Rain and Zone Conference

Hello again ! We have had another great week in Africa. 

This week we had several days of heavy rain.  The Mozambiquens do not like rain. One day while it was raining, I told the guard that our daughter would often run outside and sing and dance in the rain. He couldn't believe it. :)

Here, perhaps due to the serious damage it can cause, the people seem to be afraid of the rain. Last Monday night, I went to our local grocery store (Shoprite) while it was raining and the people in the store appeared to be acting with a hoarding mentality in buying a large supply of water and other basics. Perhaps another reason for the fear of the rain is that it often results in a loss of power. Fortunately, our building has a generator, so we only lose power for a few minutes at a time.

As Mom and I try to help make small changes in how the Church functions, I am reminded of the song Maria, from the Sound of Music- "How do you solve a problem like Maria ? How do you catch a cloud and pin it down ?....How do you solve a problem like Maria ? How do you hold a moonbeam in your hand ?" The issues we have here will take generations to resolve...

For example, it appears in this culture the children have very few restrictions placed on them. They don't seem to feel any need for adult supervision. The parents are busy at work, cooking, washing the clothes or carrying water from the well. The older siblings end up raising the younger ones. The children roam from house to house to be with their friends. We often see the 4 year old sister carrying her 2 year old brother on her back without any parents in sight.

When these families attend church, they permit their children to walk or run down the aisles and or leave the Sacrament meeting. Additionally, they do not restrain their children from grabbing and tearing the Hymnals. Consequently, most all of the hymnals are missing pages and no longer have the exterior cover on them. The parents feel perfectly comfortable leaving their children in the primary room without any or very few adults present. Mom has consistently gone into Primary to help out and so far there has never been any volunteers to help, even though it is very obvious that a need exists. 

How do you solve a problem like Africa, how do you catch a cloud and pin it down ? 

We will start by training the leaders in very basic fundamental family principles. Up until now, we have practiced the concept of: "sit on the edge of the herd and watch how the cows graze" 

Now, it is time to act !