Week 58 - Jul 5th - 11th, 2015

Sunday, July 5th to Saturday, July 11th, 2015

Our week started out the best way one could for missionaries, Dinah Shalathe Ramogale's baptism.   Melanie and I helped Elder's Dye and Roberts, Olson and Henderson do a service project at her house back in April.  She only lives about 1K from our church/school meeting place.

She has two little kids and was living with a guy, John.  The Elders were going to drop her and told her they would have to.  Including Elder Menendez, she had five different Elders teach her.  She told John she would choose God over him and she told him to move out.   That was enough for him so he asked her to marry him then.   She did.   She has a good testimony.  Elder Tumarae baptized her.

At the baptism Melanie's little friend Christina Sefara wanted a picture taken.    Like some small girls here, her parents keep her hair cut very, very short.

On Monday we celebrated a delayed 4th of July with the other three senior couples, the Winward's, the Butler's, and the Campbell's.  We had a nice little trip out to Motupa, one of the congregation group areas over in Tzaneen.   Then we had a really good cookout, steaks and chicken.   We really enjoyed a nice time and a good visit with these special friends!

Our Botswana/Namibia Mission President called and asked us to pick up mission office support work for the three zones over here in this part of S. Africa.   So, Melanie and I will put forth our best efforts to deal once again with flats, fleet cars, phones, utilities, etc.  Very exciting!

We had a couple of visits worth noting this week.  One to the Molepo family to drop off a little gift for the baby Thato who turned 1.  While there I had a really good conversation with the Gpa Nelson Molepo about two of his grandsons Mark and Thabo who were going to be administering the sacrament this Sunday.  I told him how important this ordinance was and that his boys hold the Aaronic Priesthood, ie. John the Baptist.   Asked if he would like to bring his wife Gma Evaline and see his gsons do this.   He said they would come so I said I would save them a seat.

We also dropped by to see Justice Musonza.  Justice is a former Branch President of Nelspruit area.  He is here working as a mechanic.   His wife Shylet and their two kids are up in Zimbabwe where she is trying to finish some schooling in computers.  He misses them but it seems to be quite common among the people here to live apart for different reasons at different times.

On Friday Pres and Sis Wilson came up from Pretoria to District meeting and then to interview and be with the Elders.   That evening we and the Winward's went to dinner with them at Nguni's and visited some.   Then we went back to the chapel and saw most of Pres. Packer's funeral together.

Afterwards, we drove Pres and Sis W back to their B&B, Marlot Inn where Melanie and I have stayed a couple of times last January.