The Work in Kadoma is Slow and Hard.

Week 2 is over, here comes week 3! Week 3 should be a good week, we have zone conference on Tuesday and interviews with president on Friday so it should be a pretty good week!

These past two weeks have been tough. We have knocked so many doors and are having no success. Our area is definitely one of the richer areas, so people don't like to listen very much, or already have their own faith. Also, every house has a huge wall with a large gate around it, so we don't knock doors, we knock gates, and no one comes out to answer. In my last area, I was rejected 3 times. Here, I have been rejected at every house for 2 weeks straight!!! It's frustrating, but part of the work! I just am waiting for that one family that will invite us in and accept our message. And I have been chased by dogs a few times and have gotten growled at viciously as well. ha ha

Monday night grocery shopping (And some super blurry selfies)

My companion is great, we are getting along well and are laughing and having a good time! 

There are a few problems I have found people have with our church here in Zimbabwe. One, at least in my area, the church building is so far away that people don't want to go. Two, we don't sing and dance at our church. Everyone here sings and dances so crazy at church, that when they go to ours, they don't like the reverence. Three, our church is only 3 hours and only meets on Sunday. People freak out when they hear that we only have one meeting a week and that it is only 3 hours. They can't get how the true church only meets once a week for 3 hours. Most other churches meet almost every day of the week for 3-7 hours, it's crazy!! And they spend the whole time having their pastor screaming into a microphone, casting out devils, or them dancing and singing. There's even a church here called the 'Celebration Church' where they just throw a party every Sunday, and people believe that is feeling the spirit!

The cows of Zim. Walking in the middle of nowhere, and saw this massive cow.
 It scared me, cause I thought it was gonna charge me.

About this cupcake picture from last week...there are cupcakes and cake at a bakery near us. They suck though, like they aren't very good at all. No cake I have had here tastes like the good ones we make back home. It's all kind of bland and the frosting is horrible! We did this for a birthday pic for the elder next to me. And yes these are the four I live with! It's sweet staying in a house with other missionaries. The only problem is food! Everyone just eats the food you buy. I spent $70 on groceries and it was all gone in like three days. I was like what??? haha 

Nowhere in my new area are there kids, I miss them so much!!
At church... my new favorite Junior.

2 Fun facts.... People here cut ques (lines) like nobodies business. They just barge their way through people and stick their money in the person at the cash registers face. An instance happened this week where I was in line, with an elderly lady behind me and I was busy ordering some food and a big man barged in and stuck his money out and said his order. I was fed up, so I turned to him and said "sorry, I was ordering. And this women behind me is next." He gave me a stink eye and looked away, but didn't move. I finished my order, then stepped in front of him and told the lady she can go next. She smiled and said thank you then went to order. Of course when I step out of the way and head back to my seat, I see the man step in front of the old lady and stick his money out. I was so frustrated. It's a daily occurrence here, and it ticks me off.

The roads in my area:

My shoes after a day of walking. One is cleaned the other is not.

Second, the doctors office here is weird. It's way different but better and worse. It's worse, cause of course, it's not as sanitary and I don't trust the doctors. But it's better because no one is there, so you can walk in, pay, and immediately see a doctor. It costs $20 to see a doctor, which people can't afford, so there was no one there. I just walked in, handed 20 dollars and I saw the doctor!

We built a swing in our yard and it is super nice! We also built a fire pit cause we can have fires! People here literally just burn things on the side of the road!! Like randomly. They just burn their trash if they have any! Next we are gonna try to build a hammock but that may not work out, we will see!

 A couple things, I taught my first white family! It was super scary, I haven't talked to a white person that wasn't a missionary in so long, it was really weird. I also went to the doctor for my stomach and they gave me some pills and want me to go back for a stomach scan at 12, which is in a few hours so I will let you know how it goes later today :) ***UPDATE*** I have a bladder stone. They are doing an X ray on Wednesday to see how big it is and to decide what to do. 

 A termite hill.

A typical house sign.

A random guy wearing an Everett Washington T-shirt.
(I had to ask him if I could take a pic.)

When we have been knocking doors for 4 hours and everyone is saying no, and my stomach is hurting it gets hard. The hot water at our house broke, so I take freezing cold showers and it stinks. haha But I am really trying to stay positive! It's helping so much, trying not to complain, but it just gets super hard sometimes.

The moon.

A baby mouse we found on the side of the road.

 Saw a cool quote from Joseph Smith. "I am thoroughly convinced that true happiness comes from families." I believe that for sure, cause being away from family on mission makes you realize how much you took them for granted! Have a good week! Elder Cazier

Sugar Cane, Monkeys and Nasty Spiders

What's up?! Sorry about last week, we hardly got to email cause it was transfer Monday so we had like no time to email at all. This week I should get much more time though! But Kadoma has electricity issues so the power just shuts off all the time, so emailing is tough. There are very few places to email and the internet is super slow and the power shuts off all the time so it will be a struggle for sure. It's just hard going from reliable nice computers to junkie internet and limited time. 

So Kadoma is much different then Bulawayo. Way, way different then my last area. I am serving in a small town, with 6 other Elders. The closest missionaries to us are 45 minutes away so we just have us 6. It's a really small town, and not much to do. It has 2 grocery stores and that is about it. The area I am serving in is the complete opposite of my last area. I serve in a surprisingly nice neighborhood, where the houses are really spread apart, but are nice houses, for Zimbabwe. I see white people on a daily basis now which is super weird. 

African Rainbow

My companion is Elder Mayett, and he's from Kenya. He's the shortest missionary in the mission, and has 12 weeks till he goes home. He is a good guy! He smiles a lot, and it a pretty cool guy, just super super quiet. Kadoma is a good place, I enjoy! It will be a hard transfer baptism wise, but I should still enjoy! 

My District-- The short one is my companion! 

This is a member who is gonna go on a mission soon so he is helping us out :)

Some fun things... I saw monkeys in my area! It was sweet and I took a picture. 

A Monkey in a Tree

I have still been having stomach issues pretty bad, and I mentioned them to another elder and he said that he had the same thing and had to get blood drawn, so looks like I am not going to the doctor at all haha. There's a gym in our area so I have been lifting every morning which has been super nice!! I finally was able to weigh myself and I weighed at 160 pounds. When I left home, I was 172, so Zimbabwe has taken off 12 pounds of me! Probably some muscle and fat, but 12 pounds! 

I put my shoe on, and felt something in my shoe but didn't think anything of it. I walked around for a little bit and got annoyed so I took my shoe off and dumped out a huge spider out of my shoe.... It's blood was all over my sock, it was nasty. Now I am scared to put on my shoes every day. 

So the town here is small and pretty unclean. But my area has a bunch of really nice houses and white people. Like, there are million dollar American houses in my area, it's crazy. You'll just see bush and then randomly a huge house. It's super different then my last area. And Bulawayo was super flat, here there are hills and things! So town in Bulawayo is nice, but my area was super foreign. Town here is poopy, but my area is super super nice. We have to walk out about an hour to get to the poor hut like houses, which is where I took the pics by those grass walls! 

Slugs like crazy. eewwww

Eating Sugar Cane with Mama. It is good.

We stay in a 4 man house. So it's pretty cool! The other two guys at my house are Elder Parco and Elder Barrus who is way into lifting. They are sweet guys and I am really enjoying. I love talking and laughing and things! They will be good friends for sure!

I feel really good about my study lately, like I have been really focusing on trying to be more humble, and not ever be unkind, but I am finding it so hard to have that change of heart. Like I am really trying and reading so many scriptures, but am just struggling to get over that hump. That it is just continual improvement. I guess lately I have just been wanting to immediately have a change of heart, and to be better right away. But it rarely works like that. 

I have given a few blessings while on my mission and each time the person has drastically improved. And in each scenario the person sick either had a parent or a husband who wasn't a member, and they were like, "Wow the blessing worked!" And I am like "Yes, the church is true and you now see it, why won't you get baptized?" But people have their free agency so that is their decision. 

We haven't been able to get money from the bank for a week now, I have been living off of 20 dollars! But its crazy, it doesn't effect me as much as it used to. Like I just kind of am used to it! The Lord no doubt sent me here for a reason. I think more so for my growth, rather then people I need to teach.     Elder Cazier

Transferred to Kadoma!

(I love this little boy.  I will really miss him.)

What a week! This last transfer flew by, it's crazy how fast my mission is moving now! We had two more baptisms this past week, which was awesome! The work is really progressing in Entumbane and I am going to miss it! I was transferred to Kadoma! It's about 4 hours away from Bulawayo, more towards Harare. It is much smaller then Bulawayo, and the people here speak Shona, not Ndebele, so Ii feel super lost already! Almost feels like I am starting my mission all over again, in a completely new place.

My companion is Elder Mayatt, he also just happened to be Elder Bollingers companion last transfer. We are white washing the area, meaning 2 missionaries are brought in, so we are both new to the area. I know no missionaries in my zone at all, which is why it feels like a different mission! Different language, different people, different companion, like a different mission! It will be nice though I think, the members of my district are awesome, I just have to re-adjust again! It shouldn't take too long though! Apparently my house in Kadoma is really nice! Well, Zimbabwe nice you could say. And there is a gym right next door so I am gonna try to go work out every day!

 The mission has been getting on us like crazy about having a 72 hour kit, meaning enough food in the house to last us 3 days without leaving! I don't know why, but they are getting very strict about it!

We ate at a place in Bualwayo, before I left which was just like an American fast food place. Now it doesn't taste anything like American fast food, but it looked the same!

 The most american restaurant in Bulawayo, Chicken Inn.

I dont have much time to email this week, so that is why I am so short! Next week should be better and be much longer! Elder Cazier