We have lots of animal life around our boarding – also in our boarding. The Black Headed Heron was in the lot next to us. The young sparrow is sitting on our entrance rug. The gecko guards our garage door to scare away any robbers.

When we picked up the Esikhawini elders from their boarding we noticed this tree with these large, beautiful flowers.

One of the joys of being missionaries is being able to help the members. Mama Zulu lives in Enseleni and needed to borrow the sewing machine to make some dresses to sell. Sister Happy is a convert of about a year and we were able to help with her wedding a few months ago. We met her today at Esikhawini where she was taking her turn cleaning the chapel for Sunday services.

23 January 2010 – Saturday

We really did not get much done today but what we did get accomplished helped people and that is what missionary work is about.

The men arrived promptly at 7:00 to put in our A/C and went right to work. Unfortunately they ran into a number of problems that caused them to go back to their supplier in Empangeni to get the right parts so when noon rolled around and we really had to leave, they had only put in one of the units. But that one turned out to be a life-saver as the weather turned hot and very humid.

While Mary stayed home to keep an eye on the house, I went to Port Durnford to pick up the Youth for Seminary and Institute day. Because I did not like the idea of Mary being at home alone I called the Richards Bay elders to come over and stay with her. Since they were going to come over anyways so Mary could produce a program for their baptism tomorrow, it killed two birds with one stone. Elder Lemmon is looking and sounding great and the companionship is working hard.

My trip to Port Durnford was somewhat disappointing as only Fufu, Ayanda and Lungani ended up going. The other three decided not to go. One of them suggested that they did not want to go because brother Maqca said the same thing all the time. While the four of us were driving back to RB, I asked the young people about this and they agreed that he did often say the same thing but Ayanda and Fufu pointed out that all he was trying to do is keep the Youth on the straight and narrow path. This led to a discussion of how much AIDS educations they get and it turns out that they get lots of it in school.

On Sunday when I asked those who went how the meeting was, they said that it was different from other ones and they really enjoyed it.

Back at our boarding we got ready to go to Esikhawini and piano lessons while they finished up getting the one unit installed. When they turned it on a wonderful stream of cool air flowed into the room. It felt great. As soon as they bundled up their tools and left, we were right behind them. We drove up to Empangeni and picked up Elders Vinson and Dishon to take them to their area. They had used the morning to do the planning that they could not do yesterday because Elder Vinson still felt very ill. But today he was fine with only a small headache remaining.

It turned out that Mary got bunked on all of her lessons. That is the first time no one showed up. We tried to contact each student an hour before they were supposed to start but only got through to one who said they could not come. 

However it turned out that our time was not wasted. As we were waiting, sister Happy came to clean the chapel and other rooms for the meetings tomorrow. The key they share opens most of the doors but there are two it does not open. We had the keys to those doors so all the rooms got cleaned.

We were also able to help sister Happy with another problem that was very important to her family so our being there was a true tender mercy for her. I do not know why I still find it amazing how often we seem to be in the right place, at the right time, but not for the reason we thought we were there.

After taking care of sister Happy’s problem we headed back to our boarding so I could drop Mary off and then go get the car washed. Due to the fact that it has rained or sprinkled almost every day for the last week it was rather dirty inside and out. Even though it looked like it might start drizzling at any moment, I decided that we really should not drive such a dirty car to our meetings tomorrow.

We had a very nice, and thanks to our new A/C cool evening. I spent much of it getting caught up again on pictures and even got some of them on the blog. I still have not figured out how to get good pictures of the African missionaries and members. I was looking at how great they look on the Mann’s and Mickelsen’s blog and how poor the detail is on ours.

22 January 2010 – Friday

The yard crew showed up at about 8:00 this morning and that meant Mary got to stay home and relax while I went up to Enseleni to pick up Khulekani to have his TB test check. I took one look at the spot on his arm and knew that he would need an X-ray to go with his papers. We ended up going to the hospital twice and the doctor’s office twice. Luckily we could walk back and forth between the two. We also spent quite a bit of time sitting until it was Khulekani’s turn.

After a couple of hours I left him waiting to get his X-ray and drove back to our boarding to pick up Mary and the sewing machine. We arrived back at the doctor’s office not long before Khulekani finally got a clean bill of health from the doctor. Now all we need to do is wait for his pass-port and police clearance to send in his papers. With the Lord’s help this should all be done by the middle of February. He is very excited about getting on his mission. He is going to be a fine missionary.

We treated him to lunch as a bonus for his patience in spending so much time just sitting and waiting. We then took him back to his boarding in Enseleni. We then went over to see Thandeka and talk to her about eating better. However once again we found she was not home but in Durban. I could not quite understand why she went or when she will be back. We are going to have to take Khulekani with us when we visit people so we communicate with them. Our last stop was at Mama Zulu’s where we dropped off the sewing machine so she can make some clothing to sell.

We had some time before English lessons so we drove back to the mall and checked up on what happened to the solid inter-tubes that the bike shop was supposed to get for us. They said the supplier was out but I think that they had just forgotten to order them.

We then went down to Meernsee to check our PO box – not even an advertisement – and stop in at Williams shop – that is a piece of grass along the road to the ocean – to pick up Ladysmith Wilson’s Nephi statue. We also picked up some salt and peppershakers that have carved animal heads on the top.

Mary had both of her students for English class in Enseleni. President Vilane needs to be more diligent in his studies – I told him he needed to sit under his tree and read aloud to improve his pronunciation. We checked with Nonhlahla and Khulekani to make sure they were prepared for Youth. They said they were so we decided to let them run with it. Next week we will suggest we provide the games and treats. But since we have no idea if there will be a couple called to replace us – or any of the other two proselyting couples going home in May and June – they need to be able to run their own program as much as possible.

On our way back to the boarding, we stopped and did our week-end shopping. With the elders coming for dinner Mary pretty well filled the shopping cart. Food is the one of the things that is not less expensive here than at home. The other major item is fuel which is only slightly less than in the states.

After dinner we pretty much relaxed until Mary did a baptism program for Engwelezane. There are baptisms in three of the branches but unfortunately there is only one candidate each. While it is wonderful to see anyone go into the waters of baptism, what is really needed are families! The elders find them and teach them but hardly ever do they come to church and get baptized.

On the health side, elder Vinson called last night and said he was feeling much better and is going out today. We will pick him and elder Dishon on our way to Esikhawini and piano lessons. Elder Harmsworth went to the doctor today – I made the appointment while I was there with Khulekani – to try and find out what is causing his problems. Hopefully the blood tests will turn up something that can be cured.

21 January 2010 – Thursday

Another cool morning – hurrah for Israel and Richards Bay.

The morning was a combination of the spiritual and the mundane. On the mundane side was returning the non-functioning air-conditioner to Games for a refund. I thought I might run into some resistance when I asked for a full cash refund, but it took only a few minutes and no hassle to get a slip that I could take to any cashier and get the cash. However since the store had just opened they did ask that I come back later when they would have money in their till.

We then went to DDM where I gave the spiritual thought on D&C 4. I suggested that while we have it memorized, we should take the time to read it carefully and ponder just what is said. I discussed a few of the verses and ended with pointing out that the last verse – the promise of what would happen if the missionaries did what the Lord asked in the rest of the revelation – related to everyday missionary work. ‘Ask and you shall receive’ reminds us to ask for referrals from EVERYONE as emphasized in PMG. Then ‘Knock and it will be opened unto you’ could relate to Prime Time when they should be knocking on gates and doors.

After DDM we stopped at McDonalds drive-up and got some lunch to bring home. We then filled up the car with the things we needed for English class and Youth at Port Durnford.

There was one more mundane thing that needed to be done – cashing the four checks I got from the District last night. I never know what it will be like when I try to get a check cashed. There can be anything from long lines and multiple people who have to approve or there can be no lines and the check quickly cashed. Today it was the latter and it was made even faster by the fact that the same teller who helped me yesterday, helped me today.

On the drive to Port Durnford we noticed that the cool morning was slowly giving way to a warmer afternoon. The clouds had thinned and the sun was finding holes to shine through. Since we got to PD earlier than we needed to, we drove up to see if Thandi Nzama was coming to Youth. It turned out that she was gone but we did get a chance to see how the re-model was doing and it looks great. They have a new roof, an expanded front room and for the first time they have ceilings so you do not look up at the underside of the roof. It looks really nice.

Mary had a very reduced English class of one. Only sister Mlondo was there but in some ways that was good because she knows less English than the others. Mary found out that she never got to go to school because her father did not think women needed schooling. So any education she got was on her own.

Youth went well. We registered them all for Seminary or Institute, gave them their manuals, gave a short lesson, and then played the spoon and bean game. We have 6 stalwarts – we found that Blessing was staying with family away from PD and of course we still have not seen Gabi since before Christmas. She is supposed to be getting home from Durban this week and we hope to see her on Sunday.

We were leaving the PD building when I realized that we had not given them their snacks. Siya had been trying to get away to study with his friends but I had convinced him to stay for Youth. As soon as youth was over he started to hurry away. But when I mentioned there were treats he immediately turned around and joined in eating the goodies. Some things are more important than friends and studying.

Some days I wonder if we are really doing any good here and then I think about the young people we have the opportunity to work with and decide that if we can help just one or two of them to stay active in the church, go on missions, get married in the temple, or just keep the commandments and stay pure, the time and effort is more than rewarded. We may never know what good we did until we meet some of them on the other side.

20 January 2010 – Wednesday

We woke to a beautiful cool morning – a true blessing for us.

Sister Mann posted this excerpt from a letter from Elder Mbithi who recently returned to Kenya after serving here. We got to know him well because he served in RB and also as an assistant. I really enjoyed kidding with him but I also enjoyed sharing spiritual thoughts. He is planning to go into politics so he can make a major difference in Kenya. I have no doubt he will be successful in his goals.

“Dear President Mann

I’m happy to say that I arrived home well and 30 of my friends from my youth group were there and after sharing my mission experiences with them I could not fail to extend a commitment for them to come to Church, and I’m excited to be involved in their conversion process and their families, too, as they are excited to join the Church.

Sunday I was called as the Branch Mission Leader and I talked with the Branch Presidency and they gave me the last Sunday of the month to do How Great (Shall Be Your Joy) training and they ordered Preach My Gospel for every family as I intend to introduce PMG Member, and also they agreed to make sure that there are missionary moments in the auxiliaries every Sunday.

President, its fun doing this and I can’t wait to show them the PEC Action List so their PECs can be productive…”

We went to the Empangeni DDM and was happy to hear how much the four Engwelezane elders are doing with becoming involved with the branch and working with President Mngadi. They have a number of ideas and hopefully some of them will work out. We only have time to work a little bit with the youth to make sure they have a good experience on Wednesday, so the elders will need to pick up some of the slack.

After DDM we rushed home to get the computer so we could show the introduction to the new theme in Youth later in the day. I was not feeling very well so after we ate lunch – good old peanut butter and jelly sandwiches – I took a short nap.

While Mary was teaching English to sister Ndlovu I went to see President Machaka about some things. They still have not set a date for their wedding but they are always together so that is good. I think it is a shame she did not keep her job as a teacher but maybe they have other plans.

I got back to the Ndlovu’s house before Mary was done and was sitting in the car when a man walked up and asked what I was doing parked in the township. I explained I was waiting for my wife and then we got to talking about our mission. It turned out that he was a teacher at the local school and he mentioned he was worried about our security. He was especially worried that we came to the same house on the same day and at the same time. He said that having consistent patterns was not a good idea. I am always grateful that there some of the citizens are concerned for our safety. We do not feel insecure but it is there town and they know it best so I think we will change our teaching habits where we can.

When Mary was finished we drove up to Engwelezane and helped with Youth. There was no one there when we arrived but two of the elders and some of the youth came by 3:40. We showed the introduction and worked on the theme. While the video was on I called President Mngadi and asked if he was coming to do Seminary. He came over but did not have the materials so I guess they will start next week. Since I had a district meeting, we left soon after the video was over and left the president and the elders to have some activity and pass out the bananas we brought. I encouraged them to be on time next week so we could have a lesson and still have time for games and snacks.

The district council meeting went on for almost 2 hours but since we had lots to discuss and learn, it went quite quickly. I have decided that President Vezi will have to work with Esikhawini – except of course for PEC on Sunday morning – and President Moloi will need to work with Engwelezane while we try to help PD and Enseleni. That does not mean we will not do what we can in all the branches but they need to be prepared for the day when there might not be any couples to depend on. There is still no word of any new couples for the mission. This means other than the two that we know are coming, there may not be any new couples until May at the earliest.

So it was a busy but good day for us…I think we did some good.

Birding…this morning as we looked out at the empty lot next to our boarding we saw a dozen or so Ha-de-das looking for breakfast. Then Mary noticed a much bigger bird just standing in the lot. It turned out to be a black-headed heron and we got a couple of good pictures. It was strange how it would just stand in one place. The only movement was when it slightly turned its head to look at some thing.

We had one other experience with birds today. We were eating dinner – fried egg sandwiches this time – when I saw something rather large move across the floor. I thought it was some large bug but when I went to look I found it was a young bird – a sparrow I think. It had walked in through the open door and did not know how to get out. I did not want to pick it up – I had heard that is not a good idea – so I got the broom and gently directed him to the exit. It was large enough to fly a little so hopefully it found its way back to mom and the nest.

19 January 2010 – Tuesday

Just one year ago we walked into the MTC to begin the adventure of a mission to South Africa. We were seasoned missionaries and knew what our MTC experience would be like. We certainly had no real idea what experiences serving in the South African, Durban mission would bring.

Today was a typical a-typical day for us. We received calls in the morning from two missionaries who needed doctor’s appointment for different ailments. Neither one is major but in both cases 2 sets of elders will be taken out of their fields – both are walking elders – for a few hours. Also today we took Khulekani for his dental exam – he does not need any work done and then to have his TB test. The test took much longer than expected as there was a mix up on just what test was needed and how it would be paid for.

While he was getting his teeth fixed, we bought a new fridge for one of the boardings so the four elders did not have to try and stuff all their food into just one. After that we had lunch with the Mickelsens who were up here for the morning working with some of their PEF loan applicants. It was interesting to hear about their problems and their successes. They care for each of their students and feel it personally when something does not work out. There will be a big hole here if they are not replaced with another couple.

I needed to get a check cashed so we went to the bank and I had the best experience ever. I walked right up to a counter and in 2 minutes I walked away with my money. That has never happened before – I will not expect it again.

On the way to take Khulekani home, we stopped at Mama Zulu to say hello and tell her we missed her at church on Sunday. She told us she had not been feeling well. She had things she wanted to talk to sister Pier about so they stepped out into the yard to talk about them. Some things just take a woman’s touch.

After dropping Khulekani off at his house with clean teeth and a headache – dentist are the same where ever you live! (Just kidding Shauna) – we went over to President Vilane’s where I tried to help him with the 4^th quarter report. We were having a tough time reconciling the numbers the Church has on their forms with those people who live in the branch. We finally gave up and will work on it again on Friday after I get a new branch list from Calwyn on Wednesday.

Some thoughts on the weather: It started out being a hot and humid day. When I got out of the car at the bank, it reminded me of the time I walked out of a hotel in New Orleans, hit a wall of heat and humidity and went right back into the air-conditioned lobby. Today I walked into the wonderfully air-conditioned lobby of the bank.

When I came out I ran into the guard I have talked to before. We said hello and he asked me if we had a church in Richards Bay. Since he lives in Port Durnford I felt that was strange but told him I would have the elders call and talk to him.

As the day went on the clouds moved in and by the time we left President Vilane’s house it was actually cool. Not long after we returned to our boarding the cool, breezy weather became a short rain storm that further took away the heat and humidity so we ended up with very enjoyable weather for the rest of the evening. We have been blessed with cooler weather so far this January.

A further thought that should have been in Sunday’s entry. While we listened to president Mthalane teach the lesson on pre-mortal life for Sunday School at Esikhawini, it came to me that Lucifer was not rebuked for coming up with an alternate plan or even for his pride in wanting the glory for himself. What he is punished for is refusing to accept God’s decision and then leading a rebellion. It reminded me of Amlici in the BofM when after being rejected as king of the Nephites he leads a revolt that leads to the death of so many people. In the kingdom you have a right to your own thoughts and ideas, but when you try to get others to agree with your ways over the way of your leaders you open yourself to disciplinary action.

The aerial boadwalk goes through a forest to a tower that allows you to look over the forest to the hills beyond. There are some wonderful trees to look at – this one is entertwined with others. At first we thought it was just it’s own branches but later we saw the base and that it was two or three trees wrapped together.

The chapel near Fort Nongqyi is still used for wedding and receptions. The fort itself was built in the late 19th century and only has three corner towers because they ran out of bricks before they could build the fourth. There were agapanthus in bloom everywhere in Enshowe and it reminded us of them blooming at my aunt’s house in the SF Bay area many years ago.

When trade beads became available they were soon put to use by the Zulus and other tribes. Each area tended to have their own patterns. Very elaborate dresses and wraps were decorated with beads. This large, beautiful pot is decorated with lines of beads.

18 January 2010 – Monday

It was a nice P-day for us. We spent the morning buying and delivering some food orders to families in Port Durnford. We love to be greeted by the children at one home who thinks our name is ‘How are you.” Some of the members do not have money to pay even the very modest school fees or to buy shoes for their children. Yet even with these problems they serve in the church by walking many kilometers to visit other members and to check on their needs.

After making the deliveries we headed for Enshowe to go to the aerial boardwalk above the Dlinza forest. We had heard about this since we arrived here and had been looking forward to experience walking through trees.

The boardwalk runs about 35 feet above the forest floor and there are some amazing trees growing along the walk. At the end of about 400 foot walkway there is a tower that goes up another 35 feet or so which gives us a wonderful view of the surrounding area. We were not really above much of the forest canopy so there was not the see of green that I saw when we visited Eureka hot springs and I climbed the 100 plus foot tower there.

What was amazing was the quiet – other than a few employees, we were the only people there. I should not say that it was truly quiet because there were sounds of some insect that might be a cousin to the crickets at home that kept up a continuous drone for most of the time we were there.

After the boardwalk we went to the Fort Nongqayi Museum Village. There we ate a very nice lunch at their restaurant that sat among beds of beautiful, blooming agapanthus. As soon as we saw them I was reminded of Dona’s beds that were in bloom each summer when we visited there. I certainly miss all my family that are waiting for me on the other side.

There was an interesting exhibit in the fort that told the story of the area and the native and other troops who were stationed there in the late 19^th and early 20^th century. It also told about the great Zulu chiefs who lived in the area and how they came to be subjected to the British.

There was another exhibit at the fort of native beadwork. Using trade beads the different tribes and areas developed elaborate designs to be used on clothing and decorative pieces. Unfortunately the sun reflecting off the glass of the cases made taking pictures difficult.

The final and perhaps best exhibit was the craft museum. Mainly it had pottery and woven pots and baskets from different areas and periods. It was built to house the 3000 piece collection of a missionary couple who lived and ministered in the area but who had to leave when the husband got ill.  To help the natives earn money they developed a demand for the crafts and in this way thousands of Zulu families were blessed. What made the experience special was the curator who was able to tell us about how the pottery was made and about some of the artists who’s works were on display.

The drive to and from Enshowe is on a two lane road that went through some beautiful valleys and across rolling hills. The fields are full of cane, pineapple and in some places citrus trees. The multi-shaded green landscape stretches up into the blue of the sky. Well today it was more gray-blue then blue-blue but that was good because it kept down the temperature. All it all it was a nice 6 hours of getting to know about this amazing country and it’s history.

At one point in the early evening 6 of the elders showed up at our boarding so Elder Wengert could print out the weekly graphs that show how the zone is doing. They were here only for about 15 minutes but having them around even for that short time makes the day a little brighter.

17 January 2010 – Sunday

It was a very busy day until after 2:00 and then very restful. Great weather – overcast, slight dampness in the air, and a pleasant breeze much of the day. It was very cool for summer here – everyone enjoyed a nice Sabbath.

We picked up president Nyawo and brother Nkosi for PEC at Esikhawini. There is still a number of PH leaders who do not make it to PEC and some training needs to be done, but they have only been in for about two months so it will take some time. It was great to have president Thusi with us just a week after his accident.

I interviewed brother Malinga and brother Nkosi about the change in the Elder’s quorum presidency. Hopefully this will help get the home teaching going and some of the less active visited. If I accomplish nothing more than getting home teaching firmly established in Esikhawini I will feel the 15 months here was worthwhile. It is something that has been tried and failed for many years – going back to when they were part of the RB ward.

We then drove to Port Durnford for sacrament. It was good to see Quinton and we talked about how he might help get some of those who are missing back to church. 25 members and no investigators…the missionary work is not going well at all there. I am worried about some of the families who are not coming – in a branch as small as this it does not take too many being gone to make a difference.

After sacrament we went back to Esikhawini where I took care of sustaining and setting apart the new Elders Quorum presidency and then watched three young men be advanced in the priesthood. I am glad I stayed because they forgot to confer the AP before ordaining one young man to be a deacon. I spoke to Elder Wengert about how for us who have been in the church so long and have taken part in so many ordinations it comes easy, for the members in South Africa it is still pretty new as most of them have been in leadership positions for only a couple of years at the most.

Because of the business at Esikhawini we were late getting to Enseleni. However they started a little later than they usually have been so we did not miss much. I had a brief meeting with president Vilane and we will meet again on Tuesday to fill out the quarterly report.

By the time we left Enseleni we had been to three branches and one of them twice. It is great to be able to meet so many members – it is too bad we have such a terrible time remembering all their names – and enjoy their spirit.

We had an appointment with the father-in-law of the man who we rent from. They are going to put not one but two air-conditioning units in the house next Saturday. What a blessing that will be and we can return the portable unit that we bought that does not work properly. Maybe we will survive the winter here after all. Also we can not recommend the boarding to the next couple who comes to RB when we leave.

We enjoyed reading the Mann’s and Mickelsen’s blogs for the week. Each couple has such different experiences and yet all share the excitement and satisfaction of serving our missions. Too bad more couples do not take advantage of serving one or more missions – they do not know what they are missing.

15 January 2010 – Friday

Slept in until 6:45 – sorry about that President Mann – and woke to a beautiful morning that is likely to turn into a blistering afternoon.

My morning reading continues in Alma and his preaching to the people. As I read Alma 8:15 and the angels’ message to ‘lift up thy head’ I thought of the D&C 121 where a discouraged prophet is told that he should stop feeling sorry for himself because God is with him. A little further along in 8:24 Alma declares that he is ‘the high priest over the church of God’ and has ‘been called to preach the word of God among all this people.” That brought 3 Nephi 5:13 to mind where Mormon says almost the exact same thing and we repeat it at almost all missionary meetings. I am certain that President Monson could say the same thing.

We are now waiting for President Vezi to come to pick up a desk to add to other things he is taking to the Empangeni boarding. He is picking up a mattress at the RB boarding, the desk from us, two mattress bases at a store and taking all up to their boarding so the two elders can stop sleeping on couches and the floor.

We got a call from the Mickelsen’s who are making plans to come to RB next week to work with some young people who are interested in a PEF loan. It is too bad that they live in Southern Utah because I think we could easily be good friends with them if they lived closer to Provo. They are a fun couple who seem to have many of the same tastes that we do.

When President and sister Vezi arrives he tells me that he was late because he ran out of fuel and had to walk to get some. Since there are not gas stations on every corner here, he may have had to walk a long ways. He also wanted to talk about a business he would like to start but does not have the capital to get it going. This is the same problem that we saw in Indonesia.

Once the Vezi’s were on their way we immediately left to do some errands and eat some lunch before heading up to Enseleni. One of the errands was to get the mail which included two more packages from the Bartholomews. When we had time to open them we found lots of licorice – black, red, and chocolate – Crystal Light – real Hersey’s chocolate chips – and much more. There were a number of things to be given to the members in Enseleni and Engwelezane. The Bartholomews hearts are still here in South Africa.

At Enseleni Mary taught President Vilane English while I worked with Khulekani on his mission papers. We found that the doctor did not do a TB test which is mandatory before he can send in his papers so I am going to have to make another appointment for that.

We then attended Youth and showed the introduction of the new theme DVD. Only about 60% of the Youth were there. I think the month lay-off made some of them lazy and we will have to try and do some interesting things to get them excited again. We left as Nonhlahla and Khulekani were about to play games and then hand out the Seminary manuals for this year. I do not know what they will do if Nonhlahla moves to Joburg and Khulekani goes on his mission. Hopefully some of the others will rise to take up the leadership of the youth.

In the evening I finally got caught up all the pictures but did not get around to posting them on our blog. We did get a nice note from Elder Mendenhall’s mother about reading our blog. Later I looked at her blog and found that he has served in Richards Bay and taught Khulekani. I thought it was a nice coincidence that now just about 17 months after Elder Mendenhall watched his baptism Khulekani is getting ready to go on his mission. Maybe Elder Mendenhall can go to the temple when Khulekani does – President Mann allows missionaries to go to the temple with their converts.

14 January 2010 – Thursday

I had an interesting morning with a variety of experiences – some good and some not as well.  As usual as I reading in Alma I came across thoughts that hit home. As he spoke to the church in Zarahemla he asked the same question that I asked on Sunday – that is would I be able to stand before Christ and hear Him say – “Come unto me ye blessed, for behold, your works have been the works of righteousness upon the face of the earth.” (Alma 5:16) All of Alma 5 and 6 is worth re-reading often. I especially found Alma 6:6 about the people “fasting and praying often in behalf of the welfare of the souls who knew not God.” I certainly should include those who do not have the gospel in my prayers more often.

When I went to get some meat out of the freezer for a party at Port Durnford this afternoon, I found that all the trays were frozen in place. It seems our self-defrosting frig is not self-defrosting. I then had to spend a good deal of time getting the drawers out and then getting rid of the accumulated ice. This was not on my planning sheet for the day.

I had another bit of excitement when Mary’s AOL Mail account went into a loop. When I tried re-starting the computer to see if it would fix itself, a note came up that it could not find the system to boot. That did not sound good but when I unplugged the power, took out the battery and then re-started; everything started working fine – including the AOL Mail. I did find some comfort in the fact that when I went to AOL Help I found that many people were having the same trouble and they had put up a special Help section to try and solve it.

I finally got around to downloading Mary’s camera and started editing the pictures. Every time I wait too long to take off the pictures I swear that I will not do it again – but of course I do and so instead of being a pleasant experience it is a drag to name, edit and re-size 50 to 100 pictures all at once. I also managed to catch up posting my journal to our blog – another case of procrastination on my part.

We called and found that there will be no DDM today so we are taking that time to get ready for English class and Youth. We had promised the PD Youth for the last three weeks that we would have a party. Unfortunately between the holidays, our being sick and then an unexpected (at least for us) Zone Conference, we have had to postpone it a number of times. But today we will have it and Mary is using the extra time to bake a cake.

As we headed out to teach English and then have Youth at Port Durnford, we stopped along the way to pick up a few things we would need. Ken’s Trade is basically a party supply shop where we get the plates, cups, utensils, napkins, and delicious chocolate that we use for everything from games to dinners for the elders. It is run by a very nice Afrikaans couple who have had it for years. Like many older couples their only daughter and her family have moved to the US because they could not get work in South Africa. So when they finally decide to stop working they will either sell their business or just close it down.

When we arrived in Port Durnford I noticed that my beautiful clean car of yesterday morning is now dusty and dirty on the outside but the inside still looks good. Mary taught English to her group of gogos while I tried to get the ham to defrost enough that we could use it for sandwiches later.

We had our usual group of six youth – missing only Gabi who has not returned since she disappeared for a few days over a month ago. I keep trying to get in contact with her but she does not answer her phone and when we visit they say she is away. We will just have to keep trying to reach her.

We showed the introduction to the 2010 Youth theme on my computer and then played a game of BoM Match game. I used the game to try and teach them some things from the BoM but I am not sure how well it worked. We then fed them ham sandwiches, chips, pop, chocolate cake and bananas. They loved the ham sandwiches. Fufu devoured her first one – they got two each with ham heaped high on hamburger buns – but slowed down for her second. Thobani was thrilled that we did not bring KFC because he really does not like chicken. I cut the cake Mary made this morning into huge pieces and they all ate them.

We left them sitting around the table finishing off their cake, bananas and the last of the soda pop with Siya and Lindani in charge of seeing that the mess got cleaned up. I think we will run back there tomorrow to see how well they did.

I talked to Siya again about going on a mission and he seems really interested. I am going to suggest to President Machaka that he gives him a searching interview and if he thinks Siya is ready he should recommend him for the MP. It is great working with the young people – there is such hope for their future if we can just keep them active and living the gospel.