2017 Are You Kidding Me?

   It's hard to believe we are 17 years into a new century!

   We started the year off with new haircuts from Jenny Baur our cute English beautician.  She is so sweet and easy to talk to and schedule, so it's one easy check mark to check.  Kent was sick that Tues and had to cancel our class.  They didn't show Thurs so it was a bummer for the first week of the new year.  We were busy preparing for our first in-service  in Richards Bay because the new school year starts on the 9th.

Entering above Durban countryside.  It is beautiful around here!

  We decided to stay 2 nights and visit a township for church on the way home.

Pine trees along the way.

We left Friday and stopped in Durban to get more manuals and student supplies(didn't get enough).  We stopped at Bake a-ton and got my chocolate chips, had lunch at the close-by mall and were off.

The Little Blue Engine that Could at non-functioning train museum in cute town- Hilton.

We tried to get close to the train on this old platform but  it was occupied.

  Getting a B&B (Bed & Breakfast) is tricky because it is hard to tell location and exactly what you are getting .  Kent asked me to screen the B&B's and do the leg work and I chose 3 or 4 and then he booked online.  They don't let you reserve --just pay for the 2 night stay on the spot.
  There are B&B 's everywhere and not many hotels.  Richards Bay is a resort of sorts and this is summer but school is about to start and it  wasn't hard to find a place.  B&Bs are more fun and do give you a nice breakfast,  When we get to our place the neighborhood seemed familiar but we didn't think too much about it.  Our room was  upstairs and rather small but nice with a fridge.  We brought food stuff and it was rainy but warm and the chocos would have melted.  We called the Collins, the missionary couple in Richards Bay to visit and go out to dinner with them Saturday at about 5 since things close early on Sat.  We put them in our GPS as we were leaving the B&B.  It showed that we were there at the Collins boarding immediately!  Turns out we were right next door to them and didn't know it!  We had only visited them once and came into the B&B another way.  We all had a good laugh!
   In S and I we have a budget to feed people at our in-service. (I guess it is expected!) Since they live far from the church and we go till noon, we did lunch this first time.  We picked up KFC this time and

they loved it. (African's and Americans love their chicken it turns out.)

 We met together for the first 1/2 hour, did devotional and talked Doctrinal Mastery and then I went in the next room with Institute with my computer. Africa is on the verge of having as much technology as the US and the youth are pushing for it.  For now they do everything on their phones and never have enough data to do all they want to do.  Kent and I downloaded all the videos that they suggest for the next 8 lessons.  We are pushing for all seminaries to get out of home-study seminary completely and stretch to at least 3 days a week seminary.  Some "stakes" are going 4 and 5 days.  You have to know that hardly anyone has cars and it is a stretch, but Richards Bay, even though they are a small District are trying for 4 days a week.        
   We put the short New Testament  videos and my Eternal Family videos on flash drives and DVDs.   The flash-drives are going to be the most used because the DVDs won't play in their players.  In the end we hope that most of our teachers will be able to use one of the technologies so that they can show the great church videos to enhance their lessons.  Most buildings have at least 1 computer and all have flash drive capability.  We only had 1 teacher not come and we got his stuff to him when we went to his Branch in a small township on Sunday.  It was a success we thought--now we need to keep track of them, encourage, and go back every 6 weeks for in-service training.  We headed for Dundee on the Sabbath to do a 2 week late boarding check for Elders and then home.

Sugar cane fields outside of Richards Bay. It takes a few years to harvest.

    On Monday,  the 9th we ordered KFC for our Zone Conference that happens every 6 weeks in Ladysmith.  The Browns always come from Newcastle to help.   This is our 3rd time to do this and we will start over next time and have a Braai (bbq). I feel like  a catering fool -cause I'm always thinking about and fixing or ordering and buying food. Monday also we had our 2 seminary teachers that are both primary grade teachers over for dinner at our boarding.  We ate and had an in-service and they would start Seminary the following week.  Tues we rushed home from teaching and set up our Zone Conference  KFC for 35.  We finally got home at 2;30 but I  played hooky (I was dead).  Kent helped and went back to our Branch President and went with him to give our dear Suren a blessing at the hospital.  He was being treated for meningitis but we don't really know what it is. Kent was home at about 5:30.  We crashed on Wed and cleaned and washed and prepared for Thurs class.  That afternoon we went to see Suren again to see if he was better.  He was really out of it, but by Friday he was well enough to go home.

We think is sugar cane that will be harvested in a few months,but still bitter.

home from teaching and picked up and set up the
   Thursday was class and time to get our act on the road again for in-service Saturday an hour and 20 minutes away in Madadeni.  We had about 15 teachers come and more food to prepare and set up. This time it was Herman, crackers and cheese and fruit salad and more chunks of melon and fruit juice.  They love cheese because they never buy it.  They ate everything but I'm rethinking.  We had more people than we knew about because a new branch was formed in Madadeni and they had called two new seminary teachers.   We lasted till about 12:30 and then had left overs I kept out of the mix with the Browns under a tree at the church for lunch.  Yeah peanut butter and crackers! We didn't have time to leave and come back.  Our next meeting we wanted to  stay for was the  self-reliance meeting.  Since we keep being asked about this program we decided to find out about it.  We got out of there at about 5 and followed the Browns to a hole in the wall Chinese place in Newcastle.  It was ok--we had sushi too!   Got home at 8;30 PM --in time for me to make cupcakes for the Seminary fireside in Dundee after their church the next day.   Branch President and wife ( DeKlerks)  have lunch with just the youth and we had to hammer out the particulars of whether we were teaching seminary and institute this year or not.  They have about 16 youth with 1 institute student included.  This is so complicated I will report later when I'm sure what will finally shake out.  We probably won't be teaching this year-- long story short, because they will be trying early morning class (6AM before their 7AM school).  We meet on Saturday the last of January for Doctrinal Mastery kickoff!

DeKlerk's Mango crop from their 40 trees.

Burned cane fields after a harvest. (I think)