Time is passing so quickly

 

Time is passing so quickly, so much has happened in the last few weeks that I haven't had time to write about all the fun things we did in May.

 

We had a fun Mother's Day celebration at Orange Farm.

Elder and Sister Taylor, who serve in the Temple, ride to church with us each week.

The Taylor's have been assigned to work with the Young Single Adults (YSA'S). Sister Taylor had asked the YSA's if they would like to do something special for the women in our branch for Mother's Day. They voted to make Mother's Day cards for all the Sisters in our branch. Sister Taylor also made beautiful sugar cookies. I didn't know she was making sugar cookies, so I made chocolate chip cookies. After Sacrament meeting the Young Single Adults handed out the handmade cards and the cookies to all the mothers in the branch.

It was so fun to see their smiling faces as they received their mother's day gifts.

 

 

Right after church we walked over to the branch presidents house to see Owen, who had just turned 8 be baptized. It was a wonderful day.

 

I love Orange Farm branch. It feels like one big happy family.

 

Bruce and I accompanied the Helping Babies Breathe Team to Lesotho for a training the following week. (I will write about that in another post).

 

A few weeks later we, along with the Taylor's planned a Movie Day at Orange Farm. While we were returning from Lesotho Sister Taylor popped popcorn and bought frozen treats. 

Saturday morning the four of us headed to Orange Farm.

We arrived a little early so I suggested we go to the home of President Nyama (our Branch President) to get the key to the building. When we turned onto his street I could see that there were about 10 children playing in the street. There were 4 or 5 children who I recognized playing hopscotch in front of President Nyama's house. Hopscotch just happened to be one of my favorite pastime as a child. 

 I quickly went inside to get the key and found President Nyama, our branch President, in the kitchen with the Young Men's President. I didn't stick around long enough to see what they were doing. I wanted to get the key to Bruce and join my little friends outside as quickly as possible. I nearly tripped over baby Musa,  exploring the living room floor, President Nyama's son, Pardon was nearby keeping a close watch on Musa. I ran past, offered a quick hello to Pardon and Musa and instructed Bruce and the Taylor's to go on to the Chapel without me. I told them I would join them later.

 

Pardon and Musa

 I had a hopscotch game to join.

 I wish I would have taken a photo of my little friends in the middle of the street jumping in and out of the hopscotch squares, stopping to pick up a squished tin can while balancing on one foot,  just as I had done so many years ago.

There was something about that moment that I wanted to hold in my heart forever. I wanted to capture the snapshot of my little friends and their life in Orange Farm.

 As I looked down the street I could see a woman walking towards us. Providence explained that was her mother coming back from visiting her Auntie. There was a small group of boys wrestling on the lawn of one of the homes, and two women standing in front of a small home talking. I found myself wishing that time would stand still. I wished I had all afternoon to stay with my little friends and play hopscotch and then sit and sip a cold drink as we sat in the warm African sun.

 

I remembered a few months back that Sister Ellen had asked me to come visit her, so I decided I would ask the children to take me to her home so I could stop and say hello. We walked past two or three houses to Sister Ellen's back door and boy do I think she was surprised to hear my voice as we all walked into her kitchen and I called out " Sister Ellen". She came out of her bedroom with a very confused look on her face and gave me a great big hug. We told Sister Ellen that we were showing a movie at the branch and it would be starting soon. She thanked us for reminding her and said she would join us there. As we hurried down the street toward the branch building, I began to feel like the Pied Piper as more and more children came out of their homes to join us. We were greeted by the younger missionaries who told us that the children were so excited and that they had been asking all week what time the movie would start. 

The children quickly entered the building and found their seats in the little portable building sitting on the Orange Farm Primary School grounds, that had become our makeshift movie theater.




(This was not taken on the day we showed the movie, but it is a good photo of our chapel)

The windows were covered with blankets, and sheets were laid out of the floor for those who wanted to sit up close. Within 10 minutes there were probably 25 children sitting on the floor. Bruce and the Taylor's passed out small bags of popcorn, and we all settled in to watch FROZEN.

 

It didn't take long for the children to quiet down.

Within a few minutes they were laughing and giggling and singing along.

 

 I was sitting in the front of the room and was surprised to look back and see that the whole chapel filled with not only children but adults too. President Nyama later told me after the movie that we had over 100 people there.

 

It was such a fun day. A day I know I will always remember. 

This will be one of those days that will be forever imprinted on my heart.

 

I will always remember

 

the sights, and  sounds

 

of those few moments in Orange Farm

with my little friends, playing hopscotch, and holding my hands as we walked down the street to visit Sister Ellen.