27 September 2009 – Sunday

 A very good and a very busy Sunday for us. We were out early to Esikhawini to pick up a couple of the leaders and attend their PEC meeting. Before the meeting I had a chance to talk to President Malinga about the Presidency Meeting they held in the dark on Wednesday. He was excited about all they got done and the counselors had given him lots to do today. It is exciting to see them start to understand the importance of holding regular presidency meetings – now if they could understand that PEC is just as important I could almost relax. I think they will soon start holding Branch Council meetings which will really help. While I attended PEC, Mary had a meeting with Sister Kumhalo about the up coming Relief Society Conference.

We then left and went to Engwelezane for Sacrament meeting so we could see how they are doing before the Barts left. They seem to be well organized and started only about 20 minutes late. I would guess that they can cut that down to 5 or 10 minutes if they try. The Primary put on their program and it was quite good – especially for their little branch. I must say I got a little teary eyed as they sang their songs. I closed my eyes and realized that I could not tell by their voices that we were not in some small ward or branch in the US. How wonderful is the only true and living church on the earth – no matter where you are for sacrament meeting, no matter what language is used, you feel comfortable.

I was pleasantly surprised to see the Mickelsens after the meeting. They had come up from Durban to meet with some of their PEF students. It was then that sister Mickelsen asked me about my not posting on the blog. She was afraid I was sick or something. I told her why I had stopped and then said since she asked, I would start again. It will be a good way to spend a quiet P-day.

The B’s and family left after the sacrament meeting. They leave so the branch does not depend on them to teach or lead. They are preparing them for their going home in just three short weeks. We decided to also leave to go back to Esikhawini for the baptisms. We arrived soon after SS should have been over but of course it ran long.

I took the time to talk to President Malinga. He told me how busy he had been making callings. He mentioned he had called Percy Zibani to be a counselor to President Nkosi. It did not register as he said this but a little later I realized he did not have the authority to make the call. President Nkosi should suggest his own counselors and then the Mission Presidency should make the call. When I told President Malinga the problem, he quickly spoke to Percy and got it straightened out. He really is a good man and will develop into a strong branch president.

After sacrament we had the baptismal service. Three converts and three children were baptized. As usual, because of missing people, there were some changes in the program. But other than a couple of the candidates needing to be done twice, there were no other problems. I was happy to Sazi Mthalane do one of the baptisms for Esikhawini. It is good to see a Priest use his PH. It should help him decide to go on a mission.

After the baptisms and confirmations were finished we came back to our boarding where I quickly ate my leftovers from Friday’s lunch at Maxi’s. I had about 25 minutes to eat – and no time to nap – before I had to head out again for the Richards Bay chapel and finishing the audit.

I arrived early and took the few minutes until Calwyn Baldwin came to close my eyes. Once Elder B arrived we pretty quickly finished the audit of the Richards Bay branch and the District. There are a couple of problems but nothing big. The member’s tithes and offerings and the LUBA are all handled and used properly. I am not sure who reviews the audit sheets we fill out and sign but hopefully they are not just piled together in some file cabinet until someone gets around to throwing them away.

By the time I got back to the boarding, it was getting on 4:30 and I must say I was exhausted. So after looking to see how Tiger Woods was doing – he had not teed off yet – took a short nap.

Later in the day we went over to the Barts to have dinner with the Elders. I think it will be the last one we have there but perhaps they will want to hold the one on the 11^th at their house. It will be the last chance before they go home. As I have often mentioned it is one of the blessings of the mission to spend some time with the elders.

Since it was Elders Petersen and Weaver’s birthday, sister B had a cake for them and we all sang Happy Birthday. Later Mary and I were sitting around the table talking to the two birthday boys and heard how neither of them had really planned to go on missions. Elder Petersen said his mother asked him if he was going on a mission and he did not commit until she mentioned that if he did she could go to the temple with him.

It turned out that his father was an inactive Aaronic Priesthood holder and so his parents had never been to the temple. When his father signed the paper allowing Elder Petersen to go on a mission, he wrote to his bishop that he felt that he was ready to commit to being active. So it turned out that Elder Petersen and his parents all went through the temple together. So in one way you might say that the first ‘convert’ that Elder Petersen had was before his actual going to the MTC. The Lord does bless his missionaries.

We did not leave the Bart’s home until well after 9:00 and so by the time we got home it was late. I checked again to see how Tiger was doing and found that he was not doing very well – but he was hanging in and had a chance to win the tournament and even if he lost he should win the Fed-Ex cup.

It was a wonderful Sabbath day. The most important part was of course taking the Sacrament so I could renew my covenants but all the other events added to the spiritual beauty of the day. Although I can not say it was a perfect day for me – are any of them – it certainly ranks close to being a 2 mite day.

26 September 2009 – Saturday

We had a wedding to attend in the morning and a party in the afternoon so we kept fairly busy.

Even though President Baldwin did not realize that it was going to be a formal wedding so he did not come dressed for one, the wedding between Happy and Patrick went well. The President had a private meeting with the couple for about a half hour and then we had the ceremony. Mary played the piano, including a solo of Love at Home. President Baldwin had some good counsel for all married couples but he included some jokes that probably went over the head of most of the African guests. After the ceremony there was lots of pictures and cake and punch. By 11:00 we had cleaned up and locked up and headed for some lunch at the mall.

In the afternoon we went to Enselini to attend a branch party. Although it was to start at noon, we did not get there until 1:30 which turned out to be right when they started. That was a little late even for South Africa. The youth had planned a very nice program which included a tribute to the B’s. I forgot to mention that one of the Bartholomew’s sons and his wife arrived here yesterday for a visit week’s visit so they got to see how much the branch loved their parents.

A group of 5 young men put a very interesting dance program with original choreography by one of them and only a week to practice. There was singing and talks including goodbye talks by the Bartholomews. As I have said before, the Bartholomews have done a tremendous job getting the two branches they have nursed over the last 17 ready to run on their own. They not only love the people, they care for them as if they were family. As you see sister B greet each one with a big smile and hug, you understand how much they are going to miss being here. Elder B is not as demonstrative but when he talks about them, he knows each member intimately and he will shed many tears at their parting. Hopefully some time in the near future they will go on another mission –there is certainly a great need for couples like them through out the world.

By the time they were done it was almost 3 and so we left to come home to wait for the handy man to come once more. Early in the morning I had started to wash dishes when the repaired faucet jumped out of its socket and started to spray water everywhere. Luckily I was right there and could quickly turn it off.  When he finally did come, it only took him 10 minutes to fix the problem. It just takes the right knowledge and the right tools to get most things fixed. 1 ¾ mite day

25 September 2009 – Friday

The morning was spent waiting for Rob to come and fix some plumbing and electrical problems we were having. He was supposed to come at 8:30 and finally –after 3 or 4 of my calls – he made it by 11:30. As usual here, there were lots of excuses but few reasons. Not all that time was wasted – we were able to do some planning, I got the Lexmark printer to work, and we neatened up the house. Rob fixed the leaky faucet, got the toilet to flush efficiently, replaced a light fixture, and managed to replace one of the evil little lights that are in all the ceiling fixtures. What he could not figure out is why the remote does not always open the garage door. We will just live with it for another 10 months.

We got moving towards Esikhawini after noon to go grocery shopping. It was the wrong day and the wrong time to do this. It seems that many people had a four day weekend and that they all decided to go to the mall and buy groceries. To be more efficient we split up the tasks and it ended up only taking 45 minutes and some $90 US to get our to do list greatly shortened. We next went to buy electricity but one look at the line that was almost out the door and I turned around and went back to the car.

At Esikhawini I found that the power was still off so I called brother Holder and Neville about the problem. They got busy with the municipality and found that the problem was at the city’s end. They promised to send some one out to fix the problem. Well needless to say it took another half dozen calls and a couple of hours before anyone showed up. By then it was pouring rain – it had been drizzling most of the day – and it was getting dark. When after 45 minutes of effort they still had not solved the problem I called Sne Mthalane and asked him if he would come over and sit the building until they were finished. He lives a block away and being a good guy he agreed so we could head home.

During this saga, the Youth gathered. Sisters Muvundla and Zibani were there to work with the YW and do pedicures while the elders worked with the YM to clean the baptismal font for Sunday. They worked hard and steady with no complaints. Elder Mokopotsa works well with YM – Elder Musemare just works hard. While they were doing that I cleaned the men’s bathroom so that it did not look and smell too bad. I will get a couple of air fresheners for the bathrooms – there is a great need for them.

We drove home in the dark and rain – not much fun when many of the cars coming the other way have their high beams on. But we arrived at our boarding safe, sound and exhausted. Mainly I was tired because I spent a couple of hours out in the rain and cold with no jacket on. I really do need to remember to leave my rain jacket in the car. Thankfully we did buy a new, large umbrella that kept some of the rain off.

After dinner I called Keith Hillman and talked about some things that needed fixing at the store he rents from us.  While we were talking I found out that his daughter was very sick and the doctors do not know what is wrong. Hopefully they will find out something this weekend so they can treat it. Since we have known Kylee all of her life it is almost like one of our granddaughters is ill.

I did not realize how tired I really was until I found myself heading off to bed just after 8:00! I thought I would just lie down and read but I was soon fast asleep. An interesting day in South Africa. 1 1/2 mite day

24 September 2009 – Thursday

As we left our boarding we noticed a whole troop of monkeys – well over 20 -  in the yard of the neighboring church. We tried to catch them in a picture but they quickly ran across the yard when we approached. It is at this time when I wish we had a really good camera with a 300mm lens.

We had English class at the Nzamas and everyone was there again. It is really good to see gogo Nzama feeling so much better. She is eating well and starting to gain back some of the weight she lost over the month of her illness. Muki is working more hours and her increase in income should be helping the family. They are excellent members and it is a joy to be with them each week.

After English we went to the Port Durnford chapel and had Youth. There is 6 to 8 stalwarts and others who come from time to time. Mary had them work on a couple of Articles of Faith and Lindani showed that he had memorized all 13. Although I had not promised anything for those who did, I gave him a good prize for being the first to do it without being prompted. He has a good memory and hopefully does well in school.

We then played a version of Simon Says and after a short time it was obvious that we were not going to get very many of them out so we stopped and went to the memory game where each person repeats what has been mentioned – in this case things you buy when shopping – until there is only one person left. They do very well in this game and we got up to about 20 items before the first person went out. They really enjoy this kind of games and it is good for them.

After Youth we stopped by and saw Bungumuse and looked at his sketches. None of them were good enough to buy but we encouraged him to continue trying. He has talent but it needs shaping.

21 September 2009 – Monday

We and the Bs escorted the elders on a zone activity to the Umfolozi game park. Mary of course loved the experienced – she really would go on a game drive everyday if we could. We had elders Musemare, Babeeyo, and Otieono in our car.

We got to see elephants, cape buffalo, rhinos, kudu, nyala, warthogs, crested guinea fowl (well at least one) giraffe, zebra and wildebeest. Most of them were quite close with the elephant about 20 yards from the road. All in all it was a very successful activity.

In the evening Mary and I went to dinner at Spurs where they have buy one, get one free burger night. So we had rib burgers and there was enough that we brought about half of it home. I used the night to catch up part of this journal and to do some indexing. I am falling behind in my goal to average 50 a day but will keep plugging along. I am enjoying doing the Indiana census because they usually write very clearly.

22 September 2009 – Tuesday

We went with the Bartholomews up to Kosi Bay to pick up a mission car that had been hi-jacked from the elders and had been recovered by the police. The trip up went smoothly with only a little drizzle now and then from very threatening skies. When we got close to Kosi Bay we called the contact number we had and were told to go up to the border and ask for the constable.

So we dutifully drove up to the border and basically hit a stone wall. After some minutes of frustration and another call to the contact number we had we found that the car was not at the border, the contact person was actually spending some days in Richards Bay, and that the constable we needed was back at the police station outside Kosi Bay.

Of course we had no idea where the police station was so I suggested we get Iras and him take us there. However we were saved this by a tender mercy from the Lord in the form of a gracious couple who seeing our distress not only led us to the police station but helped us find the correct constable.

It of course then took a couple of hours for the constable to take care of some other business and get our paperwork done. In the mean time I had found the car and we had determined that it was not going to go anywhere soon. We also discovered the ‘jail’ where prisoners are held. It appeared to be 2 large cells – one for men and one for women. When they saw us they called out to us in a friendly way – I have no idea what they thought we could do for them but we were happy to wave back.

The constable told us they had recovered the car when they stopped a group of men who were planning to hold up a business. They caught one of the men and he has been in the jail for about a month. The others got away but they found 4 guns in the car.

We got all paperwork in order so that all that needs to be done now is to arrange to get some one to go up and tow it back to Richards Bay. It is going to cost a lot of money to get it towed here and repaired. But I guess it is cheaper than buying a new car. I think there have been 3 mission cars hi-jacked since we got to South Africa.

While we were in the area we went to the municipality and the library to see if there was any way we could rent the library for holding church on Sunday. It turns out that you have to get the approval of two different groups of administrators and they never agree on anything. We also found that Iras and the missionaries had pretty much done all that could be done. Our last chance is a very formal looking letter from the Church assuring all concerned that they will be responsible for the rent and any security expenses. If it is meant to be it will happen.

We had a nice lunch at the lodge where we stayed last week. Their hamburgers were so big that it was impossible to eat them without squashing them way down. I ended up using a knife and fork to eat mine. I got a good picture of sister B trying to get her mouth around hers.

Again the trip home went well and along the way we got to talk about a number of things relating to the branches, the schedule for the next few weeks, and of course about their going home. Once we got back to our boarding we found that we were very tired so after a quick trip to the store for something for dinner we pretty much relaxed.

It was easy to see the hand of the Lord in the day. Not only in providing the couple to guide us to the police station, but also for softening the heart of the constable who at first said that there was no way we could get the car because it was evidence in a pending case to change his mind and come up with a way to solve the problem. Now we just need to start praying that the two groups will agree to let us rent the library.

23 September 2009 – Wednesday

We did not go to DDM this morning because we needed meet the Barts at Happy’s crèche to make sure everyone agreed on what was to be done for her wedding on Saturday. Earlier Mary and I had run a number of errands including getting some special paper, some printing done, cleaning my silver ring so Happy can give it to Patrick as a wedding ring, and buying some electronic parts to hopefully solve a problem with the speaker system at Esikhawini.

Later we met with President Machaka for PEC before visiting some members. I felt a real need to visit one sister who is blind in one eye. Her house was out of the way from where we were and there were a number of other members we had not checked out but I told Mary we needed to visit her. When we got there we found that she had been ill – Mary knew this but I did not – that she had also fallen and cracked some ribs, that she had no food or electricity. We gave her some money so she could get electricity and food and told her that we would tell president Malinga so she could get some help.

After visiting her we went to the Esikhawini chapel where I found that the electricity was out and the part I bought would not fix the speaker system. The power being out meant that the presidency meeting would have to be cancelled or moved somewhere else. I explained to presidents Malinga and Nyawo some things that I thought were important and gave them some supplies. I also told them that it was very important that they hold their meeting so they could get things organized.

I decided that if no one was reading this blog, that it made no sense to post to it. So while I continued to write in my personal journal, I stopped posting posting until Sister Mickelsen mentioned yesterday – Sunday the 27th – that she missed reading it. So for Sister Mickelsen and anyone else who might drop in once in a while, here is most of the missing days.

14 September2009 – Monday

More of a L for Lazy than a P-day for us. We worked on the puzzle, checked e-mail and Facebook, did a little house work, and then went to meet the Barts at the mall for lunch. We had a great time talking about our mission, plans for the future, and what we needed to do before they leave for home. Sis B is still not well but she is determined to not let this stop her from finishing on a high note. She is a special lady.

After we said goodbye to the Barts we did some shopping and then went to see The Proposal. This is the second movie we have seen since we came here and it was fun. Completely predictable but still fun. Back at our boarding we finished the puzzle, read, and just enjoyed an uncomplicated day.

Tomorrow it is back to serving others.

16 September2009 – Wednesday

District Development in the morning was excellent. The missionaries are continuing to try to have a perfect cycle – some are doing better than others but they all seem to be trying. The lesson was on praying for help when planning so that the Spirit can guide you.

After DDM we had lunch and then went to Esikhawini to try and locate some more members and get them on our map. We are determined to leave the next couple an Area book that will help them get to know the members quickly so they can be more effective.

We had PEC with President Machaka and the elders. There was not a lot to discuss and we will need to follow up on a few things. After the PEC meeting we went to visit with President Malinga and ended up spending more time there than we had planned. Mainly because he needed to tell me about how well his presidency meeting went with President Thusi. Hopefully it will wet his appetite to hold more of them so the branch will run more effectively.

For some reason by the time we got home I was exhausted – something that is happening more often lately. I hope it is just because I have not been exercising enough and of course getting older. It is a pain to be tired much of the time.

17 September 2009 – Thursday

Normal morning and after some planning we headed over to the Richards Bay chapel to give President Mann directions and keys to our boarding because we will not be home until after the District Council meeting. He was already in his meetings so we went to plan B and headed for Meernsee where we got our mail and I bought some small nails and a wrench. Then I paid the water bill – $2.50 – for the month before going to McDonalds for some lunch.

As we were driving to McDonalds we found ourselves following the Barts car and when they pulled into the mall we parked and said hello to them. Sister B seems to be feeling much better and that is great news. Lunch at McDonalds was as elder B said – always good. It was memorable because Mary did not have her traditional fillet of fish but had my favorite – a deluxe quarter pounder.

We then went back to the chapel at just the right time to catch president Mann between interviews. Actually he was taking the assistants to McDonalds for lunch. I had a chance to talk to elder Mbhiti for a while – we always have a lot of fun together and he says he is really enjoying the opportunity to serve as an AP. Mary gave the map and keys to the President and we headed off to Esikhawini.

We drove around J section with the GPS and tried to pin-point where members lived. There are not many members in J but some of the strongest members – including president Malinga – live there. We did not visit any of the members because we want to have a member with us when we visit the less actives.

We had a good English class at the Nzama’s – all three of our students were there, and an excellent Mutual. Almost all the youth showed up pretty much on time and Mary spent most of the time on the 9^th and 10^th Article of Faith. She had them start to memorize them, taught them what they meant and we had the puzzle game where they have to assemble the pieces in correct order. It turned out that Lindani and Siya were the champs – Lindani had them just about memorized before the class so they had an edge.

We hurried from that meeting to grab something to snack on before the Council meeting. I had a nourishing ice cream bar and a couple of rusks. The meeting was very informative and we got quite a bit done. President Baldwin taught from the handbook about who could and could not be called on missions. We also discussed adding new members to the Council which will be very good training. While all this was going on Mary and Sister B were waiting in the car for us to finish.

When we arrived home we could not be sure that the President was there so we quickly checked the alarm and found that he was there. We ended up having breakfast for dinner and talking for a few hours. I almost feel guilty spending his time talking but he did not seem to have anything that he had to do so I did not feel too guilty. It was great to talk about the elders, the mission experience, and how the spirit changes lives. It was a 1 7/8 mite day.

20 September 2009 – Sunday

With the Zone Leaders in Kosi Bay, we got to pick up the Esikhawini elders and take them to the chapel. We then picked up brother Nkozi for PEC. President Nyawo thought we were not going to pick him up so he took a taxi. So the leaders are starting to understand the importance of PEC and are trying to get it functioning.

There was an excellent turnout today – 82 was the count which is about 20 over the average of late. Two recent converts – Sister Zibani and sister Mavundla – gave excellent talks on the family and the plan of salvation. The intermediate hymn was ‘Called to Serve’ which led perfectly into my talk on service. I felt that it went well and I often felt the spirit. In looking over the congregation it seemed that most of the adults were paying attention. The youth are always a bonus.

President Nyawo taught Sunday School – they really need to call a regular teacher and the members need to be able to know what it will be on in advance. But everything take times so we will just let it progress one step at a time.

There is no teacher for Priesthood and President Thusi usually fills in. I suggested that since there was no AP teacher that he teach the youth and I would take the older PH holders. I gave a decent if not inspiring lesson on Patriarchal blessings.

Since there was no power in the whole area, Mary could not hold her piano lessons and an attempt to get people to stay and look over their records fell flat so we got to head for home earlier than usual.

There was one great experience that pretty much made the day. The two counselors have reached the point where they want to hold Presidency meetings. President Thusi told me that he had mentioned to President Malinga that they really needed to hold them each week. Just hearing that made my heart beat a little faster. The next thing you know they will be holding Branch Council Meeting. They are also starting to go home teaching – another big move that will help the branch.

In the evening we went to the Barts where we had a light meal with a few of the elders and then came home. While we were there Mary printed off some things she needed, including Elder Musemare’s genealogy. It ended up close to a 2 mite day for me.