Week 64 in Zimbabwe!!!

Dear Family and Friends, 

Mabvuku was giving us a run for our money this week. haha All of our powerful people are being baptized and we are struggling to find more powerful people. Heavenly Father has a reason and a rhyme for everything. Areas aren't always suppose to be productive and easy, if it was it wouldn't be missionary work. With that being said, I was struggling a lot this week. Our teaching pool was down and I know Sister Mobeana was/is blaming me for it. Our bishop gave fire about sacrament meeting attendance and I felt it was because of me. I was walking in the area and I was talking with Heavenly Father and I was telling Him that I am sorry for not being a great missionary and that I am failing you and your children. Then the sweetest response came... Hand the burden over to me. This is My work not yours. I am here to help you. I have a reason for everything. I felt so much peace. Even though our area is struggling, Christ has a purpose for everything! I am grateful for a loving Savior that is so willing to help carry the burdens so we can keep moving forward. Matthew 11: 28-30. We had a lovely zone conference. I love hearing from President Mkhabela and his advice. It helps give me the encouragement to keep moving forward. Some of the quotes I loved:

"God sent you here to be successful."

 "All you need is a testimony of the Book of Mormon."

"Serve and Save."

These quotes are the basics of missionary work. God puts us in certain places to be successful not to fail. A testimony of the Book of Mormon helps you to truly come to know the Savior and gives you the hope for a better tomorrow. We are all commissioned to serve and save God's children that are in unbelief and help them come to know the truth so they can receive salvation. 

Tawanda, Natasha, and Media were baptized this weekend!! Tawanda is so powerful. He did well and was on time for everything. Natasha was a miracle. We thought she was out of town. We went to teach her neighbor and the neighbor brought Natasha to the lesson. We were able to teach her all the lessons so she could enter the waters of baptism. Media is one of the smartest 11 year olds I have ever met. She was baptized but struggled to come to church on Sunday so she will be confirmed next week. 

I love being a missionary. Even though it can be hard at times I wouldn't want to be doing anything else. I am grateful for a Savior that is always there for me. All we need to do is turn to Him!

Love you lots, 

Sister Arbon

Week 63 in Zimbabwe!!!

Dear Family and Friends, 

This week was an interesting week to say the least. haha We had a lot of fall throughs but a lot of blessings in return. We were able to have an FHE with an amazing family in our ward. The Maumbe's help so much when it comes to missionary work. I swear they give us a referral every week. We talked about charity at the FHE. The spirit hit me. Charity is truly everything. We can't become like Christ if we don't have that quality. We need to seek and pray for that quality Moroni 7:48. Charity is especially important in missionary work. You need to truly love the people you are serving because if we don't love them and value their salvation than we won't give them the most precious gift... the gospel. We had a lesson fall through so we decided to go visit Sister Jeri. We were able to talk to her and she gave us words of encouragement. We were wondering if anyone even wanted to listen to us but she comforted us and told us everything happens for a reason and that we shouldn't put ourselves down. Bad things do happen to good people. Heavenly Father has angels everywhere. Either ones we can see or ones we cannot see. Sister Jeri was an angel for us this week. 

Then we went and visited Charles after his baptism during the week. We were reviewing the lessons. He tells us that there is no way that anyone can tell me my church is wrong. I loved how he said my church. Sometimes we need to step back and truly count our blessings of what we have. We have the fullness of the everlasting gospel. We have the priesthood to do saving ordinances that will eventually let us enter the kingdom of God. 

Besley and Gamu were baptized this week. They are the cutest kids ever! They were so good at remembering what we taught them. They passed their interviews with flying colors. Thanks to the Spirit being the teacher. :) What impressed me most was that Gamu at 10 years old came to her baptism by herself and arrived right when we asked her to. I thought to myself, would I be courageous enough to do that? The baptism was great and filled with the spirit. 

This week even though it had its challenges it was a week full of blessings. I am grateful to be Jesus Christ's missionary and to serve my brothers and sisters in Zimbabwe! 

I love you all and hope you have a blessed week!!!

Love, 

Sister Arbon

Week 62 in Zimbabwe!!!

Dear Family and Friends, 

Let's just say I love being a missionary. :) This week was a "powerful" week. haha We are finding so many people that are prepared to receive the gospel. We have a cute little girl named Gamu. She has been coming to church for awhile with a member. She is 10 and is so excited to be baptized. Then we have a cute 10 yr old boy named Besley. His parents are members but they live away. Then we have Media. She is a cousin to a boy that we were/are teaching. She is so smart and loves learning. We have Marcia she is a referral. She is also so intelligent and loves the teachings and coming to church. Then we also have Tawanda. He is a friend of a young men. He accepted to be baptized in the first lesson. Mabvuku is progressing so well. I am grateful to be serving in this blessed area. With that said, Charles was baptized this Saturday. He was so excited. He showed up to his baptism super early. His smile was from ear to ear. I am grateful that Heavenly Father lets me teach some of His elect children. I love being a missionary. Zimbabwe is truly my second home. I love being surrounded by my brothers and sisters each and everyday. 

A quote that I loved during the week: 

"My dear associates in the work of the Lord, I implore each of us to prayerfully study and ponder the Book of Mormon each day. As we do so, we will be in a position to hear the voice of the Spirit, to resist temptation, to overcome doubt and fear, and to receive heaven’s help in our lives. I so testify with all my heart in the name of Jesus Christ, amen." ~ President Monson

I know the Book of Mormon can change your life if you just take the time to read and apply its teachings. 

I love you all so much! Have a lovely week! 

Sister Arbon

Week 61 in Zimbabwe!!!

Dear Family and Friends, 

This week was one of my most delightful weeks on mission. I love being a trainer. It helps you to realize you do know your stuff and that you are a good missionary. Sister Mobeana is amazing. She is such a good missionary and is learning so fast. I feel bad her first official day in the area she had weekly planning and it was pouring rain. She is a champ and loved it anyways! Gogo Mabawana was baptized. I love her so much. We were shamwaris to a tee! She was a champ! She learned the lessons well, thanks to amazing translators! She was so willing to get into freezing water at the age of 84 and be baptized. She was shaking because of the cold but she won't let it stop her. Charles is amazing also. He is enjoying coming to church and learning in the lessons. He is excited for his baptism and also his friends in the ward are also. I love our ward. They are so friendly to our investigators and they connect very easily. I am grateful to be a missionary and be able to share the light of the gospel with His children. 

A couple quotes I loved this week in studies: 

"Stay close to the spirit, and the spirit will stay close to you." ~Elder Stevenson

"We know the gospel is true, but do we believe that it is?" ~ Sister Oscarson

We need to always live worthy of the spirit so it is always with us. We have the gospel in our lives in abundance and that usually has us get used to it. So when trials come our way we struggle with our faith. We need to truly believe and not just know the gospel. So we can keep moving forward closer to our Heavenly Father. 

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

Sister Arbon

Week 60 in Zimbabwe!!!

Dear Family and Friends, 

This week was a pretty good week to be in Mabvuku. We were able to go on exchanges and I truly enjoyed it. I learned a lot about having confidence. We need confidence in ourselves and especially in the Savior. If we have confidence in the Savior we can do anything! During exchanges we were able to visit a family and teach them about the Restoration. I was able to bear my testimony of the Book of Mormon. The spirit was so strong and I could feel that the investigators could feel it too. The Book of Mormon has so much power and makes the spirit be with us in so much abundance. We were also able to visit and teach Charles. Charles is progressing so well. He came to church on Sunday and loved the spirit that was felt there. He is very excited to be baptized in the upcoming weeks. We were also able to visit Gogo Mabawana. She is a crack up. We just look at each other and just start laughing. She is loving the teachings and has a strong desire to be baptized. I love that no matter your age the gospel is for you. The gospel brings joy, love, and learning. I am grateful to be a missionary and to share the gospel with all that I meet. 

So transfer news came: 

I am staying in Mabvuku 2nd ward and I get the privilege to train Sister Mobeana! She is from Botswana and is coming tomorrow!

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

Sister Arbon

Week 59 in Zimbabwe!!!!

Dear Family and Friends, 

What a wonderful week in Mabvuku. We were able to see a man named Charles. Charles is a man that is conflicted. He is deciding between two churches to join... Jehovah Witness and of course the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. He is struggling to recognize his answer. We asked him how he felt about the Book of Mormon when he read and prayed about it. He said it feels right and he loves reading it. Than with the J.W.s he says sometimes he runs away from them and such. You would think this would be an obvious choice but to most it isn't. Joining a church is a life changing move in life. It could either make you or break you. Salvation or damnation. Hopefully as the time goes on that we can help him recognize his answers so he could start on the path of salvation. Then we saw the Muchena's. They are a sweet couple. We went to visit them and the husband freaked out. Their pastor found out we were teaching them and came and threatened them that he would curse them if they came to our church. We were able to talk with them though and see what the issue really was. I think they know the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is true but they again are struggling to find the courage to follow that answer. We were able to share scriptures from the Book of Mormon. They felt so much peace and were grateful that we came and talked with them. Hopefully in the future they will have the courage to follow Christ in His true church. Then we had the baptism of the lovely Anesu, Caroline, and Yanale. Anesu is a daughter of a member who just started coming back to church. At first she didn't keep commitments and didn't seem very interested. Then she started going to seminary with a friend and all of the sudden she seemed very serious and had a great desire to be baptized. Then sweet Caroline, she is amazing and so strong. She started coming to church with one of her friends a while back. She is stronger in the gospel than her friend is now. She comes to church every Sunday, goes to seminary everyday and so forth. We were able to finally meet with her and teach her all the lessons. Then Yanale, she also came to church with her friend. She loved coming to church and so forth. Her struggle was English. She can't speak it hardly at all. We were able to finally teach her all the lessons and she was prepared for baptism. The baptism wasn't the smoothest baptism I have ever had. When we came for the baptism there was a sewage block. So the font was not filling and sewage was a problem. 2 hours later the amazing priesthood leaders were able to fix the blockage and clean the font so the baptism could go on. The girls were so patient. Their smiles get me every time after they are baptized. I love being a missionary and doing the work of the Lord. I hope you do your best to love others as Christ loves you. 

Have a delightful week!!!

Sister Arbon

Week 58 in Zimbabwe!!!!

Dear Family and Friends, 

This week was a week of blessings and refocusing. I am very grateful to be in Mabvuku. The people are so kind and love to be a part of missionary work. That being said... we were able to work with the Moringizi couple. They were adorable and came willingly to work with us. We went to see the Muchena couple with this couple. The Muchena's have been having issues with committing to the gospel. I think the Moringizi family soften their hearts and they saw how the gospel affects the lives of Zimbabweans that know their culture. We were also able to visit a gogo named Samata. She told us how she was struggling with her self confidence. It reminded me of my junior high years and how I didn't feel I had any self worth. Then I shared with her that when I gained a testimony of the Book of Mormon I felt the love of Heavenly Father and I knew I had a purpose in this life. I was struggling in the week and felt discouraged to say the least. We had interviews with president. He always asks me, "are you happy?" I honestly told him no. He gave me advice that helped me to realize why I was on mission. Mission is the hardest thing I have ever done but the thing I will cherish for the rest of my life. I love being able to share my testimony of the Savior each and everyday. I love learning more about my Savior and gaining a stronger faith in Him. We were also privileged to have a stake conference. We learned a lot about coming unto Christ. My favorite quote: "We learn the gospel by living it." I love Zimbabwe and I especially love the people of Zimbabwe! 

Be your testimony! 

Sister Arbon