Lalibela, Ethiopia

We were sort of welcomed by this ancient priest.
I say sort of because they all seemed like they didn't
really want us there.  They did, however, because
they like tourist money in this town.

This was so interesting because there were 11 ancient churches all built by chiseling down the face
of the rock mountain.  There were 40,000 people that worked on the churches (slaves, prisoners,
and regular people) throughout the process.  In addition, they are convinced that angels came at
night and continued working while they slept.

This is an Ethiopian Orthodox Religious Ceremony that is done before the service that will take 
place inside the church.  Only men participate in this service and there is much singing, chanting, 
and drum playing.

Interesting symbols carved into the wall (these churches were built in the twelfth century.)
Symbols are from Greece, Ethiopia, and Turkey if I remember right.

We climbed the most intimidating passage-ways for a Grandma and Grandpa.
There were no hand rails ever and only uneven stone steps at best.  And to
make matters worse, Grandpa forgot his tennis shoes, so he really had a tough
time trying not to fall in his fancy Italian jobs.  I think Grandpa is thinking,
"I really don't want to break something and go to a local clinic."

An example of Ethiopian Art that filled the walls of the churches.
Notice the trade mark of the big, brown eyes.

Here we are taking a breath before venturing down the side of a rock wall!  We took this picture
just in case we didn't make it.  Then you would all know that we really were having a great time.

He wouldn't smile but he sure wasn't shy about posing for the camera.

These are school uniforms in Lalibela.  And the boys wore long pastel blue cotton pants with a
matching jacket.  Very colorful.  I wonder how they play soccer at recess, or if they have recess?

Check this out!  This is the bed for one of the nuns.  It is carved out of the stone wall.  And they
put a plastic-type tarp over it for a "mattress?"  

This is St. Georges church.  We are standing in front of the top of the building.  It goes way down
and luckily we did not attempt the journey down.  We saw a lady at the airport who did. She slipped
and fell backwards and ended up in the local clinic.  She said that was an adventure in itself.

Axum, Ethiopia

Two friendly faces greeted us as we entered the huge town market

that is held every Saturday in Axum..  People walk up to 15K, to and from,
to come to the center of town to trade their things for the supplies
they need for the coming week.  It is just as I would imagine this place to be like
 hundreds of years ago.

The pottery is made by one small village.  They are the only
ones that make pottery and the process is kept within the tribe.
They also do not marry except within their own tribe.

It was massive humanity and we saw no other tourists.  It was very much country life at its best.
Many did not like their picture taken so I had to be fast to get faces not covered.

This was the "modern" section of the market.  Anything that is
made of plastic is a semi-luxury.

We actually saw caravans of 3 camels in a row bringing their wares to market.  Most of the people
used donkeys for transport or carried huge loads on their heads.

This is cotton which is a big product in this area.

Yes, there were live chickens for sale as well as goats and cows.
The goats and cows, however, would only be purchased for a
wedding ceremony or a funeral.

The aroma of the spices, along with everything else, was wonderful.

This young lady made this basket.  There were so many weavers
gathered around a tree in the middle of town.  It was really hard to
just buy one when they all wanted so much to sell a basket.

And the reason to come to Axum.  According to their legend, the
Queen of Sheba had a son with King Solomon and then had that
son, Menelik, take the Ark of the Covenant to Ethiopia for safe
keeping.  Apparently it is still there to this day but, of course, we
were not allowed to look at it.  But this is the building that contains the Ark, 
that is on a shelf, safely in a box, behind a curtain, all in 
the house that Menelik built.

Ancient ruins of the Queen of Sheba's palace.

The famous Obelisk of Axum.  According to their legend, this structure that is about 78 feet tall
could not be erected with only human strength.  So, with the help of the Ark of the Covenant 
and angels that came in the night, the obelisk stood straight and tall.  There were actually 7 
monuments build in the mid-fourth century A.D.

After a very rewarding and thought provoking trip to Ethiopia, we returned home to Table Mountain
in beautiful downtown Capetown.

Capetown, South Africa

Namibia and Government Affairs

Just a look into a week in the life of Elder and Sister Roberts as we spent one week in Namibia

 meeting Government Officials and trying to bring The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day 

Saints out of obscurity to this nation of Namibia.

The poster at the back is promoting the big soccer meeting being held at our hotel.  The dancers
were on hand to welcome the Prime Minister when he arrived for the meeting.

One of the first things we did was to meet with Benedict Likando
who is a top lawyer for Parliament.  He, along with Himuvi
Mgenbeneego from Chairman Kapere's Office, helped to
secure two appointments for us.  One with the Prime Minister's
Office and one to the Foreign Affairs Department.

Meanwhile, we met with Namibian TV and met a delightful
Manager name Queen.  She helped us get a spot on
Good Morning Namibia for the following Tuesday which
Womba Nashiwaya, National Public Affairs Director
for Namibia talked about the Church's view on Family Values.
Then we also got her set up to appear, with a panel of leaders
from the Branch, on a weekly one-hour Religious Talk Show
called "Good Seasons."  We were very excited about this
exposure for the church in Namibia.

We met with Chairman Kapere to continue our friendship with
him.  We went to Salt Lake City with him and Himuvi last
October.  The Anderson's and the Eggett's accompanied us
to the meeting along with Womba.  He told us he was very
impressed with the church and what it has to offer.  And he
also mentioned that he felt a "special spirit" while he was there.
He is a good friend and gave us excellent direction as to how
to work with the Namibian Government.

We made them a picture book of their trip to Salt Lake City.
I think they liked it--my first attempt at making a book on the
computer!  My goodness the things we are learning on this
mission.

We met with Mr. Gerson Kamatuka who is in the Prime
Minister's Office.  A very nice man and he seemed quite
interested in our Memorandum of Understanding which
has to do with our church doing Humanitarian Work in
the country.  The fellow on the right is a world-class
boxer from Namibia.  He invited us to his next fight
which Grandpa thought would be exciting but Grandma
was less than enthusiastic.

Elder Eggett (Humanitarian), James (From the Prime Minister's
Office) Elder Anderson (Lawyer). and Elder Roberts met
together to finalize the M o U.  It will now go to the Prime
Minister and hopefully we will meet with him in a couple
of weeks.  

These are a few of the people we met and things we did while in Namibia.  We also met with 
the Council of Churches, a CEO of the largest mining company in the country, and  an 
Ethiopian computer expert who is now working for the Minister of Education.

Our reason for going to Namibia was to try and find the right people to help us renew the visas
for our young missionaries.  We have not had young missionaries in the country for 6 months.
All I really want to say on this blog that seems to be quite open to the world, is that miracles did
happen and we think the missionaries will be back very soon.  We don't think it was directly
because of anything that we did--but when you do all that you can, the Lord will definitely make
up the difference.
Please take note of the BEAUTIFUL clouds of Namibia.  You feel like you could just reach up
and take a bite of the "cotton candy."  It is the most beautiful, panoramic sky I have ever seen.

The Directional Sign Project

     The need for road signs became evident to us as we tried to find church after church in Gauteng, South Africa.
Not only did many of the churches have no addresses, but the streets around the churches had no names.  We
asked the Physical Facilities Department at the Area Ofice and their response was:
   
     1.  We have wanted road signs for 8 years but the government officials do not like the church so it's an
impossible task.

Well, guess what, as we began visiting with one after another, we found them most receptive and accommodating.
But, first of all we had to find the right person, in the right department, in the right building, in the right city,
etc. etc.  That proved to be a very time consuming task.  We decided that perhaps that was another big problem
for this project:
 
     2.  No one had the time necessary to devote to a project of this kind.

The Stake Presidents were all in agreement that we needed the signs so we began our quest to procure approximately 200 directional signs for our churches across SouthAfrica.

                                                           " Tender Mercies were many"
 
 We were taught some valuable lessons as we tried our best to do our missionary work in Africa:
     1.  There are no co-incidences when the Lord is involved.
We saw and felt the guidance of the Spirit everyday as we tried to find and talk to the right people.  Just a few examples of our experiences:
     Ekhuraleni South Government Official, Thuso, after several visits said we had to go to 3 different places
and obtain zoning certificates before he could send the applications on to the next step.  We were moving to
Cape Town the very next day so we were in a time crunch.  Nevertheless, we set out to accomplish what he
asked.  First place, he went with us and that one only took about an hour to complete.  Then we drove to the
next place and the computer was down so we were told to come back tomorrow.  We were tempted to give up,
but Elder Roberts went into an office and explained our plight.  The secretary said the computers were down
but I guess we could talk to the head of their department.  After talking to him for a few minutes he said, "This
is ridiculous.  I'll just waive the fee and write out your certificate right now."
     We left and then remembered we had forgotten to give him our CD of religious music.  Elder Roberts went
back in and the director was in the process of changing the policy for how to handle things when the computer
is down.  Lon gave him the CD and then as he was leaving . . . he met Brother Rob Piccolo who had helped us
with the location for the signs in Benoni Stake (quite a distance from where we were.)
    He said, "Elder Roberts, I knew I was going to find someone when I stopped here. My son is in the emergency
room and needs a blessing.  Will you come with me please."
    We followed him to the hospital, I had oil in my purse, and they were able to give the young man a blessing so
that he wouldn't lose a finger that had been badly cut.  (His finger turned out fine by the way.)
     We then continued on to the last place, knowing full well that the office could be closed for the day.  We went
into the office and asked the man there to help us.  He said, "No problem.  We'll just waive the fee because we are
all shut down for the day."
     When he stepped out of the room to get the certificate  . . . the secretary was looking at us with a look of
amazement on her face.  "He never does that!" she said.  "But, when you see so much love coming from both of
you, how can anyone resist whatever it is you ask."
     We knew so forcefully that it was the Sprit of the Lord communicating with the people in that office.  It's very humbling to be in that situation and know you are an instrument in the Lord's hands.
     Often the officials would say, "You're lucky you caught me.  I was't supposed to be here today but I just came
in for a few minutes."
     Or once a man was walking down the hallway, and we asked him if he was the one we needed to talk to---
"Why yes, I am.  My name is Philip Nice."
     Or another day in East London, South Africa, the right person could not be found and then we saw a woman
named Khush walking down the hall and come to find out she was the person over signs for that area.  Or we
needed to talk to Thoso on another day and he wasn't in.  We waited for the elevator to leave and it was over
5 minutes that we waited.  Then the elevator came to our floor, but the door didn't open but went down to a
lower floor instead.  In a few minutes, the door opened and there was Thuso.
   
     2.  The Spirit is there helping us in all that we do. but we don't recognize His help,

     What a shame that we often ignore the presence of the Holy Ghost in our lives everyday helping us with
the small things of life.  Out mission has helped us to focus more each day and we have learned to recognize
His presence.  I know it's had to express the presence of the Spirit in words  It's one of those "you had to be there"
kind of times.  But we know without a doubt that this is the Lord's work and to quote a good missionary friend,
Sister Linda Pugmire, "every part of the vineyard is important."
   

After finishing our work in East London and Port Elizabeth, we went to the very  bottom
of South Africa to Cape Angelus.  This is the African Blue Crane which is
endangered and apparently hard to find.

The Light House from the early days.  The explorer Vasco da Gama from Portugal
was the first to explore a way to India around the tip of Africa.

Here is the spot where the two oceans meet.  The cold Atlantic meets the warm waters of
the Indian.  The Atlantic Ocean has the large animals that we love to eat and the Indian
Ocean has the beautiful tropical fish.

I can only imagine the fierce storms the early explorers must have experienced.

Bishop Matswagothata from Botswana

     Bishop Matswagothata is an inspiring Bishop of the Broadhurst Single Adult Ward.  

One day, as we sat together in his office, he shared this touching story of faith and 

the principle of brotherly love.

     Bishop's friend, Brother Langston, joined the church around 1990.  Something went 

awry and he lost his membership and became very angry, which is often a common reaction.

  Years ago he had actually been Bishop Matswagothata's senior companion as a home teacher.

     Bishop decided to start emailing his friend about once a month to just check in and say hello.

After several months, Brother Langston sent back an answer saying, "I'm not interested in the 

church.  I want nothing to do with it.  Please stop sending me emails."

     The Bishop answered, "I once had a home teaching companion and we went to visit an 

older brother who had left the church and he asked us not to come again.  You answered him 

by saying--I love you too much to not return,"

     "So brother, I say to you now--I love you too much to quit writing to you."

     Well, time goes by.   The Bishop got busy and he missed a few months.  Brother Langston 

them sent him a long email and asked him, "Why have you quit communicating with me?"

     So, of course the Bishop began to respond more diligently.

     Then Brother Langston gets married and has two children (now ages 5 and 2.)  The Bishop and

he go to lunch one day and the Bishop asks, "How long are you going to keep this going?  

You have two children and you're not teaching them about God.  Take them to church!"

     He answers quietly, "I can't.  There is only one church and that is the LDS church."

     "Well, then,"  the Bishop replies, "Come back."

     Slowly, he begins his way back.  He goes to the Young Adult Ward where Bishop 

Matswagothata is the Bishop.  He wears a blue shirt and sits at the back.  Then he changes to 

a white shirt, and then to a suit and tie.  Currently, he is bringing the family to church with him.

     Now here is the interesting part that concerns our mission a bit.  He tells the Bishop that 

he may miss a few meetings because he is going to run for a Government Office in Parliament.  Botswana, like most African nations, has constant issues with visas for the missionaries to be in 

their country,  To have a member in Parliament would be an invaluable friend for the church.  

The Lord moves in mysterious ways to accomplish moving the church forward in this land.

     This Bishop's tireless efforts for several years as a dedicated home teacher and friend, will 

most likely evolve into a significant blessing for the church in Botswana.

     

Conferences with the Cape Town Missionaries

Cape Town Zone Conference included 41 missionaries.
There are missionaries from 20 different countries.   

There are no sister missionaries serving in South Africa
at the present time for safety concerns.  We miss their
contribution here.  Maybe it will change soon.

We had a delicious dinner and the missionaries were each
given a small Christmas gift.  

They played the random gift exchange game and really
seemed to have fun together.

Sister Roberts, Sister Smith, Sister Henderson, Sister Wood, Sister Richens, and Sister Oldham.

Thanksgiving Day we joined with all of the Senior Missionaries from Cape Town and enjoyed
a delicious feast at the Mission Home.  President and Sister Wood were such gracious hosts
and we had a wonderful day together.  Here we went to a local park to view the beautiful
gardens.  Many, many plants from all over the world had been exported.  It was gorgeous.

Carols by Candlelight

Cape Town Stake had a fun event called Carols by Candlelight.  We had an enjoyable evening
singing carols and listening to readings and selected choirs.  It was outside on the lawn with
homemade candles.  It was fun to see all of the neighbors open their doors and windows to
enjoy Christmas Cheer with us.

The Stake Choir. . .

Primary Children. . .

In the middle of the evening, a flock of guinea fowl came walking around the fringe of our group.
It included several little babies.  They then flew to the top of the tree and joined in our singing.
Their cooing and clucking really added to the ambience of the evening.

This is their homemade candle.  They simply cut the top of a liter soda pop bottle and
covered the candle.  The wind is always blowing a bit here, so this kept the candles burning
though out the evening.  Yes, it did begin to melt a bit by the end of the evening, but it served its purpose.

Then we returned home to our beautiful paradise.