Cape Town, South Africa Mission

Cape Town Mission Field       27 September 2018     Day 292 Thursday Today we spent most of the day at the Malmsbury Police Station getting the vehicle back that was stolen from the Mandalay Elders flat while they were sleeping. This car was used in a bank robbery and abandoned during a chase. It got a little damage on the front end. One of the pursuing bank guards was shot at but not hit. They also recovered all the money taken. They are still in pursuit of the bank robbers, but they have good video and fingerprints now. We met a lovely sergeant who helped us through the paperwork. We took her to lunch at Cherry Lane, a nice cafe near the police station. There were some beautiful wisteria across the street from the police station that reminded us of the vine we had growing in our back yard in Redlands, California.

Cape Town Mission Field       26 September 2018     Day 291 Wednesday Today was another office day. Working on cleaning up files and closing leases and settling receipts. Sister Courtright is making great progress on organizing her filing system and has been a great help to Elder Courtright helping him get organized too. Elder Courtright had to scrap another vehicle that needed some repair work that was more than what it is worth. The roads in Sada are pot-hole ridden and if you don't drive through there carefully it can really wreck havoc on your cars suspension and tires. So the Sada elders get to use public transportation now. Elder Courtright found something to watch that had some redeeming qualities. It was called "Car Masters: Rust to Riches". It was about the Gotham Garage in Temecula, California and their quest to build car upon car upwards in price and value through building, trading, swapping, etc. It was quite interesting and the cars they b...

Cape Town Mission Field       25 September 2018     Day 290 Tuesday Today was a quiet day around the office and we did make a Makro run for missionary supplies. Most of the day was spent catching up on emails and orders and baptisms and car issues. The Mandalay elders took their car in for service and we picked it up for them in the afternoon. There are some pretty white flowers blooming in the corner of the lot that I took a picture of.

Cape Town Mission Field       24 September 2018     Day 289 Monday Today is National Heritage Day. We shut down the office and attended our Branches celebration at the Langa Chapel. We had a wonderful program composed of different people speaking about their cultures in Uganda, Zimbabwe, and the Eastern Cape. We had some dancers and a program talking about the custom of Lubola (spelling?) which is how a groom obtains her bride with a sort of dowry (purchases her). A typical bride is worth 20 cows.

Cape Town Mission Field       23 September 2018     Day 288 Sunday We ate something that didn't agree with us yesterday and last night and this morning we've been going through some bad intestinal cramps and other side effects. So today we never got out of our robes, we just moaned a lot and laid around the house. Hate to miss church, but we weren't feeling it today.

Cape Town Mission Field       22 September 2018     Day 287 Saturday Today we conquered Lion's Head! It only took 5 hours (we did take our time eating lunch once on top). Fortunately we ran across a German fellow whose wife didn't want to go up the ladders, chains, and rock handles. So he stayed with us and helped Sister Courtright pulling up while Elder Courtright helped push from below on some spots where it was difficult to stretch your foot upward enough to the next foot hold. We also stopped just below the top where Sister Courtright spotted a young girl with her head down sitting alone on a rock just off the trail and she appeared to be shaking. We gave her some water and an energy bar and rested awhile then we helped her to the top. We saw her later when she reconnected with her friends and she was looking good. Enjoy the pictures! Our parting shot, we finished it!

Cape Town Mission Field       21 September 2018     Day 286 Friday Today we loaded up a stove from the storage shed at Nightingale Close and took it to the Elders in the Meadowridge flat. They've been  using a mini-stove and we know that Elder Barbre likes to cook. When we plugged it in only one plate on the top (out of four) worked. So Elder Courtright will have to call in the appliance repair people next week. In the evening we went down to the V&A waterfront to pick up a glass teapot to brew some of the native Roobois tea that is grow here in South Africa.

Cape Town Mission Field       20 September 2018     Day 285 Thursday Today was the South and Flats Zone Conference at the Meadowridge chapel. Sister Courtright organized for Bruce's catering to do enchilada's today. We had a wonderful training session with President Lebethoa and Elder Stevens offered a wonderful parting testimony as this is his last conference before he goes home at the next transfer. He has a wonderful smile and quiet strength about him. He really has a beautiful testimony of Christ being his redeemer. We will miss this wonderful elders leadership and spirit. We stopped at the boarding before going back to the office to work on Elder Courtright's leases. And while here we stopped in to see the little baby below us to see how she's doing. Sister Courtright got her dose of baby for the day. It really helps her get along. Elder Stevens, second from left, seated

Cape Town Mission Field       19 September 2018     Day 284 Wednesday Today was going to be a catch up day at the office. We have no items on our calendar to deal with. We picked up Elder Mauerman from the airport at 9:30 pm last night after staying in the office until 9:00 pm to catch up on things then we dropped him off at the Assistants boarding for the evening. Today he came in to interview with the President and then get picked up by his new companions. He will work with the Elsie River Elders until the next transfer when he will be assigned to a senior companion. We left around 6:30 pm and went to Maestro's on the Beach to get some Lasagna. They have 40% off on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday dinners and lunches this month. Elder Diepeveen, Elder Lopes, and Elder Mauerman

Cape Town Mission Field       18 September 2018     Day 283 Tuesday Today was our usual Post Office and Makro stop for missionary supplies. Elder Courtright noticed that they have now added Frosted Flakes to the cereal aisle (called Frosties here). Woo Hoo! Elder Courtright helped load up a mattress to take to the Elsie's river boarding for the new missionary arriving tonight. He was on mission for 3 months but then went back home in February. He has returned. We are so excited to see Elder Mauerman back.

Cape Town Mission Field       17 September 2018     Day 282 Monday Today was a busy day at the office, taking care of baptism records, leases, and answering vehicle issues. The Meadowridge Elders called and informed us that their bikes were stolen. That lasted almost a week. Later we found out that someone approached them on the street and said that for R100 that he would give back one of their bikes. So they paid the ransom and he said that tomorrow he would sell them back the other one. We left work around 5 pm to stop by the Medicross clinic to have someone look at Sister Courtright's ear that has been itching and flaky. She has some sort of skin condition that is bothering her. We got a couple of creams to try and a referral to a skin doctor. We also got a booster shot of B vitamins again. We also found out that the pneumovax booster shot that showed up on our calendar (one year from the date we got it in the states prior to coming on mission) isn't...

Cape Town Mission Field       16 September 2018     Day 281 Sunday Today we had a great day at church. We had some wonderful talks on Repentance, Faith, and Jesus Christ from the young Ward Mission Leader and two other young members. We met two new visitors at church that the elders met during the week and invited them to church. We came back at 3 pm and the Langa 2nd ward for a Missionary Fireside that the ward mission leader and the ward missionaries put together. We had a great discussion on what we can be doing to fellowship those new visitors and help get them involved to help with retention and make them feel at home and a part of our ward family. Got some more pictures of Charlotte!

Cape Town Mission Field       15 September 2018     Day 280 Saturday Today was another busy day. We picked up the Gugulethu elders and took them to the President's home with the Ford Ranger to pick up a couch and love seat that they are getting rid of. We took the love seat, which was just the right size to fit into their apartment. It is much better than the dilapidated couch they were using. The guard took the old one from us saying that he knew someone that could use it. We then met the Meadowridge elders and dropped off the large couch with them. Their couch was just a kind of fold down futon type top sitting on a bed frame. They came up with a plan to have me park the truck under their second floor walkway where they got in the truck bed and pushed up the couch on end up to the second floor. They had to stand on the sides to get a little higher. Sister Courtright and Elder Courtright were on the second floor walkway holding on to while the Elders ran...

Cape Town Mission Field       14 September 2018     Day 279 Friday Today we received our first letter in the mail. It was from the Welby Stake. They put on a day of service, which included the Primary writing letters to missionaries. We received a wonderful letter and a picture. Today Elder Wamunyima came in from the East Cape and will be flying out tomorrow to Zambiya to finish his mission there because his visa is expiring and they won't extend it for the last 4 weeks of his mission. It was very strange to realize that September 11th just passed by earlier this week and we never even realized it. We've gotten so busy and disconnected to the states that these things are overlooked. We even skipped Labor Day without realizing it except that when we Skyped our kids on that Sunday prior they reminded us that the grand kids didn't have to go to school on Monday. Elder Wamunyima (right) with his last companion, Elder Gamble (left) who just arriv...

Cape Town Mission Field       13 September 2018     Day 278 Thursday Today was another unexpected day that we spent at the airport. Elder Shelembe is going home due to some back problems. So we picked him up at the airport where he was coming in from the East Cape, then headed back to the office. First, we had to stop at the Assistants boarding and drop something off for them. We then stopped at the barber so Elder Shelembe could get a haircut and arrive home in Johannesburg looking neat. We did have to stop at the office to pick up another item that he had stored there. We then made our way back to the airport to see him off to Johannesburg.

Cape Town Mission Field       12 September 2018     Day 277 Wednesday We thought it would be rather quiet today around the office, but not so. The zone leaders came in to the office to pick up their supplies from Sister Courtright and she had to package all the supplies going out with Global Flight to the East Cape. Elder Courtright picked up one of the bikes that was being repaired. He then filled the tires of the other bike we have with "gloop" to help with thorn punctures. We then were notified that Elder Monoalibe has to leave mission today (4 weeks early from the end of his mission) to go back home to Johannesburg to have his wisdom teeth taken out. They have really been bothering him. We had dinner with him at the airport. Sister Courtright found a restaurant that had some "soft" food for him (chicken pesto linguine). We ate at the Spur, its a chain restaurant here with a western cowboys and indian theme at each restaurant. The one in the airport is...

Cape Town Mission Field       11 September 2018     Day 276 Tuesday Today was a typical busy Tuesday...Post Office first thing. Then on to Makro. But first we got a call from Elder Hamilton that he locked his keys in the trunk. So we had to stop by the office first and pick up the spare set to let him into his trunk. We met Sister Hamilton walking along the rode in front of the Mission Office. She has been walking to work on good days. So we drove back to the office to open up the door for her while we went to deliver the car keys to Elder Hamilton.  In the afternoon Elder Courtright picked some more Mulberry's, which seem to keep producing now that the weather has been warming up and the rain has helped all the plant life. He then went into the kitchen and made his first Mulberry pie. We sat down just before leaving the office for the day with the Hamilton's and enjoyed a slice. It turned out great!

Cape Town Mission Field       10 September 2018     Day 275 Monday This was a 'real' Monday. We got a call from the Fish Hoek elders informing us that they lost their phone. The Gugulethu elders hit a pot hole last night and got a flat and drove on it to the chapel because they were driving on their spare, due to a flat tire from Saturday. The zone leaders couldn't help them because their spare was flat. The Elsie River elders lent them their spare but driving home to their flat the car was driving funny. And this all took place before 8:00 am. Later this morning the Knysna elders phoned and indicated that they were driving to George and got a flat but their wrench doesn't fit the lug nuts. I had them call AIG tow truck to assist. The Zone Leaders (Elder Stevens) was particularly helpful in taking responsibility for picking up all the bad spare tires and taking them in to the shop for replacement or repair. That was really kind of him to do that, particul...

Cape Town Mission Field       9 September 2018     Day 274 Sunday When we arrived at church today we saw Brother Tyler who we met at the Mowbray chapel on Wednesday. The missionaries greeted him and were telling him about the meetings and how they are organized. He felt really welcomed and was happy he came. Sister Courtright gave 2 lessons today about Jonah and the "large fish" that swallowed him. It was right up our alley as it was about missionary work. During the second Sacrament Meeting Sister Courtright could be found outside sitting on the ground trying to connect again with the little boy that has some "challenges". She really loves connecting with those that need some extra love. We also witnessed the blessing of the sweet little sisters new baby boy "David".

Cape Town Mission Field       8 September 2018     Day 273 Saturday This morning we were invited by the North Stake primary to help with a program at the Milnerton Chapel. We are to present in a 30 minute session a Family Home Evening program that discusses the importance of families. We had about 12 children in each group (4 in total) that rotated through different programs in the church. We had a great time. In the evening we went over to the Observatory to listen to a program from a Canadian professor who is here working on the SKA (Square Kilometer Array). They just finished the first section in the Karoo (4 hour drive north). It is a vast area void of radio interference. The first section consists of 67 radio dishes. In total there will be about 1000 in another 8 years. These antenna's listen in deep space. The amount of data is overwhelming and it is only going to get bigger. They need "big" data analyst's badly to support this effort. This is a n...

Cape Town Mission Field       7 September 2018     Day 272 Friday Today is the North Zone Conference in Bellville. Sister Courtright arranged for El Greeyo to come and cater this event also since the other caterer would not commit unless prepayment showed up in their account. We couldn't guarantee it would be there by Friday so we had to make other arrangements.

Cape Town Mission Field       6 September 2018     Day 271 Thursday This morning we did a boarding inspection at Howard Hamlet for the Gugulethu elders. Sister Courtright wasn't pleased with what she saw and encouraged them to take the next two weeks and do Spring cleaning, which includes washing down the walls. Elder Courtright took a picture of the wall coloring in hopes of finding a similar color silicon caulk to fill in a gap in the ceiling along the crown molding where it appears some bugs may be finding access into the boarding. We'll be back in two weeks.

Cape Town Mission Field       5 September 2018     Day 270 Wednesday Today we wrapped up the MLC meetings with a luncheon prepared by El Greeyo. It was a rainy day and while we were cleaning up after the luncheon there was a young man at the chapel gate who asked if now would be a good time to ask some questions about the church. We invited him inside and gave him a quick run down of how the church operates and invited him to church on Sunday. Sister Lebethoa heard some singing outside and came down from the MLC meeting to see what was going on outside. She met our new friend (Brother Tyler) and spoke to him in Xhoza and also encouraged him to come to church on Sunday. Strangely enough he lives in Langa, so we will be looking for him at our chapel (the rented preschool) on Sunday. The remaining zone leaders did some proselyting in the area then came back to the office for a dinner that Sister Courtright prepared. We finally met Elder Mthembu, far right,...