Cape Town, South Africa Mission

Cape Town Mission Field    29 September 2019   Day 658 Sunday Count Down => 28 We had a great service today and enjoyed the new video put out for the youth program starting on 1 January 2020. We can see how powerful this will be to enrich the family and individuals in a home centered environment. Afterwards we went to Romeo and Juliet's home (12 x 12 shack) where she prepared us a nice meal which consisted of a meat pie and a tuna salad. It was very special when Juliet gave Sister Courtright a beautiful necklace made of polished rock which we believe she got from her mother who does this as a business.

Cape Town Mission Field    28 September 2019   Day 657 Saturday Count Down => 29 Today we went through the kitchen organizing and cleaning it up in preparation for our leaving the flat next Wednesday. We got cleaned up and went to the wedding of Avon and Carin. Carin is our caterer from Delish who caters all our events in Cape Town. It was a beautiful reception held at a nice home of a dear friend of theirs in Constantia. She organized all the food from her catering service. The service was very special with some beautiful words by their pastor. Afterwards, brothers of the groom, Carin's father, and Carin's dear friend gave beautiful tributes to both of them. It was amazing to hear some many references to Galatians and Corinthians, which is what we've just been reading in the Come Follow Me program. We came home and took a short nap then relaxed for the rest of the evening except for the trip Elder Courtright made to the office to give the spare car to the ...

Cape Town Mission Field    27 September 2019   Day 656 Friday Count Down => 30 We spent today at the office catching up on more computer work. Elder Courtright brought in the pork roast that we cooked in the crock pot all night long and he made mashed potato's and gravy with fresh green beans that we picked up at the market last night. Tragically, the Firth's shared with us that her niece's husband (about 45 years old) took his own life which shocked the whole family as he was in a great marriage and doing well at work and had some wonderful children. We felt their loss and pain that they won't be there to support the family. We got notified that the Suzuki's were transported to the East Cape and are ready for pickup by the senior couples in Port Elizabeth, East London and Queenstown.

Cape Town Mission Field    26 September 2019   Day 655 Thursday Today was the Flats and South zone conference. We arrived early to setup and joined the group for a discussion on technology use then enjoyed a nice luncheon. We did have a small mishap when one of the cans of sterno splled onto the table and burned a hole in the table cloth. Some quick missionaries jumped on it and put it out and cleaned it up promptly. After lunch we joined everyone in the chapel again and we were asked to bear our testimonies as this will be our last zone conference before we leave. We couldn't hardly imagine we are that close to the end. We bore our testimonies with Elder Duma and Elder Adams who are also leaving soon. It was a great moment. Our last zone conference

Cape Town Mission Field    25 September 2019   Day 654 Wednesday Today was another long day at the office. We were working on forms and computer files again. A lot was to get ready for the Smith's arrival. The FM group also sent a technician to replace the Wi-Fi router in our office. Elder Courtright also took some time to pick another batch of berries and made smoothies for everyone again.

Cape Town Mission Field    24 September 2019   Day 653 Tuesday Today we went into the office dressed in Red, White, and Blue to show our Heritage Day spirit. There was no traffic and we left around 11:00 am to go to the Bellville chapel to have lunch at the North Zone conference. We gathered up the table cloths, etc. afterwards and headed for the Langa Branch chapel to enjoy Heritage Day festivities with them. It was late getting started, as usual. But we had a great event. Afterwards we headed back to the office to clean up some more computer stuff we left hanging. Heritage Day dress

Cape Town Mission Field    23 September 2019   Day 652 Monday Today we got up early and went to the Open Market to get banana's for this week's zone conferences. There was very light traffic today and we believe it is because many are using tomorrow's Heritage Day Holiday as an excuse to make a four-day weekend out of it. We spent the day at the office working on computer stuff again and we took a break and went to the Slug n Lettuce for lunch. 

Cape Town Mission Field    22 September 2019   Day 651 Sunday We really had a good turn out at the Langa 2 meeting today. We feel a definite change in spirit from the new elders that are now serving there. Things are really improving. Sister Courtright wasn't feeling well after the Langa 1 meetings so we went home and fixed a quick meal but Sister Courtright fell asleep in the middle of it. So Elder Courtright joined her and we both took a nice afternoon nap. We were able to get hold of Jackie and Stephanie and enjoyed talking with both of them. We are really looking forward to getting back to the states and enjoying their company. We heard from our dear friends Gordon and Ginny Cook again. They've been sending welcomed letters periodically throughout our mission. They are wonderful friends and we look forward to being with them again too.

Cape Town Mission Field    21 September 2019   Day 650 Saturday We spent the day at the office again working on updating computer files. Elder Courtright is also going through all the old instructions left for him by his predecessor and getting them updated for the Smith's when they arrive on October 8th. We heard today that they are being delayed a couple of days. Which seems to make sense. I wouldn't expect anyone to be traveling on a General Conference weekend. We left work around 4:30 to go home and get cleaned up so we could go out to dinner with the Firth's to celebrate Elder Firth's 70th birthday, which is tomorrow. We went to the Cattle Baron and had some nice steaks. Which really sat well with the old cattle rancher, Elder Firth, from Malad, Idaho.

Cape Town Mission Field    20 September 2019   Day 649 Friday Today was an all day effort on the computers at work. We are dealing with updates to the new phones, lease deposit recovery, and trying to straighten up the storage room. We received a picture of the Port Elizabeth zone elders getting their new Smartphones. They were very excited. Sister Courtright is deep into updating documents, order forms, etc. on Google Docs in order for the elders to send them to her real-time. We've already begun to receive invoices and baptism forms via the elders phone using their camera and sending them to our email or Whatsapp account. Things are really going to change now that we are deploying the Smartphones across the mission. Elder Courtright was talking to Elder Burk about how to handle and incident report. Elder Burk related that he had just heard about an incident a day or two after it happened and was helping the elders get it submitted. These elders had just arrived ...

Cape Town Mission Field    19 September 2019   Day 648 Thursday This morning we went to the Suzuki dealer in Tygervalley to pick up the new Ertiga for the zone leaders. They sent all 5 new Suzuki's here by mistake. So Willie, installed all the trackers in them yesterday and today a truck is coming to pick them up and take them to the East Cape where they belong. We also made more shakes today with mulberries, strawberries, and blueberries. Afterwards we took Elder Lare to the shoe store in Woolworth's in the Claremont Mall. He needed some new shoes to help with the healing of his foot following the damage from the spokes on his bike; which also damaged his shoe. Elder Bell who runs the Pathways program for the Stake happened to be at the office when Sister Courtright arrived with the new Suzuki Ertiga Elder Day is totally psyched about receiving a new car!

Cape Town Mission Field    18 September 2019   Day 647 Wednesday We managed the delivery of the zone leaders supplies today and the delivery of the Senior Couples orders to the Globe Flight carrier. We also decided to have hamburgers at the office. Elder Courtright cooked the burgers and Sister Courtright did Corn-on-the-Cob. Sister Forth put together a fruit salad with yogurt. Later we had mulberry shakes from the berries we picked on the tree outside. We all left the office around 4:30 and went to the Canal Walk mall and watched Lion King. We can say we saw Lion King in Africa! It was a great evening.

Cape Town Mission Field    17 September 2019   Day 646 Tuesday We made our usual Post Office run this morning. The Post Office is still not open following the robbery two weeks ago. We then picked up supplies at Makro and picked up a few hardware items for the boarding's at Bright's hardware store. On the way back to the office the M7 was really backed up so we went the long way and since we were so close to the Plastics Store Sister Courtright remembered she needed 6 more totes for the storage room. We ate at an Indian Restaurant and had some pretty good Buttered Chicken and Tika Masala.

Cape Town Mission Field    16 September 2019   Day 645 Monday Today we worked at the office trying to get some things cleared off our plate. This included opening a new lease and managing the new cars that are to arrive this week and getting the new Fleet credit cards for these sent to the their respective areas. We also spent some time doing laundry in the shed and trying to clean it up so we could move around in it. It has become quite a mess since we moved the Fish Hoek boarding materials in there and we still don't have Johannesburg's vendor set up for the new agent. It turns out the person in charge of setting up new accounts moved to another position and they didn't bother to tell anyone who has taken over that job.

Cape Town Mission Field    15 September 2019   Day 644 Sunday We had a great Sabbath Day today. At the first meeting the priest blessing the sacrament had a difficult time and had to repeat the prayer several times before getting it right. Then before listening to the speakers the Branch President invited the two new elders to bear their testimony first. Elder Levy, who grew up in Johannesburg, moved with his family just before starting his mission to Manchester, England. He started his testimony by expressing his thanks for hearing the sacrament prayer repeated several times because it got him thinking about the Savior and how he forgives us an infinite number of times for the mistakes we make in our lives. It was a beautiful message. Afterwards we were invited to Romeo and Juliet's house last week for lunch but she indicated that they had no food this week so we invited them to the office where we had a lot of leftovers. We enjoyed a nice lunch and their kids (...

Cape Town Mission Field    14 September 2019   Day 643 Saturday We spent the day at the office arriving around 9:00 am and working on setting up the Smartphones and preparing the Crest Newsletter. Sister Courtright also went to a Relief Society special event with Sister Firth in the afternoon. They said it was a beautiful event focused on forgiveness. We finally called it quits around midnight. The grounds at the Mission Office are blooming with these wild tiny white flowers, it's a beautiful site!

Cape Town Mission Field    13 September 2019   Day 642 Friday Today was the last day of transfers when the veterans go home. We had a nice taco soup that Sister Courtright prepared and Sister Firth provided the strawberry shortcake. We stopped at the Post this morning but it was closed due to a robbery there last week. Those departing had interviews with the President in his office today and Sister Courtright administered two language tests; one to Elder Rebelo and one to Elder Bokarie from Sierra Leone. Later that evening Elder Courtright took Elder Keith to the airport for his departure back home to the Phoenix area, Gilbert to be exact. Elder Rebelo from Johannesburg Elder Bokarie Elder Keith

Cape Town Mission Field    12 September 2019   Day 641 Thursday Today we picked up the sandwiches that we ordered last night then headed to the Gugulethu chapel. We set up then Elder Courtright ran to the airport to pick up the two elders coming in from George. After dropping them off at the chapel he took four of the 11 elders going to East London to the airport. He then stopped at the bread store to pick up some rolls for the Sloppy Joe's that Sister Courtright prepared for lunch for everyone at the office. She had to drive the assistants car back to the office. We had a great lunch. Then Elder Courtright went to the airport in the afternoon to help pick up elders coming in from East London while Sister Courtright administered a language test to Elder Bokarie who is heading home tomorrow. Bustle at the chapel as everyone says their good-byes More bustle at the office as elders meet and greet those coming and going, with the departure of more cars in the...

Cape Town Mission Field    11 September 2019   Day 640 Wednesday Today we had the SMD insurance company show up and begin to take away the vehicles we are removing from our fleet. The three new elders arrived and we met them before they went to the president's home for lunch and a tour of Signal Hill. We then went through training with them in the afternoon then took them to dinner before they headed off to the assistants boarding for the evening. We have an elder from Johannesburg, one from California, and one from Washington State. Say good-bye to five of our cars in Cape Town (12 in all) Our new missionaries arrive in Cape Town Elder Brinkerhoff is heading out to the East Cape Dinner at Villagio's in the Howard Center Elder Mohapi from Johannesburg, his sister is living in Langa an she attends the Langa 1st Branch with us

Cape Town Mission Field    10 September 2019   Day 639 Tuesday Today we made our usual Post Office and supply run to Makro. We got back around 11:00 and unloaded everything. Elder Courtright ran to Mr. Fish and picked up grilled Kingklip with salad for everyone in the office. Sister Courtright wasn't feeling too good in the afternoon so she went home to she a bit. Elder Courtright returned to finish up some pressing office matters then picked her up around 6:00 pm and we went to the A Tavola Italian restaurant in Claremont and met the President and his wife there for dinner. We had an enjoyable evening. We can't believe this will be the last dinner we have with them before we leave off our mission.

Cape Town Mission Field    9 September 2019   Day 638 Monday This morning we got up early and went to the Market to get fruit for this week's transfers. We spent the rest of the day at the office and Elder Courtright spent the day baking. He made two pumpkin pies from the canned pumpkin we brought back with us from Utah and he then picked more Mulberries from the tree outside and made another pie from the berries. We were busy getting orders in and updating lease and baptism files. Fruit and Vegetable warehouse that is about the length of two football fields Sister Courtright stopped a lady who was carrying a box of fruit on her head how she did it, so the lady decided to show her She didn't get too far before she almost dropped it Yummy!

Cape Town Mission Field    8 September 2019   Day 637 Sunday We had an amazing Sacrament meeting service today. A young 12 year old girl asked the Branch President last week if she could speak in Sacrament. She gave an amazing talk about unity and cited scriptures to support her observations about the Branch and how we can all improve by working together. She also referenced a conference talk where a story was told about trees that grew together provided the best wood because they grew straighter and taller as compared to those trees that grew apart or alone from the rest of the trees. We really have some great youth here. We went straight to the office to work on some items for this coming weeks transfers then made it back home in time to call the family. We were able to connect with everyone except Kerry. Jackie and her family are really happy in their new home in Ogden. Some of the church members saying good-bye to Elder Dennis and Bouta who are being tr...

Cape Town Mission Field    7 September 2019   Day 636 Saturday Today we worked at the office then ran up to the Bellville Stake house to help judge a genealogy competition between the wards in the Stake. We did this with the Firth's. They had some really great displays. One that particularly impressed us was the story of a sister who had a dream that later matched perfectly to the story of the Liahona in the Book of Mormon that she came across as she was being taught by the missionaries. Today, her and her family are members and have been to the temple because of that visionary experience. There was also one collage that had the expression "God is Groot". Of course, groot in Afrikaans means great or large or impressive or massive. Things along those lines. And "I am Groot" has been made very popular by the Avengers series of movies. So Elder Courtright has decided to create "God is Groot" bumper stickers when he returns to Utah. Those should go ...

Cape Town Mission Field    6 September 2019   Day 635 Friday We took the day off with the Firth's and drove up to the Postberg Nature Reserve to see the Spring wildflowers. We had a great day with fantastic weather. It warmed up to the mid-seventies. We saw ostrich, and Botebok and Zebra. We also say giant millipedes crossing the road. It seems to be their time for expansion. The small tortoises were everywhere too. Some chasing others. We guess they were twitterpated. There were also large lizards sunning themselves on the giant boulders overlooking the bay. What was truly amazing was the fact that the wildflowers face the sun. So you could be driving towards the sun and look out over the fields and not see anything by low lying brush and weeds. Then when you turned around with your back to the sun you could see the same field covered by every square inch with beautiful wildflowers. It was crazy to witness.

Cape Town Mission Field    5 September 2019   Day 634 Thursday Today we worked at the office and also dropped off some proofs at the printers to have them print up some of the new pass-along cards that were just released by the church. Elder Courtright took the time to pick some more Mulberries and made a pie for us. Sister Courtright was inundated by more baptisms from the zone leaders. She had 21 more to enter into the system. We enjoyed the pie with ice cream with the Assistants and the Firth's in the afternoon. The weather was very nice today. It looks like Spring is starting to turn warmer.

Cape Town Mission Field    4 September 2019   Day 633 Wednesday Today we had the upholstery cleaners come by and clean the sitting room chairs. We then picked up some sandwiches for those elders flying out today then went to the MLC luncheon. Afterwards we joined the zone leaders and helped them set up their new Smart phones. We were challenged due to poor internet reception in the building but were able to get them all set up. In the evening we set up the dinner at the Mission office for those elders flying out tomorrow. Sister Firth and Sister Courtright threw together a plum crumble for dessert from the left over plums from the conference. Topped with ice cream of course.