We Begin With Benoni

Our interview cycle begins with our biggest zone- Benoni. On Tuesday October 25th,  24 Elders were scheduled to arrive in groups of 6. Here we have Elder Gramu, Elder Smalley, Elder Tima, Elder Dube, Elder Lambert and Elder Mkwizu.

We were ready and excited to greet them and welcome them into the mission home. I am glad to be up and standing on my recovering ankle. This provided a great focus for me and I was excited to see missionaries after a few days of recovery at home.

Come on in!

Our second group was Elder Daki, Elder Jangao, Elder Kuyangepi, Elder Khwela and Elder Kealor.
Elder Austin is in this group, but was laying down as he was feeling under the weather.

During our interviews today we also had a few transfers happening -6 to be exact. Due to exciting occurrences such as Elder Weidmann returning today after going home to Switzerland for a gall bladder surgery. We were so glad to get Elder Weidmann back. He is such a great missionary and we are so glad he could get his surgery and return to the SAJM.

Irene was extra helpful today, since I was not able to be on my feet easily. She helped me serve drinks, watermelon and granola bars to everyone throughout the day. It keeps her busy as so many missionaries were coming and going all day.

We also had another very special guest today. Elder Benson's father- Ryan Benson was in Johannesburg on his way to Zimbabwe for a safari expedition. He was able to stop by and spend time with the missionaries today. I enjoyed having him here to interact and discuss the Book of Mormon impressions with each group. 

We started off with a little summer time snack of watemelon!

As stated above, we had different groups drop in due to the transfers happening today- to pick up or drop off missionaries that were changing- so at different points of the day, we kept having more missionaries for Brother Benson to meet. His son, Elder Benson is serving up in KaNymazane, so he was not one that would be dropping in. They wanted it that way...with no plans for father to meet son in the mission field!
Elders Kuyangepi, Daki, Weidmann, Brother Benson, Eti, Eki, Kealor, and Jangao.

Today, in the time we had together, each missionary shared special sections they had been touched by in their recent reading from the Book of Mormon.

Many great insights were shared and we talked about the need to "dig" deep to find the things of greatest worth. We also discussed how important it is to make it relevant and personal for us.

Brother benson added so much to the discussions today. It was wonderful to have his insights, questions and testimony as part of our discussions.

Another group photo with a totally different set of missionaries.
Elders Reynolds, Katia, Chingomanje, Brother Benson, Mkhize, Cowan, Zitumane, and Dube. in front is Elder Rouse and Elder Magesi -

Our final group of the day, included Elder Katia, Elder Figeroa and Elder Chingomanje.....

...and  Elder Shava, Elder Shamnaga and Elder Campbell.

also Elder Valikola
What a great way to start the interview cycle. So, for the next days ahead, we will be doing the same thing with all th missionaries. Each day will be quite a bit smaller however. Benoni is our biggest zone- with 24 great Elders.