Vivian & David

With our June news I am going to try something new by listing some of our missionary experiences by categories.

~DURBAN~

We will begin with Durban since we spent a good amount of time coming, going, or being here. Elder Dibb's physician recommended an ENT here. We were blessed to get an appointment with him right away, came and stayed with the Mann family and got to see Dr. Williams. He gave Elder Dibb some new sinus medications to try.

The following visit to Durban a couple of weeks later showed that the medications were not working and sinus surgery was scheduled for July 7th.

Our third visit was for my assignment to present to the Mission Presidency {including Elder Dibb}, and the new District Presidents information and a proposed YSA Conference agenda.

~YOUNG SINGLE ADULTS ~

EFY Programs are being prepared to take to our youth by two couple missionaries. My assignment is to do the same for our Young Single Adults. After visiting with some of our local YSA's and with other help, I prepared and organized a conference agenda of: a working breakfast followed by choice of classes, a dating panel, games & team building activities, and speed dating. One group class will about motivation and the other will be on the Law of Chastity [as per their request]. I presented to the District Presidents a poster of 88+ facial photos of our local YSA with the proposed theme of "88 People Like You"....and we will begin as soon as we get the dates cleared. CTR bands have been ordered and we are in the process of making 100 CD's.

~JOHANNESBURG~ {4 hours the other direction from Newcastle}

The Area Humanitarian missionary couple called because they were able to get the supplies that we needed for local charity. So we got permission to get a bukky and drive to Jo'burg. We carefully arranged our schedule so that we could include one temple session. We also were blessed to exchange extra curriculum supplies for needed materials for the branches at the area Distribution Center, all in one day.

~CHARITY~

We began distributing the humanitarian aid blankets to members of the Rotary Club to distribute to the needy. To another charity director, we gave her some hygiene kits, infant kits -that some of you may have helped make. During Youth Conference last year, I helped color some of the ABC story books ~ and now here I am in South Africa handing out some of them to these charities. To another school principal we gave them the carpet scraps [for the children to sit on instead of the concrete floors], and the children happily helped carried in the boxes school kits. It worked out for us to have dinner with Burt & Ann, a wonderful couple from the Rotary Club. Elder Dibb is scheduled to speak to the Rotary Club later in July about World Food Hunger/Production.

~GOOD TIMING~

The bukky, or pickup that we borrowed from the mission, needed to be returned in exchange for our own car. Fortunately for us, Pres. & Sister Mann were coming to Ladysmith for the Elders interviews. The timing was good for us to make the 90 minute drive to join them, the Assistants, and the Ladysmith missionaries to hear the wonderful Drakensburg {Mountain} Boys Choir performance before they left on their international tour.

~BEING WITH THE ELDERS~

We love our Elders and the FHE Dinners at our home and I enjoy taking the day to prepare some American foods for dinner for the twelve of us. We learn so much from them. We had a Zone fast to help us find families to teach. At our District meetings, I surprize them with bran muffins or something. For our Zone Activity we went to Bloody River near Vryheid and that was interesting to see the museum and learn more about the war there. We are surrounded by a lot of battlefields.

~TEACHING~

Our Zone Leaders are teaching a family in Newcastle that are having some severe challenges as they strive to grasp the gospel. They asked us to please go with them to help teach this family since we have had some marital experiences. I chose to share with them teachings from the Proclamation of the Family and I was very thankful for the spirit that was there with us. They enjoyed Elder Dibb as he entertained us with fun stories of family times and blessings that are received as we accept and live the principles of the gospel.

Elder Dibb completed teaching the Temple Preparation classes in Madadeni, including to our newly called missionary that was called to the Cape Town Mission. Now in Newcastle, our Branch President has asked him to teach it in preparation for our youth temple trip in August. He also taught the 5th Sunday combined RS/Priesthood lesson. One Sunday we were sitting in Sac. Mtg. to hear one of the new callings was to sustain Sister So&So. Ah, he talked with Pres. Gumede, and he is so thankful for Elder Dibb and all of his experience and training. {No surprize, right?!}

I trained the new RS President and now she just got her two new counselors called and sustained as 1st and 2nd counselors. When I asked her which one would be the Enrichment Counselor and which one the Education Counselor she didn't know yet. But the next week after church, the RS presidency had a meeting and they made the decision.

~SEMINARY~

I love my Seminary students and they love me. We have Seminary on Thursday and Friday afternoons. I am learning a lot by trying to teach them about Hannah, Ruth, Samuel, Eli, Gideon, Samson, and David and Saul these past few weeks.

One Saturday for Seminary we had our first Super Saturday. We helped organize some fun games for both the Newcastle and Madadeni kids and they had a good time and the CES Leaders brought some pizzas.

~PHONE CALL~

We had just gotten home from Seminary one Thursday night when I got a phone call -- Vooyesaua was sobbing {and African women rarely, if ever cry}. All I could get her to tell me was the question of would I please come now to 'Casualty' in the Madadeni Hospital; she said they would show me what room she was in. I didn't even know who she was until she told me she taught Seminary in Branch Two. So we leave not really knowing where she was nor how to pronounce her name.

Well it was sad news -- her younger brother who was 11 or 12 had hung himself, and her other 20 year old brother had carried him in his arms to the hospital. Note: She is 21, has no parents, but she goes to school part time and works part time; therefore, she is the sole provider for these members of her family. Plus her twin sister has Leukemia. It is so wonderful how the Spirit guides you on what to do and say in these circumstances.

She was denied a loan for the funeral, but I was so proud of her - she did the funeral without going into debt. She arranged for the funeral to be at the chapel instead of paying to rent a tent and chairs; she got some RS sisters to help

I was so proud of her -- she was denied a loan for the funeral. But she did it without going into debt. She arranged for the funeral to be at the chapel instead of paying to rent a tent and chairs; she got some RS sisters to help volunteer with the food and made some sandwiches instead of sacrificing a goat for meat or using chicken with the usual beetroot, coleslaw, carrots and rice to feed others. She had the attendees from the funeral walk to the cemetery instead of hiring a transport bus.

To the principal and a couple of the teachers, I shared with them the pamphlet of "The Plan of Salvation".

Donations from friends and school children helped pay for the coffin and burial plot. She is a trooper and I am glad I could be there to help her when she needed.

~VISITS~

Related to this was another visit to an inactive member who was in the hospital because he had tried to hang himself from the balcony railing. But I'd like to end on a more positive note by sharing this visit with a family who had three sons and the mom and non member teenage sons had all committed to come to church on Sunday. They did not come, but because she had called another friend, she came. This was an extra blessing to us because with this sister we only had a street address without a house number.

So we got to visit with her in her home and she wants to come back and be re-instated in the church. So we are hoping to help her to do so which will also help her teenage daughter.

We got some other very good visits in with some less active members. It is interesting how many of them think they are not members anymore because they attend another church. Transport here is a big challenge for our members.

I wish I could remember some of the comical events that are so simple with these wonderful and pure people. One that does come to mind in that in Relief Society for our practice hymn we sang a hymn that was for the men’s choir. Ya gotta love 'em and boy do we ever!