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.