Madagascar

Dear Family and Friends. We just arived home after a 2 week trip that was absolutely wonderfu. I am tried and we leave tomorrow for New York to see Todd's play (we can't wait) and then off to conference in SL. Iwanted to share sn expereince or two while it is fresh in my heart. By the time I get back to Joburg the moment maybe will have passed. We have been to La Reunion, Mauritius and Madagascar and we traveled with President and Sister Harmon of that mission. We had a wonderful time with them. One of the sweetest moments happened in Madagascar. They picked us up at the airport and took us immediately to a little country pre-school way out in a remore village. The last 20 minutes of the ride was in a very hilly area on red dirt through the ditches and fields. This little school house had one room. The roof had been blown off in a typhoon so a missionary couple took this on as one of their projects. They got the church to fund help there. They shored up and put on a new roof....changed the red dirt floor to cement ...put in crude benches for the little ones and painted and cleaned and put in a door and window. We were going to the school so the people could thiank the church through us for the school. We we arrived to this humble tiny one room schoo the children and their families were all sitting on the benches waiting for us. On the walls written live pieces of fern was "Thank You". The were tattered and torn but clean. About halfof the people had shoes but allhad a smile. The children sang to us. I taught them "open Shut them, and we shook every hand and wept as we felt such tremendous gratitude from these people. After Bill and I said a few words, then the builder said a few things with a hammer in his hand, and then the oldest "little old man" in the village came to the front in his rolled up pants and bare feet and thanks us on behalf of the entire village. They clapped for us, then we for them. Bill and I then passed out book bags to each child as their name was called. These bags were made by some wonderful RS. Their eyes were big, and they were so excited, but oh so reverent and polite. The cost to the church was $3,000. What a beautiful gift. The missionary couple that found this project, started and saw it to fruition were so very touched too. Their hearts were full and their tears very evident through the whole time. What a way to spend 18 months after retirement. Everyone who serves that way doesn't always have such a defined success. Of course none of these children or families are members of the church. There was a measles project going on by another couple. They saw to it that hundres of children were given the vaccine. They were all saving so mnay lives....the couple had made up songs about the measles innoculation day and the members took flyers into the neighborhoods and hundreds were done in 3 days. The death rate from that disease has been tremendous......thousands and thousands of children have been dying. Another remarkable expereince. WE had many more things happen. We feel so blessed to be able to do this. ...more than words can express. We love you all....More when I'm not so tired. Love Grandma and Shanna We will send pictures of this when we get back from SL.....too much tonight. Hope you have a visual, though