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| The need for road signs became evident to us as we tried to find church after church in Gauteng, South Africa. Not only did many of the churches have no addresses, but the streets around the churches had no names. We asked the Physical Facilities Department at the Area Ofice and their response was: 1. We have wanted road signs for 8 years but the government officials do not like the church so it's an impossible task. Well, guess what, as we began visiting with one after another, we found them most receptive and accommodating. But, first of all we had to find the right person, in the right department, in the right building, in the right city, etc. etc. That proved to be a very time consuming task. We decided that perhaps that was another big problem for this project: 2. No one had the time necessary to devote to a project of this kind. The Stake Presidents were all in agreement that we needed the signs so we began our quest to procure approximately 200 directional signs for our churches across SouthAfrica. " Tender Mercies were many" We were taught some valuable lessons as we tried our best to do our missionary work in Africa: 1. There are no co-incidences when the Lord is involved. We saw and felt the guidance of the Spirit everyday as we tried to find and talk to the right people. Just a few examples of our experiences: Ekhuraleni South Government Official, Thuso, after several visits said we had to go to 3 different places and obtain zoning certificates before he could send the applications on to the next step. We were moving to Cape Town the very next day so we were in a time crunch. Nevertheless, we set out to accomplish what he asked. First place, he went with us and that one only took about an hour to complete. Then we drove to the next place and the computer was down so we were told to come back tomorrow. We were tempted to give up, but Elder Roberts went into an office and explained our plight. The secretary said the computers were down but I guess we could talk to the head of their department. After talking to him for a few minutes he said, "This is ridiculous. I'll just waive the fee and write out your certificate right now." We left and then remembered we had forgotten to give him our CD of religious music. Elder Roberts went back in and the director was in the process of changing the policy for how to handle things when the computer is down. Lon gave him the CD and then as he was leaving . . . he met Brother Rob Piccolo who had helped us with the location for the signs in Benoni Stake (quite a distance from where we were.) He said, "Elder Roberts, I knew I was going to find someone when I stopped here. My son is in the emergency room and needs a blessing. Will you come with me please." We followed him to the hospital, I had oil in my purse, and they were able to give the young man a blessing so that he wouldn't lose a finger that had been badly cut. (His finger turned out fine by the way.) We then continued on to the last place, knowing full well that the office could be closed for the day. We went into the office and asked the man there to help us. He said, "No problem. We'll just waive the fee because we are all shut down for the day." When he stepped out of the room to get the certificate . . . the secretary was looking at us with a look of amazement on her face. "He never does that!" she said. "But, when you see so much love coming from both of you, how can anyone resist whatever it is you ask." We knew so forcefully that it was the Sprit of the Lord communicating with the people in that office. It's very humbling to be in that situation and know you are an instrument in the Lord's hands. Often the officials would say, "You're lucky you caught me. I was't supposed to be here today but I just came in for a few minutes." Or once a man was walking down the hallway, and we asked him if he was the one we needed to talk to--- "Why yes, I am. My name is Philip Nice." Or another day in East London, South Africa, the right person could not be found and then we saw a woman named Khush walking down the hall and come to find out she was the person over signs for that area. Or we needed to talk to Thoso on another day and he wasn't in. We waited for the elevator to leave and it was over 5 minutes that we waited. Then the elevator came to our floor, but the door didn't open but went down to a lower floor instead. In a few minutes, the door opened and there was Thuso. 2. The Spirit is there helping us in all that we do. but we don't recognize His help, What a shame that we often ignore the presence of the Holy Ghost in our lives everyday helping us with the small things of life. Out mission has helped us to focus more each day and we have learned to recognize His presence. I know it's had to express the presence of the Spirit in words It's one of those "you had to be there" kind of times. But we know without a doubt that this is the Lord's work and to quote a good missionary friend, Sister Linda Pugmire, "every part of the vineyard is important." |
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| After finishing our work in East London and Port Elizabeth, we went to the very bottom of South Africa to Cape Angelus. This is the African Blue Crane which is endangered and apparently hard to find. |
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| The Light House from the early days. The explorer Vasco da Gama from Portugal was the first to explore a way to India around the tip of Africa. |
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| Here is the spot where the two oceans meet. The cold Atlantic meets the warm waters of the Indian. The Atlantic Ocean has the large animals that we love to eat and the Indian Ocean has the beautiful tropical fish. |
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| I can only imagine the fierce storms the early explorers must have experienced. |
