Sunday, August 30th

Hello family,

We have had a very eventful month. We finished teaching Masalina Mugadza the discussions, and held her baptism and confirmation. She is a lovely lady, and we have come to love her tremendously. They ask the new converts to share their testimonies follow baptism. She did a
wonderful job.

We continue to work on some clean water projects around Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe. The municiple water is mostly shut off. The estimate that 50-60 percent of the water runs down the streets from broken water mains. That means there is not enough pressure to have the water reach the outlying areas. We have not had water for the most part of the last two months. We heat up borehole water on the stove, pour it into the bathroom sink, and clean up with a wash cloth.

Last week we had the opportunity to travel to Bulawayo for a service project. All of the Church units are asked to perform acts of service on the 22nd of August. This stake chose to work at two hospitals, cleaning the inside, and outside, of the buildings and grounds. We brought some new-born baby kits to give to all the new mothers in the maternity wards of the two hospitals. Unfortunately, one mother lost her child. We did not want her to feel left out, we we gave her a
hygiene kit. It did not ese the pain of losing her baby, but I think appreciated Sister Bullock's gesture.

One of our friends in Airdrie sponsors a child in a village about 80 kilometers North and 50 kilometers East of Bulawayo. We spent an extra day down there and drove out to her village. We took blankets, toys for the kids, hygiene kits, and quilts. We started out with the little girls family, and ended up with lots more. That's the way it is. When someone gets something, they all think they need it, too. Luckily we had enough for everyone to get something.

This weekend, we had Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, for the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, in Harare. He conducted a special devotional Friday night in Harare. We had about 2,500 people at the devotional. Before that, he spoke to all the full-time missionaries for about an hour.
Following the devotional, the senior couples and been asked to prepare a meal for him, Elder Kollicker (Area President and his wife). We all got to sit down with him, and enjoy the evening. The next morning, we all drove to Mutare, for their district conference. We were there while they instructed the Priesthood, then the adults for two sessions Saturday. We all had dinner with them at the Holiday Inn. While we were waiting for dinner, Elder Holland invited Sister Bullock and I, and a couple of others to sit in his room and just chat. He is a very kind man.

Sunday morning, as we were eating breakfast, he came to our table and chatted for a minute. Following breakfast, we all drove to the chapel where the Sunday General Session was to be held. The building was full, the choir rivaled anything we had seen, and the messages were
wonderful. Elder Holland said that the scripture the first shall be last and the last shall be first had particular meaning for Africa, as they are some of the last to have the gospel preached to them, but they will be among the first in the munbr of baptisms that will be the result of the Gospel coming to them. They are a very receptive people, a god loving people. It is not every day you can sit with and eat eith an Apostle for three days.

We have driven many miles in the last few weeks, and we are happy to be able to be at home, if only for the week. We love the people of Africa! We encourage all who are at that point in their lives where they can go serve to go and do it!

Love to all.
Elder Bullock