August 18-25

What a busy, but fruitful week.  

We taught Career Workshop to 10 people ranging from the ages of 20 to 30 on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday (4 hours per day).  These workshops help them learn how to present themselves to potential employers, referral sources and overall networking.  We cover introducing and selling yourself,   building and growing a network, interviewing skills and being successful in your career after obtaining employment.  



Unemployment/underemployment is one of the biggest stumbling blocks to Self Reliance in Africa ( 40 to 50 per cent depending on different stats). 

Our students all spoke a measure of English, but the young man, Sam, from the Democratic Republic of the Congo was hard to understand, he speaks 5 languages, but English is his least accomplished.  We admire the tenacity of  these young people.  5 were members of our church, 5 not.  (3 of them are studying the Gospel, as well)  They speak the Queen’s English which also takes some concentration to understand. 

Saturday, we taught the second session of a Self Employment Workshop to 7 individuals in Pretoria. This is a picture of the Pretoria First Ward Chpel.  It has a pipe organ, and was probably build in the 50-60s. They are attempting to start businesses and we actually taught the parts of a business plan:  Business Idea, Marketing Analysis, Marketing Strategy and Financial analysis.  Then we got them started on writing their individual plans and did some presentations and critiques.   What a range of abilities and ideas:  everything from street vendor to accounting/ business service.  One young man in this group just moved here from Uganda and is studying the Gospel and trying to get a job or start a business.

Wednesday night Margaret helped in the Family History Center with indexing with a youth group.  Elder Brimhall, Managing Director of the Family History department was in town as part of a world tour trying to determine how to get more than 2.5 per cent of church members doing family history,  (I must do better)

This Sabbath day, we attended Church in the Mamelodi ward.  The lighter brick building is the Mamelodi Ward building.  All buildings are gated and locked with bars over the windows and doors. Margaret played the music in Sacrament Meeting.  (of the 5 sacrament meetings we have attended, Margaret has played for three of them.  The other two requested her service, but had no piano and the power did not work for the keyboard we carry with us.  However, they sing well and enthusiastically without accompaniment.

As we drove home today and passed a mixture of “upscale housing, then medium, but very small  housing, then a township largely with “shanties with tin roofs”, I thought how blessed we are temporally, but even more so, spiritually.  We want to invite all here to Come Unto Christ and be perfected in Him:  work towards Self Reliance both Spiritually and Temporally!!

Here are a few photos of the Area Office Garden, which is adjacent to the temple and our offices.

August 7-19, 2012

We continue to learn our responsibilities, and how to drive on the left side of the street.  Our Garmin is names Lucy for “Lucy light the way” from Nickelodeon Sprouts.  Ashton and Shelby will know who Lucy is.  Sometimes she does well, but very often she can’t find her satellite and we go in circles.  Lucy oh Lucy Light the way.  Garmins around here are names Lia for Liahona,  Sister Garmin, because you are not supposed to give rides to anyone except missionaries, Celest who sometimes gives celestial directions, sometimes terrestrial directions, sometimes telestial and sometimes leaves them in outer darkness.  Another one is named Garmie.

Last Thursday, we went to a Lion Park.  They have a truck with bars and wire over it, and drive around acres and acres of land looking at animals.  We saw lions, impalas, something else water buffalo, leopards, ostrich, giraffes, zebras, wild dogs.  I have a few photos to share.

Today we attended Mamelodi Branch.  It is about 1 hour 15 minutes away.  Lucy did her job well.  This branch has adult sized chairs, a sound system and a podium.  They did not have any music, I offered to play the keyboard I have, but just then the electricity went out in that part of the school, so the music was the same as it has been before.

After Sacrament meeting, I asked the Branch President if I could share my Montana Chocolate bars.  I had 5. Little sister T gave me 4 more before we left Bozeman.  I went to find the primary president and asked her if she needed any help with the music.  She said that she needed help because she needed to be gone the second hour, and there was no one to stay with the 18 children in primary.  The children were ages nursery to 11.   What fun!!!!  We sang, had stories, activities,  

and then I told them of the Chocolate that the Bozeman Children wanted to share.  My 5 chocolate bars fed the 5000 (18) well.  Thank you  Brother D and Sister T for caring about these beautiful children in Africa.

Report July 31-August 7

Here in the area offices, we have another missionary couple who have been orienting us.  The Bassos are a warm, friendly couple, originally from California and returning to live in Arizona after their mission.   They are also the other couple serving in the Employment Resource Center doing what we do.  (Which is…..)

Friday, August 3, we went to an orphanage in Tembisa.  Mama, whom I call Beautiful Mama, has 20-30 children, some are day care, the older ones go to school during the day.  Some are permanent. For example, one mother dropped her little girl off for 3 hours of day care.  The mother never came back.  The little girl is still there. 

For a long time, Mama bathed her children in a broken tub with no plumbing and a bucket of water to dump over them.  For a toilet they had a broken toilet unplumbed in an outhouse.  The tin roof leaked when it rained, and the kitchen was a sink, stove, and no cabinets.  For a yard there was only dirt and a single little swing.

The Savages were the couple we replaced.  They have regularly visited the orphanage bringing what they could in the way of food, etc.  Their daughter lives in Salt Lake.  She visited her parents and decided to do something.  A campaign started and she raised thousands of dollars. 

Now Beautiful Mama has a bathroom with 3 flushing toilets, 4 sinks, 2 bath tubs with hand showers and 2 shower stalls. The yard has swings and tires to play on and has some pavers to keep down the dust.  There are 2 washers that work, a new stove and cabinets in the kitchen, and a new tin roof over head.  Some of the broken down doors are replaced.  She has had some office furniture donated that she is organizing for shelves and storage.  The rooms are still not heated, but sweet Beautiful Mama is so pleased.

Sunday, we had the privilege of visiting Orange Farm Branch.  This group, with about 80 attending, meet in a school out in the townships.  There is no need for parking, as there are no cars. 

They meet in 3 rooms of a grade school and use the courtyard for their young men and women.  They sit on small children sized plastic chairs.  Things need soap and water.  They have no keyboard, but I have never heard more beautiful singing.  The chorister sings a couple of measures of the hymn, says "two" and the group starts in.  In Primary even a 9 year old stood with her clear beautiful voice and started the singing.  The hymns they sing have slight variations in the melodies.  The children have no paper pencils, cheerios, toys, or entertainment.  They probably eat one meal a day.  I have never seen more reverence. 

There is no heat.  It snowed on Wednesday, August 8.  I thought of the branch.  Primary meets altogether.  The chairs are carried from room to room and the primary room is swept out before primary begins.

The primary president said, “don’t just pray and say, I am thankful for my blessings.  Say what you are thankful for.  I am thankful for my family, I am thankful for my home, I am thankful for the gospel, I am thankful for the sunshine.  At one point she used the story of the kids playing a prank on the man working in the field with the old shoes. She asked who knows what a field is?  One little guy raised his hand and said like a soccer field?  She replied, that is a field, but not the one.  Another raised her hand and said like the field you clean up?  She said good answer, but not the one.  This is a field for planting, for growing things.  Then she finished her explanation in Zulu.

 

The sacrament trays are filled in the court yard with a water pipe with holes punched for drinking.  Note the arm across the body, this is a sign of reverence.

July 16-July 31, 2012

Farewell Bozeman!  Thank you Heaps, for the ride to the airport.

We were greeted by Sister DaBell's brother, Lloyd, at the Missionary Training Center.

Lloyd is the Gardener Extraordinaire at the MTC.  His goal is to create a quiet, contemplative, reflective place.  He said it is easy to grow things on hallowed ground.  Thanks Lloyd.  Job very well done.

Entry from Elder DaBell
July 27, 2012

We had 10days of training:  5 with Preach My Gospel and 1 with Perpetual Education Fund and 5 with Welfare / Employment.  The underlying purpose of all missions is to invite all to come unto Christ.  the Church's welfare progam has so many ways to reach out to the poor and the needy as admonished by the Savior.  Scriptures of note:   Doctrine & Covenants: 31, 38,42,104, 58. Matt 25,  Alma 34.  Perpetual Education Fund serves nearly 57,000 in many countries.  It is a leadership program, not a loan program.  Elders Carmack and Cook, emeritus General Authorities serve voluntarily along with many Sr. Missionaries and other volunteer staff to make it happen.  (only 4 or 5 paid staff worldwide, amazing!)

I have come to know that helping God's children in employment is a work of love and essential to building the kingdom.  We look forward to watching this work go forward in Johannesburg and helping minister one person at a time.

One of the "sweet experiences" of this mission was meeting my second cousin John Craig Moline from Arkansas.  His grandpa is grandma DaBell's brother.  More on family History later.

Many senior missionaries have been on multiple missions, very inspirational!!  In spite of health concerns, etc. they accept the calls to serve from the Lord through His Prophet.  The Gospel is true and worth leaving "the world" behind and serving!!  I love my companion.

This is our MTC District in front of "The Map."

Hello OR TAMBO Airport (Johannesburg South Africa International Airport)

The Chocolate Bar

I was asked to tell the primary a little about our  mission assignment to South Africa, June 24,2012.  I visited primary the whole morning.  At the end of the day when the birthdays were announced 11 year old brother D was asked to come up.  Mention was made that he had been waiting for this day and when he chose his gift from the birthday basket, he did not want the pencil, but chose the Hershey’s chocolate bar with a “choose the right” wrapper on it.  His smile was big as he took his seat after a birthday song.  At the end of closing exercises it was my turn to talk.  I showed a map and talked of where we would go. I had some pictures around the map showing primary children and one showing a metal hut structure where some of the children might live and also pointed out how clean the surrounding dirt was.  I then related the following story after showing a small white box with two Rollos in it.

Sunday continues to be our favorite day of the week.  In Primary, Sister L has given all the children mirrors with the words “Jesus loves you” taped on the glass.  They were so excited and were entertained for the 2 hours they were in Primary just by looking at themselves.  Two weeks ago she gave them each a treasure box with 2 chocolates in each box.  The message was “The gospel of Jesus Christ is a treasure”.  During the preceding week, the mother of one the 9 year old boys in our Primary suddenly died.  Obviously, the little boy was not in class that Sunday and the Primary President asked Sister L if she could take a treasure box to the little boy.  Of course, Sister L handed her a treasure box.  When the children heard that Sister M was going to visit him, they all took their candy out of their treasure boxes and gave it to Sister M to take to him.  Because these children never get chocolate, it was a moving experience for all of the adults.

I closed my remarks and showed the children a wooden box with Rollos in it and invited the children to stop on their way out of primary and get a Rollo to eat. 

Brother D stopped on his way out of primary and said “Could I trade my chocolate bar for one of those?  Then would you give my chocolate bar to a child in Africa?”  I replied, “ Of course, I will try my best.  What a kind thing to do D.”  

DaBell Reunion 2012

June 15-18, 2012 our annual "DaBell Family Reunion" featured an Olympic theme: 

 LET THE  GAMES BEGIN 

39 attended!  

Since there was no room at the inn, a tent city was built in the back yard. 

Special thanks to our neighbors who smiled as we gathered.

Our Olympic games were held on Saturday.  Here we are dividing up into teams.  

Unfortunately one team ended up with most of the two year olds!

Sunday was a special day.  Robert and Margaret spoke in church with a special double male quartet of DaBell men singing "This Is The Christ" with words by James E. Faust and music by Michael Moody.