Still December 2010

20 Dec 2010
This was the day we had the Elders over to learn how to make Christmas cookies;  Elder and Sister Hudson arrived from Ladysmith to spend 2 days with us before the other couples arrived.  they were impressed with the Elders cooking and watching the movie It's a Wonderful Life.  President Von Stetten had given permission for them to view this film.  Elder Wark said, "this is now my favorite movie". After the Elders left we went to the Chinese Restaurant for dinner, Sister Blackburn felt she really deserved to be waited on for dinner.  After their party the missionaries exchanged small gifts.

21 Dec 2010
We spent the day showing the Hudsons the shopping areas then came back to Ezulwini to greet the other couples who had arrived : Davis, Zweifel, Ward, Allred, Berry, Nuzman, so 16 of us went to the Great Taipei Restaurant, and everyone said it was the best Chinese food in the whole mission, must be because Sister Blackburn enjoyed her meal there again.

At the Manzini Market

22 Dec 2010
Took couples who were here tourist shopping at the Silver shop,  Manzini and at Swazi Candle; then we took them and left them at the Cultural Center while we did some errands to have the Chapel ready when President Von Stetten and the Dahleys arrived.  After they arrived we had dinner at the Boma Restaurant and then went to the Ezulwini Chapel for a meeting and get to know you.  President Von Stetten informed us that our designation as couple missionaries have been changed to "Leadership and Training Missionaries:".

23 Dec 2010
Our mini Safari was scheduled for today at Mkhaya and it turned out to be the hottest day of the year 108 degrees fareinheit.  3 Sisters fainted and we had to end the safari drive early and most everyone was glad to get out of the sun.  Not very many animals could be found, they were hiding in the shade.  We will not do a Safari again in the summer months.  After everyone had rested we went to Summerfield for dinner, President and Sister Von Stetten was presented with a drum that had their family names carved on it; all the couples were given a small roundavel tree ornament as a remembrance of their trip to Swaziland.  President Von Stetten said the reputation of Summerfield was not as good as being there.

Black Rhino in Mkhaya



Dinner at Summerfield



Von Stetten's receiving their drum

24 Dec 2010
Everyone left today to their assigned areas except Elder and Sister Ward, they will spend the weekend with us.  President Von Stetten decided to visit the Silversmith for some shopping.  Elder Blackburn went to Timbali Lodge to tell everyone goodby and wish them a safe journey.  Three couples had a 14 hour drive in front of them.

  Elder and Sister Ward drove and we went to check out the Tree Canopy tour for when their children come in February, we were able to see quite a few of the Swazi "warriors" on their way to the Incwala, where they dance with the King and celebrate the first fruits of the harvest, then we watched It's a Wonderful Life in the evening then early to bed. Everyone was so tired.

25 Dec

Elder Blackburn gave Sister Blackburn a silver and giraffe hair ring; he received a silver elephant lapel pin; We had blueberry muffins for breakfast.  We then drove to Hlane to check out the self drive safari for the Wards for when their children come to visit; we were very disappointed, no animals were out and the roads were really muddy and we came close to getting stuck; Elder Blackburn and Elder Ward had great fun with the mud holes. This was the mud hole Elder Blackburn picked up a log under the car and a punctured tire.  Another reason not to go on a Safari in the summer months.

26 Dec 2010
We attend all three branches today, we needed to deliver Patriarchal Blessings and Seminary information to the Branches.  Manzini was showing the Christmas Devotional and did not know they were supposed to have Sacrament too so they learned something good. Then to Ezulwini and met up with the Wards and one of the newly baptized members was very distraught, she was having problems with her children and wanted to talk with Sister Blackburn, Sister Blackburn tried to comfort her and explained that every mother has shed tears over their children and then suggested that she have a blessing from President Shongwe, Elder Blackburn and Elder Ward; we then went to Mbabane where Elder Blackburn performed the baptism of Sister Regina Craig.  A day well spent in service to the Swaziland Saints.  (Elder Hudson said that he had not seen any missionaries as busy as Elder and Sister Blackburn).

27 Dec 2010
Took Elder and Sister Ward to Ezulwini Market before leaving for home and then to the Manzini Market for fabric; the Manzini Elders called us while in Manzini and their Bakki was broken so we went to find them, advised them to get a tow truck, but they found a mechanic and spent their pday getting their bakki fixed.  Elder and Sister Ward and we noticed our car had a flat tire(courtesy of the mud holes at the game park). We took the tire off and took it to the shop to get it repaired, we were glad to get a little rest before Elder Blackburn drove to Mbabane to set a missionary apart before leaving the next day for Johannesburg MTC. President Siko and the Mbabane missionaries were there for him.
Glad to see our bed.

28 Dec 2010
Went to the airport in Masapha to see that Boysie Dlamini got on the plane ok; his family was there to see him off. Good experience.  We were glad to have half a day to rest.

29 Dec 2010
Went to Manzini to get meat from our Butchery for a barbeque on Friday with the Elders; President has said they can spend New Years's Eve with us so they will not be stuck in their flat.  Bought groceries for next week, went to a petrol station and picked up money the Elders had overpaid.   Very hot today.

More in December 2010

15 Dec 2010

We went with President Jerome Shongwe to the Ministry of Justice to try and secure the test for the Branch Presidents to become Marriage Agents and perform marriages.  We got nowhere, the lady in charge wanted  us to pay to send our Branch Presidents to her Church for training.  So we came home and sent a letter about the experience to President Von Stetten asking if we should get the Area Legal Office involved and he forwarded the letter to the Area Presidency, so now we will wait.

18 Dec 2010
Ezulwini Branch held their Christmas party and the pictures tell the story!!! When Elder Blackburn and Sister Blackburn shared the food with the Saints they were so surprised that we would eat with them.  Evidently past couple missionaries did not share their food.  We were truly accepted at this party.

Ezulwini Branch Conference

First meeting in the new building by Ezulwini Branch; it was the Branch Conference and President Simelane and most of the District were present.

What we can remember, Dec 2010

We decided not to give gifts to the Elders and instead decided to give the gift of a tradition, making and delivering Christmas cookies;  many cookies were made and our Elders delivered a plate to each family in our complex, white and black.  Then it was time for a gift exchange; each one brought a gift, we placed a number on it and wrote the same numbers on slips of paper they could draw.  They had a great time.

Couples conference at Summerfield. great dinner had by all.

Tom decided to buy a Christmas tree; he put the lights on, all the time, wishing for Barbara to come a do the job for him.  Then Sister Blackburn put the other decorations on it.

Christmas Party Week

The last time we were in New Castle, Sister Blackburn cleaned Sister Ward's teeth.  This is one thing I can do for the couples, if they need it.  Elder Ward got his teeth cleaned too.

06 Dec 2010

We went to the Butchery today and picked up the hams for the area Christmas Party in New Castle.  They were so yummy looking.  We are anxious to go, it is good to get a break from our area and see other couples;  Sister Ward called tonight and the caterer she had asked to do the dinner cancelled.  So the Sister half of the Couple Missionaries will have to cook the whole dinner and clean up..... (am not looking forward to all that work).

08 Dec 2010
We got up early to go to the store in Mbabane to pick up large can of sliced apples for the desert.  We finally left the country at 8:30a.m.  We had rain and fog on the way, we have had rain for so many days, are not counting anymore.  Everything smell mouldy.  Arrived in New Castle 12:30.  We met the Wards at the Church, they were finishing their Zone Meeting; the Elders set up the tables and chairs;  Half of the Chapel was set for the Zone Conference the other half for a party.  Sister Ward informed Sister Hudson and myself that the District President's Counselor and his wife will decorate the tables and come and clean up for us.  What a relief.  We went to lunch - then the Hudsons went home to do their share of the cooking and Sister Ward and Sister Blackburn went to the Ward's home and started preparing their share of the food - potatoe casserole, apple crisp and ham.  Elder Blackburn sliced all 3 hams.  We prepared the pineapple brown sugar glaze for them. There was a big thunder and lightening storm tonight.  We finally went to bed about 9:30pm (all tuckered out).

09 Dec 2010
Up early and took the food to the Church, the decorated tables were absolutely beautiful; Everything looked wonderful.  Sister Von Stetten came into the room and just stopped, she teared up when she saw how beautiful the room was.  We let her know the District President's Counselor and his wife had done the decorating and would come back and clean up for us.  She was so overwhelmed.  We had a good Zone Conference with New Castle and Swaziland in 100% attendance;  the Elders ate all the food, nothing at all was left to snack on later (ham bones). We had a big rain storm all afternoon; good thing everything was inside.  The Rain stopped about the time everything was over with.   After dinner and games, we walked into the kitchen and it was sparkling clean, it was wonderful.  We went back to the Ward's house and just crashed.

10 Dec 2010
We went to the Game store and bought a larger crock pot and a Christmas Tree;  Elder Blackburn decided he would not be a scrooge after all and enjoy the season.  Then we drove back to Swaziland, it was a beautiful sunny day and the drive was really enjoyable.

11 Dec 2010
Put up the Christmas tree; it took us all day, we had to move things around; we did not go anywhere, just stayed home and prepared for Sunday.  We have been challenged to read 3 pages a day in the Book of Mormon along with anyother studying we should do.

12 Dec 2010
We went to Mbabane for Church.  Elder Blackburn had several interviews to do;  One young man is getting married on the 17th and it was a first Temple Recommend for him. He had 5 interviews for Temple Recommends and he really enjoys those visits. Wish we could go with him, however we have a lot to do to get ready for the Couples to come to Swaziland and we have to buy a refrigerator, the Ezulwini Elders' fridg stopped working and we gave them ours so they would not eat food that may be slightly spoiled.  The Relief Society in Mbabane had exchanged gifts and were discussing other things that need to be brought to the attention of the District President.  The men ignore the women and they are not getting trained the way they should.

13 Dec 2010
We went to Manzini and Mbabane to check out Refrigerators and bought one in Mbabane, not as big as we wanted but prices are up compared to 4 months ago, maybe because it is Christmas and the Swazi people do give gifts to each other.   We came back and started cleaning house; the kitchen was first to get ready for delivery of the appliances.  We also bought a small fridge for the Elders; with 4 in the apartment they need more than just one medium size fridge.

14 Dec 2010
Took our area rugs up so they could be taken to Mbabane for cleaning; the white tile was so stained with red dirt that Sister Blackburn had to use orange oil cleaner to clean it; the window ledges and security bars got a good cleaning too.  Cooked some brownies for the Elders District Meeting tomorrow; they will have it at our house and we will be gone, we have to go to a government department and try to get them to give our Branch Presidents the authority to perform marriages; the District feels that Elder and Sister Blackburn can have more success than they can.

Wheel Chair and the last 2 weeks

05 Dec 2010
Sunday and Fast Sunday at that.  We had a good day today, accomplished a lot.  We went to Manzini for Sacrament and to take a wheel chair for Sister Ncami, the chair was provided by the Humanitarian Department and the Elders brought it back from their trip to Durban for transfers this week.  Sistr Ncami was so pleased with the Chair.  Elder Blackburn took President Mahlalela so that the President could present the wheel chair to her.  Sister Ntshalintshali met with Sister Blackburn today and gave her the plan for how the sewing machines will be handled, Elder Blackburn took the plan to District Council Meeting and President Simelane approved the plan with minor changes to the amount charged for maintenance.  Sister Simelane came up to Sister Blackburn and said, "My husband says we are getting sewing machines and I must learn how to sew!"  She was excited about the project.  Elder Blackburn took a time line to District Council meeting to help the Bretheren get their meeting over on time, they were very pleased with how the meeting progressed.

04 Dec 2010
What a day!! The Shongwe girls were supposed to meet with Sister Blackburn to finish Sipewe's PEF application, they were very late and called Elder Blackburn, that they "had trouble with transport".  They had walked about 5 miles and were just very tired and were only half way here.  We got the papers filled out and faxed to Elder Allen, we will mail the originals to him.  Then Maquoba Shongwe called and wanted help with his PEF application, when he finally got here, his papers were not ready, we had to give him a list of things to get collected and will meet with him again on Monday afternoon.  Then we took the girls to the Armstrong residence, Sister Armstrong is ill and they were going to visit her.  While we were there, Sister Armstrong had an attack of stomach spasms and Elder Blackburn and Brother Armstrong gave her a blessing of health.  Then their little girl asked for a blessing also, that was also done with much love.  Brother Armstrong expressed a feeling of inadequacy in giving blessings, Elder Blackburn explained to him how it is done and encouraged him to give his family Father's Blessings.  Then we went to the Primary Christmas Party in Manzini, it was not quite what we are used to.  Elder Blackburn discovered that he can eat with his fingers, he had just forgotten how, childhood was so long ago.  The Children were really enjoying themselves.  Sister Blackburn asked  the Sisters if Swaziland had Christmas Traditions and they did not know what she was talking about, Sister Blackburn then asked, "Do you have Christmas Trees", the answer was no.  "Do you do Santa Clause?" the answer was no, "Do you exchange gifts?" the answer, some people are starting to do that.  All in all, a very long day, but very productive.

03 Dec 2010

We went to the American Embassy to pick up Elder Blackburn's passport, he needed more pages added.

We went to Manzini to look for new furniture for our house, we gave the new Elders our 2 seater couch.

We paid a few bills.  A lot of driving.

02 Dec 2010

Transfer day, Elders came back from Durban and brought the wheel chair for the Manzini Sister, Elder Blackburn will contact President Mahlalela for delivery to the Sister.  Ezulwini was sent 2 new Elders so the area can be expanded.  3 new Elders for Swaziland, Elder Ockwig left for the good old USA and home.  We sent a small gift via him to Rachel, (so they can meet).  He will be attending BYU in January.

World wide training on Handbook

20 Nov 2010
Went grocery shopping this morning, early, so the store would not be crowded.  Couldn't find cranberries. We had bought some dried ones in South Africa.  Am trying to reconstitute them and make sauce.  They sure don't look very appetizing.  We went to Manzini for the World Wide Training on the new Handbook of Instructions; the DVD was hooked up to a laptop and was not successful, had to bring the television out of the strong room and hook it up, then no problems.  After the meeting, Elder Blackburn was talking with President Shongwe and Sister Jill and President Shongwe asked Sister Jill "where is your calendar?" she replied "you have the calendar", he said "I want a calendar of the Relief Society events" she replied "What events, we don't do anything". They have never calendared ANYTHING.  A whole new concept for everyone.   I don't think there will be a calendar!!! Relief Society needs so much training here, they even think that they can only have 1 teacher and she is the "Relief Society Teacher"!!  Sister Blackburn told the new Relief Society President in Ezulwini, after her Teacher was sustained that "now you need 2 more teachers" and she was so shocked that she needed more.  We had over 50 at the Training Meeting, these leaders are so concerned and want to do everything right.  It will be fun to see how they implement the new concepts.

19 Nov 2010
We went over to the new Church to see  how the remode is progressing and they had the old roof off and were putting new tin  on so Sister Blackburn telephone the Elders and asked them to take some of the old tin and one of the old doors over to Sister Jill's house, she had said her roof leaked.  The Elders were very good to come right away and do that.  They will probably schedule a service day and go put the tin on for her.

Patriarch Courtney

18 Nov 2010

Blue Pumpkins but orange inside

Went to Manzini to try and find a Truck Driving School for Elder Mbuli, talked with Elder Allen of PEF and he will accept the application (finally), after we talked with Elder Blackburn's brother Bill to help us get this rolling for this young returned missionary.  It was great to get out of the house, still cloudy and may get rain today too.

13 Nov 2010
Elder Blackburn and Patriarch went to Nhlangano to conduct interviews and give Patriarchal Blessings - 7 blessings were given, each blessing takes 1 hour so he was very tired when he finished.  Sister Blackburn had dinner waiting when they got back to Ezulwini.  Sister Blackburn had several young adults over to learn how to Line Dance, she gave them lunch of Chicken Enchiladas and pumpkin pie, they thoroughly enjoyed their day. The had to show the Patriarch and Elder Blackburn, Elder and Sister Cox what they had learned. Patriarch wanted the recipes for Enchiladas and Pumpkin pie.

14 Nov 2010
Went to Manzini for Church, Patriarch Courtney did 4 more blessings there.  Sister Blackburn met with Sister Ntshalintshali and District President Simelane to discuss how the sewing machines destined for Swaziland will be taken care of and stored.  President Simelane wanted to know who would "own" the machines and Sister Blackburn stated "the women of Swaziland" "with the Relief Society protecting them."
He was much pleased with the project and gave us his ideas on how he would like them stored.  We then went to the District Seminary Graduation and about 150 seminary and young adults attended the graduation, Elder and Sister Cox had the Branch Presidents call forward the ones advancing and the ones graduating.  It was a really successful event.  Elder and Sister Cox, Patriarch Courtney then came to our house for dinner, we served pork roast, mashed potatoes and vegetables with brownies and ice cream for desert; again Patriarch Courtney wanted the recipes to take home.  He particularly liked the brownies.

15 Nov 2010
Patriarch and Cox' went back to Durban this morning; we met the Elders and went to the Ngwenya Glass Factory where they use recycled glass to make glasses, statuary, etc.  They blow the glass there and allow visitors to watch.  Then we took the Elders to Friar Tucks for a buffet luch.  Then home to rest.

16 Nov 2010
Went to the Dentist today, one tooth has really been bothering Sister Blackburn; good Dentist, nothing wrong with tooth, just the bite off and hitting the opposing tooth  too hard, so he ground it  down and we will see. 
Met with Sister Wendy Anderson about the Elders boarding in Mbabane to discuss when she will scrape the mould and get the house painted and get the sliding door fixed.  She "has been in a mental hospital because she is bipolar and is now on meds and doing much better."  Zone Leader and District Leaders left for New Castle for training for 2 days.  We picked up 2 pumpkins to cook for Thanksgiving and got one cooked, the electricity went out before the 2nd one got cooked, so we just turned the stove off.  It was the worst storm we have had to date. 

17 Nov 2010
We stayed home and finished fixing the pumpkin, enough for 6 pies, we will share with Nuzman and Ward Couples.  Rained all day and was chilly, we wore sweaters all day and did not go out.  Electricity and Internet was on sporadically all day.

Kruger National Park and the week

A large herd of Cape buffalo

a closer look at the herd of Cape Buffalo

An Elephant, one of many

On Tuesday 2 Nov 2010 Elder and Sister Blackburn decided to "run away" so they got into their car and drove to Kruger National Park about 3 hours from where they live in Swaziland.
We saw many, many elephant; a great herd of Cape Buffalo which Elder Blackburn said "made the trip worthwhile"; Pretty Ugly to me.  Giraffe in the distance, we have seen a lot of them; a Wild Dog it was also pretty ugly;  We enjoyed the beautiful mountain scenery during the drive.  We had hoped to see some big cats; but the employees said they were hiding today.  It really was a good relaxing day.

4 Nov 2010
We went to the immigration department to get our work permits; we stood in line about 4 hours and went to 3 different doors, such inefficiency; we did get the permits; Sister Blackburn could not get her passport stamped there was not enough pages, so now we have to go to the American Embassy and get pages added which will cost $160 American Dollars, pretty excessive charges for a few pages of photo copied paper.  We feel it is amazing how much it costs to live in a 3rd world country, because they have so little, what they do have they charge a lot for. We paid someone to wash our car while it was parked in the parking lot at the embassy.  Not unusual for someone to watch the cars, wash the cars and help you back out of your parking place, all for a few cents.

7 Nov 2010
Went to Church in Ezulwini, stayed for all three meetings, new converts shared their testimony and we were impressed with the strength of their conversion.  We had cooked a roast for dinner and we sure did enjoy it with mashed potatoes, veg, ice cream. etc.

8 Nov 2010
Manzini Elders went to Nhlangano for a baptism interview and a situation was revealed wherein the investigator had been a polygamous wife, her husband has passed away, however she still lives next door to her sister wife.  She lives in GeGe.  Elder Blackburn will have to call Mission President before baptism can happen.

9 Nov 2010
Woke up to rain, rain, rain all day; heavy thunder and lightening;  We just stayed home and studied.

10 Nov 2010
Still heavy storms; Elders came to our house for their District Meeting and they stay too long; they didn't want to go back out into the storms anymore than we did.  They left about 2:00pm after peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and watermelon.  First melon of the season and was perfect not like the first one we had bought here.  We were finally informed that the natives will cook green watermelon and eat it that way.
We bought a blue pumpkin from roadside market, and Sister Blackburn was assured it was orange inside.  The girl selling the produced picked one out for us, when we got home it was orange inside, got a recipe off internet - Food Network to cook it.  It cooked really good and then put it in a blender and guess what? we are going to have real pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving.

11 Nov 2010
Beautiful day, Elder Mbuli came and washed the car (I guess we have hired him every week).  After the first request to wash our car, he just keeps coming back each week. Good thing the car needs washing all the red mud.  Elder Blackburn went to the Ezulwini Elders Boarding to wait for the repair man.  They are getting electric shocks when they shower.  Went to the grocery store and spent R1050. our refrigerator was like Old Mother Hubbard's Cupboard.  We found a turkey for Thanksgiving, grown in Minnesota by Jennie O.
It cost us $35.00 American Dollars, but we figuered we would spend that much on chickens to feed the Elders.  Talked with Sister Ward last night to plan the Christmas Party for the New Castle and Swaziland District, we had a three way with Sister Hudson, husband had to put their voices in too. So Elder Hudson is going to use Butternut Squash instead of Sweet Potatoes - that will be interesting.  Sister Ward asked me to stop at Spars market in Bollito where we get some American products and see if I could find Libbys Pumpkin, I assured her I would bring her some pumpkin and she kept insisting it had to be "Orange"  She was skeptical that I had pumpkin for pies.

12 Nov 2010
Patriarch Courtney is coming today, he will be giving Patriarchal Blessings for 3 days.  Elder and Sister Cox is bringing him with them and he will stay with us.  The Cox' have Seminary Graduation this weekend.
We woke up today with no water, so we got dressed and went to Mbabane to the US Embassy to pick up Sister Blackburn's Passport, she now has lots of new pages to get stamped.  Our water was finally fixed at 3:30pm today.   What a nuisiance this old house is.  Elder Blackburn has gone to Manzini to conduct Patriarchal Blessing Interviews so the Patriarch can do his work.

Saw this eclipse at 12:00 noon today; Elder Samai called us and recommended that we stop driving and look at it; This evening we had a new member appointment with the Elders and the Dlamini family - the mother, thabisile, daughter Cindy and 3 other children. they committed to obeying the 10 Commandments and expressed gratitude for each member of the family. There was a wonderful feeling of love between them that was not there 3 months ago. A very good way to end the day.

Learning about Electricity

 The Elders called and needed new light bulbs, they have been complaining about light bulbs for months.  We bought a couple of boxes and took them to the Mbabane Elders, Elder Blackburn put one in and they said "see, something is wrong with the electricity, they won't work."  Elder Blackburn walked over, FLIPPED THE SWITCH and there was light.  Elder Mbatini just laughed and laughed, he thought that was so funny.
So then we went to Conference at the Mbabane Chapel and they could't get the DVD player to work; some one went down the street to get another one, meantime Elder Blackburn plugged in a cord and still would not play and then Sister Blackburn said, "Push play". there was Conference at the push of a Button.  Elder Mbatani was almost in hysterics over this one.  Sometimes we forget that some of these young men come from homes without electricity or even furniture of any kind.  So we have had 2 days of Conference, have not seen 100% of Conference in years.  It was worth the time spent, I think we will go to the Church when we get home instead of being so comfortable at home we just fall asleep.

29 Oct 2010

Today started out so slow, we went for a drive to check out a Tree Canopy Tour and they would not let us take our car; we needed a four wheel drive vehicle, too bad we traded our bakki. sometimes we really miss having it, but not when it comes time to pay for gasoline. The country is getting so green and the red dirt really stands out.  When we got back there was a telephone call from Elder Atoya in Manzini, had a flat tire and could not find his "spinner" (tire iron).  We got the one from the Ezulwini Elders, took it to Manzini and the spare was flat, so took one and found someone willing to stay after work and fix it. It was about 5:00pm.  He charged R20 which is about $3.00 American dollars, which is not very much.  Elder Blackburn asked Elder Atoya how he got the flat and he said they came to a bridge that had construction work and decided to drive through the river and got a wire stuck in the tire.  Sounds just like a MAN in a TRUCK.

18 Oct 2010

  Went with Elders on a mini safari at Hlane Big Game Park it wa a much needed pday  after 3 weeks of problems.  Brought the Elders together in good fellowship.  We took a picnic and had a barbeque then it was time to go to the Internet Cafe at about 2:00 pm; time for letters to family.  

19 Oct 2010

When we were in Durban, Sister Harms gave us 9 Nelson Mandela 90th birthday commemorative coins and wanted Sister Blackburn to take them to the silversmith and have necklaces made.  The coins belonged to Sisters in the Area Office; Sister Harms asked them to give Sister Blackbur one for being so kind as to take them to the silversmith.  Sister Blackburn was really surprised.  Sister Cox also packed the Blackburns a box lunch for the drive back to Swaziland on Sunday and that was a surprise too.  We did not have to stop and buy food.

20 Oct 2010

Transfer week, the District and Zone Leaders went to Durban to pick up Elders being transferred to Swaziland, Elder Gondo was sent to Losotho for his next area.  We got 3 new Elders, Elder Phoshoko, Elder and Elder Ncube,  All really good Elders.

22 Oct 2010

Picked up the necklaces at the Swazi Silversmiths.

23 Oct 2010

Went to dinner with Elder and Sister Cox, CES and Elder and Sister Allen PEF - we went to the Chinese restrauant and the food was not very good.  We came back to the Blackburn's house for Ice Cream Sundaes. Everyone had a very good visit.  Much laughter and discussion about PEF.

24 Oct 2010

Went to Nhlangano for Church, the Saints refused to speak English and Sister Blackburn became really put out at them. The Branch had 45 in attendance only one family.  GeGe had 43 in attendance and no priesthood except the Elders.

25 Oct 2010

President Von Stetten held his Mission Presidency meeting at the Blackburn's house on SKYPE.  He was not enthused about a branch in GeGe after our experience there.  We had chicken enchiladas for dinner after the meeting and everyone felt they were the best ever, after all it is a dish difficult to find the ingredients and put together (of course everyone would enjoy it).

26 Oct 2010

Met with President Mahlalela to get the measurments for a wheel chair for one of his members in the Manzini Branch, we sent the info to Humanitarian in Joburg.  Should not be long before we will have to figure a way to get it into Swaziland without paying an exorbitant fee.

27 Oct 2010

Went to Stecki and met with Elder Mamba's Aunti; we took the pictures we had taken before Elder Mamba left so she could have a picture to see.  Elder Mashiloane and Elder Mbaiwa went with us since she did not speak any English, they spoke Zulu and she could understand that.  She was a little high on snuff so was really animated about the  pictures.  We then sent an email to Elder Vusu Mamba with another picture of us giving her a Book of Mormon and Liahona and pictures of Christ with the black African child.

28 Oct 2010

Met with Sibusiso Mbuli to help him get a plan together for PEF and get a job soon.  He will probably enroll in a EMT course either here in Swazi or South Africa it will give him a job in 3 months, then he can work on future education goals.  We also met with Brother Robert and gave him geneaology forms to fill out; we will check back with him in a week to see if he has a question and needs help.

   

17 Oct 2010

Went to a Missionary meeting with Elder Holland and the Missionaries in the Durban area, the couples had a special invitation; we had a picture taken of the whole group with front row seats; it was great;  Elder Holland gave a great pep talk and firm counsel to the missionaries. The meeting was held in the Berea Building, it was the same building Elder Blackburn attended 50 years ago as a young missionary, it has been kept in very good condition.  The house where he lived was no longer there, torn down many years ago to build an  apartment building.   After the meeting Elder Blackburn and I left for Swaziland.  We had a beautiful drive back.  Saw a couple of giraffs and a wart hog, we managed to get a picture of the wart hog.  It still surprises us at the wildlife we manage to see when we are out driving.

16 Oct 2010
Elder Blackburn, Elder Ward and Elder Hudson went to the 9:00 Priesthood Training Meeting with Elder Holland as the main trainer.  All our Swaziland leaders who were invited to come actually came.  Elder Holland ended the meeting by shaking everyone's hand.  I know our Leaders from Swazi were very impressed with getting to meet an Apostle, they were only planning on hearing him speak and yet because of their faithfulness they got a personal greeting and handshake.  The Sisters and I went shopping at the largest mall in Durban, we had a good time and only bought stockings. Met our husbands back at the B&B and went to the Single Adult Fireside then dinner with the Couples, we had a great day.  Sister Harms had some Mandela 5 Rand coins she wanted us to get made into necklaces for her associates at the Area Office and they gave me one for getting them done, so Sister Blackburn will have a necklace too.  It has become a very rare coin, minted to commemorate his 90th birthday.  Sister Cox had packed a lunch for us to eat on the drive back to Swaziland and I really appreciated the good fellowship with these Sisters here in South Africa.

15 Oct 2010
Drove to Durban today, fun drive had rain the whole way, lots of rain.  Met everyone at the Mission Home.   Took papers for getting the bond to cover driving the vehicles in Swaziland to Elder Davis, now he has the responsibility.  Met the Wards and Hudsons at the Mission Home and went to dinner at the Mall food Court. Then checked into our B&B.  We were really tired.

14 Oct 2010

Today Elder Blackburn had to go to Manzini to give the Elders money for electricity, they had not watched their prepay gadget and used all of it so they were in the dark.  When he got back, we had an appointment with the Ezulwini Elders to give a new member lesson to Brother Robert, he is 82 years old, unheard of in Swaziland.  The lesson was on attending the Temple, when they got to the commandment of the Law of Chastity he replied, "I am an old man, I do not visit my wife anymore".  I believe he has been always faithful to her.  He is still alive and does not have AIDS.  We left a copy of the Liahona Temple issue and he was grateful for it and said he would read it with his wife, she was at work today and has not been baptized yet.  Tomorrow we drive to Durban for 2 days, Elder Holland will be there for a Stake Conference and Mission Priesthood training.  There is a meeting on Sunday Morning for all Missionaries in the area and all the Couple Missionaries have been invited.

Week of October 4, 2010

Quiet week, can't remeber what we did.  Rain started Friday night, Saturday we were in Mbabane and they had luckily gotten the roof on so the building did not get wet inside.  We have not checked on it this week.  We purchased extra mattresses for the Elders when they have sleep overs, we also purchased a new stove for Mbabane, a new washer for Nhlangano, paid their waterbills up to date.  Saturday night we had a terrible storm, electricity was out Saturday night, all day Sunday and off and on Monday.  Good thing we like sandwiches.  I guess the rainy season has finally arrived and we are enjoying it.  Half of July, all of August and all of September there was not a drop of rain and everything was so dusty and dry.

11 Oct 2010
All the Elders decided to hike Sibebe mountain and we decided we would not go, too hot.  We paid their bills.  They do not have much left to see them through the month, so we will make them budget their wants.  We decided we had to get an  answer for the Mission Home on getting the vehicles registered here in Swaziland, so we called the police department to find out how; they did not call us back so we went to the Ministry of Transportation, they sent us to the Police Headquarters and a very nice policeman discussed the situation and advised us that the Church should purchase a bond that would allow the vehicles to remain in Swaziland and then when the Church takes them back to South Africa there would be a partial refund, so he sent us to the Ministry of Customs where we met with another very nice person who sold us 5 importation forms for the vehicles.  The people we met truly tried to help us and were very friendly to us.  So we will take the forms to Elder Davis when we go to Durban Friday.

12 Oct 2010
President Von Stetten called the Zone Leader and instructed them to take Elder Mutuku to the PetroPort where they will meet with the Assistants and they will collect Elder Mutuku and take him to the Mission Home.  This surprised everyone.  The contractor has started the renovation on the building for the Ezulwini Branch, we hope it will be finished within a month.  We had rain all night. Not a storm though; we are thankful to have had electricity.

13 Oct 2010
District Development Meeting this morning, we have noticed a great improvement in the quality of these meetings when they are held in our home, the Elders are also really striving to implement their training in "Teaching with the Spirit".  Elder Blackburn spoke with President Von Stetten and Elder Mutuku is on his way home.  That made us very sad.  When they get caught up in flirtations it always leads to disaster.  We decided not to inform the District at this time, they will hear soon enough.  Elder Manqoba Shongwe came home from his mission tonight, we went to the airport with his family and then to the Manzini Chapel where the electricity was out; we still went inside, used the flashlights on the cell phones and Elder Blackburn had the opportunity to extend an honorable release to him;  he shed a few tears and really did not want to take his missionary badge off.  After all it represents the quality of men we have in the Church and known world wide as a "badge of honor in teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ".  Looks like rain all night, we really do love the rain.

Malingas

We saw some beautiful pictures on Rebekah's blog today about her visit with Brother and Sister Malinga in SLC, they went to Conference from Swaziland, it was a gift to them from their daughter.  They were dressed in traditional Swazi attire.

Week of 26 Sept 2010

27 Sept 2010

Went to Richards Bay and did some shopping, groceries, curling iron and rootbeer, food processor; a very productive day.  We met the Nuzman couple at their house; we did not have the coordinates in our Garmin so we had a difficult time finding it, but Elder Blackburn persisted;  We went to dinner at a restaurant overlooking the Bay and it was really delicious.  The Nuzman's are going to become very good friends.  They were concerned about being alone so much and we informed them that Elder Blackburn had put on the agenda for the Presidency Meeting the issue of Couple Missionaries getting together occasionally.

28 Sept 2010

Presidency Meeting at Mission Home with Elder Allred and Elder Ward; Sister Von Stetten took the wives to the Beach, Sister Blackburn wanted to step into the Indian Ocean to see if it was as warm in SA as Thailand and it was not, however not very cold.  Sister Von Stetten took us all to dinner that evening; the President had a special meeting with the SA Ambassador from the US.  We had a great visit with the Wards again.

29 Sept 2010

Went to Bake a Ton with Elder and Sister Ward - Elder Blakcburn says the name is appropriate for all the baking we do - had to buy some very fine sugar and it is the best place in Africa.  Then had to leave for Swaziland to take care of setting apart Nathi for his mission.  On the way home we had lunch with Elder and Sister Nuzman.  We cooked hamburgers when we got home for the Ezulwini Elders, President Shongwe, Nathi, Elder Mbuli and Elder Shongwe.  Elder Blackburn released Elder Mbuli from his mission to Uganda and had a special visit with him.  Elder Blackburn then set apart Elder Nathi Nhlambatsi for his mission to Johannesburg.

30 Sept 2010
Elder Blackburn met with the builders about the Ezulwini building.  We hope to get started on remodel next week.  Then we went to Mbabane to take road tax money to the Elders and the roof of the Mbabane building was being taken off and repaired.  It should be finished within 10 days and the Saints will be back in their Chapel.

 1 October 2010
Did laundry all day.

 2 October 2010
Did laundry all day; we got all the drapes washed so the Elders will have their windows covered.

 3 October 2010

Fast Sunday today, Sister Blackburn shared her testimony about "Testimonies being recorded by the Angels - Section 14 of the D&C.  Elder Blackburn attended to his District meetings in Manzini and Sister Blackburn had a Sunday afternoon nap. Today was General Conference and we did not want to use all our airtime so we will watch it with the Saints on 23 and 24 of Oct at the meeting house.

 4 Oct 2010

Went to Manzini doing errands; looked at a house that is for rent (it was very large, but within our price range) we will think about it for a couple of days.  Signed lease agreement for the Ezulwini Elders boarding; we also paid all their water bills.  We should be on top of that now they came to $3100.00.  And, we picked up 5 nativitie sets for the Couple Missionaries Elder and Sister Knudsen to take home to their children in December.

Week of 19 Sept 2010

Went to Church in Nhlangano this morning and we always get the best pictures while traveling that road.  These children were on their way home from the river, the containers were full of water, what a blessing we have in getting running water in our homes.  Church was very good, Sister Blackburn was asked to teach the Relief Society Lesson and Elder Blackburn needed to Confirm the Melchizedek Priesthood on 2 young men.  After Church Elder Blackburn helped one of the new Elders give his mother a blessing for good health.  He sealed and then gave the blessing to his mother.  It was a wonderful experience to watch immediate learning and growth in the Gospel.
Wednesday, Elder Blackburn received a telephone call from President Von Stetten, one of the missionaries in Richards Bay was getting transferred to Swaziland and he asked us to take Elder Denning from here to the border and the couple missionaries from Richards Bay would bring Elder Mutuku and we would do an exchange.  Elder Mutuku is having some difficulties in adjusting and our Swaziland Elders thrive so much he was sent to Swaziland and hopefully he will also thrive here.
Thursday, we went to Mbabane to meet with Nathi's parents, however they went to town, so we took Nathi to town and met his brother, Elder Blackburn had a good meeting with the brother; let Nathi know that he will have to get his own transport to Ezulwini and hook up with the Elders because we will be travelling from Durban.
The week has thankfully been a quiet week. Tomorrow we go to Durban with a layover in Richards Bay where we will spend the night with Elder and Sister Nuzman, it will give us a chance to get to know them and hopefully become good friends.  We will also take the small bakki to the Elders in Richards Bay area, exchange for a car, take it to Durban and exchange for the small car we will use.  We are grateful to get the car because of the gas costs and the huge area we have to drive here, it should cut our gasoline costs at least in half.  Sister Blackburn is really looking forward to the grocery stores in Durban area, we can get El Paso salsa (not as good as Macayo) but works.

Sunday Lunch

We had to go to the butchery to order this ham to make lunch, cannot find ham in Swaziland or South Africa, maybe around Christmas time. anyway they even cooked it for us and it cost us about 450.00R A little pricy but very well worth it. We had not had a ham sanwich since April.  We used the ham to make lunch for
Elder Renlund and everyone in Authority after the District Conference.  We had ham sandwiches, potato salad, brownies and bottles of water.

After District Conference

We had a very quiet day at home yesterday, we must have been really tired, got caught up on laundry.  Last night was checking Facebook and Ryan was online so we surprised him and had a nice little chat with him.  He was at the internet cafe and did not stay very long, he had to get to an appointment "even on PDay".  Good young man.  Today we go get our work permits, about time after 5 months here in Swaziland, the downside is standing in line forever.

8 Sept 2010

13 Sept 2010

Cooked breakfast for all the Elders, they had to be here by 10:00 so we could eat and get on the road to New Castle for Zone Conference, they were on time.  They enjoyed biscuits, sausage gravey, scrambled eggs and juice, they were like well fed cats; no drama this trip, no one got lost, etc.  We all arrived safe and sound.  Elder Blackburn and I stayed with Elder and Sister Ward and enjoyed good companionship.  Springtime in Swaziland is beginning to burst out.  the blossoms are beautiful.

14 Sept 2010
Zone Conference from 9:00 to 1:00 p.m.  We met Elder Renlund and his wife; the theme of the Conference was "Obedience with Exactness".  Everyone was well instructed during this Conference; Exact obedience brings a bubble of protection over you where you can weather the storms of life and not fall prey to temptations.  After Conference we had pizza, took pictures and were on the road back to Swaziland by 2:00pm for the first time.  Very pleasant trip home, we had pizza left over so we brought it with us and shared with the border guards, they love the missionaries and love to talk with us.  President Blackburn reported to President Von Stetten that all missionaries were safely tucked in by 9:00pm.

15 Sept 2010
Zone Development Meeting; the new missionaries were very capable and good leaders; Appointment made to get our work permits at the government offices on Tues. the 21st.

16 Sept 2010
District Development Meeting for Mabane District, we held the meeting at Elder and Sister Blackbulacrn's house, Sister Blackburn served rootbeer floats afterward, it was the first time the African Elders had experienced this delicacy.

17 Sept 2010
Elder Renlund and Wife, Elder Von Stetten and wife arrived in Ezulwini about 2:30pm.  We met them on the highway to lead them to the silver shop to do some tourist shopping, we then took them to their boarding; they met back at our house at 5:30 for dinner, we had chicken teriyaki rice bowls, vegetables, greek salad and apple pie with ice cream.  Everyone was well fed and enjoyed each others company.

18 Sept 2010
Elder and Sister Blackburn picked up Sister Renlund and Sister Von Stetten at their boarding and took them to some of the tourist shops, we had a great time, we met their husbands at the Manzini Chapel at 1:00pm where their portion of District Conference took place, the Swazi Saints attendance was really good.  Good leadership training.

19 Sept 2010

Swaziland District Conference, presided over by Elder Renlund of the South East Africa Area Presidency; great talks given by President Simelane, Sister Zola Shongwe, Nhlangano Relief Society President; President Shongwe, Testimony by young returned missionary Elder Shongwe; Sister Von Stetten, President Von Stetten, Sister Ruth Renland and finally Elder Renlund.  A Very inspiring Conference, made us determined to be more obedient and faithful in our earthly sojourn.  Elder Blackburn was set apart by President Von Stetten as a Counselor in the South Africa Durban Mission and will be known now as President Blackburn.
8 Sept 2010
Transfer days, Elders went to Durban to pick up new companions, our Swaziland Zone has had complete change in Elders in the last 7 weeks, so all will be quiet on this front until next week.

Meeting with Elder Nathi Nhlambatsayani

 
22 Aug 2010
Went to Church in Nhlangano, we were on our way to St. Lucia to meet some of the other Couple Missionaries from South Africa for a couple of days of R&R.  Our plans were to have dinner Sunday night, then at 5:00 a.m. meet our guide for our mini safari, spend the day in Hulhulwe seeing the big animals, have dinner at the B&B then go for a water cruise in the Wetlands part of the Reserve to see Crocodiles and Hippos. 
The Couples who came were Elder and Sister Peterson, Elder and Sister Cox, Elder and Sister Ward, Elder and Sister Davis and Elder and Sister Blackburn.  The B&B had the most beautiful veranda we have ever seen.  The 2 days went far too fast.  It was a good birthday celebration for Sister Blackburn.

25 Aug 2010
Elder Blackburn had to be back in Ezulwini for a telephone conference on skype for his Mission Presidency Meeting; it was kind of successful although there was no video, not as nice as taking Sister Blackburn to Durban every six weeks.

26 Aug 2010 
Met with Church engineer again, this time in regards to the Mbabane Chapel roof; the engineer condemned the use of the Chapel - the roof could fall in at anytime, even a loud noise could bring it down.  Now Elder Blackburn has to find other arrangements for District Conference on Sept 18, 19.

27 Aug 2010
Elder and Sister Cox and Elder and Sister Allen came to Swaziland in regards to PEF and CES; they stayed at Reillys Hilltop Lodge so we could not have dinner with them; their dinner was included in their boarding and outsiders could not come. 

28 Aug 2010
Met the Allen's and Cox's at Mbabane Building then followed them to Manzini and after their meetings we took them to the Manzini market for some tourist shopping.  Our appointment with Elder Hansen fell through so we had all day free.  The Cox's bought a drum and key rings and had them carved with their family names.

4 Sept 2010
Went to Nhlangano and met with the Elder's landlord.  We signed their new lease and included the water costs so the Missionaries will not have to worry about that; their electricity is prepaid, there is a gadget in the flat for that purpose.  Then we drove 30K to GeGe to meet with Brother and Sister Malinga (she is going to SLC for Oct Conference and wanted to talk to us about that and about getting a branch and building for GeGe; the problems were that there is only 1 Elder in GeGe, and that is Elder Malinga; we explained to Sister Malinga (Elder Malinga was at a Chief's meeting - he is headman or assistant chief) that they need 9 Elders to start a Branch. We hope this made it clear that they need to bring their 13 members into Nhlangano so the Aronic Priesthood and primary children can be trained.  Sister Malinga has set aside some of her own property for the building of the Church; she is prepared to donate the land.

6 Sept 2010
Took Elder Mwite to the Doctor and learned that he was having asthma problems; he got a couple of prescriptions that should make him better; informed the Mission Home that the doctor said "the asthma was being caused by either the flue or extreme excercise and since he has not had the flue it must be the mountain trails he walks in his missionary work.

8 Sept 2010
Missionary transfer today and tomorrow; Elder Mwite was transfered to South Africa where he can be better monitered and his area will be a driving area.  We went to our butchery shop and ordered a gammon(ham) to make sandwiches for lunch on the Sunday of District Conference.  The Area Authority, Elder Renlund and wife; President Von Stetten and Wife; Elder Blackburn and Wife; President Simelane; Brother Shongwe and Brother Maseko will be there for lunch. Then we all will go visit some inactives and good investigators who will keep an appointment.

MIDDLE OF AUGUST
Elder Nathi called us and wanted a meeting and the following is a narrative:
Elder Nathi has been pestering us to buy him luggage, suits, shirts, scriptures, etc., we have kept telling him no, no, and no. Still he comes back for another request, Sister Blackburn finally lost her patience with him and said "we will not buy you anything and DO NOT ASK US AGAIN, then walked away from him.
He went to Sister Shongwe and complained that we would  not buy his missionary stuff for him and he said "she sat me down and explained that I should be working and I should not expect people to provide everything I need or want, I should find something to sell and save for what I will need in the MTC." (finally a breakthrough), so he brought out some porcelain dishes sold in the tourist areas and asked if there was anything we would like to have - we picked out a couple of things, even tho we did not want them, but he needed the reinforcement.  He has been very quiet ever since.  He goes into the MTC in Johannesburg on September 30th 2010. Elder Nathi confirmed to us that Heavenly Father led him to the products he could sell and was blessing him in his effort. (what a breakthrough, Sister Blackburn has felt that the Swazi Saints need these kinds of experiences instead of an American Missionary Handout.)

Elder Blackburn received a call from Brother Holder, he has gotten permission from the Church to remodel the Ezulwini Building - he met with the engineer and contractor to inspect the building and found only a few of the interior walls will have to be removed.  The outside structure will not be touched. (and Sister Jill really wanted just a small amount of the tin roof, since her home leaks.)  She will have to go to plan B.

16 August 2010
The starter on the bakki stopped working this morning, we went to Mbabane Isuzu dealer but they could not fix it for 2 days, we then went to the Auto Zone (even in Swaziland) to get a battery - we thought it was the battery but a new one did not start the vehicle.  After talking to Elder Black (he had trouble with his bakki recently) we bought a new starter then needed a mechanic, there just happened to be a young man at the gate looking for work - he had his own tools; so Elder Blackburn hired him to put the new starter on.  Elder and Sister Harms, the Public Relations couple from Cape Town was in town and we had planned on spending the day with them anyway, so they picked us up;  we went to the Ngwenya glass factory and some other tourist spots, I bought some necklaces to send home for 4 Rand each and that was a good buy.  After a couple of hours there we went back and got our bakki.  The picture is of the mechanic taking the starter apart.  He was sitting on the ground with his friends there and was pounding on a screwdriver.  At least the truck runs and starts good.  Elder Blackburn asked him how much he wanted to fix it and he replied "what do you want to pay me" Elder Blackburn offered him 3 or 4 hundred Rand and then he asked for 5 hundred Rand which came to less than $100.00 dollars - all in all a very good deal. Heavenly Father surely takes care of his missionaries.   We came back to Ezulwini to have lunch with the Harms and after lunch we went back to our vehicles and Elder Harms had a flat tire and then the Elders showed up just as Elder Harms took the spare out of the trunk - so they were happy to change the tire for them.  Again, someone when we needed them.
Elder Ellis called and wanted us the cut his hair, so we gave him a haircut and spiffed him up for the Zone Conference on Tuesday and Wednesday.  Then we accompanied the Ezulwini Elders to the Zulu family for a lesson on eternal families; it did not go well, so today they came by and we did an evaluation on what went wrong and how we could improve.  They were very willing to try something new for their next visit.
17 Aug 2010
Left about 9:00 am for Mbabane, we had to pay our rent for this month, the mission is trying a new accounting office and our payments will come out of Johannesburg for now.  We found a food warehouse and walked around it for an hour, we bought some Nestle Crunch Bars, american foods are so rare to find so we bought 12 bars.  Then we went to the Elders house and met them for the trip to New Castle, the Manzini Elders had picked up Elder Mamba so he could get set apart for his mission and go to Durban with President Von Stetten, everyone was supposed to bring a lunch; we prepared a lunch for Elder Mamba.  We got to Ermelo and all at once Elder Ellis pulled off the road, we thought the police had pulled him over so we followed the other Elders they had gone up a side street and parked, so we told them that Elder Ellis could not see their cars and they should follow us and we would wait for Elder Ellis To catch up outside of town. We got to the intersection - we went one way the elders went another and they got so lost.  Elder Ellis was in front of us so we honked our horn to get his attention; he found a place to turn around and join us; it seems he just got hungry and there was KFC so he pulled over - no police at all -  The other Elders finally found us and we were across the street from McDonalds so we decided to regroup at McD's. McD's will definitely be on our future trips to New Castle, everyone enjoyed the hamburgers.   We got to the turnoff for New Castle and the Elders missed the turn, they got lost again; but they finally found their way to their boarding to find the doors locked and the local elders in meetings, so we sent them to dinner. We always have enough drama that we are worn out when we finally get to New Castle; this trip took 5.5 hours instead of 4. Everyone finally found their places and got a good nights sleep; we enjoyed our visit with Elder and Sister Ward.  They put us up.
18 Aug 2010
Zone conference was really good, new training program introduced; Elder and Sister Ward and us were sent out to do mission business at 1:00 p.m.  The Elders had to stay until 3:30p.m.  Elder and Sister Ward were to drive half way to Durban and meet the newest couple to arrive in Durban mission and lead them to Ladysmith where they were assigned to labor.  Elder and Sister Blackburn had to return to Swaziland to set apart a new missionary, from Swaziland, who would be traveling to the England Birmingham mission.  We got back to Swaziland at 5:00 pm had a nice rest and left for Mbabane at 6:15 to meet the sister of the new missionary; she and her husband took us to her mother's home where Elder Blackburn was to set apart her brother;  we did not expect it, but were invited to dinner, we could not turn it down so accepted the invitation.  The mother is not a member, but was so gracious to us and had prepared a very nice and delicious meal, baked chicken, potatos and noodles with green salad; and we did not get sick!!!!!
19 Aug 2010
Lazy day at home; needed to rest;

15 August 2010

This week we had two appointments with the Elders; one in Mbabane with a family where the father was a little reluctant for himself; we gave a lesson on eternal families and he was really touched; we challenged him to come to Church today and he was there with his oldest daughter, he really has a testimony of prayer and we challenged him to pray about the information we gave him. The other lesson was in Manzini with a couple who have been living together for 12 years and not married; we gave a lesson again on eternal families and they expressed a desire for that but had to get married first, we were able to discover that the reason they had not married was they truly believed a ring was a necessary part of the ceremony and had not been able to save enough to buy one. Sister Blackburn had not put her wedding ring on and showed them her bare hand and they were so surprised and relieved that a ring was not necessary (Sister Blackburn will not be able to wear her wedding band to church in Manzini ever again after that lesson. The brother then started expressing how much he loved his (wife) and was so happy to be able to finally marry her. All in all a very fulfilling week for us.

We left Mbabane and arrived in Ezulwini in time for Sunday School where we were informed that the police and a representative of the Chief had been there and threatened to not let us use the school for meetings anymore if we did not attend their special meeting today; the whole congregation was commanded to attend, so we all piled into what vehicles we had and everyone went to the meeting, which turned out to be a church meeting for the sole purpose of collecting offerings; the offerings were to go into these wooden boxes which were decorated with red material and a lot of white and red gathered lace and ruffles; we informed our members to not give any offerings since they had already paid their tithes and offerings. So we will see next week if we are able to use the school until the Church decides what to do with our property here in Ezulwini.

Time of year the women gather grass and reeds for weaving into baskets and mats for their homes; it is not unusual to see the women carrying large bundles of grass or reeds on their heads. These women were sitting alongside the road so it was easy to get a picture.