A few couples began to gather and by 9:38 Bishop Molombo of the 1st Ward dressed in a beautiful black brocade dinner jacket, white shirt, and no tie, (I could see it peeking out of his pocket, though) stood to conduct the meeting. He said, “We learned a lesson today about inviting full time missionaries.” (We assumed he meant because we were on time) “It’s Saturday morning and our people are just a little slow. They’ll be coming along. But it is good for us to begin this meeting.” He announced the opening song and Sister Parmley looked around and then jumped up and went to the piano. The bishop led the music himself. There may have been 5 couples in attendance when we first began. The good bishop told the group that they were about to learn how to have stronger marriages, and be more united and loving in their families. He told them that they must be examples for those who did not come today so that others could see the difference in them and their families in the way they treat each other and lived the Gospel.
President Dilldorf’s message was very nice about preparing to attend the temple, and Sister Parmley talked about why she loved her husband, offering positive examples for the brethren to hear. Elder Parmley told about their first years as students and how poor they were, then gave 14 suggestions for improving marriage relationships and then told why he loved his wife.
By then it was a little after 11 and the stake president who was supposed to speak (according to my earlier notes) wasn’t there so we broke for lunch. They set up tables and chairs, put on cloths and utensils, brought out the food and we were ready to begin eating at about 11:45.
Before the prayer on the food the Bishop told those who had just arrived that they had missed some important messages, but welcomed them anyway. He told us that the spirit needed the food that we were receiving today and that our bodies also needed food to keep our energy up so we should relax and eat and allow our bodies to be strengthened.
The food that the women had prepared was delicious. It was our first sample of dishes that African moms would make for a ward dinner: rice, beef stroganoff, cooked spinach in some sort of sauce, mashed pumpkin, chicken pieces in a curry sauce, and a great green salad with feta cheese, cucumbers, peppers, etc. No paper items were used except for napkins. Here is Bishop Molombo and his wife.
Elder Wells looking handsome as ever.
This couple is, Sister Nomalonga and her husband Paul. We have been working with her and have made good friends.
Everyone had a good time relaxing and around 1:00 we started back into the chapel for the next 3 sessions (ours was last). Not everyone stayed for the afternoon meeting. We had maybe 12-15 couples just after lunch. They left little by little. The bishop did an excellent slide presentation on Eternal Progression – having the vision and setting and meeting goals. Next an amazingly articulate and motivating young man, Dominique Musimusi, spoke on financial management or how to change the traditional African way thinking about and using money. He included budgeting and teaching children to understand and budget their money. Very interesting, but very long. By the time Dad and I were up just before 3:00 I had decided to give up my part altogether except to explain my handout and mention briefly the ideas of “catching them doing something good” and “using positive statements.” I turned the time to Elder Wells who took 20 to 25 minutes to an audience of about 20 tired but receptive and relatively attentive people. (We had originally been asked to take an hour from 2:00 - 3:00 or longer if we desired.)
The bishop closed the meeting by telling them how important it is for them to use all these principles and ideas and that they needed to keep learning and changing and when they did so they were to be examples to others because they were building Zion!
We had a closing prayer and adjourned for dessert – a wonderful pudding cake called Malva pudding with a vanilla custard sauce. Yum! (More fresh plates and utensils were used. The young women who had been tending the children helped in the kitchen now as well.) At the end of the meeting we stopped to talk to a handsome couple (you can see him in the pink shirt taking pictures during lunch.) His wife was dressed in a beautiful African outfit. We were talking and she shook her head and he said haltingly, "We do not speak English." They spoke French. Had they stayed the entire day and not understood anything?
We headed for home about 4:20. I had been up so late preparing and had enjoyed a late SKYPE visit with the family at Matt and Anita’s and so after cleaning up the table which was full of Ensigns and notes and papers I laid down on the little couch listening to our new Christmas CD and slept for nearly 2 hours!
Another day of learning important lessons because TIA (this is Africa)
3 comments:
Fantastic! Thanks for sharing. I love learning more about the culture you're living in. It sounds like the conference was awesome. I think our family would fit in with the African time! :)
Not quite what you expected from the planning but I'm sure it was a wonderful day for all the participants. That's funny about the couple who couldn't understand the language! Keep up your good work!
anita
This is such great stuff. I love being reminded of gospel basics and how living them looks to the outside world. Be thou an example, right?! Again, peculiar (our kind of peculiar) is a pretty color.
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