Brother and Sister Malinga from GeGe invited us and Brother and Sister Smith to the Lobolo ceremony where their son negotiated the number of cows he must pay for his bride. A tent was being set up so visitors could stay out of the sun while the negotiations were going on, namely the father of the groom, Brother Malinga. It has been a very warm day. The marriage manager for the Malinga family did the negotiations on behalf of the Malingas, they were held in a round hut; blankets were presented to different members of the bride's family and the negotiations started with the bride's family demanding 17 cows. The groom had brought 10 cows and that is the number that was eventually decided upon (probably decided before the negotiations, this is just a formality now days).
The cows arriving, Brother Malinga drove them to Luve from GeGe, about 3 hours drive. Brother Smith filmed everything for a documentary he is producing in conjunction with his Fulbright Scholarship with the University of Swaziland. Below the cows are being driven into the Kraal for safe keeping. Lots of young men around to help. This is a ceremony that women of the grooms family are not invited to.
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The toilet is fancy for a pit in Swaziland; just had to take a picture of such wealth. The women are frying chicken to feed those taking part in the negotiations. Young men (warriors) thoroughly enjoying the ceremonies. Elder Blackburn enjoying luch of goat meat and beans. Sister Blackburn being entertained by a young guest who spoke such good english and entertained everyone she was so delighted to have peopel to talk to, the river which runs in the community. A truly beautiful land.
09 Sept 2011
Elder and Sister Zowacky and Elder and Sister Gunderson came to Swaziland for PEF and Seminaries and Institutes meetings for the weekend. Elder and Sister Blackburn spent the day working on Immigration visas for the Elders who will be transferred to Swaziland in a couple of weeks, they will come in completely legal and start work.
07 Sept 2011
Zone Conference in New Castle from 8:00 til 2:00. The theme of the Conference was "There are some guidelines and rules necessary for one to be the recipient of revelation and inspiration, they include
1) to try honestly and sincerely to keep Gods Commandments
2) to be spiritually attuned as a reciever of a divine message
3) to ask in humble fervent prayer, and
4) to seek with unwavering faith"
Hard work, obedience with exactness will yield miracles.
Elder and Sister Hudson fixed a lunch of pulled pork, apple sauce, chips and juice. It was really delicious. Elders were issued a small DVD Player to help in training new missionaries so there were a lot of questions on what they can view on them. Some disappointment since they cannot watch movies on pday. We left New Castle and arrived home at 10:00 pm. We were really tired.
06 Sept 2011
Hudsons took us on a tour again today of their area and showed us some of the handcraft items that are made there. We purchased a wool rug and 4 tiles for our entryway. After lunch we drove to New Castle and spent the night with Elder and Sister Ward; we had dinner with President Von Stetten and Sister Von Stetten, the Wards. We had Chinese food.
Spinning the wool and weaving the rugs.
05 Sept 2011
We woke up early and drove to the Midlands Meander which is an area where there are lots of home made items. We stopped at a goat farm and bought cheese and had a picnic in their yard.
Of course, we also brought some home and a jar of chili and olive jam which was surprisingly good. Then we stopped at a quilt shop, where the Rotary Club International has supported a local woman in teaching the natives how to quilt. They sell their quilts to the tourists and have been able to improve their living standards. The work is really beautiful and we purchased a quilt for our bed at home and two throw quilts for the family room. They will be shipped by the owner of the shop. We visited shoe shops, Elder Blackburn actually bought a pair of sandals which he really likes. Everything was handmade and we had a really fun time with Elder and Sister Hudson. These breaks we get truly cements eternal friendships and we are grateful for them.
At a beautiful falls in Howick. It was once a very beautiful place, now is old and dirty area, which we find in all the former Africaanse towns.
04 Sept 2011
We went to Church in Mbabane and thought we could leave right after Sacrament, but Elder Blackburn had to do 5 Temple Recommend interviews, he really enjoys taking care of these spiritual duties, it gives him a chance to really get to know the people of the Church on a personal level. So we left at 1:00 pm for LadySmith with a stopover planned in New Castle to leave a wheel chair with Elder and Sister Ward for one of their contacts who had a leg amputated. We got to LadySmith at 7:00pm and the Hudsons had waited dinner to eat with us. They had cooked a delicious dinner and we were really hungry. We had a nice visit then bed. Tomorrow is a day for discovery of the area.
03 Sept 2011
Wheel Chair handover ceremony today, it started at 10:00 and the Prince showed up 2 hours late. Our recipients were there at 9:00am so everyone had to wait for the Prince to show up. After the ceremony we served refreshments and the Prince actually asked for 2 plates covered in foil to take away.
Sister Simelane
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