Electricity out!!!!!!!!

21 Oct 2011
Our electricity went out 2 days ago just as we were posting our blog, so we finished that posting today.  We had a terrible wind storm, no rain.  Electric lights along the roads actuall bent to the ground, KFC severly damaged and many signs down.  These cement block houses survive very well, the roofs even stayed on.  We felt very fortunate to have found a propane (handigas) stove top.

Elder Blackburn has had a lot of running around to try to get the police report on the accident Elder Katiza had, an attorney has been hired to represent him in court.  It is a serious offense to try to use a cell phone while driving, which he did.  When we go to Johannesburg we always come back with the truck full of Humanitarian supplies, this time we brought Hygiene Kits and New Born Kits.

This baptismal font is very old, was first used in Manzini before that chapel was built, we found it behind the building and brought it to Ezulwini.  Now that Ezulwini has a permanent baptismal font and room it goes to GeGe, duct tape and all.

Elder Blackburn finally got a sign made and put up on the fence of the Ezulwini Chapel.   Tomorrow we go to Pietermaritzburg, we hope the sewing machines are ready for delivery when we come back next Thursday.  Next week is the Mission Presidency Meeting, so we get 2 days in Durban.

19 Oct 2011

19 Oct 2011
Well it is October 19 and we still do not have the sewing machines released by Customs; it will probably take another week for delivery since we are leaving for Durban on Saturday via Pietermaritzburg.  A sister Cain lives there and Elder Blackburn baptized her 50 years ago.  The family has been extremely active in the Church - the Caines serve in the Johannesburg Temple every other week.  The Elders in the Ezulwini area came by after District Development Meeting and we gave them left over spaghetti.  They must have been really hungry, they ate every bite that was left.

18 Oct 2011
Elders called early and they did not have water in their flats in Manzini, so they came here to shower and get ready for their day; Sister Blackburn fed them biscuits, gravy and scrambled eggs.  Two American Elders and the rest from Australia and African Countries.  They loved it.

17 Oct 2011
Still can't seem to get the sewing machines out of customs.  Elder and Sister Webb came by to tell us goodby, they went back to Johannesburg after a couple of days in Swaziland.  Elders had activity at the Cultural Center and seemed to enjoy it.  We did not accompany them.  They always try to come by on their pday.

16 Oct 2011
Conference shown in all the Branches, we attended in Ezulwini, the Temple missionaries were there too.  Elder and Sister Webb went to GeGe and had a wonderful experience.  Then they went to Nhlangano.  They were meeting with all the Branch Presidents to explain the Perpetual Education Fund so the Presidents could encourage their young people to get training for work.

15 Oct 2011
We met the Temple Missionaries at the border post.  With the Temple closed they came to Swaziland for R&R.  So we spent the day with them showing them the sights of Swaziland.  Johannesburg is in the plains area of South Africa and Swaziland is a mountainous area of the Continent.  We went to dinner with them at the Chinese Restaurant.  Elder and Sister Webb and Elder and Sister Zawacky decided to be on their own for dinner.  Good day all around.

14 Oct 2011
Elder Blackburn had a quick trip to Nhlangano to get their projector working so they could view General Conference the amplifier kept breaking, he finally bought a better one and it worked.  Elder and Sister Webb came to Swaziland today and invited us to have dinner with them at Summerfield.  Elder and Sister Zawacky were at Nhlangano when Elder Blackburn got there so he invited them to dinner also. 

13 Oct 2011
Elder Blackburn delivered a wheel chair to Stanley Dlamini to take to someone he knows and the report was, "the man was so happy, when he would need to go to the doctor the family would take him in a wheelbarrow.  His wife really started to cry when Stanley delivered the chair.  Delivering a couple of wheelchairs has motivated Stanley to ask for his mission papers, this helped him make his final decision.

12 Oct 2011
Had the Zone Leaders take the portable baptismal font to GeGe.  Now they can have their baptismal services there instead of trying to come up with the transport money to go to Nhlangano.

11 Oct 2011
We spent the morning trying to contact the delivery truck driver, never did make contact.  The truck was enroute to the border for customs inspection, when it got there the people did not understand the way the exemption was written, so we called Stella and got a copy of the request for exemption faxed to the trucking company and they felt that they could work out the problems, there were 75 machines sent instead of 70 and the material, scissors, needles, etc were not itemized.  As of tonight no calls with more problems so we are hoping the shipment will be delivered to us tomorrow.  This afternoon we went with the Ezulwini Elders, Brown and Musau to teach a woman and her adult daughter.  We gave her a copy of the forgiveness quote someone posted on Face Book and it seemed to help her resolve some issues she has with other people.  We felt the meeting went well and may go back with the Elders next week.

10 Octo 2011
Today, Elder Blackburn mailed a box home.  We had some communication with Elder Heninger about shipping the sewing machines to Swaziland, we have the original customs exemption.  Anyway, payment was verified, truck loaded and left Durban.  Other than that a very quiet day.  Elder Blackburn is trying to get the electronics working in the Ezulwini chapel so we can play the Conference DVDs.

09 Oct 2011
President Von Stetten spoke in Sacrament on Sunday, he gave such a good talk on preparing for Conference, the Saints really enjoyed his remarks.  He called a few days before he came to Swaziland and asked if he was scheduled to speak and Elder Blackburn asked if he wanted to and of course he said yes, so President Shongwe was called and informed that the Mission President would be speaking, which is what usually happens, no one thought to ask him.  After his interviews with the Elders he came to our house for dinner, the Smiths had been given approval to come and interview him for their documentary.  A pleasant evening enjoyed by all of us.

Springtime and 5K walk

This is the area around our house.  Springtime is really here right now, 80 degrees today.  Love this weather.  The purple trees are called jacaranda and the blossoms last about a month.

This morning Sister Blackburn got up for a 5K walk to support Breast Cancer Awareness, very rewarding knowing this is world wide and even in a very small country like Swaziland, 900 people came for the walk, paid their $10.00 and had an enjoyable morning.  900 people is 1% of the population of this Kingdom.  We walked along one of the rivers, it was wonderful being outside and just walking.  I even crossed the finish line and was not the last one.  Ann Smith, her friend Nelly, Zack Smith and Sister Blackburn.

Elder Blackburn had bicycles to tend to, got to keep those Elders rolling.  They really do work very hard.  I was thinking last week after the Zone Leaders had finished their meeting and presentations, that no one, not even the Prophet could have done a better job and when they go home they will be just youth again, until they get married.  All that talent put on hold!!  President Von Stetten comes to Swaziland tonight, he is doing interviews with all the Elders and he will come to dinner with us tomorrow.

Boy with broken arm

Elder Blackburn went to Manzini today to give Elder Maring a driving test (to make sure he really can drive safely) and he really can.  All new Elders have to wait one month and then pass a driving experience with Elder Blackburn before they are allowed to be behind the wheel.  These young Elders are given a full size 4 wheel drive truck and told, "there it is don't damage it."  The African Elders have barely gotten a license or have paid for one without driving school.  The American Elders do really well, but a big truck with lots of power in the hands of a 19 to 20 year old.  Accidents will happen.  The American Elders accept their accidents and move on, the African Elders agonize over breaking the Lord's vehicle and it takes a long time for them to forgive themselves.  They really know the value of having your own transportation.  We were fixing dinner and the telephone rang, Elder Musau was on the phone and related that someone had fallen out of a tree and was not moving, we thought it was his companion, Elder Brown and our hearts just stopped until Elder Musau could explain, so we could understand, that a young boy had fallen and needed attention, so we told him we would come meet them.  They were up a dirt road several miles, they needed permission to put the boy and his mother in the truck and take them to the hospital in Mbabane so we told them it would be alright and we led them to the hospital in Mbabane, about 30 minutes away.  When we got there and were going to leave the boy's mother was going to leave him and have us take her back home so she could have a free ride.  Elder Blackburn gave her enough money for transportation (about 4.00 dollars).  Then the Doctor wanted a slip of paper from somewhere else in the hospital before he would look at the boy so Elder Blackburn and the Elders went to another room and the attendant wanted 50 rand for the paper and Elder Blackburn told him no and when he was insisting Elder Blackburn told him, "do you want me to just take him back and put him in the field where we found him?"  So the attendant wrote "owes 20 rand on the top of the paper.  Anyway, we left the paper with the mother, left her at the hospital with a way to get home for her and her son and we came home, the Elders went back to their teaching appointments.  All is well!!

Today we were able to get the visas for the last two missionaries in this cycle, for once there were not many people at Home Affairs and no lines to stand in.  We went through the Border Post to get a stamp in our passport so we can still qualify as a visitor until we get our background search from the FBI at home.  Barbara is checking on that for us.  We spend so much time on the telephone this afternoon trying to get a prospective missionary and his papers ready for an interview with President Von Stetten on Saturday afternoon.  Elder Heninger is working really diligently to get the sewing machines and fabric shipped by the first of next week.  Sister Renlund was so right when she told us, "the Church moves very slow"!  All is well!!!!

25-09- to 05-10-2011

05 Oct 2011
This morning Sister Blackburn removed 6 sutures from Elder Jenks head.  The wound was from the truck wreck in GeGe.  Then everyone met at Zone Meeting which the Zone Leaders had done a wonderful job with the training and spiritual development of the Elders.  They are building a good brotherhood now.   Sister Blackburn had baked birthday cakes for the Elders who were to have birthdays this transfer cycle.  Elder Blackburn went to Mbabane for a Temple Recommend interview and the sister had not been to the temple since about the 1990s and was still wearing the same one pair of garments that she had purchased at that time.  He instructed her to purchase new ones and she said she did not have the money so he gave her $15.00 which will purchase 4 pair and she was so grateful.  Elder Blackburn also worked this evening with 2 prospective missionaries to make sure their papers were complete so they could have their interview with President Von Stetten, their names are Junior Verde and Thulani Mabuza.  They both seem really anxious and happy to serve a mission.

04 Oct 2011
Elder Blackburn spent the day doing errands, picked up bicycles from repair shop and returned them to Elders, big shipment of teaching materials that had to be distributed to the Elders - Book of Mormon and phamplets, got the car washed today.  Sibusiso Mbuli walks 1.5 hours to our house to wash our truck, it takes him 2 hours and we pay him $15.00.  He never misses a week.   Then it rained on the truck all evening, at least the inside will stay decently clean for a week.

03 Oct 2011
Rained all day, this storm is out of the Antartic and is really cold, supposed to rain for 3 days.  We even had to turn our heaters on to get rid of the humidity and warm the house.

02 Oct 2011
Went to Manzini to Church, Testimony meeting went so fast, people would come up one after another without a break, what Testimony Meeting should be.  Sister Blackburn gave Sister Ntshalintshali, the District Relief Society the packets she needs for the Branches to teach the sisters how to dry vegetables and fruits, she also gave her a string of green beans that she had dried so the sisters could see how they were done and how they would look.  There are so many things we know how to do because of our technology that the people of Africa could use to improve their lives, but do not have any way to get the knowledge.  Elder Blackburn encouraged the District to plan a Temple trip for the youth so they can go do baptisms before the end of the year, we really hope they follow through with this activity.

01 Oct 2011
This morning we went to the Temple with the Nhlangano Branch, Sister Mabuza was able to obtain her Endowment, she was so attentive during the session, after the session, Sister Blackburn gave her a gift of a temple veil and she was so touched.  Sister Blackburn was her Escort.  There will always be such a sisterhood between us after going to the Temple together.  Sister and Brother Smith was also there and went through the session with us.  They spent the night in Patron housing.  We spent the night with Elder and Sister Callahan and had such a good visit with them, it just was not long enough.  Then we drove 4.5 hours back to Swaziland.
Sister Mabuza after the Temple Session.

30 Sept 2011

Got up early and drove to Johannesburg, we are to meet the Nhlangano Branch at 3:30 to do an own endowment session at 6:00pm.  Brother and Sister Smith followed us over there, they were told there would probably be an extra room at the patron housing for them.  We waited and waited for the Branch to get there, Elder Blackburn went to the 6:00pm session while Sister Blackburn waited for the Nhlangano members, two sisters are supposed to do their Endowments this trip.  The Branch finally got there at 7:00 pm.  There was a lot of road construction on the way they drove over to Joburg.  Sister Blackburn had purchased 2 pair of garments and 2 veils for the 2 sisters.  One sister had changed her mind and did not come,which was a great disappointment to us all.  We hope she will be able to make it before the end of the year.

29 Sept 2011

Elder Blackburn had a Mission Presidency Meeting on Skype today.  Elder Blackburn ran errands all morning.  He had a meeting in the morning with Presidnet Simelane to see how he feels about his job and how the District is performing, so he could report to President Von Stetten.  We have felt some concern lately, the President has not been holding his District Meetings and seems distracted.  After the meeting, Elder Blackburn felt that President Simelane would try to get more done.

28 Sept 2011

Elder Blackburn had to go to GeGe Police Station and take pictures of the wrecked Bakkie, then he took Elder Jenks to the Doctor to get his head sutured, there was a gash that he was hesitant to take care of.  Elder Blackburn said, "In my mind I could hear Sister Blackburn telling me that he needed to be sewn up and to take him to the doctor."  He was glad he listened to that prompting, Elder Jenks needed 6 sutures to close the gash.  Elder Katize needed to see the doctor because his back was bothering him.  He was told to come back for xrays in  3 days if he was still hurting.  Needless to say, these errands took all day and Elder Blackburn was happy to get home.

27 Sept 2011

Today the Zone Leaders and District Leaders drove to New Castle for training, they will be gone until tomorrow evening.  At 8:30pm we received a telephone call from Elder Katize telling Elder Blackburn that he has a problem, when asked what the problem is he replied that he had wrecked the Bakkie and it was turned over.  Elder Blackburn ascertained that no one was seriously injured and then called Brother Malinga in GeGe to go check on the truck and the Elders which he readily agreed to do.  Elder Katiza and Elder Jenks were on their way to GeGe to have dinner with the GeGe Elders and Elder Katiza was driving too fast and lost control of the vehicle.  Brother Malinga got the GeGe Police and they towed the bakkie to the police station, then brother Malinga had the Elders come to his place and they spent the night with the GeGe Elders.  Tomorrow we will sort everything out.

26 Sept 2011

Today Sister Blackburn baked cupcakes to take to the Maseko family in Mbabane, he is the 2nd Counselor in the District Presidency and they have 2 little girls.  When we got there, he was still at work and would not be home for quite a while, we had to wait for Sister Maseko to get home.  We did spend about 1 hour with them and left the cupcakes for the family to enjoy.  The Swazis enjoy american deserts.