Happenings of the week 1-7 June

Winter is now more than just on the horizon-it is here! No snow or anything wintery like that, but very cool nighttime temperatures. The days though, are perfect, even if a few have been cloudy. Not too hot, not too cool and not too humid, so what more could we ask. This season is bringing with it an abundance of citrus fruits and avocadoes, which we are taking full advantage of. Our Fruit and Veg market always has weekly deals, where we can buy a bag full of this or that for a ridiculously low price. One of our favorites is a naartjie, a loose-skinned South African citrus. In the United States, it is called a tangerine, but naartgies have no seeds, not even one, so not quite the same.
Monday afternoon, we visited with Patriarch Courtney and received the materials and instructions for typing the patriarchal blessings, before heading to our regular Family Home Afternoon meeting. Sandy spent most of Tuesday, transcribing six blessings, after Arlo got things set up on the computer, and he couldn't help but hear (no ear plugs) as he worked across the desk. What a tremendous privilege and blessing it is going to be to have this opportunity . Four of the six blessings are for African missionaries currently serving in the Durban Mission. They have come from countries where there is not a patriarch, and so must wait until reaching their assigned mission to receive their blessings.
Several of our PEF students were ready to sign the loan documents this week and one was Sanuse. He is trying to be a father figure for his younger brothers, in addition to working and soon attending school. He lost his job two weeks ago and was feeling very low. After finishing the paperwork, we asked if he could use a few groceries. Sanuse seemed genuinely surprised that we would offer them to him and commented, “You thought about me?” So many of these young people that we help secure a PEF loan, struggle terribly in their lives and light up upon receiving hugs and smiles from us, but we wish we could do more.
Friday morning, we left our boarding to make the monthly trek to Swaziland. We love passing the sugar cane fields and watching the cane sway in the breeze. This trip, though, we saw many fields had been cut and the cane burned to strip it of the leaves. The air was filled with smoke and ash from the burning fires, making it hard to see the beautiful valleys and hills. Some fires were intentionally set to burn the grass and clear the fields, while others probably were accidents. Saturday morning, Elder and Sister Wilson had a little time before their appointments, so we did a short self-drive in Mlilwane Game Reserve (pictures). Our afternoon was spent in Mbabane, where two loans needed to be finalized and other students just needed to check in with us, so we could see what progress they are making in the PEF loan process. That evening, we tried a new restaurant in town, The Bengal, and had an introduction to Indian cooking. The place was beautifully decorated and our little waitress had the best sense of humor, giving us a great evening. Sunday morning we visited Ezulwini Branch (pictures) for the first time and came away humbled by the circumstances in which they meet. These great people are just so thankful for a place, close to home, in which to meet to worship as they desire. The testimonies, some of which we could understand and others that we could only feel the spirit of, were amazing. It is a 6 hour drive each direction and it was nice to arrive back in Durban Sunday evening in one piece. Crossing the border, both coming and going, was relatively easy this trip, a blessing we really appreciate.

While in Swaziland we had some free time Saturday morning before meeting with students in the afternoon, so Elder & Sister Wilson took us to the Mlilwane Game Reserve. The reserve entrance is about a 10 minute drive from where they live. This is the entrance - the ostrich is part of the welcoming committee.

Our first stop was Hippo Lake - no hippos today - but made a nice picture.

We did find these two crocs on a small island near the shore of Hippo Lake. We waited for the one on the left to close it's mouth but found out later they have no sweat glands, so they release heat through their mouths, and sometimes sleep with their mouths open.

Eyes right - these are roan antelope - the largest of the antelope family - about the size of the North American elk.

Eyes left - you don't go to a game park without finding plenty of zebra.

The springbok is the South African national animal, and also gives its name to the South African rugby team. The springbok are amazing to watch as they run, which is really a springing type motion-very graceful and sleek.

We met with several students at the Mbabane building on Saturday afternoon. Arlo is helping Temalangeni Dlamini (she goes by Tema) with her PEF loan paperwork. She will be studying accounting at the Corporate Development & Training Centre, a Kingdom of Swaziland school.

The Ezulwini Branch meets in this school. We attended meetings here Sunday and met with a PEF student (Nonhlanhla Portia Khoza) to sign loan papers.

One of the class rooms set up for sacrament meeting. Note the pulpit of four stacked desks.

This is Gift, a young man with a permanent smile. He and his parents are investigating the church. Gift and Sandy are shaking hands with the 3-part Zulu handshake - start with a regular handshake, then slide hands forward until you clasp the upright thumb, then back to a handclasp. A quick simple handshake sends the message that you are not interested in that person.

On the wall in the classroom where we held church was this weekly school schedule for grade 7. School goes from 7:45 am to 2 pm with 11 class periods of 30 minutes each and a break mid day. The classes are taught in English and both English and Siswati (the native language) are taught. "H.E." stands for home economics and "R. E." is religious education. "AGRIC" is agriculture.