Daily Archives: March 20, 2010

19 March 2010

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This is the track leading to the Shandu’s homestead – this is the good section. Brother Shandu wants his sons Goodman and Tolerance – the two on the left – to hear the message of the restored gospel. The last picture is our way out to the sand road that will finally take us to the main dirt road. The GPS never acknowledge we were on a known road until we got to the dirt road and then it was not too sure about that.

19 March 2010 – Friday

We had a new experience today that reminded me that the Lord does direct the actions of his missionaries.  

But first we spent a morning cleaning out and organizing a number of the files that we inherited from the B’s and the Hafens. They left us lots of wonderful things but also many things that are out of date with some going back to 2005 and 2006 if not before.

The project started when I was looking for a particular list that I knew existed but had managed to file somewhere so safe that I could not find it. This led to examining stacks of papers, notebooks, ring binders and file drawers. Amazingly I finally found it but not until I had gone through lots of other things.

In the afternoon we went to Enseleni for English class but all our students bunked us. I usually call to remind them but since they have been good about coming, I let it slide. We were sorry to miss the class but it did give us an opportunity to leave for Esikhawini and our meeting with brother Shandu, a new convert in Engwelezane. Him, his wife and 13 year old son were baptized on February 28th. A couple of weeks ago he asked the Elders for someone to go with him to the family homestead to teach the gospel to two of his sons. The elders asked if we would do this and we said of course we would.

We met brother Shandu and his son at the KFC in Esikhawini and he directed us to the homestead. It was outside of Esikhawini on one of the few roads we had not been on before. At one time it was a well graded asphalt road, but as it decayed they did not replace the asphalt so much of it is now gravel which means going slow. We then switched to a single track sand road – I have no idea what we would have done if a car had been coming the other way because it was pretty much a sunken road – and then a trail that was probably much like what the handcarts had to follow across the prairie. So it was a surprise to find that their homestead was fully fenced and included a nice home.

We had a good discussion with Goodman (21) and Tolerance (17)Shandu. We just talked for a while and got to know them a little. Neither of them have jobs so they spend the day around the homestead. I then told them of my own experience of being taught by the missionaries when I was about their age. Tolerance seemed to be very interested in what I said about the spirit testifying of the truth to me.

Mary told them the Joseph Smith story and I asked Goodman to read  Moroni 10:3-5. I then committed them to read Alma 32. Tolerance said that he wanted to read the whole book. I had brought them  a CD of the Tabernacle Choir and suggested they listen to it while they read. They then agreed to have the missionaries come and teach them next week.

When we took brother Shandu – his son stays at the homestead for the weekend – back to Empangani we found that he lived very close to the elders. I must to remember to ask the elders how they found the family since they live in a house that is all by itself along a main road. It does not seem to be a place they would have tracted.

Our drive back to our boarding took a little longer as usual because there was a huge frontend loader sedately driving down the John Ross and no one could pass it because of the traffic coming the other way. It is one of those things that happens here – the traffic backing up behind some piece of road or farm equipment. It is just part of the experience of being in South Africa. It also teaches me to be patient.