we had a ward conferrence of our own last week. it went well, the stake presidency and axiliary leaders from johannesburg came up to check on the progress of the ward. they are trying to figure out what needs to be done in the ward to make it a stake. they came up with a hefty list of 8 pages of things that the ward needs to work on. this last sunday was spent going over the list and informing everyone what is going on.
turns out the missionaries are effected. there will be less companionships in wards and branches where they baptise too many people for the ward to handle. this has been a concern for a long time. botswana has no problem baptizing a million people and us missionaries just keep "cranking" em' out. because of that the retention has gone down and the branches have grown too big for the roots. we will see what actions are taken by the mission president within the next few months.
this mission is great! it is such a wonderful place to serve. hot as all get out, but fun, the work is plenty, the harvest is great and the converts my companions and i have made are doing well, so we can't complain too much.
i started to work on charity for this new transfer... oh ps, transfer news came, i am stickin around in gaborone west for at least another six weeks. my companion (sister mudzimba) has gotten transfered to francistown and so has sister clendon :(. sadly i will miss them lots, but i am excited for the new adventures ahead. looks like my new companion is going to be sister hadlock, she is from utah and is a massage therapist by profession! lucky me.
anyway, back to charity, i have been doing a study of one christlike attribute a transfer since my third transfer on mission. i have always been avoiding doing charity but this transfer it needs to be done. i guess god has finally got it through my head that i have to stop hating people, although i don't really hate anyone. i guess just love people more sincerely. i have a great feeling that the lord will keep refining me. please keep praying that i learn the lessons that god needs me to.
otherwise, it was a productive week, we had a lot of fun helping women wash clothes for them and their families, teaching some new father led families and having some new people come to church! life is sweet and full of blessings.
love you all and if you have questions about anything, let me know and i will love to answer them. my favorite scriptures these days are found in moroni 7:44-48. love them lots.
loves,
sister kerri blum
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
January 16, 2012
Dear all,
God is there, he loves all of his children, and he doesn't care who you are or what you've done. He will touch your heart if you will but open the door. we have this investigator who was given to us as a referral from the elders all the way back in october. a true woman of the world if you will. she has been sort of like the wind to track, it almost seemed like she really didn't want to see us, but then randomley she would show up at church. then we would an ap. with her, then she would dodge, we gave her a break and then she would just keep showing up at church again. she also told us the very first time we saw her that she wants to be a member of this church, but her actions didn't really show it you know? so we didn't really persist that much to see her.
patiently we have kept feeling inspired to see her but then it would just fail misserably. finally 3 weeks ago we decided it was time to go and see her again. when we stopped by her house she seemed different somehow. we talked to her about the book of mormon a little because she had questions, committed her to read it everyday and pray about it. two weeks ago we went and visited her, she seemed a little different again (happier different) and she told us she didn't understand what she read, BUT before christmas she gave up drinking and smoking. she expressed to us that it was the hardest thing she had ever done. i have never seen so much determination in one girl in my life. i wish you could have seen her face as she recounted to us how difficult the last month had been for her as ALL of her friends and family were partying and drinking and she didn't take a single sip! she then said, "I will be a member of this church even if it kills me!" this girl is like the life of all of the parties, a true woman of the world, and the spirit has touched her heart and caused probably the mightiest change in her that i have ever seen in anyone. she didn't even have to tell us that she was keeping the commandments, you can literally see it in her. she also did it without the missionaries. we have never taught her the word of wisdom, or the law of chastity, but becuase she is a child of heavenly father, she knows that living them is something she needs to do. the members have played a large role, it seems some of them have taken her on as their "project", they call her, go to her house, invite her to things, and fellowship her. this last week we visited her and she told us that the first time she was in church she felt SO out of place, but she continued to go and now she gets so excited for sunday to come, she can't wait for us to get to her house so we can discuss about her reading, or to tell us how she is doing, ask for help in understanding her reading and everything like that i have been so humbled to see her conversion.
I love heavenly father, he has been so good to us.
January 8, 2012
so here are a couple questions that were asked of me...
what principle of the gospel you have come to know more than you knew before your mission.
Christlike attributes. I think that before I came i had a lot of things to improve on especially in patience, diligence, humility, and charity. mission has been refining me ever since i decided to come. i am still far from perfect but i feel like i can at least endure hard times without getting impatient or angry.
also following the guidance of the spirit. learning how to recognize and follow the promptings of the spirit without hesitation is something that i have really come to learn and love doing. it is sort of an adventure because sometimes you have no idea what you are diong but in the end all things just work out perfectly and the spirit testifies to you that you have done something good. when the spirit touches your heart, you are happy. mission has just made me so happy.
What experiences have you had that have strengthened that principal?
this three weeks have really proved as a refiners fire as we didn't have a car. miraculously on friday we got a call that the car was fixed so since then we have had a vehicle. unfortunately most of our investigators fell off the map and don't want to see us anymore. we weren't able to see them because they live far. it just seemed like every minute after every minute another challenge came up. i have never been more grateful for my companion, sister mudzimba. she has been nothing less than a blessing to my life. she has supported, encouraged and helped me so much through the challenges. it feels so nice to have a "partner in crime" who is so willing to sacrifice and work her bum off for the people we are helping. the greatest thing is how united we are in our purpose. i can always rely on her to do the right thing.
Have you felt the protection of prayer from home in your life yet?
a long time ago, sometime in 2010, i was driving with my companion. we were just enjoying the trip to our investigators house. I had to make a left turn (remember we are on the opposite side of the road.) So I checked my blindspot, turned on my blinker and tried to turn the wheel but it wouldn't move. I was confused and tried again to turn the wheel just as a car zoomed past us going a million miles an hour (at least that fast!). I didn't even see him. I knew then that it was a miracle. that week in my email home i was told that you were all worried about me and prayed very hard for me that week. I know that it was the faith of my family and their diligent prayers that caused that miracle.
Has scripture study helped you out of trouble?
scripture study has invited the spirit more into my life than anything else. I love the words of the prophets, especially in the book of mormon. this last week i have been so proud of myself as i have been so careful not to offend people (i don't know if you know this but sometimes i get a little too bold for my good and i end up saying things that i regret later), declare the truth, and invite them to live the gospel. so far i haven't said anything that has caused feelings of anger or regret. both sister mudzimba and myself are celebrating that accomplishment. there was a man who was doing his absolute best to convert us to his crazy church, he talked for 45 minutes of our 50 minute lesson. by the end we just testified of the truth, invited him to learn for himself and closed with prayer. there were no hard feelings. we also met another family who had a really hard time thinking about the fact that we had a "replacement bible" i was so pleased as both sister mudzimba and i answered all of their concerns in a loving manner, using principles from chapter five of preach my gospel. the spirit was strong and there was no offense taken on either side. we were able to leave them with a copy, and a commitment to read and pray about it. when we left them they looked as if they were totally shocked. it is so exciting to have the gospel referrences that we have as members of the church.
scripture study gets me out of trouble everyday because it invites the spirit into my life, and when i have the spirit, i can follow it and it will guide me to safety.
Has obedience been a safeguard for you?
Obedience is the best guard against trouble ever. especially because there are a lot of police road blocks everywhere. we have never been stopped at a single one. there are a lot of police who hide all over the place on the highway looking for speeders to pull over. once again, we have never been stopped. as we are obedient, God protects us a lot.
mom, just so you know, the fact that you love to connect with people classifies you as a blue... not a red. (haha, embrace it, yous is a blue!)
love you and got to go.
may the next week be blessed
peace and blessings
sister blum (your favo missionary)
what principle of the gospel you have come to know more than you knew before your mission.
Christlike attributes. I think that before I came i had a lot of things to improve on especially in patience, diligence, humility, and charity. mission has been refining me ever since i decided to come. i am still far from perfect but i feel like i can at least endure hard times without getting impatient or angry.
also following the guidance of the spirit. learning how to recognize and follow the promptings of the spirit without hesitation is something that i have really come to learn and love doing. it is sort of an adventure because sometimes you have no idea what you are diong but in the end all things just work out perfectly and the spirit testifies to you that you have done something good. when the spirit touches your heart, you are happy. mission has just made me so happy.
What experiences have you had that have strengthened that principal?
this three weeks have really proved as a refiners fire as we didn't have a car. miraculously on friday we got a call that the car was fixed so since then we have had a vehicle. unfortunately most of our investigators fell off the map and don't want to see us anymore. we weren't able to see them because they live far. it just seemed like every minute after every minute another challenge came up. i have never been more grateful for my companion, sister mudzimba. she has been nothing less than a blessing to my life. she has supported, encouraged and helped me so much through the challenges. it feels so nice to have a "partner in crime" who is so willing to sacrifice and work her bum off for the people we are helping. the greatest thing is how united we are in our purpose. i can always rely on her to do the right thing.
Have you felt the protection of prayer from home in your life yet?
a long time ago, sometime in 2010, i was driving with my companion. we were just enjoying the trip to our investigators house. I had to make a left turn (remember we are on the opposite side of the road.) So I checked my blindspot, turned on my blinker and tried to turn the wheel but it wouldn't move. I was confused and tried again to turn the wheel just as a car zoomed past us going a million miles an hour (at least that fast!). I didn't even see him. I knew then that it was a miracle. that week in my email home i was told that you were all worried about me and prayed very hard for me that week. I know that it was the faith of my family and their diligent prayers that caused that miracle.
Has scripture study helped you out of trouble?
scripture study has invited the spirit more into my life than anything else. I love the words of the prophets, especially in the book of mormon. this last week i have been so proud of myself as i have been so careful not to offend people (i don't know if you know this but sometimes i get a little too bold for my good and i end up saying things that i regret later), declare the truth, and invite them to live the gospel. so far i haven't said anything that has caused feelings of anger or regret. both sister mudzimba and myself are celebrating that accomplishment. there was a man who was doing his absolute best to convert us to his crazy church, he talked for 45 minutes of our 50 minute lesson. by the end we just testified of the truth, invited him to learn for himself and closed with prayer. there were no hard feelings. we also met another family who had a really hard time thinking about the fact that we had a "replacement bible" i was so pleased as both sister mudzimba and i answered all of their concerns in a loving manner, using principles from chapter five of preach my gospel. the spirit was strong and there was no offense taken on either side. we were able to leave them with a copy, and a commitment to read and pray about it. when we left them they looked as if they were totally shocked. it is so exciting to have the gospel referrences that we have as members of the church.
scripture study gets me out of trouble everyday because it invites the spirit into my life, and when i have the spirit, i can follow it and it will guide me to safety.
Has obedience been a safeguard for you?
Obedience is the best guard against trouble ever. especially because there are a lot of police road blocks everywhere. we have never been stopped at a single one. there are a lot of police who hide all over the place on the highway looking for speeders to pull over. once again, we have never been stopped. as we are obedient, God protects us a lot.
mom, just so you know, the fact that you love to connect with people classifies you as a blue... not a red. (haha, embrace it, yous is a blue!)
love you and got to go.
may the next week be blessed
peace and blessings
sister blum (your favo missionary)
Monday, January 2, 2012
Happy New Year
we had a lot of really funny things happen this week. we don't have a car anymore, turns out it needs a new fan... walking has been filled with a lot of fun times. for instance, we were walking to an appointment and my companion was finishing up her morning apple. we walked under this tree and i saw, in my perriferal vision, her foot coming up like she was kicking something. the next thing i knew i felt this cold wet thing hit me in the back of the head! she had kicked her apple core and somehow it had bounced off the tree and attacked me!
The same day we were looking for opportunities to do good when we saw this woman sweeping her yard (people don't have lawns here, they just have dirt, or sand in their yards. They take care of them by sweeping them every day). she let us help her. while we were sweeping, we were listening to all of this noise coming from a building across the street. my companion told me it was some crazy pentacostal zimbabwean church as the preacher was speaking in shona mixed with english. there was loud music and people yelling. then it got quite and all the people stood up and started waving their arms as they were yelling jiberish. sister mudzimba informed me they were speaking in tongues. the noise continued for a while and all of a sudden the preacher came back and he started to yell at the congregation. then the congregation would repeat him, this continued for a while until all of a sudden the preacher said, "now you are delivered! good job everyone! go on, give your neighbor a high five, you've been delivered!" you could hear everyone giving these high fives as he continued "high five, you've been delivered!" so everyone, to be delivered you just need to stand up and speak in jiberish, then chant some crazy things and give your neighbor a high five!
the lady we were helping was catholic and you could just see the disgust on her face as she expressed how much she "loves" living in her house across the street from the crazy pentacostal zimbabwean church. as for me, i didn't know being delivered was that easy, maybe we will go and visit them some day... ;) (joke).
we were also told by a drunk man that we needed to stop doing what we were doing because there is no judgment... sorry man, we gave him a pass a long card and told him that when he is feeling better he can visit us at church.
haha, funny week. africa sure is the best. being a missionary in africa is even better.
please keep praying for africa, it needs your prayers.
love sister blum
The same day we were looking for opportunities to do good when we saw this woman sweeping her yard (people don't have lawns here, they just have dirt, or sand in their yards. They take care of them by sweeping them every day). she let us help her. while we were sweeping, we were listening to all of this noise coming from a building across the street. my companion told me it was some crazy pentacostal zimbabwean church as the preacher was speaking in shona mixed with english. there was loud music and people yelling. then it got quite and all the people stood up and started waving their arms as they were yelling jiberish. sister mudzimba informed me they were speaking in tongues. the noise continued for a while and all of a sudden the preacher came back and he started to yell at the congregation. then the congregation would repeat him, this continued for a while until all of a sudden the preacher said, "now you are delivered! good job everyone! go on, give your neighbor a high five, you've been delivered!" you could hear everyone giving these high fives as he continued "high five, you've been delivered!" so everyone, to be delivered you just need to stand up and speak in jiberish, then chant some crazy things and give your neighbor a high five!
the lady we were helping was catholic and you could just see the disgust on her face as she expressed how much she "loves" living in her house across the street from the crazy pentacostal zimbabwean church. as for me, i didn't know being delivered was that easy, maybe we will go and visit them some day... ;) (joke).
we were also told by a drunk man that we needed to stop doing what we were doing because there is no judgment... sorry man, we gave him a pass a long card and told him that when he is feeling better he can visit us at church.
haha, funny week. africa sure is the best. being a missionary in africa is even better.
please keep praying for africa, it needs your prayers.
love sister blum
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