FINDING JOY IN EVERYTHING July 6–12, 2015

On Monday, one of our Regional Church History Advisers came to visit.  In the course of our conversation she revealed the hard times she has had in the last 18 months.  She had a grandson pass away, she was diagnosed with throat cancer and went through treatment for that just to have another form of cancer show up.  One of her children has decided to choose another path than the one that will lead him back to his Heavenly Father.  At the end of our conversation, she made a statement that depicts the attitude of a lot of the people here that I would like to internalize.  She said, “But I  NEED TO FIND JOY IN EVERYTHING.”  Then a few days later, our sweet lady that cleans our center came in.  As we were talking she told us that the church had contracted with another cleaning company so she would not be here after July.  I asked if her company had another place for her and she said no, everything was filled.  She asked if I would pray for her to find a job.  And with a smile, she said, “It will be fine. God is in charge.”  A few months ago, a dear sweet sister from Swaziland lost her daughter and 3 grandchildren in a car accident.  They were all in church Sunday morning and that afternoon they were gone.  I don’t know how she gets up every morning.  How do you deal personally with such a lose?  I was told today that she said that she attended the temple just a week before the accident and she knows that her strength comes because of that decision to go to the House of the Lord.  She said that through her Heavenly Father someday she will feel joy again.  Surrounding me are amazing examples of people “finding JOY in everyday life”.  President Hinckley taught that life wasn’t just to be endured.  But it was to be enjoyed.  Joy is what makes life beautiful.  It’s what gets us through challenges and allows light into our lives  when everything seems dark.  Joy heals our wounds, inspires us to do extra-ordinary things and fills our souls with happiness and goodness.  Joy makes this journey in life that God has set out for us glorious, full of hope and dreams.  When things aren’t looking so bright, it is not easy to FIND JOY IN EVERYTHING, but the Africans seem to have found the secret.  Hopefully, by the time I get home, I will have discovered the secret also.

Monday, July 6 started with meeting Gary and Sherry Human who are our Regional Church History Advisers from East London.  He was on his way to Botswana on business and she was staying with her daughter, so since he is a newly called advisers they came by to introduce themselves and to set up a time when we can train them.  What a delightful couple.  He had to proceed to Botswana and we took Sherry to her daughter.  We will look forward to working with them.  While we were at the center, we met this adorable couple from Uganda that was being sealed in the temple tomorrow.  We found out that they knew some of our Swazi elders and she served a mission with Zachary Smith in Liberia.  After Ebola broke out, she was transferred back to her country but in a different area where she met her future husband.  Their names are Geofrey and Elizabeth Kafeero.  Then off to the airport to see Elder Tibbitts and others from the Durban mission before they leave for home.  I sure miss working with the elders.  They always inspired me and I was in awe of their knowledge and desire to serve.  It was great seeing him and the others.  We spent the rest of the evening with Dominic Tshabalala and his family.  He works in Self-Reliance at the area office and is the most delightful man you will ever meet.  I think he knows everyone because of his dynamic personality….he exemplifies the saying, they don’t care what you know until they know that you care.  He is loved by everyone and his family is just like him.  His wife and him have 6 amazing children.  They are very much like him.  They kept us entertained and laughing the entire evening.  We had a scrumptious meal – one of Dennis’ favorite meals, shepherd pie – and then watched the animated movie, Hotel Transylvania.  I had children sitting on my lap……couldn’t be better!

Sherry and Gary Human from East London

Geofrey and Elizabeth Kafeero

Saying good-bye to elders at the airport….

Elder Tibbitts

Family Home Evening with the Tshabalala’s

Tuesday, July 7th – each day here is filled with lots to learn about church history, people to meet,  oriented on being an area senior missionary, life lessons to learn from the Africans.  We had a meeting the morning with Human Resources and learned the vast amount of people that it takes to run the church in the Africa Southeast Area.  I was totally surprised of how many employees work here and how many senior couples.  And this is just a small area when you think of the entire world where the church is.  Incredible.  This week is Wellness Week in the area office.  So at noon they had a Womens Health Seminar.  At 4:00 I went to the Gatehouse to help tend the children.  We had only 12 this week.  Such great children.  They were from Kinshasa DRC, Cape Town and Tanzania.  After, we took Geofrey and Elizabeth Kafeer out to dinner to celebrate their sealing.  We took them to Mike”s Place and had a great visit.  Geofrey served a mission here in the Joburg area.  Elizabeth also served a mission in Liberia and had to be transferred when Ebola spread through the country.  She was reassigned back to her home country and finished her mission in the area where Geofrey lived.  When her mission ended and she went home, they started their long-distance relationship which ended up with them at the temple to be seal for time and all eternity and meeting us!  When we arrived at home we made a video for our grandchildren to be shown at COUSIN CAMP.  How we miss them.

Some of the children in the Gatehouse

Children from Brazzaville, Congo

Brother and sister from Cape Town

Young lady from the Congo

Geofrey and Elizabeth Kafeero sealed today…..when they got home they sent us some of their wedding pictures

Wednesday, July 8 was a day totally spent in the center where we worked on church units annual histories, compiling lists, doing RPC inventory, all sort of stuff that only Matt Heis, Knudsens and Barnes would understand.  Sister Linda Dunn came into the center so we could help her plan a presentation to the Joburg elders going home on August 4th.  Our home time was spent baking cakes and breads.  I couldn’t sleep so decided to call home at 2:00a.m. my time and 6:00 p.m. home time.

President and Sister Dunn of the Johannesburg Mission

Thursday, July 9 – Geofrey and Elizabeth came to say good-bye.  We have made some new friends!  Elder Mfundo Mavundla came to see us with his new companion from Uganda….he is training.  We had the Uganda Mission Annual History with us, so got it out and was showing him.  He found so many people that he knew.  It was exciting.  We also found some of our Swazi warriors in the history.  We finished up some oral history cataloguing.

Companion and Elder Mfundo

Friday, July 10 was a very full day.  We arrived at the center early.  At noon there was an area office wellness race.  We were divided into 4 teams and spent an hour running or walking up and down the office grounds.  On the last lap Dennis hurt his calf and limped for days.  We compiled packets for training, annual histories, etc.  We also finalized our plans for Zimbabwe.  Solomon and Busi Mahlalela arrived!!!!  A long time waiting for this reunion. Not too long later, Xolani, Mpilo, Mac and Manqoba arrived.  While Dennis drove the boys to their seminar, the Mahlalelas and I prepared dinner, talked and just enjoyed being together.  They stayed with us until they had to go home on Sunday.  The weekend was just not long enough.  In the course of our conversation Solomon shared his conversion story.  At one point he said that he had a hard time believing the Book of Mormon.  His observation is since there is an Old Testament, a New Testament, the Book of Mormon should be call the 3rd Testament – all testaments of Christ.  Sounds reasonable to me.  What do you think?  Should  we rename it?  Also, he said that growing up, he was a Christian but he never understood what it meant when the Bible said to be fruitful.  He thought that he maybe was suppose to grow grapes or something.  We laughed and laughed.  So wished we had taped him telling his story.  He wrote it down for us the following day, but never the same as hearing it.

Wellness Race

Go Dennis!!!

And then comes Renee….

How could we forget Sandile…..

Can you recognize Elder and Sister Ellis……

Portia always enjoying life…

Sister Berg leading the way

Marking the laps

You always need to stretch after……

A fun time by all……..

Mahlalela’s arrive!!!!!  We have missed them so much.

Xolani Sithole

Relaxing

Looking at our Swazi book while waiting for Dennis

Saturday was a relaxing morning.  Busi said that she would like to sleep longer in the morning.  She has to get up at 4:30 a.m. Monday thru Saturday to go to work.  Then on Sunday she gets up early to prepare for the Sabbath day and take Solomon to his meetings since he is in the District Presidency and they have only one car.  So, she wanted a relaxing morning and that is just what we gave her.  She also told us that she would have to go without lunch for the next three weeks at work to make up the time that she took off to come see us.  What a life of sacrifices.  It seems everything they do, there is a sacrifice that is paid.  We ate breakfast late, went to the area office at 11:00 and met up with the boys – Xolani, Mpilo, Manqoba and Mac.  They were headed back to Swaziland all but Manqoba.  He had his girlfriend with him and wanted us to get to know her.  So they waited for us as we did a temple session at noon.  Solomon and Busi were the witness couple…..their first time and we got to be part of that experience.  Then home with the Mahlalelas, Manqoba and Lindiwe for lunch and an afternoon of the dice game.  Everyone here is very much enjoying the dice game.  We had so much fun playing.  After 5:00 Manqoba and Lindiwe headed to her place in Tembisa where we would meet up again tomorrow.  Solomon wrote his conversion story and after we ate again, Busi opted to go to bed.  She was tired.  A great day.

Our brunch

Manqoba bought a car!!!

Our Swazi Family

Manqoba, Dennis, Solomon, Busi, Mpilo, Xolani, Mac

Xolani, Mac, Mpilo, Lindiwe, Manqoba

We also found the Simelane’s there.  Thondo Simelane is leaving for the New Zealand mission at the end of the month.  They were here to receive his endowments.

Solomon, Busi, Velaphi and Thondo (brothers)

Manqoba and Lindiwe – we definitely approved.  She has spunk and enjoyed the games!

Those who come visit really enjoy our Swazi book.

Filling our bodies before the GAMES begin.

illF

Sunday morning was not a relaxing one.  I got up early to get breakfast by 6:30 a.m.  We are out of the flat by 7:00 to be at the Tembisa Ward where Lindiwe attends church by 8:00.  It was quite far with a lot of construction.  Solomon did not enjoy it.  When we arrived there were very few there…seriously, can you blame them …..8:00 is way early…….even Manqoba and Lindiwe were late.  Sunday School was given by a young man that was so excited about the subject that he could not stand still…….end of John and first of Acts.  John 21 is where the apostles go fishing after the death of the Savior and he appears to them and tells them to “Feed my lambs”.  Then our teacher said that after the Savior gave them this instruction we have Acts – where the apostles “act” upon what the Savior taught.  Awesome sequence.  Then in Relief Society we talked about the House of the Lord.  One of my favorite subjects.  I shared with them the experience of Patricia Shongwe going to the temple the week before she lost her daughter and 3 grandchildren and how that has given her strength.  Also, another story.  A young lady lost her little girl and then she had another baby and named her Joy…….to always be reminded that joy follows the sorrow.  We also met with the Tembisa clerks, Delane Mahhumane and Themba Mawela and discussed their Annual History.   A another great Sabbath.  After we were mingling and talking to the elders and we discovered that Elder Kaufusi (a good U and BYU football name) was a companion with Elder Zweli Dlamini.  It was great talking about their experiences together.  He told us that for the entire time they were together he would say to Zweli…”Love you Bro” but Zweli would never say it back.  Then just before they were transferred, Zweli said it back.  It meant a great deal to Elder Kaufusi.  I sure miss working with the elders.  Manqoba took the Mahlalelas back to Swaziland with him.  We drove home, fixed peasant bread, drove to Kagiso chapel for a fireside organized by Elder Sele and speaker was President Dunn entitled “Bears and Prayers”.  President Dunn was mauled by a bear while running in the woods in Jackson Hole.  He attributes his life being saved to his pleading prayers to the Lord.  After the fireside we met a young lady that was visiting from Cape Town and we discovered that she is the sister of one of our Durban elders, Kari Kruger.  She is a fireball.  She invited us to visit her and her family in Cape Town.  We will have to make a plan.  When we returned home we spent the rest of the evening feeling sorry for ourselves because Koy was being sustained as bishop of his ward today and we were not there to support him or Dennis to ordain him a high priest. Good thing we were among friends that supported us! Didn’t find much joy that evening.

Thembisa Ward

Solomon Mahlalela

Bishop Prince Ramokgola of the Tembisa Ward

Elder Kaufusi

Kari Kruger from Cape Town and us

Elder Sele and his sister

Koy Lombardi– new bishop of the the Summit Ridge Ward in Herriman, Utah

How do we find joy in things that at first glance don’t seem so joyful?  If you look for joy everywhere, you just may find it.  What if simply by changing your view, you could start to find joy in everything?  Seems totally worth the effort.  “But, behold, the righteous, the saints of the Holy One of Israel, they who have believed in the Holy One of Israel, they who have endured the crosses of the world, and despised the shame of it, they shall inherit the kingdom of God, which was prepared for them from the foundation of the world, and their joy shall be full forever.”