Since Zone Conference is over, we can turn our attention to
the Area Review visits (October 20-22).
The visiting general authorities will visit Beira on October 20, Maputo
on October 21, and Swaziland on October 22.
The agendas we received last month were changed due to the fact that
they will only be in each place a short time.
The changes necessitated giving the changed schedules and details to the
other couples so each of us could communicate them to our area’s branch presidents. The district meeting for Saturday, October 4,
which Elder Tidwell was invited to, would be a perfect time to distribute the
new information.
Thursday was Sister Naehu's birthday, and
her previous companion asked if I would make the cake for the celebration. It was fun to be creative.
Thursday became “Apartment Visit & Cleanliness Check Day.” First, we went with the AP's to the
Matola apartments. Later we went to the T-3 and Magoanine apartments. It was interesting…
Housework and keeping an apartment tidy is a challenge for
missionaries. If you are preparing to
serve in the future, learn cleanliness basics.
Mothers, teach your sons and daughters how to clean house: organize and tidy up their rooms; wipe out
refrigerators; defrost freezers; sweep and mop floors; wash walls and woodwork;
clean bathrooms including the sink, shower, and toilet; fold and hang up
clothes. Teach them how to cook and how
to preserve leftovers properly. You’ll
need to be patient as they develop these skills, but in the future they will
have a healthier experience on their mission and be a blessing to their eternal
companion and eternal family.
Saturday, we found out, was a holiday – the Day of
Peace and Reconciliation. It turned out to be perfect day
for the district meeting! Elder Tidwell
reported that there was excellent representation from the branch
presidencies. While Elder Tidwell was at
his meeting, I attended the baptism of two sisters. They are the last children of a family to be
baptized! After they got dressed and
returned to the chapel, the girls were invited to share their testimony. “Today I am a new person!” “I am on the path back to God!” These occasions give us chance to think back
to our baptism and its significance in our life.
Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m.
was another try for the Learn How to Crochet class and to my great
surprise there was a group of sisters waiting for me to arrive! As the District R.S. was also holding an
activity at the same time, the crochet group formed a circle at the back of the
chapel and I began teaching them. Here are Rivonia, Carolina, Marta, and Laura Matica.
When
the district leaders were ready to begin, we joined them. The district activity was on
Self-Reliance. Sisters had been asked to
bring things and show what they had learned to make. I showed the crocheting I brought (baby
bootie, girl’s hat, boy’s hat, hair snood, and hot pad). I explained that I would have also showed them the headband, which is the beginning project the sister are beginning to learn, but one of the children, Agnes (Carolina's daughter) had put it on their head and left the room! Here she is!
I also explained how if one learned the
basic stitches (chain, slip stitch, single crochet, double crochet) they would
be able to make many things. One other
sister brought things to show: a beautiful embroidered table cloth, a huge
crocheted table cloth, and a set of matching kitchen things she had machine
stitched: apron, hot pads, clothespin
holder, etc.
Then followed lessons on “Food Storage and Preparation” and “Financial
Management.” Vanessa, who
knows English, sat by me and translated, so I got to know the sisters’ comments! Many of the sisters grow small gardens and
they told how this had helped them to provide healthy food for their families.
When the closing song was chosen, an interesting thing occurred. The sister hummed the tune of the song. I recognized it as “Come, Thou Fount of Every
Blessing.” She looked for it on the list
so the automatic piano would play it, but, as I warned her, it wasn’t
there. When she found the right song, it
ended up being “We Are Sowing.” I
explained that the 2 songs were very different, and she confirmed that by
playing the first couple of notes on the automatic piano. Just use the other tune and sing acapella
using these words. It will work. It did!
Also to my surprise, all of the sisters sang the song to the tune of “Come,
Thou Fount of Every Blessing”!!
When we got back to crocheting, after refreshments, there
were even more sisters who joined us! Others
said they would come and begin learning next week. One sister, who had never crocheted before, caught
right on and her stitches were very even. Next Saturday I’ll be showing them how to
crochet flowers to put on their headbands. The sisters to the left of the Rivonia group are Eriketa and Lina. In the next picture are Vitoria Feliciano, Cacilde Anselmo, and Adelina Mutampua.
Across the street there is a small park which hasn’t been well
kept. Two weeks ago the city put a fence
around it and it looks like they are going to fix it up! Up the street from us, before you turn the
corner at DHL, city workers tore up and carted away the old sidewalk. They are replacing it with red and gray
checked squares of cement. There are
also been some streets which have been newly-paved. Some say the improvements are because it is
election time and the present party to have a good reputation as the people go
to vote.
We concluded Saturday by watching two sessions of conference
via KBYUTV online. The 10 a.m. session began
at 6 p.m.; the 2 p.m. session at 10 p.m.
It was great to hear that we are part of the more than 88,000
missionaries in the world!
When we visited Manuel on Sunday afternoon he gave us a
dried fish! I have been taking him baked
goodies almost every week, and he wanted to reciprocate!
We have been asking him to relate stories about his
parents. He has this delighted look on his
face as he thinks about what to say.
The fifth of every month means that baptismal fichas for the
previous month must be submitted! There were 79 baptisms for September! Zone
Conference delayed some of the fichas from coming in, so I was inputting the
last fichas late Sunday night. Consequently, we only watched the 10 a.m. Sunday Session. We will watch other sessions later this week.
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