10 April 2010 – Saturday
We got a call from the elders saying that the appointment with the Shandu group had been cancelled. This was very discouraging as we had thought they were really golden contacts. Later we found out they cancelled because one of the sons could not be there. They said that the group was reading and talking together and looked forward to seeing us again. I told them we would try to get out to see them during the week.
But it was probably a good thing that they cancelled because one of the branch presidents called and said a member needed a food order. Since we had an open morning we took care of their needs before going to Esikhawini so Mary could meet with Sister Khumalo to plan for the District RS conference in May. After the meeting she gave piano lessons to the four of her 6 students. They are all progressing but Sazi seems to be the most likely to become an actual pianist for the branch.
After piano lessons we went to the Richards Bay chapel to pick up some paperwork that needed to go out to the branches. While we were there we found out that Jackie Deplooy is the new RS president and so they set up a time to train her.
We then had dinner with the Griesmers at Ocean Basket. Sister Griesmer order a seafood platter for one and it had enough food on it for two or three people. I do not think she will order it again. After dinner we all went up to Engwelezane to drop in on the Youth activity that they were having. They had it at a private home and of course the boys stayed in one area and the girls in another. We left before we found out if they at least ate together. I was able to give president Mngadi his audit and quarterly report forms and told him I would like to get them back by Thursday. We then wound our way home through the now very dark landscape and arrived home at about 8:30. It was a good day even if we did not get to teach.
On our way to Enseleni we came across a crew cutting one of the many tree farms along the road. It was the first time we actually could stop and watch them work. It is really amazing how quickly they can cut down the trees and strip them of their branches and bark. Of course everything is done with large pieces of specialized equipment and it takes only one or two minutes to take care of each tree.