14 August 2009 – Friday

 

Some clouds this morning and it is trash pick-up day. Since they may come anytime from 7 am to noon I must get it out early. However I can not leave it out over night or the whole thing may just disappear and then I would have to pay $50 US for a new can.

I am finding it hard to get moving this morning. I seem to be kind of sleep walking through it.

Got a message from the Taylors and they just got their call to New Jersey to be in the office. Talk about a different mission from Indonesia! But there must be something there that needs their special talents and love. They were given only 3 weeks to get ready to report to the MTC. But of course they do not have anything to pack and they can keep their car.

We really did not get started until after lunch. We spent the time working on things we needed to get done and to prepare for the rest of the day. I created a form for the branch presidents to use that spells out exactly what they need know to fill out the Resource and Needs analysis for deciding on welfare needs. Once they have the details of money coming in and where it is going, they are in a better position to see how much help may be needed. The next step is to figure out a way to help some of the families get enough income so they do not need additional assistance.

We went into Esikhawini and our first stop was to meet with President Machaka and have him look at the new form. I wanted his input as to anything I left off that might be important for him to know. We added a couple of things and I will make the changes tomorrow.

Guess who wants to be a professional soccer player. Mary and Sister Mbambo in front of her house. Sister Tembe and daughter in their living room which is about 8 feet by 8 feet. The furniture might be torn but love abounds in this home.

We then went out and started visiting members home. This is what we are planning to spend most of our time doing now. With Esikhawini leaders taking over the Youth program, that frees a full afternoon or more. We are also going to work more on training the leaders and teachers in Esikhawini so that by the end of the year they should be close to be fully functioning. Then if no new couples come in to the area we will have time to spend a day in each branch or as needed.

We visited 5 homes and found 3 of the members at home. We had a good visit with each and found out more about each of them. We hope to put together an area book that has a picture of each member, their vital information, and some observations. Hopefully this will help future couples in the area or perhaps the elders that serve here.

We then went to the chapel and waited to see if Mary’s piano student showed up. She does not have his phone number so we could not call to see if he was coming. I spent the time reading things I had noted from the meetings on Wednesday and Thursday. I also tried to get a good picture of a species of birds that is always around the chapel. But the little rascals will not let me get close. I decided to just sit in the car and wait for them to come near. They did but they always stayed in the shade so none of the pictures are very good.

I also noticed that the view in the side mirror showed some interesting cloud patterns so I took a number of pictures. I think they turned out well. When Mary’s student was not there by 15 minutes after the scheduled time we headed back to our boarding.

One of our photos of the Kanes in Indonesia – this was on Bali at a couples conference.

We had a pretty normal evening with much of the time spent reading and working on things we needed to get done. I did find Dan and Traudi Kane on line and we chatted for a while through Facebook about what we were doing. They said they would think about another mission in 2 to 3 years. They are still relative young so they can do this. If we are going on another mission we probably need to do it soon after this one while our health continues to be good.

One of the things that elder Koelliker said was that each person should have their own copy of the Liahona or Ensign that have the conference talks. He said that they should read it, ponder the messages, and mark down thoughts they have. Then they should keep it and read it again and again like they do the scriptures. When he asked President Mann if each missionary got their own copy, he replied not yet and made a note to have enough copies sent to each boarding. Of course the missionaries can get copies through the branches or wards where they serve. Most of the units get more than enough copies for their active members and even to take to each less active family. But they do not get enough so each member can have their own.

 It is strange to read about grandchildren graduating, going to college, getting their drivers licenses, thinking about marriage, having auto accidents, learning to swim and the hundred of other things that these wonderful people are experiencing while we are in South Africa. But the thing is that we can read about them, talk to them, see their pictures, etc. Imagine what it was like just 15 years ago when couples would leave their children and grandchildren and the only regular contact they would have would be by mail and an occasional phone call. We have it pretty good now and I must admit I am glad this is so.

Any way here are some pictures of most of our wonderful grandchildren. We love them and are proud to be their grandparents.

Missing Pictures – Kelli, William, Kaden – not on this computer will post later.

13 August 2009 – Thursday

I woke this morning and found this wonderful e-mail waiting for us.

Hello Elder/Sister Pier:

 

Hanny works at Ashton Hotel in Ancol, he is very happy and earn enough to buy to new motor cycle last week.  He is active in the Church, super guy!!  The GM at the Ashton hotel is a member from the English speaking branch.  Of course Hanny applied for the job through regular selection.  He was told only to speak English during interview and he did and was accepted.  Another young man, a returned missionary  (Sandi Pagalla) works there too.  You now see the fruit of your efforts teaching them intensive English for a  month.  Remember Erna from Jogja, she is applying scholarship to study in USA through Fulbright scholarship from USA.  She was also one of your students.

 

Elder/Sister Pier, thank you so much for your service in Indonesia.  President Marchant and I have been talking a plan for the 40th celebration of the Church in Indonesia next year.  One of the plan would be sending 40 pioneers who never been to the temple to Manila temple.  We will make join effort to raise funding to pay for their travel to Manila. 

 

We got the camera for the AV training from Japan.  I was lobbying privately with my contact in HQ AV department, and they found cascaded camera in Japan and we got it.  It’s still in good condition and it works.  The teacher is a brother from Srilanka.  He came to Jakarta a month ago seeking political asylum because his life was in danger as he is a Tamil. In Srilanka he owned AV company so is very knowledgeable in that field.  Yoyok from Bekasi will be teaching cameraman.  Now, you see the tender mercy of God.  The spirit never goes wrong, doesn’t he? When something is true…it’s true.  We both felt that AV training was true, even though we didn’t get support from the “authority”…I felt it was still true.  Now, God works in His own way to make it happen.

 

We are proud and love you Elder/Sister Pier.  Our English program is still

running in Jakarta, Tues-Thursday, but no more intensive program in the other

branches, no more couples, only one in Malang.  Well, we do what we have and I know…yes, I know…Heavenly Father knows our heart and our dreams.  He will find His way to accomplish His purpose in every lands and nations.  What we need is to seek inspiration what need to be done and through hard work and diligent try the very best to accomplish it.

 

We love you and proud of your service as missionary couple.

 

Dengan kasih,

Elder SBY

 

While it outlines some of the things we were a part of in Indonesia, what it did for me was to remind me that it is the Lord’s church and His work that we do. That although we might want to accomplish everything immediately, He is in control and we just must do our best, have faith, and have patience. As elder Subandriyo so often said to me – Elder Pier we do what we can do and trust in Lord.

It is a lesson that I really needed this morning as I thought about what we had learned at the meeting yesterday from Elder Koelliker. It also reminded me how Elder Subandriyo was always looking for ways to help the members move ahead. I am so glad that we were able to work with him while we served in Indonesia.

I felt that we should share this with our family and friends so I sent it out as an e-mail. Maybe it will help some couple decide to put in their papers for a mission.

I am just putting this in so I can come back and write about the great meeting that we attended today

.

Packing up – I forgot to take a picture of the beautiful morning sky at Little Haven

Elders Mbhiti and Kaserema – I did not realize that Elder K goes home in a couple of weeks. We worked with him for a couple of cycles in Swaziland and found him to not only a hard working elder and good district leader but also a lot of fun. I will have to send him an e-mail and wish him good luck. I really do not know Elder Friel very well but have seen and talked to him at a couple of conferences. He is big and as you can see is proud to be a missionary. The last picture is not Elder Peterson taking off his coat to fit Elder Friel with Elder Mokopotsa as his second. Elder Peterson has been sick since Monday with a terrible head cold and wanted to take his coat off so he could get a little cooler.

Our zone with Elder and Sister Koelliker and Elder and Sister Mann. Note elder Richy at the far left of the top row striking his famous picture pose. The next one is again deceiving. Sister Mann is not directing a choir of elders, she is trying to organize another zone for a picture. We did find that there is a problem when you put native Africans against a dark blue curtain to take a picture.

11 August 2009 – Tuesday

 

It was nice to see blue sky this morning.

We went with the Bartholomews to Durban for a Mission Tour meeting tomorrow with Elder and Sister Koelliker and three zones. We were supposed to leave about 10:00 but they had an emergency food order so we did not get off until about 11:00. I would like to say that we spent the extra time studying, but actually we spent it reading.

The trip to Durban takes between 90 minutes and two hours but we usually stop along the way to have lunch at the seaside city of Ballito. It is an upscale residential/resort town which has lots of excellent stores, art galleries, and good restaurants.

The Guinea Fowl – The Mission Office – Elder Sessions – the auto repair expert!

We ate lunch at a restaurant specializing in sea food and I had one of the best Kingklip fillet of the mission. It was cooked just right and had a light lemon butter sauce. I will certainly come back again on some p-day or on another trip to Durban. While we were there we also bought a couple of small ceramic crested guinea fowls. I have no idea why this bird fascinates us but it does.

Our first stop in Durban was, as usual, the mission office where we found almost everyone was out at lunch. But we got to talk to the assistants for a few minutes before they ran off on an errand and then the rest of the folks when they returned.

Elder and Sister Sessions, the office couple, are leaving in about a month and there are no replacements in site. In fact as far as we know there are no couples coming over the next few months when three couples will be leaving. I guess that the economic times and the lack of couples sending in their papers is causing a loss of couple missionaries in most missions. The Sessions not only run the office, but elder Sessions also serves in a branch presidency in one of the township branches.

 

We then went to Little Haven, the bed and breakfast run by the Rawlings that we first stayed in when we arrived in Durban 7 months ago. They are a delightful  and faithful couple.

After unpacking we went out on the deck and was surprised to find sister Koelliker was also there. When we left the mission office we were told she was with Sister Mann in the mission home. But it turned out they had dropped her off at the B&B so she could relax while her husband and president Mann had a meeting.

We had enough time to get to know her a little and we shared information about our families, where we have lived, etc. I asked her what she thought when they received the call to serve in South East Africa. She said they had a meeting with President Monson who spent the time sharing some experiences, telling stories, and talking about families. It was not until they were at the door of his office getting ready to leave that he said “ Oh did I mention you are going to serve in the South East Africa Area.”

She said that she did not have any reluctance to serve where called but often when she told others they thought she was kidding. I am afraid Africa has does not have a good reputation among the general population.

We had arranged to have dinner with the Bartholomews and Sessions at a French Restaurant that is not open on Monday nights which is when we are usually in Durban for meetings. It is in a small mall not far from the mission home and when we got there it was open but empty.  We got to meet the owner and his wife, have a nice meal, and enjoyable company.

The interior of the restaurant – excellent art. The Piers, Bartholomews, and Sessions. I think sister Sessions has a great smile in this candid shot – elder Sessions saw it coming

I ordered Escargots as an appetizer but was disappointed when I found that they were cooked whole and not ground up and stuffed back in the shell like the other times I had them. The only person who would try them was elder Bartholomew the rest were happy to let us eat them all.

We got back to our B&B fairly early and I spent most of my time trying to catch up this journal. When I get three or four days behind it takes me forever to catch up. But I managed to write four days worth but I could not put the pages on our blog because the internet connection was not strong enough.

I came across this on line and thought it would be good to add to this blog – I especially like the one about how far a baby falls at birth. And we worry about dropping an infant 6 inches…

Giraffe Facts

The Giraffe – DID YOU KNOW?

• Eat up to 75 pounds of food a day (typically Acacia leaves)
• Favorite food – Acacia Leaves
• Tongue is 18 inches long
• Have a four chambered stomach and will regurgitate their food for additional chewing – similarly to a cow.
• Typically get most of their water from the Acacia leaf, but will drink up to 10 gallons of water per day.
• Knobs are called Ossicones
• Although rarely heard, Giraffes can moo, hiss, roar and whistle to communicate with one another
• Have the longest tail of any land mammal – up to 8 feet long, including the tuft at the end.
• Giraffes at the San Diego zoo enjoy raw onions as a special treat
• Ancient Romans and Greeks thought that the Giraffe was a mix between a camel and a leopard. This is where their scientific Genus name of “camelopardalis” comes from.
• Their heart is 2 feet long and weighs about 25 pounds
• The heart’s muscular walls are several inches thick
• They have the highest known blood pressure of any mammal in the world – up to 280/180mm Hg when prone at heart level (approximately twice that of an average human)
• Their heart beats up to 170 times/minute
• Jugular vein contains a series of one way valves that prevent the back flow of blood when the Giraffes head is down to drink water. This prevents the Giraffe from blacking out.
• The heart pumps about 16 gallons of blood/minute
• Oxpeckers(tick birds) are often seen “hitching” a ride on the backs of Giraffes. They help keep the Giraffe parasite free by eating ticks and other parasites off of the Giraffes skin.
• Extreme care must be taken when scientists catch Giraffes for study or for capture for a zoo exhibit. If the Scientists run the Giraffe too long, the Giraffe will suffer a heart attack due to its high blood pressure. Scientists typically target younger Giraffes for this reason.
• Have no tear ducts, although they have been seen crying
• Have never been observed bathing
• Mom Giraffes form a type of daycare for their young. One of the females in the heard will stay behind and baby sits all of the youngsters while the rest of the females go out foraging for food.
• Despite its extreme length, the Giraffes neck is actually too short to reach the ground. As a result, it has to awkwardly spread its front legs or kneel on its front legs in order to reach the ground to drink water.
• It is the tallest animal in the world
  • Males stand 16-18 feet; Females 14-16 feet
  • Males weigh up to 2,000 pounds; Females a bit lighter
• Females use their hooves as weapons only to defend their young.
  • They are strong enough to kill a lion, which is the Giraffe’s only real predator.
• Born with horns
  • Both males and females have them.
  • Covered with skin
  • Males are thicker and heavier and are used sometimes to fight other males.
• Only found naturally in Africa
• Their tongue is black
• Can gallop 31-37 miles per hour
• Form herds and travel together for protection
  • Their average territorial range is approximately 46 square miles
  • Males known as bulls
  • Females known as cows
• Can rest standing up
  • Usually only sleep 5 minutes at a time
  • When sleeping, the giraffe generally lies on the ground, tucking its front legs under itself, then curls its neck back and rests its head on its rump.
• Females have their first conception in their fifth year.
  • Gestation period is 15 months
  • Interval between births is generally 20 months
  • Life expectancy of 25 years in the wild
  • A baby is generally 6 feet tall and will weigh about 150 pounds at birth
  • A baby will fall approximately 6 feet during birth before hitting the ground
  • A baby will begin nursing within one hour
  • A baby will generally also begin walking within one hour
• They spend between 16 and 20 hours a day feeding

10 August 2009 – Monday

When I woke up, all I really wanted to do all day was sit at home and relax. But instead we fixed some lunch, grabbed all our gear and headed off to the game park for a day in the country. The Mfalozi/Hluhlwe game park is located just over an hour from our boarding. This makes it a tempting destination for p-days. Mary would go ever week but I am only willing to go about once or twice a cycle.

 

This is the entrance to the park. The notice suggests you do not get out of your car so you will not be eaten or stepped on by the wild animals that roam the open plains and forests. We decided the extra animal – usually there are only five – might be wild dogs but we are not sure

It was a perfect day for going to the park. It is winter so the grass is as thin and low as it gets so the animals are easier to find. The temperatures were moderate and there was often a breeze. It was a holiday so people tended not to get up early to go to the park so we had almost no traffic getting to or in the park.

First there was just a tan lump in the grass. Then it seemed to grow. And then it got ears.

Then it had eyes. Which looked right at me to see if I might make a tasty lunch. But it decided I was too old and tough and looked elsewhere.

 If you heard it roar just 40 or so feet from you with only some grass between, you would know why it was called the King of Beasts.

Today we finally saw some lions. We had seen one lone female at another park, but she was walking along a road next to a fence and could have been in a zoo. These were out in the middle of a huge grassland/jungle park and there was nothing between us and them but some grass and air. We found the male when we saw a number of vehicles parked along the side of the road with everyone pointing their cameras at a bush. We wondered what everyone was so excited about and then we saw this yellow mass which was of course the lion.

We spent 10-15 minutes taking pictures and I got some good ones. I especially like the one where he is looking right at the camera. After a while we worked our way through the increasing stack of cars and went on our way. As we were driving along, I heard a bark and immediately knew it was another lion. I knew the sound because I had seen a program about lions on TV and the sound is very unique. As I looked around for the source, I saw this large female striding across a hill on the other side of a small valley. I never got a picture because she was moving fast and the branches and leaves kept getting in the way. We finally lost sight of her as she moved into the dense foliage.

Why did the giraffe cross the road – to eat the bush on the other side.

We got home about 4:30 to find Elders Richey, Mbithi, Musemare, and Mokopotsa waiting. Last night they had mentioned that they could not e-mail today because it was a holiday and the place that lets them use their computers and internet would be closed. I told the Zone leaders that they could come and use our computers for an hour. Everyone except for elder Mokopotsa read and answered their mail and were out again by 6:00.

While they were here and elder Musemare was waiting for the other two to finish so he could get on, we asked him to help us hang the roadshow backdrops in the garage so I could take good pictures of them. I wanted them for my journal but also I will have a couple of larger prints made for Sazi and Bungumusa so they can show others their handy work. Mary and I needed help because we were not tall enough to hang the top panel. Each backdrop was over 8 feet high and about 25 feet long.

The rest of the night was spent on the computer – mainly editing all the pictures I took today – and reading before going to bed rather early. I should mention that Mary baked a cake to take to Durban tomorrow so the elders can have dessert with their pizza.

It had been a beautiful and adventurous day in South Africa

09 August 2009 – Sunday

 

We usually need to leave at 7:15 to make Esikhawini’s PEC meeting but because we were picking up the Esikhawini elders we left at 6:30. Elders Mokopotsa and Musemare were almost ready when we got to their boarding and so we got away on time. We really did not need to hurry because when we picked up president Nyawo he had no idea about what a PEC meeting was so we did not have one. I did open everything up and help get things ready before we had to leave for Port Durnford.

 

Since it was the 2^nd Sunday there were District speakers in each of the ward. Calwyn Baldwin was speaking at Esikhawini and they brought Arthur Wilson so we could take him to Port Durnford to speak. The Baldwins also brought their new baby, and Mary got a chance to hold him.

 

Three of the Port Durnford youth dressed for church. They are a great group of young people and of course love to have their pictures taken.

Brother Wilson had never been to Port Durnford chapel and when we arrived at the yard he asked where it was. We explained it was out in the back. It was a typical Sunday with almost no one being on time but once sacrament meeting got started it was fine. But after Sacrament we found that there was no Primary or YW teachers so I got things organized by asking Mary to teach Primary and Sister Chirwa to teach YW.

I then asked Siya to help with Primary because the children do not speak much English and of course Mary does not speak any Zulu. This turned out to work well as she taught them ‘Familys can be together forever, the story of Lehi and his family and then had them draw their family. This is all done under the tree in the front yard. I sat with the priesthood near the house and we had a lesson on Testimony. The YW sat under another tree and seemed to have a good lesson. I have learned you just do what you can do and things tend to work out. After the meeting we took President Machaka out to visit sister Nzama who is still not feeling very well.

We then drove back to Esikhawini where the meetings were almost over. I was talking to president Nyawo when there was some excitement in the chapel. It turned out that one of the sisters had an epileptic seizer. After a blessing and some time, she recovered enough that she could be taken home. Someone said that she had a history of epilepsy and may not have been taking her medicine.

While Mary taught her only piano student that was left after the excitement, I started teaching president Nyawo about his calling. Since I had not really come prepared to do this, all I did was give him some manuals and asked him to read them. I told him next week we would have a quiz on what he read. He is going to be a good PH leader and a great help to the presidency. Mary was still teaching her lesson when I ran him home. By the time I got back she was finished so I closed up the chapel and locked the gates and headed home. It seems we often are the first ones there and the last ones to leave each Sunday.

Part of the afternoon was spent taking a nap and then it was time to get everything together for the elders coming over. We prepared meat loaf, mashed potatoes, corn, gravy, fruit and green salads, and garlic bread. For desserts we had the fixings for banana splits but most of them just ate lots of ice cream.

The elders seem to really enjoy eating and talking together. Elders Torgerson and Muthoka were the first to arrive and so they got to eat as much as they wanted. Elders Mbithi and Babayeeo came and then went over to the B’s for some reason so they were the last to eat and while there was plenty of food it was not very fresh.

After eating, talking, gathering and sending in the statistics for the week, it was well after 9:00 before they left. I am afraid some of them did not get into their boardings by 9:30. We of course had a lot of clean-up to do. But we did not have to worry about leftovers – all of the elders were more than happy to take something home with them – including the leftover ice cream.

By the time all was done, we were very much ready for bed. It was a good Sabbath in Richards Bay.

08 August 2009 – Saturday

Most of the day was spent attending the funeral of the young sister who was killed on Tuesday. We had discovered that she was killed when a truck lost its brakes and plowed into her taxi and another car. She was the only one killed but 14 others were seriously injured.

I had to get to the car wash very early because our car was coated with mud from our visit to the mud puddle area yesterday. I thought if I got there by 7 when it opened I would be first in line. Wrong! I was the 5^th in line. Others had the same idea.

We had told Fufu, a young woman in the Port Durnford branch who had gone to school with Nomfundo, that we would pick her up and take her to Richards Bay for the funeral. So we ran out to PD and got her and then headed back to the chapel to see if we could help in any way to get things ready. When we got there we found everything was under control. However Mary was asked to play the prelude and other music. She ended up playing for about 90 minutes before everyone arrived.

At 11:00 when it was to start there was only a couple of dozen people in the chapel but the family and those who traveled with them started to arrive and in a few minutes the chapel and half of the cultural hall was filled. Family, friends, neighbors, and even a bus from her school arrived.

The funeral was originally planned for 4 hours but president Van Thiel told the family it had to be no longer than 2 hours.  This was the first Zulu funeral we have attended and it was interesting to see it unfold. President Nyawo of Esikhawini conducted with President Vezi of the District Presidency presided. The first part was family and friends giving talks and singing. What I found interesting was the principal of her school was one of the speakers. Of course everything except the hymns was done in Zulu and I could not understand a word. But while of the speakers was talking, my spirit was touched and I felt that what was being said was special.

After the family part, we had a short LDS section where sister Khamalo spoke about how Nomfundo joined the church and her desire to go on a mission. Then President VanThiel spoke on the plan of salvation and I thought it was a wonderful and easy to follow talk that was teaching without preaching. Mary was also impressed.

After the service we took a load of young women to the cemetery. The service there was very short. The casket was then lowered into the grave and a layer of short logs were placed over it, then a couple of straw mats were put on top of those. Male members of the family each placed a shovel full of soil in the hole and the women threw in a small handful. Then anyone who wanted to could help in refilling the grave.

I did not participate but a number of the elders and members did. As it was being filled people would start a song in Zulu and others would join in. Fufu started a number of them and most people seemed to know the words so I supposed that they were traditional hymns that all sang in church.

When the grave was filled, the people quickly left. We were going to take the Esikhawini elders to their area but a number of the people from Port Durnford needed rides. So we found rides with members for the elders and took Sister Chirwa, Fufu and President Machaka to their homes.

The only other thing that we did before going to our boarding is to stop to pick up the bread I had ordered for tomorrow. Mary spent the evening making meatloaf and preparing other things for the dinner.

07 August 2009 – Friday

Rain in the morning which meant we were not going to the game park as planned. It seems that every time we plan to go away for a day the rain starts. So instead of enjoying a day off, we enjoyed a morning off and then headed out to Esikhawini to give the Zone leaders some money and other things that they needed for their Cosi Bay visit.

 

When I get out my camera, the kid comes out in all the elders. They want to be in the picture and they want to have fun. 5 minutes later they can be bearing a wonderful testimony or talking about the joy of finding a new family to teach.

When we got there, elder Mokopotsa was busy fixing their bikes. I kidded him that he should start a bike repair service up on the corner where there is an auto repair service that operates on a large grassy area. This would keep the overhead down to almost nothing. Two of the great sisters of the branch were there working on their gardens. We love sister Mathe and sister Khumalo – they are great examples to the young women of the branch.

We then headed out to Port Durnford to visit gogo Nzama and see how she is. When we got there we found that she had gone to the doctor’s to see if she could get some relief. This of course meant more of their meager funds had to go for transportation and doctor’s fees. With little if any cash reserve they will have a hard time with bills and food this coming month. After visiting with Thandi Nzama for a short time, we dropped off the chicken soup Mary had made and headed back to our boarding.

 

On our way home we passed the Malondo home and saw that they were laying the blocks for the new round house they are building. We stopped to see how it was done and found Siya and Landani had stayed home from school to help. It seems that those two like to find reasons not to go to school. I suggest to them that this is a bad idea and that their main home to breaking the circle of poverty they are in is for them to get a good education. About 100 yards away from where they are building this house, the neighbors are building a square one using traditional wattle, stone and mud. Except for the tin roof that will go on, there is no material costs at all.

 

We decided today was the day we would check out that sea of mud we did not go through a few days ago. To get there we had to go through some smaller muddy areas. The idea is to get up some speed and hope you make it to the other side without getting stuck. Since there were a good set of tracks from prior vehicles we felt fairly safe in giving it a try and we made it through two of them without any problems. But when we got to the big one we took one look and said ‘no way.’ So we just took pictures and splashed back to the main road. Of course the car was pretty well covered with mud, but I needed to get it washed anyway.

On our way home to our boarding, we stopped at the mall and bought most of the food we will need for feeding the missionaries on Sunday. I am rather glad we do not feed them every week because that could become expensive.

When we got home we unloaded the car and pretty much called it a day.

Some random pictures: Mary really dislikes moths and this one was about 6 or 7 inches across. She did not care if it was beautiful she just wanted it gone. I love to take pictures of children. No matter where they are, how humble the surroundings, they are almost always clean, dressed in clean clothes and obviously loved by their parents or grandparents. The last picture was taken by sister Mickelsen of a loaded cane truck. I have been trying to capture a good photo of one of these for a couple of weeks but without success. Her picture is perfect. Thanks Sister Mickelsen!