Come Unto Christ

COME UNTO CHRIST

Last Sunday we were able to see 2 people enter the waters of baptism, Simphiwe and Nondumiso.   They have been receiving the missionary discussions and seriously studying for 3 months.   Simphiwe attends church services, seminary class (for teens) and institute class (for 19 years and older) every week.   She has an incredible desire to learn about the Savior and His gospel, so she attends every single class where she can learn--no matter what age group it is geared for.    Her younger sister has also studied and prepared.  In the New Testament, the Savior commands us to become like little children.   When you listen to these 10 and 21 year old girls, it is easy to see what the Savior is asking us to do.   They have willing hearts and open ears.   They humble themselves, study, sincerely pray, seek for understanding and obey the commandments..   Their quest for truth is wonderful.

 MISSION COUPLES

It takes so much work to keep a mission going.   In our Mission Office in Durban, we have 2 couples that do everything from answering the phone, to ordering our Bibles and Books of Mormon, paying medical bills and a host of other bills, recording baptisms, arranging for medical treatment for serious cases that need specialized care, keeping up to date on regulations for missionary visas in South Africa, AND keeping 70 cars running and the missionaries safe.   Elder Sorensen is in charge of the cars and answers his phone 24/7.  There are sometimes 2 accidents in one weekend and he usually has 15% of the cars in the repair shop on any given day.  Driving in South Africa is beyond description.   

Elder and Sister Nielsen (on the left) are leaving to go home today.   They are being replaced by Elder and Sister Wood (on the far right).  The Woods happen to be related to my brother-in-law, Greg.   In the middle, are Elder and Sister Sorensen.  

LOBOLA, BRIDE PRICE

Lobola, is an honored tradition in South Africa.   Even in 2016, this is practiced by most people.   When a couple desires to get married, the future bridegroom must pay the girl's family 11 cows.   The only change in the tradition, has been to allow a man to pay the equivalent of the 11 cows in cash.   Their are many negative consequences arising from Lobola.   Very few men can pay this price, so they live together without marriage and try to save the money to be married.   However, when they have children, the Bride Price goes up for each child born to the couple.   Soon the price is impossible and many men leave and find another woman.  This practice contributes to (but is not totally responsible for) all the families with no father.  

Nguni cattle, are used for the Lobola payment.   There are dozen and dozens of different types of Nguni cattle.   There is actually a Registry that catalogs each type, the physical characteristics and their Zulu name. They are a hybrid of Indian and European cattle. They are white, brown, golden yellow, black, multicolored,

I apologize for the picture.   I took 15 pics in many different locations and none were good.

dappled and spotty.   Each type is named after an animals, tree or flower that resembles the marking on the cow.   Nguni cattle play a large role in  economic aspects of South Africa, not only because of Lobola, but because their hides are a very sought after.   They are used for rugs, wall hangings, furniture, etc.   

They have pointy, delicate horns.   Each group of between 10-30 cows are "supervised" by one herder.   I put supervised in quotation marks because I use the word loosely.  The herder has one long stick with a red bandana tied on the end.   He sometimes follows the cattle, but much of the time there is no one in sight.   The cattle wander on to the highway, into gardens, into the bush etc. and pretty much call the "shots".  This morning a herd strolled on to a major road during a busy time.   Traffic was backed up, but the herder could not get the cattle to move.   He waved his flag frantically over his head, then gave up and turned his back to the angry motorists. 

OUT OF AFRICA

 Our elders rolled their Bakkie (truck), and luckily no one was hurt.   But we needed to make a quick trip to Durban in regards to the accident.   Since we were going, we took a box we wanted to ship home to Colorado.   You might be wondering what we are shipping home????  A 6 foot tall wooden giraffe!   That's right!   A giraffe.   We have fallen in love with these graceful, gorgeous, giant animals.  What will we do with this carving?   We have no idea.    And, to complicate matters, Sandy has no decorating ability whatsoever.   So don't laugh when you walk into our home and see this beauty looking out of place.   It is a reminder of this amazing country.

It was no small task to find a box to ship it in.   We visited so many stores with no luck.   Finally, when I explained to a store clerk I wanted a box almost the exact size and shape as he was, we had success.   He asked what it was for and when I said, "A giraffe", he was puzzled but knew what to look for.   He went behind the store and climbed into the "rubbish bin" (dumpster) and found a perfect box.   Elder Todd spent a long time reinforcing the box,  4 rolls of packing tape, lots of bubble wrap and completed the job.    However, getting this box into our car (Toyota) was quite the challenge.   Eventually, he took the headrests off the seat backs and laid down the front seat.  the box barely fit by pressing it against the front windshield and the rear windshield.   I sat in the back seat with the box going over my shoulder.   Elder Todd could not see out either the rear view mirror or the side mirror.   I was his "eyes" for the 2 hour trip.   But we made it safely!

ADORABLE

We were sitting right underneath them watching them eat the berries.  

While we were in Durban, we took our box to the mission home.    While we were on the sitting back patio of the mission home chatting with Sister Zachrison,  several monkeys came right up to us.    She ran inside to get bananas but did not have any, so she brought back carrots to feed them.   The monkeys followed her into the house before she could get the door closed.   That is dangerous for several reasons, but the main reason is they pee and poop on everything (and steal your food.)   After getting them out of the house, we spent 10 minutes watching the monkeys and trying, unsuccessfully, to get them to eat out of our hands. We NEVER get tired of these adorable monkeys!!

He grabbed a packet of Ketsup (like from a fast food place) from their kitchen, opened it and licked up every drop!

HARD SELL

In South Africa, you can set up a business anywhere.   Literally, you set up your shop anywhere.  This is the main street...just around the corner from our house.   Along each side of this busy 2-lane road are stretches of grass.   This man pulled his truck up on the grass and set up business.  He is advertising to get your car air conditioner recharged! He has all the equipment right there!  He not sitting in his lawn chair by the truck, because he is trying to flag down business from traffic on the road.   THE REAL CATCH HOWEVER IS, IT IS WINTER HERE!!!!!  People are wearing ski hats, sweaters and long pants.  I am sure we are the ONLY ones using our car air conditioning.   It is 80 degrees!   Air Conditioning is called Aircon in South Africa. 

We also see people selling furniture, bean bag chairs, fans, charcoal and biltong (kind of like beef jerky, only better) along the road. 

LAST TRANSFER DINNER

It seems unbelievable that we just cooked our last transfer dinner!    How can that be?  It seems like we just arrived in Richards Bay and I was trying to figure out how to turn my oven on, where to find familiar foods and how to cook when it was 105 degrees plus high humidity.    Now Richards Bay, grocery shopping, and feeding the elders seem like "home".   We also celebrated Elder Katimbo's birthday with cake and ice cream.  We had roast beef, potatoes, gravy,  carrots, homemade rolls, salad, bananas and pears.  I don't think I will ever cook again.  Our neighbor told us that:    In Africa, quality does NOT matter when it comes to food.  Only quantity matters." She said, people don't want anything fancy.....they just want A LOT of whatever you have.   Sometimes it is like that with the elders. 

 During dinner, the missionaries receive the transfer news (about 7:30 p.m.) and find out if they are leaving and where they are going.   They are so excited...and sometimes a little apprehensive.  These missionary companions spend 24 hours a day together, in every circumstance you can imagine.   They become best friends.   Some of them will see each other in the U.S. after their missions.   But the African elders know they will not see these friends after their missions.  Amidst all the goodbyes, I forgot to take any pictures!

DAY-TO-DAY
It is mostly the day-to-day opportunities that bring us joy.   The past 2 weeks we have taught investigators about the Book of Mormon and the Word of Wisdom; we have taught young women, taught priesthood, taught Primary; gone out late at night to charge a battery for a stranger, inspected the elders' apartments for cleanliness, given rides, given a Family Home Evening lesson; had a widow over to play games, and trained 2 youth leaders.  

We only have 3 1/2 weeks left on our mission. (Now we have 3 weeks left because I didn't post this blog.)  Each night and morning we plead with the Lord, to guide us to do things that are most worthwhile and to serve those He would have us serve.   It is not always easy to discern what is most important, and we need Divine guidance.   

Thank you for your love and prayers.