A Sunday at the Jouberton Branch

We normally get up at 5:30 a.m. and walk but for some reason, the 5:15 on Sunday morning is not welcome. Our goal is to leave at 6:00 but lately we've been a little later. Maybe it's because Saturday has been moving day and we'd like a little longer rest. We grab our books - my wonderful spiral hymn book that Sister Leavitt gave me from the supply closet, our scriptures, and my beginning keyboard kit and last but not least the "pudding" I promised Bro Sipho. He said he loved pudding, all kinds of pudding. How was I going to transport pudding? Fortunately I found out during the week that pudding is their word for any dessert. So I took a loaf of banana bread - it would travel easy and sit in the car for about 9 hours easy also. We get through the 10 traffic lights in Potchefstroom just in time to go through the 12 in Klerksdorp.   We turn off to Jouberton and go over about 15 speed "hills" not bumps, wind around the little cement houses, dirt yards with ugly dogs barking, arrive at the first garbage heap, turn at the next garbage heap, dodge people walking - no one worries about crossing the street in front of a car - no one looks to see if cars are coming - they just cross, we turn down a dirt road and arrive at the beautiful chapel surrounded by brick wall and iron fence.

It's now ten minutes to nine, I make a beeline to the bathroom then go turn off the loud recorded hymns the organ plays and start playing a soft prelude.   The counselor gives me the songs for the meeting - I check them - should be okay (I'm trying not to revert to the simple hymns but force myself to stick with the hymn book because I can - just have to concentrate and not get nervous). We start at about 9:10. There are never any announcements.   There are never any callings or releases. The Branch President blesses the bread and the water (there are priests in the audience-- we don't understand) but Sacrament is reverent and goes well. Elder Bishop and Sister Bishop are the speakers today. I go first. I chose to talk on Putting on the Armor of God.   I thought it went pretty well but I don't know if half of the congregation understood a word I said (they speak Tswana). Elder Bishop talks about the church being the "body" and needing the whole body not just an eye or a foot (I forget the reference but it's in by Paul). It's excellent. We end on time - I play a postlude - a little cutie pie girl comes up so I can hug her and let her play a few notes on the piano. We shake hands - good morning - go to Gospel Principles class where Elder Litchenberg gives a very dynamic, animated lesson. He is great - great entertainer - knows the gospel - we learn much.

Relief Society - Sister Angie says "we're so glad to have Sister ? here today, we thought she died. We felt so bad because we didn't know she was sick, I didn't go and visit her and now she's here alive." I'm dying - trying not to laugh but honestly. Sister Angie is the Relief Society President and she has only one counselor, Sister Susan. They have trouble getting anyone to come and clean the church, but Sister Bishop brought a car full of supplies so there's no excuse but where is the list? Whose turn is it - no one knows. She hasn't finished the visiting teaching assignments yet - she started the first of January but she can't get it finished. Angie is great but organization is not one of her strong points. However, she or Susan didn't give the lesson which they did all of January, but Sister? reads the lesson. However, there is some discussion in between the reading. I'm okay with them reading because they aren't confident enough to be discussion leaders or present a lesson - they stick with the manual and that's good. And she reads in English. 

Then I go back into the chapel and teach piano to two sisters and a young man. The young man is quick and the one sister does fine but the other doesn't understand a word I'm saying and doesn't have a clue. We go for about an hour. 

Then we sit outside on the porch of the chapel in the shade for an hour until the elders come back to show us where Bro Sipho lives. We arrive about 3 p.m. and their house is hot, hot, hot. It's simple but furnished nice and we visit with him, his wife, teenage son, older son and his son.   I asked his teenage son if he was planning a mission and he said he needed to be in a better environment with better friends to prepare. Hmmm, think he just needs to prepare himself and the MTC and mission will provide the better environment. We have a wonderful visit with the family and then they serve us oxtail, rice, beets, sweet potatoes and some other vegetable. It was really good - they eat the meat right down to the bone but I had to dig around the fat to get the meat but I ate it all. Then Bro Sipho says, where's my pudding - his wife served us a bowl with custard, jello, and a slice of banana bread in it.   I said, I guess you're sharing it:) It was very good. We then had a gospel doctrine discussion. He's just become active the last few years. He's great and the young man was very interested in our discussion and stayed to listen.   We had a really good time - the boys did the dishes:) But we had to be on the road at 5 p.m. to get home to our Zone testimony meeting at 7. Fortunately, my dessert was made and sitting on the table. We could have stayed longer - I took pictures of the family and felt encouraged that maybe we could do some good. It's been discouraging but we need to get into more homes and have visits like this. It's hard because finding people's places is nearly impossible - addresses are meaningless. The Lord will show the way. I was encouraged and not ready to tell President we can't make the four hour drive anymore.