28 weeks to go

Dear family,

So this week Sister Hirwa was feeling a bit overwhelmed because she still has 10 weeks of training left. Then she looked at me and said "You barely have 10 weeks left on mission!" We knew that obviously wasn't right but we didn't know how many weeks I actually do have left. So we figured it out. I have 28 weeks left. That sounds crazy! I can't believe it! Luckily I am still loving every minute.

Well I just want to start off and apologize. I don't have much time to email today. This morning we had a zone activity and we didn't get back till late.We went to a place called Kalimba farms. Its a reptile park. So we got to go around and see a bunch of snakes and crocodiles and snakes and stuff. I got to hold a 9 foot python! And we saw a crocodile that was 21 feet long!! (I didn't hold that one) We also got to see them feel the crocodiles. It was pretty awesome. I'll send pictures next week. I don't really have time today.

So one good thing for the week is that immigration went well! I was approved to stay in Zambia till the end of mission. So I for sure won't get sent to another mission! I might still go back to Bots but I'm safe in this mission if not. 

We had another pretty cool finding experience this week too. So we were walking to an appointment and we were running a little late because it was raining really hard.We needed to cross a road to get to the road we needed to take. Its usually a really quiet street and we have no trouble crossing. But for some reason that day it was so busy! Car after car kept coming and we had no chance to cross! I'm not exaggerating- 10 minutes went by without a single break in the line of cars and there is no other way to get to the street we needed to go to. Finally a car stopped to let us by. We thanked him profusely and quickly crossed. So we kept going and a little ways down the road we saw the guy who let us through parked on the side of the road. We were still late but we decided to talk to him. As we were talking we found out that one of his co-workers is LDS and he had been wanting to know more about his church! He doesn't stay in our area but we gave his number to the elders who work where he stays and hopefully he will be able to progress!

I also was able to gain a stronger testimony of the power of fasting this week. So for the last 3 or more weeks I have been praying for help with something. But day after day I didn't seem to be getting an answer. So this fast Sunday I decided to fast about it. Right before I closed my fast for the day, I finally got my answer. The answer was not what I expected it to be at all but it was so clear that I had finally gotten an answer. I am so grateful for the opportunity to fast and I know for sure that the Lord will bless those who follow all his comandments. Including the commandment to fast. 

My favorite scripture of the week was Jacob 5:8. I have read the allegory of the olive trees a lot of times on mission and it was been compared to a lot of different aspects of missionary work. But normally the missionaries are compared to the servants in the vineyard. When I read this verse this week, though. I realized that the missionaries can also be compared to the young and tender branches that the Lord sends wherever he sees fit. 

I love you and I hope you have a fantastic week!

Love, Sister Gehring