Some days I get so involved with what is going on that I do not take any pictures the only one I took today was the Enseleni elders with Khulekani and Bongani outside the library.
18 March 2010 – Thursday
It was a great day for Richards Bay. Today we were able to help 3 young men – Khulekani, Solo and Musa – be interviewed by President Mann so they can send in their mission papers. What a great blessing this will be for their families, their branches and the district. President Mann also interviewed 6 men to receive the Melchezidek Priesthood and to be ordained elders. We are winning.
Besides this Mary got her incision re-packed and later gave Sazi a piano lesson while we were at Esikhawini to help organize the interviews.
Almost by accident – the men we were suppose to meet at 2:30 in Enselini were there 90 minutes early – I had a good meeting with President Vilane and three young men about the less active members of the branch and what they could do to help get them active. I mentioned that since two of them were about to receive the MP that they and Khulekani was about to go on a mission that they really needed to step up and help the president re-activate the many youth that were not coming to church. We especially talked about the need for regular activities for the YM and YW so that they can participate and be fellowshipped.
While we were in Esikhawini I also had a chance to talk to president Machaka and it looks like the wedding is going forward on the 27th as planned. We will need to go ring shopping with them sometime during the week. Actually it will have to be either Thursday or Friday as we will be in Durban Monday to Wednesday.
By the time we were pulling into the driveway the last bit of light was disappearing in the West. It really was a great day.
The big event of the day was that we took Thandi and Nonhlahla to Zululand University to see if I could help them get enrolled in school to become teachers. Although we were not able to meet the woman who is in charge of the program, we did meet Professor Chandru Kistan who is the Director of Quality Promotion and Assurance who helped get her telephone number – it was not listed in the university phone book. I got to talk to him as we walked and he told me some of the history of the university which was established under apartheid as a black university and has never really had the best intra-structure nor equipment.
I think that Mary and I might have been the only white people on the campus when we were there. It was also interesting to see the respect I got that did not seem to be extended to the young ladies who were with me.
17 March 2010 – Wednesday
Two tender mercies come to mind today. First was going to the mall to get a box that I could pack the Ladysmith Wilson’s Nephi statue in so I could ship it today. When I drove up behind Spar there were only two boxes sitting on the ground that had not already been broken down. They were sturdier than most boxes we have gotten there and were the perfect size for the statue.
Soon after I got home and had started packing the statue, Elder Wilson called to see if the statue had been sent and I was glad to report that it would be mailed in just a couple of hours. One other interesting thing about shipping this statue was that the B’s left behind the end of a roll of bubble wrap that was just right for protecting the statue. So I guess the Wilsons were supposed to have their Nephi arrive in perfect condition as another reminder of their South African mission.
We went to the Empangeni DDM and as always were spiritually fed. After the meeting I took some pictures of the district because at least Elder Dishon will certainly be transferred next week. They are a great group of elders and seem to really enjoy being together. What a privilege it is to be here with them and to be able to share their spirit.
After eating our traditional lunch at the Empangeni KFC we were trying to decide what to do until Mary’s English class when I remembered I needed to call all the branch presidents to make sure all those who needed to be interviewed by President Mann tomorrow had been interviewed by them and knew the time they needed to be available.
When I called President Vilane he told me he was at the mall and had a problem. I could not quite figure out what it was but felt we should go there and help him. It turned out he was trying to renew something that he needed to get medical help and had run into a problem. I was able to quickly solve it and as we were about to part, I asked what he would have done if I had not called just when I did. He said he was trying to figure that out when I called. This is just another example how the Lord takes care of his servants when they are worthy and listen.
We are blessed so often as we serve that sometimes we do not even realize that the Lord is blessing us. Just now I thought about the air-conditioners that the landlord put in that makes our boarding so nice to be in. It was so unexpected that we never even considered asking for it. But he showed up at our door just as summer was starting and I just happened to mention that it was a great boarding and would be perfect if it had air-conditioning. He did not even really acknowledge my thought but the next thing we know they are installing not one unit but two!
Of course we woke up to rain on this P-day. I mentioned to Mary that when she was in the hospital or recovering it had not rained on P-day. Perhaps we need to ask President Mann if we could have P-day on some other day. Then at least the rest of the zone would not be stuck with rain.
I met the elders at Hi-Q to replace a front tire that was badly worn on one edge. The people there tried to sell us four new tires but we ended up just putting the spare on and getting out. I did talk to the manager about re-imbursement for the rental car but it looks like we are just going to have to turn it in to our insurance company and let them fight it our with theirs.
The next thing that we needed to do was to go to the hospital so Mary could get her incision looked and re-packed. Hopefully some day it will heal completely and the twice a week trips to the hospital can stop. After that we basically we spent the day running errands and spending money. We picked up my suit – now I have no excuse for not wearing it to church or to zone conference. We did our shopping, went to the ATM, bought electricity and did other necessary tasks.
We did have one adventure for the day. Not far from Meer en See there is a road that takes off from the John Ross and according to the map joins a road that runs along the lake. Mary has wanted to go there for a long time and she convinced me to give it a try. As many roads here the pavement ended at a single track dirt road which we took through the jungle until we came face to face with a bakkie coming the other way. It turned out that a tree had fallen across the road so it was blocked.
I backed up and managed to get the car stuck in the mud. The driver of the bakkie helped me try to get it out but it would not budge. Just then two men came up the road and gave us a hand. I have no idea where they came from and they just as quickly disappeared back into the bush. Maybe it was two of the 3 Nephites or if not at least two tender mercies for sure. We then tried the other fork of the road but after going through a couple of nasty little puddles we gave that up also and came home.
The rest of the day just moved on through. Mary started a new 1500 piece puzzle of a leopard that we bought earlier. From the looks of it is going to keep us busy for a couple of weeks at least.
While at the mall I dropped in to Woolworths to get some strawberries and Portuguese rolls – they did not have either but they did have fresh sweet corn on the cob. We have not had any since we got here so for dinner we had hamburger patties, sliced tomatoes and delicious corn on the cob. It seemed like we were home again.
I was in the Meer en See mall a couple of weeks ago on a P-day and I did not have on my white shirt and tie but I was wearing my badge. A man, who I did not know, walked by and said ‘where is your white shirt and tie.’ I explained it was our day off and he just kind of nodded. Now I have not been in that mall very often and I am not sure he was commenting because he had seen me before or if he had just seen other missionaries with their white shirts and ties. Anyway I felt rather bad because usually even on P-day I will wear whites when we are out shopping.
What was funny was that a week later I was back at the mall trying to pick up my cleaning but this time I was wearing shirt and tie. Amazingly the same man walked by, looked at me and said ‘I see you have your white shirt and tie on. Good for you.’ I guess the lesson to be learned here is that people recognize us because of our badges even if they do not know us personally so we should always look and act like representatives of Jesus Christ and his Church no matter what day it is.
We woke up to a rainy Sabbath Day. It was our early Sunday of the cycle because the zone leaders are up in Kozi Bay so we picked up the Esikhawini elders at 7:00 and then dropped them off at the chapel before picking up President Nyawo and his family for PEC. A month before we leave I will stop picking him up so he gets use to getting to PEC himself but for now it is a gives me some time with him to talk about the day ahead. PEC was pretty good but there is still much room for improvement. Just the fact that they have it and presidency meeting is a big step for the presidency. They are also now always talking about home teaching even if they are not all doing it is another step. While we were in the meeting it the rain increased and that is never good for attendance.
After PEC we headed for Port Durnford. Mark Duplooy was assigned to be the District Council speaker he was supposed to meet me at the Esikhawini chapel and follow us to PD. However when I called to find out where he was, he said that he had forgotten our arrangements but was in and while we were Port Durnford and was getting instructions to the chapel. They must have been good ones because when we got to the chapel he and his wife was there.
The rain may have kept a few people at home, but for the main part the stalwarts came. Many of them were dripping wet after walking 2 kilometers or more in the rain to get to church. Fufu arrived soaked to the skin as did one other young man. The smart ones had umbrellas. Sister Chirwa and Thandi Nzama gave good talks and so did Mark. Mark talk on D&C 1 gave me some ideas for my own talk I would be giving later in Enseleni. By the time they finish straggling in, there was 26 present.
When we got to Enseleni it was again raining and there was just a handful of members present. When president Vilane started the meeting about 15 after noon, there was less than 20 and it ended up at 37 because instead of 20 primary children there were only 5.
I felt good about some of my talk and not so good about some. I did notice that some of the audience was following in their scriptures and marking some verses that I was discussing. Khulekani taught the youth and I joined them. I think we had a good lesson and I tried to add some thoughts without taking over the teaching. All of the YM joined in at one time or another which is why I like the fact that they are dividing the YM and the older group.
After the meeting I talked to President Vilane about any who needed to be interviewed for receiving the MP and he said there were at least two. One of them is Thokozani Zikhal who Elder B introduced to me back in October as one who should be made an elder in the future. President Vilane feels he is now ready so he will be interviewed on Thursday.
Before leaving Enseleni we drove over to Mama Zulus to tell her we missed her at church. She had a couple of excuses but still said she was sorry she did not come. She showed us a nice coffee table book that the B’s had sent her for Christmas.
By the time we got home we were both quite tired. We had left the house at about 6:30 and it was after 2:30 before we got home. I hope we had done some good in the world today.
In the morning the ground crew came over and harvested our lawn…it has been about 5 weeks since they were here and the grass in some spots was at least two feet high. It took two of them almost 3 hours to get it all cut, trimmed, raked and carried away.
While Mary stayed home to keep an eye on the workers, I went to the Richards Bay boarding to do an inspection. Other than one of the fridges, it was really neat and clean. While I was a there I noticed that Elder Lemmon and his companion had an excellent way of keeping track of their investigators, less actives, etc. 3 x 5 cards were on the wall with color coded dots that not only told what they were, but what members were friendshipping them.
After the crew was done with the yard, we went down to Meer en See to pick up my cleaning and to mail off some of the insurance claims that we hope to get reimbursed for. Mary had spent much of the morning getting everything documented and in some kind of reasonable order. It turned out my cleaning was not back and if I do not get it tomorrow, I will not have my suit for Sunday.
We picked up some treats for the Enseleni youth and then came home to grab a quick lunch before heading to Enseleni for an English lesson, followed by Seminary and Youth. After Mary had taught the English class, I met with President Vilane and we went over the branch list to see if we could come up with a way to get some of the less actives back to church. He has been diligent in contacting many of them and although they promise to beat church on Sunday they seldom make it.
Khulekani teaches both Institute and Seminary. Since he will be going on a mission some time in the next few months, I suggested to President Vilane that they might need to change the day that the Youth meet to a day when Nonhlahla will not be going to school.
13 March 2010 – Saturday
I spent my morning finishing up the end of the year audits. Calwyn was there working on the computer cables and President Baldwin was there teaching President and sister Vezi computer skills. Mary stayed home and worked on other mission business.
I got home in time to have some lunch and it was soon time to head out to Esikhawini for Mary’s piano lessons. While she did that I delivered an old computer and printer that the Hafens had left to President Nyawo so he could do branch business. While I was there we talked about branch business and I helped him fill out the sustaining list for tomorrow’s branch conference.
I went from there to the Malingas’ house to just have a nice visit with brother Malinga. We used to meet almost every week when he was branch president but it has been a couple of months or more since I was there. We had a good talk, I got to see Senzkile’s new baby boy and take a picture of him with his mother and grandfather. While I was there Mathuba came home and I had a short talk with him. It is really too bad he is not interested in a mission because he has tremendous talent. I guess he never really developed a testimony along the way.
By the time I got back to the Esikhawini chapel, Mary was almost done. I had a nice visit with Sister Mthalane who was digging up sweet potatoes out in her garden. What a great lady who has raised her children so well in the church. The daughter is married in the temple, Sne has been on a mission and is planning for a temple marriage some day in the future. Solo will be putting in his mission papers on Thursday, and Sazi will go when he can. Add to that her semi-adopted son Musa is will also be putting in his mission papers on Thursday and you have a very special and spiritual family. Her name will be blessed by her family for generations to come.
I also had a short talk with sister Malinga who was there cleaning the church for Sunday. She does not come to church so I was surprised that she was willing to spend an afternoon cleaning. I wonder if she knew English better she would come. We have tried to get her interested in English classes since the month we got here but she never comes.
After piano lessons we met up with the Griesmers and had a nice visit with them as we ate dinner at an Italian place in the mall that Mary wanted to try. The food was not terrible but it was also not good enough to want to come back again. But we enjoyed talking with the Griesemers and their very interesting day. They had tried all afternoon to find a missing member who was supposed to have a farm somewhere outside of Engwelezane but after visiting three places without any success, they gave it up as a lost cause. They even had two members along as guides and still were unsuccessful. But I think they still enjoyed the experience of being out in the field – literally!
