27 Jan - 2 Feb 2014 Ships,ZoneConf,ElderHamilton,NoLightsMtg

We love the view from our 5^th floor apartment windows!  We can watch the heavy downpours and also watch the arrivals of all types of ships, including cruise ships.  This week we noted three military ships had arrived. One was quite large and had airplanes and helicopters on the deck, but the deck didn’t seem long enough for the planes to land or take-off.  Since it had the number 550 on the side, I jokingly put “ship 550” in a Google search to see what I would find.  Surprise!  There was a picture of the ship, which they called a helicopter base.  Later in the day it displayed what appeared to be the Italian flag.  The ships were there most of the week.

Two missionary Zone Conferences, one in Beira and one here in Maputo, were held this week with the visiting General Authority, Elder Hamilton.  Elder Hamilton had arrived on the weekend and so, while he was in Beira, he was present for the Beira District Conference, a conference for members.  Zone Conference for the missionaries in Beira zone was on Tuesday.  He traveled to Maputo on Wednesday.

We and the Hobsons were asked to plan and provide for a refreshment break and lunch for 70 people for Thursday’s zone conference meetings.  They had originally wanted pizza, but at last zone conference the Hobsons spent most of the day ordering and purchasing the pizza and had to miss most of the meeting.  None of us wanted to miss hearing from Elder Hamilton, so Sandy planned alternate menus – for snack: bananas and mini cupcakes and water; for lunch: fresh rolls with sliced turkey and cheese; crisp apples; chips; candy bars, and water.  Richard calls it the “Mozambique Maputo Mission Deli” solution.  We even asked Tad from Gandolfo’s to help us estimate the amount of meat to buy. Monday was a big shopping day at Premier.  We also ordered the rolls so they would be freshly baked and ready for pick-up on Wednesday.

Here we are making 140 sandwiches in our apartment early Thursday morning with the Hobsons.  The conference was held in Matola, so once we got there, with the missionaries’ help, we were able to prepare the tables for the refreshment break and lunch before the conference.  Then, we only needed a few minutes before the break and the lunch to prepare food.  The fresh bananas and mini cupcakes were a hit!   After the break, we took a few minutes to prepare the plates with everything except the refrigerated sandwiches and water.  When it was time for lunch, we quickly put the sandwiches on the plates.  The missionaries didn’t have to wait in long serving lines and we noticed they were able to linger and socialize.  It was all very successful!

Zone Conference this time was especially enjoyable for us English speakers, because everything was done in English, with Portuguese translation, rather than the other way around!  Elder Hamilton acknowledged how the Church was growing in Africa.  He said we should each be praying “Thank you, Heavenly Father, for letting me be in Africa!”  He said that the vision for Africa is huge and the Prophet is pleased. 

Sister Kretly led a discussion on how we can help the families here to raise their children in the right way.  She asked the missionaries to share what we need to teach the parents and what the parents need to teach their children.  Some of the things they brought up were:  continue to show love to your spouse; and respect, serve, be kind and compliment your spouse.  Then she asked, “How did you learn these things?  You are not yet married!  You are not parents!” The missionaries replied that they had learned these skills from their parents!  Sister Kretly explained that that is the way these practices will be learned and then carried on to the next generation.  We must teach clearly and be good examples of how to follow the example of Christ and be kind and treat all people as children of God.  Other things we can teach them are: Involve each other in decision-making; make goals together for the family; how to have Family Home Evening; how to pray sincerely; ask your spouse, “What can I do to help you?” We should provide each family with a copy of the Family Proclamation, as it is like a list of instructions for a successful family.  The Family Proclamation is for every family in the world, not just for members of the Church.

President Kretly reviewed the progress of the mission and reviewed mission goals.  He stressed how the missionaries need to be consistent in doing contacts, teaching lessons to investigators with members present, concentrating on bringing families to the gospel.  Consistency is a life skill you will need after your mission when you go to college, find a spouse, begin a family, determine your career, etc.  He contrasted the stories of Gehazi, a servant of Elisha (2 Kings chapters 4 & 5) and Samuel (1 Samuel chapter 3).  What kind of a servant do you want to be?  Gehazi saw many miracles, but didn’t fully recognize the hand of the Lord in his life.  He wanted the glories of the world and was dishonest.  Samuel, on the other hand, was ready to listen to and follow the Lord.  We need to remember our dependence upon God, humbly recognize His hand in our lives, and thank God in all things (D&C 59:21).

Sister Hamilton led a discussion on the importance of unity in companionships and in the mission.  Unity brings power and invites the Spirit; contention drives away the Spirit.  Being able to teach and testify comes from carefully planning together.

Elder Hamilton asked the missionaries to tell him the challenges or issues they faced on their mission.  These he listed on the whiteboard.  He then proceeded to masterfully teach the resolution to these challenges.  He did so using questions such as "What is our purpose? What brings about change?  What does it mean to have exaltation?  Why do we teach families?  What do we invite people to do as a result of their faith?  What is agency?"   He instructed us on how teaching with questions allows people to think deeply about what they believe.  The Holy Ghost becomes the teacher as they consider the things they are being taught about the purpose of life and the goal of exaltation.  (see Preach My Gospel p. 183-184) 

He also taught and demonstrated important missionary skills:  asking direct questions, promising blessings, bearing testimony and following up (Preach My Gospel, chapter #11); asking for referrals from everyone (last page of Preach My Gospel – see the bolded letters); and how to use time wisely; setting goals is an act of faith (Preach My Gospel, p. 146). 

That evening was the meeting for the members of the Church with Elder Hamilton at the Maputo Chapel.  When we went to the chapel at 18:00, we noticed that the curtains over the windows had been pulled back.  It was a nice effect.  When we entered the chapel we realized why they had pulled the curtains back.  There was no electricity – hence no lights or air conditioning.  On what Elder Hamilton rightly called a “hot, sticky night” the chapel was still full!  The meeting proceeded, the opening song was sung in the dimming daylight, and a branch choir sang “O Fim Se Aproxima” ("The End is Coming", meaning the second coming).  

Elder Hamilton was the main speaker and Branch President Salvador from Matola 2 translated for him.  He thanked those who came and addressed them as first generation members of the church, pioneers of the church in Mozambique.  "You face many of the same challenges the early pioneers did. Thank you!"  His talk was a masterful message beginning with the question, “Do we worship Joseph Smith?”  “No, but we respect him and are grateful for all he did to restore the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the earth.  Elder Hamilton’s talk recounted the events of the restoration and the undeniable witness of The Book of Mormon.  The second branch choir took their places to sing the closing song, “Trabalhemos Hoje” ("Let Us All Press On").  Cell phones were used to light the choir’s music!  The meeting was a great conclusion of Elder Hamilton’s visit. “Thank you,” he said, “for coming on this hot, humid, sticky night to sit in the dark!  We’re here because we know the Church is true!”

As we went home that night the sky had fireworks for Chinese New Year.

This zone conference and transfers, which all occurred at the same time, caused a lot of missionary travel.  Some missionaries were flown to Maputo for conference because it was cheaper than flying to Beira, even though Beira was closer in distance.  Buses are not an option in the north as it is not currently safe.  Here two missionaries head to the bus station on foot through the busy downtown morning traffic. 

The mission van ran out of gas on the way to the office that morning, so while we waited for another car to take us the rest of the way, Elders Greenman and Williams purchased 35 wedding rings to be used in the marriage ceremonies for those being married before being baptized. They called it "an act of faith."  The rings are not expensive, but are necessary for the weddings.  With us is Elder Rodrigues who is from Angola.  He had just arrived from the LTM in Brazil to serve in Mozambique.

We received the long-awaited Christmas “package” from the Emily and Taige Bybee family this week.  Mail does get through, but it takes a long time.

Naldo, who was working at the mission office since before we arrived as the housekeeper, had his last day this week.  He is now looking full-time for a new job.  He is a kind young man, faithful member of the church, and returned missionary. His brother is currently serving in the Mozambique Maputo Mission.  Naldo speaks English and has been very helpful as a source to learn about Mozambique culture.

At the corner of our street, a little family has a “shop” and we greet the family and the children every time we pass. 

Sonia and Teresa are always happy and smiling and they wave and say hello to us.  Here is Sonia on her way to set up shop on our street. Notice the umbrella she has to provide some protection from the sun and rain. She has something to sit on and her products to display with something to put them on. She carries everything on her head!

Saturday there was a wedding at the Maputo chapel and President Kretly performed the ceremony.  He gave excellent advice to the couple who was getting married:  consult each other in decisions; share in all things; continue to nurture each other; respect each others’ parents; be diligent in constructing your own strong family; form traditions for your family; make home a place to teach your children and raise them with the teachings of Christ; neither of you should ever feel alone; talk together and look to each other’s needs;  work toward the temple, to be sealed for eternity; make your temple sealing your goal for next year at this time! 

The three children on the left of the couple are their children; the two on the right are nieces.

Following the wedding they held a baptism for the couple.  Talks were given by the members on baptism and the Holy Ghost.

Sunday was Fast Sunday and, as usual, there were a lot of testimonies shared and the chapel was full for both meetings. Every week, missionaries are able to contact and teach many lessons to investigators.  With the continued baptisms and many investigators attending church they will need to make some new branches so that all can have a place to sit when they attend the meetings.  They are already remodeling a house in Maputo to allow it to be used as a church meeting place.

This week we have spent a lot of time compiling ideas on how to distribute and use the new “Minha Familia: Histórias Que Nos Unem” ("My Family: Stories That Bring Us Together") family history booklets which have been ordered for the members.  These 5”x7” booklets, are designed to be a convenient place to put pictures, vital information and stories about yourself, your parents and ancestors up through the first four generations.  We are anxious for their arrival and hope that it will make it possible to get more people excited about gathering information about their families.  
Rice Krispie treats never looked so good!  You can’t buy marshmallows in Mozambique!  The marshmallows to make these came from our friends, Tammy and Solomon, who bought them in Utah and brought them back from the USA after Christmas.

The following quote, attached to all of President Kretly’s emails is important for us all to remember:  “To know and not to do is not to know.” We hope to always know and do what the Lord would have us do.

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).