Hello From Harare!

On Friday, I attended a "Handover" with the Humanitarian Missionaries, Chris and Leslie Meacham.  The Church built 2 new buildings with 2 classrooms in each building plus 1 bathroom facility for the Rujeko Primary School.  They supplied desks and whiteboards for these 4 classrooms plus 2 existing classrooms.  They supplied a borehole for water and solar for the new buildings.  A Handover is a ceremony where the Church turns it all over to the school. This was an amazing day.  Can you see my joy?                                  Here is a picture of one of the classroom's exterior and interior. This is the ablution facility, the boys and girls bathrooms.  When one of the speakers was describing what the Church had donated, they mentioned that the ablution had flushable toilets.   The ceremony included speakers from the school, community and Senator C Z Tawengwa....

  Yesterday I went with 2 couples and 3 friends to the Mbare market in downtown Harare.   As we were leaving, some people we stopped and talked to wanted to be in a picture with us.  These children were standing nearby and were told to come join us.  They ran over to us with big smiles and were so excited to be in the picture. Outside of the market is a big dirt field that serves as the neighborhood park. Going to the market, we saw a few groups of boys playing soccer.  None of them had a real ball.  This group had a ball made of wadded up paper stuffed inside a plastic bread bag.  Elder David Payne and I each bought a soccer ball while in the market and gave them to two different groups.  Look at their excitement of playing with a real ball.  Tennyson is right there in the middle of it all.   I gave mine to another group.  As they were leaving after I gave it to them, they whooped and hollered and with an excitement I rar...

 Yesterday I went with a few senior couples to Wild Is Life, a sanctuary where abandoned, injured and orphaned animals are given a second chance at life.  They rescue, rehabilitate and rewild (when possible). It was so much fun.  I didn't think I would ever touch the top of a giraffe's head, but I did.                                                   I was especially drawn to the baby animals. Nina is one year old and the youngest of the four elephants here.  The oldest elephant is ready to rewild but is being kept so she can nurture and teach Nina how to be an elephant. This is Nina's foster mother.  She was attacked by a lion prior to coming to the sanctuary and her trunk and tail were badly injured.  Her trunk recovered but her tail had to be amputated.                     ...

 We often hear that the Church is "exploding" in Africa.  Our total baptisms in the Zimbabwe Harare Mission is projected to be around 3500 for 2025.  I am so thankful to be a part of this work.  I am not out gathering Israel like the young missionaries, but I act in a supporting role, as do all of the senior missionaries, to make sure they have all they need to bring the message of the Restored Gospel to the people here.  I love what I do.                                      It is particularly special when families are baptized together. This is Morgan Choi, our Primary President who was just released.  Her husband works at the US Embassy and they are leaving to back to US where he will work in Maryland.  She has 2 little girls and is pregnant with twin boys.  She and her family have been so loved by all of the members of our ward, especially those in P...