Visiting Teaching

Sista Tucker and I arranged with our visiting teaching companions, Elsie and Daisy, two older sisters in our ward, to go visiting teaching, Thursday morning.  Sista Tucker ended up not being able to go because of a meeting she had to attend that morning.  We decided to make arrangements to go the next week instead.  Almost everyone has a cell phone here, the problem is  soooo often a cell phone company will run a special that gives them a better deal, the people drop the provider they have, their number changes, and well, you know the rest of the story.  We tried to reach Elsie, and the RS President, know such luck.  So, Thursday morning, Greg, bless his heart, took us visiting teaching.  He keeps telling me I need to drive, but I don't want to drive the treacherous terrain around here!   I'm not kidding about the rugged roads in some of these areas where people live.  Some of the chuck holes  in the these roads are a foot deep.  You need a four wheel drive to manuver those craters that's for sure!  We picked Elsie up at our designated place, Daisy wasn't able to come.  Elsie is a real character.  She is a bold, hearty, woman who takes no sas, but she also loves Papa God, and the Book of Mormon.  One Sunday morning, before sacrament meeting started, she passed a guy bent over talking to someone.  She then slapped him on the behind and said, "gud moning."  I could hardly contain myself.  I had to try hard to keep from laughing my head off.   I'll attach a picture of Elsie.  Anyway, back to visiting teaching.  We did some hill climbing to get to our visits.  Greg just parked the truck and waited while we did our visiting.  It was so amazing to trek down these narrow paths, see where people live, and the conditions they live in.  Life seems so hard, yet they are so happy.  As you pass by each camp, you see the children playing and having a good time, and then a mama will call out, "gud moning." They are such kind people.   I love to take pictures of the people, and they love to have their picture taken.  I always ask them if they want to see the picture I took.  They always do!

Saturday morning we helped with a project called the "chicken initiative."  Elder and Sister Sackley are the Humanitarian couple.  Among other things, they are helping people learn how to build portable chicken coops and raise chickens. The church is actually helping a non profit organization with the project.   The coop is designed so that it can be easily moved.  The idea is to not have to use chicken feed, but use what grows on the ground.  The floor of the coop is the ground, so when the chickens have eaten what is available where they're at, the coops can be moved to another area of the yard.  The chickens are helping out by creating the fertilizer for the spots they will be moved back and forth to.     Those of us that could help, met at the Black Sands ward, and loaded up our vehicles with those that were interested in building a coop.  There was about twenty five people that showed up.  We then traveled to a chicken farm way up in the hills.  When we got there, they gathered the people together and instructed them on the care of the chickens and how the coop should be built.  The church purchased some of the wood to be used and had it delivered to the site.  While the people were getting instruction, we cut the wood up.  The people were given the wood pieces for the base, plus the chicken wire.  They are responsible to gather the rest of the wood to finish it up.   In two weeks, someone will check to see if the coop is finished, and if it is, they will be given five chicks.    Right now, the people just let their chickens run loose.  The chickens lay their eggs where ever, and either the rats get them, or they don't find alot of them.  This could be a real blessing to them.

On Sunday, while we were waiting for Relief Society to start, this little pikinini walked by me. He stopped and just stared at me (I'll attach a picture of the look).  Then, as I often do, I aimed my phone to take a picture.  All of the sudden, he started to SCREAM, and I mean scream.  One of the mama's scooped him up and tried to console him.  That happens alot with tiny toddlers.  They don't see too many white faces, and we scare them to death!  I wanted to pick him up and give him a love, but I don't think that would have been such a good idea. 

We see that Fall is on its way there at home.  I've had some beautiful picture sent to me, and it looks so beautiful.  Summer is on its way here, and it's starting to get warmer every day.  I'll close for now, we love and miss you all.  

Love Elda and Sista Robison XOXO