Uping Our Game, A Little R&B, Singing and Jamming in the Streets, Our Apppomtments Needed to Drop and the Warm Heart of Africa

Hey family this week was great so sit down it's gonna be a long way till the end (catch the pun). So first of all, I'm super sweaty! We spent the morning with the other two missionaries in our now  four person district watering a members garden. Translation drawing water from a well and carrying it to the maize field and watering each individual stock. But it was great! i like being able to do some physical labor.

A lot of miracles happened this week. On Tuesday, we went to see a recent convert and we showed up to the house and a man let us in and we were like, umm does our recent convert  still live here? Turns out she had moved but this man and his son are super interested in the church and we are teaching them. Also in the last few weeks we have been uping our game to network Kauma and contact everyone. We are at a point where we talk to everyone and have established contacts everywhere. People know us in Kauma and they all talk so we have more people than there is time in the week to see. We currently have eight people on date for baptism in November.

On Friday, I went on exchanges with Elder Tidwell, he is only six weeks older than me on his mission and a fellow Utah state Aggie and the two of us kicked some butt. First, we went to see a young man who has been struggling with the lessons so we decided we need to make him comfortable and get to know him better. Once we had built that relationship of trust we began reteaching the Plan of salvation we took one out of Dad's old Family home evening when we were younger book and broke out crayons and started having him draw it out. It was a blast and it really drew him out of his shell. And most importantly, he finally saw why we weere teaching him and committed to baptism! Teach people not lessons.

We also met two great new investigators by talking about music. We had passed them listening to some R&b and Elder Tidwell broke out singing along and we started jamming with them in the street and began teaching them about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We even jumped rope with a bunch of little kids. All those little things make a difference in showing people that we are not tourists, charity worker, businessmen, students, or whatever else. Rather, we are here to invite them to come unto Christ. We had a guy tell us that we needed to smoke a joint....yea we didn't end up teaching him.

On Sunday though i had one of the most profound spiritual experiences of my mission. So we had met a man a little while ago who had been taught previously but there had been no record. He is super smart and studies the scriptures very seriously. He was supposed to go on a trip to the northern region but then he showed up to church on Sunday. During Priesthood lesson, I was given a 2 minute heads up and randomly opened the manual and taught a lesson on love and family commitment. Afterwards,  he had disappeared. As we were in the area, every one of our lessons and backup fell through and we were just wandering along the road when he saw us and told us he needed to talk. He began asking a lot of questions and then he said "my trip got cancelled and i don't know why because i wasn't planning on it being cancelled  but i went to church and the messages started hitting me hard in the heart like it was God slamming my conscience and then i saw you on the road." It turns out he had some past transgressions that where coming up and he really wants to repent and follow Christ. I was pretty floored and looked him in the eye and told him that there is no such thing as coincidence, his trip needed to be canceled, he needed to be at church, the messages that were shared were because he needed them, I needed to teach the lesson I did, our appointments needed to drop, and we needed to be on the road at that time. Miracles still happen! I can testify of that. I told him that this was God speaking to him and showing him the path he needed to take to be forgiven. He is so humble and ready to do whatever it takes to repent.

That was a big life changer for me.

God loves all his children and is there to guide them back to him.

I love being a missionary here in Lilongwe! It is the best thing I have ever done. There are so many miracles and blessings (like when your comp makes enchiladas!) and it's the best. The opportunity to wake up, study the words of Christ, wear his name on your chest and walk around all day talking to everyone you meet about Him.............priceless. I have also seen the members of the Church grow here as they learn to accept the responsibilities that come in the church. It's coming slow but they are faithful and learning. Our branch has several young men preparing their mission papers now.  Big love coming to you from yours truly here in the warm heart of Africa

Elder Lusk 

Even the Drunks Love the Missionaries, A Christ-Like Missoinary vs Doing Missionary Things and Studying More Than I Ever Did in High School

hey family-well this last week was pretty amazing. First mom i got your lettern from august 4th (really fast delivery here) it's funny God has a sense of humor the time i got it we where at our flat with no lunch and the letter was half about food...anyway so last week we had lost our phone in the area which made it hard to make plans. So we exersised our faith and applied 1 nephi 4:6 about beng lead by the spirit not knowing where to go and alot of things happened. We just happened to find alot of people we had not been able to find. Like the man that had randomly come to church two weeks ago then showed up at the chips stand where we were getting lunch and is now being taught. Or passing your golden investigator on your way to his house. Or that one person you saw a month ago randomly came back to church. The biggest blessing has been teaching two wonderful families. The gospel is all about families and it is amazing to see it bless them all together. First, the lady we met a few weeks ago is now doing great with her family and is just eating the gospel up with zeal and has been to church twice. The husband works as a gardener at a library and reads the sciptures durning breaks with his friends. The other family we meet through their son, who is a branch missionary. It is amazing to see this young man testify of Christ to his family. We really don't have to do much work, the spirit is so strong. We also got to help a less active family paint her house to water proof it before the rains come. That was a great experience and really helped build trust with her and she thanked us with a big plate of Nshima...ah malawi. I love these people they just love to talk to you even the drunks love the missionaries here and we've meet alot of those. Also another small miracle is when  elder ketchum and i were out of bread on friday which is big because we go through at least two loaves a week so we're at the neighboorhood grocery picking up some things at the end of a long succsessful day teaching and there is no bread left......and we don't know what to do and so after asking around we went to check out when we saw a loaf of bread sitting by the counter unclaimed.....miracles. We aslo got to teach a great lesson with our branch president who served his mission in Uganda. He was very powerful as we taught a sweet sister about the plan of salvation. By the end of it she was crying tears of joy as she felt her Savior's love for her. unfortunatley she will be moving down to Blantyre the end of the month but luckily we will be able to send her to the missionaries down there. We also got to watch conmfrence this weekend. This was the first time in my life confrence really meant something to me. Sitting in a small house in Lilongwe, malawi instead of sprawled on the couch eating food i was really looking to be spiritualy uplifted. It was so great o\to hear of the many talks about repentance, joy, faith , and missionary work. i especailly loved Elder Nelsons talk about finding joy in the gospel through troubling times . I really found that true on my mission if you focus on the savior the hard times melt away to open your eyes to the blessings of living the gospel. I found an acranym the other day Spirtualy Minded Is Life Eternal-SMILE. The gospel does bring joy and strength through trails.  ive  seen it everyday that i've been here in Africa. Now to the fun side of missions because there is alot of fun:  on saturday night the Elders in our zone went out for a big Indian buffet (alot of indian food here lots of forgieners plus african love curry) and i ate a stupid amount. As i was busy stuffing myself with Naan and spiced mutton i refected on how fast ive come to feel at home. one things i love about missions is the brotherhood and belonging. I noticed it back in the airport in Atlanta;  there is a strong bond between at the missionaries because our united purpose. Also in my personal study i've been study the concept of becoming a christlike missionary, not just doing missionary things. It's great i'm studying more that i ever did in high school....oh well i love you all 

elder lusk 

Blazing Hot, Walking and Teaching Through the Flu and Priceless Moments

hey fam!  so this week was a little slow but it's all great here in Lilongwe. To start, hot season is in full swing for the next month and it is blazing hot. I'm carrying a liter of water with me when we go out and it still isn't enough. The only solace is the rains come next month and then i'll just get to deal with the mud. For missionary miracles this week. First off, a great young man we have been teaching a lot had not been allowed to come to church because his father. We had been praying for him and teaching a lot about faith through trails and when we saw him Tuesday his Dad had had a change of heart and he came to church this Sunday. We also started teaching the family and friends of one of our branch missionaries and they are supper golden. It's great because we have been really trying to teach families. Then with the sister we meet last week who was in need of a lot of help, we had tried to see her this week but we got told she moved. We thought, "well hopefully that can help her" and went on our way and  then she came to church this Sunday smiling brightly. Apparently she was able to move in with some members and she came with them. We are so happy she was able to get away from her situation and get to church. Another thought i had is how the people here love to sing and before i never did, but i love singing hymns in the homes of members and feeling their love and passion for the savior.  Also Africa and missions really have a way of giving you perspective So from Friday morning till about mid-Saturday i had a sudden bout of 24-hour fever-less flu. We were on exchanges on friday and i was working with a great Elder i know very well;  he's just a great guy and I start feeling terrible (headache, stomach, aches you name it) at first i'm like this is just the heat (don't worry mom i'm fine now and yes i am talking my doxy every morning) but it kept going. During that time, i had to lead the way through our area and just about every lesson we had lined up dropped. So we walked from one end of kauma to the other and back the whole time i'm dying and i ran out of water, Luckily mangoes are ripe now and super cheap so i could at least suck on a fresh mango. Finally we ended up having a beautiful meeting with a great family and during it whenever i was teaching i felt ok but when i stopped my symptoms came back. The whole day was one big trail of faith. before i got here had i felt like that there is no way i could have walked as much as i did in the heat carrying a bag and go from one dropped lesson to another and still teach. Our Heavenly Father really does strengthen and uphold his servants. I was finally able to get home shower, pump myself with fluids and ibuprofen, get a priesthood blessing and get to bed.i'm really grateful to be serving with the best missionaries ever. They where patient and loving with me as i struggled through the day and nursed me back. I am thankful for their willingness and worthiness to give me a blessing of health. i was able to get up the next day feeling almost completely better and was able to still work. This was really just a humbling week for me as a whole. it's great and i love it and wouldn't trade it at all. The moments you have on a mission are priceless. Even the times when you randomly hear "let it go" on a bus in the middle of Africa you could never appreciate that at home. 

Love you all so much!

elder Lusk

Elder Lusk's flat that he shares with his companion, Elder Ketchum.

Brother, I am A Malawian; Desperate Cry for Deliverance; and Humble as The Dust that Covers This Beautiful Place

mulibwonji mozingos! It was a great week and great end to my first six weeks in the field. First of all, i cant believe my first transfer is over it went so fast. I am totally different from that wide eyed kid that stepped off the plane six weeks ago. Sister Kupu, {our mission president's wife}, told us our first day that Africa changes you and she is definitely right. I love it! The other day my companion and i stopped by our new favorite nshima stand where we get lunch a lot. The lady who runs it loves us now because we are there a lot. So i come in and order a big plate of nshima and start pounding it down with gusto and this guy on the other side is like man this mozingo loves nshima like a Malawian! For some reason people always think it's crazy the white people eat nshima but then i was like "Brother I am a Malawian"! I also need to give a shutout to Brother Bruton and brother Hasledon for pounding scripture mastery into my head last year. I was in a lesson with and investigator who is doing good he just struggles with keeping the Sabbath day holy then suddenly i was transported back to seminary last year recite the words of Isaiah on the blessings of the Sabbath and was able to use them to share with him! We had a great week and were able to commit two more people to baptism! We also celebrated the end of the transfer with a district BBQ complete with steak, chicken and Nshima. The real high point came yesterday during fast Sunday. Fasting has always been hard for me especially on a mission where you're walking as much as I do. The day started with a great testimony meeting and then i got to participate in conferring the Melchizedek priesthood to five Brethren in the branch which was very powerful. Then our recent convert was called a branch missionary! Then i taught a gospel doctrine lesson on obedience which went very well considering i was given all of 30 seconds heads up. We also had two of the elders in our branch baptize a family of six which really was special to see the work of salvation come to them together. We also got to talk to a Japanese member who was visiting who has 3 p.h.d's and speaks 12 languages. Then we headed out working. At this point, i was tired and hungry but little did i know the miracles that would come. First we saw a man we had been teaching but hadn't been too serious with but then he came to church and when we sat down,he  said "i need to be baptized".....silence as me and Elder ketchum try to realize what just happened..then we had a great lesson and put him on date for November. Then we went off to meet a referal from the other Elders and we met a smiling middle aged women. We got back to her house and she started speaking Chichewa and handing us a piece of paper. On it written in broken English was her life story and it was the most heart wrenching thing i've ever read. Under her bright Malawian smile was an honest and desperate cry for deliverance to us as representatives of Christ. I truly saw her as a daughter of God and wanted to do everything i could to help her. Unfortunately there isn't much we could do to help her temporal needs ,but the branch president is working out some support for her. We did however testify to her of God's love for her and that deliverance and grace do come when we have faith. I walked out of the house humble as the dust that covers this beautiful place feeling an inner resolve to do all i can to "feed his sheep" with everything i had. After that we had finished the day and gotten delayed waiting for the other missionaries and we where tired but we where far from home and most buses stop about 615 and it was already 7. None of us had the energy to walk the 45 min back home and i said a quick prayer when suddenly the lights of a bus came in a time and place they normally aren't and i was like man i love fast Sunday blessings. I am so glad to be here int the warm heart of Africa the church is growing and the people are ready. The past six weeks i have really learned so much that i never knew. I went from the scared, homesick elder the first week to loving every second of Africa-even the heat but especially the people. Seeing how much ive grown im excited for the next 22 months

love Elder Lusk