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
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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)