As I was ironing some white shirts this morning, I looked at the electrical outlet and plugs and thought I would post a few pictures.

On the right is our trusty meter. If it goes to 0 everything electrical stops. So we buy electricity at about 10 cents a kilowat and we use about 400 KW per month. At current exchange rates that is about $50 a month which is pretty good for home but high for the average African home. The center picture is a wall plug. Note the three round holes where we would have one round and two slits – but it basically works the same. The big difference is the switches above the plugs. Every wall plug has one and it turns the plug on or off. At first it is hard to remember that you can turn an appliance on or off with the switch but later you find that it is often easier. The last picture is a bayonet light bulb. They have both bayonet and screw in light sockets here so often you have to have both kinds in the cabinet to make sure you have the right kind when a bulb burns out. End of short lesson…

20 July 2009 – Monday

The saga of the broken garage door opener continued this morning. The men arrived right at 8:00 and re-installed the opener and of course it did not work right. So they took it out again and promised to be back at 8:00 tomorrow. Rob, the man who has handled a number of projects for us, came over to try to solve his part of the problem – that is why the remote control he set up only works every other time – but with the opener once more off the premises he also left.

Once everyone was gone we went out to run some errands. The first thing up was to cash 2 checks that I had accumulated over the last couple of weeks. I was able to walk right up to a teller and then waited for 30 minutes while she checked everything out. It turned out she was new to the branch and so she was crossing every t and dotting every I – twice. South African banks are a good place to learn patience and suffer with a smile.

But there was an off setting blessing for going to the bank. As I was walking in I said hello to the outside guard and when he smiled and said hello back I stopped and talked to him. I found that he had a family and lived just outside Esikhawini. He even knew where the church was. I ended up giving him a ‘Who are the Mormons” and he found a piece a paper and gave me his phone number.  This experience made it easier for me to wait for my checks to get cashed.

The next stop was the Municipality office where I paid the water bill and bought some electricity. The last time I was there I had to wait in a long line. When I saw that there was no waiting I got a little anxious – I was thinking about the bank experience – but the lady was very efficient and I was in and out in less than 3 minutes. I will mention that to gain entrance to the office you go through a security room and the inside door does not open until the outside one is closed and only one person can enter at a time. From the looks of it the glass is very thick and probably bulletproof.

I decided I wanted to get some keys to the Esikhawini chapel for the YM and YW presidents so they can get in when we are not around. One of the interesting things about South Africa is most door keys are what we would call skeleton keys – only padlocks use the more familiar flat keys that we use almost everywhere in the US. I wish I had taken a picture of the wall of keys at the locksmiths – maybe I will do that before we go home. 6 keys cost me about $7 US.

We then went to get some lunch at Maxis where I read President Uchtdorf’s conference talk on “The Way of the Disciple.” Actually I only read a couple of pages of it because it got me to thinking about a number of things. One was what Christ looked like – I know that is a strange subject to get from the talk but it came from his opening paragraph about how Christ entered Jerusalem for the last time.

The next thought that I pondered was “This (filling our heart and mind with the message of the risen Christ) in turn, causes our faith to grow and allows the light of Christ to illuminate our hearts.” He then goes on about what happens after this.

Other points: “We don’t acquire eternal life in a sprint –this is a race of endurance.” “Discipleship is a journey. We need the refining lessons of the journey to craft our character and purify our hearts.”

So I was well fed both physically and spiritually.

Mary than went to shop at Pick and Pay while I went to do some other shopping. She likes it when I just let her shop – at least that is what she told me when I had finished everything I needed to do and she was still not finished. OK so I still have a good distance to go in learning patience.

We went looking for an AC/DC adapter so that we could get the keyboard to work. One shop was out of them but was very helpful in telling us just what we needed and where we should be able to get them.  The first suggestion came up short but once more back at Pick and Pay I found what we needed.

As we headed home from all these stops, I told Mary instead of being P-day it should be E-day – that is Errand Day.

Other than a trip to check our mailbox and to visit with the Barts to deliver some tomatoes the Richards Bay elders had been given for them. We had a short but nice visit and then headed home before it got too dark.

A quick note about traffic. When we left to go to the Barts, it was just about 5:00 p.m. and there was a long line of cars coming up the hill to the residential areas around where we live. This happens each evening at about the same time. When we came home at 6:15 there were only a few cars on the road. When we come home at 8:00 or 9:00 at night there we are sometimes the only car going our way.

We hosted First Night – that is the first Sunday dinner of a transfer cycle. I did not take a lot of pictures but on the left is Elder Mholo in the white shirt who is his second cycle here and Elder Musemare who just joined us on Friday. The middle picture is of Elder Richey and Elder Muthoka. Elder Muthoka is the other recent addition to the zone. The right hand picture is of Elder Mbithi – you will have to figure out which he is.

Mary played for the first choir practice that has been held since we have been going to Esikhawini. The branch did sing in District Conference but as far as I know they never practiced. Esikhawini meets in a complex of four mobile trailers that are on foundations. While I was taking a picture to show on this blog, the brother with the rich red and blue sweater walked up and I asked if I could include him in my shot. The last picture is from First Night and is of the end game that was going on between Elder Hoosier and Elder Torgerson. They had to leave before they had finished so I took the picture in case they wanted to resume the contest at a later date.

The Mickelsens saved me the trouble of taking a picture of one of the vast fields of pineapples you see here. My guess is that the total acreage in pineapple here in South Africa is greater than that in Hawaii. The warthog in the mud is a common sight and I have one somewhere. The picture I missed was a bog with the parents and four small ones all enjoying a soothing mud bath on a hot African afternoon. The last picture is of what is called an informal housing settlement. A close up would show houses made of anything that could be found lying around, traditional stone, mud and wattle, and a few made of home made cinder blocks. They spring up on the outskirts of townships and cities.

Here are some borrowed pictures from the recent All Zone Conference. They pretty much speak for themselves. I think that white head between the two lines of hungry elders in the second picture is mine. My job was to remind them that they could only have one sandwich with two pieces of meat and one of cheese the first time through. Some of them went through 3 times. The last picture is the sewing circle of couples that developed as we waited for the missionaries to finish with their sports time.  

Sister Mann and the Mickelsens both keep up weekly blogs. Today as I was reading their posts for the week, I realized I could copy pictures they use that I did not have and use them in my blog. This way those who did not read the other blogs could still see some pictures of South Africa that I had not shot.

The 10 Billion Dollar bill from Zimbabwe is actually not worth the paper it is written on. Almost all cash transactions in the country are done in US Dollars. I have meant to take a picture of the ‘Please Don’t Kill” sign but never got a real chance. Thanks to Sister Mickelsen I now have one. I actually do not remember seeing the last sign but could not pass up showing it here.

19 July 2009 – Sunday

I had a number of surprises today and they were almost all good. The most difficult part of the day was getting up and going. Since we need to be in Esikhawini  before 8:00 we need to get going before 6:00.

We made it easily today and I got to go to PEC while Mary practiced some music for the roadshow. Unfortunately brother Nkosi  and brother Mavundla were not there but president Malinga held a short but good meeting. They are still learning how to be effective in their PEC and so I will spend some time this week or next helping him prepare agendas. After PEC the presidency met and came up with a first draft for home teaching. Hopefully by next week it will be available for everyone.

Sacrament had average attendance and brother Mathalane gave an excellent talk as his mission report. I wish he had worked in a few more spiritual experiences so the young men would know how great his mission was and how it changed his life. However ,since he was called to be the YM President and to teach the Aaronic Priesthood he will have a number of opportunities to talk about his mission.

There was no teacher for Sunday School so president Nyawo stepped in an chose to have a lesson on agency. I made a couple of comments but as the lesson was going on I kept thinking about the idea of agency as ‘acting and not being acted upon’ which is mentioned in the scriptures. I decided to look it up and found that it was in 2 Nephi 26 but verses 25 to 29 gives the whole concept.

I do not know how many times I have read this scripture but this time as I read in verse 26 “And the Messiah cometh in the fullness of time, that he may redeem the children of men from the fall. And because they are redeemed from the fall, they have become free forever, knowing good from evil; to act for themselves and not to be acted upon, save it be by punishment of the law at the great and last day, according to the commandments which God hath given.”

I had never considered that without the atonement in the eternities there would be no difference between those who chose good and those who chose evil. The atonement made free moral agency eternally meaningful. So while we had agency from the beginning, by fulfilling justice Christ’s atonement gave our actions and choices meaningful. After Sunday School I shared this idea with Elder Mbithi and he felt the same as I did. There is much to ponder in this scripture.

When it was time for Priesthood, we found that there was no teacher for either the AP or MP so brother Nyawo taught the AP and I took the MP. Of course I had no lesson planned and a quick look through the PH lessons did not bring any inspiration so I just started talking about what responsibilities came with accepting the Priesthood and callings. As promised the words just came to me and I could see and feel that everyone was being edified. Even the investigator who has a baptism date in early August seemed to be caught up in what we were discussing. It was a very special time for me.

After the block, Mary played for choir practice and then gave her piano lessons. We really need keyboards for any real progress to be made. Hopefully we will be able to get power sources for the new keyboard and the one that is at the Nseleni elders boarding.

When we got home, I did have a few minutes of panic. Since the garage door does not open, we have had to use the front door. When I looked through my pocket for the keys I could not find them. I found three other sets of keys but not the three I really needed. Luckily for some reason I had taken the back door keys so we were able to get into the house.

Once inside I emptied every pocket in my pants, coat and shirt and still no front door keys. I was almost ready to head back to Esikhawini and see if I had dropped them somewhere when I took other things out of my pocket. But before I did that, I started searching the car. The keys had fallen out of my pocket and were down between the seat and the console but on Mary’s side. So the problem was solved with only a few minutes of distress.

Mary spent most of the rest of the afternoon finishing getting things ready for First Night – that is the first Sunday dinner for the elders after transfers. She had started preparing on Saturday so the spaghetti sauce was already cooked, but she still had other things to do. I was responsible for cleaning house and getting the garlic bread ready.

Although the elders arrived a little later than usual the dinner went well and no one went away hungry. In fact they did not even eat all the brownies and ice cream. Anytime the elders go home with food left over, the dinner is a success.

After dinner the Zone Leaders – elder Richey and elder Mbithi –sent in their report and the other elders sat around and talked. Elders Hoosier  and Torgereson played a game of chess that they were not able to finish. I think the two new elders- elder Musemare and elder Muthoka – seemed to enjoy themselves. I commented to elder Bartholomew how just a few days after they came to the area and had new companions that they seemed to fit right in. It is another of the amazing features of missionary service.

18 July 2009 – Saturday

It  was one of those mornings when it seemed like we had to run jus t to keep from falling more behind. Even with stopping by to see president Machaka in his tuck shop, we made it to Port Durnford by 10:00 where we hoped to hold a rehearsal of their road show. Of course almost no one showed up on time but we finally got 5 of them together and could run through it a few times.

We then ran three of the Young Single Adults young men to Richards Bay so they could take part in a YSA program put on by the district. The Barts had just gotten there so they were able to help set things up.

We had time to stop and grab some lunch before running back to Port Durnford so a young man who needed to earn some money could wash our car. He is non-LDS but he drew and painted most of the back drop for our road show. The car really did need washing and I have no problem with helping him as long as he is willing to work.

We then went to Esikhawini to see if anyone would show up for our English class. No one did but we were able to spend some time talking to sister Mathe and set up the chairs in the chapel. Yesterday we had forgotten to have the youth replace them after the rehearsal.

We than went back to the Richard Bay chapel where we saw the last 10 minutes of the movie they were watching. I then drove a group of the young men – all 4 that came – to the taxi rink so they could catch their rides back to their homes.

After getting everyone on the way home and locking up the chapel, the Bartholomews and us went to have some dinner at the mall. It is always a treat to spend time with these two inspiring missionaries. Our food took some extra time to get to us because they ran out of olives to put in sister Bs salad. We had a good laugh when we found out they had to run to one of the grocery stores in the mall to buy olives.

After we parted with the Bs we went to the grocery store to get a few things that we needed for tomorrow night when all the missionaries in the zone come over to our house for the first Sunday dinner of the transfer cycle. As it was after 5 by the time we had finished with dinner almost all the stores were closed. Only some of the restaurants, the grocery stores and the theater were still open. It is strange to walk through a mall at 5:30 on a Saturday evening and see only three or four people around. It is almost eerie.

I need to mention that we got an answer to an e-mail we sent to Elder and Sister Reber who replaced us in Indonesia. They reported that no one from the Church was injured in the blast at the hotels in Jakarta. However they had an appointed to go to the Marriott at 10:00 a.m. on the morning of the blast. They would have probably got there about 9:45 so if the bomb had been set off 2 hours later in the day they could have been right in the middle of it.

Mary joining Facebook has been had some very unexpected results. We have made contact with a number of our friends from Redondo III ward. Some we have not seen or heard from in over 20 years. We have been able to encourage a number of them to either put in their papers for to serve a mission or start planning to serve when they retire.

We also learned from Facebook that the Taylors who we served with in Indonesia just sent their papers in on Sunday. This will be the third mission – they come home from one and then put in for their next one. They sold their house and car before going on their first mission to the Philippines so they just visit their children between missions. I wrote to President Mann and suggested he see if he could get them assigned here –they were be the perfect replacements for the Barts.

17 July 2009 – Friday

Slept well and woke to a cold house. When I went on line so I could read the latest news while eating breakfast the headlines were that there were bomb blasts at two hotels in Jakarta. One was the Marriott where any visitors from the area office or church headquarters stay. I wrote to Elder Subandriyo and then the Rebers to find out if anyone from the church might have been hurt. I would imagine that Indonesia is about to go on the dangerous for traveling list.

We spent most of the morning waiting for the garage door serviceman to come and finally called to find out where he was. He ended up coming just before we had to leave for Esikhawini’s youth meeting. He took the whole unit in to be repaired. Waiting gave me the opportunity to post a lot of pictures and catch up the blog.

At Esikhawini we had one of those days that tries your faith. It is next to the last time we can have a rehearsal of the road show and only 5 youth showed up. But we did not let that stop us from running through the whole thing a couple of times and then splitting them into groups and having them practicing their parts. I took the two young ladies who are going to open the show and rehearsed their whole scene until they seemed to understand what they should do. By the time we were done they were even adlibbing a bit and having fun. Hopefully they will get their parts memorized because they have the best scenes in the show. As they left one of them said that she used to act and really enjoyed being part of the show. It is things like that which makes up for the stressful times. After the meeting Mary gave a piano lesson and then we locked everything up before heading home.

I forgot to mention that before the meeting started I sat and talked with Sister Mathe. She is one of the gogos who tend their gardens here. I asked her about her husband and found that he died in 1991. I learned more about her children – 3 died quite young from AIDS – and grandchildren. Like so many grandmothers here, she is raising most of her grandchildren and trying to make it possible for them to go to good schools. We spoke about how it is so important to have the youth understand that by living the commandments they are safer.

On the way home we stopped to buy what we need to feed the missionaries on Sunday night. As we were checking out Mary mentioned that we could buy electricity along with our groceries so I did. However when she tried to actually get the pin number to put into the meter, the municipality site was off line and we had to get a refund. But while the woman was working on trying to help Mary two people we knew joined the line. One was a woman who was investigating the church we went with the elders to meet and the other was Calwyn Baldwin who is the district clerk. I guess every one needed electricity tonight.

While the elders were out playing sports I took a walk around the Pinetown chapel and took these pictures. The palm tree with the soft pink flower growing out of its trunk was a first for me. I thought all palms flowered from the top.

Once you get them out of their suits they pretty much look like any other 19-22 year old. Elders Nare and Lwanga in their green soccer outfits served together in Swaziland while we were there. Elder Richy struck his usual pose for this picture. He was helping load President Mann’s box. I did not get the name of this elder but if there had been an award for the wildest sports outfit, he would have won going away.

Pictures – not even a movie – can catch the full flavor of what it is like when 100 elders, 10 couples, and others are all packing up to return to their areas and boardings. This is a massive transfer experience where hopefully the right missionaries and their luggage get into the right cars or bakkies. Of course there are also the last hugs being given and pictures being taken. We left before most of the others so we missed them pulling out of the chapel lot. I think we will stick around until the very end when this happens again in December.