Cape Town, South Africa Mission

Cape Town Mission Field       30 January 2019    Day 417 Wednesday Today was spent trying get everything back on line that was lost with the installation of our new computers. Old passwords, etc. are gone and we have to figure out how scan things again since the old method was removed due to a security issue they had with that program. Anyway, faster computers are welcomed, it's just the pain that goes with the changes that are adding more frustration to the mix. All the zone leaders came in to pick up their boarding supplies and Sister Courtright had a good talk with them. We're helping Elder Opolot fill out some paperwork for admission to BYU Idaho when he gets off his mission. We also ran down the road to a new dentist for a cleaning and consultation. She was very good and said she could install the two crowns on the implants that Sister Courtright had installed just prior to coming on mission.

Cape Town Mission Field       29 January 2019    Day 416 Tuesday This morning we stopped at the Post Office then picked up supplies at Makro. We picked up a lot of fans. Seems everyone's is dying trying to keep ahead of the summer heat. We then ran the bike that we picked up last night up to the Tableview elders. We brought some darker curtains for their bedroom to cut down on the street light coming through at night. Elder Courtright fixed a curtain rod that had come loose from the wall and we installed another extension cord so they could run their microwave from the other side of the stove. We stopped for lunch at Maestro's on the Beach to have some lasagna. Turns out the establishment is under new ownership and they are fixing the place up. Back at the office we are struggling to re-establish our old connections with the new computers. It's great that we've got faster computers, it's a pain having to deal with setting everything up again. The old...

Cape Town Mission Field       28 January 2019    Day 415 Monday Today Sister Courtright arranged for Ishmail to come back to the office and paint again with some elders that wanted to learn how to oil paint. So Elder Fulmer and Elder Chola showed up to join in. They spent the morning just inside the fence near the road so they could peer between two trees that framed Devil's Peak. We didn't get much work done at the office because the IT folks from the Area Office in Johannesburg showed up to change out our computers with newer versions. We did drop off the bike we picked up on Saturday  at Neil's to have him replace the chain. Elder Hamilton accompanied Elder Courtright down to Mullany's to drop off the South Zone Leaders car that has a door issue, the drivers door got jammed and it won't open.

Cape Town Mission Field       27 January 2019    Day 414 Sunday This morning we ran out to the Mitchell's Plain chapel to deliver the special Christmas booklets that Sister Hansen sent us to deliver to the members there. They served at the Mitchell's Plain ward while here in the Cape Town Office. We met Bishop Hartzenberger who told us some of the history regarding the development of the chapel. It is a nice chapel in a neighborhood that seems ok but he indicated there's a lot of gang violence in the area. We went back to the Langa Branch to attend the Branch Council meeting. Along the main road through Mitchell's Plain we had to stop for a herd of goats crossing the road. When we got to the chapel we were surprised to find the government was also using the building to register people to vote for the upcoming elections. We took a picture of the good brother who is trying to quit smoking in order to get baptized. He came back after church in his street c...

Cape Town Mission Field       26 January 2019    Day 413 Saturday This morning we went to the market at 7:00 am to get some blueberries. We got a carton of 12 pints for R240. We then went to the Tableview boarding to pick up a bike that has a busted chain. We spent about 2 hours there working on the boarding. We fixed the curtains, rearranged their bedroom and repaired their kitchen cupboard latches. We also de-junked their living room area. It looks very nice. We stopped at the office for Sister Courtright to do some paperwork while Elder Courtright made 2 blueberry pies. We headed home to have an afternoon lunch with our neighbors but they had to go to the hospital to visit a church member. So we postponed the dinner. But we still had blueberry pie. It was awesome.

Cape Town Mission Field       25 January 2019    Day 412 Friday Today was an all day work at the office day. We did find the family of geese outside looking for some water as someone turned off the tap that I had dripping for them. We turned the dripping water back on and provided them with some dried up bread and they seemed very happy.

Cape Town Mission Field       24 January 2019    Day 411 Thursday This morning sure felt like it should be Friday...whew, this was a long week already. We ran down to Meadowridge, Fish Hoek, and Capri to inspect those boarding's this morning. All is well except a few fans have died. The excessive wear on them during the summer months shortens their life span. As we were saying goodbye to Sister Forsyth at the Capri boarding we heard a commotion across the street and there was a troop of baboons on the rocks above the house across the street. There were some security people over there trying to scare them back into the bush using paintball guns. They weren't too happy about that. But the other day one found there way into an open window and found some food so the rest joined in and made a huge mess of the place. It now seems as though they have identified a good food source and are trying to get back into the neighborhood. You really have to watch out fo...

Cape Town Mission Field       23 January 2019    Day 410 Wednesday This morning started very early. We were up at 4:00 to pick up the President and Sister Lebethoa then Elder and Sister Sitati to take them to the airport. We were at the office around 5:45 am. So, we had a long day at the office. Sister Courtright worked on her orders and packaged all her mail to ship out this afternoon with the Globe Flight carrier. Elder Courtright prepared new vehicle accident packets that get put in the glove boxes of the cars in the event of an accident. They contained some updated materials received from the area office in Johannesburg. The zone leaders came in to the office to pick up their weekly boarding supplies also. Elder Courtright made some tasty slushies with the leftover pears from this weeks meetings. He blended them with ice and some coconut-grape drink we picked up at the Pick n Pay store. They were wonderful! One strange thing he noticed was that he h...

Cape Town Mission Field       22 January 2019    Day 409 Tuesday This morning it was an early rise to beat the traffic to get to the Bellville chapel by 8:00 AM to set up for the combined zone conference today. We got everything set up just in time for the start of the meeting at 9:00. We had some wonderful instruction and discussions with Elder Sitati. He asked what questions the elders had then proceeded to answer them in a beautiful manner with such simplicity and a powerful witness from the spirit. These are wonderful moments. The instruction lasted all day and we finally left around 4:00 PM. It turned out that the car we dropped off was ready for pick up and it was on the way back. Elder Courtright had a wonderful discussion with the service attendant that was helping him. She was directed to the "mormon.org" website and she immediately caught sight of a message about "How to Pray". She has been struggling with that and so she printed it out to rea...

Cape Town Mission Field       21 January 2019    Day 408 Monday Today was our MLC day where all the zone leaders meet to be instructed by President and Sister Lebethoa. However, they had the special treat of being taught by Elder and Sister Sitati too. We worked in the office until around 10:30 then went to the Mowbray chapel to help setup for their lunch. Sister Courtright arranged for Delish (Karin) to prepare a mango chicken curry dish. It was a big hit. We gathered back to the office then ran out to pick up some sandwiches for the elders sack lunches tomorrow when they travel back to the East Cape. We dropped them off as Karin was arriving with dinner for the zone leaders at the office. We went to the Cattle Baron and had a nice dinner with the Hamilton's, the Lebethoa's and the Sitati's. It was a nice evening and we shared some nice stories with each other. At home this evening we settled down and made some more slushies and Elder Courtright notice...

Cape Town Mission Field       20 January 2019    Day 407 Sunday This morning we picked up the Langa 1st Elders and dropped them off in Langa on our way to church. We had a wonderful service and Sunday School. We left for the airport to pick up Elder and Sister Sitati, counselor in the Area Presidency. He was called as a General Authority Seventy 10 years ago in 2009. Prior to this calling he was living in Salt Lake for the previous 5 years working in various callings in the church. He's originally from Kenya and was introduced to the church around 1985 when he went to visit a friend and there was a Senior Couple (The Howard's) that were there. They invited the Sitati's to church and the rest is history. They began by meeting in small groups of 9, the maximum number of people that could meet without legal approval from the government. Eventually he was called to be their District Leader and later the first Stake President in Kenya. There family was the f...

Cape Town Mission Field       19 January 2019    Day 406 Saturday This morning we were at the outdoor market to pick up fruit for next weeks meetings. We found some pears, grapes, nectarines and banana's. All four boxes were about R350, about $25. Elder Courtright went to the Milnerton boarding to work on the curtains, takes some window and floor plan measurements while Sister Courtright prepared the lunch sacks and fruit for next weeks meetings. The Milnerton boarding's window treatments are now all sorted out. Elder Courtright took the truck down to the River Club to get it washed and vacuumed for next weeks visitors. He then walked back with lunch from the Slug n Lettuce. We had mexican pizza and a fillet steak roll. We cleaned up the shed a bit more. Sister Courtright worked with the Assistants who stopped in later in the day. We stopped at the Pick n Pay to pick up muffins and yogurt for next week. We then stopped home and changed and headed for Si...

Cape Town Mission Field       18 January 2019    Day 405 Friday Today the Hamilton's left for George around noon, he has to do an audit there this weekend. We picked up the post then spent the day at the office. We took down the Christmas tree and there was a light rain off and on during the day. Rather unusual for this time of year, but we'll take it. Sister Courtright spent a lot of time on baptism records and Elder Courtright wrapped up a new lease and renewed a few more. After taking Sister Thirsly to the taxi stop we went to the mall to pick up some curtains for the Milnerton boarding. We finally arrived home around 10:00 PM.

Cape Town Mission Field       17 January 2019    Day 404 Thursday Today was filled with more paperwork; leases and baptisms. We decided to call it quits early and went to the mall and both got hair cuts. Afterwards we went to the movies and saw Bumblebee. It was nicely done with the female heroine.

Cape Town Mission Field       16 January 2019    Day 403 Wednesday Today was the usual pick up day for the zone leaders to stop in and get their supplies. Elder Courtright was focusing on wrapping up some new leases and Sister Courtright was busy arranging for the catering for next weeks area conference. We decided to stop at the Salt Water Grill in the Howard Center for dinner. We enjoyed a plate full of prawns. Mmmmm!

Cape Town Mission Field       15 January 2019    Day 402 Tuesday Today it was off to the Post Office. There were quite a few letters. One for Elder Kyles who left about 4 months ago. We then went to the Makro store to pick up quite a few cleaning supplies as our stock is low. We also picked up 36 six-packs of water for next weeks area tour by the general authority from Johannesburg. We stopped for lunch at Maestro's on the beach. They are now under new management. They seem to think that the menu will be changing shortly. We hope they keep the lasagne. That's why we come here. We then stopped at the Milnerton boarding to meet the owner, Sapho (Greek name) who is in town. She wasn't too happy about the cleanliness of a few areas including the bathroom. We weren't to happy about the pictures spread all around the boarding of one of the elders girlfriend. It certainly isn't what he should be focusing on. It was back to the office to clear up some leases,...

Cape Town Mission Field       14 January 2019    Day 401 Monday It was a fairly quiet day at the office so we went down the street to the River Club for lunch on the deck where the golfers hit buckets of balls. Sister Courtright immediately found a couple with a baby that she had to go see. Turns out the cutie is 20 weeks old, the same as Charlotte. They of course let Sister Courtright hold her and talk to the little cutie. In the evening we went to the Canal Walk mall to pick up a few items and had some dinner. We then turned in our "moola" money that we've been collecting to go see a free movie. The only one that appeared noteworthy was Robin Hood. We weren't too sure about it from some of the reviews but we really did enjoy it. It was certainly a more modern spin on the tale but it was well done. Once home we had a slushy and Elder Courtright found another stalagmite in the ice cube tray. Strange things.

Cape Town Mission Field       13 January 2019    Day 400 Sunday 400 days in the mission field, my how time flies. We had a nice service this morning and we only stayed for the first branches meetings because Elder Courtright is not feeling that well, just general tiredness, a headache, and stomach is a bit rumbly. Sister Courtright wore her African skirt today. When we got home we fixed some slushies to hydrate ourselves and noticed another stalagmite growing in the ice cube tray. Sure wish I knew what caused that phenomenon.

Cape Town Mission Field       12 January 2019    Day 399 Saturday We spent the day on the front lawn at the office oil painting Devil's Peak with Ismail Achmat. He graciously accepted our invitation to paint with him. It was a beautiful calm morning following a bit of rain last night. We had a pleasant experience. Sister Courtright was grateful for Ismail taking time out of his day to paint with us. He had some nice tips and suggestions. We painted from 8:00 am until about 3:00 pm. We both got too much sun because the umbrella fell over halfway through the day and it began to get a little breezy so we couldn't put it back up. Great day! I spoke too soon, we got a calm later this night informing us that a pair of elders had rolled their car in the Port Elizabeth area. They seem to be ok but that is not good no matter what the outcome. We'll find out more tomorrow or on Monday when we get to the office. The Egyptian Geese pair with their ...

Cape Town Mission Field       11 January 2019    Day 398 Friday It was a fairly quiet day at the office today. We picked up the post and Sister Courtright assisted some elders who stopped by. In the afternoon is started to drizzle a bit. We left around 5:00 to go downtown for some dinner and a theatrical performance of "Matilda" at the Artscape Theatre. We stopped at "La Tete" and had a wonderful meal. We started with the house specialty...mussels with leeks and bacon. For the main we had quail and whitetail. Both were just right. We had a wonderful time at the theater. The performers were fantastic and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. It was one of the best theatrical performances we've ever seen.

Cape Town Mission Field       10 January 2019    Day 397 Thursday This morning we dropped off the Corolla at the shop to have them look at the shocks, they seem to be worn out and needing to be replaced. We did a boarding inspection at the Gugulethu elders and Elder Courtright used some powerful stuff to clean out the bathroom drain. We picked up meat pies for the elders that are flying back to East London today and delivered them to the office where the Assistants picked them up before taking the zone leaders to the airport. We then stopped at the Langa elders boarding and instructed them on how to use a bug fogger to eliminate some flea issues in their boarding. It was back to the office and following up on some leases and some general housekeeping around the office. Elder Courtright enjoying a steak and kidney pie

Cape Town Mission Field       9 January 2019    Day 396 Wednesday Today we setup for the MLC luncheon at the Mowbray chapel, it was chicken curry on rice today. In the evening, for those elders that are flying out tomorrow we made goulash for them at the office. Elder Mushipi stopped in and brought a dish that he got from a family he was visiting today. It was caterpillars in a sauce. Several elders gave it a try. Elder Collett said it was sort of like chewing on dirt. Not much fun.

Cape Town Mission Field       8 January 2019    Day 395 Tuesday We have a busy day with MLC today so we started off at the market at 7:00 am. It wasn't busy so we were able to pick up some peaches and grapes then made it to the Post Office when they opened at 8:00. We then headed for the Makro for weekly supplies and made it back to the office by 10:15. We prepared some packages and and got things ready for the MLC dinner this evening. We arrived early because the President thought we might want to eat early and leave a little early. Turns out they went over in their meeting so we started dinner as usual at 7:00 pm and were out by 8:00 pm. The days sure go by fast. Elder Opolot sporting his newly acquired tie, from Elder Courtright's wardrobe Elder Lategan showing off his beef stroganoff

Cape Town Mission Field       7 January 2019    Day 394 Monday Today was a quiet day at the office and traffic was still very light because school hasn't started up yet. We were able to catch up on a lot of items around the office. Sister Courtright let Elder Lawer enter the baptismal record for the person he just baptized, thus completing his first baptism from start until finish. We left work a little early to drop off a bike that needed to be repaired. We then we home and chilled out. We found season 3 of Lemony Snickett's "A Series of Unfortunate Events". It is a very strange series but a nice diversion.

Cape Town Mission Field       6 January 2019    Day 393 Sunday Today began a whole new chapter in the church's life with the advent of a two hour block instead of three. We enjoyed Fast and Testimony meeting in both branches. We met a brother who was returning after being away from the church for some time. We had wonderful lessons in Sunday School. We still aren't sure of the structure because the 2nd Branch gave the second lesson in the new Come Follow Me manual and the 1st Branch gave the first lesson. But I'm sure we'll figure it out. We relaxed in the afternoon then went into the office to get the Crest Newsletter released for tomorrow.

Cape Town Mission Field       5 January 2019    Day 392 Saturday This morning we slept in until 8:30, woo hoo! We then headed for Camps Bay to relax on the beach. We met some fun folks and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. You can see the east side of Table Mountain and all the way down south to the 12 Apostles and on the North side is Lion's head. The beach is long with beautiful white sand. We met a group doing some cleanup along the beach and invited Rev Didi to church tomorrow and gave him a Book of Mormon. He was very gracious and thankful. We then drove up Kloof road to the turn off to Signal Hill. There we planned on taking a nap under the trees on the hillside overlooking Cape Town. But Sister Courtright found an oil painter and began chatting with him. This turned into a two hour conversation with a new friend. His name is Ismail Achmet. He has been active in the art scene in South Africa for a long time and has tried to use his influence to bri...