Sisters In Zion

GREETINGS FROM SOUTH AFRICA!

(email written for the Australia Perth Mission Reunion)

We are now serving in the South Africa Durban Mission and have been here 8 months. We are straight across the wide Indian Ocean from the grand city of Perth, Australia -- on the same latitude line. Once again we are working in the Mission Office here in the city of Durban. Elder Nielsen does the finances and Sister Nielsen does boardings, medical, and baptism recording. There are approximately 135 young elders (no sisters) and 14 senior couples serving here. Never thought serving in the Mission Office could be so busy!

South Africa is just as different and wonderful as we found Perth, Australia to be. Upon experiencing a Game Drive with the other Seniors, we discovered that the animals unique to South Africa ar just as amazing as what we found in Australia. But the BIG FIVE of Africa (cheetahs, lions, rhinos, cape buffaloes and elephants) are much more dangerous to man than kangaroos, koalas, ostriches, kookaburras, etc., etc....    HA, HA

Durban, South Africa is not at all what we expected when we got our call. In fact, our flat is surrounded by "jungle" which is home to many monkeys who continue to raid our garbage cans. The area is made up of thousands, upon thousands, of hills, so they tuck homes and buildings everywhere! There is hardly any flat land, and no straight roads; they all twist and turn! And Elder Nielsen STILL has a hard time driving on the left side of the road!. Sister Nielsen has yet to build up the courage to try driving here. But according to her, "All the major roads are expressways, with speeds of 80 to 110 k's, while sharing the roads with pedestrians walking, jogging, or crossing the roadway." But then there are the TAXI'S which can stop anywhere along the sides, to pick up or discharge passengers! (TAXIS are vans similar to the old volkswagen buses, and pack in up to 16 passengers (four across each row).

The population in South Africa consists of those of the Zulu race, many immigrants from India and Asia, and of course, the Africaans (descendants of the original Dutch and German settlers who arrived in the 1600's). We are assigned to attend a small church unit, which was a "group" until it was made a branch just over a month ago. Its members are all of the Zulu race, except for us and the Branch President and his wife. He was released as a Bishop of a ward in a neighboring town about 30 or more minutes drive away, to lead the Molweni Branch, since he has tremendous leadership experience. The members DO speak English, but it is still difficult to understand what they are saying, and they often slip into Zulu during talks and testimony bearing.

We, along with the other Senior Couples, have had numerous spiritual experiences working with the people of South Africa, whether Zulu, Indian, or Africaan. The Lord has prepared many of the people here for the Gospel, but Satan is trying his hardest to thwart the work. But it is still going forth!

We did encounter a few bumps in the road, however. Sister Nielsen fell on wet stairs outside the flat 4 days after arriving and broke her arm. We took her to the hospital and they directe us to check into "CASUALTY", which here means Emergency, which kind of unnerving to us! She spent 4 days in the hospital and 6 months with it in a sling. Her total recovery AMAZED her orthopedic surgeon!! He said it could only be through our prayers that her arm is now stronger than before it was broken...and no diminished use of her left arm.  Then Elder Nielsen developed severe stomach pains, which was contributed to his gall bladder. He had surgery 6 weeks ago to remove the gall bladder and is recovering well.

Our greetings to all....and apologize for the email, instead of the requested video. We still don't have super technology skills!  We know the Gospel is true. No matter where in the world we are serving...it is the same.

May God bless you,

Elder and Sister Nielsen
(DeVon and Judi Nielsen)

Successful Gall Bladder Surgery

Today started early, with us heading out the door at 5:30 a.m. to be to the hospital by 6:00. The main hospital waiting room was full when we arrived and we checked in, to take our turn with Pre-Admissions. As they called names of those ready to go back to the surgical wing after pre-admissions, usually two people would leave each time, until they called one name and probably ten or twelve people left. (They must have been having a family reunion while waiting for one family member to have his surgery!).

When Dad was called, we went to Pre-Admissions for a Pre-Paid Hospital Estimate of 15,000 Rand (approximately $1,500) for the surgical procedure (minus anesthesiology and doctor and possible other, as yet unknown, fees). We then went to the Surgical Unit to be taken to a 2 person room and Dad was given a BEAUTIFUL purple gown and disposable "undies." The nurse then showed him how the gown ties in the back and explained that is why they say ICU!! Dad sure looked mighty cute in the purple gown! He looked very striking in that color.

About that time I was called back to pre-admissions and asked to pay another 10,000 Rand (about $1,000) -- still not sure why -- which I did. But the computers were now down and they couldn't give me an official hospital receipt. In fact, they weren't going to give me anything until later in the day when the computers were back up. They weren't even going to give me the small cash register type receipt, until I asked them to photo copy it so they would believe me when I came back for the computer receipt.

When the anesthiologist came to speak with Dad about the details of the procedure with regards to being put under, he asked if Dad has any crowns or dentures. He also asked how tightly they fit and Dad showed him. The anesthiologist jokingly said, that looks OK, but if they fall out, "we have quite efficient techniques to fish them out!"

Dad got all dressed up for the surgery, and rested until he was taken over to the "operating theatres" about 9:15 for the final pre-op questions and prep that I was present for. He was taken into surgery, as the first on Dr. Wessels (pronouced Vessels) operating schedule, for what was to be a 1 hour procedure. I was taken to a "Comfort Room" to wait....and wait....and wait. Close to 2 hours later, I went exploring to see if he was out of surgery, and was told he was still in Recovery and had been given morphine because he was in considerable pain.

Then I waited, and waited, and waited some more. It was now after 1:00 and I went to stand just outside the Comfort Room to see if I could find anything out. Along came Dr Wessels who asked me if my husband wasn't out of Recovery yet. I explained that no one had come for me, so he went to check and discovered that Dad had been taken back to his room -- and no one had come to get me. Dr. Wessels gave me a quick report of the surgery and mentioned that he found the gall bladder to be extremely inflamed. He said that it definitely needed to come out. He also said that Dad would not have been able to put it off until we got back home to Utah.

Well, to briefly tell the rest of the story, Dad started coming around after I was back in the room with him for about 30 minutes. He then was so groggy that he would ask me the same questions over and over, forgetting that he had already asked. But when fully conscious, he couldn't wait to show me his bottle of GALL STONES. It was only a small sample of the stones that prior testing had revealed nearly entirely filled his gall bladder.

A Senior Couple came to pick me up about 3:30 and had a good visit with Dad. Another Senior Couple is fetching me at 8:30 tomorrow morning to go to the Shongweni Market, right across the street from the Hillcrest Private Hospital where Dad is being held hostage (for the 25,000 Rand or about $2,500 in US
dollars). After breakfast and brief shopping at the market, they will drop me off at the hospital. The plan is that Dad will drive us both home after being released tomorrow --- but if still rather groggy, we may have to plead with the Senior Couple to have one of them drive our car back while we are riding with the spouse in the other car. I am still frightened to drive here on the left side of the road, where nearly all of each trip anywhere is on freeways with an average speed of 100 kilometers per hour!.
Quite the South African adventure!! 

Package!!!

Got the package today. It was given to the AP's by Sister Zackrison and they have been carrying it around with them.

We could only open half of the package..........the other half said DO NOT OPEN over and over again in big letters, even until THANKSGIVING!!

Thanks for the Tootsie Rolls....and the Motts....and the candy corn....and everything else. But we also found some tiny gremlins in an egg carton. Strangest thing....they all had on white shirts and ties! What a fun, fun surprise after an EXTREMELY ROUGH DAY AT THE OFFICE!!! The power was turned off for lack of payment to a Senior Couple's flat (where JD and Kyle got the mattresses). Elder Snell had just gotten home of the hospital after surgery. It took all day to find out WHY and how it was going to be resolved. However, it seems that from past experience, it takes three days to get it turned back on. They are under the Area Office in Johannesburg who is supposed to pay rent and utilities, and the electricity never got paid.

We certainly needed the GOODIES to sweeten our dispositions again!

Thanks for all your help and prayers. We love all of you lots,
Mom and Dad

"This Shouldn't Have Happened!"

Mom's last doctor's appointment regarding her broken arm was scheduled today (20 April 2015) with Dr. Rajah, immediately following new X-rays. The X-rays were scheduled to be taken at 1:30, with the doctor's appointment following at 2:00. We finally went from X-ray back to the doctor's office at 2:45 . . . and waited some more!

When we were finally called back into his office, he had been reviewing the X-rays. No sooner than we got seated, he began to mumble, "This shouldn't have happened!" He repeated it several more times, and we began to worry about what he must mean! Was there a problem with the healing of Mom's arm? Was more surgery going to be required? What shouldn't have happened!?!

He then turned to both of us, and said, "This shouldn't have happened!!!! Nothing I did in the surgery worked . . . and even the pins I put in place didn't work. The arm shouldn't have healed. . .but it HAS! It is stronger now than it  was before it was broken!" And he just kept mumbling. Then he said, "I never thought it would heal because everything I tried didn't work. The bones were too soft for the pins to hold, and they even FELL OUT!" He was even afraid that I would loose mobility in the shoulder and arm and be left with pain and osteoporosis. He then asked me to raise my arm, and I raised both arms, nearly to the same height...straight up! He said, "You shouldn't be able to do that! And I have no explanation for that or how much bone has formed around the break."

He then showed us the series of X-rays, which began with those following the surgery, where 4 pins were placed to try to hold together an arm where the two sections of bone were far from matching up . . . with only a small portion overlapping. He commented that after my last appointment three months ago, there was no more than a thread holding the arm together. Yet he had no explanation as to why so much new bone growth had formed around the small overlap. He commented that the arm was even STRONGER than it was before the accident. He made the comment several times, that it could only be due to prayer. He said, "I can't take the credit for this success." Then he topped it off my saying, "If you break your other arm, please don't come to me; go to my competition! I can't take credit for this success!"

I reminded him that he was going to give me a series of exercises at this visit to strengthen my arm. He turned to me and said, "With that much mobility in your arm, you don't need exercises to improve what you have!"

The Lord has certainly been with us both during this trying time, which has definitely made us both stronger. Trials truly do bless us and He has blessed us ALL THE WAY!

Nomonde's Baptism

Nomonde (pronounced sorta like "no Monday" was baptized on Sunday, 19 April by Elder Berkey at the Kwadabeka Chapel.

Now, Nomonde is an extremely shy, quiet young girl about 10 years of age in mom's primary group. Regular attendance at Primary varies from 2 to 16 kids, ages 2 to 12. Well, Nomonde is there nearly every week, and throws her arms around Mom the minute she gets out of the car at the school where church is help. Mom and Nomonde have really bonded and have quite a special relationship.Nomonde started attending quite regularly about 3 months ago. Her young mom was already a member, but Nomonde spoke very little English, using mostly Zulu in all conversations with others. BUT...the baptismal interview has to be done in English by the Bishop and she has to be able to understand and answer the questions in English.

Note: this may seem somewhat unfair...but South Africa's official language is English. However, most of the children in the Primary were raised with Zulu being their first language. During Mom's lessons, often her assistant (Sharing Time Leader) translates most of her sentences into Zulu to make sure the children understand all the concepts.

Well . . . It took Nomonde many weeks of real effort with her Mom and the Missionaries to have the necessary English skills to answer all the interview questions. WOW was she excited to be baptized! We had to leave Primary about half way thru, to drive to the Kwadabeka Ward meetinghouse (our parent ward, since we are only big enough to be a "group"). The Baptism was to take place there about 12:30. She was "just beaming!" Hers was the only baptism to take place, and afterward, during the brief testimony meeting, she was asked to bear her testimony. As Sister Nielsen puts it, "I have never heard her say SO MUCH! Seldom does she say more than about 2 words." She bore a beautiful, well thought out (and practiced!) testimony, completely in English. It was quite a stirring moment for both Elder and Sister Nielsen.

Afterwards, there was lots of hugging and celebrating together. Then she quietly came and whispered in Mom's ear, "Did you bring any biscuits (cookies) today?"  "Yup!" and the biscuits were passed around to the Elders and others who shared in her very special day.

T - I - A or in Other Words: "This is Africa"

We jokingly refer to all things unique to Africa as T-I-A or "This is Africa!"
We would like to share the T-I-A for this past week ----
     South Africa is unable to provide enough electricity for everyone's needs. Therefore, they have come up with their solution, called "load shedding" which means turning off the electricity by rotation to each area of the entire country for two to three hours at a time. Right in the middle of whatever you are doing, the power goes off -- for two hours at a time in our area. It has taken place more often this past week. Before that, it typically was once a week.
BUT...let us share with you the T-I-A's for last week.
     Monday, 13 April -- power off during Family Home Evening at the Stevenson's beginning at 8 pm and finishing by flashlight.
     Tuesday, 14 April -- Transfer Day -- always hectic -- had load shedding from 11 am to 1 pm at the office.
     Wednesday, 15 April -- office had load shedding from 12 to 2 pm. Home had load shedding from 6 to 8 pm. Had a romantic dinner by "candlelight" (HA HA)
     Thursday, 16 April -- Had a new type of T-I-A. Mom took a shower when lst up. When Dad went to take a shower, NOT A DROP OF WATER LEFT! (Ooops!) Did Dad forget to pay our waterbill? (Oh, oh, in trouble now!) Headed to the office and discovered no water there either, and 2 other Senior Couples called with the same dilemma. (Dad off the hook!) One couple phoned the municipality and discovered a BIG watermain break. No water for the rest of the day. Office load shedding from 12 to 2 pm and home load shedding from 6 to 8 pm
     Friday, 17 April -- Just twelve hours from the last load shedding, 6 am to 8 am, home had outage again! Went to office and the load shedding there took place from 2 to 4 pm. Mom had hair appointment at 4:00 about a 10 minute drive away, and when we got there, the power was out there AS WELL. But luckily they had a small generator for the blow drier and a large window to let  in sunlight.
     Saturday, 18 April -- Went to the large Pavillion Mall during the afternoon and at 2 pm, just as we were purchasing our Cinnabons, MORE LOAD SHEDDING! You should have seen the crowds in the hallways, with half of the stores and the theatre closed, but some of the larger stores had generators for minimal lighting. We finished our errands at the Checker Hyper store in very dim aisles, attempting to find what we needed. Finally gave up and went home! 
     Sunday, 19 April -- Load shedding from 8 to 9 pm, during game night downstairs at Elder and Sister Poelman's.  But Sunday was a Very Special Day. Read about it in our next blog entry.
                               WOW -- WHAT A WEEK!