February 2012....104 degrees in Mozambique.

Dad and Joseph

Well we have been here almost 3 months. It seems longer but shorter if that makes sense.

Longer in that things are becoming more familiar and normal to us. Shorter in the sense that we still ahve 15 months to be away from our wonderful children.

So We decided to show you some of the people we know here. Just a couple of them. Dad doesnt take his camera as often and so I will take more when I get my camera.

This is Jose'. We call him Joseph. He comes around the chapel and takes piano from Vanessa and teaches himself.

He loves to visit with Dad. He is almost 17 and a good young man with a hard life situation.

He has not been around lately but today at church he told Dad and I that he dreamed about us. Her dreamed we were gone and that he was very very sad. He is going to make a schedule he said so he can make sure he has time to come and help us. 'The video is a clip of him playing the piano. He had us show him what a recital was and so he played and I recorded it. He did not want to watch it. He said he will when he gets more professional. He is a hoot. we love him.

http://youtu.be/W-WAIpaSNQI 

Vanessa and Joseph. They did not know we were watching them. Vanessa teaches many the piano. She is learning herself. she has been a member almost 1 1/2 years. She came to the church a couple of years before that. She is 22 and teaches Priamry and runs the Primary and keeps the young women active and just is a gung-ho person in the church. She also works up in our distribution center with us.

Joseph and Vanessa

Elder Cluff, Oyerzun,Paxman,Lopes,Workman and Russon.

So then we have the Elders.
They keep us busy every Monday as we pick them up from their shopping spree and deliver them to their respective apartamentes so they won't have to take a shappa home with their purchases. You see the Shappas are a mini van with as many people you can squeeze in them and shut the door. It is the funniest thing to see.
These are and some were the Maputo Elders and we also pick up and deliver the T-3 elders and Magoinine Elders. It takes us from 11:30 until about 4:30.

The Elders help us and we help them out at times without feeling to sorry for them. This is quite the mission. The are non stop missionaries. They also have a non stop President and he goes from one end of this country to the other so that he sees each missionary at least once every 6 weeks.
And Somehow he makes it more than that. He is a great President for this mission.

2 of the Maputo Elders heading off to an evening appointment. This is a good street.

Brother and Sister Castineira and Family.Kyle is asleep.

They are adding a septic tank system for their house.

This is the Castineira family. He is the District President which is equal to the Stake President at home.
He is a successful young lawyer and they have 6 children. 2 girls Nicole and Nickeeway,(given) and 4 boys, Eddie, Junior,Kyle and Krishnay. THey bought some property outside of the main city and are building their house literally one brick at a time. It has taken them a long time and it is very plain and cement walls in and out and so African Plain but big and roomy. Notice the Iron fences that they put around their homes and apartments.
They have to keep working on their property or the government can come and take your property away from you if you don't use it. The are adding different things to their house and if they want to change something they just knock a wall down and do it differently. They are the greatest people. They have been members only 6 years. When the missionaries were teaching their family she had a dream that the savior was going to come and the world was so wicked. She knew it was a sign to her the church was true.
They are loving very strong members with very NORMAL kids. They are a hoot. I loved the children's crayon art work on the walls inside the new house.

Front view of the Castineira house.

They are trying to do a goofy picture. Nicole hid behind her dad.

They have worked so hard to make a nice out of the way place for their children to run. They first built a wall to establish it was theirs and then started the house. They will have a 24 hour guard as most places do. They will provide a place for the guard to sleep. They also have a girl who stays with them but outside to help sister Castineira with the kids and cooking and etc. In this country if a woman does not work or have a good education she is treated unkindly by the men in the country. Not the LDS men but the men in general in the country. They are mean and look down on them and do mean things to them . So Sister Castineira goes to work a couple of hours a day. Or she did till Krishnay was born . now she is home for a while.
They are great people with great responsibility.                They had us over for Dinner and made our first real Mozambique dishes. Kovi and Matapa. It was so good. They pound these certain leaves and spices together for one and coconut oil and on the other they pound another leave and put coconut milk with it. We loved it and had so much fun. Wow . IT is so hard to be a mom in Africa and then to still have this smile that everyone loves. I know it is the same and they have their own problems but they are trying so hard to build the Lords kingdom in their country. You just love them.

This family is a Great Leadership family in  Mozambique.