20 – 26 Jan 2014 Mosquitos,WaterJugs,FamilySearch,Laura

Transfers were announced on Monday.  Many elders were going to the Beira/Manga area from Maputo and vice versa.  We heard bitter/sweet feelings being expressed between missionary companions as duplas were split to accommodate the changes.  Zone Conference is next week for Beira and Maputo Zones, so some of the missionaries won’t actually be in their new areas until the end of next week.

Sandy used some of her P-day this week to make a colorful skirt out of a capulana.

Many people in our neighborhood are dependent on obtaining water for their homes in large plastic jugs as shown in this picture. The supply of water is a source of income for those who have water to sell. It is very common to see in the early morning many taking their empty jugs to fill with water and returning to their homes either carrying two in their hands or balancing one on their head.

The only good mosquito is a dead mosquito! We have been seeing more of both kinds since we have been having more rain and hot humid weather. They seem to like the building elevators very much. Many of the mosquitoes are very small, but this was one of the larger ones. Thank goodness it is rare to see one inside our apartment.

We continue to enjoy watching the comings and goings of ships to Maputo from our apartment.  This week we had a day when we had a very large cruise ship arrive as well as a military ship.

As we ride to and from the Mission Office we often are next to the water which is particularly beautiful at sunset and when the waves come with the rising tide. We saw a ship this week that looked like it belonged to pirates or belonged in a Peter Pan movie.

Teaching family history continues to be a blessing.  This week’s class was about how to use FamilySearch.org.  So, in addition to some short explanatory videos Sandy had downloaded onto her computer, we were going to go “live” into lds.org to show the class members the vast resources available.  Well, we are learning to always have a back-up plan – yep, the Internet wouldn’t connect and it was very frustrating!  We used the explanatory videos and apologized for not being able to do what we had planned.  Our wonderful students took this drama in stride, of which we were thankful, and they indicated they had learned the basics this week and we could go into further detail in future lessons.  Although some of the instructional videos are available in Portuguese, many of the ones Sandy wants to use are not.  So, we have to resort to showing English screens and explaining them in Portuguese.  Wednesday evening’s experience also taught Sandy that she needs to be even more prepared to present the lesson content in alternative ways. 

On Saturday we taught another lesson to a Sister who is learning to be a family history teacher. She has only been a member of the Church since November 2013. We were very impressed at her eagerness to learn and her ability to grasp the importance of this work and her depth of understanding. She told how her branch president had her talk in Sacrament Meeting last week about family history. She bore a strong testimony to us of this work as she shared some of the things that she had included in her talk. We felt very humbled by her willingness to serve in such a calling being so new in the Church.

Most people in Mozambique do not have cars so their travel is limited to the make-shift system of “chapas,” vans that pack at least 4 people per bench and more sometimes, to get from place to place. Often you cannot see through the chapa because so many people are in it and sometimes the side door is not all the way closed. This is the way most people get to church. The sister who came on Saturday, for example, had to travel about 10 miles each way in a crowded chapa. It only costs about (7 MT) 25 to 50 cents per ride around town, but it is not a very comfortable ride. There are no posted schedules; would-be riders gather at chapa stops and wait for the next one going to their area of town. The chapa fare-taker announces where the chapa is headed when it stops to pick up passengers; some chapas have signs on them indicating their destination.

After we finished our class on Saturday evening, we met Elder Porter who told us they were going to have an evening baptism of a gentleman who would soon be arriving from his workplace.  We decided to wait and attend the baptism. As it turned out, Sandy led the music and I spoke about baptism, because the speaker for that subject did not arrive. Obviously my talk was a rapidly prepared speech while the other speaker was talking. I felt good about it as the Portuguese flowed better than expected. In baptisms there is an opening song then two talks: baptism and the Holy Ghost. Then the baptism happens outside in the font behind the Church. Those involved in the baptism get dressed, and the rest of us return to the chapel to listen to and sing hymns accompanied by the piano or by a viola played by Sister Thornton, one of our Sister missionaries. This time we sang 4 or 5 hymns. After that there is a testimony or comments by the one conducting and then those who have been baptized are invited to share their testimonies if they would like. Most take that opportunity to give a short or sometimes longer testimony. We enjoyed hearing the depth of testimony of this newly baptized brother. The closing song and prayer ended  the evening baptism. The confirmation followed on Sunday morning at Church.

We had a reunion with the Laura and Gimo family at Church. She had been out of town helping with the care of extended family members. We had met them shortly before their baptism some months ago, and Sandy had kept in contact with her while she was out of town. The two pink hats in the pictures were made by Sandy as well as the booties on the baby. Laura now would like a hat for herself. It was good to see the family back together after her being away.

When it was time to go home Laura and Gimo and family were planning to take a chapa, but one of the members who had a van offered them a welcome ride home.  They put the children in the back and the parents filled the benches and off they went!

At the other Sacrament meeting that we attended, we first heard talks about faith and baptism, and the atonement. After the first two speakers they always have a stand-up intermediate hymn. The one conducting the meeting then comments on what the first two speakers spoke about and adds a few comments, wishes the congregation a good week, and then announces the closing song and prayer and the concluding speaker. This week the one conducting the meeting said to the congregation, “May God bless all of you, and may God Bless Brother Castelo Branco.” Brother Castelo Branco was the concluding speaker. He is a man over 80 years old. He also speaks some English.

Brother Castelo Branco based his talk on President Uchtdorf’s message about when is a good time to plant a tree. He said that planting trees is like “planting” children in the Church where they can be nourished and grow and be raised unto the Lord. The best time to plant a tree is now. At the beginning of a year is a good time to plant a tree. Let us make decisions for the new year. Make a long list of goals and watch for a miracle as we work to have the strength to accomplish them. The work of the Lord is marvelous. The sun will rise every day. With a new day is a new opportunity for us. Let us set goals. The moment to start is now. Let us plant a tree and nourish it. Now is the time to start for now and for eternity.  Brother Branco is a faithful active member of the Church.  We first met him many months ago during a service activity where this picture was taken.

After Sacrament Meeting, it was pouring rain and here that is a literal description of the rain. Sandy met with the branch clerk to correct a member’s records. Doing family history work, the members review their Church records and often find errors that need to be corrected.  When we went down stairs we joined a branch choir practice which was practicing for District Conference to sing “How Great Thou Art” in Changana, a dialect of a southern African Bantu language, Tsonga, that is spoken by about 10% of Mozambicans. In the Maputo area the percentage is much higher than 10%.  They certainly were singing it with great volume and energy.  Here is the first verse in Changana, "Hosi yanga ndri vona a ku xonga, ka hinkwaswu leswi uswi yentxiki, Tinyeleti, Kudruma ka matilo, ni matilo matwalisa wene." If we had been called to speak this language, it would have been an even greater challenge than Portuguese.

While we waited at the door deciding if we should walk home in the rain, a chapa arrived and many got in to get a ride home. It appeared that the chapa had been invited to deviate its route to pick up members at the church being that there was not a chapa stop at or near the church.

It was still raining, but we dodged, but not really, the rain drops and made it home wet but happy to be there out of the storm and able to fix dinner. Starting church at 8 a.m. and not getting home until almost 3 p.m. makes a long day of Church.

13 - 19 Jan 2014 LemonPudding,Mangos,Zone&DistConfPlan

We have water!!!   After 10 days of virtually no consistent water, Monday, at about 10:30 a.m. water flowed from the faucets!!!!  We were leery, at first, if the water would last the day, but it did and we are hopeful it will continue! 

Matilde, the new mission housekeeper, and I took down the Mission Office’s Christmas tree.  As for our Christmas tree, I’m not planning on taking it down.  We’ve decided to call it our “Family Tree” as it displays pictures of all of our children and grandchildren!!  The nativity scene is a great reminder to remember the Savior in everything we do. 

We’ve not had a lot of spare time for activities; the skirt I started to make from a capulana last week still needs a lot of work!  I did do some cooking, though:  oatmeal/raisin/chocolate chip bars and lemon pudding out of fresh lemons – both delicious! 

I have my eye on the marshmallows the Smith’s brought us from the USA.  We bought Rice Krispies at the store on Monday, so we’ve got all the ingredients!

Elder Tidwell has used some of his computer time at night after I go to bed to download our movies from Kruger National Park to Dropbox so we can share them with family.  It is so fun to relive our fun day in the park seeing the wild animals.

The fruit on the trees in the mission garden are ripening and birds are flocking at various times during the day.  The mangos are ripening a beautiful purple color.  

The Mafura Tree pods are opening and their orange bean-like fruit are tempting Mousebirds, English sparrows and Bulba birds.  We’ve tried to get pictures of the birds, but it has been difficult.  According to an Internet site:  The Mafura tree, also called Natal Mahogany, is “an East African tree (Trichilia emetica) having capsular fruit whose seeds yield a fatty substance resembling cocoa butter that is used for soap and candles.” 

  

I’ve been told that eating this fruit is very nutritious; some Mozambicans sprout them before they eat them, but I have not heard of any American who likes the taste of it.  I collected some of the fruit and am trying to dry it.  One of the mission housekeepers said that it wouldn’t dry and that I would just have to throw it away, but we will see.  The orange colored fruits are so pretty!

We continue to have water!  We heard today that the Beira couples haven't had water or electricity for 2 days!!!!  On to the next challenge!

This week we continued to work long days organizing budget files and cleaning and straightening shelves and mission cupboards for the audit which will begin at the end of the week and continue next week.  The Wednesday evening family history class and the Matola 2 couple's training on Saturday continue.  The mission is preparing for transfers and Elders were told to look at their email before they did their shopping Monday (P-day).  Transfers are a week early, since next week Elder Hamilton from the Area Presidency will be visiting for District and Zone Conferences in Beira (next week) and Maputo (the week after).

6 - 12 Jan 2014 NoWater,Audit,Stairs,ZimbabweVisitor

This week we developed an even greater appreciation for running water, as we have been without water in our apartment for most of the week.  There were some days that there was water in the middle of the day for a few hours, but seeing as though we leave in the morning and don’t return sometimes until 7 o’clock at night, we went without!  So, we heated water for bucket baths and for washing dishes, and, when the water happened to be on for a little while, we’d hop in the shower to freshen up, fill our water bottles, and I even did a load of laundry one day before it went off again!  You don’t realize how many times during the day you need water to wash your hands, cook, and clean.

I never realized the many events which occur in a mission environment.  Before we finish one thing, we are planning two or three other events.  The goings and comings of the Elders and President and Sister Kretly in this huge country form an interesting tapestry of travel.  

This week I have been helping the Elders organize budget files in preparation for an audit. I am thankful to be able to put my organization skills to use.  Our office now has more furniture – file cabinets for the budget files.

Since the Elders’ office is downstairs and our office is upstairs we go up and down these stairs multiple times every day to coordinate our work and to pick up print jobs.  On one such time going down, I was surprised by this tiny little lizard on the stairs! 

Have you begun to read the Teachings of the Presidents of the Church:  Joseph Fielding Smith for Priesthood and Relief Society?  I listened to “The Life and Ministry of Joseph Fielding Smith” while I was working at the computer at the Mission Office this week, and I hope you have the wonderful experience, as I did, learning about his upbringing and the many experiences which prepared him to be an Apostle and then President of the Church.

We honed our listening skills on Friday.  President Kretly asked us to take notes on the Zone Leadership Training Friday morning.  We are understanding the spoken language more every week; Elder Tidwell took pages of notes and was able to put together a wonderful account of the meeting for the President who was out of town with family.

On Saturday we began training a couple from Matola 2 Branch to teach Family History.  They are new members of the Church and accepting this assignment is a great act of faith, as they are just learning the concepts for the very first time!

This week we have had some very hot humid days; the week has also been peppered with torrential rain storms!

In between the meetings of the two branches on Sunday, a young man stopped us on the stairs, greeting us in English!  Brother Bright Jasi is here in Maputo visiting family; he is from Zimbabwe.  It was so refreshing for me to engage in regular English conversation!!

30 Dec 2013 – 5 Jan 2014 NewYearsEve,Kruger,IsabelWedding

We greet you at the beginning of 2014 and hope that you all continue to experience good physical and spiritual health!

Elder Tidwell has been working at the office preparing for a visit by the South Africa Area Representatives for Public Affairs in February.  First of all, he coordinated with the counselor in the Mission Presidency and the Mission President to set the date.  Then, there were schedules, meetings and translators to arrange.  The representatives had a PowerPoint presentation they wanted to give and they needed Elder Tidwell’s input on the content.  Then it had to be translated into Portuguese.  Elder Tidwell translated other documents, too.  When he was first given this assignment, he was very worried that he would not be able to do everything that was required.  However, step by step, line upon line, email upon email, knowledge added to knowledge, the “light grew brighter and brighter” (D&C 50:24) and he has successfully provided for the visit.  There is time, since the visit isn’t until February 7-8, to make additional preparations that no doubt will come up. 

For New Year’s Eve, Sister Tidwell made a pumpkin dessert from a Mozambican pumpkin which we showed you a week or so ago. We shared it with the Hobsons and the sister missionaries on New Year’s Eve.  It really did taste like the recipe that we use at home.  Otherwise, New Year’s Eve was somewhat uneventful other than the all-night party that happened below and to the West of the apartment building. We could not see much, but it was sure noisy with loud music and a firecracker now and then.

New Year’s Day was not normal at all as we awoke at 4 a.m. and left by 5 a.m. with the Hobsons for a trip to Kruger National Park in South Africa. We had permission from the President to take the holiday outing. The park is only about two hours away to the northwest just across the border.

We are so used to looking outside the car at buildings and crowded streets, that it was quite a treat for our eyes to be able to look out over the green countryside and see sugar cane fields as we entered South Africa, and a banana tree orchard with banana in blue bags!  Amazingly, I looked on the Internet after our trip, searching for “banana trees and blue bags” and there were hits!  I found out that the bananas are protected from being bruised in a storm and from being eaten by insects and other pests while they grow in these bags.  The bags are half blue plastic and half silver to reflect heat so they can ripen faster.  The bag is tied to the bunch stem, at the top of the plant, and the bottom of the bag is left open.

Kruger National Park is a famous wild animal park that is about 36 miles wide and about 240 miles long. Needless to say, we could only see a small part of the park even though we stayed from 7 a.m. until 6 p.m., returning home before 8 p.m.  We entered the park at Crocodile Bridge. Note the Crocodile on the river bank.

We had high expectations to see many wild animals, including the elephant.  This picture was on the header of our blog for many months, but we did not take this picture!  

Our first sighting was a family of wart hogs, just outside the entry point.

 

If you can see the distant giraffe in this picture you get the idea that our trip included a lot of sleuthing as we looked out of the car windows at and through every bush and tree trying to see things that moved as we traveled slowly along each road.  We’re glad we had binoculars with us!

The Impala is the most populous animal in the park. It is estimated there are 152,000 in the park!  You could always count on finding one at almost every turn. They greeted us as we entered and said good bye as we left.

Early on our visit we saw a Vervet Monkey and her baby.

Later on, we came very close to Giraffes - a lot of them! You can see from these pictures how close we were to them!

This bird is a Hammerkop.

What a turtle!

We stopped at “Lower Sabie,” one of the main camps, and purchased a booklet that included a map of the park and pictures of the major mammals, birds and trees in the park. 

Each of the camps also has a blackboard where visitors to the park can record their recent sightings near that location.

In the parking lots we were able to see close-ups of the intricate nests of the Weaver Birds.  At one occasion, too far away to get a good picture, we saw a tree that was covered with these nests with swarms of Weaver Birds.

We next saw African Elephants, Chacma Baboons, and a Buffalo.

We also saw Rhinos and Hippos, but they were hard to spot in the bushes.  When the Hippos were in the water, they were mostly submerged and only their ears or nostrils showing!  Here is one in the water and all the way out of the water.

We do not know what these vultures were feeding on, but this group of about 40 vultures was not going away any time soon! 

We went to the location where lions had been sighted, and we found them, but they were sleeping!  Yes, the tan mounds in our picture below are the two male lions asleep, but alive.  We verified they were alive and breathing by looking at them through the binoculars and seeing their chests rise and fall.  We also saw them stretch a few times - but they slept on!  When we told Lyn about the sleeping lions, she commented that she had read that male lions sleep 20 out of 24 hours.

I just looked on the Internet searching for “sleeping lions” and found a fun children’s game!  In this game, all of the children (except one or two hunters) lie down on the floor in sleeping positions. Once they are settled, they are not allowed to move. The “hunters” walks around and spot anyone moving – that person is then out.  One site said it was a perfect game to play as a wind-down activity in a party or right before naptime!  Then, I found a little rhyme (circletimeactivities.blogspot.com), which I modified a little, that the "hunters" can say. 

Creeping through the jungle

What do I see?

I see sleeping lions,

Tired as can be.

Shall I try to wake them

With a little tickle-dee?

Tiptoe very softly

One, two, three!

On "three" the hunter tickles a child, and if the child moves or laughs, then he/she is out.  If you have lots of children, the "out" child could join the hunter to say the rhyme and try to get someone to move.

We really had a fun day.  There were many other birds which we saw.  The ones we could identify were:  Lilac-breasted Roller; Cape Glossy Starling; White-backed Vulture; Lappet-faced Vulture; Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill; Helmeted Guinea Fowl; Reb-billed Oxpecker; Weaver Birds; Barn Swallows; Swifts; White-faced Duck; Cattle Egret; African Darter; Goliath Heron; Blacksmith Lapwing; Wahlberg’s Eagle.  We’ll let you look these up on the Internet for pictures – it is really difficult to take pictures of birds – even large ones – because they are usually far away!

We were not surprised that one of our last sightings at the end of the day were the Burchell Zebras, for we truly saw birds and animals from A to Z on this special day in Kruger Park.

Thank you, Hobsons, for inviting us, providing transportation, being tour guides, and great company. Thank you, President Kretly, as well, for letting us have this experience while we are here in Africa.

We are beginning to experience water outages in our apartment building lately.  We never know when we turn on the tap if there will be water.  When you are out of water you can’t, of course, properly wash your hands, take a shower, wash dishes or clothes, and we always need to be prepared with extra purchased drinking water.

We had a great experience on Saturday as we attended the marriage of Isabell, who is President and Sister Kretly’s housekeeper. Isabell was the housekeeper for the former mission president, President Spendlove, too. Isabell’s daughter, Sister Guilamba, is serving a full-time mission in Madagascar. On the next day, Sunday, Isabell was baptized a member of the church. It was joyous occasion as friends and family gathered for these special events. We learned to love Isabell during our stay at the Kretly’s and our frequent interactions with her since that time at the Maputo 1 Branch meetings.

At testimony meeting today Sister Tidwell bore her testimony early in the meeting. That was wise as each month a large number of members bear their testimonies and a line usually forms. She walked up to the podium with confidence and no notes in her hand. I had no worries because Sister Tidwell always prepares for such occasions. She spoke in Portuguese clearly and expressed the feelings of her heart. She told them how, though she did not understand all the words that were spoken in the meeting, she felt their spirit and was humbled in their presence. She bore a strong testimony of Christ and His Atonement for us. She reminded the members that this was the start of a new year and that in reality each day is the first day of the rest of their lives. As such we have the opportunity to choose the right each day to experience happiness here as we prepare to return and live with God and experience eternal joy. God truly does love us and answer our prayers. I was so proud of her and grateful to feel of her spirit.

Sunday we saw the Smiths at church, back from their holiday trip to USA. They brought a few items from the USA that we will enjoy very much.

Sunday evening Sister Tidwell finished the monthly input of baptism fichas to meet the deadline. This is a monthly event where the APs collect all the fichas to document the baptisms that have occurred in the month. If they are not entered on the Church’s system, the baptisms cannot be counted. Looks like she just finished inputting the 110^th baptism for the month of December 2013.

Today Elder Tidwell had an experience that he was not expecting. He was in the restroom that is located in a building behind the church. Another person exited the rest room and closed the door. When Elder Tidwell went to exit the handle was missing and the door was latched. He wondered if he would be in there a long time, but hoped someone would come soon. He tried to get some attention by knocking on the door and rattling it. Luckily the branch president heard him and let him out. As he did so, he showed Elder Tidwell that the handle was up on a ledge.  Using it could have easily solved the problem. It reminded him that often the solution to our problems and challenges are often close at hand if we will but pray, listen for answers, remain calm, and look for the solutions. He was reminded of I Corinthians 10:13 that says, “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”