May 20, 2013



Birthday crew at our flat



Making cabbage for the orphans for lunch.



Cooking Pap for our dinner.



Local waters not the best for swimming!



Making bricks, only need 3,000!



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   

  

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)         

March 26, 2 013



Some love to eat Mopani worms. Ed says they're nasty!



Lesedi village.  We learned to play the African drums.



Kruger National Park - What a Thrill!!!



I wanted to pet these guys.  They were so close and beautiful.



An abundance of Wildebeest



If there's a vehicle, they all climb in. Going home from church.

Dearest Family and Friends,

Sorry it has been so long since our last post.  We are healthy and doing well and want to wish each of you a Happy Easter.  Yesterday one of the sweet sisters brought candy Easter Eggs for the children in primary and wanted to have an Easter Egg hunt.  The children loved it.  My heart swelled as I know this sister's living situation at this time and any expense is a sacrifice. 

We have had some memorable experiences.  We took the missionaries and visited Kruger National Park.  The thrill of seeing the animals in the wild is more that I would have imagined.  Perhaps someday we will stay in the park and go on one of the safaris.  (pics above)

Last week we showed up to our little school in Motupa, (where we hold church), to help some of the older students with their math as they prepare for Matriculation (graduation).  We were early and so was Petunia.  She sat down and started to cry.  There in the little classroom she shared that she had just had a miscarriage.  It was not a shock.  She has a 5 year old son and single moms are very common here, but she opened her heart and we learned a little more of the challenges of an African custom where a groom must pay "lebola" to the family of his wife to be.  It is a common practice here, but the "lebola" is a huge amount of money in African terms and as Petunia and others have explained to us, even if the young people don't believe in the custom the parents and grandparents do.  They depend on it to help "their old age living expenses" and so she said we do it, "out of respect."  The problem is, that many men use that as their reason for not marrying and the women naively believe it.  Then unfortunately once they are pregnant the father is gone.  We don't know the answer to "Lebola," but we have had many opportunities to teach about God's plan for his children and the blessings of waiting until marriage.   The young people here need more opportunities to spend time with friends who have the same beliefs.  We are already planning activities to make that happen.  If only we could get a bus as there is only one family out in Motupa that has a car and as Ed says, it's held together with band aids.  Such is the challenge.  We love the people and are grateful to serve.

We Love and miss you all,

Ed and Jolene  (Grandma and Grandpa to our little ones.)

February 24, 2013

We gave him the Right-Of-Way



No fences, just momma, baby and us!



Eye to Eye with a Nyala



Playful little critters . . No respect



Stunning Red Hartebeest



He's a little shy Wildebeest



Jomo and his cute home.  We baked him the cookies.



Mmakoma Shereen cooks all her meals this way 

Dear Family and Friends,

We are alive, healthy and doing well.  From time to time we look at each other and ask, "What are we doing here?"  Not that we are second guessing our decision to serve, but we feel so inadequate when the routine is no longer routine.  When I, Jolene, start teaching piano one must question what is going on.  My plan is to stay one week ahead of the students.  In addition to piano, we teach classes in Math, Life Science, English, and the New Testament.  Who would have guessed.  This past week during one of our English classes we experienced a micro-burst that covered us in red dirt and then a lightning and thunder shower that doused us with water before our little class could run for shelter.  All I wanted to do was go home and take a real shower.  I felt guilty knowing that my 11 little students would be lucky to have a pan of water for a sponge bath after walking about a mile to fill their water buckets later that evening. 

As you can see in the pictures above, we visited an animal reserve in Polokwane.  They claim to have no "man eating animals" and so one can walk or hike in the reserve along with the animals.  We no sooner turned into the park than were slowed down by a large Rhino in the road.  The whole day was a wonderful adventure.   

Elder Cook from the African Area Presidency visited our little valley last weekend.  He was here for District Conference and we had the privilege of joining he and his wife,  the mission president and his wife, and one other couple for dinner on Saturday night.  Elder Cook had heard about the home we helped build for Promise, and had visited Promise that day.  He wanted to know all about the experience as we sat together at dinner.  He then asked us to write it up for him, and  said that he would like to share it with the Twelve.  What a thrill.   The next day he spoke at conference.  Wonderful meeting.  We not only felt the spirit, but we experienced a bit of Africa as the seams in the ceiling were separating and during the meeting bits and pieces of debris fell to the floor.  About half way through the meeting bird feathers started floating down.  Ed and I caught the eyes of Elder and Sister Cook.  We shared a sweet smile.  The rest of the congregation did not seem distracted by what must be a normal occurrence.  We are learning to Love Africa. 

Miss you much though and love to hear from you,
 

Ed and Jolene     

February 5, 2013



PROUD STREET SWEEPER



ENGLISH CLASS WITH THEIR JOURNALS



Check out the road to English, it looks better in this pic



Mick, is this one of your satellite schools?



Typical transportation to church - who knows where



I can't keep up with him

This past week we made an error in judgment.  We chose to visit a family out in Motupa Thursday evening.  It was daylight as we traveled there and we are getting use to the roads, so when we turned off the "tar" road and started on the dirt road it was no problem.  However, the dirt road ended and we were left with an open field to navigate before finding their home.  We made it, had a wonderful visit and then said our good-byes.  As we walked out to the car a visitor in their home, who had joined us for the evening, pulled Ed aside and very quietly said, "I want to go to church, but I'm embarrassed because I have nothing to wear."  Ed listened, showed concern, made no promises, and then we started on our way home.  It was dark by now.   Dark is an understatement, it was pitch black.  I prayed all the way to the tar road and made up my mind that ALL visits from now on will be made in the light of day.  Such was our mistake; however, safely home the next morning we went to Woolworths and bought church clothes that looked like they would fit a 17 year old young man.  We delivered them.  I'm happy to say that when we arrived at church Sunday morning he met us at the gate in his new clothes.  He then greeted everyone else who came and personally opened and closed the gate with the largest smile you have ever seen.  

English class is going well.  Above is a picture of some of our students and a look at just one of the roads that we travel.  The rain has made huge ruts in most of the roads, making driving a bit of a challenge.  This particular day we were driving along slowly and a few children, who come to the class, saw our car and started running alongside us.  They were so close that we had to stop.  I rolled down my window to talk to them and they reached their arms inside and started hugging me, kissing me, and running their fingers through my hair as they said, "English teacher."  I couldn't help but get out and walk the rest of the way with them.  We feel so loved. 

We  visited with a few young Father's this week who are dealing with the pains of unemployment (85% in our area).  As we talked with Chiromo in his home the topic of blessings came up and he told us that he thinks the Lord has forgotten  him.  I was holding his adorable one year old son and hugged the baby as I told Chiromo that I was holding a very precious blessing.  He smiled and couldn't help but agree.  We had a good visit.  Ed has since arranged for him and a few others to attend a career workshop.  We keep our fingers crossed as we all look for employment opportunities and talk about possible education options.     

If we haven't had a chance to tell you, our church services are in English, but most of the members in Motupa speak Sotu or Zulu and have a very difficult time expressing even simple thoughts in English. (Another challenge) Last Sunday Samuel struggled to tell all of us that God loves us, not necessarily because we are so good, but because He is so good.  We appreciated his sweet message and would like to share it with you.  We love and miss you!!   

Ed and Jolene