Thursday, May 31, 2018

Monday, we had a special conference broadcast (youtube live) from the Roodeport Chapel in Johannesburg, at our flat, with Elder L. Whitney Clayton (senior President of the Presidents of the Seventy), Elder Kevin Hamilton (Africa Southeast Area President, who we met in 2014 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, when he was a counselor to Elder Renlund), President Bestor (MTC President) and President Leavitt (Mission President) and their wives who all spoke. It was REALLY good!  All 12 of our Elders here in Swaziland came to watch it and we had Texas Sheet Cake after it was over. 


It was Elder Nogueira's birthday so we stuck a candle in his piece of cake and sang to him! 
(He goes home to Brazil in just 26 days!)



We love the sky here, the clouds, the sunrises, and the sunsets!  This was taken the other night just after we drove in our gate and were walking from our truck to our flat. 
(We almost missed it!)



The other night, we took Rice Krispie treats to Amanda, our YSA rep, who is newly activated in our branch.  She lives with her mom (not a member, and who does not like her attending church), her handicapped older sister, (who has had 5 strokes) and her little girl, Precious, who is 7, and little boy, who is 3.  As we were leaving, they were talking about their chickens, (about 8 or 10 of them) who sleep in their trees.  I had to get a picture!  These are their wonderful plumeria trees that have gorgeous flowers in the spring/ summer! 




We drove past these flowers yesterday for the first time and I had Bob turn around and go back so I could get a picture! They are SO bright and colorful and SO different! (Isn't that "fork" fence interesting behind them!? 





I just can't get enough of these yellow flowering bushes all along both sides of the road in Ezulwini and on the way to Mbabane.  They are EVERYWHERE and grow like weeds! 



We have been teaching Sindie, who lives with our owner in the complex next to ours.  She takes care of the owner's kids, Tipholele age 10 and cute little boy age 4, and fixes meals, etc... (The owner lives in a beautiful  BIG home with an outdoor swimming pool and servants' quarters.  Her husband passed away in a car accident a couple of years ago, so she moved Sindie into a bedroom in her home and she is just like part of the family. Futhi, the owner, teaches siSwati at the high school.)  

I just LOVE Sindie! She stopped the Elders several weeks ago, as they were coming to our place and asked them to teach her.  (She once attended church in our Nhangano Branch a few years ago.) So we have been going over with the zone leaders after our Coordination Meeting on Tuesdays to teach her. Tipholele joins us too. They are both reading the Book of Mormon. Sindie's mother lives on their homestead far away and is quite sick, so she has been going to see her on the weekends and has not been able to come to church yet, but she loves everything we teach her and really likes everything about our church. 

She was outside this morning, so I opened the back door and visited with her.  She is leaving in the morning to go see how her mother is doing. She is SO worried about her.  So I asked her if she would like to take some cookies to her.  (She LOVES my Chocolate Chip Coconut Oatmeal Cookies!) SO I made some for her and also wrapped some up for her to take to her mom tomorrow. She came over to get them, just as I was going over there, so she came in and we visited awhile. I had to get a picture of my dear friend, Sindie!  She is between Jon and Jeff in age. She wears her hair straight in a long ponytail. She has the greatest smile and cutest laugh. She is SO sweet! 


2 comments:

  1. I just watched the "Be One" Celebration- what an awesome program! I loved the choir and Gladys Knight, the spoken words and narration, the Bonner family was amazing and sang beautifully! I just loved it all!

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  2. So did I!! I cried all the way through it! That cute guy from Jamaica had a hard time controlling his emotions too... Ü My friend wrote and asked it the members here sing like that choir in Sacrament Meeting. Haha!! The sad thing is... many converts actually leave our church even though they know it is true, to go back to their evangelical church, where the music is "livelier"!!! : /

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