A little Work, a little Play

If there is anything that you can expect here in Sierra Leone, it is that the day that you plan will NOT be the day that you have. In most cases, your schedule will change-probably not so much for us as it does for the other senior couple. With the rainy season upon us in full deluge, the missionaries have a hard time staying dry and well. It is not that it is really cold, although to look at the Africans you would think that it is freezing outside. They will have on their woolen caps at night and have their coats on in the morning. Sometime I will have to take a picture of that so that you can appreciate it. But for today, we will report on:

Unique marriages: this is President and Sister Agbo. They are a great couple. He is the branch president of the Goderich branch that we attend. They had a very unique courtship and marriage. First you have to understand that there are 3 types of marriages: the traditional, the civil, and then there is the "we will live together as husband and wife with the approval of both parents until the male can pay the bride price and fulfill the agreement for the traditional marriage." President Agbo had first met Sister Agbo when he was a missionary and converted her father to the church. Sister Agbo was probably early teens when they first met. She also joined and church. I think they had some communication with each other during her teens. He encouraged her to go on a mission, which she did. After she had been home from her mission for a while, President Agbo had contact with someone who knew her family. He asked about Sister Agbo (Victoria) and found out that she was not married. He (Solomon) wrote or called her Dad and asked to marry her. She had not had contact with Solomon for a while. She thought about it and went to the temple and pondered about it. She talked to her Dad, who agreed that Solomon was a good man. So Victoria agreed to be married. Since Solomon was now living in Sierra Leone and couldn't afford to go to Ghana where both he and Victoria are from, he arranged for his brother to stand in for him during the traditional marriage ceremony. After the party, Victoria and her Dad flew to Sierra Leone where she saw Solomon for the first time in some time. In fact, she said she didn't recognize him at first. After a little bit, they had a civil marriage. Then they went to Ghana for their temple sealing. They have now been married for 3 years. Once when I was in the Young Women class that she was teaching, she talked about how the Lord had prepared a choice husband for her. They really are an incredible couple. I think both had such great faith in doing what they did. They are one of the couples who will help the Church to grow here in Sierra Leone.

We thought you might like to see some of the cute kids and youth that we see in Goderich branch.

These 3 girls are sisters. The oldest girl is in Young Women. Her name is Esther. The other two are twins--that is surprising isn't it. The taller one is Naomi and the smaller one is Mary. Mary is very outgoing, while Naomi is very quiet. Both are very fun girls. I have the chance to be with them in Primary--sometimes I will share with you about that.

Mary wanted one by herself. She always comes and sits by Elder Jones and I when we attend Goderich branch. She and her sister then gather up my purse and bag (which has my scriptures and other church material) and off to Primary we go. Lately I have been helping in Primary especially during their Sharing Time. They have a new Primary presidency that is still trying to figure it all out.

There have been some changes in branches here in Freetown in Sierra Leone. There have been two new branches organized in the past few weeks. There will be another branch added in Bo (another city in Sierra Leone). Most of the buildings used for church services are rented buildings. There is only 3 buildings in Freetown that are owned by the Church. One is being completed for church services for the new branch. The benches, pulpit, tables and chalkboards were built by a local carpenter for 8,500,000 leones which is $2,700. He built 12 benches, 2 desks, 6 classroom tables, 8 blackboards, and a pulpit. You need to know that no power tools were used.

In order to complete the chalkboards, Sister Peterson put 4 coats of a high gloss paint on them. I think she then puts on some W-D 40.

One of the places that Elder Jones visits almost every morning is the local neighborhood 7-11. Here is where he buys the bread for the sandwiches we have most days. Mr. Mohamed Bah recently moved his store a few yards. You will notice that his store is a 24 foot shipping container. He has his store in the front. He and his wife and baby live in the back. He does a pretty good business.

Life is not always work. The last 2 Mondays for P-Day we have gone to Charlotte Falls. It is about 10 minutes from our house. During the rainy season, the falls are incredible. We are told during the dry season that the falls become very tame.

The first visit was with 4 elders--the 2 Assistants to the President and the 2 Zone Leaders from Bo. It was a very nice day and we had a picnic--peanut butter sandwiches, chips, and cookies. The elders had a great time playing around the water--there is no swimming of course. You had to be aware of where the darker spots were on the rocks because they were a little mossy and very slippery. The next time we went it was first thing in the morning. It had rained during the night and the rocks were pretty wet. You couldn't tell where the slick spots were on the rocks, so you had to be a little more careful about where you were stepping. There were 10 elders who went this time. It is so fun as senior couples watching them play around.

There are still some anxious moments, though, for the "mothers" in us as we watch them slipping and sliding.

It is amazing to see these focused young elders become fun-loving "boys" as they get a break in their schedule. As older couples, we are always glad that there are rules that keep them a little constrained so we don't have to worry too much.

Elder Jones and I enjoyed ourselves so much that we have picked out this nice little summer cottage for us to buy. It is located on the trail to Charlotte Falls.

Well, as you can see life here is full of interesting things. We feel it a pleasure to be a part of the various lives here in Sierra Leone--the elders, the members and the people in general. We realize more fully that the Lord loves all His children and desires to bless their lives. We certainly miss all of those we have left behind. We think of you every day and pray that great blessings will be yours and that you will feel of Heavenly Father's love for you and those you love. We know that there are many of you who are experiencing great trials--you are always in our prayers. Until next time--work a little, and play a little.