03 Feb 2008 - Just Chat

Allo, Ma Dahlings! (go up a few notes on “-lings”)

Sometimes I feel like I’m living in a P.G. Wodehouse novel (google him). For example, today I dropped Morgan off for rugby practice. As I’m leaving, a boy in a school uniform says (I will try to convey this phonetically): “ Ahftanoon, Mawm. May I awsk the tahm?” “You may”, I respond (I can’t help it!). “It’s twenty to four.” “Thenk yu, mawm.” Then as I’m walking away, I hear another boy ask, “Whawt’s the tahm, Reginald?” Honestly, has this ever happened to you? (Just a little aside on non-missionary life in Durban.)

I’m getting pretty used to some of the vocal patterns, such as “Ha yu?”, which if it were played on the piano could start on a G below middle C, then the “yu” slides from C# to D. The answers is “Fahn, n yu?” but the “yu” doesn’t slide so much this time. You can also respond “Ah’m well, n yu?” In the townships, if you don’t greet in Zulu, it’s more likely to be “Are you well?” which is a translation of the Zulu greeting. I’m actually trying to work on a South African accent, to try out when I get home. The South Africans won’t recognize it, but since most of you have never heard one, it’s worth a try!

Hunter and Morgan are now officially 15, which is handy, because Hunter has been claiming to be 15 for 3 months. Morgan celebrated by getting in a minor altercation at school, which led to 2 hours of after school detention. However, since the next day there was a scuffle among some matrics (grade 12) during which a row of lockers (in the walkway outside the classrooms) were knocked over, and later a boy in Morgan’s class accidentally(?) pushed another boy through a glass windowpane, sending the boy to the hospital for cleanup, I’m not too worried about his little event. Morgan says there will be LOTS of people in detention of Friday: I’m afraid he’s going to enjoy it.

The rugby coach is talking about training Morgan to be a "prop" instead of a "wing". This position wouldn't take as much advantage of his speed, but would capitalize on his bulk and strength (as if I knew what exactly a prop does...) And Hunter's team won their game this week - he is now a point guard, and made 12 of their 30 points. Nice! The coach of the older 1st team is taking Morgan up on his offer to bring a missionary basketball to play the 1st team and a few of the coaches on a Preparatin Day Monday. The players will wear the mission t-shirts, and their companions will be in their whites - way to break down the gates of Westville!

We also celebrated with a 2-1/2 hour power outage in the evening, so all the people we planned to Skype – sorry! The boys feel very rich, by the way: money makes a very good birthday present here. Grandma’s present exchanged into 250 rand! That doesn’t sound as good as a million Zimbabwe dollars for a loaf of bread, but we can’t ALL be in total economic meltdown – thank goodness!

This all doesn’t sound very missionary, so back to business. Sister Tanner, the general YW President, and Sister Matsumori, 2^nd counselor in the general Primary presidency, were in Durban this week as part of their Africa Southeast Area training tour. It was very helpful. They had their husbands with them, as well as Elder & Sister Koelliker (who say Hi to all my family that they know). Elder & Sister Hill came, too. Sister Hill is way fun to be around. The training was just what I needed just now, as the Couples Seminar coming up is focused on training priesthood and auxiliary leaders, and we’re trying to pull out the highlights from all the manuals and guidebooks, and use very, very, very simple instructions! Sister Tanner had some simplified pamphlets I had never seen before, which we’re now getting copies of. They will save us some time. We plan to take photos of members in the mission to use in our handouts, as the general Church material is usually a little sparse on pictures of Zulu members. (And even sparser on Swazis!)

I forgot to share a great visual Elder Hill used in his zone conference training. He was talking about how Satan likes to work on us one-on-one; the illustration is in the photo above. It's good, eh?

Another nice mental visual was looking for investigators like a needle in the haystack...and the Spirit is the magnet. I wish I were a cartoonist so I could draw all these images as they come up. Any volunteers? Katie? Logan? Torry?

We’re starting to hear from our sisters-in-a-different-mission. They are teaching a lot, and having to adjust (beautifully, I’m sure) to different approaches and leadership styles. In addition, a few have to cope with running into people they know on temple trips (good job hiding in the locker room, Sister Wileman!). Just when you think you know all the challenges a mission can bring...

Steve got back from his mission loop through Swaziland last night - there are two news items to add to the Swazi legends. One is their new "babas and babies" program. When they spot a man with a small child or a baby, they go out of their way to talk to him. They are finding lots of married men (not always the case) and starting to teach their families. The second is the new "Swazi Dirt Shirt". Swazi has very red soil, and Sister Baum made some dirt shirts (like Crazy Shirts in Hawaii?) for the elders, and now a member is going to start making them and try selling them to tourists. We plan to make our 2008 mission t-shirt on a Swazi Dirt Shirt.

We had a great fast for families (with transport!) to teach. I'm assuming the numbers will start rising this week! Thanks to those of you who joined with us. And if any of you are doing the 40-day ward fasts I'm starting to hear about, feel free to sneak the Durban Mission into your prayers. We can use all the help we can get (as can every mission).

Love to everybody!

Mom/Grandma/Sue/Susan/Sister President Mann

ps This week's guilty thought: If you're not sharing the gospel...then you're hoarding it! So if you "don't know anyone to share it with" it may be time to go somewhere that millions of people have never heard of Joseph Smith. Application forms are available online.

Current chapel for the new Ezakhini Branch

Zone Conference in Newcastle with Elder & Sister Hill

Welcome to the Bartholomews!

2008 01 27 - A new branch & zone conferences

(The following is from "The Prez" about organizing the Ezakheni (ezz uh kay knee) Branch):

"Hi everyone,
This last week we had a marvelous experience organizing the Ezakheni Branch. Ezakheni is a township about two and a half hours north west of the mission home. Most homes there are concrete with flat tin roofs and maybe 15X20 or smaller. This time of year the grass is up and there are goats and cows and chickens all over in the streets and yards. As you might imagine unemployment and HIV infection rates are very high. For the last several years we have rented what was an old slaughter house, (concrete floors and walls, few windows, leaky tin roof and only one real room). For the last two years the saints there have come together in the humid heat of the summer, in the damp and mud of the rain and in the cold of the winter. There is no heat in the winter and only a few fans to move the air around in the summer. In 2006 they averaged about 65 people attending sacrament meeting. In 2007 they averaged 88 with sometimes as many as 120, including all of the investigators. They did all of this as just an extension of the Ladysmith Branch about 20 miles away.
What an experience to get them organized as an independent branch. There is a spirit there that is incredible. The new branch president is from Zimbabwe, has been a member for about a year and a half and is one of the most humble spiritual men I have ever met. As a counselor in the Ladysmith Branch he would stop the branch president and say, “Can you please go with me this week to visit members?” His wife just got baptized and they are looking forward to going to the temple next year to be sealed together along with their two children.
The branch was so excited and the spirit was strong during the meeting. There is quite a bit of priesthood and a high percentage of tithe payers so we hope to buy land and get scheduled for a building soon. I wish you all could see Ezakheni for yourselves. If you could you would be far more thankful and probably a little embarrassed for all of the material things you have. You would also, I think, be humbled by their daily dedication to living the gospel of Jesus Christ, the strength of their testimonies, and their knowledge of the scriptures and doctrine. While we may have a few things to teach these people, we have far more to learn. "
Steve



Now it's me again. We just finished a mission tour, which is when an area authority comes around with us on zone conferences. Our Area Authority, called last April conference, is Elder Gareth C. Hill. He and his wife Lyris (a "horse whisperer") came with us to 3 zone conferences: 2, and once 3, zones at a time. It's fun, because the elders line up early and we all go through shaking hands with everyone. Elder & Sister Hill talked to each missionary for a moment, and some they knew already because they had served in their ward. They both did a dynamite job. Sister Hill spoke on consciously appreciating the things the Lord does for us each day. Elder Hill taught that the way to help investigators progress to baptism, is by helping them gain an understanding and testimony of the atonement. Many people feel they just can't be as "perfect" as a Mormon seems to be. Understanding just how complete the atonement is, and how the gift of the Holy Ghost strengthens us to resist sin, will give a person confidence to make the commitment to be baptized. He had a wealth of scriptures to share - I couldn't write down the references fast enough - and he challenged us all to read the scriptures with a blue pencil and mark every reference to the atonement. Luckily, I am verses away from finishing the Book of Mormon again, so I can start over with my blue pencil. Then I'll have to do it in all the other scriptures, too.

We also went out to dinner with the Hills, once with the Uffens, Klinglers, Dibbs, and Dalebouts (and the assistants) and once with the Baums, Smiths, Hafens, Bartholomews, Hunter & Morgan.
It's great when the couples have a chance to get together - since the Bartholomews just got here, they hadn't met everyone yet. They'll meet the Newcastle couples in 2 weeks at our Couples Seminar in Swaziland. (Doesn't that sound racy?)

Hunter's first basketball game was cancelled due to rain, so he and Morgan and 3 friends played basketball all afternoon, first indoors at the Berea chapel, until they were bumped by a Young Special Adult activity, and then outdoors at the Pinetown chapel. Hunter is now playing Point Guard.

Morgan is organizing a basketball game between the Westville Boys High School 1st team (plus a few of their young coaches) and a team made up of missionaries. It will be on preparation day, after school, and the players will all wear the mission t-shirt, and their companions will wear their white shirts and ties, as this is also a "get to know the neighbors" activity. If the Westville boys feel like they know the missionaries, maybe the elders will be able to get inside some of the gates!

Well, love to everybody!
Grandma, Mom, Susan, Sue, Sister President Mann, Sports Mom (who'd have thought...)

ps. I have a new theory that one of these conferences President Hinckley is going to start calling people on missions from the pulpit, just like Brigham Young. I suspect he will start with residents of St. George. Wouldn't that be interesting?

2008 01 Departure - Elders Gasa, Frost, Van Skeltema, Rosenlof, Andriarimalala, & Maluleke

2008 01 Arrival - Elders Hartvigsen, Rothenberger, Vance & Hurlbut