South African School Kids

We love the children here in Africa.  We recently were able to visit three different schools in the same area.  They all fell within one Clan Chief's domain.  We were quite a curiosity to them.  They were very well disciplined and at each school they came outside of their classrooms and sang to us.  We (several of us missionaries) then sang "I Am A Child Of God" to them.  We enjoyed listening to them and they enjoyed listening to us.

This is the nicest of the three schools that we visited




Sister Howden loves the children.  A veritable Pied Piper

Lockers ??

I love the idea of uniforms for school children.  I remember being in Pharmacy School and having a policy that we had to wear a tie to class.  The premise was that you act the way you look.  If you look professional, then chances are that you will act professionally.  I believe that holds true for students of all ages.

 

 

 

 

Here's a video of some of the kids singing to us

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mormon Helping Hands Project

Each congregation (ward) of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints makes efforts every year to engage in service projects for their local community.  We were able to attend one near Hillcrest, South Africa that was more than special. 

The church members provided amazing service to a small orphanage that is being run by a grandmother (Gogo) and her daughter. They have little or no resources but somehow manage to do an amazing job with "their" kids.  There is ongoing doubt about where the money will come from to buy the next meal, but it always seems to work out.  They certainly don't eat three meals a day, but they seem to be getting along pretty well.  The facilities and the condition of the orphanage were poor to say the least. 

The Hillcrest and Kloof Wards combined efforts and totally renovated the kitchen with new cupboards and sinks,  painted the interior and the exterior, prepared a garden with fence to keep the chickens out, ran a drain line down the hill so the yard wasn't always wet, replaced the concrete front entry, replaced several broken windows, etc.  They also engaged the Rotary Club who replaced the septic system and the South African Defense Force who totally renovated the bathroom to include a bath tub which they didn't have previously.  All in all it was a wonderful project.  What follows are some great photos of some of Gogo, her daughter and the happy kids.

View of the Neighborhood



Classroom during the day.  The boys put mattresses on the floor at night to sleep
 



English-Zulu

Gogo's daughter in center.

This is Gogo.  She is a hero!

We Are Loving South Africa

We haven't traveled much this month, but we did go to Johannesburg for a few days.  While there we took a short drive to a game park and got to see some animals up close.

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Saturday morning we went to the famous Irene Market in JoBurg.  It was an especially nice market.   We bought salt and pepper mills.  There were so many beautiful ones that it was hard to choose.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We also attended an Area Public Affairs Senior Couples meeting.  Here we are with Elder and Sister Berg(front left and right) and Elder and Sister Nance (rear left and right).  The Bergs live in JoBurg and the Nances in Madagascar.

Malawi is Awesome

On June 26th we flew to Lilongwe, Malawi.  It took several hours with a stopover in Johannesburg to reach this beautiful land.  They claim to be the “Warm Heart of Africa”. After visiting there we understand why. 

Due to meetings in two main cities (Lilongwe and Blantyre) which are a five hour drive apart, we were able to finally see some countryside and see how the people live.  

They were selling all kinds of vegetables and every other thing imaginable by the side of the road. This is fertile country where we saw watermelons, cabbage, broccoli, potatoes, tomatoes, sweet potatoes and some grains. It was shocking to see the water in five gallon containers lifted to the women's heads and carried with ease.   The Malawians are such hard workers. 

We saw numerous women washing clothes in the river and any other place where they could find water.  People walk for miles to fetch water from wells or to get anywhere for that matter.  While the women walked the men used their bicycles as mini-trucks.  We witnessed them carrying some unbeliveable loads.  Some while pedaling and many while pushing their bikes because the loads were too heavy to manage while pedalling. 

Potatoes for Sale

 

Carrying a Load of Charcoal

By the end of the day people were out of work clothes, cleaned up and heading to church.  Again, they walk miles to their churches.  Catholic schools and churches seemed to be everywhere.  The Catholic Church does much good here.  Our LDS Districts have partnered with the Catholics on many successful projects.

Could Probably Get a Good Deal on a Haircut Here

As we trained our Public Affairs council in Blantyre we fell in love with them and honor the Priesthood leaders for their good spirits and commitment to Christ and His kingdom.  Some members have cell phones and only a few have cars. Many walk over an hour carrying a child to church.  Their homes may not have running water or electricity yet they come to church with their best on for the Lord to partake of the Sacrament and to teach and be taught.  What a pleasure it was to stand with these Saints.  Being a full time missionary is great!!!!!

Deputy Mayor, City Councilmen and PA Council

New Friends in Malawi

Malawi National Public Affairs Council