Daily Archives: January 1, 2012

01 Jan 2012 – Sunday

First let me say that it was a great first day of 2012 because we got to take the sacrament. But there were some twists that we could have done without.

First we went to what we thought was Ward Council and found that it was not happening because it was New Years Day. We were not the only ones that made the mistake. The second counselor, the YM president and a ward clerk all showed up.

The second mistake was thinking that it was Fast Sunday. With Saturday being New Years Eve it seems everyone put Fast Sunday off until next week and we did not get the message so we fasted. This again is no big thing because it means we can either have two Fast Sundays this month or just treat next Sunday as if it was a regular Sunday. I will probably do the former since I could use the blessings.

So a new year has started and we are committed to spending more time out visiting in the mornings and evenings. This will be easier because we now have a ward list with all of the birthdays.

I also want to write that I am looking forward to studying the Book of Mormon. I started the day by reading President Benson’s 1986 conference talk and there were a number of powerful thoughts there. I will try to truly ponder and pray about what we read and prepare for SS class.

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I did not take any pictures today but our Durban RM James Luwanga, who served with us in Swaziland and later in Richards Bay,  posted this on FB and I felt that it was something I could also say. We do love Africa…we are winning!



31 Dec 2011 – P-day and New Years Eve

We had a very nice last day of 2011. We went to breakfast at what looks like a hole-in-the-wall bagel shop that seems to be packed with customers buying bagels and eating breakfast. A week or so ago I had noticed that it was very busy and suggested we start the last day of 2011 eating out. As we parked the car we noticed these four egrets cruising the parking lot looking for their breakfast. Mary mentioned that they looked something like hadedahs that were everywhere in South Africa. They have the same eating motion but of course they are white instead of iridescent black and they are very quiet where hadedahs are very loud. So it was a stretch but it still brought them to mind.

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The next major action of our day was taking down Christmas and packing it away for the year. The table where the Christmas tree resided became the base for our wireless picture frame that we got for Christmas. As I was looking at the picture I realized that I had caught the two poinsettias branches that had been broken off the main plant and put in a vase in the mirror so there is a hint of Christmas still in the room.

In the evening we went over to the mission home and joined three other couples and the Andersons in a nice dinner and a lot of good conversation. We left at about 8:00 and then somehow stayed awake long enough to welcome in the new year and then thankfully go to sleep.

2011 was a good year and we are happy that we got to spend part of it here in the mission field. We look forward to a full year of service in 2012 by inviting others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the restored gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and his atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end.

We are winning…