Daily Archives: October 4, 2009

03 October 2009

03 October 2009 – Saturday

Today was the first day of sunshine we have had for a while. Another nice thing about the day was that there was a crisp breeze that kept things from getting too hot.

It seems we spend a lot of our time shopping for things we need in the coming days. Today it for supplies to help a young man start a car wash business, food for feeding the elders between sessions tomorrow, and a couple of other stops.

In the afternoon we went to Port Durnford to meet with a non-LDS family that we are helping and to deliver the car wash supplies. To see the smile on these people’s faces for the little that we did more than pays for our service. It brings to mind King Benjamin’s comment on serving God by serving our fellow beings.

We then went to Esikhawini where Mary had a couple of piano students show up for their lessons. Unfortunately three others did not make it. The idea of practicing regularly still is difficult to get across to them but they seem to be improving.

While Mary was teaching, I tried to clean up the track of one of the big sliding gates that we must use each time we come. It helped a little but it still is hard to open and close. I am going to see if a lot of WD-40 might help.

I tried to make sure that transport was arranged for conference tomorrow but Sister Joyce was not answering her phone. Later when we went by we found that she was in Durban at a funeral. I was pretty sure that she had made the arrangements but just in case I told the branch presidents to be prepared to gather taxis if none showed up at the chapels tomorrow.

We got home in time to watch the opening session of conference. The talks by Elder Osguthorpe and Elder Bednar were especially important to me. Elder Osguthorpe’s relating of stories of how teachers touched his life was especially meaningful. I noticed how close his thoughts blended with Elder Bednar’s recent CES talk. These talks have got me thinking about how I teach and what I can do to improve the spiritual content. Elder Bednar’s comments on consistency in having family prayer, scripture study and family home evening is something I will always remember and I am sure I will use.

I did not stay up to listen to the afternoon session of conference. My guess is that they will have in available on the web in a day or two. How amazing it is to live in a time when we can watch and listen to General Conference in real time and then go back an listen to it again and again in just a few days. What a great blessing this is for all those who have a computer and access to the internet.