June 25, 2013

We walk in the mornings with all the maids going to work



Promise and her children



"Our Hawaii" and it's winter time here



A special baptism - Of course they all are!



Cooking dinner.



I love my English class!!

Dearest Family and Friends,

Recently we received an email from a long-time friend who said that life is full of "little bits of amazing in the middle of a lot of exhausting/challenging/discouraging moments."  So true.  How did she know what we are experiencing?  Just yesterday for example we woke up hoping to go on our normal walk, but my plugged up ear had become painful in the night time.  It's been going on for a while so we decided it was time to brave the local health clinic.  The doctor was pleasant and professional and diagnosed me with an inner-ear infection.  No problem, we decided to just keep our existing appointments so that I could rest otherwise.  We then hurried out to Motupa to pick up Sister Tiny who has recently separated from her husband and is living with her children and elderly mom.  They have no food, so we brought Sister Tiny into town to go shopping.  We purchased the normal staples which includes a huge bag of Mille-maize (for pap).  When we told her that she could buy a few cans of beans to go with it she was so thrilled that you would have thought we provided Christmas for her whole family.  Next we picked up Kuda so that he didn't have to pay for the taxi (not the kind your thinking of) going home since he lives close to Tiny.  We visited with Tiny's mom and she too was very thankful for the food.  After a quick stop back home for a bit of lunch, we hurried out to Nkowankowa to visit Promise and her family.  They appeared to be doing fine.  While we were giving the message from President Uchtdorf about having "spiritual landmarks" in our lives, I noticed that Mighty (8 months old) was chewing on her arm.  I asked if he was teething and Promise said, "No, he's hungry.  I ran out of formula and I don't have any money."  We had picked up a few bananas just outside the village at a little tuck shop.  I went out to the car and brought in some.  Mighty loved his first banana.  We left with the name of his formula and a promise to bring some back.  We then hurried over to the hospital to visit Sister Mama and her new baby.  The baby's dad, Max, was there.  We had a wonderful visit.  We invited Max out to church and he accepted.  I held baby Lulamile the whole time we visited.  When we left Max asked Ed to say a pray for them.  He offered a beautiful blessing on the "soon to be family", we hope.  We arrived home from our shortened day a little after 6:00 pm.  We fixed a little dinner and my ear said that I was DONE, and so we were.  Our days are filled with those normal/exhausting moments, but with hopes of miracles, and a prayer that we might touch lives along the way. 

In the meantime we continue to love and think of you all the time,

Ed and Jolene, mom and dad, grandma and grandpa, AKA Elder and Sister Smith   

  

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.)