As predicted, it has been cloudy and chilly all day with mist, some rain and a breeze. It feels like the coldest day since arriving here.

On the way to the transmitter site, TWR’s one-lane dirt access road passes through Dombeya Wild Estate. This morning we saw two giraffe next to the road. We more often see impala, warthog, wildebeest (gnu), nyala, and zebra as we travese this small game park each morning and evening.

Since we are supported missionaries, we often get questionnaires from our supporting churches. The one sent via email today was unique in that it asked about how were we prepared for retirement. I spent a hour or so answering their questions.

Salema came to me about two inductors that had been assembled in Elkhart and was included with the spare transmitter parts shipment last year. Initially, I thought his questions would be easy to answer, then discovered that the label inside one of the inductors was not correct. I looked up the drawing of part indicated on the label and the inductor did not match the drawing. Since the two inductors were slightly different, I determined that it would be necessary to measure the inductance of each one to see how they compare to the electrical schematic of the transmitter. Unfortunately, TWR Eswatini does not have an LCR meter that could directly read out the inductance. Therefore, I thought of a way that might work using only a voltmeter. I went on-line to verify my thoughts and only found various other more complicated ways.

The schematic of the transmitter indicated the coil should be 0.97 millihenry, so I thought that using an on-line reactance calculator would be the fastest way to obtain the reactance. The first calculator found on the search page indicated the reactance would be 305 ohms at 50 Hz. That seemed way off to me, so I went to the next calculator which came up with 0.305 ohms. That seemed more reasonable, which was verified by additional on-line calculators. This just confirms that if something doesn’t seem right, whether in your own calculations or from the internet, you should redouble effort to verify what you find. Actually, it would have been faster to just use the formulas instead of trying the on-line ‘shortcuts’! When will I learn?

To measure the reactance of the inductors, I just needed to locate a step-down transformer (for working with safer voltages) and the right resistors to do the job. Easy to say, if an assortment of resistors is readily available.

In the middle of doing inductor research, an unidentifiable sound could be heard inside the transmitter hall. I found that one of the technicians was flying the drone used for inspecting the towers and antennas. We had brought a spare battery for it in our baggage and this was a test run.

Khumalo, the maintenance manager, came to me at the end of the day. He said he had been too busy to work on the Case 570T loader today, but would like my help tomorrow to get the starter working again.

When I got home this afternoon, Virginia had a fire going in the fireplace since mid-morning. I was finally able to take off my jacket for the first time today. Virginia attended an on-line prayer meeting at Lorraine’s this morning and there it was mentioned that this winter has been the coldest in many years.

This evening, Tobi brought over a wheelbarrow of firewood to replenish our firewood supply and Steve changed some of our lilangeni (Eswatini currency) to South African rands in preparation for our trip to the Drakensburg mountains on Wednesday. [South Africa rands can be used in Eswatini, but lilangeni can not be used in South Africa] The missionaries, and nationals, here are really looking after us.

Had a good day in the house of the Lord at the Evangelical Bible Church of Manzini. Pastor Deon’s message was from Isaiah 6:1-6 on how we should come into the presence of Almighty God. Today’s Christians want a ‘comfortable’ God, when we should come to Him aware of our inadequacy and sinfulness in His Holy Presence. The service started at 9am and was over about 11:15am.

We stopped by the pharmacy after church to pick up a ‘prescription’ for Virginia. Most of the common prescription medications we get in the U.S. can actually be picked up from the ‘chemist’ without a prescription here. I did try to get azithromycin (the only thing that workd for my sinus infection and was told that is a strong antibiotic and needs a prescription.

We did some shopping at the Hub Pick-N-Pay supermarket for some things for our trip this week. Also bought a sub sandwich and some salad from the deli for lunch–enough for both of us for about $2.50.

On the way home we stopped to top off the car with petrol (gasoline) in preparation for the trip. A petrol attendant fills up the tank for you and even washes the windows. You don’t even need to get out of your car. Isn’t that how it used to be about 60 years ago in the U.S.?

This afternoon a cold wind came up, so we decided to build a fire in the fireplace. Not sure about other houses here, but our wood roof trusses pop and squeak loudly in the wind and as they warm up or cool down throughout the day. It may be associated with the all wood ceilings. At first it was rather startling, but we are getting used to it now.

Tomorrow is supposed to be a windy cool and cloudy day with a high of about 62F. That is the predicted high with sunny skies for Thursday when we plan to be at Tendele Chalets (Royal Natal National Park) in the Drakensburg. The altitude there is about 5,400 feet. The low temperatures are predicted to be about 40F for the two nights we’re there.

A message came just before retiring last night that the name of our newest grandchild is Tziyon Akiva McGuire.

The forecast for today indicated the high would be near 80F and sunny, the warmest day since our arrival and a goo day for doing laundry. So five loads were done and we hung them on the rotatable clothesline. We ran out of clothespins, so a drying rack was also taken outside into the sun and breeze.

The garage door appeared to be jamming. It could usually be opened or closed by giving the opener a bit of manual assistance. The door is a roll-up style door which uses 8 pulleys and a cable almost 50 feet long. Eventually, I found that the cable had come off one of the two pulleys that are at floor level, Managed to get the cable back in the pulley’s groove, but after a couple up/down cycles of the doo, the cable jumped off again. Careful inspection revealed that the cable now had kinks in it from rubbing over a sharp edge, after jumping off this pulley. These kinks were just enough to ‘derail’ this cable when it slackened in the ‘up’ direction. I tightened the slack cable multiple times before it was taut enough for the kinks to stay in the groove. In addition, the door has not been fully closing and required foot assistance to close the last inch or so. I adjusted the ‘down’ limit on the opener, so the door now completely closes. It also pulls the cable tighter, so that with time the remaining small cable kinks should disappear.

In the middle of this project, Virginia said the washing machine was stopped and showing an error code. Fortunately a manual found on-line, indicated the code meant ‘slow drain’. One of the causes was a clogged drain filter. That filter is behind a door on the lower front of the machine. When I pulled it out, water gushed out and there was a lot of trash (pebbles, small sticks, lint and even two Swaziland 10 cent coins).

We have noticed the exhaust fan in the bathroom was almost clogged up with black colored dust/lint. I couldn’t reach it off a chair, but, with the kid swimming pool ladder stored in the garage, I could reach it by stretching. Tried to get the cover off, but it would not come, so a vacuum cleaner was used to get the worst of the dirt off. That is when I saw an embossed arrow in one place that read “pull here” in tiny letters. Now the cover popped right off and Virginia gave it a good scrub in the kitchen sink. We wonder when it was last cleaned? This house was built 30 years ago!

Before taking our trip to Royal Natal National Park on Wednesday, I decided to inspect the Honda Fit Hybrid that we have been loaned while here. Checked out the normal things (oil, water, and brake fluid levels) and, since there was no operator manual in the glove, looked one up on-line. In the hybrid model, there is no spare tire, just a can of ‘fix-a-flat’! The batteries are where the spare is normally located.

In previous blogs we have mentioned building fires in the fireplace to warm up. Just because we did not build fires on most days does not mean we were warm enough. Most evenings and mornings we do turn on an electric heater in the bedroom to take off the chill.

This morning at 7:30 the monthly staff meeting was held at the TWR Eswatini office. There were 18 (12 nationals and 6 expats) in attendance and we surely sensed the Spirit of unity among this group. Sifiso, one of the transmitter techs, gave a devotional on Acts 1:8 emphasizing the Power we have been given by the Holy Spirit and the responsibility we have to use that Power. Afterward, I reminded Sifiso of 2 Timothy 1:7, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”

The highlight of this staff meeting was recognizing Selema Simelane, senior transmitter technician, for 15 years of service. It is evident that Selema sees his work with TWR not just as a job, but as a ministry unto the Lord and to proclaim His Gospel.

After the main meeting, a TWR group photo was taken, then a group photo of the transmitter staff, followed by cake and tea for the occasion.

We had a ‘second ‘highlight of our own during these refreshments. I received a WhatsApp message from our son Philip and Michelle: “Baby boy born at 1148pm 7/28/22 7 lbs 2 oz 19 in. Name yet to be determined.” Since they live in Idaho, this means our 18th grandchild was born during this 7/29/2022 Eswatini staff meeting (note the difference in date). This child is their 6th (3 sons and 3 daughters). We now have 8 grandsons and 10 granddaughters and one great-grandson. [When our son Samuel was born here in Swaziland in 1980 early morning of October 1, our parents received our phone calls in Colorado causing them to believe his birthday was the evening of September 30]

After staff meeting, Steven and Lorraine took us to Panata Ranch to visit with William and Connie Mundell. The Mundells have owned and run Panata Ranch since before TWR purchased the neighboring Mpangela Ranch to build our transmitting site. TWR’s original access road ran through some of their property, so we had more frequent contact in the earlier days. We hadn’t seen them for over 30 years and wanted to reminisce and share with them. Connie let us know before our visit that William has Alzheimer’s and that their daughter Sherly is jnow running the ranch operations.

Connie was full of information about the history of her and William’s family and was more than happy to share it with us. We learned that they had property in Swailand before Panata Ranch and had built a church for the community there. They sold that property to buy Panata. On a recent visit back o their old place, they were thrilled to see the church still being used and met one of the current parishioners. We got the impression that this was an Anglican church.

It was obvious that William was not following much of our conversation and did not say much. Connie found she had some distant South African connections with Lorraine’s family. Connie also has a lot of history and genealogy stored in her old computer and on CDs. She would like to publish some of this history, but said it would be too expensive. We let her know that on-line publishing is a less expensive alternative and that Lorraine has some experience and leads in making that possible. Steve advised Connie to download the her CDs to a newer digital format, because CD readers are becoming obsolete in newer computers. Steve offered to help with this process and make sure all this valuable information is backed up. It could all lost if her computer fails. This has opened a door of opportunity for Steve and Lorraine to further minister to them. Pray for the Mundells, especially Connie, as the months ahead will likely not be easy for her. Pray for Steve and Lorraine, as they try to minister and help her and William.

Some days priorities get changed and today was such a day. When we arrived at the transmitter site, the first thing I noticed was the double trailer parked at the building with no semi attached. We learned that the driver from Mafutseni had arrived yesterday to pick up another load of hay, but the loader/backhoe (Case 570T) would not start. Therefore, the driver dropped his trailers off to return later. We also learned that our maintenance manager, Khumalo, had removed the starter to have it checked in town, only to find there was nothing wrong with it.

Khumalo and his crew reinstalled the starter. Still nothing worked. Tobi suggested they jumper the solenoid contacts, which they did. The starter cranked, but the diesel engine did not start. I concluded that there is an electrical fuel cutoff that is not operating. Khumalo found that there was no power at the key switch which in the ‘on’ position would open the fuel cutoff and in the ‘start’ position apply voltage to the solenoid for the starter.

A wiring diagram would be helpful to diagnose the problem, but TWR has no service manual for the Case 570T. I looked on-line for a diagram, and found a downloadable manual for about $30. But with 1300 pages to download with slow internet service, it would have taken hours, just to get to the wiring diagram pages.

I suggested that a wire be run from battery positive to the key switch. When that was done, the starter still did not work. With the switch in the ‘on’ position, the startersolenoid contacts were jumpered, and the engine started. The engine also stopped when the switch was turned ‘off’. I measured the ‘start’ terminal of the key switch and there was voltage present there when it was turned to the ‘start’ position. I then measured the voltage to the solenoid coil when the key switch was in ‘start’. There was none, meaning there is an open circuit. I suggested that another wire be run from the ‘start’ terminal of the key switch to the solenoid coil. Though I did measure current going through the coil, the solenoid did not pull in to activate the starter. Initially, I concluded the solenoid was stuck and not activating.

By this time it was almost lunch time (1pm) and Khumalo informed me that the hay needed to be loaded and ready by morning. So after lunch the Case loader was started by jumpering the solenoid contacts. I asked Khumalo to tell the loader driver not to shut it off until the job was done.

During lunch, it dawned on me that Khumalo had used a long coil of wire to run to the solenoid coil. It was quite possible that the resistance of that coil of wire was enough to reduce the voltage at the solenoid, such that it was not enough to pull in. I suggested using a much shorter wire to see if that helps.

Since the double trailer was at the building and the bales about ½ mile away in the field, Khumalo had one crew use a low trailer, that can haul 8 bales, go the the field. One of the John Deere tractors can lift the bales onto the low trailer. This trailer was then unloaded near the double trailer. While the Case was lifting these bales on the double trailer, the crew would reload the low trailer. When about 25% of the bales were loaded, the semi driver showed up and said they had another job for the double trailer in the morning, so it had to be unloaded by evening. The semi driver then moved the double trailers closer to the bales for quicker loading, Even so, it was past quitting time (4:30pm) before the 60th bale was loaded.

Yesterday, Virginia made some cookies with the macadamia nuts she cracked last week. She sent some with me to pass out to the site workers, during morning break. Most of them had seen her using the vise to crack them. They were, and are, good. There are a few cookies still left at home and enough nuts to make another batch. YUM!!!