Cape Town, South Africa Mission

Cape Town Mission Field     29 June 2019   Day 567 Saturday This morning we took the Blaser's into the office so they could do some laundry and check up on their email. We then went with them and the Firth's to Hermanus to see if the whales were jumping. To our disappointment they were not. But we enjoyed the beautiful ride and had a great meal then had a beautiful ride through Betty's Bay and back to Gordon's Bay where we saw some wonderful sunsets over False Bay. We then headed home for the day.  After arriving home Elder Courtright received a call from the Tableview elders who were playing darts and a dart slipped through their curtain hitting the large glass window next to their sliding glass door and it shattered. He ran up and helped them tape it shut and sent a picture of it to a glass repair outfit who will come by on Monday to replace it. Sister Courtright of the Rocks Elder Blaser of the Rocks The cloud above the mountain near Be...

Cape Town Mission Field     28 June 2019   Day 566 Friday We picked up the Blaser's and Firth's for a drive to Franshoek today. It was rainy and windy but we ventured forward. We first stopped at Vergenoegd Winery built in 1773. It was in the Fauer family for six generations until 2 years ago when it was sold when the family ran into financial difficulty. They have a special event where they run 1200 Indian Ducks, along with a few other types and some geese, through the grounds and back to the lake. They use them for bug control in the vineyard during the summer months. The ducks stand tall and are thin and don't fly due to their genetically short wings. It was a fun site and for no reason at all we were truly amused by this simple but crazy event. We then were given a tour of the old estate that is under going some renovation up front. In the back we entered through the slave door, where the door knob is very low to the ground, ensuring that the slaves bowed down ...

Cape Town Mission Field     27 June 2019   Day 565 Thursday We got up and went to the office and grabbed the new van to go and pick up the Blasers. They were very glad to see us and gave us strong hugs. They were glad to be out of East London. We took them to the B&B and dropped off their luggage then took them to Table Mountain because it was quite calm this morning. But by the time we got there they had closed the tram because the wind picked up. So we went to Signal Hill and took some pictures there then went downtown to the Green Market Square African Souvenir plaza. We had lunch at the Onomo Hotel pub then shopped around the square. We found a couple of items then headed to Tableview Beach. It was very cold due to some high winds so we went into Maestro's on the Beach a bit earlier than planned and had some hot chocolate while waiting for the Firth's to show up after helping the Milnerton elders with a teaching appointment.  Elder and Sister Blaser...

Cape Town Mission Field     26 June 2019   Day 564 Wednesday We spent the day at the office setting up the post deliveries to the East Cape, but Sister Courtright was feeling very bad from the medication she took. Her sugar levels were very high. So we helped her package up the post to the East Cape then she drove herself home and went to bed. We were supposed to pick up the Blaser's at the airport around 4:00 PM but they got distracted visiting with the Hodges at the airport and when they showed up at the gate they told them that the gate was closed and that they would not be allowed to board, even though there were still people getting onto the plane. They even pulled off their luggage. Sister Firth arranged for them to catch the morning flight. So they went to the Stevenson's boarding, which was now empty, and spent the night there. The Hodges arranged for taxi to pick them up and take them to the airport in the morning. Elder Courtright finished up some work at...

Cape Town Mission Field     25 June 2019   Day 563 Tuesday This morning was a typical supply run to the Makro store after picking up the post. We spent the rest of the day at the office organizing the supply orders from the zone leaders. We also worked on locating new leases in the Stellenbosch and Wellington areas. Sister Courtright also worked on baptism records she received. We left a little early and stopped at the doctor's office to get Sister Courtright's diabetic medicine renewed. While there the doctor ran a test and determined that Sister Courtright had a UTI. We stopped and picked up the medication. It was a one dose antibiotic that she took before going to bed.

Cape Town Mission Field     24 June 2019   Day 562 Monday We spent the morning at the office going over our schedules with the Firth's and wrapping up some more paperwork items and lease follow-up. We heard that the Queenstown 1st ward elders had one of their bikes taken while they were having dinner with one of the members. They didn't lock it up. Big mistake around this country. After lunch we headed for Paarl to look at a potential boarding for moving a pair of missionaries out of the Paarl boarding and into Wellington where they work. It was a small loft bedroom, but could probably work. But there was no cupboard space at all. So we'd have to figure something out. This big complex has about 120 flats in it. It was "Hugo's Jam Factory" at the start of the 1900's. More buildings were just added on. Then in 1951 it was taken over by the "Dietmann Piano Factory" until it closed in 1989. At the peak of its business, 1976 (the year we got ...

Cape Town Mission Field     23 June 2019   Day 561 Sunday We had a great service which focused on testimony and Elder Soares talk on "Help me to Understand" from the last conference. The new elder (Bramdeo from Guayana, South America) bore his testimony. He is now serving with Elder Smith from the UK. Elder Opolot is now serving in Port Alfred. We went into the office in the afternoon to wrap up some paperwork then we came home and was able to catch all of our children at home as we Skype called them. It was good to chat with them all. Kirk has a tough week in the beginning as Cody went to the a Marine qualification trial. So he stayed in Atlanta for a couple of days and that seemed to cause a bit of anxiety for the both of them. Turns out he passed everything so he has a target date to enter the Marines on 1 June of 2020. This gives them more time to worry, I mean, get used to the idea of their only begotten heading into the Marines. OOO RAH!

Cape Town Mission Field     22 June 2019   Day 560 Saturday We didn't have anything planned for our Saturday, which was a first in a long time. Then the Massiphumelele elders called and wanted to know if we could come down and check out the changes that was made. Elder Keith had made some changes and cleaned up quite a bit before he was transferred this week and Elder McKone has picked up where he left off. The Forsyth's were also going to install a new dish rack above the sink and put some hardwood onto  the walls for the towel racks to mount to in the bathroom. So we spent the morning doing a deep cleaning on our boarding and Elder Courtright dyed Sister Courtright's hair for her. Then we left for Capri where the elders are living. They still needed some help and we offered a few suggestions. We even swept under their beds were a deep blanket of woolly bears were hiding. We hope this helps with Elder Tindiwenzi's allergy problems. He has a nasty wheezing c...

Cape Town Mission Field     21 June 2019   Day 559 Friday Today we had some more maintenance folks come in to the Mission Office. One group installed the shelves for the microwave above the new movable counter. And the other fellow was installing the wiring to put in an AC/Heat pump unit for the kitchen. They also concluded the painting inside the shed and screwed down the carpet runner we purchased while ago. Even with the non-skid backing we put down it would continue to creep due to sideways foot traffic. Now it ain't going nowhere.

Cape Town Mission Field     20 June 2019   Day 558 Thursday Elder Courtright replaced an overhead florescent light in the Langa 1 Elders boarding after dropping Sister Courtright off at the office. He finished around 10:30. We then spent the day working on the Crest Newsletter with help from the assistants and working on baptisms and new leases we are trying open up in Wellington and Stellenbosch. We enjoyed pizza that the Firth's picked up because we had Pearl (from Johannesburg) helping Sister Firth with her travel coordinator assignments. She also spent some time with Elder Firth helping train him on some tips for his job too. We also had some workers show up to paint the interior of the supply shed along with the new shelves that were installed awhile ago. We then had a video conference call with the area manager for technology. They informed us that our mission has been selected along with 3 other missions in all of Africa to receive Smart phones as another ...

Cape Town Mission Field     19 June 2019   Day 557 Wednesday This morning we went to the Shoprite store near the Gugulethu chapel to pick up sandwiches for the transfer lunches. We got there at 8:00 am and setup at the chapel by 8:30. There were only about 12 transfers during this transfer period. It was a nice light transfer. We cleanup and was back at the office by 10:30. We setup the taco soup for lunch and we baked rolls from the dough we bought at the deli counter at Shoprite. The rolls were great with butter and honey. The technician showed up and put the tracking devices in the three new vehicles we received. We finished up some paperwork with the assistants in the office. We all had grilled ham and cheese for dinner. Gugulethu chapel transfers Technician installing tracking units Elders McKone, Bagley, and Christensen (from Draper, Utah)

Cape Town Mission Field     18 June 2019   Day 556 Tuesday The president offered to take Elder Dos Santos to the airport at 5:00 am this morning so we didn't have to make two early runs to the airport on consecutive days. Elder Dos Santos is going to study Biology at a college near his home and his older sister is currently studying there. We picked up the post and headed to the office and began working on leases, welcome letters, and preparing orders for tomorrow. We then picked up the Zenger's at their B&B after the Firth's helped them establish their bank account. We took them to the airport where it was also unusually busy today. We said good-bye and sent them off to Queenstown. We will probably never see them again before we leave. It seems to go like that. We send and receive senior couples to the East Cape and only know them for a couple of days and the rest of our exchanges are on phone calls or Skype calls with the other senior couples during our month...

Cape Town Mission Field     17 June 2019   Day 555 Monday We got up around 4:00 am to take the Stevenson's to the airport. We were surprised the airport was very busy. We believe it was because it was a public holiday (Youth Day) and many people took advantage to travel. The Stevenson's were heading to Zimbabwe to go to Victoria Falls for a couple of days then back to Joburg to the temple before heading home to Utah. We then stopped at the market around 6:30 am to pick up fruit for this weeks transfers. It was on to the office. Around 10:00 Elder Courtright went to the airport to pickup Elder Dos Santos. He came to the office where Sister Courtright gave him his English Learning Language test. We then went to the River Club for lunch with the Zenger's, Firth's, and Elder Dos Santos. It was a nice day and we sat on the deck where the golfers use the driving range. After lunch the President gave Elder Dos Santos his departing interview while we took the Zenger...

Cape Town Mission Field     16 June 2019   Day 554 Sunday We went into the office early this morning to get some items for our car ride today with the Zenger's. We picked them up at 10:30 and went to the Langa chapel for service. We had a great service and the Zenger's were impressed with the testimonies of those they met. We took a drive to Signal Hill and had some lunch and took some pictures and we met Ismail Achmet again. He was there doing some more oil painting's of Lion's Head and Table Mountain. We then took them back to their boarding for a quick nap then picked them up for dinner at our flat. We had taco soup then spent about 3 hours with them going over their responsibilities in Queenstown. We took over one of our carry on suitcases for the Stevenson's to limit the extra weight they had to pay for. They will have their niece connect with our son, Kerry, to get the bag. Then when Kerry comes to South Africa he can bring it with him. Watching ...

Cape Town Mission Field     15 June 2019   Day 553 Saturday This morning we stopped at the garage to pick up a chair that goes with the table we collected from the Elsie's River boarding. We are taking it to the Mandalay elders so they can have a table and chairs for eating at. Their boarding is now complete except we asked the landlord to paint. Because we noticed a lot of marks on the walls and general grime from the previous tenant. Especially in the upstairs landing and coming down the stairs. We were surprised to find they paint just those areas. And only about shoulder level all the way down the stairs on the wall the gets the hand prints.  We had a good visit with the Mfuleni elders and Somerset West elders. They are doing a great job in keeping their boarding's clean. We then ran out to the Hermanus elders. Sister Courtright helped them sort out how to clean the bedding, especially for bugs like fleas or bed bugs because they were complaining of bite...

Cape Town Mission Field     14 June 2019   Day 552 Friday We met the Firth's at the office around 8:30 and took them to the Milnerton boarding to show them how to manage that boarding as they will be taking over this one in the North zone too. It was surprising to see that the landlord had taken care of the loose taps in the shower. It is something we've been requesting for almost a year now. We then stopped at the Hyundai dealer and picked up the new mission van and H1. It seats 9 and has some nice features; including bluetooth for your phone, backup camera, and built in navigation system. Derek from facilities stopped by and gave us keys to the locks at the front gate. He also reviewed the items he is helping Sister Courtright complete around the office. They also unwrapped the painting that will be hung in the kitchen, Christ washing the apostles feet. We moved all our boarding inspection supplies to the old van from the Ford Ranger in preparation for our tr...

Cape Town Mission Field     13 June 2019   Day 551 Thursday This morning we took the Firth's with us to inspect the assistants boarding and the Mowbray Elders boarding. We need to show them how to manage an inspection so they can take over the inspections of the North Zone elders. They were in pretty good shape. We oiled some hinges, repaired a towel rack and replaced a cupboard door and installed a smoke detector. We then made it back to the office for a 10 am Skype call with all the Senior Couples. Elder Courtright conducted and we discussed many challenges; cars, boarding's, nurse responsibilities, ordering, etc. We all heard from the Burk's who are first timers on the call and the Stevenson's and the Blaser's concluded with their testimonies as they are leaving next week. Afterwards we had delivery of 2 new Nissan Almera's for the Cape Town area and 2 arrived in Port Elizabeth at about the same time. These are some of the 16 new vehicles we are gett...

Cape Town Mission Field     12 June 2019   Day 550 Wednesday Today was an office day, which is what we need to stay on top of everything. We are preparing for the departure of the Stevenson's and the arrival of the Zenger's this weekend. And next week is transfer week. Thankfully we are only losing one elder and gaining one elder. So, if the president doesn't move around too many of the other elders this should be a fairly sane transfer. It was raining off and on again today and we saw some amazing rainbows. At home relaxing in the evening we made some more slushies and found another stalagmite in our ice cube tray. We sure would like to have an explanation for what causes that.

Cape Town Mission Field     11 June 2019   Day 549 Tuesday This morning we arose early to stop at the open air market to get fruit for this weeks zone conference. We stopped on the way down to Meadowridge at the Makro store to pick up our weekly supplies. We arrived at the chapel and set up for the luncheon then joined the elders for their training. We had a great lesson on studying specifically to prepare themselves for inviting others to come unto Christ while following their purpose as defined in the Preach My Gospel manual. We enjoyed lunch then returned to the office after picking up the post. Before leaving the office just as the sun set we noticed several bright dots coming down the mountain near the Block House. These were headlamps worn by mountain bike riders coming down the mountain. Mountain bikers coming down Devil's Peak, note bright dot just left of center about half way up the mountain

Cape Town Mission Field     10 June 2019   Day 548 Monday This morning Elder Courtright called and arranged for the Meadowridge Elders to go to Century City to pick up another gate remote and pedestrian gate tab. He notified Johannesburg of the stolen Fleet card then arranged for Moeneed to meet the elders at 2:00 pm at their boarding and he will change their locks. He took the elders up to the part store and picked up a battery then stopped at the grocery store and bought some power for the Mfuleni Elders that were all out of power. They got the battery installed and sent them on their way. They were very bummed about personal items like their scriptures and Elder Miller had a family photo album he had take also. He thought it was strange that they took a large stack of pass-along cards from the dashboard. Last night when they went out to look at the car there were a few people hanging around and asking what happened and by some of their questions he realize these...

Cape Town Mission Field     9 June 2019   Day 547 Sunday We had wonderful and powerful talks about accepting callings and keeping the Sabbath Day holy. Sister Courtright gave one of those wonderful talks. Since Elder Courtright has been fighting a chest cold we spent the day resting and relaxing at our flat. We didn't even go into the office today. Woo Hoo! Well that didn't last too long. We got a call around 9:20 from the President indicating the Meadowridge Elders had their car broken into and their boarding keys and gate remote was taken along with a camera and scriptures. They also popped the hood and took the battery. So we had the AIG tow truck come out and take the car to the Mission Office and the elders stayed the night at the zone leaders flat. Their keys had their flat location labeled on them so we didn't want them to go home. But they couldn't get in anyway without a gate remote. Received this flyer from the Assistants...

Cape Town Mission Field     8 June 2019   Day 546 Saturday We headed for the Meadowridge elders around 8:00 am this morning but had to turn back as Elder Courtright wasn't feeling well. But that passed so we made to the Meadowridge boarding and replaced some kitchen cabinet knobs and added a latch to the balcony door to keep it open. The bathroom needs some tile work and we'll have to engage the rental agency to have them look at it. We went to Fish Hoek and found it in very good condition. Sister Courtright hemmed some curtains and Elder Courtright fixed a door lock on the main floor bathroom. We then went to the Massi Elders and found it to be very dirty. The bathroom and kitchen have been poorly taken care of. Elder Courtright fixed a shower door leak with some silicon and then reset the towel rack while Sister Courtright showed the elders what the expectations were for cleaning the flat. We found Elder Keith rather aloof and the new Elder Tindinisi seemed to be...