5 - 11 Jan 2015 Crochet,Xipaimane,Training,Maxixe,Beach,MissionHist

Instead of having a shopping day, I had a crochet day on Monday.  I met with some sisters in the new Chamanculo Branch at their home and taught crochet!  The weather is very warm lately, but Laura faithfully walked to our apartment building to meet me and walk me to Marta’s home, which I never would have found by myself.  The ladies each crocheted a small baby shoe.

After grabbing a quick sack lunch (peanut butter and jam sandwich, apple, and drink) I headed over to the chapel for my last crochet lesson for Benita. Together we created a new two-layered flower!

That afternoon, Sister Olander and Sister Bow took me and Sister Pond to Xipaimane, where there are many capulana stores.  It wasn’t crowded at all - quite a contrast from the first time Sister Olander went there.  Each of us purchased capulanas.

This week at the office has been spent organizing computer files, cleaning out folders, writing the mission history, and training Elder and Sister Kimball on some of our duties. The Internet hasn’t been able to connect to my laptop at the office for the last week and that has made my work there limited.  Richard has a hardwire to the Internet, so he let’s me use it when he is busy doing other tasks which don’t require the Internet.

On Friday we began a four-day Maxixe commitment.  Richard needed to do a financial audit for the Maxixe Branch and I came to help.  We went with the Lopes couple who would hold training sessions about councils, self-reliance.  On the 7-hour trip from Maputo to Beira, which included a lunch stop in Xai-Xai at KFC, I pinned the rest of the 3-tiered skirts, crocheted, and we played a game of Scrabble.

We stayed in the same room at the Farmar’s Hotel that we stayed in June, with the same (?) little lizard!

They have expanded the hotel since we were there, and have fixed the wall that we used to just walk over to get to the beach. That didn’t stop us from finding a way to get to the path.

The tide was coming in and there was only a small strip of sand, but we made it down the beach and were able to see our friend Aquilo again.  He was watching a group of men drag a huge sting ray out of the water and into a wheel barrow.  The next step for them was to cut it up and sell it at the market!

There were no flamingos!  Aquilo explained that they are migratory – they lay their eggs, incubate and hatch their eggs, and raise their young someplace else and return to Maxixe in about February.  I noticed these parts of flowers which were on the beach; I called them nature’s votive candles!

At dinner we were reunited with Alda, who we had met in June! She is happy and is a very confident and dedicated worker at the hotel.  We also met Claudio who is from Inhambane. 

Stelio, who we had met last and is now working in Inhambane, was unable to come to Maxixe and see us, but Claudio, who knows Stelio, said he would relay our greetings to him. We also were happy to see Maria again who worked at the hotel and is a member of the Church.

The Saturday morning audit was accomplished with the Maxixe Branch President and Branch Clerk.

The missionaries invited us for lunch. They had prepared an interesting crab soup dish which was served over rice.

As we were getting in the car to go back to the hotel, across the street from the Church, we watched a young man take the turkeys, which were standing next to him, by their feet and walk down the street with them.

Not having Internet at the Hotel was a blessing in disguise. With no other option, I worked on the mission history whenever I could. By the end of Saturday, the draft was almost finished.

If we had been home in Maputo, we would have been attending the baptism of Carolina, one of the sisters who has been learning how to crochet. She knows English, having lived and attended school in Swaziland.

Sunday was Maxixe’s Branch Conference and President and Sister Kretly and their son and daughter-in-law were there.

I helped Sister Kretly and her daughter-in-law in Primary with the music. The lesson was on the first Article of Faith and the small packet of Article of Faith cards I have carried in my Church bag for weeks found a home! Each of the families with children received one! At the end of the Branch Conference a group photo was taken.

Low tide in Maxixe, Sunday afternoon: