Hello From Harare!

 Diana and I have been attending the Borrowdale Ward for the past 6 weeks.  We have helped out in Nursery four of those weeks.  Today, it was decided that one of us needed to be prepared to be in there each week.  "Me, Me, Me!!!!!!!!!!!" I said.  I am in my element now.  I helped at a Relief Society activity on Saturday and gave a Sacrament talk today.  I am now feeling like I'm part of the ward.  We will probably stay in this ward until the end of August because many of the US embassy workers attend this ward and the moms and kids go back to US for the summer so Diana and I will help where needed while they are gone.   The Relief Society meeting on Saturday was a great success and so much fun.  Two of the other senior sister missionaries, Bonnie and Lori, and I helped the sisters with family history so they print cards and have them ready for ordinances when the temple opens.  It will be sometime in 2025 but these sisters were...

 This is my favorite picture of the week.  These children are mesmerized watching the BYU Ballroom Dance Group who performed in Harare on Wednesday night.  The show was wonderful! Some of our missionaries were thrilled to serve as ushers and be able to stay for the show.  These are the Assistants to the President (APs) Sister Bonnie Warne and I helped at a Zone Conference on Tuesday.  Supporting and helping these young Elders and Sisters is one of the senior missionary responsibilities I love most.   These dynamic Elders have started teaching English in their area.  I meet with them on Zoom to offer support and help when they need it (rarely).   Saturday was adventure day.  All twelve of the senior missionaries went to Lake Chivero to see rock paintings. Getting there required a hike through the bush.   Somewhere inside these rocks were the paintings.  We waited while two of the Elders climbed inside to find them....

 This week has been so busy and I haven't been able to get out and take pictures.  The ones you see here were posted by Elder and Sister Stucki on their Facebook page on May 5.  I will see them this evening at a dinner at the mission home where the Senior Elders are serving dinner to the Senior Sisters for Mother's Day.  I will tell them then that I borrowed their pictures.  Many Zimbabweans are baptized each month  There were 123 last month.  As I stated in a previous post, new converts and long time members alike have an excitement and great gratitude for their membership in the Church.  Children waiting for the baptisms in the pond. My Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings were full with Zoom classes helping the missionaries with their English.  The days were busy with getting rents ready to be paid.  Because of some banking issues here, the Church Finance Office asked that rents be paid by the 15th instead of the 30th.  I hav...

 I felt more settled in this week.  Driving is feeling more comfortable.  I have only driven to the office and the grocery store, both less than 15 minutes away, and use routes that avoid crazy intersections.  I really have to concentrate because driving on the left is not ingrained yet.  When making a turn, I have to talk to myself to remind me which lane I need to end up in after making the turn.   Here are some of the highlights of the week.  On Tuesday, Sister Salazar and I went to a stake service activity where we helped sew sanitary pads for girls and women.  Feminine hygiene products are not affordable for many of the very poor and sometimes hard to find.  We loved being with the African sisters and plan to help every week.  Notice the old sewing machines.  There are a few pedal machines but most are hand cranked.   This sister and I worked together for over two hours.  Even though her English is limited, ...