happy birthday!

Well, hello there everyone. That's right! One year older and much wiser too! 2nd birthday on Mission and can I say, Boy HOWDY! have I changed a lot since then.

This Christmas was fun! I am including a picture here from Christmas eve dinner with the Benich's.
The other picture is at a member's house just yesterday. Her birthday was saturday and mine was today, so she and her husband (both RM's) invited us over for dinner on sunday. That is their son cutting his 7months of age cake. It is cool when I can meet a baby who was born AFTER I got to zim. . . now it will be weird when I meet babies that were conceived after I was in Zim. . . weird thought. ANYWAY!

This week was kinda crazy. On monday, I got to talk to my family. It was great to see them, and apparently I have an accent! I wonder what it sounds like. We also had the benich's over for a nice cajun chicken dinner, which was powerful. We also had some icecream and some brownies, and that was awesome!

Christmas morning, we all got to open up 3 presents. We had gotten each other gifts prior to this and so we all had christmas presents! I also had a package from grandma, and elder hansen had a package which had the P90x workout videos. We got them approved and now our daily excercise has taken a step up to the extreme! And it is powerful! I am really loving it. For sure going to get P90x when I get home. . . cool stuff yo.

On tuesday, my comp talked to his family (our ingenious plan didn't work out so we still came to town on tuesday). Prior to that, we went and spent some time at President Cooks house. His wife had prepared some nice snacks and we went and relaxed for a few hours. So, overall it was a nice relaxing and fun day!

We followed up on the week by having about 300 fallthroughs, and by mostly making up for it on saturday and sunday.

Questions
Grandma
Did you go to the mission home for Christmas dinner?
Ish. Well, more of snacks

Do they feed you American food?
No, just desserts
So your mission will be extended a bit. Will you still be home for Thanksgiving 2013?
It will only be extended 2 weeks. I will probably be done in october still.
MomTell me what your favorite time of day is there and why. For instance I like the sunsets on a winter night as it just goes so quickly and before you even register the moment, it is dark.
Well, the only thing I heard about africa before mission that is true (at least that comes to mind) is how FETCHING POWERFUL the african sunset is. Oh My Gosh! I have tried to capture it on my camera but it just can't do it justice. It is beautiful. My favorite time is probably dusk, though, just because I like the clouds in the sky. Especially when there is thunder and Lightning!
Do you eat with members often and when people make appointments with you do they try for after dinners or mornings etc.?
Here in Kuwadzana, yes. Due to the way our areas are, we usually eat after we get home (around 9:00) if we didn't get dinner in the area. However, here we usually do. In such cases we just have the Dinner as our last appointment of the day, when it is difficult to get other appointments anyway. Here, we also get some lunch appointments most days as well. It is kinda really nice. 
Do any of the missionary couples have a blog or website?  If so can you get it so that I might be able to see more of what the mission is like?

I have no idea. I will look for it for you.


Love you all so much!
Keep on staying away from Zombies and having lots of winter fun!
~Elder Williams
-- 

Ideas for gifts...

dream book ( a good one)
essential oils
herbal tea
reses peanut butter cups
peppermint patties
pass out cards for investigators.
gently uses ties to give to new members

Another family friends and family send or bring their missionary ties. They wrote a small message inside their tie at the widest part. A hug around a missionaries neck from someone who loves him.

Don't talk about when he comes home
batteries
music of Enya, Mo. Tab.
photos
shoe inserts for padding while walking long distances
homemade letters and cards

Dec. 3 2012 always listen...

Well, if it isn't little jimmy! oh wait! it isn't little jimmy! NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Alright, well, the first news of the week is this: I WAS ROBBED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! haha jk. . . well kinda. I was pick-pocketed on monday though. . . he got my wallet. So, here is the story! 

I have no money in my wallet. We are on our way to town via combi to head home, and so I pull my last allotment 20 out of my WHB to break it. Upon doing so, I get my change back ($18). 5 of this is allotment, the other 13 was borrowed from personal. My first thought is that I should put the 13 back in my WHB with the rest of my personal funds. Upon receiving the 5, I promptly offer it to my companion. I didn't know why, it just seemed right. He asked me why, and I said i didn't know. He said "you can just hold onto it in case you want a drink, not that it matters though, cuz we are always next to each other!". I laugh and put the 5 in my wallet. I then look at the 13, and decide to put it in my wallet as well.  
fast forward about 30 minutes. We are all trying to get a combi, and Elder Hansen, standing next to me, puts his hand to his pocket, and his wallet dropped back into his pocket. He looks behind him and sees a guy, and looks at me, and my hand is in my pocket just near him. He thinks it was me. Later, we get off the combi, I feel for my wallet, and Apana. gone nothing. We check in the combi, and elder hansen relates his experience and how he thought it was me. So, yea. my wallet is gone, but if I had listened a bit closer to the spirit, the guy woulda got no cash =P well, no harm done. Life moves on!

paraphrasing Hugh nibley quoting brigham young, "If God has allowed our enemies to triumph over us for a time, then we should accept that defeat with glad hearts and a happy countenance." 

So, to folllow that up, we had a cool week. Christmas party, as well as a reactivation activity; we had fun this week and had lots of dinner appointments. Good week! 

Other than that, we had what was possibly an evil spirit in the house, so the next we talked about it, and dedicated the house. Fun stuff! 
Then, we got locked in a room and the key wouldn't work (being that it wasn't the correct key, but worked sometimes) 
so, we were stuck! we tried kicking the lock area to loosen the bolt. . . but to no avail
We tried prying apart half of the door to pull out the bolt. . . to no avail
SOO. we kicked down the door, broke it off the hinges, and to show we were civilized men, burned the door. . . and our old toilet (ceramic) so. . . that was fun! the best part? I have videos of the whole thing! so When I am home, we will be able to watch them!

yup. and can I say, burning ceramic toilets is KEWL!

Well, I love you all, and will see y'all next week! cool beans eh?
oh yea!

Questions
Grandma
What kind of preparations do people make there for Christmas?  Do they do the Santa Claus thing?
Not a whole lot outside of town. In Harare town, there are some stores with lights and stuff, but other than that, most places people just ask you for a christmas box.Do they do Christmas music and is some the same as ours?
Not really, just a lot of Gospel.

Well, now it is goodbye for realz! love Yinz! (haha take that elder reese)
-- 
Remember: Pray always, and look to the Lord. Write often, and live life to it's fullest.

Doubt is the seed of failure. ~Taggart Williams

Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not. ~God (D+C 6:36)

week before Thanksgiving...

Hello everybody and good morning USA! and everyone else as well!

In my new house, here in Kuwadzana, Harare, we have Myself (Elder Witchdoctor Williams), My companion (Elder Wyler), Elder Hansen, and Elder Tuai (pronounced Duwai). We have been having lots of fun, and this week, for 2 days in a row there was a power problem and so we had no power for those days (luckily my comp and I get DA's and LA's like almost everyday) but we got home on Wednesday, nice and full, for the first night without power. So, what did we do? We did what was natural. We played hide and seek in the pitch black! It was powerful. I was it first, and I grabbed a cushion and used it as my hand and felt around the entire house, every inch, poking for people. My plan backfired because I poked Elder tuai in the face with the cushion like 5 times and didn't realize it wasn't a wall. At one point, I reached towards him and he lifted himself up so that I felt under him, but couldn't see him due to literally no light. It was crazy. I checked the whole house and had only found my comp, and was really confused, because I had checked every inch. Turned out I had also jabbed elder Hansen in a nearly not so nice place but I found them eventually. We continued to play for another hour and then went to bed, but MAN! It was fun!

We also have been playing a lot of chess this week! All 4 of us like to play, so we have too much fun at the end of the day. 

In the area, we have some really cool people that we are teaching. I will just talk about one of them right now: Sister Katsande. Her husband and older son were just recently baptized, and she and her younger son are both investigating the church. We taught her a very powerful restoration lesson on tuesday (she has been mostly not serious before) but she really showed that she wanted to know that our message is true. She is now reading from the book of mormon and praying each day. She is looking towards being baptized on december 8th so we'll see how that goes down.

This weekend we also had stake conference, which consisted mostly of an are broadcast for the Africa south-east area. It was really cool, but my companion and I didn't hear about half of it. We were in charge of ushering for the primary room. The primary room consisted of about 100ish children of age 2-12, all of whom don't want to sit still, stay quiet, and also want to go to the bathroom or go get a drink every 2 minutes. We had to make sure that there was some semblance of order, and let me tell you, it was not easy. But, all is said and done! so, uhh yea. 

love you all tons! don't forget to sleep longer than an elf, and to eat more than a moth, as well as churning enough butter for a braii. 
~Elder Williams

thanksgiving...

Thanksgiving was great this time around! We had a nice semi feast that was pretty good. Mashed potatoes and chicken, and it tasted nice. Well, this week FLEW by! oh my gosh! we had a baptism this weekend, and Mildret was quite ready for it. She was ready before I came, so I don't know her very well, but she is going to be a powerful new convert to the church.

 

In other news, the coolest thing that happened this week was at the end of our sunday night. The last appointment before dinner (last appointment of the night) fell through, and so we decided to drop those investigators, (they hadn't been to church now for 2 weeks and have missed the last few appointments) and now we needed a new father-led family. I said a quick prayer in my heart, and we decided to go to a street accross from some members to teach a lesson. We got to the start of the street, and I looked out at it and said to my comp and the Ward missionary, "guys, somewhere on this street is a father-led family that we are going to baptize by the end of January. Let's go find 'em!". So we set out and I felt pulled to one of the first houses. We knocked on the gate, and went and found the father (who, against odds, was there), and introduced ourselves. We went to his home (next door) and  taught about the Doctrine of Jesus Christ, extended a date, and set a return appointment. They seemed pretty interested, and we are seeing them again on Wednesday, so we'll see if they are the family we will beptize in January. =P Other than that, the week was pretty good. The baptism went well, and we had a lot of dinners in the area this week, and this coming week we will be doing a lot of service!!! happy day, it is going to be good.

 

well, onto. . .

Questions

 

G-ma Twila

 How is your health doing? 

Good

Have you had a problem with allergies there?

It doesn't get that bad, I just get a runny nose during season transitions.

Do people there have a lot of health issues?

Not too many. More than back home, but not as much as the media makes it out to be.

overall, people eat pretty healthy here. Health issues come from breaking the LoC and WoW here. . .

Mom

Are you in the city right now? 

Yup, well, kinda. I live close to Harare, the Capitol city in Zim, so it is city like in my area, but not in the city. (kinda like the place we live as far as how suburban it is)

How are the members in this new area?

They are powerful. They love feeding us, and working with us so it is a nice time!

 Do you ever feel that there is true animosity towards the church there?
Not really. Nothing in Zim is like it was in Mutare. Nowhere else will you be called a satanist on a regular basis.

 

I love you all so much! keep on keepin on, and having fun!

~Elder Williams

 

getting stoned... Oct. 22, 2012

so uhhh yea. How are you doing? as for myself, I enjoyed conference! it was fetching awesome. Jeffrey R. Holland's talk was crazy awesome!!! Need I say more? well, in case I do, here it is YAHOOOOO!

Man, well conference was fun, and running around telling everyone about on friday was a blast! lol jk. Yea, we were told thursday night at 10:30 that conference was saturday and sunday. . . but it was still way good and way fun.

But, in other news, we had a lot of investigators and a few less actives who came to conference, so it was great to see them all. We have some former investigators that we are picking back up and also some people who are progressing well. We have 1 of our investigators who is preparing to be baptized on the 3rd of november, and is already paying her tithing (the same person from 2 weeks ago who was really prepared)! We really have been blessed recently with investigators who are prepared. One of our new investigators, Cindy, is progressing well, but we are having a difficulty with the mother, who is leaving for work and won't be back until December, so we will be trying to really win the family through weekly service and fellowshipping. 

To top off a good week, we had a drunk guy follow us for about 2km, we tried to get him to leave us alone, but to no avail. He was grabbing stones to throw at us, and was about to get his butt beat, but he was saved by some other people who helped stop him from following us. Then we topped that off with dinner and a game of risk at the other elder's house!

great week, I love you all.

Sharp!

Elder Williams

-- 
Remember: Pray always, and look to the Lord. Write often, and live life to it's fullest.

Doubt is the seed of failure. ~Taggart Williams

Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not. ~God (D+C 6:36)

photos of happiness

Oct. 8, 2012

It appears as if the family with the polygamy issue. . . is progressing! They were at church on sunday (except the father who was quite sick), and we have taught them the restoration, given them the book of mormon, and are teaching the law of chastity / marriage probably this week, so we will see how that goes. Well, We had another baptism this week, and this time- no! we didn't have to haul water from a borehole! And to top it off, from now on, we will probably be having baptisms at the new chapel in the adjacent area. It is a nice chapel, and is going to be cool, except that we will only be using it for baptisms; our meeting house is still a meeting house for emganwini. But alas, all's well that ends golden, whatever that means.

This week, Elder Nellesen and I had lots of fun, and continued to have difficulty in seeing alot of people. We dropped a few investigators who aren't progressing, and found someone who was prepared for sure.

Sister Dube called us over last sunday as we were going to see someone, and so we talked to her for a minute, gave her a restoration pamphlet, and set an appointment for the following week. We first saw her Thursday, after a difficult time finding the house, and shared about the Doctrine of Jesus Christ. We gave her a date for the 3rd of novemeber (the day before my brother's Birthday =P) and set a return appointment. We came back on saturday, and I was finally able to use the video of the restoration I recently downloaded. We shared about the restoration and then watched the 19 minute film. The spirit was strong, and then we asked sister Dube how she felt. She paused for a second and said "The reason I called you over that day was because all my life there has been something missing, and I wanted you to tell me what it was". After a brief pause, she continued: "I know that Joseph Smith was a true prophet. . .". My whole mission, I have wanted to be able to meet someone who really has been searching for the Gospel. One of those people who hears the message we bear and recognizes the truth immediately. I told sister dube that the reason she felt the way she did, with the empty part and all, was because God had a plan for her, and that she knew of this plan because she had already accepted it in the life before.
She was at church on sunday as well, and we will be following up with her on Wednesday. She really was prepared for this Gospel, and I can't wait for her to make the sacred covenant of Baptism with her Father in Heaven. 

Questions

Aunt Michelle
the man that is a poligamist, if you do convert them , does he just let one woman go ? or ? and what and where would she live?
The church policy is that he pretty much chooses one, and drops the other
do you have anymore  unwanted pets or wanted pets in your new place?  and as for  walking do you carry a container for water or a cantine?
Both me and my comp take 1-2 liters of water into the area in water bottles

CollinI was wondering how conference works down there and would appreciate if you could explain.
In some parts of the country, missionaries get to watch a live session (6-8pm/10-12 pm). For the members/missionaries, they have a broadcast about 2-3 weeks later.

uhhh yea, well, that's it for today

Thank you all for your prayers and your letters (for those of you who did)
love you all, quite muchly
~Elder Williams

-- 
Remember: Pray always, and look to the Lord. Write often, and live life to it's fullest.

Doubt is the seed of failure. ~Taggart Williams

Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not. ~God (D+C 6:36)

Wedding with very small cake 2012

Oct. 1 2012

We- are smashing- we- we- are smashing! We- are smashing our heads- on- the pavement! (- is a pause, tune to a movie which I will not disclose the name of. If you know it. . . why did you watch that movie???? *no, not rated R, but nonetheless. . .)

And now for the next development in the Emganwini chronicles. Written and directed by the "I wish we had a sign" corporation, copyrighted and owned by Elders Nellesen and Williams.

(*In the voice of the crocodile hunter) Right, for those of you who were unable to view last weeks episode, we watched from the edge of our seats as our heroes trudged onward in an attempt to find some more serious investigators. They battled through hard times such as: hot summer days with less than adequate amounts of water; a successful wedding with a very small cake; hauling water from a borehole in order to have a baptism; copious amounts of branch missionaries with willing hands; a truck which arrived just in-the-nick-of-time to save litrally hours of walking carrying heavy buckets of water; having new converts sit/lay down in order to be completely immersed in the water by an authorized servant of the Lord; collapsing at the end of a hard days work only to find one of them sick the next day. To top the week off, they had found and begun teaching a family of 8. . . The husband had been very polite in welcoming them into his home, introducing our heroes to his wife, and informing them that his 'other' wife was still at work, and wouldn't be back in time. Also, they found out that he leads not only his family, but his own church as well. . . These were their adventures last week. . . what could lay in store for our favorite Elders this week?

Well, that was last week, and this week, we had lots of annoying things happen, such as *OW* tired. . . endless. . . days. . . . But, nonetheless, we worked hard and had about a bazillion fall-throughs! This week was also hard, and we also had mormon helping hands. But, all things considered it was a good week. To top it off, we had the family with the polygamist attempt to come to church. But, because we don't have a sign in front of our meeting house, they went to the wrong church!!!!!!!!!!!! 8 people! Burn me! well, maybe now we will actually get a sign for the meeting house. . . =P but at least this next week we will be picking them up from church, and their fellowshipper will be able to see them as well (he has been busy with work and only just met them on sunday this week)

Awww, well, it was a good time!

Questions
Mom
What is your favorite season there, now that you have been there long enough to experience them all?
Cold season. It gets fetching cold, but rainy season coincides with hot season, and I prefer cold to hot.

Well, It has been great to communicate with you all, now onto downloading/converting jack-tons of files for people to use!

love you, keep well, stay safe, and if you want to. . . OBEY SPRITE!

~Elder Williams

Sept. 24 Short letter

Well, ding dong everybody! Another witch is dead.

Ding dong the witch got shot, and elder williams aint dead! ding dong, doodly bop! thanks to peppermint oil his headache is dead!

and burn me, it was a freaking nasty headache, along with a fever, but I am feeling in tip-top shape at the moment and am back on my feet. (see alma 46:40)

this week was good, we got transfers and I am staying here in bluez with elder nellesen, but as for today, I am sorry I am literally being kicked out of the email shop. We had a zone activity today, and I have no more time. Zvakwana. Apana. Sianara. I will fill you in on more next week, but as for now, just the questions.

Mom

 Is there any special kinds of food that are in season there right now?

Just the usual stuff. Paw-paws and lemons, peaches and mangos are coming soon

what type of fruit is most common there?

Anything and everything

Do people like to cook their fruit or eat it raw there? 

Raw, just like yours truly

love you all, sorry for the rush!

~Elder Williams

-- 

new transfer to Bulawayo near Victoria falls

Nah, that's just what Elder Stephensen would say. I would say something else. . . don't know what. Anywhosawhatsit. . .

This week has been quite enjoyable. I am really enjoying my time with Elder Nellesen, and I can say that this is for sure going to be a fun transfer.

This week, we have set a goal to do service every week. On Friday, we went and saw the Mupasi family (20yrs less active, none of the children are members). We had a lesson, and then made an appointment to come and clean the yard (The father is blind, and the mother is very near sighted, children all in school, ages from teenager to early 20's). It was awesome, and then when we went to see a convert who had just had her baby, we helped her get water from the borehole. Water has been gone for 3-4 days every week, depending on the part of where we live, so we have been bucket bathing somedays, and then mexican bathing in emergencies. . . =P It has been fun, and also gives us lots of opportunities to serve others! by hauling 25 liter buckets back and forth! good times.

We had Zone Conference Yesterday, (P-day was changed to tuesday) and that was crazy. President Cook was down here, naturally, and also we had elder Ulisses Soares, of the 70 here. It was powerful, and we learned a lot. The goal I have with my companion is exact obedience, and in just the last week, it is already showing fruits. We are making sure that even the smalles things don't go unfixed. It is quite a cool time, and I am excited to see the longterm blessings which will spring from this. 
well, onto the questions!

Questions:
Aunt Michelle
SO  you say you all have a tent now? is the tent for church or is it for you all to sleep in?
We meet in it for sacrament meeting unless there is lots of wind. We also just got part of the meetinghouse itself tiled, so it is getting better in there. Hows the weather now? changing? same?
Well, it has been getting hot now. Although I have heard (and do not doubt) that Bluez gets less rain than Mutare. But hey, It's all good.How is time kept there is it like at home you go by the clock to meet someone or is it a round about.. noonish kind of thing?
Everyone has clocks on their phone, but there is something called Zimbabwe standard time in which 'I'll be there right now' means anywhere from now to 2 hours. and 'He's around' means within about 5 km. When you add Zimbabwe standard time to Mormon standard time, there really isn't a way to be 'on time' without trying to be 1hr early, which often, the mission plans for. "be there at 11:00" (we need to be there at 11:30, and the meeting starts at 12:00) (Phones also have torches. . . er flashlights on them because electricity isn't constant)
Have you been enjoying the nature there ? since  the last walk with the lions?
I haven't had many more encounters with nature recently, so kinda boring.are you getting to know the native plants and herbs that grow around there and their uses?
I don't know any of the plants here really.I like hearing how you learning new dishes to make and try. It seems one thing you know for sure there is.. change! wow  ya kinda just roll with the flow and expect  the change.. its a good thing to learn and perhaps do you feel alot of what you do is spur of the moment stuff or spontanious? and do you feel thats the same as  your life was  before  you started your mission?
Well, change is all around us, whether we like it or not, all we get to decide is whether we accept it or fight it. As long as we accept the change that is good, and leanr to fight only the negative 'attempted' change, life finds a nice flow. 
 how do you work the computer thing , is there a library  you go to or are you all able to have your own computer?
We go to an email shop in town

MomDo people raise animals for their own food? 
Chickens sometimesWhat else do they do that is self sufficient? 
That, I honestly don't know. Just growing food and chickesn mostlyDo they use their gardens to eat or to sell?
A little of both, depending on who, where they live, and how much they grow.Does the average person have their own cattle, pets etc.?
Cattle, no. Pets, many have dogs or cats, but that is about it.

Well everyone, I love you all so much! Thank you for your prayers, and thank you for your letters. Keep on keepin on, and have tons of fun!
~Elder Williams

life in Bulawayo...

I love you. Well, I guess it's true. You think so too? What about Sue? That cow with a Moo. . . ok enough with the rhyming timing here, and onto the better letter of this peak week. 

Well how are you all today? It is a bright and sunny day here in good 'ol Bulawayo! This weeks forecast consisted of lost days and miraculous finds!

Elder Nellesen and myself had set a goal for exact obedience, as I told you all. We had, accordingly, set higher goals than usual for this week. Then, lo and behold, Zone conference comes and steals away a full day of proselyting. Now, we had quite a bit less time than usual, and higher goals than usual. *que miraculous hand of God* we ended up meeting our goals! Extra lessons and all, we found all the people we needed to find, taught all the lessons we needed to teach, and to top it off, we have 3-4 people preparing to be baptized this weekend! The Makenas are having their wedding on Saturday, and an hour later, we will be having a baptism for them, Sis Dube, and maybe Evelyn. 

Elder Nellesen and I have been having a lot of fun together, making some cake for DM (no, he didn't eat the whole thing, it just looks like he did), and we have been seeing some changes in our lives as missionaries as we have been striving for obedience with exactness.

In teaching, I have seen a very common mental 'defense mechanism' people here have. As they are feeling the Spirit testify to them that the things we are teaching them are true, often they will have a fear of change. They are so deeply rooted in their family's religion from generations back, that they will quite often try to disprove the necessity of only one true church. "All churches are one" or "We are all just worshiping the same God" have become some of my least favorite phrases. It was to my utter disapointment when two times this week I heard it. Both from the wife of an active member, and the 20 year old daughter of a less active member. It is often the cause of a rut in their progression, and with many has held them back for months if not years. However, with the way things are going with the Mupasi family (the less actives) we are seeing a ray of hope. Both the youngest son, Tinashe, and the Father (a devout long-time Catholic) are showing great desire in finding the truth, and we have even been going over the '17 points of the true church' with them to help them out.
Just yesterday, we gave them a Book of Mormon to read together and to pray about it with the promise that if it were true, they would know that this church is Jesus Christ's one and only true church. Time will tell, but I believe that they will come to that knowledge.

Questions

Grandma
Is your P-Day always going to be on Tuesday?
No, that was just because Zone Conference was on Monday. 


Alas, my time is far spent, and I must bid you all farewell. I love you much, and such and such
"Brethren, Adieu."  (Jacob 7:last verse)
~Elder Williams
-- 
Remember: Pray always, and look to the Lord. Write often, and live life to it's fullest.

Doubt is the seed of failure. ~Taggart Williams

Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not. ~God (D+C 6:36)

Aug. 27, 2012

 

Well, if it isn't my little friend! Wait, it isn't

Anywho, sorry about all that. Point being-The end of the needle- this week was pretty boring. There wasn't much above average, and a bit that was below,but it wasn't bad. The makena family now have plans for the marriage. It will be in 3 weeks, so we are excited. Once they get married, we will be having the baptism that saturday (probably the 22nd of September).  

We were given some fish by sister Phiri (see last week) and brother Makena gave us some covo(veg), so on friday, I cooked a very legit african meal (will send pictures next week). Sadza, fish, and covo. It was pretty sweet. I have also been listening to some talks by Hugh Nibley some nights, and let me say. In-Cre-Dee-blay--- or, if you don't speak gibberish, incredible! I would really recommend him to anyone wanting some great talks to listen too! I found his talks on a byu site for speeches/devotionals.

 

Sorry again to everyone who is wanting a longer letter, I really don't have much to talk about right now, but I am having a lot of fun here in Zim.

 

love you all!

~Elder Williams

reply to Mom

If you look at things the other way, often the big picture will make a lot of sense. If we do things the world wants us to, however, we will often find ourselves confused to the purpose of everything. Look at it the other way, and you can see what can stop the underwear from breaking as well. I don't like it when things break =P

 

I bet collin will enjoy shooting up all the birds in the neighbors yard with a pellet gun, but I don't know how they would take to bird carcasses in their yard. . . purhaps poisonous gas would be a better solution? Well one thing is for sure, in your salsa this year you should make a few cans with like a billion peppers, spicy things, etc and label it "for Taggart- Warning: super freaking hot". Then you should save it for me  so I can try some! cuz I will bet that your garden tastes as amazing as it looks and feels!

I really have come to appreciate nature more, recently. I love to see all that God has given me!

I love remembering the picture we had in the 'fishy bathroom' growing up, the one with the boy in a small sailor's cap on looking at the ocean: "I say to myself as I look out to sea: 'there is nobody else in the world, and the world was made for me!' "

 

I love you so much mom! I can't wait to get your package and read the letters, but you can feel free to have the kids just send me a small email every week or so! I would love to hear from them (mostly directly) how they are enjoying school, play, etc. I love you tons!

~Elder Williams

letter from Mom Aug. 2012

Dear Taggart,

We got a little rain today.  boy would you guys laugh about the amount of rain we got.  In Zim it would seem like someone was playing a joke on you, as if someone splashed you with some water off of their hands.
the fruit is coming on and it is now officially canning season.  It is my favorite way to appreciate  home grown produce.  I am very happy about it.  Athen and Aren remember that you like to eat "all of the pears"  and they love peaches so they fit well into this season too.  We are off to AZ this weekend and going to see the cousins.  It will be a quick trip, but fun.  Camping and playing and making white man fires.  Kaitlyn comes out to BYU this week and we won't  get to see her, but maybe Amanda will.  Mackenzie is doing well and has great roommates.  I miss her though.  I love our yard.  I probably have told you that before, but it is one of the ways I feel God's love for me.  it is peaceful and beautiful and it allows me to help in making it that way.  I still need to get dad to make the fort for the little ones but it will be a while still.
trying to get rhubarb to plant in the garden and maybe more grapes this year.  The neighbors have a ton of birds that they love to feed in their yard and consequently we have to deal with them too.  I think they got to the grapes this time.  argh.  Tomatoes will be on soon and I will love making salsa too.
Today at church Aren did a pretty good job staying quiet and within boundaries I set.  while he was sitting on the floor in his kilt, he stopped stood up, lifted his kilt up and showed me his little penis had slipped out of the slit.  I quote, " Oh no Mom, it's broken"  Thurl Bailey was sitting right  next to us and got a good view of what was broken.  so I fixed it and then a little bit later he stood up and said again, "It's broken again".  And of course it was with a flash of the problem.  I then took him into the bathroom took his underwear off and put them on backwards and ouila, no more broken underwear and he can see the cartoon character better too.
Do you remember that you wore your underwear backwards too?  It was so you could see batman, poke man etc.  while you wore them.  I thought it made a lot of sense.
There is a metaphor in that.  Let me know what you come up with.
love you bunches.
Mom

the beautiful life in Zim. Aug. 13, 2012

We made cake... 8-13-2012

Yes, that's right, it is a lie! although, we only made one cake this week, for an investigator. . . and we didn't eat any of it. . . 
Well, Transfers will probably come in a few days, so we will see what is happening soon, and it should be interesting.

This week was pretty eventless. It was, for the most part just a typical week. Had some nice food, Bought a really awesome stone chess set in town, and had health training on wednesday. It was really cool, and we went over the usual health/safety tips/tricks. I really am starting to have a bit of a hobby with health/witchdoctoring, and soon, the whole mission will probably know me as witchdoctor williams. . . it is pretty awesome.
As far as teaching this week goes, there was not much that happened, but the makena family is almost ready for baptism. We are getting excited.

I apologize to all those wanting a long email today; it is a holiday and the email shop is closing really early, so our time has been cut short. Althought there is a video on the blog for you to check out (once my dad puts it up at least. . .) BTW, HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!!!!!!!!!!!! NO, you aren't old yet. Not till next year . . . =P love you so much dad, and everyone else too. . .

Thanks all, will do a bigger email next week =P keep on keeping on, but careful
love you all cya

-- 
Remember: Pray always, and look to the Lord. Write often, and live life to it's fullest.

Doubt is the seed of failure. ~Taggart Williams

Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not. ~God (D+C 6:36)

blue sadza and grinding the food

OF RATS AND MEN; july 23, 2012

E.D."Companion, I just saw the rat again"
E.W."in the bathroom?"
E.D. "yup"

Following this conversation, we discovered how that rat was getting in the house (through the shower drain/hole). We went outside, and concluded that the collapsed dirt was due to a rat nest. Yes, we had a rat. We decided the best way to bring out the rat was pour water into the hole, so we got two buckets of water. We had let the rat go before, and it had apparently come back, and was still going into our house (we had seen signs of it for about the last two weeks, and found poop/dirt in random places like our beds. . .), so it was time to clean up the yard of this lone, troublesome rat. Flashlights in our teeth, buckets in hand, we filled the hole with water. *squeak squeak* out comes a rat, hard to see in so little light, starts running around. My companion freaks out and gets back, and I try to catch the rat, going in between small patches of grass, in a bucket. I am unsuccessful, and as it starts climbing the wall, I decide: What the heck! and hit the darn thing off with the bucket. Grabbing the lid lying on the ground, I hit it a few times, miss a few, and then it stops. I go grab a large rock and. . . smash! In the words of Elder Hayes, (my trainer) done-skiis. We take a look, and seeing the iny rat quickly decide that this isn't the original, or even the one we had seen in the house. That's right, not a Rat (singular) but a rat infestation (singular) =P
Fill, rinse repeat, we get two more small ones and finally, through the help of providence, the large one. smash smash smash, and there she goes, no more large rat. We decided to call it a night, and when we went out the next morning (sunday) both the large rat (body length maybe 6-8 inches) and small rat close to the burrow. . . were gone. They had been very much dead, I can testify to that, but they were gone. So, monday morning rolls around (this morning) and we repeat the buckets. Using the quiet stick and boom stick we disposed of the last rat which came out of the hole, and proceeded to cave in the hole thing and flood it one last time with water, JUST to be sure. (see video on blog)

*pics in this email, me grinding things for making a wheaty sadza, and some blue sadza (haha) with barbequed baked beans.

Hey there everybody!

This week has been a bit crazy, what with Elder Dragon sick for a few days, but we had one of our investigators, Admire, come to church. We hadn't been able to followup on his praying/reading after the restoration and BoM, and with his background it is stuff that is definitely controversial. Being that he came to church despite that, we are sure that he read, prayed, got his answer. We are following up this tuesday and are very excited. It is always good to find people who have been prepared for the gospel and really do find in it what they have been looking for.

Our recent converts, the Shoko family, are preparing quite effectively for the Temple. They are planning on going in December. Brother Shoko is also wanting to go to the temple in DRC (democratic republic of Congo) in the future. We are so excited for them, and it is such a great thing to see our recent converts really catching the vision of the Gospel.

Being away from and not being able to attend the temple has really made me miss it. and it is such a that I really took for granted, and it is such a blessing to have so close by. Whether you are just going to sit for a while, or do work for the dead, it is so amazing. 

I had fun talking to my companion while he had the flu, and we continue to make nice food things! I have my camera cord, so I will upload vids/photos today.

Love you all, and in case I don't see you,
good afternoon
good evening
and good night
~Elder Williams

-- 
Remember: Pray always, and look to the Lord. Write often, and live life to it's fullest.

Doubt is the seed of failure. ~Taggart Williams

Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not. ~God (D+C 6:36)

new mission president...

Well, hello there all you peeps. I can see that it is now monday, and unlike every other week, We have a new mission president.
Yup.
That's right.
Happy 4th of July!!!!1!!!!!!!!!!!1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Read 'em and weep.
It. . . is game time.
Uhh huhh. We got our new mission president, and met him this friday. His name is Elder. . . err President Cook. He is from New Hampshire, and he and his wife are very excited and happy to be here in Zim. In the meeting, we got to hear about both President and Sister Cook. They have a few children, the youngest is about to get back from his mission in Mexico in a few weeks. We got to talk with them a bit more personally over lunch and had an enjoyable time with that. I am excited, but I have no idea what changes (or lack thereof) await us in the coming weeks and months, but I know that we will really have a good time with President and Sister Cook. President Dube was amazing, and now President Cook will continue the reign of amazing-ness.

This week we had some cool and interesting things happen. We had an investigator who we had been expecting not at church last week. She blocked our calls. In our prior meeting with them, the sister (23) had needed to rush to work and hadn't stayed for very long. We then had a discussion with the brother about finding the truth about the book of mormon. He had found some anti-mormon websites online and had questions about that. We had done what we could at the time to help him know that the only way he could find truth was to seek it from God, through study and prayer. It appears as if he hadn't taken our advice to heart, and had instead discussed with his sister and their neighbor about it. This week, on thursday when we went to see her, she didn't come to the door, but had someone else in the house bring us the two copies of the Book of Mormon in the house. We were informed that She and her brother would no longer be wanting to meet with us. We left, and took a seat on the side of the road. We wrote our testimonies in a Book of Mormon, and as were doing this, the other person we were teaching with these two came by, and asked if we were going in (she had seen us earlier and said she was coming over). She was jovial about it, so we determined just to go and give them the Book of Mormon and leave. We waited a few minutes and the girl came back out. She said that they wanted to see us. We went in, had a seat, and each one said that they were no longer wanting to meet with us; they each gave reasons: Didn't like to read, and always felt bad when we were disappointed that she hadn't read (from a school teacher, who the week before after having read from the book of mormon told us that she knew it was true.). Here brother said that their father didn't want him meeting with us anymore (He is 17-18, and stays with his sister. We have been teaching them for a few weeks and never heard anything about their father). The other (girl from earlier) said that she wanted to focus on school and didn't want to take time for reading scriptures.
We talked to them about how the only road to truth was through prayer, and that we were disappointed that they were not willing to truly do as we had challenged them. We did what we could, but they maintained that they didn't want to meet with us anymore. At the least, we planted seeds to be harvested at another time when they are ready to receive the truth, but we left them with our testimonies and the Book of Mormon. We asked that, if they wouldn't read the book itself, to at least read what we had written. 

Sister Makhosazana (the one with the dreams from a few weeks ago) was at church and she really enjoyed it. We also had 2 baptisms saturday, Pinky (11) and Everbusy(12). Bro Sibanda, the Guardian, was ordained to the Melkezidek Preisthood last wek, and performed both baptisms and pinky's Confirmation. It was a great experience! We also had someone who was baptized 3 weeks before I got here finally come to church on time, and he was confirmed by my companion.

It has been a good week, and the coming one looks to be good as well. The Ndlovu family we haven't been able to see for a while is finally back in town (the husband goes to SA for business alot). They are strong, and are preparing to be baptized on the 21st. We are nice and excited for them. =P

I love you all, I hope you stay well and sight tight. 
Siabonga!
~Elder Williams

p.s. I forgot my camera cord today, so picks next week. 
p.p.s exoxo legxuma gxuma liqondaqo liwela mgwaqo --yes, I can say that
-- 
Remember: Pray always, and look to the Lord. Write often, and live life to it's fullest.

Doubt is the seed of failure. ~Taggart Williams

Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not. ~God (D+C 6:36)

photos and video July 2 2012

portable baptism font

rabbit leg

guinea pig

July 2, 2012

Well, it appears as if it has come to an end. . .Not my mission, you silly people, just the time with president Dube!

As of now, Our mission president is President Cook. President Dube was
a great president, and is now actively a member of the Area 70. This
week we also received transfers (it being week 5, not week 6), and,
very unusual, all things were done next day. Calls tuesday, areas
shifted wednesday. Elder Dragon and I are staying together another
transfer, and that means that it is going to be a fun one. We have
been having a lot of difficulties in the area due to lots of
fallthroughs and needing to drop people who aren't ready. It has been
difficult. I don't really have any spiritual experiences to share for
this week, so sorry to all of you who are wanting one. When I say that
this week was difficult, I mean it was full of hairpulling, facepalms,
and letting people go.

There was happy news, at least. There is a girl we have been teaching,
Pinky, who needs parent permission to be baptized, but her mom lives
in Botswana. We got word from her uncle, Brother Sibanda (who she
stays with) that they got permission from the Mom. We are very happy
for her, and her date is set for the 7th of July (this saturday).

We were able to see the recently baptized Shoko family, and that was a
treat. They are getting a large picture of the Jo-burg temple for
their home, and they are so happy as they learn more and more about
the gospel, the temple, etc. It is always good to see those we have
taught truly progress in the gospel and learn and improve their lives.

I love you all,
stay well

~Elder Williams

june 18, 2012

Well, right now I am having quite a fun time. I just got back from a Zone activity, and it was pretty fun. We went to a dam here in Bulawayo, and it was fun going with both Zones. We had a braii, and some Mazoe as well, so it was an all around good time. We just had a baptism this weekend, Brother and Sister Shoko. We were really excited for them, so that they can be able tom help the branch grow. The branch I am working in was opened just about 8-10 months ago, and so almost all members here in emganwini are recent converts. We are meeting in a meeting house, and the font is a portable (see pictures of set-up). It is pretty cool, and fun to help this branch grow. Elder Dragon and I have been doing alot of sifting through our teaching pool, but our prayers and fasting for the part of our are called Island have really helped! We found a few people there who we feel are really prepared for the gospel. We started teaching them this week, and one of them even came to church! We were very excited and were able to help answer questions and concerns. The trick we face now is to find people we can consistently take with us to see them, as there is but one member family in Island. However, they are really seeming like they will be both willing and excited to help in this area when they can. We have high hopes for Island and hope to really get these people used to missionaries, and willing to let us into their homes to save them!

Well, we are low on time this week because the activity took extra long, so I will jump to questions.

Aunt michelle:
SO what  kind of food do you cook and eat now?

Cajun chicken, lemon bars, lots of good stuff. (see pictures) also, last night we ate guinea pig and rabbit.
And  it sounds like you have moved several times? how many now?  and how offten are you expected to move ?

third area now. It depends between missionaries. Some move alot, some little. 
When you say its cold there about what degrees? 50s  and where does it come from  like is  it coming off the ocean?

I don't know numbers, because I haven't ever looked at a thermometer. But it is partly because I am adjusting to the climate. It still isn't Utah Cold, let alone minnesota cold =P I know not from where it comes, but you can see where I am if you type in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe into google maps.

I love you all so much!

stay well,

~Elder Williams
-- 

working with vaccines... June 24, 2012

It has a charm to it!
"Yea, lucky charms. . . cuz their fruity. . . like you"
Oh, what a wit you have! *scratch*
crap. . . we ran out of animation money. . . =P

Well, hello there everybody, it appears as if I didn't get to spend as much time emailing last time as usual, I was just writing, and the guy comes around and says that the shop is closing in 5 minutes. . . I mean, really? well, whatever. Them's the beans.

This week has been quite annoying, but nice; we spent 2 hours a day, tuesday through friday, at a clinic volunteering to help with the measles campain going on. 1.9 mil children were vaccinated here in Zim this week against either measles, polio, or both for free by the gov't. It was a great opportunity for service for us, (we had helped a little to notify people the week before) and so we got to see lots of little children screaming in terror as they see a child in front of them screaming in terror because somewhere one saw the small needle and decided to start a chain reaction amongst toddlers. . . =P well, they are all a bit healthier now! good stuff.

The area that my companion and I are starting to work more in (Island) is responsible for most of our promising investigators at the moment. We still have only checked one street (due to time constraints these last 2 weeks), so 20-25 houses, and we are progressively teaching 7 people across 4 houses. It is really crazy, and we have decided to move a large portion of our efforts to this area to really get a stronghold of members there. The member family that lives in Island, the Sibandas, are really excited to help out and are probably going to be fellowshippers for a lot of people in the next while. . . and they seem to be loving it! Our Branch missionaries have been wanting us to help them out with learning to teach, and so we have been having kind of a class for them (and other members) every saturday (It has only happened twice now), and they are loving it. We have been helping them understand how to teach, and doing lots of role plays to help them learn. We have our own BMTC (branch missionary training center). Our BM's are also wanting to help more with missionary work, so we are seeing it really help with our investigators; We have, however, had to drop a lot of people this week who have not been willing to prioritize church.

Brother Ncube once again skipped out on church, but the rest of his family came. When we went to see them last night, he was telling us that he had been reading from the apostle paul that if a man's wife followed the commandments, her husband didn't have to (in essence). Naturally, we were pretty shocked that that interpretation held any water in this man's mind (he is an intelligent man) and he really wasn't wanting to listen to us. He said the following about 20 times: "I know what you say is true BUT . . ." We had been feeling that he has been progressing pretty well until just recently, and now I feel we have discovered his concern: He will not change. He refuses to truly pray to ask for the truth, and won't change the way he prays, or believes. We decided it was best to let him go for now until he is willing to change and really know what the truth is. The rest of his family, on the other hand, had been obviously feeling the spirit that was strong in the room during the lesson last night. It remains to be seen whether Sister Ncube and the daughters will be willing to change and progress without the father, or if they will help to change his heart, but for now, teaching a person who won't listen is like trying to break down a building using your bare fist.

Someone we have just recently started teaching (in Island) is sister Dzuke. She is an older mom (and roman catholic) whose husband passed away last year, and who we feel is an answer to prayers and fasting. When we first met her, we gave her a restoration pamphlet and set an appointment. When we came for the appointment, we found that she had already read most of the pamphlet and had questions about Joseph smith. We taught the first part of the restoration, and gave her a book of mormon. Upon returning for the second lesson, she had read the introduction of the book of mormon, and finished the pamphlet. She again had more questions. Yesterday, we were able to bring Brother and Sister Sibanda with us to the lesson (which made a big difference over a branch missionary) and taught about the Book of Mormon; true to form, Sister Dzuke had read the testimonies and read more from the book of mormon. As we continued teaching, the spirit was very strong. She had not come to church (rewind, sorry) and when we asked what had happened she said: "I came by on friday to find the church and was not able to, so I wasn't sure how to get there." From there, I just knew that if she had been able to find it, she would have come (as cheesy as it sounds, it is true). The Sibandas promptly told her where the church was, and offered to pick her up on sunday (he has done this with each island investigator so far, and will soon be coming to church with a herd of converts!). She was so excited to hear that.
She also shared a story: for the longest time in her life, she always has bad dreams; people at her church have helped by prayer and fasting for her, but all to no avail. Then one day, she was just finishing bathing, and two white missionaries from the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints come to her home, give her something to read and set an appointment to come. She prepared for this appointment, and on the appointed day, they came, taught her a little, and voila! No more bad dreams. Gone. None. Zvakwana. That was last week.

We have high hopes for her, as she really carries through with her reading and always has great questions.

Well, that is all for this week, my comp and I are still making NICE foods. It really is Q. (for those of you who don't know what Q is, you will find out one day =P it is the thing I miss the most, and it applies to everything: either Q, or not Q)

On to questions 

Grandma Twila
Is it rainy now along with the cold?
it is rainy during/ right after the hot season.
Is the landscape much the same there?
fairly flat. Mutare was mountainous, but the rest of Zim is pretty much flatlnds.
Are you in a rural area?
I am presently in Bulawayo, which is the second biggest city in Zim, right after Harare.

I love you all, and hope that more of you will write me, because all of you can =P
Take care, 
~Elder Williams
-- 
Remember: Pray always, and look to the Lord. Write often, and live life to it's fullest.

Doubt is the seed of failure. ~Taggart Williams

Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not. ~God (D+C 6:36)