Hey fam
I am now on the last week of my mission. More on that later. We had a fun week. We are now living with four elders in a tiny little flat which is a mixture of craziness and laughs but I think Heavenly Father understands because he is the one who sends out 18-20somethings to do his work.
We have a baptism this coming Saturday for one of the strongest sisters I have met out here. She's a widow who is super spiritually in tune. One of my first converts is now a Relief Society president and this one may join those ranks soon. Also, special because it will be my last baptism on my mission.
We had a ward BBQ on Saturday. At one point, I was sitting on the tailgate tossing aootball with another missionary while chicken was grilling, the sun was shining and it was pretty close to a perfect moment.
Now to some of my thoughts on finishing in a week:
I wasn't sure I'd make it here at times. It has been the hardest the hardest thing I've ever done in my life next to none. That being said, It has been the most fulfilling despite the frustrations. I know I've changed a lot and honestly its a lot like how I felt before I left where I was so ready to go start the next adventure but at the same time was terrified to find myself on the other side of the world doing all new things. I've come to love Africa and really understand people and who they are. I've found out that cultures change but people don't all that much. People still think and act the same no matter where you go.
Big shout out to all the congregations where I have served..Presidential Way (Lilongwe), Lilongwe, Blantyre 2nd, Kitwe and Matero. Also to all the companions who put up with me...Ketchum, Almedia, Chawaguta, Kigonya, Day, Jonah, Robins, Tidwell, Mbile and Burnard.Good Work boys! Its been a pleasure. Can't wait to see you on the other side!
Love Elder Lusk
Sunday, August 5, 2018
A Surprise Baptism, Team Lusk Took the Victory and Enjoying the Brotherhood
Hey fam
Time is getting short but I am trying my best to press on. We had a complete miracle this week. Alex, the young man we met last week, was baptized on Saturday! It was a surprise for us, too, but the time was right and he was ready. Last week, when we were planning, we put down to have a baptism although we didn't know who it would be but then when we were teaching him on Tuesday, we got the strong impression to commit him to be baptized on Saturday and he happily committed. It was such a sweet experience knowing he was led to us at this time and he was prepared on Sunday as he was an active participant in both gospel principles class and priesthood quorum. He even told us he wants to prepare to serve a mission.
The rest of the week was a little down and we had some disappointments. The other day, we were walking in the area after a few fall-throughs and were kind of bummed out so we just grabbed a couple of the local sandlot kids and split the teams and for about twenty minutes, played some soccer. To top it off, team Lusk took the 6-4 victory over team Burnard with yours truly adding two goals. We also started a companionship goal for talking to people. If we don't meet the goal, we have to sleep on the floor and have cold showers. I would say it is effective in getting us to open our mouths. My companion is also a champion eater so we have been enjoying that. Last night, we enjoyed a great night with our buddies, Elder Harmon and Elder Robins where we made a huge pile of food and hung out enjoying the brotherhood of service.
Love you all and see you soon
Elder Lusk
Time is getting short but I am trying my best to press on. We had a complete miracle this week. Alex, the young man we met last week, was baptized on Saturday! It was a surprise for us, too, but the time was right and he was ready. Last week, when we were planning, we put down to have a baptism although we didn't know who it would be but then when we were teaching him on Tuesday, we got the strong impression to commit him to be baptized on Saturday and he happily committed. It was such a sweet experience knowing he was led to us at this time and he was prepared on Sunday as he was an active participant in both gospel principles class and priesthood quorum. He even told us he wants to prepare to serve a mission.
The rest of the week was a little down and we had some disappointments. The other day, we were walking in the area after a few fall-throughs and were kind of bummed out so we just grabbed a couple of the local sandlot kids and split the teams and for about twenty minutes, played some soccer. To top it off, team Lusk took the 6-4 victory over team Burnard with yours truly adding two goals. We also started a companionship goal for talking to people. If we don't meet the goal, we have to sleep on the floor and have cold showers. I would say it is effective in getting us to open our mouths. My companion is also a champion eater so we have been enjoying that. Last night, we enjoyed a great night with our buddies, Elder Harmon and Elder Robins where we made a huge pile of food and hung out enjoying the brotherhood of service.
Love you all and see you soon
Elder Lusk
Disturbing the Peace, Can I Have a Fry?, The Atonement, and Anacondas and Crocodiles
Hey fam
We had a great week, went way hard and had a lot of fun. First, our baptism went great despite the freezing water. Luckily cold season Is almost over. The baptism was special seeing the little sister now follow her older sister's footsteps into the waters of baptism in order to follow the Savior.
We had a lot of fun "disturbing the peace" to find people. For example, a couple was walking by and I just walked up and started holding the guy's hand without saying anything or even looking at him. After a few steps, I started busting up laughing then soon he followed and we ended up having a nice chat and have an appointment this week with him. Another time, a guy was sitting in his car eating lunch and I just went up and asked for a fry and he gave me one so we just started talking.One of the most powerful experiences of my mission though was we met this young guy who just looked way sad so we sat down with him and he shared with us some pain he was unnecessarily carrying after a recent traumatic experience that him jarred because he felt responsible. We had a great lesson with him and were able to testify of the Atonement and later he even told us how he's looking for a church. We met with him later and his whole countenance had changed to one of joy and he had read and understood the whole Plan of Salvation pamphlet. It was just one of those validating experiences of ministering and being in the right place at the right time to reach the one. We also had my last zone conference and that was way good. Giving my last testimony was weird but it felt good and after the conference, the Kupus took both zones to Kalimba Farms, a reptile park where we saw some crazy snakes including an anaconda and some big old Nile Crocs and then we played some soccer.
On top of that, I'm having a blast. The four of us in Matero ward are all good buddies and we're just enjoying life and working hard, gyming every morning and we're getting fed a ton by our ward. Seriously, dinners almost every night here. Also, on the fourth, we belted out the Anthem so loud, the neighbors heard. As a wise man once said, never apologize for being patriotic.
Love you all
Elder Lusk
We had a great week, went way hard and had a lot of fun. First, our baptism went great despite the freezing water. Luckily cold season Is almost over. The baptism was special seeing the little sister now follow her older sister's footsteps into the waters of baptism in order to follow the Savior.
We had a lot of fun "disturbing the peace" to find people. For example, a couple was walking by and I just walked up and started holding the guy's hand without saying anything or even looking at him. After a few steps, I started busting up laughing then soon he followed and we ended up having a nice chat and have an appointment this week with him. Another time, a guy was sitting in his car eating lunch and I just went up and asked for a fry and he gave me one so we just started talking.One of the most powerful experiences of my mission though was we met this young guy who just looked way sad so we sat down with him and he shared with us some pain he was unnecessarily carrying after a recent traumatic experience that him jarred because he felt responsible. We had a great lesson with him and were able to testify of the Atonement and later he even told us how he's looking for a church. We met with him later and his whole countenance had changed to one of joy and he had read and understood the whole Plan of Salvation pamphlet. It was just one of those validating experiences of ministering and being in the right place at the right time to reach the one. We also had my last zone conference and that was way good. Giving my last testimony was weird but it felt good and after the conference, the Kupus took both zones to Kalimba Farms, a reptile park where we saw some crazy snakes including an anaconda and some big old Nile Crocs and then we played some soccer.
On top of that, I'm having a blast. The four of us in Matero ward are all good buddies and we're just enjoying life and working hard, gyming every morning and we're getting fed a ton by our ward. Seriously, dinners almost every night here. Also, on the fourth, we belted out the Anthem so loud, the neighbors heard. As a wise man once said, never apologize for being patriotic.
Love you all
Elder Lusk
Kicking up the Dust, Personal Inventory, Our Heroes Still Struggle and Sweet, Crispy Duck
Hey fam
I don't know how but I am now the longest serving Elder in the mission. Tomorrow we say good-bye to an excellent group of Elders that I'm very close to and look forward to seeing a few of them around Utah State canpus soon. Last night, we talked about all the good times and what the future holds. But for me, I'm ready to kick the dust out of these next six weeks. This week was great. We met an awesome guy who has been taught just about everything and we are just helping him overcome some old habits before his baptism. We are also teaching a great young guy who ended up practically team-teaching our gospel principles class with me on Sunday on repentance with it being just his second Sunday at church. We did have to spend two days in the flat with my sick companion which gave me a lot of time for studying and some personal inventory. I spent some time doing some honest evaluation of the past 22 and 1/2 months and looking at ways I've changed and some of the things I would have done differently. While I can say I still wish I could improve a lot more out here in the time I have left, I was able to see just how much I have been able to learn and luckily the path of improvement is still a long way from over. Plus, I was able to see examples in the scriptures where who we see as heroes still struggled under their weaknesses and mistakes but, like them,I have seen so much grace and mercy come from a patient, loving Heavenly Father.
In celebration of mission completions, we went out to Lusaka's finest Thai restaurant and I have to say their sweet and sour crispy duck was divine.
Love you all
Elder Lusk
I don't know how but I am now the longest serving Elder in the mission. Tomorrow we say good-bye to an excellent group of Elders that I'm very close to and look forward to seeing a few of them around Utah State canpus soon. Last night, we talked about all the good times and what the future holds. But for me, I'm ready to kick the dust out of these next six weeks. This week was great. We met an awesome guy who has been taught just about everything and we are just helping him overcome some old habits before his baptism. We are also teaching a great young guy who ended up practically team-teaching our gospel principles class with me on Sunday on repentance with it being just his second Sunday at church. We did have to spend two days in the flat with my sick companion which gave me a lot of time for studying and some personal inventory. I spent some time doing some honest evaluation of the past 22 and 1/2 months and looking at ways I've changed and some of the things I would have done differently. While I can say I still wish I could improve a lot more out here in the time I have left, I was able to see just how much I have been able to learn and luckily the path of improvement is still a long way from over. Plus, I was able to see examples in the scriptures where who we see as heroes still struggled under their weaknesses and mistakes but, like them,I have seen so much grace and mercy come from a patient, loving Heavenly Father.
In celebration of mission completions, we went out to Lusaka's finest Thai restaurant and I have to say their sweet and sour crispy duck was divine.
Love you all
Elder Lusk
A Balmy 67 Dgrees or Maybe it was 47, Soccer at Olympic Park and Mothers Without Borders
Hey fam
We had a super successful week here! To start, we had a wonderful baptism on Saturday which was a sweet experience all involved. Our dear sister has overcome so much and I saw a look of pure joy on her face afterwards despite the fact that now cold season is in full swing and the water in the outdoor font was a balmy 67 degrees.
Along with the baptism, the week was very productive. We had been struggling a bit the last two weeks but we had six people come to church and found a lot of new investigators. It was way awesome. We were totally lead this week to just happen to be in the right place at the right time to meet some great people. One of the guys lives just next to the church and just came from western provence looking for work and, ironically, a church, too. Then we were walking one day and saw two women and some kids moving some bricks and we jumped in and now have a nice family we are teaching. It's really awesome to see things picking up here. We have another two baptisms lined up in the next few weeks for some truly golden investigators like the kind you go on your mission to teach.
On Sunday, I got to teach gospel principles again and we had a few surprise guests also. We got joined by a group of 9 Americans working with Mothers Without Borders which is located close to Matero and it turns out they are the first of a few groups coming out in the next two months. A little more pressure was on me to teach, at that point, but the lesson went over great.
So, a member of our ward coaches a soccer team that plays at the Olympic park by our place and so on Saturday nights we like to go support but the other night was freezing (yes, it does get cold here). The temperature read 47 degrees with wind. Luckily, I grabbed my sweater and we ran over to the mall and found some over-priced hot chocolate to get us through. So, yeah, it was a great week.
Time is flying by here.
Love you all
Elder Lusk
We had a super successful week here! To start, we had a wonderful baptism on Saturday which was a sweet experience all involved. Our dear sister has overcome so much and I saw a look of pure joy on her face afterwards despite the fact that now cold season is in full swing and the water in the outdoor font was a balmy 67 degrees.
Along with the baptism, the week was very productive. We had been struggling a bit the last two weeks but we had six people come to church and found a lot of new investigators. It was way awesome. We were totally lead this week to just happen to be in the right place at the right time to meet some great people. One of the guys lives just next to the church and just came from western provence looking for work and, ironically, a church, too. Then we were walking one day and saw two women and some kids moving some bricks and we jumped in and now have a nice family we are teaching. It's really awesome to see things picking up here. We have another two baptisms lined up in the next few weeks for some truly golden investigators like the kind you go on your mission to teach.
On Sunday, I got to teach gospel principles again and we had a few surprise guests also. We got joined by a group of 9 Americans working with Mothers Without Borders which is located close to Matero and it turns out they are the first of a few groups coming out in the next two months. A little more pressure was on me to teach, at that point, but the lesson went over great.
So, a member of our ward coaches a soccer team that plays at the Olympic park by our place and so on Saturday nights we like to go support but the other night was freezing (yes, it does get cold here). The temperature read 47 degrees with wind. Luckily, I grabbed my sweater and we ran over to the mall and found some over-priced hot chocolate to get us through. So, yeah, it was a great week.
Time is flying by here.
Love you all
Elder Lusk
The Gratitude Cycle, A Tongan Feast, A Courageous Baptism, Birthday Party,and Getting to Know Peter
Hey Fam!
Somehow it's June!
We had a pretty good week. We started off with a combined zone conference on Tuesday and the area doctor visited and put the fear of God (and Malaria) into us. Then Sister Kupu gave an awesome lesson on the counter the scriptural plaque of the pride cycle by teaching the gratitude cycle. Whereas pride leads to disobedience, hate and ultimately destruction, the gratitude cycle focuses on thanksgiving for blessings, consecrated sacrifice, and ultimately lasting conversion. Very powerful. Then our new Tongan-American senior couple, the Fakalaka's made an epic feast for lunch...always appreciated.
The rest of the week went well. We are happy to be holding a baptism this weekend. Our courageous sister is ready to be baptized and I couldn't be happier for her. She has truly been changing as we have taught her.
We also had a great experience with another investigator who is learning so fast and we are hoping to get him out to church this week.
An awesome member family brought their cousin to church yesterday so we got to pick up a great, new investigator through their faithful efforts.
For fun this week, there is an awesome family that has all four missionaries in our ward over for dinner every Saturday night and they always make the best food and treat us well. The dad had served in this mission several years back and then came back from Burundi to get married and they stuck around. Anyway, he had a birthday so we brought over pizzas and feasted with them and yes, we did dump water on him.
I was also reviewing an old talk I believe from Oct 2012 where Elder Holland talks about the Savior's post-Resurrection interview by the sea with Peter where he kinda kicks his butt in gear again after Peter and the others just went back to fishing instead of carrying on the work. Over the past 22 months, I feel like I've come to know Peter pretty well because I feel, at times, I can be a little like him in his passionate, impulsive weaknesses. Great talk if you get a chance to see it again.
Love you all and keep the home fires burning for me.
Love Elder Lusk
Somehow it's June!
We had a pretty good week. We started off with a combined zone conference on Tuesday and the area doctor visited and put the fear of God (and Malaria) into us. Then Sister Kupu gave an awesome lesson on the counter the scriptural plaque of the pride cycle by teaching the gratitude cycle. Whereas pride leads to disobedience, hate and ultimately destruction, the gratitude cycle focuses on thanksgiving for blessings, consecrated sacrifice, and ultimately lasting conversion. Very powerful. Then our new Tongan-American senior couple, the Fakalaka's made an epic feast for lunch...always appreciated.
The rest of the week went well. We are happy to be holding a baptism this weekend. Our courageous sister is ready to be baptized and I couldn't be happier for her. She has truly been changing as we have taught her.
We also had a great experience with another investigator who is learning so fast and we are hoping to get him out to church this week.
An awesome member family brought their cousin to church yesterday so we got to pick up a great, new investigator through their faithful efforts.
For fun this week, there is an awesome family that has all four missionaries in our ward over for dinner every Saturday night and they always make the best food and treat us well. The dad had served in this mission several years back and then came back from Burundi to get married and they stuck around. Anyway, he had a birthday so we brought over pizzas and feasted with them and yes, we did dump water on him.
I was also reviewing an old talk I believe from Oct 2012 where Elder Holland talks about the Savior's post-Resurrection interview by the sea with Peter where he kinda kicks his butt in gear again after Peter and the others just went back to fishing instead of carrying on the work. Over the past 22 months, I feel like I've come to know Peter pretty well because I feel, at times, I can be a little like him in his passionate, impulsive weaknesses. Great talk if you get a chance to see it again.
Love you all and keep the home fires burning for me.
Love Elder Lusk
Sunday, May 27, 2018
Glad I Didn't Ruin Him,The Spirit Testified, Nephi's Faith and Hitting US Soil
Hey fam
Transfer news came and my companion and I are staying. And Elder Robins, my old trainee, is now the zone leader here so that's way cool and we are in the same ward so we get to see each other a lot and I'm proud to see the missionary he's become. Luckily, having me as his first companion didn't ruin him.
We taught a lot of powerful lessons this week where the Spirit was able to testify. We have two awesome investigators who are progressing well towards baptism soon. One is a friend of a member who, despite struggling with English, has pushed ahead bravely in learning and coming to church. The other is a 15 year old niece of a member and is super smart, learns fast and even helps translate for her mother. She also wants to grow up and be a soldier which is a cool connection we have.
I've started reading the Book of Mormon for the 7th time since being on my mission. I recently read how Nephi felt the weight of his imperfections and the trials he faces but then rejoices in the Lord as his strength and declare that he shouldn't worry about those things that are hard around him and give in to temptations because of his faith and miracles he has seen.
Anyway, I found out I am definitely hitting US soil on August 8.
Love you all
Elder Lusk
Transfer news came and my companion and I are staying. And Elder Robins, my old trainee, is now the zone leader here so that's way cool and we are in the same ward so we get to see each other a lot and I'm proud to see the missionary he's become. Luckily, having me as his first companion didn't ruin him.
We taught a lot of powerful lessons this week where the Spirit was able to testify. We have two awesome investigators who are progressing well towards baptism soon. One is a friend of a member who, despite struggling with English, has pushed ahead bravely in learning and coming to church. The other is a 15 year old niece of a member and is super smart, learns fast and even helps translate for her mother. She also wants to grow up and be a soldier which is a cool connection we have.
I've started reading the Book of Mormon for the 7th time since being on my mission. I recently read how Nephi felt the weight of his imperfections and the trials he faces but then rejoices in the Lord as his strength and declare that he shouldn't worry about those things that are hard around him and give in to temptations because of his faith and miracles he has seen.
Anyway, I found out I am definitely hitting US soil on August 8.
Love you all
Elder Lusk
Random Acts, Paul's Testimony and Heavenly Milkshakes
Hey fam
This week we celebrated with Elder Jeronimo as he prepares to return home after two years. There was much rejoicing but also sad seeing such a great missionary and friend depart.
We made it a goal this week to look for random unplanned acts of service as we worked throughout the day. So, we sat and washed clothes with some grandmas, helped an investigator cook, played soccer with some random kids and swept somebody's house for them. Little things like that may not have made a big difference in the big scope of things but on the personal level we saw how happy it made the people and they also brightened up my week as I served like the Savior.
I also got to teach gospel principles in sunday school and between the two sets of missionaries, we had nine investigators there which was great.
In my study, I had just read about th apostle, Paul, in his defense before King Agrippa and how, despite opposition, he stood firm and testified of the truth he knew. I have had a number of experiences like that here and one more even came this week after I had studied that and with each time the Spirit gave me power to personally testify of what I know to be true. Each of those experiences has really solidified my faith in this work and I'm grateful for them.
On a lighter note, I finally found a great milkshake here. Maybe it's just been too long but it was pretty Heavenly.
Love you all!
Elder Lusk
This week we celebrated with Elder Jeronimo as he prepares to return home after two years. There was much rejoicing but also sad seeing such a great missionary and friend depart.
We made it a goal this week to look for random unplanned acts of service as we worked throughout the day. So, we sat and washed clothes with some grandmas, helped an investigator cook, played soccer with some random kids and swept somebody's house for them. Little things like that may not have made a big difference in the big scope of things but on the personal level we saw how happy it made the people and they also brightened up my week as I served like the Savior.
I also got to teach gospel principles in sunday school and between the two sets of missionaries, we had nine investigators there which was great.
In my study, I had just read about th apostle, Paul, in his defense before King Agrippa and how, despite opposition, he stood firm and testified of the truth he knew. I have had a number of experiences like that here and one more even came this week after I had studied that and with each time the Spirit gave me power to personally testify of what I know to be true. Each of those experiences has really solidified my faith in this work and I'm grateful for them.
On a lighter note, I finally found a great milkshake here. Maybe it's just been too long but it was pretty Heavenly.
Love you all!
Elder Lusk
Avoiding the Flying Tin Roof, Divine Protection and Running With the National Runners (and being humbled)
Hey Fam
Rainy season ends beginning of April and this year we hardly had any rai. It hadn't rained in weeks when, on Friday, we were walking on the far end of the area in a place with no shelter when the sky opened up with vengeance like zero to driving wind,, sideways rain, flash flooding, the works. We were sprinting through trying to get back home when it starts to hail. The waer is midcalf by this point and the wind is going crazy. I could barely see when a tin roof flies past us a few feet away. Do you remember the scene in The Other Side of Heaven when they run through the typhoon? Yep, I can cross that off the list of things to do on your mission. We had divine protection and made it all the way home safely. That night we had no power so we went out that night for an Indian feast and ate ourselves stupid. We also had a big zone soccer game this morning at the Olympic training park and I did a few laps with some of the national runners who invited me to run with them.....yep, I was humbled hard but it was still fun.
Anyway, love you all and may the blessings follow you this week.
love,
Elder Lusk
Rainy season ends beginning of April and this year we hardly had any rai. It hadn't rained in weeks when, on Friday, we were walking on the far end of the area in a place with no shelter when the sky opened up with vengeance like zero to driving wind,, sideways rain, flash flooding, the works. We were sprinting through trying to get back home when it starts to hail. The waer is midcalf by this point and the wind is going crazy. I could barely see when a tin roof flies past us a few feet away. Do you remember the scene in The Other Side of Heaven when they run through the typhoon? Yep, I can cross that off the list of things to do on your mission. We had divine protection and made it all the way home safely. That night we had no power so we went out that night for an Indian feast and ate ourselves stupid. We also had a big zone soccer game this morning at the Olympic training park and I did a few laps with some of the national runners who invited me to run with them.....yep, I was humbled hard but it was still fun.
Anyway, love you all and may the blessings follow you this week.
love,
Elder Lusk
Praying to Find Her Way Back to Chriist, He's My Friend and Do We Even Need a Sermon After That?
Hey fam
We had an awesome experience this week where we were teaching a lady and she told us that she had been praying for someone to come help her find her way back to Christ and then the next day, we showed up on her doorstep. Ta-da, the Lord's plan is perfect. In fact, later in the same lesson, she asked a question about something she saw in the Bible that I had actually read just that morning during my personal study. I wasn't even planning on studying it but we had a few extra minutes to kill before we left so I had grabbed my Bible and flipped to a random age in the New Testament and followed the footnotes on a few verses in John that turned out to be the exact thing she had a question about an hour later Very humbling to see the direct result of being led by the Spirit to help someone..
One of the people we are teaching has an adorable three year old girl and I was sitting by her and she grabbed by name tag and was looking at it and on the back following tradition I have a few stickers and she successfully identified Olaf from Frozen first then I pointed to a sticker of the Savior and asked her if she knew who it was and she so innocently replied, "He's my friend". Truly out of the mouths of babes. Do we even need a sermon after that?
Love you all
Elder Lusk
We had an awesome experience this week where we were teaching a lady and she told us that she had been praying for someone to come help her find her way back to Christ and then the next day, we showed up on her doorstep. Ta-da, the Lord's plan is perfect. In fact, later in the same lesson, she asked a question about something she saw in the Bible that I had actually read just that morning during my personal study. I wasn't even planning on studying it but we had a few extra minutes to kill before we left so I had grabbed my Bible and flipped to a random age in the New Testament and followed the footnotes on a few verses in John that turned out to be the exact thing she had a question about an hour later Very humbling to see the direct result of being led by the Spirit to help someone..
One of the people we are teaching has an adorable three year old girl and I was sitting by her and she grabbed by name tag and was looking at it and on the back following tradition I have a few stickers and she successfully identified Olaf from Frozen first then I pointed to a sticker of the Savior and asked her if she knew who it was and she so innocently replied, "He's my friend". Truly out of the mouths of babes. Do we even need a sermon after that?
Love you all
Elder Lusk
Going the Wrong Direction, Water Brigade and Mountains of Food
Hey fam!
Fast, crazy week but it ended with a baptism so that was good. We ended up walking way out to the far end of the area trying to locate a referral and it turns out we were going the complete opposite direction and spent two hours going in circles. I also got a hair cut from a guy that didn't speak a lick of Engish and so that was an interesting exercise in trust and hand signals .Luckily, I escaped mostly unharmed and still somewhat presentable.
So, for the baptism. First of all, I woke up Saturday morning feeling pretty sick but I was like, "hey, its a baptism so I can't stay in." Then we got to church an hour before for a meeting just to realize that the baptismal font had not been set up yet so we got to work cleaning it out and filling it but water pressure was awful so we had to start a bucket brigade to fill it. An hour and a half after we started, it was only about two feel deep and we couldn't wait so the poor kid was baptized in two feet of water....good thing he was short. After that, we had a lunch appointment that we were supposed to go to with our zone leader. I wasn't feeling food at all but such occasions are rare plus I wasn't going to be that guy to deny it to my companion so we get there and there's a mountain of food waiting for each of us. The whole time, I was just hoping to keep it down and not offend the family (the food was great but I was way sick). We finally got home and I spent a few hours on my death bed till I finally broke a five and a half year streak and threw up and then strangely felt better after that. I woke up feeling somewhat better and was able to go to church, which was great. I even went running again this morning
This week, we're excited to have a wonderful lady that we are teaching who had come to church twice in a row and now is getting great help from her neighbor who is a member of the Church and has been active in all our lessons so we are planning to baptize her in a few weeks.
Love you all. Hugs from Elder Lusk
Fast, crazy week but it ended with a baptism so that was good. We ended up walking way out to the far end of the area trying to locate a referral and it turns out we were going the complete opposite direction and spent two hours going in circles. I also got a hair cut from a guy that didn't speak a lick of Engish and so that was an interesting exercise in trust and hand signals .Luckily, I escaped mostly unharmed and still somewhat presentable.
So, for the baptism. First of all, I woke up Saturday morning feeling pretty sick but I was like, "hey, its a baptism so I can't stay in." Then we got to church an hour before for a meeting just to realize that the baptismal font had not been set up yet so we got to work cleaning it out and filling it but water pressure was awful so we had to start a bucket brigade to fill it. An hour and a half after we started, it was only about two feel deep and we couldn't wait so the poor kid was baptized in two feet of water....good thing he was short. After that, we had a lunch appointment that we were supposed to go to with our zone leader. I wasn't feeling food at all but such occasions are rare plus I wasn't going to be that guy to deny it to my companion so we get there and there's a mountain of food waiting for each of us. The whole time, I was just hoping to keep it down and not offend the family (the food was great but I was way sick). We finally got home and I spent a few hours on my death bed till I finally broke a five and a half year streak and threw up and then strangely felt better after that. I woke up feeling somewhat better and was able to go to church, which was great. I even went running again this morning
This week, we're excited to have a wonderful lady that we are teaching who had come to church twice in a row and now is getting great help from her neighbor who is a member of the Church and has been active in all our lessons so we are planning to baptize her in a few weeks.
Love you all. Hugs from Elder Lusk
A Real Hoot and A Holler, Jesus Beholding Him Loved Him, and Sitting Knee to Knee With a Great Man
Hey Fam!
We had a great week and I walked my feet off. We found a lot of new people to teach and Elder Mbile talks to just about everybody he sees and I have to work to keep up with him. We also have a baptism this week for a little boy from a part-member family. It was also a big week for the Matero ward as we got a new Bishop and counselors. We also had a small group visiting from Utah with a local charity organization so that was cool.
There was also a lot of weird moments this week but one was when the people in my area got the laugh of their lives when I bought a barbell to fix my spaghetti arms and was carrying it home and, man, did people get a good hoot and holler out of that.
I was reading a conference talk this week by Elder S Mark Palmer of the Seventy who I got to meet and learn from in Kitwe and is now area president. The talk was from April 2017 and it was all about how when the Savior was talking to the young rich an before he counseled hi to give all and follow him, how "then Jesus beholding him, loved him." He then talked about the fact that in order to help someone change, we must have the pure love of Christ to help them see that love is the motivating factor for the changes they need to make. Anyway, it's a great talk from a man that I respect greatly after getting to sit knee to knee with him and experience this from him first-hand as he counseled me and the other missionaries serving in Kitwe.
Love you all and keeping you all in my thoughts and prayers
Love, Elder Lusk
We had a great week and I walked my feet off. We found a lot of new people to teach and Elder Mbile talks to just about everybody he sees and I have to work to keep up with him. We also have a baptism this week for a little boy from a part-member family. It was also a big week for the Matero ward as we got a new Bishop and counselors. We also had a small group visiting from Utah with a local charity organization so that was cool.
There was also a lot of weird moments this week but one was when the people in my area got the laugh of their lives when I bought a barbell to fix my spaghetti arms and was carrying it home and, man, did people get a good hoot and holler out of that.
I was reading a conference talk this week by Elder S Mark Palmer of the Seventy who I got to meet and learn from in Kitwe and is now area president. The talk was from April 2017 and it was all about how when the Savior was talking to the young rich an before he counseled hi to give all and follow him, how "then Jesus beholding him, loved him." He then talked about the fact that in order to help someone change, we must have the pure love of Christ to help them see that love is the motivating factor for the changes they need to make. Anyway, it's a great talk from a man that I respect greatly after getting to sit knee to knee with him and experience this from him first-hand as he counseled me and the other missionaries serving in Kitwe.
Love you all and keeping you all in my thoughts and prayers
Love, Elder Lusk
Choosing Not to Take Offense and Choosing to Move Past Anger
Hey Fam
I am now serving in Lusaka in the Matero ward with Elder Mbile who is from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, has been on his mission for about three months and has only been speaking English for about four months. He's great, though, and his English is pretty good, considering. He's helped me get the wind back in my sails and the fire in my gut to get out and work hard all day. Plus, he's been a sport about getting dragged out of bed so I can go running in the morning....Ok, he sits at the porch while I run up and down the street. We have a nice little house in a quiet, almost American-style neighborhood on the edge of Lusaka. The area, as a whole, is very big and very busy with lots of people moving around. It is also home to the infamous devils sreet that has the densest population of bars, night clubs, pool halls and other various people with questionable character. As this point, not much really phases me, though.
We met a few new investigators and three of them came to church and watched General Conference with us which was super powerful and one of the best I can remember.
Walking through the area the other day, we had a bunch of drunk guys start yelling Muzungu at me (pretty much a racial slur for white people that I've heard about 50 times a day my whole mission) and my comp asked why I don't get mad and confront them. The truth is that I'm sick of it but I learned long ago that taking offense is a choie and that with all that's going on in this crazy world and people bent on tearing society apart, a lot would change if people just chose not to react, not to take offense and just chose to move past anger. As Elder Bednar eloquently taught, "meekness is not weakness but a sign of inner power."
Anyway, love you all!
Elder Lusk
I am now serving in Lusaka in the Matero ward with Elder Mbile who is from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, has been on his mission for about three months and has only been speaking English for about four months. He's great, though, and his English is pretty good, considering. He's helped me get the wind back in my sails and the fire in my gut to get out and work hard all day. Plus, he's been a sport about getting dragged out of bed so I can go running in the morning....Ok, he sits at the porch while I run up and down the street. We have a nice little house in a quiet, almost American-style neighborhood on the edge of Lusaka. The area, as a whole, is very big and very busy with lots of people moving around. It is also home to the infamous devils sreet that has the densest population of bars, night clubs, pool halls and other various people with questionable character. As this point, not much really phases me, though.
We met a few new investigators and three of them came to church and watched General Conference with us which was super powerful and one of the best I can remember.
Walking through the area the other day, we had a bunch of drunk guys start yelling Muzungu at me (pretty much a racial slur for white people that I've heard about 50 times a day my whole mission) and my comp asked why I don't get mad and confront them. The truth is that I'm sick of it but I learned long ago that taking offense is a choie and that with all that's going on in this crazy world and people bent on tearing society apart, a lot would change if people just chose not to react, not to take offense and just chose to move past anger. As Elder Bednar eloquently taught, "meekness is not weakness but a sign of inner power."
Anyway, love you all!
Elder Lusk
Looking to Improve Your Relationship with Christ? Perfect, We Have Just What You Need! Pride and Differences and Forgiveness and My Mind Was Freed
Hey fam! Another good week and my last in Kitwe. After over eight months here, I am being transferred and I'm not sure where. I am busing to Lusaka on Wednesday and I'll get my assignment from President Kupu then.
Apart from that, the week went well. We have a guy who is really progressing and we had a great lesson with him the other day and he's preparing for baptism soon. We also have two more people who should be following soon. We were teaching them about the commandments and had an awesome discussion on the Lord's standards for our happiness. We also met an awesome women who was a referral from our district president. She's educated, works as a graphic/web designer ad just moved our here far from family and friends and is looking for some direction in her life to improve her relationship with Christ. Perfect, we have just what you need! She came to church and the Relief Society did an amazing job of fellowshipping her I also had another zone leadership training meeting which was cool because I got to see my man, Elder Robins again who is serving as a district leader on the other side of the copperbelt.
I got to see some of General Conference and I really enjoyed Elder Bednar's talk on the Christ-like attribute of meekness.
On a personal note but one that as one of the most significant of my mission, about a year ago I was with a companion who was also young on his mission. We were only together for six weeks and during that time, we were not getting along for about five of those weeks. Pride and differences of opinion and personality led to a lot being said that was regretted. For the past year, it has been bugging me in the back of my mind. I know, in reality, you're not going to get along with everyone you meet but for someone who teaches about repentance and forgiveness daily, my actions and grudge wore on me...and apparently it wore on him, too Turns out he is the one coming to replace me and last night we spoke on the phone for the first time since The only words to describe come from the prophet, Joseph Smith: "Come now, friend, since war is past. For friends at first and friends at last" Awesome moment when we both admitted how young and stupid we had been and that we held no hard feelings. Apart from that, we laughed and swapped stories for a while. The feeling, though, of liberation from a year of withholding forgiveness was tangible. My mind was freed as if a weight was taken from my shoulders. So, to anyone with a grudge to forgive, I am now witness that it does work.
Love, Elder Lusk
Apart from that, the week went well. We have a guy who is really progressing and we had a great lesson with him the other day and he's preparing for baptism soon. We also have two more people who should be following soon. We were teaching them about the commandments and had an awesome discussion on the Lord's standards for our happiness. We also met an awesome women who was a referral from our district president. She's educated, works as a graphic/web designer ad just moved our here far from family and friends and is looking for some direction in her life to improve her relationship with Christ. Perfect, we have just what you need! She came to church and the Relief Society did an amazing job of fellowshipping her I also had another zone leadership training meeting which was cool because I got to see my man, Elder Robins again who is serving as a district leader on the other side of the copperbelt.
I got to see some of General Conference and I really enjoyed Elder Bednar's talk on the Christ-like attribute of meekness.
On a personal note but one that as one of the most significant of my mission, about a year ago I was with a companion who was also young on his mission. We were only together for six weeks and during that time, we were not getting along for about five of those weeks. Pride and differences of opinion and personality led to a lot being said that was regretted. For the past year, it has been bugging me in the back of my mind. I know, in reality, you're not going to get along with everyone you meet but for someone who teaches about repentance and forgiveness daily, my actions and grudge wore on me...and apparently it wore on him, too Turns out he is the one coming to replace me and last night we spoke on the phone for the first time since The only words to describe come from the prophet, Joseph Smith: "Come now, friend, since war is past. For friends at first and friends at last" Awesome moment when we both admitted how young and stupid we had been and that we held no hard feelings. Apart from that, we laughed and swapped stories for a while. The feeling, though, of liberation from a year of withholding forgiveness was tangible. My mind was freed as if a weight was taken from my shoulders. So, to anyone with a grudge to forgive, I am now witness that it does work.
Love, Elder Lusk
Saturday, March 31, 2018
The Student Did the Teaching, Accountability, Homemade Lasagna and The Destructive Power of Pride
Hey fam!
another week has passed and more adventures were to be had.
another week has passed and more adventures were to be had.
This was a very busy week for us with a lot of moving up and down but we had some good times. Simon, our golden investigators is still going great and we are hoping to baptize him soon. We had a really great lesson with him the other day were once again he did most of the teaching. man I love that guy.
Then I went on two exchanges with missionaries in my district and got to work with them and I also did two baptismal interviews for them. So it's great to see the work starting to pick up here in Kitwe. The Elders have been working hard for a long time and we're starting to see the blessings come.
Then on Friday we had our Zone conference and it was great. We were looking at ways we can carry on the success we have been having and improve this year. We also focused in on taking accountability for our goals and plans of action for achieving them.
As a bit of a fun note I got to spent some time with Elder Almedia, an old friend of my mine from my early days in Lilongwe.He was up here with president for the conference so we got to talk and laugh about old times for a bit before he leaves in a few weeks.
Best of all Elder Armstrong made homemade Lasagna last night but don't worry mom yours is still better) but after 18 months is was truly divine.\
In my study this week I came across an old talk by president Benson about pride and man if you ever want to be humbled that's the talk to read as he taught about the dangers of the all too common destructive power of pride. Lots of great insight. Well Love you all so much hope this week treats you well.
Elder Lusk
Inspired Date for Baptism, I Was Humbled and Had an Attitude Adjustment, Going back to Madagascar and Running
Hey fam! We had another pretty good week here as time is flying out the window. The biggest bright spot in our area is Simon. He's so in tune to the spirit and can connect principles of the gospel together like he's learned them his whole life. We had a special experience with him where we gave him a date for baptism and it was one that Elder Tidwell and I felt strongly about and he was quiet for a minute or two and was getting slightly emotional. We were just sitting there like........what went wrong when he told us that the date we gave him was his late mother's birthday and how she had always been his spiritual guide and teacher....Whooah. Spiritual prompting to give him that particular date?....Absolutely. way cool experience for him and us to confirm truth.
We also had a bit of a humbling. We were trying to meet with this guy who had stood us up twice in the past and I was like "he doesn't show again I'm done" anyway he came and invited us to go back to his house and so we went and walked at least ten minutes into a very poor run down area and I admit my attitude wasn't where it should have been and so we sat down then he went into his house and came out with and old Book of Mormon. Apparently missionaries meet him five years ago and gave him a Book of Mormon and he's been reading with no one to talk about it with. That changed my attitude fast and so we're going to start teaching him this week and we'll see. Also in news Madagascar will be taking it's missionaries back soon. We don't know the exact timeline yet but that means there is going to be some major shuffling around in the mission and especially our district so we'll see how that goes. Funny story this week. The last few months I started running in the mornings with Elder Armstrong (from the Mada group) he was a top runner in High school and he's helped me get back into it. So we were out running outside our house and he's pushing super hard lapping me a ton as I eased into a nice jog and this lady walking by called me out for running too slow........yea we had a pretty good laugh about that in a self depreciating way. Good times. We also have Zone Confrence this week so we see what new direction president wants to take in 2018. Love you all.
We also had a bit of a humbling. We were trying to meet with this guy who had stood us up twice in the past and I was like "he doesn't show again I'm done" anyway he came and invited us to go back to his house and so we went and walked at least ten minutes into a very poor run down area and I admit my attitude wasn't where it should have been and so we sat down then he went into his house and came out with and old Book of Mormon. Apparently missionaries meet him five years ago and gave him a Book of Mormon and he's been reading with no one to talk about it with. That changed my attitude fast and so we're going to start teaching him this week and we'll see. Also in news Madagascar will be taking it's missionaries back soon. We don't know the exact timeline yet but that means there is going to be some major shuffling around in the mission and especially our district so we'll see how that goes. Funny story this week. The last few months I started running in the mornings with Elder Armstrong (from the Mada group) he was a top runner in High school and he's helped me get back into it. So we were out running outside our house and he's pushing super hard lapping me a ton as I eased into a nice jog and this lady walking by called me out for running too slow........yea we had a pretty good laugh about that in a self depreciating way. Good times. We also have Zone Confrence this week so we see what new direction president wants to take in 2018. Love you all.
Elder Lusk
Monday, January 15, 2018
The Children Walked to Church, Hauling Sand, The Drunks, The Gospel and Love
Hey fam, another great week in the books. I am still here in Kitwe. My "new" companion is my old buddy, Elder Tidwell. Our missions are kind of destined to be intertwined. He was in my very first district (he's one transfer ahead of me) and we got to be young greenies together and spent our first Christmas on our mission together in a tripanionship. Then fast forward a few months and we were in the same district in Blantyre as more experienced middle aged missionaries. Now, as we begin the fourth quarter, we get to be old veterans together. We've had a fun week and have taught some super powerful lessons together.
The first guy we met with, we just found and he is a direct answer to the daily prayers that people who are prepared to hear the gospel will be placed in our path. He's very educated and has traveled a lot but is so humble and open to the Spirit. He was very engaged as we taught him and he had some great questions.
We are also teaching three kids ages 18, 15 and 8. They are awesome and came to church with us this week. It's about a 30 minute walk to church and the 8 year old was struggling due to the heat (it hasn't rained in about a week) so she ended up getting passed around on people's backs fro the remainder of the walk but ended up loving Primary and so it was worth it.
We also got to do some service with one of our investigators that will be baptized soon. We walked in and they had just received a big truck load of sand for making cement and so the three of us cleared a 8x12 trailer of sand in about 5 minutes.
Everything else is good here. Our district is doing well. We have a good strong group of experienced elders here and the work is moving forward at an increasing rate.
The sun is still way too hot, the drunks still love harassing us, the gospel is still true and I still love you!
Elder Lusk
The first guy we met with, we just found and he is a direct answer to the daily prayers that people who are prepared to hear the gospel will be placed in our path. He's very educated and has traveled a lot but is so humble and open to the Spirit. He was very engaged as we taught him and he had some great questions.
We are also teaching three kids ages 18, 15 and 8. They are awesome and came to church with us this week. It's about a 30 minute walk to church and the 8 year old was struggling due to the heat (it hasn't rained in about a week) so she ended up getting passed around on people's backs fro the remainder of the walk but ended up loving Primary and so it was worth it.
We also got to do some service with one of our investigators that will be baptized soon. We walked in and they had just received a big truck load of sand for making cement and so the three of us cleared a 8x12 trailer of sand in about 5 minutes.
Everything else is good here. Our district is doing well. We have a good strong group of experienced elders here and the work is moving forward at an increasing rate.
The sun is still way too hot, the drunks still love harassing us, the gospel is still true and I still love you!
Elder Lusk
Cholera Outbreak, Shadrack, Erick and Sam,Teaching in Perfect Unrehearsed Harmony, Superman, pet dragons and Peter
Hey fam! Another week in the books and another big one ahead. Looks like my companion that I've been training, Elder Robins, is going to be transferred somewhere else. We had a great ride together and its been a lot of fun.
Oh, and just so you don't freak out, there is a Cholera outbreak in Lusaka. We are safe here in the copper belt. It is being contained in Lusaka and the mission has ensured the safety of everyone and hopefully all will go well and this will pass in time.
So, we have a guy named Shadrack that we have been teaching for months and he's getting ready for baptism the end of the month. We had another great lesson with Erick and he had so many questions about everything. I'm excited to keep working with him. Sam is still learning but is still struggling with the decision to be baptized but is still willing to keep learning and even offered to cook for us.
Then I was on an exchange with an elder in my district this week who is also part of the Utah State squad and we taught an awesome lesson where the Spirit of the Lord was completely working through us and we taught in perfect unrehearsed harmony. It was beautiful.
The other day we met some kids and for ten minutes I had this kid convinced I was superman and I had a pet dragon in my bag. After that, he actually invited us into his home and we met his whole family and have a return appointment with them.
Then, in honor of transfers coming up, we cooked a nice steak dinner to celebrate all the good times we've been having.
In my personal study this week, I was looking in the New Testament and got a new understanding of the apostle, Peter. He's a very fiery, passionate and oftentimes impulsive guy. Never on the sidelines but leading the charge...even if it's in the wrong direction as the Savior redirected him several times. But despite all his passions and weaknesses, it's interesting to see how the Savior saw more in him than a strong willed fisherman but the potential to be a leader and a champion. The point being that is how the Savior works. He sees us in our raw potential and can redirect it to serve him and strengthen others. Just a small thought for the week.
Love you all so much!
Elder Lusk
Oh, and just so you don't freak out, there is a Cholera outbreak in Lusaka. We are safe here in the copper belt. It is being contained in Lusaka and the mission has ensured the safety of everyone and hopefully all will go well and this will pass in time.
So, we have a guy named Shadrack that we have been teaching for months and he's getting ready for baptism the end of the month. We had another great lesson with Erick and he had so many questions about everything. I'm excited to keep working with him. Sam is still learning but is still struggling with the decision to be baptized but is still willing to keep learning and even offered to cook for us.
Then I was on an exchange with an elder in my district this week who is also part of the Utah State squad and we taught an awesome lesson where the Spirit of the Lord was completely working through us and we taught in perfect unrehearsed harmony. It was beautiful.
The other day we met some kids and for ten minutes I had this kid convinced I was superman and I had a pet dragon in my bag. After that, he actually invited us into his home and we met his whole family and have a return appointment with them.
Then, in honor of transfers coming up, we cooked a nice steak dinner to celebrate all the good times we've been having.
In my personal study this week, I was looking in the New Testament and got a new understanding of the apostle, Peter. He's a very fiery, passionate and oftentimes impulsive guy. Never on the sidelines but leading the charge...even if it's in the wrong direction as the Savior redirected him several times. But despite all his passions and weaknesses, it's interesting to see how the Savior saw more in him than a strong willed fisherman but the potential to be a leader and a champion. The point being that is how the Savior works. He sees us in our raw potential and can redirect it to serve him and strengthen others. Just a small thought for the week.
Love you all so much!
Elder Lusk
Sunday, January 7, 2018
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