This was an eventful week.
On Monday, the missionary that was having foot trouble got worse so dad
took him back to the clinic (4th trip!), while I stayed and waited for the cable guy because we had been
trying to get cable for 2 weeks and they were coming to hook us up. We decided that he was worse and
recommended that he be sent to Maputo to see a Dr there. So we brought him back to our place,
fed him pancakes, and put him on a plane. He ended up having surgery the next AM.
On Tuesday, we had the 4 ZL's in our area over for training with Pres K via Internet and
I made breakfast for them. On Wednesday, Chanelle came in!! Her trip was crazy! We didn't
realize it when we planned on her coming that it was such an ordeal for her. She had to take
a bus, a matutu (those packed van taxis), and a boda (scooter), to get to a hostel, where she slept over,
and then take a shuttle to the airport. We were waiting at the entrance to customs and I panicked
some because we could not see her. A nice passenger that spoke English asked if we were looking for our
daughter and said that she was being held up because her paperwork wasn't right. So I asked/told
the customs guy that we needed to come in because our daughter was in there and he let us in.
(Sidebar: eg. African thinking - when I tried to come in the grocery store that I'd just exited 10 min before,
they wouldn't let me because they were closing. I told them my husband was inside and pointed him
out to them. No, I could not go in, but a secure area like customs, they were ok. Oh Africa....).
It turns out that she needed an address to put on the customs form and she didn't know it. Anyway,
a broken printer, 20 minute wait and we were clear!
Saturday, we got up and went for a walk on the beach and looked for
shrimp. The catches weren't good that day and none of the fishermen had
any, but we saw Armando, who was our first seller and he had some. Then
we came home and went to a wedding at the church. The missionaries had
asked me to play the piano so I played hymns - God Speed the Right was
the wedding march. ;) I told dad they would not know the difference, but
the members might have recognized a few songs.... Chanelle made friends
with the 2 little daughters of the couple getting married and held them
during some of the wedding.
Afterward, dad dropped Chanelle and I
at the market in town, while he got a haircut, and it was the dirtiest,
craziest market that I've ever been in.
We were the only white people
there and got a lot of stares and calls. It's the only time I've been
called to since we got here. Probably not a place I'd wanna go to alone
but it was interesting. We got some used pants from India for 50c a pair.
Then Sunday, Chanelle and I went to
Primary instead of Sunday school and it turned out that no leaders were
there - not the presidency, a teacher, nobody. The elders were trying to
figure something out so I told them that I'd do sharing time and
singing time but I'd probably need a translator. So an elder from
Portugal translated while I told the story of David and Goliath and The
Good Samaritan. Then we did singing time and I tried to teach them
Popcorn Popping in English. That was a flop! So I taught them Smiles
in Portuguese.
That was tricky....trying to learn the Portuguese words
myself while I taught them w/o any music. That was moderately
successful but then I decided to do "Do as I'm Doing" in English and they
loved that. I asked the elder to take a picture and he ended up
recording about 10 minutes. Chanelle and I were cracking up when we watched it at
home! The classic line is when I turn to the elder, after singing
Popcorn Popping, and say, "I think they know this song!" when not one
child has made a peep. I guess it was positive thinking or maybe
stress-induced delusion. Ha!
After church we
made a yummy lunch of sautéed shrimp, crockpot potatoes, green beans,
and salad, all purchased from the vegetable market. Later on, Chanelle
dyed my hair. I had to text Crystal for instructions, which surprised
the heck out of her. Chanelle did a really great job, which
made me even more afraid for when dad and I have to do it ourselves.....
This AM, we took Chanelle to the airport and she headed back to Uganda
via the long route. Dad gave her a blessing so I could not be so, so
worried for her. And that's our week!! Love you!!!!
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