January 15, 2013

Noriah - Her tiny home  in back



Velaphi the day of his mission call



Raining as usual



He was the happier of hundreds



Watching us inside the restaurant



The children posed while I took a picture of laundry day



They offered us a ride, one foot in and you're good



All but the kitchen sink



The view from the school (church) in Matupa

One of the many people that we visited this past week was Noriah and her daughter.  Noriah has Chicken Pox, but is doing better and welcomed us into her tiny home.  Her bed covered the entire living area and so we visited as we sat on the bed and became painfully aware of every  spring underneath us.  My Carpinteria air mattress would be a luxury item for her.  Anyway, Noriah told us that she sells cosmetics.  I told her that I needed some blush and would love to order it from her.  She pulled out a worn out catalog from under the bed.  As I browsed through it, there were several pages missing.  The blush page was one of them, so I ordered blush sight unseen from her very outdated catalog.  Who knows if it will ever come, but we are happy to donate a little for whatever reason. 

Friday we had the privilege of delivering two mission calls.  One to a young man in Modjadji and the other to a young man in our branch whose name is Velaphi.  The first day that we met Velaphi he asked Ed if he had an envelope for him.  We didn't know at the time that the mission calls come to the branch president.  Since that time we've been waiting along with him.  Both missionaries are staying in Africa as this is where they are needed. 

   

I've been asked to teach seminary in Mokgolobotho Village and both Ed and I will be teaching an English class out there.  We have 5 students already, but they say more neighborhood children will come as word gets out.  We are finding that most people in the villages speak very little English.  So for now, our challenge is to find teaching and reading materials for children.  We welcome any suggestions from you. 

Just so you will know, we haven't seen any wild animals to speak of.  They are mostly in the animal reserves.  However, we are 1 1/2 hours away from the largest animal reserve in the world, Kruger National Park.  If we can entice any of you to visit Africa, we would love to show you around and of course visit the park with you.  Attached we have a picture of a monkey that watched us enjoy our dinner last night and some crocodiles that we visited at the local crocodile ranch.  Although the ranch is within walking distance, I was grateful to see that the crocs are fenced in and well fed and so most likely willing to stay where they are.  Works for me!

We miss you and love you,

Ed and Jolene  

January 4, 2013

What was left of "Promises" home after the storm and looters

Children watching us work

Where to begin

More children passing by with their daily water

Building with a smile.  You gotta love 'em!

Day 2 for the crew

A work of love built the African way

More neighbors passing by, they love umbrellas for heat and rain

"Promise" and her baby have a home.  She's truly thankful. 

Our Flat.  Yes we feel spoiled!

The home next to Promise and the school behind.  Always clean!

"Promise" is one happy sister as she stands in front of her new home.  The pictures show her little area where she lives, the neighbors playing and walking by during the construction, the remains of her first place,  the crew as they worked diligently in the extreme heat, and the almost finished home.  I say almost because Ed and I will be going out tomorrow to replace the broken glass in the windows and be sure that all is good.  We are amazed at the humble circumstances that most of the villagers live in.  There is no running water, they use the wheel barrows to fill their large containers.  The woman still carry a ton of things on their heads, but the latest and greatest advancement is the wheel barrow.  I'm amazed that none of the homes close by Promise have bathrooms and there are none in sight.  I don't know how that works.  Promise, along with most of the ward members, have a long walk to church and everywhere else.  We only have a few families that live in town and actually have a car.    

We are truly humbled to be able to serve here and have learned in a very short time to love the people. Ed says that one of the highlights of the building project for him was towards the end of the first day, everyone was exhausted, the temperature was over 90 degrees and very humid, sawing was strenuous (no electricity) and someone started to sing church songs.  Africans love to sing and it was beautiful.   One of my highlights this week was last Saturday during a "late" Christmas party out in the village of Matuba.  We were all gathered under a tree for shade by the school where they meet on Sunday for church.  I looked at the little children just sitting there watching their parents visit and decided to do something fun with them.  I taught them how to make paper airplanes (that alone delighted them) and then we stood at the side of the hill and had races.  They were thrilled and I was filled with joy.  

Some days we feel so far away, and it isn't as easy as I thought it would be, but we are truly grateful to be able to share the gospel and our lives with the people of Africa.  We miss you and love you.  Please take care and HAPPY NEW YEAR. 

Love,

Ed and Jolene