We are the lucky ones

This week started off with a bang because it was transfers so we were driving around the district picking up elders and dropping them off and running back and forth to the airport. We got home from the last pick-up and drop-off at 1:00 am on Monday.

Here's two of our THS missionaries getting transferred.

 And here's our tallest missionary, Elder Olsen, who's from Park City. That's his companion to the left.  They'll turn some heads....;)

     The next day, Mariana came over and said, "Sister, I am sad." She's earned ALL the money that she needed for her mission application in ONE MONTH from the English/Portuguese lessons that's she's been teaching! The Indian woman referred four other people to her.  This is a miracle!! It's $86 for the passport, $50 for the yellow fever shot, plus the cost of the medical and dental exams, and lab-work. That is a fortune for the people here!
    So, she completed her whole mission packet and it was ready to send to Maputo, except for the passport that she was waiting for, but it costs $10 to mail it so she sent it with a missionary to Maputo to give to a member there. The member in Maputo was going to pick up her passport there and then deliver the whole packet to the mission office to process. But the member took it home and promptly forgot about it.  And the passport office ended up mailing her passport here to Beira. So, she needed the passport receipt that was in the packet - the lost packet - and she didn't know how to get it from Maputo.
     I realized that we had an elder coming the next day from Maputo and called him right then to tell him the situation and see when his flight was.  Then I told her if the guy could find her papers and take it to the elder, he could bring it for her. She was so happy but super stressed because the member hadn't gotten back to her. We said a prayer that the guy would find her papers and get it to the elder in time.
  It was 'touch and go' the next day, but the guy did find her papers at his house, took them to somebody that took them to Elder Hales who brought them from Maputo. (Nothing is easy or efficient here....everything takes twice, or three times, as long as it should)  It was late when we got back home from the airport, but I knew she was really worried so I sent her a text and told her that we had her papers. Here's her text back:   

  I love that girl! I call her my African daughter and she calls me 'mom'.

We went to visit a seminary class and passed out their new manuals. They were pretty excited!  Although you wouldn't know it, judging by their faces.... They just don't smile for pictures here.
(not sure what happened to the picture with me in it.)

 This is the photographer who stood on a chair to take the picture. When I said that I'd take HIS picture, he jumped down, got a manual, and struck a pose.  

Saturday we had our Seminary and Institute training, we talked about reaching 'the one' and I told the Parable of the Starfish, but I changed it to 'Sand-dollar' and gave each of them a sand-dollar. They liked it and the next Sunday, one of our teachers spoke in Sac. Mtg. and used the story in his talk. 

  The people here love stories and if you give them something, they treasure it. A few days later, one of the teachers broke his sand-dollar and sent Dad a text to see if we could give him another one. We gave it to him at the church, a few days later, and he was stoked. ;)
   But the event of the day happened on our way home. Nine of our teachers piled into the truck to get a ride home - four in the backseat and five in the back of the truck.

    It had been raining and one of the streets that we had to pass had a HUGE pothole that was full of water. Dad started across and when we got to the middle, the water was up past the headlights and we could tell it was too deep.  So Dad put it in reverse and tried to back out, but it was too late.....we were stuck! The water started coming in through my floorboard and I had to hurry and pick up all our things that were down there.
   I starting praying like crazy and Dad said a prayer, and then gunned it forward and it came free!  We were so relieved!! The water was so high it came in over the back tailgate and got the people back there all wet. When one of the teachers jumped out of the back of the truck, water sloshed out of his tall rubber boots. I felt bad because he had worn a new (new to him) suit for the meeting.  
 When I said that I had prayed and then Dad said he had too, a few of the teachers said that they had too.  Dad sent a text to the teachers later that night and thanked them for their faith and prayers.
  The next day, one of our teachers spoke in Sac. Mtg. and related the experience and read Dad's text. She was very emotional, which is very unusual here.  It was the only the second time that I've seen someone cry in church.  
   I was so scared, I didn't think to take a picture of the huge hole but here's what the floor - and my feet - looked like.  It was mud bath down there.  I had to scoop out the water with a paper plate that we had left from our training. 

  Our little branch meets in a house that the church rents. We use the living room for the chapel and the bedrooms for classes and the garage for the Primary. We have two elders in that branch and they live upstairs. The branch is growing and we don't have enough room anymore. This Sunday, we had a full-house so the missionaries asked the kids to give up their chairs and sit on the stairs so the adults could sit on a chair.  Here they are:

 Now random pictures:

Night-time at the veggie market where we buy our produce

 Walking behind this guy, you couldn't see anything but the bottom of his legs. He's picked up these bottles and washed them out to resale to people. He's carrying them in a mosquito net.
(This is in front of our apartment.)

 I was behind her on my walk. 

 Our Primary supplies:   I brought the water bottles to pour water for the kids. They were using the green bucket under the chair. It didn't work too well...... The first bottles that I brought disappeared so I brought more and wrote 'Primaria' on them in permanent marker. I've only lost one since then. ;)

 You have to be careful not to scrape your nails when you use the chalk...

 These are members from a branch in Angola. Angola used to be part of our mission until recently. Apparently, it's a lot better off economically than Mozambique, which isn't saying much, but judging from their clothes, it looks to be true. Aren't they beautiful??

 Here's some kids having a swim party after the big rains.

 Sad story:  This is Rodrig, one of our guards, with his cute little girl. He always smiles and  salutes us when we drive in or out of the garage.  One day, I noticed that he didn't seem to feel good, so I went downstairs and took him some food. When I gave it to him, I asked him if he was sick.  He said no, that he was very sad. Then he started talking (fast Portuguese) and I understood that his wife went to see her family and when he came home from work all the furniture in his house - everything - frig, etc. was gone.  I thought in American terms and said, 'Did your wife leave you? Does she want a divorce?" He said, No, no. Some robbers broke into his house while he was guarding the night shift and stole EVERYTHING.  This is the same guard that asked Dad for a loan of $3.00 a few weeks ago because the paychecks came late and he had no money to buy food for his family (He paid us back by washing our car).  The guards make about $110.00 a month. So, their years of hard work to save and buy a few things were all gone in one night. He was very, very sad. 

 
 Well, like your dad says, "We are the lucky ones."  I have learned real gratitude here and to not take things for granted like water and electricity.
And just so you know, we don't take you guys for granted - "Ahhh...."  ;)   
We do love you very, very much!!   mama