my companion and i are living it up in our area. we are working hard hard hard and laughing lots lots lots. transfers came and it turns out the clendon/blum train is still on the go for another six weeks. good because we would have both felt cheated if we only got one transfer to live it up in Broadhurst Botswana!
we had a lesson in relief society yesterday about taking a stand wherever you are. it was mentioned a lot that we need to pick a spot (on the righteous side of the fence) and stand with all your might. the subject of funerals came up (naturally, due to the fact that one of ward members passed away last sunday. he was 20 years old and was filling out his papers. he died of complications from a head cold... i think it may have been time for him to go. good to know that he will be serving wherever he is.) anyway, the botswana funeral culture is sort of crazy, the funerals last a whole week, the family who is hosting the funeral feed all of the guests, and everything (there are always way too many guests, free food, why not?!). the brethren came out and said that the funeral practices need to be changed and they gave the layout of how a funeral should be hosted according to God's standards. so what did the faithful botswana saints do? they still had a funeral that lasted a week but it was COMPLETELY different from the normal traditions. it was only 1 hour each day, like a prayer service presided over by the bishop and his counselors, we sang church hymns and the refreshments were reduced to rooibos tea, and small sandwiches.
this place follows traditions to the t. and when the funeral was not held to the expectations of the normal botswana population, there were some pretty harsh feelings. what was amazing was that the members were taking a stand. they faced every opposition with faith and courage. the family of the deceased was the most remarkable. despite bitter words and hurt feelings of their non-member family members, they stood their ground and told them that God doesn't approve of the current funeral practices, and they would not be held responsible for disobeying God. because he was their son, they would do the funeral the way the son would have wanted, which is God's way. they pretty much called their whole family to repentance. that is just one example of the amazing faith that these people have.
speaking of traditions, here are a couple.
-if you lick a knife, your teeth will grow crooked.
-if you eat from a sauce pan, you will have a deep voice
-before you get married, the husband to be must make a wooden bowl and a wooden spoon, then he must go a river, collect the water from the river (with the bowl) then he must feed the water to his future mother in law with the spoon.
just some interesting facts for you.
be sure to enjoy the rest of the week.
much love,
sister blum
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