Happenings of the week 7-13 December

This has been a loaded week! Sometimes we have felt like we were nearly drowning in the sea of applications being readied to forward to Salt Lake next week. It is truly amazing that there are now 22 potential PEF students waiting to hear whether or not their loan applications will be approved and many more waiting in the wings for the next approval date in January.
The All Mission Christmas Conference, “I Believe in Christ”, lifted us up as we learned from Elder Garrith Hill, an Area Authority Seventy living in Durban and President Colin Wilford, stake president of Hillcrest Stake. Elder Hill spent part of Tuesday morning speaking on “The Atonement” and finished by advising us to follow the Savior’s example and always turn our back on temptations. The closing hymn was changed at Elder Hill’s request to “Jesus, The Very Thought of Thee” which was one of President Hinckley’s favorites. It seemed appropriate as we had just finished pondering on the precious gift we have been given by our Savior. Wednesday morning, President Wilford shared from his study on the “Characteristics of Christ. As he closed his remarks, he asked each of us “to take upon us Christ’s image.” Both of the talks gave us much to reflect on and plenty of further study material. Wednesday evening, the couples shared in the theatrical production of “My Fair Lady” at the majestic Playhouse Company Theater, sitting in front row seats, next to the orchestra pit where the KZN (KwaZulu Natal – this province) Philharmonic Orchestra accompanied the play. It was fun to be so up close and personal. Friday morning, we had the pleasure of checking some missionary boardings and becoming better acquainted with a few of the fantastic elders we are privileged to serve with in the Durban Mission. There wasn’t a boarding that wasn’t fighting mold and mildew and most were happy to be told how to get rid of it. They also seemed to feel better when we said it was a challenge at our boarding also! Each elder was treated with a candy bar for their hard work in making the effort to have clean and tidy boardings.
Saturday morning, we braved the Christmas shopping crowd to go to the mall so that we could do some banking and a few little errands, including purchasing a tabletop Christmas tree. Nathan brought a package with him from our thoughtful family, containing numbered envelopes for each day until Christmas. It appears that each envelope has a tree decoration with an individual picture of all the members of our family and they needed a tree to be fully displayed. We added a few ornaments that we have purchased, reminding us of visits and events since coming on mission. After decorating the tree, it was back to the computers and phones!
Sunday we traveled out to Kwadebeka Ward and Mpumalanga Branch to attend church meetings and deliver printed applications to our some of our students so they could obtain the needed priesthood interviews and signatures.
This has been a very busy, wet and rainy week, but we love what we are doing and hope our efforts will bless the lives of our students.

Durban Mission group photo taken at 2009 All Mission Christmas Conference. This was the hottest day we have had all summer and everyone was glad to get back inside.

Elders enjoying the talent show at the All Mission Christmas Conference. Each zone performed a skit along with several musical numbers from some very talented elders.

View of Mpumalanga Township. This is a typical township image with the homes on the hill similar to those in the foreground.

Happy and relieved elders after passing their boarding check. We were asked to check some of the elders' boardings close to where we live.

We enjoy the variety of hair styles from the young sisters we are working with. Our challenge is recognizing them next time we see them as they will frequently change the style in dramatic ways.