GOOD BYE AND HELLO AGAIN

I recently read a story about a little girl who's father traveled to faraway country and brought her a tin w/ a cake in it.  It was the custom  of that country to bake a small toy in the batter.

Knowing this the little girl began to pull the cake apart, shoving it into her mouth, Gulping it down looking for the toy.

She finally found it in one of the corners at the bottom of the cake.

By time she found it she had eaten almost the whole cake by herself.

She ate so quickly and was so intent on finding the toy that she didn't even taste the cake.   Later she couldn't remember what kind it was, or even if it was delicious or bland.  She Couldn't even remember what country it came from.  She had been so focused on finding the toy, she barely remembered eating the cake.

I Started thinking -  life is like a cake with lots of toys baked inside and even if you find them all, if you don't enjoy the path that leads you to them

 it will be a hollow accomplishment.

Our past 18 months have been like a cake with lots of little toys baked inside.

Some were definitely better than others, but I loved every bit of it!  We have for sure enjoyed the journey. Now this chapter in our lives is over.  For me it was a real risk coming here - but Taylor has taught me  our greatest regrets will always be the risks we never took.  He always says it is better to take a risk and be disappointed than to wonder forever what might have been.  

Our mission was a risk.

Marriage is a risk

Having children is a risk.

Life is a risk.

Just getting up in morning is a risk.

But not to risk is to die.

Sellin and making coffins on the street in Tanzania 

(like how I worked this picture in!)

Too soon our lives, like  our mission is over and most of us wonder where the time went.  

In the end wherever our hearts spend the most sincere energy is where we will make the greatest contribution.

Don't wait until it is too late to appreciate all you have.

Us meeting Elder Holland

This is the last entry in our blog - we are leaving here on Sunday night.  See you soon!

TANZANIA,ZANZIBAR AND ANGOLA IN 10 DAYS

These past two weeks have been crazy busy. We have visited 3 countries, which brought the grand total of countries visited during our mission to 19!  

18 months ago if you had asked me why I came to Africa I would have said, "to help the missionaries and the African people to become better, to get baptized, or to teach them about the gospel of Jesus Christ.  I wanted to make a difference in their lives.  Now I know the reason I went on a mission was to grow my testimony and to learn just how much my Heavenly Father loves me.

Tanzania was amazing.  We did a zone conference for the missionaries there and traveled to Zanzibar with the Broadbents.  Angola and Zanzibar were both places that at one time supplied most of the slaves to countries around the world.  The worth of a slave was often determined by their teeth. Many of them pulled their teeth or filled them down in order to have a lower market value.  Being caught was often not the worst  punishment they could get.  If they had more slaves than they could accommodate, they ate them.  So much suffering to be free.

All three of these countries are  definitely third world countries.  Women walking with huge jugs on their heads to get water, or loaded down with food to sell at the market was a common sight.  It amazes me how much they can carry - often with a child on their back and another one holding their hand.  They can be seen walking from who knows where to who knows where.  Often in the middle of no where.  

This is us in Labongo, Angola - on top of a mountain.

There was a whole valley of rocks stacked on each other.  I think God stacked them each individually - it was amazing.

Zanzibar is 98% muslim - the two pictures below were taken 

right outside the airport.  Everyone dresses like this on the whole island.

The pictures below were random pictures I took as we 

drove through the streets.

A little monkey in the tree and a millipede on the ground.

This picture was "cropped" by me to fit missionary standards.  She approached us with nothing on her top but the bead necklaces!

This is the entrance to the "mangrove" - just like in Harry Potter!

Ouch!  They climb the trees barefoot!

The Elder on the right and the one on the left went to high school 

with TJ!  It is always fun seeing someone from home!

In Africa you often hear them say " I am so much grateful for......"  I would like to say that I am so very much grateful for these past 18 months and all that I have been taught by these wonderful people and for the chance of a lifetime to serve my Heavenly Father full time. 

Another common expression in Africa is "I  can't trust my head to remember..."  That is so true for me ......that is why I have tried to write and take pictures here because I can't trust my head to remember all the adventures and experiences we have had.

We are leaving in one week.  I can't believe it has been 18 months. I am excited to see family again. TJ will be home in one month.  I have so much to be grateful for.

TRADITIONS OF OUR FATHERS

We are now down to less than 30 days left here in Africa.  What a wonderful experience this has been.  I have come to love the people here and they will forever be part of my heart.  I decided to write about some of the more "different" traditions of the people of Africa.  Some of these traditions do not apply to everyone - but all of them are still very much in practice today in their individual tribes.

Recently, when we were in Swaziland, there were piles of wood on the sides of the road for sale.  It was dark and they were left unattended.  I asked if they were worried about them being stolen.  "No," they said, they believe if someone steals them, and puts them in the back of their car that the wood will turn into a dead person.  No one wants a dead person in their trunk - so the wood piles are left alone!

Handicrafts in the market place were often just covered with a cloth over night also.  They believe if you steal these items, they will turn into a snake and bite you!  I'm not about to challenge that one!

Another interesting idea is that "their ancestors don't like electricity."  So the sangomas, or traditional healers won't sleep in a hut that has electricity (most of them don't have electricity anyway) for fear that their ancestors will not attend them.  They even sometimes change huts they are sleeping in up to 4 times per night.

Most all of the people in Africa have no idea when their birthday is.  They only know approximately how old they are.  Many of the missionaries have celebrated their "first and last" birthday parties with us.

When a couple has a new baby, the baby is laid on the threshold of the door.  Family members then jump over the baby to enter the house.  For the first 3 months no one (not even the father) is allowed to see the baby.  They believe the African people are a very jealous people and someone may bring witch craft into the home and put a spell on the baby.  Only the mother cares for it for the first 3 months.  She is not allowed to touch a pot to cook in or water to clean with.  Everything is done for her.  She also is not allowed to cook for her husband during her period. (A week off every month!)  Some tribes are now changing this a bit and allow only immediate family after 10 days)

They also very interesting ways to judge if a person is a virgin or not.  They can tell if a girl is a virgin by looking at her ankles??? A man is known wether or not he is a virgin by how straight he pees.  That's right - if he dribbles he is not a virgin.  They can also tell a baby's paternity by comparing the palms of the father and baby.  No DNA testing needed!

These are a just a few of the traditions of the people here.  Labola (I wrote about earlier) is a huge problem here also.  You must pay for your wife in cows before you can marry.

Knowledge of the western world is so new here that they hold on their beliefs and traditions.  When we were in Swaziland this past week, we took some live chickens, cabbage, oranges and corn seed to a family there.  They were so appreciative.  One woman, with tears in her eyes, said, "There has to be a word more than 'thank you.'  This just doesn't seem like a big enough word."  She was so grateful for the food we had brought to them.  This reminded me that "Thank You" is not a big enough word for the Savior's love and sacrifice for us.  I agree - I wish there was a bigger word for "thank you."

FAMILY AND GRATITUDE

"If you never learn the language of gratitude, 

you will never be on speaking terms with happiness."

I know I talk a lot about gratitude - so this week instead of writing - I just want to share some pictures of our last couple of weeks.  Terra and Jeremy were here - we had a wonderful time!  Of course Terra wanted to bring all the babies home.  The following pictures show just a few of our "adventures" this past 2 weeks with Terra and Jeremy.

These are a few of the abandoned and orphaned children:

 

I like to call these "Daniels in the Lion's Den"

(Terra and Jeremy's last name is Daniel - we were in a lions den of 13 lions - walking around our car - within 'petting' distance!"

What trip to Africa would be complete without a visit to a "Sangoma" (you'll have to ask Jeremy what she told him) and a visit to Swaziland.

Of course Terra wanted to take home every baby we saw:

 The lemurs loved Jeremy!

We were so sad to see them leave.  We had such a good time showing them where we have been serving these past 17 months.

Terra said it best when she said, "Seeing you both not only serve, but thrive and love your life in a country that could not be any more opposite the one you left behind in Utah.  Africa is like being on another planet and you have both lived it gracefully and beautifully while growing closer as a couple and loving those around you."

Thank you Terra and Jeremy for coming to Africa.  We love you!

RHINO CAPTURE

In the early days of the church, Oliver Cowdry once said, "These were days never to be forgotten."  Today was one of those days for us.  We had the incredible experience of participating in a "Rhino Capture."  For those of you who still believe we are on vacation - consider this a "humanitarian project."   President Donelley, the former Madagascar mission president, took us and 8 other senior missionary couples to Kruger National Park where we helped capture a Rhino.  Rhino's are a fast disappearing species.  250 have been poached in South Africa in 2012.  They are hunted for their horn - which brings in about $200,000.00 and then is ground into powder and sold for millions. Just last week a poacher was caught and shot on the spot.

Using a helicopter to find a rhino, we darted it and then inserted a micro chip into the horn so it can be tracked and caught if it is poached.  We had to put socks in his ears so he could not hear us, a towel over its eyes so she could not see us, and then we held it while we took it's temperature, took a DNA sample, and notched its ears so it could later be identified. (Notice the dart in her rear...)

After the procedure, which took about 30 minutes, "Sister Lulu" as we named her, she was given another shot to help her wake up.  We ran for the truck and waited until she was able to stand and return to her family.

To be this close to a rhino and participate in something like this was an inspiring and very rare opportunity.  I had to keep pinching myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming.

On Sunday we had Sacrament Meeting in the bush - we used hamburger buns for the bread, and the water was served in large white paper cups.  Music was provided by a harmonica along with several birds.  It was such an incredible feeling, sitting in the shade of a tree so close to nature having sacrament meeting.  

This whole experience was magical - one not soon to be forgotten.  We have been so blessed in so many ways!

TOKOLSH

In Africa there is a little is a strange little phenomena - unique to South Africa (I believe) - it is a little man named Tokolosh.  He is a little ugly, hairy guy - like an elf that eats children, and can enter people's bodies and do terrible things.  People are scared to death of him - some even put their bed up high on bricks so that he cannot reach them in their sleep.  Anything bad that happens is often blamed on Tokolosh.  He is blamed for everything from a missing sock to getting a woman pregnant while her husband is away.  Unfortunately I don't think we can blame all of this country's violence on Tokolosh.

You have probably read in the paper or seen in the news all the violence that is happening in Africa currently.  It is so sad.  A muslim cleric was murdered in Kenya and even though they don't yet know who did it - the muslims are retaliating on the Christians.  The missionaries in the area have had to stay inside.  It seems to be happening all over Africa.  Recently in Malawi, 8 men brought a truck and jumped over the fence into a rented church yard of ours where the missionaries had a flat also.  They tied up the 2 guards and then kicked in the missionaries door.  They woke up but were told to stay in bed and they would not be harmed.  While a couple of them stood over the missionaries with clubs the others stole absolutely everything in their flat - shoes, socks, shirts, suits, etc.  Thank goodness they were not harmed - but they were left with just their underwear!

Unfortunately THAT is a negative about serving a mission here.  On the positive, which always compensates for the negative - I really want to write this week about the testimonies and kind hearts of so many of the people who live here.  There is something in Africa that touches your heart - so deeply - words cannot explain what it feels like to be able to serve Heavenly Father on a full time basis in this wonderful country where the church is growing by leaps and bounds.

There was a young missionary coming to the MTC here in Johannesburg from Figi.  He had been traveling for days - going from Figi to Australia to Hong Kong to Johannesburg.  Because of a mix up in times he arrived with no one there to pick him up. He was scared, alone and had no idea who to call.  After waiting a while he took his bags and went over into a corner.  There he knelt down and said a prayer - asking Heavenly Father to please help him.  when he stood up he looked around - it was very early in the morning and the airport was fairly empty.  He noticed a man in a suit and approached him, asking who he was there to pick up.

Unfortunately, he told the young boy that he was there to pick up his son in law.  Now even more nervous he started to walk away when the man in the suit said to him, "Are you a missionary?" (Although he was in a white shirt and tie he did not yet have his badge) 

"Yes," he answered.  

"Well I am a member of your church - can I drop you off somewhere?"

You can imagine his gratitude and relief - and the knowledge that Heavenly Father - knew where he was and had answered his simple prayer.

Everyday I hear story after story from these amazing young men and women.  What a privilege it has been to serve here in Africa.

On Monday I was getting my hair cut and colored - I found a young single adult girl that comes to your flat.  All was going well - when it was time to wash off the color - we went into the kitchen - then the bathroom - and can you believe - NO WATER!!  The faucet dripped....dripped..........    dripped.  You can imagine my panic!!  Luckily we had a couple of bottles of water in the fridge - not enough - then I discovered why we have food storage.....our water storage saved the day!  Good thing I am learning to tie a "dukie" on my head - great for a bad hair day!  

Just as was feeling sorry for myself for being out of water for a day and a half - I remembered how most of the native people here get their water from 3-5 in the morning.  The women must get up and go outside and fill jugs of water - carrying it back on their heads to be used for washing clothes, cooking and bathing for that day.  I had to repent for being ungrateful that we didn't have water for a day and a half. 

I hope you all have a wonderful day - remember to be grateful when ever you turn on your faucet and get water.

YEA!! ITS A PARASITE!!

You wouldn't think we would be happy if we got a parasite - but we are!  We learned earlier this week that Taylor has a parasite - which is the cause of all of his problems - well not all of his problems. :)

He had a colonoscopy and an endoscope on Friday which was entertainment for the week!  We arrived at the hospital at 7:30 am. We bought a newspaper while we were waiting and opened it to see this heart breaking picture:

Three healthy new born babies placed in a box in the hospital as they had no beds for them. Luckily for us this hospital is just down the road from the hospital we are in!  Taylor did get a bed - not a box - but after he had been back in the surgery room for about 20 minutes, they wheeled him back out - IV in his hand - but they hadn't done any procedures yet.  It seems his parasite was "a very resistant and nasty one" and they only have 3 scopes - so in order to protect the other patients - they wanted to do them first - so they wouldn't have to use the same scope they used on him???  We were laughing and gagging at the thought that he would now get the "used and dirty" scopes!  The nurse assured me they washed the scope between patients but his would have to be sent out for deeper cleaning after his procedure - so because they didn't want to contaminate the other patients - they would do him last. All we could do was smile and sat "This is Africa!".

In the past year we have had malaria, spider bites, food poisoning and parasites - but we wouldn't trade this experience for the world!

Earlier this month we went to Port Elizabeth.  This is a city on the Indian Ocean about a 10 hour drive from Cape Town.  We stayed at a hotel on the beach - it was absolutely beautiful!

While we were there (yes we were working) we visited the Red Location Township.  This was the first township the black people were sent to after the war here.  It was so sad to see the conditions these people live in on a daily basis.  It was Saturday and the streets were busy with people just hanging out talking.  I couldn't help but think what a difficult life this would be, and how hard it would be to raise children in these circumstances.

We were also fortunate to have a little extra time one afternoon and we decided to drive to Addo - an area where elephants are protected.  It was huge!  While driving on the road we came upon several elephants crossing the road right in front of our car and this little baby nursing.

Only 2 1/2 more months till we come home!  I can't believe how fast the time has gone.  TJ - aka Elder Hartman#1 (as he likes to be called) will be home on December18th!  We were so excited to all be re-united for Christmas!

We will all probably struggle a bit when we get home and then eventually we will assimilate ourselves, one memory at a time.  But I hope as we start again taking our ease for granted we will remember with a clear mind - all the blessings, the people and the memories of this incredible adventure.