Elder Ryland Earl Rash: Week 35: Why his area is called T-3 and a new companion

So another good week on this side of the world, also a very strange week! So I am now serving with Elder Lorimer from Texas! He is a super good guy and we get along really well! He is in his 2nd Transfer, so technically I'm his trainer! Yay. But I love this guy! He is super fun and we have a great time together.

Also, some more exciting news! So as many of you already know, Elder Andersen of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles is coming here on the 21st. We will be having a special meeting with him as are all of the missionaries here in Matola and Maputo. The news is that Elder Lorimer and I have been asked to participate in a special choir to sing for him at the Conference! The down side is that we have to go to the city two times a week in order to practice... But "Sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven," as the hymn goes. So that will take up sometime this week, but I'm willing to make the sacrifice!

Oh, so I've been wondering for a long time now, and I'm sure many of you have been wondering as well, why my area is called T-3... Well, this week I found out! So a long, long time ago, this area was renowned for the beer company called Tom Tom Tom. This company was centered in this area, and over time, it got shortened to TTT, or T-3. So my area is named after a famous beer company that existed years ago. Yay. Exciting.

So our area is MASSIVE and got even bigger when another area in the other zone closed down, and there are large parts of our area that have not been touched by missionaries in the past. But over the past couple of weeks we have been receiving quite a few of references of people who live in Khongolote (The area that no one has entered). So on Saturday, Elder Lorimer and I went there. We had a couple of lessons marked, but for the most part, we were going in blind. We went out there and found that it is a gold mine! So many families! And not just any families; families that are pretty well off! And the best part: They are receptive to our message! We encountered numerous families that let us in, listened to our message and were excited for a second visit. Unfortunately, none of them came to church yesterday, but I have faith that the spirit will work within them and they will make the decision to come to church next week! So we will be making it a priority to work out in that area at least once a week. It is about a 45 minute choppa ride to get out to the border of the area, and from there, it goes on for about another 45 minutes to make it to the next area/city. So there is huge potential. Pray for us (1 Thessalonians 5:25).

Yesterday in church I had a very spiritual experience that I wanted to share with you all. So I've been sitting on the stand lately as the Chorister (My Unofficial Ward Calling), and during testimony meeting, I noticed a woman that I had never seen before struggle to stand up from her seat in the back. She slowly started down the long pathway to the pulpit, stopping at each row of chairs to keep her balance and support herself. As she approached, I could see tears welling up in her eyes and the look of despair on her face as she realized that there were steps to get up to the pulpit. I felt prompted and compelled to help her the rest of the way. I braced her arm, as I have braced Nanny's arms in the past, and helped her up the couple of steps that I'm sure felt like a mountain to her. I assisted her to the pulpit and watched her deliver one of the most powerful testimonies I've ever heard on the power of a priesthood blessing. It turns out that she has been bed ridden for quite some time now due to a house that partially collapsed on top of her, breaking ribs and parts of her spine and that she had been unable to walk for a long time.

*Elder Brown called me on Saturday to tell me that an elderly woman had asked him for a blessing, but that she lived in our ward boundaries. She had been getting permission from the Stake President to attend a different ward. But Elder Brown informed me that he would enter our area very briefly to give this blessing to her because she asked specifically for him.*Elder Brown gave this woman a blessing, and she walked to church the next day. She bore pure testimony that the power of God is on the Earth today and that Worthy Young Men can possess it to help and bless the lives of others. Tears filled my eyes as the spirit testified to everyone in the room of the truthfulness of her experience. After her beautiful testimony, I helped her to her seat, thanked her, and returned to my place on the stand.

I too testify that God is still a God of Miracles. That we have His power on the earth today. I know that God lives. That this is His true church.

In the Sacred Name of Jesus the Christ, Amen.