This week we did a lot as a zone in preparation for that
visit.
On Tuesday we had our zone meeting. The sisters presented
on what I call 'patiently progressing', or in other words, being optimistic and
not getting down on ourselves for mistakes we make. In their presentation they
blind-folded me and then cluttered the room with chairs and such then they told
me to get across the room. They put Elder Madilu on the other side so that he
could call out to me, but while he tried to yell, the whole zone was also
yelling in my ears and making noise so I couldn't hear him (doesn't help that he
is a pretty soft-spoken guy!). I managed to start hearing him through all the
clatter and started to make progress but then the sisters started giving me
bags and other objects I had to hold as I trudged forward. I suppose you see
some of the spiritual insights: I needed to listen to the still small voice and
disregard the rest. I also had to be patient in this ordeal and as I made more
progress I was tried more with a greater load on my shoulders, but as I got
further and further instead of feeling weighed down I felt like I could handle
more and more because I had figured it out.
Other discussions included preparation for Elder Anderson
and improving the 'culture' of our mission in general and also discussion on
helping investigators receive revelation through coming to church.
On Thursday we then met again as a zone at Lusaka chapel,
but this time not in ties and skirts, but in our work clothes! We had been
asked to participate in the renovating of the Lusaka Chapel in preparation for Elder
Anderson's visit. We cleaned out gutters and planters.
On Saturday we met AGAIN as a zone to watch the Worldwide
Missionary Broadcast. For that meeting everyone came 30 minutes early and
reverently prepared for the viewing. It was amazing to see that. Such an
improvement from the conduct at previous meetings. And it shows that
missionaries are adopting that culture of coming early and preparing and not
just doing it once for when Elder Anderson comes just to fake it.
Despite all of those events, Elder Madilu and I got into
the area and did some great work. We had been trying for weeks now to contact a
man named Kupe I met a few weeks ago in the internet cafe and had given a Book
of Mormon. We went to his house and nothing. We called and nothing. We were
actually giving his phone a call for the last time this week when this time he
picked up and we scheduled to meet the next day. We met and the Restoration
just clicked for him and he shared with us some of his life and how he believes
this is what has been missing. Such a miracle.
There was a funeral in our ward this week. Georgina
Kateule, a young single adult in the ward, passed away. It was so tragic. The
Funeral service was on Thursday morning, at the same exact time as the service
we were in charge of...so we didn't get to attend. But we went to the home to
support the day before and the day of the funeral as well. In Zambian culture
when someone dies they move all the furniture out of the house and everyone
comes from the villages and they stay there, sitting on the sofas outside or
sitting inside on mattresses on the ground inside - from the day of the death
until the day after the funeral. We are actually teaching the sister/cousin to
Georgina and she was scheduled to be baptized soon but this shook things up a
bit. I am eager to teach her deeper about the Plan of Salvation though so it
can give her greater peace and solace. The mother is a long time member who
stayed in Arizona for months. It was inspiring to hear her bare testimony of
how she knows she will be with Georgina again.
Also when we were sitting in with the mother, a man came
to pay his respects and he started to preach to her and then offered to pray
together and he started to pray really nice then gradually grew in intensity
and began shouting and I opened my eyes at that point and he was even raising
his finger to the sky and rambling on and on. I actually couldn't help but
laugh...but don't worry I stifled the laugh well, nobody noticed. I was covered
in the blood of Jesus many times in that prayer by the way.
Love you
Elder Grant Hiltbrand