After 36 hours in route at Maputo airport

We left Provo at 5;30 am July 24th to leave the SLC airport.  We took off in flight from SLC at 9:50 and landed in Atlanta, Georgia.  We boarded the plane at 7:00 pm Atlanta time and landed 16 hours later in Johannesburg, South AFrica at 5:15 pm on July 25th.  We left Johannesburg at 8:15 pm and landed in Maputo at 9:50.  So from SLC on the 24th at 5:30 am, we flew all day, all night all day and half the night.  It was 2:00 am on the 25th in SLC when we landed in Maputo, Mozambique, Africa at 10:00 pm July 25th.

This picture is of us with the Ponds.  Elder and Sister Pond are the senior couple we are replacing.  They will be moving to South Africa after training us for a week.  THey are on our left and come from Idaho.  To our right is the mission president and his wife, Pres. and Sis. Koch from Brazil.  THey have been here only 3 weeks, 2 weeks longer than us.  Wonderful people.

Apartment building across from our apartment

This is a view out the street side window of our apartment building.  We live in a ritzy, roomy, amazing apartment.  There are 3 spacious bedrooms.  Come see us!!!  We can set you up!!!  The kitchen and livingroom are roomy and bright.  There are big windows on both sides.  Out our kitchen window, we see the hovels most africans live in.  There is a cute family that haul their water.  The mother baths her children and brushes their teeth daily but their yard is all dirt.  She washes their clothes in the water the children haul to her and then they play in the dirt and get them all dirty.  She cooks their meals on an open flame outside their hovel.  Cute family! I want to meet her.

Sister missionaries in our apartment building

 

There are only two apartments on each floor.  There are senior missionaries on the floor above us.  There are 6 floors. in the building.  I love walking on the roof.

[Elder Petersen]
We have been here only 5 days and it seems like a month.  After 2 days of riding with Elder Pond I was behind the wheel in our Ford diesel 4x4 driving on the left side of the road in very crazy traffic.  The "rule is: if you can get your nose in you can go.  Cars are inches away from each other and an occasional light brush of the mirrors is common. 
We went to a few of the proposed projects we hope to get approved.  Schools seem to be the area they have worked on lately.  There are not restrooms or running water. Very few desks if any at all.  No windows or doors. 
A project they completed and took us to see was a "hospital".  (We don't have pictures of this week because our phones were being set up for local use and we were without them for picture taking. We will try to get back out to these areas for pictures.) Back to the hospital.  A woman with a bit of training started taking care of people the best she could in a shack with not equipment or furniture.  But she did keep good records and tried to help people.  I don't remember how the Pond's found her.  They submitted project that got her a desk, 2 glass locking cabinets for supplies, an adjustable bed with no mattress.  Her part was to get a better structure made. With the help of neighbors they came up with a block building with a door and windows that could be secured.  The whole structure was about 10 ft. x 10 ft.  She is still working on getting a mattress.  Because of her efforts and the help of the church there is now a doctor who comes to the "hospital" once a week. She is so proud of what she has. 
We had a meeting with the stake president and his wife along with his first counselor.  Sharp people.  We look forward to getting to know them better.