Dear Richard
Last week was an INTENSE week! Caleb was
off school on both Monday and Tuesday, so Andrew and I each worked half a day
each those two days and spent the other half at home. That made work really
hectic for the week, together with the fact that Friday was a public holiday…
So I effectively had 3 days to do 5 days’ work, because in academics you still
have the same amount of work to get through in a week… But we made it through
;) And thankfully Caleb is much better now, although he’s still not 100% fine.
But everyday there’s improvement J
On Tuesday Andrew and I went to watch the
Sound of Music – awesome show!!! A
really great treat J Then we also
finally found a tablet at a good price for Andrew, so we got it as his birthday
present for this year, and it arrived last week J So there’s been
much excitement about that, as I’m sure you can imagine ;) In fact over this
long weekend there was a LOT of playing on tablets and smartphones… We also did a bunch of clothes and shoe
shopping for the kids. This is always a hectic time of the year with the change
in season and the kids who just grow so quickly every year! But thankfully I’ve
figured out a few places where we can get good clothes at good prices, so I try
to get everything at the best prices I can.
I met with Josh and Hannah’s teachers for
the end of the first term meeting, and they’re both happy with the kids
progress. It’s interesting to see how Hannah is showing some of the same shy
characteristics that Josh had, while Josh is in many ways coming out of it,
although he’s still quiet in class. But a big change in him, and I think that
Hannah is still just needing to build a good relationship with her teacher,
which will come pretty soon, so I’m not concerned.
After all the bad nights we had with Caleb
being sick Andrew tried to let me sleep a bit later on Friday and Saturday J On Friday I eventually woke up to the
sounds of Andrew and the kids playing hide-and-seek all through the house! That’s
becoming a favourite game with the kids ;) And then on Saturday he tried to get
the kids out the house to chapel clean-up before I woke up. I woke up just
before they left so I went with them in the end, but it was so sweet of him to
try :D
Oh, and we’ve got a swarm of bees that’s
decided to move onto our property again L We’ve tried to
make them unwelcome with having the sprinkler on over the hole where they are,
and the weather has been overcast the last couple of days, so we don’t know if
they’ve moved on or not. But we might need to call in a bee guy…
I read an article on in the December
Ensign about the church in Africa. I was so impressed with what the leaders,
especially members of the Twelve, said about the members! It’s quite something
to think that the church has really only been in Africa during my lifetime, and
so when you consider the growth in that time, and how young the leadership it
really is phenomenal! I’m so glad you’re getting to serve your mission here in
Africa and be a part of that growth! You might have heard this quote, but I
think it’s great: ‘One key to the Church’s success in Africa, Elder Holland
said, is that “we don’t get involved in conspicuous, sociopolitical issues. We
preach the gospel. We are concerned about justice, and we are concerned about
social opportunity and equity. But we think [the answers are found in the
gospel], so we just preach the gospel. And it has been true elsewhere and it is
true in Africa, that people get that insight, blessing, and light in their
lives, and suddenly things start to change and their lives are blessed.”’ I’m
sure you’ve found that to be true J
So another week… This week really should
be a bit quieter for me, but we’ve got Joshua’s birthday next week, so I need
to spend some time getting a few things ready… But at least there are some
exciting times ahead J
Love you lots!
Shelly
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