29 September 2009 – Tuesday

We spent part of the day visiting members of Esikhawini branch who were having birthdays or who had birthdays not to long ago. We wished them happy birthday, gave them a card and a small present. This came about because we got a list of all the birthdays from the church records. The B’s have been doing this is their branches for a long time.

Sister Caroline Mkhwanazi is now 78 and her mind is as sharp as a tack. She is constantly going around her neighborhood introducing the gospel. While we visited with her she told us about a mixed couple she helped to get married who lives in the Richards Bay area and has no friends. She has invited them to conference so they can see that we have Africans, whites, and Indians in our congregation so they will not stand out and of course how they will be welcomed.

Sister Mdlovu is a fairly recent convert and we found the four Esikhawini elders there having lunch. They mentioned that she feeds the elders every Tuesday. From the amount of food that was on their plates I doubt if they have to eat again for a couple of days.

Sister Buthelezi was not home so we will try again on Friday. But we did get to talk to her grandson who said that his sister Nkule who is on a mission is doing well.

As we become more familiar with the streets in Esikhawini – or perhaps it would be better to say as Mary becomes more familiar – we find that we can make it to a good number of the homes without needing to refer to the maps. However we do get a little lost from time to time.