SERVICE IN AFRICA

Hello to the wonderful Family and Friends that I have been blessed with!!

It was so good to talk to everyone yesterday!!!! HAPPY MOTHERS' DAY TO ALL THE MOMS OUT THERE!!!! Here are a few pictures. I will send more next week. I didn't want to overload you all at once. Hopefully they all open and come through okay. You might have to rotate some of them and fix them or whatever. The pictures are pretty self explanatory, if none of them make sense do the best you can. Thanks!!!

The Zone Activity today was super fun. We saw monkeys, gazelles, zebras, and I yes I even saw some giraffes. (Kelsey Hancock :)) I got pictures so once I switch them over to my jump drive I can send them to you over an email. It was nice just to relax for a little while, and just have some fun.

I seriously loved the 'interview' from my brothers it was just what I needed to be reminded that numbers really don't matter. I am here to touch lives and plant seeds. Yes, baptisms and all that is great but that is not the reason I am here.

We did have a couple of really good lessons this week. One day we had a couple of cancellations so we went and visited the Zulu Family, they are home most of the time and Lisa is one our most recent converts, along with Robert (I can't remember his last name). So after we visited with them we ended up going to an investigators house, well actually it was her sister's house but her sister wasn't home so we taught her instead. We didn't really have anything planned to teach her so we were just going to share a favorite scripture or something like that. Before we could share a scripture she stopped us and asked if she could ask a question. We were like sure no problem. Her question was something along the lines of, "How can I remain strong and keep coming to church when all the lessons are kind of boring and my mom won't let me get baptized until I am eighteen." She is only 16, (I think). I just told her to stay strong and the best thing that she could do was keep coming to church. She needed that support and then I got the impression to read the verses in Mosiah 24:12-15, and the spirit was able to testify to her, and me, and we are never alone and God does visit us in our afflictions. Definitely something that both of us needed.

We have also been teaching our guard, yes we have a guard and a gate to get to our flat. Which is nice at times and not so nice at other times. He has been taught a lot of the lessons already, before I got here, and so now he is reading the Book of Mormon. Sometimes when we teach him it becomes a Bible study which can be okay at times but not so nice at other times. We taught him on Saturday morning before we went to go and do service at the Distribution Center, and he asked why the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is different than any other church. The only thing that I felt to tell was that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was different because it had the fullness of the gospel. The same gospel that Jesus Christ established while he was here on Earth. And we had the priesthood of Jesus Christ and the Book of Mormon was proof that he could hold in his hand that the church was true. All he needed to do was read it, (stop comparing it to the Bible) and pray and find out for himself. That is all that any of us can do. 

Yep, the mind of a four year. Gotta love the little ones. We have this group of little kids, that around 3-8 that run out almost every day that we pass and will just come up to us. Mostly to me, they honestly just want to shake our hands and give us hugs. It is so great. It is honestly the little things that make the most difference in my day. Then most of the time while we are walking away they will yell something like, "Miss you" or "I Love You"!! Definitely cute coming from the little ones, definitely not as cute coming from the drunks, that are everywhere. 

We live in a kind of a city but Ngombe is a rural area. So a little of both. We actually have a washing machine. We have to haul water in buckets from the kitchen sink but it is definitely better than washing by hand. We don't have a dryer so everything hangs to dry, which is okay with me. The mosquitos aren't too bad right now but I am sure they will get worse when the rainy season comes.

I don't know what it is about Sister Makau but we just got a phone call from President Padovich and we have to be at the Mission Home at 8 in the morning with the Zone Leaders. It might be an African thing or she might just think that she is THE TRAINER and no one can override what she has to say They have training so who knows what is coming. We are the only sisters here in Lusaka so really who knows. 

Thanks for keeping my personal account up. It definitely helps!!!! The backpack is definitely easier and better for my back. I will wear my Chatanga on Sunday and so we will take the pictures at the baptism so I will send them next Monday. There was even a little fabric left over and so it is like a mini chatanga for someone, either Mylee or a short one for Kara. I am just going to hang on to things because who knows how long it will take to send from here to there. 

Tell everyone that is returning to the Five hi from me. Yep, they will either be good cowboys and cowgirls by the end of the season and they will come back or they won't. David will definitely have some headaches but he can handle it.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is true and there is definitely a comfort that comes from know that. Also a strength that comes from knowing that as the primary children sang, "I Am A Child Of God", and that we can be with our families forever. That is one of the main reasons that I am here, to share with the people here that there really is a chance for eternal happiness with your family that you love so much here on earth. The Book of Mormon is proof that we can hold in our hands that the gospel has been restored and it is the only church on earth that has the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Have a great week and know that I feel your prayers and I gain strength from them.

Sister Kelsey Webster