09 June 2010 – Wednesday

It started raining at about 4:30 and continued almost all day. I told Mary it was because the earth was sad that she had to go into the hospital again.

We went to DDM at Empangeni and got to share a number of ideas with the elders. They really do not have very many investigators who are progressing very well. All the companionships have a pretty good teaching pool but few of them are coming to church and some seem to bunking them on a regular basis.

With the coming of the World Cup the elders need to think of ways to use the games in a positive way. They have been told to make sure they are securely in a member’s house or their boarding if there is a Bafana Bafana game being played. They came up with a number of ideas and hopefully they will be able to take advantage of so many babas being home and watching the games for the next month.

After DDM we went to the hospital and got Mary checked in. While she waited for a bed to be made ready, I had a quick lunch and then drove up to Enseleni to take a picture of the dress they bought for Mbali. It is very beautiful but unfortunately I left my camera at our boarding. Hopefully I can get back and take a picture tomorrow. My head must have really been screwed on wrong because I also forgot to give mama Zulu the material I bought yesterday for her to hem so they can be used for drapes on Sunday.

Mary called to say they found her a bed and so I went up to see her. She was lying on the bed fully dressed and I said that it did not look like she was going to be operated on any time soon. I left at 4:00 and told her to call when she found out when they were going to operate. I was greatly surprised when just after 5:00 she said they were getting her ready to go to operating theatre. So I once again hurried down to the hospital and sure enough was on her way there.

Everything went quickly. She only had to wait about 30-40 minutes before they wheeled her in to the operating room and about an hour to 90 minutes after that she was being wheeled back to her room. She of course did not feel very good and she complained that just two hours before she felt great. I was encouraged that they did not take her to ICU but put her back in a regular room. If everything goes right she should be out in 5 to 6 days – the doctor wants to keep her on antibiotics for that long. I stayed until she was pretty much settled in.

I forgot to mention that the Engwelezane elders helped me administer to her before the DDM. She was happy that I did not tell her that she had to endure. I did bless her that she would trust the Lord.

I have to say that it is very uncomfortable to be home alone. It is too quiet and rather lonely. I had to start playing music to kind of fill up the void. It just does not feel right to have my eternal companion in the hospital and me at home.

08 June 2010 – Tuesday

I am glad we had the opportunity of spending yesterday at the game park because it may be the last sightseeing we do during the rest of our mission.

I had to get the car washed because it was just too dirty to be seen in. There was red dirt everywhere – inside and out. They did a really good job getting it clean.

When I got home Mary said that she had an appointment with the doctor to see about her leaking incision at 12:30. Before that we went to see Queen Seoka and found out about the funeral on Saturday and to give her some donations that came from former couples who had served in Richards Bay to help with the funeral expense. After that there was a quick stop at mama Zulus to drop off the address of the ward her son should go to in Joburg. Our final stop in Enseleni was at the Vilanes.

I had a very nice talk with president Vilane and got him in contact with president Vezi so he could ask him to please help with the funeral because president Vilane is not well enough to do it. We talked about what the branch could do to support the family and the funeral. He also told me some of concerns he has and I reminded him that he was chosen to lead the branch and therefore he had the authority to what he felt was necessary. He is a great man and will someday be one of the strongest leaders in the area. Richards Bay has some fine branch presidents and if they can get and train some counselors the basis for a strong stake will be forged.

We then drove to Port Durnford so we could drop some things off at the Chriwas. Paul is clearing off a large plot of ground for a garden. They have not had one for at least a year and they really need it so they can have fresh vegetables for their family. We also dropped off Sandile’s mission paperwork and told him we would take him to apply for his passport in the next week. I called president Nyawo to see if we could do it in Esikhawini and later he called back to say that it could only be done in RB or Empangeni.

We then drove back to RB and Mary’s appointment. Doctor Kelling had her get an x-ray to see the condition of the area around the mesh. While she was doing that – they said it would be over an hour before they could get to her – I took care of some of the items on our list of things to do. I got material for more drapes at Enseleni, picked up the sign for Engwelezane, and goodies for the DDM at Empangeni tomorrow. About that time Mary called to say that she was back at the doctors and a little later that unfortunately she had to go back in for another operation tomorrow. It seems that there is a fluid build up around the mesh and he must clean that up. However he said that he was not concerned and she should only be in for about five days. Of course she will then have to take it easy so I am pretty sure that we will not be going to Durban on Thursday unless the Lord quickly heals her.

She is of course not happy about this but I must say that she is taking it probably better than I am. At least she knows what to expect tomorrow – that is a lot of waiting, the operation and then some recovery. It also means I will be waiting a long time.