The PROPHET comes to Zimbabwe!

A once in a lifetime event happened this month in Harare, Zimbabwe.  President Russell M. Nelson, the Prophet (to the whole world) and President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, came to visit Zimbabwe!  He was accompanied by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.  We heard from the Public Affairs couple that many of the other African countries were questioning, "Why would he go to Zimbabwe?"  President Nelson's simple answer was "because I was directed to by the Lord."

(Couples L to R:  Elder Hamilton, Africa Southeast Area President, and his wife; President and Sister Mkhabela, our wonderful mission president; President and Sister Nelson; Elder and Sister Holland; Elder Palmer, new SE Area President, and his wife.  The second row starts with the Mkhabela's daughter and then all of the senior missionaries, except public affairs)
 
President and Sister Mkhabela called in every missionary from all parts of Zimbabwe to be there for the prophet's visit.  The Spirit in this room was intense, tangible, and overwhelming!  Everyone was super excited!

President Mkhabela wanted to make sure everything went perfectly so we practiced for the picture several times.  After that, everyone had to practice shaking hands so Elder Theurer and I stood in for the Prophet and his wife. 😁

President Nelson and Elder Holland and their wives were on a global ministry tour that took them to London, Jerusalem, Nairobi Kenya, Harare Zimbabwe, Bengaluru India, Bangkok Thailand, Hong Kong, and Honolulu.  The over 16 million members of the Church are in 175 (of the 195) countries of the world. 

The Public Affairs couple from Kenya caught a picture of us shaking hands.  I was reaching for Elder Holland and Elder Theurer paused with President Nelson.  President Nelson was friends with the Theurer family and so he had a few extra words for Elder Theurer, a sweet experience for him!   The entire experience was just unforgettable!

Elder Holland explained that an apostle used to interview every missionary every year, and now with the size of the Church that is no longer possible.  But, he said, "You each received a mini-interview today.  We looked into your eyes as we shook your hand."  (That gave me pause--  what does the prophet, or an apostle, -- see when he looks into my eyes?) 

A group of sister missionaries

One of 2 BYU football players in our mission

Elder Koch from Denmark (tall!) and Elder Lukumy from Tanzania

                                                              

After the hand-shaking, we went into the small chapel where 145+ missionaries packed in for a 2 hour meeting just for us, where wonderful words of wisdom and counsel were shared! 

We don't have other pictures from the meeting but this is a clip of some highlights of the meeting with the missionaries: https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/162e864c1c147d63?projector=1
(on YouTube - "Behold a Royal Army")
At the conclusion of the meeting President Nelson left a beautiful blessing on the missionaries.

The main meeting, held in downtown Harare, was attended by over 4000 people, including travelers from Zambia, Mozambique, Botswana, and South Africa. We were excited to hear that the crowds in Zimbabwe were the largest of all! 
For the many people that could not attend, the meeting was broadcast in the stake centers and district buildings.  There are almost 32,000 members of the Church in Zimbabwe.

People walked.  People took buses, taxis, and kombis.  Only a few people drove. 

And oh what a choir!!!  Twenty-five people were selected from each unit of the four Harare Stakes.  They were led by Sharon Nield Spencer, a long-time member of the Church in Harare, and a brilliant musician.  She led a choir number, "Come Unto Jesus", African style, that was incredible.  Sister Holland was so moved by the song that she said they were even better than the Tabernacle Choir.

Members of the choir as they sang, "God be With You Till We Meet Again," waving goodbye to the prophet.  They sang this song in both English and Shona.

The talks were amazing.  Neither President Nelson or Elder Holland used a single note, but they were inspiring and uplifting!  Sister Nelson spoke with some notes, and she was also amazing.

President Nelson was especially attentive to the young children.  Because of the lights he had trouble seeing them.  He asked them to wave so he could see them.  And then he asked if they would stand and sing, "I Am a Child of God" for him.  This young 11 year old girl was the only child singing with the choir so she was asked to join the rest of the group, but to sing in the microphone! 

 Just like the Savior, President Nelson really loved being with the children.  Two of my piano students were in the crowd toward the front, so I asked if they got to shake his hand.  "No", they responded, "We hugged him"!  

A temple has been announced for Zimbabwe.  Elder Nelson told the crowd that he wanted to be here for the dedication of the temple . . . so they had better hurry and get it built.

 And oh what a way to end an already wonderful conference!  As the meeting concluded, President Nelson was ready to give another blessing, this time one for the country.  He called Elder Holland up to come and join him.  Elder Holland stood with him and put his arm around the prophet's waist as the blessing was pronounced.  Double priesthood power!!! A prophet and an apostle together.

Some links for video and further information about the global ministry tour:

https://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/president-nelson-global-ministry-tour-landing-page?cid=HP_FR-27-4-2018_dPAD_fMNWS_xLIDyL1-A_  (for the Mormon Newsroom)

https://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/president-nelson-global-ministry-tour-zimbabwe

https://www.facebook.com/ZimbabweMormonNewsroom/videos/2174804729213413/

It was fun to hear some of the reactions of Zimbabweans that we associate with.  Most just said how much they loved the conference and how much they loved the prophet.  I was touched by the words of "The Professor".  He and his crew of two young men come every Monday to wash the cars at the mission office parking lot.

 Professor is in the middle.  On the day I took the picture his daughter was there helping also.  We pay $5 a week to support him in his business, and for that we get a perfectly clean car inside and out.  He says his young son prays every weekend that the cars will be dirty so his dad will have cars to wash.

Regarding the prophet:  he said that he had wondered what President Nelson would be like, and he found out that the prophet was "just like us"; that he didn't act like he was an "authority".  Professor sat close to the stage and said he couldn't believe that President Nelson turned, and even got on his knees, so that he could intently watch the choir while they sang.  He intently watched and listened to every speaker.  He spoke without notes,but "when he spoke it wasn't him speaking".  Professor felt his heart burning inside him when the prophet spoke.  He stated, "those were not man's words."  

One of our Institute students said that he had missed the solemn assembly session of General Conference in October, and that he had been praying to know if President Nelson was really a true prophet.  As soon as the prophet walked in to the large hall, this young man said that he felt an overwhelming feeling, and he knew that his prayer was answered.

 

And now the GEMS that we have collected over the last few weeks:


A few thoughts from President Nelson at the Zimbabwe Devotional:

⤳"Your children should be able to memorize the sound of their mother's voice reading the scriptures to them."

⤳"Teach your children what it really means to be a child of God." (His fondest wish)

⤳"Please help your children to know how to pray."

⤳"We speak of enduring to the end.  What is the end?  It is receiving the ordinances in the temple."

A few thoughts from Elder Holland at the Zimbabwe Devotional:

⤳"In the Church of Jesus Christ, you get a lot more than you bargained for. . . .There is no end to the blessings -- they keep on coming!"  (The 3 examples he gave were Act 3:1-8, Mark 2:3-12, and Ether 3 -- the Brother of Jared)

⤳"Learn to be righteous in the dark."    (Quoting Brigham Young)

⤳"With God, all the rules are fair, and there are wonderful surprises."   (Quoting a Catholic Nun)

⤳ "Be the best you can be!  Learn everything that you can.  [Live/serve so that you] Have no Regrets!  


A few thoughts from Sister Nelson at the Zimbabwe Devotional:

⤳"What has the Spirit taught you that you never want to forget?"

⤳"Think of a problem.  What eternal laws govern that problem?  What eternal laws need to be followed to receive the needed blessing?

⤳"We need to live our lives not after the manner of men." 

⤳"Always have a question for General Conference.  Come fasting and praying.  You can even pray to get help with your question.  Be willing to follow through with the answer."



And a few other thoughts:
 
"If you aren't in over your head, how do you know how tall you are"?
                                                                                     --  T.S. Elliott

"Failing is an essential part of the mortal phase of our quest for perfection. We don’t often think of it that way, but that is only because we tend to focus too much on the word perfection and not enough on the word quest . . . Failure is an inevitable part of the quest. In our quest for perfection, how we respond when we fail will ultimately determine how well we will succeed. . . .  My plea for you today is to learn how to fail successfully."                                                                                                               -- Kevin J. Worthen  (BYU President)

"It's the life of a disciple.  You can always manage."
                                                                          (-- Alywin Tsongora, one of our busy, multi-taksing S&I  teachers)



We are so grateful to be here serving. 💕 Every day we learn new lessons from these humble, kind, and loving people.  We send our love to all of you!

Elder and Sister Theurer 

 



 

 

So Many Great Missionary Moments . . . .

Every day here is a new adventure, bringing something to inspire us, make us smile, or surprise us.

Two weeks ago we went with one of our senior missionary couples to Bulawayo, the home of what will be the second Zimbabwe mission in July.  The Carrells had a lot of work to do and filled both of our trucks with supplies. Our first full day there, some missionaries called to say that their house had been robbed.  Stolen items included clothes, blankets, suitcases, the STOVE and the REFRIGERATOR!!!  The thieves actually had to lift those last two items over a large metal gate with metal prongs on top!  (Although it is quite safe here, the level of theft is increasing as these very poor people get more desperate.). The elders had been away for a few days in Harare picking up brand new missionaries.  One of the new missionaries said excitedly, "This is so great!  The tag line on my first email home will be 'Robbed on day one!'"  I suggested that maybe that might be a little too much for his mother for a first email. 😊

So two of the missionaries went to the police station to give a report.  The rest of us, minus the two brand new elders, went inside to see what needed to be done.  While Elder Carrell was trying to fix the damaged door, he accidentally pushed the door closed, LOCKING US ALL IN THE HOUSE!  The other door was padlocked and there are burglar bars on all the windows.  

Here is a picture of the two new elders looking in at us:

 

What a start to their mission!  But they were very fun!  Elder Dan from Coeur d'alene, Idaho, and then Elder Riggs in the back, from Boise will be on the BYU football team (Long snapper).  Elder Carrell was able to pass the elders his keys to retrieve some tools out of the truck.  Finally, after much effort, he was able to get the hinge pins out of the door.  The new elders, fortunately on the outside, pushed and hammered on the door until it released and could be opened.   

 

Elder Carrell and the Zone leaders clowning around while we were waiting!

(Elder Porio from Australia and Elder Till from Austria)

This is blurry, but it shows our grateful escape.  It was getting dark by that time.















This was the peaceful start to our morning in Bulawayo before all of the problems began. Enjoying nature at breakfast.  Beautiful Africa!!!

This tree was over Elder Theurer's shoulder.  Can you see the 6 nests hanging on the tree?

 

And this little beauty lives in those nests:

 

The calm and peace before all of the stress began:

 

After breakfast we went around looking at houses to see if anything would work for a new mission home or a transfer house for the sister missionaries.  We saw several interesting houses, but not one that would work.  We helped buy and deliver supplies to other missionary houses.  And . . . we helped inspect some missionary flats/houses.  Oh my!  😱

One of the favorite jobs that we have is visiting students and seminary classes.  On a recent Saturday, Whtiman Gauti, the Institute teacher in one of our wards, asked us to visit students to encourage them to come to class.  Here is an assortment of pictures from that fun day:

 

This is part of the Chaya family.  Faith, next to me, just turned 18 and has committed to try the Institute class.  Her "GoGo" (Grandma) is showing off a picture of Faith's father, the first black missionary to serve in Zimbabwe.  Grandma has been a member of the Church since 1980.  There are close to 30,000 members of the Church in Zimbabwe.

 

Kundai, also 18 years old, lives with her mother next door. The girls will have to walk about a half hour to get to the church for institute.  We hope our visit will be encouraging for them.

Whitman is the man on the right.  We have a potential seminary student on the left, and an institute student in the middle.  Elder Theurer teased them about which one was better looking, and the neighbors heard. (Very easy to hear -- no glass in many of the windows and houses very close together!  Plus 2 white people are an unusual attraction)  When we left, a joking group of teens had gathered to add their opinion. 

This man was outside.  He is a door-to-door salesman.  He has supplies in several very large pots.  He stops at each home on the street and calls to the people to see if they need any of his goods.

Yolanda, an Institute student, lives in a portion of this house.  It is common here for people to rent a room or two, and thus to have multiple families living in a single place. Yolanda came outside to meet with us.  She will try to come to Institute, but her biggest concern is finding a job.  She would like to do hair, but it costs money to be trained.  We are looking into PEF (the Church's perpetual education fund) and how it might help some of these wonderful young people. It doesn't show in the picture, but the side of the house is filled with bright colorful pots that Yolanda's father makes to earn his living.

 We ended the day with visiting Whitman's family.  To the right of Whitman is his wife, then mother-in-law, brother-in-law.

His family is so excited that the prophet is coming to Zimbabwe in April!  He bought his daughter a new dress to wear, and is saving up to get a new dress for his wife.  The prophet coming here is a HUGE event!!!  As we go to different sacrament meetings the people will say, "we are preparing ourselves to be ready when he comes."

We went back to the Highfield chapel to drop off Whitman.  There was a very sweet lady there with her baby and daughter.  She had come to the chapel for stake auxiliary training, only to find out that it had been cancelled.  She didn't know how she was going to get home to Chitunguiza (about 25K).  

 

She said that morning she knew she only had combi money for transportation one way, but she prayed and felt that she needed to go anyway.  So she went purely on FAITH.  When the meeting got cancelled she was despondent.  Well, it just so happened that right after we dropped Whitman off, we had to go visit a class in Chitunguiza.  We were there just at the right time to be her ride home.  What a great feeling to know that we were put in place to help her.  I wondered why she would have felt impressed to go, because God knew that the meeting would be cancelled.  But sometimes I think we need to be given reminders of the fact that He is there!!!  And that He will care for us if we do what He asks.

Saturday, one of our Institute students, Remember (yes that is his name), was getting baptized.  He attends the class that we teach on Friday nights.  We got there about 5 minutes before it was supposed to start.  No one was there.  No chairs were set up.  And the font, previously filled by the missionaries, had been drained.  They turned on the water, put a hose in through the window, and started filling pots to dump in enough water to baptize a tall, lanky young man:

Remember had to help fill the font!

Paul (left) and Shyleen (right) first invited him to church.  They are both in our class.

 

The missionaries told us that this is a common

way for men to pose in Zimbabwe.

Right before the baptism we went to a Relief Society birthday party, where I had been asked to speak.  The building is a school during the week and then rented for a church on Sunday.  Elder Theurer and I swept and moved desks while a few ladies set up.  The Relief Society president disappeared for about 20 minutes and came back, carrying a 5 gallon water bucket on her head.  There was no water in the building so she strapped her baby on her back and went to find some.  She is the lady wearying the duko (African wrapped hat).

Only 11 of the 60 ladies in the Branch came for the talks.  Another 3 came during the refreshments.  The sisters' talks were really excellent.  I loved what the last sister said about  visiting teaching.  "You need to love the sister that you visit so much, that if you have to skip a month you will really miss her!"

The refreshments -- Two pieces of cake (I already had eaten one piece), 6 "cookies" and half a bun.  This was a big occasion!  Elder Theurer and I got the biggest plates.  The others got less food on smaller plates.  They don't have anything like paper plates here so they bring a tub of dishes and then have to wash them.  Same thing with the cups.  

Okay, speaking of babies on backs . . .  I have always wanted to try that so one day at our Inservice Training, Rabecca, our S&I secretary, let me try it with her baby:

 

Poor baby!  This lasted about 20 seconds before he started to slip down.  We tried cinching it tighter but I'm not sure I've got what it takes.  😉😳😏.  But it was an adventure!  This is Rabecca and her cute children:

Last weekend was Palm Sunday.  As we were driving into Kadoma for church we were greeted by this large procession:

 Imagine this group, stretched out over 100 yards, with people singing and waving their palm branches.  Very impressive!  I'm not sure we would see this in America. 

(PS - You get a great shot of Elder Theurer's nose. 😬👃 Unfortunately there really wasn't a good place to stop so I had to grab pictures from the car)

We love, love the missionaries serving here!  Here are a few recent pictures:

     Sister Leslie from Belize came in to share some of her American red licorice with us! 😍

  


This Elder's first name is Proclaim.
Isn't that a great name for a missionary?
He is actually just leaving for his
mission to London.  He was at the 
mission office to get set apart.
I took this picture to show his mom.
His family doesn't have the internet
so they will never be able to see 

pictures of him.

                      

Sister Kayembe from the DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo) created and ordered this sash for herself for her return home.  The front says, "Zimbabwe Harare Mission, Return With Honor"  and the back says, "J'ai combattu un grand combat  Enos 1:7"  Meaning, I have fought a great fight.  Everyone in the DRC speaks French.  Our amazing missionaries pick up English very quickly!

Sister Mkhabela counseling Sister Kayembe.
Our mission president's wife is a great
teacher, always full of wisdom and very supportive!  And she has a fun sense of humor.

A few of our elders at a recent zone conference.

Elder Josiah from Kenya, standing with Elder Richardson from Texas.  Our Kenyan elder love to run and is very fast!  He is apparently as quick on his hands as he is on his feet!  This sweet elder sent Sarah a get-well message in Zulu when she was recuperating from her hip surgery.

                               

As I mentioned earlier, on April 17, we will be blessed to have a visit from President Russell M. Nelson, recently ordained as Prophet of the Church.  He, along with Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, will visit two countries in Africa, Kenya and Zimbabwe.  The people are s excited!
We were told last night that some are even trying to come from Mozambique, Botswana, and Zambia.  The public affairs missionaries have rented the largest and nicest hall that they could find here.  It can seat up to 4500 people, so we hope that will be enough room.
People will struggle to find transport money but we think many will sacrifice and come.  Otherwise, it is going to be televised in all of the church buildings in Zimbabwe.  The missionaries are going to be blessed with our own hour and a half with President Nelson and Elder Holland (and their wives).  That will be our best adventure of all!


And now the GEMS that we have collected over the last few weeks:

Prayer in the hour of need is a great boon. From simple trials to our Gethsemanes, prayer - persistent prayer - can put us in touch with God, our greatest source of comfort and counsel. Ezra Taft Benson
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/ezra_taft_benson_556120

Prayer in the hour of need is a great boon. From simple trials to our Gethsemanes, prayer - persistent prayer - can put us in touch with God, our greatest source of comfort and counsel. Ezra Taft Benson
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/ezra_taft_benson_556120

Prayer in the hour of need is a great boon. From simple trials to our Gethsemanes, prayer - persistent prayer - can put us in touch with God, our greatest source of comfort and counsel. Ezra Taft Benson
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/ezra_taft_benson_556120

"Prayer, in the hour of need, is a great boon.  From simple trials to our Gethsemanes, prayer-- persistent prayer-- can put us in touch with God, our greatest source of comfort and counsel."

"We should pray frequently.  We should be alone with our Heavenly Father at least two or three times each day."
                                                  (These two quotes are from President Ezra Taft Benson)

Thoughts from Zone Conferences:  

"We need protection from Complacency, Distraction, and Pride.  Satan can take advantage of both strengths and weaknesses.  Remember your Purpose!"

"The Lord knows your weaknesses and He wanted you anyway." 

"If you doubt yourself, you will not be a miracle worker."

"You must believe enough to act.  Faith is complete trust in God, accompanied by action."

"The song says, "I am a child of God, and He has sent me HERE." (We are not where we are by accident).

"A testimony is a gift from God; Conversion is what we give back to Him." 

"Agency -- it's not like we're damned if we make the wrong decision; it's more like we FORFEIT."  

"Obedience brings blessings.  Exact obedience brings miracles."

 (These thoughts were from Elder Hamilton, Southeast Africa Area President and President Mkhabela)


"Listening is not being quiet, but wanting to hear."
                                                                         - Sister Mkhabela

"Don't be afraid to lose a friend.  Be afraid to lose Jesus Christ."
                                                                         - President Mkhabela

 "If you spend your time judging others, you will never find time to love them."

                                                                         - President Henry B. Eyring

 
                                                  

As always, we send our love and very best wishes to you!
Elder and Sister Theurer