Mission Tour with Elder and Sister Cook

 December 2014 Mission Tour

 Elder Carl B. Cook and his wife, Lynette came to our mission and traveled zone by zone as our special guests. Elder Cook is a general authority assigned as the area president of the SE Africa area. He and Sister Cook served as mission president and companion in New Zealand and then were called 2 years after returning home to be a member of the seventy.

 The purpose of the mission tour is to lift, inspire and encourage. They certainly are doing that. We have all been taught and edified and encouraged to now "go and do."

Following are pictures from each zone, with some fun lunch pictures of everyone.  These conferences are a great time to be together.

We were all so edified by being with Elder and Sister Cook all week. The memory of this week will last throughout our entire mission. We learned about their calling, their mission president experience and all they are learning in this SE Africa area. They reminded us that the Johannesburg is the flagship mission in Africa, due to the fact that we have a temple, 7 stakes, the most members and the most missionaries. We were reminded that where much is given, much is expected.

 Joburg Zone

 Soweto Zone

 NorthWest Zone

Vaal Zone

Benoni Zone

Bedfordview Zone

Senior Couples (Clowards, Davies, Dummers, Thompsons, Piers)

Pretoria North Zone

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Pretoria Zone

Centurion Zone

NorthEast Zone

 Great Senior Couples in the NorthEast Area. 5 of the 6 couples will be going home in the next 10 months.  We need to recruit more couples to come and enjoy this amazing place, with amazing missionaries. Below we were all enjoying a dinner together with Elder and Sister Cook after the mission tour!Above is a snapshot of part of our transfer board. Having a week when you get to see each and every missionary is so special. It sends a wonderful energy across the entire mission. Gathering together is so meaningful.

In the morning, President Dunn and I had an hour to share some thoughts with our missionaries. The topic I chose was the "Gift of the Atonement" and ties it into the season of gift giving. President Dunn chose to teach from Preach My Gospel on the topic of "Revelation that comes from Attending Church Meetings." As alwasy, he made his presentation so interactive and also used media to his advantage, by showing some powerful interviews and segments from "The District."

Elder Taylor, Liera and Olydroyd pose for a picture and Elder Clegg is happy to get a package from home!

Another delicious lunch served at the Roodepoort Chapel. 
Elder Lyon is happy!

Elder Cazier and Elder Henley are last in line, but still find plenty of food waiting for them.
Our Senior Couples do a great job getting all of the lunches set up. We have been impressed each day how polite and appreciative the missionaries are. They seem to enjoy this hour to socialize and replenish! 

 

NEW AND IMPROVED "CING" AWARDS

We now have a special  CING (Cleanliness is next to Godliness) flat awards. Elders that are winners get to select a cleaning or kitchen product as a prize.

Elder Loveless, Cummings, Thompson and May

                Elder Roger, Whitesides, Ramiliarijoana and Mukasa 

        

Above: Elder Pius, Kalani, Otieno

Below:Elder Haynes Majozi, Masoka, and a visiting elder waiting for his visa.

     

Elder Swindlehurst, Avial and Manuma

Here are the various ways our Elders were inspired to act after the mission tour! This is a great list they individually offered-very motivating!!!
Become truly converted
·      Living up to my potential
·      Obedience is a protection
·      Never let my guard down
·      Making prayers more meaningful
·      Have more patience
·      Living the higher law
·      Study my journals
·      Increasing my faith
·      Knowing that I am doing the Lord’s will
·      Becoming a better Saint
·      Serving with my companion every day
·      Work on progressing
·      It’s not about us, it’s about Him
·      Keep the missionary switch on.
·      Keep my study journal
·      Follow instructions in white handbook
·      Be a better servant leader
·      Learn that nothing is impossible
·      Be more investigator minded
·      Make the sweet spot bigger
·      Work hard
·      Receive revelation for my investigators
·      Become more like Christ
·      Being patient with myself and companion
·      Having more unity
·      Align my will with Christ
·      Be a progressing investigator
·      Applying the Spirit in the conversion process
·      To be more diligent and hard work
·      Keep a study journal
·      Measure my conversion
·      Better representative of Jesus Christ
·      Sacrifice for others
·      Embrace the White Handbook
·      Give up my little pretties
·      Use the Atonement in my life
·      Capture thoughts in study journal
·      Be willing to be fully conversted
·      Work on one Christ-like attribute at time
·      How I can involve my companion in the conversion process
·      Become more unified with my Heavenly Father
·      Remove the pictures from my desk
·      Show more charity love and care
·      Change personal study to investigator study
·      Become a PMG missionary
·      Help investigators come to church
·      Show faith in working with companion
·      We need to first progress ourselves
·      Convert myself first
·      Put complete trust in the Lord at all times
·      Giving up my pretties
·      Have more hope for my investigators
·      Control my thoughts
·      Support my companion’s righteous actions
·      Realize that I am a gift
·      Have more effective study
·      Do the will of God
·      Do to others what I expect
·      Work on daily planning
·      Use the Atonement to its full effect
·      Converting others and ourselves
·      I’ve been reminded why I came out
·      Focus on forgetting ourselves
·      The gift we have to bear is precious
·      Help my investigators understand more of why they need the Gospel
·      Help my investigators more
·      Make personal study for precise
·      Make study less self focused
·      Be more exactly obedient
·      Give up my little pretties
·      Helping investigators understand why they do things
·      Give up my little pretties so others can give up theirs
·      Make my personal study a time to receive revelation
·      Use the light of Christ with my investigators
·      Overcoming the natural man
·      Realizing how important PMG is
·      Help investigators join members after baptism
·      Help investigaros at church
·      Understand feelings that investigators have
·      First loyalty to the Lord and MP
·      Love my companion as my brother
·      Help investigators realize full potential
·      Love investigators.
·      Nothing is impossible
·      As we teach others we become more converted
·      Be innovative
·      Remember my promises when I was set apart as a missionary
·      Get converts to the temple
·      Study for my investigators
·      The sweet spot. Helping them know, feel and do
·      Take pictures off my desk
·      PMG is the way to help investigators
·      Teach investigators the why
·      Do God’s will
·      Put off the natural man and be a saint through conversion
·      Be innovative
·      Start studying for my investigators
·      Stop being complacent and improve
·      Focus on the sweet spot to convert
·      I want the Spirit to guide me more
·      Love and serve my unit leaders
·      Form a ward mission plan
·      I learned what tru conversion is
·      Serve our converts
·      More unity
·      No matter our challenges we can overcome
·      Make a more personal lesson plan
·      Study more for investigators.
·      Love my companion as my brother
·      Prayerful goals
·      Converted as much as my investigators
·      Being as diligent as I can
·      Change the old things I am doing
·      Study the Atonement
·      Have and show more love for the people in my area
·      More open minded and open hearted to new ideas
·      Be more innovative in ways to help people
·      Want to strengthen testimony
·      Want to study D&C
·      Be more committed to involving local members
·      Restudy PMG
·      Want to be more diligent in morning study
·      Wants the Spirit to do the teaching
·      Let the Spirit teach through me
·      I want to strengthen the people to make it a stake
·      View people as the Savior views them
·      Use the roundabout a lot more
·      Work on lessons better as a companionship
·      Focus more on less actives
·      Obtain more direction for my area
·      Use PMG to endure to end
·      Focus thoughts on investigators
·      Study PMG to improve teaching skills
·      Avoid things that prevent the Spirit from working through me
·      Work smarter and be a progressing missionary
·      Focus on the gift we offer to the world
·      Focus on Priesthood holders and less active
·      Love the people we are teaching