Happenings for 6-12 July

Monday was our regular Family Home Afternoon with our fellow missionary couples and we shared some french bread pizzas for a light supper afterwards. Tuesday was the day for errands--grocery shopping, mailed a package home which had to go slow boat because the cost of airmail was out of sight, which we remember all too well when we were sending packages to our missionary sons. Stopped in the Mission Office and visited with the office elders and Elder and Sister Sessions. Then went over to to see Sister Mann, to replenish our reading material and DVD supply. She and President Mann are avid readers, so on a regular basis new books and DVDs (some documentaries and others regular movies) arrive from the states and they are very willing to share. Remember that we spend most of our evenings in the boarding since it isn't the safest to be out and about. So these borrowed items help supplement the scriptures and Ensign. We cooked a roast beef lunch for Elders Eddy and Hansen on Wednesday. They serve in the Phoenix Branch. It has been fun to get to know more of the young elders that we serve with, but two of the four leave next week for the USA. Our lemon tree has provided us with many, many lemons and we have shared with the missionaries, by way of lemon bars or just plain lemons. This week brought a phone call from the Area Office advising us that the very much anticipated changes in our Perpetual Education Fund program have been pushed back to the first of 2010 for our area, instead of October this year. This is such a disappointment as we can see the need to streamline the process of obtaining a loan. Went up to Gateway Mall to pick up a few things for our office and drown our sorrows with some ice cream. As we entered the mall, we came upon a musical presentation being presented, so stopped for a moment to watch. There on the stage was a gigantic toilet and there were performers doing both dancing and singing, dressed in glitzy costumes, sharing with us the dangers of flying germs when you flush the toilet! A first in our book of subject matter for stage plays-all this being sponsored by the Domestos toilet cleaners. Gave us a good laugh and ready to get back to business. Saturday, the 11th, we were asked to help with the EFY program that was planned for the Durban Stake youth, being part of a workshop on career choices. There were three different classes in the morning—45 minutes each—Music, Power of Prayer, Careers and all manned by couples or the AP's. There were only a handful of youth at the 9:30 start time, but due to the typical transport problems, different groups kept filtering in, until there were about 100 by lunchtime. The Stake Young Men and Young Women's Presidents are an enthusiastic young married couple who did a remarkable job of planning and pulling together workshops for the day. Since Essenwood Outdoor Market is not too far from the Berea Chapel, we went down to see the Freeman's, who make the beautiful tablewares. They have not been healthy recently, but seem to be getting back on their feet, and were happy to see us. Many people were just enjoying the outdoors at the park and pleasant temperatures, if only the skies weren't filled with so much smoke from the winter “burning off”. Sunday, a visit to Umlazi W was in order so that we could counsel with two of our young women PEF students. Elder and Sister Johnson were the speakers, he being the High Council speaker. Wondered whether she always spoke with him when he visited the different units. Sometimes missionaries are called to be on the High Council because of a lack of priesthood leadership available in the different areas. Our visit gave us the fantastic opportunity to hear Elder Nare sang, “Consider the Lillies of the Field.” This elder has such a talent and is always so willing to share. There are times when we are in the congregation with him, that you just want to stop singing, so that you could just listen to him. There is All-Zone Conference coming this next week and hopefully he will be a singing part of that.

Sandy helping with an career evaluation form at the EFY. These young women show a few ways hair is worn-cut close to the head, though some girls do also shave their heads, straightened with medium length and then very long hair being put into small braids.

We love the signage along the highways. This photo is courtesy of Sister Mann who has quite a collection of pictures of highway and street signs.

One morning while in the office, we could see and hear much commotion outside in the trees. A gorgeous green parrot was flying back and forth between papaya trees checking out the ripe fruit, along side a few other species of birds. The parrot would land, being followed by one or two smaller birds, but he wasn't in the mood to share! This picture shows how the birds finish off the fruit without taking it from the tree, unlike the monkeys who pick a ripe papaya and throw it on the ground to break open. The fruit is strange in its maturation process-you would think that everything hanging in one cluster would ripen at the same time, but it doesn't.We are now billionaires. This Zimbabwe currency in our possession is authentic but not worth the paper it is printed on. The corruption in the government has decimated their economy resulting in hyperinflation to the point that their money is worthless. Trading is now done with the American dollar as the standard.