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!