D-DAY!

Departure Dinner for Elders whose time has come to cross the finish line of their mission!

On Monday October 13th, 2014 we prepared dinner for 4 departing elders. It is a new tradition we have started to have them arrive at 6 pm the night before they leave and spend the night in the mission home. We host a dinner and then have a testimony meeting.

This time, I got the idea to have a South African dinner instead of making a menu that I am more used to.  It is much more meaningful to have a special dinner that will remind the Elders of the time they served here.

So, I enlisted the help of Irene Shabalala, our wonderful mission housekeeper. She had invited me to her house on September 30th for a delicious dinner when her son came home from his mission. It was then that I tasted Irene's famous Pap. * South Africa's staple food made with corn maize or mele, as they call it.
We cooked this afternoon and prepped for this special dinner.
Irene has a special recipe and it was so fun and informative to learn from her.

She also made a side dish that goes with the pap, called chakalocka. We made it with vegetables sauteed together with beans.

Around 5:30 pm, Elders started arriving.  Elder Bird and Elder Luthy arriving with their companions Elder Dalton and Elder Lucking. This is the last time they will move these suitcases from place to place.

We spent time as everyone was gathering, having each Elder make a final page for the mission scrapbook.  

With the Braai fired up, we put the Steaks, Kabobs and Wors on the grill, while hot rolls came out of the oven.

 These are the best nights in the mission home. Doesn't get better than this.

Elder Davies conducts the testimony meeting, also expressing his appreciation and feelings as he is being transferred from his current assignment as Assistant to a Senior Companion in the North East to serve out his final 6 weeks with Elder Garnica.

Elder Lohmann from Germany, Elder Luthy and Elder Bird from Idaho and Elder Louw from Cape Town! This is a wonderful group of Elders. We loved hearing from each of them as they reflected on their two years in the South Africa Johannesburg Mission. (SAJM!)

It is truly an honor and a privilege to be in the midst of these great young men as they pause and reflect on the past two years. This is a very important ritual in the life of a missionary and we find it so wonderful to be able to witness their growth and be with them as they cross the finish line.  President Dunn also conducts interviews with each of them and we prep for transfer day and the flight information is reviewed! Lots of important things happen on this special night.

Our new AP-Elder Menendez from Lehi, Utah joining with Elder Stephens from Roy, Utah.  We are so happy to have such great Elders as the AP's. They make such a difference for us, as they do so much to help the mission move forward. On this special night with departing elders, they become waiters and servers. They really help this night to come off special.  I appreciate their great "assistance" and leadership.

Servant Leadership

Servant Leadership: The best kind of leadership in a mission, or in any part of life, is the type that seeks first to serve those that he/she  leads.  The Savior taught to be " the least among them"..... Each Thursday as our Zone Leaders gather in the mission office to pick up mail, publications, reimbursements, etc. for their zone, I am grateful we inherited such great young men that have been willing to put extra time into providing leadership and great examples, in their respective zones.

This coming week there is a transfer and there will be changes with the Leadership of the Mission. It will be a great time for Elders to realize that Leadership is to be shared and rotated. I can see the model of "drafting" in place in this change.  President Dunn and I love riding bikes and we benefit greatly from "drafting" on our bikes.  In essence, it is the concept of leading from the front of a line of cyclists and pulling them along and then taking turns and moving to the back of the line. It is a form of leadership that allows you to constantly move from leader to follower and back.  It does not matter where you are in the line of cyclists, you can pull your weight and help the entire effort move forward.

It will be exciting to get this notion of "drafting" into the psyche of the mission.  As leaders rotate to followers and new Elders are moved into leadership, the entire mission will be strengthened.  It is important to remember that a leader cannot lead, without followers. To be a follower that has had leadership experience, you have more empathy, understanding and ability to sustain those in leadership.  The church is so great in regards to our many opportunities to "cycle" through multiple leadership and follower-ship opportunities during our lifetime in the church.

Sister Hansen always has a treat prepared for zone leaders when they come on Thursdays. Today, she went all out and prepared a homemade shrimp salad and placed it in small little lettuce bowls. The Elders are pretty lucky to have her care and love, supporting them in their efforts.

They are looking today at some of the new maps that are being created to organize flat inspections from office couples. There is often a few minutes to chat and come together briefly with the current zone leaders when they stop by on Thursdays.

These are the zone boxes that can be filled with items for individual Elders. Many order publications for their investigators and sometimes they get mail and packages from home. Today, the contents are limited because there has been a mail strike since early September.  Very few packages arrive these days and I am sorry for our Elders not to be able to receive things from home at this point in time.

Elder Davies, Elder Ndikumanu, Elder Stephens, Elder Pederson

Elders George, Kolditz, Menendez, Farnes, Wilkinson, Ranjato and Koyle.

Assistant Davies, President Dunn, Menendez, Dye, George, Farnes, Wilkinson, Ranjato and Koyle. Assistant Stephens, Menendez, Kolditz and Kelebogile. 

Speaking  of being a great leader and a follower, we honor Elder Widdison for his contribution and time on his mission so far. We are saying good-bye to him at the airport as he has to take a medical leave transfer to get some needed treatment on an injured back. However, as we took him to the airport and spent time with him over dinner, it was so clear how he has grasped the concept of leading from wherever he is, with a wonderful example. He has also been a great follower and supporter of his trainer, senior companion, district leader and zone leader. It was impressive to realize how much he has thrown himself into the work in the short 4.5 months he has been in the South Africa Johannesburg Mission-(SAJM.)  We are praying for his recovery and hoping to get him back into to SAJM and in the mission field as soon as possible.

Great district group offered support. They even cut their hair the same to show support for Widdison as a team. Elders Barton, Van Heerdan, Widdison and Holloway!!

Busy Kitchen at 21 Carnation St.

 On Tuesday October 7th we started the day with 4 surprise Elders spending the night, so we got to make pancakes together before they headed back to Rustenburg...over 2 hours away.


Elder Stomps, Elder Reese, Elder Bua and Elder Rizk all joined us around our table this morning. They actually helped make the pancakes and set the table and together we enjoyed pancakes before they hit the road.  The reason they are in P-day clothes is that they came down to Joburg on Monday for a P-day activity (paint balling) and someone stole their phone at a restaurant. They lost time getting their phone back (but they did!)  and ended up having it get too late to drive back to Rustenburg, so they asked to sleep at the mission home.

Then later in the day we hosted another Braai...BBQ for our two friends Sid and Rati and their darling families.  I found out that "Sid" was his North American name, since he found many people were not good with African names.  So, tonight we learned that "Sid" is actually named Mteteleli Sidzatane and Ayanda is his darling wife. They both were in the Johannesburg mission during the years with President and Sister Poulsen.  They introduced their little boys to us, Siyabulela and Athandwa (such beautiful names.)

We also invited Rati and Sydney Mogotsi, with new little baby Yamasa, for a dinner honoring their new little baby boy.  Both baby boys have been born since we arrived, and are born one month apart. We have the chance to work with Sid and Rati, so we have been planning this dinner since we knew of their little babies coming.

  Sid works for the facility management with the church and assists with house maintenance issues for us. He purchased a BBQ for the mission home when we arrived and we promised him that we would make him dinner on it, and they had a new baby on August 1st, so even more reason to celebrate.

Rati works for the church in the Seminary and Institute Building. He opens doors and lets us use the facility. He also had a wife having a baby when we got here. The fun part is their baby boy was due on my birthday, September 5th,  and actually came on that exact day.
So, tonight we invited them over together and had little babies in the house. What a treat!

Siyabulela, goes by Siya, had a lot of fun finding balls to throw, games to play with, food to eat and stories to tell us. he is smart, precocious and full of energy. We loved having him in the mission home. He really loved the picture of Jesus!

Mteteleli and Ayanda Sidzatane and their darling boys, Siyabulela and Athandwa

Rati and Sydney Mogotsi, with new little baby Yamasa

^President Dunn holding little baby Athandwa                                                                              

We also have used the few weeks in late September and early October to invite as many new friends into the mission home. We figure since we are here for three years, we should meet and develop relationships as soon as we can with neighbors, new family friends and those we are fortunate to serve with. Below are a few examples. Unfortunately, I didn't get pictures of everyone when they dined with us, but I have a few pictures to show and keep record of who has come. On Monday October 6th we had a "Mission President Sharing" night, by inviting the WinStanley's (blow) and the Collins (above). Both have served as past mission presidents and we enjoyed hearing ideas and experiences form them. Chappy and Bonnie WinStanley went to England and Chappy was the first South African mission president to be called. Phil and Trisha Collins served in Russia as Mission Presidents and then served a couples mission to Ghana and were called from that assignment to be the President of the South Africa MTC.  Great folks!

We enjoyed having the Klintworths over for a Sunday dinner.  Their family has a sweet connection to us. Michelle was baptized by a friend of ours and we have friends in common. Their kids have been so fun to get to know also. We really enjoyed our Sunday dinner with them, as you can see below.

Michele and Garth and Kelly and Rebecca
with Angus and Michele below!

Me, Michelle, Rebecca, Michael, Garth, Kelly, Kyle and Angus.  We love their family and look forward to gathering together  as we can. We have many preparing missionaries in this group and a great family that has a wonderful conversion story themselves. We are inspired by them and love spending time with them.

My new friend Lynn Van Der Hover and husband Theo and her darling daughter Tyler were invited to dinner also.  Unfortunately, Tyler was ill that night, but her daddy Theo was so wonderful to meet. We are invited to Tyler's baptism on November 1st and President Dunn has been invited to speak. We feel so lucky to have these new wonderful friends. Tyler made us a special invitation to her baptism in her own writing. As you can see from the card she made for me, we have a budding artist and careful printer with this young lady. Oh, how we love them!!

marathons and missions

As our branch conference ended, I must reflect on what an amazing weekend it was.  The timing was interesting, to have it fall on General Conference Week-end.  President Dunn was called upon to prepare many talks as part of the two day conference. He did such a great job on each and every session, but my favorite talk was his on Sunday about  Commitment and Going the Distance.  He used the example of commitment and inner strength of John Stephen Akhwari of Tanzania to complete the marathon that his country sent him to finish, not just start.   His famous race is summarized here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k6oW9uYtJnA

Commentators said, "Today we have seen an African runner display true courage and commitment." When asked why he finished the race, against all odds, John Stephen Akhwari said,  "My country didn't send me all 5000 miles to start the race, they sent me all 5000 miles to finish the race."  

Missionaries start, but they learn quickly that a mission is a marathon, not a sprint. They have to come prepared and then run the race that is before them.They get dehydrated, discouraged, injured, tired and need cheering on, water, energy, fuel, supporters, refocus, etc.  I will rely on this amazing marathon metaphor and experience I  have to help me and others make every mile count!

As this first conference week-end comes to a close,  I have been reflecting on all the fall conference week-ends we have enjoyed with our family and coupled with the St. George Marathon. 

Last year, as part of the end of an era, I ran my 20th St. George Marathon (SGM) and have done each and every one with family and friends. Better than the marathon, have been the thousands of miles we have run by each other's side.

President Dunn and my family and friends have always been by my side. They have pulled me along as I have run with each of them and shared our hearts.

As I ran this morning, on the other side of the world, with no one physically by my side, I was thinking how much a part of me this marathon metaphor is.  I have shared the miles of life with family and friends and I am grateful for the spiritual, emotional and physical benefits that have had a have daily influence on me.

We are figuratively at mile 2 of our mission marathon. What I remember  about this point in the SGM race, is you start to catch your breath and find your pace and settle in. The  daylight is just starting to come and from  this point the miles start clicking by.  This is also a reminder that you need to think how fast those miles come up and savor each and every step. It is over before you know it.

Speaking of conference week-end, it is an extra pleasure in the mission field to watch conference, and hear the sustaining words and see SLC!:)
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We have not been able to listen to all of it yet, due to the time difference, but I absolutely loved Neill Marriott's talk in the Women's Conference.

I particularly loved these two passages

1-Sisters, you strengthen my faith in Jesus Christ. I have watched your examples, heard your testimonies, and felt of your faith from Brazil to Botswana! You carry a circle of influence with you wherever you go. It is felt by the people around you—from your family to the contacts in your cell phone and from your friends on social media to those seated next to you tonight. I agree with Sister Harriet Uchtdorf, who wrote, “You … are vibrant and enthusiastic beacons in an ever-darkening world as you show, through the way you live your lives, that the gospel is a joyful message.”2

2-Placed around the world, temples have their own unique look and design on the outside, but inside they all contain the same eternal light, purpose, and truth. In 1 Corinthians 3:16 we read, “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” We too as daughters of God have been placed all around the world, like temples, and we each have our own unique look and outward design, like temples. We also have a spiritual light within us, like temples. This spiritual light is a reflection of the Savior’s light. Others will be attracted to this brightness. We have our own roles on the earth—from daughter, mother, leader, and teacher to sister, wage earner, wife, and more. Each is influential. Each role will have moral power as we reflect gospel truths and temple covenants in our lives.

Even though we do not have any sisters in this mission, all of these wonderful messages apply to our amazing Elders. They are each running their own race and are on all different parts of the course. Next week, 4 amazing Elders will cross the finish line and deaprt for home. (Louw, Luthy, Lohmann and Bird) They will not have a medal around their neck, but a South African pin on their lapel and pride in their hearts for their own PR (personal record) and a race run well!

Here's to a great week and start to October!
P.S. I love the memory of running the marathon last year with all of my children and also my darling daughter in law, Mindy and my sister, Laurie.

Son, Brady, Daughter in Law, Mindy, me, Daughter Emi and Son, jeff! President Dunn taking the picture, but ran all 19 of the others with me!!

  I knew I would be hanging it up for awhile and celebrated this 20th run of this race and maybe my last one.  I have loved the marathon and all that it has taught me.  I am using the metaphor daily as I try to "run the race that has been placed before me"

Oh, what a good race it is!!!

If you build it...they will come!

Three Branches in the NorthWest Province of our Mission gathered together for the first ever Tri Branch Leadership Training Workshop. Upon arrival in July, President Dunn traveled to this mission-dependent area to meet with the three branch presidents. They indicated that the what they needed most was specific training for their members. Often branches feel isolated and lack training for newly called leaders. They felt it would be most beneficial if we would set a date and come and offer a morning training.  So we did..and boy, did they come.

But, not without a great deal of effort on the part of our Senior Couples, the Piers and the Dummers and the Branch Presidency. The Dummer's really led the way with the invitation, the food and the follow up on the details.

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The missionaries serving in the Ikageng  area include Elder Mayende, (Uganda), Elder Larsen (Northern California) Elder Graham (Alpine, Utah) and Elder Oteino (Kenya) We loved having them with us for the training. It was impressive to see the Jouberton Chapel. It is far from any big city and yet has been a center of strength for the church. This is an area and branch we are trying to grow back again, to be as strong as it could be.

We left from Joburg at 6:45 am and traveled 2 hours to Jouberton. We got set up and hoped the members would come. Slowly they trickled in. We got news that one of the branches was delayed (Potchefstrom) due to their taxi driver not arriving. They would be late, but they were coming. By the time they arrived, the entire chapel was full, with over 80 people. They had taken their Saturday and made arrangements for travel, childcare and work obligation to come and partake of training. Below are the great members that traveled by taxi from the Potchefstroom branch, 1 hour away.

It was an honor to be with these wonderful members. President Dunn taught a wonderful opening session on Commitment. He showed the movie "Only A Stonecutter"  that he actually wrote the screenplay for. He had a marvelous discussion with the members about how we increase our commitment and what it really means.

We then split into two groups and each went to 2 workshops:
President Dunn-Teaching: No Greater Call
Sister Dunn-Serving with Love: We are His Hands
Lunch was served and it was a huge success. Thanks to the Dummers, Piers and Branch Presidencies for helping to make sure people came.  Boy, did they! Lunch was enjoyed by all.

 After everything was cleaned up after the lunch, we caught Elder Dummer doing one more act of service. The new plants that he helped to have planted two weeks ago, were getting a little TLC from a great caretaker.

After the conference, President Dunn and I had the honor to go out contacting with the missionaries. We took the family booklet just put out by the church and took it to the families we could find in the mall.

Here we come! Look out.

Elder Graham and Elder Larsen show off the "My Family" Booklets. We placed over 100 booklets with families that happened to be in the mall that day.  We got many contacts for these two great Elders. Also, President Dunn didn't do to bad either. We all successfully placed 10 with possible investigators.

Elder Otieno and Elder Mayende also contacted in the mall with success. They are doing a great job as the Elders in Jouberton.

This strategy has been promoted by President Dunn. The new family booklet is a nice piece to give to families and encourage them to share their families story and history with each other. if they want to know more, they get a pass along card. It is fun to see how receptive people are in general to messages about families and Jesus Christ. While I was in the mall, I stopped in a store to get one item for the mission home. I was able to give three booklets to clerks in the store as I talked to them about what we were doing!  The missionaries actually received many phone numbers from people genuinely interested in hearing more.  Very successful contacting time with our missionaries. We hope to do much more of this all over the mission with the missionaries.

That evening we were able to also do something that hasn't been done. We invited all three of the brnach presidents and their wives to stay in the area and go to dinner together. It was such a nice treat for them and so wonderful to be able to socialize together and get to know the issues and int he area. We had a nice table and everyone could converse. It was so wonderful and meaningful to get to know these great leaders and their stories.

We took the opportunity to grab some pictures before dinner. The weather was beautiful here in Klerksdorp. These great Presidents are dong so much for these area's. We are all working to get President Kwai Kwai a wife!:) He is such a great man.

President Robbins form Klerksdorp, President Mogape from Jouberton and President Kwai Kwai from Potchefstroom

We are so grateful to know and work closely with great senior couples like the DUmmers and Pier's. They bring such expertise and love to these branches. They assist the missionaries in thearea, the branch presidencies and the members, as well as investigators. They fdo so much and we are so grateful to team together.

 Extra nice dinner at the Protea Hotel. We lingered long and had wonderful conversation. Really special! It was also Elder Dummer's birthday yesterday, so this had a birthday party feel as well!!

Sunday October 5th
General Conference Sunday
Branch Conference's in Jouberton and Klerksdorp

After the conference in Klerksdorp, the members hosted a light snack for a mingle on the grass. It is always nice to get to puase and meet more people. We loved being with them after the meeting. 

The Makasi children greeted me at the end of the day, as we returned and headed into a baptism at the Roodepoort Ward.  I love these children and was honored to be in polka dots, along with the girls!! Little brother has a missionary tag on that says "future missionary."  So, I am matching something on all of them.