Friday, October 29, 2010
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.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
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.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
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.
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.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
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.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
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.
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.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Malingas
Week of 26 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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)