Best Day Ever!

 Today was one of the best days ever!  Makhotso and Teboho Sehlabo were baptized after church today.  We were asked to speak at their baptism.  This is the man that Dad met about six weeks ago at church.  He invited him to the investigators class and then asked if he wanted to come to Priesthood.  Then Dad asked him if he wanted to meet with the missionaries and learn about the gospel.  He said yes to all those questions and so the missionaries began to teach this family the gospel.  At first his wife would not join in the discussions.  She speaks almost no English.  Teboho is an elementary school teacher and his English is quite good.  The missionaries invited us to join them for a few of the discussions and we just love this little family.  They will be a great asset to this branch and I am sure that Teboho will be a strong priesthood leader.

Elder Daines (L) Elder Paulo (right) front row

on the back row is myself, Brother Majara (the man who baptized them, and a friend, the woman holding the baby is Makhotso and then Teboho is standing next to Dad.

Friend of Brother and sister Sehlabo.  Makhotso is holding her baby and then Teboho.  In front of Teboho is his son (7 years old) and then a newphew of Teboho's that lives with them.

After the baptism Brother and Sister Sehlabo stood up and bore their testimony.  Brother Sehlabo said that before the missionaries came, there was a lot of fighting and quarreling in their family.  Now that they have learned about the gospel and understand the importance of family the fighting has stopped.  They are now a happy family. 

The Primary Sacrament Meeting presentation was also held today at the Masianokeng branch.  The children and primary leaders did a great job.  After this was all over, the block of meetings, and the baptism then I taught a piano lesson.  We then hurried home because the Shumway's were coming for Sunday dinner.  We cooked a delicious roast beef dinner with mashed potatoes and gravy.  Homemade rolls were mighty fine too.  For desert we served cake with lemon icing and icing cream with homemade chocolate sauce.  It was a great day!

Last Monday we had the Elders here in Ladybrand for their Zone P-day activity, they played soccer and football.  Then they had their ZTM and then we fed them supper.  We made them a roast beef dinner with all the trimmings.  We made lots and lots.  As a matter of fact, we went out and bought a new bigger kettle so we could cook enough potatoes to feed them all.  I could not believe how much they ate.  There was nothing left.  They ate 3 dozen homemade rolls, 8 lbs. of roast beef, carrots, broccoli and cheese sauce, a huge kettle full of mashed potatoes and gravy and desert.  Wayne and I did not even eat  - there was nothing left.  They did have a good time though and we were glad to have them in our home.  This was the first time that we had all of our elders to our home.  It is quite a distance for some of the elders to come and they had to get special permission from the President to do it.

As we were driving into Maseru to take birthday cupcakes to Elder Lowry, we passed this scene.  This was a group of school children out in this field having a Physd class with their teacher.  They had these pylons set up for them to run through.  Right next to them in the same field you can see there is a herd of cows with their herder.

This is a scene we often pass in Maseru.  This is the local laundry mat.  There is a riverbed right next to this clothes line where many women meet to wash their clothes.  They then set up a temporary clothes line to dry them.

This is the local day care centre established as their mothers do their laundry.  The children just play with each other while their mothers do the wash.

Again the socializing that goes on at the waterhole while the clothes are washed.

Sitting down on the job as she washes her clothes.

This is the local sheep auction mart.  These two are haggling over the price of the sheep.  One is the buyer and one is the seller.  This takes place right along the road, a main thorough fare in Masianokeng.

Dad saw this site on Saturday as he went to Masianokeng to take "new member kits" to the Elders for their upcoming baptism.  This cow herder and his dog were walking along in front of the church and all of his cows were "dutifully" following along behind.  He has them well trained.

We have had a busy week.  Taking a sick elder to the doctor on Wednesday in Ficksburg before we taught Norma Kwezi another missionary discussion,  arranging for the lease for new flats for the Maseru elders, then a trip to Phuda to assess their flat to decide what renovations need to take place to make their living arrangements better, meetings to arrange for PEF teachers etc.  The time is going very quickly, I cannot believe that September is practically over.  We will head back up to Phuda this coming Sunday to teach another temple preparation class (Dad will do that) while I do a PEF fireside for those wanting to learn more about how to apply. 

We are learning so much, the Lord is blessing us abundantly and we are anxiously engaged.  It is very late and morning will come very early.  We are taking the elders to a P-day district activity tomorrow and so I have to be up very early to get the lunch put together to take along.  It is also Elder Signorelli's birthday tomorrow so we have to have cake to celebrate that.  It seems that the President gave our district all the Elders with birthdays in the last two months.  This week has lots of exciting activities planned which I will tell you about next week.  Good night to you all.  Say your prayers, stand for truth and righteousness and choose good friends.  We love you all.
Mom and Dad

Truly "CES"

I do love Monday's when we get to have a preparation day.  We spent the day doing laundry, catching up the blog, preparing discussions and a PEF fireside for the coming Sunday.  Sometimes it is just nice to be able to stay at home and catch up on some of the mundane, necessary chores.  I made treats for the Elders DDM on Tuesday morning, which Elder Holt took in to them.

Tuesday afternoon we drove to Ficksburg to teach Norma Kwezi another discussion.  We started out by singing an opening song:  I am a Child of God.  She loved it.  Yes, even Dad sang.  He did very well.  It was a great lesson and the spirit was strong.  She is an amazing young woman and absorbs and accepts everything we teach her.  We meet with her again next week.

These children were walking home from school (obviously a public one - no uniforms.  A lot of them had woven these wreaths out of the leaves from these willow type trees.  I think the leaves helped keep their heads cool.

trees are blossoming and leafing out.  It is such a beautiful time of year here in South Africa.

Does this look like a popcorn tree or what!

Some of the fields are filled with these termite mounds.  Some of these termite mounds go into the ground about 12 feet.  When they fill a field it makes the field impossible to plant.

This is a house that we pass on our running route.  We think it looks so beautiful with these beautiful purple flowers, the palm tree and the thatched roof on the roundella.

These trees are not in bloom.  This tree is filled with this beautiful purple flower that is a vine that has attached itself to the trees and makes it look like it is in bloom.  It is georgeous.

Wednesday we spent most of the day preparing a lovely Prime Rib dinner for President Von Stetten and his wife.  They arrived earlier than we expected and we enjoyed a great evening with them.  They loved the Prime Rib dinner and it turned out extremely well, if I do say so myself.  President is definitely a meat and potatoes man and had multiple helpings.  He could not get over raving about how delicious the roast, mashed potatoes and gravy were.  I served hot apple crisp with ice cream for desert.  During the night we had a terrible thunder, lightening and rain storm.  It kept waking us up.

Thursday morning we got up and it was a beautiful sunny day.  We went for a run in the warm sunshine - it was great.  We had errands to run and office details to take care of and then we had company come again for supper on Thursday.  We invited sister Cadribo for supper - she had us for supper to her home the first month we were here and her husband is in Ughanda until December and so we thought we would have her come so she wouldn't be so lonely.  She called just before and asked if she could have her sister come too.  Of course we said yes.  When she arrived it was actually a sister from the Branch in Maseru who comes to stay with her a couple of days a week and cleans her house.  We had a great evening and a good visit.  We learned lots of details about our flat, who has lived here, missionary couples from the past and things about the Maseru branch.  It was great.

We went into Maseru Friday morning to take an amplifier into to replace the broken one in the chapel there.  However, this one did not work either.  We met with President Monesa and had a little visit with him.  We are making a little progress with him in building some trust and a better working relationship.  We also tried to find a plumber to fix a leak in one of the Elders apartments in Masianokeng.  That has been a bust so far.  I can't believe how hard it is to get some simple tasks completed here in South Africa.  We met with the owner of the duplexes in Maseru and talked to him about possibly renting them for the Maseru elders as we have some concerns about the house we thought we would rent for them.  After meeting with President Von Stetten, he said you are there, you make the decision.  We felt this was a big step for the President to trust us to make this decision.  So, if the contractor accepts the church's lease contract I think we will rent his duplex for the Elders.  These simple tasks took all day. 

Saturday morning we had plans that promptly got changed by a phone call from the Elders in Phuda.  Elder Moeta was very sick and needed to see a Dr.  So we travelled two hours to Bethlehem to take him to the medi-clinic where we found he had tonsillitus. He received a shot and some anti-biotics.  We bought him a good supply of juice and they headed home.  While there we met with the Bethlehem elders and got them a new iron, brooms, etc.  I think this last month every flat has needed a new iron.  It seems to be an epedemic - broken irons.

Sunday morning we were up bright and early and headed to Leribe group and attended their sacrament meeting and then left to head down to Maseru to conduct a fireside for the young adults to teach them about the PEF program - Perpetual Education Fund.  We thought we might have 10 or 15 people there from the two branches and 1 group in Lesotho, but actually ended up with about 40 people there.  It turned out well, we were pleased.  By the time we got thru the border and home it was time for supper. 

We find each week that we have learned more than we did the previous week.  We have learned to love the people in the branches more, we have loved to serve them more.  I think there is something about that in the scriptures.  Todday we are serving the Elders.  They are here in Ladybrand having a district activity and then they will come back to our house for their ZDM meeting and then we will serve them supper and they will head home.  I have to go now and finish dinner preparations.  We love you all.  We love to hear from you anytime.

Love
Elder and Sister Holt

A Time of Service

 This week has been a time of service for our children.  Rod has been so busy meeting needs with Jenn's family in preparation for Mark's funeral Thursday and then Edith's funeral on Friday.  He has run to the airport in Calgary to bring back family members, and many other errands of mercy.  He drove up to Calgary with Michelle and Spencer to be at the graveside of Grandma Holt's burial.  Spencer and Michelle were so kind to be diligent in sending back pictures and video of Mark's funeral and then Grandma Holt's funeral and viewing.  How we did appreciate being kept a part of all that was going on from half way around the world.  Then Rod spoke on Wayne's behalf at Grandma's funeral, expressing Wayne's memories of his mother.  I understand that he did a great job.  We so appreciate all that you did in our stead and absence.

Spencer, Rod and Michelle

 I think the kids enjoyed being together.  Inge very kindly invited them to stay at her home.  Jolayne had also come up this week to spend time with Mother and so she was able to attend the viewings and funerals.  Inge, in spite of being so busy with the first week of school and the first week back at her Masters program managed to sneak away and spend time with the family as well. 

Jenn, Rod and Michelle after the funeral

Michelle got to serve Grandma by going with Evelyn, Marlene and Marie to dress her for the funeral.

All of Grandma Holt's grandchildren were able to be there at the funeral.  That is a real tribute to her.  I am sure that Grandma was so pleased.

After the funeral luncheon they drove to Calgary where Grandma was interred beside Grandpa Holt.  Then everyone went to Ed and LeAnne's where they were served a supper.  They had a great time looking at pictures, laughing, reminiscing and just enjoying good cousin time.

Angela, Spencer and Michelle picking Inge's apple off her tree in preparation for winter ahead.

Saturday morning Spencer and Michelle headed over to Marilyn Ellingson's to help Rod and the Ellingson family bring in the garden and get it ready for winter.  I understand there were others there doing some painting and other work on Marilyn's house as well.  Then they headed back over to Inge's and went out to work in her yard helping to get her garden and yard ready for winter.  Jolayne had also been out helping to bring in the harvest of apples etc. 

It was a very hard decision to stay in South Africa during this time.  But, after prayerful consideration the decision was made.  We feel great gratitude to our family for representing us well in our absence.  Thank you all.  We were also grateful for the phone calls, e-mails, pictures, videos and thoughts and prayers in our behalf.

We had a busy week doing all the things that we do each week.  It seems the longer we are here the more involved we become.  I know that is how it is supposed to be.  We had ZDM on Tuesday and so that meant that I had to prepare lunch for them.  We also celebrated Elder Dube's birthday at this time.  The Branch President from Maseru happened to be at the church  and he came in and joined the Elders in their lunch.  The relationship between the Elders and the branch President has been quite strained and I felt that over a little lunch and good conversation, the relationship improved and perhaps some fences were mended.  I also was asked by the Branch President to help him with his wife's birthday on Thursday by providing some of those delicious cowboy cookies for her.  I am not sure that the present was as much for him as for her, but anyway.....  Then we met with the landlord of the prospective new flat for the Elders in Maseru.  Hopefully we have that problem solved, we are just awaiting approval on the contract from the area office. 

Wednesday was a very very windy and cloudy day as we headed to Bethlehem to take an elder to the Dentist.  He is an Elder from Zimbabwe and he had quite a bit of dental work to be done.  We had received a quote on the work the week before and when we actually got it done, the dentist gave him a discount and actually charged less than the quoted amount.  What a blessing for the church as they were having to pay for it. 

After we finished with the missionaries (we bought them pizza for lunch while they waited for Elder Daniel to finish at the dentist). We headed to Ficksburg to teach Norma Kwezi the next discussion.  She had read what we had asked her to in the Book of Mormon and had even made notes on it.  She was very eager for the next discussion and we taught her part of the Plan of Salvation.  She is so anxious to be baptized, but until she can attend church we cannot encourage that to happen.  She said she has sent money to her Mom to apply for a passport so she can attend church in Maseru. 
While we were teaching her this discussion it started to thunder and lightening and the skies opened up and it absolutely poured.  The rain came so hard and loud that we could hardly hear each other during the discussion.  When we left about an hour later it was still pouring and the water was running in the streets. 

We left Norma's home and went to visit with Sister Kato (a member in Ficksburg) and about an hour later we left to head home.  It was still raining very hard.  It was about 5:30 by this time and starting to get dark.  I was very nervous about driving in the heavy rain and with the coming on of night.  We pulled over and had another prayer asking for protection.  Once we got on the road heading home, the rain stopped and we could see clear sky ahead of us.  We did arrive home safely and we were grateful again for the Lord's protection.

Thursday we woke with Jolayne's birthday on our mind.  I thought about calling her and wishing her happy birthday - when we get up in the morning, she is often getting ready to go to bed, but as she was at Inge's I didn't want to wake Inge.  I was busy baking cowboy cookies and ginger snaps to put together a pretty package for the Branch President's wife.  On top of the box of cookies I added a pretty necklace that I thought she might enjoy for her birthday (I felt the cookies were something President Monesa wanted, not his wife).  We met the President at the church and delivered the package.  We then went out to Masianokeng to meet with the elders there.  They wanted us to go with them to teach a young girl a discussion out in southern Lesotho.  While we were waiting for the Elders to show up this was a sight we saw in the field where we were waiting.

His father was the shepherd for a herd of sheep.  He was helping him.  Obviously it was raining a little and so the dad was soaking wet, but the son was nice and dry under the umbrella.  He had his stick in his hand to help keep the sheep in line.

We finally met up with the Elders and drove about 45 minutes to a town where there is a training hospital for nurses.  One of the nurses there is from Masianokeng and wants to join the church.  Her name is Hopealong.  She is anxious to join the church, but is unable to attend church because she is required to attend church where she is training to be a nurse as it is an Evangelical church school.  This is a requirement of their attending the school.  We enjoyed being at the discussion as the Elders taught her about the 10 commandments.  Because the elders were a little late and the discussion went very long, we were then late for our next appointment with the Teboho family.  We were able to attend last weeks discussion with them and thoroughly enjoyed meeting his wife (who speaks no English) and their son and little baby girl.  Even though we were about an hour and a half late, Teboho welcomed us and we had a great discussion with their family about tithing.  They commited to being willing to pay tithing.  They want to be baptized later this month.  Because it was so late when we were finished, we were driving back home in the dark. 

Friday, we met with the Wyatt's in Bloemfontein to learn more about the Perpetual Education fund.  I guess we will be responsible to have firesides in all of our areas to introduce the program to potential PEF students and then to get the 4 classes organized for them to process their applications and then get them enrolled in the program.  This is going to entail and lot of work and travel. 

We stayed overnight in Bloemfontein at the Shumway's as Dad had to speak on Saturday morning at the district Priesthood meeting on Family History.  He then had district council meetings until about 4:30 in the afternoon.  All in all he was in about 7 hours of meetings Saturday.  There was nothing for it but for Sister Shumway and I to get out on the town and explore Bloemfontein and get some groceries, etc. that I can't get here in Ladybrand.

Sunday morning Wayne had to speak as the district councilor in Maseru on tithing.  Of course he did a great job.  They had their branch council meeting after and so it was after 3:00 before we were finished in Maseru. 

Each morning we are awakened to the crowing of a rooster.  As we look out our window at the field behind our house we see a herder with his cows going through the field.  A few hours later we see him again heading back the other way.

The herder with his faithful dog.

This morning there were two herders tending the cows.

As Dad was out running this morning he saw this rock.  He thought it looked like a face. 

Spring is here, but we still get some very cool mornings and evenings.  It has also been very rainy this week.

We are very grateful that everyone made it home safely from their weeks travels.  In closing I would just like to give all my children a little quote by Elder Tom Perry.

"Parents must bring light and truth into their homes by one family prayer, one scripture study session, one family home evening, one book read aloud, one song, and one family meal at a time.  They know that the influence of righteous, conscientious, persistent, daily parenting is among the most powerful and sustained forces for good in the world."

Thanks for being such good parents to our grandchildren.  We love you all.  We are proud of the good you are doing, the service you are providing, and the love you are showing to your families.  We miss you so much and are grateful for the wonders of technology.  Again, thanks for the picture, e-mails, videos, facetime, skype, etc.

Love Mom, Dad

Tender Mercies

Last evening we received a phone call from Lethbridge informing us that Wayne's mother, passed away peacefully in her sleep.  How grateful we are for this tender mercy.   She had been having some problems last week with fluid on her lungs and so on Saturday Marlene took her into the emergency room to have her checked.  Her breathing had been quite labored for a few days and they discovered that she had a bit of pneumonia.  They made her comfortable and Monday afternoon, September 3rd, at 1:30 PM she passed away very peacefully in her sleep.  She was told in her patriarchal blessing that that would be how she would leave this world. 

We felt very grateful to Rod as he took his cell phone to the hospital and we were able to face time with her on Sunday afternoon. We felt that we were saying our final goodbyes and as it turned out, we were.  Even in her weakend condition her bright sense of humor and her beautiful smile were still there.   Last week Inge had taken her computer into Lethbridge to Moms home so that we could face time with her then as well.  She was so excited to be able to see us and talk to us through Inge's "magic" box.  The wonders and blessings of technology!  She will be sadly missed by all who loved her; children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, friends and neighbors.  How we will miss her sweet spirit, her loving nature, her amazing sense of humor in any situation, her curiosity about life, and even her feisty temper, which, as she aged she was able to almost completely obliterate.  Edith enjoyed 95 years of life on this earth, which she packed full.  She developed so many of her talents, her music, art, story writing skills, homemaking skills, love of people, her ability to play a good joke, her love of nature.  How grateful we are for the plan of salvation and the knowledge that she was met on the other side by her loved ones, Ike, Brian, her parents, her sister Helen and I think even Shauna would have been there to welcome her. What a joyous reunion that must have been.  Her body was so frail and worn out and now she is rid of it until that time when we will all be resurrected.

We also experienced another sadness in our family this last week.  On Friday, August 31st, our daughter-in-law Jenn's father was out doing some work on his home in Raymond and fell from the roof line to the ground.  Mark Ellingson, sadly did not survive the fall and was killed instantly.  Our prayers have been for the Ellingson family and for our son Rod's wife, Jenn and their little family as they mourn the loss of their father and grandfather.  Mark and Marilyn just returned home from their mission to Cambodia in March and they have enjoyed a full summer with family and friends. 

We had the privilege of working with the Ellingson's in the Alberta temple on Saturday mornings and have been grateful to share such special grandchildren.  Mark came by our home before we left to come on our mission and shared some good advice about serving missions and some special experiences that he and Marilyn had on their mission together.  Our families also got together for a special family baptism on Sidney Jo's birthday.  We will always remember that day and the beautiful spirit that was there on her baptism day, especially when she stood and bore her strong testimony of the gospel.  We will miss Mark, but know that he, like Edith are in a very happy place, doing the work that our Heavenly Father has for them to do.  We are so grateful for the comforting spirit of the Holy Ghost.

 Last week was a busy week for us as we met the needs of the elders, branch members, and received new assignments.  We are happy being busy - especially Wayne - and are very grateful for the blessings of our Heavenly Father as he continues to bless us with health, protection and great family and friends.  Wayne was extremely amazed as he drove by this brick yard and saw the way they make bricks which are used in great abundance here for homes, roads, sidewalks, etc. 

a brick yard on the side of the road.  Those are wet bricks which will dry in the sun and then be stacked as shown below.

These bricks are now dry and will be stacked and then sold and hauled away.  This is all done by manual labor.

 Wednesday we headed to Bethlehem where we met and took an Elder to the dentist before their ZDM meeting.  Elder Holt attended the meeting with the elders and I just wandered the streets of Bethlehem looking in the shops and enjoyed myself.  At noon, I went back to the church and fed the elders the homemade rolls I had made the day before.  We had all kinds of sandwich fixings and they could make ham, chicken, egg salad or peanut butter and honey, whatever they liked.  For desert I had made butterhorns and the ever favorite ginger snaps.  Needless to say the Elders went away very happy and there were no left overs. 

On Thursday we taught a young women in Ficksburg a discussion.  She is a student and also tends her sisters little girl.  Her boyfriend is investigating the gospel in Durban and she has been so impressed with the changes in his life she wanted to know more about this church.  Dad and I really enjoyed this opportunity and we will be teaching her the next discussion on the following Wednesday.  One of the members in Ficksburg also attended the discussion and so there will be someone there to help friendship her if she happens to join the church. 

As we drove home from Ficksurg we pass a charming little set of buildings and we always say we should stop, but never do.  We decided to stop this time.  Here are a few pictures:

There is a place to eat and all kinds of little shops that sell crafts and things made by the South African people.  It provides a living for them and a sense of self-worth as they provide for themselves and their family.  We bought some homemade cherry jam and a few other goodies.

There are fun places to sit outside and have some lunch or herbal tea or just sit and enjoy the sunshine

This might bring a feeling of nostalgia to a few old farmers.  This sits out in front of this fun little stop.

On Friday morning Dad went into Masianokeng and got the returned missionary that came home a few weeks ago.  We were asked to take him in to get a tuberculosis test as he was serving in an area where he was in contact with active tuberculosis.  After he had been checked we took him back to Maseru.  Then, we had been invited to the Masianokeng Elders flat for a meeting and lunch.  That is a first, to have the elders feed us.  

Elder Paulo on left and Elder Daines on the right making dinner for us.

This is the dinner they served us.  Mashed potatoes, topped with gravy with "mince" and onions and a side of carrots.  For desert they served us jello.  I brought brownies to go with the jello. Very tasty

While we ate our dinner, they discussed some things they would like us to help them with.  One of which was to attend a discussion they were having the next evening with the family that Dad met a few weeks earlier and asked the father if he would like the missionaries to meet with him.  They are coming along in learning about the gospel.

Right after lunch we went over to the chief's home to deliver the letter he had requested from the mission President, letting him know that the church would be responsible for the members of the branch and that he as the chief would not be responsible.  It is very interesting to learn of the customs of a village and the heirarchy of authority etc. 

We then went to meet with the owner of a home in Maseru as a possible place for the Maseru Elders to live.  It looks promising.  And then we went to look at another possible rental a little further away.  We have been on our knees everyday for about two months asking the Lord for help to find them a safer place to live.  The mission president has been putting pressure on us to get this done and I think we finally have it solved - thanks to divine intervention.  The Lord does answer our prayers and His work will go forward - in His time!

Saturday we attended seminary and institute in Maseru and then out to Masianokeng and attended their institute there.  The missionaries teach institute there and it was Elder Daine's birthday so after it was over I had cupcakes for the students and elders with candles.  They loved singing happy birthday to Elder Daines.

That evening we went to Teboho's home and met his sweet family, where we joined the missionaries for their discussion on the Word of Wisdom.  They have to have a ward member there also as the wife speaks no English, only Sesuto.  When we go back there again I will get a picture of the family and their home and put it on another issue of our blog.  It was a sweet experience and they have committed to be baptized on September 23rd.

Sunday morning we went to Maseru where Wayne attended an Elders quorum meeting at 8:00 AM and then we headed out to Masianokeng to attend church there and then the baptism of two young men in the branch.  This branch is growing so rapidly.  When we first attended this branch almost three months ago there were very few there, the chapel is almost full now.  They will need to take the "speed up" away and construct a proper chapel before too long.

Elder Paulo (L) Elder Daines (r) Lefa Khotobane on back row (L) in white, Brother Solomon  and Bataung Mochaki on (r) the rest are branch members.