Our First Transfer Week

Last week was crazy so we were hoping that this week would be calmer and it was - mostly.........
On Monday AM, we got a call from Elder Cook asking us to come to the hotel a half hour earlier to meet with he and his wife before we took them to the airport.  Dad was excited! It was a cool experience. They are very humble, down-to-earth and coincidentally, we have a lot in common with them - like we were married 2 weeks apart, both have 5 kids, and both men worked in real estate development. Funny, huh? Anyway, we studied the scriptures and visited with them for a half hour and even though we were sitting in a hotel lobby, the spirit was very strong and Elder Cook and I were both very emotional. It was an interesting, but good experience. Then we took them to the airport. I made chicken pasta for dinner that night, but just before we ate, the guard brought a man to our door selling shrimp.  We bought 4 kilos, or 8 pounds!! We got worn out after we'd done half, so we froze 1/2 and prepared the rest.  Then transfers started that night with a trip to the airport to pick up an elder.
On Tuesday, we went back to the airport and picked up more elders, dropped a couple of them off to their apts., picked one up and took him to the chapa station, and then went back for 2 more elders and a refrigerator, and took them (and the fridge) to their apt in a new city that's being reopened. It was a LONG day but really fun to meet all the new elders. Boy, we've got some good ones!! They are smart, diligent, and hard-working. We've been really impressed by the caliber of the missionaries. Here's a few of them:

On Wednesday, we did more moving and unpacking and that night we went with 2 elders to visit a couple that they are teaching. They asked us to come with them to help them teach about marriage and the importance of the family.  It's hard to describe the house and area.  Dad said it was like the favelas (ghettos) in Brazil on his mission and they weren't allowed to teach in those areas.  So, we drove to this neighborhood and got out of the car and started walking down a dirt road. Then we turned off of the road and were essentially walking on a small, single-file muddy path between shanty houses and trees.  It was strewn with decaying garbage, leaves, and food and was extra gross because of the rain. It's pitch black and we can't see where we're going and the elder says, "Watch your step here because there's a lot of poop on this path." I stepped in a mud/garbage puddle and decided to use my phone to light the way.  We finally got to the house, which was essentially a concrete room with a single, 40 watt bulb dangling from the ceiling and we studied and talked with the couple and their 2 month old baby.  I finally asked to hold the baby because he kept crying and the wife couldn't pay attention. I had brought a few pictures of our family and of dad and I in front of the temple and I talked about how much I loved my husband and family and wanted to be with them eternally.  Dad read from the Proclamation on the Family and shared some scriptures and talked about how we need to be responsible for our own actions and not allow our spouse's actions to cause us to react negatively.  The were really cute and when dad asked if they understood, the husband smiled and said, "Yes, yes, I understand."
Friday was more moving and unpacking and then I followed dad in the car to take 1 of the cars in to the mechanic. I'm not afraid of many things but there are 2 things that I'm afraid of here and that's roaches (and I'm not actually afraid of them but they gross me out big time!) and driving in this city.  The whole driving on the right side of the road/right side of the car/ people and bicycles within inches of your car, because they totally aren't afraid of cars, scares the daylights out of me. Oh and there are no lines on the road so people drive all over the road to avoid potholes.  I said a prayer and told dad to drive really slow so I wouldn't lose him and gripped the steering wheel the entire way.  I'm still here and the car's in one piece. :).
 Saturday we walked on the beach and saw 4 girls taking pictures. I went over and offered to take pictures of the whole group and they were so excited. Usually, the people are shy when we talk to them, but not these girls! They practiced their English and when I told them that they looked so pretty, all dressed up, they told me I looked pretty too and we took a picture together.  ;) Not your typical Mozambique "tween". They were funny!!  

We went out to dinner that night and when we asked what the soup was the waiter said, "Abobora."  Dad didn't know what that was so we played 20 Questions (is it fish? no. is it a vegetable? no. is it meat? no.) until the waiter said, "Um momento." Then he came back with.........a pumpkin.  Never would've guessed that one! So we had pumpkin soup and stuffed crab.
Today, we went to a tiny branch that the president asked us to visit and check on.  They were in this old building, right on one of the narrow dirt roads in the middle of the neighborhood, next to a bar. The elders quorum met outside on a patio and the Primary met in a separate building that was stifling hot. But the branch was awesome! They had the Primary organized with singing time and sharing time.  They laughed when I stood up with the kids for "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes." I told them I was small and a child too, which made them laugh more. Dad said the Elders quorum teacher did a great job! This is the branch that the 4 couples were from that were married last week so it was fun to see them. Here's the 7 month member branch president. He's in his late 20's. Their toddler's name is Rosie.
  

 The boy isn't theirs.  I didn't quite understand, but he's a relative of some kind.  We have noticed that people often have relatives raise their kids.  We don't know all the reasons, but for example, If they can't afford them or move away, they have their child live with a relative.  Anyway, for such a new convert, this branch president is on the ball.
Here's a picture of the YW in our regular branch. We were at the church when they were having an activity - decorating the bulletin board with cloth hearts that they were cutting out - and their leader, Mariana - our little seminary teacher, came and asked me to come and take pictures of them.  

Mariana's so tall and dad cut her off.....oops!:)
 It's past my bedtime, so I'm zipping this up.
I sure love you!