The White Christmas Horse, The lesson the Elders Stood Still, and elamon McGay

Well I do hope that everyone had a splendid Christmas and that the joy of the season permeated your hearts and that the worn hands and long hours spent in service caused a warmness within your bosom that kept the chilly weather at bay.

Well as we were tracting in the beginning of this week we met this old baba that invited us in and we sat down with him and his son. We introduced ourselves and told them what we do. Then after the prayer this guy just started talking and talking. We couldn't get him to stop talking. He would just cut us off before we could even say a word. He talked non-stop for literally 25 minutes! My companion timed him. This guy dominated us. I felt kind of superfluous. This is was the lesson the elders stood still! But we managed to bring it back and commit him and that was good.

One day as we were contacting in toen we ran into one of our investigators and he was with his brother who was visiting for the holiday. And as we were talking our investigator went and introduced us to his brother. He introduced me as "elamon Mcgay"! Hahahahahahaha After they left I looked at my companion and asked if I heard correctly. He laughed and confirmed what he had said. It provided joy and conversation for the rest of the day! I am not sure why so many people have difficulty with my name. It is quite short and simple. Or at least I thought so. But it seems as if people can't get it right. But I guess I will just enjoy the random names I receive in lieu of my real one(lets be honest, my real name isn't that great either).

Then for the Christmas Holiday the Couple Missionaries came and took us to The White Horse Inn for Dinner on Christmas Eve. It was a nice place. We walked the grounds a bit and we had dinner. Then we went to their room and shared a Christmas story from the Ensign and sang some hymns. Then they gave us the stockings that the mission had prepared. I got some antiperspirant, two toothbrushes, toothpaste(don't worry I already had in my possession the aforementioned items), some socks, a tie, and a mission shirt! The shirt is too small, but it still has the name of the mission and the map of the countries in which I serve. So it is still awesome. Later after we left the mission couple told us that the people in the Inn had heard us singing hymns and they loved it.... apparently the window was open and outside and up a bit was the veranda and the restaurant where many people were. Kind of cool to know that just something normal we do at Christmas had further reaching effects than we had thought. They told us that the hymns had made Christmas for them.

Then the next day we watched Blind Side and Glory Road together. Good movies! Then my family called, it was a nice phone call I got to talk to my mom, dad, brother, and sister and kids. One thing that was really funny was they told me that I talk differently. Not just the accent but also how I create my sentences is just different than what I had done before. I am not sure if you can tell in email.... obviously not the accent part, but the other part.... ?????

The Manyande family is doing really well, they have been studying and loving everything. The children were even writing notes on the Plan of Salvation. They will be/are amazing members. We were going to tell Bro Manyande he should wear a white shirt to church, he has been wearing some other color of shirt(I don't know which color it is), but we weren't sure how to go about it. Then when we walk into their home he is already wearing a white shirt! He said his wife bought it for him and she wanted to get the son one as well! Yes wife! It was amazing, it is almost like they are a step ahead of us. They are so prepared! Such incredible people, they are going to be strong for generations I can just tell(as long as the Second Coming is far enough away...).

Thank you everyone who sent me something! It really meant a lot that you remembered me and you reminded me that I wasn't forgotten.
Love, elder Steven Gay

"Mother, Its the Mormons.", Baptisms, Oregon?, and "Ma Coloreds"

We had a very busy week and it was tiring and filled with so many things but it was a very good week over all. We had someone come to our house and ask us if we can come visit him and his family so we go and the father isn't there but we knock on the door and this girl comes out and in a very articulate manner, greets us and says, "Oh, Mother, its the Mormons." Hahahahahaha I laughed so hard(on the inside, because that would have been rude) but then the Mother comes out and I am expecting her to greet us in Shona but she greeted us in a very not Zimbabwean Accent and she is one of the most well spoken people I have ever met. This family is great. They invited us back and things were just awesome. They even kept their promise and I am very confident they will be baptized.

Then during the week we had some meetings and we had a lot to arrange because we took a missionary home and we had this and that and we had to prepare for the baptism on Saturday and things were very intense and it seems like we don't have enough time to do all that we need to do! But the baptism went very well. There were a few hiccups but nothing major and their testimonies were powerful. They are going to be very strong members of the church and they will be very active!

Last week in the email shop there was this white guy who talked very funny. He asked some of the workers if they knew someone who could type fast and they pointed at me! So he asks me if I can help him but we were just about to leave. But we talked for a bit, he is from Oregon and he is doing some welfare work and he has been here for about a month. His accent was so weird! I couldn't help thinking if that is how I used to talk.... I think I talk differently now but I guess we will find out on Sat when I call, do I talk funny? I was very surprised to meet someone from Oregon in Zimbabwe... strange!

Then just yesterday we went to a members home that had invited us and their daughter was very hyper. It was funny. Then she starting yelling, "Ma Coloreds! Ma coloreds aripo!" Colored is a term to describe a person with a black parent and a white parent. Making a light skinned black(don't worry it is a very normal and accepted term, not offensive in any way). But she was saying the coloreds are here! ahahahaha it was hilarious! My companion is light skinned as well. So we are both light skinned people! Yay!

So much has happened but I don't know how to put it in a letter! Merry Christmas!!!

Love, Elder Gay

The Other Steven, tears, fears, interviews, and Fire!

Well we were given a referral. His name was Steven. Which was strange enough. But when we go there, he comes out and says, "Where's my book?" He is just very prideful and talking about non sense and he doesn't even want us there. But his desire to show off his supposed knowledge overrode his desire to have us gone. And he was just talking about nothing but he still managed to talk a lot, in spite of not expressing a single coherent or relevant idea. Which is very impressive actually. But I was just laughing at him and he thought he was so cool. So anyway we left the book and hopefully when he reads he will be converted. Because great is the conversion power of the Book of Mormon!

Brother Manyande was reduced to tears in a lesson. When my companion asked what blessings he had received from exercising his faith. He sure has been blessed. I was kind of in shock. And his children were in more shock. The look on their faces was priceless! Their faces just shouted, "Is daddy really crying? Really???" It was great and also strange but mostly great. They all passed their interviews and they will be baptized this coming Saturday! Dad, Mom, and two kids! Yes! When they were being interviewed, we were talking about the Gospel and I was teaching the kids and the mom how to sing some of the hymns. And it just felt so perfect. We were in the church and it was just perfect. This family is great.

Then in another lesson we were teaching how to pray to receive an answer. And we asked him to give our closing prayer and he refused. We taught a bit more and asked again. He refused again. We kept trying and then he got angry! But he was fine. I guess he was afraid to pray. But we will follow up next time. He is a great man but I guess he has some fears. But he told us next time he would pray.

But Saturday was a day filled with interviews. We had 11 people interviewed! 11! Plus we will do more interviews tomorrow and Wednesday. A lot of interviews. Very busy day.

Also when we were on exchanges with the Assistants, we checked on a family that didn't come to church. We talked to them and we gave them fire! I mean, it wasn't harsh in any way but we just told them exactly why they needed to come to church and what they were missing because they hadn't come. By the end, two of them said they would definitely come to church. And they came! It was great because we had just had a training on how to get people to church and the Assistant we were with said that we handled that situation very well. And I was so happy that they came to church. Reproving sometimes with sharpness! But they knew why and that is why they came to church!

But this week was very busy with Zone Business and with these people we have been teaching and with the training we had. And many other things that just crowded our schedule! But wow I hope you all have a great week!

Love, Elder Gay

Bradley Glazer, CHASTITY, Dried Cockroach=YUM!, and throw up :D

So this week has been very busy. Seems like we are always getting called to do things and then we are busy with the area as well. Crazy! But someone looked at my tag and said Elder Glazer? Then he threw his hands in the air and told us he didn't want us there and we should leave and he was staring right at me. And his expression was horrified like I was a demon. I was so shocked. I just started laughing because I was so confused. Then as we were contacting people, this one drunk was holding a banana and so I asked if he was going to give me. He just laughed. Then as we were leaving, I hear a yell, "Bradley!" Surprisingly I turn around and the drunk runs and shows me the banana so I hold out my hand and then he just laughs and runs away again. Where on earth he got Bradley, I do not know. And why I responded to it, I have even less of a clue. So I am Bradley Glazer! Strange, huh?

Then we shared with the Manyande family about the Law of Chastity and the Word of Wisdom. It went well and then we came back later in the week for a return another lesson. We follow up with their prayers and they know it is all true! Then Bro. Manyande shares about reading the Chastity pamphlet with his family. He read how marriages should be legal. So he pulls a paper out of his pocket and says, "My wife doesn't know about this yet because I just got home. But I read that marriages should be by law and mine was a traditional wedding so I went to the courts and I legalized my marriage." !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IT was awesome! He immediately legalized his marriage. This guy is converted to the Gospel already. Wow. Wow. WOW!

Anyway, we visited a member family and they had what is called ishwa. Which is essentially a very large flying ant. Looks kind of like a wasp and a cockroach mixed. The people here eat them. They had some that had been prepared and they offered me some. I tasted and they weren't bad. They weren't good either. But to me it kind of tasted a bit like popcorn. But they are very preservable so I am going to send some home for you all to try! YUM!!! Zimbabwean delicacy :) Ishwa!

That kid I felt prompted to ask directions from, Simbarashe and then we tracted into their house later that very day! We went back for a return appointment and they told us their dad told them that our doctrines do not agree. So they were told to give us back the Book of Mormon. I was shocked because I had definitely felt prompted to talk to him and to knock his gate. So I was thoroughly expecting things to work out but, I guess the Lord knows that now is not the time. But I was very surprised at the outcome. But I saw them in town and they waved and smiled and they still have some pamphlets. So one day they will be converted I know it! Maybe when they move away from their dad.

But I was somehow sick this week. This one morning I was throwing up and feeling not good. But now all is well. I don't know what it was because my companion wasn't sick so I guess it wasn't anything we ate. But it was a no biggie. Today we cleaned another room of our house! The house is getting to be very awesome. Very organized and clean and powerful. Yay!!!!

Love, Elder Steven Gay

Am I the Son of the Morning?, District Conference, and ginger what?

So this last week was entertaining and busy and a lot of other things. We went to that Game Reserve and didn't see anything. But we did do a lot of walking and saw some pretty good sights. They told us there were some cool things, like elephants, but I didn't see them. But we are going to a different and more reputable game reserve today and we are sure to see things so I will take pics!

In District Conference we had some very powerful instructions. It was a Continent wide broadcast by the Brethren and it was great. I learned a lot and there was some very specific instruction given concerning some traditions here. So it was a very good experience.

But this last week me and my companion both fell ill. We think it might be something we ate but we aren't sure what but we were both in trouble. Two runny stomachs, and one bathroom..... took some careful self control to prevent some undesirable things from happening. But we are told by some people that if we chew ginger it will help us. So we buy some ginger and we peel it and we boil it. I ask if we need all of it(it was a lot) my companion says the more the better! So I dump the whole thing into the boiling water. Then after a bit we drink it. It was terrible!!!!!! It was one of the strongest flavors I have ever tasted. ughhhhhhh! I didn't even bother finishing but it did help a bit. I felt better in the morning.

Guess what? A crazy woman hit me!!!! Kay so listen to this. We are standing and talking as our car is getting washed. I see this woman in an odd assortment of clothes and deduce that she is a homeless woman and return my attentions the conversation at hand. As I again peruse my surroundings, I again see this same woman and her eyes are fixed on me and she is walking towards me. I am still talking to my companion but as this woman gets closer my curiosity is heightened. What does she want. Her expression is one of happy delirium and at this point she is only a few feet away. She moves her arms and I think she is going to hug me or something so I kind of shy away. But then she hits my shoulder with the bag of chips she has in her hand, as she hisses, "Satan!" She raises the bag over her head tilts her head back and says, "Can I eat these?" I say, "Yea, sure..." She kindly replies, "Thank you," then she walks away. Down through an overgrown canal and across a small stream and up the other side and then she is gone! I was so confused, and my companion is laughing at me and I start laughing too and it was one of the best things that has ever happened to me! hahahahahah It was so funny!!!!!! I was and am still seriously confused. Am I the Son of the Morning? hahahahah this woman was seriously confused.

So this powerful family we are teaching got lost on their way to the Conference so they didn't make it but they are progressing so well and the father is just amazed at how simple all of it is and how it makes sense. He said, and I quote, "What you teach us. It is so... you say it so so soft but it pierces to the very center. It touches my heart and why is it that you seem so young and yet you know more than people who are old like me?" This guy is great!!!! I can't wait for him to be baptized. But I have to go look at African animals. So I will talk to you all next week!

Love,

Elder Gay