20 August 2009 – Thursday
Slept well but had to get moving this morning because the Bs were going to pick us up to go get our car. I spent much of the time posting to the blog. I am going to try to keep up each day because it is hard to play catch up.
When the Bs tried to leave their boarding they found that they had a flat. Elder B said that he had it changed in under 15 minutes. On the way to pick up our car, we stopped to drop off his flat to get fixed. Once at the Nissan dealership it took about 15 minutes to get our car paid for and out from the back. I think if I had left it for 2 more days they would have sold it.
We then followed the Bs almost back to the mall but they stopped to get their tire. We had a number of things to do at the mall including getting some money, buying air time, and getting a new battery for my watch that stopped while we were at Tembe. We would have been much quicker if the stores would not have been at opposite ends of the mall.
We then dashed home to have grilled cheese sandwiches – Mary also had tomato soup to warm her up. I just realized I did not mention that it rain all last night – hard – and started again this morning. It was also quite cold – even I felt it. After lunch Mary caught a quick nap and then we loaded up and headed to Port Durnford.
Our first stop was President Machaka’s tuck shop so he could sign the last food order. We also talked about the new business he hopes to open in Richards Bay. He and two other men are going to start a training school that will teach basic computer skills and other job skills. I hope it works for him because the tuck shop does not make enough money to support a family.
 
Then we went to teach English. By now the rain was not very heavy but the wind was howling. It cut right through the sweater I was wearing. We found that Gogo Nzama was in the hospital. We will go see her tomorrow. Also our faithful Temba has a job so he will not be able to attend the class. But we taught Thandi and she is a good student. Note that in the picture she is wearing a thick coat and a hat in the house. We were both wearing sweaters. The home is un-heated because the house is not insulated and it would cost too much to pay for the electricty.
We then took her to the Port Durnford chapel for youth. With the wind and cold we did not expect many to show up but they just kept coming and except for Fufu we had pretty much a full complement. Two of them had memorized the 7th and 8th Articles of Faith and I gave them a small reward.
 
Mary then played a game of ‘I am going on vacation. In my suitcase I am going to pack’ memory game. We were astounded how well they did. We called it a draw when it got down to two left and they were remembering 15 items. They loved the game. We then let them watch the part of their roadshow that we had – they thought that was great also. Finally we gave them the treats – strawberry soda and candy before bidding them goodbye.
As we were getting ready to leave, Quinton told me that he was asked to be in charge of the Helping Hands project this Saturday. They are going to clean up some class rooms at the local high school. For some reason he had been led to believe that we had been asked to supply everything they would need. I had to explain we had not been asked to do anything and we did not know what they needed. He said he would check into it with President Machaka and get back to us. But he asked us to at least go over to see what we would be cleaning up. So after dropping off Thandi at her house we picked him up and drove to the high school. It really needs as much help and cleaning as we can give it. I doubt if what we will do on Saturday will make a dent in the condition but at least it will be a good service project.
On our way home we saw this beautiful rainbow in the sky. I think we needed it to remind us that this is the Lord’s world and that there is hope for the future.
We took Quinton home, stopped by Bungumuse’s house to drop off the photo of his great backdrop for the road show and then went to the Bartholomews to give sister B a blessing. We had a nice visit and then I anointed and elder B sealed the anointing. Hopefully she will soon be well so she can finish her mission on a high note. We got home about 6:30 and had a great breakfast for dinner.
We got a great surprise when the Vonage phone rang and it was Jim. He had managed to fix what ever the problem was with incoming calls. So now everyone at home can call at any time…hint, hint – well at least at any reasonable time.
Elder Mickelsen sent us an e-mail with a link to his Picasa album of pictures from Tembe. He must have worked on them all day. There are some great pictures there and I will borrow some for the blog. I wrote to thank him and to find out what camera and lens he is using because it is great. He got shots my Casio will just not get.
I have spent the hours since dinner looking at pictures, down loading some I want to save and writing today’s journal entry. The night has pretty much flashed by – I notice this happens quite often. Mary is now in making a Baptism program for the elders to take to Cosi Bay Saturday. They are going up for 5 baptisms and will stay over for the confirmations. If they keep growing, they will some day be an independent branch.
It was a good day in Richard Bay for the Piers