Faith and lots of it!‏

Hello!

I'm still behind and didn't write last week because half of y'all were in China and the Internet was sketchy.
Monday we gave the neighbor girls a ride to school because their mom and dad were out of town. Here's a picture that I took last week when they came over to show me that they had dyed their dog's hair with food coloring. ;). They are completely opposite, physically and personality-wise. The one on the far right is Christiana and I've helped her with her homework a few times. She's cute and outgoing. Her older sister in the middle is more shy. 

After we dropped them at school, we headed to pick up Elder Antonio who was flying to the Brazil MTC to serve a mission in Brazil. The visas to Brazil take so long that they go ahead and have the elders get set apart and start serving their missions here while they wait for their visas.  Elder Antonio is one of those and he's also the guy that we gave the English proficiency test to just a couple of weeks after we got here in Beira.  He has the cutest personality and is so sweet. He wants to learn English really bad and practices if he feels comfortable with you. When we took Valentines treats to their apartment, he sent me a text later that said,

 "Thanks so much, sister Snelson. was delicious and drives me crazy. This is elder Antonio." ;)  

Well, he's got a ways to go....  I got him an English Book of Mormon when we did the proficiency test,  and he's been reading in it every day, along with his Portuguese one.

On the way to the airport, me and dad talked to him about the flight and told him what to expect.  This is the first airplane flight for most - if not all - of the local elders, so they are usually nervous.  He was very nervous.  We told him how to pop his ears, find his seat, go through security,etc.  When we got to the airport, three of his friends were there waiting. It was so sweet to watch as he gave each of them something.  They were excited for the hand-me-down white shirt, a book, etc.   They stood and watched him the whole time while he checked in and then they all said their last goodbyes. The kid on the far right is one of our seminary teachers and the littlest, skinniest guy. 

       While we stood in the check-in line, I told Elder Antonio that he looked nice in his suit. He said it was new and he had just bought it a few weeks earlier on the street.  I noticed that his suit pants had safety pins in the hems to make them shorter. When we got home, I called Sandy Tidwell and asked if she would hem them for him when he got to Maputo before he flew to Brazil and she said she would. 

  When E. Antonio went through security, he didn't understand to put his stuff in a bin and then he didn't understand how to go through and retrieve it. Dad and I were calling to him through the doorway but he didn't get it.  Then a guy from our building came for that same flight and he saw that we were trying to help him, so he talked to Elder Antonio and helped him through. A tender mercy.

 Later that day, I sent the pictures that we had taken at the airport and got this email from him:

 

thank you Elder and Sister  Snelson.  obrigado pela buleia . quando o aviao estava a subir  para o ar fiquei com muito medo , pensei que  ia  cair , mais  nada  aconteceu . cheguei muito bem . obrigado pelas fotos  que mime  enviaram . now  i miss munhava. i will miss  Elder  and Sister  Snelson . have good p day.   Elder Antonio 

Translation:

thank you Elder and Sister Snelson. thanks for the ride.  when the plane was climbing into the air I got really scared, I thought it was going to fall, nothing happened. I arrived very well. thanks for the photos you sent me. now i miss Munhava. i will miss Elder and Sister Snelson. have good p day.    Elder Antonio 

Isn't that the cutest??   It took some faith for him to get on that plane. ;)

The next day, we went and got a new apartment for some elders - the ones that have been without water so often - 10 days one time. This new apartment is way nice and they are so excited to be moving.   

That night, Mariana dropped by because she got a call on her ad!!  Actually, she got two calls: one from a guy that wants her to teach him English and one from a newly immigrated Indian woman that wants Mariana  to teach her Portuguese.  I was making pancakes for dinner, so she helped me and then ate with us. Afterward, Dad went to move the elders and she and I planned her lesson topics.  I made copies of some of my MTC sheets and loaned her a vocabulary book that I have.

    After we planned her lessons, she pulled out a plastic bag and handed it to me.  She bought me a capalana,  a necklace, and two pairs of earrings. It was so nice of her, I was totally surprised! She said she got it as a thank you for my help.  The guy that wants her to teach him English paid her for the whole week in advance. I felt kind of bad that she spent money on me but it was so, so sweet and fairly unusual. The people here don't usually express gratitude. 

     So, here's the lesson I learned.  I had helped Mariana write and print the ads and then practiced interviewing with her to go and apply at the new Chinese resort.  She was hired on the spot at the resort and was so excited about it. But when she went to work the first day, she found out that she would have to work on Sundays and she told them that she could work every day but Sunday. They said she had to anyway so she didn't take the job.  When she told me, I was a little hesitant because jobs are SO hard to find here but she was adamant and said, "But Sister, it's Sunday!"  I had figured out that she would make 50 cents an hour at the resort.  With her teaching jobs, she's making almost $2.00 an hour with the Indian woman and $5.00 an hour teaching Portuguese to the man.  So, she had more faith than I did and really got the blessings for it. 

  On Friday,  two of our elders finished their missions - Elder Ensaldo, who was a ZL and Elder Anderson from New Zealand, who I always got a kick out of. We picked them up and took them to the airport. 

After the airport, we stopped to pick up a wedding cake that some elders had made, to the church for them, then stopped by to pick up dad's Pday clothes that I'd had loaned to another elder when we did their laundry (they had no water) and helped them with their apartment, and then we went looking at apartments with another group of elders because their landlord is raising the rent 30% so they need to move. Long day....

 

   Sunday was the best Primary yet! The teacher was actually prepared and taught the first hour - Woot!! I've learned that these kids need visuals to understand the concepts. The lesson was on repentance so I did the rocks in the backpack demo but used canned food with labels of different sins on them - being unkind, stealing, lying, etc. I had kids come up and pull one out of the bag and read it. Then I gave them a scenario and asked if it was good or bad. At least they said 'bad' on all of them....they're starting to catch on. ;)  I asked how they could fix the wrong choice and showed how the bag went from heavy to light, just how we feel when we repent and get rid of the heaviness of guilt and shame.  They got it. 

     Then I told them if they tried really hard and learned a new song, I had a special demonstration for them. So we sang and then after,  I held up a glass pitcher of water and told them the water was a symbol of them - when they were good, they were clean. Then I had someone read the ' sins be as scarlet' scripture and put red food coloring in the water while I named the sins on the cans. Then I asked what they could do to be clean again and they said "repent" so I said 'pretend this is repentance'  and put some bleach in the water. 

    When I stirred it and it turned clear again.  They were floored! I felt like David Copperfield. Haha! It was the quietest that Primary has ever been - not a peep. Afterward, the two guys in there - the teacher and secretary - asked me how I did it and when I told them they were amazed. There was a little group of 4 or 5 kids waiting for me outside and they asked me to tell them how I did it, so I did. It's fun to do stuff or cook something for the people here because it's all new to them and they are easy to entertain.  Life doesn't have much variety for them.  So, I'm trying to have an object lesson for every lesson from now on. 

That's the week!! We love you and are praying extra hard for our 3 world travelers!

Xoxoxxoxoxox, mom