Left Elder Okazaki's Trainer, Middle Elder Okazaki, Right Elder Brown. 3 generation picture!
MOTHER'S DAY PHONE CALL!!!!!!!!!
We talked to Brady Saturday night which was Sunday morning in Mozambique. It was SOOOOO good to hear his voice!! He's loving Mozambique and is getting along great with his companion. Elder Okazaki is a hard worker and has been great in helping Brady progress in the language and in learning to teach the discussions. They have been scheduling about 10 lessons a day, however some people drop out. The area he is in is wealthy (by Mozambique standards) and many of the people are too busy with their jobs, or uninterested. In other areas in the mission, the people are unemployed and have plently of time on their hands and are more willing to be taught. There are 4 area in the city he's in, two areas are friendly and open and the other two areas are Musulim and people are very prejudice and unfriendly and tell them to go home to their own country. He said he feels very safe even when walking the streets at night. The people regard them as "Holy Men", even those who aren't very friendly still respect them. He said the weather is perfect, they are just going into the winter months. He's only had 1 mosquito bite and isn't getting sunburnt. He is currently serving as the Elder's Quorum president in the Beira 1 branch (pronounced Beda). His companion is in the Branch presidency. The Mission president has one Elder in each branch presidency to see that things are done right. Brady also teaches the Sunday School class. The missionaries oversee the meetings to make sure things are done and taught correctly. They meet in the first chapel built by the Church in Mozambique, and is currently the only chapel the church has built in that country. It's a very nice church and has classrooms and a baptismal font. He will be having his first baptism on Saturday. They are baptizing a young woman who is 14 years old. She has a very strong testimony and has an Aunt who is a member of the church. He feels she will be a very strong member of the church. He feels good about his Portuguese, is studying daily and is getting better at understanding the mumbling, quiet Mozambicans. There are 6 Elders in his district that are in the Beira 1st branch. The mission consists of two zones, the Maputo zone and the Beira zone. Most missionaries serve 1 year in each zone. Transfer meeting is coming up this week (his first one) but doesn't expect that he or his companion will be moved. We will get an e-mail from Brady on Monday and will post it along with more pictures. He loves getting e-mails from home and he expects to get letters from the pouch service at the transfer meeting which he is really looking forward to. Thanks for keeping in contact with him. He mentioned how much he loves getting emails from his family and friends. He sounds great and happy and is excited about what he is doing. This is one Mother's Day I will always treasure!!!! HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ALL OF YOU!!!