We came across this gathering of zebras and they all seemed to be resting their heads on each other. Most of them had paired off but there were groups of three or more. It was interesting to move down the road and see pair after pair relaxing together.
Mary said she wanted a good head shot of a zebra so here it is. The group in the middle were in a pasture that was thick with flies and their tails and ears were going a mile a minute. I have a video of a congo line of of behinds with tails constantly flicking. The poor zebra on the right has a real problem – his hair on his tail is missing. Either he was just quick enough to get away from a lion or maybe he lost it in a fight . The loss of hair did not stop him from flicking the stub to try and chase away the flies.
We saw more lions today than on any other drive. Unfortunately one set was not where we could get good pictures but two of them were within a few feet or less of the car.
We came across a car stopped with everyone leaning out windows with their camera. We stopped behind them and soon saw this male lion in the grass. Then an young lion popped up. It soon got annoyed by all the attention and walked behind the car and across the road. Notice its back right leg seems to be damaged.
The male then got up and moved off into the trees on his left. I backed up to see if I could catch him crossing the road and all of a sudden there he was looking right at me and the car that was blocking his path. I thought at first he might just jump on to the car and then off again but instead he turned around and crossed the road further up.
Later we came across other cars by the side of the road. One of them said that there were 4 lions in the grass. I finally found one but the other three were such that we never did get to see them. Two tour cruisers came by and they had a great view from their height. This was one of the times I wish we had a big range rover. But the air-conditioning pretty much makes up for the lost opportunities and we did not do bad at all seeing animals on this trip.
 None of the pictures do justice to the beauty of some of these birds. I wish I had a camera with a true long distance lens but at least you can get an idea of what the birds are like.
Wire-tailed swallow – Hamer Kop – Cape Glossy Starling
Exactly one year ago we left our boarding in Swaziland and traveled down to Richards Bay. It was the last day of the holiday and the roads were packed. It did not help that they were also re-building the main hi-way so that there was only a one road shared by traffic in both directions for 80K.
Elder s Hafen and B met us at McDonalds and took us to our temporary boarding and helped us get settled in. What a blessing they were for us as the Swaziland Wilsons were just a couple of months before.
Now we know the area so well that for the most part I do not really think about where we going. Of course it helps that Mary seems to be a human GPS and gets us within striking distance of almost any place we have been before.
Mary had an early appointment at the hospital and then we took some time to clean house. I know we should have done this on P-day but we just could not face it yesterday. I found that sometime yesterday I had accidently turned off my cell phone. Luckily we missed only one important call. President Vilane needed help with a food order. Since we were going to Enseleni to meet with him in the afternoon, we just left an hour early so we could buy and deliver the order.
We have bought so many food orders at the store that the cashier automatically called over the manager so we could get the 5% discount that they give to pensioners – they know we often buy for them. I had forgotten all about it. A little later I was checking out our personal order and another cashier reminded me that the last time I saw her I had commented on how tired she looked and today she felt and looked great. We are going to miss these folks – after shopping at the local store in Provo for 25 years, the cashiers still are not as friendly as they are.
We delivered the food order and then spent some time talking to the members who were out and about. Mormon row has 5 LDS families in a row of 8 or 9 houses. We had a short visit with Mama Zulu and then a much longer one with Queen Seoka. This last was very important because I found she worked in the local clinic as a registered nurse. It turned out she should be able to help sister Vilane get a job either in the clinic or at one of the local government hospital.
We then went over to President Vilane’s where we did the branch quarterly report and finished the audit report. When we were finished and getting ready to leave he asked if we could drop him at the bank in Richards Bay. Of course we were happy to do this but first we stopped so he could talk to Queen about sister Vilane getting a job at the Richards Bay hospital.
By the time we were through and had dropped off President Vilane I got a call from the garage door installer and he wanted to come by and check out the problem. So we went home and I dropped off Mary before going to get the car washed. It was really dirty after our trip to the game park yesterday.
The repairman came and plugged the opener back in and of course it started working fine. I was just starting to feel really foolish when it started making the noise it had before and smoking. So it seems that the motor is blown and they will try to get a new one in tomorrow.
Earlier when I was waiting for Mary I felt I should call Bongani out in Esikhawini and see how he was doing. He was excited to talk to me and said that once again he had gotten an answer to his prayers about the Book of Mormon being true. I told him we would try to get out and see him tomorrow. Hopefully this time his faith will be strong enough that he will come to church on Sunday.
I am reading some of the volumes of Lunds “The Work and the Glory.†Some of the volumes seem to have disappeared from the library at Esikhawini so I only get to read about every other volume but that is OK because I do know the story. I find reviewing the history of the Church this way is quite spiritually uplifting. Sharing the story through the Steeds is a good way to ‘live’ the experiences of many of the early saints.
For the second day I spent well over an hour working on pictures. Some day I might even get them posted on our blog.
We were up early and made it to Umfolozi game reserve before 7:00. We have gone so often that the woman ranger at the desk know the make and color of our car. It turned out to be a perfect day to be in the park. The sky was clear but it was not too warm.
For the first three hours we did not really see that many different animals. We did see lots of giraffes and zebras, but the most interesting things we saw were birds. We came across four or five varieties that we did not recognize and we got to take some good pictures.
It was not until we left Sontuli picnic area that things really started to happen. First we saw our first rhinos but they were deep in the grass and it was impossible to get good pictures. But then we heard and saw a helicopter circling around and soon we could see it was herding a large herd of Cape buffalo to some part of the park. Along with the buffalo were impalas and wildebeests. I took a short movie of the helicopter doing its job. As we left the park I asked the rangers if they knew what was going on and they said they were pushing them to a corral where they could be given shots against disease.
A little further along we were going through herds of friendly impalas and zebras when a young elephant came out of the brush and walked across the road about 300 yards in front of us. By the time we got to where he crossed he was well on his way to wherever he was headed. He was walking a very steady and determined pace. I later wondered what would have happened if we had been sitting right where he crossed the road – I am not sure we would have been much of an obstacle for him.
It got better even better after that as we saw a car stopped on a bridge crossing as dry river bed. It turned out they had located two lions sitting in the grass. One was a young lion of probably a year or so and the other was a good looking older male. We got some good pictures and at one point I found myself looking the older male right in the eyes as he was looking for a way across the road we were on. He decided not to cross right there and moved back into the bush instead of going over the car.
After that we saw a nice group of 5 or 6 rhinos lounging under some trees, a couple more lions, and then another single elephant. We also ran across a herd of zebras where they had pretty much paired off and were resting their heads on each others backs. I never did figure out why – maybe so they could brush flies off each other’s face? It really was quite interesting to see.
The drive home took a little longer than our morning drive to the park, but we enjoyed looking at the landscape of Africa along the way. So ended one of the best P-days of the year.
Mary had an early appointment to get her incision re-packed so we were out of the house by 6:15. It took longer than we expected but even so we were the first ones there for Esikhawini’s PEC meeting. I had told President Nyawo that we would not be picking him up but a little before 8:00 I called to find out where he was. It turned out he was having a problem getting a taxi so I went and got him after all.
After PEC we stayed and had sacrament meeting there. It is too bad we do not get to meet with the members of the branch more often. They are a great group of people but we do not know them as well as we should. The attendance was very low – hopefully because it was the last day of the vacation.
After sacrament we went to Enseleni. The number of primary age children that showed up was amazing. They just kept coming in – mostly after the meeting had started. But this is not unusual since most of the adults come late also. By the time sacrament was over there were about 60 attending – about half of which went to the primary.
President Baldwin was the District speaker and he gave an excellent talk on service. He is one of the best speakers I have heard and most of it is done without referring to his talk or notes. Included in his talk were parts on patience and diligence – the two areas of the resent General Conference that I found especially important to me.
I went to AP lesson and as usual enjoyed it very much. Khulekani does a very good job of teaching. He works very hard at getting everyone involved in the lesson. He asks lots of questions and if someone is not participating he will ask one or two to them.
After the meeting I made it a point to go and thank the Primary teachers for the way they work with the 25 or more children they get each week. They are really amazing young women.
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.
Mary had an appointment to get her incision packed so we were at the hospital rather early. While she took care of that I did some errands. We then drove to Port Durnford where we returned the keys that we took yesterday. They said they did not even know they were gone until 9:30 when they were locking up the house. I deeply apologized.
Our next stop was the Esikhawini chapel where we dropped off some cleaning supplies. Next was a brief stop at sister Khumalo’s to give her the new hose we bought yesterday. I then thought we should go by the Mathes to say a belated happy birthday to Yaya. She was not home but we had a great visit with Sister Mathe, Lisa and Santo – the last two are home from boarding school. We found they were not doing any Seminary work so we said we would bring them books so they could keep up.
After that we came home so we could have lunch and Mary could rest before we headed to Enseleni and English class. President Vilane was the only one who came to English class so he had a very personalized lesson.
We had a chance to talk to Khulekani about having a YSA Family Home Evening like they are having in Port Durnford. I suggested that think about it and work with the missionaries if they decide to do it. We also talked about how to get more people to come to Seminary.
We took President Vilane home and then sat in his driveway and talked about branch callings. I reminded him that he needed to make sure that he let the Lord call people through him and not just assign members to callings. We also talked about the need for lots of prayer before, during and after decisions. President Vilane is one of the most humble men I have ever met and once he realizes his spiritual strength he is going to be an even more powerful branch president.
On the way to our boarding we stopped for gas at the Engen station. When the man who was helping us came up to have me sign for it, he asked if we knew a Mr and Mrs Davidson. I actually hadn’t until just a couple of days before when Sister Davidson asked to become a Face Book friend. I found that they had served here in Richards Bay about 5 years ago and had very fond memories of the people.
I told Bongani that we did know them and he told how they had come to their house after the death of his parents and remembered their kindness. I told him that I would pass that on and got his information so the elders could go and see him. It just shows how we never know the results of just living the gospel and touching the lives of others.
The bad news of the day is that Mary may be coming down with a cold. That is something we really do not need right now.
Although I have been reading in the Book of Mormon and the D&C on a regular basis, I have not been reading either of them from front to back. Â Once again I decided to start readying the Book of Mormon each day with the aim to finish by the end of May.
We had planned to go to RB DDM but when we called we found that they held it yesterday. It seems that they had forgotten they usually hold it on Thursday.
The rest of the day was a normal Thursday. Mary taught English at the Nzamas and then we went to the chapel to have Youth. Lindani and Lungani did not come – I am worried about Lindani who seems to be drifting away. I got Siya at get up and attend. Because it started rather late we just had a Seminary lesson and then let them eat the snacks we brought. They are really good young men and women but for the most part we can not get them to study the scriptures and lessons during the week. I am afraid that the gospel is not a part of their everyday family life. What is amazing is how strong some of them are without this support – they really do love their Savior and have a testimony of the Church. The problem is the lack of depth and too many of them fall away as they go out into the world.
I forgot to mention that on Wednesday night we got a call from the Bartholomews and they are coming to visit for a couple of weeks during the last of May. It will be wonderful to see them and I know the members of the branches will also be thrilled to have them here.
We went to DDM with the Empangeni District and I was asked to give the spiritual thought about “the Book of Mormon as a scripture of light.†I immediately thought of D&C 50 and how it talks about the promise to those who seek light, how Christ is the Light and Life of the World, and how the Book of Mormon is another witness of Jesus Christ. So the basic purpose of the Book of Mormon is to testify of Christ and to bring his light to those who read it.
In listening to the reports on investigators it sounds like the pool is not very deep in any of the areas and that is always troublesome because without a good pool of investigators there is not likely to be many baptisms in the near future. It will be interesting to hear tomorrow how the Richards Bay district is doing for investigators.
After DDM we went to our usual lunch at KFC. The line was long and as we were standing there I got to talking to the couple in front of me. It turned out they were married, had 6 children and lived in Kosi Bay. We got to talking about church and I gave her a ‘Who are the Mormons†and an Article of Faith card. I mentioned that there was a small branch in Kosi Bay and when I mentioned Iras name she said she knew him. I gave her his phone number and suggested she might contact him. Unfortunately I did not get her number so he could call her. I will probably never know if anything comes of this meeting but hopefully it planted a seed that will grow into her family being blessed.
We then went to Esikhawini where I tried to fix the hose that got burned and Mary changed the dressing on her incision. By the time we were done there, she was quite tired so we decided it would be best if we went back to our boarding. On the way we stopped and I bought a new hose for Esikhawini so the dear sisters can water their newly planted gardens.
I worked on getting things organized for the District Council Meeting at 6:00 and Mary rested. The meeting was very helpful and I once again was impressed by the quality of President Baldwin’s handling of the meeting and things that came up. I learned some things that I did not know – or at least had not thought about – from him about the relationship between him as District President and the Branch Presidents.
The Youth trip to the temple was again moved back – this time until the first of August. This means we will not be able to go but it is more realistic as far as getting it planned. I was assigned to speak at the Richards Bay branch on the 18th – it will be the only chance I have had to speak in the branch.
Over the last couple of days we have gotten many nice comments on Facebook about Mary’s day in the hospital. It is nice to know that there are many of our friends throughout the world who are praying for us and other missionaries.
