Hello All,
Last Saturday (a week ago) we hosted a Self Reliance Workshop for the Richards Bay District (5 congregations). We organized it and promoted it. We felt it was a priority for this entire area. We defined Self Reliance as"being able to care for your needs and your family's needs." We drove to each township and spent time inviting people. It was a full day event from 10:00-3:30 and we had asked for RSVP's. We only received a few. At 10:00 we had 2 people but decided to go ahead. We had invited another senior couple from Durban who are the specialists on this topic for all of South Africa. By 10:30 we had 29 people and were overjoyed. As it turned out, we could not have handled any more. We discussed CV's (resumes), interviews, power statements, etc. One segment showed how to use your life experiences to show qualities that could be valuable to an employer. We spent considerable time helping them find their strengths and write a "power statement" about themselves. Then we broke into groups of 2-3 and they practiced these power statements. In 5 sentences they were to highlight one of their qualifications. Then we went around and listened. We realized we had a great deal more work to do, when we heard several say: My name is __________ and I want a job as ____________. I do not have any qualifications. (I don't think that will get them the job.) We tried over and over to help them say POSITIVE things about themselves. Another skill we taught was how to use school or church experiences to relate to a specific job. For example: " I taught Sunday School for 3 years, I work well with young children. I used music and art to teach my 4 year olds to learn new concepts. I would bring this same expertise to your preschool." Or something like that. One workshop participant said, "I directed my grade 7 choir. I think I could be a good waitress." So you can see there needs to be lots of one-on-one help. By 3:30 we were exhausted but so happy and so were the participants. We have another class Friday and one on Saturday.
GENERAL HOSPITAL SOAP, PART 2
Last week I shared the story about President Alvana waiting 15 days to get a hospital bed. Two days after we took him to the hospital, we stopped to see how he was doing. He was NOT in his bed. We asked the nurse where he was, and she said he had left. I asked if he went to therapy, etc. She said, he had left the hospital for the afternoon but would be back by 6:00. I couldn't believe it...you just walk out of the hospital. The nurse said the doctor had prescribed medications that were expensive, so he was walking to a discount pharmacy to purchase the meds, because they would be cheaper there. I was astounded. He returned in 3 hours with the meds for the nurse to give him! He was in the hospital 7 days waiting in the queue for his "heart and organ xray" as he called it. Why did they take up a precious bed for 7 days? On the 7th day he had the xray and they discovered he needed a procedure they weren't equipped to handle. They needed to send him to Durban (2 hours away). They took him by ambulance, he had the procedure, and the next day they told him to ride the public bus home.
YOUR APPLIANCE WILL TRAVEL
Our tumbler (dryer) wasn't working so I called a repair man. He said he would come by and pick it up in 3 days. I said, what do you mean, "Pick it up?" That's right. They pick up broken appliances, repair them in the shop and return them when they are finished. However, I explained that I thought it might be the outlet in the wall or just the plug on the machine. He said, he still needed to come and pick up the machine. I insisted that he look at the plug before he hauled it away. He said he would think about it. Ten days later, he came by and discovered it was just the plug, so he didn't have to haul it away. Whew! In the meantime, our frig was having problems. Yep, they don't repair it at our home either. He said: defrost it,(remember I am not timely in my defrosting duties), and then he will pic it up within 3 days. He will need to keep my refrigerator 3-5 days!
ODDS AND ENDS
Sunday I spoke in church. I know you won't believe me, but I actually finished early! We went and ate with the Alvana family after church. Then we visited with another family. It was such a great day.
Today, one of our missionaries, Elder Hansen, taught all of us a great lesson from 11:00-1:00 in our District meeting. Then we went out a taught and young man who is struggling with alcohol and a divorce. We are trying to help and give him support during this rough time.
BEST BIRTHDAY EVER
I can't believe it, but yesterday Elder Todd turned 70 years old! How can that be true? He has never been concerned about birthdays in the past. But for the first time, he was concerned. He said, "70 sounds so old!" (true). We were so busy and I had not baked him anything special or even thought about a special meal. For breakfast, I scrambled him eggs, made hash browns and we were out the door. At 11:45 we went to the home of Freddy, a man we are working with. He then took us and the missionaries to his daughter's home for a birthday celebration. (The missionaries had noticed it was Elder Todd's birthday on our family calendar and told Freddy.) This was no ordinary lunch...it was a Thanksgiving dinner: Mutton Curry over rice, pasta and sausage casserole, roasted potatoes in spicy curry sauce, scalloped potatoes, Butternut squash, beets (popular here) Greek salad, chicken, 2 kinds of drinks and a cake for dessert! They even had candles with the numbers "70". The table was set beautifully. Sarah (his daughter) and her boyfriend are not employed and yet they put on this huge spread for strangers (at her father's request). Larry was very appreciative and ate so much I couldn't believe it. Sarah and her boyfriend didn't eat with us but they stood and watched us eat to make sure we enjoyed it. That part is very difficult for me. Next Freddy stood and gave a speech about Larry and how he couldn't believe we came all the way from America to help him. He pronounced a blessing for another 70 years (YIKES...I don't know about that!)
We were both so touched by their love, their efforts and their sacrifice for Larry. However, the best part was that we invited Sarah and her boyfriend to hear the message of Jesus Christ and they accepted.
After 3 hours we had to break away because we needed to pick up our materials and then teach Institute 35 minutes away. There were 4 students attending and the discussion was so thoughtful and inspiring. We always provide a snack for Institute and Seminary class, so we sang Happy Birthday to Larry again before we ate.
After 3 hours we had to break away because we needed to pick up our materials and then teach Institute 35 minutes away. There were 4 students attending and the discussion was so thoughtful and inspiring. We always provide a snack for Institute and Seminary class, so we sang Happy Birthday to Larry again before we ate.
As we were leaving Institute class to drive home, we received a message on our phone asking us to stop at Pres. Alvana's to pick up something. When we arrived, their family had a special celebration for Larry.......cake, songs, gifts and tributes.
I CAN TRUTHFULLY SAY, THIS WAS AN INCREDIBLE BIRTHDAY.
I can't think of anything we would rather be doing than serving a mission. We love sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with the wonderful people of South Africa. The gospel of Jesus Christ is such a blessing to the world and to us individually. We love each of you.
Love,
Elder and Sister Todd
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