Cape Town, South Africa Mission

Cape Town Mission Field       31 July 2018     Day 234 Tuesday Today we had a wonderful Senior Couples Skype meeting with all the senior couples across the mission. We heard some amazing testimonies and stories of the growth and faith of the members across the mission. Elder Stevenson told of a returned missionary bearing testimony of the wonderful elder that brought him the gospel 20 years ago. His name was Elder Blaser. The Blasers who are the new Senior Couple in Queenstown were listening and gasped in joy that their son had been instrumental in someone's life 20 years earlier. Elder Bullman gave a wonderful testimony of a lady who had struggled greatly but after months of persistence entered the waters of baptism and described what he saw as she came out of the water as "an angel". Sister Bullman gave a wonderful scriptural discussion on Helaman 5 versus 12, which I included below. It is such a powerful motivation of hope to know that when  t...

Cape Town Mission Field       30 July 2018     Day 233 Monday We are preparing for MLC week. Many luncheons and dinners to prepare for. So this morning we went to the Cape Town Green Market. It's a huge warehouse full of fruits and vegetables. You stop in at the different suppliers, select what you want, pay on your special debit card that you set up, then have a handler help you deliver it to your car. Or you can carry it out on your head as this gentleman was doing.

Cape Town Mission Field       29 July 2018     Day 232 Sunday Today we had a great set of meetings and we even stayed afterward for the baptism of Sister Baba's grandson, who just turned eight. We went to the Guguletu chapel for the baptism and he needed a bit of coaxing to get into the water. But the good elders and President Mdaza finally prevailed. We thought it would be fun to show the backside of a family gathered for a baptismal photo

Cape Town Mission Field       28 July 2018     Day 231 Saturday Today we went to do some shopping but the Makro store was crazy. The queue started just as you entered the store and wrapped all the way around it back to the front. So we left for Fish Hoek to look at a potential boarding for the walking elders there. It is a part of a home recently renovated from a fire and is owned by members there; The Forsyth's. They recently returned from living in Canada for quite a few years. They have a big guard dog, Rottweiler, that was a real sweetie. They invited us in for tea and we chatted with them for a couple of hours. It was real pleasant. We stopped at the local mall for a little while and picked up some nice plants for the flat and office. We then left for dinner at the Imperial Gardens where we enjoyed a gourmet buffet and was treated like family by Richard, Des and his wife, and Arora. They also had an older gentleman set up front singing songs from...

Cape Town Mission Field       27 July 2018     Day 230 Friday Today we left work a little early to visit with the El Greeyo caterers. We stopped at their restaurant where Tania helped Sister Courtright come up with a menu for our next conference. Their 9 year old daughter Daniella was there and she was having great time looking at funny stories on the internet then looking up amazing things you can do with a hot glue gun. We finally left as they closed the restaurant and sent us on our way with some of their delicious quiche. We drove down to the V&A Waterfront and watched the full moon come up on the horizon then we viewed it through telescopes that the amateur and professional astronomers set up to view the eclipse. We waited until about 8:30 pm just as the eclipse started then left for home. We could also visibly see 5 planets lined up in an arc across the sky; Mars, Jupiter, Neptune, Saturn and Venus. Once we arrived back at the flat we watched as...

Cape Town Mission Field       26 July 2018     Day 229 Thursday This morning we did boarding inspections by first stopping at the Guguletu boarding in Pinelands. Sister Courtright admonished them to do a better job in the bathroom and kitchen. Their beds needed some help and overall wasn't very organized. So these elders received no "cookies" today. We went to the Meadowridge boarding, which we haven't seen in a few months because the elders were staying in the Rondebosch boarding. Sister Courtright thought they had done a pretty good job organizing and straightening things up but still needed some more cleaning in the kitchen. She showed them a few tips and in the end they ended up with some "cookies". We then went to the Fish Hoek elders to pick up the keys from elder Ivins for the Somerset West elders. We took them to lunch at the Imperial Gardens chinese restaurant to introduce them to the owners and workers there. Richard, the manager, was a wonder...

Cape Town Mission Field       25 July 2018     Day 228 Wednesday We had a typical day at the office with regards to elders coming and going getting their weekly cleaning supplies. Then in the afternoon we had Kathryn and Tara from the Joburg Distribution and Purchasing departments stop in for a training session. They were very helpful to Sister Courtright in regards to purchasing and printed materials. Tara was very helpful to Elder Courtright with regards to cell phones and how to manage them. She also pointed out several purchasing department items that they handle that he's been having a hard time trying to locate. This wouldn't even been more helpful several months ago. But, we'll take what we can get. We then helped the transfer of Elder Ivins to the Fish Hoek boarding as Elder Kruse is heading home early to attend to a surgery on his back for a bulging disc issue. The Hamilton's took him to the airport. Once we got back to the office around 9:00 PM ...

Cape Town Mission Field       24 July 2018     Day 227 Tuesday Happy 24th of July everyone. We hope you enjoy some watermelon and fireworks for us. Oh, except Stephanie. She needs to stay away from the watermelon. She indicated that it doesn't sit well with her when we talked last Sunday. Well, she probably isn't worried about celebrating a Utah holiday in California anyway. This morning we did our weekly run to the Post Office then to the Makro store for supplies. We noticed a huge bird in the waterway as we turned onto Liesbeek avenue in front of the office. It turned out to be a Pelican. It is a beautiful day without a lot going on. My kind of day! Elder Bozer and Wamunyima took their car into Car Smart to have the driver's side mirror replaced that just disappeared one morning. (It definitely has the marks that someone side-swiped the front wheel well and dinged the mirror which probably knocked it out, to which they picked it up to remove the evi...

Cape Town Mission Field       23 July 2018     Day 226 Monday Got word this morning that the owner of the Milnerton flat we viewed last Friday has accepted our lease offer. This week will be very relaxed. No transfers or conferences going on here in Cape Town. We ran out to lunch back to Maestro's restaurant in Milnerton. We both had the lasagna. MMMmmm good. We always compared lasagna to that which we ate at "Mothers" in Liverpool, New York. This is just as good or better.

Cape Town Mission Field       22 July 2018     Day 225 Sunday We had an enjoyable Sabbath. Particularly since it was a warm day, we did not freeze at church. Elder Clark stopped by to pick up his journal that Brother Mome had been writing his testimony in. We got to meet Elder Clark's parents. They were on their way to the airport for the long ride back home.

Cape Town Mission Field       21 July 2018     Day 224 Saturday Today we visited the Hermanus elders. Newly arrive Elder Allen from the East Cape and Elder Allred, one of our veterans. Elder Allen loves to dirt bike in the deserts of Arizona. There boarding is in very good shape but we took down several actions to add some finer touches. Elder Courtright rehung the towel rack in the bathroom while we were there and Sister Courtight had the elders wash the kitchen curtains then we rehung them when they were finished. We enjoyed lunch in town overlooking the beach, fish and chips, of course. While walking back to the car we Sister Courtright asked a family who was watching the bay with some binoculars if they've seen any whales. The mother responded positively by stating that they are watching a group of about 4 whales right now. She pointed towards the center point of the bay and very close to shore where you could see some white crests where they were nea...

Cape Town Mission Field       20 July 2018     Day 223 Friday They tell us the postal strike is over but we only had 2 pieces of mail show up in our mail box today. Hopefully that will improve. We got a line on a boarding in Milnerton about a block away from the chapel there. We ran out at noon to take a look since the boarding we were trying to secure was given to another applicant due to our application not being completely processed by the agent we were working with. This new boarding is perfect as the Milnerton Elders will no longer be able to drive so the Lord once again has intervened to help us out. Truly wonderful. We stopped for lunch at the Milnerton Beach Golf Club and has ribs and lasagna at the Maestro Restaurant. The food and view was amazing. A storm that came through a couple of weeks ago took out some of their deck and washed away a walkway. Sister Courtright received the new photos of the First Presidency and put them up today an...

Cape Town Mission Field       19 July 2018     Day 222 Thursday Today was a bittersweet day, excited to see some of the veteran missionaries we've come to know and love heading home but at the same time wishing they could stay longer. Elder Cole is heading to Malaysia where his parents are at right now. His father is a hydro-geologist working there. Elder Clark's parents picked him up last night and are touring the area. Elder Huang's parents arrived from Taiwan and will be touring with them for several days. Elder Lane was has a really sweet spirit about him. He will be dearly missed. The Lord has really tested him with some trying experiences; stabbed, robbed, car crash, etc. There won't be anything he can't accomplish. Elder Courtright broke out in song with Elder Palavi when he picked up his ukulele in the parking lot and they started singing "What a wonderful World". Elder Paskett is a spiritual giant. I will include a recent experience he had ...

Cape Town Mission Field       18 July 2018     Day 221 Wednesday This morning we stopped by the Kintu's boarding in Langa and picked up the sandwiches that Esther put together for today's sack lunches. Sister Courtright prepared all the sacks and snacks yesterday and we had them loaded up in our car and went to the Guguletu chapel and set up for the transfers where the elders get taken to their new assignments. Elder Courtright ran over to pick up Elder Velasco who is coming in from the Philippines and Elder Allen who came in from Port Elizabeth. We then went back to the office where we trained Elder Velasco and served up lunch for the veterans. There was about 12 of us for lunch. Elder Courtright then had to take Elder Velasco to the airport who is serving in the Port Elizabeth area. Back at the office Sister Courtright was busy helping the elders pack and store items they needed to leave at the office. There were some car issues in that we don't have en...

Cape Town Mission Field       17 July 2018     Day 220 Tuesday Today was a full day to say the least. We rotated the training of 13 new elders between the four of us in the office. All were from Utah, with one from Idaho (Pocatello, of course), one from Arizona, and 3 from Brazil. It was quite the seen. Elder Courtright Charged out around 2:30 to pick up Elder Stanley coming in from Port Elizabeth. In the evening we had them walk down to the River Club where they all ordered a pizza of their choice and an milkshake. We had elders from Logan, Draper, St. George, Panguitch, and Tropic. We then went home and prepared a casserole for tomorrow's luncheon of those veteran's who would be in the office during their exit interviews with the President. It was and enchilada casserole where Sister Courtright had to maker her own enchilada sauce because we can't find that anywhere here.

Cape Town Mission Field       16 July 2018     Day 219 Monday This morning we went to the Cape Town Market to pick up fruit for this weeks luncheon's and breakfasts. We picked up a car from being serviced and stopped for lunch at the River Club. The rest of the afternoon was spent preparing for the arrival of the new elders tomorrow. The Cape White Eyes were enjoying the nectar from the orange blossoms on the Aloe bushes outside Elder Courtright's office.

Cape Town Mission Field       15 July 2018     Day 218 Sunday Today we had a rather long day at church. We arrived around 10:00 am for the YM/YW Sunday School at Langa 2nd Branch. We missed Elder Clark's testimony which he bore due to this being his last Sunday before he goes home to Kaysville. His parents are coming here to pick him up and do some sightseeing before they leave for the states. We had a baptism at the Langa Branch after church was over. We were both surprised to find out there was a make-shift font behind some sliding doors in one of the rooms off the main "chapel" meeting room. Sister Courtright was given a little cutie to hold and he fell fast asleep, which started to put Sister Courtright to sleep too.

Cape Town Mission Field       14 July 2018     Day 217 Saturday This morning we joined the Hamilton's and the Bell's for a walk along the Sea Point beach walk. The weather opened up for us then it started to rain again just as we got back to the office. We took our car back from the Bell's and brought it back to the office then went home to study some for Sunday School. We then picked up the Bell's at 8:00 pm and took them to the airport. They had a late flight back to the states. There was a group singing African chats to a soccer team that was leaving for Sweden. It was quite the sight. Sister Courtright invited the two attendants at the check in counter to church tomorrow and connected them to the Khayelitsha Elders to give them directions. Note the trees along the parking area are all windblown into the parking lot forming perfect umbrella's over the cars. Elder and Sister Bell do quite a bit of walking (3 - 6 km per day). Here Elder Hamilton does...

Cape Town Mission Field       13 July 2018     Day 216 Friday This morning we picked up the Blaser's and did a quick stop at the bank to review how to get cash out and deposit it into their church account. We then dropped them off at the airport. They will fly to East London where the Stevenson's will greet them and they will drive one of the cars back to Queenstown to get used to driving on the other side of the road. We heard all went well. This evening we went to dinner with the Bell's and the Hamilton's to the Africa Cafe. It served family style many dishes from Africa then provided a short singing troop. We had a wonderful time. You will note that the Bell's look a lot slimmer here than in their incoming photo's I posted a couple of days earlier. Elder Bell says he's lost 35 pounds and Sister Bell has lost 50 pounds. Both will be returning to their family of 7 children and 35 grandchildren. They told the children that the last time they left th...

Cape Town Mission Field       12 July 2018     Day 215 Thursday Today we took the Bell's and the Blaser's on a quick trip to the Cape of Good Hope. We stopped at the Fish Hoek boarding to show the Blaser's how to run a boarding inspection. Elder and Sister Bell was so happy to be able to harass Elder Shaw who they new well from Queenstown. They had a lot of fun at his expense reminding him of the time they got a phone call asking for their help because Elder Shaw was locked in the bathroom and he didn't want to spend the night in the cold bathtub. It was cold, rainy, and windy so we didn't spend much time on our feet. Mostly just enjoying the drive. We stopped at Simon's town to see the penguins, we briefly stopped at the Cape of Good Hope at the light house and along the shore. We saw ostrich, eland, and baboons along the roadside. And the Fynbos was in bloom because of all the rain we've been getting. It was really beautiful. ...