30 September 2009 – Wednesday

DDM this morning with the Empangeni District was the last one of this cycle. Some time spent with who would be transferred. Elder Richey is of course going home so that was a no-brainer. Elder Mokopotsa has been here for 6 months so he will move. Either Elder Babeeyo or Elder Mholo will probably go with there being a split among the group of which one it will be. With 15 elders coming in and 10 or so leaving it will be a fun transfer.

Elder Maremela gave a short talk on the reasons for being obedient with love of God being the highest. There was a short exercise on planning for a specific investigator that included a short video. As the district discussed their investigators it was obvious that the Esikhawini – Port Durnford elders did not have much going right now. Their investigator pool continues to shrink in those branches. Empangeni is doing quite well – Babeeyo and Mholo seem to work well together. Elder Richey bore a strong testimony of the work here in South Africa – I am interested to see how he does when he gets home to San Diego.

It is enlightening to hear about how missionaries came to serve a mission. Not all Utah young men have prepared since childhood to serve. In fact I believe the majority that I have met and talked to here, did not really decide to go on missions until a year or two before they came.  Of course most of the African elders are converts and their stories about how they chose to serve a mission are varied. Many of them seem to have had run into problems getting out after they had decided to serve. Everything seems to happen to them from lost or hard to get documents to branch/district/ward/stake leaders failing to send their papers in. Satan does not want the Lord’s Missionaries in the field.

After the meeting we had lunch and then went to Esikhawini for PEC with President Machaka, got bunk by a student I was to help with Accounting, and did some visiting of members including Sister Tembe. We volunteered to take her to the hospital next Wednesday for physical therapy.

We ended the day by eating dinner at the mall and then returning to our boarding for the evening.

For the last couple of months I have been tired almost all the time. I am not sure if is because I am getting no exercise and gaining weight or if I have managed to catch something that is sapping my strength.