Hello to Everyone,
The last couple of weeks has been full of challenges getting vendors set up for projects, getting payments made on time (not), and generally being hard pressed to have anything work according to schedule.  But in spite of it all, we are getting it done.  We have had great support from our help in Johannesburg, Elder and Sister Blake.  They are truly wonderful.  We have 2 water projects in Swaziland and are working on a Helping Babies Breath program we hope to have ready in a couple of months.
Here in Mozambique we have 2 projects with schools in progress and another we hope to get put together if the community will step up to the challenge of doing their part.  We also have a vision project near completion in Beira.  It was started a couple of years ago and hit a snag.  We were successful at getting it moving again.
We have a plan we want to present to a school district director where each school accounts for the school property:  grounds, building, furniture, books, materials, etc.  This reporting and accountability would help maintain continuity as school directors change.  The school council, made up of community members and a couple of school staff would take responsibility for this accounting.  A fund could be set up and they manage it and report to the community and the district.  There are some schools that do some of this, but there is no standard that we can tell.  We are hoping to influence a district director to take on this challenge with our help.  We visit with him this week.
We have been here one year.  Our DIRIs are expired (basically our "green card") so we had to go down to immigration to have them renewed.  It will be a month before we actually get the cards, so in the meantime we carry a notarized copy of the receipt.  I did not drive for a couple of days until we received these receipts because if I were stopped I could get into a lot of trouble.  But we have them now and will be taking a trip to Swaziland again on Wednesday.
The weather has been cooler; about 65 to 70 degrees in the day and around 60 in the evening.  Pretty nice.  This is our winter.
I have been looking for a car jack and accompanying tools for our truck.  Apparently, they were stolen sometime before we arrived here a year ago.  I have procrastinated getting them replaced.  I can find jacks easily on the streets for sale, but the extension tool to lower and raise the spare tire underneath the bed is impossible to find.  I may have to go to the dealer; trying not to.
We invited our interpreters and their dates to our home for an evening of dinner and games.  It was a fun evening.  They are great kids and we hope and pray they will get married soon.  The worldly ways of postponing marriage for any number of reasons is just as much a problem here as any where.
We are loving our mission.  It definitely has its challenges.  But we are so grateful for this opportunity and we encourage everyone to seriously and sincerely consider your situation and ask the Lord how and when you can serve a full time mission.  Then express you desires to your bishop and stake president.  They will counsel you and help to find a way.  The need is so great.  I know God lives and that we are His children.  He loves us; He cares; He is interested and involved in our lives.  Jesus Christ is our Savior and Redeemer and has restored His church through the Prophet Joseph Smith and subsequent prophets.  Families are eternal if we live the gospel and take advantage of the sealing power in the temple.
Love to all,
Elder Petersen, Stan, DAD, Grandpa

Year's review

Triple Date minus Albertina and Brait

(Teril's entry) We have some amazing interpreters that we work with.  These are great women and men, all returned missionaries except one that is on a mission now.  Naldo was our first interpreter.  He introduced us to his brother, Benildo.  Vanessa was our interpreter for a few months before she left for her mission in Brazil.  She introduced us to Jose and Albertina.  Benildo introduced us to Vivaldo.  We have about 3 interpreters at a time.  Naldo, Jose, and Vanessa are not currently working with us.

In this picture, two of the three interpreters working with us now are shown with their dates.  I can't believe we forgot to take pictures before Albertina and her date left.  This was a very successful date night.  I prepared dinner for them (with much of Stan's help) and after dinner, we played games.  Margarita won.  She will be baptized this coming August.  She first took the book of Mormon from our house the second date night she attended. We are so pleased with her desire to listen to the spirit.

Benildo and Vivaldo will be attending the temple this week.  Going to the temple, here, is quite an ordeal.  It takes about 8 hours if you drive it by car.  None of these good men and women own a car.  It cost quite a pretty penny to ride the bus from here to Johannesburg, South Africa to our temple, plus a lot more hours than 8.  They will be there 2 days attending sessions before they return the same way.

We pray our interpreters will each take a righteous mate to the temple soon.  Such good people!!!

This is our one year anniversary in Mozambique.  One year ago, we left the Utah MTC at 6:00 am to ride to the plane.  We arrived July 25, 2015 at midnight in Maputo, Mozambique.  Lots of hours flying, and waiting at airports to get here.  We feel like our year has been very successful.

Impaputo before paint

Our first project was windows and paint at Impaputo Primary School.  Such good people!

Impaputo after paint

We feel like we have a relationship built there that allows us to drop in and see the director whenever we drive by.  It is good to see the maintenance plan in place whenever we drop in.






At one point we saw a window the students had broken.  Titos said the student and his family would be required to fix the window.

At another visit, we saw some desks that had been pulled out of the classrooms to be fixed.  The government wasn't able to replace them so the community of Impaputo was fixing them.

Mateque Primary School before

Inhagoia Desks make a difference

 Mateque was the next project. 

Mateque after

Inhagoia before desks

Inhagoia was a great desks project.  Both these schools have shown signs of maintenance application.  It is wonderful to see the communities involved in the plan.  Mateque finished securing their classrooms for the desks after the project was finished.  Inhagoia labeled the desks so they would stay in the right place and tied them together so they would not move.  Great plans in action.

Mateque book covering

Books received were covered to protect them.  Happy kids.
Happy kids with desks, books, lights, and secured buildings.

Desks at Mateque at last

NRT in Beira and in Swaziland

Swazi water

Beira Vision

Swazi Gone Rural

Five projects were assigned to us as Major projects.  We learned about water in Swaziland, Helping Babies Breath and about a place called "Gone Rural" there as well. 

Machava water and latrines

Ricatla

In Beira, we learned about a major vision project and another Helping Babies Breath.   We have had quite a year. I can't seem to get this posting to let me put the pictures where I want so sorry about the disorganization.

I feel the Lord's miracles around us daily.  I am so appreciative of this time to serve with my Great husband.  I know the Church is true and the Atonement is the greatest gift of all.  I love the feeling of closeness to my Heavenly Father as I search the scriptures and find answers to my prayers there. 

Here is to another great year!!!

Joaquim Chissano

Printer for Helping Babies Breath

Swaziland Projects progress

July 4, 2016

Todays visits!  Nompie came with us.  Nompie is the Water Adminstrator of Swaziland. We visited 3 wells. We traveled the whole length of Swaziland in this tour.

The 1^st well we stopped at was called Hlabangamehlo which covers 50 homesteads about 150 people.  We passed a group of people we thought were there for us.  They were registering for food with the drought.  

Government crew putting on the hand pump lever

At this well, we viewed the government workers putting in the pump and the wand to pump it with, it being a hand pump.  We witnessed water coming out of the well.  I was surprised we did not have community members there to celebrate the water coming out.  They were all at the food registration.    The foundation needs to be built yet.

Water at last

It was so exciting to be there when the water actually came out of the well.!! 

The 2^nd well was called Ncuthu Hand Pump.  This was very close to the 1^st well and one we had seen when we visited last time. 

Broken Mthoutela Hand pump

Too many joints Mthoutela

  I am glad they did the pump first so people can get water while the foundation is being finished.  Nompie suggested they let the drain off water go into a reservoir for the animals to drink from a little distance from the fence so there is no contamination.

These pictures show the before and after of the Mthoutela well.  There were just too many joints.  It had been fixed too many times to be fixed again.  The first picture of the refurbish shows the fence around it with a gate being installed.  It looks better.

 

This picture shows Nompie pumping the water at this well.  We are so excited and so are the people.

Nompie, Water Administrator for Swaziland

At this second well, we saw some of the community members here, some washing clothes and another to get water.  It is good to see the community there when we came.

Water committee

On our way to the third well, we saw the same well we had seen the last time we visited.  At that time, we had Sithole and Mthulie Florence Mamba in our car along with another colleague.  We mentioned this well and the concern that the gate was not closed.  It had a great fence and a lockable gate but it was left open and we could see footprints of animals all inside the fence.  Mthulie immediately called the Water Committee leader for this well.  The answer was that there are people getting water who are not a member of the water community area so they leave it open for them. HUMMMMM!  This time, we saw the same thing only donkeys were inside the fence and the gate was wide open.  The Water committee leader was called again.  She said there were youngsters that had gotten water and forgot to close the gate.  

 These are the kind of  concerns we hope to work out in the Community Trainings.  When we went back by, the youngsters had chased out the animals and closed the gate but I could see extensive animal tracks all over inside that fence.  CONTAMINATION!!!! Scare.

installing the gate

This third well was called Mthoutela.  This is the well that Nompie had mentioned in front of the WASH conference complimenting us for our help in meeting the Swaziland Water Goals for 2022 .  These people at Mthoutela were dancing because they finally had water.  When we got here, there was no more dancing.  The water pump had broken after only 10  days of working.   The same Government workers that were at the first well were here working on the foundation but there was no water flowing from the well.  The draw rods had come lose and it no longer could pump up the water.  Soooo sad.  The government workers did not have the right equipment to pull the top off and find the lose rod.  They said they would come back tomorrow.  

  

  I am glad for one thing.  The community of Mthoutela all support the well. 

 

We stopped at a couple of wells along the way that are not the wells we are providing materials for .  Nompie really cares about water for her country.  She was just checking and made notes on the needs she could see.

We appreciate the principles the Swaziland Government holds true. This is why they are a good partner.