A QUICK FIX June 25–July 1, 2012

As I look around at this amazing country and people and see the corruption, the illness, the ruling selfishness of the royalty,  I wonder how can the gospel really help these people.  These good people are still without jobs, dying of the illness, live without running water, electricity, cars, decent roads, etc.  Their faith is so strong but still the gospel does not provide these necessities for them.  Many of these young people really have no hope for a better future unless the country changes.  The church provides the PEF program to them.  They use it, graduate, search for jobs but here there is no jobs.  So now we have educated them, given them a taste of what a better life could be like, but they cannot find it.  We send them on missions.  There they have money, places to sleep, toilets, running water, ovens, stoves, cars, bikes,  heat just to take it from them and send them back to their original life.  I want ‘A QUICK FIX’ for them.  I don’t want them to hurt or struggle so hard any more.  I want them to be blessed with all that I have been given.  Why me and not them? 

Today is fast Sunday and I started the fast yesterday at 4:00 so I could get the 24 hours in.  My heart was full with so many things on my mind.  The people here, the elders wanting the hearts softened so the gospel could swell, the Swazi Big “5”, Nombulelo, Sbu, my children at home that are in need, my dad…there is just so much.  More than I could handle.  Again, I want ‘A QUICK FIX’ to all this.  I want all to be well with all His children.

I received a “Love Note” from my Heavenly Father through the scriptures.  “..I would desire that ye should consider on the blessed and happy state of those that keep the commandments of God.  For behold, they are blessed in all things, both temporal and spiritual; and if they hold out faithful to the end they are received into heaven, that thereby they may dwell with God in a state of never-ending happiness.  O remember, remember that these things are true; for the Lord God hath spoken it.” Mosiah 2:41  The Lord gives us a “blessed and happy state” for those that have the gospel and keep the commandments.  We receive His spirit which helps us through all this and brings us joy and happiness and the blessing of being able to return to Him to dwell in never-ending happiness!  Eish.  Isn’t that a beautiful promise? That is reason enough.  I lose sight of that so often. 

The Lord sent me another “love note”. This time through other people.  We attended the Ezulwini branch and their testimonies were so inspiring.  Many who bore their testimony were recent converts and they expressed their gratitude for the gospel in their life.  One young girl had just lost her mother but expressed how grateful she was for the knowledge of the plan of salvation and the elders that brought her the restored gospel.  Others bore testimony how the gospel totally changed their lives and led them in the path to happiness.  I realized that there was ‘A QUICK FIX”.  That quick fix is the gospel of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  It may not change the world around them but it changes lives, helps us endure this life and promises us ‘never-ending happiness’!  Thank you, Father, for sending me ‘love notes’ and reminding me of the real reason you established this church on the earth.  As I pondered more, I started realizing how much he really was helping the members.  Portia getting married in the temple without lapola; Sbu’s family getting a water line and he is building a toilet; the numerous missionaries leaving from Swaziland; the young men who have made a 180 degree lifestyle change; branch president starting his own catering service; others getting married in the temple; etc.  “Count your many blessings, see what God has done.”

Monday, June 25th, was a great day with some amazing elders, again!  Den woke up not feeling well but was a trooper and let us continue with our plans.  We drove to Nhlangano to join the elders there with the Gege elders on a hiking excursion.  We drove to some park where we started our hike.  I’m not even sure the name but it was beautiful.  At one point, Dennis turned to me and said “Can you believe that we are hiking in Africa!”  There are many times that we pinch ourselves to make sure we really are here.  The elders were kind and patient.  We had a great time.  After, we went to their boarding and had a braai.  A good day.

Buying electricity in Nhlangano for the Gege elders

Simphiwe Hlophe (recently baptized young man that goes out on appointments every day with elders ) and Elder Cauble

Elders Paulo, Masaya, Lombardi, Cauble, Fisher, Simphiwe

The oldest church in Swaziland – still being used

Tuesday morning, we received a phone call from Ray Holder, the mission chapel maintenance man (I think that is what he is)from Durban saying that he was in town and needed Dennis to meet him in Manzini to pick up some stuff.  He hurried there and made it home in time for us to attend the Ezulwini District’s Development Meeting (DDM) at 11:30.  We continued with other responsibilities and then the Gunderson’s from Durban came over for dinner.  We love having senior couples over.  We had a great time.  They brought us some A & W Root Beer (provided by the Zawacky’s)!!! Eish so refreshing.  I drank a can immediately.  Some Elders came by later and I gave Elder Mokoena a can because he had never seen nor tasted root beer.  Later, he told me that it was powerful and he had to get him some more. 

Elder and Sister Gunderson – looks fierce but a soft heart

Wednesday, we woke early because Sbu was coming over to wash our car and I had to make some lemon muffins.  We also found out that Elder Ntombela was sick again.  That group of elders over there keep sharing illnesses.  We have got to figure out what is going on.  I fixed Sbu breakfast and then hurried to Manzini for their DDM.  Then we drove to St. Joseph were we met Fikru.  When we were there before I had brownies but he expressed his love for lemon food.  So we had to come back with lemon muffins and a Bible which he said he needed.  We enjoyed our visit with him and then saw Sister Stephanie.  We hurried to Mbabane to deliver passports to Nathi.  Returned home just in time to leave again to do training with the Manzini Branch Presidency and Relief Society which only the secretary came – Sister Thabile Simelane.  The others had conflicts.  It was a good visit though.  I hope it helped.  Just a little note.  Sbu told us that he was leaving Monday to go to Joburg to meet his girlfriend’s parents and negotiate for her hand.  I don’t remember if I told you that they want E40,000 (rand) for her.  Sbu has no ability to make that kind of money.  His girlfriend is a member but not her parents.  He is going to be staying the week there.  He was one nervous young man.  He asked if we would pray for him and I am adding the fast, too.  Talk about stress! He sure could use a quick fix.

A busy day on Thursday.  Again, up early to drive to the border.  Our bakki’s 30 days are up so we had to get it over the border.  It was a foggy but beautiful morning.  We then met the Gundersons for a day of fun, enjoyment and relaxation.  We drove to Swazi Candle.  The Gunderson’s had not been there so it was fun to see how they make the candles again and also the market where they make wood items.  We bought a giraffe!!!  It looks taller in our home than it did at the market.  The man we got it from makes them and we watched him make portions of another one.  It really is beautiful and we will enjoy it here for a while until we figure how to get it home.  We had lunch at the little outside café there.  Good stuff!  Then we went to Baobab Batik where we watched them make their amazing material.  I have no idea how to describe what they do.  I will show you in pictures.  We proceeded to Gone Rule, then to dinner at the Italian Restaurant where we went last week.  This time we ordered pizza ahead of time and they had it ready when we got there.  The Gundersons spent the night in our home.  A good day.

The carver of our giraffe and his son

One of the beginning steps at Baobab Batik

Amazing!  This is the final product.  Does this look like that material in the first picture?

The artists….they love their picture taken

Dennis was in an intense discussion about how to teach sports to little children.  He wanted him to come coach his little son.

Italian Restaurant with Wimbledon in the back – Nadal ended up losing this match

Pancakes was on the menu for breakfast Friday morning.  The Gundersons ate early and then left for Durban.  I did laundry, cleaned and baked.  I was thinking about the fireworks tent all day.  I guess twenty years of doing something is hard to forget about.  It opens today and we will not be there.  It is hard to let go.  Thank you Terry and Trista for running it so we could serve this mission.  I will be forever grateful.  Nathi and his friend, Muheti Mbazima, came over to help us with our computer problems.  But, we discovered that the internet in Ezulwini was out and it was out for several days.  Ugh! They couldn’t do anything.  We felt really bad.  They came from Mbabane to help us but we had a surprise for Nathi.  When we were with him on Wednesday, he mentioned that it had been his birthday on Monday and he only received a few facebook comments.  So I baked him a cake and we sang.    It was even served on the special “red” plate.  Birthdays need to be celebrated!  I also fixed them lunch which they appreciated.  We then hurried to meet Sis. Chosen to go visiting.  We went to Sister Magugu Mnisi home.  She is a young single mother with 2 children and in need of an income to support her family.  She was baptized a year ago and is faithful in her attendance.  We met her brother and his daughter also.  Such a cute family.  Anybody have a job available?  There’s a need for many here.  We took Sis. Chosen home.  She is fighting a very bad cough.  I am afraid it is going to her chest.  But she runs her homestead with lots of extended family.  No time to be sick.  We had a leisure night at home – no internet, a headache, tired and visits from the elders.

Muheti Mbazima, Me, Nathi Dlamini

Magugu Mnisi’s home

Sebabonkhe – Magugu’s son

Phiwi – Magugu’s daughter

Magugu’s brother and daughter

Chosen – I love this woman

Some children at Magugu’s homestead – see the brownies – they were happy

Sister Chosen’s grandson – see the brownie.  I had enough to go around (again, the loaves and the fishes)

Saturday, got up, made spaghetti salad, marshmallow treats, picked up Elders Brown and Wilcox and headed for Mlilwane Reserve to join the Hlatswako for a braai.  Elder Brown is the missionary that taught the Hlatswako’s and they wanted to have a thank-you braai because he’s leaving for home next week.  I have never seen so much meat.  They had steak, pork steaks, chicken and sausage and a lot of it.  We ate like royalty.  I love this couple.  They are mentioned a few other times in previous blogs.  They will be a strong force in the Mbabane branch as soon as we get him released from being the Prime Minister’s bodyguard so he can be more available for the branch.  They come most of the time to our couples class.  After we went through the park and ate, we took the elders home to Mbabane and then hurried to Manzini to pick up Elders Ngwenya and Dickerson to visit a non-member, Margaret.  Her husband and herself do carvings of nativity scenes and Swaziland masks.  We wanted to look at their handiwork.  He was away but our visit with Margaret was delightful. She is very active in her church but reads the Book of Mormon and tells her children they need to be more like the missionaries.  Someday, she will see the light!  We ordered a few things, visited, I gave out suckers and marshmallow treats, said good-bye, took the elders back and headed for home.  I began my fast for Sunday.  We decided to walk down to Joan’s – our land lady – and visit with her and her husband – Liz (?).  She had an operation a few weeks back in Durban and we haven’t visited her since she returned home.  Enjoyed the time in their home.  We need to have them over. 

English names – Ruth and Robert Hlatswako

Elder Brown, Hlatswako, Dennis and Elder Wilcox

Margaret

Look at that smile for a sucker

This Sunday began with some bad news.  Sister Dludlu from Nhlangano passed away last night.  We visited them a few weeks ago.  She must have been dearly loved because all the branches here are mourning.  Dennis had meetings early so I walked to Ezulwini’s meetings.  The two young men baptized last week were confirmed.  They looked so nice dressed up.  Their life style has sure changed.  The gospel is true!  Testimonies were borne and  spirit was strong.  Dennis had meetings after and I spent the afternoon making rolls, dinner and writing this blog.  It is so nice having internet again and hopefully working.  We will find out when I try to save this writing.

Bro. and Sister Dludlu – she will be missed

Some children from the Ezulwini Branch

I hope that I have not scared anyone that I am wavering in my faith.  My testimony is strong and gets stronger daily.  I look at things here with a different vision.  Look at these children.  The gospel is the future for them.  I know that and believe it with all my heart.  Pres. Hinckley said.  “God changes men and changed men change the world”.  Heavenly Father, Jesus, the Holy Ghost are the “quick fix”.  “Yea, blessed are they whose feet stand upon the land of Zion, who have obeyed my gospel; for they shall receive for their reward the good things of the earth, and it shall bring forth in its strength.  And they shall also be crowned with blessings from above….”  D & C 59: 3 & 4