Cooking on the Road

Our December interviews were all wrapped up, with only memories and Christmas clean-up left.  

 There were some pretty good memories….

 

........Like lots of musical numbers performed by districts. Each one added a great feeling to the mission home and a great start to our interview and workshop time together. I also have great memories of wonderful chefs in the kitchen over the past month.  They left us with great recipes which we added to the new green binder.

 Hopefully, more of these recipes will get made in the coming weeks and months.

 

I even shared some family Christmas miracles with them, if we had time before or after the cooking. Our little grandson Zach came to our family just before Christmas last year. It added such a new perspective on the Christmas season and Christ's love for each of us. He knows us personally and prepares us for our journey.  This was a special time to share a spiritual thought with the missionaries at the Christmas season.

However, we still had three groups of Elders to interview that do not live close to the mission home. So, we took the interviews and the cooking demonstrations “on the road”

We first stopped in Nelspruit and gathered together with Elder Smith and Kankunen and Elder Pulley and Wilombe. However, the power was off that night and so I have no pictures to show for it. We talked around a lantern and had a wonderful couple of hours together while President Dunn interviewed each one of them.  I talked with them about all the good food they can and do make. We left the food and recipes for them to make when the power was back on!

Next, we went to Polokwane. We met in the small chapel and used the kitchen there to make  Elder Richard’s chili recipe and I added the corn bread recipe using the corn maize that is a staple here.  

 It was fun to see it all come together. These guys are great cooks. They even got to each take a pan of cornbread home for later consumption. I wonder if they made it out of the parking lot before eating it??

Elder Olson, Johnson, Dye, Roybal, Bua and Delahoy. This is a great group of missionaries and they are doing a wonderful job teaching and testifying in Polokwane and Mokopane.

On Saturday afternoon, January 9, 2015, our road trip ended in Tzaneen, where another group of great Elders (how are we so lucky to have amazing Elders everywhere in the mission?) cooked up the same recipes. Each group added their own flavor and style. We really had fun talking, working together and preparing food.  There were senior couples and district presidencies in and out of the building while we were cooking. We were able to share the food with everyone. 

These are new companionship's since our transfer on Tuesday January 6th. Elder Koyle and Elder Smith-Holley are in Modjadje, Elder Stephens and Elder Dzowa are serving in Lenenye and Elder Novotny and Elder Lamini are in Tzanen with Sister and Elder Campbell-not hat is not Elder Campbell with Sister Campbell!:) President Dunn helped clean up after the cooking demo's! Actually, the Elder's did all the dished and cleaned every last item! They are fun to be with and work with !

As we were leaving, Elder Laminie showed me his cool jacket he had personally made for himself before coming on mission It rides around in the boot (trunk) mostly in the NorthEast. It is a little too hot for jackets like this!!

This is how I felt after cooking and eating with 10 zones. Time for a diet. 

Farewell Tour for our first Assistant!

On New Year’s Day President Dunn and I joined Elder Menendez and Elder Stephens for a farewell activity.  It is always hard to transfer and AP, or have them go home. It is hard to say good-bye because you have lived right next door, literally, and worked so closely together. So, when it was time for transition with Elder Stephens, we planned a p-day activity to pause and reflect on the amazing opportunity to serve together in this capacity.

Elder Stephens has information on how to hike Castle Gorge, which is not easy to find and access. He has told us about this special spot for months.

Hiking out is beautiful, because the land is so wide open with no one is sight.  But, once you enter into the gorge, it is surprising and stunning. 

We have loved Elder  Stephens as an Assistant. He was the first one called and has been guiding us for 6 months. He brings kindness, knowledge and diligence to the calling. He also is very humble. 

We learned so much from him and know his last six weeks in the NorthEast will be a great way to end his mission.  We saw him this past weekend and he had already taught 15 lessons in 4 days with Elder Dzowa!  Pretty impressive.

A memory not to be forgotten!

In with the New...

January  2015

"In with the new....and out with the old!"

Actually, on our January transfer no missionaries went home. So, it was just "in with the new!"

 So, on the morning of January 7, 2015  we picked up two Elders from O. R. Tambo. This is a treat for us because usually the MTC would pick them up and we would get them from the MTC. Due to this time of year, the MTC was closed, so we received them from the Provo MTC.

 
We love getting up early and heading to the airport with our Assistants with our airport greeting sign to meet Elders deplaning. It is thrilling to see them come out the doors at name them as "our own." We wish we could greet each and every missionary this way.

So, here is a little bit about the two Elders we picked up this morning:

Elder Turauskiis from Lithuania. He found the church two years ago. He was Catholic and believed in God. He was living  in major city for school and was praying to find Christ in his life again. The next day he was walking down the street, and two Mormon missionaries approached him. The rest is history...He was able to baptize his mother the week before he left on his mission. He just finished University and has an IT certificate. He has a great spirit about him.

His new companion is Elder May from Holladay, Utah

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They will be great together.

Elder May just barely completed his 12 week program as a new missionary. It is a compliment to him that the Lord sees him ready and able to now switch roles and be a trainer.

Elder Nelson is from Brisbane, Australia. He has from the same ward as our Elder Haynes. His family are all members.  He loves fitness. He is an avid sports junkie. He loves soccer, running and basketball.  He loves music and is learning piano. His work has been at a cinema, so he knows quite a bit about movies!! :) He loves history. He comes from a family of 4 children and is the first person in his family to go out of the country of Australia for his mission. He and Elder Barton are new companions. Elder Barton is also from Utah and will bring great energy and focus for Elder Nelson...and also fun!

President Dunn has also felt inspired to keep leadership positions fluid. He has released wonderful zone leaders to go back into the field, taking their leadership experience with them and calling new leaders.

This transfer we have 5 new zone leaders:
Elder Thompson, D.

Elder Johnson

Elder Wambua

Elder Anderson

Elder Kairu

Elder Stilgoe
We were also sad to say good-bye to Elder Stephens as he heads North for his last transfer. He has been with us from the beginning and the first Assistant President Dunn called. He have learned so much form him and loved his assistance, love, devotion, humility and service. We are excited for him to help move the work forward in Lenenye in the North East.
 

Below are a few additional pictures from our first transfer day of 2015. It is always a big day, even if no one is leaving to go home.

Elders Jackson, Johnson and Stephens

Elder Maraetefau checking out the map and the 26 countries our Elders hail from!

Last but not least, The two Elders listed below did not get their pictures posted when they arrived in the fall.  We want to not miss the chance to add them to the history. We are delighted to have Elder Bonifaz and Elder De La Cruz from Mexico joining our mission. They arrived off the regular transfer schedule and we are so happy to have them bringing their great spirit and energy to the SAJM. Welcome!

Elder Bonifaz^ above and Elder De La Cruz below!

 

Elder DeLa CruzSo this is the first of 8 transfers in this 2015 year.  They will all come fast and be a whirlwind. We are trying to pause and enjoy each and every transfer and the amazing missionaries we get to interact with as they are either coming or going. Luckily we get to know them so well and love them so much!!

What's cookin'

The last week of December, the house was filled with missionaries as we finished off interviews. The Benoni, Pretoria and Soweto zones all came after Christmas and the kitchen was busy with Elders cooking all kinds of dishes.  It has been a fun round of interviews with the holiday ornaments and music to start the day, and then cooking demonstrations put on by the Elders.

You can see from the pictures…….good food was being whipped up each day.  We had everything from gourmet macaroni and cheese, to chili and enchiladas. We even had omelets, burritos, german pancakes and crepes. Elders also made authentic soups and stews from their country and showed us how to make caibattai’s, like tortilla’s.  Hopefully these workshops will continue to foster healthy, inexpensive and quick meals that Elders can plan for and cook together in their companionships.

 

 

 

 

Since there was so much cooking going on, I made some homemade bread and homemade sweetrolls and gave them as “gifts from the heart” to our AP’s and also Irene and her family for Christmas. Cooking has so many positive outcomes. It bonds people together, helps them eat and feel better and increases skills as you learn new recipes and ideas. It has been a fun series of workshops to do with all the missionaries.