October 21, 2012 

 It is Sunday and it seems so strange not to be going to the chapel to get everything ready for church services.  Since we are stuck at our boarding, or at least on the “can’t get out” side of the washout we feel a little bit like being incarcerated!!  This is what it looked like yesterday before and after the washout.

 We watched a couple of sessions of General Conference, which was nice, we took a couple of walks down to the washout site to see what was happening and returned a couple of times during the day to watch an amazing “coming together” of the community to fill the gaping gash and get the residents out and in. 

 It started early in the morning with a few people. First thing done was to pull two telephone poles across the hole and then nail plywood on them to give foot access across the washout. 

The area isolated is where some of the local contractors must live, because soon there were dump trucks dumping sand on the far side of the road and a pile of sand bags hauled in. After all of the loose debris was clean out of the washout

volunteers started filling the sand bags which were then loaded in a track hoe that arrived soon after the dump trucks, and the bags were lowered where other volunteers packed them in two rows spaced about 6 to 8 meters apart and then filled in the void with sand which was then wet down with water to help compact it.

 This process was repeated over and over until the gap was filled and traffic was allowed to cross.

The pictures show the progress and the amazing number of people pulling together to get the job done.  This was a community at its best. 

People would work for a while and then others would take their place. 

There seemed to be four main people directing the work. The sweaty looking one was there working when we first started watching and he was one of the last ones to leave. 

This was the final look before they put a top coat of gravel on it.

 

Later in the day, before they left for Port Elizabeth, our Elders were able to come over and we said our good-bye to Elder Dale and properly sent him off with a hug and a bag of his favorite “crack” corn (otherwise known as peanut butter popcorn). It is still hard to send a missionary off.   Rick had permission from President Wood to have his councilors and the Elders go to the members’ homes where they could administer the Sacrament to as many of them as could come. They spent all morning holding meeting after meeting in a number of homes where 41 of the branch members were able to meet together and partake of the Sacrament. While they were at one of the homes, a hail storm passed by and produced some rather large size pellets. 

It managed to put a few dents into the Elders car in the process!!  When they were actually able to get to our boarding, they administered the sacrament for us also.  There was a special feeling about it.  Good- byes said, Rick walked them out and they headed off to their new assignments. The road was finished late Sunday and now we have access to the rest of the world. It was another crazy African  week-end.