On Sunday we had a baptism here Potchefstroom. Audrey, a very special young man who elders Kelem and Rodgers found near the church, was baptized by President Kwaikwai and confirmed by brother Omphile to become the newest member of the branch. The baptism and confirmation was help right after the block so there were a number of investigators present to feel the great spirit that was there.

However there was some trials. The only hose that we had was very small and leaked so it looked like the font would not be filled by the end of the meetings. So we started a bucket brigade with elders Lohmann and Perez on the buckets. Then we found that there was a big tear in the liner and President Kwaikwai went in to try and do some kind of repair to slow the leak. I am pretty sure that the church handbook of instruction does not have much on the subject of how to repair leaking fonts.

The picture on the left shows the elders helping the president out of the font after his repairs. Audrey does not look all that happy in this first picture but I am sure that it was because of all the thoughts going through his head.

Here you can see him smiling with his arm around president Kwaikwai. Elder Lohmann is on the left and elder Perez on the right. Audrey is back to his serious pose.

As you can see this is an outside font that is filled with water from the tap. There is no hot water available and it is still on the edge of winter here so the water is cold. I think president Kwaikwai is standing on his tip-toes so he can adjust a bit to the water. However the spirit was strong and I think warmed both him and Audrey. The witnesses gave the thumbs up so the ordinance did not have to be done over.

On Friday the 8th we rode with the Dummers up to Vereeniging for the second zone meeting of the Vaal Zone. The elders from Klerksdorp and Jouberton followed us because they had not been there before. Along the way they had a problem with their bumper that caused it to scrape against one of the drive belts.

So we went back and while elder Dummer and some of the elders tried to make temporary repairs the other two took the opportunity to get some pictures taken. Elder Graham wanted to have one of him standing in the tall grass along the highway.

I caught elder Fidl taking a selfie of the sign pointing to him. Once we were there elders Flynn and Menendez conducted a very well organized and informative meeting. It was the first Zone Meeting for elder Menendez who took the recently released elder Ryan’s place.

The zone leaders called upon elder Raymond to lead the music. A task he accepted even though he was not sure how to lead. The picture on the right has 4 of the 6 elders serving in the Ikageng district. Elder Fidl is at the back with elders Lohmann, Perez and a friend in the middle and elder Jensen just about to sit down.

 After the meeting and testimonies we took a couple of group pictures. It was not until later that I realized that I had my glasses pushed up on my forehead instead of them being in my pocket.

After the pictures were taken the meeting broke up with the elders talking to each other. On the right elder Perez is talking to elder Flynn who happened to go to school with him down in the St. George area. I think elder Perez went to school with half of the elders in the mission as elder Menendez mentioned he had also been at a school with him.

Anytime a group of elders have a little time a ball comes out and gets kicked around. I have seen it here in Africa but also in Indonesia. As we were going out I saw elder Whitesides talking to elder Stilhoe and found out that it was their hump day. That means that one year ago they both came to the Joburg MTC to start their mission. They also were companions in the MTC. Now they are not comps but are in the same zone.

The Potchefstroom branch and the elders held a very successful 3 hour missionary street display today. Our great elders – Perez and Lohmann – along with 7 members of the branch had 50 plus people sign up to receive a free Book of Mormon or a DVD. The elders and branch missionaries will now have to get busy and deliver these requests and hopefully get an appointment to teach a gospel lesson.

 This shows the elders and 5 of their 7 helpers at the display

Elder Perez is from Southern Utah and claimed to be freezing when we met at 9:30 in the morning to start setting up the display. The rest of us thought it was rather warm for that time of the morning in what is winter here. The young man on the left of the next picture is an investigator who has a baptism date set or the 10th. What a wonderful way to share his testimony!

The man on the extreme left in this first picture is about to sign up for a free Book of Mormon. By 1:00 pm elder Perez has shed his coat but still has on his sweater. The big sign can be seen but cars coming from one direction. We may get another one for the other side.

It was time to take down the shade – the picture of Christ lets everyone know who we believe in.

We set up at one of the three robots – traffic lights – in Ikageng this allows the people who are stopped to take in our display and hopefully stop and ask for more information. However most inquires come from people walking by on their way to or from a store down the street. After the display the elders bought pizza for the volunteer crew. This is a three layer pizza – kind of like the club sandwich of pizza.

When we first started this mission blog back in 2006 I would often post my daily journal and a few pictures. Over the years that has changed because I found that most people really did not want to read everything we did and thought each day so the blog became more a picture story of our mission. But I thought that I would post one day’s journal so anyone reading can get a better idea of what we do and how the Lord blesses us.

Lunch with the elders – we finally get to eat street food in South Africa – it was very good. We also finally got to take a picture of Lolo and George together. George only has Tuesdays off and most of his free day is spent running errands for the orphanage. When we got there they had a group of local youth in their main room having a social meeting. George said they volunteer to help the group to keep them off the streets. If there were only many more like these two wonderful people the world would be a much better place.

These two pictures are not from today. The one on the right comes from our mission to Indonesia and I just posted it on our FB page to show where there is a bike there is a way. The other is informal housing in Soweto. I posted it on FB to show how too many people have to live here. There were some good comments about the laundry and how with nothing but dirt around them the children manage to look clean and bright.

29 July 2014 – Tuesday

Slept very well and did not roll out of bed until after 7:00. We had a normal morning and then headed off for Ikageng. Tried to pick up the TV for the orphanage but the one they were going to sell me did not work. So they will either fix it or find another one. It turned out or the best because later when we went by the orphanage with the elders, no one was home. I almost forgot that while I was in the store a woman spoke to me and asked if I remembered her and I could not at first and then I remembered we met her outside of sister L’s house we gave her a card with the elder’s number but she could not remember or did not want to give us hers. But today she asked for another card and readily gave us hers. So while I did not get the TV, things must have worked out the way the Lord wanted it to.

We met the elders at the school and they followed us to Lo’s house. When we got there she told us that she was sorry but she did not have our number to cancel the appointment to paint her living room – she had to go into Potch to work. However we made an appointment to go back next Tuesday.

We took the elders to the orphanage but as I mentioned before there was no one there so we just left a lot of oranges on the porch. I hope they were there when someone got home.

The elders then invited us to have lunch with them. They took us to a small restaurant in  Ikageng where we finally found out what a Russian was and had a very fulfilling sandwich for a whole $1.10. It was certainly not a fast food place but it was good and filling. Besides we had plenty of time to talk to the elders about their families and other things.

We stopped by the school where we went through the elder’s keys and found those they will use almost every week. It took time because they had a lot of keys to go through but other than the woman’s bathroom key everything turned up. After this we parted with the elders and went into Potch where we stopped for some things at a store and then a trip to the key shop to get some keys made so I will have a set of keys when I give mine up to president Kwaikwai.

After a trip home for a short rest and nap we headed back to Ikageng where we visited the Thulo family, then went to the orphanage where we finally got to see George and Lolo together. Our stop was inspired because Lolo needed to visit a woman who’s children are going to be living at the orphanage because the mother drinks and neglects them. Lolo also told us that the man who was living with their mother molested the young woman.

Our last stop of the night was at Viona M who had a birthday yesterday. I wished her a belated BD and gave her a candy bar. She told us that the children really liked the meeting they went to last fast Sunday. She also asked us to ask the missionaries if they could come by Monday evening for FHE. She wants them to bring some DVDs. Since there are 3 non-LDS in the family I am sure hey will love to.

So all in all the evening was well spent doing the Lord’s work.

When I posted a picture of us and the missionaries eating lunch together, it was seen by Tom Turek who grew up with elder Perez in St. George. He tagged elder Perez which took the picture to his FB page where his mother and aunt saw it and commented. This led to a chat with elder Perez’s mother and we now are friends. It is amazing how FB brings people who never would have met together as friends. It also brings joy to a mother who knows her son is well and being watched over. Here was one of her comments…” That is amazing! I hope to serve one day. It is also a blessing for us moms to know that our missionaries have people to love and look after them. I mean I know that The Lord sends angels to look after them, I have never doubted that, but it’s so nice to see the angels.”

I almost forgot another tender mercy that the Lord blessed us with. As we were driving into Ikageng at about 4:30 I saw all these people streaming up the road on their way home and thought how this would be the perfect time to have our display set up. We would see a lot more people than we do on a Saturday. Also we would meet a lot of men and women who had jobs. So I called president KK and told him my thoughts and said it was a great idea. So we will talk about when would be the best time to try this.

Another wonderful day as Senior missionaries in South Africa.

About 5 months ago when I was called as branch president in Potchefstroom, both president Omer and his counselor president – now elder – Mdletshe took me aside and told me that my goal should be to train a local member to replace me with in 6 months. The provided someone in just 5.

Today President Dunn came to Ikageng and called, had sustained, and set apart a new branch presidency. He also kept busy doing lots of interviews that only a member of the mission president can do because we are a mission dependent branch.

The new presidency of the Potchefstroom branch. Myself as 1st counselor, President Kwaikwai and brother Mokate as 2nd counselor. Brother Andries Louw is the new branch clerk.

We took the opportunity to have our picture taken with President and Sister Dunn. This last picture did not come out well at all but it was the best of two where everyone including elder Lohmann in the front and tall elder Perez in the back joined the rest of us for a final group picture.

They say that a picture is worth 1000 words. Well here are some of the pictures I took this week. Of course it does not include the 130 I took at transfers but it covers much of the rest of the week.

On Wednesday after transfers we met the new missionaries that will serve in Potchefstroom for a few months. Elder Loumann is from Germany and elder Perez – on the right – is from St. George. We took him to our office and showed them around the rooms we will use on Sunday. Then we took them to see sister Florence who requested we drop by and introduce them. Unfortunately she will be leaving the branch early in August and we will truly miss her and her ready smile and love. She has been a member for 20 years!

We visited an orphanage and on the way home I spotted this tree that looked to me like a rabbit. It has been completely covered with either ivy or some other vine. It was Mary’s birthday on Thursday so we went out to a nice restaurant for dinner. When they found it was her birthday they gave her a bottle of wine with a sparkler instead of a candle. They also sung and danced for her. I think she would have preferred a nice piece of cake.

Today – Saturday Nomsa – our great cleaning lady – did an extra good job because President and Sister Dunn will be coming to the branch tomorrow. The street scene is a wedding party in progress. Note the tent is all the way across the road and the road itself is blocked off. What is interesting is that last week there was a funeral in about the same location and the road was blocked off for that. Funerals and Weddings are not just a family affair here but the neighbors from blocks around come and get something to eat. Not just after the ceremony or burial but the day before also. Weddings expensive events – especially after the groom has had to pay labola!

So that was part of what was going on in our lives this week! It is great to be a senior couple serving in South Africa!

We went to the first district meeting of this transfer. With transfers comes change and this transfer really changed the Ikageng district. Only 2 of the elders who were here last Friday are still here. Potchefstroom was whitewashed – that means both elder were taken out – when Elders Kelem and Msangi departed for home after serving powerful missions. Elder Perkins was transferred out of Klerksdorp and elder Mdletshe was transferred out of Jouberton. So here is the new Ikageng District in all their glory…

I know it is hard to tell the difference but the one on the left is the serious one while the one on the right is the crazy pose. From left to right in the pictures we have Elders Graham, Larsen – who serve in Klerksdorp, Fidl, Otieno – who serve in Jouberton, Loumann and Perez who serve in Ikageng.

Elder Fidl wanted a picture with the senior couples so he joined us and E/S Dummer. Elder Fidl came out with two other elders from Rwanda – the first missionaries ever to serve from that country. What I found interesting is that he pronounces his country Wanda with a completely silent R. We talked for a little while and he said that in the 19 months he has been on his mission his ward has been divide 3 times. But he is concerned about what he will do for a living when he goes home – it is a problem that a majority of our great African missionaries face. Hopefully the new self-reliance program that two of our good friends are involved in will help solve this problem in the future.

I went through the pictures that I had taken and downloaded on to iPhoto and noticed I missed using some. President and Sister Dunn spoke for just a few minutes each.

These departing missionaries sat on the stand through the meeting. As you can tell some of them seem to already be on their flights home – or at least dreaming about it. Elders Brown and Authur were kind enough to allow me to take their picture.

Another brother Brown with our red-headed friend elder Johnson. And last but not least elders Warton and Kairu get their picture in our blog this transfer meeting. Goodbye to transfers until September…

So here are the rest of the companionships and where they are serving. I am pretty sure I got 95% of them but if I missed your missionary I am truly sorry and hope you can find him in one of the other pictures that I took.