Watching for signs....

Thought it might be fun to share some signs from Africa. We are still wondering what is meant by 'Hazardous Objects', but think it has to do with all the pedestrians crossing the road!

The one that was the funniest of all was the one on the outside wall of Baragwanath Hospital about 'caring'!!

Sushi cat's initials, almost, in the first picture. Some day she may have an inspiring brand too.

Brighten the corner where you are

We had so much fun in Grahamstown shopping for an organization that helps mentally challenged young people.

After graduating from high school these kids had no place to go so this organization was formed to teach them how to knit, sew and make beads. In the future they are hoping to have a facility where they can expand and teach other life skills. Enjoy their song about brightening the corners. Elder R thought they were singing in Zulu or Xhosa, when in reality they were singing in English! The Church donated many bags full of material, thread, batting, etc.

Lesotho Tornado Relief

There have been so many projects that have kept us hopping lately. There was a tornado that destroyed many homes in Lesotho including the one on the right. The people have so little to begin and then to loose the roof over their heads was very hard. A make-shift shelter was built next to this crumbled house which housed seven people. The little six year old boy pictured above suffered a stroke not too long ago leaving him with paralysis in his right leg and arm and he can't speak any more. A heartbreaker for all concerned. He did have a great laugh and large smile, though.
The neighbors opened their doors to those who lost their homes and have been sheltering and feeding them since. Even some who were enemies before are now living under the same roof!
The humanitarian aid the Church donated was 2000 blankets, 1000 hygiene kits, 15 bales of bedding and some infant and children's clothing. The Church also bought 5 big tents for the Red Cross to use in such emergencies.

Woven memories

This weaving (below) we bought to remind us of our experience in the Lesotho mountains when the Church donated food to the people suffering from drought-caused hunger. The other two pictures show how the wool is spun and woven to make the beautiful wall hangings. The spinning wheel is made with an old bicycle rim. Check out the guy on the donkey in our wall hanging. Yup, he's riding backwards. That's the kind of guy that likes to see where he's been and we are going to always remember where we have been too.

Remember you are in Africa!!

Last Monday we had a truck scheduled to meet us at the warehouse to be loaded with supplies for the tornado victims in Lesotho. Ten o'clock was the agreed hour but although we were there, there was no truck and no workers. We called our contact person for the truck and were told the truck was just leaving Lesotho....so we were to meet back at 2 pm. We called our contact for the workers and asked him to tell them to be there at 2 also. No problem... we'll just go back to the office and get some more work done until then. At 10:30 am we get a call, "Your workers are here...where do you want them to wait?" "Have them wait under the carport so they don't get wet...but if you could use them in the mail room, go ahead...we'll be there at 2 pm." So, back at the warehouse at 2 pm we are there but there is no truck. After about 10 minutes we call our contact guy. He promises to get back to us, "Just now." Oh no, we know what that means. An hour later, he is still trying to find out where the truck is. At 4:30 pm our contact guy tells us if we could stay until 6 pm he's sure the truck would be there. No way!!! We told him to have the driver and truck here at 9 am. OK, the driver says he'll sleep in the truck right by the warehouse and will be there in the morning.
Next we had to run get the conference room set up at the Area Office where we are going to show the DVD, The Work and the Glory 3, since it was our turn for FHE. All was going well, the popcorn was popped, the rootbeer was in the fridge, and the ice cream in the freezer. The couples were there in anticipation, had the prayer, a message from the conference report and the previews....then, immediately as 'PLAY' was pushed to start the movie, the electricity went off!!!
We ate the popcorn and the rootbeer floats and talked in the dark then gladly went home. What a day!!!
The next day we were at the warehouse on time, the three workers (RMs from the Congo) were there but NO TRUCK!! Elder R walked around the area knocking on any parked truck he could find to see if it was our truck...but to no avail. By 10:30 we cancelled the truck that wasn't there anyway and commissioned another truck company to help us. They were there within the hour and although the truck was half the size we needed at least it was a truck...They sent another truck and later reloaded both truckloads on a bigger truck at their headquarters. The truck went across the Lesotho border at 8:30 am the next morning. The storm victims will now get some relief.

Just a little too late

Just found these lovely pictures in a forgotten email from Elder T. They were taken in the front yard of the Area Presidency's Office and home. We could have used them for our Christmas pictures and then Jenna could have been in our pictures and the Smith's. That girl gets around!!!

Unexpected Accomodations

Traveling around South Africa has been an education for us in many ways but in this one respect we have not been too impressed....bathrooms included in the sleeping areas of our lodgings!!! We say, "What's the deal with that? Who likes to have no privacy at all in their rooms? It would be another matter if it were for one person, but..." We figured it out each time by saying, "Honey, could you please turn up the volume on the TV or step outside the door for a few minutes?"

But lest you think that we are complaining too much when there are so many that have only a slab of concrete to sleep on, we are grateful we have clean linens on our beds and pillows, shelter over our heads and food on the table. This man sleeps and lives his life on this island in the road. He builds fires to keep warm in cold weather and and holds his head over the smoke until his face is white with ashes....hence, his name 'Ash-man'.