21 - 27 Oct 2013 Shells,Capulanas,PowerOff,MissApp,StreetMkts

As the week began we laid out the shells we had collected at the beach, saving only those that were able to be dried and preserved.  A couple were inhabited by creatures, so we didn't keep them!  The shells were small but pretty. 

We took a long walk Monday afternoon to try to find the Conservatory, a government building where citizens can purchase copies of birth, marriage and death certificates.  We only had some clues, and no real address, so we had to ask people for directions.  We got multiple responses.  We found ourselves going back and forth in a two to three block area, following the directions we were given. Needless to say, we were worn out by the time we got home.  And, of course, we found the Conservatory at the last place we looked!  One does NOT take pictures of government buildings in this country, so you’ll just have to imagine what this two story ordinary-looking building looked like.  It was closed, as we arrived after hours, but we had accomplished what we set out to do, as we needed to inform our family history class on how to obtain country records.  On the way home we found a wonderful fabric store, Casa de Paris, purchased a few things, including yarn to make more crocheted hot-pads. 

Monday evening we and the Hobsons were invited to a “Capulana” party also known as Sister Olander’s birthday party. 

We have mentioned capulana’s before.  They are 2 meters of decorated fabric that can be a wrap-around skirt or used to carry a baby or other carry other things. Such can also be used by men as clothing. I wore a rhino capulana. Mom wore one that she bought that day when we went shopping.

A few times this week the power was out for some long periods of time. In the picture below we are playing Scrabble with the electricity off. We had candles but no matches. We called the Hobsons and got matches. They said that they bought head lamps and batteries for such occasions so they just turned them on and kept working. Sounds like a good investment this next week at Premier when shopping.

The power was off on Wednesday so we could not have the family history class at the church, We walked there without street lights not knowing if power was off there or if we needed to put up a sign that the class was cancelled. We met sister missionaries as we went down the hill who were trying to phone us to tell us not to come. So, we went home to sit in the dark until power came on at 10:30pm.

It is still spring so we enjoy the blossoming trees and other spring flowers.

The Mission Office is on this road.

After Staff Meeting on Tuesday, Sister Kretly gave us a gift intended to be given on the first days of our African arrival, but the Kretly’s were traveling at that time. It included a stuffed material doll representing a Mozambican woman and her baby. Also included were a number of bagged snacks.

Also Dad’s 68^th birthday was on October 24, 2013, for which we had a chicken dinner and chocolate chip cookies for dessert. Such cookies were a special treat, because you cannot buy chocolate chips in Mozambique. These chips were purchased for us by the Hobsons in South Africa a few weeks ago.

On Saturday this week we went to a wedding and a baptism at the T-3 branch. As noted before, often people here “marry” without the legal ceremony but must be legally married before they are eligible to be baptized. So, as in this case, a marriage and a baptism happen close in succession. The Mozambique culture celebrates marriages in a very festive way with singing and other joyful sounds. It is a very new experience for us and joyful for all involved.

Here is a picture of the couple who were married and also the baptismal font in which they were baptized.

In the United States this flower is a small indoor plant, but here it flourishes outdoors as a large plant. 

While at T-3 Mom saw a spectacular lizard on a wall and here it is from a distance (Can you see it?).

Coming back from T-3 we saw this valley that reminded us of Carnation, Washington, with all of the gardens and various colors of green.

Here is a close-up of another “shoe store”. There are so many businesses run on the street with no doors and no walls that you would not believe it!! Set-up time is incredible and the presentation is impressive. Here it was with shoes, but the vegetables and fruits are even more beautiful as they are prepared and arranged carefully.

As we traveled to and from the T-3 Branch for the wedding/baptism we saw this car wreck. We did not see it happen, but it must have been very serious.

The branch and district leaders from Maputo and from a number of other outlying branches met in Maputo and by internet connections throughout Mozambique. [We finally have Internet in the Maputo building!] The country is so large that such meetings are necessary to allow the President to stay in close contact with members, missionaries, and branch and district leaders. The job of a mission president is a very unique one that requires a very skilled and inspired leader in order to be able to do the job well. When there are no stakes in the country and the mission is the country, he really is directly responsible for everything having to do with church and mission administration in the whole country.

The meeting was regarding missionary application process for Mozambique youth, temple recommend procedures, and temple preparation. I was able to put together the missionary application PowerPoint presentation and help present that part of the presentation. Of course, all of this was done in Portuguese.

We finished our week at T-3 Branch Sunday where we rode with the Hobsons and Mom was able to give her latest version of her 15-minute talk about family history and plan of salvation relative to temple work for the living and their ancestors. She spoke in Portuguese, and she did a great job. The congregation was very attentive.

One older sister particularly came to Mom after the meeting and thanked her for her talk, and she said that she had gone to the temple in South Africa three times and was so thankful for that experience.