I did have a great call this week. We were not planning on going to Jinja this weekend because the Caspersons only left on Thursday. However, I got a call Friday evening letting me know they were expecting me to teach the temple blessings and keeping temple covenants fireside scheduled for the District on Saturday. Thank heavens for keeping electronic copies of previous talks that can be worked into this topic. It was a lot of fun and Sister Squire only had two minutes warning that she was going to speak.
Brigham Young understood our day when he said: "It was revealed to me in the commencement of this Church, that the Church would spread, prosper, grow and extend, and that in proportion to the spread of the Gospel among the nations of the earth, so would the power of Satan rise." I know some don't believe in the power of Satan but I do and I do see his power and influence rising. I also see the good that is happening as we now have 170 temple either finished, in construction or announced. Five of those will be in Africa where the work is booming.
President George Q Cannon knew something about the building of temples and their influence: "Every foundation stone that is laid for a temple and every temple completed according to the order the Lord has revealed for his holy Priesthood, lessens the power of Satan on the earth, and increases the power of God and Godliness, moves the heavens in mighty power in our behalf, invokes and calls down upon us the blessings of the Eternal Gods, and those who reside in their presence." Here in Africa they will only get to the temple once in their lifetime, because of the generosity of member donations, but as Sister Burton stated in her most recent talk: In the Bible Dictionary we read: Only the home can compare with the temple in sacredness." I hope each of our homes are sacred and our children feel safe to be there.
OK so a great week here in Africa. We were able to go to a school here in Kampala and Sister Squire along with the missionaries taught them about hygiene. Not, Hi Gene, but hygiene as in cleanliness. Perhaps I am the only one confused and every-time I heard the word hygiene I would turn around to see who they were talking to. Here are some of the great pictures and videos.
When they heard I was coming the enthusiasm was palpable. The kids were hugging each other, throwing up the peace sign and generally bursting all over with excitement.
Looks like the secret service
Who needs fancy pansy playground equipment? Just some big logs with some little logs over the top to have a great teeter-toter
It will hold as many as you want
Not be outdone, as soon as the kids left the Elders took over.
Recess over, only the older kids stayed for the hygiene lesson
Give me a hand, will ya? Actually, Sister Squire had us put glitter on our hands and then when we shook hands or gave a high-five they would have glitter (germs) on their hands. They soon found out they could get glitter on their hands so they couldn't get enough of us.
Some happy, some sad
There was a hygiene word quiz puzzle that had everyone busy.
You should brush for one minute, here they show everyone how long that is.
Captive audience
Best lecture ever at the Makerere West Valley school
Here is one of the classrooms where they are working on the puzzle.
The mom/cook was washing the cups and this little girl was putting the clean cups back into a sack.
She looked to be only around two years old, cute
The crowd goes wild at the end of the session.
A few videos to show the fun show that was put on. This one was at the end and to show appreciation they grew different colored flowers and showered them all over Sister Squire at the end of the discussion.
A little kicky game
This was the big welcome onto the stage. You can see them figure out there is glitter and want more of it as they shake hands.
The kitchen staff was making posho, a dish of maize flour (cornmeal) cooked with water to a porridge- or dough-like consistency. It is the most common staple starch featured in the local cuisines. She told me it will cook for 1/2 hour. The smoke was so bad with the fire that my eyes were watering for a bit after I went back out of the cooking shed.
They use these skits to get everyone's attention before beginning instruction.
Every day is an adventure...
I love the pictures and videos, it looks like an amazing experience. It's cool to see what is in the background of each of these pictures and videos, to get a better taste of the un-photographed side of Uganda. What a place!
ReplyDeleteWas that elder holding a burrito while playing the kicky game?