Author: Jared Burt

Super Crazy Week in Zimbabwe

Posted on by Jared Burt

just cried tears of happiness!!!\
sister jones is getting married!!!
What happened this week… It was super crazy. Zone conference on Tuesday… and amazingly, I made it my whole mission without having to give any talk in zone conference!! hallelujah. Thursday we had interviews with President and Sister Mkhabela came with a super delicious lunch that she cooked for us. And Elder Lin from Taiwan made Chinese food for us too. Friday, we had exchanges.. hiked around a place called Ran Mine. We were supposed to see a mama called Mai Drugs. Yes. her child’s name is Drugs. While President was reading something in zone conference he goes “I love the names here. Don’t you just love the names?” lol. Some of the best! We met a guy names Whiskey on Wednesday. No joke. He even showed us his ID. But man… now we are back in Harare again and I guess we will be going to President’s house early for dinner because  STL’s are cooking dinner for everyone tonight… lol luckily my companion and I got away with just doing a salad! The others have been there like all day. It’s really amazing the things you can get done with just one day and no time in Harare
that’s all for the weekly haha
Pictures:
Takudzwa!

Matthias.. “already a full member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints”
Robert.. so anxious to get a Book of Mormon!
Zone conference… elder gunther!

KFC
President Zhuwaki on his bicycle
Exchanges with Sister Namugenyi!

Blessings in Bindura

Posted on by Jared Burt

Hello!
This week was good, but I don’t have much to say! So I’ll let the pictures do most of the talking.
A miracle we saw during the week was with Matthias! When we met Matthias, he was addicted to alcohol and all those different things. The day we came to teach him the Word of Wisdom, he was drunk, so we told him to read the pamphlet and we would come back when he was sober. Before we even got to go back to teach him, he had resolved to quit drinking and it happened just like that! Because of his desire to stop his addiction and to repent, he has been able to do it so well. Since the day he decided to quit, he hasn’t had a single drink! Today marks 9 days and it is amazing to see how his life has changed in such a short period of time. He is so excited to be baptized and even says that he is already a full member of the church!
Also, Brother Nyamombe decided to start choir practice after church and even had all of our investigators staying after for the practice! Powerful.
That’s all!
Have a happy week!
Sister Burt
pics:

Exchanges with Sister Leatu’u!Exchanges with Sister Leatu'u!

First English class… success!
Sometimes Wellington drives big trucksBindura sisters

Kylah’s baptism!!Kylah's baptism!!

Keep the Flame

Posted on by Jared Burt

For those of you, who want to read this novel, feel free… it’s probably not as exciting to others as it is to me, but I added pics for those who love to just skip to the bottom and see those! 🙂 
This week was a great week and I was very inspired by the messages shared in zone conference! I loved President’s emphasis on studying the scriptures with the spirit to have the spirit always. It’s something I have been focusing on lately and I came a cross 2 Nephi 32 and I loved verses 3 and 5. It connected what I learned during conference about inviting the spirit through scripture study. I learned that if we feast upon the words of Christ, they will tell us all things that we should do which verse 5 says is also one of the roles of the Holy Ghost! I also loved what Sister Mkhabela shared about keeping the “Flame” of missionary work and always protecting your flame so it doesn’t burn out!
 
Tichagara and Memory were finally baptized this weekend! Memory has been coming to church for over a year, but has just been waiting to be baptized because her and Tichagara were not legally married! Finally, he started coming to church and learning more, and they were married the baptized! It is so great to see the gospel come into families like that. Their 16 year old daughter will get baptized in a couple weeks, and their other children to follow when they turn 8! 
 
After we taught Merson this week, while he was walking us out to the car, he asked about the temple! He remembered what he heard about it in stake conference forever ago and was talking about how excited he is to be able to visit the temple!
 
We had an activity with the branch this morning and went and played soccer. It was super fun!
 
I love missionary work, and I love this area and the people there! I just wish I could stay here forever bringing the gospel to people!! 
 
Hope you all have a lovely week 🙂 
 
Sister Burt
 
Zone conference with Sister Mkhabela and Sister Selcho
Tichagara and Memory’s baptism
Ran into Hilda and Ivans in Mambo!
Jumping for the great activity we had with the branch this morning

Come Unto Christ

Posted on by Jared Burt

Hello!
This week was great! We had the baptism of Leon (Mclynse’s younger brother) and Larren who is the nephew of one of the members in Gweru ward! We even got to see Tichagara and Memory be wedded in preparation for their baptism next week! On Wednesday we visited Midlands State University campus to teach Desmond who has a lot of questions about the church and ended the day at the Magaya’s and cooked for them tacos, baked potatoes and no-bake cookies for dinner! As Sister Magaya said, we were eating in America that night haha!
I’ve really been thinking a lot his week about repentance and the power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and how having an increasing understanding of these things can help us to become more like Christ. I see it in my life every day and even in the lives of those we teach! As Calvin gets closer and closer to his baptism, he becomes more and more of a shining example of this. When he first resolved to overcome his addiction, he said it was going to be so hard. But now that he has completely overcome his addiction, he says it is a piece of cake! The gospel has truly changed his life. He even brought up talking with his business partner about closing the mine they run on Sundays so that he doesn’t have any chance of being interrupted from church. Clarence also has had a similar experience. It was just the other day after teaching him the word of wisdom, after having taught him for quite some time, that we found out he has been drastically improving his addiction through the help of the gospel and things that we have taught him.
I love what 2 Nephi 9:21, 41 tells us..
And he cometh into the world that he may save all men if they will hearken unto his voice; for behold, he suffereth the pains of all men, yea, the pains of every living creature, both men, women, and children, who belong to the family of Adam.
O then, my beloved brethren, come unto the Lord, the Holy One. Remember that his paths are righteous. Behold, the way for man is narrow, but it lieth in a straight course before him, and the keeper of the gate is the Holy One of Israel; and he employeth no servant there; and there is none other way save it be by the gate; for he cannot be deceived, for the Lord God is his name.
Anyways, I love you all and hope you have a great week! 
 
Sister Burt
 
Kevin, Keith and Tedius
Kevin, Keith and Tedius
Leon's baptismLeon’s baptism
MSU campusMSU campus
Tacos and baked potatoes for dinner!Tacos and baked potatoes for dinner!

Happy Easter

Posted on by Jared Burt

We were also finally able to see Merson, who came to stake conference last month but we hadn’t been to teach him yet because of schedule conflicts. It was such a powerful lesson and we were even prompted to extend a baptism date in the first visit! He asked the question “How can I repent” which started a beautiful lesson of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He is so happy and excited to repent and be baptized and wants to make sure he does everything he has to in order to be ready for his baptism!

The scripture I focused on this week was 1 Nephi 17! I love the way Nephi focuses on the BLESSINGS the Lord gave Nephi instead of focusing on the immense trials he went through. It could have been so easy to just focus on the bad things because there were so many happening but he chooses to have joy and be grateful for his blessings!!
Ate a lot of funny things this week and went to a lot of baptisms. Calvin called us his angels. His life has changed so much it’s amazing.
Super scattered email. Love you guys! Can’t send pics from this cafe… everything else is closed for Easter Monday. You’ll get great pics next week 😉

Don’t Look Around, Look Up!

Posted on by Jared Burt

Hello all,
We finally got to watch general conference this weekend! It was amazing of course. Got some much needed encouragement and enlightenment! I loved all the council we got about looking up to Christ and not looking around at the world around us and how we can receive spiritual power in the world today through our testimony and the small and simple acts of faith we do each day! Powerful for sure.
PICTURE: Cutest thing you’ve ever seen… Dean!
Cutest thing you've ever seen... Dean!
Got moved into our new house this week and even got a brand new car, also did my first ever chapel tour! It was such a cool experience. Calvin brought his nephew Simba and they both felt the spirit so strong! Calvin said that among the indescribable feelings of joy he had in the sacrament meeting room, he felt like he was home. He was so excited to come to church on Sunday!
Missionary work is great and it’s even greater to see so many other people come to the light of the gospel through one person!
I love you all! Have a great week.
Sister Burt
PICTURES:
Lesson in the car
Most powerful companionship in the mission
The District
Information about Magan’s Mission President.

Deliverance

Posted on by Jared Burt

This week we got to spend a lot of time serving others. Our zone leader, Elder Wilcken, got sick so Sister Smith and I, being the only other missionaries who can drive in Gweru, got to help them out. Went down in history as the first sister zone leaders ever for a couple of days lol. But it was nice to be able to serve, and thank you King Benjamin for reminding us that when we are in the service of our fellow beings, we are in the service of God!
I was also amazed this week as I thought about what can truly bring deliverance. Jesus Christ! The gospel! There is nobody else who can bring true deliverance. Not Magaya, not anyone else! I am so grateful for the Savior and His Atonement. He did what literally nobody else in the world could have done all for us to be able to be saved! To be delivered! To be able to live with our Father in Heaven again. And what a special time of the year we get to celebrate that!
Hope you all have a great week. I sure will and am so excited to be inspired by our prophet and other leaders of the church this weekend as we get to watch conference!
Love,
Sister Burt
PICTURES:
About the business of our zone
Deliverance from the Book of Mormon
Dinner by Mclynce
America p-day lunch
Teaching Mabel and her siblings

Joy in the Work!

Posted on by Jared Burt

This week was a crazy work, but I have been experiencing and really focusing on finding joy in the work so much this week! I love missionary work and the opportunity I have to share the gospel with God’s children each day!
Stickers.JPG
We baptized Crylodge on Saturday and it was so great to see him so excited! We have found so many children who have been coming to church, some with and some without their parents, who have yet to be baptized but want to be so bad!
Crylodge's baptism with the crew
So we have been having a fun time finding those who need to be baptized and teaching them and preparing them for baptism! They are some of my favorites to teach. So humble and willing to follow Christ. I see more and more each time I am with them what Christ means when He tells us to be like little children.
I love you all and hope everyone has a great week!
Sister Burt
Elder Scoresby’s first RC and his family we found the other day… on his one year anniversary of being baptized!   / The whole district fits into a Kombi!

 

Making sadza / Donkey

When the whole district gets on the same kombi haha

 

1) Got a beautiful blessing from my district leader for my back. It has given me so much strength and I am doing so much better

2) we had to change 2 tires in 1 hour! Crazy.
3) The ZL’s car had to be fixed so they were borrowing our car that was already kind of sketchy and after they drove it pretty far, it died, so now we will be in kombis for a little while… crossing our fingers for a new car! 😉 Got to ride in my favorite kombi 3 times in a row on Sunday haha
4) Speaking of Sunday… Went to church without my name tag! I was mortified. Most stressful few hours of my life. We were rushing in the morning to catch taxis so I totally forgot. It was even branch conference so people from the stake were there and I just wanted to hide under a rock. Not a good feeling haha so we dodged out of that place as soon as we could when it ended to go get my name tag!
5) God fed the biggest plate of sadza I have ever been fed. Thick sadza too!! Thought I was gonna explode lol!
6) Went to my first game park every today! Antelope Park! It was so much fun! Much needed activity. We did a horse safari and saw zebras and giraffes and wildebeests and it was SO cool!! Were going to ride elephants too, but last minute for some reason there wasn’t enough staff to go out with us. Guess we will just have to go another week! 😉
7) I LOVE missionary work and I LOVE you all so much!!
Human doll

Oh How Lovely Was the Morning

Posted on by Jared Burt

Hello everyone!
This week was great! Let me just share some of the highlights:
1) Mclynse was baptized and confirmed! It was so great and Crylodge can’t wait to follow this weekend! Addlight is next!;)
Mclynse's baptism!.JPG
2) We got to see the new house we will be moving into hopefully next week! Could either be princess a castle, or a super sketchy haunted house haha. But Elder Wilcken is pretty sure that Joseph Smith saw God the Father and Jesus Christ there, so it’s pretty pretty!
3) They are fixing the roads in Mkoba, so our travel time to the area just got cut in half!
4) We got to work with President Magaya on Saturday which was super fun!
5) Church was only 1 hour this week because there was no water.. hopefully it is fixed by next week!
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how I can increase my faith. As I have been reading the Book of Mormon, I have noticed that faith is not only believing, but acting! One of the ways to exercise and strengthen faith, is simply by keeping the commandments! And when it is especially harder to do so, that is when your faith is tested and will grow the most when acted upon in accordance with God’s will. And in that sense, I have been working on facing my fears with faith like what Nephi and his brothers did while they were trying to get the brass plates in 1 Nephi 4:1.
Love you all!
Sister Burt
Pics:
Every time we park the car:
Every time we park the car:.JPG
This kid lol.JPG
Overcrowded selfie with Mclynse:
Sister Smith wrote about McIynse, “Mclynse is 13 and what amazed me out of no where he comes on his own bringing his young brothers to church with him. He expressed just how much he wanted to be be baptized. He is the sweetest and it just melted my heart getting to teach him. every time i see him i still do not believe his age because he is so small and he is yet so mature for his change so he could pass by being older. I know if he continues like this with such faith he will be able to fulfill; all the plans that the Lord has in store for him.” – Smith Email 20March17
Overcrowded selfie with Mclynse.JPG
Maize season… chibage!
Maize season... chibage! .JPG
Pics:
Blue/Black- on point
Happiest sight to see!!
Zone Conference

More pis: Sister Arbon, Sister Bergen, Sister Smith