Prayer is a priviledge

Dumela!!!!

Well, I don't even really know what to say about this week. Haha. It was a little on the uneventful and crazy side. Me and my new comp Sister Two have just been working really hard on father led families. We have been doing finding/ tracting like everyday. We seriously don't even talk to women anymore we just pass them and only talk to men. The gospel blesses families and so families are our goals! :) Things are going good though. I love being in Monarch it really is great! The people are great and I love them so much! I can't even really imagine leaving. Sad news is that Africans don't celebrate Thanksgiving and so me and the Sisters are making plans to celebrate somehow/someway. Even though Africa has like 30% of food we have in America we don't really know how we are going to do it, but im excited! Haha. The weather is hot. Lets just say hot because there is really no word to describe just how hot it truly is! I have a baptism coming up on Saturday  the 30th. I'm so excited! His name is Tshenolo and he is an 11 year old boy. He is great! He is so smart and so sweet I love him! This will be my 5th baptism and hopefully more soon!!! Seeing the gospel change peoples lives is pretty much the greatest thing ever. Seeing someone tell you how the Book of Mormon helps them and how they feel when they pray about Joseph Smith or the church and how they are receiving answers to their prayers just makes me want to cry! The gospel is sooo true! People are honestly missing out!!!

  This week I have been really focusing on prayer and how prayer truly blesses our lives. I currently am reading in Ether and about the brother of Jared. I just noticed that prayer works in many different ways. God answers our prayers in different ways. Sometimes we expect to pray about something and for God to just fix it. But as I was reading the story I realized that sometimes God answers differently. We can pray and he will just fix things. Other times God expects us to figure things out. We can pray to him but he wants us to make a decision and then he will let us know if what we chose is correct. Also sometimes he will answer our prayers through someone else. God hears all of us but he will answer different ways. Prayer is power. It is a gift and a blessing. Prayer is a priviledge. So these are my thoughts for the week. They are not a lot but I hope that this reaches everyone in a different way. I love you all and I hope all is well! Stay strong and stay true! I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving!!!!!!

Ke a gorata (Love),

Sister Scott

Putting On My Big Girl Shoes

Dumela my dear family and friends!! Im done training! I'm not new anymore!

How is everyone? I hope all is okay and well! So this week has been pure craziness haha just ups and downs!! So last time I left off my companion was leaving and I was in the process of getting a new one and I was freaking out! So that is pretty much how my week started!!! Since all the missionaries went out of town to the transfer meeting it was just me and Sister Lyon(who have only been here 3 months) left in charge of our areas! I honestly was scared out of my mine! I just knew everything would be crazy and guess what? It was great. We spent one day teaching in her area and the next one teaching in mine so I had to lead the lessons and it was seriously the best time ever! I thought I wasnt ready and I didnt know enough but when it was time to put on my big girl shoes I did it! I was very surprised with myself. I definitely feel like a real missionary now. I can do this! So then Wednesday the missionaries came back and we got new companions and guess who my new companion is? Sister Twongeirwe!! Shes from Uganda in case you forgot and so now we are both working in Monarch together. Im pretty excited! We both work really hard and I know that we are going to make lots of changes in Africa! We also got two new sisters in our area Sister Faux(from Idaho) and Sister Anderson(from Utah).  Sister Faux just came from the MTC but Sister Anderson has been out like 9 months on mission. She is my trainers trainer so shes is pretty amazing! 

This week though we have worked super hard! Lots of tracting and finding and we have had lots of success! We have been finding fathers and familes and it is just so great! The church is true guys! God definitely looks out for us because whenever we have a hard time something happens that just turns it all around! God is great!! So i felt super bad for Sister Two this week because it was her first day in Monarch and I was showing her around and all that. So we went to a members house that was leaving for his mission so we could say goodbye and she sat her stuff on top of the car. So we stay and talk to him and his family, take pictures and have a good time. So we noticed the time and remembered we had an appointment so we said our goodbyes and headed to our appointment. And guess what we forgot? Her stuff on top of the car. So yeah. It was gone. Her journal, hymn book and planner! I felt so bad since it was her first day in the area and we went back and of course it was all gone so yeah we win some we lose some!

On another note I have continued my Book of Mormon reading and I am currently in 3 Nephi (aka the best part of the Book) and Jesus Christ is in the Americas! It is so awesome and I am learning so much! So as I was reading I realized that much of the focus of our work as missionaries is actually reactivating less actives and just trying to get them to come back to church. Many of them get out of church and have been gone for months or even years and they just feel like they can't come back. I was reading 3 Nephi 9:14 and It really touched my heart. Jesus Christ is talking to the people and he says "Yea verily I say unto you, if ye will come unto me ye shall have eternal life.  Behold, mine arm of mercy is extended towards you and whosoever will come him will I receive; and blessed are those who come unto me." As i read this verse it just really hit me that the love that God and Jesus have for us is infinite. It never ends. His arms are always open for us to come back. No matter how far away we feel, or how far away we go from him, he will never leave us. He will never give up on us. His love never ends. So this is something that I felt impressed to share with not only my less actives here in Africa but with everyone. We never run out of chances. We can always start over. I love you all and I pray that everyone knows the love I have for them and the love that God has for you as well! Everyday here is a blessing and I am learning that God is molding me into something great. I love it here and I love God! I know that all of this is true so stay strong and hold on!

I love you all and wish you the best! 

Until we meet again! 

Sister Scott

3 MONTHS

Hey Guys Its been 3 months!!!

So this week has been pretty crazy! We have been super busy doing so many things and so many new things have happened! So I told you about the measles campaign last time and so that continued this week! Tuesday we met with the other members in the group and we went around and passed out flyers and just talked to everyone informing them about the vaccinations! That took a lot of time and we did lots of walking but I think it was pretty successful. A lot of people took their children and the clinics actually ran out of vaccinations ever single day so that shows! Then Thursday we had to spend half of the day helping the senior couples move from one place to another. So we were not able to teach as many people as we would have liked! And the same thing happened on Saturday. Me and my companion Sister Gehring live in a different complex than the other sisters and so  the president said he wanted us all to live in the same complex so we moved all four of the other sisters over to ours and it took quite a while! Lol it definitely made me never want to ever move anywhere lol but yeah it is nice now because I will have neighbors!

So other news... Transfers! I am not going anywhere! BUT my companion is. Tuesday the President of the mission called and told Sister Gehring that her residency was denied and that her permit expired and so she doesn't have a visa to stay in the country. He then said that she had until th20th of Novmber and then they would figure out what else to do. So he told the same thing  about 5 other sisters and so when you dont have a visa you cant stay in the country..... and Friday during the day the President called and told us that Sister Gehring was leaving and so now that means I will be getting a new companion but I don't know who it will be yet so I have to wait until Wednesday to see! So more than likely I will be staying in this area of Monarch until about February because now I am the only sister that knows the area so that means I will be leading!! None of us are really getting approved for residency and so that means that we will have to go another country, but Botswana is the safest country in Africa so I will have no idea what will happen to any of us!!!! I am so excited but i'm a little nervous! It is a big responsibility to lead an area but I definitely feel like it is a big privilege and the Lord has definitely trusted me to lead an area so I will be trying my hardest and working my hardest as well! I am also nervous because my residency will be expired soon as well so I will be praying that hearts will be softened!

So My week has been pretty hectic and stressful so sorry for the lack of spiritual thoughts. But I have been reading the Book of Mormon all the way through and now I am in Helaman. I read a few verses that definitely touched my heart and it is Helaman 3:27-29 and its just made me realize the love that God has for each and every one of us! He died for us all. Salvation is free if we turn to him. He loves us and I love you all!!!! Im saying goodbye to my companion after this so more to come next week!!!

Love, 

Sister Scott

(P.S. Feel free to send letters and cards because I love to hear from you all!!! And thanks to everyone that has already sent me things!!!) My address

Sister Kyrstal Scott

Botswana/Namibia Mission

PO BOX 301797

Selepa Francistown

Botswana Africa

The Joys Of Being In Charge

Dumela again as we welcome a brand new week!!!!

 

I hope everyone is doing okay and staying well!!!! All is well down in this hemisphere. A little rough but we all have rough patches!!!!

 

So this week was probably the craziest week I have ever had! For the first time ever I was the lead this week (I was in charge of everything) and it has been storming here daily! Im pretty sure its rainy season, so we go from no rain to legit storms! And since there are no buildings really you see the lightening soooo vivid and clear its crazy!! And of course storms always bring issues so lucky us, we were out of power off and on all week and our water got shut off again! The joys of Africa :) Since there was no power it of course gets super hot at night and me and the heat don't mix so well so Im pretty sure I was running on 40% all.week.long. And funny thing even other people could tell. We visited one member and we were suppose to teach about missionary work but when we got there he just talked and talked and talked about just all kinds of stuff and I was trying so hard to stay awake and then he just stops talking and was like "I think i'll stop because Sister Scott looks tired." I felt so bad but I really was so exhausted!

 

Being in charge this week however was definitely interesting. It was challenging but I definitely enjoyed it! I was able to see how much I have grown and I had to be able to handle all kinds of teaching situations and people which gave me more focus and I worked way harder. I felt the spirit so strong this week as I taught and then testified of the things we were teaching. I think my testimony grows every single day and I love it! Also this week was crazy because Africa and this country especially, they have a lot of deadly diseases that affect a lot of the children here and it kills lots of them. So the church sent a humanatarian couple here and they started a Measels campaign where all over the country, every clinic will be giving free vaccinations for Measels, Vitamin A, and Deworming. So the church put the members In charge which means us! Haha so we have t-shirts, hats, and flyers and we have been going around and knocking on every door and just informing the community about everything and trying to get parents to immunize their children! It has been really wonderful so far. We have just been walking hours and hours and we have to cover every house in our area so we were doing that along with teaching every day. Can you say tired? But it has been fun!

 

Other great stuff that happened was that one of the members (who we baptized in September) taught us how to make Magwinya! It is basically like a fried ball of dough but sweet and delicious! So we went there and we cooked over the fire in the brick kitchen. Definitely the traditional experience! Haha it was so much fun! Hopefully I will be able to put up pictures soon! We had so much fun!!!

 

On another note, things have been kind of hard in our area for the past few weeks. We have lost a lot of our people and a lot of people have been cancelling so we have been struggling. I found myself getting down and just really sad and so I decided to read my scriptures. I honestly can not express the happiness that comes to me when I read the Book of Mormon. I never really appreciated or read it before like I should have. But I can honestly say that nothing brings me the happiness and peace that I feel when I read now. I use to try to read maybe a chapter a day if that, and now I have to tell myself to stop reading after like 10 chapters! Its that good! No matter where you read, something in what you read will touch your heart. It will help even when you didn't know you were looking. I am reading now in Helaman and I read Helaman 5:12 and it just went to my heart like never before. I know that if we focus our lives on Christ and the gospel nothing will ever tear us down. We have to build our lives on a foundation that can withstand anything, and the gospel is that. I know it with all of my heart. I also know that if you read the Book of Mormon everyday you will get closer to God than by anything else. I have felt the change and I have seen the difference it has made and so I encourage everyone to do the same.

 

Anyway I love you all and I wish you all the best! Stay focused on the things that truly matter and build your life on a foundation that wont ever fall, which is Christ!!!

 

Until we meet again,

Sister Scott