The morning just kind of went by with some shopping and waiting for the Zone Leaders to come by for funds to go to Kosi Bay.
After lunch we went to Esikhawini where Mary taught piano lessons and I had good talks with Musa and Percy. Percy told me that he applied some suggestions I gave him about being the best employee he could be and it has paid off with his boss adopting some suggestions he made on how to improve the way things work at the office. It seems he is being such a good employee that the other employees are giving him trouble. I told him that he should do everything he could to love them and do things for them for that is what Christ would do.
Musa and I talked about his mission and what he might do after he was released. He wants to work in some part the biological field which should be a good occupation. He has already looked into the best universities for his field and believes he can get into one of them.
In the evening we had dinner with the Griesemers and enjoyed it as always. We talked about the Engwelezane branch, what we were going to do after we are released, and other things. They are a wonderful couple and elder Griesemer is a good leadership trainer. They would like to go back to working with less actives when they get home. They do not know if they will go on another mission.
Our day started sadly when the Enseleni elders called to say that Mbali Seoka had died yesterday. 4 weeks ago she was singing in a choir at Church and now she will be singing in a celestial choir.
Martin finally got the garage door opener to work. It turned out that they had put a faulty board in when they supposedly repaired it in Joburg. We have become pretty good friends because I have been careful be reasonable about waiting for it to be done correctly. I told him we would probably be leaving before we had a chance to see him again and he said that he hoped we would be able to have a cup of coffee together before we go. I did not mention that would probably have to be hot chocolate but I was pleased that he would even say that.
After Martin left we went up to Enseleni and took president Vilane over to Mbali’s home. Her mother had already left for Maphelane to the family homestead where she will probably be buried. But we had a very nice talk with her grandmother and gave her our condolences. President Vilane is still quite weak so we could not stay long before taking him home.
We stopped by mama Zulu’s and met her son who was visiting her and his son who she is raising. She seems to be proud of him even if he basically abandoned the boy so he could continue to live with the mother who would not keep him. Mama Zulu is going to hem the material we bought to make a curtain to block one of the windows during church.
Our day continued that way with us visiting members in Enseleni , Esikhawini and Port Durnford before going to the Esikhawini chapel and helping with youth. We had stopped by president Nyawo’s to give him some pictures and ask him where the Home Affairs office was. Since sister Nyawo was ready to go to Youth we gave her a ride to the chapel.
Youth went well. Musa conducted and I reminded him about learning the theme. We did that for a while and then played the Book of Mormon match game. As young men and women kept coming we ended up having two groups playing. For the last game with my group I made them into two man teams and a couple of non-LDS young men won. They then went out and helped clean out the baptisimal font for the baptism on Sunday.
I think that between Musa, Solo and Sister Nyawo the Youth will be OK. But when Musa and Solo leave for their mission in a couple of months hopefully there will be someone called to help sister Nyawo.
We spent part of the morning with President Mann and the Empangeni District elders.  He spoke about the successes – by the end of June the mission should reach it’s goal for the year – but also had to talk about a couple of problems that have come up that has kept him very busy. He mentioned that as the missionaries have become more successful, Satan has stepped up his efforts to stop them. As we left so they could get on with their training and interviews he gave us hugs and thanks. It is us who should be giving him thanks for all that he and sister Mann has done for us.
Later after taking care of some of the errands that seem to always be there, we stopped at McDonalds to grab a quick lunch and ran into Elders Reeve and Kaseke. They mentioned that they needed a sign for Empangeni and we told him we would be happy to get one since we have provided them for a couple of the other branches.
When we stopped at the sign shop I just asked for the young lady who had designed the other ones and she immediately knew where to find our account. The sign should be done by Monday.
As we were driving through Esikhawini on our way to PD, Bongumusa called and said he was running behind us. It turned out he was on a taxi but he got off and went with us to PD and English lessons. Before the lessons we had a good talk about how all of us are brothers and sisters. It came up because he mentioned that we cared about his family even though none of them were members.
Since I needed to be home in time to grab some dinner and get to a 6:00 pm District Council meeting, we spent only a short time with the PD Youth. We were happy to see Blessing and Siya there. I spoke to Siya about his future and how he really should prepare for a mission. He is such a sharp young man that if he decides to get ready and go, he will be a fine missionary.
Before we left we got them to completely clean the chapel. It seems that those who came to the Monday evening FHE did not think it was necessary to sweep up all the mess they made. I called the PD elders and suggested that they do not leave before the chapel was put back in order.
On the way home we stopped by Bongumusa’s home and talked to his mother and sister. He was still down at the Nzamas chatting up the family. It turned out that they had gone to court yesterday and Bongumusa’s father had been ordered to pay the family R500 a month as well as R400 for transportation to school. This will be a great help to the family but I hope she also starts a small business.
District Council meeting got a lot done. Mark Duplooy did some training on ordinances and there were some things in the manual that I did not know about. It goes to show that we should read the instruction book before we serve. I turned in the curriculum orders for the branches outside of RB. Maybe they will not get so many items they do not need. I did not get the certificates for the Career Workshop…hopefully they will be done before we head home.
It was a rather typical day for us as we handle errands, met with missionaries, taught members, talked to people, and went to meetings. Of course there were also many, many phone calls. Some of them important and some of them only passing on information. I have no idea how we could be effective missionaries if we did not have cell phones.
The Lord continues to bless us with beautiful weather and good health. We are truly blessed to be here in the Richards Bay district among so many wonderful members and non-LDS. The field is white and we are winning.
Martin our garage door man trying to figure out what the heck is wrong with the opener. He has been here so much we are thinking of adopting him. Since the first time we saw one of these trucks we wondered what kind of mind would choose RATS for the name of their company. But since they are everywhere I guess it has worked. Morning out our back sliding door is always different. The dark clouds let little light through this morning.
We took few pictures during our short game drive. This magnificent kudu buck just walked right by as if we were not even there. The female on the other side of the road was more curious. We are still not sure the name of this antelopebut liked the way the hair on the back was standing up to tell us we were bothering them.
As we drove out of the game park, this beautiful rainbow spread across the landscape. I have decided that it was there to let us know things would be OK even if we had to tie our boot lid down after the latch broke. Sister Zulu’s son is visiting her and his son.
Missions are all about people. These are some of those we saw and talked to today. Sister Malinga’s grandson finally smiled for me but would not hold it long enough for me to take his picture.
I was out of the house early to go to the Nissan dealer to try and get our boot latch fixed. Unfortunately they did not have the part but they did manage to tie the boot down in such a way that it is closed and the rain will not get in. However we will have to put all our many different bags of supplies in the back seat instead of the boot.
Mary stayed home so if the garage door man came she could let him in. He did not arrive until after I returned home and of course he could not solve the problem so he took the whole thing out so he could take it to the folks who sold it in the first place. If we did not know that another couple should be coming here in August, I would just tell him to forget it.
We were late to DDM at Empangeni but managed to be there in time for the lesson on how to introduce the Book of Mormon to an investigator. It was interesting to hear the missionaries tell all the different ways that they have used. The one I liked best was where they would use it to answer questions and then put it away until finally the investigator asked what they were reading from and could they have one to read.
After lunch we went to Esikhawini and visited a number of members and gave them some pictures we had printed on Monday. We were encouraged when sister Malinga said that she would see us at church on Sunday. Sister Tembe is reading the Christ Ideals for Living book we left a week or so ago. She is determined to be able to walk well enough to go back to work.
We stopped by the chapel and found president Vezi coming out of the gate. We stopped and talked about a number of things including the District Council meeting that we thought we were having tonight. I also told him about President Mann wanting to meet with the presidency when he was in RB tomorrow. This was followed by a number of calls that worked out some details and we found out that the District Meeting was to be changed to tomorrow night. It was a blessing that we ran into president Vezi when we did.
President Mann called to tell us that he would not be staying with us on Thursday night but needed to get back to Durban to take care of some problems that came up. This included being with Sister Mann who is having some complications with an operation she recently had for an abscess. It seems that the last month of their mission is going to be somewhat of a trial for the Manns. But they both have great spiritual strength and very positive attitudes so I am sure they will come through it fine.
When we did get home, I found myself taking a nap before dinner. I am starting to think I am getting old! We are starting to use up the food in the pantry so our meals are sometimes rather unusual. Tonight it was soup and left over macaroni and cheese.
In the evening I called Tom and talked to him about lots of things including if we should buy an I-pad and if so which one. He agreed with Mike that we should get a Wi-Fi model with 64G and so he is going to order it and load it with books and movies for us to catch up on when we get home.
Winter is certainly quickly approaching as it is very cool and leaning towards plain cold in the mornings. The South Africans are all wearing coats and sweaters but I am sticking to just a short sleeve white shirt. Brad Hafen wrote us that it was approaching 100 in Southern Utah. Sister Swazi-Wilson will love it when they get home tomorrow or the next day. Elder Wilson will be turning up the air-conditioning.
We had a very interesting and blessing filled day. It could have easily been a complete disaster.
It started out perfectly. I decided we could take the other half of our P-day by going to St Lucia and going on the hippo boat ride. Mary has wanted to do this since she first heard about it and I have been dragging my feet.
The trip to St Lucia was quick and beautiful. The sky looked like it was going to open up and pour but other than a few drops here and there we stayed dry. We drove through a very bad accident at the first Mtubatuba exit but there was a fairly clear path through the debris. I think this is the third bad accident we have seen at that intersection. I imagine there are a lot of them since there is a busy road crossing a national highway.
We found out that the first boat did not leave until 11:00 so we took the opportunity to do a quick tour of some of the game reserve. We did not see a lot of animals but we did see some that we do not often see. There were at least three red duikers and one of the largest kudus we have seen. Unfortunately none of them stood still for picture taking. The duikers are especially shy and the biggest kudu kept head turned away at all times. Later we got up close and personal with another good size kudu but he was only about 75% as large as the big one.
The first problem came up when the trunk lid popped up. This is not a new thing for us and this car but this time instead of it being the lock itself it was the slot the lock goes into. It broke completely off and so I had to use the rope – I now carry rope just for this purpose – to tie it down. I also had to move all the stuff in the trunk to the back seat so it did not get wet or stolen when we parked for the ride.
As we drove out of the park, Mary saw a beautiful rainbow right in front of us. I stopped an took a couple of pictures. I thought that made up for the broken lock. However we did call the Nissan dealer and get an appointment to get it fixed tomorrow.
Even with the problem with the trunk we made it to the boat in plenty of time and had just settled into enjoy the ride when the security company called to say our house alarm had gone off. I immediately thought of the Klingers who lost their lap-tops with all their pictures just a few months before they went home. I knew the security people would not get to our house and be able to check it before the boat took off for it’s two hour ride. I decided we should not go on the ride but head for home. The people at the boat were very helpful and said we could use our tickets another day.
I called the RB elders and asked them to please drive by and to go over the wall and check the doors and windows if the security man did want to do that. We were on our way home when we got a call saying that when the elders arrived and gave him permission the security man went over the wall and found that everything was secure and it must have been a false alarm. That made me feel better but I still wanted to get home and make sure everything was OK.
As we were going down the N-2 at a brisk pace, the very large flat-bed truck just in front of us had a rear re-cap tire come completely off. The re-capped part rolled off the road and then crossed right in front of us – I was afraid that it would turn right into us and we would have a very nasty accident much like the Mickelsens did. But the Lord blessed us and it went past and came to rest between the two lanes of speeding traffic so no one got hurt.
When we got home we found everything locked up and nothing missing. However I would just as soon not have this happen again before we leave. Being of a suspicious mind, I wonder if some one set off the alarm to see what the response time was for the security company. I remember when our business alarm went off three nights in a row and on the fourth night someone did break in and carried off some equipment. Because there had been three ‘false’ alarms in a row the security people were not in a hurry to see what was going on the fourth night.
After lunch we went up to Enseleni and checked on a number of people. We were able to meet mama Zulu’s son and he wants us to get the address of the church in his area in Joburg. We then went to mama Rose’s house but Thandeka was gone. We stopped at other houses and either dropped off pictures or took them. We ended up at the Vilanes’. President Vilane was asleep so  talked to sister Vilane about how the president was doing. She said he was getting stronger but still far from being well.
The only other excitement of the day was that brother Bartholomew called to tell us about their trip home. When they got to Joburg they had to go through some very tight security which included body pat-downs of every passenger on their plane, carry-on luggage carefully gone through and hard eyed security people everywhere. When they finally got seated sister B found that the passenger next to her was ex-president Jimmy Carter! I hope she got a picture with him.
It really was an interesting way to start a new month here in Richards Bay.
Because the crew came to try and fix our garage door again, we decided to make it a ½ P-day and ½ working day. We made a long list of things that needed to be done for the branches and once the crew left – without the door being fixed – we set out to get everything done. A number of hours later everything that could be done was done and we felt we had accomplished a number of important tasks. None of course were earth shaking but they were all necessary.
We were having lunch at Spurs when who should show up but Elders Lerios and Bentley. They had taken their car into get some things fixed and so all the elders got into one car to do their shopping and e-mail. They call it 6-packing and you want to make sure everyone took a shower that morning before you try it.
We then spent the rest of the day at home. Mary tackled entering all the expenses for the last week or so and was going to do the medical bills but just could not stand to look at another number so worked on the puzzle instead.
I worked on getting pictures in order and some of them posted on our blog. I hope somebody besides sister Mickelsen reads the blog and enjoys the pictures. But since it is really a journal of our two missions, it serves a good purpose even if no one besides myself reads it.
Some of the people we saw during the day. President Nyawo with his youngest. Khulekani looking very much like the missionary he will be in about a month. He has come along way from his dreadlocks days. Having the elders over for dinner is always a treat for us. Elder Lerios was in 7th heaven because just about everything already had catsup on it so he did not have to add much…
Elder Bentley’s big smile was a little forced. He has been fighting a cold for over a week but it never kept him from going out and doing his best. Elder Webster has just been in the mission for about 3 weeks now. He does not look nearly as in shock as he was when we first met him. His positive attitude and desire to work hard means he will be an excellent missionary. He is working in Enseleni with elder Dimene.
30 May 2010 – Sunday
It was a normal Sunday for us. While I met with the Esikhawini PEC, Mary met with sister Khumalo and started planning for the RS section of District Conference in July. We will not be here and the new couple will not have arrived , so Mary wants to help sister Khumalo get as prepared as she can.
We went to sacrament meeting at Port Durnford. It was President Vezi’s first meeting as branch president and he came a little closer to starting on time. Just having his family there adds 7 or 8 people to the congregation and hopefully he will get some of the less actives coming back to church on a regular basis. He did have one problem – he forgot to bring bread but brother Machaka brought some so things worked out. It would be interesting to come back in a year and see how the branch had grown.
After the meeting at Port Durnford we went to Enseleni where brother Chiliza had arrived early – President Vilane is still too weak to come – and the elders were helping him get prepared. He started the meeting just two minutes late with 12 members in the congregation and four of those were missionaries. By the time the meeting was over there were 41 in attendance of which 16 were primary children. I am going to work with brother Chiliza sometime during the week to better prepare him to conduct. He seems to have a little problem following the agenda as he tried to do away with the opening song and prayer and later the closing song. But he will learn and he seems willing to serve.
After the meeting we came home and took naps. I guess we are either getting old or lazy. We spent part of the afternoon preparing dinner for the elders. Mary cooked a roast which I sliced and put in a pan. Mary slathered it with her famous BBQ sauce and we heated it just before the elders were to arrive. There was also BBQ baked beans, corn, rolls and a big green salad. Everything pretty much disappeared except the salad which we packaged up and they took back to their boardings. One thing I really liked about the menu for the night was that there was a lot less dishes and pans to clean up after the elders had left.
As always the elders had a lot of fun as well eating more than they should. They also recount about attendance at all the branches. We counted up what the attendance at sacrament was for the district and with Kosi Bay added in it should have been about 265 which is about 55% of the district. Esikhawini is getting well over the 80 they need as average attendance to apply for a permanent building. They now need to work on getting the tithing up to where it should be.
Richards Bay had fewer people in attendance than any other branch. It is too bad the best chapel in the district is available to the smallest branch. Hopefully the day will come when they will start growing and be able to fill the chapel. Â
I finally got a good picture of a small truck load of logs. We see them everywhere but not often stopped where I can take the picture. This rather gray and black colored bird shows up from time to time at Esikhawini and was patient enough to stand still so I could take its picture. This was the last day the Bs would be in Enseleni and with president Vilane. They will miss each other.
These three pictures are from around the home of a woman in her early 40’s who is very well educated, speaks three languages, is computer literate and can not get a job. She has two children – one is in college and one is in high school. If you look at the wall at one end of their house you can see that there is nothing between the logs. It provides a nice flow of air in the summer but in the winter it is very cold. The middle picture is of their empty chicken coop. They had to eat the chickens that provided eggs. She cooks over wood in an outside kitchen because they do not have enough money for electricity to cook by. With all of this the family is always clean and neat and manages to stay together with love. For some reason hearing about the problems the US is having right now does not seem significant when you meet with such poverty.
Borrowed from Sister Mann’s blog:
GOOD NIGHT AROUND THE WORLD
NETHERLANDS: Goeden nagt
AUSTRALIA: Night, mate
USA: Good night
GERMANY: Gute nacht
SOUTH AFRICA: Are the doors locked, are the windows closed. is the car put away, is the alarm activated and have you fed the Rottweilers?
29 May 2010 – Saturday
It seems that for the last part of our mission I am going to get a lot of opportunities to learn patience. This morning when I tried to open the garage the automatic opener stopped half way up and would not budge so I had to disconnect it to get it open and the car out. This is of course the third time since we got it back that it has decided to re-program itself. The other blessing I have is the rattle that is impossible to find but is always there to help me learn patience.
We went shopping for food for tomorrow’s dinner with the elders. We are trying to keep it simple so that we do have to spend too much time cooking on the Sabbath. Of course there will be some but for a good cause. Mary also had some things copied and laminated for he music students.
We thought that the Enseleni social was supposed to start at 12:00 so we picked up president Vilane at 12:30 and drove him to the library. Luckily it was not starting until 2:00 because by the time we got to the library it was obvious that he should not do anything but rest until he is feeling better. The Bs met us at the Vilanes and I took a picture of them with the president. We also arranged to meet this evening for dinner at the mall.
We then drove to Esikhawini where I dropped off Mary so she could teach piano and I drove over to see President Nyawo. I gave him one of our four remaining printers along with the CD for installation and some extra ink cartridges. Once he gets everything hooked up he should be able to produce the monthly home teaching and visiting teaching messages for his branch. We also talked about calling and other things about how to help the members grow spiritually such as family prayer, scripture reading, FHE and of course Home Teaching.
When we arrived and when we left, Sister Khumalo was working her garden plots. It is a shame that her healthy son is not working along side her but culturally it is just not heard of here. Some gogos with three or four healthy young men living in their house do all the gardening by themselves.
Sister Ndlovu was also at the chapel doing the weekly cleaning. They are again out of cleaning supplies and I am not sure how we will ever get them delivered on a regular basis. They seem to make it to the RB chapel but not to the Esikhawini. I need to call Ray Holder again and see if there is not some way to get a regular delivery.
Mary had three of her students show up so each got a nice long lesson. She feels that all of them are progressing. She does wish that she had longer to teach them. We are hoping that the new couple can continue the program when they get here.
The Griesemers were waiting for us when we arrived at McDonalds. We arranged to meet the Bs at the mall. As we parked at the mall, I kidded elder Griesemer about how dirty his car was. He then opened the boot and showed us a tire that had a big dent in the rim. They had been driving down the N2 and had hit a rock in the middle of the road and immediately had a flat. Luckily it was a back tire and so he did not lose control of the steering.
The six of us had a very nice dinner at Mugg and Bean. We talked about our mission experiences, the wonderful members we have come to love, if we were going on another mission and if so when, etc. Having the Griesemers come up most weeks has been a real blessing for us and having the Bs here for the last 10 or so days was special.
Since the Bs are going to the Richards Bay branch for church tomorrow and then heading down to Durban to head home. We gave them back their suitcase that was now full of many of our remaining souvenirs and said goodbye until we see them Utah. They are a special, loving couple who do good wherever they are. I will be surprised if they come back to Africa any time soon but they will be remembered here for many years to come.
With a last handshake and hug we all got in our cars and went back to our boardings. It was a good day for us in Richards Bay.
Borrowed from Sister Mann’s blog:
GOOD NIGHT AROUND THE WORLD
NETHERLANDS: Goeden nagt
AUSTRALIA: Night, mate
USA: Good night
GERMANY: Gute nacht
SOUTH AFRICA: Are the doors locked, are the windows closed. is the car put away, is the alarm activated and have you fed the Rottweilers? Sleep tight, and dont worry about the lights, Eskom will put them out.
BTW the US just issued the following  travel warning about visiting South Africa:
CRIME: The vast majority of visitors complete their travels in South Africa without problems; however, visitors should be aware that criminal activity, including violent crime, is prevalent throughout the country. Be alert and aware of your surroundings at all times, looking out for your own personal security. While driving, keep doors locked and windows closed, avoid having purses, phones, bags and luggage in plain view, and when stopping at intersections at night or in isolated locations, leave enough space in front of your vehicle for a quick exit. Be wary of street vendors at traffic lights, planted obstacles and staged “accidents†that may be traps for unsuspecting motorists. Do not stop for cars with flashing lights unless they are clearly marked as police or emergency service vehicles. Park your car in secure, gated parking lots or garages wherever possible, and do not leave bags or valuables in plain view. Travellers to South Africa should avoid carrying or displaying expensive items or wearing eye-catching jewelry, stay in a group, and avoid walking at night. Keep a photocopy of your passport with you, leaving the original in a hotel safe or other secure location.
What is interesting is that there was an article a couple of months ago showing that for European visitors to South Africa unto 50% safer traveling in South Africa than traveling to Germany and some other European countries…
One problem visitors are going to have is buying a cell phone to use while they are here. To buy a phone in South Africa requires proof that you live here and have a street address. This means you have to have something like a utility bill showing your name and address. The Bs found this out when they tried to buy one and they would not sell it to them. They used Mary’s while they were here and it worked out fine.
I forgot to mention the one problem we had yesterday. After the workmen had all left, I could not find the extra set of house keys. Both sets had been in use during the morning and I thought perhaps someone had accidently taken them. After we looked about everywhere we thought they could be, I called and asked if they happened to have them and they said they did not. So that led to more looking until it was time to leave. I was worried that one of the helpers might have picked them up and could get into the house. Of course the alarm would go off but even in a few minutes they could take computers, etc.
When we got home for the evening everything was fine and more searching did not turn up the lost keys. I decided that the next day I would get someone up to change the locks. Since I am writing this on Friday morning I can report that as I walked out to take out the rubbish bin for pickup, there glittering in the morning sun were the keys. They were lying in the sand just off the walkway. I do not see how we did not see them earlier and a thought came that perhaps Rob found them later in his pocket and tossed them there. However they appeared this morning, I count it as another of the Lord’s tender mercies. It is a good way to start the day.
Later in the morning we received a call from Solo Mthalane saying that the letter from the area that he needed to return ASAP still has not arrived. I called Joburg and the brother said that he would email the letter to us so we could print it and get it to Solo.
Our first stop of the day was to visit President Vilane. It was good to see him being able to walk around the house but he is a long ways from being well. I went through the order for next year’s supplies so I can turn it in. Three of the branches need very much because they do not have SS so they just need a few things for Primary, YW and YM. From there we went to see mama Zulu and take her some used clothing that we were given. She was happy to get it because she can sell it or use the material to make other things.
As we were leaving mama Zulu’s we got a call from the Esikhawini elders saying that they had locked the keys in the car and did we have a spare. Usually that would have meant going back to our boarding and getting the keys but because we had seen the Davises just a couple of days ago about what spare keys we had, Mary still had them in her purse. So we were able to drive to the KFC in Empangeni and solve their problem. Since we were already there we had our lunch at the KFC.
We drove back to our boarding to load up for Youth at Esikhawini. We decided to take the banana stalk that the Mickelsen’s had given us because the bananas were ripening very quickly. It is a good thing that we went to Youth because the YM had no representatives there and sister Nyawo is still too new to really take charge. So we had a short lesson on the theme – they still have not learned it – and then played some gospel related games. There was a good turn out today. A number of non-LDS young men who are really too young show up because they like the games and the treats. I am going to suggest that the elders drop by regularly if possible to see who is coming and who is not. We drove home in the semi-darkness that comes early in the winter.
I forgot to mention that the other day we finally got to see a cane field burning. It was a very large field and I am not sure that it did not get out of hand. It was right along the road from the John Ross to Esikhawini  and it was dark enough that the flames flashed against the sky. Unfortunately there is almost always a cloud of smoke hanging over the landscape. It clears up when the wind comes up but it is still not a nice sight.
