Monday - Wednesday, June 3-5 - inspecting missionary apt - sr couple FHE

Today we worked again on trying to find a place for the David Glen Hatch concert. We are running out of ideas, but have a couple of possibilities. We are not enthused about either of them, so I will continue to find just the right one. The problem is we are running out of time.

We finally wrapped up things at our flat and drove to the first Elders apartment. We had to park on the road and call them to come and get us, because it was impossible to see where their apartment is. Many places here have a house in the front and back and because there are so many hills, you cannot see what is in the back. They came and got us. One elder was from Zimbabwe and the other one from Phoenix/Texas/California (He says his family moved a lot). Elder Kyle inspected their car while I inspected the apartment. We had checklists that we were supposed to fill out as we went. This apartment was pretty old and the kitchen was pretty dirty. I opened the refrigerator and it was pretty awful. The dishes were all stacked in a drying rack. There were so many that it's a wonder they could stack them that high without falling, but at least they were clean. Not much else was. I opened the microwave and there was a package of chunks of uncooked meat in there. My first thought was, how long has this meet been in there, but the elder said he just put it in this morning to thaw. So he took it out and put it back in the refrigerator. This microwave was probably the dirtiest I've ever seen, so I told the elder from Zimbabwe that he would have to clean it right away. I took out the round piece of glass and told him to wash it in the sink. Then I turned to look at something else and the elder had the microwave in his hands and was headed toward the sink. I asked him what he was doing (I think he was just going to run water right into the microwave until I told him to just get a rag and clean it. It was a big microwave too. Ha.) Some of these African elders have never seen a microwave before their mission. Some have not had running water, nor indoor toilets. It is all a learning experience. I had my eyes opened today.

The other apartment we inspected was very clean. Of course the apartment was newer and easier to keep clean, but these African Elders were very neat and clean. The cars were clean as well.

We attended Family Home Evening at the Holts that live in the building below us and two other couples were there. We were supposed to look at the conference talks and pick one that really meant a lot to us and explain why. Elder Kyle and Sister Holt talked about Elder Enrique Falabella's talk, 'The Home, the School of Life.' She said that she really liked the way he talked about his wife...you could tell that he really loved her, and he recounted that his wife said to him after they first got married, "It takes two people to contend and I will not be one of them." She said it caused her to think about how she treats her husband and how hard it is to be together with him 24/7 and she is sure it is hard for him too. That started a whole discussion about it and I think we all felt better knowing we were not the only ones having a hard time too. Elder Stark said that he was told by one of his friends who went on a mission that when his wife was in a mood to just go buy some bread (which I think is code for give her some space). It was light-hearted, but helpful. Sister Stark and I talked about Elder Holland's talk. He was telling us that it's okay if we believe a little bit...to work on that and not focus on what we don't know. It was a sweet talk and I loved that he said, "If you don't have a strong testimony, then lean on mine." He is a great speaker. I couldn't help but think of those African elders that are on missions who have not been members themselves for very long and I know that their testimonies have not fully developed yet, but they have such faith. Of course some of us picked the same talks, but we got different things out of it, as we always do.

Tuesday, we went to inspect another car and flat for two Elders in Phoenix (South Africa, not Arizona). They were really sweet Elders and had a very clean flat. One was from Arizona and the other from Idaho. We talked about food, mainly pinto beans and crockpots, then cooking a roast in the crockpot. They were all excited about getting a crockpot, so they could cook more things.

When we got home we had just finished dinner when the little girl (in the other half of our duplex) and her father came over to bring us something they made (some sort of snack made from rice - they are Indian). Elder Kyle started talking to them about Curry and how he bought some that was supposed to be hot, but it wasn't. The little girl (5 years old) left and came back with some curry her grandmother made. Elder Kyle was in heaven and had it for dinner on Wednesday night. He said it was just the right amount of hot. I had taken the family some cookies I made on Monday night, so they felt they should reciprocate. They are very sweet people. I made chocolate, chocolate chip and peanut butter cookies. The little girl said she liked the peanut butter ones the best (me too).

Wednesday, we worked again on the David Glen Hatch. I got an estimate for two pianos and it was more than some of the venue costs, so it only gets tougher here in Durban. The Area office has a plan to combine the DGH concert with the LotusFM wheelchair give-away, so we'll keep praying that will work out. Lisa at Lotus is looking for a venue.

We then went to the mission office to pick up an envelope from our daughter and the twins...they made the cutest things for Grandpa's birthday and Father's Day, plus the day before he got three great books from Deseret Books. They were very good to him and the butterfly, bat and picture of Jesus that they made are precious. We also picked up all the mail for New Castle, because we are going to their District, for a groundbreaking on a new Chapel this weekend. They are currently meeting in a butcher shop, so this is a very happy occasion. We are staying at Peaches and Cream in Lady Smith again and will be taking photos and writing a story about the event for Mormon Newsroom. We leave on Friday. There was so much packages and mail that it filled our entire trunk! The Elders will be so happy to get their mail.

We then went to the grocery store...we were out of everything. We came back, had dinner and then started working on the computer again, answering email questions, making phone calls, and all the stuff that goes on all day here.