December 11, 2011

We have been very bad and not updated our blog for many months.  Sorry...The time just whizzes by and we keep saying we'll do this tomorrow.  So...here are a few things that we've been doing.

We were both invited to the American ambassador's home for a reception for the measles campaign for all of Mozambique.  We had worked with the program on our first mission in 2008 with great success for the children of Mozambique.  Now UNICEF, our Church Humanitarian Program, the International Red Cross, and several other worldwide agencies were again sponsoring this program, to eradicate the number 1 killer of children under 5 years old in Africa. Former Utah Senator Bob Bennett was appointed by the Senate as co-chairman to UNICEF from the United States.  We really enjoyed meeting with him that night and going out to dinner with him and representatives from several other organizations the next night at our favorite seafood restaurant right on the beach. The statistics released from these organizations state that 95% or children under 5 were immunized.  Our Church donated money for the vaccine and syringes.

On our drive to Johannesburg, South Africa to the temple there, we have to be VERY careful, as you can see from these warning signs along the road.....

Elder Taylor, one of our favorite missionaries from Vidalia, Georgia is preparing to leave Marromeu for Beira on transfer day. This is a typical way to travel the 8-9 hours through the jungle on dirt roads from Marromeu, in the back of a truck.  Of course, when they arrive at their destination, they are covered in red dust!  But he doesn't seem to mind.

On the national highway between Maputo and Beira, this is a typical little village of grass huts.

Also, you'll see many of these "cashew trees", with plastic bags of shelled and cooked cashews hanging for display.

Now, the 18 hour trip by car from Maputo to Beira (which we've had to do several times now because of our transfer in October to Beira and having to return to Maputo to buy more construction materials for the missionary/couple house that Paul is building in Marromeu) is pretty hairy....Terrible roads with gigantic potholes, no fastfood restaurants or bathrooms, and very few gas stations.   This is a typical "gas station" along the road.  We NEVER stop at these places if we can help it, because the gas is watered down and doesn't make for a safe trip.

In June, Paul was asked by Elder Mkhabela (then our area seventy in Johannesburg) to design (with some great help from our son Jason) and build a small house on the grounds of the Marromeu Chapel  that would house 4 missionaries.  Also included would be an efficiency apartment for a couple (or mission president and wife) to stay when visiting. So, we trained the new office couple, Elder and Sister Hall in September and moved to Beira in October to be only 7 hours from Marromeu, instead of 2 days away.  Here is one of the first pictures of the 4 missionaries there and 2 returned Mozambiquan missionaries preparing the foundation. Paul is really having to struggle with this project, as there is very little good materials to buy here and terrible transportation to get those materials to Marromeu, but he is determined to give it his best.

Summer in Maputo

This has been a busy summer.  The weather is in the 90's during the day and 70's at night.  It's hard to believe there is so much snow in the States, especially in SC.  We are really enjoying living again just a block or two from the Indian Ocean.  We were a block away in Beira in the little red house.  Now, we're a short distance up the hill from the port and drive along the beach highway every day to go to the Mission Office.  The palm trees sway in the breezes and the ocean is fascinating to watch, with lots of little fishing boats and even big freighters and cruise ships coming into the harbor. This is the view from above the beach road.  Also, in the second picture, as  you drive along the beach road, you can see downtown Maputo in the distance up on a huge hill.  It really reminds you of cities set up on the hills along the Mediterranean.

                                                                                                                                                                                                       

We were so pleased to have Elder Richard G. Scott return to Mozambique for District Conferences and Zone Conferences here in Maputo and also up in Beira.  He had dedicated Mozambique for the teaching of the gospel here in Maputo a few years ago.  Sister Spendlove had asked Jeanne to make some banana bread for him and the other guests, including Elder F. Michael Watson, first counselor in the Africa Southeast Area presidency, and Sister Watson (whom we knew well from having them for dinner in our home in Beira on our first mission) and Elder and Sister Erekson, the ASE area public affairs missionary couple.  Elder Scott rested in our apartment between meetings and even asked for a second piece of banana bread. We spent an enjoyable evening with all of the visitors at  a local seafood restaurant, along with all of the district presidency and their wives.  Elder Scott is a widower and talked alot about his wife and how she still gives him advice from beyond the veil.  He really has a great  sense of humor.  Of course, all of the members and missionaries were so excited to have a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles here with us. What a delightful man he is. The picture below was taken in "our back yard", behind the Maputo Chapel, where we live on the third floor.  You can read the church news article about Elder Scott's visit at the link below...

.http://www.ldschurchnews.com/articles/60457/Elder-Richard-G-Scott-A-return-visit-to-Mozambique.html

One morning, as we were leaving our apartment at the chapel, we smelled this horrible, acrid smell and saw this smoke billowing up from beyond the parking lot in the back.  We leaned over the back wall and saw below us this mother and daughter roasting cashews.  We had heard that the nuts had to be burned to get the acidic juice out of them and then cracked open one by one.  Such an arduous, time-consuming task.  They would later take them out to the streets, where they would sell them.  We often buy cashews on the street in little bags.  No wonder cashews are so expensisve.  By the way, this family lives on this hillside that is about to be washed away, in this corrugated tin house, no bathroom, no running water.  Very typical for squatters here.  And this is in town! 

Trip to Johannesburg Temple

We have been looking forward to our first trip to the Johannesburg Temple in South Africa.  Paul had been asked to seal Gil Huo (a Mozambiquan returned missionary that we knew in Beira) and Maria.  They were so excited to be able to be sealed to each other and to Maria's daughter Angelina in Portuguese.  After a rainy and foggy trip (about 8 hours usually) and a three hour delay at the border, where we thought we might have to turn around and go back because of passport problems, we arrived at the temple.  It was a wonderful occasion for all.  We  took the 15-passenger mission van and also had Elder and Sister Russell from Beira and three of our missionaries who were returning home to the United States.  Much to our delight, we found a McDonald's for breakfast, the first we've seen in Africa.  Notice how the driver's window at the drive-through is on the right side (or the wrong side for us in the US).

Johannesburg is a beautiful city, but much too big and busy for us.  The traffic was about as bad as in Maputo, though the streets were so much nicer. The trip from the border to Johannesburg is beautiful, with mountains and grassy meadows, waterfalls and rushing streams following the highway.  It reminded us all of driving the Blue Ridge Parkway through Virginia and North Carolina.                                                   Angelina, Maria's daughter, was able to do baptisms while she waited for Maria to do her endowments, which thrilled Angelina.  We knew her in Young Women's in the Beira 2nd Branch, and she was always giving talks at church and bearing her testimony at every meeting. 

The temple looks quite small on the outside, but has beautiful grounds, full of flowers and fountains.  There is a white marble nativity scene in the front that you can see on the picture.  We were really blessed to have an hour or two the next morning to go back and take pictures, as it poured rain from the time we left Maputo until the next morning when we went back to the temple, and then poured on us all the way home.  As you can see, we are still learning how to work this blog, hence pictures and texts that seem to go wherever.  But we want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.  We are doing very well, in spite of missing all of our family and friends at this special time of the year.  We are so thankful to be able to serve this mission and, hopefully, make a difference in the lives of the members and missionaries here in Mozambique.  We have been truly blessed this past year and are grateful to our Savior and rejoice in the remembrance of His birth at this special time.   Our love and best wishes to all for a glorious holiday season.                

Primary Sacrament Meeting Program

We really have enjoyed seeing the children in the different branches participate in their Sacrament Meeting programs.  Jeanne ended up playing the piano for 5 different branches, once the word was spread that she knew how to play the songs.  Each branch had the children all dressed up for the occasion with capulanas or flowers, with the Maputo branches even decorating the front of the rostrum and the chairs with elaborate cloths and rosettes. 

Last week we were invited by one of our members to visit a Catholic facility where she works.  We thought we would just have a short tour, but the nuns there went all out, taking us into each of the buildings to see how the children  and adults (all physically or mentally handicapped) were being trained to do crafts to sell and take care of themselves.  We went into a small room where the children were coloring pictures, and Paul began to play his harmonica.  They were so excited!  Then they all filed out into another larger room to dance for us, in appreciation.  We were really impressed with the love that all of the staff and nuns there showed to these handicapped patients.  Of course, our hearts were so touched by all of it and the great need they have for money to keep it going.  We're hoping our Humanitarian Funds can help them.  This other picture illustrates what we drive through after a rainstorm.

November 28, 2010

Well, we certainly have hit the ground running these past few weeks. We have laughed that our full-time responsibilities as the mission office couple feel like several full-time jobs! We are learning the mission office responsibilities which include paying rent for missionary housing, issuing petty cash and receiving receipts, preparing reports and putting the missionaries' spending money into their accounts each month. We are also learning how the Distribution Center works including how to order supplies for the mission and for members, operating the retail store, and managing the inventory. There are also some specific assignments like lunch for Zone Conference, helping prepare music for the upcoming Maputo District conference January 15 and 16 during the visit of Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve and planning a trip to Johannesburg to attend the sealing of one of our returned missionaries to his new wife. In addition there are some longer range things to think about and organize like piano lessons for members, helping prepare members for temple trips and working with the district and branch leadership to prepare to become a stake.

We were so excited to see President and Sister Spendlove (Loren and Tina) again after being together in Beira for our first mission. Our mission here has grown since we left in 2009, to 92 young missionaries and 3 couples plus the Spendloves. We now have missionaries in Tete (where we visited twice on our first mission), Dondo, Chimoio, and Maxixe, plus a third branch in Manga. We are now spread out pretty much over all but the most northern part of Mozambique and have several branches with missionaries in Angola.

We are enjoying Maputo, the national capital and home to 4 million people. It was built on a bay of the Indian Ocean during the colonial period. Our office and bedroom windows look out over the harbor, and we hear the boat and train horns all night. From long range, it really is a pretty sight. We are on the third floor in a nice apartment that used to be the first mission home. Our first morning, we were awakened at 4:30 by the rising sun and a crowing rooster next door! Being so close the equator and at the far edge of our time zone, we get a lot of daylight and it starts earlier than usual.

The scariest thing about being here as opposed to Beira, a smaller city where we served our first mission, is the TRAFFIC. Everyone drives at breakneck speed, weaving in and out of lanes, blowing horns and trying to beat the red lights. We tease the young missionaries who drive here that they like it because it's like playing bumper cars.

We are visiting the 6 branches in the Maputo district and have been delighted to see 5 of our Mozambican returned missionaries: Carlotta Santiago who served in Kenya, and Elders Moises,  Lavanhane, Tualofo, and Ujembe who all served here in Mozambique. They are all doing well back in their home branches.

Here we are in Magoanine with Elder Ujembe, next to Paul, and Elder Tualufo. It was interesting to discover where their spiritual roots first began to grow. The branch is exceptionally proud of its choir and was the first to provide voices for the district conference choir.

The day before our visit to Magoanine we attended a baptismal service in Maputo. One of those baptized was from Magoanine. We met her when the branch mission leader conducting the service asked for somebody to lead the music, she volunteered! She is talented, poised and did a fine job bearing her testimony later in the meeting. It was great to be in her home branch the next day when she was confirmed and received the gift of the Holy Ghost.

                                           

                                This is Angelica, newest member in the Magoanine branch.

Our Mission Call

We have received our mission call and will be leaving straight from Columbia, SC on November 1. We are set to arrive in Mozambique on Wednesday, November 3.

We will be sending e-mails out to notify you that we will be doing a blog this time instead of a newsletter.

We hope you enjoy our adventures.