More good-byes yesterday .... 

Khadija Chiwandire and her cute new baby  Bryson, Lilah and Ethan.

Bryson 9 days old 

We always stop to say "HI" to Viktor (who is less active because of

working most Sundays)  at OK Furniture in the mall in Ezulwini.

We  got caught on a bad road in a terrible thunder and lightning storm as we went to visit a few more people (no photos).... This poor dad and son and their cows were getting soaked and we  were right behind them the whole way!!! 

 

We  will miss this beautiful place!

It was so hard to say good-bye to our Ezulwini Branch members today after church.... our LAST Sunday in Swaziland! I had a bag of chocolate 💗s to pass out to them and a little gift for my RS sisters. We got some photos, but I forgot until many had already left for home...

Elder Wold and I were  asked to speak in church, but the first speaker went so long and we had two musical numbers, the YW singing "If We Love Him" and Zola Shongwe singing "Strength Beyond My Own", so Elder Wold  just  had time to bear his testimony.  But he did a wonderful job as always! I bore mine in siSwati for the last time. 

Ezulwini Primary children and Ketsiwe, the Primary President

Ketsiwe and her counselor, Pontso Shongwe and Zola Shongwe

Our Ezulwini Branch Relief Society Sisters (and kids)

We were missing several sisters....and we had some people who the elders are teaching!

(Sindi Mahlobo, our neighbor being taught, was in Sacrament Mtg, but I guess she had to leave before RS...)

L to R: Precious (being taught), Gertrude Mamba RS President, Philiswa Hlophe next to her  aunt, Rachel Simelane holding her little girl, Megan Shongwe (visiting), Zola  Shongwe, Gogo Shabangu (in the hat), Thandeka Mayala, Thuli Ndwandwe (holding baby girl in pink), Khandile Malaza, Me,  in front of me ~        (being taught), Jabu Nkambule, in front of them ~ Zwakele Nkambule with her little girl in pink, Sakhile (friend of Mzwandile Zandamela), Jabu's sister, and Thuli in the stripes.

(Long story about these frames we bought last  Sept. but never used... I got this idea last night  to give to my RS Sisters to remind them of our RS Activity and being "Sisters in Christ" with the Gladys Knight song, etc....

 

Naomi, Elizabeth and Sister Mayala, Pontso and Thuli Ndwandwe  

with her baby tied onto her back

These two cuties, Naledi Shongwe and Iola, are cousins 

and love to  run around together during sacrament meeting. Ü 

(Naledi is Pres. Manqoba and Pontso's little girl.)

Siphiwe Shongwe and I in our color-coordinated outfits. Ü 

She is YW Pres. and teaches Institute. She translated my testimony into siSwati for me.

Siphiwe and I with Cassie (Nkosingphile) Makhanya, YW counselor, and Lindelwa Thwala

Elder Reneer with Sibusiso Dlamini, our Asst. branch mission leader 

& our friend, Cassie

Elder Wold with Nhlanhla (Michael) Khosa and Nkosingphile Ndwandwe

Elder Reneer, Trevor Zulu and Elder Jolley

Jesse, Naomi, Thandeka, and Elizabeth Mayala

Charles Dlamini in front of Elder Wold 

(Eating the  chocolate 💗 suckers I gave Siphiwe for the YW but she forgot....)

One last shot of us with our zone leaders in Ezulwini Branch...

Counselors in our Branch  Presidency ~ Ephraim Dlamini (left) and Moses Khanyile

Today at 4:00 pm we took some dinner up to the Msibi kids. Wendy was visiting from Matsapha with her 5 month old  baby girl.  Masebenza had to work today and so they did not come to church.  (We never saw Simphiwe...) We had sweet chicken in the crockpot in tortillas, cowboy caviar, guacamole with chips, watermelon, soda and no bake cookies. 

It was a nice afternoon with a little breeze... They are up the mountain

in Elangeni.  It's a very pretty setting!

 

Venus (12)

Germany, a cousin (but they say "brother" when it is a son 

of their father's brother) lives with them. He goes to the 7th Day Adventist Church.

A VERY sad "good-bye".... We have been close to the Msisbi family

We stayed until dark.... 

(Of course picture-taking always ends up with dozens of selfies!! )

 Germany with the elders

Masebenza, Wendy and her baby

Driving down the mountain.... The "road' is overgrown with grass

this time of the year! 

SATURDAY

Darling Masisi and Nathi Dlamini from Mbabane Branch met us for dinner at Adega Portuguese Restaurant on Saturday night.  Nathi is our guy here who does all the work permits, visas,  etc. for the elders serving here.  He also gets repairs done in all the flats, and works with the owners, etc...  We will really MISS him!!  

They are expecting their 2nd boy the end of April! 

Saturday night was also a YSA Dance in Mbabane!

We took 50 Rolo-filled cookies to them and got this photo of three of cute Ezulwini YSAs,

Bahle Ngubeni, Amanda Simelane and Nkosingphile ("Cassie") Makhanya.

Today was our LAST Friday in Swaziland and our LAST District Council and District Leader Council in Manzini.  They chose "God Be With You Till We Meet Again" for the closing  hymn  and I  couldn't even sing...  It was SO hard  to say good-bye to all the elders  in Swaziland and also to Tip Top, the groundskeeper at the Manzini Chapel, who has  become our good buddy... 

Our  Swaziland Elders

(Crazy  pose..)

District Leader Council  

Elders  Earl and Rea ~ Manzini Fairview Branch  

Elders Lee and Hlatshwayo ~  Nhlangano Branch

Elders  Behunin and Nielsen  ~  Mbabane Sidwashini Branch

Elders  Van Thiel ~  Mbabane  Branch

Elders  Leterme  and Smith

Tip Top, our buddy (after he took the photo of all of us) Ü 

After the meetings this morning, we went to the mall in Manzini  and got prints made at  Sun Express  Photo and said good-bye  to my  Korean friend  who works there.  We also stopped at Clicks and ran into Elder Mayisela's mother! It was fun to get a pic with her to send to him!  

We were excited to wake up this morning to photos of Tigist Ayele's wedding yesterday, to a cute Swedish missionary, Mattias Ridell, who served in the Ghana Kumasi Mission with her!  They were  married in Ethiopia today so that  she can get a visa  to be sealed in the temple in Sweden! His parents were there from Sweden!

Beautiful Bride and bridesmaids! 

Both sets  of parents

Thuli Fakudze has been staying in Ntondozi since December, taking care of her dad.

We decided to drive out to see her yesterday.  (She is staying 45  minutes  away ~  past Malkerns and Luyengo!)  Her baby, Siphosethu, turned 1 this month. 

It was SO fun to see her!!  

It was a very pretty drive but the roads were bad!

I like these white birds that hang around the cows and other animals.

I have never seen one this close! 

We  stopped and gave these two cute kids a lollipop...

His eyes were the biggest and most amazing I have seen!! 

Last  night we had our last lesson with the Mahlalela family. It went  well.  The elders  will keep  things going with them after we leave.... They  are  going on Tuesday to do service  at  Bheki Mahlalela's school, where he is headmaster. We had to get  a  picture before we left...Bheki, Nelisiwe and Philo (almost 11)  Their older kids were away at boarding school and our of town. We have  been  teaching them  with the elders and by ourselves  for about a year...But they have  still never made it to church...   She rarely gets  a Sunday off work  (Woolworth's) and when she does, they go "home" to their parents'  homestead almost to the Mozambique border!! 

(Haha! You will see in the next post that after seeing these photos, I decided I HATE the "no bangs" look on me, so I woke up the next morning and chopped my bangs!!)