Botswana Fruits

We are getting busier all the time and love it. We have been busy getting Seminary and Institute students registered in the computer. It would help if we could tell a first name from a last name and which names are female and which are male. It would be even better if we knew proper spelling. Names here are a BIG challenge for everyone, particularly non-natives.
We substitute taught an Institute of Religion class this week and had a great time. Janet made chocolate chip cookies for part of her lesson which was a hit. The teacher went home to his village for a long weekend and the bus he was returning on was stopped by the police. He said the trip home was going to take a VERY long time. We taught a keyboard lesson Tuesday and a group lesson tonight to three students. We start teaching a Preparing for Eternal Marriage weekly Institute class tomorrow night. We should enjoy doing that too. As of today we have been given responsibility for the Perpetual Education Fund for all of Botswana. We have been helping but now get to do everything. We wish that we had been trained while we were in Provo.

Marula Fruit on the Ground

Lately while we have walked, we have found trees with lots of yellowish to green fruit on the ground underneath them. While we were out one day we saw people eating them so we asked a woman about the fruit. She showed us how to eat it and said it was "marula". It has a thick skin, large pit which the flesh sticks to so you don't get much benefit out of each fruit but it tastes pretty good. It was fun to try and experience. We have collected more for the other couple missionaries to try. Marula is native to southern Africa. Interestingly, watermellon originated in Botswana. It is very good but rather expensive here.

Marula Fruit

We have been getting a steady supply of mangos from our trees and the neighbor's tree which fall on our side of the fence. Today we hit an all-time high and harvested twenty-one mangos. We eat them every day and share with others. Our mango trees are just getting going so we will have lots to share. We made mango milkshakes for a snack this evening. We have pretty much figured out what fruit trees we have in our yard - guava, orange, pomagranate, peach, apricot, fig, mango, papya, and lemon. The peaches and apricots are very different from what we are used to but taste about the same. We have planted a small garden with chard, carrots, and zucchini so far. The grass that was planted is starting to look pretty good. We'll soon have to mow it.

One Day's Harvest of Mangos