February -The month with no energy!

February was really a challenge!

Toyota takes advantage of the High Rises of Maputo

This month was full of some pretty dark, warm days and nights.

It is normal once in a while to have the power go out anywhere in Africa. 

But when you have it continue for days it is really challenging.

This month I think it was off more than it was on. 

Here's how it started the first weekend in February.

We were just glad the rain was letting up a bit. Everyday was sunny and nice. Hot but nice.

On Friday a Transformer Blew up at the Power Plant just outside Maputo.

It killed some people and left Maputo and surrounding without power for 4 days.

This is in the middle of the summer here. It is like August in Miami here.

 

So we had no idea how long it would last. We moved everything into our small deep freeze and luckily we had frozen big jugs of water so they kept things pretty cool. 

At this altitude everything defrosts faster than in the mountains and so this is another problem.   

It was interesting as on Sunday the power went on just long enough for meetings to be held. This was good as in some of the chapels they are without any windows and you can see nothing. 

We were just grateful for it.

Well we had no power from Friday night, Saturday, part of Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.

But Monday with no power the Members still met for family night with the missionaries out side in the heat because to them it is just normal.

On Tuesday there was no Staff meeting because there was no power.

 Tuesday night the power returned. What a blessing it was. You could hear the cheers go up.

So during the week the power would go off a few hours now and again. This was fine except it affected our internet work which for us right now is critical.

We are trying to get our paperwork caught up for the past projects and close them.

We also lost our old computer which has many of our files on it. The mother board burned up. Probably from the electricity.

The worst outage was the next weekend when Elder Bricknell came to visit and do training for our district in Maputo and then attend District Conference.

He and Sister Bricknell are from south Africa and serve in the Area Presidency now.

Summer Streets in Maputo

 

Art Work

Table Cloths

 

T-Shirts

Dresses

They are so wonderful.

Shoe Shopping in Maputo

They and president and Sister Kretly had been in Beira at their district conference and flew into Maputo on Friday. 

President called us Friday night.

Refresco vendors in Maputo!

 We were out on the streets looking for wheel chair candidates.He explained that they had no water in their home at all. It had been off while they were in Beira.  He asked us if we would go in the morning to the store and buy groceries needed to make a nice homemade lunch for them all, the Bricknell's, the Kretly's and the district leaders and their wives.

We needed to have it ready and served right at 12 noon as their schedule was such that they would only have that 1 hour to eat.

Well we had some meat in the freezer and started the meat early in the morning, we ran to the store for other things to make a nice lunch and calculated it all to the minute of being ready right at 12 or a little earlier . So we are madly making the meat dish, preparing the vegetables, we made 4 loaves of banana bread(they all seem to love U.S. made banana bread with their little monkey bananas) and stuck them in the oven knowing they could cook until after twelve a few minutes. We had the water boiling and stuck the rice in which gave us 45 minutes (oodles of time) to have everything out and ready by 12 noon.

And wham!

The power went out.

The rice did not cook,The banana bread didn't get finished, The meat dish had to be served on rice as there was nothing to eat it with. The power to the stove everything was electric.

When we received permission to order pizza we had to find a place across town that had electricity.

Primary leader from T-3 and friends.

Sweet Nefi and his wonderful mother come to conference!

So we ordered but it did not arrive until 1:30 and it was passed time for the leaders to eat. Elder Bricknell just kept training them. Sister Bricknell was already hot and now with no air conditioning at all she was really miserable.

We got her what ice we had and made her as comfortable as possible until she felt better.

Then the training went on and the food went to the coldest place possible. Our deep freeze again.

It was a very uncomfortable training and when it came time for the couples meeting in the evening the power was still gone.

It was very very hot. Many couples came from all over the district and met in the very hot chapel just to hear the General Authority Speak.

Sheila and Dino

Now the meetings take place with Elder and Sister Bricknell speaking and they have to use a translator because they speak English. South African English. 

The President asked The Tualufo's to translate. Sheila for Sister Bricknell and Dino for Elder Bricknell.

 They are a wonderful couple. She is a doctor and he a return missionary. They are an endowed couple and an example to many in the mission.

(There are so many members with wonderful stories and One day I will just tell their stories.)

Sheila, vanessa, 2 yw, Albertina and Luis.

As they speak the people listen so attentively. Even with translators. Even in the heat.  They are so thankful to hear the words of the lord through their leaders. President Kretly and Sister Kretly also spoke.

The training and couples meeting were wonderful. 

Power came on early Sunday morning I think.

Members from t-3 arrive to conference.

Sunday morning we went to the Sunday meeting at Matola Theater about 20 minutes away. This was for the Main conference. Members are bussed in from the outlying areas.

Magoanine Branch Bus.

The place was full to the brim. The most I had seen.

They had a special meeting before  for just new members and investigators.

Elder De Oliveira and members arrive.

We were able to go to this meeting and we also had a sweet translator.

The District President shared his conversion story and  Elder Bricknell asked Many of  the new members to share why they joined the church. It was amazing to hear their stories and testimonies. Many of the new members were brought in by couples already baptized.

The conference meeting was wonderful. The spirit was so strong. All the messages were so good but I loved Sister Kretly's message to the people.

After the meeting President Kretly asked us to come to his home and eat with them and the Bricknells.

Sister Kretly in her home hadn't had water all week.But it had returned on saturday night. She had frozen some casseroles earlier that month and in the morning was able to find some other things to make.

We had a delightful lunch and visited and  left so the Bricknells could catch their plane.

Another bus of Members arriving!

Still another bus. 

I cannot remember if we had power the rest of that day or not.  But I remember wondering all weekend about these problems.

These are not uncommon. They happen often here. Sometimes drastic like this past week or two and sometimes just for a few hours but in the middle of something important.

But we said many prayers to have them return.

Why after many prayers did the power and the water go off and stay off, until the authority left.

 Then I was looking at my notes I took of Elder Bricknells message to the people. He told of the political trouble in 1985 in South Africa. He said at that time the temple was built.

In Berlin the Frieburg temple was also built.

Then the Berlin Wall came down, and a new political party took power in South Africa.

Heavenly Father has a hand in all these things. No coincidences.

Coming to conference.

No Darkness in all the world has power to put out the light of a single candle or stop the work of The Gospel of Jesus Christ.

This is true. It didn't matter if we had electricity or water. It didn't really matter if we ate.

We had the priesthood and the power of God gathered together and the work went forward. 

It seemed at times that those things at a point didn't matter at all. Food, Air conditioning, water.

However the small amount of preparedness made it possible for us  at one point to care for an aged Sister Bricknell and keep her healthy enough to finish the training.

Everyday we learn lessons here.

Yes the Energy went off a few more time in the next couple of weeks but that week was a real lesson for us. The Mozambicans were actually fine. They were used to this. They have coal grills they cook on and not electricity. Most of them don't have electricity. Few of them have air conditioners or refrigerators.  They just go about life as usual without electricity. Even in the city they have for their own houses alternative cooking styles.

Water is just something they are used to doing without.

They are thankful for what ever they have.

I have learned so many lessons '.

We really have no idea what it is like to be without.

I only  hope that we can be more thankful these and other things we have.I hope we will remember these experiences and always know what is important.

  

Oh! And this is Benildo Antonio Ujembe.

He is Naldo's brother. He is having me take his picture so he can finally put his 

mission papers in. He has been working very hard to get the paperwork finished and all the requirements met.

Naldo being the oldest in the family is helping him to get ready by hiring him to work on his house and property.

This family now have all joined the church except for the mother and one daughter. That makes 5 members out of 7  living members of the family. They are a very close family.

There are many young men and young women getting ready to serve missions. Albertina will be the next one to put her papers in from Maputo .

Well that takes care of the first two weeks of February. Many last minute lessons we are learning.