Wed, Aug 28th - Sun, Sept 1st- Hillcrest ward with Murdocks-sonali Chatsworth Sunday- sings for us

Wednesday and Thursday was mostly office work...getting caught up on public affairs stuff we have going on...talking to the area office about our trip next week for Mormon Newsroom training...getting airline tickets to Johannesburg and booking hotels, etc. Thursday, Elder Kyle talked to our contact at CE Mobility to see if we could get info on the wheelchairs he is trying to arrange for the people who have contacted him after our wheelchair distribution, regarding getting a chair. It is a work in progress, but he is determined to get them chairs. We are hopeful.

We found out that the Murdocks are coming to Durban again on Friday and that we have a meeting with them and the Hillcrest Stake President on Sunday about some organizational issues on the stake levels. They wanted a meeting set up for Friday evening with the people from Ukhozi Radio Station regarding the trip next year to Salt Lake City, but when we tried to set it up, they said they were not available. Instead the Murdocks got together with Bishop Sabela who will also be going on the trip. We did not go to dinner, so they had a great time getting caught up with him. He was a very good public affairs person for them while they were here and a great individual.

Sonali

Saturday, the Murdocks had fun at the beach and we got ready for our trip to Joburg, by washing clothes and eating leftovers. It was also our turn on Monday to have family home evening at our place, so we went to the grocery store to buy items for the dinner. Elder Kyle worked on the lesson for FHE as well and Sonali from next door visited us and sang us an ABC rap song with a twist with hand movements...something like this: "We are learning the ABC's...uh huh, I like it...uh huh, uh." It was pretty funny. She has started coming over whenever she learns a new song to sing it to me.

Sunday, we attended church at Chatsworth. It was testimony meeting and both Elder Kyle and I felt inclined to bear our testimonies and thank these wonderful people of Chatsworth Ward for helping us with the clean-up of the Chatsworth Youth Centre. We also heard from Rosie, the 77-year old Indian lady that always introduces herself and hugs you when you come to church. She said that she has been in the church for 30 years and knows that it is true.

Elder Condie

Elder Condie, who we've grown very fond of, bore his testimony because that was his last day at that ward, before heading for home. We've had a couple of conversations with him about going home and he always acted like he wasn't looking forward to going back home. It's great to see the dedication these Elders have for their mission.












Another man bore his testimony about his young daughter folding up a grocery bag until it resembled a samosa (Indian fried pastry with various ingredients inside). She told her dad that she would fold all their grocery bags and he could put them in his pocket and take to the store to reuse and then would not have to pay for a new bag (Here you pay for all grocery bags and it is just a few cents each). She told her dad that he could pay her what he would have paid for the bag). Her dad told her he would pay her double, if she saved the money for her mission.

He then testified of the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon. He said that sometimes that shelf where they keep the Book of Mormon gets stuffed with things and the Book of Mormon falls to the floor. When he sees that, he always walks over and picks up the book, kisses it and puts it back on the shelf. One day when he walked into the house, he noticed that the picture of Jesus Christ on their wall had fallen and his wife picked it up, kissed the photo and hung it back on the wall. When he asked her why she did this, she told him that she saw him do that with the Book of Mormon.

 Another man, who used to be in the ward, was visiting and bore his testimony. He talked about how his mission changed his life and blessed him in ways that could be measured by his wonderful family, his good job and his life in general. He said that the Church is his family, a place he can go to be uplifted and prepare for the following week..."It is the best thing that every happened to me."

In Sunday School, the teacher (a returned missionary), asked us what we would do if we knew we were going to die soon - will, bear testimony to active, inactive or non member family members, write letters to your children, get your affairs in order, etc. He then talked about Joseph Smith knowing that he was going to die and was 'as calm as a summers morning.'

He then asked what it means to be a martyr...someone with the conviction that something they believe in is true and is willing to die for what they believe. He went over Joseph Smith's last hours and read Moroni 10:3-5 and D&C 135:3. He asked, "What makes the prophet better than us?" God chose him before he was born, but Joseph fulfilled his foreordained calling by strengthening the saints belief in the Savior. People thought when Joseph Smith was killed it would be the end of the Gospel. The reason it wasn't, was because it was not a church of man, but of Jesus Christ. It is our job to continue the Gospel. it will go on until Jesus comes again.

We left after Sunday School because we were meeting Elder and Sister Murdock at Hillcrest Chapel on the other side of town for our meeting with the Stake President. We arrived first and got to visit a little bit with the missionaries who were in the hall. Finally the Stake President showed up and Elder Murdock told him about a proposal of having regional Public Affairs people instead of a national director. Nothing is decided yet, but they wanted to know who he would recommend for the position, if it gets approved. We discussed some people in the stake that we thought would be very good and the Stake President agreed, but had them doing some important things in the Stake and thought that they might want some other people that were getting released soon. No decisions were made, but we had a good meeting and felt that we had plenty of options if the callings were made available.

The Murdocks left for the airport and we went back to our flat, listened to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and relaxed a bit. I worked on this blog and Elder Kyle read the Ensign and then scriptures. After dinner we read the Book of Mormon together. It was a nice day.