ALOT of baptisms!

Hey y'all,
 Things have been hectic so I haven't been writing anything down and I don't remember much. 

I'm just going off of the pictures I've taken....
 

 But first....!!!

 HAPPY 21st BIRTHDAY, AUBREY!!!!!!!  Woohoo!!!!!

 Here are some of your well-wishers: 

 

 The Manga Zone missionaries:

Beira Zone missionaries 

    Hope you have a wonderful Honduran birthday, Aub!!!!

Ok, back to the week-
 

 Last Tuesday, I passed the Primary room, on my way to my English class, and saw Tomazia cleaning and fixing up the room. She's the Primary president (she's 18). The room had been sadly neglected. She was hanging gospel art kit pictures on the wall and sharpening pencils that the Branch President had just bought for the Primary. She was stoked to have them!
 

 Two of my students had earned a Book of Mormon. One is a non-member named Marçio. He's 16, quick-thinking and quick-witted! Plus, he's really a nice guy. I really enjoy him. His aunt is a member and told him about the class. He's the one on my right. Mario is on my left. He's 30, been a member for 7-8 years (long time by Mozambiquen standards), and wants to get married so bad. I tried to fix him up with someone but it hasn't taken yet...
 

 The requisite 'crazy' picture:
 

On Wednesday, your dad and I went with Dilles out to Manga to visit President Camalizane at his home and check how he was doing. We first stopped by the church to pick up some carvings that the Tidwells had ordered. Here's the woodcarver, Vasco, with his son, Domingos. We ordered a few things too.

 

  Then off to Pres. C's house. He's the one that had the emergency appendectomy. He seemed to be doing better. Still weak and in pain but not feverish, so that was good. The doctor had told him that he could only have liquids for 15 days so Dad looked it up on the internet and showed him that it was ok to eat. After not eating for 15 days, anybody would be weak! Oh Africa....
 

 Us, Pres. Camalizane, and his wife, Graça in the living room/bedroom. Their mattress was on the floor. The chest refrigerator was in the room too. His house is a humble one...

 

 These are the showers for the houses in the area. Much nicer than the grass ones we've seen.
 

 This turkey was tied up in the yard in front of the houses. When I pulled out my camera for the turkey, all the kids came running. They LOVE pictures! I know you can't feel from their faces....
 

 Larry checked Pres. C's incision while Sandi and I talked to his wife, Graça. I really like her! She's smart, faithful, and has good common sense and a fun sense of humor. She's great!

  I asked about the house that they are building and she asked if I wanted to see it. I told her absolutely! I asked Sandi and she also wanted to, so we told the guys that we were going and they decided to come. Pres. C. was too weak to walk and there wasn't enough room in the truck for all of us, so your dad and Larry drove with Pres. C., and Sandi and I walked with Graca.
 

 Here's their house. It's a mansion by area standards. It has 4 bedrooms, a sitting room, a kitchen (inside!), and TWO bathrooms (inside!)!! I asked Graça if any other houses in the area had an indoor bathroom. She said "No", like "Of course not."

 Here's a house that we passed on our walk over to their house. Yup, a family is living in it.

 

 On our way back, we saw the missionaries on their bikes and stopped to say 'hi'.

 

 On Friday, Sandi and I headed to the capalana shops to buy a few of them to get some things (presents!!!) made. Here's one of the shops. Hey! He's wearing pink too!!

   We swung past the tailor that's making our matching African dresses - full-on, full-length authentic ones. They weren't done (no surprise there) but we found out that he's married with four kids and they were all there, so I asked if I could take a family picture. His wife and kids sit on a grass mat on the ground while he sews on the machine behind them. Love their baby!

 Here's where the shop is:

 

 Close-up of the roof. Wonder what Provo City Building Dept would think of it?

 

 Later that night, Dad and I went to dinner at our favorite (ie, only) bakery/pizza place. Right outside of the front door, they had a canopy set up for a wedding. It was a fancy wedding and they had the reception on the second floor where it was decorated really nice. I don't know why they didn't hold the wedding up there too - it was three feet away from the door into the restaurant. So, I walked outside and took this picture.

  

 Then I motioned for the cute little girls standing behind the bride to get together for a picture. They obliged - all while the vows were being said. Oh Africa....
 

 Later on, the Zone Leaders called to tell us that they had some baptisms scheduled for Saturday - 24 people, including five families!! So Saturday, we headed over to the church. We were the chief photographers for all the missionaries (juggling 7 or 8 cameras), but after we took their picture, I asked if we could jump in and get a picture with all of them. We've been to a some bigger baptisms, but I think this was a record!

 

 Look at the woman on the right. She had her capalana tied around her baptism jumpsuit - because they were pants. ;) 

 

 These little girls were at the baptisms. I was trying to get a picture of the two sisters on the left and the girl on the right jumped in. ;) Aren't the sisters adorable?

 

 There were too many people to fit them all in the room where the font is, so I suggested that the elders take the people in a branch at a time, and set up the TV and play church videos in another room for the people that were waiting for their turn. It was a good missionary tool too because there were a lot of non-members there from the two weddings that were held just before the baptisms. The people loved it. Most don't have TVs and it kept their attention. Except for this little guy...

 After the baptism, we gave some of the elders a ride home - crammed in the backseat of the truck.

 

 That night, we watched the first session of Gen. Conference online. It was so good! I loved Elder Hamula's and Elder Wong's talks. What an amazing thing that we can simultaneously watch the session taking place in SLC while we're sitting in our apartment in Africa!

 Sunday, we visited a new branch in Munhava. The earlier branch was just starting, so we went into their Sacrament Meeting, then went to the second branch's Sunday School (Dad) and Primary (me), followed by their Sacrament Meeting. Both had great testimony meetings! A family with five kids that was part of the group that were baptized yesterday, so there were quite a few confirmations at the beginning of the meeting. This little girl was confirmed and she was all dressed up for it!

   That's the week! Here's some random pictures:

   The butcher at our grocery store. Yeah....exactly....:( The Health Dept. would have a field day!

  Things out of the car window:
 

 Boys getting ready to play soccer behind our apartment bldg. We were surprised that one team had actual uniforms!

   These boys were playing jump rope 

 

 Lots of bananas! Doesn't look like a comfy ride though...

 The guy is drilling spikes onto the top of the fence around our apartment building. One of the apartments was robbed and the burglars climbed the fence. This should discourage future robberies - hopefully.

 

  I sure do love you guys!! So, so much!!! 
 "Be good and you'll be happy." ~ Mom

-Elder Bruce R. McConkie‏

Elder Bruce R. McConkie, delivered his final talk in the Saturday morning session of General Conference, April 6, 1985. He passed away thirteen (13) days later on April 19, 1985.

I can still remember being at home and watching that General Conference. I recall that I was watching by myself, together with recording the Conference. When Elder McConkie finished this most powerful talk, I rewound it several times to hear and feel the profound Spirit contained in his final testimony. 

"I am one of his witnesses, and in a coming day I shall feel the nail marks in his hands and in his feet and shall wet his feet with my tears.

But I shall not know any better then than I know now that he is God’s Almighty Son, that he is our Savior and Redeemer, and that salvation comes in and through his atoning blood and in no other way.

God grant that all of us may walk in the light as God our Father is in the light so that, according to the promises, the blood of Jesus Christ his Son will cleanse us from all sin.

In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, amen."

Congratulations, on discovering one of the noble and great ones!

1.) Interestingly, Elder Bruce R. McConkie's son, Joseph Fielding McConkie wrote:

"From Lehi1 to the coming of Christ, the Nephite people had the Melchizedek Priesthood. During this period they did not hold the Aaronic Priesthood, inasmuch as they were not descendants of Aaron 1 and there were no Levites among them. Nonetheless, the Nephites observed the law of Moses with all its rites, rituals, and ordinances, looking "forward with steadfastness unto Christ, until the law [should] be fulfilled" (2 Ne. 25:24– 25; 5:10). This was done by the authority of the Melchizedek Priesthood, which embraces the right to do all that the Aaronic Priesthood can do (D&C 107:4–10)...Evidences of the Priesthood or its fruits were present everywhere among the Nephites...including all ritual associated with the temple and the Law of Moses." (Book of Mormon- Reference Companion)

2.) Brother David R. Seely wrote in the Encyclopedia of Mormonism:  

The Godhead consists of three separate and distinct beings: the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost (D&C 130:22; A of F 1). While some Christians do not equate Jesus Christ and Jehovah in their theologies, biblical passages indicate that relationship, and latter-day scriptures often refer to Jesus Christ, the Son, as Jehovah (e.g., D&C 110:3-4; Moro. 10:34).

The name Jehovah is an anglicized rendering of the tetragrammaton YHWH, a proper noun in biblical Hebrew that identifies God. Following a Jewish tradition that avoided pronouncing God's name, translators of the King James Version rendered almost all occurrences of YHWH as "Lord." Latter-day Saints view many other occurrences of "Lord" as references to Jehovah, both in the New Testament and in LDS scripture.

Since his premortal life, Jesus Christ has functioned as the constant associate of the Father working under his direction. In 1916 the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles issued a doctrinal statement on the relationship between the Father and the Son: "Jesus the Son has represented and yet represents Elohim His Father in power and authority. This is true of Christ in His preexistent, antemortal, or unembodied state, in the which He was known as Jehovah; also during His embodiment in the flesh; …and since that period in His resurrected state" (MFP 5:31-32).

Throughout scripture, several roles of Jehovah-Jesus Christ are specifically identified.

CREATOR. Jehovah as Creator is attested throughout the Old Testament (e.g., Ps. 24:1-2). Speaking to Moses, God said, "Worlds without number have I created; …and by the Son I created them, which is mine Only Begotten" (Moses 1:33). John and others acknowledged Jesus as the Word, the Creator: "In the beginning was the Word; …all things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made" (John 1:1-3, 14; cf. Eph. 3:9; Col. 1:16). Similarly, the Book of Mormon teaches, "The Lord Omnipotent who reigneth, who was, and is from all eternity to all eternity, shall come down from heaven among the children of men…. And he shall be called Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the Father of heaven and earth, the Creator of all things from the beginning" (Mosiah 3:5-8; cf. 2 Ne. 9:5; 3 Ne. 9:15).

LAWGIVER. To Moses, Jehovah identified himself by the title "I AM THAT I AM"-a variation on the verbal root of YHWH (Ex. 3:14). This title was claimed by Jesus in mortality: "Before Abraham was, I am" (John 8:58; cf. John 4:26). After his resurrection, Jesus told hearers in the Americas, "Behold, I am he that gave the law, and I am he who covenanted with my people Israel; therefore, the law in me is fulfilled, for I have come to fulfil the law" (3 Ne. 15:5; cf. Matt. 5:17).

REDEEMER, DELIVERER, AND ADVOCATE. Jehovah delivered the children of Israel from Egypt. Paul taught that this same being would redeem mankind from sin and death (cf. 1 Cor. 10:1-4). This point is made clear in the Book of Mormon: "The God of our fathers, who were led out of Egypt,…yea, the God of Abraham…yieldeth himself…as a man, into the hands of wicked men…to be crucified" (1 Ne. 19:10; cf. 2 Ne. 9:1-26; Mosiah 13:33-35). When the Savior appeared to the Prophet Joseph Smith in the Kirtland Temple on April 3, 1836, "his voice was as the sound of the rushing of great waters, even the voice of Jehovah, saying: I am the first and the last; I am he who liveth, I am he who was slain; I am your advocate with the Father" (D&C 110:3-4).

JUDGE. The Book of Mormon prophet Moroni ₂ drew attention to "the great Jehovah, the Eternal Judge" (Moro. 10:34), reaffirming what the Psalmist and others had said (e.g., Ps. 9:7-8; Isa. 33:22). Jesus Christ proclaimed that he was the judge: "For the Father…hath committed all judgment unto the Son" (John 5:22, 27; cf. Acts 10:42).

IN HIS NAME. In the beginning, men began "to call upon the name of the Lord" (Gen. 4:25, 26; cf. Moses 5:8;6:4). In Moses's time Jehovah instructed the priests to "put my name upon the children of Israel" (Num. 6:27; cf. Deut. 28:10). Before the coming of Christ, Book of Mormon people took upon themselves his name (Mosiah 5:8-12; Alma 34:38; see Jesus Christ, Taking the Name of, upon Oneself). In all dispensations, the name of Christ is the only name "whereby salvation can come unto the children of men" (Isa. 43:3, 11; Mosiah 3:17; Acts 4:12; cf. Moses 5:7-9).

Divine names and titles, especially in the Bible, are occasionally ambiguous. The distinction between the Father and the Son is sometimes unclear. For example, the Hebrew term elohim-a title usually applied to the Father by Latter-day Saints-often refers to Jehovah in the Bible (e.g., Isa. 12:2). Furthermore, people prayed to Jehovah as if he were the Father. In some cases, ambiguity may be due to the transmission of the text; in others, it may be explained by divine investiture wherein Christ is given the authority of the Father: "Thus the Father placed His name upon the Son; and Jesus Christ spoke and ministered in and through the Father's name; and so far as power, authority, and Godship are concerned His words and acts were and are those of the Father" (MFP 5:32).

Photos of the week....sadly, an email application on my IPad is not working, so I will attached the photos a different way...

Photo #1 was taken on Saturday, October 4th, in Beira. We attended a combined baptism of twenty four (24) converts!

 

Photo #2 was taken on Friday, September 26th, at the Beira Zone conference.

 

Photo #3 was taken on Thursday, September 9th, at a song practice in Mangá

I love you,

Dad

Speed Dating and our Last Zone Conference (can't believe it!)

 Hey kids, This was a short week. I had to get back into the swing of things and I really just wanted to sleep. 

Haha! - but not kidding..... Tuesday, I had a lot of people for English class and didn't know 30% of them.

 For awhile, I had my core group but word has spread and now I'm getting new people almost every class,

 which makes it tricky cuz I can't reteach what we've already covered. Oh well, you do the best you can..... 

Wednesday,the Kretlys and APs came in for Zone Conference this Friday.  Thursday was Independence Day

 for Mozambique  so I only had 2 guys show up for class.  I asked if we should cancel class and they said "Ok.",

 but I felt bad because they had spent their time and money to come so I told them I'd do a private class. 

They weren't sure how to react to that but they said "ok" again and we pulled up chairs and started our private 

lessons. I told them that this was their chance to ask me anything that they wanted to and get help with stuff

 they didn't understand. Two more guys came so I had 4 people, compared to the 35 I'd had 2 days ago. 

That's the way it is here - we've learned not to count on anything cuz it can change from minute to minute.

 But they liked it and had me explain things like something that a guy had seen on TV, "4:23 lops". I asked 

what he was watching. Cars racing. Then I told him that he had seen the word "Laps", not "Lops" and 

explained what a 'lap' was. Deciphering skills come in handy for English class.      Friday was our very last 

Zone Conference! It doesn't seem completely real that we'll be home in 3 months. It was the last Conference 

for two elders too, so Pres, Kretly had all of us bear our testimonies at the end.  I told the experience of how

 Heavenly Father told me that we were supposed to go on a mission and worried I was about leaving you guys 

behind. But it's been a great blessing for us and for all of y'all. Pres. Packer once gave a talk where he said that 

having faith is like stepping into a dark tunnel. Once you're willing and demonstrate the faith to do it, then the

 light is illuminated at the end of the tunnel and you can see your way through it. That certainly happened with 

us.      As soon as we made the decision to serve a mission, things fell into place and certain things occurred

 that we never could've foreseen, like the lowering of the missionary ages, which enabled Aub to leave and

 return the same time as we do. I've always had a testimony that God is in charge, and knows what we should 

do better than we ever could (giving me an unshakeable testimony of the power of prayer), but that knowledge

 has been confirmed repeatedly as I've watched things play out here.    Anyway, it was a good farewell 

Conference. We sure love the missionaries! They really are good, solid guys.

The man between Sandy and Pres. Kretly is Gil Hou, the first counselor in the District Presidency

 Horsing around with a couple of elders. Elder Stewart tried to sneak in the picture. ;)

  Silly boys...

  That night, we took the APs to the airport so they could fly back to Maputo. Elder Cummings (on right) told me again on the way to the airport that I'm just like his mom. I wanna meet all these moms that I remind their sons of. Haha! 

  The next day, the doorbell rang, just after I had rolled out of bed, and these guys, Lordelos and Simoes, were there to have me help them with their BYU-HI applications. I had to scramble and throw on some clothes - bless their hearts! We've been working on their applications for a month or so, and it is one long process, namely because anything in Mozambique is one long process. I'm hoping it pays off for them. They REALLY want to study at a church college.

 That afternoon, we went to the hospital with Sandy and Larry to visit Pres. Camalizene, the District President. He had an appendicitis attack and had surgery last Wednesday. Dad had seen him with Pres. Kretly and Larry last Thursday and he wasn't doing very well, so we went to check on him.  Oh gosh! Picture the hospitals during World War I and that's what this hospital looks like. Actually, I don't know what the hospitals were like back then, but World War II seems too modern compared to this one. Pres. C. was in Intensive Care and here's what the intensive Care rooms looked like. The beds are dilapidated and there were rusty, broken things lying about. Some of the IVs were hung on nails on the wall instead of the bent stands that we saw. The paper taped to the wall on my right said, "Wash your hands after you touch anything." on it. Amen to that. I tried not to touch anything there. 

 There were 10 men in Pres. C's room next door and we wanted to take a picture of the whole room, but we thought they wouldn't be too happy to have us do that. Especially with Pres. C. wearing a sheet tied around his neck like a sarong for his hospital gown. The doctor told him that he couldn't eat or drink for 3 days after surgery. (So much misinformation here...) And his wound is about 2 inches long and was oozing yellow discharge. I'm worried about him. I told your dad that I want to bring him to our house and care for him here. Oh Africa...

 Sandi and I took pics of each other while Dad and Larry helped Pres. C go to the bathroom down the hall. The hospital doesn't provide food or bedding so his bed has capalanas on it and there's a thermos of broth that his wife brought him. We brought water - because the hospital's water isn't safe for drinking (ironic, huh?), fruit, and sanitizer.  

 Later that night, we went to the church to help with a Single Adult activity. A group of guys were planning a dance and wanted me to teach some dance steps at the beginning of the dance. Dad and I had talked about doing an Institute activity awhile ago and dad had the idea of doing speed dating because the kids here are so awkward interacting with each other. So when the guy talked to me, I told him about it. He was excited. When we got there, the cultural hall was decorated so nice! We were impressed with it and also impressed that it was done ahead of time. But the preparations stopped there. People were just sitting around and they didn't know what to do. There were about 8 girls and 25 guys so that's not too great for speed dating. I asked them if there were any games that they liked to play, just to get the ball rolling. They couldn't think of anything so I suggested Guesstures. I'd brought paper and scissors, so I had them write down some words and I cut them out. 

 Then we had everybody sit down on the chairs and divided them into two teams. Trying to explain a game to people here is like herding cats. It takes awhile. I guess they don't really play games here so it's foreign to them. Anyway, they finally got the hang of it and they got into acting it out and guessing. Whenever somebody guessed a word, everybody applauded, no matter what team they were on. It was funny! But it worked!! It got them loosened up and talking and ready for the next activity - Speed Dating!! 

 I'm not sure what she acting out here.... But aren't the decorations nice??

  A few more people had come, but it was still a lopsided ratio of guys to girls so I wasn't sure how to do it. I had to think quick though, cuz they were all waiting for me. (No pressure...!) I decided to put them in groups. I counted all the guys and all the girls and divided them into groups of 3 guys to 1 girl. I gave the girls 2 minutes to talk about themselves and gave 1 minute per guy. I had a whistle that I had borrowed from Sandi, so I timed them and blew the whistle when it was them for the next person to speak. At the end of 5 minutes, I had all the girls move down. It was kind of a bummer that the guys didn't get to be one-on-one with a girl but they loved it anyway. It was the most animated that I've ever seen them be as a mixed group! And for once, the girls were the stars of the show!! It was really fun to watch them.

  Speed Dating African style. They really "put on the Ritz" and wore their best clothes.

   After the speed dating, I had them take a group picture. 

  Then it was (finally!) time for the dance. Amazingly, people danced instead of just sitting on the sides. Well. all the girls did, anyway....

 On Sunday, the Primary had a teacher and seemed under control, so for the first time ever, I went to Young Women. They meet all together and don't divide into classes because there aren't enough classrooms or teachers. The teacher was an 18 year old girl and she did a great job! She was prepared and got the girls involved and even wrote on the board. I had to take a picture because it was top-notch teaching for here.

 Here they are - nine girls and three leaders. The leaders are all young adults, 18, 19, and the 23 year old President. The Primary President in the branch is 18 years old...

 In Sacrament Meeting, the elders asked us to sit with one of their investigators. She was by herself with her baby who is 3 months old and one of the chunkiest babies I've seen here. He squirmed a lot because it was crazy hot in the chapel plus he was tired. She kept nursing him to keep him quiet so I finally took him and rocked him on my shoulder. By the end of the meeting, my arm was cramped and the front of my dress was sopping wet. But I got him to sleep - yay! Here he is:

 

  When we got home, we splurged and made chocolate chip cookies with some of the c.c. chips that I brought back from Virginia. They were heaven! 

 I sure love you little buggers (reading an English novel now) ALOT!!!! ~Mummy

"the Lord did hear their cries...yet the Lord did not see fit to deliver them out of bondage." (Mosiah 21:15)‏

You (Aubrey) are a good example of one that does "submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord." (Mosiah 24:15) While a prisoner in Liberty jail, the Prophet Joseph Smith wrote: "let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God" (D & C 123:17).

Even though the Lord hears our prayers there are times He does not "see fit to deliver" us out of our situation (Mosiah 21:15). Sometimes our burdens remain the same, but we are strengthened. "...the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease," The end result was like you, "they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord" (Mosiah 24:15). 

In speaking at a mission presidents seminar Elder Dallin H. Oaks said: “Faith in the Lord is trust in the Lord. We cannot have true faith in the Lord without also having complete trust in the Lord’s will and in the Lord’s timing. As a result, no matter how strong our faith is, it cannot produce a result contrary to the will of Him in whom we have faith. Remember that when your prayers do not seem to be answered in the way or at the time you desire. The exercise of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is always subject to the order of heaven, to the goodness and will and wisdom and timing of the Lord. When we have that kind of faith and trust in the Lord, we have true security and serenity in our lives.” (Ensign, April, 2010, "The Atonement and Faith") 

Photos of the week....

Elder Sip, Kitchen & Reed flying back to their areas after Zone conference.

This is the hallway outside the intensive care area in our local hospital.....

The butcher area in Shoprite....

Elders serving in Nampula flying home after Zone Conference.

Mom organized the first ever speed dating activity. There were three (3) times as many men so she had each girl speed date three (3) at once....

Mom announcing when it was time to rotate. 

Mom teaching some dance moves

Local kids hanging out while a small taxi drives by.

Woman carrying a large bundle of clothes on her head....

I love you,

Dad