MERRY CHRISTMAS

Dumelang borra le bomma!

Wow so what can i possibly say? This week has been one of the most inspiring and incredible weeks! Man where can I even start! So the mission president and his wife made an announcement last week that all of the missionaries in our mission would be driving to Gaborone for a Christmas devotional and program. So this week on Tuesday we got to drive down to Gaborone which is about 5 hours away from where I stay in Francistown. We got there around 1 and wow it was great! We got to see all of the missionaries and we had so much fun! All of us were suppose to come up with skits for each district or group of missionaries so it was truly entertaining! When we got there they fed us lunch (Cafe Rio like salads so for those who dont know, the best salads ever!) Then we had our performances and man it was so funny! Of course the elders in our group wanted us to rap, so all of sisters did a rap and of course yours truly had to bebop. Hah! It was so funny! We had hats and caps and it was so funny! Everyone loved it! So after that we had a little devotional with the President and he taught us about Christmas and how the story of the tree of life in the Book of Mormon relates to the Tree of Life. It was truly amazing and great. I never even heard it before. So something else truly mind blowing happened as well. 

So recently me and Sister Lyon have been doing tracting and just trying to find more people to teach. So one of our investigators, Ishmael Adam who is on date to be baptized and who is doing absolutely great, invited his sisters to our Christmas party at church. So at the party they both told us they wanted to be taught and so we set up appointments and went to see them. So neither of them know English at all and so we were just really overwhelmed. So we just knew that this would be great if we could get his whole family to learn the gospel and be baptized and so we were really just trying to figure out what to do. We take translators to our lessons but oftentimes people tell us they dont want us to teach them through a translator, they want to hear it directly from us. It really is something that has been bothering me somewhat and just been heavy on my mind. So Wednesday was definitely inspired. After the devotional our mission president made another huge announcement. He has decided that our mission will now will officially learning Setswana!!! He said that we will learn it in stages, little by little, but eventually we will get preach my gospel lessons in setswana so we can teach everyone! Man, I honestly know that God is answering prayers. As we were trying to find a solution, God provided us with one, so now we are learning Setswana! He said we will start having language study every day and we also will get notebooks to write things down and just learn faster! So honestly I am freaking out, but im so excited as well! So this week I have been practicing and practicing. I know it will take time but I also know that this is going to open so many doors for us. It just reminded me of the scripture that says that all things are done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things. I think will help us better teach his children and also help all of our issues we are having with staying here. 

So im pretty exicited! This week is Christmas and I know it will be great. Its very different being here because everyone leaves and so its hard to find people to teach or have anyone to see. There were about 20 people at church yesterday and so I think its easy to get discouraged and down during this time that we are away from our families. But we read a talk by Jefferey R. Holland called "Christmas Within You" and it talks about how we still need to work hard during this time and being on mission is a wonderful time to really understand the true meaning of Christmas. I love you all and I appreciate the many letters, cards, and packages. They are really great and I know that God will continue to watch over and bless you all during this time of year. I also want to encourage everyone to also take this time to get closer to the Savior. There is no better time to remember him and get to know him than this season. I know that Christmas is an invitation for all of us to "Come and See." We can all experience and share the love of our Savior. So Ke a itse gore Buka ya ga Mormone ke a nnete.(I know that the Book of Mormon is true). I know that I wouldnt want to be anywhere else except Africa sharing this message with my brothers and sisters. I love you all and I hope you all have a wonderful Merry Christmas!

Ke a Gorata

Sister Scott

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CHRIST IS The Reason For The Season

Dumela My wonderful family and friends!

I hope all is well and everyone is doing okay. So this weel has been absoulutely amazing and crazy on so many levels.So for one, Me and Sister Lyon are companions. Yes we were in the MTC together and we had a blast and now we are together!!! Im so excited and so happy. Honestly this usually doesnt happen. Normally there is a senior companion and we are with someone who has been out longer than us, but boh of us have been out four months so this will be the best transfer!

So this week was pretty crazy for a few reasons. First of all, Sister Lyon was working in a different area, but since we don't have enough sisters anymore she is now in Monarch with me and we are working in Monarch but still seeing her investigators in Francistown so we are going to be really busy! This week I had my first dinner appointment as well! Yay for DA's. One of the members of the bishopric invited us over and we had a traditional Botswana dinner. Can you say amazing??? Honestly it was probably the best food we have ever had so it was really nice. So I really enjoyed that. Also Saturday was our Christmas party, so we didnt really get to teach as many people simply because we were helping and preparing for the party. So we had to help get food and set everything up for the big party! It ended up being so great! We cooked outside over the fire and made just alot of traditional food like samp, and morogo, and chicken and things like that. It was all super good!! The sisters even let us help then cook which was so cool! It really was an African party! We had music and dancing and everything it was so fun! They were just doing alot of dancing and singing and I had so much fun! Everyone was laughing because I told them im officially a Motswana so I of course was singing african songs with them! Ah! I love them all so much. I honestly love the people here and I feel like they are my family and that my family just got way bigger! It was pretty much the best party ever! I can't wait for next year :)

Also this week we had interviews with the mission president where he just sits and talks with each of us and sees how we are doing. It was really nice as always and he told me that he is really excited to see what happens with me and Sister Lyon. We both are brand new on mission but he has high hopes for both us of so I feel super motivated to work as hard as I can! Im super excited! We have a few baptisms coming up and so i'm super excited for those as well. We are teaching our group presidents sister and her name is Maipelo. She is great! She is very sweet and we have only taught a few times but I can tell she is going to grow so much. She just listens and smiles and says how beautiful it is and she said she already knows that she needs to be baptized. It is just so cute!!! I love her already! I just love everyone and im so happy! Teaching her just really made me see how important family is. Families are a gift from God and I wonder what heaven will be like if my family is not there. I dont think it would be very nice, so its so important that we share this gospel with them. That we bring our families together especially during this Christmas season. We should all remember that Christ is the reason. 

Ke a gorata,

Sister Scott

All I Want For Christmas..........

Dumela my lovely friends and family!

Well its about that time. Time for the holidays and Christmas season even though I will be having a very hot Christmas I definitely am pretty excited! So things have been pretty crazy and pretty hectic as well so this letter might be short and all over the place so my apologies! So today is transfer day so missionaries are leaving and guess what... IM STAYING HERE. haha. Almost all of the other missionaries are going to new areas but im staying in the same one still lol so either im doing really good or I've been forgotten haha. So yes I am getting a new companion again, I don't know who it will be so for the mean time me and Sister Lyon are going to be together again working in two areas, both Monarch and Francistown which is like the two of us covering both Little Rock and North Little Rock haha. So this will be fun! PLus Sister Vuki, the one from Tonga she is leaving! She left yesterday and her mission is over so im pretty sad but she stays in Utah so I will definitely see her again! But her parents are coming to get her so that's pretty exciting!

Anywho this week has been a crazy one indeed. Since last week we pretty much knew that Sister Twongeirwe was leaving so we tried to work really hard. Monday we had another braii and so we grilled meat and then watched a movie(only church approved) haha and just hung out. It was super nice. This week we really focused on a lot of less actives and just doing our best. The average for missionaries is to teach about 24 lessons and we hade like 34 so we were pretty much on fire. Its just amazing to me how many less actives there already are when the church has only been around a few years, maybe like 4. So that's something that I definitely want to change and also focus on. I don't want to leave burdens and just baptize anyone. I just want to bring people that will be stable and stay strong, that are truly converted to the gospel. So this week was also great because I finished the Book of Mormon. It took me about 3 months and 2 weeks. But it was so great! I just love it. My favorite chapters are Ether 12 and Moroni 7. They are pretty much the best. I learned so much about faith, charity and the atonement. Ah! I'm just really happy! Something that I learned the most is about patience. Sometimes its easy to just get upset and also just get impatient with people. Sometimes its easy to just stop teaching someone after they dot do what you ask, or they wont come to church, or they wont read. But something I realized is that God is very patient with me so I need to be patient with other people as well. Sometimes I forget that its not my mission at all but that it is HIS mission. So my goal is to do what he would do and say what he would say and be an example of Christ.

I love this work and I see the spirit working in and through us everyday. This week something pretty amazing happened. So im learning Setswana. Little by little and when I say little I mean little haha. I know just random words and things like that. So we have two investigators, a mother and daughter and they barely speak English at all. So we went this week to check on them and we didn't have a member with us to translate so we were just planning on making an appointment. So we go and talk to them and they tell us they want us to teach. So honestly I went into panic mode. I was just thinking, "They don't understand us and we don't understand them we just need to come back." But they said they wanted us to teach and if we just teach slow they will be able to understand. So im panicking like 100% but I think, "Okay, here we go." So the lesson was on the Word of Wisdom so I started off teaching, completely overwhelmed and all. So as we keep teaching and talking to them, for the first time they were understanding everything we were saying. Even though they couldn't really understand English they understood and even talked back to us. That moment was so memorable and amazing. I know that it was only through the spirit that we could understand one another and even get them to commit to living it. I just have a testimony that God definitely makes a way for his righteous purposes. We are just instruments in his hands. We are that clay in his hands and he molds us into who he wants us to be.

But anyway things are going pretty great! Sorry this letter is short but things are pretty crazy!  Also thanks everyone for the letters they are wonderful! So thank you all and I love you all! Ke a gorata!

Lorato

Sister Scott

Happy Chicken Day

Dumela all you wonderful people :)

So this week was probably the craziest week ever!! So much has happened and I don't even know where to start! First off I was slightly depressed that this week was Thanksgiving and I had no idea what we would do to celebrate and so it was just too sad! Haha but I tried to focus on other things like our baptism!!! So Tuesday we went and Tshenolo had his interview and he passed! I literally have never felt so much joy in my life! I was so excited and happy for him. Just seeing him from the first day until then was so amazing!

But life continued on as normal until Wednesday Elder Davis one of the Senior missionarires called and he told us that a missionary who was serving in Ghana was coming back home to  Monarch where I am serving. He said that he would be home Thursday and so we could go to the airport and welcome him home. So we thought it would be so cool so then we decided that maybe we should organize like a welcome home party or something at the airport for him so we decided we would find his family. We knew that he wouldn't be back until Thursday night so we figured we had two days, but something just told us to go ahead and plan it all out. So we actually cancelled our appointment and tried calling around town and talking to members to see if anyone know the Elders family so that we could tell them he was coming back. So after many calls and driving all over town we finally found his brother and his sister. They told us their mom had passed away so we told them that we would take them to the airport tomorrow to meet him since they were not members. So they agreed. We felt good. Our service was done. Well... we thought wrong! A few hours later Elder Davis calls us back and tells us that the Elder was coming home today, in like 2 hours! Seriously my heart dropped. I couldn't believe it. So we definitely went into panic mode. We went and bought posters and markers and balloons and made signs for him, the fastest and craziest posters I have ever seen and rushed to the airport with his family. And it was all worth it. When he got off the plane and saw his family his face was definitely priceless. At that moment I was so happy. It was only all possible because of the spirit. If we hadn't listened to that prompting to find his family no one would have been at the airport to meet him and he doesn't even know it was all us, but it doesn't even matter. It was definitely God. :)

    So as if my week was already crazy enough Thursday was Thanksgiving! I was so super sad and so me and all the sisters got together and we decided we needed to do something! So no one here even knows what turkeys are but guess what are on every street running wild...CHICKENS! So what did we decide to do? Have a Happy Chicken Day :) (Warning this part is not suitable for children under 18: So we actually got a live chicken and one of the sisters ......... yeah and then we cooked it )  :) Haha. Let me just say, I will not look at chicken the same. So we had a real thanksgiving! We had roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, corn, rolls, sweet potatoes and PUMPKIN PIE. (Pumpkin sent from America to one of the sisters.) So it was the best thanksgiving ever and my first one in Africa that I will never forget!

And if that wasn't enough, Saturday was my baptism! It was really special and just great! I truly love the work and I truly love being here! I'm still continuing my Book of Mormon reading and I honestly have been struggling trying to find what part is my absolute favorite and this week I was continuing in Ether. Ether chapter 12 which Is probably the best part ever written. It really talks about faith, and how faith brings miracles. Faith seems so small, but it is something so great. Faith and Hope together can bring miracles. In the Preach My Gospel it defines hope as the abiding trust that all things will work together for your good. When we trust God and we know that he will take care of us he will work miracles in our lives. Faith can be our anchor that hold us strong and steadfast and we will be immovable. I love Faith. I want to grow my faith and I know that Faith brings miracles!! So I encourage everyone to nourish and strengthen their faith. Be immovable for God. I love you all! And thanks for the wonderful letters and cards! They are great! It is great to hear from you! I wish everyone a good day!

Ke a gorata,

Sister Scott

(P.S. Transfers are again next Monday so we might get new companions againnnnnn)

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

FUN STUFF

                                            African Chewing Gum

                                          Krystal and Sister Two

                                               Sister Scott at the African School

                           

MAPAKIWA FOR THE WEARY

Dumela my lovely friends and family!

 

 

So this week has been another long but very great week to say the least! We work so hard but its not work it is just fun! However this week was very nice for a few reasons!

 

It started off kind of slow but Monday we got to all go together as Sisters and climb a hill called Nyamgabwe Hill. It is sort of like Pinnacle Mountain except it is way steeper! We actually climbed twice and it was a lot of fun. (Tiring but fun). Then on Wednesday I got to do exchanges again! This time I went with Sister Two to her area which is Gerald. Lets just say it was the craziest day ever! All of our appointments fell through so we tracted ALL DAY LONG. We knocked on door, after door and taught lesson after lesson. I was so happy it was the first day it wasn't burning hot because I might not have made it! haha. We also took a member with us named Lydia so we had sooo much fun!!! We didn't have time to go home for lunch so we went to a little African Tuck Shop (stores on the side of the road) and we bought Mapakiwa. Mapakiwa is a type of bread that the Africans cook and it is sort of sweet which makes it yummy! We literally bought a bag of them and kept teaching! It was so great! I had so much fun and we met lots of people and so that is always a great thing as well! I love Sister Two she is the coolest missionary ever! Hopefully we will get to work together again!

 . Oh by the way, thanks for the cards and packages And tell everyone I said thanks who signed the birthday card it was sooooo sweet! I really appreciated it! Also this week we had our Zone Conference so all the missionaries in our zone which is 3 areas we all got together and the mission president taught us and we all learned more about becoming better teachers! I really enjoyed it and learned so much. One thing we really learned a lot about was Charity. Christ was the perfect example of charity and we all want to become like him. But how can you become like someone is you don't know them, so in order to become like Christ we have to study his life!!! I really loved it and I know that is my new goal. To truly become charitable and also become like Christ.

Also this week we got to see the Relief Society broadcast which was AMAZING! I really enjoyed it all so much and the importance placed on keeping our covenants. Baptism is truly a lifelong covenant and it is really important that we are living up to our covenants in Mosiah 18:8-10.

 

I guess this week was not too exciting since we are still trying to find more people to teach all the time! The work is slow but it is definitely growing and I am seeing a change in so many people and it is amazing to be able to take part in it! Something that was on my mind was definitely the importance of Missionary work. All of the prophets have been emphasizing it a lot and in conference they said that the gospel is now in 197 countries and nations. There are only 224 nations on the world. Christ has promised that he will come back as soon as the gospel as reached every nation, country, and clime. Do you realize how close that is?? It just makes me so excited because the second coming is soon! I know that I am out here not only preparing people but I am also better preparing myself because when he comes it will be a marvelous day. So I encourage everyone, everywhere to do your part. It is almost time and it is up to all of us! How grateful I am to be a part of the Lords work and gathering his children. I am so grateful to be here and I know that Christ lives. He is our Savior and he died for each and every one of us. He loves us so much. How grateful we should all be! I wish you all a great week and encourage everyone to show Christ the love that he shows us each day that he wakes us up! :)

 

Sincerely,

Sister Scott

Missionary work,Marriage,Family &Repentance

Dumela my lovely family and friends!!

 

 

Well this week by far has been the craziest one ever! Last week was definitely not as intriguing!!! So here we go!

 

So last time we left off I told you about not having electricity and thankfully we got it back on Monday afternoon so things were great... until we are driving home and we see a massive hole in the road with tons of water spilling out. All of these workers are there trying to fix it and so we just keep going home. Once we get there, its just our luck... WE HAVE NO WATER. Yes. No water. Not anywhere and so that was just great! After deep contemplation over what we should do we figured we should probably call someone and we ended up staying home but we had to go to the senior couple (The Davis's) to shower and all that stuff. I just knew the week would go downhill from there.

 

Not to mention the mosquitoes are so horribly bad here that I counted 25 bites all over my body so yeah that's super fun :) But other than all of that haha my week had some bright moments. We were able to put one of our investigators, Lebo on date! We met her right when I got here and when we first met her we really didn't know what to do! She is probably like 36 or so and she has two kids. She didn't believe in God and she didn't like churches. She didn't know how to pray and she wasn't really interested. But WOW I love that girl. She has grown so much and I honestly love her!!! We have seen her grow so much and now she prays and reads the book of Mormon and I'm so excited for her to get baptized! She makes me so happy. Whenever we go to her house she calls me here sister and it just makes me see how the gospel can change people. Also we were able to put our other investigator Adam on date as well. He has stopped smoking and he is so happy! He honestly dances when were at his house and he says the gospel makes him "free." Its honestly the coolest thing I have ever seen and it strengthens my testimony 100%. It just makes me so happy and grateful to be here.

 

Also we finally got to see GENERAL CONFERENCE :)) I have to be honest. I never really realized how important it was before mission. Back home I could just record it and watch it whenever and I never really realized how important it was but now that I teach people about prophets and the importance of them and why we need them it makes me think of Doctrine and Covenants 1:38. Everything that the prophet says is what God wants us to hear. When the prophet and apostles speak, its as if God is speaking and so I listen to every single thing and I encourage everyone to really do the same when the Ensign or Liahona comes out as well. Study it, and then APPLY it. The three main themes we found were: 1. Missionary Work 2. Marriage and Families 3. Repentance. My favorite talk (even though they are all great and equally important) was by Richard Maynes who is in the Presidency of the 70. He talked about how we have to keep our testimonies in shape and how we always have to be doing something to make them strong. It reminded me of the story of the children of Israel when they were in the wilderness and they had to gather manna everyday. They couldn't store it up because it would go bad, but they physically had to go out each day and gather it and it is very symbolic of all of our lives. 1. God wanted them to remember him. Everyday in order to eat they were reminded of God as they gathered the manna. So we as well need to be reminded of God everyday. We need to do things everyday to remember him.

2. We cant store up spiritual food, we have to be fed daily. The children of Israel couldn't store the food or it would go bad. We as well have to be spiritually fed each and everyday. We cant go to church on Sunday for three hours and expect it to "feed" us the whole week. We cant read our scriptures for 5 hours and expect that to be good for a few days. We physically eat each day, and we need to spiritually eat each day as well.

 

So overall I loved conference and I had a hard yet fulfilling week! The work is good and I hope to continue to get better! As President Monson said in conference, "We all need to ask ourselves, Shall I falter or shall I finish?"

 

I know that I will finish because I know that the church is true. I know the gospel is true and I know that this is the one true church on the earth today. And I will tell it to all the world.

 

P.S. A lot of people have asked for my address and it is:

Sister Krystal Janel Scott

Botswana/Namibia Mission

P.O. Box 301797

Selepa Francistown

BOTSWANA Africa

 

Love you all and I appreciate the support!

 

Love, Sister Scott <3

LIGHTS OUT

Dumela my dear family and friends!

 

 

Well this week was definitely not the most exciting but it was still great!!!! This week has been hotter than ever! Summer just started and its already 110 almost everyday and everyone says it will only get hotter which is SCARY!!!!

 

 

Anywho this week was very productive and fun!! I got to do exchanges again this week with Sister Vuki (the one from Tonga) and she came to my area this time and so I was the lead companion. I can honestly say it was the greatest day EVER! We didn't have many appointments because a lot of our investigators have not been progressing (coming to church, reading, keeping commitements) so we dropped almost all of them so that means tracting every day to find new people!! So me and Sister Vuki spent almost the whole day tracting and teaching people. It was so great! We found lots of father led families and also potential father leds so we were pretty excited! One family in particular we found was the Mogaruwa family. We knocked on their gate and they opened it and let us in. They live in a really nice area which is rare for Botswana and they had a really big nice house and the husband invited us inside. We went in and they have a beautiful home with lots of nice things and they were so friendly. As we introduced ourselves and started talking to them we were able to answer alot of their questions and also feel the spirit very strong. They really understood and responded well which was great! They were just great and I knew we were led to them for a reason so im excited to go back and see what happens!

 

So things have been really slow and nothing big has happened but hopefully i'll have big news soon!! One crazy thing that did happen though was our power ran out! In Botswana you don't get electricity and then pay. Here you buy electricity for a certain price and then once you use it all your power just turns off and we don't control it, the mission does and so yeah, they forgot to buy us power and me and my companion were just in our flat and the power went out! So we have been staying at the other sisters flat until they get it back on which has been fun haha.. So this happened Saturday and I just knew my luck was bad when we went to church yesterday and we go in and sit down and church starts and the first counselor comes and whispers to us (Oh, by the way you guys are speaking. Sorry we forgot to tell you." Um.. can you say heart attack? I honestly just didn't know what to do because none of us expected it so we literally had 5 minutes to figure out a topic and go speak in sacrament and I was SECOND! Haha. The joys of being a missionary right? So I chose Faith and I actually talked for a while and everyone said I did very well afterwards and they told us we are like soldiers because we are always prepared. Haha. I knew God was watching out for us because there is no way I could have done that alone!

 

 

But of course I have continued to grow more and more each week. I learn so much and I can tell I am getting better at teaching and also at listening to the spirit. The Sister Missionary Training Leader told me that she wished she was as good as me when she started so I hope that I continue to get better and I know that I will as my love for the people and the country grows. I feel like I love them all already! I'm close to a lot of them and I truly know that this is where I'm suppose to be and I'm so happy to be here (even in the heat) :) haha. But yes. Just a spiritual thought before I go. I have been reading in Alma and In chapter 37 verses 44 and 45 it compares the words of Christ/ or the gospel to a compass. If you follow a compass it tells you where to go and points you to your destination. If we follow the words of Christ they will point us as well in the right direction. To our Heavenly Father and so we should remember living the gospel is easy! Just follow and DO IT!

 

So I know that this is true and I know that the Book of Mormon is true as well. It truly will bring us closer to God than any other book. So if you haven't read it, I encourage you to do it!! :)

 

Thanks for all the emails and love! Love and miss you all!

 

Love, Sister Scott

2 MONTHS

Dumela Everyone!!!! 

Well this week has been the craziest and weirdest week I think i have ever had! So many crazy things happened I dont even know where to start. First off thanks to everyone who wished me a happy birthday! It was super thoughtful and I really appreciate it! I cant believe im 20 and I celebrated it in Africa!!!! It definitely will be a year I always remember. 

Well like I said this week has been the craziest week ever! I started the week off super happy and excited but that was until Tuesday when I got my first ticket ever!!! I was driving me and my companion to the store and i stopped at the stop sign and i looked both ways and then I start driving. I look up and the police are pulling us over and they said that i didnt stop long enough at the stop sign and they wrote me a ticket! It was pretty crazy! Luckily another officer was nice enough to change the amount I would have to pay from 1000 to 100 so yeah... I officially got my first ticket in my whole life!

So yeah Wednesday was my 20th birthday! I would have to say it was pretty great! Me and all the sisters went out to eat for lunch at a nice restaurant called Nando's and everyone was just so nice it was great! All of the sisters called me that are all over Botswana, even the ones I don't know to tell me happy birthday! And also the Mission president and his wife (who know i love zebra... well everyone does) they live far away from us but they had some other sisters drive down and bring me a birthday card that had REAL ZEBRAS on it! They even called me and it was sooo super nice! So over all I had a pretty great day! I feel like it was probably the best birthday I've ever had because I really didn't focus on myself. I taught lessons all day and also one of our recent converts needed help cleaning and so we went and helped her do her wash and everything else. It really was a great day and a great experience. I just love  MY MISSION!!!

On the other hand things were also very wierd... Me and my companion woke up this week and we tried to open the front door and it wont open! When you turn the knob the lock doesnt even move so we havent been able to get out of the door all week, we have to go around the back of the flat which is crazy and we dont know when it will get fixed! Also since it was the end of six weeks we had transfers! Since i'm still training I didnt move but we did have a few elders that did so we got two brand new elders that just turned 18 like 2 months ago!! Its so crazy because they look so young and it is just amazing to think that God wants all of us young ones in his army! I feel so privileged :) 

                             

                                            Gaborone at night

But this week was good for alot of other reasons! I know I don't talk about alot of the people we teach but there were a few things this week that were just pretty amazing and mind blowing. So two of our investigators, Gorata and Motlepula, we have been teaching for about 2 months. So this week we had a lesson about the atonement. We taught about how the atonement means nothing if we don't use it. If we don't repent for our sins then the whole atonement really has no meaning. So we have been going to see them a couple of times a week and so we asked them if they had prayed about anything that we had taught them. So the mother, Motlepula she said no. And of course me and my companion Sister Gehring were kind of surprised and we were just about to tell her how she will never know if she doesnt pray when she said "I prayed about it the first time you came. When you left, later on that night I prayed to know if the things were true. I had a dream. It frightened me because in my dream I saw a white man and he was dressed in all white. He came to me and told me that the people who came and taught me that what they're teaching is true. What they are telling you is true. So i haven't prayed about it again." Both me and my companion just were shocked. I didn't know what to say. But i knew that it was true. 

Also we have been teaching a lady named Ma Musi and her fried Parks (boyfriend) and we actually have seen her a few times but we go slow because they have great potential and we want them to REALLY get it. They are an older couple like 50's and last night we taught them about the Restoration. It was probably one of the best lessons we had. We taught with power and they really understood and so when we got close to finishing I asked them to read Moroni 10:3-5 and they did and they really understood. Then all of a sudden I just felt the spirit hit me so strong to talk about Joseph Smith as well. So I did and I explained to her that when she reads and prays and ponders she will know that Joseph was a prophet and that this is the true church, Jesus Christ church back on the earth today. The spirit was so strong and we knew they all felt it too. Then we committed her to baptism and she said yes. I honestly love this mission. The spirit that you get is so different and I truly know we are instruments in the hands of God. I feel the spirit work through me and it has to be the greatest thing ever. 

There was also another experience that stuck out for me as well. We have another investigator named Ishmael Adam. He has 6 kids and he is married but he is the only one really interested. He has been struggling with smoking and we have been having a hard time trying to figure out how to help him so this week we did a lesson on trusting God and how God will help us through hard times. So we taught, and taught and taught and we got to a minute where we were all quiet just sitting there, and he was just sitting there thinking. I didnt feel like he really understood what we were trying to say and I didnt know what else to do so i turned towards my scriptures and at that very instant the wind blew the pages over and it landed on a page in my scriptures that wasnt marked, it was blank except for three little lines in red. I looked at the scripture and it was Alma 36:3 and the three tings were..."... for i do know that whosoever shall put his trust in God shall be supported in their trials, and their troubles, and their afflictions, and shall be lifted up at the last day." I dont know if it was a coincidence or if it was meant to happen but that scripture fit perfectly and I shared it with him. And I truly felt the power in that moment! It was great! 

So overall this week has been one with ups and downs and my two months mark is tommorow! Time is going fast but im truly grateful to be here and I know that God sent me here for reason and that I have learned so much more than I could ever imagine and there really is no where I would rather be! How great is my calling! 

Love,

Sister Scott 

Life in Botswana

Pizza with my Sisters

The Animal Park

My Prayer Rock

Independence Day In Botswana

Hello again!!!!

 

Well its another week and im back again!!!! Today is Botswana Independence day so everything is closed down and since there are no such things as 24 hour stores we have email really early! So much has happened though so I will try to write as much as possible.

 

Last Monday was perhaps the greatest! All of us missionaries went to Tantabane Game Ranch which is an animal park/ resort where people can go and hang out. So all of us sisters and elders went up and spent the day there! It was beautiful! There was a big body of water and lots of trees and it was great! Since it was not a zoo and a real park we were pretty much out in the wild! We saw giraffes and impalas and zebras! We saw other things too but im not sure what they all were but sadly since they are all wild we couldn't even get a picture because they were all too FAST! Haha. But I reallllllly enjoyed it!!! We got to play volleyball and go on a hike around the land. Then the elders all cooked meat for us and we all sat and had dinner together. It was really a great experience and I enjoyed it so so much! Of course they cooked the food and made us bring dessert but it was nice :)

 

Also this week was probably crazy for many other reasons as well!!! Me and my companion decided we wanted to be real Africans and so we wanted to cook African food! So most people here grow their own vegetables and eat them and there is a plant here called Morogo (sounds like Moroho; G is pronounced H) that everyone eats like every single day so me and Sister Gehring decided to get some and try it. So one of the members sells it and so we went and got some from her. Her son was there and so he just pulled it straight from the ground and gave it to us. I didn't know what the other stuff was and I asked and he just started pulling it all out of the ground and giving it to us!!!!! So we see the power of asking questions :) Anyway he gave us tips on how to cook it and everything and we did and it was actually great!!!! I am sending a picture of our finished product if you can figure out how to upload it my dear mother :)

 

So Friday I also got to do exchanges again but this time I didn't leave my area and the other sister came to my area and her name is Sister Twongeiere. She is from Ugandaand she has been out for 8 months and we spent 24 hours together and this time I was in charge!!! It was probably the craziest day ever! We had a lot of fun and it gave me some practice for when I become a senior companion. She also taught me more Setswana so hey im trying hard to learn!!! Fridays are also the day we have district meeting with all of the elders and sisters in the area and this week was super crazy because one of the elders is going home today and so Friday we had a funeral!!! We all wore black and had candles and a bathtub for the casket and he actually laid in it while we did eulogies! It was totally funny!!!!! I had so much fun though!! This week was so crazy! But so fun!!!

Also me and my companion had a great experience and learned not to be disobedient haha. So Saturday night we had a appointment and it got done later like a little after 7 and so our curfew is 7 so we were rushing home but them we realized that we were almost on empty so we stopped to get gas! So we get gas and fill up and then we try to pay and the card machine doesn't even work! They try it again and it doesn't work and of course missionaries don't carry cash so we didn't have any money at all!! So here we are panicking and so I try to call the senior couple missionaries and they tell us that we should try to talk the people into letting us leave and come back! That was the advice haha. So me and my companion were just so scared and we tried to talk to the people and of course they said no! So then we decided to pray. So we sat in the car and we prayed and then we thought maybe we should call the elders. So I call them and they were great! They told us to wait there and they would come get us! So they ended up coming and bringing us the money so we could go home! So I was definitely grateful and learned to always check your gas hand and always ask if the card machine works before hand!

 

So im learning a lot and getting lots of experience! So on the spiritual side of things I feel as though I am really growing stronger not only in my knowledge of the gospel but also just growing in my ability to work with the spirit. We have been dropping a lot of people and so we really haven't had many people to teach so me and my companion decided to pray specifically to find a father led family. So we decided to go tracting on Wednesday and before we got out we prayed specifically to find a family. That is probably the hardest thing to ever do is find a complete family! So we got out and we tracted and found some people who were interested but no family. So we had an appointment coming up and so we said we would try one more road and we knocked and knocked and no luck. So then we got to the last house and the gate was partially open and so we weren't sure if we should go in. So my companion heard and man and was like "There's a father!" So I was like lets go in. So we go in and we walk around the house to the front of it and we see a whole family! All of the kids and the father and the mother but the mother didn't have any clothes on!!! (Sidenote: This is a cultural thing in Africa. Most people do not wear clothes at home especially women and they don't cover themselves up even when they are breastfeeding and things like that). So we were standing there and we weren't sure what to do but something told me to just keep going! haha. So we sat down and started talking to them and eventually she put clothes on but hey, we found a father led family! So that is one thing that I have definitely learned! We have been specifically called and set apart to be missionaries! God will always help us because we are working with him! We have been given the authority to do this work and I am remined of that everyday!

 

So yeah this week was good. Plus my birthday is in 2 whole days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Im really excited!!

I will have my first birthday in Africa :) And it rained for the first time ever so its been a good week. A really good week! Well, until next time!

BEING BOLD

Dumela!

 

 

Greetings all on the other side of the world!!! Well this week has been a week to say the least! I am really enjoying my mission even though we have our ups and downs I definitely can not complain! So this week me and my companion Sister Gehring have been focusing our teaching method. As a missionary it is easy to get scared when your teaching people. Scared to be bold with them and just tell them like it is. When they don't read or when they ask a hard question we tend to sugarcoat it and so this week our goal was to be BOLD and teach with authority. In Preach My Gospel it tells us that if we don't teach with authority then the spirit can not testify and so this week we have been BOLD and we have definitely seen the difference. We teach better together and we also feel the spirit through our whole lessons. I don't even plan what I will say anymore I just feel it in my heart and then just speak and everything I say I can feel and so I know that they can as well. I was reading in my scriptures and I read Jacob 1:19 and he talks about our power and authority. If we don't teach the gospel we answer the sins of those people on our heads and I know that that is a huge responsibility. Jacob 2 talks about the Lords vineyard and I thought this week how I have been called of God to care for this part of his vineyard. It is up to me to plant the seeds and nourish and care for his children and so I definitely do not take it lightly because one day I will be held responsible. Missionary work is GREAT! This has however led us to drop a lot of people this week (stop seeing them) but if they are not serious about the gospel we have to find people that are. So we are going to be doing a lot of finding this week (aka tracting).

 

Another thing that has been amazing is just the spirit that I feel now. We learned that when you truly understand the Atonement it changes you. So I spent a lot of time studying it and I got the impression that we should start teaching the Atonement to everyone. Members and nonmembers and my companion liked the idea and so that is what we have started. I can honestly say that I have learned so much more, and my eyes and heart have been opened. The Atonement was such a monumental event and it is really one of the most powerful lessons I teach. The spirit is always sooo strong so I will continue to do this :)

 

Also this week was great because we worked our butts off! Me and my companion are doing great with lessons. We have to keep track of lessons taught with members, other lessons, and the number of new people we find! We are doing the best out of everyone! She even said that this is the best she has done on her whole mission which I think is great since she has been out 5 months already and its just my first month!! 

 

Oh by the way it is HOTTTTT. Honestly it is probably over 100 every single day and it never gets better. Even at night and we can't open the windows because the mosquitoes are like monsters! But yeah that is about all that has happened! The mission president gave us permission to have a braii today though (bbq) so after this were going to go to this animal park and bbq and play games! Im super excitied. Crossing my fingers that I see a zebra!!!!!! Anyway my birthday is next week and I cant wait!!!!!! :) Thanks for all the emails and love everyone! I miss you all and you're always in my thoughts! Stay well!!!

 

Love,

Sister Scott