Dear Friends and Family,
We hope this finds all of you well and happy. Today has been our first really cool day. In fact, I wore a sweater this morning! Kind of a nice change from last week. The past 2 weeks have been so busy with very long days. When we arrived we thought we would not be able to go out after dark. But our mission president says we can do whatever we feel comfortable doing. So we have been out after dark on many nights, or most nights.
Last Saturday was such a great day. In my quest to help the Young Women develop friendships with each other, have fun and grow in the gospel, I decided to have an activity with just the Young Women in the Ngwelezane Branch. Although the girls were excited and I thought I had "covered all my bases", at the last minute a threat of a power outage kept the girls home.. Luckily, we were able to "rescue" the activity with lots of determination...although we started later than planned!
This was so simple, yet so fun. This is the only branch that we work with where someone has a kitchen that 6 people could squeeze into. Five young women and 1 young adult showed up to bake brownies. I had advertised: COME AND LEARN TO MAKE AMERICAN BROWNIES! ( Don't laugh) We divided into 2 groups and each group made a batch with me walking them through every step. Then we put the brownies into bake and had a "Get to Know You" activity. Next we tasted the 2 different recipes (I made a frosted recipe and brought it already baked) and decided which we liked best. Everyone liked the frosted ones the best...so do I because I haven't been able to make my really fudgey recipe here. Then we cut all the brownies and wrapped them in saran wrap. Larry had found some fairly cute boxes (meaning they weren't plain brown) to put the brownies in (he had looked everywhere for me...finding something like this is a huge challenge, but he did it.). Then we planned to deliver the brownies to the inactive girls and invite them to church. However, this part did not work out. Because we started so late, we were behind schedule and Larry and I had to leave for our next assignment (which was teaching seminary 45 minutes away in another branch). So the girls said they would get the branch president (he has a car) to take them. They could hardly wait to show their friends and family their brownies!
PRIESTHOOD CAMPOUT
Our district had a priesthood "campout" at the church for all young men and adults. They served a braai dinner (bar-b-que) with the district President doing all of the cooking. Next was a short "priesthood restoration program" and Larry was the speaker. After that they played soccer and then watched a movie. For sleeping they slept on the wood floor in the church. Many boys just laid on a blanket, some on a towel, some on the floor and a few had sleeping bags. The next morning the District President cooked breakfast for everyone. Larry picked up 4 boys that live quite a distance away and drove them home afterward. Without a senior couple (with a car) these boys would not be able to attend.
AFRICAN EXPERIENCE
We have had 2 experiences in the past few weeks that give a glimpse into life in Africa. Our mission "office couple"says that until you have several of these "you don't understand Africa." We have had so many but these are recent.
1. Our elders were driving along a very busy highway and their car just stopped working. They called us to come and help. We arrived and Larry tried everything he could think of but the car wouldn't start. So we called a tow truck. After a long wait, it arrived and took the car to the car dealership. We assumed the car would be fixed in a day or two. We began driving the elders everywhere so they could continue working. After a few days, we called the car dealership and they still hadn't even looked at the car. Larry said he would call the next day to find out what needed to be done. The next day they still hadn't looked at the car. Fast forward 2 weeks, they said they had just pulled the car apart but hadn't found the problem yet. We called twice a day for another week and they still hadn't had time to look at the car. So Larry went to speak to the Service Manager. He apologized and promised to call back that afternoon. No call that day or the next day. Next Larry goes in and asks for the the General Manager of the entire dealership. The manager couldn't believe our story and said someone would call within 2 hours. He introduced the employee that would call us back and she agreed. You know what happened! No one called that day or the next. Larry called the mission office and they called the Chevrolet Headquarters in South Africa because the church buys so many cars from them. Chevrolet called and put the pressure on our dealership. Chevrolet assured us the car would be fixed. Unbelievable, but still no action. Next the mission home sent someone to pick up the car and haul it somewhere else. But the dealership insisted it couldn't be put back together because of some problems. We visited the dealership every other day. Eventually, the mission sent another mechanic from Durban (who claims to have ties to the Indian Mafia here) and he insisted that Larry leave the dealership office while he solved the problem. We learned afterward that the mechanic threatened them by saying: put this car back together within a week or his "buddies" would visit them and their families (this guy is not LDS.) Three days short of 2 months, we got the car back . . .driveable but not completely fixed.
2. The Branch President in Nseleni wasn't feeling well and the doctor discovered he had heart problems. He referred him to a cardiac doc. That doctor said Pres. Alvana needed to go into the hospital right away for tests. This was critical. That was Wednesday. However, the doc couldn't get him a bed in the hospital until Monday. Pres. Alvana drives his children to school (30 minutes from his house) and his wife to work each day. Therefore, him being in the hospital is a HUGE problem because they are the only ones in the branch with a car. There is NO ONE to help in or out of the church. We volunteered to drive everyone on Monday morning and then come back and pick Pres. Alvana up and drive him to the hospital (30 minutes away). We picked everyone up at 6:30 AM and got back to pick up Pres. Alvana by 9:00. When we arrived he said he couldn't go because he his pajamas are dirty and he only has 1 pair, and he had just started washing them. (The hospital doesn't provide any pajamas or gowns.) We were frustrated but we thought he would just take a few minutes. However, he said he would take 2 1/2 hours because he has to wash them and then hang them on the line to dry! (Rats! Clothes dryers are really handy...but they don't have one.) We drive back to get him in 2 1/2 hours and just then the hospital calls and said there isn't a bed available because the patient (whose bed he was taking) was not checked out yet. They told him that the doc would be in later that afternoon and check out the patient. Well, as you guessed. At 5:00 PM he called and there still wasn't a bed available. We repeated the same thing on Tuesday (except his pajamas were clean and he was ready to go), but the hospital called again and said,"No Bed. Call back at 3:00". For 3 days we picked up the kids and took them to school and went to pick up Pres. Alvana. But the hospital would call and delay. Finally, we said, "If the hospital calls and confirms a room, please let us know, Last night at 4:15 PM they called us and said, If they could get to the hospital by 5:30, they would "hold" the bed. We were at the store buying food for our missionary lunch at our home today. We left everything and drove to get him and take him to the hospital. We arrived at 5:29 PM! What I didn't mention is that this happened, 15 days after his original hospital appointment and almost 3 weeks after his cardio appointment. So much for an "important, critical cardio condition."
This hospital is NOT a township hospital. This is the best hospital in the area for Afrikaans. But a person literally has to be on call for 15 days to get a hospital bed....how does the doc plan his schedule?????
BEST FOR LAST
Sunday we attended our district conference. They changed the District Presidency. The old presidency spoke and the new presidency and wives spoke. The spirit was so strong. These men and women spoke with such faith. These branches and district have so many problems and barely function, BUT the leaders know this is the true church. And they share spirit-filled testimonies. I could hardly contain myself because of the spirit. I felt like I had been in general conference. I was filled with hope.
The gospel of Jesus Christ is true. It is the source of happiness for every person. Heavenly Father's plan is for every culture, every country, and every age group.
In spite of challenges (seemingly insurmountable), obstacles, unique circumstances, etc., the gospel is the answer! Although we are barely even scratching the surface in helping these people, we continue to plod ahead.
I am humbled when I realize the responsibility Larry and I have to be the "Lord's hands" in these branches. It is daunting. I can truthfully say that every day, I feel so blessed to be able to serve a mission!
Pics:
Larry and I at the beach.
A pic of 2 Zulu women. The lady taking the pic chopped off the top of the picture where it showed her carrying a big load on her head. These ladies were carrying bags of on their backs, on their heads, and wheelbarrows. It is garbage day and they are out "collecting stuff" for their families.
This is a pic of how they carry babies/toddlers here. It is a long towel, wrapped tight. There are no hooks, velcro or closures to keep it tight....but it doesn't slip.
We love you!
The Todds
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