Cape Town, South Africa Mission

Cape Town Mission Field       31 May 2018     Day 173 Thursday Today we drove down to Fish Hoek to do a boarding inspection. The elders did a great job cleaning their flat and received a bonus package of Oreo's. Elder Shaw was also in the process of baking muffins. They were good. It was raining again today. We saw a nice rainbow across the mountains and ending in the bay but before we could get a good picture it disappeared.  We enjoyed lunch at a restaurant on the beach and took some pictures of some sand sculptures in front of the restaurant. The other night we were returning from visiting a man we met at the Makro store who wanted to know more about our church. His name is John Paul. He is from the Congo and speaks French. As we were driving along we came across a large construction crane moving down the road. In the states there would be a warning sign on the back stating "Over-sized Load" but here they use a different word... ...

Cape Town Mission Field       30 May 2018     Day 172 Wednesday This morning we had to take another car in for service and when we got back to the office the sun was just coming up in the east and hitting the top of Devils Peak and Lions Head.

Cape Town Mission Field       29 May 2018     Day 171 Tuesday We both woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't go back to sleep so we started a movie, "Over the Hedge". We finally went back to bed around 3:00 am. This morning we stopped at the post office and the Makro store for weekly boarding supplies. I noticed the aloe plants are starting to sprout their orange flowers in the area. The ones outside our office don't get that much sunshine so they are blooming slower than others.

Cape Town Mission Field       28 May 2018     Day 170 Monday We just realized that yesterday was our 6 month mark since starting our mission at the MTC. Wow, that's 1/4 of the way done already. Can't believe how time flies. This morning we had to take a car in for service and left the flat around 6:45 but the dealer had us booked at the Toyota place in the south end of the valley. It was a long drive so we stopped for breakfast afterwards. There was an interesting cow in the courtyard. And it was raining again. This morning was the elders personal day and 4 of the elders decided to climb up Table Mountain. They didn't check the weather and half way up it started to rain. Once on top it was really coming down but they were the only one's on top and the tram wasn't running due to the weather so they had to run back down. They showed up at the office very cold and wet. Poor Elder Lare from Papua, New Guinea isn't used to cold weather. The little guy ...

Cape Town Mission Field       27 May 2018     Day 169 Sunday Today we attended both the Langa 1st and 2nd Branch meetings. They are the inaugural meetings for these two split Branches (at least it is the first time that Langa 2nd is meeting together. President Mbaki called new presidencies for the auxiliaries and we all sustained them. It was a wonderful meeting where he called a member of the Primary to give the opening prayer in Sacrament meeting. Very powerful branch! Elder Clark and Mushipi took a picture of the new members from the pulpit after the service was over. Later I found this additional photo in the group. They are real hams!

Cape Town Mission Field       26 May 2018     Day 168 Saturday Today we visited both sets of elders in Somerset West for boarding inspections. Sister Courtright wasn't too pleased with the zone leaders boarding and began to show them some areas that need to be cleaned. They then asked "What more can we do?" That was the wrong thing to ask. The elders then spent the next 30 minutes on a whirlwind cleaning tour. She said we'd stop in this afternoon on our way back from Hermanus and see if things have improved. We visited the elders in Hermanus, they're boarding is in great shape.  We stopped for lunch at the seaside Fusion cafe. Awesome food, weather, and view of the bay. We then stopped at the Fernkloof Nature Reserve in Hermanus. We walked the garden trail and saw some beautiful greenery, several native tortoises, and some wonderful birds. The trail passed along the hillside with a lot of Protea's starting to bloom. Many were torn down and the ...

Cape Town Mission Field       25 May 2018     Day 167 Friday We had a very productive office discussion this morning which focused on how we are going to manage things better around the office to ensure we all leave our mission with no regrets and it being the best we can make it. I recalled earlier this week when I took a vehicle in for service the agent filled out the inspection sheet then asked for my "Hancock". I paused then asked him "You asked for people's John Hancock in South Africa?" He then paused then laughed out loud, "Yes, we know who John Hancock was and we use that phrase in South Africa too." Elder Courtright went outside and picked some berries from the Mulberry bush outside his window. They tasted great!