Birds, Singers,and Mission Calls

 Sunday the 12 of March found us at Ladysmith with Kent talking about Fast offerings and Missonary fund.  The Branch President had a manditory area financial meeting and was a little freaked out about the state of the Branch finances so wanted to have Kent speak.  He didn't have an additional speaker for  sacrament meeting so the Pres. showed up when he was getting off work and gave the other talk and didn't give Kent much time to speak.  We stayed only for sacrament meeting and headed off for Ezakheni to give Branch Pres. Ngcobo his check-book back to write a fast-offering check for Nqobile's Yellow Fever shot.  (They are so in the hole!)  We took the check book back and  I got to attend my first Relief Society there. --Money Money!
  Met with 2 real estate ladies and found one of our places I think.  It was what we were looking for and so I will start the ball rolling for April 1st.

We supply our own window coverings!

Not glamourus from the front.

Had Ezakheni Elders over for dinner because transfers are happening and I know we will lose Elder Lowe who has been here for 6 months.  I get too attached.
   We had Tues Institute class a day early because we had a special Wed P day planned with the Browns.  The bad news was that only Nqobile and Stabiso showed up so we did not have class.  We did talk about the history of the church in Ezakheni and showed videos of the church in S.A.  Khumbulani is in both videos and he is an area Authority that we met when we first got here at the S and I meeting.  He was just a youth when the Blacks got the priesthood in the early 80's, when the white men went into the largest township in Joburg to take the church for the first time.  This was 14 or so years before apparthied was over.  Sooo interesting! Our soon to -be missionaries thought it was interesting too.

Such cute little boys had to get on the grown up toy

 

made out of tractor seats

Wednesday we met the Browns at about 10:30 and took and had lunch at the Pig and Plough and took off for the
Drakenburg Boys

Choir concert that happens every Wednesday at their boarding school at 3:30, next to where we took that big hike.  It was such a beautiful setting in the green mountains but it was hot and stuffy in their nice concert hall.  Lots of baboons were playing on the roofs when we got out. The boys give you scones and tea at intermission.      

B&B Lounge (this is a big house with 2 bedrooms on either end)

Sister Brown got us a B&B and we ate at a nice lodge that had a sit down dinner at 7--no earlier.  (We were blessed to find this place because there in nothing commercial in the area except outdoorsy stuff and lodges and B&Bs -no towns!)

We couldn't take pics inside.

 The menu was a limited 7 course meal with 2 or 3 things per course and you could choose to try a small portion of everything or just one main course item.  Of course we had to try everything.   There must have been a real chef there because it was unique food and very different.  Still -desserts are still not up to our type of desserts.  They do great with trifles and puddings but baked goods seem to be difficult to duplicate.(i'm stuffed just writing about this)
   Thursday was the Birds of Prey show that was close to the choir.  At 10 everyday they have the trainer of eagles,owls, hawks and vultures, give us a demonstration of how to train a great bird and how royalty of old used to go hunting with their birds and dogs.  Unfortunatly it was a pretty cloudy day although fairly warm.  These very large birds need therms to get in to the air.  They don't like to spend much energy if they don't have to.  We saw enough of the show that even though the big birds  would not go out too far the small ones put on quite a show and the fisher still did his tricks.  I want to go again!  We stopped and got a milkshake in Winterton because of our huge breakfast.  We got home at 4PM and sent the Browns off after this midweek fun.
   We had 10 AM boarding checks on Friday and sent Sister Wood all of the gathered info on the new boarding.  Later that evening we received Stabiso's mission call and it was a surprise.  We did not know that Sis Ludwig had sent the call to Salt Lake because his official police report hadn't arrived.  Saturday we hopped into the car to surprise him and family.

 The branch Pres gave heads up to Mom and friends and we just showed up.  He was so excited to go to Capetown.

Ezakheni Branch had a fire at a home of a less active member,so we all got into the car and traveled to see the damage and what help was needed.  A mosquito coil had caught the drapes of the kids(3) bedroom on fire.  No one was hurt but the entire room and house had smoke damage.  There  is no fire dept. in Ezakheni and it is amazing no one was hurt.  Grandma(GoGo) was worried about having money for children's uniforms so they could go to school.  This is a double wammy for poor families with no income.  Elders were doing service that day in Ladysmith and afterwards came to haul all of the burned stuff (to a local hill) and bring the family some used mattresses they had to get rid of anyway.

   Sunday was special in Ladysmith with the lay Pastor of another  church converting to the church with his wife and getting baptized.  His children live in Ezakheni with his first wife but he's quite solid I hope because he was teaching his congregation from the Book of Mormon before he decided he would just have to leave and be baptized.  He has a good job and well educated and articulate.
   The Browns and Pres Mashego came from Ezakheni and more meetings to be with us.  Kent and I sang In Sacred Grove with our guitar and I liked it a lot better than the canned accompaniment   with the violins.  It fit the occasion better.  The Browns and Mashegos and us had pasta salad and fruit after the event and each went on their way.  Pres Masheo and his wife live in Madadeni township and are a cute retired couple like us that are not very retired.  He's the District President and Institute teacher and she is the Seminary teacher.  Neat people and not so sure about pasta salad with gammon(ham Kent  had to fry first).  I got lots of  comments about that salad.

   This is transfer week and lots of movement that we don't have to do, but we will get 3 out of six new Elders. Monday is quiet and Tues is prep work for me and my class.  Big lunch and no dinner for  Wednesday.  It is our class plus both of us are going to Branch Pres  meeting.  The previous week I had a text from a sister in Ladysmith saying she needed help with English.  This is the Pres. wife!  It turns out that she has real problems with teaching her Primary class and we will be able to help her with that when she comes with her husband to Branch Presidency meeting.  It might be more discipline than language problems we'll find out.  On assessment her language is good but not great.  She has hard time with definition of  word  issues and is actually asking for help.  A lot of the Branch has issues with this I believe but won't ask for help.

   Thursday we saw another realtor and property because we are still looking for another property.  No banana!  Later that day we had a late lunch early Chinese dinner with the Browns and it tasted great.  They left and then we got ready to leave for an overnight stay at the Brown's in Newcastle the next day.  Some Zone leaders from Newcastle had an activity with Pres Thompson in the Drakensburgs and needed a ride home to Newcastle.  We were asked to help.  We also had our inservice training for teachers in Newcastle, Madadeni and Osizweni.  My 3 teachers are pretty strong and have hung in there pretty good.  Some feel they need more Branch President support, and one is having a hard time being at her class consistently, but all in all...Kent's seminaries have more problems but then he has more teachers.     It was a pretty good week end but must get home to our Ezakheni Branch and changing rooms for the Nursery. I got the feeling from one of the sisters in Ezakheni that when we go home they will just go back to the way things used to be.  If that is so, change has to be ingrained and longer than a month or 2 maybe longer than a few years.  We are all creatures of the comfort zone.  These people have stepped so far out of their comfort zone it will take generations for the church to be a way of life for them!  
 

Groundhound Day

   On the 2nd of March we started a new fun activity of searching for 2 new boardings for our Elders.  We need to get them out of their 4 bedroom home because it is starting to look and be like a frat- house.  It has a reputation as a sort of flop house for gangs of Elders during transfers and conferences.  We need to change that and repair and give back the place.  It just means that I need to get on the internet.  The office does the rest with the agent.  They don't have listed property here so we look with an agent, 3 or 4 times a week and set up appointments and be the boots on the ground to find property.   Security is such an issue.  A property can have many different companies representing the lease or sale.  An agent can only show you properties that she or her company have listed.  It takes way more time to do it this way but then we are in SA.
   We also started preparing and planning for our Richards Bay trip on Friday.  We are trying to do inservice every 6 weeks with our 2 Districts and visit all classes at least once a semester.  The classes thing is harder to do and we have only made it to 4 of them counting our own thus far. There are about 16 classes to go.  We left about 9:30 and stopped in Durban for the famous Mexican restaurant everyone keeps talking about.  We were blown away by the food, but also it was different.  Good salsa and shrimp tacos, but nothing that spicy.  Everyone loved the unlimited fountain drinks with good ice--but still no paper cups.  It's funny about missing the little things.  It was a fun visit with the office couples.
   We stayed at the same B&B next door to the Colins' and it was Fast Sunday this weekend.  Not too much difference in our delivery of inservice--except just crackers and cheese and juice.  We focused on forming questions and our different manuals and their concerns.  Institute and some seminaries were off to a shaky start with lots of changes in teachers the previous month and lots of excuses.  One of my institute teachers went and stayed and is still in America and didn't even ask for my permission or tell me!
   We went to the mall for dinner with the Collins' and chose a small Branch, Enselini to go to Sunday morning.

Enselini youth Sunday School have about 9 for seminary class

This Branch seems to be run by our return missionary Seminary teacher and Institute teachers.  They taught the adult Gospel Doctrine class and the youth class and had the YSA activity together for after church.  They both have jobs and if they ever left it, the branch would fade away. The missionaries in the branch had about 20 less-active people show up and swell the attendance to 56 people with a usual attendance of about 30.  They were encouraged.
   We had spaghetti with the Collins on Sunday and a short walk up the  beach again.
 We spent a third night and then took a saunter up the Midland Meander on Monday or P Day(What does that P stand for? play or preparation?).

This is the fall at the beginning of the Meander and drive was gorgeous.

 Lots of shops and places to stop.  I was kind of disappointed because we stopped at a Mandela museum where he was first arrested in the middle of the countryside.

 We spent too much time and shops were closing on us.  It was nice to be out and about.and we did find Kent his best hamburger in SA.  We got home about 7 PM.  It was a good trip, but I worry about the Richard's Bay area and its growth potential.  It is a resort area and people are so mobile.
   Tues was recoup time and study and prepare for class.  More real estate to look at.  So far nothing like we are looking for and security is the top requirement .  We taught on Wednesday and on Friday we started our 40 Day Fast for the mission.  It was the couples Day and we have another day at the end of the month.  Did real estate and on Saturday headed off to Dundee with breaking our fast with a
brown bag car lunch.
   We found one of our Elders in Dundee pretty sick with diarhea and quite dizzy and dehydrated.  Went and got groceries for him and started his chicken soup.  We had an appointment with Dundee seminary to visit and loved their lesson and participation.  My old institute student and RM, Siphe,  is such a good teacher we were just proud and humbled at the same time.

They all walk home together on Sat.  It's a party!

These kids meet at 6:30 AM on Tues,Wed, and Thurs, and then from 2-4-on Sat. afternoon to get their seminary classes done for the week. He had discussion in class and had the flat screen tv set up with his flash drive inserted and ready.  Kent updated the drive with more of those good New Testament videos and showed one that applied to the lesson. This trip was such an upper for us.  This is what good is supposed to look like.    We don't have dull moments hardly ever --even though we sometimes do the same things.
 

Cherity Never Fail

only 25 ladies ate cake--most took slabs home with

   Feb. 19, was a regular Sunday in Primary in Ladysmith. A meeting was called at the end of the block for all RS ladies in the chapel to discuss food assignments for the upcoming RS birthday party day from 10AM- 2:30 the next Saturday.  No one would make cake so I voluntered to make all of it.  I told them it would not be decorated like a bakery, but would be iced and tasty.  I thought I got the job!
    It was rainy on Monday so we went to the Ladysmith museum that we both found  interesting about the Boer war and the Siege of Ladysmith.  Tuesday we had haircuts, prepared lessons and made white cake as an experiment  ( Pillsbury cake mix- was not good just plain-now add pudding). Wednesday we had a webex at 10:30 with regional S and I leaders, but Kent participated I had to study for Institute lesson at 4.

   My birthday was nice, Kent took me to the Royal Hotel for their buffet, and kids called all day.  The special unexpected thing was that our 4 Elders in town dropped by at breakfast and sang happy B-day, so of course I promised them ice cream and cake  that night and had to get to the store to make it.    
   The next day was Friday  and I promised that I would have 2 sisters in our branch over to make cake.    There was some miscommunication with Newcastle and they said they would pick up a cake from a store!  But we would still teach this District Councilor and Ladysmith RS President how to make cake.
   There is some mystical problem about baking a cake here and I decided to take 2 kinds of Pillsbury cake mix and show how to make a cake easily. (Their scratch recipes call for lots of egg whites because they have heavier flour I think.)  I let them each make their own cake mix with canned Pillsbury frosting,  with 2 different mixers that I had.

Sister Adams and Sister Shabalala

 It turns out that that is what they don't have at home -- a mixer.  Most of these ladies don't use their oven very much because they don't bake much.  Their cakes turned out lovely, but they still had the leaders bring the R500 store bought cake and took their cakes home for their families.  They might rethink next time -who knows.  That is an enormous amount of money for a District to pay out twice for 2  big Birthdays in Newcastle and Ladysmith.  Maybe next year they will be willing to try.  (one of the sisters has already made another cake) They feel like they have to do everything like the church in America!  I told the ladies that they should just do their own dessert that they like!  Sis. Adams' comment was, "we have changed and learned so much to join this church -we want to learn to make cakes!"

   Saturday came and the party was very nice, but there was tea and muffins and goodies at about noon and then a late lunch about 1;30 with all the fixins .  Africans are big on chicken  and chackalaka! We had a program about the origins of RS,  read by our ladies and a VT discussion and roll play by Sister Brown.  We don't have VTs or Home Teachers here.  Attempts have been made and I see attitudes changing but I think there is a cultural block going on about people coming into their homes.  We've about decided to just go every Sunday and visit the families because there are so many widows and single moms in the Ladysmith Branch.
   Sunday we were at Ezakheni and hurried home to Ladysmith with Pres. Ngcobo for a traning meeting with the Brown's at the Ladysmith Chapel.  We would fix lunch for the Brown's and Pres. Mashago and have a little visit a couple a few hours later.

Kent later toppled a termite hill to see what was inside.

   Monday was a cool cloudy day but not raining so we decided to head for Spioenkop Reservoir for a day of reserve animals and adventure.



 We got both with warthog family, giraffes and baby zebras.

This is our water source and the spillways are overflowing and have been for weeks.   We are out of our drought at least here in the East.  Capetown gets most of their rain in the winter so we will see if they end their water problem soon.

deserted park at the resevoir-no boats
or people

rare look at giraffe  sitting for a while (hey look this way!)

we must have watched these guys for 45 minutes

  On this same day we discovered Pig and Plough for lunch in Winterton, and museum with a 1918 African motor home of John Weston's.  I bought the story of this motorhome but the cool thing was we got to go into it as it was parked in a garage in the back. There was a sink with water source and stove and it looks like an icebox inside.

look closely for the babies !

there is a lot of Africaans influence and good food

no rhinos today they are isolated somewhere because of poaching
recent poaching problem

  Interesting guy this
John
Weston--went home and googled him! Fun P day!
 

Weston was an inventor and in the Boer war  born in SA
the real Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang guy
notice the crank

pointing to the sink and above it is icebox

Funerals and YSA Activities

   

Egyptian moths love to fly in at night (small birds)

Sunday was the usual with Tolly (Primary president and music leader) there.  She can only come once a month-so it was fun!
   Elders came on Monday for email and it is getting annoying on our p-day.  We've let them know that it is  only an hour because we also need to use our computers. We get 4 guys at 2 hr blocks and it is a real problem.  Internet at the church is never reliable and they need a reliable alternative.  Tuesday was study for lesson on Wed.  We got new plumbing for bathroom and the guy was there for a few hours in my bathroom in the afternoon.  We spent all morning in Ezekheni with Self Reliance group setting them up with LDS accounts so they can sign up for this class that they are almost done with.
   The van Uiterts, a new couple living in Bethlelhem and on Wed would be arriving through our area going to the Zone Conference for Thursday.  We had them stay with us that Wed night after we had our first Institute class at 4.  I had made dinner early so Kent could eat and run to a Branch Presidency mt at 8pm.  It would have been great, but these people are so quiet and reserved it was hard to engage them after and even before he left.  I tried to teach her how to download leadership training videos for her branch but she did not know much about the computer.
  The next day they left early with our muffins (our contribution to the conference).  Zone Conference is our zone of 20 Elders and it is our responsibility to help with food set up, set out and purchase.  It was overkill for so many couples to help with this and since we have attended and didn't need to be in the meeting we opted to stay home and do other stuff.  Elders by rights should hate pizza after being a missionary for 2 years.
  Thursday was errands and real estate duties.  Yes we have real estate duties!  No MLS here in South Africa probably because of security issues and all the keys involved.  I'm trying to change our 1 large house with 4 Elders and get twp -2 bedroom boardings that are still safe.  This is hard to catch.  By the time I find the boarding  on line, that I like, and the agent gets back to me, it is gone.  Thank goodness this does not need to be a quick transaction because it won't even be within the month.  The problem, besides the cost, is the security.  The mission has particular security criteria and a lot of areas are not safe.  Metal electric gates with a proper fence in certain areas, are hard to find.

Our first funeral by Kent:

At grave site

               

Many things are different here in South Africa, besides the driving on the left side of the road and dodging pedestrians, cows, and goats. Last week we experienced our first funeral. The good brother who passed away was a member of the church and I (Elder Rhodes) had the opportunity to meet him in the hospital shortly before he died. He was a teacher, and much respected in the community.

This was evidenced by the number of people who showed up at the local LDS chapel for his services. The chapel was not large enough to hold everyone. It was attended by his family, branch members, friends and fellow teachers, and members of his former church (Methodist) whose women all came wearing the same blue dresses and headscarves.

We were fortunate that the meeting was presided over by our district president, and conducted by our branch president. If that were not the case, the funeral could have, and would have taken on a different atmosphere than would a normal LDS service.

Nevertheless, there were differences that we have never seen before. For instance, when a speaker got up from the congregation to speak or give tribute, they started singing as they left their seat and everyone joined in as they made their way to the pulpit. The singing stopped and they gave their message. If the person got emotional, there was a designated Go-Go, or grandmother-type, who came to the stand, comforted them and then escorted them back to their seat if they could not control themselves.

The man had ten daughters and most of them joined together to sing. They did a nice job.

The night before the funeral, we went to the home of this brother who passed and met inside with family members. There we sang, I gave a little message of comfort, sang some more, we prayed, we sang, and then we went outside where they served us juice and scones.

This took place next to the huge tent that had been erected in the street to house the family and friends who would return after the burial to be served lunch.  Whenever you see a white tent erected in town you know there is either a funeral or a wedding. They block the street off and for a period of time, they own the street.

There were dozens of family members at the home, upwards of 60 or 70, many who traveled for a long distance. They do not stay in motels or hotels, they all find a place to sleep at the home, most on the ground.

After the funeral, we all drove to the cemetery where I was asked to dedicate the grave. Seeing that the man’s son-in-law was present (told me he wouldn’t be) I prevailed on him to do the dedication, which was only appropriate. He did a fine job.

   The casket was placed over the grave, as we do it at home, and that is where the difference began. In South Africa, everyone stays until the casket is buried. They lowered it into the grave and then placed a row of small logs crossways

over the casket. Then a grass mat. Then everyone threw their funeral programs into the grave, followed by the flowers. Then the women in the family walked by and dropped a handful of dirt into the open grave. They were followed by the men who took up a shovel and added more dirt. Then the cemetery workers took over and with gusto shoveled dirt until the hole was completely filled and a mound added to the top.

piled up every shovel full and then left site

   All the while these things were happening, all of the Zulu’s in attendance, with the exception of our church leaders, were singing traditional Zulu hymns or songs.
https://youtu.be/lr4B7SI3c4M


I am told that if this were a pure Zulu funeral, they would have killed a goat and placed it into the grave along with the flowers and programs.

   I tell you all these things not to make light of local traditions but to describe a colorful experience that Chris and I will not soon forget.  This is just one of the many cultural differences we are experiencing here as we serve the Lord. 

   Later that day after we did our weeks shopping, we headed over to Newcastle for the first ever planned YSA District activity for Valentines Day.  We were at the planning meeting a couple of weeks before and they let them know that the district would pay for food or transport but not both.  They said they would handle all the food.

 We wanted to see our youth in action.   

  

   The sweet and tireless Browns were hard at work with these youth making and cleaning up food all day long.  This would be more like a mini youth conference rather than just a Valentines party/dance.  They had swimming in the morning, lunch,

Mission president and wife speak, and late dinner with dance outside on the basketball court (that they don't know what to do with.)  It was so good to see the kids mingling and there were about 50 or so in attendance. Some of our Dundee kids were in attendance and Ezakheni group were there.  They all loved the activity and the YSA reps learned a lot about activities and delegation.  The taxi's went home about 10:30 and we headed out about 9:30 because we were starving.  All-night McDonalds was still opened and we had a wrap and hamburger.  One of our Seminary teachers, Willy was working there and we checked in with him.

   Our week-ends are dramatic!


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