02 February 2009

We have now been in South Africa for two full days and we are trying to adjust to the new time and the weather. Since I slept for 8 full hours on Saturday night, I thought I had managed to make the change right away but Sunday night was not as good so I guess I am still in the adjusting mode. Mary unfortunately did not do really well either night. However since we do not have a lot to do until we get to Swaziland, we have time to sleep in the afternoon.

We are staying at a lovely bed and breakfast that is owned by two stalwart members of the Church. The Rawlings have been members for over 40 years and served two missions in Johannesburg. Their grandson Lehi is staying with them so he can go to school here in Durban. I thought back to the days we spent in the Harris Hotel when we first got to Indonesia. Although the Harris was a very nice hotel, these accomodations are much more conducive to helping us make the transition from Utah.

Sunday we went to the Pinetown ward and got to meet many of the members. I was especially impressed by the young men who shared their testimonies. They kind of led out for the other members. One of the things you notice here is that the actually bear their testimonies. Except for one brother there was no preaching, stories, or telling how much they love their families. They only gave thanks for their spiritual blessings and testimonies of the truths they knew.

They held a group meeting of Priesthood and Relief Society to introduce a new program to help the members become more active in finding and other missionary work. It includes a challenge to become a Preach My Gospel member. One of the great things about this program is that the bishops, branch presidents, and stake and district presidents are behind it 100% and have decided how to implement the program in their own units. All in all it was a great set of Sunday Meetings.

Monday we met with President Mann and he gave us some instructions. We also talked about some of the things we will be doing in Swaziland. We will be going up there on Wednesday and we will be able to stay in our own boarding for the couple’s conference. The President tells us that our house is in the middle of a nursery so I should get to know all the native plants while we are there.

In talking to the missionaries Swaziland is booming with lots of baptisms of families so they will soon have a strong Priesthood. We are looking forward to having a chance to get to know the members there and find out how we can help the branch presidents strengthen their branches. President Mann wants Swaziland to grow large enough to become the third stake in the mission.