Monday, October 31, 2016

Week 25 in Zimbabwe!!!

Dear Family and Friends,

This week was a great week. Lots of adjusting and working hard! I love my new area Epworth! The people are so amazing and want to learn about Christ! What can I say I love teaching about Christ so you could definitely say it is a win-win situation. haha One of the first people we visited in our area is a momma named Sister Katonikia. She comes to church every week and has a testimony of someone who has been a member for years but her husband doesn't want to come to church and he has to come at least once I think to get married. I love her. Every time she talks about the gospel the spirit hits you like a train! I hope soon we can figure it out so she can be baptized. In Epworth hardly anyone speaks English so we have to rely on translators a lot. Thank goodness the members love to work with us. We got a referral for 2 pastors who want to learn more about our teachings. So we went over there and started teaching the plan of salvation. It surprised me when we asked them why we are on earth and they couldn't answer. They seemed so intrigued. Their son couldn't put the Book of Mormon down. I love how the spirit can truly testify to people and help guide people to the truth and receive the true joy of the gospel. In the area the kids love white people (murrungues). They will follow Sister Jones and I and will chant in shona. Adorable! Before church yesterday I read a talk by Elder Oaks from a 2008 conference about the sacrament. He talked a lot about how preparing is so crucial. I tried extra hard to be reverent and truly thinking about my baptismal covenant and the promises I made with my Heavenly Father. We covenanted to always remember His son and to take His name upon us. I am so grateful to be a missionary and to see the Saviors role in my life. He is my strength, support, and especially my Savior and Redeemer. Rely on the Lord! He is the only one that can help us have and receive true joy and exaltation. A funny that happened this week was that I got called Mr. Arbon not Mrs. but Mr. super funny!!! 

I love you all! I hope you have a great week!

Sister Arbon







Monday, October 24, 2016

Week 24 in Zimbabwe!!!!

Hello Family and Friends, 


I hope you guys had a great week because it was another great week in Kuwadzana. We went back to see Gracious. She is one powerful woman. We talked to her about life on Earth and how it is to prepare to meet and live with God again. We talked about the gospel of Jesus Christ and got to baptism and was like how can I be baptized. So we talked about how she needed to be legally married and she was like I am going to work on that right away. She is so ready and so prepared to be baptized. Brother Matambo and Happious were baptized this week!! They were so ready. Their smiles after they came out of the water is what makes being a missionary so sweet! I truly love being a missionary and helping others make the covenants they need to be able to live with God again. Transfers are today! I am leaving Kuwadzana. I am going to Epworth and my new companion is Sister Jones. I am super excited for the new adventures that await me in Epworth!
Love you all! Hope you have a great week!
Sister Arbon

Email from Johnni's companion...

Hello Friends and Family!
This week has been a rollar coaster in the field! On Tuesday we had headed to our chapel for District Meeting only to find that all of Kuwadzana was completely out of water! Everyone was flocking the chapel lines all the way out the gate and around the neighborhood because the Church always has water. We had to drive through this crowd and the number of people amazed me. The lines went on all week even on the day we were baptizing! Though only to show up and find the font completely dry. With some help of the people we were able to fill the font! It filled my soul with such joy to see Happious and Happy enter into the waters of baptism! It sure made Sunday even more incredible! Their Testimonies of the Gospel are already blossoming. They both expressed how much they loved Heavenly Father for providing them with a way to return to live with him once again. They both come from broken family backgrounds, though it just makes me so happy to know we were even able to help others on the other side too! I know that the Church is very True! Missionary work isnt always as easy as we think it to be at times, though doing the right thing and serving the Lord is very rewarding to my soul. I hope you all have a great week! I am looking forward to the new transfer, I am now serving with Sister Anyango from Uganda!
love,
Sister Smith









Week 23 in Zimbabwe!!

Hello my Family and Friends, 

This week was super good! I love being a missionary in Zimbabwe. This week was full of the spirit. We have a lot of new and progressing investigators. Bro Happy is getting baptized this week! I am so excited for him. He is always coming to church and keeping his commitments. Who would have thought just saying maquarsie helped us find him? There is a sister named Gracious that we found. She is looking for a new church. I am thinking she is prepared. haha She has so many good questions and is so eager to learn. Plus she loved church on Sunday! Yay!!! We went and taught a momma in a really poor part of our area. I started thinking how spoiled I am. These people aren't able to get an education, have a lot of food, and so much more. They humble me because even if they struggle with English they want to learn more about God and Jesus Christ. I am so grateful I grew up in the church and didn't have to know life without the truth. I am grateful I get to help others find the truth everyday here in Zimbabwe!

I love the Lord. He is my Rock, Redeemer, and especially my Savior! I know the Book of Mormon is true. It needs to be read everyday so you can have a strong testimony that keeps on growing. 

I love you all! Have a great week!

Sister Arbon





Monday, October 10, 2016

Week 22 in Zimbabwe!!!

Dear Family and Friends, 

I hope you guys had an amazing week! This week was another great week to be a missionary in the the Zimbabwe Harare Mission. We are finding a ton of new people that are progressing very well in an area that we have been struggling with. Isn't it amazing how Heavenly Father can soften the hearts of the people and lead the missionaries to them when they are ready to receive the gospel. The key to finding these prepared people is to follow the spirit. To have the spirit we need to be humble enough to hear it and heed its promptings. Also we need to be obedient and worthy to have the spirit with us in the first place. We are still teaching the amazing Chipisani family. Sister Dyantyisi and Smith found a powerful family. The family loves the gospel and wants to learn as much as they can so they can come closer to the Savior. Brother Happy is doing so well. When we were teaching him this week we were talking to him about the marriage issue and he was getting frustrated because his wife hasn't come home lately and doesn't call home to check up on him and the kids. Our branch president President Gonzo talked to him and found out they have been separated and is good to be baptized. Yahoo!!!! Sad that him and his wife aren't together but happy that he can make the covenant of baptism. We got to watch the last session of General Conference! Man it was powerful! Couldn't have asked for more amazing talks to end the conference! I loved the talks by Elder Rasband and Renlund. Elder Rasband: Do not forget... your faith. Faith is what keeps us going and helps us trust our Savior. Elder Renlund: When we choose to repent we choose the Savior in our lives. 

I love the Savior! I am grateful Heavenly Father has entrusted me to serve His amazing children of Zimbabwe. I am grateful for prophets and the revelation they receive to help us withstand temptation and come closer to the Savior. I am grateful for Joseph Smith and his willingness to restore Christ's gospel back to the earth and willingness to go through so many hardships and eventually die so the gospel may go forth. I love this gospel and humbled that I get to share it with other people! I am grateful for temples and the opportunity to be sealed to my family for eternity! Reading the Book of Mormon everyday helps give us strength and keep Satan at bay. 

I love you all!!!! Have a great week!

Sister Arbon










Week 21 in Zimbabwe!

Dear Family and Friends, 

I hope you all had a delightful weekend of General Conference. General Conference sure made my weekend. Our stake got to watch the Saturday Morning and Sunday morning sessions live. It was weird to think that it was morning in the United States and that it was the evening here in Zimbabwe. I loved how conference was about prayer, the Book of Mormon, and Joy! My favorite talk was by President Nelson about Joy! Joy makes it possible to endure anything and everything and guess what the only way to get joy is through the Savior. We also had zone conference this week which was amazing as well! We learned a lot about repentance and how to become better missionary. So grateful for the spirit and how it can help direct us to those who are ready to receive the gospel and ways that we can be a better missionary. We got to teach Bro Mpala. He knows he needs to be baptized but will not commit to a date which is a little frustrating but it is God's timing and not ours. Hopefully he commits soon though. Fingers crossed! Bro Happy came to conference which was amazing. He is progressing super well but getting married will halt the process a little bit. We went on companionship exchanges also this week. Sister Dyantyisi and I went with Sister Bergen. She is an amazing STL. We learned a lot about extending commits and what commits truly help people to change and come closer to Christ!

I love being a missionary! I love serving the people of Zimbabwe. I am grateful Heavenly Father chose where I was to serve so I can learn and grow to be the best disciple of Christ I can be. It isn't about ourselves but the people we are serving. We have the talents that are needed to help others progress and be able to return and live with God again! 

Love you all! Have a great week!

Sister Arbon