Fall Begins in South Africa

I remember when I was young the skies over the Salt Lake Valley would blacken on late Summer evenings and flashes of lightening would light up the sky. The lightening, which often hit Mt Olympus, would be followed by loud claps of thunder that would frighten me. My brother would shrug his shoulders and say, "ah it's just Heavenly Father moving his furniture around".

Here in Johannesburg the first day of Autumn was ushered in by the most amazing electrical storm, which went on for hours. The mansions above were being rearrange again and again, and this time there wasn't a stick of furniture left in it's original spot. The heavens open up and the waters came down, and down and down. The storm seem centers over our area of town and the electrical strikes so close there were only seconds before the thunder rolled and rolled and rolled across the sky. One strain of thunder had not even ended before another one began. It rained so much that the street became small rivers. I don't know where the run off goes because there are no rain drains on our street.

Across the street at Killarney Mall the halls were flooded because there is not a proper drain system. The water was coming in through the vents in the ceiling because the parking lot over head had no place for the water to go. The local hamburger joint in the mall was completely flooded out. Shop keepers were laying paper down at the entrance to their establishments hoping to ward off the encroaching water. I was told that while they always have some water leakage when it rains, they had never seen it this bad. All in all it was a very exciting afternoon; the whole thing was cleaned up by morning. I did wonder though, if this happens each time it rains, how long will it be before a piece of the ceiling falls? There has got to be dry rot galore in this place.

This week we learned the personal story of the head of our department, Tembinkosi. He told us he grew up in a village hut with a dirt floor in Durban. That his mother worked very hard doing laundry and house cleaning when she could get the work and that his father was absentee. When his mother would bring her pay home at the end of the week she would put it in a pile on the dirt floor, because they did not have a table. She would gather her 6 boys around her and they would count the money together. She would then give Tembinkosi the food money and tell him what she needed for the week and it was up to him to get the best price for the food they would eat. He was the oldest of her boys and was 8 years old when he began his job as shopper for the family. When they could, the children would work doing odd jobs to help contribute to the household expenses. He remembers that his mother always kept a little money even if it was just a penny, because having some money saved for emergencies was very important. She told her boys "never borrow money, never go into debt". Tembinkosi told us of his struggle to go to school. There was no one there to help support him. His mother had nothing and was still raising her other children. Tembinkosi would do anything he could to earn money for school. He washed cars, and windows; did yard work, hauled things, collected garbage and sold what he found that was usable. His mother got him a needle and thread and showed him how to repair shoes. He would fix his own shoes and then those of his family and then he would repair shoes to help with his schooling. He does not have sympathy for those who say they cannot get work. He says if one wants to work one will find work.

His mother lives in the same house and village she lived in when he was growing up. He has helped to fix up her home, and is now putting his brother through school. He still does not have a washing machine. He does all the laundry for himself and his wife by hand (and his white shirts look better than Dad's!). It is how he grew up and it is still how he does things. He has more important things to spend their hard earned money on than a washing machine or television. He is an amazing hard working hard driving man. He is a very good man. His life has given him insights and experiences we could never begin to know. There is much we will learn from him.

This is Dad. I had an experience this weekend I'd like to relate. One of the things we have determined we will do is go to a different Ward/Branch every week in order to ascertain the training level of the Bishops in Perpetual Education Funds stuff and to talk to the kids -- those in the program and those who are prospects. I got a late start for this Sunday but I did get a Bishop's name and number on Friday and called. He didn't respond, but we were going to his Ward anyway. Saturday, I decided to go into the office and while there, I called him again on one of the numbers I had been given. Turns out it was his wife's cell phone and they had just finished a session at the Temple -- which is about 100 yards from my office! He came over, we talked, and agreed to talk more today at Sacrament meeting. He is 28, wife pregnant with first child, Bishop for two months, working and going to school (not on a PEF loan). Today I met with him for about 45 minutes and he instantly saw the value of PEF to his youth: he has youth who are semi-active but who he thinks he can reactivate by telling them that this program is for them but they must be worthy to qualify. He also thought it would be great for the high school kids who see no reason to excell in school because college is not a possiblity for them. With PEF, he can show them why high school matters and give them a glimpse of a brighter tomorrow. He really has caught the vision, and I was just fortunate enough to be there when it happened! The way this whole thing happened simply couldn't have been by accident. God bless you all.