17 May 2010 – Monday

 We were up way too early but it was necessary so we could leave for Zone Conference in Durban.

We stopped by the Mickelsen’s on our way to the conference so we could pay them for all the goodies they got for us in Cape Town. They were busy getting everything beautiful for the couple who is coming in a month to replace them. We spent just a few minutes with them before wishing them God’s Speed for their trip home. One of the many blessings of our mission was getting to know them and we are looking forward to seeing them in Utah.

We made it the Berea chapel quite early and were the first ones there. Sister Mann soon pulled up behind us and we were soon joined by some of the Richards Bay elders. We all had to stand around outside because no one had a key. Luckily our friend Elder Makona – who we served with in Swaziland and Richards Bay – showed up with the key to let us all in.

The conference was as always up lifting. I am always most impressed by President Mann’s positive presentations. Even when he is giving bad news or chiding the elders for some of their behavior, he finds a way to keep it positive. He really has learned how to ‘rebuke at times with sharpness’ and then ‘showing greater love.’ The elders all know that he loves them and would do anything he could for them so they take his ‘rebukes’ and counsel to heart.

He told the story about Elder Packer giving a talk to the new mission presidents where he talked about all the things that mission presidents – and couples – might worry about as they leave their homes for three years. He told them a number of times not to worry about them because the Lord would take care of them. Then after a pause he said “And if he doesn’t, So What.” 

As he said this I recalled how as we thought about what might happen to our house and the many things that are in it, I had told Mary that the worse thing that could happen is that it would burn down and we would lose everything. We then decided if that happened we could live with it. Once we had decided that, we could pretty much forget about the material things we were leaving until we got home.

The highlight of the conference for me was president Mann talking about what he had learned on his mission. He said that at the recent conference in Joburg the three mission presidents that would soon be released, talked about this.

He learned to truly love people. He talked about sitting in the emergency room with a missionary surrounded by people with injuries or illness and loving each of them because they were really his brothers and sisters.

He said he learned to truly trust God. He learned to trust and expect revelation for the mission. He mentioned that as soon as the new mission president stepped off the plane, he was released and would no longer have revelation about the mission.

He learned to make every minute count – he wants to be able to say I gave my 2 mites each day of my mission.

Learned what it meant to truly be obedient. He already knew this intellectually but on his mission he learned what it meant to be exactly obedient.

Learned to let go of the past. What happened before does not matter. What matters is what you are doing now and in the future.

He said he learned that the mission equation was actually life’s equation. Faith + Obedience + Hard Work = Miracles is how to succeed no matter who or where you are.

He learned to love and trust 340 missionaries.

After the meetings Sister Mann directed the taking of Zone pictures. She pointed out to president Mann that it would be the last time they had Zone conferences and so the pictures would be the last chance to get pictures with all the missionaries. Once our picture was done, Mary and I then took care of handing out the pizza and brownies. The Manns and the Davises needed to go back to the mission office to make sure the Mickelsens made it to the airport on time for their flight.

After all the elders had been fed, we left the assistants in charge of cleaning up and locking up so we could head start home. The drive was uneventful except we tried to go to Nyoni Crafts but called it off when we found that it was 17K on a dirt road with no idea what we would find at the other end.

We decided to stop at the PO box to see if the package from Cindy and Bob had arrived and it had. When we got home and opened it there were many great treats for my birthday and Mary’s Mother’s Day. 2 bags of real Fritos, a bag of chocolate covered cinnamon bears, a number of bags of Red Vines, some 2.75 reading glasses, a nice Mother’s Day card, some seasonings that Mary wanted, and some root beer extract for making real root beer. It was much like Christmas for us.

About the only thing that happened during the afternoon was we got a call from one of the branch presidents asking us to help with a food order for one of their members. We will take care of it in the morning. For most of the evening we just relaxed and watched an episode of Midsomer Murders. It was a long but good day for us.

16 May 2010 – Sunday

We start with PEC in Esikhawini where they are starting to understand the importance of better planned meetings. I learned that Sne Mthalane resigned his job because it was taking way too much time and he wants to go to school starting in June. Hopefully he will find a part time job that will allow him to get his schooling, earn some money and still be able to fulfill his callings.

We then went to Port Durnford for sacrament. Very few from the Malondo and Zondi family came – which meant that there were about 25 in attendance. We got there early so I went to the Nzamas and gave some of them a ride to church. I found out that Quintin has changed jobs and does not have to work on Sundays. That is excellent news and should really help the branch in the future.

During the meeting I got a call from president VanThiel saying that the RB chapel had been broken into again and that they had stolen the new cutlery, table cloths and some of the baptismal clothes. They had not touched the electronics in the chapel and had not tried to break into the secured rooms.  Brother Holder is going to have to do something to make the building more secure or this is going to happen regularly.

After their meeting we went to Enseleni and found that President Vilane was still too sick to be there. For a while it looked like Khulekani would have to conduct but brother Chiliza finally showed up and so it got started about 15 minutes late. The attendance was very low for the branch – even the usual group of non-member children was smaller than usual. Later I was talking to elder Reeves about the poor attendance at Engwelezane and he said it was because it rained yesterday. That was a new one for me but I guess people do things they could not or did not want to do yesterday during church.

Following sacrament meeting Mary was tired – she is still recovering from her surgery. I often forget how much that took out of her and how long it is going to take for her to recover. Anyway she felt we should go home so she could rest some before starting to cook for the elders tonight.

It was a strange dinner night for us. Two of the elders showed up about on time and then another group came about 45 minutes late. It was approaching 9:00 before two more came and two never made it. All of it was because they were busy working so I am not complaining but it does make it hard to serve a hot meal when they come over a 90 minute span. Elder Bentley was able to make his Mother’s Day call tonight. His family could not get together last Sunday.

We have found that this group of elders are either not big eaters or they do not like what we cook. I am thinking about serving rice and chicken at the next dinner and see if they like it better. One thing is for sure, they had a great time together. The noise level got so high I could not carry on a conversation when I got a phone call from brother Bartholomew.

He called to say that they are coming to South Africa after all and will be in on the 19^th or 20^th. Sister B decided that she was going to come regardless of how she felt. They just want to be here and renew their friendship with the members.

After the elders left, we cleaned up and then pretty much fell into bed. It was a good day in Richards Bay.

15 May 2010 – Saturday

The Aaronnic PH was restored to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery on this date 181 years ago.

We had breakfast with the Baldwins at Little Haven. President Baldwin had a meeting at 8:00 a.m. at the mission office with the other district and stake presidents, president Mann and Elder Hill.

We stayed around until we got to say goodbye to the Knudsens who will be heading back to Lesotho. Unless we find a way to get up to see them, it will be the last time we can say goodbye until we see them at a re-union in 2011.

We dropped by the mission office to pick up some supplies and letters for the elders. Most of the sisters and some of the elders were there. They were on their way to Essenwood market to look for goodies. We bid our farewells and our next stop was at the Mickelsens where we picked up the nativity sets and ties they bought for us in Cape Town. We talked about how busy their last days will be. As we were saying goodbye and wishing them a good trip, they gave us a bunch of bananas that were on one of their trees. They should be ripe in a week or so.

We stopped at Ballito to buy fruit and rolls for the elder’s dinner tomorrow night. We then headed for home with a stop at the Vilanes’ to see how the president was doing. Sister Vilane had called me about 7:00 this morning and asked for a ride home from the hospital. I explained that we were in Durban and could not help. The hospital can not find any physical reason for the President’s constipation so they just give him more medicine and send him home.

We got a call from Khulekani saying that he was at the Richards Bay chapel so we stopped there to see him and then took him to the taxi rink so he could get home. He was there for a Seminary meeting. After dropping him off we came home long enough to unload the car, get a quick sandwich.

On our way to Esikhawini it started to rain and while Mary was giving her piano lessons, it started to really pour. Three of her four students showed up and had good lessons. We knew that one would not come because he had to walk and it was raining too hard and the other just did not show.

Our evening was spent having dinner with the Griesmers and then finishing up our shopping for tomorrow. We seem to have spent a lot of time in stores today. The Griesmers were bunked by brother Joseph because it was raining and where he wanted to go was too muddy. But they told us that an inactive family they visited last Saturday came to Church on Sunday. They really are enjoying their time in Engwelezane.

By the time we finally got home, we were both quite tired and it was not long before we headed to bed. It is good to be tired in the Lord’s work.

14 May 2010 – Friday

The Blackburns and us left for Durban at about 8:30 on Friday. We made a short stop at Ballito to pick up a supply of Dr. Pepper and other things for Sister Mann. The Manns have been in Joburg for 3 plus days for a meeting of the Area Presidency and the Mission Presidents – they were in the Joburg airport getting ready to fly home when we called earlier in the morning.

As we were about to get off the N2 in Durban we almost found ourselves in the middle of a traffic accident.  An 18 wheeler all of a sudden swerved partially into our lane about 3 cars in front of us. Luckily everyone was able to avoid hitting or being hit. The Blackburns were some cars behind us and said that the truck had swerved to avoid hitting three vehicles who had bumped each other. The traffic on the N2 where it transitions to the N3 is terrible as two or three lanes always has lots of slow trucks trying to get up the hill and into the correct lane.

But we made it safely to the mission home and shortly after we arrived the Manns pulled in. The President had the phone tight to his ear trying to solve a couple of problems. It is amazing how much he gets accomplished just driving in from the airport.

The Mickelsens were also at the mission home so we had a chance to say hi to them and tell them that we goofed and forgot to bring money or a check to pay for some things they picked up for us in Cape Town. We will get one more chance to pay them when we come in on Monday – they will leave later in that day for home. Elder Mickelsen’s back seems to still be hurting some, but he said that it is getting better. I do not envy him sitting in an airplane for 18 hours with a bad back.

We left the Blackburns at the mission home so they could get some things done they need to do at customs and checked in at Little Haven. We got a chance to relax for an hour or so before heading back to the mission home for my meeting.

The president had completely changed the agenda for the meeting because of what he had learned at the conference in Joburg. Mainly we learned about a new member missionary program – actually it is an version of what the stakes and districts already should be doing – that the area wants to implement. It is based on a successful program in a couple of Joburg Stakes that are doing so well with doing member missionary work that they have no full-time missionaries assigned to them. That means the elders can work where they are most needed to build up small branches. It is an exciting program but will hardly get off the ground before we leave.

After the meeting all the couples – leadership and training missionaries – we with sister Mann to RJ’s Steak House for dinner. Mary and I got lost mainly because we were given the wrong address. But Sister Mann finally got us in the right place.

Other than the really slow service, it was a nice evening getting to know the other couples and some of member of the district presidencies that came in for today’s meeting but especially for tomorrow’s meeting with Elder Hill.

The Baldwins followed us back to Little Haven without any problems except I forgot to turn on my headlights so they had to catch up with us and tell me to turn them on. Once we were in our rooms in the cottage, president Baldwin and I watched the end of the Shark’s rugby game – the Sharks won. Then we watched the last 4 overs of the International 20 Cricket tournament semi-final match between Australia and Pakistan. Australia was way behind and when it came down to the last 6 balls of the match it looked like there was no way they could get enough runs. But the batter proceeded to pound out three 6’s and a couple of 4’s to bring home the win for the Australians. It was an amazing string of hits for the batter and a sad night for the bowler. An exciting way to end a very nice day of fellowship and learning for me.

I forgot to mention that the president mentioned to us that a young elder serving in the Cape Town Mission drowned recently. Four very fine, hard working missionaries who had never gotten into any trouble decided to go to a beach that was outside their area without getting permission from their president. President Mann said that there really was nothing to do in their area.

When they got to the beach one thing led to another and they went into the ocean. One of them got caught by a strong tide and by the time they were able to get him back to the beach he was dead and they could not revive him.

The president pointed out they had broken one rule when they went outside their area, and once they had broken one rule it was easier to break others which led to this tragic death that will haunt the other three missionaries their whole life.

13 May 2010 – Thursday

It was a nice busy Thursday for us. The morning was spent running around getting some errands run, dropping by RB DDM for a short time. While we were there we found out that they are replacing all the drop ceilings in the offices and rooms with solid ones. Not sure why but perhaps it is for security?

Finally got the two nativity sets that we have been promised for months from the Zim artists. Elder Crowther and Sister Mann will be happy to finally see them. The Wilsons will have to wait until we get home for their animal dice and Mary will probably never see her green stone nativity set.

We went visited President Vilane and found that he was still not well. We are very worried about him and his problems. They say that the X-rays do not show any blockage but there seems to be something more there besides simple constipation.

The Blackburns came down from Swaziland on their way to the meeting tomorrow in Durban. We met them at McDonalds and after a quick lunch we dropped their car off at our house and headed off to Port Durnford for our regular Thursday activities. Since we already had a car load I had to act like a shuttle to get everyone one to English class but it worked.

While Mary and Sister Blackburn taught English, I took Elder Blackburn and we visited some families in the area. I wanted to show him the trail we have to take to Sister Chirwa’s home and was really surprised to see that they had bulldozed a nice new wide trail all the past their house and actually right in front of their property. It takes some of the adventure out of visiting this great family.

The Blackburns will have some adventures like this in their work in Swaziland. Getting to the Shongwe house is never going to be made easy and some of the other ‘roads’ are really just two tracks through the grass. But they have a bakkie to drive and we of course do it in a much too low car.

After English we had youth and Siya brought a couple of his friends who seem to fit right in. After the meeting – lesson, games, treats – they told Siya that they wanted to come to church on Sunday. It will be interesting to see if they actually make it.

After Youth we drove to the water-front where we had dinner at our favorite Thai restaurant. The Blackburns have been to Thailand and they liked the spicy food. I was happy to hear them say they enjoyed their meal. They are much more adventurous eaters than we are. It was fun to sit and talk over dinner – we learned about how they met, their family and much more. They have been in the mission for a whole 8 days…what a wonderful adventure they are in for. However they are just now starting to get use to the time change which means they are not waking up at 3 or 4 in the morning.

By the time we got home we were all tired. So after they had a chance to catch up on their e-mail – they do not have the internet where they are staying in Swaziland – we sat around and talked for a short time before heading off to bed.

It was a good day in Richards Bay

Elder Reeves presenting elder Musisi with the first ever Empangeni District ‘Goof Ball.’

12 May 2010 – Wednesday

The days seem to be flying by. We are trying not to think about our mission here in South Africa ending in a couple of months but there is so much to do before we leave it seems to always be at the back of our mind.

Today we went to Elder Reese’s fist DDM as a district leader and his enthusiasm was just bubbling. His goal is to make a difference which is a good one. He started a ‘goof ball’ tradition – in Swazi there was a Zone Bone – that is given each week to the elder or sister who made the funniest mistake during the week. The first elder to get the ball was elder Musisi. When asked why they had knocked on the gate he responded with a new door approach ‘we have come to eat your food.’ Of course he was making a joke but the lady said OK and prepared them some food. Too bad he did not say ‘we have come to baptize you.’

They set the district goal as improving the number of 2 mite days they have as a district each week. They should already be keeping track of 2 mite days for their letter to the president. But it seems some have not been too good about writing and this will focus their attention on the idea of giving their all each day.

After the DDM we found that president Vilane came home from the hospital this morning so instead of visiting him there, we bought some fruit juices for him and after lunch at KFC went to see him. He seemed to be a little stronger and was able to talk some. If we understood him correctly his wife said they took 600 ml of liquid from his stomach. He also has stopped being constipated which should also help. We will keep in close contact with him to see how he is doing.

We went from Enseleni to Esikhawini so Mary could give an English lesson. While she was doing that I went to see President Machaka about how things were going with him getting to Zimbabwe and getting his passport renewed. He said he needed someone to watch his shop while he was gone and I suggested he contact Musa and Solo and see if they could fill in.

After the lesson we had to go shopping for some of the things we will need for feeding the missionaries on Sunday. I hit gold by finding 7 boxes of Mary’s favorite brownie mix at Pick N Pay while she shopped at Spars. When I got back to Spars she was outside the store looking in the parking lot for me and I must have walked right by her when I went into the store to look for her. It took us a while to find each other but we finally made connections – luckily she was wearing a very distinctive Indonesian patterned skirt.

Unfortunately they delivered the wrong motor for our garage door opener so it will be another weekend without it…hopefully it will come before we go home!  

In the evening we called the Coxes and set a date for our trip to the midlands. We have been meaning to do this for almost a year but just could never fit it in to our schedule. Hopefully this time it will actually happen.

 Some people are very good about getting their pictures captioned, edited and on their blogs right after they take them. I keep telling myself that I should do this but seldom do. So here is catching up some of the May pictures that I have taken.

Look Ma – no gate. Stolen in broad daylight with us inside the house not 25 feet away. They must be very good at lifting gates. The new gate with the new feature that I suggested to make it harder to remove. Of course nothing will stop a truly determined thief. I think I have posted this sign from the mall before, but it always makes me wonder how much a threat the workmen at the mall really are.

I did not take many pictures at Reptile City. Riannan was a great host for a personal tour. He has over 100 crocodiles of all ages to go with birds, snakes, spiders and fish. Oh and of course some farm animals including this gorgeous rooster that I present for Sister Mickelsen’s collection.

As we walked through the mall on the day before Mother’s Day we came across a number of booths where they were offering free face painting along with a number of craft projects that children could make for their mother’s. As I saw the mixture of children, I thought how wonderful it will be when all of South Africa will be as color free as these children are.

The children in the townships do not often have money for fancy toys but they have a very fertile imagination and the ablility to make their own toys. We thought this one was one of the best push toys we have seen. The young man said he made it all himself. Hope that he is able to use that talent when he grows up.

Khulekani and the precious envelope.  You have been called to serve in the South Africa, Johanesburg Mission. We will fly out of Durban on the same day but at different times.

Solo Mthalane with his call. The tense waiting as he opens it with his family looking on.  You have been called to the Florida …lots of shouting her…Tallahassee Mission. He will be at the Provo MTC, just minutes from our home, in September.

11 May 2010 – Tuesday

For the most part it was a great day for the Richards Bay District and for us. In the morning we went to the opening Zone Development Meeting of this cycle. We finally got to meet Elder Bentley who has been on his mission for 3 months and came to us from Sanger. He is serving with Elder Musisi in Esikhawini.  Elder Lieros and Elder Sichinga Sr. (his brother is also on his mission here) – did a good job of going over President Mann’s concerns – mainly about finding and retention and set zone goals for this cycle. They also decided it was time to go to a game park – we have a number of new elders from the states who have not seen any parks yet.

After the ZDM we went down to pick up the Nativity sets we ordered 4 months ago – they had called and said they were finally in – and of course they were not ready. However I did buy some soapstone cheetahs that I had not seen before and are very well done.

After lunch at home and a short nap – I am still not 100% – we went to Enselini to delivery Khulekani’s mission call and then for Mary’s piano lesson. The elders and Thokazani joined us for the great event. He is going to the Joburg mission and leaving for the MTC on the same day we are flying home. It was wonderful to share this experience with him. He is going to be a great missionary and leader in the kingdom.

Mary was bunked on her piano lesson. With so little time left for teaching Mbali, it is a shame that this happened. We used some of the time to go see Mama Zulu and tell her that the B’s are not coming to visit. I am not sure that she fully understood what we said – it is a problem we have with many of the Gogos who’s English was not learned in school – often because they did not get to go to school.

After a short stop at home to pick up some things, we headed for Esikhawini and the Mthalane house where we delivered Solo’s mission call. His mother was still on her way home from writing exams, so we sat and talked until she got home. We made guesses of where he might go and we kidded him about going to Salt Lake. We decided that he would be going to Kenya.

When he started reading the call out loud he got as far as Florida – and the house went crazy. No one could believe that he was going State side. Very few missionaries from South Africa are sent to the states.  He is going to the Florida, Tallahassee mission and leaves in September for the Provo MTC. What a great call for this special young elder. His brother Sne was working but we called and he listened in while his brother opened his call. Later there was a call to the US to tell his sister who lives in Southern Utah about the great news.

When we got home I got a call from the elders saying that President Vilane was back in the Engwelezane hospital and we said we would go see him tomorrow after DDM. I called the Bartholomews to tell them Khulekani and Solo’s call and they were excited for them. They had been trying to call President Vilane and had found out he was in the hospital. Sister B gave me some instructions about what she thought needed to be done. She sounded quite sad that they could not be here to help.

Next I called the Hafens and told them about the calls. We talked for a while about some of the members and how they were doing. Those two fine couples basically were the fathers and mothers of the branches and so they consider them as their children. It is hard for them to see them struggling.

So there were some worries today but over-all it was a marvelous missionary day. Not too many senior couples get to be present when one mission call is received. We have been blessed to be at four in just the last three weeks.

10 May 2010 – Monday

Still not 100% but well enough to run some errands and do some shopping this morning.

The Zone Leaders called and came over to print off their graphs for a leadership meeting. I called and found that the garage door opener is still not back from repair. We went to the PO box and found one bill – water – for a whole R12. Also found that the cleaners had moved to above the mall without telling us. After some confusion about where they were – their address is on one street but the business is actually on another – I was happy to get back my two pair of pants. I was finally able to get the maps of Esikhawini for the elders. Third time proved again to be charm. We ate a nice lunch at Maxi’s and then did our shopping.  

As I wrote the above I realized that it does not sound very much like missionary work but being on a mission as a couple is much like being on one at home. Everyday things still have to be taken care of.

By the time we got home my body was ready for a nap. I really must be getting old. While I was napping we got a call from President Vilane asking if we could pick him up at the Engwelezane hospital. Mary answered the phone and said of course we would. When we got there we found him very weak and in some pain. Hopefully what ever they gave him and some rest will help him recover. He is such a good and humble servant of the Lord and the glue that holds that branch together.

We got lost trying to deliver some things to a member. We finally found her house but only after getting a really good tour of one side of Enseleni. The members here are very special and we are happy to be of a little service to them. Something that seems trivial to us is of great importance to them. We really do live in another world in America.

We had not been home long when we got a call from President Baldwin saying that the mission calls had come for Solo and Khulekani. We immediately got back in the car and went to pick them up. While we were there the President invited us back later in the evening to watch a cricket match between South Africa and Pakistan. We were happy to accept.

While at home we got some bad news. Larry Bartholomew called to say that they had to cancel their visit because Karen became ill again. We were saddened by the news of her illness and also that we would not get to see them. I know many of the members will be very disappointed. Brother B told us that Sister B was not unpacking her luggage just in case she somehow got well enough to still come, but it is highly unlikely that will happen. We will pray that they find out what is wrong and get it cured.

It turned out the game we thought we would watch had been played earlier in the day – South Africa lost – but we watched the first 20 overs of a match between England and New Zealand. Unfortunately it was a pretty dull game – New Zealand only got 149 runs in their inning – and I was not unhappy to come home before England got to bat. (I just checked and England was not much better but did manage 153 in 19.1 overs to win and move into the semi-finals.)

09 May 2010 – Sunday

I decided to do the sensible thing and actually make today a day of rest so my body could throw off the effects of my illness. While it was the right thing to do, it still did not feel right.

We listened to a number of Conference talks – I think I have heard President’s Uchtdorf’s talks at least three times each and perhaps more. Hopefully his talk on patience will someday get through to me. President Eyring’s talk on Diligence also rings a lot of bells – especially today when we were at home instead of out in the branches.

In the evening Elder Tueller and Elder Mohale came over to make their Mother’s Day calls home. Cindy called and managed to get through to Mary. Later we found that other children called and left messages but we have not figured out how to retrieve them yet.

By the end of the day I was really bored – I do not think I will take any more days off unless I am really, really sick.

Read in the Mickelsen’s blog that Elder Mickelsen had thrown out his back. I called to see how he was doing and found that they also stayed home. Hopefully he will fully recover before they leave a week from tomorrow.