18 - 24 Nov 2013 Art,Mail,Afri-bat,Chicks,MagoanineTalk,Crafts

We have decided that our wall in the kitchen is our art gallery. The first entry in our gallery, next to some purchased screen prints, is an amazing picture of a tiger drawn by Draeton.

We were pleasantly surprised this week to see that mail can actually get from the USA to Mozambique. However, it does take a couple of weeks. Schneblys tested it and now we have some more original art work on our wall from Sarah and Sedona!  Postage does cost $1.10 for a one-ounce letter. You can also send pictures by email, and we can print them out. We would like to run out of space for art on the wall.

With over 200 families being baptized in 2013, the interest is in moving them forward to temple endowments and marriage and family sealings. The church’s Temple Patron Fund financially helps members and their families to attend the temple for the first time after they have made a significant sacrifice. This is a great fund to which you may wish to contribute as it is administered very carefully and offers great blessings to worthy members. Just indicate on the church donation form that it is for the “Temple Patron Fund.”  Let your money cause someone to say, “I never thought I could ever take my family to the temple in my life-time, and now I can go through the temple and be sealed to them forever.”

President Kretly noted that missionaries in Mozambique are baptizing the first generation in the Church here in this country. These members here are true pioneers for Mozambique. He reminded us that we are helping to build the foundation for the future as we train leaders here.

We were surprised when we received an email from “Afri-Bat” an organization that tracks bat colonies.  They had noted the bat pictures we had on our blog! They told us that “our” bats were Straw-colored Fruit Bats. We registered on the site and may be returning to the bat park again to document the bats are still there and to get more pictures.   I thought after two visits we were done with bats, but maybe not!  See http://www.inaturalist.org/projects/afribats.

For those of you who are interested here are the latest insects.

Out our window this week we saw the cruise ship “MSC Opera” dock for the night. From the internet it appears that the ship leaves Durban, South Africa, and travels along the Mozambique coast.

Yesterday I went to pay our electricity bill. While I was walking I heard the peeping of little chickens in the middle of a very busy city! Then I saw them in cardboard boxes. There were lots and lots of fuzzy yellow shapes. People were coming to buy them to raise them.

Just about every day on the way to the office we see this store that says on the partially hidden sign “Surprise”. Maybe we will have to go find out what they sell at such a store.

Due to very active excitement in the politics of an election, the Mission President has asked all missionaries to stay in their apartments all day and night of Wednesday, November 20. Here is an invite from Mom to sister missionaries to come and do Christmas crafts on Wednesday when we need to stay in. Some of P-Day was delayed until Wednesday when we need to stay in. The sister missionaries all live in the same apartment building as we do. The pictures show the voters in line and the Christmas craft activity with (standing) Sister Naehu, Sister Olander, Sister Smith, Sister Harrison, Sister Baldwin, and, (seated in front), Sister Thornton, and Sister Merkley.

Here are a few pretty pictures from the week. The red petals on the sidewalk are from the acacia trees.

We had seen geese in the yard below our apartment. Now we see lots of goslings.  Did you know that a group of goslings is called a gaggle?

The weather doesn’t suggest to us that it’s nearing the holidays, but next week it is December!  Mom and I put up the Christmas tree in the Mission Office.  The bright blue lights really stand out!

Remember the zinnia seeds I (Grandma) planted in a pot?  It isn’t much, but one of the gangling stems produced the first tiny pink blossom.  I really should have transplanted them outside, but I didn’t know where a safe place would be that they wouldn’t be pelted by the heavy rain storms we have here.

We got to go bird-watching on Saturday “down by the bay.”  The larger birds are white-breasted cormorants.

As we came up from the beach children were sliding down the edge of the steps on crushed plastic water bottles for “sleds.”   

Sunday we went to the Magoanine Branch.  Mom got to speak about the plan of salvation and Family History and Temple Work. 

Can you say “Inhamízua”? It might take some practice; it did more us!  In-ham-E(long e)-zoo-a

How about Magoanine?    Mag-o(long o)-a-KNEE-knee

Here are some comments from the LDS Church News, November 2013 that echo many of our feelings about Africa and our mission here in Mozambique.

“The Church is vibrant and growing in Africa,” said Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles during his recent visit to the Africa Southeast Area.

There is an eagerness and light in the eyes of the African Latter-day Saints, he said. “This is a place where many people live challenging, difficult lives. They don’t have many of the temporal comforts and blessings that people in the Western world have. Many of these Saints are grateful to have one substantial meal a day. Yet because of the gospel of Jesus Christ, they have great light and hope. I learn a great deal from the people every time I visit the African continent.”

“Africa is an enchanting and inspiring place,” said Elder Bednar. “Africa is diverse and complex. There are highly industrialized and sophisticated communities and rural and simple villages. The gospel of Jesus Christ gathers all kinds of people into the gospel net. Even though there is a common strong faith among the Latter-day Saints, there is also a remarkable diversity.”

Elder Christensen, on his first visit to Africa, stated the area was “quite different, quite diverse, quite broad from any other place we have been in the world. As we mingled with the Saints, we observed strong faith and spiritual depth.”

Elder Christensen said members have a desire to bless and watch out for one another, which “is a natural extension of the Savior’s gospel.”

Elder Bednar said, “Finding people to teach is not a fundamental problem in Africa. The challenge is making sure there are sufficient priesthood and auxiliary leaders to support the growth so the Church can be unified and strong.”

“The maturity of the Church is to be found in the hearts of people. In Africa I find a very mature Church,” he said. “The family is the center of the gospel, evidenced by the way these people live the gospel in their homes.”

“This is a land, a people, and a place of great faith in the Lord Jesus Christ,” he said. “You can feel it as well as hear it when these Saints pray and when they sing.

“These members have a simple faith that is uncluttered. It is focused on Christ. And it brings many blessings and spiritual gifts into their lives.”

In closing, Elder Bednar affirmed, “Every time I have an opportunity to come and witness what the Lord is accomplishing among the people here, it is thrilling for me. Africa changes me.”

CN 18 November 2013

11 - 17 Nov 2013 Flowers,Machoie.JamineFamily,FHClass

The week began with a continued display of flowering trees and shrubs. Just when it seemed that they could not get any prettier, they do.

Here is a selection of fruits that we were washing after coming home from the grocery store - quite colorful. This week we got what looked like apricots, but they were really “nectacots” a cross between a nectarine and an apricot. They were actually very tasty.

We bought the “pumpkin” below that is supposed to taste and look like a pumpkin inside. We’ll  believe it when we taste it!

Wednesday family history classes continue. Here is a picture of last week’s eager learners. (Back row (left to right): Anastacio & Adelina Mutampua, Eduardo Machoie, Laurinda Branco, Victoria Feliciano, Neuria Chiua. Front row (left to right): Elder Tidwell, Sister Tidwell, Angelo & Matilde Jamine.)

The hot afternoon sun from the west has caused us to move our front room furniture to the large air conditioned room.

Our dear friend, Irmão (Brother) Machoie, was able to baptize his wife on Saturday. They plan to go to the temple in South Africa in a year from now to be sealed for eternity. See their cute baby named Tiago in the pictures as well.

A few weeks ago Sister Tidwell and I were introduced to a couple from Maputo 1 Branch by Elder Lake. They were baptized a year ago and were planning to go to the temple with the Maputo District Temple Caravan leaving on November 21, 2013. They plan to be endowed and sealed in the temple as well as sealing a child to them. They also had some work to perform for deceased ancestors, They wanted help in preparing their paper work, so Sister Tidwell invited them to attend her weekly family history class. They attended, and, with some other individual meetings with them, they are now prepared to go to the temple and perform the temple ordinances.  Pictures here are Sister Tidwell with Matilde, Angelo, and Angelo's mother, Helena.

Here is a picture of a “nectacot” and the fruit, lychee.  The rough Lychee skin peels off easily; the peel is brittle like a boiled-egg shell.  The white juicy fruit surrounds a black pit and tastes like a sour grape.  We both tasted it and we may not want to have another … we think it is an acquired taste.

Late Saturday night Elder Tidwell watched part of BYU football game over the internet on  BYU-TV!  He had to go to bed before it was over, as by half-time it was midnight and the score was already 42-3.  He presumed they would win and he was correct!

Weather has been hot and humid, and it is expected to get worse. Tomorrow we will work on putting up a mosquito net for our bed, as mosquitos are supposed to flourish in the hot humid weather.

The week ended with great sadness as we received word that our dear friend Diana Cranney from our home ward in Provo had passed away. We also received word that our Mission President’s mother had passed away in Brazil. We are grateful for the gospel message of eternal life that reminds us of our everlasting existence and association with loved ones.

We continue to experience great blessings on this mission.  Every week there are baptisms to attend here and we hear of multiple marriages and baptisms happening in other branches in the mission.  To show our gratitude for these great miracles we acknowledge our dependence on our Heavenly Father for all that is happening here, and we petition Heavenly Father that the miracles will continue as members and missionaries remain steadfast and committed to mission goals.  President Kretly has called for a special fast for November 30 - 1 December. He had recently visited with a missionary from another country, which has a significant percentage of citizens who are members of the Church and which had previously experience great growth.  The gospel vigor there is waning and President Kretly doesn’t want that to happen here.  You are invited to join this special fast in the interest of successful missionary work throughout the world.

4-10Nov2013 Bats,Scenes,Mud,ChineseFood,200Families

This week began with a long walk to the park where the bats live. Even though I thought we would never go there again, Mom wanted to go again and get some pictures to actually prove that bats were there.

On the way to the park, and on other walks we've taken, we walked across busy streets. We are getting better at crossing streets by the way. One really has to learn how to cross streets here or you will be at the corner for hours waiting for an opening that never is quite big enough. It takes courage and quick feet and confidence. As we got closer to the park, we found a monument to the “Voortrekkers” (word in Dutch and Africannas meaning pioneers).  A group of them came in 1835 (Tregardt and Janse) and traveled 2,000 miles in southern Africa with oxen-pulled wagons for 3 years!   Their story is amazing!

The park did have bats and I do mean a lot. They never flew close to us, but they landed in the trees and quickly folded their wings and hung upside down.  The bats are the black splotches high in the trees.

We continue to enjoy the sunsets from our kitchen window.

 

When we got to the office on Tuesday morning, the elders had to park in the driveway instead of parking on the street, because the road was filled with red dirty mud from all the rain we’ve been having.  The guards were able to clean up the mud, but it took them a lot of time.  The elders said that last year they had mud which came up a couple of feet up on the wall surrounding the mission office property and the mud ruined all the gardens and there was damage to the mission office as well. 

Sandy made little banana breads to give to everyone to celebrate recent transfers.  One of the elders said, “Nice! This is better than in Beira!”  We had a brand new AP dupla:  Elder Greenman and Elder Brandão.  Elder Hall has a brand new companion, Elder Douglas. Elder Lake left the next day to be the Branch President of the Inhamízua Branch.

These missionaries are amazing!  When one elder leaves you think that no one else could ever measure up to his caliber of service.  To your surprise another one is ready to step in with unique talents that carry the mission along in just what is needed. 

Sandy gave the spiritual thought at Staff Meeting relating the allegory of the olive trees to missionary work.  Her concluding remarks were:

“Each of us has a role in Nourishing – preaching the gospel; training leaders; teaching classes and being an example of happy gospel living.  After Church on Sunday, Elder Lake, took Elder Tidwell and me aside and introduced us to Angelo and Matilde, who have been members of the Church for a year.  They are attending the Temple Preparation class and need to have their information put into FamilySearch so they can go to the temple for the first time this month.  Although they have not been attending the class, I feel that the Lord has guided Elder Tidwell and I in the organized selection of topics to cover with our class since it began on October 3rd.  The reason I mention this, is that last week we talked about FamilySearch accounts and Elder Tidwell and I have been through the learning curve and know better how the process works.  This week is the precise week that we are going into Familysearch.org and the class is learning how to input data.  It will be perfect, not only for the class members, but also for Angelo and Matilde to join with us.  The Lord is truly working by our side.

May each of us do our part in nourishing, digging, fertilizing, grafting and pruning in our part of the vineyard, so in the end the Lord of the vineyard will say to us, “… blessed art thou; for because ye have been diligent in laboring with me in the vineyard and have kept my commandments, and have brought unto me again the natural fruit, that my vineyard is no more corrupted and the bad is cast away, behold ye shall have joy with me because of the fruit of my vineyard.” (Jacob 5:75)

[If you want the whole spiritual thought, let Sandy know!]

A Chinese restaurant in Maputo is President Kretly’s favorite restaurant for “after staff meeting” lunch.  

Here are a few pictures of the out-going and new-coming office staff.  1st picture (left to right): Elder Lake, Elder Greenman, Elder Brandâo, Brother Tualufo. 2nd picture (left to right): Elder Brandâo, Brother Tualufo, President Kretly, Elder ?, Elder Hall. 3rd picture (left to right): Elder ?, Elder Hall, Elder Douglas, Sister Tidwell.

Here is a little bug. Anyone know what it is?

Mom has collected a lot of things from nature. Here are a few of them.

On Saturday, a young couple were married in the Maputo Chapel.  The wedding was at 10:30 and they were baptized at noon the same day. Elders Abel and Porter were the missionaries who taught this couple. The mission reported that this week the 200^th family since January 2013 had been baptized..

Elder Porter made the wedding cake. He pointed to his companion and said his companion was the “cozinha” (kitchen) and he was the “cook”. His companion’s name is Elder Kitchen, shown on the right in this picture next to Elder Porter.  Elder Abel is in the background.

Mom wrote the following, “I love the flowering trees here in Maputo. They come in very bright colors: red-orange; bright-yellow; deep purple; light pink; white touched with either pink or yellow. Whenever I see a tree that is particularly beautiful I want a picture of it. When we go on walks I like to pick up blossoms on the sidewalk which haven't been squashed and then take them home and press them in a book, so I will be able to enjoy them dried. After these small blossoms are pressed, they are paper thin and almost transparent.”

“Yesterday morning when we were doing our walking (we walk 30 minutes around our apartment since it is so roomy!), I looked outside one of our windows in a room we seldom use. There was the prettiest red-orange acacia tree blooming on our very busy street in the middle of this big city.

Sometime we search everywhere to find beauty, and if we would look around us, we will find it very close! :)”

At dinner after church we invited the Hobsons, the humanitarian senior missionaries, and Solomon Smith to eat with us. Hobsons just got back from being in Tete after hosting a neo-natal training program. It was very successful with over 100 people attending. One of the challenges was that is very hot in Tete and no air conditioning in the facility they rented for the demonstrations. One day it was 46 degrees Centigrade which is 116 degrees F. At one time we were going to be assigned to Tete as missionaries. We are so happy we did not have to be there to experience that kind of heat.  They say it is supposed to get really warm here, but it’s still spring in Maputo!

Solomon Smith was here at dinner because his wife and son went home to USA a month early. He will join them in about 4 weeks for Christmas and then all of them will return in January.  (There may be some room for us to have you send us some needed items back with them. Interesting possibility.) We will let you know if that will happen.

Looking to the next week, Mom speaks about family history in Sacrament Meeting on November 17 in Maputo 1.

We know Africa is large, but Africa is much bigger than we think it is. 

In the map shown below the continent of Africa is being compared to countries. It shows how many large countries and other areas of the world could fit inside of Africa. I think you will find it interesting. (http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/131028/africa-its-bigger-it-looks)