The Empangani Zone…announcing the second coming.

16 March 2010 – Tuesday

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!