Sunday, January 29, 2012

New missionary couple for Malawi

We are getting a missionary couple for Seminary and Institute.  They are presently serving in Zambia but will be transferred here in the next month or so.   The church is hiring a full time coordinator for Zambia.   The couple are Elder & Sister Shields from Calgary.   Isn't it amazing that all three couples serving in Malawi are from Alberta??!! 
 
After Church yesterday we took some of the leadership and drove out for the burial of Bro. Mpinganjira.  It was pretty much the same as Maria's burial.  Lots of people gathered in the yard and the casket was placed in the middle on a mat.  There were a few speeches and then they loaded the casket into the back of our truck and they all walked behind to the graveyard.  It was a pretty good distance.   A dedicatory prayer was given, the grave filled in by the villagers, and then some flower wreaths that the Sisters had made from greenery and flowers from trees, were place on the dirt.  The wife place one, the Village Chief, Blantyre 1st Branch representative, and then two brothers of the deceased.   Then there was a couple more speeches ---- one asking for donations so that they could buy new hoes and a shovel to dig graves as their's are about done for, and also the chief reprimanded the women for talking too much.  They are suppose to be silent, unless singing (or weeping) during the funeral process.  
 
As soon as everything was finished we returned to Blantyre with a truckload of people.   We had people coming for dinner so we had to get home.   We had our landlord, Lodzani  and Pres. & Sis. Chinyumba.  It went well and we had a good visit.
 
The Sister just called and one needs to go to the Dr. this morning.   Also reported that their kitchen tap started spraying in the night and the guards woke them up when they saw water coming out from under their door!!  They woke up and cleaned it out and of course got the water shut off.  It is frustrating because we have had a lot of trouble with that tape and the landlord isn't quick about fixing anything and then when he did finally buy a new tap, it was the cheapest possible and wasn't installed well.   I think we may just have to  go buy a good tap set and be done with it.  So frustrating! 
 
Must go get ready for the day.  Always something to deal with!!
 
Love, The Bullocks
 
 

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Funeral

The funeral for Bro. Mpinganjira was suppose to start at 2 p.m. but it took longer than expected to pick up the body and dress it etc.   It started about 4 p.m. instead.  They made the funeral service very quick with one speaker because they needed to get the body out to the village which was about 50 km. away.   We ended up driving the casket and family to the village as they have no other means on such short notice.    We got there and they put the casket into a living room and the singing started and oh yeah, the crying and wailing as well.   The Relief Society President handed me a cloth (can't remember the proper name) to wrap around my waist in case I needed to sit, she said.   The ladies all wear those here  - all the time.  We stayed for a little while and then brought the Branch President back with us.  We got home a bit after dark.   The Relief Society President and some ladies stayed there for the night.   I ask where they would sleep but she said they don't sleep.  They sing throughout the night. 
 
Tomorrow at 1 p.m. they will have the burial.  We may be going back -- it just all depends.     Our landlord, Lodzani, is coming to church again tomorrow, we think.  If he is there and stays the whole time we will stay with him, of course.     Also tomorrow evening he and his wife, and Pres. Chinyumba and his wife are coming to dinner here.   :)  
 
We also have another young man that called to say he will be at Church tomorrow too.  We met him this past week in Ncheu (2 hrs. away) when we were waiting to meet up with Elder and Sister Prete.  We talked to him and gave him a couple of pamphlets and Elder Bullock told him that he shouldn't drink beer anymore (he was a bit tipsy) and he would be more successful with his schooling.   He is from Blantyre and was there visiting his brother.   He goes to Poly-tech here.   Should be an interesting day.  
 
We had an appointment this afternoon to teach Miriam and her family (we met her at the Internet office).  We had to cancel due to the funeral.  she cancelled on us last week due to a funeral.  Hopefully the next appointment will work out.
 
We are settling in for the evening. 
 
Love to all,  Elder/Sister Bullock

Phone bill - continued....

Hi,
 
We picked up the printout of the phone calls made and there was one call made from Nov. 1 to Dec. 31.  It was made on Dec. 1st and cost about 350 kwacha ($2.50).  However, the phone was not even connected or working on that day so......    Besides they want to charge us 7000 kwacha for some reason.   Anyway -  we did write a letter and attached copies of the bills, printout, etc. and left it with 'someone' who will figure it out hopefully!!!  :)  
 
Today, Saturday, we have another funeral of a church member.  Bro. James Mpinganjira passed away last evening from tuberculosis.  We knew him well as he has done some carpentry work, etc. on some of the church buildings for us.   He is a good man and we will miss him.   His death was unexpected.   He got sick and they took him to the hospital where they did tests and determined after 3 or 4 days that he had tuberculosis and would be in the hospital for a couple of weeks.      Jim is with the District Presidency and Branch President visiting Sister Mpinganjira and helping arrange the service which will be at 2:00 p.m. today.   They have just now gone to the hospital to pick up the body.    We had a set of burial clothing so they will dress him.     After the funeral service at the Church he will be taken to his home Village (not too far from here) and the burial will be tomorrow.    I am not sure if we will be helping transport him to the Village or if the family has made arrangements.     The church helped pay for part of the cost of the casket.     
 
Another busy day!
 
Elder & Sister Bullock 

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Re: Frustrations!!!!

LOL. I LOVE YOUR RANT. (Sorry to laugh).

I love you.
Diane
On Jan 26, 2012, at 5:46 AM, Jim & Nancy Bullock wrote:

> Some days we would like to scream! How can they have such idiotic, crazy systems here?
>
> We went in to MTL (landline telephone company). They sent us a bill (printed from a computer or whatever) and the figures on the invoice don't even add up right. They are over charging us. She said "well, they must have left something off". I said but the numbers showing still have to add/subtract correctly for what is here. She looked on her computer and couldn't figure it out either. Then she does a printout to show we actually owe more than the invoice states because there were calls made in December (AFTER WE HAD MOVED AND THE PHONE WAS NOT EVEN CONNECTED THAT MONTH)!! They are printing off a record of the numbers called in December when we had no service! :) We are to go back in an hour or two because their system is kind of slow!!!!
>
> ALSO --- the phone hardly ever worked anyway and so consequently we hardly ever used it (use our cell phones instead). She looked at the printout and said that all the charges are just rental charges and there are no consumption charges -- I said that is because the phone never had a dial tone for weeks on end. I ask why we should pay for rental charges when we didn't even have service provided.
>
> Anyway -- she said we will have to write a letter! I ask why we could not just talk to the person. But, no, that is not possible. We have to write a letter with our grievances and I'm sure it is almost a guarantee that no one will ever sort it out for us. But we will write the letter........
>
> To be continued........ Grrr!!
>
>
>

Frustrations!!!!

Some days we would like to scream!  How can they have such idiotic, crazy systems here?
 
We went in to MTL (landline telephone company).  They sent us a bill (printed from a computer or whatever) and the figures on the invoice don't even add up right.  They are over charging us.   She said "well, they must have left something off".   I said but the numbers showing still have to add/subtract correctly for what is here.   She looked on her computer and couldn't figure it out either.   Then she does a printout to show we actually owe more than the invoice states because there were calls made in December (AFTER WE HAD MOVED AND THE PHONE WAS NOT EVEN CONNECTED THAT MONTH)!!     They are printing off a record of the numbers called in December when we had no service!  :)   We are to go back in an hour or two because their system is kind of slow!!!!
 
ALSO ---  the phone hardly ever worked anyway and so consequently we hardly ever used it (use our cell phones instead).    She looked at the printout and said that all the charges are just rental charges and there are no consumption charges --   I said that is because the phone never had a dial tone for weeks on end.    I ask why we should pay for rental charges when we didn't even have service provided.
 
Anyway -- she said we will have to write a letter!  I ask why we could not just talk to the person.  But, no, that is not possible.  We have to write a letter with our grievances and I'm sure it is almost a guarantee that no one will ever sort it out for us.      But we will write the letter........
 
To be continued........  Grrr!!
 
 
 

Monday, January 23, 2012

Rain

Well it looks like the rain is letting up finally.  They say it used to rain like this years ago but this is the worst in 15 years or more (according to our landlord).  
We hear that there are lots of houses that have collapsed - a few church members.  They were renting the houses so they are looking for different ones but the price is up because people are a bit desperate.    These are the little houses in the villages that are mostly built of home-made bricks etc.   This much rain just washes things away and they collapse.   Jim went with Pres. Chinyumba this morning to look at a couple of the members houses and there isn't much left.  One has a place to stay and one has found a new rental. 
 
It quit raining this morning but then we had a pretty good downpoor again a little while ago.  Now the clouds seem higher so maybe it is finished.
 
We have a bit of a leak in our house along a wall --  they checked the roof and decided what the cause is and I think they fixed it.  We will see.  They don't get too excited though because everything is made of brick and stucco and the walls where the leak is are all tiled (kitchen).   It will dry out just fine.
 
Our landlord told us today that he would see us at church again this Sunday and wanted to know when we could come and teach them.  :)   He liked the meetings that he went to last week and liked the fact that it wasn't just a Priest standing up in front preaching a sermon.    The other lady we met at the Internet shop  wants us to come and teach her family but she  had a funeral to attend so we have to reschedule. 
 
I better go make supper.  Love, Sis. Bullock/mom/Nancy
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Rain, rain and more rain!!!

It has now been raining for 3 days and 3 nights and still coming down steady.  It is raining hard right now.   It is rainy season but.....  
At least we have a dry place to stay.  I have been thinking about all the people who live in the villages and don't necessarily have water tight homes.  They must be cold and wet and this rain just doesn't want to let up.   We see lot of people out walking in it and they are drenched.    We are blessed to have a vehicle and a nice place to stay. 
 
This morning we went to Zingwangwa for church but it was so muddy and there was a a huge puddle near the stairway down to the Church.  There was a narrow pathway beside the puddle that sloped towards the puddle.   I refused to go any further as I did not want to wade through the water or slip on the mud.  Honestly you just really do not know what is in the water here considering what it runs through.  I won't elaborate!     I don't think Jim was too impressed with my decision but.....      We returned to the truck and went to a different Branch. 
 
It is raining hard still  and we hope the crops are getting what they need.   We just stayed inside this afternoon and kept dry.  
 
I don't think I told you about the rain storm they had in Lilongwe when we were there with Padovich's and Elder & Sister Cook.  It really poured and the streams filled up quickly.  There is a low area in the roadway to Prete's flat.  We got there and it was so full of water we did not dare try going through.  It had stopped raining and so we just sat and waited for about 30 or 40 minutes until the water went down a bit.  A girl walked by us and said, Ït's ok to drive through there now".  We did but barely made it.   By morning it was all gone but still a bit muddy.
 
Pretes took Elder & Sister Cook to Kauma Village to visit a few member's very humble homes.   The rain started but they thought they were fine - not so!   They got totally drenched and then on the way out of the Village the bridge over a small stream was covered by a raging river several feet deep and very wide.  They waited for an hour or so and then finally called the Branch President and he came and took them a different route to get out.    What an adventure they had!!   Elder Cook only had the one suit with him so I guess he dried it out the best he could and sponged it off for the Sunday meetings.    Even General Authorities have a sense of adventure!
 
We just got word that we will drive half way to Lilongwe on Wednesday to meet Prete's, who are bringing a Sister missionary from the airport there (flying in from Lusaka, Zambia).   The flight to Blantyre are just so unreliable between the two countries since Air Malawi is not flying right now.  We are guessing that their one plane is grounded (maybe just as well).    The Sister who is coming is Sister Seiben from Raymond, Alberta.   The two sister here are excited because they were all in the MTC together.  They will be a threesome for a few weeks. 
 
Well - I am going to curl up with a good book and keep warm.    It is about 22 degrees C. right now.  It feels ok to us but the Malawians are very cold.
 
Love to all and thanks for your prayers.  We love to get emails!!!  (hint!!)
 
Elder/Sister Bullock etc. 
 
 
 
 

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Jan. 19/12 -- Maria Namabande's funeral

It was an interesting day.  We arrived about 11:30 as the funeral was to begin at 12:00.  It didn't start until about 2:00 but there was lots of singing while we waited.  It was held at their house (Namabande's).  The furniture was moved out of the sitting room so people could sit on the floor.  There were also many people outside.  We figured there were possibly 300 there.   A vehicle arrived with the casket and some family.  The casket was put in the centre of the living room and people continued to sing.
When the grave diggers had finished their preparations at the graveyard then came back and a Red flat that was in the yard was taken down.  That meant that the funeral could start.  The casket was put out in the centre of the yard and people gathered around closer.  There was periodic crying/waling going on - mostly by the children.  It seems like it got turned on and off at the appropriate times.   
Branch members participated and gave the prayers, sang a couple of songs and a family member talked about Maria (we think -- it was in Chichawa).  Elder Bullock gave a talk with Bro. Chisambo, the Group leader, translating.   He talked a bit about Maria and then about the Plan of Salvation.  He hadn't talked too long when it started to rain.  :(    People were trying to find a bit of shelter and he did have to end his talk quickly with his testimony.   
Gabriel commented on the way home that people had liked his talk and that Bro. Chisambo did a really good job of translating it. 
The good thing about the whole day is that is was really good exposure for the Church.  I am sure that most people there had never heard of it before but I think they got a good impression and it may create some interest.  All in all it was a good day.   Petros, Maria's husband, didn't show a lot of emotion but seemed pretty somber.  The children were crying.  Young Maria had a hard time.  She was really close to her mother and was by her side through all the sick days and gave her constant care.    Maria stayed with me for most of the funeral (except when she needed to be with the family).  She is a sweetheart.  She will be in charge of the household now that her mom is gone.     Her dream is to put in papers to go on a mission and we will help her with that in a few months.  She will be a member a year in August.   We talked with Bro. Chisambo after and with Maria to check on their need for food.  They have none - especially with feeding some of the funeral people (they didn't feed a lot though and that is good --- sometimes they have to feed EVERYONE).   We left Maria with a little money so she could buy some food for the family.  We will check on them when we go back next week.   The Church did pay for half of the casket (about $100) and the extended family paid for the other half. 
 
Apparently this past week at church, the Village chief and his two counsellors attended.  Also an investigator who has been coming regularly brought his wife and 7 or 8 children.  The older boys speak English well.  We need to go visit them and start teaching them the missionary lessons.  There was also a member (Melch. priesthood holder) that has been to the temple, that has moved back to Liwonde.  We will find out  more about him.   Things are looking good there.  They are asking for more chairs for Church on Sundays.
 
Must run -- things to do.  I have Gladys coming to clean my house today.  I decided that I should take advantage of that luxury as it is so affordable here ($10/day).  I can't afford that luxury at home in Canada.  
 
Love to all,  Elder/Sister Bullock/mom and dad
 
 

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Maria

Hi,
 
Maria, in Liwonde, passed away today from her cancer.  She had some problems this week and we told them to just give her morphine so that she could be comfortable.  She has been in a lot of pain so she will be happier now.   The funeral will be tomorrow.  We are just waiting to hear what time.  They do it all pretty quick here because they do not embalm the bodies generally.   
 
Will report on the funeral later.
 
We have a new internet provider as of today and it seems to be working much better.  We will try skype tonight and think it should be good.  :)
 
Love,  Elder/Sister Bullock

Monday, January 16, 2012

Monday, Jan 16th

We attended the two Branches that meet at the Blantyre chapel yesterday. One meets at 8 and one at 10. We had invited the man that is the foreman here at our compound where we live and he said he'd come. He oversees the building etc. here. We almost had given up hope but he walked in with his wife and daughter after the talks had begun. They stayed through Sunday School. The Sacrament talks were good and the Sunday School investigator's class was really good and the teacher did an excellent job. This family is the kind that live behind the brick walls (for security) that the missionaries can never get to. We wish we could get inside those walls and reach those people as they have the leadership skills that are so needed. We will pray that he felt the spirit and will want to learn more. He knows Pres. Chimyumba, our District President, as they went to school together. We may have to arrange to have both couples over for supper one night.
Anyway -- it was funny to see him pull out his I-pad and bring up his Bible. We just don't see too many of those here - actually none, except Padovich's and Prete's. We just have to get him to want to add the B Of M etc. onto his I-pad. He is a good man. He is the one who has helped us get diesel from Mozambique.
It's been an okay day. We realized we haven't been checking the missionary flats for a while. We went in a couple last week and found that they were not very clean so we left a list of thing that needed to be done. We went back today and checked and they had done quite a bit but they still didn't earn a big chocolate chip cookie each that I had made. The Zone leaders and the Sisters got cookies though.
I actually sat down and fell asleep this afternoon. I haven't done that for a very long time. I was feeling a bit off - I guess I was tired as I felt better after.
It has been a bit rainy and cloudy lately. We hope the crops are getting the rain they need. It's going to be iffy! The rain cools things off a bit but we are sleeping with the air conditioner on and that really helps.
All is well. Love, Elder & Sister Bullock

Saturday, January 14, 2012

diesel update

We lucked out and got some diesel today.    We got 75 ltrs from our Mozambique connection and the Elders got 200 ltrs. at the pumps.  That's a good day for us!  We are suppose to get 125 ltrs more in the next day or two from Mozambique.   The Lord seems to keep us going with the diesel we need.  
 
 
 
 

Happenings in Malawi

It has been a while since I wrote.  I will probably not get things in the right order but....
 
We put 2 Sister missionaries and 1 Elder on a bus this morning to Lilongwe.  Two of them need to be out of Malawi by tomorrow since their TRP (immigration status) expires.  They tried to get flights for them but had no luck so this is Plan 'B'.   They will spend the night in Lilongwe and then Pretes will drive them to the Zambia border (about 1 1/2 hr. drive) in the morning and Pres. Padovich will be waiting on the other side for them and will take them to Lusaka (about a 7 hr. drive).    Sister Lourenco (from Angola) is finished her mission and goes home in a few days.  She is really a sweet girl and it was hard to say good-bye.  People here don't hardly ever get teary but she did.  She was a good missionary.    Sister Mhembere got transferred to Lusaka and Sister Sieben (from Raymond, Alberta) is coming here soon.   Elder Packer (Provo) goes home in March.  He is a REALLY nice young man and we will miss him.  He will spend his last transfer in Lusaka since his TRP is finished here.    It seems like they are cutting back on missionaries in our mission.  One reason is because they don't want so many that we get too many baptisms and overwelm the Branches with new members.  I'll bet you wish you had that problem at home!!
 
The Kauma Branch in Lilongwe that has had so many problems is settling down now that Elder & Sister Prete are there.  They have been doing a great work - visiting the members homes, lots of talking and helping them understand the order of things in the Church.   The ones who were leading the dissenting group has seen the error of their ways and have apologized and are trying to help the others that followed them to also understand.   We went up there last week with Padovich's and Elder & Sister Carl B. Cook (of the 1st quorum of seventy) and held a conference in each Branch.  Kauma Branch had almost 100 in attendance (a few weeks ago we were lucky to get 35).   The other Branch had 114 there.  We bought extra chairs on Saturday in preparation.   
 
When we were still in Malawi the Lilongwe Branch was been split and they had a 'group' meeting in Ntandire.  The Group and the Branch were struggling and had a low attendance.  That is when we rented the new meeting house (a nice big house) in an area that was more condusive to where the members live.   The Group was put back with the Branch because we felt like they could then run some proper programs (primary, YW/YM, etc.)   It has turned out well and everyone is so happy to have a bigger Branch attendance.   I invited the landlady, Sera, of the meeting house to come last week and she did.  I talked to her afterwards and she really felt something and said she had tears running down her face.  I explained to her that she was feeling the spirit and that the missionaries would love to teach her more about it.   I think she will.   She is so pleased to have a 'church' meeting in her house. 
 
When Padovich's and Cooks were to fly here last week - they found out the night before that the flight with Air Malawi had been cancelled (not a big surprise).   They jumped in the car the next morning and drove over here (14 hrs. to blantyre).  They arrived after dark but safe and sound.   We had some good meetings with the missionaries and also some District training and then the conferences in Lilongwe.   We really enjoyed Elder Cook.  He is certainly open to the spirit in all his trainings.  We learned a lot and got inspired to do better.  He and Sis. Cook flew back to Johannesburg from Lilongwe.   We stayed with the Prete's while in Lilongwe and enjoyed their company and also a few games of Rook one night. 
 
On our way driving to Lilongwe with Padovich's and Cook's on Friday - we stopped in Liwonde and had arranged to meet with the "group" there.  We had about 40 or so there and met in Bro. Chisambo's house.  It is the first time they have had a General Authority there and they were thrilled.  Elder Cook had several of them introduce themselves and tell their 'story'.   Several (mostly women) cannot speak English and so we had someone translate for them.  It was a great meeting.   Some of these people are the first members ever in Malawi and it has been a struggle for them out there.  The Branch was shut down a few years ago because of irregularities.  Because a man who was a Branch President in Blantyre moved out there in February they are allowed to meet as a Group.  Most of the members walk in from Sitima Village (about 6 miles) to attend church each week.    The Branch used to be in Sitima Village before but when it rains they get cut off by a river and no one could get to them.  We will see how that affects the attendance during heavy rains. 
 
It has started to rain more here but the rains are late.   The maize crops are slow to get started and there is concern.  If they don't get a decent crop things will not be good here.   People depend on their yearly maize crop to survive throughout the year.  The Liwonde area is suffering more than some other areas for lack of rain.  It gets hotter there than in Blantrye.  
 
We have a young man,  Aaron Benjamin, who is getting his mission papers ready to send in.  He will be the 2nd to ever go from Sitima Village (the 1st is not there now and is inactive).  Aaron's family are members and went to church there before the Branch was shut down.   I have been helping him get everything done for the paperwork.  The church has paid for his passport, etc.    We gave him a ride to Lilongwe so that he could get his Police clearance paperwork done.   He stayed with his relatives but  while he was there we picked him up and he was able to attend the Missionary Zone conference and also both conferences on Sunday and also the training session that was done with the Priesthood.  He was soooo thrilled to be able to listen to a General Authority for the whole weekend.   He got his police clearance done on Monday and we arranged for him to get his Yellow Fever shot.  I think now we just have to wait for his Passport to come back, have a couple of interviews and we can submit his papers.  He can hardly wait.    He expressed his appreciation for all we are doing to help him.   We also have two young men (members just a year or so) that almost have their papers ready too.   One has done most of it on his own (with the Elders help) and I have been helping the other one.    We introduced Aaron to them and they seemed to enjoy getting to know each other.   They could possibly go on missions about the same time. 
 
When we were in Liwonde the week before -- we took some white shirts and ties with us.  Most of the men do not have a white shirt or could they ever afford to buy one.   We invited them to the truck and handed them out before the meeting.  They meet in a classroom of a school.  They all disappeared behind another block to put on the shirts and didn't come back.  I sent Elder Bullock to check on them -- I told him that they were probably having trouble getting the ties tied and sure enough they were.  Elder Bullock helped them out and they came into Church looking really 'smart' (as they say it here).  We didn't have enough so will take a few more next time and I will get a picture.    It was great!
 
Yesterday we bought podiums with a sound system (speaker) built into them for 4 of our Branches (two here and the two in Lilongwe).  They will be happy to have those but they must be locked up after they use them so they don't get broken or stolen.   We hope they will take good care of them.    Jim was out all morning with Gabriel and the District President, President Chinyumba getting the two set up in the Branches here.  One wall plug didn't work so they had to go get parts to fix that too.  
 
I can't possibly write a letter without mentioning diesel!!     It is still a huge problem.  When Padovich's drove here from Zambia we had to use some of our jerry cans to fill their vehicle and also ours to get where we all needed to go.   We haven't been able to get any since.    Today, however, the fellow who owns the place we rent, has sent someone to Mozambique for diesel and they will be back with it tomorrow.  The price has gone up from 420/ltr to 500/ltr but that is still cheaper than the  regular black market where it sells for about 600 kwacha.  We will get a 200 ltr drum this time so that will help us a lot.   The Zone leaders are sitting in a diesel queue today but nothing has come yet and we don't know if they will fill up jerry cans for them or not (if they are lucky enough to even get any).   The Pretes have sat in queues 3 days this past week and got nothing in Lilongwe.  
 
The U.S. dollar is exchanging on the black market now for at least 250 kwacha for $1.00  and we have heard that it could be even as high as 300.   The gov't has set the bank rate at 167kwacha to $1 so of course, no one wants to exchange the money legally at the bank.   We are so glad we brought the U.S. cash with us that we did because if we were getting our money through a Visa card we would only get the bank rate.    One thing that is really going to help us and other couples is  that as of January 1st we can pay our rent amount for our mission to our home ward 'general mission fund'.   What a blessing that is!!  Not only does it save the hassle of using our money up fast here and exchanging it -- it also gives us a bit of a charitable donation tax deduction. 
 
I just finished up balancing the financial ledgers again.  I have my bank reconciliation, my petty cash, two Zone leaders working fund and now a petty cash for Pretes.   Any day now Prete's should have their own church bank account set up in Lilongwe -- we are just waiting for the finance person in Johanesburg to get things all set up.     We are still waiting for the new vehicles that we are getting in Malawi --  it takes time ..... a long time it seems.   Pretes are using the Zone leaders truck in Lilongwe and I think the Zone leaders will be very happy when they get it back.   We do worry somewhat about how we will manage with diesel when we have more vehicles though.  We will just have to conserve however we can.
 
It seems like they are trying to get a couple of the other flats finished here in our compound so perhaps we will have neighbors in a couple of weeks.  We do feel safe here and have had no problems so far.  
 
All is well.  The Church is true and we are lucky to have a living prophet to lead and guide us.  We know he will never lead us astray.   We are trying to do more reading and studying now that our lives have slowed down a little.    Elder Cook inspired us to do better in that department. 
 
Love,  Elder & Sister Bullock/mom & dad/Jim and Nancy
 
 
 
 

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

January 4th

We are preparing for Zone conference tomorrow.  Pres. & Sis. Padovich and Elder & Sis. Cook (from the Area Presidency) are coming.  They were to fly into Blantyre late this afternoon, however they called and Malawi Air has cancelled their flight.  I guess this shouldn't be a big surprise as we have had some frustrations with them in the past - to the extent that the Church was trying to avoid using them at all.    So now our visitors have decided to just drive here (about a 12 hour drive).  They should arrive about 6 or 7 p.m.   Tomorrow is our Zone conference and then a meeting with the District leaders.  Friday morning we all drive to Lilongwe - stopping in Liwonde to meet with the Group there briefly.   There will be zone conference in Lilongwe on Saturday and then on Sunday there will be Branch conferences in each branch.  
 
Mostly this trip was planned to try and solve the problems in Kauma Branch where there has been so much dissention among the members but since Pretes have been up there and devoting so much time to visiting members and letting everyone talk things out there is much improvement.  Sunday they had more than 80 to church and people were apologizing to each other.  We need to buy more chairs!!!!    It is wonderful!!   It just goes to show how valuable a full time couple is. 
 
Our older computer that we do our personal stuff on has died!  We will put it aside and take it home with us and hope we can retrieve what is on it.  :(    
 
Today I am finishing off the year end ledgers and getting them sent in to Clive in South Africa.   I decided to have someone come and help clean the house a bit ---  windows, floors etc.  Things get dirty fast here -- I will never complain again about the little bit of dust we get in our house in Canada.  It is nothing compared to here. 
 
We have a new (new to us) flat - actually a house, that we rented for missionaries.  We were to take possession on the 1st but it needs cleaning and they say that they will do it - so we are waiting.  The Zone leaders will move into it.  We are excited about it because of the great storage it gives us with 2 garages -- plus it is really quite a nice house, not too big.    
 
Better go get dressed and on with my day.  It will be a busy weekend.
 
Love,  Nancy
 
 

Re: Hi!

Hi Julia,
 
All the missionary apartments, including ours, have guards, night and day.  One thing the guards do is open the big gate to let us in and out.  The houses are surrounded by tall (8 - 10 foot) walls made from bricks and there is usually razor wire (wire with very sharp razor type blades on it) and some with electric wires.  Often we see walls with shards of broken glass cemented in so that if someone tries to climb over they will get cut.   There are many thieves here who would break into houses whenever they can.   We do all we can to make sure the missionaries are safe.   There are also metal bars on all windows and often metal gates at the doors.  Sometimes it feels like we are locking ourselves into a prison but it is for our own safety.    The place we live in now is in a safer neighborhood than our last place and we have not had any problems so far.   Heavenly Father looks out for His missionaries but we also have to do all we can to protect ourselves too.
 
The rain does not seem to wreck the crops.  They make furrows and plant the seeds at the top and so the rain seems to drain into the ditches between the rows and not wash away the seeds.  All this is done by hand with big hoes   Right now, during the rainy season, everyone plants maize.  Maize is a field corn that they leave on the cobs until it is hard and dry.  They pick it off the cobs and dry it some more and then they pound it or take it to a grinding mill to be ground into flour.  Then they put it on a tarp out in the sun and dry it some more.  They cook it like a thick porridge and that is what they eat every single day.  They eat it with their hands - roll it into a bite size ball and dip it into a 'relish' made from vegetables (tomatoes, spinach, onions, or whatever they have).   There is not very much nutrition in it though but it fills up their stomachs.  Some people here only eat one meal a day and recently we heard of some people who only had enough food to eat a meal every other day.  The people here are generally small and thin.  There are a few that are a bit over-weight but not too many.    There are posters up that encourage good nutrition for children so that their growth will not be 'stunted'.    Right now everywhere there is an empty space someone has used it to plant maize.  It is growing everywhere.  They need enough to get them through the year.  They can plant their vegetable gardens anytime throughout the year because they are generally smaller gardens and they can water the plants from the rivers or from a well.
 
The Church group that meets in Liwonde had 47 at church on Sunday.   We hope to be able to make the Group into a Branch sometime soon.  We need a few more Melchezidec Priesthood holders.  One day I will tell you the story behind the Group in this area.  They used to be a Branch but there were problems and it was shut down a few years ago.  We are happy that they can meet as a Group now.   There are more men than women because more men know English.  The women in Malawi have not been educated and so most do not know English.  It makes it very hard to teach them the gospel.  We are going to have some English classes and try to help them learn.  We do not have any church books in their language.  In church the men like to sit on one side and the women on the other side.  We are encouraging them to sit together as husband and wife (if the wife is there).    More of the little girls are able to go to school now but parents who don't have much money will not send the girls but only the boys.   The language that is spoken here is Chichewa.   We don't know many words but we do say: Zikomo.  That means Thank you. 
 
The Group meets in a school classroom so we had a sign made to put by the gate of the school that says:  The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints  ---- visitors welcome.   :)   People like to learn about Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ here and they like it if we give them something to read like the missionary pamphlets.  They always ask us for Bibles but we don't give those away.  We can sell them to the members only because the Church subsidizes the price a lot.  A Bible costs about 50 cents  for them because that is all they can afford.  Even that is hard for some.  The Church wants the members to be able to have scriptures.  They can buy a set of economy scriptures for 200 Kwacha (about a dollar).    We have to be very careful because people will want to buy a Bible but then they will go sell it on the street for more.  We even have to keep track that members are not buying more than they need because they might sell it too.   People like our Bibles because it is the King James version and because it has the Bible dictionary etc. in it. 
 
I better get back to work.  I have lots to do.  
 
Love you,  Grandma
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


 
On Mon, Jan 2, 2012 at 9:13 PM, Brad & Nicole Bullock <bnbullock@shaw.ca> wrote:

Hi Grandma and Grandpa,

Why do you need to arrange to have guards at the apartment? Doesn't wreck the crops when it rains hard? When are you coming back from your mission? How many people are in your group? When they say they look "smart" they are saying that they look good and when we say we look "sick" we are saying we look coolJ Perhaps we can start saying that we look smartJ What is the sign say that you put out on Sunday's? What language do people speak if they don't speak English? Do they speak French? I better get cleaning my room!!

I love you,

JuliaJ

 

From: Jim & Nancy Bullock [mailto:noflattires@gmail.com]
Sent: January-02-12 6:05 AM
To: Brad & Nicole Bullock
Subject: Re: Hi!

 

Dear Julia,

 

Thanks for your emails.  I will answer your questions.

 

Missionaries have to follow the mission rules!  We didn't want them going home at midnight when there might be people out drinking and celebrating and they might get hurt or something.   We have some good missionaries here who always try to obey the rules. 

 

We are busy getting a new apartment ready for some missionaries to move into.  We have to arrange to have guards there for them and buy pots and pans, dishes, beds, and a lot of other things.  It is a lot of work.  The Zone leaders will move in there and then the sister missionaries will move into their place.  Always things to do.

 

It is kind of rainy today but that is good.  They need rain here.  It is rainy season but the rains are late in coming.  The crops (corn maize) needs it.   Sometimes it rains very hard but it doesn't last too long. 

 

We are meeting some good people here and they need help to know how to run the church.  Most of them have only been members for a short time.  The church has only been in Malawi for less than 20 years and some areas it has been much less than that.  There are some good people getting baptized but they have to learn many things and that is what we are here to help with.   The people here are the pioneers of the Church in Malawi.

 

I am helping a young many from Stima Village get his mission application ready to send in.  He will be the 2nd missionary to go from that Village.  The Church helps pay for his passport and police clearance and will also need to pay for him to get some missionary clothes because they don't have any money for those kinds of things.  After he serves a mission though he will be able to go back to the Village and really help the Church to grow there and he will know a lot about how to run the programs of the Church.   We will give him some white shirts and ties that were sent to us from your Stake.

 

We took some of the shirts and ties to them in that Group (they aren't big enough to be a Branch or a Ward yet).  Most of the men there do not have white shirts and especially not ties.  They were so pleased and they all looked so good.  When someone looks nice here they say that they look "smart".    We didn't take enough with us though and will take some more next time.  That Group is in Liwonde (pronounced: Le won day) and they are 2 hours drive away from where we stay in Blantyre.   We need to take a picture of them next time too to send home.    The Group in Liwonde meet in a school room - but it is not like your nice school rooms.  It is a brick building with two rooms per building and no windows - just a bunch of round holes in the wall for air circulation.  The walls are very dirty and there is a cement floor.    It might not be very nice but we can feel the Spirit there.

We have two men who have been attending are want us to come and teach them the missionary lessons so that they can be baptized.  We want to teach their families too but they don't speak English very good.  We will get someone to translate for us.   They were just walking by and saw the sign we put out on Sundays and came to learn more. 

 

I must get back to my office work.

 

Love you,  Grandma

 

 

 

 

 



 

On Sat, Dec 31, 2011 at 5:02 PM, Brad & Nicole Bullock <bnbullock@shaw.ca> wrote:

Hi Grandma and Grandpa,

Thanks for the birthday e-mails!! I really enjoyed reading them!! What are you doing in Malawi? I don't know what I am going to do today but tonight we have some friends coming over to celebrate my birthday and New Year's EveJ I can't wait for you to come home! Why are the missionaries not allowed to stay up till mid-night?

Love you too!!!

TTYL (Talk To You Later)

Love,

   JuliaJ

 


Monday, January 2, 2012

Re: Hi!

Dear Julia,
 
Thanks for your emails.  I will answer your questions.
 
Missionaries have to follow the mission rules!  We didn't want them going home at midnight when there might be people out drinking and celebrating and they might get hurt or something.   We have some good missionaries here who always try to obey the rules. 
 
We are busy getting a new apartment ready for some missionaries to move into.  We have to arrange to have guards there for them and buy pots and pans, dishes, beds, and a lot of other things.  It is a lot of work.  The Zone leaders will move in there and then the sister missionaries will move into their place.  Always things to do.
 
It is kind of rainy today but that is good.  They need rain here.  It is rainy season but the rains are late in coming.  The crops (corn maize) needs it.   Sometimes it rains very hard but it doesn't last too long. 
 
We are meeting some good people here and they need help to know how to run the church.  Most of them have only been members for a short time.  The church has only been in Malawi for less than 20 years and some areas it has been much less than that.  There are some good people getting baptized but they have to learn many things and that is what we are here to help with.   The people here are the pioneers of the Church in Malawi.
 
I am helping a young many from  Stima Village get his mission application ready to send in.  He will be the 2nd missionary to go from that Village.  The Church helps pay for his passport and police clearance and will also need to pay for him to get some missionary clothes because they don't have any money for those kinds of things.  After he serves a mission though he will be able to go back to the Village and really help the Church to grow there and he will know a lot about how to run the programs of the Church.   We will give him some white shirts and ties that were sent to us from your Stake.
 
We took some of the shirts and ties to them in that Group (they aren't big enough to be a Branch or a Ward yet).  Most of the men there do not have white shirts and especially not ties.  They were so pleased and they all looked so good.  When someone looks nice here they say that they look "smart".    We didn't take enough with us though and will take some more next time.  That Group is in Liwonde (pronounced: Le won day) and they are 2 hours drive away from where we stay in Blantyre.   We need to take a picture of them next time too to send home.    The Group in Liwonde meet in a school room - but it is not like your nice school rooms.  It is a brick building with two rooms per building and no windows - just a bunch of round holes in the wall for air circulation.  The walls are very dirty and there is a cement floor.    It might not be very nice but we can feel the Spirit there.
We have two men who have been attending are want us to come and teach them the missionary lessons so that they can be baptized.  We want to teach their families too but they don't speak English very good.  We will get someone to translate for us.   They were just walking by and saw the sign we put out on Sundays and came to learn more. 
 
I must get back to my office work.
 
Love you,  Grandma
 
 
 
 
 


 
On Sat, Dec 31, 2011 at 5:02 PM, Brad & Nicole Bullock <bnbullock@shaw.ca> wrote:

Hi Grandma and Grandpa,

Thanks for the birthday e-mails!! I really enjoyed reading them!! What are you doing in Malawi? I don't know what I am going to do today but tonight we have some friends coming over to celebrate my birthday and New Year's EveJ I can't wait for you to come home! Why are the missionaries not allowed to stay up till mid-night?

Love you too!!!

TTYL (Talk To You Later)

Love,

   JuliaJ