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