A New President

This has been a week of highlights.  We have said goodbye to one mission president and hello to our new Mission President.

 After our staff meeting Monday evening, we realized that we did not have a picture with President and Sister Von Stetten.  We will miss their amazing leadership and love.

On Saturday evening we met with President and Sister Zackrison (in the centre), President and Sister Von Stetten (at the far end of the table) and the Starks (in the forefront).  President Von Stetten looked so relaxed and comfortable.  The Zackrison's looked exhausted and unsure of the future.  Sister Von Stetten was very emotional as she realized that this was really coming to an end.


Last Sunday, June 23rd, Isaac received the Aaronic Priesthood.  I am sure that he will be a strong Priesthood leader.















On Monday evening we invited President and Sister Von Stetten to our family home evening group.  We met at the Kyle's home (Public Affairs couple in Durban) to pay our respects to the Von Stetten's service to our mission.

Elder & Sister Kyle come from Arizona and Texas.  They made a very delicious Mexican supper for us. (African style).  It was amazing - we were all homesick for American cooking when we were finished.  She made her own tortia chips, refried beans and salsa.  Everybody brought something to contribute to the dinner.  It was so fun.

We are really enjoying our Family Home Evening group. We will grow bigger and bigger now as we are expecting two new couples in the coming weeks and months.  I think President and Sister Zackrison even want to join us when they are available.

The Clusters and the Starks.  The Clusters come from Utah and are Employment Missionaries.  They are a great hard working couple of missionaries. 

I think President and Sister Von Stetten were grateful for the tributes paid to them that evening.  We presented them with a tie signed by each of us and a scarf for Sister Von Stetten, also with our signatures on it.  As if we could ever be forgotten!!!

 We had asked Sister Shumway to do the Mission history for the first half of 2013.  She in turn asked me to get pictures of each of the office staff.   So - I am sharing them with you.  This is Elder Stark - he is the financial man.  He takes care of all of the allotments to the missionaries, pays the bills, keeps track of all of the mission couples credit cards etc. 

 This is Sister Stark - she is in charge of all of the flats in the mission as well as the medical records for the missionaries and also she is the recorder for the mission.  That means she enters all the baptism/confirmation records. 

 This is the Car Czar - Elder Holt.  He is responsible for all of the vehicles in the mission, all of the phones, all the incident reports, accidents etc.  He also does all the ordering from the distribution centre.  There is not a day go by that he does not run to take keys to elders who have locked theirs in their car, to check a "small scratch" that turns out to be major side swipes, or like this week - an elder who had a drunk walk out onto the street in front of his bakki.  The drunk broke his leg and cut his head and the bakki had to be brought into Durban for major "bonnet" repairs.  Never a dull moment!

This is the mission secretary.  I am responsible to make sure all the Elders have current visas, manage all the missionary travel, get the elders travel papers ready to go into Swaziland, answer phones, do all the work assigned by the mission president, submit mission applications for all SADM missionaries, prepare for all incoming and outgoing missionaries,  provide cookies for all the missionaries, bring muffins in for the office staff a few times a week and whatever else comes up.



Now you will have a sense of what our work space looks like.  Perhaps you can visualize us as we fulfill our responsibilites in this part of our mission.

We received a letter from Elder Teboho Maja - a young man that we helped get ready to serve a mission from Maseru.  He is the only member of his family that is a member of the church.  His family is very poor and unable to help him very much.  He wrote us, telling us about his mission and thanking us for helping him get out into the field.  It was such a fulfilling feeling to see that we could help him realize the joy of missionary service. 

Also this week, we received a call from a wonderful mission couple who were going home the first part of September, but due to some unexpected health concerns will have to head home next week.  We are so sad to see Elder and Sister Miller have to cut their mission short.  They have both been so healthy and vibrant - such a strong work force in the Newcastle area.  They are in our prayers that the Doctors will be able to help her and that she will once again be healthy.  Gratefully, their replacements are able to come a little earlier than their initial call and so it will just be a little over a month that that area will be without a senior couple.

Senior couples fill such a vital role in a mission area.  Especially one like this mission, where distances are so vast.  If any, who are reading this blog are able, we strongly encourage you to submit your papers and join the force of Senior Mission couples.  It is some of the most rewarding hard work you will ever do.  It will change and bless your life and the lives of your family in so many ways.

As you may have noticed, the last few weeks I have been including pictures that my children send to us each week in our blog.  I do this so that we might have their experiences recorded - so our feeble minds will not forget.  We hope those friends who read our blog will forgive this portion of our blog.

 Keola and Mealii headed off to girls camp this week.  Another outdoor experience for them. They had a great time and thoroughly enjoyed the time with the other girls in their stake. 

I can't believe that Keola (right) has grown so much taller since we have been gone.

Mealii (right) also won their soccer tournament and will be going to playoffs in Virginia in the coming weeks.

Isaac left with his Mom and the rest of the family to go to Idaho.  On Monday he participated in a basketball game in Idaho and ended up at the bottom of a pile on the court.  End result - a cracked bone in this wrist.  However, it did not stop him from heading to a huge Scout encampment in Shelly Idaho, where 2,200 scouts were gathered.  I hear that President Monson came and spoke to them as well.  What a great memory Ike.  He was also able to go and do baptisms in the temple with some of his cousins. 

We understand that Ty and Josh also had great birthday celebrations with their Idaho cousins and Mimi and Papa. 





This morning, we picked up President and Sister Zackrison and took them to the Kwamashu branches for their sacrament meetings.  They both had the privilege of speaking in these meetings and introducing themselves.  They bore powerful testimonies and I know they will be great leaders here in this mission.  We invited them to come back to our home for lunch.  We knew that they would be exhausted, so when we got home Saturday night from supper with them, we cooked Sunday dinner - in preparation for today.  We made a lovely roast beef, mashed potato and gravy dinner with all the trimmings and had it on the table ready to go a half hour after we got home.  We had a nice visit with them, fed them and took them back home so they could get a little rest in preparation for the "real" work that will begin bright and early in the morning.

We are thankful that the Lord has entrusted this work to us.  We work hard each day to be equal to the tasks we are called to do.  We are learning so much and the time is flying by so quickly.  We love the weather in this area of the world.  This is winter and yet we enjoy warm days and cool mornings and evenings.  There are still flowers blooming and green all around, even though some leaves are falling off the trees.  We can lay in our bed at night and look out the window at the moon and stars in the sky.  In the morning the light comes in our window and we grateful for the beauties that we see.

Our testimonies continue to grow.  We love the gospel of Jesus Christ.  We love the joy that comes from obedience to the commandments and the joy that comes from service.  We are grateful for our family who are striving to do what is right.  We love you all.

The Holt's

Meet Andreas

I would like you to meet Andreas.  We call him "The Green Hornet".  He works as a Globe Flight Delivery man, he drives a scooter and comes to our office most mornings bringing document packages. He is a deeply religious man, and very polite.  One day when he came into my office he visited with me while I signed for the packages.  He told me in his very high voice that His God was a good and loving God.  He told me that he had no money that day to come to work and he didn't know what he was going to do.  (meaning he had no money to put petrol in his scooter).  So, he said he prayed to God.  A few minutes later someone knocked on his door and asked if they could buy some of his bananas and avacadoes.  Andreas told me that God had answered his prayers and because he worked hard and had grown the fruits to sell he didn't have to steal or rob, or even kill anyone so he could get the money he needed to go to work. 

I found his philosophy very interesting - that with his belief in God he still thought he might have to steal, or rob or even kill someone to get what he needed to provide for his family and that it would be justified.  I told him that God did love him and he does answer our prayers.  I told him he needed to teach his children that Heavenly Father answers our prayers and takes care of us - especially if we work hard too.  He said he would teach his children when they get older.  He told me they were too young yet.  Of course in our lives, we know that a child is never too young to learn these things. 
We enjoy Andreas and we enjoy his visits each morning and his messages to us.  When he came in on Friday he reminded us that we are to honor our Father and Mother.  I told him I knew that, that that was a commandment. 



This has been a busy week, even with the President gone all week we have been kept very busy preparing for the arrival of the new Mission President.  President Zackrison arrives on Friday evening.  We will meet him on Saturday afternoon after he has spent time with the Von Stetten's, being filled with a crash course in how to be a mission President in South Africa.  I received an e-mail from the new President this week thanking me for sending him a calendar of activities for the next two months and he asked if I knew a Dr. Robert Taylor?  He said that Dr. Taylor is his Doctor in Provo and that he mentioned that he knew me.  I wrote him back and told him that he was my Brother-in-law.  How small the world is - right?

Wayne has been kept very busy with flat tires, and then flat spare tires.  Also calls about what to do about burst hoses etc.  He had to run a stanic card out to some Elder's this week and met with one of the brand new elders that arrived on June 11th.  The elder spent quite a bit of time talking about how homesick he was and Elder Holt tried to assure him that he would get over that as soon as he could get to work and forget about himself and serve others.  We saw him yesterday and he seems to be doing much better.  He has also been learning the in's and out's of selling off the cars that have just been replaced with new vehicles this last month.  Selling cars in South Africa comes with a whole different set of rules than what we are used to in Canada.  Gratefully he has Teddy to help him through the process. 

Thursday evening we had a meeting at the Berea chapel with the Stake Young Mens and Young Women's president.  There was a "team building" activity planned for the two Durban stakes for this past Saturday that someone else was in charge of, but at the last minute they fell through so we had to get to work and get the activity organized.  The focus of the activity was to help youth to learn to work together, to plan and execute a plan to accomplish a task.  We were assigned a station and had to come up with an activity to help them learn to work together.

We had four groups come through and each group consisted of two team.  First of all we had the kids come up with a team name and a team cheer.  Then they had to perform it for the other team.  Some teams were really creative and came up with some great ideas.  Then each team was given a tarp and they had to put one team member in the centre of the tarp and they had to carry this person down the field.  They they dumped them out and that person would stay there and they would run back and put another person in the center of the tarp and carry them down and drop them off.  They did that till there was only four team members left and then they could all go back and help carry the rest of the team one by one down.  The first team to complete the relay one that part.

They worked hard to get all their team members down the field to the other end, there was lots of laughing and giggling going on

Some teams used their big strong men to make the ride a little easier for the one being carried.  That was until all it was the mens turn to be carried down the field.











Then we had the kids line up 4 kids at a time.  They were each given an oreo cookie which they had to put on their foreheads and try to get into their mouths without the use of their hands.  The other team members were to offer help and advice about how to do it.

Some were very quick and adept at getting it into their mouths others had to work at it and work at it.  It took a lot of patience and perseverence to be able to accomplish this task.  All in all the kids had a lot of fun and after they finished at our station went on to three other activities. We fed them hot dogs, chips and a drink and then they all headed home.  We had about 80 youth there from two stakes, plus their leaders.




When we got home yesterday afternoon later, I learned that my Mom had had a fall in the night.  She must have been up using the bathroom, lost her balance and fell over the edge of the bath tub and couldn't get up.  Someone finally found her in the morning.  They called the EMT''s to help get her up and then took her to the Raymond hospital for x-rays.  Luckily nothing was broken, but they kept her overnight just for observation. Uncle Joe met her at the hospital and took care of her.  I checked today and they were going to send her back home.  I am glad that no bones were broken and that she will be alright.  I am also very grateful for family who are there to help my Mom in our absence.  Thank you all!

Today Wayne and I had to speak in the Kwamashu branch.  I had to speak about Home Teaching and Visiting Teaching and Wayne had to speak about "Not Taking the Lord's name in vain".  If nothing else, this mission has given us many teaching experiences.  I don't have the feats that I have always had in the past.

We love it when our family sends us pictures  - as I have stated before.  This is one that came to us this morning -

This picture came with the caption - "Please come swiming with us!"



Today Isaac will receive the Aaronic Priesthood.  We are so proud of him and know that he will honor this Priesthood which he will hold and will carry out his responsibilities very well.  He will set a great example for his young brothers as they prepare themselves for this day as well.  Isaac we are thinking of you and wish we could be there to witness this occasion.  We look forward with anticipation to our return to watch you pass the sacrament in your Ward.


Well, this is our blog for this week, we hope that it finds each of you well and happy.  We love you and are grateful for each of you.  Please keep in touch.

Love
Mom and Dad

Wild and Crazy Kind of Week!

 This is a picture we just received from our last Zone conference in the Hillcrest church.  This is a much smaller zone, but it was still big enough to have to feed lunch to.  We have served with many of these elders earlier in our mission.  Having now been out for a year, we are getting to know many of the elders.  Working in the office we are becoming acquainted with most of them.





Monday was a very busy crazy kind of day to start off a crazy busy week.  This was transfer week.  That means that the Elders who have served their two years leave to go home and the new Elder's arriving from the MTC arrive to go to work.  Also, the President moves the rest of the Elder's in the mission to different areas as he deems necessary to move the work along.  It is a logistical nightmare. 
Monday morning starts with our usual devotional at 8:30 AM.  Then we quickly went over the schedule for the rest of the day.  Many of the elders come in Monday (from the coast areas) to pick up supplies etc from the office.  Monday afternoon the departing Elders arrive with their luggage and have their final interviews with the President.  This time we had six departing elders.  I have to make sure that they have their departure packages ready with letters from the mission president to them, their family, their stake president.  Also their missionary release certificate.  We include their passport and plane tickets, plus all of their correspondence with the mission president for the last two years.  We close the office at 5:00 PM then hurry over to the mission home where we help Sister Von Stetten get the dinner ready to serve to the departing Elders.  Dinner is served and we quickly clear it away and clean up and get ready to enjoy the testimony meeting.  Each Elder has the opportunity to bear their testimony and then President and Sister Von Stetten also bear their testimony.  It is a wonderful evening.  Amongst all of this busyness we had Elder and Sister Shumway driving from Bloemfontein with an Elder who has had some serious health issues.  They were bringing him to Durban to the hospital here to see some specialists.  We have all been very concerned for this young man - he has been an amazing missionary and all of a sudden he has been having fainting spells, where he just passes out for no apparent reason.  As he comes to he has almost a seizure like episode.  The Doctors have ruled out epilepsy but they cannot find out why he is having this problem.  As it turned out the specialists could find nothing wrong with him and so we had no choice but to send him back home.  We were all heartbroken to see this amazing Elder return home.  We hope that they will be able to find out what is wrong with him so he can return to his normal routine.

 Tuesday morning dawned bright and early and Elder Holt was over at the Pinetown chapel with a basket full of bakkie and car keys, switching cars around and sending Elders off to their new areas.  He has to make sure they have "stanic" cards to match the car registration so they can buy fuel and maintain the cars.  It amazes me that he can keep it all straight.  He has a hard time getting them to get gone and on their way - they are just so happy to be together and see old companions they haven't seen for a long time.

 Besides loading them up with all of their belongings, Wayne sends mail from the office to the outlying areas.  Somehow Wayne keeps everything organized and gets it all done.

 These are the cars that have been traded out at the end of the day.  Some of these vehicles will be sold, some need repairs and will then be sent back out in the field.









By Tuesday at noon the Departing elders have been taken to the airport to leave to go home and the Mission President and his wife and the AP's have met the arriving 6 Elders from Johannesburg.  They bring the new elders back to the office where we orient them to the Durban Mission and the President interviews them and assigns them to their new area and their new companion.  We feed them lunch and then I hand out them their information packets and collect their passports, visas, drivers licenses, driving records, immunization information etc.  I have to photo copy much of this information and put it in their files.  Their passport and visa copies I have to have certified at the police station in case we have to apply for visas for Swaziland or Lesotho.  I also collect things like i-pods, phones, kindles etc. that they have brought from home and keep in the safe until they go home. 

Needless to say, we go home from work very tired Tuesday night. 

 This picture of Elder Steed, one of our AP's shows just how exhausting these few days are.  They have spent many hours organizing the logistics of how everyone will get where they need to be and then many hours calling and informing everyone of where they are being transferred to.  This is President Von Stetten's last transfer, he will go home in two more weeks.  The new President will arrive just two weeks before the next transfer and will have no idea what he is doing.  These two AP's will probably have to do this next transfer completely on their own, helping President Zackrison learn the ropes.
Wednesday we are very busy updating rosters, closing out files and creating birthday lists, e-mail lists, etc. etc. Thursday and Friday the mission President conducted his final interviews with the missionaries.  I am sure this is a very emotional time for him as he realizes this experience is coming to a close.  Von Stetten's went to Lesotho this weekend to meet with the Elder's and saints there.  President asked us if we had a message that we wanted to send to them.  So we typed up a short greeting and President expressed it in his talk today.  The Wyatt's were visiting there today for some reason and so this afternoon we received a phone call from two of the young adults that we love so much in Maseru on the Wyatt's phone.  It was so fun to hear their voice and visit with them briefly.  They want to know when we are coming back to see them.

Thursday evening Elder Holt had to go out to Umlazzi BB (about 40 minutes away) to conduct baptismal interviews for two investigators.  By the time we got back home it was quite late, but I got to have a good visit with one of the new missionaries who had just arrived April 30th.  He is enjoying the work and learning to be a great missionary.

Friday evening two Elders were involved in an accident (not their fault, and no one was hurt - gratefully), but that meant we had to be up bright and early Saturday morning to take them a different car to drive while their vehicle is being repaired.  Teddy met us at the Pinetown chapel where the extra cars are stored and we headed out to Kwamashu.  We went in to see these Elders flat.  As we were walking down a very steep hill to get to their flat we could hear what sounded almost like gun shots.  Found out it was firecrackers - someone trying to get the monkeys out of the trees in the area.  They have a terrible problem with monkeys out there.  We spent Saturday afternoon and evening getting our talks ready to give in church the next day.

Today we arrived at church to find out that since it was Father's day we wouldn't give our talks until next Sunday.  Oh the life of a missionary!

Michelle, Kaleo, Kalani, Mealli and Keola all went on "Trek" this week.  Michelle and Kaleo were the Ma and Pa to one of the families.  Each family had to have their own flag.  This is their flag.

 This is Ma and Pa Enos.  Each of their children were in different families.  They all had a great time.  Kalani came home with enough energy to go off to the Saturday night dance.  Michelle, unfortunately hurt her back just the day before they were to go.  With the help of a Priesthood blessing and some medication she was able to trek the whole way.  She did come home with a very fat lip though from sun burn - she wouldn't let me put that picture in.

 I don't know when Keola got so tall.  But isn't she an adorable pioneer girl.  Happy birthday on Tuesday Keola.  We will be thinking of you and wishing we were there to celebrate the day with you.  Hard to believe that 14 years have gone by since we welcomed you into the world. 

 What a handsome crew.  That Wyoming backdrop is miles and miles of nothing but miles and miles.  Mealii  has got to be back at soccer once again on Monday.  She is in such great shape that she feels no ill effects from this three day journey.

I had to put this picture in - is this not the coolest trekker you ever saw?  I can't wait to hear how the Enos grandchildren felt about this experience.  Poor Leolani had to stay home - the only one not old enough to go.  Oh well Leo' next time its your turn.






Mealii had her hair braided in corn braids and on the bus on the way home she undid the braids and this was the look she got.  Michelle informed me that everyone got home safe and sound - mostly.  A few blisters, sore feet and tired muscles. 










Thanks for the pictures and Happy Fathers Day greetings we received today.  We love you all and are so grateful for the technology that allows us to communicate from so far away.    We love the work we are doing and feel so blessed to be here serving in this part of the Lord's vineyard.  Our testimonies are strong, our hearts are full of gratitude for the Lord's outpouring of blessings to us and to our families.  Until next week.....

Love the Holt's

Preparing for Transfers!

 Before I begin to talk about the "work" I just thought I would tempt you with some of the beauties that living on the coast brings.  The ocean is so beautiful and we live quite close (15 minute drive), but can only find time to visit it on a Saturday.  By the time we finish work it is dark and too chilly to enjoy the beach.  Perhaps when summer comes again the days will be longer and we could go for a walk on the beach after work.

There are boogie boarders and surfers on the beach all the time.  People stop by the beach on their way home from work and do a little surfing before they head home.  This fellow walks out to the end of the pier and then jumps off the edge into the ocean so that he doesn't have to fight the waves while swimming out to the breakers.  On the weekends the beaches are very busy with people coming down to enjoy the sun, sand and ocean.  We continue to have beautiful warm days and feel very blessed.  However, today, Sunday, was the coolest day we have experienced in Durban.  There was a very strong wind and it was very cold.  I wished I had brought my shawl to keep me warm in church.






Today Wayne was fulfilling his High Council assignment by speaking in the Phoenix branch.  Phoenix is a community within the city of Durban.  He gave a great talk on teaching your children correct principals and setting a good example - "Training up a child in the way he should go" - Proverbs 22.  I of course had the opportunity to play the piano.  This branch is located in a predominantly Indian community and all of the members that were there today were Indian.  They were very friendly and welcoming.  The Branch President is Teddy's brother.  Teddy is the man who repairs all of the mission cars.  He and his wife Kathy will be introduced to you later in this blog.  Teddy and Kathy have kind of adopted us - he says - we have left our family at home and we have no family here and so they will be our family. 

Last Saturday Teddy and Kathy threw this great huge party - a party of "Thanks giving".  The Zwiffels, a missionary couple who served in the office just before we came last June, returned last week with three of their grandchildren to visit Teddy and Kathy and to take their grandchildren to visit South Africa.  We thought this party was a welcome back party for the Zwiffels.  Teddy had me issue invitations to the Stake Presidency and their wives, the other office couples, and a bunch of other people.  When we arrived at the address of the party this is what we saw.

 We were taken to this table that was set especially for the "Americans" etc.  We sat with the Starks (the other office couple) and the Von Stettens.  The lady on my right is Premmie.  Premmie lives two floors above us in our apartment complex.  She would like to join the church but feels she cannot because of the problems it would cause in her family.  They served Indian food, but food for our table was specially prepared so it was not too hot and spicy.

 This is Teddy and Kathy.  This is the first time we had ever seen Teddy in anything other than sloppy shorts and a dirty t-shirt (except when we go our for dinner, where he wears shorts and a clean t-shirt).  All of the Indian people came dressed in their beautiful Saari's and beautiful traditional clothes.  They were very beautiful (albeit not very modest). They had live music playing and it was very festive.  The Zwiffel's were there with their grandchildren and they did honor their presence throughout the evening, but really it was mostly like a church service.  Three different pastors spoke, many prayers were said and sung and Teddy and Kathy expressed thanks for the blessings the Lord had blessed them with.  It was a very interesting time.  I quite enjoyed watching what was going on, but some of the other LDS people were offended by all the preaching.  I just thought I probably wouldn't have to go to church the next day because we had already had it on Saturday.  (We still went)

 These two beautiful women are Teddy and Kathy's daughters.  Kerusha is the one on the left and the other daughter (I can't remember her name) is married and has two children - a daughter and a son.  I don't know where the husband is, we don't ever hear about him.  Kerusha is the bookkeeper for Teddy's business, so Wayne works with her on a regular basis.  The older daughter works in a bank and is quite successful.  Teddy also has a younger son - Jordan - who also works in the business.  We see him quite often as he comes to the office to pick up a car that needs to be taken in for repairs.  Jordan is about 17 years old,  a very handsome, polite young man. 

 This is Teddy and Kathy and on either side of them is their Mothers.  Teddy's mother had 10 children.  Kathy also comes from a fairly large family and many of Teddy and Kathy's siblings and their children were there that evening.  Every one of them were very friendly and welcoming and came up and said hello as the evening went on.

This is Teddy's younger brother.  He is the branch president of the Pheonix branch.  He is the only member of his family to join the church.  His son on the far right has just returned from a mission to Cape Town.  They also have one other son who was not there that night.  He is a great Branch President and we enjoyed attending their Branch today.  They all wanted to know when we would come back to see them again.  We are hoping that eventually Teddy and Kathy's hearts will soften and they will follow President Pallay's example and will also join the church.

We have had a very busy week as we prepare for transfers on Monday and Tuesday of this week.  We also had to do 7 flat checks this week.  That was an interesting experience as it is the first time I have experienced missionary flats here in this area.  There were some that were pretty good and there were some that were left "wanting".  Some I went and bought some cleaning supplies for immediately and told them I was expecting improvements on the next inspection and there were some that I worked with right then to show what I expected.  At least all of them had made some attempt at "cleaning", its just that some need some "schooling".

Also, we experienced a little sadness, as one of the elders had to be sent home early.  Unfortunately he just could not be obedient to the mission rules and was unable to get along with any of his companions.  President had worked and worked with him, but finally had to send him home, with the promise that if he could get his mind and life in order he could come back in 6 to 8 months.  We hope he is able to return to complete his mission.  I had to make quick flight plans for him to return home the next day and then we all waited that evening for him to come in so that we could wish him well and send him on his way to the airport.

We have six elders coming in tomorrow for their final interviews with the President and then their farewell dinner at the President's home, with a testimony meeting following.  We, (Stark's and us) get to attend as well. Then while the missionaries take pictures with the President and his wife, we do the dishes and clean up in preparation for the testimony meeting.  This is always a very special evening.  So far we have only attended one - but it was wonderful.  This is however, the President's final transfer and final farewell.  The next transfer will be with President and Sister Zackrison.  We had one elder leave on Thursday (his visa expired a few days early) and the other six will leave on Tuesday.  As these six are dropped off, we will welcome 7 new elders in.  The President and the AP's will bring them back from the airport.  Then we will give them an orientation and then some will leave immediately after for their new areas with their new companions.  Others will stay overnight at the mission home and will head out the next day to their areas of service.  It becomes wild and crazy with all the coming and goings of the Elders coming to pick up their companions and lots of questions and confusion.  This transfer there are only 7 coming in, but in the next transfer there is 13 and the following transfer there is 15. 

 Rod, I thought I would just put this picture in for your benefit.  There is great fishing here on the coast - you don't even have to go out on a boat, but of course you can.  Wish you could come back and this time get a chance to throw in a line or two.  We miss you all so much and hope that your summer is getting nice and warm and that those of you who are out of school are enjoying your holiday time.

Enos family - we hope you have a great experience on Trek and hope everyone comes back not too badly sunburned and blister weary.  We love to hear from you whenever you get a chance.  Just so you know - we are praying for each of you everyday and appreciate your prayers on our behalf.  The Elders are keeping dad very busy - they seem to find a way to scrape a car, have someone back into them or lose keys, have batterys go "flat", or some other disaster that sends him running to the rescue.  I think he will be able to write a book when he gets home.  Well, I must close as I have cookies to make before I go to bed tonight.  Elder Puso, an Elder going home this week, asked if he would be able to "taste my good cookies one more time before he goes home", so I promised him he could.  Have a safe and happy week.

Love to you all
Dad and Mom

Back At Last

After much pressure from family and friends, I have caved and am going to get back to "blogging" our mission experiences.  As many of you know, we have, as of March 21st, moved to Durban.  It is a huge bustling city with lots of traffic and noise (Wayne so misses the tranquility of Ladybrand).  We have taken on the responsibilities of Office Secretary (me) and Car Czar (Wayne).  The days have been extremely busy as we have been learning our new jobs and we come home physically and mentally exhausted (hence no energy to do the blog).  However it has been two months now and we have no more excuses - right?  Right!  We are loving the beautiful Durban weather.  It is winter here, but so different from the winter spent last year in Lesotho.  The average temperature during the day is about 75 degrees and it cools off at night to a nice cool temperature, about 55 - 60 degrees. 

 Elder Holt is responsible for keeping 68 cars repaired and operating throughout the mission.  He is also responsible for all the phones (each companionship has one) plus all the orders for supplies of books, scriptures, DVD's, passalong cards, etc, plus garments for the missionaries.  It almost keeps him busy enough, but you know Wayne - he can never sit still for very long.

 I am responsible for keeping the needs of the mission president met with correspondence, booking of flights, hotels etc. for his travel. Keeping track of all the missionaries heading out and coming in throughout all the mission and keeping all the missionaries VISAS current.  I also have to do all the welcome and departure information for incoming and outgoing Elders.  I have to book all the Elders flights for going home.  Plus a few other duties.  Days go very quickly needless to say.

Snails get to be a considerable size on the coast.  We have amazing rain storms here when it rains.  The thunder and lightning are quite magnificent too. 










After we had had a week of training in the office it was time for the couples conference.  About once a year the Mission President brings all the Mission Couples together for a weekend to be able to socialize, re-energize and receive instruction from him.  This year we gathered in Durban for the conference. 

 After a morning of instruction in a conference room, we headed over to a childrens hospital that is right across from the Durban beach.  Part of the hospital is a new section and part of the hospital is a 100 year old historical site that they are in the process of preserving and restoring.  They have the building surrounded with plywood to keep people out of the site.  We provided a service project and painted the weathered plywood so that a mural can be painted on it to show what is happening on that site.

 Wayne was up on the wall painting up high and we shorties were down below, carrying paint to the workers and washing splatters off the brick wall below.  It was a fun few hours of hard work and gave us all a chance to provide some positive service for the city of Durban.

 We got to spend some time on the beach for a while, dipping our toes in the ocean and sand.  It was so fun to spend some time with the Shumway's and Wyatt's once again.  We realize that now we are in Durban we will not have the opportunity to see them anymore.  That makes us very sad.  But we are grateful for the opportunity we have had to create strong friendships that will last beyond our mission experience.

We went to U shaka aquarium and spent a few hours looking at the beautiful fish, sharks, stingrays etc.  Le'olani, you would have loved to be at this acquarium - it is amazing.  You can even put air tanks on and get into the water and feed the sharks if you want. 

Sunday morning all the couples chose a ward or branch in the Durban area to attend and once church was over everybody headed home.  Then we were back to work as usual on Monday.  Only the Olsen's had gone to Lesotho and we were on our own - scarry!

We have kept our noses to the grindstone for the last couple of months as we have been busy getting to know our jobs, the people we work with, the Branch we have been assigned to, Wayne's calling on the High Council and trying to get our little flat organized and feeling like "home".  We have seen many miracles happen as we have learned to manage the computers, phones, our way around Durban, all the Elder's we now see on a regular basis (lots more than the 16 we were responsible for in Lesotho) and many other things.  Each day the Lord somehow makes us equal to the work that must be done.  Wayne can even navigate the computer, he can scan, attach a scan and send it.  He keeps track of all of the Elder's individual orders and charges them to their monthly allotments.  He is amazing.  He can even use his "Blackberry" phone.  It has been a big stretch for both of us and we know we could not manage it without the Lord's help.   We do miss being out in the "field" everyday, well I guess I miss it - Wayne still gets to go out and check out a damaged car, or a car that won't start or whatever, but I am pretty much tied to the office everyday.  However, about two weeks ago Wayne had to take a bakki up to New Castle to trade out with a bakki from Swaziland and President gave me permission to go with him.  It was a wonderful day - riding in a rough old bakki again - brought back some great memories.

Then last weekend we took our P-day on Saturday and met the Lombardi's and the Shumway's in Mtubatuba (just up the coast from Durban about 3 hours) where we once again traded a bakki that had to go back into Swazi with the Lombardi's and we took another Swazi bakki back to Durban that needed repairs.  We had a quick visit in the parking lot with the Lombardi's and then they had to go back to work.  But we went to St. Lucia with the Shumway's - about 30 minutes away right on the coast, and spent the day exploring this darling little town and then we went on a fun boat ride down the river.

 Oh how we love to get together!  It is too bad we can't do it more often.  (me, Sister Lombardi, and Sister Shumway)  Sister Lombardi was feeling pretty sad that she was going to miss out on the visit in St. Lucia.  We were sad we were going to miss the visit with Sister Lombardi.  It was great to be able to catch up on the news with the Shumway's though.  The weekend before we met them, the Blomefontein District was made the Bloemfontein Stake.  It was a momentous occasion.  We wished we could have been there, but President felt we needed to stay to keep things going in case of an emergency.

 (Elder Lombardi, Elder Hot, Elder Shumway)  With the forming of a new Stake, Elder Shumway is no longer a member of the District Presidency.  This will take away much of his work load and he is feeling a little lost, wondering where his focus should now be.  He met with President Von Stetten on Monday morning and received some instruction on his new responsibilities.  Shumway's go home July 23rd, so their time is very limited.

 We got on a boat about 3:00 PM and rode down the river to see about 800 adult hippos.  These were the only two we saw our sunning on the grass.  There were also lots of croccadiles too.  The birds we saw were pretty amazing as well.  We also met a group of tourists from Germany.  We had a wonderful visit with a woman named Eleanor Williams from Frieburgh Germany. 

 The captain of the boat timed the ride just right so that we could capture the sunset as we were coming back to dock.

As we got off the boat some very enterprising young Zulu men were ready to entertain us with singing and dancing.  Of course there was another young man ready with a basket to collect our money for entertaining them.  The drums they used had been discarded from someone else as they both had big holes in the hides, but they made them work anyway, because that is all they had.

We have learned much in the last two months.  We are busy and will become even busier as we have both been called to serve in the Stake Young Men's, Young Women's Presidency in the Durban Stake.  We were asked to speak at a Single Young Adult Fireside two weeks ago about what to look for in a mate and how to prepare for marriage.  Wayne will be speaking next Sunday in the Phoenix branch, and then the following Sunday we are both to speak in the Kwa Mashu 2 branch Sacrament meeting.

Again, the Lord continues to bless us with miracles and blessings everyday.  We are loving our mission and learning so much in this new calling.  We will have a new Mission President at the end of this month, as President and Sister Von Stetten return to America.  I think we will just have it all figured out and then it will be time for us to return home as well.  Thank you for your continued interest and prayers in our behalf.  We love you and miss you.

Elder and Sister Holt