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| Birthday crew at our flat |
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| Making cabbage for the orphans for lunch. |
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| Cooking Pap for our dinner. |
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| Local waters not the best for swimming! |
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| Making bricks, only need 3,000! |
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| Just out playing |
Dearest Family and Friends,
Last Friday night we had the 6 Elders from our district over
for birthday dinners. Three of them,
including Ed, had birthdays this week.
The Elders love to help out in the kitchen, and I love to direct and
enjoy. It reminds me of home. We also
recently got to visit with the Padovichs for an afternoon in Johannesburg. It too was fond memories, mixed with the
excitement of sharing our new experiences. This past Monday we journeyed to an
Orphanage out in Lenyenye. We are
looking for projects for Mormon Helping Hands.
There are plenty to choose from.
This orphanage cares for 104 children and it was one of the saddest
buildings I have seen. They have tons of
peeling paint, broken windows, and areas where the whole ceiling is
missing. We won't be able to choose them
for our project because they are out of our area, but we are already making
plans to help them anyway. The Elders
and other branch members want to be a part of the restoration. I almost cried when we visited and I asked
where the toys were. There are
none! Such is life. Above you will see a picture of the sweet
cooks working on lunch for the children.
A pot of cabbage was the menu. We
have also been working hard to help some of our young people prepare for
employment opportunities. I'm getting
better at CVs (resumes) and we helped sponsor an employment workshop last
Saturday. It was a thrill to learn on
Sunday that 2 of the men had already started to build a chicken coup to raise
chickens. They tell us that there is a
need in the villages as people cannot get to the markets in town and are
grateful to buy a live chicken locally.
No need to refrigerate. Just last
night we met with 2 other young people and it looks like their jobs that we
have been working on together are going to come through. We could not be happier. A quick update on Sister Esther. We continue to study with her. Two Sunday's ago we had a baptism after
church. It was a long day, but good meetings. After the baptism I looked at my watch and
whispered, "Sister Esther, we've been in church for 4 1/2 hours. I think we deserve blessings." She looked over at me with a huge smile and
said, "We've already been blessed.
I felt it. I want to be
baptized." And so she will be. Next Sunday is the day and she wants an "older
man" to do it, so she said, and then she asked Ed. He is honored. All is well.
We love and miss you all,
Ed and Jolene, mom
and dad, grandma and grandpa, AKA Elder and Sister Smith
