Bindura!!!

Hello family and friends,

I have a couple of fun, new updates. I got transferred to a new area called Bindua (just about one hour out of Harare) and we just arrived here like 45 minutes ago. My new companion is Sister Nafula from Uganda. Bindura is a small town and it is super green and mountainous which kind of reminds me of Hawaii during this season since it is super rainy. My companion and I will be opening a new area called Chipadze. We are so excited to start doing missionary work here together!

 I am struggling on this computer at the internet café currently so please be patient with my correspondence in my following emails... :) I don't think I will be able to respond to everyone today!

Something that I wanted to talk about today is gratitude. I want to share an example which could apply to any aspect of your life. Imagine you have this companion and they irritate you. You are sick of them and you start to notice every single flaw. You become ungrateful. Then you get a new companion, and at first you are happy because you aren't stuck with the old one, but eventually you start noticing little flaws and weaknesses. Then you start to wish you were back with your first companion. It is the same thing with Winter and Summer. In Winter, we wish we could feel the sun quenching into our skin, but in the Summer we wish there was a cool breeze. It is so easy to become unsatisfied or ungrateful with our present circumstances. Are we only grateful when there is money in the bank or when things seem to be going the way we dreamt of? I am led to an example in the Book of Mormon of Lehi and his family. Lehi, a wealthy man with high status was commanded to leave everything behind and take his family into the wilderness. I can only imagine how difficult that would be. Later in 1 Nephi chapter 2 verse 7 we read, "And it came to pass that he built an altar of stones, and made an offering unto the Lord, and gave thanks unto the Lord our God." We should strive to go into the future with a grateful heart. I know that it is easier said then done, but I know that when we show our Heavenly Father we are grateful for the many blessings He has bestowed upon us, He will bless us even more and we will be happier, having a life filled with optimism and positivity. 

On Saturday, I hit six months on my mission. Thinking about going home in a year makes me incredibly sad. I really love Zimbabwe and the people here with my whole heart. I am forever changed because of their grateful hearts and examples to me. They are an inspiration to the world. They live such simple lives and I realized how much I love that. They know that God and family come first before anything else. It is beautiful.

I hope that everyone has a fantastic week! Love you all!!!

Pictures:

1: Last district pic!!

2: Saying goodbye to my peeps in Queensdale. Gotta love the Ncube family.

3. The Murenza family-amazing family. Two of the daughters are RM's from the Zimbabwe Harare mission and the third daughter is preparing to serve!

4. Quick shot of Bindura.
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Love,

Sister Beckstead