Snelsons in Africa!: Swaziland!!‏

Hi kids,
This week was our first (and last) Couples Conference and it was in Swaziland! With the new couples from

 Brazil, we now have 3 couples in Beira (us, Dilles, and Castro Deus'), 3 in Maputo (Hobsons. Tidwells,

and Lopez'), and one in Swaziland, the McCuens. So, it was all of us plus the Kretlys. The Beira couples

 flew down to Maputo last Monday.  We had a big lunch at the Kretlys and then stayed overnight there.

The Kretlys left that afternoon so Pres K. could do interviews. 
 
Loaded up to go to Kretlys:

Yummy Lunch!!

The women

Everybody! (Their maid took the picture, so it's a bit lop-sided!)

The next morning, the six couples loaded up in three cars and drove to Swaziland. It was about a 3 hour drive. When we stopped at the border, Sandy T, Sonja, and I braved the bathroom there. See that yellow bucket? It was full of water and there was a cup inside that we scooped the water up in and poured it over our hands to wash them in that sink. We had to pay 5 mtz to use it.

Not sure what these guys are doing....

We stayed at a beautiful hotel in Swaziland and when we arrived, there was a group of women there to greet us and take our luggage. They were hilarious!! They hugged us and laughed and smiled!

On our way to the room, we saw this guy:

After we settled in, we had our conference meeting. Pres. Kretly spoke and then we had a group discussion about the mission needs and plan of action. It was good. At the end, Pres. Kretly asked us and the Hobsons to share our testimonies. I talked about how surprised I was that the people here have become my friends. I knew that I'd love 'the people' and would work hard to help them, but I didn't expect that I would get so close to some of the people - they would become my friends: people that I'd tease and joke with, talk fashion with, and share cooking and child-rearing tips with. I'll miss them and wonder how they're doing after we leave. I wish we could come back once a year to see them and catch up. I want to know how things worked out for them. That part will be hard....
After our meeting, we went downstairs and had a wonderful dinner. It was so good to eat different, delicious, safe food! Salads and vegetables that I haven't had in months! We were so full, but I had to eat every bite. Scarcity mentality! Look at the beautiful table!!

Dad said I was squishing his legs. He's such a romantic! ;)

The next day, we got up and went to a silversmith. Here's how they make the jewelry. No laser cutting for them. It's all done by hand.

Then we left and went to tour a traditional Swazi village and watched a show that they put on.
Typical Swazi house. You have to duck really low to go inside.

A big part of their dance style is the high kicks that they do. The men also do these bird calls that sound so realistic I thought they had it piped over a speaker.

A group of women visiting from S. Africa were in the audience and they were decked out in their native dress. After the show, we complimented them in their dress and asked if we could take a picture with them.

Then Dad told them that it was Larry's birthday and asked if they could sing Happy Birthday to him. One woman stood up and said that they could sing AND dance for him and then all the women shuffled to the stage area and started singing and dancing. It was great!! Larry beamed and said it was the best present. Ever.

At the end, I went up to thank them and danced a little with a zippy lady.

After the show, we had lunch at a real restaurant in a real mall! So good! I wasn't even that hungry because I'd eaten so much the night before and had eaten a big breakfast at the hotel but knowing that this week was my only chance, I stuffed myself again. So yummy but what a tummy ache!

The plan was to go to a glass-blowing factory, but half of the people (including Dad) wanted to go back to the hotel and rest. It ended up being Kretlys, me, Sandi, Ann, Bev McCuen, and the Tidwellls. Richard T. and Pres. K. were the only guys. I wasn't super interested because I'd been to one in Murano, but I didn't want to rest - this was my chance to see sights! I was glad I went though because it was totally different from what I'd seen. It was a huge room with 6-7 guys working the oven and another 5-6 at different places making their certain animals. It was SO hot in there! And they weren't wearing any protective clothing, not even gloves as they handled molten glass. A few of the guys at the oven wore sunglasses but I wasn't sure if it was to protect them from the glare of the fire or the heat. It was really interesting to watch them work.
(Sandi has these pics on her phone.:(

After the glass factory, we went back to the hotel and everyone had dinner on their own. We joined up with Hobsons, Tidwellls, and Castro Deus'. (McCuens took Dilles to do medical checks on a few of the missionaries. Pres. K. had interviews).

Dad ordered two desserts...;)

The next morning, we went to a candle factory. This was interesting. They take a warm blob of wax and shape and sculpt it into an animal. They have squares of patterned wax that they lay over the shape and mold it in with the body. It's pretty cool how detailed they get.