03 February 2010 – Wednesday

Woke much too early but could not go back to sleep – later after breakfast and getting ready I was able to take a short nap.

President Vezi, his wife, and other family came over about 9:00 so I could help him make a business profile that he could turn in to RBM in hopes of getting some business for his construction company. I am not sure how good a job I did for him – Mary would have done much better – but at least he has something that looks pretty good to give them. While we worked on that, sister Vezi and another sister cleaned part of the house.  When they asked me for a mop I showed sister Vezi our squeeze mop and she did not think much of it – they are use to using a string mop which cleans quickly and well.

After they left I fixed myself some lunch from the leftovers that I got at Spurs last night. Their fake pork ribs – think McRibs – are very good because they have a wonderful BBQ sauce.  While I was eating, president Mngadi called and we set a time for me to meet him at his shop to go over his needs for the temple trip at the end of the month.

Just as I was leaving for Engwelezane to meet with President Mngadi, the elders drove up and had a fax they needed get right off – they had a combined DDM at RB that I missed because of helping President Vezi. It was the last one for at least elders Wengert and Nare before they head back to their homes.

I had a good visit with pres Mngadi – we went through their plans for the temple trip at the end of February and made arrangements for the Greismers to teach a temple prep class to the three who are going for the first time.  The Bartholomews had set this up before they left in October and so their influence continues long after they have gone home.

My next stop was Esikhawini where I went with the elders to meet with an older baba who has been inactive for many years. They thought that having one gray hair talking to another would be good. He has a great knowledge of the bible –much better than mine – but I was able to hold my own as we talked about some gospel subjects. Since I was trying to get to see Mary before visiting hours were over, I had to cut the visit short, but we made an appointment to come back on Saturday, I got him to say the closing prayer, and a commitment to come to church on Sunday.  After thinking about it I am not sure I did the branch any favor by having him come.

I did not make it to the hospital in time so I just got some fuel and went home.  I was only here for about 90 minutes and then I left for the RB chapel and District Council meeting. I asked President Baldwin before hand if I could be excused early so I could see Mary and give her the clothes she needs to come home in tomorrow. He of course said it was fine.

Mary looked and felt fine but was not happy about the food. About 80% of the time it is not very good but then hospital food seldom is. We went for a nice walk around the floor for about 10 minutes. She moves quite well and hopefully will get stronger each day. She will feel much better when she can come home and not be so bored.

Although there has been some trauma in our lives these last 10 days – Mary’s operation and loss of the car – I still feel blessed for being here in South Africa trying to do the Lord’s work. How different it would have been if Mary had become sick in Indonesia. It would have been at least one day and perhaps more before we could have gotten her to Singapore for an operation in a safe hospital.  But here she was operated on by a very qualified surgeon in a good hospital just 15 hours after she first became aware of the problem.

By the time I got home I was dead tired and I was turning off the light by 9:00. I think I was asleep 2 minutes later. It was a good day in Richards Bay…

02 February 2010 – Tuesday

In the morning I met with President Vezi to help him with his business plan.  He has some good ideas and if he can keep to his plan he should be able to have a good income for his family. The great news is that he has obtained the contract to build a home and if he can work out financing with the bank, he stands to make a nice profit. My goal is to see that he keeps to his plan and realizes that much of the money that comes in should be put in the bank to finance the next house. I gave him a copy of ‘Where there are no jobs’ and told him that he needed to follow the rules if he wanted to have a successful business.

I also got the HT and VT messages for February off the church website and made copies for Esikhawini. I will also make them for the other branches if they want them.

The afternoon just kind of went by without me accomplishing much. I really miss having my Eternal companion with me. She pointed out the other day that while she had been in the hospital or away for a week or more in the past, I always had one of the kids around the house. I seem to have no desire to eat well – Cindy told me in a chat that I needed to take better care of myself – or do much. I certainly will be much happier when she is finally let out of the hospital.

I got a call from Mary saying she was moved out of ICU to the Surgery ward. That was great news and maybe that means she can come home tomorrow. When I visited her she was again sitting in one of the chairs and looked really good.

She did have two complaints – the food for the day was not very good and she kept falling asleep all day. I think her being up and around just has caused her fatigue so her body wants to rest. There is not much that can be done about the food. I have been taking her bottles of Crystal Light which she really enjoys – especially if I bring it frozen.

During the evening visit she talked to Sister Mann and got the good news that there were two new couples coming to the Durban mission in April. One is the friends of the Hafens and we do not know anything about the other but they are proselyting missionaries and that is what we need.  I imagine President Mann will send one to Richards Bay but nothing is certain.  

01 February 2010 – Monday

I woke very early so I could meet the Elders at the RB chapel and then take them to the Umfolozi  game park. They almost all arrived on time and we were on our way by 6:10. It took just about an hour to get there and after some maneuvering by the great staff,  I got them all in for only R225 and our Gold Rhino Card.

Once I saw them safely through the gates, I turned around and came back home. Along the way I stopped to answer the cell and found a text message from Mary saying that she felt I should stay with the elders and I had to write back that it was too late. Later in the day when I talked to her she said she had a bad dream during the night that something was going to happen if they were left on their own and so she had the nurse text me. I was able to report to her that they had all returned safely with no losses.

On arriving back in RB (the initials for Richards Bay is the same for Redondo Beach where we lived for some 15 years or so and I served as a bishop for 8 of them) I stopped and treated myself to breakfast at McDonalds. If I take the strange – to me – ham off the egg  McMuffin it tastes like home.

I then spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon doing some errands, laundry, and house cleaning with breaks for e-mailing and reading along the way.

Shortly after they got back from the game park, Elders Kekana and Ketili come over to use internet so  Elder Ketili could work on his application for BYU and Elder Kekana could check his mail. I asked Elder Ketili about his chances of getting into BYU and he said he did not know but if he did get accepted he would find some way to go. I find many of the elders realize the need for a good education if they are going to have a life where they can support a family and serve in the Kingdom.

In the afternoon when I went to see Mary, I found her sitting in a chair. She had been unplugged from all her monitors and tubes and was able to walk to the bathroom, take a shower, etc. She only has to drag along the bottle from her drain. The wonderful thing is that even without the epidural she does not have any pain.

I did not stay very long because Carrie and Vanessa Baldwin came to visit and they were soon followed by sister Khumalo. This certainly brightened her day.

Between trips to the hospital the Esikhawini elders come over so the Zone Leaders could view and pring the graphs for the week. They all looked very tired – especially elder Nkosi. It turned out they got up at 4:30 to get ready to be at RB by 6:00. As I bid them goodbye I suggested they all get to bed early tonight.

My evening visit is not too long. I took her the newspapers so she could do the puzzles. She is now eating semi – solid food. Some she says is quite good but some is typical hospital food.  She is reading in the Book of Mormon and fellowshipping one of the nurses who has had contact with the missionaries in the past.

My guess is that this will remain empty – but miracles do happen.