Monday, July 20, 2009

We got up at 5:45 a.m. and went for our hour walk, had breakfast and headed to our office. We were excited to pick up our brand new Isuzu diesel truck today – twin cab with a topper on the back. It will be nice to have it. We need to go buy some diesel coupons now. We will buy a book of 100 coupons – each coupon is for 20 litres of fuel. I suppose using coupons helps to keep from having to handle the cash and probably is a method of security for the fuel companies and their employees. If you don’t have a coupon you can always buy one from one of several people trying to sell them at the entrance to the gas station but they likely cost more.

Our new LDSC truck

Pastor Seka came in again today. They ask if we would help them out as they (their congregation, I guess) are supporting 3 college students. We gave them each a blanket, hygiene kit and a few items of clothing. Pastor Seka was also anxious to talk some more about the Book of Mormon and some other literature that we gave last week. He has read it and knows he has found the truth. He said he is prepared to make a sacrifice. He wants to come to Harare and be taught. He said he was sitting in church yesterday and he looked out at his congregation and he thought to himself, “I don’t belong here anymore –these are not my people”. He is willing to find any job he can do so he can support his family here in Harare where he can be taught by the missionaries. When he was out by the container he grabbed Elder Bullock and said, “I love you”. I asked him if his wife was okay with moving to Harare and he said she is though she doesn’t understand about the church yet but is willing to learn. They have two children – 9 years old and 3 years old. While he was waiting for us at the mission office he was talking to the elders and they were talking to him about some gospel principles. He was just eating it all up.

Elder Bullock and Pastor Seka

When he was in last week he said he wanted to be baptized and we told him that there were some things he needed to learn first. Today when he came in he had the pamphlets in his hand and said he now realizes that there is a lot to learn and he is eager to get started. It is thrilling and humbling to be part of this and see the Lord work on this man. He will be a great asset to the Lord’s kingdom here in Zimbabwe.

We taught Merci another discussion this morning and she is doing just fine. She really is a ‘golden’ contact that we know we were led to and she feels that as well.

Our family from Epworth were at church again yesterday for the fourth week in a row. They are doing well – Panashe and his mom are coming along faster than the dad. He has some word of wisdom problems to conquer and because of work (selling fruit) he hasn’t been in on all the discussions. He is going to church though and is doing okay.

Answer, our other contact, has been to church 3 times now and we need to get the missionaries teaching him. He called us last night to tell us he had been to church again.

Isn’t this just the greatest? These people are so good. O yeah – we are suppose to be humanitarian welfare missionaries doing water projects! We are working on that too, believe it or not. We just need the Lord to help us find where we are suppose to do a project. We thought we had a good possibility but are not convinced. We are trying to get hold of someone at Zimbabwe Water Authority to see if they can advise us on where there is the greatest need. We noticed in reading a couple of past projects that the couple had worked with them so..... We may have to just go to their offices as no one will answer the phone number we were given for the ‘ground water’ division. Tomorrow we are meeting with some people regarding a request to replace a borehole pump at a school and do a borehole at another school. They are in the city of Harare. They are hooked up to the city water system but since no repairs have been done to any water systems for years the water mostly just seeps out from broken underground pipes and runs down the roads and is wasted. This is a common sight. It is a sad thing as there is such a need for water.

Off to bed! We actually have had power all evening! Here are some pictures you will find interesting of a shoe brush business:

Small business of making shoe brushes

They use cow's tail

Cut, bend in half and wire the hair and then insert into drilled holes in the block of wood

They are making these shoe brushes

P.S. We can finally announce that Jeffrey R. Holland is coming here at the end of August. He will be talking to the saints here in Harare on the 29th and then going to Mutare and from what we understand he will be changing the district there into a stake. His security people are coming a couple of weeks early to check out everything here and were happy to hear that we have an X-policeman here who can possibly help them with the security for Elder Holland. After what happened to Russell M. Nelson in Mozambique last month they are being very careful. The people here are going to be excited to have an apostle visit. We have told our pastors about his visit and they want to come too.

That's all for now. Love, Sister Bullock/mom