Week 20

 While walking one morning this week,  I noticed this group of students walking ahead of me.  They were heading to the public elementary school across the street from my apartment complex.  I caught up to them right outside of the school which is behind the fence.  They had stopped to clean their shoes before going into the gate.  I asked them about it and they said their teachers check to see if their shoes are clean before they can enter the classroom.  Their uniforms are also checked.   Never mind that they walk 30 minutes each morning, most of the time on the road but sometimes they have to walk on paths of red dirt.  Children here are very respectful to their teachers and very obedient.  

These girls are Maybe and Chelsea.  They are in year one of high school and also walk 30 minutes each day.  Chelsea's favorite class is English.  Maybe loves mathematics.  I told her she was a girl after my own heart.  I think I would love being her math teacher.  

Diana and I decided to leave the office for lunch one day.  THERE IS A TACO TRUCK IN HARARE!

They aren't as good as American tacos but, after not eating tacos for over 5 months, I thought they were scrumptious!

The missionary couple overseeing the construction of the temple are Bruce and Lottie Anderson.  They told us that they were going to be testing the lights again if we wanted to come at 6 and see the temple lit up.   Bonnie, Diana and I (3 of the 4 single sisters) were excited to go.  I drove and parked on the side of the road in front of the temple fence which was about 10 yards from the car.  We arrived around 5:50 and stood outside the fence with a senior couple while we waited for the lights to come on.  We aren't allowed on the temple grounds while construction is going on.  At 6, we heard a noise by our car and turned to see a truck pulling away from alongside our car.  We thought it had hit our car.  Upon inspection, we saw someone had smashed the passenger side window and grabbed Bonnie's backpack.  The only things in there were her scriptures, a Preach My Gospel manual  and less than $10.  She was sad because she had been marking the scriptures and manual for over 18 months.  Lesson learned:  Never leave ANYTHING in the car in Harare, no matter how close you are standing to the car.  The last picture of us standing behind the fence was taken by Lottie after the Smash and Grab.  Bonnie is on the left.  She was feeling sad.

Yesterday, we went to Ewanrigg Botanical Gardens along with 3 of the senior couples, the Andersons (temple) , Shumways (medical)  and Paynes (fleets and flats).  It is renowned for its classic collection of Aloes and Cycads in the world.  We hiked along the paths and looked at the many species of aloes and other plants.  It was a nice day. 

Today, I helped Sister Tarisai Marufu enter information about her family into FamilySearch.  She will be able to do temple ordinances for her husband, parents, siblings, grandparents, great grandparents and many aunts and uncles.  It took great effort for her to find this information.  There are no records here so she had to call many relatives to get the information.  She and I both felt the Spirit as I entered the information for her.  She has been prompted in dreams by these ancestors to perform their saving ordinances in the temple when it opens.  She was so excited and grateful to get this process started.  She is pictured here with her children.

And last but not least, the sleeping baby at church today.  I have never seen a baby cry when cuddled on mamma's back.  They are content being next to her.  

I LOVE WHATSAPP!  I video talked with my son and family this afternoon.  I loved seeing my beautiful granddaughters.  How could they have changed so much in just 5 months.  Communication technology helps make this mission so enjoyable.  

Another single sister, Lori Salazar, is now helping with English Connect.  She and I have full schedules Monday-Thursday evenings. I taught a young sister the Self-Reliance class before she departs from her mission, did an English assessment of two new missionaries entering the mission, picked up breakfast for them at the grocery store  and dealt with leases and rents, as usual.  All is well