Week 86

 Hi!                                                                                                         October 14, 2019

My week was very busy we had MLC on Tuesday and we had exchanges with the
assistants. We had a baptism on Saturday and we watched general conference.
Then on Sunday we finished watching conference. So we had very little time in
our area because we were busy preparing for Leanne's baptism.

Her baptism went so good! We had a small miracle happen the day of her baptism.
We woke up to cooler weather and clouds, and because we had to baptize her outside
I was afraid she would change her mind because it would be too cold. But I said a little
prayer that the clouds would go away and just as we were about to start the clouds went
away and the sun came out. It was a small miracle but I know that our Heavenly Father
is aware of our needs.She was so excited to be baptized. She told us that she felt
refreshed and that it was just so cool.

We watched conference in our chapel, I enjoyed it. I loved the talk given by Peter Johnson, about
the 3 D's of the Adversary. The other one I really liked was the talk given by President Oaks in the
Saturday morning session about True Doctrine.

I'm doing well! I am really going to miss doing missionary work. These days and months are just flying by. I am so grateful for the things that I have been able to learn since I have been here.

Love
Elder Rasmussen

Week 85

 I'm doing much better, I got over my sickness pretty fast. I was back out working on Tuesday all day, I've just felt really weak and exhausted but I'm getting my strength back. 

  

 My week has been a good one, we found a lot of new people. We have been needing to find more serious people. We found a brother his name is Alvin he reminds me of Eric, our recent convert. He's 19 years old and has been looking for a church to go to. He has even been praying to find the right church, and then we show up to his house. It's interesting just to see how God leads us to people that are prepared or that are searching. 

   

We are also planning to baptize a girl named Leanne this week, she is 19 years old and she is super excited to be baptized. We have been working with her for a while now and it's kinda been a bumpy road so we've had to have patience, but it's finally paid off.

 
 I know the Book of Mormon is true. I know this church is indeed the only true church on the face of this earth. I know our father in heaven lives and he loves us. I know that the only way we can repent and change is though the Atonement of Jesus Christ. He is always there for us in our times of need and he made it possible for us to return to live with our father in heaven. I know families are essential to God's plan for our happiness. These things I do know in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

Love,

Elder Rasmussen

Eric's Baptism

Week 84

September 30, 2019


Hayden was not able to email home he was busy throwing up and helping move other missionaries
for the new transfer.  He did call really late to let us know that he was alive and but feeling week from being sick all night. He mentioned that it could have been from water he drank at a members home. He said that he did not get transferred and gets to stay in the same companionship and that Eric was baptized on Saturday.

 We love you Hayden and hope you get feeling better soon.

Week 83

September 23, 2019

Hi

My week was Great! things are well, Zone Conference was great! 

       

My companion and I are actually planning on baptizing this week, we have these 2 people a boy named Eric he's 18 and his sister Gugulettu, she is 20. We will definitely be baptizing Eric but Gugu we don't know for sure on her.

 

Yeah for the most part this week we were visiting a lot of the same people, but our teaching pool has completely changed since I've been here, we have shifted from all the people who aren't progressing or keeping the commitments we give them and  instead find those who are ready.

    

A skill that I have developed is boldness, I was a little afraid to tell people that this is the only true church on earth when I started my mission. I'm not sacred to do that at all now, even when people lie to us I call them out on their lies, which actually works. It helps people to know the seriousness of our message and that we aren't here just to share about the Gospel but we are here to help others to make a covenant with God through Baptism. I love this Gospel and I know that it is so so absolutely true. God even gives us strength when people tell us that we are bad for saying that there is only one way to get to him, and it's through this Church.

We are staying so so busy. This is also the last week of the transfer, so I hope I stay with Elder Bopape we get along very well, he is probably one of my favorite companions. 

Love,

Elder Rasmussen

Week 82

September 16, 2019

Hi,

Well my week went by fast this week!  Something cool this week is that we were able to give a girl named Leanne a baptismal date its for the 28th of September. She is super excited to be baptized. Something that she loves about the church are the Hymns and now every time we go she asks us to sing a hymn with her. Funny thing about her is that she had a crush on my companion but we told her we don't date and so she totally changed and we were able to help her know that this is true and it is just kinda funny now hahaha.

    Ward conference was good we did a great job singing, and everyone loved it! They all came up to us and said that is the best singing that they heard ever (no one here knows how to sing the tune of the hymns).

      Teaching is going very well, lately I've been trying to teach by the spirit and not from my own knowledge and I have found that I have been asking a lot more questions that have even helped the people that we are teaching, it helped with the Baptismal date that we gave out!

   I know the spirit can guide us in all aspects of our lives! It is amazing to see the hand of God in our lives, look for it and see for your self!

Love,

Elder Rasmussen

The sun was so cool on Saturday

This is Nyasha the YSA that we work with almost every day.

Lots and lots of bond

Week 81

September 9, 2019 

Hello!

How are you doing?  This week was really good! We had a lot to do this week, we had Mission Leadership Council on Tuesday. Then on Wednesday we had exchanges with the Assistants, I went with Elder Khumalo my ex-companion. Then on Thursday we still had a lot to do we had to take a missionary to the store he just found out he has to eat fiber foods only for a while to help him with his stomach problem. On Friday we had exchanges with some Elders in our Zone, I was with our District Leader Elder Thuo he's from Kenya. On Saturday we finally had a full day in the area and also on Sunday so this week was a super busy week and full of a lot of meetings and stuff like that. It made the week feel like it was just flying by.Yes we did sing in Sacrament meeting again hahaha its was super nice,  we sang #142 "Sweet Hour of Prayer" it went really well. Next week is Ward Conference and we are singing again, so kinda cool, we are singing hymn 158 again cause everyone loved it a ton.

 Even though we had a really busy week we managed to find 13 new people to teach this week which was awesome! We are still working hard to help the area out, it was kinda dying but we are reviving it. 

 

We did see the family that has the handicapped son this week but we just ran into them 2 times in the street we just were so busy we didn't have time to see them.

Love,

Elder Rasmussen

Week 80

September 2, 2019

How are you doing? My week was super good, we spent a lot of time in the area this week. It was good! I don't really have a cool story to share with you this week, but yesterday and last Sunday, Elder Bopape and our Bishop and 2 others sang a Hymn for everyone during sacrament meeting. This week we sang hymn 158 "Before thee Lord" for everyone it was nice we have been practicing it all week and it went super well, hahaha. The members in this ward love to sing, I think I have sang more these last 2 weeks then I have my whole mission combined hahaha. It really brings the spirit though its amazing.

    

Love,

Elder Rasmussen 

Week 79

August 26, 2019

Hi!  

My week was good! We have been crazy busy we have been leaving the house at 9am and coming back at 9pm long days but they have been nice. I'm doing really well! I really love the new area I am in. We have several YSA boys that work with us. The tough part here is we try to work with members but most places don't have anyone that can work with us. So here everyday we get to work with a different YSA which is awesome. 

   

I'm getting used to it here, this ward is probably the nicest ward I've ever served in the members are so kind and they all love feeding the missionaries.

 Hahaha no, no different foods this week, mostly everyone just eats sadza and chicken or rice something like that. 

       

My companion is super cool, he's from South Africa and he used to produce music back home and he's into playing the guitar, so when we have free time we play his guitar that he has.

     

So this week we haven't had a ton of time teaching, we have been finding new people to teach to build our teaching pool so next week I'll get to share about the new people that we are teaching, because I don't know them very well yet.

Well yeah that was my week hahaha.

Love,

Elder Rasmussen

Week 78 A Miracle for Miracle and Tawanda

August 19, 2019

Hi

 I got transferred again..... I'm back as a Zone Leader in Bulawayo in a place called Mzilikazi, so I'm back to driving as well. My new comp is Elder Bopape, he is from South Africa, hahah I have had lots of companions from South Africa!

But we had the baptism for Miracle and it was amazing he was asked to bare his testimony and it was so so powerful he has come such a long way, it was hard to say goodbye to him yesterday.

 

This week we had a super cool Miracle this week, I was thinking to myself that I needed to find a way to get the two brothers we baptized this transfer, Tawanda and Miracle, each a white shirt and a tie, I had ties so no problem, but I didn't have shirts that would fit them. I prayed to help them get shirts, so on Thursday Night we were walking home and we ran into the Elders quorum president he told us that he had ordered 2 shirts from Harare and when they got to him they were to small for him. So he told us he would sell them to us for $5 so we took them and guess what? They were EXACTLY the right size that we needed for Tawanda and Miracle. It is so amazing how the Lord is looking out for his new members of the Church!

I know god is Mindful of all his children (Alma 26:37) I know this to be true.

Love,

Elder Rasmussen

Week 77

August 12, 2019


Hi,

 I'm doing a ton better, my cold is gone!  When I wake up I have to deal with a stuffy nose but it goes away quick.  

This week has been a good week! We had a great time at zone conference! The topic was how to work with ward and stake leaders. We learned a lot, Elder Nelson gave a talk and he challenged us to do something, he told us to every day write down in a journal a way that God had a hand in your day or in someone you know during the day. It doesn't have to be long even one to two sentences is enough. 

There was a study done on this and it showed that those that did it had a better nights sleep and their stress levels went way down you will also be more positive about life and all that goes on even if its tough. I started to do it and its been nice, just to take time to reflect back on my day to see how God Blessed me even though I might not of understood it at the time it happened. 

All is good though, President Okot told me at zone conference that he needs me somewhere else so he said that I'im not staying here very long so I think this might be my last week in Masvingo, but this weekend we are supposed to have a baptism for Miracle so we are so excited about that! The time has finally come for him to get baptized!

Love,

Elder Rasmussen

Week 76

August 5, 2019



Hi

 How are you? I'm doing well, this week was a pretty good week, We had a few cool experiences. The first one is that we found a less active member a few weeks ago and  when we met with her and we asked if we could do any service for her and so we went to her house on Wednesday and she had us do some garden work just cultivating the ground. We did her whole yard and she was so happy with us and after we were done she told us that she was so happy that it made her feel like crying because it was getting tough for her to do that kind of stuff. She promised us she would come back to church, she has not been to church since 2008. On Sunday she came to church! We were happy and so many of the members to see her after such a long time.

   

Yeah we did have a baptism this week for Tawanda he also got confirmed on Sunday! So it was pretty sweet! This week was just a big week of service we actually did a lot which was good. We helped the branch out with the "helping hands" by doing some garbage clean up at a little outdoor shopping place. 

    

The high of the week was the Baptism and also the less active sister coming back to church. The low of the week would be that I have been kinda sick with a cold, just a runny nose, a sore throat and a sore body. But I'm getting over it and I'll be good in a few days.

Love,

Elder Rasmussen

Tawanda's Baptism. L-R
Me, Twanda, President Birri, Elder Isabriye

Helping Hands Service

Week 75

July 29, 2019

Hi,

How are you doing? I'm doing really well!

This week we have been teaching a lot of people but only a few we are progressing really well, like Miracle and Tawanda and Uvon. Tawanda is getting baptized this week he is 26 years old and he is super cool I am super pumped for him to get baptized he loves coming to church and reading in the Book of Mormon! 

Miracle came to Church for the first time on Sunday and he loved it! We also gave him a Baptismal date for the 17th of August so that's sweet! He is really starting to gain a testimony of the Book of Mormon and of the church.

Our next zone conference is in 2 weeks around the 15th of August, so its soon.

I hope all goes well with the boat and you are able to get it running and that you have a great time at Lake Powell and enjoy some rest from all the craziness.

Well you'll have to let me know how it goes!

Love,
Elder Rasmussen

Eating Chicken Feet

Week 74

July 22, 2019

Hi,

How are you? How is everything? I'm doing good here. The water is still a problem but we have had water more this week, along with power.

    We actually found a great family this week we are teaching, the Mamuto Family. They were just sitting at their house when were knocking on doors. After we knocked on their door the mother came out, she asked us to come back the next day so we could teach her whole family. When we went back we had planned to teach them the Restoration but with out saying anything my comp and I went right to the topic of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, we didn't know why but that is what we did. We helped them understand the importance of the Priesthood Authority, then the father asked us a question about who has this Authority to baptize. We gave him the restoration pamphlet and he told us to come back the next night because it was super late. We went the next night and taught them the restoration and it was amazing! The sad part was that the father works out of town and he will be gone from now until the 10th of August. We gave him a copy of the Book of Mormon and he took it with him.  I know that the spirit leads us and helps us discern the needs of the people we are teaching. It was very helpful for this wonderful family that we are teaching. 

 

   I bought a solar charger with a light on it because we don't have lights when we are studying which is kinda tough. It was $30 but its pretty nice, so we will see how it works Elder Riggs bought one last week and it was really nice to have this week so I got one too.

Love,

Elder Rasmussen

Week 73

July 15, 2019

My week has been pretty good! We are doing good on food but water is the issue. We haven't had water at all this week, just the left over water from the lines and the water in our water heater (haha) kinda crazy but its all good just an experience we will have to go through (haha) a cool story to tell.

We have a Miracle this week! We were able to find a cool kid named Miracle he is 26 and he has not been religious his whole life and we taught him first about the Gospel how we need to have Faith in Jesus Christ and that we need to Repent and be Baptized and Receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost and Endure to the End. 

He loved it! He told us he wants to be baptized he wants to change his life and come unto God. He told us that he had this burning feeling inside that was telling him that all these things were true.

I know that the Spirit testifies of truth, I know what I teach is true and I know that This is the only church that can help us to come back to God and I know that this life is the time for men and women to prepare to meet God. We all need to get on the straight and narrow path that leads to eternal life. That is the only way to have true happiness in life.

So I'm working in the same area but we are living in a different house.

My companion is Elder Isabirye, he is from Uganda and he's 20 and he comes from a family of 6 he is the 2nd to the last born and his whole family are members.

 

This week I ate some weird food, Cow Head......yeah it was pretty interesting not my favorite thing at all (haha).

Love,

Elder Rasmussen 

Week 72

July 9, 2019

Sorry I got transferred back to Masvingo! My new comp is from Uganda his name is Elder Isebiyre he's very funny so I'll tell you more next week! 

Week 71

July 1, 2019

I'm doing super well! Everything is going good for us, we aren't really affected by all the stuff going on.  It is really hard for the people that live here but for us we are doing alright. I'm holding up really well, it does kinda suck sometimes with all the stuff that is going on but there is nothing we can really do about it. 

 

 I have been able to use my card, I used it to buy some groceries on Saturday they told us that we could go into town and get some food storage just in case we had to stay inside for a few days but I don't think that will happen this week. 

   

Myiabongwe is doing super well he also came to Church this week! He is progressing really well and he knows that the Book of Mormon is true, this is our success for the week.

   

We have a few people we are teaching, Myiabongwe and a 15 year old Girl and her mother, and they tell us that anytime they read the Book of Mormon they feel amazing and that they know that it is bringing them closer to God! We were super pumped the 15 year old girl, Tandiwe has read all the way up to 2 Nephi 18 now and she loves it!.

  

Other than that everything is going good.

Love,

Elder Rasmussen

This week we were walking in the furthest parts of our area and we found this
huge old house that was built by one of the farmers that was ran out of Zimbabwe.
No one lives in the house anymore.

A funny sign we saw in town.

Week 70

June 24, 2019

Hi,

How are you doing? I'm doing well, we had a good week! 

This week we had Zone Conference we had a mission Tour so Elder Palmer the Area President and in the Seventy came and taught us a few things, I'm pretty sure he was here to help motivate the missionaries because a few of them are complaining about the situation here with the money and all the other stuff that is going on.

He taught us something cool that is pretty unique to this mission. He asked us a simple question, he said "raise your hand if you have ever been approached by someone telling you they want to know more about what you teach?" Everyone raised their hand, he said that this is amazing, no where else in the world can a whole entire mission say that this has happened to them. He just told us that this place is so so ripe for the harvest and we need to focus on finding young adults and even older youth because they are the ones that will be the leaders of the Church here in the future. 

    

 I'm staying warm and healthy and happy everything is going well! Power goes off and on like every other day we have it, we just make sure our food stays cold and that we just keep the door closed on the fridge so that the food doesn't go bad.

  

 Our little miracle this week was Myiabongwe... last time we met with him we gave him the Gospel of Jesus Christ Pamphlet to read. When we went back this week and asked him what he had learned he told us he had read everything in the book, so we went through the book and we discussed: Faith and Repentance, Baptism by water and Receiving the Holy Ghost and Enduring to the End. At the end I asked him what he though he needed to do and he told us he needs to repent and be baptized so that is when we gave him a date to be baptized. 

 

My comp and I are doing super well! We are working pretty hard and are getting along really well.

Love,

Elder Rasmussen

Edge of our area.

First time making Sadza by myself. HAHA

Making tinfoil dinners, they were super good!

by

Brooke Rasmussen

 

Week 69

June 17, 2019

Hi,

We had a lot of success in our area this week, we were able to find a family of 6 and another family of 3 so we ended the week with 15 new people and a few of them seem real promising. 

We found the Nkala Family and they have 4 daughters and then the mom and dad. We found them just by knocking on their gate. They are all really interested and they do go to another church but I know as we share more with them, they will understand. 

I think this was our small miracle this week... so my comp and I were teaching the Nkala Family and the baba had just gotten home and he wasn't interested in us teaching him so as he was chopping fire wood my comp and I offered to help and after we started to helped him, he began to trust us so on the next visit he was much more interested in what we had to say and ended up joining us. Small acts of service really help soften the hearts of people.   

   

The dinner went super well, the family also had their daughter return from her mission the same day from the UK so we got to meet her just 2 hours after she was released. We cooked noodles and covered it with ground beef and tomato's and green peppers in a soup, it was good.

 

I haven't taken any pictures of the new place it's just too small to even get any pictures of, haha. 

My little bro will be on mission before I even get home, haha. That is crazy! Maybe he will leave in like September. I got permission to call home when Garek gets his mission call, so he will probably get it next week but we will just have wait to see. 

I'm sleeping good at night it's just a little cold that's all, but other than that is nice. The city has been shutting off our power a lot lately so its been kinda annoying but the mission has given us lanterns and a gas stove so its not a problem, just a nuisance.

Love,

Elder Rasmussen

Well someone we are teaching sells cow feet stew, so when we were
over teaching them we helped take the hooves off the legs. HAHA

This week as a ward we did a service project and we cleaned an
orphanage feeding center. 

The sunset was behind us but the moon was out and the sky had such cool colors to it.

by

Brooke Rasmussen

Week 68

June 10, 2019

Hi,

Well everything is going good and I adjusting well to everything here in Emgamwini. My comp is awesome and we get along great which is really nice. It has been a nice a break away from being a
ZL now the only thing I have to worry about is my area and what me and my comp are doing.

So one of our miracles that I saw this week was a small and simple that a lady we taught said. First of all last Tuesday we had time to contact people and as we were walking down the street, we saw this gate and I could not stop thinking about it as we walked on by. We decided to turn back and went to knock on that same gate. Well a lady in her 50's came out and we asked her if we could set up a time and come back to visit her when she wasn't so busy. We ended up going back to visit her on Sunday along with her two kids, a daughter who is 14 and a son who is 18. We taught them the Restoration and when we got to talking to her about Joseph Smith she said that she feels just like he did. She had been going to many different churches and none of them felt right so she decided that she would just watch church on TV until God showed her his church. As she was telling this to us I just knew that had we never turned back after walking past her gate, we wouldn't have found her.

The prices here haven't gone down in fact they continue to go up so 1 US dollar equals $7 in bond. It is so tough on the locals here.

We have water and electricity it just goes off and on. We do have a big water tank that will fill up when the power comes back on. We have a gas stove that we use when we have no electricity.

I sometimes get tired of the food there just isn't much variety but I know I only have 7 months left so I will be okay.

The weather here is getting pretty cold so I ended up buying another coat, it's more of a formal style.
I only paid $42 in bond it would have been $300, it's nice for the price haha. I will attach some pictures. But I am good!

Love,
Elder Rasmussen

by
Brooke Rasmussen

Week 67

June 3, 2019

 Hi-

Well how does it feel to have half of your kids graduated? That's crazy!
My new house is super small compared to the last house I was in. My companion is
is pretty cool he is from Georgia and we talk about country music all the time. He
turns 20 this week so it's pretty cool that I get to be with him for his Birthday. It's just
the two of us in our flat and the water and power are still a problem but we are dealing with it.

I like my new area it's nice and pretty safe. The people are really excited and ready to hear
the gospel. I don't have many cool stories to share this week but we did go to a game park. I will send some pictures.

Love,
Elder Rasmussen

Picture credit goes to Brother and Sister Smith/ Brother and Sister Nielsen

Week 66

Hi                                                                  May 27, 2019

I just got transferred and I don't know if I will have time to email today. I am going to Bulawayo to a place called Emgamwini my comp is Elder Cotrell.

Hey,
I made it back to the email place. It's weird to be back, I haven't been to my house yet. My luggage is with my Zone Leaders, yeah I am not a ZL anymore since I am in this new area. My President sat me down and told me why he moved me and gave me a specific task.

I am back to walking and riding a combi, the last time I rode a combi it was $.50 now it is $2.00 so that is quite the jump.

Well I have got to go.
Love,
Elder Rasmussen

Week 65

Hi,                                                                                     May 19, 2019

I am doing good!

We have transfers coming up this weekend and I think I will probably go back to Bulawayo, it's been a while since I've been there.

Things in Zim are good if you are a missionary, but for the locals it's tough. We can get our fuel with US dollars but the prices have gone up again and I feel so bad for the locals they just can't afford much.

 I am not sure why but the mission has not received any mail for the last 4 weeks so maybe you should wait a couple of weeks before sending anything.

We had a super busy week as always! It is nice because it make the days fly by. One minute I am waking up and the next I am getting back to bed at the end of the day.

I am grateful for my mission though, it has taught me so much. The biggest thing is, I came out a young boy and I will come back a much stronger than when I left.

Thanks for all you do for me mom, I really appreciate the way you and Dad raised me!
Love you,
Elder Rasmussen

Jocee, here are your guinea pigs! haha

We bought a Guinea Foul, cooked it and ate it.

Shurugwi, it is so dusty and has mostly dirt roads.

This is a member we have been working with his name is Thankful.

Driving up a mountain or a big hill in Shurugwi.

Week 64

Hi,                                                                          May 12, 2019

Happy Mother's Day my dear Mama! I love you!

I am doing really well, this week we were busy with a few things, we had interviews and Zone Conference. It was really nice and helped us know how to teach the commandments better and that we can use fasting as a better way to help the people we teach.

My sinuses are better, my nose is just a little stuffy in the mornings because it is getting colder here.

I started reading the Book of Mormon over again. I am in 1 Nephi 18 and I love chapter 8 and 13 there is so much that we can learn from those two chapters that we can apply in our own lives. I am also studying in Preach my Gospel. I am trying to find better and new ways to teach it and so far it has been going really well.
I will try calling to video chat with you!
Love,
Elder Rasmussen

Week 63

Hi,                                                                                               May 6, 2019
I am doing really well. Yes I did go to the doctor and he gave me some antibiotics for a sinus infection and I am doing much better since taking them.
 
We went to Shurugwi twice this week and once to Bulawayo. We haven't held any meetings in Shurugwi yet probably at the beginning of June. Our area is pretty tough though we are working our hardest but it's moving slowly.

The old man Mr Mupuko is so cool he came to church again this week he walked the whole distance again and he just loves church and everyone is so kind and welcoming. We have meet with him about 10 times now, the only problem is we need to get him married.

We had a cool experience yesterday as we were contacting people at their houses. We met this 60 year old man we started to teach him on the spot about Joseph Smith and how this is the only true church. He got upset and started to argue with us. Again I testified of the Prophet Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon and he had nothing else to say. I love the power of testimony and the Book of Mormon.
So for Mother's Day we just get to call home on our normal p-day when we email.
Love,
Elder Rasmussen