Week 22: Just One Voice

Ndeipi!  

Mission is the best. Seriously THE BEST. Living in Africa is so hard sometimes but I love it. We had power and water for like 2 whole days this week, which stinks, but life goes on. 

This week was awesome! Remember last week how I said to expect miracles? This week we saw MIRACLES. So we put this giant sign in our study that says "Expect miracles, for they will come". On Tuesday we ate a five houses. Five. Do you know how many that is? Do you know how much food that is? So much. Every where we went they just kept feeding us and feeding us and feeding us. I have never hated food so much. My poor companion got sick and has been throwing up for the rest of the week, but she's getting better! We still got 29 lessons in for the week which is yet another miracle while having a sick companion. 

MAI EDGAR: Mai Edgar is the best lady every. She has been taking the lessons for about a year now, and last week we extended baptism and she accepted! MIRACLE. Then, this week we realized that we didn't ask her if she was legally married and we're like alright shoot she's not going to be baptized for like a month and a half. So we got back and tell her about the requirement to be legally married before baptism which costs $20, and she said "It's okay. I'm willing to sacrifice anything to keep my baptismal date". MIRACLE. $20 is a giant chunk of money this side. She tells us she has to talk to her husband to see if he will agree, and we were praying so hard that he would say yes! We came back on Saturday, and she sat us down and said "God is working miracles in my life. Every time I've asked my husband before if we can get married, we always end up just arguing. But this time he just said yes". BUT WAIT, it gets better. The husband comes in and tells us that he's willing to go to the court and pay whatever as long as his wife is happy. It was so great. Miracles. Miracles everywhere. So Mai Edgar is getting baptized on Saturday and it will probably be the happiest day of our lives. 

ALLAN: Allan is the guy we met last week that we were able to teach about the Book of Mormon. We set a return appointment with him for this week, and were looking forward to meeting with him again so much. That's all we could talk about! Our lesson before our scheduled one with Allan went a little long, and then we got a little lost on the way to his house, which was really weird because it's an area we spend a lot of time in. When we got to his house, we were about 15 minutes late, and his gogo said he was not home. We were crushed! As we were walking about, my companion turned around and say him running up the street. We were able to teach him the message of the Restoration, and it honestly was probably the most powerful lesson I have been in on mission. He was understanding so well, the spirit was so strong, and he was asking so many great questions. After we shared the first vision, he stopped and said, "Sisters, I need to be frank with you. I forgot about our appointment today. But as I was at school, I had an hour break, and I just felt something pushing me to come home. It takes me about 25 minutes to walk home, so it didn't make sense, but something just kept pushing me. When I was walking home, a friend stopped me and asked for help on an assignment, but I knew I had to come home. When I got here, I saw you, and I knew it was God who had pushed me home. The story about Joseph Smith is a miracle. What happened to him was a miracle. It may not seem like it to you, but what happened to me today was also a miracle. I can feel something when we talk and I think this is God telling me that there's something special about your church." Wow. Just wow. My companion and I walked away from the lesson just in shock. It was incredible. 

Expect Miracles, for they will come.

This is the longest email in the history of ever, so I commend every one who gets through it. Thank you all for the love and prayers sent to the missionaries in Zimbabwe. They are working!

Love, Sister Richards 

Three generational picture! My trainer and my daughter. Such happy times.

What happens when the power goes out and we have no food? oreos and peanut butter for lunch. FOR THE WIN. 

What can I say, Africa is turning me into a fashion icon. (the mornings are really cold)

I played doctor for my sick comp this week. I was instructed whisk all the carbonation out of sprite, add a teaspoon of salt, and make her drink it. This is her enjoying haha. 

Giant spider on our wall. you can't see him all but he's really huge.

Our beautiful calendar. all the little words are return appointments and the colored sticky notes are baptismal dates. hashtag ORGANIZED 

Week 21: Ni Hao!

Hello my people!

What a stinkin awesome week. Too much good stuff to share and I have like .00005 seconds to email (so I probably won't be able to respond to everyone, I'm sorry), but I'll try my best.

So we started off the week with training meetings for all the trainers. Pretty much we were just told that the first few weeks are mission are so crucial for the trainee so we better not mess things up. No pressure, right? Then we got all of our companions! They came in a big group, so all together we were almost 30. My companion is Sister Park and she is the best! I seriously love this girl so stinkin much. She's pretty much just an asian version of myself, so we're having a lot of fun together. She is a really, really hard worker. Like crazy hard. Our area is the size of stinkin Russia so I was praying for a companion that likes to walk. And she does. So we're safe. 

SO like I said, Sister Park and I have been having fun together. A little too much fun. She's full Korean, so we've been having fun telling people that she doesn't know any English. The night before district meeting, we called our District Leader and asked him to bring a Book of Mormon, Preach my Gospel, pamphlets, or really any church material in the Korean language because my companion "knows no english". HAH. They fell for it so hard. The next day at District Meeting they bring all these language study manuals and all this stuff and I'm like wow okay thanks this will help so much. So she goes all of district meeting without saying a word, and then they ask her to give a prayer and I say, "oh it will be in Korean, is that alright?". So she gets up, everyone closes their eyes, and she just goes off in english. I opened my eyes and everyone was just like looking up and their jaws were on the floor. It was hysterical. People in the area always yell "Ni hao! Ni hao!" and will keep on yelling until my companion responds. It's not even korean hahaha. 

BUT we are focusing in the area, don't you worry. We contacted about 17 katrillion people this week, and have a lot of return appointments for next week which is exciting. We were able to extend two more baptismal dates this week, and get two more investigators confirmed! So all is well in Mabvuku. Our Zone Leader gave us great advice in DM: Expect Miracles. When we are exactly obedient, we can expect miracles. And we for sure have been seeing miracles in our area this week! We're teaching someone new named Allan. We were in an area we don't usually go to that often, and the appointment we had set was a fall through. So we're all moping around so sad that this appointment fell through (we were really excited for it) and Allan approached us in the street and asked if we would teach him about the Book of Mormon. We were able to sit down with him right there, and I seriously have never seen anyone grasp the concept of the Book of Mormon so quickly. It was incredible. Sister Park and I just walked away from that lesson and were like WOW. It was a miracle for us. The Lord knew the previous appointment with fall through, but put someone in our path for us to teach who really needed the gospel. Missionary work is the best!

So I said I had no time, and this was forever long so now I reallllyyy have no time haha. But I love you all! Have the greatest week! 

Love, Sister Richards 

This is me practicing how to be non high maintenance while holding a chicken head

Me being happy in Africa

The training sisters!

The training sisters!

The training sisters!

My cute companion!

The trainers and trainees!

The trainers and trainees!

My feet usually look like this at the end of every day. Dirt or tan? You decide.

Haha an Asian and a white person. We think we are so funny.

Carolina! That is me!

Week 20: Call Me Maybe?

Family! Friends! Everyone I Like!

Well the subject line doesn't really have to do with anything important but the funniest thing happened to Sister Walbeck and I this morning. The APs came and took our companions to their new areas, so we were left to take kombis to town to email. The kombi driver put in his phone and started playing Call Me Maybe! He didn't play it once, or twice, but THREE TIMES. You better believe Sister Walbeck and I jammed out harrrddd core. Then the guy next to us turns to us and says, "I thought you guys weren't allowed to listen to this kind of stuff..". Shoot. He's a member. SO we calmed ourselves down and and remembered that a lot of people are watching us and we probably shouldn't jam to our favorite song in the ninth grade. Lesson learned.

This week was great! We went on exchanges to Chitungwiza and I got to be with Sister Jili and it was the best thing ever! I got to see some of my recent converts, and then give Brother Lovemore fire for not showing up to his baptism. He's the one who thought that when Mormon compiled all the plates he wrote the footnotes to the Bible on there too. Hahaha he's my favorite human.

We were able to baptize three people this weekend, so it was awesome! Each of them bore powerful testimonies, and it's just so humbling to think you helped them gain that testimony! God is good.

AND transfers happen today! I'M TRAINING! What the heck! My daughter flies in tomorrow from the MTC and I'm so excited to meet her. Her name is Sister Park and she is from the states. Best part is, Sister Walbeck is training too and we're staying in the same house! It's seriously going to be the best thing ever. So we'll be here in Harare town for the next couple days doing horrible training meetings and what what but I'm just so so excited. Sad to say goodbye to Sister Ngwenya, but excited to see what the future holds.

A sekuru (grandpa) spoke in church this week and said something that totally hit me about work. "Doing nothing is the hardest work there is because you can never stop to rest". So true. Time is one of the most precious resources God has given us, and so we need to use it to work hard! There's no better feeling in the world than coming home from a long day in the area and just collapsing because you're so stinkin tired. Workin hard or hardly workin?

Everyone have a great week! Oh yeah I forgot to say that I ate chicken brain this week. Totally gross but I buried it in my sadza and soup so I couldn't taste it. 10/10 wouldn't recommend it.

Love, Sister Richards 

Week 19: Bhabhatidzwa!

Hello Family and Friends!

A very windy and hot week in Mabvuku! Everything here is good and happy because we didn't have to stay inside the house once this week for any riots! Hallelujah! And to top it all off, we had two baptisms! We have a couple more next week, too, so things here are lookin good.

Lewis and Tafadzwa were baptized on Saturday, and both showed up ON TIME to 8:00 church to be confirmed on Sunday! Miracles! Miracles everywhere! They both bore powerful testimonies about the Book of Mormon and the prophet Joseph. Honestly there is no greater joy than seeing these people gain a testimony for themselves. We're working with Tafadzwa's parents to legalize their marriage, and then they'll be baptized shortly after. It's sad because things here in Mabvuku are really tough, but that humbles the people to want to hear about the gospel. The Lord works in mysterious ways.

This week I ate these funny funny things that I don't remember the name of. My Zone Leader ordered them and wouldn't tell me what they were before I ate one. Turns out I ate the part of the chicken that, and I quote, "you probably should just throw away, but is edible when you fry it". It actually wasn't that bad. Just a funny funny texture. Pretty much you can eat anything here if it has enough onions on it (dad you wouldn't survive). But I'm alive and that's all that really matters.

This week I was studying in 3 Nephi, when Christ dies and a thick darkness overcomes the entire world. We learn that the people use their driest wood to make fires and do everything in the power to have light, but nothing worked at all. I thought about in our lives if we distance ourselves from Jesus Christ, that darkness will come. The darkness came because Jesus Christ literally was taken off the earth. We could try to turn to other solutions to find light, even our driest wood, but we will never have light unless we draw near unto Jesus Christ.

Missionary work is good! Transfers are coming up this week, but I don't think I'm leaving. Possibly a new companion, but I'm definitely staying here in Mabvuku. Everyone have a great week, and throw away the necessary parts of chicken that you probably shouldn't eat. Love you all!

Love, Sister Richards 

Stirfry and coconut rice! it's becoming my staple food around here

Baptism!

Week 18: "But They That Are Sick"

Helllloooo Zimbabwe!

Or America, or wherever any of you are reading this. This week we did about nothing, so I apologize that this email will be super, super boring. 

Tuesday we had Zone Meeting, and I was asked to share my testimony at the end. I have yet to attend one Zone Meeting or Conference that I have not born my testimony or spoken at. Just waiting for these peeps to get tired of me. That day my companion was sick, so we just came home so she could rest. Wednesday the political riot things went on again, so we weren't allowed to leave the house. Thursday we had to go to Highlands for interviews with President Mkhabela (who is my favorite person in Zimbabwe), so that was another blank day. But Friday and Saturday we were in the field, and it felt soooo stinkin good! Sunday I spoke in Church about Missionary Work, and so we're hoping for a lot of referrals to come in this week! 75% of our missions baptisms come from member referrals, crazy huh?

We have two baptisms coming up this next week, which are the first two baptisms in Mabvuku where I have been there for all the lessons, so I'm super happy! Praying that they go through, because these kids are really prepared. People in Zimbabwe are just impossible to track down like 98% of the time, so baptismal interviews are always an adventure haha. But I have faith! 

I had a really nice experience during personal study this week, so I thought I would share my thoughts. I was studying in Matthew 9, when the Savior says, "They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick". I was thinking how each and every one of us is sick. We are heavy laden with burdens and trials, which make us sick. But how incredibly grateful I am to be sick, because without my sickness, I wouldn't need a physician. I'm grateful for the burdens I have, because without them, I would not know my Savior. I'm grateful to be able to help the people here in Zimbabwe find their physician and Savior. 

Well I hope you all had a more exciting week than I had, but I'm anxious to see what this week holds. God is good, mission is good, everything is good!

Love, Sister Richards 

Week 17: "And Then You Passed By"

No, that is not the name of the newest chick-flick in Zimbabwe, but the title of the most AMAZING experience I had this week! This week was such a great week, so I'll try to remember everything that happened. 

First off, we had 14 investigators at church! That sets the record for my mission so far, although that is split between the two wards we serve in. Still though, super exciting!

A man in Mabvuku 1st passed away this week, and it was very unexpected and tragic. Sister Ngwenya and I are pretty close with his two daughters that are both in young womens. We went to the funeral home to see the coffin carried out and it was the coolest thing! All of the ladies from the ward and the neighborhood were gathered around the body just singing in shona so loudly and clapping and dancing! They do that so the family will forget that they're sad and just celebrate the life that the person lived. I wish I had my camera that day, but they were all in their african wraps and wow it was just such a cool experience!

There was some political riot thing this week, so there was a day that none of the missionaries in the mission were allowed to go outside. So we had one day just stuck inside the house. Let me tell you, you can get through A LOT of conference talks in one day. Fortunately, that day we had power! We went four days this week without power AND water which makes life really difficult, but it came back on last night and I almost shed some tears of joy. 

Okay now for my story. So on Thursdays we go to Chizhanje (chee-janj-ay), which is about an hour and a half walk from where we stay. So our first couple appointments near home were all fall-throughs, so we started to head to Chizhanje early. I brought my camera that day, and so there was this funny funny street that my companion wanted to go down to get a picture. So we're like okay we have time so spare so we went. So as we're walking down this street, there's this lone house in the middle of nowhere, and a couple guys out front. They start yelling at us in shona, so we just wave and keep walking, then we decide to turn back and contact them. Well we ended up talking to them for almost two hours, and we able to answer a lot of their questions, and teach them the whole restoration! There was such a special spirit there, and I know the spirit led us to that home, even if it did just feel like a coincidence! The best part was, at the end, one of them said to me, "You helped me keep believing. I was about to give up, and then you passed by". Wow, my heart. They came to church on Sunday, and so we'll see them a couple more times this week! 

Congratulations to Bethany on the engagement! Welcome to the best family on earth, Dallen. Hope you all have an amazing week, and don't forget to be grateful for power and running water!

Love, Sister Richards

also didn't see the rat once this week so I'm hoping it's dead 

#1. finally did my photo wall this week!

#2. we had quail last week at our braii! super yummy 

#3. my very dirty, dusty, and windy mabvuku

#4. Area

#5. Area

#6. The ward had a Mormon Helping Hands activity this week that we stopped by for on our way to Chizhanje

#7. I learned how to wash by hand this week. My hands are RAW. It was so stinkin cold outside and the water was cold! Overall a really good experience, though.

#8. The bright and shiny result of my washing. Don't worry, the holes were there before.

#9. Gogo gave us the wraps to wear while we cleaned. We felt so african. 

Week 16: I LOVE YOU AMERICA

Family and Friends!

The weeks here in Mabvuku are flying! I can't believe we started week three today? So crazy! We had 11 investigators at church yesterday, and had a baptism on Saturday! Things here are going so well and I'm super super happy.

Other than my favorite pen dying, here's the most traumatic thing that happened to me this week.

*me peacefully eating dinner in the kitchen*

me: (whisper shouting at sister walbeck in the other room) sister walbeck, I think I'm staring at a rat

sister walbeck: you think?

me: it hasn't moved in a really long time

sister walbeck: well don't just stare at it, move!

me: (waits for about a minute) IT MOVED!

And then I proceeded to run around the house screaming. So pretty much I try to keep my eyes shut while I'm in the kitchen. Which is actually really hard to do while you're trying to cook. But I successfully went 48 hours without seeing the rat, but then saw it again yesterday, and the screaming commenced. The ZL's are bringing rat poison today. Hallelujah. Amen.

Anyways, on a happier note, we contacted over 200 people this week! We walked and walked and walked and found so many people. I'm super excited for this next week so we can go into these individuals homes and teach them! So great. 

Wellington, who I taught in Chi Town, blessed and passed the sacrament this week! I seriously almost cried when my old companion told me! Baptism is not the end result of teaching these people. Baptism is just the start of the many blessing that will come for the rest of their lives!

I also made it through my talk in Zone Conference on Wednesday, and it went super well! A couple people have asked for copies of it, so my hand is almost dead because I have to hand write it all over again haha. The Lord has truly promised us so many blessings if we go through tribulations with a cheerful heart. In D&C is teaches us if we endure our adversity well, someday "we will be crowned with much glory". 

I love missionary work, I love the gospel, and I love America!!! Someone drink a diet coke under the fireworks for me (miranda graves this is for you) 

Love, Sister Richards 

My companion hit 9 months this week so we had a feast! Her hat sums up her personality perfectly haha!

Americanized my planner. Happy Birthday, America!!!

I saw Sister Erickson when she came to pick up her new companion and it was probably the happiest moment of my life! We screamed and then gave eachother a big hug and everyone in the office started clapping. It was so funny!!