Say hello to Nephi

We have been asked to speak in other branches these past two weeks so it has been awhile since we were in our home branch Madadeni 1. When we went to church Sunday everyone asked where we had been and they told us we were missed. It is nice to be missed.

 I worked with the YW today trying to help them understand “Personal Progress” and getting them motivated to work on it. I have been working on it myself. I enjoy the time I spend on it. I warned our Family Home Evening group that they will be subjected to my Personal Progress efforts.

Madadeni Young Women

There was a child baptized this Sunday. It made us think of our grandchildren that are being baptized this year. There are five of them. We got to see one of them baptized before we left but we will miss the other four baptisms. We love our eight year olds and are so proud of them.

We went for a walk on Monday morning and decided to take a little different route. Elder Hind was just a little ahead of me as we were passing a primary school. All of a sudden two little girls came running up to him and threw their arms around him. My first thought was “Those are some really friendly kids.” Then a couple of seconds later I realized we knew them. We visit them often. They are from the family that did that nice braai for us a couple of weeks ago. I never realized they went to school so close to us because they live about 25 minutes from here. They were so excited to see us and they are so cute. We were happy to run into them. That put our day off to a good start.

The rest of the day was just one of those days that we spend trying to solve problems for the missionaries, or the young people in the branches that are trying to get out on missions. We were making phone calls, emailing and scanning all morning.  We had Family Home Evening that night. Elder Hind gave a lesson on building on the rock of faith. I made caramel dip for apples. That was a new treat to some of the people but they loved it.

The newest missionary from Madadeni 1, heading to Johannesburg this week

Tuesday was baking day. I love to have something to give people when we visit. I know it is not necessary but I just enjoy doing it. So I baked Lion House whole wheat bread and some apple cinnamon bread. (I needed to use some apples left over from FHE). We went out to Osizweni to pick up the walking elders and I brought a loaf to give to a sister out there.

Lion House Whole Wheat bread and Apple quick bread

We had Zone Training Meeting this week. There were new elders to meet from the southern part of our zone. (Dundee, Ezakheni, and Ladysmith) The Zone Leaders are hard workers and good teachers. We are grateful for their instruction and help. We served the missionaries lunch after it was over. Then Elder Hind had to take off to a Branch Presidency meeting.

The Newcastle Zone - Aren't they a handsome bunch? I sure love them all,
especially the old, gray haired one.

That evening we got a call from the four Madadeni missionaries. Their whole complex was without power. It was not load shedding, it was a problem in the complex. They told us they were freezing and hungry. What could we say?  Well we could have said, “Eat some bread and go to bed in your coats”. Some missionaries have experiences like that but we felt bad for them. These are walking elders. They spend all day out walking. They come home cold, hungry and tired. They should be able to eat a hot meal and crawl into a warm bed at the end the day. We called the Zone Leaders and told them we were bringing the Madadeni District into Newcastle. Elder Hind bought them all McDonald’s meals and dropped them off at the Newcastle elders boarding. Slumber party!!

 The next morning we told them to come to our house for breakfast so the Newcastle elders wouldn’t have to feed them. (We are only two doors down from them). I made a huge batch of pancake batter and then worried that I had made too much. Ha! You would think I had learned by now there is no such thing as “too much” when it comes to missionaries and food.

Elder Hind took the Madadeni elders out to their area in the morning and they still did not have electricity or water.  He called the office and told them his concerns. That evening we were asked to go out and pick the elders up and bring them into Newcastle again. They did get the water turned on sometime during the day but still no electricity. We are getting a little sick of this apartment complex. Well, as frustrating as it is for us it has got to be worse for the elders that live there. It is too bad because the actual apartments are good, they have security and it is right in the area where they work.

After two nights the electricity was restored and they were able to stay at their own boarding. However neither companionship has hot water available yet.

The Taylors (senior couple in Ladysmith) invited us to a training and lunch they were putting on in Madadeni for the Seminary and Institute teachers. We are never one to turn down a free lunch so we went and had a great time. We watched a talk given by Elder Holland to the Seminary and Institute teachers in the church. I could listen to that guy all day! What an inspiring teacher he is!

The elders can never resist striking a goofy pose when we are taking pictures

The Taylors worked hard to make this a nice event
This is the combination Relief Society/ kitchen/ sacrament prep room

That evening we visited with some members in their home, gave some blessings and had a nice time. Visiting with members and investigators is our favorite thing to do.