Apr 27 The Prophecy has been fulfilled. Transferred!

This week was a great one! We worked hard and were teaching many lessons - more this week in 5 days than in the any week this past month. And we found a few more investigators as well which is getting harder and harder in this area! I'm so glad this was a good week in Chilobwe because it was my last! 


Last time walking up the (steep) steps of the Zingwangwa Meeting House!

We got the call on Friday night telling me I was being transferred to Lusaka, Zambia in Matero Branch! This was super unexpected since the transfer cycle doesn't end for another two weeks! I was pretty shaken up actually. I've been wanting to leave and see something new, but also this has become somewhat of my home. I love the people here and LOVE the branch so much. So it was pretty difficult to go to sleep with my head spinning!

   I fly out tomorrow morning! This is going to be a great experience for me to see another area and learn even more. Of course I will always remember Zingwangwa and Chilobwe and even miss it!


8 months in chilobwe vs. 5 star rated walking shoes.  Not sure who won that one...

      I will be companions with Elder Ssabango or something like that. I saw his name last week on the transfer sheet that Sister Erickson had showed me and I saw the double ss at the beginning of his name and thought it was cool, but that's about all I know about him - that his name starts with 2 S's...Nobody here knows anything about him, so I'm excited to meet him.

     We got to watch General Conference as a branch on Saturday and Sunday. It was an amazing experience watching it with a handful of saints here and seeing many of the new members who had never attended a GC before feel the impact of being addressed by the living prophet, apostles, and other general authorities! One of my favorite talks was the one "Do You Dance?". During GC I of course was listening for ways to improve myself, but also was trying to listen with investigators in mind and looking for ways to improve myself as a missionary, so that talk helped me see how important it is to help people learn the dance moves but they need to hear the music for the conversion to really take place.

I'm so grateful that the Church of Jesus Christ has been restored with the same organization of Prophets and Apostles.

Goodbye Malawi!

This is the last Chichewa for me...

Ndimakukonda!

Mkulu Grant Hiltbrand



 

Apr 20 Bab-a-tism

I had my second baptism (or bab-a-tism as Malawians would saw) this week! Rosalia Sinjani. We met her just a few weeks ago but she was just so prepared. It was always so enjoyable teaching her because she would read and prepare for every lesson so when we came it was hardly teaching but rather reviewing haha! Truly the Spirit was the one that converted her, not us missionaries. But as for her baptism:

She had chosen me to baptize, and of course its been awhile since Ive performed a baptism and last time it was children so they were very short. Well yeah, I almost broke a commandment while baptizing her..."Thou shalt not kill". The tub we use is small and I had forgotten to move up all the way. So when I went to immerse her, her head was going straight for the edge, so I stopped and tried to, ya know, scoot her forward or something but that didn't work so I don't exactly know what I did but I got her immersed and it was still great haha!

 

 

Afterwards she bore a very powerful testimony to the branch so that was so awesome to hear! But I almost didn't hear it! I was changing in the office and had locked the door and when I went to unlock it, the key would turn but not unlock! I was locked in the office haha! I started knocking because I heard some kids outside but nobody was coming...and I didn't want to make much a commotion because 1. there was a baptismal service taking place and 2. I looked like a fool locking myself in! But eventually Khama, a branch member, finally came to the rescue and I gave him the key under the door and he unlocked it from the other side just in time for me to hear Rosalias testimony. haha!

So yeah that was the highlight of this week! We also had interviews with President Erickson on Wednesday which was great as well. Not sure if there was some hints that I'd be transferred soon or if I'm just jumping to conclusions ahah!

Thanks for all the support!

I love being a missionary!

Elder Grant Hiltbrand

Apr 13 Tiwonana Mbwezi!

This week we had a lot of fall-throughs and so we didn't get to teach very much which is always a bummer as a missionary. But it was still a good week nonetheless! My comp and I have been laughing everyday and trying our best. And Brother Mkochi worked with us almost everyday so that was a blast! He was dealing with some personal stuff so he enjoyed getting his mind off of it and teaching people the Gospel. It's always a blast with him. Our personalities are very similar and we just get along very well even despite the age difference of 11 years haha!

But actually he has decided to move to Lusaka, Zambia because he has relatives there and there may be better opportunities for work and such there, so that's unfortunate for us here in Zingwangwa Branch! He announced his decision to the Branch on Sunday after giving a powerful talk in Sacrament Meeting ( we were basically the only ones he had told before announcing it so it was fun seeing everyones reactions - many people cried haha! ) He leaves tonight so on Saturday we had a last supper with him and Amos, another RM that he stays with. We slaughtered a chicken and had a huge meal! And the chicken was pregnant so it had small eggs in it which we boiled and ate. It was delicious. Also I made the rape (a green leafed vegetable or cooking green, often used in Italian cooking, that is related to both the broccoli and turnip family of vegetables), the green ujen (thing) in the picture! Yes the leaves are called rape. Hopefully I'll see Mkochi again if I ever get transferred to Lusaka! (If I ever get transferred that is.)

So Tiwonana Mbwezi (see you friend!)

Rosalia will be baptized next Sunday so that's something we will be looking forward to throughout this next week!

It's good to be a missionary!

Chikondi

Elder Grant Hiltbrand

 

Elder Hiltbrand and Brother Mkochi

Preparing the last supper for Mkochi.

The Azungu (white guy) preparing the "rape", a vegetable used as relish.

The finished feast -- Nsima (corn meal mush), chicken, and rape.

 

Apr 6 Easter Baptismal Service

Not much time today so I just wanted to talk a bit about the Baptismal service yesterday. There was no water in Zingwangwa, so the ZL's (Zone Leaders) used the big 750L tank again to get water and then all the young men were carrying it from the truck, down the stairs, and to the big baptismal tub behind the meeting house. But then of course it wasn't even half way full. So the candidates had to sit down and Elder Sagers kneeled down to perform the ordinance so that they could be baptized by immersion, the way that Christ showed us all and has commanded us all to be baptized. Super cool to see them make due with the circumstances. And it meant so much to these two men that were baptized. It was great to see them make that covenant and die and ressurect with Christ on the day we celebrate His resurrection!

It was a good week love you all thanks for everything!

Tsiku la bwino!
Chikonde,

Mkulu Grant Hiltbrand