The Sacrament- To Always Remember Him

This past week I re-read Moroni chapters 4-6 and I was reminded again about the sacrament prayers. Perhaps, these are the verses of scriptures that are most often recited. There are now almost 30,000 wards and branches (currently 29,152) with sacrament meetings held each week.

The simple, yet powerful prayers are:

"O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this bread to the souls of all those who partake of it; that they may eat in remembrance of the body of thy Son, and witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son, and always remember him, and keep his commandments which he hath given them, that they may always have his Spirit to be with them. Amen." (Moroni 4:3) (bonus info. D & C 20: 77 this is changed to 'has') 

"O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee, in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this wine to the souls of all those who drink of it, that they may do it in remembrance of the blood of thy Son, which was shed for them; that they may witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they do always remember him, that they may have his Spirit to be with them. Amen." (Moroni 5:2) 

The way we witness to God that we do always remember Jesus, is by partaking of the sacrament each week. Indeed, "all those who drink of it...witness unto thee..that they do always remember him"  Of course those that don't drink of it, witness that they don't always remember Him.

What a blessing it is to be able to partake of the sacrament each week. 

I went to get gas this week and met these two barefoot boys with their homemade toy cars. The one on the right has even created a steering wheel.

 

 

 

 Here is Elder Yannick Dias De Oliveira  from Cape Verde, getting ready to board a plane!

This week we bought three large crabs! The claws alone were enough for a great meal. 

Love you! 

That's how they do it in Africa

     This week I took Sister. Dille to my new favorite neighborhood veggie stand owned by Romana 

(roll the "R"). She's a character. When we didn't have enough money last week, she said "Pay me later.

 I know your husband." Dad said we must be part of the neighborhood now because we've got a line of 

credit at the local store. ;)  This time, I asked her to take a picture with me and some lady came up and 

started talking pretty animatedly. I thought she was ticked off about the picture so I explained that it was for my kids 

and that I have 5 kids in the United States and then she said, "Really? You don't look like you have 5 kids." 

and then we were friends and she got in the picture with me and put her arm around me. Good thing I have kids - 

it's a sure way to win them over.... Romana's almost invisible behind the table.
 

One thing that dad and I do is call our seminary and institute teachers on their birthday and sing Happy Birthday to them in English. It's a small thing, but it means a lot to them and they all really appreciate it. This week, when we called one teacher, he didn't answer so dad just sent him a text and told him that we had tried to call and wish him a happy birthday. Here's the text we got back a few days later:
"I am an orphan of father, mother, and family. I am safe with you. You make me feel welcome because I feel the warmth, care, and love you guys have for me. You are my "parents". I feel your support, so good afternoon and be happy forever, I love you." 
 I cried. We had no idea. We've been friendly and nice to him, when we see him, but nothing out of the ordinary. Just shows how much the little things mean.
That's the teacher on dad's right. He's 24 and just a little guy.

One day, after dad and I had our walk on the beach, I took Sandi there to see it for the first time. Here's our self-portrait and some shots I took.

   

We don't know why, but it's unusual to see kids playing on the beach. The people don't really use it for recreation. They see it more as a place to get food.

Heavy wood canoes are the fishing boats and the ladies on shore are hunting for clams. These aren't clams like we think of, but the small little ones we used to call "butterfly shells" because they look like a butterfly when they're open. They go to so much effort to find these and each shell is maybe an inch long so the meat inside couldn't be bigger than the nail of your index finger. But when you don't have food, it's something....

We took brownies to the family that had us for dinner and FHE and they were so excited. Brownies are a big deal here. 
On Thursday, Sandi and I took Isabel shopping for the weddings that weekend but it was tons quicker and easier this time. They're trying to save money and simplify it so they're just doing the wedding cakes and store-bought cookies and punch. So few people have ovens, they can't have people bring a couple dozen cookies, like we might do at home. Besides which, no one can afford the ingredients for the cookies, even if they did have an oven. Oh, the things we take for granted...
Sandi and I offered to the missionaries to each make a Texas sheet cake since they love brownies so much. We thought it might soften the blow a little because there's going to be some disappointed guests when they find out that there's no chicken, French fries, and potato salad. When we went to the church to drop off the food with Isabel, the kitchen was its usual mess with a bunch of unwashed dishes and dirty counters, but this time there were like a hundred dead roaches because they had just sprayed for them. So, Sandi and I helped her clean it, which meant sweeping up the hundred roaches, rinsing dishes outside because the kitchen tap wasn't working too well, etc, etc. I noticed a cup of dirt on the counter and started to throw it out but asked Isabel why it was in the kitchen. 

 It turned out to be their version of Comet. You get the stove top wet, sprinkle a little dirt/sand on it, and scrub. It does get the burned stuff off - along with some of the paint, but oh well, that's how they do it in Africa.....

On Friday, Sandi cut my choppy hair which was growing out in a weird, 'sticky-outtie' way. The layers were so hacked, she had to cut a ton off to get it even. :(. It's the shortest I've had my hair in years but it looks better than it did - which isn't saying much...... But I was happy that she knew what she was doing and I got a fresh start!

Afterward, she and I went capalana shopping because we want to have some dresses made. We had fun! We got a little lost but it was nice to get out and explore a little, cuz you know how your dad feels about shopping, and it's not safe for me to go alone. (Don't those ladies look so happy behind me??)

That night, we went to dinner with the Dillles at the nicest hotel in town. It's where the general authorities stay when they visit. We'd never been there before and it was really good.

 There was a mosque right next to it. It was all lit up and looked so pretty! There is a strong presence of Indians here. They are the retailers and own a lot of the businesses.

Saturday was super busy, like it usually is. It started off with a parade, something we've never seen here before. It passed right under our window and turned by our apt, so I called Sandi to see if she wanted to zip outside and take pictures. Dad and Larry were off somewhere so it was just us girls. It turned out to be the 12 year celebration for a private school that was started by a Filipino woman. We happened to meet the school's director, a young girl from Portugal, and she told us all about it. It's not cheap. Elementary school is about 5000 meticals or $1600 per year and the high school is 10,000 mtz, or $3,333 per year. In a country with an average income of less than $600 per year, it's astronomical.

It stopped at the nice rec center across from our apt building, so we walked around and took pictures with the floats. When we stopped at this float, the guys jumped out and posed and then played the drums for us.

The kids in the neighborhood went crazy and were running around like mad, tearing the flags and balloons off of the cars and scurrying off with them. We had one kid ask us if we wanted to buy some balloons from him. We told him "no thanks." This little guy scored big!

There were four weddings scheduled at the church that afternoon, but I had scheduled training for my primary presidency. If you remember, I tried this once before and not one person showed up. :(. In the President's defense, she had malaria.... Well, this time I decided to use bribery, a common practice in the country. I told them I'd make them lunch. ;)
It had to be something easy and portable, cuz I didn't have a kitchen, but also typically American. I decided on grilled cheese sandwiches and, what else?, brownies. There was a sandwich-maker left from the couples before us, so I made up the sandwiches beforehand, and grilled them there. 

We started 45 minutes late cuz the president was late. When they have to ride the chapas to get places, you never really know how long they'll take to get there. I finally decided to start without her, but she showed up before I started the training video. Bear in mind, the president has only been a member for 7 weeks, in fact she was married while Chanelle was here and her girls sat on Chanelle's lap during the wedding. The second counselor has been a member for 3 months and the third counselor for just over 2 months, so they literally know nothing. But I love these guys - they crack me up!

They loved the sandwiches - grilled cheese was a new concept!
They're such goofballs! :) Love 'em!!

We missed the weddings but went to the baptisms after the weddings. I played the keyboard for it and the first counselor in Primary gave her first ever talk - which she wrote during our training from one of the primary manuals. (Baby steps, baby steps....). It was short and sweet, but she did great. I was a proud mama. Then 17 people were baptized!! One guy was baptized by his friend who was a new member himself. It took him 5 times to get the prayer right and when he did, the people applauded. Not exactly what you do at a baptism but yup, 'that's how they do it in Africa'. I don't have the baptism picture (next time), but here's a picture of the baptism clothes out drying on the lawn.

Sunday, we were finally able to practice with the kids in the chapel. They did great!! I was so excited because their singing has been a little iffy. So, the plan is to sing in Sacrament Meeting next week. Crossing my fingers......
I was talking to one of the boys in Primary who was just baptized yesterday, along with his Dad and little brother. They have a younger sister who's about 5. I asked him why his mom didn't get baptized. Very matter-of-factly, he told me that she was dead. Poor dad, poor kids! Sickness and death are so common here. The hardest for me is seeing the children that are maimed or scarred from something that would've been easily treated in the U.S., like a broken leg, but here it wasn't treated correctly - or at all - and so they're maimed or disfigured for life. It makes me sad. Life is hard here.
Well, sorry to end on a sad note. Go back and look at the pictures of Luisa, Feliciana, and Maria. :) Sure love you guys!! Keep praying for us....and just keep praying, period. 

I love you!

Elder Bednar Article

Church News and Events

Elder Bednar: Church in Africa Is “Vibrant and Growing”

By Sarah Jane Weaver, Church News assistant editor, and James Dalrymple

Elder David A. Bednar and his wife, Sister Susan R. Bednar, pose with members in Gabon,a sovereign state on the west coast of Central Africa. Photo by James Dalrymple.

“The Church is vibrant and growing in Africa,” said Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles during his recent visit to the Africa Southeast Area.

 There is an eagerness and light in the eyes of the African Latter-day Saints, he said. “This is a place where many people live challenging, difficult lives. They don’t have many of the temporal comforts and blessings that people in the Western world have. Many of these Saints are grateful to have one substantial meal a day. Yet because of the gospel of Jesus Christ, they have great light and hope. I learn a great deal from the people every time I visit the African continent.”

Elder Bednar and his wife, Sister Susan R. Bednar, traveled to Africa October 23 through November 6. They met with members and missionaries as he conducted a review of the Church’s Africa Southeast Area and visited Gabon, a sovereign state on the west coast of Central Africa.

Elder Bednar was accompanied on the assignment by Elder Craig C. Christensen of the Presidency of the Seventy and his wife, Sister Debbie Christensen; Bishop Gérald Caussé, First Counselor in the Presiding Bishopric, and his wife, Sister Valérie Caussé; and members of the Africa Southeast Area Presidency and their wives.

Leaders, members, and missionaries in Johannesburg and Durban, South Africa; Lubumbashi, and Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo; and Libreville, Gabon, received uplifting instruction from the Brethren and their wives.

“Africa is an enchanting and inspiring place,” said Elder Bednar. “Africa is diverse and complex. There are highly industrialized and sophisticated communities and rural and simple villages. The gospel of Jesus Christ gathers all kinds of people into the gospel net. Even though there is a common strong faith among the Latter-day Saints, there is also a remarkable diversity.”

Elder Christensen, on his first visit to Africa, stated the area was “quite different, quite diverse, quite broad from any other place we have been in the world. As we mingled with the Saints, we observed strong faith and spiritual depth.”

Elder Christensen said members have a desire to bless and watch out for one another, which “is a natural extension of the Savior’s gospel.”

---

Africa is one of the most rapidly growing areas of the Church. Referring to that growth, Elder Bednar mentioned that a stake president in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has an unusual weekly challenge in sacrament meeting—finding enough time for confirmations. During a recent meeting, 18 new members were confirmed.

“That is a wonderful problem to have,” said Elder Bednar. There are places in Africa where full-time missionaries are not currently serving, but stakes continue to be created and develop because of member missionary efforts. “Finding people to teach is not a fundamental problem in Africa. The challenge is making sure there are sufficient priesthood and auxiliary leaders to support the growth so the Church can be unified and strong.”

Bishop Caussé, visiting Africa for the first time, indicated that the Presiding Bishopric is indeed aware of the growth in the area. Their efforts focus on making sure members have enough meetinghouses and the temporal help they need in order to move the work forward.

 

Elder David A. Bednar speaks to members during a visit to South Africa. 

Photo by James Dalrymple.

Some may measure the maturity of the Church in an area by the number of meetinghouses, how large the congregations are, or the tools available. “The maturity of the Church is to be found in the hearts of people. In Africa I find a very mature Church,” he said. “The family is the center of the gospel, evidenced by the way these people live the gospel in their homes.”

Elder Bednar reported that the members asked “spiritually significant questions,” especially the youth, who posed profound and penetrating questions focused on the temple. Elder Bednar found that where local Church members are diligently preparing for a temple, such as in the DR Congo, there is abundant faith.

“This is a land, a people, and a place of great faith in the Lord Jesus Christ,” he said. “You can feel it as well as hear it when these Saints pray and when they sing.

“These members have a simple faith that is uncluttered. It is focused on Christ. And it brings many blessings and spiritual gifts into their lives.”

In closing, Elder Bednar affirmed, “Every time I have an opportunity to come and witness what the Lord is accomplishing among the people here, it is thrilling for me. Africa changes me.”

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Election Week

I have been thinking this week about how do we know when we are doing God's will ? 

The First Presidency said: “When you trust in the Father and the Son, you are confident that They love you perfectly-that They want you to be happy and that They will help you grow spiritually. You keep the commandments. You seek to know Their will, and you do what They require even when you desire something else. Your prayers for relief are accompanied by the understanding that Heavenly Father will not resolve all matters immediately-that He may allow you to wait so you can continue to learn and grow. Through it all, you find comfort in the assurance that the Savior understands your trials perfectly. As part of His infinite Atonement, He took upon Himself ‘the pains and the sicknesses of his people.’ He took upon Himself ‘their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.’ (Alma 7: 11-12). Because He has experienced your pain, He knows how to help you. If you look to Him in faith, He will strengthen you to withstand any trial you experience.” (‘Trusting in Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ’, True to the Faith, p. 10)

On our mission, we are able to see people that have made dramatic changes in their lives. Once the dramatic changes are made the rest of our and their lives are more of a daily repentance from sin.

President Ezra Taft Benson said: “If we wish to truly repent and come unto Him .., we must first and foremost come to realize this eternal truth——the gospel plan is the plan of happiness. Wickedness never did, never does, never will bring us happiness. Violation of the laws of God brings only misery, bondage, and darkness.

Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is the foundation upon which sincere and meaningful repentance must be built.... repentance involves not just a change of actions, but a change of heart.

When we have undergone this mighty change, which is brought about only through faith in Jesus Christ and through the operation of the Spirit upon us, it is as though we have become a new person. Thus, the change is likened to a new birth. Thousands of you have experienced this change.... and through applying the blood of Christ in your lives, have become clean. You have no more disposition to return to your old ways. You are in reality a new person. This is what is meant by a change of heart.

The Lord is pleased with every effort, even the tiny, daily ones in which we strive to be more like Him. ... God’s gifts are sufficient to help us overcome every sin and weakness if we will but turn to Him for help. Finally, we must remember that most repentance does not involve sensational or dramatic changes, but rather is a step-by-step, steady, and consistent movement toward godliness.”  (First Presidency Message, ‘A Mighty Change of Heart’. Pres. Ezra Taft Benson, Ensign, Oct. 1989, p 2)

The National Elections in Mozambique are on Wednesday (November 20th). We are not quite sure what group stands for what, but it appears there is a potential for some conflict. We have been asked to remain in our apartment all day on Wednesday and to buy some extra supplies in advance. I will report back next week on how things ended up.

Here is a notice we received:

The U.S. Department of State warns U.S. citizens traveling to or residing in Mozambique that municipal elections will take place on Wednesday, November 20, 2013. Official campaigning began on November 5. Tensions between Government of Mozambique (GRM) security forces and elements of the armed opposition political party Renamo have escalated in the past few weeks with violence in Sofala and Nampula Provinces. Due to the possibility of additional attacks, as well as ongoing regional threats, the U.S. Embassy in Maputo urges U.S. citizens to exercise caution during the election period, review recent Security Messages on the Embassy’s website, and carefully consider whether travel is necessary during this period. This Travel Alert will expire after 60 days.

As we each strive to do Heavenly Father's will, we pray that you will continue to be blessed!

How blessed we are to be able to Preach The Gospel !!

I love you!

Training galore!

I'm behind a few weeks, so I'm going to combine 2 in 1 and just hit the highlights....
 
    The economy is terrible and unemployment is 21% here. That means that 

1 in 5 people is unemployed and the average salary is $1.61 per DAY.   While

 I was out walking this week, I was stopped two different days by women asking 

if I had work for them. I felt so bad telling them no. One day, one of the guards 

stopped me and said that his sister was looking for someone to do laundry for. 

I didn't even try to explain that I had a washing machine.... It really is sad when you

 have people that want to work, but there is nothing for them to do. They seek out 

 doing whatever they can. We saw this guy on the beach washing out bags, 

that he found on the ground, to resale at the market.

This woman was drying rice out on the sidewalk. Isabel knew her, so I asked her to ask if I could take a picture. The lady couldn't understand why I'd want a picture of it, but she shrugged her shoulders and said "Sure." Or the Portuguese version, anyway....

These guys were making cinder blocks. Every block is made by hand by loading a metal mold with the sand/concrete (we think) mixture that's tapped down until it's compact, and then turned upside down to dry in the sun. It's a hot, tedious process.

These two were digging a trench, to get electricity to a house, with a pick-ax and shovel. Dad asked them how long it had taken them. 3 hours so far and they had a ways to go.

And you see the usual trades: people selling fruit and vegetables, used clothes and shoes, and anything edible from the sea.

Ladies are everywhere selling bread. They carry it in big baskets on their heads.

The ones that can afford it open small businesses: sewing, hair salons, and car repair are common. Actually, these are the bigger businesses. The smaller ones are the guys on the street that fix bicycle tires or repair shoes. This guy pumped up the exercise ball that the Hobsons found for me in Maputo. 

That was a happy day! It's not a tramp, but I was as excited as if I'd won the lottery. I bounce on it every day. Wahoo!!
It drew quite a crowd when they started pumping it up........

On Wednesday, we took the Dilles to the pharmacy and another store called PEP to get some things.

The next day, Sandi Dille and I went grocery shopping with Isabel for the weddings on Saturday. We had to stop at the District President's school, where he's a high school teacher, to pick up the check for the food. (The district pays for the food for the weddings.) Here's the local high school - here they call it 'secondary' school. 

That's President Camalizane, me, and Isabel.
Then it was off to the bank to cash the check. The banking system is... very inefficient. You can withdraw money, but you can't deposit money from an ATM. So people have to go inside the bank and wait in a huge line to deposit or cash the smallest amounts, because they can't do it any other way. Dad went to the bank last week to get a money order. He was the first one in line when the doors opened at 8:00 am and it still took him over an hour to get it. Sandi and I waited in the car while Isabel went inside. It took forever. By the time she came out, we were sweating puddles. That night, dad had a branch presidency meeting so it was a quiet night with a good book. ;)
The next day, we went out to the Buenos house with the Kretlys and Dilles to look at the extra furniture and items from the old apartments. The Dilles got some things for their apartment and we picked up a microwave for one of the elders' apartments because they needed a new one. It was SO hot! We were all dying by the time we finished sorting through all the stuff.
When we got home, our little shrimp dealers were there with some shrimp, so we bought some and so did President Kretly. The only person who likes shrimp more than we do is President K.! Sister Kretly doesn't like it, so dad and I went up and helped him clean and cook the shrimp.

Buying it on the street - nothing like home delivery!! ;) The view from our apartment.

On Saturday, we had a training meeting for our Seminary and Institute teachers in another city. We took the teachers from our city and stopped on the highway (I use that term loosely...) on the way there, to pick up a couple more teachers. It saves them so much time and the cost of the chapa if we give them a ride. We ended up having the best attendance that we've ever had. We were only missing 1 teacher and ironically, he was from the branch where we were holding the meeting. "Oh well, you do what you can." is one of our new mottos. 

The training went well. Chad helped dad download a Portuguese-dubbed version of one of President Monsen's Conference talks. It was the Saturday following Conference and the teachers were amazed that we had it because they hadn't seen it yet. It takes about a month for them to get the Conference CDs here. I gave them a lesson about adversity and told them the story about the little girl that wants to help the chick hatch out of the egg. Despite her mother telling her not to, she does anyway and the chick dies because it needed to peck at the shell to become strong enough to survive. I did an object lesson to demonstrate the technique. I had a raw egg and had the students squeeze it to show how tough the shell (adversity) is. Everybody wanted to try and nobody could do it until I let the biggest guy in the class do it. He squeezed and squeezed and nothing happened until suddenly it popped and egg splattered all over him, me, the floor, and the wall!! That got everybody's attention! After I got over the shock, I laughed and laughed. I always make a treat for them and this time I made a chocolate/vanilla swirl bundt cake. It was gone in seconds. I really didn't have enough to give them big pieces. Afterward, dad and I were talking about it and decided that we're going to bring rolls and butter for them along with the treat because some of them are hungry. It's not a refreshment for them, it's a meal... Here's our cute teachers - we love 'em!

I told them to be silly for this picture.

After the training, we did all our drop-offs and then zipped home because Dad had a big meeting with Pres. K. And all the priesthood leaders. I went to the weddings with Sisters Kretly and Dille.

Here's some of our great missionaries taking pictures of their couples.

Isabel with the wedding cakes that she always makes.

After the weddings, the meeting was still going with our husbands, so we decided to make pude de leche. Sis. Kretly makes the best pude de leche and I had asked her to teach me, so we all crowded in our kitchen and she taught Sandi and I. The sugar here is different than our sugar. It's very coarse, so it takes a long time to melt. We couldn't get it to melt and caramelize - it just crystallized - so we threw out the first batch and started again. It finally sort of worked. It tasted good, but not as good as hers, so I've got to practice. But we had fun trying!

After our pude fiasco, Sandi and I drove Sis. Kretly to the church to meet her husband because they were driving to another city 3 hours away and it would save them 40 minutes if he didn't have to go back to get her. When we got there, somebody noticed a snake.

 The African people are all deathly afraid of snakes but dad got down to check it out while they all watched from a safe distance. It was a baby one but looked like a black mamba. We didn't want it to get inside of the church so he found a broken cinder block and cut it in half. Oh boy, did the men love that!! They called him 'Goliath'. It was hilarious to watch them!

Sunday, all of the presidency was there, which was the first time ever, but no lesson was prepared so I winged sharing time again. We're going to sing "I am a child of God" in sacrament meeting. I asked the pianist (a young single guy that's taken lessons from Kelly B) to play for us and do a rehearsal in the chapel that day so the kids would know what to do. We were all ready to go when the power went out. Ugh!!! So, no practice. We sang their favorite instead, "Do as I'm doing."
Well, I had good intentions but I'm out of time, so I guess I'll try to catch up next week.
We sure love you guys lots and LOTS!!!!!

Blessings from keeping the commandments

I'm sure that you have seen the blessings that come to people as they keep the commandments. The more commandments you keep, the more blessings you receive.

How blessed we are to have the commandments. Nephi lists various blessings that they had received, saying "received so great blessings from the hand of the Lord"  
1.) "having a knowledge of the creation"...
5.) "having all the commandments from the beginning" (2 Ne. 1: 10)

It is a blessing in and of itself just to have the commandments. 

Here is a photo of one of our seminary teachers, Manuel Sozinho. He just received a mission call to Angola, he leaves on Nov. 28th. He has an older brother that is a less active member but besides that, no one else in his family are members. He joined the Church 6 years ago and has been active ever since. I asked him why he has remained active and he said because of his testimony. I asked him what he does to strengthen his testimony. He thought about it and said he reads the Book of Mormon one (1) hour every day !! He's a good one !

This is a photo of Odete Fernando our 16 year old YW PRESIDENT !! Only member of her family and very sharp.

These people and many others evidence the blessings or fruit that anyone can receive as they keep the commandments.

The apostle Paul states: "the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness.." (Gal. 5:22-23)

"Inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall prosper in the land; but inasmuch as ye will not keep my commandments ye shall be cut off from my presence." (2 Ne. 1:20)

When we keep the commandments we have the Spirit and all the associated blessings.

In effect...Be Good and You Will Be Happy !!

No wonder Nephi asked Laman & Lemuel: "How is it that ye do not keep the commandments of the Lord ?" (1 Ne. 15:10)

Nephi, meanwhile from the beginning to the end, simply kept the commandments. No wonder his very last statement in his very last verse is: "for thus hath the Lord commanded me, and I must obey." (2 Ne. 33:15)

This last week we submitted the application for the Dondo Group to become a Branch. The process should take about a month.

Today, is our five month mark ! Time seems to be flying by now.