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

January 15, 2013

Noriah - Her tiny home  in back



Velaphi the day of his mission call



Raining as usual



He was the happier of hundreds



Watching us inside the restaurant



The children posed while I took a picture of laundry day



They offered us a ride, one foot in and you're good



All but the kitchen sink



The view from the school (church) in Matupa

One of the many people that we visited this past week was Noriah and her daughter.  Noriah has Chicken Pox, but is doing better and welcomed us into her tiny home.  Her bed covered the entire living area and so we visited as we sat on the bed and became painfully aware of every  spring underneath us.  My Carpinteria air mattress would be a luxury item for her.  Anyway, Noriah told us that she sells cosmetics.  I told her that I needed some blush and would love to order it from her.  She pulled out a worn out catalog from under the bed.  As I browsed through it, there were several pages missing.  The blush page was one of them, so I ordered blush sight unseen from her very outdated catalog.  Who knows if it will ever come, but we are happy to donate a little for whatever reason. 

Friday we had the privilege of delivering two mission calls.  One to a young man in Modjadji and the other to a young man in our branch whose name is Velaphi.  The first day that we met Velaphi he asked Ed if he had an envelope for him.  We didn't know at the time that the mission calls come to the branch president.  Since that time we've been waiting along with him.  Both missionaries are staying in Africa as this is where they are needed. 

   

I've been asked to teach seminary in Mokgolobotho Village and both Ed and I will be teaching an English class out there.  We have 5 students already, but they say more neighborhood children will come as word gets out.  We are finding that most people in the villages speak very little English.  So for now, our challenge is to find teaching and reading materials for children.  We welcome any suggestions from you. 

Just so you will know, we haven't seen any wild animals to speak of.  They are mostly in the animal reserves.  However, we are 1 1/2 hours away from the largest animal reserve in the world, Kruger National Park.  If we can entice any of you to visit Africa, we would love to show you around and of course visit the park with you.  Attached we have a picture of a monkey that watched us enjoy our dinner last night and some crocodiles that we visited at the local crocodile ranch.  Although the ranch is within walking distance, I was grateful to see that the crocs are fenced in and well fed and so most likely willing to stay where they are.  Works for me!

We miss you and love you,

Ed and Jolene  

January 4, 2013

What was left of "Promises" home after the storm and looters

Children watching us work

Where to begin

More children passing by with their daily water

Building with a smile.  You gotta love 'em!

Day 2 for the crew

A work of love built the African way

More neighbors passing by, they love umbrellas for heat and rain

"Promise" and her baby have a home.  She's truly thankful. 

Our Flat.  Yes we feel spoiled!

The home next to Promise and the school behind.  Always clean!

"Promise" is one happy sister as she stands in front of her new home.  The pictures show her little area where she lives, the neighbors playing and walking by during the construction, the remains of her first place,  the crew as they worked diligently in the extreme heat, and the almost finished home.  I say almost because Ed and I will be going out tomorrow to replace the broken glass in the windows and be sure that all is good.  We are amazed at the humble circumstances that most of the villagers live in.  There is no running water, they use the wheel barrows to fill their large containers.  The woman still carry a ton of things on their heads, but the latest and greatest advancement is the wheel barrow.  I'm amazed that none of the homes close by Promise have bathrooms and there are none in sight.  I don't know how that works.  Promise, along with most of the ward members, have a long walk to church and everywhere else.  We only have a few families that live in town and actually have a car.    

We are truly humbled to be able to serve here and have learned in a very short time to love the people. Ed says that one of the highlights of the building project for him was towards the end of the first day, everyone was exhausted, the temperature was over 90 degrees and very humid, sawing was strenuous (no electricity) and someone started to sing church songs.  Africans love to sing and it was beautiful.   One of my highlights this week was last Saturday during a "late" Christmas party out in the village of Matuba.  We were all gathered under a tree for shade by the school where they meet on Sunday for church.  I looked at the little children just sitting there watching their parents visit and decided to do something fun with them.  I taught them how to make paper airplanes (that alone delighted them) and then we stood at the side of the hill and had races.  They were thrilled and I was filled with joy.  

Some days we feel so far away, and it isn't as easy as I thought it would be, but we are truly grateful to be able to share the gospel and our lives with the people of Africa.  We miss you and love you.  Please take care and HAPPY NEW YEAR. 

Love,

Ed and Jolene

December 24, 2012

Us, The Alders and Elder Duma in Tzaneen



Our church in Tzaneen

Visitor at a church members home in Tzaneen

It's Christmas Eve and we were feeling a little lonely even though we had plans to go to dinner with the other senior couple serving in our area, however the last three phone calls have changed life as we know it.  The first phone call was about a sister's home that blew down in a storm last week.  We received permission from the District President to rebuild it for her and it was suggested that we start tomorrow.  Yes, that's Christmas.  The next phone call was to confirm that Ed, the new branch President,  would be able to take care of the building project because the District President lost 2 family members in a car fire and his brother's home burned down this past week so he is dealing with his loss and concerns.  The third phone call was to tell us that the Elders in Modjadji are having a difficult time and would like to meet with us tonight.  Our thoughts are, "What were we thinking that this would be a "lonely" Christmas Eve and how do we transport each of you to help with building this home as we know you would and could."    

Now let us  tell you a little about our new home.  We have been assigned to serve in Tzaneen (Za-neen) which is a little town about 5 hours northeast from Johannesburg.  So much for our dream of seeing the Padovichs when they go down to Johannesburg for meetings.  Anyway, we are in a nice area and our flat (apartment complex)  is secured with  high walls and electric wires along the top.  It's cute and we are comfortable here.  We have become painfully aware of the fact that there are the "Haves" and the "Have nots" in Africa.  We are in an area with fairly affluent families, but our branch members (We serve 2 branches) are in the townships that are truly the "Have Nots."  The home that was destroyed looked a little smaller and older than our metal shed to the side of our home in Saugus.  Almost all the members live outside the town and have a long walk to church.  A few of them take a taxi, but the taxi's are unreliable and a bit scary.  Not to mention that it costs more than they have even though they are cheap according to our standards. 

The town of Tzaneen is green and beautiful.  It has been nicknamed the "Hawaii" of Africa.  I will attach a picture or our church where the Tzaneen branch meets. They tell us that we will often find monkeys hanging out at the church.  There were none on Sunday, but we will take our camera each week to get pictures when they do join us.  We haven't had a chance to go meet with the Motupa group (Ed is the branch president over both), because we were called  to speak in the Tzaneen branch.  That too was an experience.  We received the call about 9:30 Saturday night.  We looked at each other and said," We can just give our farewell talks from home,"  but as we sat on the stand the next morning it dawned on us that this was the Sunday before Christmas.  We needed Christmas talks.  During the very short sacrament we both prepared our talks.  The other senior couple in the area tells us that we were lucky.  They were asked to speak as they walked into church.  (When I say speak, we were the meeting.) We have much to learn and are very thankful for the Alder's who not only are the other senior couple, and live right across the hall from us, but they have quickly become our friends and our life line. They have been here for 14 months and know the culture, the area, and have learned to love and know the needs of the people.

Tomorrow we will have been in Africa for 1 week.  We spent the first few days sheltered in the mission home and arrived in Tzaneen Friday night.  It has already been an enormous growing and learning experience and we have to remind ourselves hourly that we are doing the Lord's work and he will watch over us.  We know that we are blessed, but miss each of you more than you can imagine.  Please take care.  MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR and PLEASE keep in touch.  We can respond  to emails, but pictures and Skype will be limited as our internet access here is not what we are use to.    

WE LOVE YOU,

Ed and Jolene   

They've Arrived!

We've received a letter from Ed and Jolene to let us know they have arrived safe and sound.

We are here in Tzaneen. It's the "Hawaii" of Africa. Our flat is nice and
secure. There is one other senior couple and they live across the hallway. They
had dinner and lots of advice for us when we arrived. Saturday (Yesterday) we
had the Christmas party that lasted most of the day. We hurried over last night
to buy supplies to stock our kitchen. About 9:30 pm we got a phone call asking
us to speak today. We thought about giving our farewell talks, but it's
Christmas, so we trusted the spirit. The people are truly "magical" and the
meeting went well.
Ed has been called to be the new Branch President but will
not be sustained for a few weeks. Luckily we were given keys though and I'm
using the church computer to send this email. The internet is a little
expensive and limited here. We were told that we could use the church's
computer for emails, but the other senior couple used all the internet allotment
last month because they Skyped their granddaughter's baptism. For that reason
we will get our own service but it might take a week or so. It might be more
limited that I thought, but I won't survive without it.
After church today the members stayed and visited forever until one of the
young men said, "I thought it was a tradition to have chocolate the Sunday
before Christmas." We just happened to have ice cream and chocolate bars
left over from yesterday's party. We pulled them out and had another party. I
guess it's okay. Last week they had a wedding in the chapel that turned into a 4
hour party. The very young (23 year old) counselor in the branch presidency
did not know what to do. This is only the beginning of our learning experience. 

Our little place is without decorations and the comforts of home, but we will have a
good Christmas and focus on what is truly important. As we interact with the
people already we have been humbled and are counting our blessings daily.
One new young convert lost her home in the last wind storm. Unfortunately when
it collapsed the people around helped themselves to what little she had. One of
dad's first concerns is how to get her a new home.

I better not take much longer.  Please pray for us and for the people. All is well. 

Dearest Friends

Dearest family and friends,

We are just days away from going into the MTC.  Wow, how did this time finally arrive.  We'll be in Provo (MTC) for one week and then off to Africa on the 17th of December.

We love you and have chosen to share our adventures with you.  Even though the map tells us that we are FAR away, we hope to keep in touch and feel that you are still close.  Please email us any time as we hope to hear how you and your family are doing.  For those of you who have asked about a mailing address, here it is for our entire mission: 
                 Elder and Sister Smith
                 Private Bag X4
                 Ansfrere 1711
                 South Africa
And for letters needing a physical address:
                 Elder And Sister Smith
                 3 Phillips Avenue
                 Discovery 1709
                 South Africa
Thank you to Ashley who set up this blog and is teaching me how to use it.  Since I needed to practice adding a picture I chose one of the latest of our family. 

With Love,

Ed and Jolene

Our Family August 2012