This Sunday, we planned to go to Hillcrest Ward to hear our PA Director's talk (Sipho). Their meeting started at 8:00 AM, then we were going to leave early and go to Chatsworth Ward to see their primary program, then we were going to Pinetown Ward to get another wheelchair. Those were our plans and even though Chatsworth and Hillcrest are on different sides of town, I was sure we could make all three. What we did not count on was the bicycle race that shut down the freeway that we use the most to get anywhere.
Luckily getting there was not too bad, as the part of the freeway that was shut down was the lane going toward town and we were driving away from town. We weren't sure how we were going to get back, but hoped the race would be over on that stretch of the highway before then. We got to Hillcrest Ward okay and listened to Sipho's talk. He was the high council speaker and was supposed to speak to Hillcrest Ward and Kloof Ward that meets after Hillcrest in the same building. He did a great job with his talk and even said some nice things about us, but he was the last speaker, so his talk ended after the hour. We still thought we could make it, so we hopped in the car and took off. Sure enough, the road was still blocked, but we knew there was an alternate highway if we could just get to it. We tried, but could not find a way to get to the highway without going down the blocked off freeway.
Finally after messing around for 35 minutes we scrapped the idea of going to Chatsworth and found a back way to the Pinetown Chapel. We arrived there just as sacrament was about over (Their service starts at 9:00. We went into the Chapel for Sunday School and relaxed a bit.
In Relief Society, the teacher was member of the RS Presidency. She is a tall, thin and beautiful black young single adult. Her lesson was about how we should open our mouths and tell others about the Gospel. She told a personal story about how one of her professors at college was someone she really liked and respected. She had been having promptings that she should give him a book of Mormon, but she would put it off and it never seemed to be the right time. She was worried about what he would think if she shared her beliefs with him...would it cause an uncomfortable feeling between them...would he avoid her? She went as far as writing her testimony in the Book of Mormon and carrying it around in her backpack, but couldn't find the right time to give it to him. One day, she was running late to get to class. When she walked in he gave her a look and told her to come and see him after classes were over for the day. During her other classes, she was worried about meeting with him. When her day at college was finally done, she walked back to meet with the professor. Before she entered his office, she had the thought that he would be alone and this would be the perfect time to give him THE BOOK! Then she immediately scoffed at the idea...after all, she was going in to see him so he could chastise her for being late, not really the perfect timing she was looking for. She walked in and closed the door. He told her to sit and she did. He then said, "What do you have for me?" Knowing that he wanted an explanation as to why she was late, she pulled out the Book of Mormon and laid it on his desk and said, "This." When he asked her, "What is it?" She told him that it was a history of people who lived during the time before and after Christ was born and that it was her most precious book. She invited him to read it. She then waited for him to speak. He picked up the book and looked at her testimony inside. He looked at her and said, "Thanks for this precious gift. We will read it as a family every day." Needless to say, she was very surprised at his reaction, but oh so pleased. She talked about how important it is for us to make the first move and to think of it as a gift that they may reject, but also may accept and urged us to pray for opportunities to share.
After church we got more wheelchairs and put them in the car. We then began our journey to find our way back home. We ran into the same problems. The road home was blocked. I discovered a detour feature in the GPS, so we tried that. It took us on a crazy route that led right back to the freeway that was blocked. We tried again and it took us on a different route, but led right back to the freeway that was blocked. We tried this until we had passed the same service station four times, but finally went into the station and asked a policeman if there was another way back to Westville. He gave us unintelligible directions and we took off. I looked at Elder Kyle and said, "Did you understand what he was saying?" and he said he didn't. By now we are both frustrated and mad at each other. He's thinking that I am a terrible navigator and I'm thinking that he is not listening to my suggestions and has no right to be mad at me.
Finally, I said a silent prayer that I would know which direction to go to get out of this mess. Perhaps Elder Kyle did too, because we found the right road and I spotted signs and directed us the rest of the way home. Normally it would have taken 20-30 minutes, but it took two hours to get home. Neither one of us wants to go through that again.
There were missionary transfers this week, so no FHE with the other couples. Considering how much I had to do for the Conference, I was glad to eliminate something. This week was all about our Senior Couples Durban Mission Conference. Sister Holt and I were busy trying to figure out what funny awards we were going to give each person at our conference. I was busy working on a PowerPoint presentation for our Swazi Couple to use for their presentation on the Lo Bamba young men. Sister Holt and I met with Sister Zackrison on Tuesday to talk about what we were going to do. We shared funny stories that we had heard about the couples. We talked about the meals and who was going to do what. I agreed to investigate the costs and variety of lunch patters from Spars. Sister Holt and I agreed to go shopping on Saturday for silly gifts that we would use for our awards. Separately, that week, we did some shopping and found some things that would work, but we were far from finished. Sister Holt called me to ask if I would help her create a program for the Bednar missionary conference. I spent an hour putting one together. I emailed all couples asking them to share something they did not expect about Africa and any spiritual, uplifting experiences they have to share. After a full week of working on this stuff when I was not working on PA stuff, we finally purchased most of the rest of the stuff at the flea market downtown. We laughed pretty hard at all the silly ideas we were having and really enjoyed shopping together.
Sunday, we attended Kwamashu Ward and they were watching taped conference talks of Sunday morning and afternoon sessions. We tried to discreetly bring in the wheelchairs, but the Branch President announced it from the pulpit and expressed his thanks for the three people getting the chairs. One lady was in a car in the parking lot and Elder Kyle had to take the chair out to the car, so she could get from the car to the building. Another lady came in on crutches and was moving very slow and was grateful for the chair. The Branch President was going to deliver the third chair to the lady who couldn't be there. We had a short break and then they showed the second session of conference. They were all good and we were happy to see our favorite session of conference a second time (Sunday Morning session). Next week will be pretty hectic, but it has been fun.
Monday night was FHE at our flat.
The new couple (McEwens) arrived and we all went out to dinner with them their first night here on Wednesday evening. This included the Sutherlands, Clusters, Holts, Starks, McEwens and us from Durban and the Wildings from Ladysmith and the Lombardis from Swaziland who are both here for the Couples Conference.
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Saturday, October 12th-Chatsworth baptism at beach and lunch after
Today we've been invited to a get-together at the beach by the Chatsworth Ward Elders and members for a picnic and baptisms in the ocean. We've been excited to see how this will work, as we've never been to one in the ocean before. Because there are four baptisms, Elder Bowman got permission from the Mission President to do it this way. They told us to meet at the church at noon and we were there on time, but hardly anyone was there. Elder Bowman said that he just told everyone noon, because being late is normal in Africa. We didn't leave for the beach until closer to 2 pm. 
We followed the Elders and they drove to a fairly private beach that was really nice. It had picnic tables and barbecues, plus some concrete bleachers and a large lookout area above the bleachers. The setting was very pretty and all our friends from the Chatsworth Ward were there. The ladies started putting out finger foods, and then invited everyone to come and eat. One of the women there told us about how during apartheid, this beach was chosen to be the beach for the Indian population. The blacks got a beach and so did the whites, but they could not mix.
People kept coming and we ended up having a very large group, but as usual there was plenty of food. Indian people really know how to party. The food was very good. I especially liked the Roti's (a form of tortilla that the Indians use) wrapped with some potato mixture inside. Yum. There were finger sandwiches with a spicy fish, egg salad, chicken salad, etc. There were samosas and various other foods. This lady with the colorful skirt hugging her friend is getting baptized today.
While we were getting ready to eat, some people were down at the beach playing in the water. Everyone was having a great time and the weather was nice, though a bit cloudy at times. The water was very cold but didn't seem to stop people from getting in it.
Elder Bowman (walking out of this photo) was in charge and walked around making sure everything was ready for the baptism. It still seemed a bit weird to me and a little chaotic for a baptism, but everyone was into it, so we were just waiting to see what happened.
After everyone ate, they gathered at the bleachers to see what happens next. Baptismal clothing was passed out to the two men and two women who were getting baptized and matched up by size and type.
They then went into the bathrooms to change, while we all waited in the bleachers for further instruction. Everyone was enjoying the nice day and just being outside at the beach. There was also anticipation in the air for the baptisms and the families who would be affected by them.
We then went upstairs to the ocean lookout area. These lovely ladies were enjoying the view while the speakers were being gathered and those being baptized were coming from the dressing rooms. Everyone filed up the stairs to the ocean lookout. The missionaries were revved and ready to go.
There were several missionaries there. I guess the word got out about the baptisms at the beach and several of them showed up. They also heard that President and Sister Zackrison were going to show up if they could, but they couldn't get back to Durban in time.A woman talked about the Holy Ghost, but her voice was so soft that most couldn't hear her with the wind and ocean sounds. The husband of one of the women getting baptized, gave the talk on Baptism after the other woman talked about the Holy Ghost. Usually the baptism talk is first, but today is out of the norm in many ways.
Finally we were finished and headed down to the ocean after taking a few photos for the people getting baptised and the missionaries doing the baptisms.
We took some photos on the deck and down by the ocean before they ever got dipped in the water.
The man in the previous photo is this lady's husband and the Elder is Elder Francom.
Soon it was time to go down to the beach and when we did more photos were taken before the ladies got their hair all wet.
This is Elder Bowman and the young man he was baptizing with his family who came to the baptism. The beach baptism was a novelty to be sure, but it was a baptism with the same excitement for the persons getting ready to change their lives and the same Spirit that dwells at all baptisms. With that said, the water was really cold and the woman below said that she could not swim. She was very nervous.
A dip in the water, time to close your eyes, squeeze your nose and hold on tight to the Elder doing the baptism. A moment to remember for the rest of your life.
Under she goes!
Wow, that was cold, but I didn't drown and I feel warm all over!
All four of them were baptized, three by Elder Bowman above and one by Elder Francom, who taught this woman when he used to be a missionary in the Chatsworth Ward. He got special permission to come and do this baptism and on Tuesday he goes back home. He has been a great missionary and especially loved Chatsworth Ward. They had much success when he was there. I sent these photos to his mother's email address and she wrote back that it made her day! Sweet.
Everyone is obviously happy and the entire ward enjoyed this experience, even though a member of the bishopric got completely soaked as he was witnessing the baptisms...tide was coming in. Seen here are the four people who got baptized, the two Elders who did the baptism and the member of the bishopric (witness).
Can you believe some couples choose to miss an experience like this!! Unbelievable.
Sunday, October 27, 2013
Monday Oct 7th - Friday, Oct 11th-FHE at Starks-missionary apt check misc
Monday was family home evening with the Starks. After a day doing office work, it was nice getting out. We talked about the Elder Bednar assignment and the talk was on being converted. We had some interesting comments, but mostly we talked with each other and enjoyed the company of the other senior missionaries in this area. We like to laugh and joke with each other.
The Starks apartment was completely bare. They are packing up to go home and it seems so sad. They will be leaving November 13th...just around the corner. All of our FHE group seem to be leaving at the same time. We will be going to Joburg on November 18th and won't be back until the 29th or 30th for training the new couple taking over for us here in Durban. We'll stay a few days to train them and then leave for Joburg, our new home for the rest of the time we are here. The Holts will be leaving the end of November and so will the Murdocks. Clusters will be leaving soon to go to New Castle for their new assignment. Three couples in the Area office that we know will be gone by the time we get there. Prudence had her baby, so she is gone. Those are only the ones we know about. We figure there may be more. Our Indian neighbors moved a couple of weeks ago, so they are not here anymore. It will be like going on a different mission after leaving this one. Another adventure to be sure.
Tuesday was office time, getting caught up and answering emails, mostly from Sipho, our PA director from Hillcrest. He is trying very hard to get the Premier (like a governor in the states) to have a meeting on Thursday, the 25th with Elder Bednar. I've been helping him with the bios and other info about the church that he needs. The national PA director has not asked for our help, but is relying heavily on Sipho to set all this up. We are happy that we can help him somewhat. He thinks all this is way out of his abilities, but we know he can do it and we keep encouraging.
On Wednesday, we met again with Clive Pillay at the Chatsworth Youth Centre to talk about the care center in Ixopo and what our humanitarian department will need to continue, and to find out what his motorcycle group plans to do about the roof, etc. We had a good meeting and he agreed to set up a meeting with the municipality there that will help us to prepare a report for humanitarian.
On Thursday, Elder Kyle requested quotes regarding new toilets and rain water systems from the non government agency people we met there who really know what they are doing and have created such a great child care program and women with aids program there. They agreed to talk to their suppliers and get us some quotes.
On Friday, we did missionary flat and car checks. This is always a fun thing. We enjoy talking to the missionaries and I think they enjoy our visits. I try to bring cookies, which helps them to look forward to our coming, instead of worried about their cleaning skills...Ha. We also see if something is in bad repair and make sure we report back to the mission office. The last time we went out we were responsible for some of the missionaries getting a new bathroom light, a new microwave, their geyser and stove fixed. Their curtains are still hanging in tatters, but we are making progress. There is always a chance that we will run across some gross things (like an unflushed toilet), but their flats were not too bad for young guys living together and you can see they are trying. They all seem to be getting along well. One Elder who was going home three days later, insisted that his companion have a new bed. He is over six feet tall and from Utah. His companion in 5 feet tall and from Madagascar. We reported it and found out that he was getting his new bed. We love the missionaries!
The Starks apartment was completely bare. They are packing up to go home and it seems so sad. They will be leaving November 13th...just around the corner. All of our FHE group seem to be leaving at the same time. We will be going to Joburg on November 18th and won't be back until the 29th or 30th for training the new couple taking over for us here in Durban. We'll stay a few days to train them and then leave for Joburg, our new home for the rest of the time we are here. The Holts will be leaving the end of November and so will the Murdocks. Clusters will be leaving soon to go to New Castle for their new assignment. Three couples in the Area office that we know will be gone by the time we get there. Prudence had her baby, so she is gone. Those are only the ones we know about. We figure there may be more. Our Indian neighbors moved a couple of weeks ago, so they are not here anymore. It will be like going on a different mission after leaving this one. Another adventure to be sure.
Tuesday was office time, getting caught up and answering emails, mostly from Sipho, our PA director from Hillcrest. He is trying very hard to get the Premier (like a governor in the states) to have a meeting on Thursday, the 25th with Elder Bednar. I've been helping him with the bios and other info about the church that he needs. The national PA director has not asked for our help, but is relying heavily on Sipho to set all this up. We are happy that we can help him somewhat. He thinks all this is way out of his abilities, but we know he can do it and we keep encouraging.
On Wednesday, we met again with Clive Pillay at the Chatsworth Youth Centre to talk about the care center in Ixopo and what our humanitarian department will need to continue, and to find out what his motorcycle group plans to do about the roof, etc. We had a good meeting and he agreed to set up a meeting with the municipality there that will help us to prepare a report for humanitarian.
On Thursday, Elder Kyle requested quotes regarding new toilets and rain water systems from the non government agency people we met there who really know what they are doing and have created such a great child care program and women with aids program there. They agreed to talk to their suppliers and get us some quotes.
On Friday, we did missionary flat and car checks. This is always a fun thing. We enjoy talking to the missionaries and I think they enjoy our visits. I try to bring cookies, which helps them to look forward to our coming, instead of worried about their cleaning skills...Ha. We also see if something is in bad repair and make sure we report back to the mission office. The last time we went out we were responsible for some of the missionaries getting a new bathroom light, a new microwave, their geyser and stove fixed. Their curtains are still hanging in tatters, but we are making progress. There is always a chance that we will run across some gross things (like an unflushed toilet), but their flats were not too bad for young guys living together and you can see they are trying. They all seem to be getting along well. One Elder who was going home three days later, insisted that his companion have a new bed. He is over six feet tall and from Utah. His companion in 5 feet tall and from Madagascar. We reported it and found out that he was getting his new bed. We love the missionaries!
Sunday, October 6th Fast and testimony meeting at Chatsworth Ward
Sunday, October 6th, we would normally be at home watching conference on television, but today we are attending a regular fast and testimony meeting at Chatsworth Ward.
The first man who bore his testimony was a counselor in the Bishopric. He told a personal experience that happened to him that week: {I was prompted to give two guys at work some pamphlets about the Church. After I had done so, another guy who saw it happen walked up to the two guys, took the pamphlets out of their hands and gave them back to me. Then he preceded to tell the two guys not to take anything from me about his church. He said, "Don't you know that they have false prophets and a false book instead of the Bible?"
I looked him straight in the eyes and said to him, "You have taken the greatest gift of all mankind, free agency, from these gentlemen. How do you know that the Church is not true...Have you studied it, have you gone to one of our meetings? How do you know that the Book of Mormon isn't true...Have you read it...did you pray to see if it was true? Do that and then you can come back to me and tell me if it is wrong."
Two days later the man approached me at work and apologized. He said that he wanted to know more, but there was a scripture in the Bible that said something about the Bible not being added upon. I told him to read the Book of Mormon and he would realize what that scripture means. Satan uses his tools to influence and keep the Church away from people. All we need to do is bear our testimony of the truth we feel.}
Then a woman got up and said it was good to be in Church on Sunday. She told a personal story also: {I was going through my address book and saw a friend that I have not spoken to for a long time. I decided to give him a call. When I called him he told me that he was sitting outside that very moment and wondering why Sister Sheila hasn't called. This man hasn't been active in a while, but he said that as soon as he had that thought about me the Lord answered his prayer, the phone was ringing and it was Sheila. He was sad because he moved away to Richard's Bay and he is the only Indian member of his ward there. I tried to build him up and help him feel happier. He told me that I had already brightened his day and that he would go to church next Sunday.
I joined the Church 31 years ago, because I needed happiness in my life. My family was upset, but I never turned back. I have been blessed since then with my home and materials things, but happiness is the greatest blessing. The Church taught me to store food and save money for emergencies, so when my leg gave me problems and I had to take time off work, I did not worry about how I was going to eat or pay my bills. What a blessing this church is in my life. I still miss my husband and my grandchildren ask me why grandpa had to die. I told them that the Lord wanted him. He was only 46 when he died. They tell me that God is so unfair to take their grandfather away. My daughter was only seven when her father died and she was mad at me and blamed me for his death. She told me, You took my father to the hospital and you did not bring him back. It is your fault. Go fetch him and bring him home. I am grateful to be a member of the Church. When my sisters here at church hug me, then I know that I am loved and cared about. I so much appreciate that I have my church family and Heavenly Father to help me.}
Young Man: {I love fast and testimony meeting. It improves my testimony, and teaches me as well when I listen to other testimonies. I want to express my loving thanks to the missionaries that taught and baptized me. I am so grateful that these two young men were not afraid to share the Gospel with me, the gospel that has opened the doors for me to have eternal happiness. My testimony is very simple. It is true! God lives! Jesus is the Christ and my Savior and Redeemer of the world. The Book of Mormon is the most true book on earth. We have modern revelation through a prophet on the earth today. If we listen to him, we will know the way to eternal life.}
Women: {I am happy to be a member of the Church. The scriptures are true. The Teacher's Development Course really helps me be a better teacher and to learn important truths. I would like to encourage others to take this class. It will really improve your ability to teach and help you have more confidence to accept callings as a teacher. The manual is titled, "Teaching No Greater Call." I believe that is true. God loves us all. He knows that we are weak at times, but he is willing go forgive us. Let's be willing to do his work for him on earth, by accepting and magnifying our teacher's callings.}
Man: {It has been eight weeks since I started the Teacher's Training Course. I was worried to teach the class, but prayed that I would do a good job. I was afraid that all the people in the class would be better teachers than I am and already know way more than I do about teaching. I told the Bishop this when he asked me to be this teacher. The Bishop said that the Stake wanted us to have this class, but I kept putting off starting the class. I finally taught the first lesson and it was a class on teaching with the spirit. While preparing the lesson, I felt thoughts come into my head that I would not be teaching the class; it would be taught by the spirit after I prepared it. So far, I have learned more by teaching than my students. I have fasted and prayed to teach by the spirit. Now we are eight weeks into it with four more weeks to go. This course creates strong teachers and strong people to help further the work of the Lord. I am grateful to be a part of this.}
Woman: {I faced two challenges this week that taught me about the power of prayer. My first one was an assignment at my work. I gave a presentation to a group of about 90 Muslims. Before the presentation, I was a bit nervous. I had my talk all written up and ready to go, but didn't feel really good about it. I said a prayer and decided to skip the talk and just speak from my heart. One of them came up to me afterwards and asked me where I learned to speak like that and how did someone so young have such wisdom and poise. I thought, "What do I say to this guy?" In my head, I asked Heavenly Father to help me say the right thing. I told him that in my church we start speaking as small children in front of our congregations and through those experiences, we become comfortable speaking, which helps us through school and throughout all our life experiences. I told him that wisdom was learned through our church classes that we attend from age three through college, where we learn priorities in life and how this life prepares us for the next life. He didn't ask me what church I belonged to, though I think he wanted to. What he did say was that I must belong to a very special church. I agreed that I did. How wonderful to know that even issues at work can receive divine guidance. I also learned that when I pray for help, my Father in Heaven is listening to my prayer. I am important to him. My second challenge was that a friend from my past who is I haven't seen in a while came to visit me. She is struggling with things in her life. Although I feel lonely, because I've lost so many friends, I know if I was still hanging out with my old friends, my life would be so bad compared to now. All I can do is listen and pray for her, but she will have to make her own decisions, just as I did. I am so grateful for the truths I've learned in this church and the blessings that come through my obedience. I just wish I could give this gift to everyone and that they would accept it...maybe one day.}
Man: {The church helps us get closer to our Heavenly Father. He created this world and said "This is my work and my glory to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." This is the Lord we serve. He walked the dusty road in Palestine; He gave us great understanding of His Gospel. I am thankful to Jesus Christ for restoring His Church. Man tried to destroy the church, but God has a plan, the greatest work of all. I am grateful to bring my family to this church - this is my home.}
Man: {Monday I went to buy bread, and I saw a man listening to music through earphones and he moved to the music and seemed very happy. I thought about how nice this was and then a thought entered my mind that he could be so much happier if I introduced him to the Church. I am so grateful for the Gospel. When I was a young man coming home from my mission, I thought I knew everything. Eventually, I thought, "Why should I read the Book of Mormon? I've read it already many times." Now that I have a family, we are reading the Book of Mormon together and I can see things happening in those pages that I never noticed before that apply specifically to me and my family. Before I was just reading it, but now I am pondering what it says and thoughts are coming to my mind that never occurred to me before. Now I read the Book of Mormon because I want to and I love reading it. When I was younger, I always longed for a wife and children of my own, but thought it was impossible. I am grateful for the Priesthood that is from God and grateful for my mission that taught me the love that Heavenly Father has for me. My mission gave me the power to speak to others about what I learned on my mission. I came early to church today to beat Rosie, because she always is the first one here, but Rosie did not come today. I should call her and ask her why she is not here. We should do that for all people who are not here today.}
Man: {When I left home to take a job in Johannesburg, it was the first time I had ever been away from home. I remember seeing the temple and feeling God's love and an assurance that the temple would help me stay close to God while away from my family, but as I started my job, it was very hard. I would call my dad and tell him how difficult it was to be away from home doing this job that was very challenging and he would tell me to pray harder; and before I seek for riches, seek the Kingdom of God. It was easy at home while I had my parents support, but much harder while I was living on my own. I started reading the scriptures each day and by the third month, work was better. Without the Gospel, I would be lost. It is a wonderful gift from Heavenly Father to help us in our everyday life. I have mainly learned two things because of this experience - that the Book of Mormon blesses us and that families are the greatest gift to us from God.}
Woman: {I was raised in the Church and blessed with church callings, but I am glad to be back in Primary. Primary teaches us such simple things and it is a big achievement to help these children learn these things. I am grateful for the plan of salvation that we will be together again with those who have passed before us. It is easy to be tempted when we are out in the world, but reading scriptures and praying will keep us on the right track. While traveling by public transport, a woman asked me why I dressed the way I do. She said I am young and should uncover myself more to show off what I have been endowed with. I explained that is not who I am or who I am trying to be. I don't think she understood, but I am so happy that I understand and follow these commandments from our Prophet.}
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Sunday School: We talked about prophets, who they are, why we need them and why we sustain them and how we know that they are true prophets. There was a discussion about the scripture that tells us to beware of false prophets and learned that the way you tell if they are false is if they tell you to do things contrary to Christ's teachings. A real prophet will only lead us to do good. A false prophet may trick us by pretending to do good, but will eventually show his true nature and urge us to be what Satan wants us to be which is the opposite of good. A false prophet will tell us that it is okay to do things that we have been told not to do and flatter us into making wrong choices and get us to do things for their own gain and not for Jesus Christ.
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Relief Society was about an article from Sister Burton that Sister Bednar will be using in her discussion with us when she speaks to the women on October 25th here in Durban. She has asked us to read the article and be prepared to answer questions and discuss the things in the article, "Faith in the Atonement of Jesus Christ Written in Our Hearts.' We then talked about how the pioneers were limited as to what they put in their handcarts. If they put too much, they were weighed down by the burden and eventually found it hard to continue. Like them, we sometimes put too much baggage in our "handcarts" that is not necessary. When we let it go, we can have Christ written in our hearts. When you do visiting teaching, as you strengthen those you visit, you also strengthen yourself. When covenants are kept families are strengthened. In Relief Society we grow by strengthening each other. We need to pray for the Spirit to help us know who needs us. Also if we are weak, we cannot help and strengthen others. We need to know that is unfair in life can be made right by the Atonement and plan of happiness. We need to pass that along to those who are feeling that life is 'unfair.'
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The Chatsworth missionaries invited us to a baptism in the ocean the following Saturday. They have four people who they will be baptizing (not from the same family) and got special permission by President Zackrison to do it at the beach next Saturday at 4:00. Before the baptism the ward RS ladies will be serving food to everyone. This is such a fun, great ward. We told them we'd be there. I can't wait to see this!
What a nice time we had today. We love the people of Chatsworth.
The first man who bore his testimony was a counselor in the Bishopric. He told a personal experience that happened to him that week: {I was prompted to give two guys at work some pamphlets about the Church. After I had done so, another guy who saw it happen walked up to the two guys, took the pamphlets out of their hands and gave them back to me. Then he preceded to tell the two guys not to take anything from me about his church. He said, "Don't you know that they have false prophets and a false book instead of the Bible?"
I looked him straight in the eyes and said to him, "You have taken the greatest gift of all mankind, free agency, from these gentlemen. How do you know that the Church is not true...Have you studied it, have you gone to one of our meetings? How do you know that the Book of Mormon isn't true...Have you read it...did you pray to see if it was true? Do that and then you can come back to me and tell me if it is wrong."
Two days later the man approached me at work and apologized. He said that he wanted to know more, but there was a scripture in the Bible that said something about the Bible not being added upon. I told him to read the Book of Mormon and he would realize what that scripture means. Satan uses his tools to influence and keep the Church away from people. All we need to do is bear our testimony of the truth we feel.}
Then a woman got up and said it was good to be in Church on Sunday. She told a personal story also: {I was going through my address book and saw a friend that I have not spoken to for a long time. I decided to give him a call. When I called him he told me that he was sitting outside that very moment and wondering why Sister Sheila hasn't called. This man hasn't been active in a while, but he said that as soon as he had that thought about me the Lord answered his prayer, the phone was ringing and it was Sheila. He was sad because he moved away to Richard's Bay and he is the only Indian member of his ward there. I tried to build him up and help him feel happier. He told me that I had already brightened his day and that he would go to church next Sunday.
I joined the Church 31 years ago, because I needed happiness in my life. My family was upset, but I never turned back. I have been blessed since then with my home and materials things, but happiness is the greatest blessing. The Church taught me to store food and save money for emergencies, so when my leg gave me problems and I had to take time off work, I did not worry about how I was going to eat or pay my bills. What a blessing this church is in my life. I still miss my husband and my grandchildren ask me why grandpa had to die. I told them that the Lord wanted him. He was only 46 when he died. They tell me that God is so unfair to take their grandfather away. My daughter was only seven when her father died and she was mad at me and blamed me for his death. She told me, You took my father to the hospital and you did not bring him back. It is your fault. Go fetch him and bring him home. I am grateful to be a member of the Church. When my sisters here at church hug me, then I know that I am loved and cared about. I so much appreciate that I have my church family and Heavenly Father to help me.}
Young Man: {I love fast and testimony meeting. It improves my testimony, and teaches me as well when I listen to other testimonies. I want to express my loving thanks to the missionaries that taught and baptized me. I am so grateful that these two young men were not afraid to share the Gospel with me, the gospel that has opened the doors for me to have eternal happiness. My testimony is very simple. It is true! God lives! Jesus is the Christ and my Savior and Redeemer of the world. The Book of Mormon is the most true book on earth. We have modern revelation through a prophet on the earth today. If we listen to him, we will know the way to eternal life.}
Women: {I am happy to be a member of the Church. The scriptures are true. The Teacher's Development Course really helps me be a better teacher and to learn important truths. I would like to encourage others to take this class. It will really improve your ability to teach and help you have more confidence to accept callings as a teacher. The manual is titled, "Teaching No Greater Call." I believe that is true. God loves us all. He knows that we are weak at times, but he is willing go forgive us. Let's be willing to do his work for him on earth, by accepting and magnifying our teacher's callings.}
Man: {It has been eight weeks since I started the Teacher's Training Course. I was worried to teach the class, but prayed that I would do a good job. I was afraid that all the people in the class would be better teachers than I am and already know way more than I do about teaching. I told the Bishop this when he asked me to be this teacher. The Bishop said that the Stake wanted us to have this class, but I kept putting off starting the class. I finally taught the first lesson and it was a class on teaching with the spirit. While preparing the lesson, I felt thoughts come into my head that I would not be teaching the class; it would be taught by the spirit after I prepared it. So far, I have learned more by teaching than my students. I have fasted and prayed to teach by the spirit. Now we are eight weeks into it with four more weeks to go. This course creates strong teachers and strong people to help further the work of the Lord. I am grateful to be a part of this.}
Woman: {I faced two challenges this week that taught me about the power of prayer. My first one was an assignment at my work. I gave a presentation to a group of about 90 Muslims. Before the presentation, I was a bit nervous. I had my talk all written up and ready to go, but didn't feel really good about it. I said a prayer and decided to skip the talk and just speak from my heart. One of them came up to me afterwards and asked me where I learned to speak like that and how did someone so young have such wisdom and poise. I thought, "What do I say to this guy?" In my head, I asked Heavenly Father to help me say the right thing. I told him that in my church we start speaking as small children in front of our congregations and through those experiences, we become comfortable speaking, which helps us through school and throughout all our life experiences. I told him that wisdom was learned through our church classes that we attend from age three through college, where we learn priorities in life and how this life prepares us for the next life. He didn't ask me what church I belonged to, though I think he wanted to. What he did say was that I must belong to a very special church. I agreed that I did. How wonderful to know that even issues at work can receive divine guidance. I also learned that when I pray for help, my Father in Heaven is listening to my prayer. I am important to him. My second challenge was that a friend from my past who is I haven't seen in a while came to visit me. She is struggling with things in her life. Although I feel lonely, because I've lost so many friends, I know if I was still hanging out with my old friends, my life would be so bad compared to now. All I can do is listen and pray for her, but she will have to make her own decisions, just as I did. I am so grateful for the truths I've learned in this church and the blessings that come through my obedience. I just wish I could give this gift to everyone and that they would accept it...maybe one day.}
Man: {The church helps us get closer to our Heavenly Father. He created this world and said "This is my work and my glory to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man." This is the Lord we serve. He walked the dusty road in Palestine; He gave us great understanding of His Gospel. I am thankful to Jesus Christ for restoring His Church. Man tried to destroy the church, but God has a plan, the greatest work of all. I am grateful to bring my family to this church - this is my home.}
Man: {Monday I went to buy bread, and I saw a man listening to music through earphones and he moved to the music and seemed very happy. I thought about how nice this was and then a thought entered my mind that he could be so much happier if I introduced him to the Church. I am so grateful for the Gospel. When I was a young man coming home from my mission, I thought I knew everything. Eventually, I thought, "Why should I read the Book of Mormon? I've read it already many times." Now that I have a family, we are reading the Book of Mormon together and I can see things happening in those pages that I never noticed before that apply specifically to me and my family. Before I was just reading it, but now I am pondering what it says and thoughts are coming to my mind that never occurred to me before. Now I read the Book of Mormon because I want to and I love reading it. When I was younger, I always longed for a wife and children of my own, but thought it was impossible. I am grateful for the Priesthood that is from God and grateful for my mission that taught me the love that Heavenly Father has for me. My mission gave me the power to speak to others about what I learned on my mission. I came early to church today to beat Rosie, because she always is the first one here, but Rosie did not come today. I should call her and ask her why she is not here. We should do that for all people who are not here today.}
Man: {When I left home to take a job in Johannesburg, it was the first time I had ever been away from home. I remember seeing the temple and feeling God's love and an assurance that the temple would help me stay close to God while away from my family, but as I started my job, it was very hard. I would call my dad and tell him how difficult it was to be away from home doing this job that was very challenging and he would tell me to pray harder; and before I seek for riches, seek the Kingdom of God. It was easy at home while I had my parents support, but much harder while I was living on my own. I started reading the scriptures each day and by the third month, work was better. Without the Gospel, I would be lost. It is a wonderful gift from Heavenly Father to help us in our everyday life. I have mainly learned two things because of this experience - that the Book of Mormon blesses us and that families are the greatest gift to us from God.}
Woman: {I was raised in the Church and blessed with church callings, but I am glad to be back in Primary. Primary teaches us such simple things and it is a big achievement to help these children learn these things. I am grateful for the plan of salvation that we will be together again with those who have passed before us. It is easy to be tempted when we are out in the world, but reading scriptures and praying will keep us on the right track. While traveling by public transport, a woman asked me why I dressed the way I do. She said I am young and should uncover myself more to show off what I have been endowed with. I explained that is not who I am or who I am trying to be. I don't think she understood, but I am so happy that I understand and follow these commandments from our Prophet.}
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Sunday School: We talked about prophets, who they are, why we need them and why we sustain them and how we know that they are true prophets. There was a discussion about the scripture that tells us to beware of false prophets and learned that the way you tell if they are false is if they tell you to do things contrary to Christ's teachings. A real prophet will only lead us to do good. A false prophet may trick us by pretending to do good, but will eventually show his true nature and urge us to be what Satan wants us to be which is the opposite of good. A false prophet will tell us that it is okay to do things that we have been told not to do and flatter us into making wrong choices and get us to do things for their own gain and not for Jesus Christ.
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Relief Society was about an article from Sister Burton that Sister Bednar will be using in her discussion with us when she speaks to the women on October 25th here in Durban. She has asked us to read the article and be prepared to answer questions and discuss the things in the article, "Faith in the Atonement of Jesus Christ Written in Our Hearts.' We then talked about how the pioneers were limited as to what they put in their handcarts. If they put too much, they were weighed down by the burden and eventually found it hard to continue. Like them, we sometimes put too much baggage in our "handcarts" that is not necessary. When we let it go, we can have Christ written in our hearts. When you do visiting teaching, as you strengthen those you visit, you also strengthen yourself. When covenants are kept families are strengthened. In Relief Society we grow by strengthening each other. We need to pray for the Spirit to help us know who needs us. Also if we are weak, we cannot help and strengthen others. We need to know that is unfair in life can be made right by the Atonement and plan of happiness. We need to pass that along to those who are feeling that life is 'unfair.'
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The Chatsworth missionaries invited us to a baptism in the ocean the following Saturday. They have four people who they will be baptizing (not from the same family) and got special permission by President Zackrison to do it at the beach next Saturday at 4:00. Before the baptism the ward RS ladies will be serving food to everyone. This is such a fun, great ward. We told them we'd be there. I can't wait to see this!
What a nice time we had today. We love the people of Chatsworth.
Sunday, October 13, 2013
Monday, Sept 30th thru Saturday, Oct 5th invitations to dinner-PA business
Monday was catch up in the office again. We spend a lot of time on the computer answering emails, doing Mormon Newsroom stories, categorizing project photos, talking on the phone to people out in the field who need our help. Recently Elder Kyle got a call from the Carliles in Bloemfontein. They are putting on an open house and eventually a family history fair and wanted some family history sheets. He talked to the family history people in the area office and got them hooked up with the materials they need.
Elder and Sister Anderson, from Bethlehem (South Africa), wanted some help creating some pass along cards in anticipation of their open house. They have officially started using their new meeting place. This used to be a super market and the Church completely refurbished it for their meeting house. The members are so happy to have their own building and the missionaries want to use this as an opportunity to invite members to their branch. The branch is next door to Bethlehem in Phuthaditjhaba, so is called the Phuthaditjhaba Branch. Try saying that one. I designed a card based on Elder Anderson's requirements and sent him the file to be printed. It was nice to be able to use by designing skills and be creative. I am still waiting for the after photos, but this is one of the befores.
We are communicating daily about the Bednar visit with Sipho Duma, who has been a major part of scheduling the key people for the meeting coming up. We help him create letters and bios, but editing and sometimes searching for information. When an apostle comes and is scheduled to meet with people, a complete bio and other information on the person/persons has to be send ahead of time to Salt Lake. There are some safety issues involved as well as Elder Bednar needs to know in advance things about the person he will be speaking to. It's a lot of work and our public affairs national and district leader have done a great job.
We had family home evening at the Holts tonight. Elder Holt passed out three talks by Elder Bednar and we agreed to each take one and use that as our lesson for the next three weeks. Two are on Faith and the other is on being truly converted.
Every week in Church we talk about Elder Bednar coming in Sacrament meeting, in Sunday School and in RS and priesthood meetings. So, I guess it follows that we also talk about him in our family home evening get-togethers too. We are coming to know him and that will make his visit even more special. This is an amazing experience for all of us in Durban. Excitement is in the air. How lucky we are to have Apostles and Prophets in our church. The respect and love we have for them is evident when we watch General Conference and read the Ensign and use their talks to give our lessons. Many people here have not had the opportunity to see an apostle in person. We are in Africa, so far away from where these apostles live and yet he is coming here to speak to these people. It means a lot to them and to us. We look forward to learning even more about Elder Bednar through these three talks.
Tuesday, we had dinner with the Holts. I had my first steak since I've come here. I am not much into meat, but Sister Holt said they had great steaks, so Elder Kyle and I tried fillets and they were wonderful. That may be my quota for the year, but it was worth it. Yum. We have become good friends with the Holts (from Canada), but they are going home the end of November and that makes us sad. Canada is a far-away place from Texas, but maybe somehow we can see each other after mission...At least it is closer than Africa! ha.
On Thursday night, we had dinner with the Wilsons from Pinetown Ward. What a treat that was. The Sutherlands were also invited. They live less than a kilometre from the Chapel, so not too hard to find. They have three teenage boys who were there to greet us, as well as a couple of dogs. The fence said, beware of dogs, but they didn't seem to dangerous to me. The big black dog just wanted to be petted and the smaller dog grabbed a hold of my skirt and dragged me into the house...funny.
Elder Wilson was born in Zimbabwe and Sister Wilson was born close by...It used to be called Rhodesia. They both raved about how wonderful Zimbabwe is and how much they loved it, even though they left when they were young and came to South Africa. They knew each other as children growing up, but both families moved away and when they met up later, he did not remember her...Ha. But it didn't take long for a relationship to develop. I love both of them, very sweet, but capable and very down to earth. They asked lots of questions. It is fun to see the ideas that others have about America, especially those in the church. They seemed a bit in awe of America and would obviously like to visit, but they love Africa. It was fun sharing things with them and them with us. We are not so different, except they are in their 40's and we are ancient...Ha.
We had dinner outside on the balcony. They apologized for not having a dining room table...They all have been eating on their laps in the living room, but they said a table was ordered, but they just hadn't gotten it yet. Outside eating on plastic lawn chairs around a plastic table was lovely and the dinner was really good. We had yummy chicken curry and rice and a yogurt/cucumber dish that is supposed to be eaten after the curry (to settle the mouth, I guess, though the food was not hot at all...to us anyway). Dessert was a kind of cake (bread pudding?) with custard sauce and it was good as well. The adults ate on the balcony and the boys ate inside on their laps...totally casual, so we felt right at home. I hope we get the chance to return the favor. She is RS President and he is in the Bishopric, so they are both really busy. It was so nice of them to ask us. We enjoyed it tremendously.
On Friday night, we decided to watch one of the DVDs we bought about a girl and a horse. Elder Kyle would describe it as a groaner...at least he was doing some groaning during the move...ha. I was a little more vocal about the bad acting, but it had a sweet message and was pretty harmless (though we would not recommend it). It was about a girl whose father died and brother died when the car carrying all the family was in a bad accident. The mom and daughter survived, but the girl had a badly broken leg that needed a lot of rehabilitation. They had to leave their nice home and move to a trailer park in a different area. It happened to be next to a place that trained horses and she became attached to a horse there that helped her come out of her shell. Mom ended up with the guy who had the horses (His daughter died in an accident on her horse), so he was messed up too. They all helped each other through this and ended up with each other at the end....totally predictable - Mom even had the opportunity to marry a rich good looking guy (don't ask me how, because she wasn't that great) and she turned him down for a broken down cowboy who looked terrible in the beginning and had a make-over mid movie. I am groaning just writing about it. Ha. Hey, nights are pretty uneventful around here. Every once in a while we need to watch a movie and choices are limited...obviously!
Saturday was P-Day. Our neighbors are moving next weekend. We are so bummed. Sonali came over and brought their new doggie. Dad had just brought it home and it is so cute, a German Shepherd, Rottweiler mix. It looks more like a German Shepherd, but a little ball of fluff. The dog is very well behaved for a puppy. Sonali and her brother hold him all the time. They named him Skye. We are happy that they have the puppy. They seem so lost much of the time. I'm not sure why, but they certainly have perked up since dad brought the dog home. They brought over our wipe board that we let them borrow and they had drawn a heart on it saying they love us and thanks.
Saturday evening we got on the computer to watch Saturday morning conference live. It was 8 pm here. The talks were great and we really enjoyed each and every one of them. The hard part was getting anything out of the second session, which started at 10:00. For some reason we were both zonked, so it was hard, but we made it through. The woman who spoke did a great job and we enjoyed the new guys that spoke in Conference for the first time. How they must have been shaking in their boots. Ha. They did such a great job and of course we always enjoy hearing from President Eyring, President Uchtdorff and President Monson. What a treat.
We got a lot done this week, even though most was not something interesting to talk about. We will get really busy again and have no time to write blogs, but for now, having some time to get caught up has been great. it was a good week.
Elder and Sister Anderson, from Bethlehem (South Africa), wanted some help creating some pass along cards in anticipation of their open house. They have officially started using their new meeting place. This used to be a super market and the Church completely refurbished it for their meeting house. The members are so happy to have their own building and the missionaries want to use this as an opportunity to invite members to their branch. The branch is next door to Bethlehem in Phuthaditjhaba, so is called the Phuthaditjhaba Branch. Try saying that one. I designed a card based on Elder Anderson's requirements and sent him the file to be printed. It was nice to be able to use by designing skills and be creative. I am still waiting for the after photos, but this is one of the befores.We are communicating daily about the Bednar visit with Sipho Duma, who has been a major part of scheduling the key people for the meeting coming up. We help him create letters and bios, but editing and sometimes searching for information. When an apostle comes and is scheduled to meet with people, a complete bio and other information on the person/persons has to be send ahead of time to Salt Lake. There are some safety issues involved as well as Elder Bednar needs to know in advance things about the person he will be speaking to. It's a lot of work and our public affairs national and district leader have done a great job.
We had family home evening at the Holts tonight. Elder Holt passed out three talks by Elder Bednar and we agreed to each take one and use that as our lesson for the next three weeks. Two are on Faith and the other is on being truly converted.
Every week in Church we talk about Elder Bednar coming in Sacrament meeting, in Sunday School and in RS and priesthood meetings. So, I guess it follows that we also talk about him in our family home evening get-togethers too. We are coming to know him and that will make his visit even more special. This is an amazing experience for all of us in Durban. Excitement is in the air. How lucky we are to have Apostles and Prophets in our church. The respect and love we have for them is evident when we watch General Conference and read the Ensign and use their talks to give our lessons. Many people here have not had the opportunity to see an apostle in person. We are in Africa, so far away from where these apostles live and yet he is coming here to speak to these people. It means a lot to them and to us. We look forward to learning even more about Elder Bednar through these three talks.
On Thursday night, we had dinner with the Wilsons from Pinetown Ward. What a treat that was. The Sutherlands were also invited. They live less than a kilometre from the Chapel, so not too hard to find. They have three teenage boys who were there to greet us, as well as a couple of dogs. The fence said, beware of dogs, but they didn't seem to dangerous to me. The big black dog just wanted to be petted and the smaller dog grabbed a hold of my skirt and dragged me into the house...funny.
Elder Wilson was born in Zimbabwe and Sister Wilson was born close by...It used to be called Rhodesia. They both raved about how wonderful Zimbabwe is and how much they loved it, even though they left when they were young and came to South Africa. They knew each other as children growing up, but both families moved away and when they met up later, he did not remember her...Ha. But it didn't take long for a relationship to develop. I love both of them, very sweet, but capable and very down to earth. They asked lots of questions. It is fun to see the ideas that others have about America, especially those in the church. They seemed a bit in awe of America and would obviously like to visit, but they love Africa. It was fun sharing things with them and them with us. We are not so different, except they are in their 40's and we are ancient...Ha.
We had dinner outside on the balcony. They apologized for not having a dining room table...They all have been eating on their laps in the living room, but they said a table was ordered, but they just hadn't gotten it yet. Outside eating on plastic lawn chairs around a plastic table was lovely and the dinner was really good. We had yummy chicken curry and rice and a yogurt/cucumber dish that is supposed to be eaten after the curry (to settle the mouth, I guess, though the food was not hot at all...to us anyway). Dessert was a kind of cake (bread pudding?) with custard sauce and it was good as well. The adults ate on the balcony and the boys ate inside on their laps...totally casual, so we felt right at home. I hope we get the chance to return the favor. She is RS President and he is in the Bishopric, so they are both really busy. It was so nice of them to ask us. We enjoyed it tremendously.
On Friday night, we decided to watch one of the DVDs we bought about a girl and a horse. Elder Kyle would describe it as a groaner...at least he was doing some groaning during the move...ha. I was a little more vocal about the bad acting, but it had a sweet message and was pretty harmless (though we would not recommend it). It was about a girl whose father died and brother died when the car carrying all the family was in a bad accident. The mom and daughter survived, but the girl had a badly broken leg that needed a lot of rehabilitation. They had to leave their nice home and move to a trailer park in a different area. It happened to be next to a place that trained horses and she became attached to a horse there that helped her come out of her shell. Mom ended up with the guy who had the horses (His daughter died in an accident on her horse), so he was messed up too. They all helped each other through this and ended up with each other at the end....totally predictable - Mom even had the opportunity to marry a rich good looking guy (don't ask me how, because she wasn't that great) and she turned him down for a broken down cowboy who looked terrible in the beginning and had a make-over mid movie. I am groaning just writing about it. Ha. Hey, nights are pretty uneventful around here. Every once in a while we need to watch a movie and choices are limited...obviously!
Saturday was P-Day. Our neighbors are moving next weekend. We are so bummed. Sonali came over and brought their new doggie. Dad had just brought it home and it is so cute, a German Shepherd, Rottweiler mix. It looks more like a German Shepherd, but a little ball of fluff. The dog is very well behaved for a puppy. Sonali and her brother hold him all the time. They named him Skye. We are happy that they have the puppy. They seem so lost much of the time. I'm not sure why, but they certainly have perked up since dad brought the dog home. They brought over our wipe board that we let them borrow and they had drawn a heart on it saying they love us and thanks.
Saturday evening we got on the computer to watch Saturday morning conference live. It was 8 pm here. The talks were great and we really enjoyed each and every one of them. The hard part was getting anything out of the second session, which started at 10:00. For some reason we were both zonked, so it was hard, but we made it through. The woman who spoke did a great job and we enjoyed the new guys that spoke in Conference for the first time. How they must have been shaking in their boots. Ha. They did such a great job and of course we always enjoy hearing from President Eyring, President Uchtdorff and President Monson. What a treat.
We got a lot done this week, even though most was not something interesting to talk about. We will get really busy again and have no time to write blogs, but for now, having some time to get caught up has been great. it was a good week.
Friday, October 11, 2013
Sunday, September 29th Pinetown ward - getting extra wheelchairs
Today, we attended Pinetown Ward again, so Elder Kyle could get some wheelchairs. He has turned into the wheelchair guy. If people need chairs, he finds a way to get them their chairs. Luckily, there are some extras in a room at the Pinetown building.
In sacrament meeting, the first speaker was a woman who said that if you really want to do what is right, you will have no more desire to do wrong. As an example, she talked about the Anti-Nephi-Lehites and how they were truly converted to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Are we more concerned about what the Lord thinks about us or about what others think about us? When you are truly converted you will not criticize others, but love and help others. Devote time to pray. If you don't feel like praying, that means that this is a critical time to pray. When you convert, you want to pay your tithe...you see it as a privilege and the blessings are worth more that the money you paid. Be truly converted and you will find peace in your lives.
The second speaker was the second counselor in the bishopric. He said he was speaking because he just found out the speaker was not coming: True disciples of Jesus Christ want to serve others. In the commandment to love one another, Jesus Christ demonstrated perfect love by paying for our sins. Perfect love means we bear one another's burdens, mourn with those that mourn and comfort those who stand in need of comfort. No man can be a true follower of Christ who is not neighborly, who does not reach out to help others. If we go outside, we will see those on the street with no food and no clothes. If we have so much, how can we not help those in need? In the scripture where Jesus was asked, "When saw me naked and clothed me...", he answered that if you do it to the least of these my brethren, you do it unto me. To become as God wants us to be, we must rejoice in the service of others. As we serve in our callings, we bless the lives of others, regardless of how insignificant we think our callings are. Heavenly Father has called us to feed his sheep and says he will reward us for all our sacrifices. People are turning down callings. Accept these callings from the Lord. You have an obligation when you are called. Moses, who was called to save the children of Israel by taking them out of Egypt said, "Who am I who should go to Pharaoh and say these things. I am not eloquent, but am slow of speech...slow tongue." The Lord tells him, "Go and I will be with thee." This reminds me of Nephi. God gave him a commandment to build a ship. Nephi didn't know how to build a ship, so the Lord helped him. Trust in the Lord and he will provide a way. When the Lord was looking for his apostles he chose fishermen, not great orators. If we have faith, all is possible to God. The Lord has not chosen the great and learned, but humble people who are willing to be led and guided by the Holy Spirit. As we strive to serve others, let us look at the Savior. He showed the importance of this by washing his apostles feet. Perform labors for others that they cannot do for themselves. True happiness lies in helping others. When we serve others, we increase our ability to love and our everyday challenges will seem smaller. Bless the lives of others and make the world a better place. Give of your time and talents to build up his Kingdom. He gives us the duty to make sure not a single soul is lost. Sustain the leaders of the Church. The Book of Mormon is true and will help us if we follow its teachings and learn from the mistakes of those on its pages.
The next speaker talked about avoiding temptation. He spoke about when Jesus was tempted by Satan. When Satan asked him to prove that he was the son of God, Jesus did not succumb to this temptation. Sometimes when people are found stealing, you find them saying that they had no choice, because they had to put food on the table. I tell you that you always have a choice. Put Heavenly Father first and no more will we worry about what we shall eat or where we will sleep. When Satan challenged Jesus, he said, "Do not tempt the Lord thy God." Satan showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and offered all if Jesus would fall down and worship him. Jesus did not hesitate to send Satan away. We need to do the same and withstand temptation without hesitation. Jesus reminds us in 2 Timothy 3:10-14, "Of all the persecutions I have suffered, the Lord delivered me. Continue thou in the things thou hast learned." Lead righteous lives. The Devil waits for the weak moments to tell us lies and to tempt us, because he wants us to go against Heavenly Father's teachings. In these difficult times, we need to follow the commandments and keep strong by drawing nearer to the Savior, by prayer, living the commandments and reading the scriptures, so that when the tempter comes we can answer like Jesus Christ did when he was tempted. I've thought from time to time that if I hadn't had such a mess in my earlier life, I could have served a mission and my life would have been on track a lot sooner, and I could have avoided some bad things in my life. Then I thought that it is not too late to be exemplary. We may be thinking that we are enjoying ourselves, so why get married, but when you meet someone you truly love, the Lord will bless you and your relationship." "And now my sons it is upon the rock of Jesus Christ that when the devil sends forth his mighty winds...it shall have no power over you." If you build your life on the sure foundation, you will be able to withstand temptation. Pray in the morning, noon and night for the companionship of the Holy Ghost to be your guide. It's not easy to walk by ourselves. Ask Heavenly Father to be with you, as you start your day and it will be easier to withstand temptation. In 3 Nephi, Heavenly Father counsels us to pray on fighting temptation. We are not here by chance. Heavenly Father has picked us to go out and help others who are tempted by their peers. Do not be afraid to stand up and shine. Follow the Savior's example and say, "Get thee behind me Satan." Draw near unto God and he will draw near unto you.
Then we went to Sunday School where we talked about the temple and what it might symbolize. Underneath the temple is a very solid foundation. Pioneers began building the temple right away when they came to a new area. The layout of the city focused the people on the temple. As we prepare for the Durban temple, let's think of whether the temple is central in our lives. Let us make our temple our ultimate and earthly home. At the Salt Lake Temple, the excavation was done by hand. On April 6, 1853, the cornerstones were laid, but they had to stop because the government thought they were plotting against them. They came to inspect the town and the workers covered the cornerstones up with dirt, to avoid any questions about what they were building. When they uncovered the stones (made of sandstone) they found some cracks in the stones. They had to take these stones out and replace them with rock hard granite. Brigham Young said that he wanted this temple to stand through the millennium. He said that hundreds of other temples would be built, but that this temple would stand as a beautiful, magnificent house of the Lord. It was built through dedication, endurance, perseverance, love of God, faith and hope. It took the saints 40 years to finish building the temple. Those who worked on that temple for 40 years, many of them never got a chance to go there. D&C 64:33-34 (Really love God) and D&C 82: 10, "I the Lord am bound when ye do what I say, but when ye do not what I say, ye will have no promise."
Relief Society and Priesthood meeting was combined. The Stake Welfare person came and talked about being self-reliant and believing in yourself to help you find work. She explained the various resources of the church to help those looking for jobs, creating resumes, interviewing skills, etc. and gave out websites for them to search for LDS jobs...basically how to make use of the church's resources. She told them to sign up for the workshop to help them learn to get jobs.
Sister Wilson (Relief Society President and her husband a member of the bishopric) invited us and the Sutherlands (Seminary and Institute couple) to come to their home for dinner on Monday. We told her of our FHE meetings, so she said to come Thursday instead. That was a very nice offer, so of course we said we would love to come. We filled the car with wheelchairs after church and headed for home...Another really nice day.
In sacrament meeting, the first speaker was a woman who said that if you really want to do what is right, you will have no more desire to do wrong. As an example, she talked about the Anti-Nephi-Lehites and how they were truly converted to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Are we more concerned about what the Lord thinks about us or about what others think about us? When you are truly converted you will not criticize others, but love and help others. Devote time to pray. If you don't feel like praying, that means that this is a critical time to pray. When you convert, you want to pay your tithe...you see it as a privilege and the blessings are worth more that the money you paid. Be truly converted and you will find peace in your lives.
The second speaker was the second counselor in the bishopric. He said he was speaking because he just found out the speaker was not coming: True disciples of Jesus Christ want to serve others. In the commandment to love one another, Jesus Christ demonstrated perfect love by paying for our sins. Perfect love means we bear one another's burdens, mourn with those that mourn and comfort those who stand in need of comfort. No man can be a true follower of Christ who is not neighborly, who does not reach out to help others. If we go outside, we will see those on the street with no food and no clothes. If we have so much, how can we not help those in need? In the scripture where Jesus was asked, "When saw me naked and clothed me...", he answered that if you do it to the least of these my brethren, you do it unto me. To become as God wants us to be, we must rejoice in the service of others. As we serve in our callings, we bless the lives of others, regardless of how insignificant we think our callings are. Heavenly Father has called us to feed his sheep and says he will reward us for all our sacrifices. People are turning down callings. Accept these callings from the Lord. You have an obligation when you are called. Moses, who was called to save the children of Israel by taking them out of Egypt said, "Who am I who should go to Pharaoh and say these things. I am not eloquent, but am slow of speech...slow tongue." The Lord tells him, "Go and I will be with thee." This reminds me of Nephi. God gave him a commandment to build a ship. Nephi didn't know how to build a ship, so the Lord helped him. Trust in the Lord and he will provide a way. When the Lord was looking for his apostles he chose fishermen, not great orators. If we have faith, all is possible to God. The Lord has not chosen the great and learned, but humble people who are willing to be led and guided by the Holy Spirit. As we strive to serve others, let us look at the Savior. He showed the importance of this by washing his apostles feet. Perform labors for others that they cannot do for themselves. True happiness lies in helping others. When we serve others, we increase our ability to love and our everyday challenges will seem smaller. Bless the lives of others and make the world a better place. Give of your time and talents to build up his Kingdom. He gives us the duty to make sure not a single soul is lost. Sustain the leaders of the Church. The Book of Mormon is true and will help us if we follow its teachings and learn from the mistakes of those on its pages.
The next speaker talked about avoiding temptation. He spoke about when Jesus was tempted by Satan. When Satan asked him to prove that he was the son of God, Jesus did not succumb to this temptation. Sometimes when people are found stealing, you find them saying that they had no choice, because they had to put food on the table. I tell you that you always have a choice. Put Heavenly Father first and no more will we worry about what we shall eat or where we will sleep. When Satan challenged Jesus, he said, "Do not tempt the Lord thy God." Satan showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and offered all if Jesus would fall down and worship him. Jesus did not hesitate to send Satan away. We need to do the same and withstand temptation without hesitation. Jesus reminds us in 2 Timothy 3:10-14, "Of all the persecutions I have suffered, the Lord delivered me. Continue thou in the things thou hast learned." Lead righteous lives. The Devil waits for the weak moments to tell us lies and to tempt us, because he wants us to go against Heavenly Father's teachings. In these difficult times, we need to follow the commandments and keep strong by drawing nearer to the Savior, by prayer, living the commandments and reading the scriptures, so that when the tempter comes we can answer like Jesus Christ did when he was tempted. I've thought from time to time that if I hadn't had such a mess in my earlier life, I could have served a mission and my life would have been on track a lot sooner, and I could have avoided some bad things in my life. Then I thought that it is not too late to be exemplary. We may be thinking that we are enjoying ourselves, so why get married, but when you meet someone you truly love, the Lord will bless you and your relationship." "And now my sons it is upon the rock of Jesus Christ that when the devil sends forth his mighty winds...it shall have no power over you." If you build your life on the sure foundation, you will be able to withstand temptation. Pray in the morning, noon and night for the companionship of the Holy Ghost to be your guide. It's not easy to walk by ourselves. Ask Heavenly Father to be with you, as you start your day and it will be easier to withstand temptation. In 3 Nephi, Heavenly Father counsels us to pray on fighting temptation. We are not here by chance. Heavenly Father has picked us to go out and help others who are tempted by their peers. Do not be afraid to stand up and shine. Follow the Savior's example and say, "Get thee behind me Satan." Draw near unto God and he will draw near unto you.
Then we went to Sunday School where we talked about the temple and what it might symbolize. Underneath the temple is a very solid foundation. Pioneers began building the temple right away when they came to a new area. The layout of the city focused the people on the temple. As we prepare for the Durban temple, let's think of whether the temple is central in our lives. Let us make our temple our ultimate and earthly home. At the Salt Lake Temple, the excavation was done by hand. On April 6, 1853, the cornerstones were laid, but they had to stop because the government thought they were plotting against them. They came to inspect the town and the workers covered the cornerstones up with dirt, to avoid any questions about what they were building. When they uncovered the stones (made of sandstone) they found some cracks in the stones. They had to take these stones out and replace them with rock hard granite. Brigham Young said that he wanted this temple to stand through the millennium. He said that hundreds of other temples would be built, but that this temple would stand as a beautiful, magnificent house of the Lord. It was built through dedication, endurance, perseverance, love of God, faith and hope. It took the saints 40 years to finish building the temple. Those who worked on that temple for 40 years, many of them never got a chance to go there. D&C 64:33-34 (Really love God) and D&C 82: 10, "I the Lord am bound when ye do what I say, but when ye do not what I say, ye will have no promise."
Relief Society and Priesthood meeting was combined. The Stake Welfare person came and talked about being self-reliant and believing in yourself to help you find work. She explained the various resources of the church to help those looking for jobs, creating resumes, interviewing skills, etc. and gave out websites for them to search for LDS jobs...basically how to make use of the church's resources. She told them to sign up for the workshop to help them learn to get jobs.
Sister Wilson (Relief Society President and her husband a member of the bishopric) invited us and the Sutherlands (Seminary and Institute couple) to come to their home for dinner on Monday. We told her of our FHE meetings, so she said to come Thursday instead. That was a very nice offer, so of course we said we would love to come. We filled the car with wheelchairs after church and headed for home...Another really nice day.
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
Thursday, Sep 26 to Saturday, Sept 28th - helping plan couples conference
Our first day of being home after a long trip means PAPERWORK and GROCERY STORE and all those things that are no fun! I guess it is a small price to pay for being on such a great trip. So Monday through Friday was spent getting caught up. We went to the Unicopy Monday to try and get some toner for our printer and they would not accept our church credit card...hmmm. They were out of most of the ink we needed anyway, so we went to Waltons office supply store down the street. They wouldn't accept our card either...hmmm. I assume that I need to go on the website for the bank and tick off the charges and that will solve the problem, but I come back to the office and do that and we still can't use our card. We send off an email and then Elder Kyle gets on the phone with the bank that tells us the Church suspended our card. I thought, "Oh, no not again." A few months ago, they accidentally cancelled our card, so I was hoping that was not the case, as it takes weeks to have another card mailed to us. After several phone calls, we found out that is exactly what happened. Someone accidentally cancelled our card. Once cancelled, you have to get a new card. The bank will not restart the old card. What a hassle! I guess we should be glad that it didn't happen while we were in Swaziland, where we used the card a lot.We also found out that our guest from the government that had accepted a meeting with Elder Bednar on October 25th had to cancel. This caused our PA Director, Sipho to scramble to try and find another opinion leader QUICKLY. Lots of phone calls and emails later, He finally got the premier for Kwazulu-Natal to accept. He is new to the job, so it should be interesting. We are just hoping that he does not cancel at the last minute.
Right before we left for Swaziland, Sister Zackrison, the mission president's wife, called and asked me to help plan the couples conference that will be going on during the Bednar visit. She said it start Thursday afternoon and end Saturday afternoon. She needs an activity of some kind for couples to do on Thursday afternoon and dinner and activity for Friday night. The rest of the time will be meetings with Elder Bednar. There will be a missionary meeting that we will all be invited to where he will speak, a priesthood meeting and a woman's meeting where the wives of Bednar and Christensen will speak. Sunday there will be two meetings at two different buildings...one will have Elder Bednar and the other will have Elder Christensen of the Seventy. It's going to be a big weekend. I've been racking my brain and talking to other couples. Since Sister Lombardi in Swaziland said they would like to do something fun, I've been concentrating on the beach and things to do there. UShaka is an amazing area with Sea World, Marine World, Water Parks, Live Shows, Dangerous Creatures, 5D theatre, shopping and more.
The other option is Moses Madhiba Stadium which was built for World Cup Soccer a few years ago. It is pretty state of the art and has several interesting options. There are Segwey tours (the two wheel upright motorized vehicles) that tour the stadium or the beach area or both. Some of the couples have done this and say it is a blast. I am game.
There is a sky car that goes up the outside of the dome to the top of the stadium. It is all glass so you see the city. There is a swing inside the stadium at the top that people can jump off of and swing somehow...I'll pass on that one. We decided that we needed to go down to the beach and check our the various areas to see what was there to see.
I'm not sure Dangerous Creatures is anything the couples will want to do, but I will put it on my list and offer as an option. You never know. I figure that the more information I can gather for things to do at the beach, the better. We then went to the 5D theatre, not quite knowing what to expect. Instead of being a regular theatre, it only has six seats attached to each other in a small room with a screen. You choose which film you want to see from about 8 -10 options. We chose a roller coaster type one, were given 3D glasses and taken to sit at the front of the block of seats.
We were told to hold on right to the bar in front of us and they took my purse and put it outside the seating area. That worried me a bit, but still I'm thinking it can't move that much. Then the film starts and we are on this roller coaster train track like thing. The seats were are in immediately move, so if the track turns right, the seats dip right, etc. When it goes down into a mine, it looks like the bottom is going to hit something and air comes up from the bottom of the seating area, so it feels like you hit something. Then when you go through water you feel water spray on your face. It was the craziest things. You actually felt you were on a ride doing all those things. It was over in only five minutes but my fingers hurt from gripping the bar so tight. It really did feel like you were going to fall out sometimes. I don't know if these seniors can keep their hearts in check for this one...Ha. Elder Kyle didn't like it. He said it made him dizzy. I thought it was fun and liked the uniqueness of it. I'll put it on my list.
Sea World has dolphin shows, seal shows and penguin shows. It's only $10 for seniors to get in, so I put that on my list. You can also go into this old ship that houses fish aquariums that are pretty amazing. We didn't go in, but I read about it and it sounds very cool. There is a restaurant in the ship as well, so you can eat and watch the fish. There are lots of things to do, so definitely want to consider UShaka for those interested in doing that. We'll pray that it does not rain.
Saturday got caught up on laundry and played with kids next door. It's a hard life. ha.
Wednesday, Sep 25th leaving Swaziland-finding giraffes by side of road
Today we leave Swaziland. It seems like each time we stay in this beautiful place we never have a chance to really enjoy all the beautiful grounds it has to offer. We said goodbye to the place and headed out for our seven hour drive back to Durban. There is not much to see on the drive, but after we get out of the city into the country, we keep our eyes peeled just in case.
In this case, nothing to see. We got to the border and had to wait in line to get our passport stamped and then crossed over into South Africa and did the same thing. We are world travellers now, so it is becoming routine.As soon as we cross over into South Africa, the roads become so much better, cleaner, plus more foliage along the streets and less dirt. The difference is amazing. After a little while driving in South Africa, Elder Kyle said, "Are you looking for animals?" I told him that I knew we were not going to see anything but cows; however, I began to look when we got to fenced areas that were close to game preserves. All of a sudden, out of the corner of my eye, I saw something and when I looked it was a giraffe (They are hard to miss). I told Elder Kyle that I saw giraffes back there and he did a U-turn and we went back and pulled over to the side of the road where I saw them.
There were two giraffes, eating the tops of the trees. We could only see their ears peeking out.
I took pictures from the car window and kept seeing more giraffes. We saw about ten of them total.
It was quite a sight. One was totally into eating the tree and all we saw was his backside.
One of them swung his neck around and chewed on his back.
Two were walking together. More were in the trees.
We looked down the way and there was a water source with several impalas surrounding it and a warthog.
The impalas were far away, but I used my zoom.
This one was posing for me. We were pretty excited to see all these wild animals. I cannot complain anymore about not seeing anything but cows and baboons.
Well after all this there wasn't anything that could compare, but I did see some beautiful trees that resembled the Arizona paloverde trees. The trunks were light green and yellow flowers were starting to bloom. The way the sun was shining on them made them seem ethereal. I can't explain why, but everytime I saw one it made me happy...they were like glowing beacons by the side of the road. I thought I was in a Narnia movie or something...ha. I wish the pictures could convey, but alas they cannot.
And other than driving a long way to get home and going to get groceries to hold us over, that's the end of our Wednesday and out trip to Swaziland...Whew, it was a really good trip.
Monday, October 7, 2013
Tuesday, September 24th-taking food to Swazi orphanage-visiting cultural center-PA dinner
Tuesday was another really busy day. We started off by going to the grocery store to buy food for the LaBomba care center (Where I got my Swazi name, Nomvula, in May of this year). We were so impressed with the improvements of the center. We heard that the US Embassy had put doors on the bathrooms and are building a kitchen for the center. No one knows how the US Embassy even knew about this center, as there are so many that also need help. Could it have been because of my blog? I would like to think so. They still feed the children from donations, so the Lombardi's, Murdock's and we bought frozen chicken, oil, rice, beans, maize, sugar, salt and apples. There are 72 children, so lots of food was purchased for immediate use and future use. They have no refrigerator. I was taking photos of the food in the basket as we went along and a store employee walked up to us and told us that was not allowed. I guess 6 missionaries from the US looked threatening....strange.
We then went over to the centre to give them the food. The head matriarch, or 'go go' as she is known in Africa, was there and it was nice to see her again. Needless to say, she was thrilled with the donation of food. The children were thrilled we were there as well. They were all smiles as they anticipated what the 'white' people were bringing them this time; Elder and Sister Lombardi visit them often with treats. You could feel their excitement as they surrounded our cars and then us as we exited.
The children were just finishing up their lunch and I saw they were eating 'pap' which as I stated previously is just a filler if they have no other food. The children feel full, but it is very low in nutrients. At least now, they were going to be fed some nutrients. Sister Murdock gave them the treats she had bought and the cook immediately took the chicken we bought and began to hack it with a knife and put it into the pot to cook. They cook outside over a fire in a large kettle. But, even though they are cooking while standing on dirt and using an old wooden table, they have made an effort to keep everything clean.
The kitchen is not yet built and perhaps they will still cook over the open fire when it is, as it requires no electricity or gas which they don't have the ability to support, but it will give them an indoor place to keep and prepare food, plus store the utensils and bowls. Workers were there and the building was being done right. It will be the best building they have when it is finished. Everyone seemed so very happy for all their good fortune at this care center that started with just a piece of land with broken down buildings on it that was given for the care of these children by the government. All improvements have been made by individual donations and the wonderful people who volunteer to work there.
Inside the classrooms had improved a lot as well. The walls are painted inside and out and a map of the world has been added to one of the buildings that is at an angle to the new building above. Currently, with the new building, there are four buildings on the property. One of the buildings houses the teacher and her children. There are two classrooms and the new kitchen.
The teacher is an attractive young woman who was wearing a nice outfit with a pink hat. When I took her picture, we told her she looked like a model and let her see the photo. She looked at it and then smiled a knowing smile, as if to say, "I do look good." It was really cute. She seems a lot more happy than the last time we saw her at the center. I hope life is good for her and her children now. She does a great job with the 70 or so children in her care. They mind her very well. I still haven't figured out her secret, except she does not accept misbehaviour. 
The children's activities are in the middle of these buildings that surround the play area. The teacher called them all to participate in an outdoor activity. They formed this huge circle and all held hands. Sister Murdock, me and Elder and Sister Lombardi joined them by holding hands with them in the circle. We then played games where the children would sing and dance in the middle of the circle and then choose another to take their place (Those holding hands would repeat what the leader in the circle would sing out). The first time they did this in English, but the others were doing it their Swahili language. The children had such fun with this and did some pretty interesting dance moves that only could have been taught by the older children in their villages.
When all the games were over, the teacher had them call out the months and days of the week in English. They knew this very well. Then she had them line up in two lines where she washed off the apples we brought and handed them out to the children. Those little green apples were very much appreciated by each child...their treat for the day.I had been taking their photos and letting them see the pictures. This became a very popular thing as the children were all trying to grab the camera so they could see their photos.
As we said good bye to the children, they formed their little fingers into a sign and then all said, "I love you." How can you not love these little guys who have so little but love so much. We are so blessed for these wonderful experiences, for seeing what can be done when the community cares. In this case the improvements to this facility have been an inspiration to us all.We left the care center with the children still showing their 'love' sign and saying good bye. It was time for them to go back in the classroom and finish their learning for the day. Chicken was cooking in a pot for later, so hopefully they got some chicken soup before they left.
Lombardi's told us about a cultural center and Sister Murdock wanted to take her son there. We had not been there, so we tagged along for a cultural experience. There is a place not too far from the care center where Swaziland has a park that allows people to come and see native dances and songs, plus traditional crafts and native culture. We got there just in time for their 11:30 show. We were all seated waiting, when the singing started and they began to file into the stadium provided for the show. The women and the men were in traditional native clothing and their voices were sweet and pure.
The women started the show by singing several songs in their native language. We've noticed that their singing always has a lot of repetition, where there is a lead singer who sings a phrase and the other singers answer back and they repeat this over and over. The repetition is soothing, instead of irritating and they take turns being the caller, so it is fun to hear the different tones of their voices.Of course, the really exciting part was when the men took over and did their dances and beat the drums and looked fierce.
Their costumes were pretty fun and one of the guys had the most beautiful voice. I could have listened to him some more, but several got a chance to sing. Their dancing was pretty energetic. They could only do it for so long before they had to stop. They must be in phenomenal shape to do that daily. They would sort of run in place only bring their knees way up. Wow. 
All of the men were in great shape, but some of the women looked like normal middle-aged women and even a couple of the younger ones were a little stocky, but one of them did some pretty impressive dancing herself. It was fun seeing a bit of their traditions. They are really quite graceful and fluid and all of their voices were amazing. I video taped a few numbers that the family can watch when we get home. You had to be there to get the full effect.When we were finished with the show, we headed over to the Silversmiths because Sister Murdock's son was visiting them and he wanted to get some gifts for his wife and daughters. It was the store's lucky day, as he bought all kinds of gifts and spent lots of money. I bought a couple of pairs of earrings for gifts. We parted ways with the Murdocks and went back to the hotel to get cleaned up for even more events that night.
This was the dinner we had planned with the Murdocks and Jerome. Jerome had asked an Angelican Priest and some other religious leaders to attend, and the Lombardi's asked someone from immigration, but we were not sure who all was going to be there; in Africa, you never know. We had originally planned on 14, but to be safe, we asked the hotel restaurant upstairs to prepare the room for 18 for dinner,by adding four more chairs. We had them set it up in a u-shape facing the screen, so we could show a film or two about the Church. Elder Murdock brought a projector and the videos they use in the Area office and was prepared to show them to the attendees. Elder Kyle asked them to set up a screen at the restaurant and a table to put the projector on. We've been trying to get into the Council of Churches and we have some immigrations problems, so we were hoping the people invited could help us with these issues. Elder Lombardi speaks to one of our guests from the religious community.
When everything was set up, we all went downstairs out front of the restaurant to wait for our guests to show up. I was worried that most would not show up, because that is a common problem in Africa. By the time 6:00 had rolled around, we only had two people besides us six missionaries and Jerome and his wife. By 6:30, we still had only a few people, but about 6:45 quite a few started to arrive. Elder Kyle spent some time talking to Sister Murdock's son, Brad while we were waiting for people to show up. The main guest of honor had not arrived yet, but had called to say he was lost and needed directions, so we knew he was coming, but not how many people he was bringing with him. Turns out that when he did arrive, we then had 24 people! We had to ask the restaurant to set up six more chairs. Somehow they were able to fit everyone in, even though several had their backs to the screen and would have to turn around for the presentation.
One of the couples who came were members of the ward we attended on Sunday and we also attended her baptism. He helps the Church with their Missionary Visas and is a very important part of that whole plan running smoothly. He invited the person from the governmental department that he deals with on these issues. He and his wife are such a cute couple and seemed to be enjoying being there with all of us older folk. I sat next to them when we went inside for the dinner. Also attending was a member of the District Presidency and his wife. They were happy for a night out.Seated on my left was a woman named Lindiwe, who used to be the principal of Big Bend High School in Swaziland, but is now the head of a large women's organization. She was very surprised to see the wives of two religious men there who used to be her school teachers. It was a nice reunion for her, as she obviously respected them a lot and they her. Everyone ordered their food and that took quite awhile. We knew it would take even more time for everyone to get their food, so Elder Murdock went ahead and started his presentation. He told some corny jokes, as he always does to get everyone in a good mood. He thanked everyone for coming and then showed a film on missionary work. It was a good film that showed an Elder getting his mission call to go to Hong Kong and then he and his Chinese companion teaching people, with him speaking in Chinese. It talked about the MTC training and showed sisters from Africa, Europe and South America, all showing the joy they have in Missionary work. It also showed them doing service with Helping Hands vests in devastated areas and in regular neighborhoods. It is a great video for showing the good that missionaries do and effectively shows their sweet spirits and desire to help people. The lady on my left commented that she had seen the missionaries around and was surprised to see what they do on the film. Elder Murdock did a great job talking about the church and the good we do. We still had some time left so Elder Murdock showed the Helping Hands Video with Alex Boye, "Have I Done Any Good." That was a big hit and the people clapped when it was over.
We finally got our meals and everyone was busy eating their dinners. Elder Murdock then played the film about the Church and what they do, which included humanitarian services, families, FHE, church buildings, temples, Book of Mormon, etc. It was quite informative. After it was over, Elder Murdock talked about the Book of Mormon and how it was a history of the people on the American continent and is used with the Bible to testify of Jesus Christ. This got the woman next to me going. First, she said, "I didn't know that." I thought Mormon was who you worshipped." She then said that she thought we used it in place of the Bible. She wanted to know where she could get one. I told her there was one on the table up front and I would give it to her after the presentation.
Elder Murdock asked Elder Kyle to tell about the humanitarian projects going on in Swaziland right now and he got up and told about water and sanitation projects for a total of 1,126 homesteads in rural communities of Swaziland - 12 new hand pump boreholes in the area and 259 new ventilated improved pit latrines. The 12 new hand pumps will ensure the provision of potable water and replace the use of open streams water and the Great Usutu River, which is not suitable for human consumption. I was then asked to speak about the wheelchair events and told them about the 80 people and organizations that had benefitted from our last wheelchair distribution and that there were those in Swaziland that will benefit from future wheelchair distribution. We talked about partnering with NGOs (non-government organizations) for these humanitarian projects to make sure whatever water source we put in will be well maintained. When we sat down, this same lady told me that we needed to tell everyone that our Church provided the services. She was worried that the NGO would get the credit and insisted that let everyone know we are the ones doing it.
About this time, I had given my 2nd piece of chicken to the guy on my right, who ate his dinner, but welcomed half of mine. There were some pretty tasteless vegetables on my plate. I ate some of the zucchini, but had no intention of eating the rest of vegetables. The waitress came by to take my plate and the lady on my left put out her hand and said, "No, don't take that. She is not finished with her vegetables." I told her that I had no intention of eating the cauliflower. She said, "That's okay, I love cauliflower and I will eat that, but you have to eat the rest. She then stuck her fork in the cauliflower and began to eat from my plate. I was so astonished, that I picked up my fork and ate some broccoli. By the time we were done, all the vegetables were gone. It was pretty funny.
She continued to tell me over and over again that we needed to let everyone know the good we had done in Swaziland. She kept saying that no one knows. I kept trying to assure her that is what we do, but apparently she didn't think we were doing a very good job. Then she invited us to have our missionaries come to the high school that she used to be principal of and conduct the prayer hour once a week for 8 weeks. She assured me that she still had a lot of clout at the school and could get us in.
Elder Kyle sat next to an older lady (former teacher of my eating buddy) and they talked a lot too. He kept trying to turn her chair around when it was time to watch the film and she kept chuckling at his attempts. Everyone seemed very impressed by the films and explanations. The main guest, Father Dlamini, was very complimentary. The lights suddenly went out and we sat in darkness for about five minutes. Father D. played a hymn on his phone until the lights came back on. Elder Murdock recited a long poem that was actually a joke that everyone thought was pretty funny, about a guy who died and went to heaven, but was really surprised to find all these people that he knew did bad things were there. No one was talking with him, just looking at him. When he asked the Lord why these bad people were there and acting so funny, the Lord explained that all of them were kind of surprised that he was there. There was a lesson in there somewhere.
Then on a more serious note, Elder Murdock talked about all the good that Father Dlamini has done for the community and presented him with a special medallion that says, "Put on the Whole Armor of God." He then asked him if he would say a few words. The man was so touched that he could hardly speak. He started by saying the he did not deserve this award, but the people there (most of which he invited) were the ones who deserved the award. He was very complimentary about the Church and said how important it was for us all to work together and he was going to do whatever he could to make sure the Council of Churches recognized us as a legitimate church in Swaziland.
The main thing is that it was a big success. Everyone had a great time and a good meal. The videos were well received and everyone left there with smiles on their faces and a positive attitude about the Church, and some even wanting to know more. The member of the District Presidency that was there said he was very impressed with Public Affairs and now is quite a supporter of their efforts. The immigration lady was very impressed and left with a smile on her face. It was an unexpected pleasure for me, just like the hundreds of unexpected pleasures we have received since coming here. T.I.A.
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