Audits and Opportunities

 

Not sure how we got so lucky to have to deal with TWO audits in one year, but we did!

The first audit was with these two lovely ladies, Sister Faith and Sister Mapanene, from South Africa. This audit was mostly for expenses with the previous Financial Secretary. It is always a little cloak and dagger, seek and find adventure! It was not nearly as painful as the one we had last week! This one was very time consuming, hunting in folders and online for the correct documents and receipts. Hal was given two very lengthy documents online to fill in.

There are five apple size boxes full of folders containing envelops full of receipts, etc. and two file cabinet drawers. Doesn’t seem like much as I write this but it took forever going through them to find what we needed!!

A week ago I invited the maids here at our apartment complex to have lunch with me. There are three of them. Of course they could only come during their lunch break and that didn’t happen all at the same time. Carol was the only one that could come into my house. It was pleasant getting to know her a little bit. She is trying to find better employment so her family can join her here in Lusaka. Her children (she has four) are all currently staying with other relatives in Ndola (about a 6 hour drive from Lusaka). She speaks English very well but she said she can’t read very well. I didn’t find out that she can’t read until after I had given her a Book of Mormon. I hope she will try to read it and/or find someone to read it to her. 

This week she washed the windows on the inside of my house. I paid her K100 … about $6 for her one hour of work. With her job working as a maid she only makes about K3 per hour. Absolutely terrible!! Last week she washed the outside of the windows and I paid her the same. She was very grateful!!

 

Oreen could not come inside because she had to remain “available” if needed. So I took lunch out to her. We have given her other things in the past. She likes the cookies, the bread and jam, the apples, oil, molasses, and potatoes. 

One day we went outside and the maids were all sitting on the hard tiled ground eating their very meager lunches. Evidently their employers do not allow them to eat inside, use the microwave, or anything else. Neither do they provide even a place for them to sit! We took chairs from our own place so they can at least sit on a chair to eat their lunch!

Slavery seems to be alive and well here. It breaks my heart!

A couple of weeks ago I had taken a gallon of oil and an almost empty other container of oil out to the maids . I told them they could share the oil. With astonished looks on their faces, Oreen said over and over, “For me?” When I went back inside they were talking excitedly in their language and then I heard, “She gave me cooking oil! For me!” I hope she actually shared. 

I later said to Oreen, “the most important thing I could ever give you is this book,” as I handed her a Book of Mormon. How do you really convince  people that the church can be the most important thing in their life when all they can focus on is getting enough food for the next meal? Maybe some day the lessons will seek in but for now all I can do is show a little compassion.

In the last General Conference, Bishop Causse said, "We must do our very best to protect and bring solace and relief to the weak, the needy, and all those who suffer or who are oppress." My efforts sure seems to be so meager!!