One of the problems we’ve encountered with being assigned to Port Durnford, is that our current residence in Richards Bay is too far away. It takes us about 45 minutes to an hour to drive to our branch area, and this makes it difficult to keep in close contact with members and respond to situations as they arise. Consequently, we’ve decided to move to Mtunzini, a small community located along the Indian Ocean about 15 minutes south of Port Durnford.

After a month of slow but sure progress with moving our belongings, one car load at a time, we made our final move today. We developed and investigated four different plans for moving our furniture and other large items, and fortunately the plan we finally selected, somewhat miraculously I must say, worked perfectly. Up until a week ago, our final plans were still pretty much undecided, and that was disconcerting especially with our move day fast approaching. While running errands one morning, we came to a stoplight and noticed a large truck turning in front of us with the words, “For Hire” painted in large letters on its side with an accompanying phone number. We quickly jotted down the number and shortly therafter made contact with a woman named Bonga at the Bhekonaz Trading Company. She was friendly and professional, and quickly helped us make arrangements for a truck and driver. With “one tender mercy" our anxiety vanished.

The Elders from Richards Bay and Nselini helped us load everything today, and the Elders from Port Durnford helped unload. Following the move, which went smoothly thanks to the missionaries and a superb driver and loader, Sister Collins and I spent the rest of the day unpacking, organizing, and moving everything into it’s perfect spot. We finished around 4:30 p.m. and then gladly accepted an invitation from our branch clerk, Steve Killick, a long time resident and self appointed ambassador for Mtunzini, to join him for dinner at the the Clay Oven Restaurant. It was the perfect way to end a long but satisfying day of hard work. We are now positioned to begin the next phase of work in Port Durnford.