,

Elder Parco

The power of the Book of Mormon

A Thought for the Week

Time seems to go faster and faster. Weeks keep speeding by and before I know it, it is going to be March, then April, then next year! Crazy that I have been out for 7 months now! Seems like just yesterday I was still at the MTC all excited and anxious to get into the field, and now looking at where I am today, I have realized that I have changed so much on my mission. I found out that Heavenly Father knows how to make us grow the most, and since I have been here, I have seen a tremendous amount of weakness in myself. And it is humbling to know that I am far from perfect and that it is only through the help of Jesus Christ that we too can eventually be perfected.

Coincidence? I Think not!

So this week my companion Elder Barrus was having some slight problems with his stomach. So on Friday we went to the clinic to get a check up. He goes to the doctor, gets checked up, and is told that he will need to go up to this lab, about 30 meters away, to get some test taken. We get there, he gets his tests, rests a little, then we decided we would leave. So this whole time, I was just walking around the streets holding this copy of the Book of Mormon that I had, since I really didn't have enough room in my bag, so I just decided to hold it loud in proud so the whole world can see! But as we were leaving, one of the men that worked at the test lab stopped me and asked, "Are you giving away or selling that book you have in your hand?" Apparently he thought I was holding a bible or something, because when he looked closer he was like "Oh it isn't a bible, it's a Book of Mormon!" And then I started telling him a bit what it was about. But the most amazing things was in the middle of the conversation, he said that he had a  nephew who was serving a mission in our church in South Africa and that he told him to read the Book of Mormon, so ever since he has been looking for that Book. It was such a miracle! We ended up giving him the Book of Mormon to read and he said that he would talk to us later about what he read when we go back to get the blood test. Haha after that moment I was like, "I'm going to carry a Book of Mormon in my hands everyday!" And we agreed that maybe my companion was sick for a reason. 

Sunday Miracle!

Sacrament meeting just started, then as the opening hymn started, someone pulled us out and said that someone was looking for us in the front. We were both super confused who it could be. So we go out to the front and see Gannet. Someone who we randomly contacted throughout the week. Haha and to be honest, I barely recognize who he was. But it was the most amazing thing ever! He said, "I told you guys I promised to go to church, and now I am here!" It was a miracle! The only thing that he knew about the church was the location and time! And about the Word of Wisdom pamphlet that we gave him the other day. So a little about this man. He had a big drinking and smoking problem, but has the desire to stop. So after the sacrament meeting, I asked him how it was. He said it was alright. Then he said the coolest thing ever. He said, "Yesterday was the first day I drank a bottle of water instead of drinking a bottle of Chibuku (Alcohol)" It was amazing! He is already changing! Haha then I asked him how he was feeling, and he said that he had a bit of a headache. But we got him some water and all was well. This was definitely a testimony to me that even the people we talk to on the streets for just 3 minutes can make a huge impact for them in the rest of their lives. It made me see the importance of sharing the gospel to everyone!

I know this gospel can help and improve the lives of everyone and I know that it is true!

I hope that everyone had a great week this week! And wish everyone the best!

Elder Parco

p.s. sorry no pictures, I forgot my camera

Mission tours and language barriers

Mission Tour!

On Tuesday we had a Mission Tour! It only happens once in a year, so it was a great opportunity to have. Elder Ellis, (One of the quorum of the 70), and his wife Sister Eillis was there! Which made it much cooler! We were able to listen to them speak, as well as our Mission president, President Mkhabela, and his wife. It was a wonderful meeting. We traveled to Gweu and joined with the other zone down there. I realized that I actually barely know any of the missionaries on the mission. Haha I have just seen the missionaries come in go in Bindura. So it was really cool to meet with a bunch of new Elders and Sisters there. But as for the meeting, here are some of my favorite quotes:

Elder Ellis talked a bit about sacrifice and how to make your mission more effective by not offending the spirit. But there was this one quote that was pretty great. It goes, "Sacrifice isn't loss - it's merely preparation for something better." Which I thought was so true. We shouldn't see sacrifice as something bad, but just something that is preparing us, or refining us for something that will ultimately help us in the future, whether it is an actual reward, or a better change in your natural self.

But my favorite part that I thought so deeply about was when I got to go to a training meeting, and we talked about how Christ sees what a leader is. He took the analogy of the Good Shepard leading his sheep, and that we need to know our sheep, sacrifice for them and love them. Then he spat a little fire, telling us what God expects from us. He then spoke about the parable of the talents. And how one was given 5, one 2, and the other 1. And said how as leaders we all have different type of responsibilities. Then he went on, saying the one with 5 talents and the one with 2 doubled their talents. And the one with 1 hid his, and brought it back. But here is the part I never thought about. He asked, What did the servant with one talent do? Well he hid it and brought it back. He brought back the same talent that he was given, even possibly in perfect condition. But when he showed the Lord, he was condemned, and said that he was wicked and slothful, and would be cast into outer darkness. Harsh right? But for what? The servant took the talent, (Or District or zone) and brought it back how it was, not any worse or any better. Just exactly how it was. But the servant was condemned. Then Elder Ellis went on to say, "God Expects a Difference" He expects us to take what we are given and to make something more out of it. His trusts us with what he gives, and also trusts that you will bring back what he gave to something better. It really made me think. It made me think of how I am doing, or if I, as a leader, and making what I was given better. Not even the same, but better.

I really loved when Sister Ellis and Elder Ellis spoke. It gave me a new mind set. They also mentioned that as for our mission, we have the best mission president they have seen. They told us that we were super lucky to have such a great president that we have, who has served in so many callings throughout the church, and has even served as a member of the 70. It made me grateful for everything that i have on this mission, and so glad to be serving with the people in Zimbabwe!

Language Barrier

As for Kadoma, it is a lot better than my last area in Bindura. Many more people know English and can speak it, which makes lessons go a lot smoother... or at least that's what i thought. We have this one investigator, Earnest. Who is about 15 years old and is so dedicated in the gospel and even ended up baptizing him this Saturday! But on Friday, we were teaching him some commandments, and we got to the commandment of tithing. It would of been pretty easy, except he didn't really know English all too well and we didn't have anyone there to translate for us. So we were teaching some other commandments with ease, and then we start teaching tithing and it being 1/10th of our income. And he and his other sibling would not understand. We used our fingers, putting one down, drawing on the dirt with sticks, and asking how much he would pay for tithing if he had so and so amount of money. Haha and they just wouldn't get it. We then went back to the finger example, and Finally yes!! They understood. We took like a whole 20 minutes just trying to explain that one part. haha it was just a funny moment, with a hint of frustration. But in the end it all worked out.

Well I hope that everything has been going well back home! I love you all and hope that you had a great week!

Love,

Elder Parco

Pictures:

1) Baptism of Earnest!

2) Our Street to the house. And we were waiting on the road to get a ride to town.

3) Cool railway that we pass like everyday