A Thankful Heart: Happy Thanksgiving

 HAPPY THANKSGIVING! I am so grateful to all my family and friends, who have prayed for and supported us thus far on our mission. We love being on the temple construction site daily and are eternally grateful for this marvelous experience we are having.

All the senior missionaries (minus Nancy Turley) got together to celebrate Thanksgiving at Victoria 22, a very nice restaurant in Highlands, 2023.11.23

    Being in Africa has made me aware and so grateful for all my many blessings. I will no longer take for granted clean drinking water (out of the tap!), electricity just a switch away, traffic and street lights that stay on, police that pull over crazy drivers and keep law and order, sidewalks, trash cans, clean streets, smooth roads, consistent internet, my iPhone, a yard, a garden, a home, a consistently hot shower. Of course, I'm even more grateful for all the missionaries serving far away from their loved ones, amazing mission leaders, the family we miss, grandchildren we miss even more, the gospel of Jesus Christ, and my best companion ever! 

I was laughing at Bruce's name tag, "Sister Anderson" on this special night. Occasionally we mix them up without noticing. I didn't tell him until during the photos. At least we can still laugh at ourselves!

    All the seniors enjoyed celebrating Thanksgiving together with our mission leaders. We had a wonderful dinner at Victoria 22, a very nice local restaurant. We went around the table and each person shared a trial and a blessing in their lives. It ended up being like a testimony meeting and we all gained respect and strength from each other's experiences. Amazingly, every missionary had gone through life-changing difficult trials that turned into blessings and refined each one of them. Sister Judd always says it best, “We laughed through tears, acknowledging God’s hand in each of our stories, and the refining blessings that come in turning to face Jesus Christ in both the joys and the sorrows of mortality.” 

All of these faithful missionaries chose to come on a full-time mission even before Elder Rasband’s plea in General Conference for more senior missionaries to serve. We feel very honored to be able to serve among these special valiant spirits.

On Thanksgiving Day, we showed Pres. Russell M. Nelson’s video on the “Healing power of gratitude” to Persuade. It ended with Persuade bearing his testimony, “My life is happy now; I’m so grateful you came on your mission to share the gospel message with me. My previous life was like a dream; I wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t lived it. I am so happy to know God loves me and I see the light.” We love our new African son and our lives have been enriched to know him.

My boys are such great cooks! William learned how to make a delicious apple pie and bakes every year since Grandma Doris taught him the secrets of perfect pie crust. William celebrated with his family in Lynchburg, VA. Ian smokes this delicious turkey for the Shelton Family's (Rachel's) Thanksgiving feast. Rocky had a big day! Miss that little guy!

Calton, Talent, Persuade, and Elder Andreson watch a video from the 3 Nephi Book of Mormon series, 2023.11.22

Calton Mahere texted, “I thank every moment I’m with you because it’s a lesson in my life. Thank you Elder for everything you have done in my life. You are a real life changer.” We celebrate Calton’s newfound faith and desire to become a better person through Christ. Calton and Talent have become great friends on-site and support each other in their learning. We are also teaching three new men, Alan, Tapewa, and Collin gospel lessons. Our Welcome Center and private office have allowed us to teach many HZT site workers privately. They have difficulty getting together with the young proselyting missionaries due to their work schedules.

Seniors pickleball and braii at 34 North. Sister Nancy Turley's kids, Reed and Maren, came for a visit from Utah to visit Zimbabwe and Africa. 2023.11.15

Saturday, we enjoyed another golf lesson from Reeve and Lolly. I'm hitting about 50+%. At least I'm improving. Bruce and I then enjoyed breakfast and shopping at the Stable's Market. We came home and rested. I was getting over the stomach flu and I lost about 5 lbs. this week. I guess that's better than gaining weight over Thanksgiving! Now Bruce has it; I always share everything with him! Sorry!

We enjoyed a nice senior party with a pot luck braii and lots of pickleball. It's nice and hot here as it's summer and hitting the high 80's to 90's most days. It's still weird to have a change in the seasons here. The Zimbabweans say it's "Too hot!" and usually there is rainfall by now to cool things down a bit. It's been a hot and dry November.

Saturday Golf at the Price's Driving Range; Lolly puts on quite a show with her drives! 2023.11.25

    Our dear little maid, Idah Zulu, was brutally attacked and left for dead in Kuwadzana. She had just moved there with her 2-year-old daughter, Putsy. She was dropped off near the highway from a combi and a robber was hiding in the rocks. She was carrying 2 sacks of potatoes on her head. It was dusk around 6:00 p.m. and the burglar came up behind her and whacked her on the head with a brick. He then started beating her with the brick on her face. He left a large head wound that was bleeding profusely. Luckily, a kind passerby in a car witnessed the attack and stopped to help her. They drove her to the police station and then the hospital. Agness, her sister, called me that night at 9:00 p.m. and was headed over to the hospital. I had been sick to my stomach and I couldn't sleep wondering how we could help. The next morning, I called Agness. They were discharged to their home around 3:00 a.m. (probably to avoid overnight hospital charges) and then headed back to the hospital for a CT scan of her head injury. I prayed she didn't have a subdural hematoma. They stopped by the temple site with Lisa, their mother, and David Solani. Bruce and David were able to give Idah a priesthood blessing. David had just been made a new elder the week before. He asked Bruce to give the blessings. He blessed her to be whole again and to heal.   I offered to help pay for the hospital expenses because I knew David just had surgery and Idah had nothing. They had robbed her of her purse and phone too. They were able to use the funds to pay the medical expenses, a new phone and purse for Idah, and a little cash for living expenses. Remarkably, Idah has recovered well without scaring on her face. We have seen her priesthood blessing come true remarkably within a week of her injury she was back to work.

Idah's sweet landlord helped us pack up the truck for the move in Kuwadzana, 2023.11.17

Yesterday, Nov. 27th, Idah showed up at our apartment unannounced at 08:00 a.m. We asked her how we could help her. She had purchased a "chip" (french fry) fryer to start a small business selling them in a tuck shop. We had given her a loan to help her purchase the fryer in South Africa for $250.00. She's going to clean our apartment for us to work it off. Idah had found a new place in Corraly instead of Kuwadzana. There had been a lot of violence in Kuwadzana and she didn't feel safe. People tell us there is an increase in robberies and violence with the Christmas holidays coming up. So sad, that people are desperate to provide Christmas by using violence, the exact opposite of what Christ taught. I drove Idah to Kuwadzana and then to her new place to help her move her meager possessions. She moved from a very small cement room with no bed, no kitchen, no electricity, no bathroom, etc. to another very small cement room in the new town. We fit all her belongings in the back of the truck including the large metal fryer. On the way, we passed by a large group of people surrounding a police tapped-off area in Kuwadzana. Idah pointed out to me, that something bad had happened over there. We saw a dead body laying on the ground with the police looking over it. What a shame, as Idah would say.  We made it to the new rental after 4-wheeling around dirt roads and asking directions a few times. I met the landlord and passed our "Tim's tiny toy wooden cars" to all the neighborhood children. I was able to give Idah's new landlord and neighbor a Book of Mormon and tell them about the history and testament of Jesus Christ. We are so grateful that Idah is healing so well; we pray she'll heal emotionally as well as physically. We know God hears our prayers and knows Idah individually. Idah came to clean today and seemed happy and healing well.

                                           Idah's new place and landlord, 2023.11.27

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Hog Wild and Muchenje Family

Going hog wild at Shadreck Muchenje's pig farm in Chinhyoi, 2023.11.18

Another busy week on the temple site as the progress of landscaping has begun. Bruce and I took another drive out to Emerald Seedings to visit the temple plants being propagated there. It was fun to find a nest of baby birds in one of the temple palms. I send photos to Lucas, the temple landscape architect, and he's always grateful. The plants look very healthy and cover about a 2-acre area. Two of the gardeners wanted a "bible" from us so we gladly shared a Book of Mormon with them. We always express how it's "Another Testament of Jesus Christ" similar to the Old and New Testament but an ancient record from America. We bear testimony of Jesus Christ's full gospel within the pages and mark 3 Nephi 11 so they can read about the resurrected Christ's visit to the temple. We stopped at Pamona Market on the way for a lot of nice fresh fruits and vegetables and of course lunch at the taco truck nearby!

We shared Books of Mormon with these two workers at Emerald Seedings. We had this cute little visitor from our ward show up to the Welcome Center, Miracle Peace. Love his name!

On Tuesday, Nov. 14th, we fed the sister missionaries serving in the Highland area. These sweet sisters always come to pick up "rubbish" litter in front of the temple every Monday for their preparation day. Sister Waltman, Makura, Day, and Smith all enjoyed "American" or rather "Mexican" tacos; something that's hard to find here in Zimbabwe. Although we served a simple dinner they were thrilled to be invited and fed. It was Sister Mukura's first time for tacos; she is from Losotaa the land-locked country in South Africa.

We took the Muchenje's to the Chinhyoi Caves on Saturday. We were going up to finally see his cousin, Shadreck's pig farm. Shadreck is Cephas's cousin, he owns "Strive or Shannov Construction", which employs all the masons on the temple site. We've been trying to come see his pig farm for the past 4 months. Shadreck was driving a large truck with wood and roofing so he got there 3 hours later than planned. I only had planned snacks not knowing we'd need to feed 3 extra people. We stopped at the only place we could find in Chinhyoi "Chicken Inn" to get mediocre fried chicken and "chips" which are french fries in Zimbabwe. There was a very long line for service and after eating the warmed-over chicken, I'm not sure it was worth the time and effort. We went and enjoyed the caves and a picnic while we waited for Shadrek. The Muchenjes are now caring for Fortunate's younger half-sister, Nokutenda, who is 14 years old. Nokutneda is a beautiful quiet teen; I think she really enjoyed the trip.

    Shadrek and Juliet Muchenje finally showed up in their big truck bedded down with supplies after 3:00 p.m. They'd been pulled over by the police and had to pay a bribe. We followed them another 30 minutes to a remote farm land which was Juliet's family's kamusha. It was nice to meet Shadrek's wife and little boy, Prosper. The pigs were surprisingly clean and Shadrek even sat down right in the pen for a photo! We also walked down to another pen to see the sows. Bruce brought home a brick handmade on the farm. The farmers look for the ant hills where trees grow and the ground is raised. They make the bricks out of that fertile soil. Building out of bricks is very common here. You can buy 1,000 bricks for $100 USD, which Bruce says is dirt cheap. The labor is cheap too so they build all the walls including framing the interior walls out of brick and then plaster over it. Wood is scarcer so they don't stick frame like we do in the U.S.A.

Muchenje's Pig Farm in Chinhyoi, 2023.11.18

    Shadrek needed his truck bed unloaded so the 4 men helped.  It was getting late and we really didn't want to drive the treacherous potholed highway passing trucks in the dark. We didn't leave until 5:00 p.m. so we knew the sun was going down soon. Many old cars, no registration or inspections required, drive without break lights or even lights. It's pretty scary seeing a car driving in the dark without lights and there are no street lights either making driving extremely dangerous. Many of the combi drivers are unlicensed and drive crazy without any thought of killing their passengers or the oncoming traffic. They just expect people to "get out of their way!"

We made it back to Highlands and had Muchenje's take a combi back to Eastview. We were exhausted; especially Bruce for doing all the defensive driving. I had to make brownies and get things ready for Sunday's luncheon the next day.

We were excited to attend the Eastview Branch again in the morning. Elder and Sister Orr followed us to the chapel; it was hard to find. Bruce was able to confirm both Cephas and Fortunate and Elder Yav confirmed Munenyashe and Keisha. When Bruce asked Cephas who he wanted to give him the confirmation of the Holy Ghost he said, "You, of course, you've got to finish what you started!" The Muchenjes brought Nokutenda to church too. We introduced her to Elder Yav and Day to teach her the missionary lessons. I also found 3 sweet girls her age to take her to Young Women and befriend her. 

A glorious day of blessings in Eastview, 2023.11.19

    After church, we all crammed into our truck. I didn't want Moforo on my lap in the front, due to the airbag, so we put Nokutenda in the seatbelt and I sat halfway on the gear shift and kinked my back for the 20-minute drive home. We had a nice pot roast with carrots and potatoes cooking in the crockpot. The Muchenjes loved the traditional American meal with fruit and rolls and brownies with ice cream for dessert. We played a card game "Sky Jo" with the whole family; which they loved. I was super impressed with the kids after dinner they did all the dishes! I got up and Nokutenda and Keisha were doing the dishes, Moforo grabbed the broom, and Munenyashe started wiping down the tables. This was done without any prodding from their parents. Wow, they've trained them well to help out in the kitchen. A nice time was had by all and Bruce drove them home without me. Amazing they all live in a little cement 2-room home with only one bedroom and a small kitchen Cephas rents for $80.00/month. They all sleep on bedrolls and don't complain there is one extra person now in their small living quarters. Happy poverty as we call it!

Celebrating Muchenjes baptism and confirmation, 2023.11.19

A White Sabbath: Muchenje's Baptism Day

Andersons with our new family, Fortunate, Muninashe, Cephas, Moforro, and Keisha Muchenje, Baptism Day in Eastview, 2023.11.12

     Sunday morning, Nov. 12, 2023, we drove to Eastview for church to celebrate Muchenje's special day. Cephas, Fortunate, Muninashe, and Keishea all entered the waters of baptism! We got there early and picked up the Muchenje's in Eastview then drove to the chapel. The dirt roads were so congested by big buses and vans that we only made it there 8 minutes early. We had a nice Sacrament meeting and enjoyed the beautiful way the African saints can really sing! We also have windows open hearing drums and chanting of the Apostolic worshippers nearby. The baptism was held after the church services. Everyone was so excited! 

Elder Yav baptized the children, Keisha and Muninashe. Elder Anderson baptized Fortunate then Cephas, at Eastview Ward, 2023.11.12, A long-awaited day!!!!

                                Keisha, age 8+                            Moforro, age 6

Bruce congratulates Cephas, Elder Day and Yav helped teach and interview the Muchenjes, 2023.11.12

    After two short talks on baptism and receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost, everyone went outside to the font for the baptism and photos. Keisha, the 8-year-old daughter, wanted to be first, so Elder Yav, who's taught them the missionary discussions baptized her and Muninashe, the 12-year-old son. Bruce was honored to baptize Fortunate and Cephas. After the baptism, traditionally, we sing hymns until the recipients are dressed and ready. They are then asked to share their testimonies. Both Cephas and Fortunate gave beautiful simple testimonies and thanked the Andersons for bringing the gospel to their lives. We were so happy to be part of their introduction to the gospel and support system. Keisha and Muninashe also bore simple sweet testimonies of the truthfulness of the gospel and the happiness they felt.

    The ward members seemed very supportive and congratulated their newest members. Everyone was so kind to come to greet us and shake our hands. We gave the kids Books of Mormon and coloring books and triple combinations to the adults. After we tried to 4-wheel it home through construction-graded dirt roads, not meant to be driven on. We thought it was a shortcut, but it ended up being much longer and almost high centering it.

    We arrived home safely and enjoyed a beef brisket and mashed potatoes, with onions, zucchini, and cheese. We enjoyed zooming into William and Elisa's ward's primary program to watch Paul, Jane, Ruth, and Isaac sing. They did so great, especially on their own personal parts. We are proud grandparents!

Temple Visitors and Lessons Taught

Shannia's family and friends all came to visit us at the temple and learn more about this sacred building. We met Shannia and her daughter, Kenzie, back in May at Leopard Rock. We enjoyed visiting with her and she said we'd have to get together since they were living near us. After 6-7 months and busy schedules, we finally got to meet her lovely family. We thought Shannia and her kids were coming but 3 cars drove up with extended relatives from Wales, her mother, and 2 other friends. We gave them an explanation of each building, talked to them about the temple, and gave out temple magazines, stickers, and Books of Mormon to those who wanted one. Shannia invited us over to her veranda for drinks and snacks afterward. I brought some homemade chocolate chip cookies, and half of them crumbled in the bag! Shannia put on quite the feast and the most beautiful charcuterie board I've ever seen! We were instant kindred spirits. She's invited me to Kenzie's dance recital and to go shopping, etc. She is very sweet and kind. Her mother told us how they'd lost her farm during the takeover of all "white" Rhodesian farmland in 2001. The war veterans showed up and took all their farms and lands for not getting benefits for serving in the civil ward. Her family owned a farm out by Irmire Game Park. Jan Edgar, Shannia's mom, told us how they poisoned and killed her 28-year-old son. We've met many families who lost their farms by force during this period. Many just packed up and left all behind rather than succumb to the violence. Barbara Smith, Cornelia Rautenbach, Jill (Emerald Seedings), Shannia's aunt and uncle, and Myra's family (Shannia's friend) all lost family farms on hundreds of acres. It was interesting to meet these well-to-do families and how friendly and accepting of their plights and struggles; however, they were much more reluctant to accept the Book of Mormon as the humbler Shona people, who have embraced it fully.                 Shannia's family and friends at the temple site visit, 2023.11.10

Now that's a charcuterie board with the works!!!! 2023.11.10

        This week at the temple site we taught about 5 lessons. Calton Dzikiti, a Rio Douro worker, came by and we discussed the Word of Wisdom on Wednesday. Elder Anderson had given him a priesthood blessing to help him quit smoking last month. He reported it was going “good”. Sister Anderson went into detail about the revelation given to Joseph Smith and the principal with a promise. We are impressed Calton comes to our Welcome Center and asks to be taught about the gospel every week.   We give him a "thumbs up" daily to check on his progress. He's the man who came up to Bruce several months ago and said, "I'm interested in your church, but you won't want me because I smoke and drink." Now he is shining brightly with the knowledge of the restored gospel and the revelations given to us in our day. He is a good friend on-site with Talent, our newest baptized member. He is a father and young adult seeking gospel blessings in his life.

     Fungai Joshia also received a priesthood blessing from Elder Anderson to help him stop smoking. He ended up confessing he's been smoking a bit more than we thought. After, he had a co-worker go through all his bags and clothes and remove any smoking articles. He went down to his smoking corner with his friends the next day and exclaimed, "I'm never going to smoke again and you can't even tempt me because Elder Anderson gave me a blessing to stop!" Now we are worried we may have a line form at our Welcome Center for priesthood blessings! You never know around here! What wonderful faith this brother exemplifies! 

 Persuade also brought a new friend to our trailer and said, "This is Alan, he needs to be taught about the gospel." Since he only had a few moments, we opened up the Book of Mormon and explained its origin, promise, and Christ's visitation to His temple. We hope to continue to teach Alan. Elder Anderson is also teaching a Finance/Self Reliance Class every Tuesday during the workers' lunch break. We are on about week 3-4 learning how to budget, pay tithing, and use savings and investments to their benefit.

Every day at 0958 our mission prays for three things: 

1. Our mission will see miracles according to our obedience and faithfulness.

2. We will find fathers, families, and young adults to teach.

3. The members will be prepared to receive the blessings and ordinances of the temple.

Sister Anderson teaches Alan about the Book of Mormon, 2023.11.10, Rio Douro Corporate Office Temple tour, 2023.11.02, Bruce teaching self-reliance and finance class to workers, 2023.11.07         

     Last Thursday, Elder Anderson gave a tour to the Rio Douro corporate office employees. Ashleigh Pereira, the administrator, brought 5 employees for a temple tour. Ashleigh asked about the founding of the church, which opened up a discussion about the First Vision and the Plan of Salvation in the Endowment room. They seemed to understand the ordinance of baptism for the dead next to the baptismal font. When entering the Celestial room they understood the symbolism of heaven. The Sealing Room had the most powerful teaching of the Book of Mormon and the concept of eternal families. Upon leaving, at the entry of the temple, Elder Anderson taught about the martyrdom of Joseph and Hyrum Smith. The audience was captivated and stunned. The tour ended with the Books of Mormon being accepted by all.

While the tour was going on, Sister Anderson was summoned outside the temple fence for an unconscious gentleman who had collapsed. The man was unresponsive but breathing. We found out he was a Type 1 Diabetic and in hypoglycemic shock. The EMT from the site came with some glucose gel. As Sister Anderson held the man’s head in her lap as we poured the sugar water into his throat. After about 5 minutes he came and we gave him some fruit. Elder Anderson came after things were stable and assisted in driving the man to the hospital clinic to get checked and fill his insulin. The man had no money for medical care, transportation, or the life-saving insulin he needed. We hope he can receive the help he needs and stay healthy. A  big day of action on the temple site!

Saturday, November 11th, we had the privilege of teaching the Chanyandura family in Glenview Extension 4. We enjoyed an early morning golf driving range and the Stable's market for some yummy food items and produce. We prayed that the Holy Spirit would be with us today as we taught this beautiful family so willing to accept the true gospel of Christ. Driving out to Glenview is always a nail-biting experience with all the people and Combi's in the CBD. As we approached Glenview, we texted Tinashe, and he offered to meet us at the "shops" so he could direct us to his home. We probably wouldn't have found it. The first time we went in the dark and Tinashe directed us there. We were relieved when Tinashe knocked on our truck's window easily spotting us, but we didn't easily spot him among the hustle and bustle of African life.

Naokatenda, Nyashe, and Moforro listen intently as we share the "Plan of Salvation" 2023.11.11

We hugged as we had a joyful reunion with Tatenda and Tinashe and their three beautiful daughters. The previous missionaries went home with the last transfer. Unfortunately, the Glenview 4 area doesn't have any missionaries currently to teach this family what they'd started. We arranged with the previous elders to finish the missionary lessons for the family. We explained the "Plan of Salvation" or "Plan of Happiness" to them in detail and simplified for the girls. We also showed a review video about the Plan on our laptop. I loved how well-behaved and attentive these little daughters of God were. Two of them will be baptized with their parents on the first Sunday in December. They would have been baptized at the end of October but their marriage license failed to be obtained at the court in time. Evidently, November is a bad month to get married or baptized, according to the Shona's superstition; so we've set a date for December 2nd for the wedding and Dec. 3rd for the baptism. The family is excited for this to happen.

 We also taught the family about the Book of Mormon and showed a beautiful video about a black bishop in London, who testified of his conversion to the Book of Mormon. We felt the Spirit and bore testimony to them. They are such a wonderful humble and meek family so ready to embrace the gospel. Afterward, we gave all the children including several cousins toy wooden cars we had in the back of our truck. They are always a big hit with the kids!

All these sweet kids are the Chanyandura's relatives. They waved us goodbye and thanked us for the toy wooden cars, donated from Tiny Tim's Foundation for toys in Utah. 2023.11.11