Happenings of the week 30 Nov - 6 Dec

Every day this week has been rainy, cloudy and even some pretty thick fog. By Saturday afternoon, we were wondering if sunshine was ever going to return to Durban. Sunday morning dawned beautiful and sunny, but by mid-afternoon the clouds and humidity had rolled back in! The second week of Nathan’s visit was a mixed bag of tourism and getting a better glimpse of PEF work. Nathan met all but two of our fellow senior couples in his time here, plus wonderful Patriarch Courtney, who gave him some pointers for the Cape Town leg of his visit. Thursday morning, Nathan flew from Durban to Cape Town to spend parts of three days, seeing Table Mountain and diving with the white sharks among other things. Crunch time is here and the students are in a panic because they aren’t where they should be in the application process for January school start dates. Both phones (cell and landline) are ringing constantly and the computer keyboard might start smoking any minute from all the data entry going on. PEF wants the students to do as much of the entry work as they are able, but a major obstacle for many of our students is the lack of internet access other than an internet café. So we take our laptop and 3G card (for internet access)and drive to the different wards and branches to meet with the kids. The process of entering an application into the computer takes Sandy about 30 minutes, but about three hours would be needed for the student to do it without help. The problem is that most do not have touch typing skills and so it is very “hunt and peck.” Sandy sits beside them as they “hunt” for the letters on short entries, she types the paragraphs, then gives the computer back to the student to finish. This group of potential PEF students has a larger number of those able to do all their data entry work and we only have to double check their work, for this we are so grateful. Two loans were approved by Salt Lake on Wednesday, but in another week we will have twenty or more. After spending Saturday morning with three students at KwaMashu Township, we made our way to KwaDabeka Township to see more kids. Their Christmas party was in full swing when we arrived, and a perk for us, since Sandy didn’t have to go home and cook dinner. This party was a braai (bar-b-que) with steaks, chicken and brats, along with tossed salad, and two traditional Zulu recipes - pap and chakalaka (this was probably 75% of the ward budget!). The young women dressed in Santa hats sang “The First Noel” and the bishop and one counselor each made a few remarks to the group. Bishop Mthembu spoke of the growth in the ward this past year and of the very special opportunity some had of going to the Johannesburg Temple. Only one trip a year can be planned due to financial constraints most of the members are under, but it is truly a great blessing for all involved. Sunday we traveled to the Mpumalanga Township for Fast and Testimony meeting, after which we the spent about three hours working with students, finalizing their loan applications before heading back home to Durban, spending the rest of the day on the computer and phone.

Nathan rinsing his hands with warm water at the Moyo Restaurant in downtown Durban. One of the nice amenities at this restaurant along with face painting.

Nathan went shark diving in Cape Town, but his closest shark encounter was at the shopping plaza near uShaka Marine World in Durban.


Playing Tarzan at Karkloof. This tree top zip line is touted as Africa's biggest with 9 segments with slides up to 175 meters long.



Nathan and Sandy at Howick Falls.


The new soccer stadium in Durban has an arch with a funicular (cable car) which takes visitors to a viewing platform at the top which is 106 meters (345 feet) high. This stadium is one of five being built in South Africa for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. It is the second largest, next to the one in Johannesburg, and seats 70,000 fans.


Nathan on the viewing platform of the new soccer stadium with part of Durban's downtown and beach in the background.


One of Nathan's last adventures before leaving Durban and heading for Cape Town was to harvest the last banana cluster next to our house.

Sandy helping one of our PEF students enter her loan application into the computer. A very slow process when using the hunt and peck method.