30 July 2009 – Thursday

An eventful morning as I lost the internet once again. But I am getting better at figuring out what is the problem. In this case I had used up my basic amount of allowable GB and for some reason the extra ones that I have paid for did not kick in. So it was off to the mall to find out from my favorite Telkom ladies what was wrong.

To make things really short they could not help so I had to come home and call support, call Vincent, Vincent came over, found out how to switch from one account to another – yes I have two accounts instead of just adding the extra to one account. Two hours after discovering problem it was solved. By the time we leave for home I should be able to fix any internet problem that comes up.

Mary made brownies for Port Durnford, we packed up everything we would need for the day and headed out to fill a food order and then head for Esikhawini. We are getting really good at filling food orders. Although there are some basics that go to each family we are getting better at varying some of the order to better meet the needs of the particular family.

We were so efficient that we got to Esikhawini too early. We decided to visit some of the members. I wanted to see if I could find some of them without the GPS. I found brother Nkosi’s street but was not sure about the house number. I was about to give up when Mary reminded me that we had the map and luckily it had his house marked. He was not home but his non-LDS son was and we talked for a while about the wall he is help to build around the property.

As we were getting to leave a sister from the branch came up and we found that she lived just down the street but we did not have it marked on our map – which we quickly corrected. She is the sister who wants to learn English and we told her we would be there on Saturday. It is fun to start to know the members – we ran into one at the mall earlier and did not know her – so embarrassing.

We then went to their mall and while Mary got KFC, I went and bought ice cream. They have a very nice Pick n Pay and I think they had a better selection of ice cream than our big one in the mall. It is good to see that the mall and the stores are all very neat and clean – rather different from many things we find in the township.

We then went and delivered the food order and got to see Sister Nzama who is looking better but still not eating much. We forgot to get her a list of food that she should eat to take better care of her ulcer. We picked up Thandi Nzama and took her to the chapel for the cast party.

The party was a hit and they appreciated the pictures we gave everyone. We did find that some of them did not care at all for mashed potatoes and gravy. However a couple of the young men thought they were delicious and so they took any that others did not want. The brownies and ice cream were also a hit.

As we were leaving I reminded them that since they could all get to the party on time, I expected them all to be on time next week for youth. On our way back to the Nzama’s we came across Thobani Chirwa hurrying to the chapel – we were told he was in Esikhawini and would not be home in time for the party – unfortunately we did not have anything left for him. I felt very bad and tomorrow we will get something and take it to him because he was very faithful about coming to the rehearsals.

I want to write a bit about how they are very sharing people. Although the party was just for cast members, we could not keep out the little children who live there. Siya and Ayanda fed them off their plates. Fufu saved part of her food to take home and share. As we were leaving they asked for the extra Fanta so they could share with their family. So while they do not have much, they try to share what they have. The song “Because I have been given much” comes to mind but in this case it is “Because I have been given something.” We are blessed to know these young people.

Sister Muke Nzama needed a ride to the mall so she could go to work for something. Since we were going right by it we gave her a ride. If she had to take public transportation it would have cost her R 15 which does not seem like much but is a major expense for people who work for R 75 a day.

As usual the evening flew by and it was soon time to head to bed.