16 - 22 Dec 2013 Guilhermina,Cookies,Tree,Skype,Devotional

This week began with transfers for the missionaries.  Although there weren’t many transfers between the zones, most missionaries advanced to other leadership responsibilities (such as junior companion to senior companion) so there were lots of corrections to the transfer cards.

This week, when we did our shopping, I talked briefly with another young lady who weighs produce at Premier.  She was happy to be asked if we could take a photo!  Her name is Guilhermina! 

Each week at Staff Meeting (which are usually held on Tuesday mornings) someone gives a spiritual thought.  This week’s thought was about Nephi and his brothers.  Laman and Lemuel had tied Nephi up; Nephi prayed that the Lord would give Nephi “strength…[to] burst these bands.”  Elder Greenman explained that in answer to Nephi’s prayer “the bands were loosed from off [his] hands and feet” and then concluded that sometimes our prayers are answered in a different way than the way we have asked.  Nevertheless, our prayers are always answered in the way that the Lord feels is best for us.  Food for thought!

We held our last family history class for 2013 on Wednesday.  It looked like we wouldn’t have anyone there, and then we heard the hurried footsteps and one of our students who had not been able to attend for a long time came and sat down in the classroom to catch his breath.  This 19 year-old young man is always smiling!  He explained that he really wanted to come to class tonight and was glad he made it.  The lesson we had planned, the use of pedigree charts and family group sheets, was perfect for him.  He understands their use far better than he did the first time we talked about them and is anxious to gather information about his family.  We are taking a break from classes until January 8, since the next 2 Wednesday evenings are Dec 25 and Jan 1!

The Elders gave me a stack of baptismal fichas (records) to input.  When I got the box I prop the pages up with from the top of our file cabinet in our office, I saw something move in the box!  I screamed and dropped the box.  Investigating, Elder Tidwell and I saw a tiny lizard, about an inch and a half long.  Its little black eyes looked frightened, too! I carefully carried the box downstairs and outside and Elder Tidwell got ready to take a picture!  I tapped the box, but the lizard didn’t come out.  Its little suction pads on its feet clung to the cardboard. The little guy didn’t move until I nudged it – and then it scurried into the garden and disappeared!   Either that day or the next Elder Tidwell saw another similar-sized lizard scurry into the bedroom across from the office.  So, look out!  Little lizards are lurking! 

This week we were heavily involved in preparations for the Christmas Eve dinner for 57 missionaries, President & Sister Kretly and President Kretly’s son and his wife. The dinner was to be held in conjunction with Maputo Zone Conference from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. on Christmas Eve day.

On Wednesday and Thursday evenings I made Christmas cookie dough for Date Pinwheel Cookies, Molasses Krinkles and Russian Teacake cookies.  Then on Friday at the office, I used their gas oven to bake 25.5 dozen Christmas cookies!  If I had used my counter-top oven, it would have taken forever!!!  With the regular-sized gas oven – 6 hours!  I wanted each of the missionaries to have a taste of homemade Christmas goodness.  The Elders said the kitchen smelled like heaven!  One of them said that he could eat them all with no problem!!!  (Now, adds Elder Tidwell, if the oven at the office had run out of propane, who knows how we would have resolved that problem, but all worked perfectly.) The elders each got to taste a Molasses Krinkle, but I froze the rest. 

Our Christmas tree is now complete with pictures of all of the children and grandchildren!  Who would have known that the shiny inside of milk cartons could be made into silver palm tree leaves!  I told Elder Tidwell that I would really like to have some Christmas lights in the apartment, so we went down to the store that was still open and purchased a little package of 100 tiny rice lights.  As we checked out, the store bagger opened the box of lights and tested them in an outlet to make sure they were working!  That is something you never see in America!  Then, after we left the store, the store manager called after us, “Wait! Wait!”  I went back and he handed me a bag and said, “A gift for you for Christmas.  Feliz Natal!”  It was a box of four pretty glasses!  Free gifts like that aren’t given out very often in America either!  What a country of contrasts!

We hung the string of rice lights in the kitchen!  Before Christmas, we purchased another couple of strings of rice lights, so in the evening we have lights flashing on and off in a variety of cycles and everything looks very festive!

We are grateful we get to Skype with our families!  We got to see the two beautiful blue parakeets (Rose and Blue) that Kelsie received for her 10^th birthday.  Sometimes the grandchildren sings songs to us and show us their new toys and other things.  Here is a candid shot of Amelia and Georgia via Skype!  

We also enjoy phone calls with everyone via our Vonage phone system.  We are also very thankful that so many products are available for purchase here in Maputo.  This week the camera on my laptop stopped working.  Elder Tidwell was able to buy a webcam and by simply plugging it in, it worked!  We’ve had some problems with sound on Skype, but everything seems to be working well now.

On Friday we finally had mirrors in our bathrooms installed!  Hobson’s invited us to dinner that evening and we called it a celebration dinner!

Although the Saturday before Christmas is not the best time to be at Premier shopping for food for a big Christmas Eve dinner for the missionaries, none-the-less that is where we were!  We ended up with two grocery carts full – one containing boxes of water and cans of juice, the other one was filled with a variety of fruits for the fruit basket (pineapple, red grapes, green grapes, apricots, peaches, oranges, apples, plums), veggies (lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, mushrooms) for the tossed salad, an additional 60 apples to go with their pizza lunch, and ice cream for dessert. 

There was also a Santa activity for children at the Premier grocery store on Saturday. There was also a place to get presents wrapped by the parking lot.  

Mozambique is about 60% Christian, and Christmas is a special holiday here.  One Internet site indicated that dove ornaments (symbolizing peace) and cross ornaments (symbolizing Christ’s sacrifice), both on the symbol from the Christian Council of Mozambique (CCM) are often hung from trees.  There was a lot of shopping happening at both of the stores on our street, and the stores were open on Sunday before Christmas (it has always been closed on other Sundays) and were open also on Christmas Eve.  Christmas Day is also called “Dia da Familia” or Day of the Family.

Sunday we held the missionary Christmas program (just like the one we did last week in Maputo) at the Matola chapel; Matola is north of Maputo.  We didn’t have as large of an audience, but the Christmas spirit was felt through music and word.  One of the members told Sister Hobson that the program was “Too beautiful to be too short!” One of the elders wanted a copy of the script!

At the end of each program, all of the Elders and Sisters stood and recited the following from the last paragraph of "The Living Christ" declaration: 

“Prestamos testemunho,” juntamente com “Apóstolos Seus, devidamente ordenados, de que Jesus é o Cristo Vivo, o Filho Imortal de Deus. ... Ele é a luz, a vida e a esperança do mundo.  Seu caminho é aquele que conduz á felicidade nesta vida e á vida eterna no mundo vindouro.  Graças damos a Deus pela incomparável dádiva de Seu Filho divino.”

For you English speakers, that was:

“We bear testimony,” along with “His duly ordained Apostles—that Jesus is the Living Christ, the immortal Son of God. … He is the light, the life, and the hope of the world. His way is the path that leads to happiness in this life and eternal life in the world to come. God be thanked for the matchless gift of His divine Son.”

This is a powerful true message we share with you at the holiday season!

We end this week's blog with a unique sunset!

9-15Dec2013 TownHall,Clouds,BranchParty,MaputoTalks

Monday was a busy day of shopping for ourselves and for the two missionaries who were arriving on Tuesday afternoon. We planned meals for them and helped prepare some of the meals, and the other missionaries helped the new missionaries with their meals as well. The regular store where we usually buy pillows did not have them, so we had to go to another store the next morning. Interesting that the reasonable sheets we buy have a unique assortment of designs and colors.

It is interesting to watch the new missionaries arrive and how they are trained and integrated into the mission. We see them as they just arrive and by the end of the week they are actively involved  and working along side fellow missionaries and then they are off to their assigned areas.

Since we do not have a car, the office elders take us where we need to go. With the traffic the way it is here, the ride is quite an adventure. We are very glad they are doing the driving!  Sandy usually reads during the drive – it is too scary for her to watch the close calls!

We went with the Hobsons to a town hall meeting sponsored by the U.S. Embassy.  It was held not very far from the Mission Office at the American School for English-speaking students. As security checked us in, we were required to have our U.S. passports, and they kept our passports until we signed out after the meeting. We really did not want to leave the passports there, as it did not look like they had the controls in place to protect them very well, but we had no choice but to trust them if we wanted to enter and attend the meeting. We had juice and cookies and then listened to the ambassador and his associates talk to us. They assured us of their readiness to help American citizens living in Mozambique. They cautioned us to be safe and to vary our daily activities so we would not be predictable. Other safety rules were discussed. We were asked to be their eyes and ears and to report whatever abnormal experiences we had with Mozambican police and other government employees so they could contact officials and get things resolved.  Outside the building where we were meeting was this beautiful red acacia tree.

This paragraph is from Sandy:  We showed you the Mission Office Christmas tree last week.  Well, we also have a Christmas tree in our apartment, but it is very unique.  It is a palm tree made out of milk boxes, milk cartons, and egg cartons!  The nativity characters are also made out of egg cartons!  It was fun to create something out of things that people usually throw away!  The Christmas tree isn't quite finished yet.  It won't be complete until pictures of the kids and the grandkids are added!  Then you'll see the finished product next week.

Our apartment on the fifth floor faces west, so that is why we have included so many beautiful sunsets in this blog.  The last one in this collection looks like Goblin Valley, in south eastern Utah, made with clouds.

It is very typical for people here to carry things on their head. Here is a man carrying two large bags of something on his head. It is also very common for women to carry baskets of fruit, bread, nuts, or other products on their heads, while also having a baby strapped to their back with a capulana.  They often carry other things in their hands, too. They do this all very well even when weaving through busy traffic.

There was a joint Christmas party for three branches in the church building near us. There was a large crowd there to enjoy the party which started with a devotional followed with a talent show with some planned and some extemporaneous talent.  

During the week we spent some time helping organize supplies at the Church Distribution Center. The last shipment had been sent by ship and it had taken 7 months to arrive!  All the materials needed to be counted so they could be entered onto the computer – then the materials could be sold or shipped to mission areas.  On Saturday sister missionaries and Elders also assisted in the distribution center. During that time Mom was able to take a break and attend a baptism downstairs.

On Saturday morning, I went to repair my glasses, but I did not know where to go or if anyone could fix them as one of the nose pads had broken off months ago.  I thought I could live without getting them fixed, but it had become uncomfortable and it may be the cause of my many recent headaches. I knew where a glasses place was close to our house, but I felt I needed to go to  another one that was further down towards downtown.  I found out, when I got there, why I was led there.  Roger, the oculist, was more comfortable with English than Portuguese, and he was very qualified to help me. He explained that he could not repair the nose pad, but rather he would need to put my lenses in a new frame that had nose pads. He was able to have his assistant cut my lenses and shape them to fit the new frames I had chosen. As I waited for the glasses to be fixed it occurred to me that if for some reason the cut did not work well that I may have to live without glasses for many weeks. That would be a problem as I need them for close and far vision. However, all worked out well and I am happy with my new glasses.

Sunday Mom and I both of us spoke in the Maputo 2 branch Sacrament meeting.  Sister Tidwell spoke about the angels announcing the “good tidings of great joy” of the birth of Christ and all this “good tidings - good news” means to our salvation. Our responsibility is to share the good news with our friends and our ancestors through family history and temple work.  I used the text of the primary song, “He Sent His Son” to talk about the mission of the Savior to the world to be born as a baby and show us how to live by teaching and example.  It is version of the talk I gave a year ago in our ward at home at Christmas time when we were going to be leaving for our mission last December. I added a short history of the church in Mozambique to note their important role as pioneers in the establishment of The Church of Jesus Christ in Mozambique where the first missionaries came only 14 years ago.

Later on Sunday at 4:30pm we watched a Portuguese version of the First Presidency Devotional, and then the mission presented a Christmas narration and song program written and directed by Mom. President and Sister Kretly were the narrators, and the choir of 46 missionaries sang wonderfully! It was enjoyed by a congregation of over 150 people.

2 - 8 Dec 2013 WalkPremier,Toys,Truck,ArvoreNatal,MatolaTalks

On Mondays we usually go shopping with the Hobsons, but they were not available this week due to some training. So, we thought we would walk to the store to see if we could make it ok. It took us about 38 minutes to walk there. Of course, we could not buy much, because we would have to carry it all back. Thankfully we had bought ahead on a lot of things so we did not need very much.

At the store Mom was able to make contact with her friend who works with the produce, and was able to get her phone number so Mom could text her. It is hard to have a conversation at the store with her, because she has work to do helping to weigh produce. So, Mom has been able to have a periodic text conversation this week with her to get to know her better.  Mom is still developing her listening skills, so texting gives her a chance to translate her friend’s words and then reply in Portuguese.

We were grateful to know that we could walk to the store if that were necessary. It took us longer to get home than to walk there as we made some stops along the way. We got some more yarn at the store we had found previously. The man there was nice to tell us that they would be closed from Dec 23 until they reopened on January 2. The clerk seemed very pleased to help Mom with the yarn because Mom was speaking Portuguese to her.

This week we had a great family history class on Wednesday night at the Maputo church. We had many of our regular attenders plus a couple of new ones. Mom gave a lesson on writing one’s own personal history, reminding them of how much they would value such a history written by their parents or grandparents. One of our new class members was not a member of the church, but had been invited by the sister missionaries to come and join the class. She was enthused about coming to the class. Another new class member was concerned that he would miss every other week because of school, but we were able to assure him we could add classes to catch him up. This is typical of the desire to learn that we have found in these people.

During the week we were asked to help with the three new missionaries arriving on December 10. That means we buy about 3-4 days of food for them to have while they are getting their visas in order and initial training to then be sent to their areas. During that period they live in the mission office house. In addition to food we will buy them their own sheets, pillow, and pillow case to use during their mission. It is always exciting to meet and feel of the spirit of the newly arriving missionaries.

We had two pigeons come and visit us this week but they did not stay long.

We met some young boys in front of our apartment building with toys they had built from things they had found on the street. Here they are with their creations.

On Tuesday morning we were picked up by the office Elders as usual. The road in front of our house turns into a one-way street early in the day and then around 8am it changes back to a two-way street. It reminds me a little of the reversible lanes in Seattle during the commute hours, except that in Seattle the transition was tightly controlled and usually had no problems. However, the transition here tends to be more of a phased approach where there is a period when cars are going BOTH ways on the reversed side during the transition. Some days it is more tightly controlled, but on Tuesday it was not. As the Elders picked us up they were pulling into traffic when a car, thinking the lanes were no longer reversed, pulled into our lane without looking and almost hit us broadside where I was sitting.  The Elder who was driving quickly veered to the right, where no car was thankfully, so the car only hit our left front fender. Both cars had minor damage and there were no passenger or driver injuries.  We were delayed for a few hours waiting for police to arrive and for someone to take the blame. Our driver was not in the wrong, but the other driver did not think he was either. Elders will go figure it out with the police in court next week. We got to the office late, but we were thankful for the safety of all and especially for a quick response by our driver.

Here is a picture of an acacia tree also called “Arvore de Natal” (Christmas Tree) because it is always in bloom at Christmas time. The blossoms are very unique as you can see.

On Saturday we went to the church to teach a family history lesson and attend a baptism. In addition we were able to attend a wedding.  Mom made an important contact with one of her family history students who is preparing to go to the temple with his family soon. 

On Sunday, December 8, Mom spoke at two different "ramos" (branches), Matola 1 and Matola 2, about family history and the plan of salvation. She continues to fine tune her speech. Sometimes I am asked to sit on the stand with her where I am not allowed to even nap at all, of course. I am doing well at following that rule. The members very reverently listen to her. We enjoy receiving feedback from members after she speaks. One of the counselors in one of the branch presidencies today noted that in February his family will be a member for a year, and they are looking forward to go to the temple at that time.

After church this little boy enjoyed holding Mom’s hand and walking with her.

After church Mom was able to give a picture that Sister Hobson had printed out of a family in the Matola 1 Branch. The picture was one of us and the family taken on the first Sunday we were in Mozambique. The family was happy to see the picture and had almost forgotten that it had been taken.

Sunday finished with a practice for the mission Christmas program next week where all of the 50 some missionaries in the south will be performing. The practice was delayed by a baptism, but then this is a mission and baptisms take priority. Mom once again did her excellent chorister duties and created a choir out of dedicated missionaries willing to serve. At the end there will be a choral recitation of the last paragraph of "The Living Christ" in Portuguese. It will be a very powerful testimony of the living Christ.

25 Nov – 1 Dec 2013 Net,Christmas,Rain,Thanksgiving,SingPractice

We are now prepared for more mosquitoes!!! We figured out how to put up the mosquito net around our bed. Richard thought he’d have trouble getting out of his side in the middle of the night, since there isn’t an overlapping of layers like it is on the other side, but so far so good.

We had many good meals with the ham Richard purchased at “Deli 986” a little grocery store in town with a fresh meat counter.

At the office Mom worked with baptismal fichas as shown in the picture below with Mom and her home-made office implements to assist her efforts. This month there were 96 baptisms. Also included is a picture of us both in our office. I spent a lot of time this week learning the details of the Temple Patron Fund so that more members in this mission can participate in this program that assists members financially to attend the temple for the first time.

In this mission as in missions throughout the world we have great dedicated Elders and Sisters serving. They have such dedication and enthusiasm for the work and for their investigators. One of the current goals for each proselyting missionary is to have 35 qualified contacts every week. That does not sound too hard unless you realize that “qualified” contacts has a specific meaning. Qualified means that the contact believes in Christ, has a family, and is interested in listening to the missionaries. By reaching their 35 qualified contacts they are enjoying great success in finding and baptizing families.

This week of Thanksgiving, we are both so thankful for our health. We have experienced both gradual and instant changes, which are miracles to us, as we adjust to full-time missionary service. We feel very blessed to Heavenly Father for answering our prayers and are thankful for everyone who has been praying for us! Keep it up! We know it makes a difference in our service here.

The Mission Christmas tree now has picture ornaments of each of the missionaries serving in the mission.

We also finished the cards for the Elders and Sister serving missions from Mozambique. There are currently 26 such missionaries – one of the elders just came back last week, but we put up his card anyway. Brother Tualufo said that 3 more missionaries have received their calls, so 3 more will be added soon. President Kretly says the goal of the Mission is to have as many Mozambican missionaries as missionaries we have serving in the Mozambique Maputo Mission, which is currently 99.

We’ve had lots more storms and rain, intermingled with very hot days as the humid summer approaches. We are so glad to be able to work in the office and have air conditioning.

Thanksgiving was very enjoyable, but we really missed our family. We are so thankful for the technology to be able to connect with our family. Thank you, family, for your calls and Skype conversations! They really made the difference in our day.

Here are Elder Kitchen and Elder Porter with their contribution of a traditional apple pie and an American Flag apple pie for the Thanksgiving dinner that many of the Elders in Maputo attended in the afternoon.

There were 14 of us celebrating Thanksgiving here at the Hobson’s apartment. The sister missionaries brought mashed potatoes, pie, stuffing, and rolls. In addition to cooking a turkey (halves cooked in 2 crockpots – our counter-top oven was too small for the turkey Hobsons purchased in South Africa), I made three salads: one macaroni salad and two jello salads (cut up apples and bananas in raspberry jello; and cut up celery, apples, pineapple rings, shredded carrots, walnuts in lime jello). Hobsons made fruit salad, turkey and gravy and furnished jams and jellies, butter for the rolls and drinks. That day was really stormy and going home from the Mission Office we got caught in traffic. We didn’t get home until 6:55 p.m. The sisters had a similar hard time getting home, so our feast was delayed until 7:45 p.m.! Pictures are: (back row) Sister Olander, Sister Thornton, Sister Baldwin, Sister Smith, Sister Naehu, Sister Merkley, Sister Harrison, Sister Lopez, Sister Woodman; (front) Elder & Sister TIdwell, Sister & Elder Hobson, Solomon Smith.

When we left the Mission Office Friday it was already dark. I stepped out of the front door onto the porch, looked down, and right below the step was a white lizard! It looked like, at first, a plastic play lizard you’d buy in a toy store, but then it scurried into the garden. Then we saw another one! So, here are pictures of our first white lizards in Mozambique!

At home on Saturday Jordan Tidwell was being baptized.

Saturday was the first practice of the Maputo missionaries for the Christmas program for December 15 and 22. Sandy gets to lead the chorus and felt right at home! For the actual programs, we will view a rebroadcast of the First Presidency Christmas Fireside and then we will present a narrated program with over 50 missionaries singing together. One of the sister missionaries plays the viola and she is doing background music and obligato accompaniments to many of the songs. A search is on to see if a cello and/or a classical guitar can be located to include other talented missionaries. President and Sister Kretly will be the narrators.