We had visitors today – only the second time that some one outside our zone has come to see us. We served in the same mission as Dennis and Taunia Lombardi but at different times. We got to know them through FaceBook and they were kind enough to help me replace my favorite Swaziland silver ring when the one I bought there in 2009 got damaged. They are now serving their second mission in South Africa. The first one was served in the Durban mission and they spent their 18 months blessing the lives of the members, missionaries and others in Swaziland. This time they are serving  in the Area offices in Johannesburg as Church History Advisors. We dropped in to see them in their office a couple of weeks ago and they returned the favor today.

Sister Lombardi said that they missed working closely with the young missionaries and the people. She also mentioned she missed the dirt roads. So we invited them to take a quick tour of Promosa and Ikageng where we would be happy to get them on some dirt roads.

Our first stop was in Promosa where we visited our dear friend sister Mary Mothobi. She lives in a humble home but it is filled with love and the spirit.

We then directed them – elder Lombardi was driving – to the orphanage that we give a little support. Sister Lombardi was in heaven when she found a group of young men playing on the dirt road. They have a big bag of lollipops ready to hand out to the children. They were equally as pleased to meet some of the children who live at the orphanage. Unfortunately neither Lolo or George were home but Lolo’s daughter was there to answer all their questions.

It was a fun afternoon for us and I think that this brief trip to the real Africa that they saw every day in Swaziland kind of recharged their batteries. We invited them back any time – at least up until we leave for home.

Monday night is YSA Family Home Evening time at the branch. Sister Ratema conducted the meeting and sister Kwaikwai thought a lesson on Tithing and Keeping the Sabbath Day holy from a talk by elder Bruce R. McConkie given at BYU  40 years ago but just as relevant today as it was then.  10 Commandments After the lesson the group settled down to a couple of intense games of Book of Mormon “Go Fish” which is a favorite of the group. Sister Kwaikwai cleaned up in the first game having accumulated 7 sets with the next best being 4!

On Tuesday  we picked up elders Hentunen and Wild and took them up to Parys to visit sister Bobbi Swanepoel and Louis. As we were  driving into the town, elder Wild spotted a group of monkeys so we stopped and took some pictures.  Elder Hentunen is from Finland and elder Wild is from England…they make a great companionship.

After our visit we walked down to the Vaal River that runs behind her flat. It was a beautiful day and the river was as smooth as glass. It is also very low for this time of the year. If you look really closely at the photo on the left you can pick out a man paddling a small kayak down stream. The other photo is from the same spot but looking up stream at a small rapids.

Usually I get a couple of photos of Louis but this is the only one I took this trip. He is leading sister Bobbi back to their flat. They make a great pair and we have been blessed to know them.