29 August 2009 – Saturday

Since elder Koelliker’s admonition to read and ponder conference talks regularly, I have been trying to keep his counsel but as usual with me I falter from time to time. I have a lot of really good excuses but few meaningful reasons other than I let other things become more important. This ties in nicely with the theme of President Uchtdorf’s talk “We are doing a great work and cannot come down.”

“Nehemiah refused to allow distractions to prevent him from doing what the Lord wanted him to do.”

“Our Heavenly Father seeks those who refuse to allow the trivial to hinder them in their pursuit of the eternal.”

“Our weakness is in failing to align our actions with our conscience.”

There are many thoughts there that apply to me more often than I would like to admit. He mentions that often the distractions that keeps us from doing ‘a great work’ are not bad – that is they are good excuses and not bad reasons – but they are still distractions from the greater work – the work the Lord and the Spirit is trying to tell me to do.

We had a difficult time getting out of the house today. Things kept coming up that we felt we needed to take care of. We were actually in the car with the motor started when we got a call from the RB elders about a problem. It did not help that I was almost out of air time. But we got that one at least started to be cleared up and got on our way. We stopped at the mall just long enough for me to buy airtime and some drinks while Mary bought rolls for tomorrow night.

We made it to Port Durnford about 45 minutes after they had started. There were four elders, President Machaka, the Chirwa family, and one other young man working. We were later joined by President Zondi who did a great job in helping dig a trash pit. To make a two hour story short, we did what we could with the mess that was there but as Elder Richey said it was rather like putting lipstick on a pig. But we swept out all but one of the rooms – one was beyond help, picked up a lot of trash and burned it, clean off a lot of graffiti, and washed the windows that were left. I am not sure anyone will really notice and even less that anyone will care, but it was good to see the young people working together. I have to say that elder Musemare is a real trooper. He took two rooms and actually turned them back into class rooms. He just kind of silently worked by himself and got it done.

After we did what we could do, we went over to the Mlondo’s to see sister Doreen who is in the last stages of dying. Her mother had called to ask the missionaries to give her a blessing that she might have peace. The family – at least the women – are gathering to watch with her mother and family. I had a chance to talk to her daughter Ayanda about her mother’s dying and how she would never be far from her. I shared my own loss of my parents and how when I thought of them I could often feel their presence. It is sad to see this vibrant young woman now reduced to skin and bones with each breath likely to be her last. It is going to be difficult to go to church there tomorrow.

President Machaka had promised a braai after the clean up was over but had not done anything about getting food for it. Elder Richey came up with the idea of getting some KFC so we took the president to KFC and bought a couple of buckets, some rolls and drinks. In this way at least he had to make the choice and help without completely relying on us. Before going back to PD we dropped Mary off at the Esikhawini chapel so she would be there if any one showed up for English class.

I ran the president and the food back to PD and then immediately went back to Esikhawini. It turned out that no one came for English class – we are going to stop them until we figure out how to get more people to come – or at least a few people to come – so we headed home so I could take a shower and a nap. Got the nap but never did get the shower because we ended up staying at our boarding the rest of the day.

I would like to say that we spent it all doing important mission work but the truth is that most of it was spent in idleness. I would call this a one mite day at best and it was all given at before 1 p.m.