Beautiful Sights and Sounds of Maputo Mozambique !

 I know this may be a little long. I am not sure how to say so much with less words.

This is the Maputo 2 Primary and their leaders. We visited primary in both branches this Sunday. It brought us so much comfort after a busy week. Vanessa on left also is in the primary presidency. She does many things in the branch. The other sisters are in the Presidency. Vanessa learns all she can about the church organizations and then helps the organizations all she can. Cute white baby on the left is Marta. She almost looks like a doll.  She is an Albino Mozambique baby. Her mother is an investigator and in another class so Marta comes to primary. I got to hold her all during primary today.  Primary is simple. You can understand the simple Portuguese and it is good for dad.

This was a fun ending to a busy week. We loved our time in the Primary this week.

This has been a busy week and I can not fully describe it to you as it is to long and you will be bored just reading it all. But one very hot afternoon after having our apartment fumigated the day before and our air conditioners all break,again,because of a bad storm, there were up(3 long flights) in our small apartment the men working on installing our new pump and water system, the wonderful man who works miracles to fix the air conditioning, 2 sets of missionaries visiting with the office senior couple, the office senior couple and Naldo,our translator. We had also returned from a discouraging appointment with the minister of health and we were having Naldo making follow up phone calls on that for the HBB project when at the door was Cantol, our NGO representative for a wheelchair project, who we really needed to talk with.Then came Joseph who decided he wanted to give us a Portuguese lesson this afternoon or early evening and then came a nice return missionary who wanted to order Doctrines of Salvation in English cuz he just got done serving in South Africa and didn't want to loose his language....so I headed upstairs(1 more flight). It was crazy. Luckily i had made a ton of cookie dough Sunday night for something and the rest was in the fridge. So I started cooking and feeding everyone who was there cookies and whatever else. Especially the ones who had to take shappa home. Then about 6pm pres. Milton Manjate showed up with a translation question and he was looking for seminary/ institute students So that got rid of Joseph and the newly returned missionary and a big sack of cookies.  The workmen left and the air conditioner was working again (He got the other big bag of cookies) and finally  Everyone else left. We were so tired that night. But we realized every day is that way. You would think the 3 flights of stairs would be too much to climb up to get up here. Then we realized how much it reminded us of home. I think that was really what we needed. To Be reminded of home.

I wish I had a picture of that day to put here. But I will put one of Friday after Zone conference. The elders are waiting for their individual interviews in our apartment. Reading church materials and A World Book Encyclopedia set someone left here. They love getting together after zone conference. We also cook for Zone conference and pick up Elders after shopping on Monday so they don't have to take a shappa home with their bags of groceries

 Our weeks are busy either sending emails back and forth to people in the United states about different projects we are working on or sending emails and message to people in country or South Africa for the same reason. We are learning about paper work, the exactness of our church financial system and keeping better records.It is hard but we love it. We spend time meeting and talking with members of NGO's we are working with, officials in different Health Ministries, checking on Well projects that should be completed, reading about the upcoming projects, translating Portuguese contracts so we know what is going on, and it all sounds very boring I know. It can get so mind bogging and then little miracles will happen. For instance when there a  young lady from a  T shirt screen print company just happens to appear on your 3 flights up front porch (and never has there ever been a sales person come to our door ever since we have been here) when a few minutes before you remembered that you need to order at least  50 t shirts for the wheelchair project in march. That's when you know  this is the lords work and he is giving you a helping hand.Another miracle is when missing box of eye surgery supplies SAFELY arrives in country and gets EASILY through customs  into the Dr.'s hands who has been waiting 6 months for that equipment.

We have little miracles like that happen all the time.  We realize here that each person we meet either on our walks or in the park or checking well projects or in the ministry offices are that many more people who learn about the church.
We usually learn we meet them for some reason. So we pay attention to that.
Samia was the funniest one. We really needed a place to fix our truck and detail and fix all the old mission cars (there being 8 now) so the mission can sell them. On our evening walk we met this guard who told us to come back to his business he was guarding in the morning. So we did and met Samia and Lionel. She is a portuguese business lady who has a shop that does that exact thing. Fix up trucks I mean.

It is all mission work

  These are random things.

Dad and I run every morning at a park. The people there are friendly and we meet and talk to new people everyday.
One man talked to dad last week about Mitt Romney, Mormons, why the other Christians don't like Mormons and many other things.. Very interesting. He was a professor and lectured at a major University here. He was not impressed with our current politicians in office  and wondered what the people were going to do like Mitt Romney.
In Mozambique the Politicians go to the villages, or send their GUYS, and buy off the village chief. The villages only vote the way their chief tells them.

Oh You know the huge soccer stadium. Well China built that for Mozambique Free!!!!! All Mozambique had to do to receive it was turn over  all their wood  rights to the republic of China for the next 50 years.
Man was that worth it or what or what?#@$#%$  All I can say is Ching Chong Wing Wong! No offense Mckay!

The Maputo Soccer Stadium from China. It is huge.It is almost one year old.

But we love all of it. We are busy  though. Some of the experiences are really challenging. Some are scarey for both of us because we have never done them before.And some of the experiences are very sweet like visiting with the people and hearing their incredible testimonies and faith they have. Their family stories are so hard and they go through so much. They don't know how hard their lives are but I do and it makes me sp grateful to be born where I was born.
So Sunday's are nice and so are the days we get to spend with the people.
 This week went to visit Primary for both of the branches. We went  last week for a little while but this week we felt we really needed to go to both and it was the highlight of our very very busy week.
If you click the link below you will see our little darlings sing 'I hear the Saviors Voice'. Only Sam will understand it though...

Primary again! Please take time to watch the video. They were so excited.

We will redo next week but watch this one.

 Notice the girl who comes in and the girl who reacts to her. They are twin sisters.

http://youtu.be/on8iQA3ZDqs


In Primary (both branches here and probably the rest in the other towns) they meet all together In the same Room, Nursery on up,For the entire 2 hours. Sometimes just one leader shows up. They help each other and adapt to all age levels during that time. The District Primary President last week asked me for ideas. Me who has a church with many classrooms ,tons of technology and a variety of visual aids. How do you do it in one room, no piano, only a white board. Well I tell you the spirit was so  strong there as much as in any huge and primary I have been in.
The children care for each other and they sing like no other.  That's what they love the most and that's what brings the spirit in so strong.
I have relearned that we don't need so much stuff to teach the gospel. Just the scriptures a testimony and the Holy Ghost.

District New Beginnings

Dad and Sister Senda on the left and 2 other sisters. Sister Senda YW President in branch.Her family is going to the Temple for the first time in April. She has 6 children.

Some cute young women. One on right is the girls singing.

Saturday Night they had a District New Beginnings . It was great to see the young Women. They had such simple decorations. After the Spiritual part they shared talents. This particular girl for a project sang 'Walk Tall You're a daughter of God' in English. When I realized what she was singing I grabbed Dad's camera and tried to get her singing. Remember they have no accompaniment. Each girl that sings beats her finger on the pulpit to keep time. You can just barely hear her do this. But many girls sang. I only recorded a couple and will only share this one right now. Remember she speaks Portuguese and so do all the other girls listening. But she learned it all in English. Could I do that in Portuguese? Nao!  The last chorus she repeats in Portuguese.
Click the link to hear her SING!


http://youtu.be/PJoPuCU4VOM

Yea! I fixed it!