Finding a new Flat

Today we went looking at flats and found a large three bedroom flat called Kragga Gamma Retirement Village in Fernglen.  You must be at least 50 to rent there.  #77 is very nice, larger than where we are living now and the flat has plenty or storage space. Fernwood is a  rural area not too far from the P.E. airport which will facilitate our weekly mail run.  The complex is close to the N1 highway so it will be easier to get to wards and branches in the outlying areas.   It’s quite a distance from the other two missionary couples.  The  Taylors are going home soon.  We seldom see the Van Sickles since they travel with their responsibilities as Employment Specialists. 

The Taylors will be replaced by the Shurbetts from St. George.  They fly off on September 24^th and the Shurbetts will arrive before the end of September.  I talked to Janette about renting her two bedroom flat across the street.  She hopes to get a job in Cape Town and would like the security of renting to the church.  But it doesn’t look like she will be moving any time soon.   We are not worried about finding housing. The Lord will provide.  It really doesn’t much matter where we live since we  float among the wards and branches of P.E. stake when we aren’t in Knysna, Grahamstown or East London.

Elders Acton and Pack visited this morning.  I  made crepes and green smoothies from greens in my garden for them.  They invited us to attend an activity in P.E. ward at 5:00 p.m. Saturday night.  They are baptizing a family at 1:00 p.m in P.E. Ward.     It’s the first baptisms of a family--mom, dad and three young sons ageses 2, 4 and 8.   Too bad we have a planning for success class in Cleary at 12:30.  Critchfield and Ssamanda are baptizing a family of three in Lorraine Ward the following week which will bring the membership there up to 154.  

We are all going out to dinner with the Clarkes on Monday night since Elder Pack goes home on Wednesday.  Acton will also be leaving in two weeks.  Elder Pack has been getting letters from three girls in the Young Ambassadors.  We teased him about that.  Elder Acton  will be returning to Washington State where he plans to go to school,  rebuild his failed furniture repair business and marry his long time girl.  Two weeks ago he showed me a picture of her new baby girl saying, “this is my new baby .”  I made some inappropriate comments about “long distance fertilization” but he is very proud of little girl and looks forward to being her father.

Tom and Elder Taylor went to Stake Priesthood meeting last night while I visited Janette and reread Book One in the Chronicles Brothers Series, by Wendy Alec.  This is a series about three archangels, three brothers, one turned renegade.  I’ve been writing scriptures from the Book of Abraham in the margins of The Fall of Lucifer. The author's approach to the war in heaven is fascinating.  It includes a lot of references to DNA and science.  Mona Clark wrote and said her book club and our bible study ladies miss me.  So I sent her the "Acts of Faith" a fiction series based on incidents in the New Testament.    The first book is called, The Centurion’s Wife.   She can share these books with the sisters in bible study and her book club.

We have lots of down time during the week but are busy on weekends.  Sunday we are attending Sacrament meeting in Lorraine Ward at 8:00 a.m., then gospel doctrine class there.  At 10:00 a.m. we will attend Sacrament Meeting in P.E. ward with Acton and Pack.  Brother Clarke promised to attend.  At 12:30 we will be out in Cleary Branch for a "Planning for Success" class.  We always bring sandwiches to those classes.  At 7:00 p.m. there is a Youth Fireside at Kwa Magxaki Ward where Khumbulani, our boss from Johannesburg, will be speaking to the youth. 

Yesterday we went to Kragga Garma game reserve to see the wild life.  It was very muddy and we got stuck in the area where we saw the Rhinos on our last visit.  The dirt roads are all very muddy as it rained all day for three days in a row last week.  A Ranger had to come with his truck and two black workers to pull us out.  Elder Blake called us on our cell phone to get our address while we were riding around and viewing the animals.  He is sending us 300 copies of “Planning for Success.” He needed our physical address as the booklets needed to be delivered to us and signed for.  That was the only PEF work we had yesterday.