26 Feb 2012
We went to District Conference in the Mbabane building. Elder Blackburn and Sister Blackburn were asked to share their Testimony - Sister Blackburn shared that she and Elder Blackburn had over 100 years of service in the Church and that is why Couples are being asked to serve missions; all the couples have that much time in service and they did not serve 50 years as the Relief Society President or as a Primary Teacher, they have served in all the callings of a large Ward and that is what makes them such wonderful mentors for the mission field where most members are first generation in the Church, she also shared her love for the Swaziland Saints and thanked them for the friendship and love offered. Elder Blackburn shared the great love he feels for the Saints and working with the young men to get them on missions; 6 are currently serving with 6 more leaving within 3 months. A District Choir is now functioning and the music was beautiful; and after Conference, "all the Sisters are talking about the gossip you showed them could happen when they talk". They were determined to not be like that. We received some dinner invitations we are going to try to fit into our schedule before we leave. Elder Blackburn drove Elder Usi to the airport, President and Sister Von Stetten drove back to Durban.
25 Feb 2012
District Conference Leadership Meeting today with the first session of Conference starting at 4:00pm. Sister Von Stetten and I conducted the Women's Auxiliary Leadership Meeting. We did not watch the time and so Sister Von Stetten did not have time for her final presentation. Sister Von Stetten explained the importance of following the Counsel of the District Leaders - they are there to help establish correct procedures. Sister Blackburn had the Sisters play the gossip game, where some phrase is repeated many times and then the final repetition is given and compared to the first statement. Then Sister Blackburn gave a lesson on being friends with "the one". To make sure everyone is made welcome and feel that they are with family. Our Area Authority is Elder Usi, a member of the 3rd Quorum of Seventy, he lives in Kenya. Everyone really enjoyed the messages given. The District Presidency with their wives, Elder Usi, President and Sister Von Stetten, Elder and Sister Blackburn all went to dinner at a Portugese restaurant in Manzini. We all had a wonderful evening visiting and eating. It was good to see the support the District women gave their husbands.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Friday, February 24, 2012
24 Feb 2012
224 Feb 2012
President Von Stetten called this morning and I told him Elder Blackburn was on the phone and he said, "what makes you thing I am not calling you", I said,"no one every calls for me". He then expressed the reason for his call. He wanted us to take him to see some of Swaziland that he has never seen; We set a time for him to pick us up - after a quick trip to see Elder Brown who had also called us just before to tell me that "my teeth are rubbing my tongue and my tongue hurts". Anyway, Elder Brown is just fine, no broken teeth, just a sore spot on his tongue. We told him to rinse with warm salt water a couple times per day to promote healing. President and Sister Von Stetten picked us up and we drove to the Ngwenya Glass Factory where glass bottles and jars are recycled into beautiful art objects, vases and stemwear- www.ngwenyaglass.co.sz; we spent most of the morning and had lunch there; then drove towards Piggs Peak until we had to turn around so he could get back for a little rest then pick up Elder Usi, Area Seventy from Kenya, at the Matsapha Airport. We have District Conference this weekend. Next week we have to start getting all the Bakkis through the border and back so they will be in the country legally. We found out that the Church Welfare fund bought a coffin for the Sister in GeGe who died and the Elders of the GeGe Community were so impressed that a church would do such a good thing. The people there are so poor that they are just wrapped in a blanket and buried somewhere on the homestead. We have gained such a good reputation in that small community, they are not used to Churches not passing the collection box and being willing to help their members.
President Von Stetten called this morning and I told him Elder Blackburn was on the phone and he said, "what makes you thing I am not calling you", I said,"no one every calls for me". He then expressed the reason for his call. He wanted us to take him to see some of Swaziland that he has never seen; We set a time for him to pick us up - after a quick trip to see Elder Brown who had also called us just before to tell me that "my teeth are rubbing my tongue and my tongue hurts". Anyway, Elder Brown is just fine, no broken teeth, just a sore spot on his tongue. We told him to rinse with warm salt water a couple times per day to promote healing. President and Sister Von Stetten picked us up and we drove to the Ngwenya Glass Factory where glass bottles and jars are recycled into beautiful art objects, vases and stemwear- www.ngwenyaglass.co.sz; we spent most of the morning and had lunch there; then drove towards Piggs Peak until we had to turn around so he could get back for a little rest then pick up Elder Usi, Area Seventy from Kenya, at the Matsapha Airport. We have District Conference this weekend. Next week we have to start getting all the Bakkis through the border and back so they will be in the country legally. We found out that the Church Welfare fund bought a coffin for the Sister in GeGe who died and the Elders of the GeGe Community were so impressed that a church would do such a good thing. The people there are so poor that they are just wrapped in a blanket and buried somewhere on the homestead. We have gained such a good reputation in that small community, they are not used to Churches not passing the collection box and being willing to help their members.
Monday, February 20, 2012
20 Feb 2012
Busy day today, cleaned part of our closet; if we do a little every time we get a chance we just might be ready to go home in 1 month. We did a lot of errands today, got frames for the pictures we are giving the District leaders, that was a huge worry for us, we finally found someone who was willing to make them for about $5.00 each. We were surprised that pictures are not of a universal size all over the world, after all Kodak developed this market. We are not expecting company again until Friday when President Von Stetten and wife with Elder Uzi arrive for District Conference, we will prepare one dinner for them.
This is the picture we are presenting to the Swaziland District Leadership.
We received the following sms from one of our prospective missionaries, Ayanda Mabuza: "Hi Elder and Sister Blackburn, Id jst lyk to thank u for your sacrifices nd the efforts that u've put in gettn i nd Thulani goin on mission..i knw the lord i mindful of u nd hes happy of the gud choices u've made to come here nd bless his children..i knw he has many blessings in store for u" One of the boys asked Elder Blackburn today, "Can I stay longer than 2 years" so Elder Blackburn told him he signed up for 2 years and that is as long as he can stay.
19 Feb 2012
We went to GeGe to Church today and had to talk along with the District Council member who was assigned there. We picked him up and took him with us. Sister Blackburn also showed the Sisters how to make a simple scripture bag. They carry their books in a plastic grocery bag. There were 45 in attendance in this little group. They have a baptism planned and hopefully 2 adult men will be baptized. Patriarch Courtney left after us, so he locked up our house when the Zawackys picked him up to return to Durban. We were so tired, we went to bed at 7:00pm and slept all night.
18 Feb 2012
Elder Blackburn and Patriarch Courtney went to Nhlangano, there were 8 people to receive their Patriarchal Blessing. Sister Blackburn stayed home and read a book all day. Elder and Sister Zawacky had Seminary inservice then came over to prepare dinner for us. Brother and Sister Smith also came for dinner so we had a good time. Navajo tacos. Yum, Yum. Rebekah and Barbara kept trying to connect with us and we had an opportunity to introduce them to Brother Courtney. They sure look like sisters. We could not believe how much they look alike. Brother Courtney was surprised that Barbara had 6 children she looked so young.
17 Feb 2012
Elder and Sister Zawacky brought Patriarch Courtney with them for more of the Swazi members to receive their Patriarchal Blessing; he and Elder Blackburn went to Mbabane where he gave 4, then they came back to the house for a very light supper and bed. Long hot day. Everyone was exhausted.
Busy day today, cleaned part of our closet; if we do a little every time we get a chance we just might be ready to go home in 1 month. We did a lot of errands today, got frames for the pictures we are giving the District leaders, that was a huge worry for us, we finally found someone who was willing to make them for about $5.00 each. We were surprised that pictures are not of a universal size all over the world, after all Kodak developed this market. We are not expecting company again until Friday when President Von Stetten and wife with Elder Uzi arrive for District Conference, we will prepare one dinner for them.
We received the following sms from one of our prospective missionaries, Ayanda Mabuza: "Hi Elder and Sister Blackburn, Id jst lyk to thank u for your sacrifices nd the efforts that u've put in gettn i nd Thulani goin on mission..i knw the lord i mindful of u nd hes happy of the gud choices u've made to come here nd bless his children..i knw he has many blessings in store for u" One of the boys asked Elder Blackburn today, "Can I stay longer than 2 years" so Elder Blackburn told him he signed up for 2 years and that is as long as he can stay.
19 Feb 2012
We went to GeGe to Church today and had to talk along with the District Council member who was assigned there. We picked him up and took him with us. Sister Blackburn also showed the Sisters how to make a simple scripture bag. They carry their books in a plastic grocery bag. There were 45 in attendance in this little group. They have a baptism planned and hopefully 2 adult men will be baptized. Patriarch Courtney left after us, so he locked up our house when the Zawackys picked him up to return to Durban. We were so tired, we went to bed at 7:00pm and slept all night.
18 Feb 2012
Elder Blackburn and Patriarch Courtney went to Nhlangano, there were 8 people to receive their Patriarchal Blessing. Sister Blackburn stayed home and read a book all day. Elder and Sister Zawacky had Seminary inservice then came over to prepare dinner for us. Brother and Sister Smith also came for dinner so we had a good time. Navajo tacos. Yum, Yum. Rebekah and Barbara kept trying to connect with us and we had an opportunity to introduce them to Brother Courtney. They sure look like sisters. We could not believe how much they look alike. Brother Courtney was surprised that Barbara had 6 children she looked so young.
17 Feb 2012
Elder and Sister Zawacky brought Patriarch Courtney with them for more of the Swazi members to receive their Patriarchal Blessing; he and Elder Blackburn went to Mbabane where he gave 4, then they came back to the house for a very light supper and bed. Long hot day. Everyone was exhausted.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
siteki
15 Feb 2012
Sister Buhlebzwe, her little son and her 19 year old brother;he lives in SA and is getting ready to serve a mission. Sister Buhlebzwe joined the Church first, then her husband, then the rest of her family.
This morning we went to Siteki to meet with Phyllicia Buhlebzwe and her husband Mdyiniso; he is a counselor in the Manzini Branch Presidency he also works in Swazi Bank in Siteki, we called them yesterday about starting a Sunday School there and Sister Buhlebzwe said we were an answer to her prayers, she has been praying for a Branch of the Church to be organized in Siteki and we felt that now is the time. They will hold Sunday School on their veranda and invite the members living in Siteki to join them. Siteki is a beautiful little city on the north eastern border of Swaziland, in the tops of the Lubombo mountain range. We looked all over for a KFC for lunch and could not find one, that really surprised us, so we found another place, Futis Chicken and it was quite good.
Then we drove to the homestead Brother and Sister Hall live on; they are peace corp volunteers and live and work in a community over there. They teach school and work with a refugee camp. Sister Hall is going to teach the women in the refugee camp and the young women in the high school how to make the washable sanitary napkins; we took her the fabric and all the sewing notions she will need. These two stops took us all day; we got back to Ezulwini about 5:30pm. This is their little 2 room home, no running water, no indoor toilet; they have to use a mosquito net they are so close to Mozambique and a Malaria area. They have had a beautiful little garden, they filter all their water with home made filters. These kids are having the "Adventure" of their lives and doing great good too. Brother Hall is a returned missionary and will be invaluable in getting the Sunday School started over there.
This morning we went to Siteki to meet with Phyllicia Buhlebzwe and her husband Mdyiniso; he is a counselor in the Manzini Branch Presidency he also works in Swazi Bank in Siteki, we called them yesterday about starting a Sunday School there and Sister Buhlebzwe said we were an answer to her prayers, she has been praying for a Branch of the Church to be organized in Siteki and we felt that now is the time. They will hold Sunday School on their veranda and invite the members living in Siteki to join them. Siteki is a beautiful little city on the north eastern border of Swaziland, in the tops of the Lubombo mountain range. We looked all over for a KFC for lunch and could not find one, that really surprised us, so we found another place, Futis Chicken and it was quite good.
Then we drove to the homestead Brother and Sister Hall live on; they are peace corp volunteers and live and work in a community over there. They teach school and work with a refugee camp. Sister Hall is going to teach the women in the refugee camp and the young women in the high school how to make the washable sanitary napkins; we took her the fabric and all the sewing notions she will need. These two stops took us all day; we got back to Ezulwini about 5:30pm. This is their little 2 room home, no running water, no indoor toilet; they have to use a mosquito net they are so close to Mozambique and a Malaria area. They have had a beautiful little garden, they filter all their water with home made filters. These kids are having the "Adventure" of their lives and doing great good too. Brother Hall is a returned missionary and will be invaluable in getting the Sunday School started over there.
Monday, February 13, 2012
13 Feb 2012
The Couples from Johannesburg, Webb and Lewis came and picked us up at 10:30 so we could take them to some of the tourist shops, at about 1:00 they were finished and headed back to Johannesburg. Sister Blackburn spent the rest of the day at home designing and sewing a scripture bag to show the District Relief Society President so the sisters can make one in homemaking meeting. We were informed that the Branch President of Manzini would not allow the sisters to take their lesson books home, they had to leave them in a cabinet at Church so Sister Blackburn informed him that they were entitled to have the books at home. Sister Ntshalintshali suggested that they sign for the books and if they lost them they must buy a replacement book. They carry their scriptures in a plastic grocery bag in all the Branches. Elder Blackburn went to Mbabane to find a reasonable priced internet cafe for the Elders to do their emailing. When he got back he notified the Mission Office and informed the Elders that they were to stay in their District when going to the internet cafe so they would not be tempted to play soccer as a zone every Monday. We notified President Von Stetten about where the Swazi missionaries were being sent. They will be recognized at District Conference in two weeks.
12 Feb 2012
We delivered Mission Calls to Mbabane and then to Manzini, the young men receiving them were so happy to find out where they were going. They are all staying on the African continent -Thulani Mabuza and Nkosi to - Johannesburg, Sizwe Shongwe and Musi Dube to Zimbabwe, Thulani Simelane toKenya. Sister Blackburn went to Relief Society and was just shocked when the Relief Society President modeled her new black skirt and one of the other sisters did too; it seems that they took some of the material designated for the Humanitarian project to make washable sanitary pads and made themselves "new skirts". So Sister Blackburn just got up and told them the material was not for that use and told the Relief Society President she must use the material in the way it was designated to be used. Sister Lewis was trying so hard not to laugh out loud about the whole thing. she was telling Elder Lewis about it after the meetings and he said it was too good to pass up and he must share this with Sister Nielsen the Humanitarian missionary who put the whole thing together for us. A meeting will be set where Elder Blackburn will meet with Sister Matsebuela and Branch President Mahalele to discuss her actions and that she must administer Relief Society the way it is supposed to be administered. We got to meet with Elder and Sister Smith from the Temple, and their two sons who are here on a very short holiday and they took us to dinner. We hope we can keep a good communication with this wonderful family. They are from England and will go home sometime in the winter months.
11 Feb 2012
We went to the Ezulwini Branch to attend homemaking meeting and waited over one hour and no one ever showed up not even the Relief Society President, Sister Blackburn felt that she asked her to attend Relief Society so that she would be able to stay home and Sister Blackburn would have to do the sewing training. We met up with the Webbs and Lewis for dinner at Summerfield, they paid for our dinner which was very generous of them. We were so happy to meet Elder and Sister Lewis and to reacquaint with the Webbs.
10 Feb 2012
Elder and Sister Zawacky left early this morning, we have had such a fun week with them, it is hard to see it end. Brother Smith came early to record an interview with us about what we have been doing in Swaziland and about our mission here. He is doing a documentary which is scheduled to be shown between Conference sessions in April, it would be nice if our interview is included with everything. He has a contract with KSL to show his documentary, however KSL will do the editing. We did laundry all day, that is something we have neglected all week. Elder and Sister Webb and the Lewis's got in late, they had traffic problems and bad weather all the way from Johannesburg , we were supposed to meet them for dinner at Summerfield and when we were ready to leave we received a telephone call from Nhlangano Elder Paulo, he was taking Elder Dutson to the hospital in Hlatikulu, he had taken him to the doctor in Nhlangano and he had been referred to the hospital for a scan of his stomach, so we told him absolutely not to go there to turn around and come to our house, Hlatikulu is a government hospital and from the outside looks very dirty and the area doctor has not approved the government hospitals as being desirable for the Elders to use. Fortunately, they had gone to a clinic where Doctors without Borders were the doctors on staff so Elder Dutson did get a good diagnosis and paid $1.00 american dollar for the visit, we jokingly told Sister Von Stetten that maybe we should use Doctors without Borders all the time, even though there was a big hole in the roof of their clinic. We took him to Ezulwini Clinic for the scan and he was given 6 prescriptions so we looked at them and decided he only needed two. He had severe acid indigestion and stomach pains.
09 Feb 2012
What a day, we had scheduled to go to Hlatikulu and beyond to deliver a wheel chair and say good bye to Bishop and Sister Mamba, go to GeGe to deliver 2 sewing machines to the high school and go to Nhlangano to check on the Elders there. We went to GeGe first and had a good visit with the school and delivered the sewing machines and supplies and toured the vocational classes, it is a large school. Sister Malinga was not home so we could not bid them goodbye. We started back to Nhlangano and got almost there and had a flat tire, Elder Zawacky and Elder Blackburn got it changed so we went to the Elders flat and did an inspection then went to the Church to take care of the internet. Lugelo Motsa was there and said the telephone company was going to shut off the phone because it has not been paid since last July, so we went to the telephone company and got copies of the bills, Sister Zawacky and Sister Blackburn saw some beautiful umbrellas and decided to buy a couple and when we asked Lugelo if his daughter had one he said no so we gave him one for her. She is 5 years old and walks to school. We told him that he should let her dance with it too. By the time we got all this done it was 3:00pm and we did not feel like the 2 hour drive to Bishop Mamba's home so we came home and collapsed. It was after 5:00 when we got back.
Sister Ntshalintshali - a really special lady, she teaches at the High School
Home Economics Class
08 Feb 2012ope
The Zawackys and we got up early and headed to Hlane for a Safari drive, it is summer and we really hoped we would see some animals. Our driver was really good and we saw a lion, giraffe, antelope, rhino, hippo and elephant.
07 Feb 2012
We and the Zawackys went to Zone Development meeting, we took brownies, their emergency kits, flashlights and instructions from President Von Stetten on flat inspections and instruction to be dressed in white shirt and tie when they are studying. The Elders accepted all this very well. It was a good meeting. After we did our part, we left and went to Mlilwane Game Reserve to do an afternoon game drive. We saw zebra, wildebeast and antelope it was a slow drive and we enjoyed. On the way out we saw the Baobatik factory and stopped to see if they had a show room and they did, Sister Zawacky and Sister Blackburn ordered two blouses to be made. We had a fun day.
The Couples from Johannesburg, Webb and Lewis came and picked us up at 10:30 so we could take them to some of the tourist shops, at about 1:00 they were finished and headed back to Johannesburg. Sister Blackburn spent the rest of the day at home designing and sewing a scripture bag to show the District Relief Society President so the sisters can make one in homemaking meeting. We were informed that the Branch President of Manzini would not allow the sisters to take their lesson books home, they had to leave them in a cabinet at Church so Sister Blackburn informed him that they were entitled to have the books at home. Sister Ntshalintshali suggested that they sign for the books and if they lost them they must buy a replacement book. They carry their scriptures in a plastic grocery bag in all the Branches. Elder Blackburn went to Mbabane to find a reasonable priced internet cafe for the Elders to do their emailing. When he got back he notified the Mission Office and informed the Elders that they were to stay in their District when going to the internet cafe so they would not be tempted to play soccer as a zone every Monday. We notified President Von Stetten about where the Swazi missionaries were being sent. They will be recognized at District Conference in two weeks.
12 Feb 2012
We delivered Mission Calls to Mbabane and then to Manzini, the young men receiving them were so happy to find out where they were going. They are all staying on the African continent -Thulani Mabuza and Nkosi to - Johannesburg, Sizwe Shongwe and Musi Dube to Zimbabwe, Thulani Simelane toKenya. Sister Blackburn went to Relief Society and was just shocked when the Relief Society President modeled her new black skirt and one of the other sisters did too; it seems that they took some of the material designated for the Humanitarian project to make washable sanitary pads and made themselves "new skirts". So Sister Blackburn just got up and told them the material was not for that use and told the Relief Society President she must use the material in the way it was designated to be used. Sister Lewis was trying so hard not to laugh out loud about the whole thing. she was telling Elder Lewis about it after the meetings and he said it was too good to pass up and he must share this with Sister Nielsen the Humanitarian missionary who put the whole thing together for us. A meeting will be set where Elder Blackburn will meet with Sister Matsebuela and Branch President Mahalele to discuss her actions and that she must administer Relief Society the way it is supposed to be administered. We got to meet with Elder and Sister Smith from the Temple, and their two sons who are here on a very short holiday and they took us to dinner. We hope we can keep a good communication with this wonderful family. They are from England and will go home sometime in the winter months.
11 Feb 2012
We went to the Ezulwini Branch to attend homemaking meeting and waited over one hour and no one ever showed up not even the Relief Society President, Sister Blackburn felt that she asked her to attend Relief Society so that she would be able to stay home and Sister Blackburn would have to do the sewing training. We met up with the Webbs and Lewis for dinner at Summerfield, they paid for our dinner which was very generous of them. We were so happy to meet Elder and Sister Lewis and to reacquaint with the Webbs.
10 Feb 2012
Elder and Sister Zawacky left early this morning, we have had such a fun week with them, it is hard to see it end. Brother Smith came early to record an interview with us about what we have been doing in Swaziland and about our mission here. He is doing a documentary which is scheduled to be shown between Conference sessions in April, it would be nice if our interview is included with everything. He has a contract with KSL to show his documentary, however KSL will do the editing. We did laundry all day, that is something we have neglected all week. Elder and Sister Webb and the Lewis's got in late, they had traffic problems and bad weather all the way from Johannesburg , we were supposed to meet them for dinner at Summerfield and when we were ready to leave we received a telephone call from Nhlangano Elder Paulo, he was taking Elder Dutson to the hospital in Hlatikulu, he had taken him to the doctor in Nhlangano and he had been referred to the hospital for a scan of his stomach, so we told him absolutely not to go there to turn around and come to our house, Hlatikulu is a government hospital and from the outside looks very dirty and the area doctor has not approved the government hospitals as being desirable for the Elders to use. Fortunately, they had gone to a clinic where Doctors without Borders were the doctors on staff so Elder Dutson did get a good diagnosis and paid $1.00 american dollar for the visit, we jokingly told Sister Von Stetten that maybe we should use Doctors without Borders all the time, even though there was a big hole in the roof of their clinic. We took him to Ezulwini Clinic for the scan and he was given 6 prescriptions so we looked at them and decided he only needed two. He had severe acid indigestion and stomach pains.
09 Feb 2012
What a day, we had scheduled to go to Hlatikulu and beyond to deliver a wheel chair and say good bye to Bishop and Sister Mamba, go to GeGe to deliver 2 sewing machines to the high school and go to Nhlangano to check on the Elders there. We went to GeGe first and had a good visit with the school and delivered the sewing machines and supplies and toured the vocational classes, it is a large school. Sister Malinga was not home so we could not bid them goodbye. We started back to Nhlangano and got almost there and had a flat tire, Elder Zawacky and Elder Blackburn got it changed so we went to the Elders flat and did an inspection then went to the Church to take care of the internet. Lugelo Motsa was there and said the telephone company was going to shut off the phone because it has not been paid since last July, so we went to the telephone company and got copies of the bills, Sister Zawacky and Sister Blackburn saw some beautiful umbrellas and decided to buy a couple and when we asked Lugelo if his daughter had one he said no so we gave him one for her. She is 5 years old and walks to school. We told him that he should let her dance with it too. By the time we got all this done it was 3:00pm and we did not feel like the 2 hour drive to Bishop Mamba's home so we came home and collapsed. It was after 5:00 when we got back.
Sister Ntshalintshali - a really special lady, she teaches at the High School
08 Feb 2012ope
The Zawackys and we got up early and headed to Hlane for a Safari drive, it is summer and we really hoped we would see some animals. Our driver was really good and we saw a lion, giraffe, antelope, rhino, hippo and elephant.
We and the Zawackys went to Zone Development meeting, we took brownies, their emergency kits, flashlights and instructions from President Von Stetten on flat inspections and instruction to be dressed in white shirt and tie when they are studying. The Elders accepted all this very well. It was a good meeting. After we did our part, we left and went to Mlilwane Game Reserve to do an afternoon game drive. We saw zebra, wildebeast and antelope it was a slow drive and we enjoyed. On the way out we saw the Baobatik factory and stopped to see if they had a show room and they did, Sister Zawacky and Sister Blackburn ordered two blouses to be made. We had a fun day.
Monday, February 6, 2012
06 Feb 2012
We bought 2 beds for the Nhlangano Elders, they said, "we are sleeping on springs", We can't have that, they deserve a good night's sleep. Elder and Sister Zawacky came today to spend 3 days with us, so we will just have fun for the next few days, after Zone Meeting and going to visit Bishop Mamba and his wife. They live at the end of the earth on a dirt road. We do have some fun things planned though. Elder Zweifel called and the bandit on one of the trucks showed that it had gone through the border into South Africa and we had to remind him that we have to do that every 30 days.
05 Feb 2012
We went to Church in Nhlangano, the Branch President was not there and neither were his counselors, so the 19 year old Elder's Quorum President took over and conducted. The BP came just as Sacrament was getting over. After Sacrament we went to GeGe and there again the leadership was not there, just the Elders and youth. It was amazing how the youth of the Church have the ability to step in and do the work when they are needed. The RS Leader and other women and Brother Malinga were giving comfort to the family where the mother had died. We got back to Manzini in time for Elder Blackburn to attend to his District meetings. We got back to our house at about 6:00pm. The Primary Leader is now 16 years old, she has been leader of the Primary for 2 years. The Young Women Leader is 23 years old and been a member about 6 months.
04 Feb 2012
We went looking for 11 X 14 inch document frames for our pictures and there was not even one to be found in this country. We will check next week at a special frame shop and see if we can have some made; if not, we will have to have the daughters mail us some for our pictures to give as gifts. We did not see the Peterson's, they were in Nhl today. We had the Elders take their trucks through the border today. They took Elder Stark's passport because he just had to say the wrong thing to them. They called us, then we called Nathi Dlamini to get their work permit number, when they gave the work permit number all was well and they did what they were supposed to do and got back to their areas for their appointments.
03 Feb 2012
We received a call this morning from Branch President Bulunga, a recent convert in the GeGe group died at home. She had 7 children and all the adult family members have died. All her brothers and sisters, her husband, his brothers and sisters and the parents. President Bulunga wanted to know if the Church could pay a Kombi (van that is a taxi) to come to the house and get the body and take it to the mortuary. Elder Blackburn told him that he should do what needed to be done but to call his District President to find out what he recommended. District President told him the same thing, "do what needs to be done". They will see what can be done with the children, the oldest is 18 years old. There are so many, many orphans in this country and children trying to raise children, (death from a disease that is 100% preventable).
02 Feb 2012
Elder Blackburn went to get a haircut today; he told the girl to take what he called a (1) a go up the side, well she went up the side all the way to the top on both sides; so then he told her, "better just finish the whole head this length." Now he has an African haircut.
We bought 2 beds for the Nhlangano Elders, they said, "we are sleeping on springs", We can't have that, they deserve a good night's sleep. Elder and Sister Zawacky came today to spend 3 days with us, so we will just have fun for the next few days, after Zone Meeting and going to visit Bishop Mamba and his wife. They live at the end of the earth on a dirt road. We do have some fun things planned though. Elder Zweifel called and the bandit on one of the trucks showed that it had gone through the border into South Africa and we had to remind him that we have to do that every 30 days.
05 Feb 2012
We went to Church in Nhlangano, the Branch President was not there and neither were his counselors, so the 19 year old Elder's Quorum President took over and conducted. The BP came just as Sacrament was getting over. After Sacrament we went to GeGe and there again the leadership was not there, just the Elders and youth. It was amazing how the youth of the Church have the ability to step in and do the work when they are needed. The RS Leader and other women and Brother Malinga were giving comfort to the family where the mother had died. We got back to Manzini in time for Elder Blackburn to attend to his District meetings. We got back to our house at about 6:00pm. The Primary Leader is now 16 years old, she has been leader of the Primary for 2 years. The Young Women Leader is 23 years old and been a member about 6 months.
Our 16 year old Primary Leader
We went looking for 11 X 14 inch document frames for our pictures and there was not even one to be found in this country. We will check next week at a special frame shop and see if we can have some made; if not, we will have to have the daughters mail us some for our pictures to give as gifts. We did not see the Peterson's, they were in Nhl today. We had the Elders take their trucks through the border today. They took Elder Stark's passport because he just had to say the wrong thing to them. They called us, then we called Nathi Dlamini to get their work permit number, when they gave the work permit number all was well and they did what they were supposed to do and got back to their areas for their appointments.
03 Feb 2012
We received a call this morning from Branch President Bulunga, a recent convert in the GeGe group died at home. She had 7 children and all the adult family members have died. All her brothers and sisters, her husband, his brothers and sisters and the parents. President Bulunga wanted to know if the Church could pay a Kombi (van that is a taxi) to come to the house and get the body and take it to the mortuary. Elder Blackburn told him that he should do what needed to be done but to call his District President to find out what he recommended. District President told him the same thing, "do what needs to be done". They will see what can be done with the children, the oldest is 18 years old. There are so many, many orphans in this country and children trying to raise children, (death from a disease that is 100% preventable).
02 Feb 2012
Elder Blackburn went to get a haircut today; he told the girl to take what he called a (1) a go up the side, well she went up the side all the way to the top on both sides; so then he told her, "better just finish the whole head this length." Now he has an African haircut.
The hair has not been this short since his Army days.
28 Jan 2012
We drove home from Richards Bay after going to the Mall and buying 7 sets of plastic african animals to take home for 5 of the great grand sons and Boston and Evie. It was fun finding and buying them. Sister Nuzman also bought a couple of sets. Uneventful drive home, just long.
27 Jan 2012
Today we went to get a fitting on the new suit Elder Blackburn is having made; we will pick it up in about 3 weeks. We also went to the African Market and bought special indian spices we wanted to take home; just hope they let us through customs with it. When we were going down the steps at the African Craft Market there was a young man eating his lunch. He was sitting on a crocodile skin and had a head on the steps beside him. He had brought them to sell.
26 Jan 2012
This morning we went to the tailor in Durban, Elder Ward wanted to go with us so he and Elder Blackburn ordered a new suit; the tailor is supposed to put a special lining in them representing Africa. It will be fun to see what he does. The tailor is from the Indian community and very easy to communicate with. The men then went to their Presidency Meeting, we met Sister Von Stetten at the uShaka center, which is on the beach. We also went to the new Soccer Stadium which was an awesome tour. We went up the side to the top where there is a platform for the view of a lifetime.
We had dinner at the only revolving restaurant south of the equator, the served quite a few exoctic dishes; we were not so adventuresome as to try them. Lots of visiting and laughter.
We left early to travel to Durban, Brother and Sister Smith followed us down, we needed to make a few stops on they way. We stopped at Ilala Weavers to get the nativity dolls for Sister Hudson, we spent about an hour there with everyone looking around. Next stop was Richards Bay and lunch with Elder and Sister Nuzman, we always enjoy that. Then Ballito to get Dr Pepper for Elder Ward, we got to Durban at 6:00pm. The mission office had made reservations for us at Little Haven Bed and Breakfast; the Smiths were staying in a backpackers lodge somewhere on the beach. All the couples who were invited to Durban stayed at Little Haven.
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