Today began as a so-called typical day at the office. The local news here is interesting. It was more than just the usual crime count today. Good news for us is that the Rand is at the highest exchange rate since we’ve been here. That means that we can stretch our dollar a little farther.
There is constantly news of Rhino poaching but today’s news told
of this bit of excitement:
One crocodile turned up on a school rugby pitch 120 kilometres (75 miles) away from the farm. They’re about 10 feet long. I’m glad we’re on the 5th floor and they can’t reach the elevator buttons. Sadly there were many deaths from the floods and tourists had to be rescued from Kruger Park.
There was a Self-Employment workshop and mentoring session in the ERC today. Chuck loves the class and is passionate in his teaching approach. I prepared some more books for my library project and followed up with correspondence sent to the leaders we work with. We offered our services and encouraged their registration on
www.LDSjobs.org.
We had another tour through our department by a Media guest. Our Public Affairs Department does a good job of keeping a regular stream of guests touring the Area Offices. It is an amazing place and a fascinating complex of church services. Non-member visitors are always impressed with the scope of what goes on here and how welcome they feel. It’s such a blessing to work in such pleasant surroundings.
There were a couple of power outages today. The staff seemed more concerned about having a meltdown in the ice cream freezers than in the computers.
Excitement escalated when Mickey Mouse unexpectedly joined us for lunch. He did laps around the cantina floor and I surprised myself by continuing to chomp on my salad without flinching. I’ve been in Africa too long, I guess. When we were gathering our things to leave the office a snake slithered by, probably looking for something mousey for dinner. That was a bit unnerving but we were assured it was not a poisonous one. I guess the Lord is preparing us for our new home on the Arizona desert.
We often meet interesting folks on the elevator. Today we met a man with the longest loaf of bread I’ve ever seen. We asked where he got it and then wished him a pleasant evening.
I had purchased a DVD, “Between Heaven and Earth” for the young man I had met in the elevator previously so I put it in a gift bag with some microwave popcorn and walked down the stairs to deliver it to the young man and his mother, Denise. The DVD features religious scholars of various faiths describing ancient and modern temples. I thought it might interest them since there are interviews with both a Rabbi and a Christian Minister. I rang the bell and surprisingly the Jewish elevator man with the long bread answered and received the gift. The mother and son were out.
We returned home to find that the water had been shut off so we were without water the rest of the night. Thankfully, my faithful “house boy” saves water for us in empty milk containers. There’s a lot to be said about self-reliance!
Chuck threw together a little stir fry meal and we plopped in front of the TV so I could elevate my swollen legs. We watched “The Other Side of Heaven” from the other side of the earth. It was fun to be reminded of when the subject of the film, John Groberg visited us with his wife, Jean. We viewed the film with them and got all the inside scope on the movie. My mother was Elder Groberg’s Primary teacher in Idaho Falls so I think that makes us family. Here are some good quotes from the film:
“There is a connection between heaven and earth. Finding that connection gives meaning to everything, including death. Losing that connection makes everything lose meaning, including life.” “Sometimes God calms the storm and sometimes He calms His child.”
At the point in the film when the storm was raging, thunder and lightning from outside our window nearly stole the show. We had surround sound.
I think that this is my favorite part of Elder Groberg’s story.
“Years ago, as a young missionary, I was assigned to a group of 17 small islands in the South Pacific. One day a member told me that if I would be at a certain harbor on a particular island at sunset the next day, a family would meet me there and listen to the discussions.
What joy that news brought! I was working alone at the time but quickly found four members who were experienced sailors and who agreed to take me to this island.
Early the next morning the five of us started out. A nice breeze moved us swiftly along the coast, through the opening in the reef, and out into the wide expanse of the Pacific Ocean.
We made good progress for a few hours, but then the wind began to slow and soon quit, leaving us bobbing aimlessly on a smooth ocean. I suggested that we pray. We pleaded with the Lord three times to send some wind, but still the sails hung limp and listless.
I thought, ‘all that stands between us and the family is a little wind. Why won’t the Lord send it? It’s a righteous desire.’
A faithful older brother unlashed the tiny lifeboat and softly said, “Get in. I am going to row you to shore.”
I was astonished. It was miles to shore. The sun was hot, and this man was old. He said, “We have an assignment from the Lord. Before the sun sets this day, you will be teaching the gospel and bearing testimony to a family who wants to listen. Get in the boat.”
We got into the boat; the old man bent his back and began to row. He did not look up, rest, or talk. Hour after hour he rowed and rowed and rowed, fulfilling the calling he had from the Lord—to get a missionary to a family who wanted to hear the gospel. He was the Lord’s wind that day.
Just as the sun slipped below the horizon, the lifeboat touched shore. A family was waiting. I went to their home and taught them the gospel. The family believed and eventually was baptized.
How often do we quit because we pray for wind and none comes? Instead, we need to listen for the Lord’s answer when we pray and then act upon his answer. On the boat, five men prayed, but only one heard and acted. God gave him the strength to be His wind that day and He will give us the strength to be His wind when we do what He asks.”
On one of our days off, a group of missionaries toured some historical places in Soweto. One was a famous church, Regina Mundi (Queen of the World) which is the largest Roman Catholic Church in South Africa. Within its walls, people took refuge during apartheid and were shot at inside the church. There are still colored glass windows that bear the scars of those bullet holes. We visited with school children at the church and enjoyed their happy spirits. You can see an albino child in one of the photos that is whiter than I am. They take care to avoid the sun whenever possible. I suppose their skin is even more sensitive than mine.
We also visited the Hector Peterson Memorial. That’s an unusual name for an African compared to all of those we have met who have tribal names. The Pitso family changed their name to Pieterson or Peterson so that they could be perceived as “colored” instead of black for the purpose of better advantages. “Colored people” here are those who are not black and not white, such as Indians and others who are sandwiched in the “color” spectrum between black and white. When my eye caught a glimpse of the date on the commemorative stone tribute, I wept. It was 16 June 1976. In the summer of 1976 America celebrated the bicentennial of our freedoms and the beginnings of the United States of America. On 16 June 1976 our hearts were filled with joy as we celebrated the arrival of Heather, our beloved third child. It was especially exciting for Chuck because it was our first baby born after he returned from the Viet Nam War. He was finally allowed to be in the delivery room and be part of the welcoming committee for our beautiful, healthy daughter. He held her close and wept. We both did!
Today more than 1.3 million people call Soweto home. Many of those homes still have no indoor plumbing and use a common outdoor water spigot. Christianity is the main religion in the township and many churches can be found there that meet in large tents or marquees, as they called. A photo is included of the first LDS Chapel built in the area. Some of the original church pioneers still exist in that area and have happy hearts and tender testimonies. They will forever be part of the Soweto story.
In the early evening, I walked out on the roof of our hotel to observe the sunset. There, I met a star-gazing couple cuddled up on a bench. The man was looking at his iPad with an astrology app mapping the western sky. When I heard their American accents, a conversation ensued that revealed he worked for the State Department. The girl had graduated from Cerritos High School where Chuck and I had taken a ceramics class many years ago. She had attended Cerritos College across the street from the Stake Center where we attended church for 37 years. It’s a small world in this vast universe God created!
It was so much fun having Bryan visit us. I was getting homesick for the family so seeing Bryan was a great blessing. His visit gave me the hope I needed to survive our final stretch of service here in Africa. Everywhere we went, people loved Bryan and wanted to talk to him. He took us on some wonderful adventures that we would not have otherwise been able to enjoy. I’m slow getting photos processed and experiences ready for posting because on the final leg of our adventure in the bush country, I was bitten on my legs by a flesh-eating spider and a giant African tick. I became deathly ill and required divine intervention to survive. I was fearful of being bitten by a malaria-carrying mosquito as I am a mosquito magnet, but was unsuspectingly devoured by one of the multitude of spiders we encountered. I was treated with Malaria medicine that seemed at times to exacerbate the symptoms. As I endured the darkest and most difficult night to hang onto life I heard these strains of music and the words went through my aching head. 
