Brother Bikitsha and Butterworth 9 years later

Lunch at Mike's Kitchen with former AP Sipho Mothiba and his fiancee prior to going to the movie, "Risen"

On Friday, 11 March, Bob was working in the Joburg Temple  at the name issue booth when a very distinguished, handsome young African man approached him. He was alone and looked to be maybe in his 30's. Bob asked for his surname, and he said, "Bikitsha." Bob responded, "Are you by any chance from Butterworth?" He replied, "Yes, how do you know that?"  Bob told him he was mission president in Cape Town when the first member of the church in Butterworth was baptized, a Brother Bikitsha, who was taught by the "Sistersons," Sister Johnson and Sister Nillson. The young man replied, "That's my father!" He said his father had done two endowment sessions that morning and was resting, but this young man was there to do two more sessions in the afternoon.  

Brother Bikitsha said there is a branch in Butterworth now that meets every Sunday and are doing fantastic. I asked how many of them were Bikitshas. He did some counting in his mind and on his fingers and said, "I think there are between 12 and 15 of us now, and others are still being taught!" He said all but one or two are very active in the Church. Bob conducted the 3:00 endowment session and presented him at the veil, where it was very obvious that he is a very experienced temple goer. We just love seeing the fruits of Bob's missionaries' labors here! What a family the Bikitshas have turned out to be! Maybe even beyond what Bob and the Sistersons might have imagined 9 years ago!

Bob wrote to Sister Nilsson and Sister Johnson to share the experience, and Sister Nilsson replied: 

Dear President Egan, 

       That's about the sweetest email I've ever read. I can only imagine the mansion above for that wonderful, wonderful dear old Brother Bikitsha. I don't remember ever knowing a purer heart. 

       He and his wife had a sitting room in their home or just next to it that was dedicated to worship and thanksgiving. Only very respectful, uplifting and spiritual conversations & music took place there. I believe Sister Johnson and I were admitted into it on one occasion.  :-)

      That handsome son was an amazing man. He would use his truck to drive his parents and his aunt and uncle into church which took about two hours each direction. And he didn't live in Butterworth so his trip took twice the time. Only one passenger could fit inside the cab and the others would lay down in the back of the truck for the whole trip. They carried a small lunch to eat during the day. The son didn't come into church with them.

      On two occasion we were able to teach him at his own home. We knew he was something special but we were not his missionaries. We did make sure that other missionaries were informed about him and knew about his family. 

       How we loved going out to the Bikitsha's home. When they knew we were coming they would kill a chicken and prepare an elegant feast. We were cautious not to visit too often because we did not want to deplete their food supply. 

     One one occasion Brother Bikitsha went into the town of Butterworth with us to introduce us to another relative who worked at the library. 

     After visiting the older Bikitshas we would drive to his younger brothers home and have a second lesson and more food. In those tiny, spotless homes with outdoor shacks for the privy we felt like we were in the grandest of palaces. We were visiting true royalty and they treated us as trusted ambassadors of the Lord. 

    That family added a new and deeper dimension to our mission experiences. We were always extremely grateful to you for giving us that opportunity. How sweet it was, it still makes my heart sing. 

        Love to all of you. 

        Kip Nilsson.

After the temple, Xolani Lubisi (one of Bob's former AP's) and his wife Futhi treated us to dinner at Tasha's in Melrose, as the rain continued to fall. We had a great meal and a delightful and fun conversation, topped off by Haagen Dazs ice cream across the street from Tasha's.

On Saturday, we went to the movie, "The Young Messiah" at Killarney Mall, which we highly recommend. It was a beautifully and thoughtfully presented story of what it must have been like for 7-year old Jesus and his parents to have to leave Egypt and re-locate to Nazareth. It was very thought-provoking and inspirational, especially to imagine what it must have been like for Joseph and Mary and their family, not knowing how exactly or when to tell him who he was.

The next Monday was another South African national holiday, Human Rights Day, and we met another of Bob's former APs, Sipho Mothiba,and his fiancee Gugu at Mike's Kitchen for lunch, and we went to the matinee movie "Risen" about the Savior's resurrection, from a non-believer Roman tribune's perspective, the man whom Pontius Pilate commanded to find Jesus' body and disprove the resurrection. It was a powerful way to get ready for Easter and a fun holiday with this cute couple.

Martha has been amazed at how her piano student, Mlu, continues to progress. On Sunday, 20 March, she was able to present him with his own keyboard so he can practice at home. He was overjoyed and within a week was able to play a hymn all the way through, both hands, for the prelude in sacrament meeting! This is a photo of a proud teacher and her happy student:

Martha presents a gift portable keyboard to her amazing piano student Mlu