Christmas in the SAJM

We are so fortunate to be able to gather all our missionaries together on special occasions.  We had them all come together for a fun and festive Christmas morning program that included a special breakfast and then a talent show. 

All in all, the Talent Show accomplished just what we hoped. It built morale, bonded Elders together and was just fun for everyone. We were so happy to be able to share this time with our Elders. 

 

 The Talent Show began in the chapel with spiritual numbers performed like duets, a violin solo and an a'capella number, We also heard a spiritual message from President Dunn that encouraged us to 

"Wait upon the Lord." We will be posting videos' of the performances ASAP. We were delighted with the range and diversity of numbers from zone skits, musical numbers, karate demonstrations, dances, and even amazing tricks like holding 25 Book of Mormon's on your head while playing the guitar and singing Feliz Navidad. You had to see it to totally understand how amazing this feat was.
  

President Dunn gave a wonderful spiritual message about the waiting that happens each Christmas. He shared the goal of waiting upon the Lord more in 2016. A copy of his talk is at the end of this post.

We enjoyed a wonderful Musical Duet by the Larson’s our Office Senior Couple.

The Living Christ was recited by the 13 Newest Elders: i.e. Carr, Chakanyuka, Cowan, Ferguson, Hall, Hunsaker, Jorgensen, Kagimba, Kakuwi, Musiiwa, Shava, Warnock, Wikaira

Elder McCartney treated us all to an Acapella rendition of a Scottish favorite, O’ Danny Boy. It makes us celebrate even more the wide variety of nationalities we have present here in the SAJM.

Elder Dube favored us with the reading of a Zulu Poem he had written. It was so amazing to hear him click off the message and speak in his native tongue.

Elder Benson favored us with a beautiful violin rendition of Silent Night

We concluded the section in the chapel with a video viewing of ….
A Savior is Born Video from the LDS.org website

We then transitioned to the  Cultural Hall for more fun talents to be shared.

The 4 special judges, Emi and Chase Rigby and Brent and Kathryn Knudsen gave awards to everyone that performed. It was fun to have them offering this fun aspect of the show.

Elder Pickup and Elder Masoka were the Master of Ceremonies for the Talent Show and made it so much fun. They inserted Meme’s in between each act that keep the humor high and made the transitions fun. We started with President Dunn as Kermit the Frog. Kermit said he came to see all the new "greenies." The dialogue was funny and a great intro to the "talent" show!

Elder Mazanyane started off with a bang. He and Elder Carter played and sang while showing slides. Their talents really came through.

 The first zone number came with the Johannesburg Zone singing their own version of “I hope they call me on a mission”. Their own lyrics were priceless and made fun of every aspect in a funny and memorable way.

Elder Turaskiis and Elder Banda demonstrated some cool black belt moves. Don't mess with them.

The Tembesa District performed "Joy To The World" with Elder Pickup conducting and them blowing into bottles. Pretty impressive.The senior couples participated in a skit called "Road Trip". It was fun and brought the house down! 

The Ikageng Elders (Furgeson, Berg, Jorgenson and Benson) sang a special number, sharing great harmony and talent with all of us. Below the Centurion Elders shared their talents of singing a Christmas song while building a pyramid.

Elder Kwabaisi and district offered a skit entitled “ The Way to Success~Alma and Amulek” Very funny and very creative. It involved everyone, including parts played as a dog, an angel, and a mommy and of course missionaries. (below)

The Kwa Thema district, with Elder Arthur and  Elder Clegg           leading out performed the most amazing feat. We watched as 25 Book of Mormon’s were stacked n the head of Elder Arthur, all the while he was playing the guitar and singing. It was truly amazing.

Elder Tekurio along with Mugenyi sang a song in French. 

Elder Kei and Elder Nonumwar performed a musical number where they both shared their talents.

The Roodepoort Zone won a prize for their "Christmas Morning at the Dunn’s " skit. It included Sister Dunn doing a workout and cooking a turkey and President Dunn being plagued by a grizzly bear….again!!

Near the end Elder Quigley surprised us all with his array of impressions. He did everything form bart Simpson to South Africa bird calls. He is very talented and it was very funny.

Elder Rouse did a song and dance as he bravely performed “I will survive" from a movie rendition. Apparently he imitated the original performance exactly.It was crazy, but full of talent.

Dobsonville District as part of the Soweto Zone performed a Hakka dance. It was meaningful to have it explained it prior to starting. It was quite the talented group and a great finale to the talent show.

After the closing prayer, President Dunn surprised everyone by announcing one more prize…for the "Best of Show." It was announced that it  everyone was a winner for being part of the SAJM! 

They all received a special SAJM T-shirt.

  

 Many Elders stayed around for a few hours of sports! It is fun to see them interact as a mission. This is a rare occasion that everyone can be together. It makes for a special day