23 March 2010 – Tuesday

We had breakfast at Little Haven with the Harms and the Ericsons. We invited them to come to Richards Bay and talk to Sister Mathe to see if they could get to see the King and Queen. Sister Mathe is related to the Queen and she might be able to arrange something.

We decided to do a little site seeing before Presidency Meeting so we drove to an area outside of Durban known as the 1000 hills. From the pictures I saw on the web I thought we would be traveling through a preserve type area with perhaps a few scattered homesteads. Instead we found that the area we went through was well developed and popular with those who wanted to get away from the heat of Durban that was just a few kilometers away.

However we had a good time visiting some small gift shops and having lunch at a restaurant that sat on the edge of a cliff and looked out over kilometer after kilometer of green hills. Some of them were table top hills that looked like excellent places to have homes or small towns. There was a wonderful breeze that made the temperature almost cool. Besides the view, the food was very good and not very expensive.

At the presidency meeting President Mann started with the statistics for the first quarter which were basically off the charts – the good direction. If the rest of the year continues in the same manner – and there is no reason why it should not – the new expanded mission could have over 900 baptisms this year. Also there will be over 60 missionaries serving from the old mission area which means in a couple of years these powerful elders and sisters will be returning to their branches and wards. If put to use they will be a great strength to the church here in South Africa.

After our presidency meeting the couples went out to dinner together. The Harms and the Mickelsens joined us at RJ Steakhouse almost across the street from the Hillcrest chapel. We got to sit across from the Harms and learned about them and their calling in public relations. The only thing that kept it from being a perfect evening was that the Manns could not be with us. They had missionaries coming in and then transfers. President and Sister Mann seem to sleep with their running shoes on.

One funny thing was that elder Swazi-Wilson ordered a ‘lady size’ steak and then a pink milk shake. He even did it in a falsetto voice to everyone’s amusement. We really miss being up in Swaziland with Wilsons as our neighbors. They – like all of the couples that are serving or have served while we were here – are just plain good people who are happy to give something back to the Lord for their many blessings.