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 They left us lots of wonderful things but also many things that are out of date with some going back to 2005 and 2006 if not before.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 28^th. 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.

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 27^th 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 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!

15 March 2010 – Monday

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.

14 March 2010 – Sunday

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.

12 March 2010 – Friday

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!

11 March 2010 – Thursday

Yeah! We went to the hospital this morning and Mary came out with her pump. No longer does she have to look like she is carrying two purses when we out and around. To say she is happy does not cover her feelings. While she was getting her pump removed, I went shopping for things we need later today. I had just pulled up to the hospital again when she called to say she was ready to go.

We then went to Richards Bay DDM and we had a good experience with some role playing as investigators. After DDM we came home to get some lunch and to pack up everything we would need for an afternoon of classes at Port Durnford.

First there was English class at the Nzamas with gogos Nzama, Chirwa and Mlondo – they were all very happy to see ‘their teacher.’ After English Class we went to the chapel where we had seminary, played some BoM Bingo, and fed them ham sandwiches. After Youth Mary taught piano to Lungani who I think will turn out to be her best student after Sazi.

By the time they were done it was about 5:30 and we did not get home until well after 6:00. So we had about the first full days work since Mary woke up with pain some 6 weeks ago. What I found interesting was that Mary was not really tired but I was.

09 March 2010 – Tuesday

It was a lovely, warm day in Richards Bay and we took advantage of it to go out and make visits in Enseleni. I called Khulekani to find out if he was available to go out with us and visit some of the members and he was happy to do so.

Since he was able to get a copy of his receipt for his police clearance, the first thing we did was to review Khulekani’s mission application. Mary went through it carefully to find out what was still needed and where it needed to be signed.

We found out that he needed more passport pictures so he had to change from his everyday clothes to a white shirt and tie. He also needed to have a lot of his papers duplicated and certified so we decided to this first. One nice thing about South Africa is that you can go to the police station and have almost anything certified for free.

After the police station we went to the have some lunch at McDonalds before going to the mall for pictures. While he was getting his picture taken I did some other errands like getting airtime and some cash so I could then go to the hospital and pay a bill.

Having got all the errands done we went back to Enseleni where we visited Mama Zulu and Thandi  Mkhwanazi. When we got to the Mkhwanazi home, we found her mother sitting on a mat in the shade at the side of the house. So we joined her – I forgot to get a picture – there and had a nice meeting with her and Thandi. Thandi’s mother has not joined the church mainly because she does not know English well enough to participate. This is of course the problem for all but the youngest generations of black African women. Many of them never went to school or only went for a few years so they never learned English very well.

Thandi has been trying to get into Zululand University but has had some problems because they want up front fees that they just do not have. Sister B talked to me about this last week and I promised to follow up. So we made arrangement to go with Thandi to the university and to see if I can convince them to let her in to their program and pay the fees after she gets her PEF loan.

Our last stop in Enseleni was at President Vilanes where, after have a short visit with the president, we dropped off Khulekani so he could have his mission interview. Next week he can be interviewed by President Mann and then he can turn in his papers. We are hoping that he goes before we leave so we can be at his farewell. He is going to be a great missionary and I would love to be able to see him in 20 years. Who knows maybe I can.

As we were driving out of Enseleni school was just letting out. When we came around a corner the whole world seemed to be alive with students in their colorful school uniforms. They not only covered the sides of the road but the road itself so we had to carefully crawl through them so they could part long enough for us to get through. Mary took a couple of pictures but they just could capture the scene as it was before us.

We drove back to our boarding where I dropped off Mary and went took the car to the car wash. I was lucky because there were no other cars being washed so instead of taking the usual 45 minutes to an hour, I was out in 30 minutes.

In the evening I went over to the Richards Bay Chapel where I met with Calwyn Baldwin to work on the audit. While I finished up 3 of the branch reports – I left the hardest ones for next time – he made lots of copies of branch lists for me. Because Calwyn has everything so well organized, doing the audit is not hard but it is time consuming. However I can understand need for a closer look at the way the Lord’s money is handled but I am glad I will not be here for the next one.

Back at our boarding we watched an episode of Numb3ers and Mary started another puzzle. While she was doing that I looked at Facebook and was surprised to get a chat message from brother Hafen. He said that a woman they know told her that her parents who are in the MTC and was called to go to the Joburg mission was called out of class and asked to change to the Durban mission. If this is true, then they will be here next week. My guess is that since the re-alignment of the two missions the area asked for the re-assignment. I plan to call President Mann tomorrow morning to find out if he has heard anything about it. It would be great if it is true because there might then be enough couples that one could be sent here to Richards Bay.

We had a good day. Mary held up well but was happy to be able to spend the evening relaxing. Hopefully this will just keep improving so we can finish our last months of our mission doing what we can to build up the Kingdom here.

08 March 2010 – Monday

We had planned to go to St Lucia and take the hippo boat ride but I just was not in the mood so instead we finished the puzzle and then headed out to do some errands and some exploring. We went to Meer en See where we took some of my clothes to the cleaners and got money from the ATM. A quick stop at the Rhino Club to see how we could get into the bird watching area was nonproductive because the young man who was there was new and did not even know where the gate was. So we crossed that off our agenda for the day. We then went to our post office box where we managed to find 4 bills and a couple of drawings from Olivia and Charlotte to add to our fridge.

We then drove out to see where the road through Mzingazi went. We followed the paved road until it became dirt and then continued through a thick forest until we came out onto another paved road that was not on the map or in the GPS. It was strange to emerge from the jungle to this paved road that was really in better shape than the regular one that ran past Richards Bay Minerals huge plant.

We followed the road for just a few Ks until it dead ended at a large turn-around that over looked what appeared to be an old slurry pool and in the distance the ocean. After taking a couple of pictures we headed back the way we came and then went to see where the road went the other way. We found it ended very soon at looked like RBM’s dump for old liquid tanks and other equipment.

All in all it was an interesting experience and we wondered why there was such a good asphalt road that basically went from a dump site to a cul-de-sac. Especially since the only way to get to is seemed to be on a dirt road through the coastal jungle. Maybe at one time there was a working mining operation and it was used to move the slurry to a railroad spur that then went to the main plant is the only thing I could come up with.

We drove back through the jungle to the main road to Meer en See and then onto the mall where we had lunch, paid some of the bills we picked up earlier, and did some shopping. Mary needed to go to the pharmacy for her monthly re-fill of her prescriptions before we returned to our boarding.

The rest of the day was spent doing laundry, reading, and for me catching up on the blog. Pictures are much more time consuming than they should be but once they are on the blog I feel good.

Although we were away from the house for 4 hours or so, Mary was not overly tired when we got home and that is a good sign. It means we will soon be able to go out and spend a full day of service – the first time in almost 2 months.

 Just a couple of days after we arrived in South Africa at the end of February 2009 we were driven by the Johnsons up to Swaziland where we were to serve for a couple of months and where a Couples Conference was to be held just the day after we got there. It was a wonderful way to start our mission because we got to know the other couples that were serving in the mission and enjoy their great spirit.

On March 2nd -4th we attended our last Couples conference of this mission. The majority of the couples present were there in February 2009. The Uffens, Markums, Hafens, Sessions, Klinglers, and Bartholomews have gone home since then and only the Knudsens and Coxes coming in. With six couples going home in the next four months and three known to be coming couples are likely to be at a premium in the South African, Durban Mission

The conference was held in the very nice Pumula Beach Hotel and included all meals with much too much food available. The room we had was a little small but perfectly adequate for the two of us – especially since we did not spend a lot of time in it.

The weather was gray and overcast each day but that meant it was cool and comfortable. As I looked out at the ocean (and took 30 photos) the line after line of breaking waves made me think of growing up in the LA area and the summers spent at the beach while in high school. The last picture on the right shows the morning runners including President Mann and Elder Knudsen going over the point of the small bay. Elder Harmsworth, who is working in the office and ran 3000 and 5000 meter events in school, smoked the rest of them.

We really did spend much of our time reporting about our mission and talking about how we could produce a short DVD that could be used as a recruiting tool for couples to come to South Africa, Durban on a mission. However President Mann had to show off his Lesotho blanket, hat and stick and become Chief Mann. The Wilson sisters found the air-conditioning a little chilly so they shared a sweater to keep warm. When we sang Sister Johnson at the keyboard and Sister Swazi-Wilson as director tried to keep us on key and on the beat. Sometimes they even succeeded.

The Johnsons, on the left, came out on a proselyting mission but when the Sessions who were serving as the office couple went home they agreed to take over the office while still watching over their ward. Then when the couple to replace them was delayed not once but twice, they kept extending so they could train the new couple before they go home. They are true heros and we were sadly happy to say goodbye to them for the last time. The Ladysmith-Wilsons are on the left of the center picture and the Swazi-Wilsons un-huddled from their shared coat long enough to take some pictures of President Mann in his Chief’s costume. After that they quickly covered up again. The couple in the right hand picture is the Griesmers. During the week they serve in Durban as Mission Employment Specialists and on the week-end they come up here to Richards Bay to work with the Engwelezane branch. We certainly enjoy having lunch with them on Saturdays. I think that Elder Griesmer is one of the few people I have met that is crazier than I am.

The Coxes and us in front of our identical blue mission Nissen Tiidas. They have very quickly got involved with CES in the stake and are going to be a great strength to the seminary and institute teachers they are working with. I had to take a picture of the Tidy sign… We had not seen one like that before.