More new Seniors to help us! Week 92

We are so excited that we have three new folks to come and help us in the Mission Office.  When we had about 40+ Elders, we could handle the workload.  We are now up to 95 Elders, soon to be 110, and are feeling overwhelmed.  But there were also some other miracles.

Andre and Vanessa Slabbert (seated) and Helen van Pletzen (right) are going to come and spend three afternoons each week in the Office.  We already know the Slabberts well.  Andre is our handyman, who can fix almost anything in the missionary flats.  Vanessa cuts our hair.  Helen is a friend and neighbor of theirs who wants to come and help, too.  

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...."   Families order packages from Takealot for their Elders, and they are sent to the office.  This was one-day's load.  Most days we don't get this many.  Actually, four of these boxes were for Ken -- a six-pack of rootbeer in each box.  But more about that later.

This week we we spent most of two days doing boarding checks.  We did four on Tuesday and five on Thursday.

Elder Harrild, Elder Mata and Elder Jensen in Amanzimtoti.

Elder H. Evans, Elder Matlapeng, Elder Lusuko and Elder Tinta in Umlazi.

Elder Rigby and Elder Weber in Queensburgh.  (We forgot to take a photo of Elder Hulley and Elder McGlothlin in Chatsworth.)

Tuesday we also found out we did not get the flat we thought we had rented in Pietermaritzburg.  It had already been rented to someone else.  But our second-choice one is still available, so as a miracle disaster was averted.  We didn't have time for another search day.  Other good news this week.  The flat in Bluff (out by the harbor) has been for sale for months and finally sold.  We were worried someone would buy it and kick us out, but the new owner wants to keep the tenants.  Another bullet dodged.  We have to find about eight new flats this month, mission wide.  Losing an existing one would not have helped.  The miracles continue.

Wednesday evening we were able to attend the temple again with half of Hillcrest Zone.  (The other half had gone on Tuesday evening.)  It is such a wonderful place, with a good spirit and reminders of our relationship to God.  It gives us the eternal perspective that we need to get through the trials of this life.

The temple sits on a hill north of Durban visible from themajor highway just where the city changes to countryside.  Most of those hills are sugar cane fields.

Thursday we were out again doing boarding checks.

We started with the Hillcrest Zone Leaders, Elder Manamela and Elder Mbonyana, with their triple, Elder Mere.

Next is Umbhedula with Elder Beck, Elder Boulter and Elder Rader.

We love the garden and pond in front of the Hillcrest Elder's flat.  Elder Thomas, Elder Thompson and Elder Black.  The latter is a friend of our grandson, Spencer Mills, from Pleasant Grove, Utah High School!  Spencer is currently serving a mission in St. Louis, Missouri.

We stopped at the Molweni boarding next with Elder Tom, Elder Hokanson and Elder Hall.  They serve in the Branch we attend.  At each of our boarding stops, the Elders go "shopping" for cleaning supplies, etc., from the back of our car.  Sue had made a plate of snickerdoodles for each boarding, and we also gave each Elder a bottle of the afore-mentioned rootbeer.  We had nine boardings to visit, so Sue thought that 24 bottles would be enough for all of them, with some left over for Ken.  It's usually two Elders to a flat.  She forgot how many triples we have, and one quadruple in one boarding.  That adds up to 25 Elders.  There was one can of rootbeer from Ken's previous order left in our fridge, so we gave that one away, too.  Ken will have to wait for the next Takealot order for his rootbeer fix.  More about these Elders below.

Last stop is all the way out to Mpumalanga.  Elder Ntlhare and Elder Wardlow have a panoramic view from the landing outside their flat.  

Friday we stayed in the Office all day and had almost no visitors.  It was wonderful to have all that peace and quiet and be able to get caught up -- almost, and then something happens that puts us back behind...

So Saturday morning we took off and drove north.  The Hubrichs needed to stay overnight on Saturday in Mtunzini, about 150 km north of Durban.  They had rented a two-bedroom cabin in the jungle near the ocean, and they offered us the spare room.  We agreed!  The cabin was all knotty pine walls and floor with a lovely deck and jungle view.  But we could hear the waves breaking on the beach beyond the trees.

While Sister Hubrich went to her Saturday-afternoon meeting, the rest of had a lazy time.  We sat in the cabin reading and napping, then we went down to the beach--walking through the woods, over the river on the boardwalk, and across the dunes.  We left the doors open. The monkeys in the area didn't raid us. Yet another miracle.

Ken got a kick out of the sign at the beach entrance.  No Shark Nets!!!

It takes more than a shark warning to keep Sue out of the water.  But we forgot the boogie board, and she just had to body-surf.  It was wonderful!  

The beach was almost entirely deserted, and we could see for miles both north and south.  Scroll left-right to see the whole panorama.

 Elder Hubrich took this spectacular picture of the windblown sand.

Ken and Elder Hubrich played a little football on the beach.  

And Ken showed off his lefty tossing form.  

Sister Hubrich came back from her meeting and did a little wading, too.  No neighborhood sharks or crocodiles were seen.

Saturday night we went to dinner at a local Portuguese restaurant.  We met a very nice hostess, Goria, who, when she saw our nametags, shared her love for Jesus Christ.  We invited her to visit Church.

Sue had hake (rhymes with rake) and (huge) prawns.  Ken had a Portuguese fillet (sounds like "fill it") with a fried egg on top!  It was all very yummy.

Sister Hubrich ordered Espetada--chunks of beef on a stick and grilled.  Then served hanging!

Sunday morning we left the Hubrichs behind so they could attend Church in Port Durnford, and we drove home to go to church with our usual Molweni Branch congregation.  Wonderful people there, and a good meeting. (See below.)  Afterwards we had a meeting with some of the leaders, and were told they can move back to their school building!!  Before COVID they met in a rented room in a school in Molweni township.  Since the lockdown lifted, about a year ago, they have not been able to use that.  They have to drive about 15km to meet in the Hillcrest building.  Most of them don't have cars to come that far, so most all have not been to church since March 2020.  We are all thrilled that the group will be together again--maybe as soon as next Sunday.  They love the fellowshipping with all the other Saints.

The last miracle:  Elders Hall spoke in Church and shared the experience he, Elder Tom and Elder Hokansen had had on Friday and Saturday.  Late Friday afternoon, driving their bakkie (pickup) through the fields in Molweni township and dressed in their normal missionary suits, they spotted a woman laboring alone in a plowed farm field.  Elder Tom and his companions felt prompted to stop and offer to help.  The lady directed them to her boss, so they went and found him and extended the offer to help.  He was astounded.  Why would three young men, driving a nice truck and dressed in business suits stop to help--for free?  He stared at their nametags.  He exclaimed as he saw that they bore the name JESUS CHRIST in large letters.  He then disclosed that he had been trying to plant the acre-sized field in corn before he had to leave for a long trip the next day, and he despaired because he knew he could never do it by himself.  So he had prayed.  That's when the Elders showed up.  The Elders went right to work, staying till 6:30pm, almost dark.  The next day, Saturday, they showed up again, this time dressed in work clothes, and they worked until the entire field was planted--corn seeds spaced two feet apart over the entire field.  The man was so grateful.  He told them they were truly angels sent from Heaven.  He then promised to come with them to Church to praise them and to testify before the congregation as if he were a long-time member!  His prayers to the Lord had been answered.