April 30, 2013



Sister Esther and family



Everyone has a banana tree.  Good thing we love them!



She just stood there in all her majesty.



Going for a ride. 



We stopped the jeep so she could parade in front of us.



We were only 10 feet away and she was bored????

As many of you know, our internet service is not always reliable.  We were able to see half of Lexi's (our granddaughter's) baptism Saturday night.  The half we saw was beautiful and we felt very much a part of everything.  We also finally got to see conference this past weekend.  We had heard bits and pieces from talks, but it was good to hear them all.  Wow, it was wonderful.  Last Friday we visited with Sister Esther who is investigating the church.  Her son, who is 50, joined a few weeks ago.  Sister Esther said to us, "The reason I don't know yet is because I can't read the Book of Mormon.  I need help."  We sat down and read 1 Nephi Chapter 1 together and explained as we read.  She all but glowed with excitement and understanding.  We offered to go often, even though she is a good 40 minutes away in the village of Nkowankowa.  Meanwhile in the village of Mokgolobotho, English is going very well.  As I taught last week, Ed visited with two parents.  The class has grown to over 20 students, and the one parent said that their school has noticed an improvement in some of the children and asked about it.  They then wanted to know how much we charge.  (Blessings only.)  Our class also has pen pals in Heber City, Utah and we  returned our first set of letters this past week, complete with pictures on each letter. The kids love to have their picture taken. What a thrill.  By the way, only three of our students are members of the church, but they all offer to pray in English and sing the primary songs with such enthusiasm that I'm tempted to send you a video.

I can't believe I am doing this. . . . is a phrase that we have used many times.  Once again we have enjoyed another adventure.  We visited with a family on the outskirts of our branch  and they just happen to live at the mouth of a game reserve called "Africa on Foot."  We stayed at the reserve for a few nights with  Elder and Sister Alder who are going home today.  Luckily the church encourages senior couples to get to know the people, the culture and the area.  WE DID.  We walked and rode through the vast regions of the reserve with diligent guides and saw a ton of animals.  Just a few pictures above.

It is getting colder and mostly at nights we miss our heated home in California.  Other than that we are safe, happy and well.  I love the statement from Sister Dalton, "Our part matters, because we matter." WE DO MATTER!  ALL OF US! Thank you for the part that you play in our lives.  

We love you,

Ed and Jolene   

  

April 10, 2013



Getting ready to cook dinner.  Isn't she cute!



LOST but trying to trust the GPS.



We always give them the right-of-way



Working and having fun.



Four generations for the Ndlovu family. 

Dearest Family and Friends,

We love to hear the news from home.  Our latest from home is that Troy and Tiffany have a new baby girl, Carly Lynn Smith.  Also, we have two granddaughters, Alexis and Adalie,  preparing for baptism.  We are proud grandparents even if we are a million miles away. 

As for Africa, our journey continues.  We love to visit with the branch members.  Often that means going from village to village.  This past week we decided to trust our GPS and let it tell us the shortest route from Modjadji to Motupa.  Oops, after 20 km of dirt road we decided to not do that again.  However it was beautiful.  (picture above) 

The African people are very loving and almost childlike.  We try to take cookies when we go visit, therefore we do lots of baking.  We have a sister in the hospital, she told me yesterday that she is dreaming of a plate of cookies.  Then also yesterday we got two SMS (text messages) from two different people telling us it was their birthday.  In America we are too shy, or maybe too "sophisticated" to do that, but they are so loving and appreciative that if a plate of cookies is what they want for their birthday, then a plate of cookies will be delivered.  

We were invited to visit a new baby last Saturday morning.  The custom here is that no one sees the baby for the first week, so we were honored to be invited along with the grandma and great grandma who were also seeing him for the first time.  We took a gift of course.  After visiting and talking and me secretly wanting to hold my little Carly, the grandma said, "I'm so anxious for you to show us what you brought.  Please open your present."  I said, "Oh no, the mom needs to open it, it's for her and the baby."  So she did.  Afterwards I learned that here in Africa the person who brings the gift opens it and shows it off to everyone.  Another OOPS! It was a lovely morning anyway.  (The four generation picture above is from that morning).  They also asked Ed to give a blessing on their home and family before we left.  We felt humbled to be a part of that gathering.  In Matthew Chapter 5 the Savior teaches us to let our light so shine before men that they may see our good works and glorify our Father which is in heaven.  We are grateful for the good works we see here and from you at home.     

We miss and love you,

Ed and Jolene (Grandma and Grandpa too)