Happenings of the week 1 - 7 February

Remember our "hurt" car from last weekend? Well, on Monday afternoon we went into the Mission Office for an assessment of the damages by the panelbeater (autobody) shop. By 3 pm Arlo and Elder Johnson were on their way to the shop to leave the car and left with the promise that it would be finished the next day. Much to our surprise about 9 the next morning we received a phone call saying the car was finished and back at the mission office good as new. Never would this have happened in the United States and for the price of R4731 (about $600 U.S.). Unfortunately the mission gives the shop lots of business, so the panelbeaters are happy to make the repairs in good time because they know they will be paid! This was practically painless as the office elders loaned us their car to use during the repair.

The temperatures have really worked their way up this week, with only a short rainstorm that didn't do much to cool things down. The rain wasn't much but the thunder and lightning gave us a beautiful light show in the skies - one particular crack of thunder shook us out of our seats!

Thursday morning brought the approval of eight PEF loans and the usual happiness in the kids voices as we conveyed the good news. The days have been busy with phone work, computer data entry, riding in the car to meet with students or do boarding checks and we even went out to lunch a couple of times. Friday morning, we did five boarding inspections for the young elders and since these were the same ones we checked on two months ago, we were pleasantly surprised with how clean they were. These guys really took to heart our suggestions to clean up stuff and get rid of the mold! That afternoon we had the opportunity to meet with Xolisa (our deaf PEF student) at the Berea Chapel. No one else was at the building, so we used the boot (trunk) of the car and set up shop (computer - so that we could "converse"). Usually we just sit in the back seat of the car with the student if the building is locked, but it was too hot to stay inside the car. Xolisa indicated how much he was loving school, but that it was harder than he had expected and didn't get high enough marks in two classes to go on. He will have to retake these two exams in June after more review on his part. We were glad to be able to spend a little time with him and feel of his great spirit of determination to succeed.

Sunday was another two chapel visit day, beginning at Umlazi BB and ending at Amanzimtoti. We are always so grateful to be able to hear the sweet, humble testimonies of the people and their thanks for everything, even the constant challenges they face. With our visit to "Toti" we have been to all the church facilities (32) in the "old" Durban Mission with one exception up in Swaziland. The new boundary changes, bring new chapels but we will not need to go there for our PEF work.

Amanzimtoti Ward building which we visited today. This is the chapel. The classroom and office wing of the building is hidden from view. Note a number of cars - this is in a more upscale part of Durban. The ethnic mix at meetings was about 50 - 50.

We looked out of our office window one morning to find this vine with cherry tomatoes hanging down from our roof. On closer examination we found three tomato plants growing out of our rain gutter across the back of our boarding. Without a ladder, we are unable to keep the gutters free of debris.

The interchange between two major freeways in Durban. The freeway system in South Africa is very modern and you feel like you are on the interstate in the US - except for being on the opposite side of the road and different signage.

South African currency - 10, 20, 50, 100 and 200 rand notes. The images are of the African Big Five - rhino, elephant, lion, cape buffalo and leopard. Right now the exchange rate is about 7.5 rand to the dollar. The currency of other nations is usually much more colorful than US currency.