November 28, 2011

my companion says THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! for the gift we will open on christmas eve. Something i really love about her (besides the fact she is from zimbabwe) is that she is a ball of energy, we are having so much fun together. I feel like she is just my best little friend ever. we are sure that we make a lot of mistakes in a day ( sometimes it is sort of frustrating, but one thing is for sure, we do laugh a lot) and we seem to get out of them alright. for instance, the other day we got SOOO lost! i have never been more lost in my entire life. we were trying to figure out where we were for an hour. turns out we had traveled off of our map, so we were like a ship without a compass. eventually we figured everything out and it turns out we were in the neighborhood right next to the the neighborhood with our flat inside.... oh boy did we feel dumb?

i think i need to learn how to manage stress better, sometimes i get a little bit overwhelmed because there 1. isn't enough time in the day, 2. how the heck does one person having SOO many weaknesses?, 3. rejection, 4. investigators go crazy and start ditching us, or stop progressing, or whatever, 5. the to-do list is HUGE and so many other problems. I have come up with a remedy, are you ready for it?... PATIENCE and action. when overwhelmed, just do as nephi did, "go and do" what the Lord commands, requires and expects. please keep praying for us as we are trying so hard to overcome our faults. 

i was asked the question what do you love most about mission... (mar, this one is for you) the answer? not exactly sure. so i will just make a list of things i love

not necessarily in this order.

• study time
• african people in general
• specifically, their humor (they love to laugh, are friendly and accomodating. they become instant friends with anyone they meet. it is very easy to strike up a conversation with them, especially if you are talking about something to do with God, bible, church, prophet, and so on.)
• kindness (they are the most kind people ever!)
• welcoming (if you enter their home, you are their honored guest. if they give you food and you don't finish it, they get really offended, so i am working on my ability to eat the HUGE portions of food they dish out. which if you are a guest in their home, they will most likely feed you, so get ready)
• my fellow missionaries. each one is a different flavor that adds to the mix and i am learning from each one of them
• the mission president and his wife. 
• senior couples. 

just everything i think (except for the heat, ditched appointments, and mosquitoes. but not everything can be perfect i guess!)

please pray for us that we can manage our time better. that is our biggest struggle.

love you all, 
sister blum

training is going great

the biggest news this week...

sister mudzimba and i were tracting and we asked this one guy for a referral, he sent us to his next door neighbors house. we got there and found it was full of rastafarians (you know like bob marley people who smoke weed and have some crazy religion?). we set a return appoinment with this man named rasta sido. when we went on Saturday we found out that the house he was at was like the church headquarters and it just happened to be their sabbath... woops. we started the lesson (we didn't know it was headquarters or it was their sabbath until later) and at first there were only two people, then by the end we were surrounded by a big group of 6 rasta's debating amongst themselves about the restoration and the plan of salvation (we are also sure they were smoking some weed before they joined us...) and the book of mormon and what what. the man we set the appointment with had been visisted by missionaries before so he knew about the book of mormon... anyway, the only thing we could do was testify and laugh because at that point everything was chaos. they ended up wanting to convert me to be a rasta with them. they wanted to know when we would be coming back so that we could discuss more of the "word man". "wow, man, that was some crazy things you girls were sayin!" "you should come back, we want to teach you our ways!" what what. so sister mudzimba decided that it was time to pray so she stood up to offer the prayer and everyone else stood up as well, then they made us join hands and they started to pray.... not exactly sure what they said but we do know it involved a lot of "rasta" this and "rasta" that, at the end of the prayer rasta sido closed by saying "I am Rasta Sido and I have spoken!" then the prayer was over and I had an obvious look of confusion on my face, so i said "amen?" and everyone started to laugh. Maybe the rasta party won't be converted anytime soon, but i sure do love them, and respect them for their dedication to the faith (no matter how bizzar it may be.) i know this church is true by the way. i am sad they are so confused, but alas, their time is not yet.

sister blum

sorry so short, next week will be full of more stories.

the work is great, it is sweet, i love it, mission is the best! keep being awesome and learning tons. 

Middle of November

this week we had a small sort of miracle...

first of all, i locked myself inside of a part member families toilet! that was embarrasing. they eventually realized that i was not there and they could hear me struggling to open the door, so the mom came around the house, took the key from the open window and then came back around the house to unlock the door from the other way!
in the same lesson (we are teaching the two kids, 14 and 9) the nine year old is named elton, he is really smart. we were teaching about the plan of salvation (they lost their father in 2009) and at the end of the lesson elton told me that he had a dream. in his dream i was there, dressed in white, and i was introducing him to his father who was alive. his mom then said, "elton, if you keep listening to them, they will take you back to daddy! do whatever they tell you to and be a good boy!" it was a powerful testimony of the eternal family for me.

next, we had some few minutes before we had to be home and we really wanted to find someone to teach. we were aimlessly driving and we felt like stopping to say a prayer for guidance. right after the prayer we found a house (the only one with electricity in the middle of the night) and a girl closing the gate. so we jumped out of the car and started talking to her. she didn't want to hear from us and neither did her parents, but one of her sisters did. we were able to bear a powerful testimony on the peace that the gospel brings to the chaos in people's lives. she shows a lot of promise and we really felt the spirit so strong as we were sharing with her how she can be happy and find peace and purpose in this life to return to be with the God who loves her so much.

anyway, love the work, it is going great. i have also come to love alma 26:27, alma 17: 10-11 and pretty much the whole book of mormon. I love Christ and i love his children. i love the book of mormon, thomas s monson, joseph smith, inspired church leaders, preach my gospel, the spirit and trials.

probably my biggest struggle has been learning how to use time effectively, for sure, anyone preparing to serve a mission, make sure you spend a lot of time practicing that technique before the mission!
my companion is my best friend. we are loving and learning so much from each other.
here is a question each one of the missionaries has been given to ponder for the next week, it applies to all of us so here it is and i can't wait to hear your responses... "what am I doing to become a better disciple of Jesus Christ?"

i have also been impressed with the scripture in the new testament that says "any man, having put his hand to the plow and looking back, is not fit for the kingdom of God." when christ calls, you need to forsake everything and follow him, he is our savior, i love him and i am doing my best to follow him. don't look back, repent and repent quickly, move on and make something great out of your life! God loves us, that is why we have the wonderful plan of salvation. study, pray and keep the commandments,
i love you too much and pray that God is keeping you well.

sister blum

Questions and Answers: One Year Anniversary!

Dear all, 

thank you for everything! to answer your questions

1. did i go to the mission home?

yes, and it was awesome! that was my first and last time there probably until I go home. I do miss the temple a lot, we were trying our best to be able to go but the ap's said "NO, get in your car and go back to Botswana!" (don't worry everyone, I am not bitter). The mission home is a huge home that looks like our house but it has a lot more books and it is all brown, even the piano. otherwise it was so cool to hang out with President and Sister Omer for the evening, we went to dinner, they gave us the tour of the home and everything. 

2. How did I travel?

by car

3. how long did it take?

about 4 1/2 hours

4. where is my new companion from?

ZIMBABWE!!!! her name is Sister Mudzimba. so that means i am continuing with a no american companion spree! (nothing against americans, but i just love africa way too much!) so i have had companions from

madagascar
uganda
new zealand
namibia (companion for three days)
kenya
now zimbabwe

woohoo to foreign companions!

5. what am i trying to accomplish as a missionary?

I want to be an excellent misisonary (i know it is vague but there are so many things that go along with that, great faith in God, christlike attributes, most importantly lost in the work of the ministry)
when this is finished i want to look back and feel like i have finished what i was called to do.
i want to use time effectively (it is sort of a struggle for me sometimes, any suggestions?)
i also want to be a father led converted missionary. 
i hope to baptise the pope (ha ha, that will be hard because he isn't even in this mission. but if he ever stops by botswana, he better watch out!)

6. how is the member work coming?

great, we are completing two part member families in december! :)

7. have i read the book of mormon again since i have been out?

yes, i am half way through it again! i am also through luke in the new testament. i started on page one of the book of mormon at the mtc, now i am half way through it again. I am expecting to finish once more before i get home. I LOVE THE BOOK OF MORMON WAY TOO MUCH!

8. what is the new misison presidents name?

President Omer from ogden utah!

9. How is the food?

great, but very different from home, if you come this side to pick me up, i will show you how the food is. i haven't eaten anything too weird but sour milk and pap (pap is like mashed potatoes made from maize meal)

10. how many hours do we work a day?

as many as we can. from 11.30 to lunch at 1, then from 2 to 9. 

11. do we have any good investigators these days?

interesting ones, our golden ones just got baptised last sunday, so now we are once again in the works. our good ones are dying of heart conditions in joburg right now.

12. do we get to trade off with other missionaries?

yes, we go on exchanges two times a transfer.

13. do we tract?

yebo! lots and lots

14. how many lessons do we teach per week? 

it depends on the week but we have an average of 5 a day. so ya.

that is all, my time is up,
love you
sister blum

Happy Halloween

we have an investigator who has a heart problem that no one can figure out. she was just referred to a specialist and is going to johannesburg to receive more treatment very soon. unfortunately for us, we will miss her a lot. we met her by accident, we went to her house thinking it was someone elses house, when we realized it wasn't the right place, we just talked to her. she is 21, a university student, lives alone and has a large yard that didn't look very well kept. after speaking to her we asked her if we could help her with her yard to which she said yes. so the next wednesday we rallied the forces (the elders in our district) and all of the tools and went to work. we gave her a book of mormon and set an appointment to see her the next day. when we got to the appointment we found that she had read from the very beginning to 1 nephi 3. she came to church and left half way through, when we went to visit her we found that she has been sick with a heart condition for a long time and when she works too hard, or is in new situations, she gets very bad chest pain and then she becomes dizzy, even to the point where she can pass out. so the reason why her yard is unkept is because she is physically unable to do it! it also turns out that her parents were visited by missionaries when she was six and she still remembers, especially about the book of mormon. everything about us meeting her testifies to me that it was 100% not a coincidence, when we went to her house the first time, she wasn't even home. she met us outside as we were about to leave. another testimony to me that i don't know the mind of God. we have really grown to love her and she is doing so well (minus the heart thing) truly we will be so sad to lose her, please pray that she can get better soon.

another reason why i don't know the mind of God, WHAT? I get to train?! i am excited and nervous, thank you for all of your advice, i will do my best and the Lord will do the rest. :) 

love all of you, and i love the work! thank you for all the support.

sister blum

October 23, 2011

Dear everyone,

If anyone asks how I am doing tell them... I'M SO GREAT! Mom, thank you for the motherly advice, although, you should probably tell my companion that, she doesn't eat anything. She pretends to eat by putting a lot of food on her plate, but after taking a couple bites, she gives me the rest of it because she is full. One thing I have learned to do is to never take very much because I know she will always end up filling my plate. If I say no, she will sneak it on when I am not watching, or she will feed it to the little kids around her. My Kenyan companion is a funny one! I love her very much, she is a great missionary and we are having a great time serving people around us. Sadly, this is her very last Monday on mission, she will become the dearly departed this time next week :( But the good news is, she is still going strong AND I will be getting a brand new little missionary, either from Zimbabwe or Zambia. Pretty excited about that, any tips for being a trainer?

There is a heat wave blowing through Botswana right now. It started two days ago and is expected to be over by Wednesday. Yesterday it was 37 celsius. today it is forcasted to be 38 and tomorrow 39. whatever the forecast says, it is HOT! 

We were meeting with a member yesterday who has a pretty amazing story, right now she is suffering from a brain tumor and is here in Botswana visiting her children. She is going back to South Africa this week for her final radiation treatment. this sister started having headaches about two years ago, didn't think anything of it until they got worse and worse and lasted for a long time. so she started going to a specialist who didn't tell her anything. after a while of no success, she went to a random doctor who decided to run some type of test on her. When the results came back they didn't really show anything, except for one of the results (that the doctor didn't ask for). at first he was confused because he didn't ask for that result but then he realized that there was something there. from there she went in for a scan and found that there was a 2 cm big tumor just millimeters away from her optic nerve. she has now been battling this tumor for about 6 months. the amazing thing is that she has so much faith and never wants to think of herself. when another sister in our ward got sick, she went over to her house to help her clean, she found that the woman didn't have food, not even a broom, or a mop to clean the floor. so this sister went and got her all the groceries she would need for a week, a mop, a broom, cleaning supplies and the works, then she cooked for her everyday until she felt well enough to cook for herself! this woman is truly incredible. I hope all of us can learn something of her example. let us be more christlike in reaching out to our friends and neighbors. 



the work continues, and i love it here in bots. ke a go rata tata!



sister blum

October 17, 2011

We saw some few miracles this week,

1. secretly I have had this nasty cold that has been staying for weeks. it made me sort of really tired all the time. Anyway, the miracle came just recently, I got a blessing from our district leader about 3 weeks ago, and in the blessing it said according to my faith I would be healed. Well, i guess i needed more faith because I didn't get healed! but you know what, God has his plan for each and everything.

the miracle came finally. as a district we weren't really that unified, so we made a unanimous decision to change that. we decided that each companionship, would take turns every Sunday cooking lunch and then serving our fellow district members. About the same time we made that decision, I got sick. at first it was ok, but then it got somehow worse. our unity as a district began to improve more and more, and i finally got a blessing from the district leader (like i said before). then members of the district began checking up on me to see how i was doing. yesterday, we came to know that they had began praying for me, almost instantly, I got better, and now i am 100% again. I decided that God is funny. that was a good joke on his part. I do know that all things are for our experience, i think all of us needed that lesson. I know God lives, he loves us, and he teaches us what we need to learn. but once the lesson is learned, he moves on to something else. just pray that the next lesson won't include my health.

2. On Monday last week we had a zone activity with this man named Elder Hartman, he came and spoke to us about the color code (you know red, yellow, blue, white personality types? if you don't you should go check out http://www.colorcode.com/ Sister Chirchir and I have both decided that it has revolutionized the way we teach. I think we have finally figured out teaching people and not lessons. Who knew the key would be learning about the color code? We have one investigator in particular that we have been struggling with for the last 3 months. He is a member referral whose family is so anxious to see him be baptized, however, despite our best efforts, he has budged very little. After learning about the color code, we came to the decision that he is a red, thus when we went to teach him this past week, we were able to totally teach to how he wanted us to teach him.

 It was a complete miracle to see the change in him as we taught to his needs. The lesson itself was inspired beyond belief, we talked about goals and about what he wanted to achieve in life, then we helped him realize that there are many things that he is doing that are preventing him from achieving them, he has begun to make steps towards dropping the bad behaviors and picking up good ones.

From our visit with him this last week to now, he is a different person. He came to church on his own after an absence of 3 weeks, and he was actually smiling, he was excited to greet us (which doesn't happen), and the list just goes on! We were able to identify his concern with the help of his member brother, and together they are working it out. The brother is a returned missionary and after that lesson he explained to us that we were totally inspired, he said that "I wish I would have known when I was on a mission that the people who are not progressing are not actually rejecting the message, they just have a concern that won't allow them to progress." I have gained a stronger testimony of Teaching people not lessons.

3. On a sad note, we met a less active return missionary, both Sister ChirChir and myself are not exactly sure what to think. He came home and slowly by slowly, broke some commandments and then tried to justify them, then he got caught up in trying to find "more truth" as he put it by searching for anti-mormon literature, then it began to escalate, now he is totally less-active and wants nothing to do with God. He doesn't believe that Jesus Christ is the Savior, and he doesn't believe that God is our Father, he thinks of God more as a Grandfather (as he put it... not really sure what he meant by that). He still reads the Book of Mormon every blue moon, and when he reads it he feels so good, but he denies that those feelings are the Spirit. He doesn't believe there is the Holy Spirit at all. We are afraid he has been blinded by the craftiness of men. We are not really sure what to do with him. We will be seeing him again this week and we are going to try to rekindle his testimony (which he claims he still has, because he feels good when he reads the Book of Mormon, but he doesn't believe in God, Christ, the Spirit, the church, the prophet, or anything...).