tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58152262711815214552024-02-07T17:12:20.541-08:00Ren and Debbie's Mission AdventuresEveryday life and adventures as missionaries for
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Serving in the South Africa Cape Town Mission and the Australia Brisbane Mission.Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07918450959338372853noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5815226271181521455.post-79779266881792438192016-05-02T00:12:00.003-07:002016-05-02T02:27:24.847-07:00<div style="text-align: center;">
APRIL 30, 2016 </div>
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TIME goes by ever so fast!!</div>
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We are so grateful for life and everything we enjoy!</div>
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We are very grateful our health and strength and for the health and strength of our kids and all our </div>
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9 sweet grand kids.</div>
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We are grateful for the health and strength of our parents who have been blessed and sustained in their 80's and 90's.</div>
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This is my Dad in his mid twenties.<br />
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Verl W. Burt as United States Air Force Staff Sargent. </div>
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He just turned 95 years young on April 17, 2016.</div>
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He just returned from Washington DC having been honored by<br />
the United States Air Force Honor Flight.<br />
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Verl W. Burt with Governor Gary Herbert <br />
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Congratulations, Dad, and Happy 95th birthday!<br />
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Dad Boyce and little Kate Boyce one of his great grand daughters.<br />
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It became necessary to close one of our areas in Cairns this past transfer.<br />
With the creation of new missions, and the number of missionaries serving down, the missionaries serving in the Australia Brisbane Mission has been reduced.<br />
It seems that when college's and the university terms end in the spring, numbers will <br />
pick up again.<br />
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These two Sister (Sister Atuake and Yeh) are leaving the area and unfortunately their area is closing.<br />
Sadness abounds as no one likes to leave Cairns!!! <br />
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On another note, the interesting fact is we did not
coordinate our colors on purpose.<br />
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Look at the colors we see in the rain forest.<br />
This plant has green leaves, notice the leaf on the left in the photo.<br />
The leaf is green but is in the beginning stage of turning white and then red.<br />
The red leafs are changing from green to red. Its beautiful!!<br />
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More beautiful color in this country. We saw this bird in Hartley's Crocodile Farm.<br />
Vibrant red and blue in color!! Along with the Cassawary. (A huge native bird, about the size of an Ostrich, that runs wild in the rain forest of Queensland)<br />
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A Australian household Pet!<br />
They are on the beaches in our area.<br />
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This experience has been one of the greatest blessings of our mission!<br />
This is the Kelsall family.<br />
Randall and Tiare<br />
and 6 of their children. <br />
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When they got married, Tiare was a long time member of the church, Randall was not.<br />
But Randall was a wonderful valiant husband and father.<br />
Tiare was true to the gospel and patient with her non-member husband.<br />
She had a strong testimony.<br />
Time pasted and children were born.<br />
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Tiare heeded the sacred responsibilities as stated in <br />
THE FAMILY - A PROCLAMATION TO THE WORLD.<br />
Tiare nurtured her children - that sacred responsibility. <br />
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Tiare, ever faithful to the gospel of Jesus Christ, her testimony continued to grow<br />
stronger and stronger.<br />
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Randall watched ever so closely. <br />
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Tiare's example over the years sparked interest in Randall.<br />
Three years of investigating and many tender mercies, that words can not share.<br />
Tiare still ever so faithful to the gospel.<br />
More tender mercies and Randall was baptized.<br />
Desires grew from Randall and Tiare to go to the Temple and be sealed for eternity.<br />
Our small part, from the day we got here in Cairns, Australia,<br />
was to share, with this family, and teach the Temple and its preparation lessons with<br />
Randall, Tiare and the family. <br />
More tender mercies!<br />
Months of spiritual learning. Months of physical preparation. Months of emotional preparation.<br />
Desires grew and grew for the Temple sealing.<br />
Randall's testimony continued to developed and grow just as Tiare's increased in strength, as well.<br />
Finally on March 24 in the New Zealand Temple their eternal goal was achieved.<br />
Oh how great the joy when the Lord's work progresses<br />
families towards Eternal Salvation.<br />
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Atherton Branch is a small branch in our Cairns District. About 40 active members who attend church each Sunday. It was their Branch Conference last weekend. One of the branch conference activities was an outdoor movie along with invitations for friends and investigators. We set up a tent and had a BBQ and then showed the movie "Legacy". What a great time and it was a wonderful missionary activity. About 100 people attended, with many of them being less active members and 24 of them were non-member guests. <br />
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As part of our responsibilities, in serving in the District Youth Program, <br />
we helped plan and carry out a Youth Pioneer Trek.<br />
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We researched on web site and the written instructions to duplicate a trek and<br />
train Mas and Pas and the support group.<br />
With the incredible stewardship from a great District Young Women's President, (Sister Luki) and the Atherton Branch President (President Bell) and other<br />
dedicated Branch Presidents and faithful District Councilors,<br />
we had an awesome "full on" Pioneer Trek!<br />
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The first Pioneer Trek ever in the Australia Cairns District!!<br />
So exciting for everyone!! <br />
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A 4 day adventure with the young men and young women. President Bell made the handcarts and the kids dressed in pioneer clothes,<br />
One family supplied tents for everyone. Kids brought sleeping bags or bed rolls for themselves.<br />
Food was actually donated by members. <br />
We walked about 8 or 9 kilometers per day.<br />
We had everything from sickness rescues, to mob attacks and river crossings.<br />
A very affective women's pull, and even a deaths and funerals.<br />
It made for a very remarkable and eventful event for 44 young men and young women.<br />
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An experience that all participants will never forget!! <br />
All were tested, all were tired, and all were spiritually fed.<br />
We even had 5 non-member kids attend and since the trek, 2 of them have joined the church since and <br />
the other 3 are preparing for baptism.<br />
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The above picture is the post trek fireside, where we re-inacted some of the activities we enjoyed on the trek. </div>
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Great participation and great fun! </div>
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We were lucky enough to have some of our good friends visit us here in Australia. Bob and Tammy Cope, Lisa and John Miner and Cam and Michelle Kelsch traveled the long distance to Australia and with President and Sister Henderson, we spent some time with them. We all met in Brisbane, rode the river taxi's, saw the beautiful city and hiked the Story Bridge. (The Story Bridge is one of 3 bridge hikes in the world) It was incredible and we had a wonderful view of the city at dusk. <br />
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We then flew back up to Cairns and with our 6 friends along with President and Sister Henderson. We then hosted a fireside with the Cairns 1st and 2nd Branches. We all spoke on the Family and how we can build a "Culture of Christ" in our Homes and with our Families.<br />
Talks and special musical numbers were shared by each, and then President and Sister Henderson concluded with their inspirational comments.<br />
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While here in Cairns we all took our P day on Monday and took a boat out to the Great Barrier Reef. Some of our guests dove and some snorkeled. The beauty is absolutely breathtaking. A couple of pictures of how pretty the water is and what we saw.<br />
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Brett, your wharf is in Brisbane, Australia, along with a street in Atherton named after you. <br />
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Love,<br />
Elder and Sister Boyce<br />
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Closing off with pictures of a magnificent time of the day, here in Cairns. We love the sunrises. We love the beauty and the majesty of all God's creations.<br />
We love our incredible experiences and we especially love our Savior.<br />
For He is the reason we are here and being blessed so much.<br />
We receive joy in your blessings and happiness as you support and pray for all the missionaries serving throughout the world. We love you.<br />
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E;der amd Sister Boyce<br />
Australia, Brisbane Mission<br />
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Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07918450959338372853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5815226271181521455.post-10413316204156291572016-02-24T00:41:00.003-08:002016-02-24T00:41:58.223-08:00The weather here has been very hot and humid. Its summer, here, in a tropical rainforest and we can definitely feel the heat. The weather doesn't slow the work, but we are thankful for air conditioning in our flat and in our car. We've had very little weather events since we've been here in Cairns. Much rain, but no cyclones. (yet, we are still in the wet and cyclone season for another few weeks, as you can see what happened in Fiji last weekend) We continue to love what we do and the people we meet and and try to help. At the first part of January we had the Australia Brisbane Mission FSY (For the Strength of Youth). This was held in Brisbane and is our local Australian equivalent to the youth EFY back home. There were 1400 young men and young women who stayed at a college campus in Brisbane (for 5 days) and were taught and instructed of the Savior. We had 50 Young Men and Young Women attend from the Cairns District area. They absolutely loved the experience they had. Because both Sister Boyce and I work with the Young Men and Young Women, in our District, we flew down to Brisbane to be with them the last day. They all had the opportunity to go to the Temple and do Baptisms and we assisted in that wonderful experience. We then flew back with them to Cairns, heard their testimonies and wonderful experiences they had while attending FSY Here is a picture of our youth at the Brisbane Temple.<br />
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We have had some very special missionary teaching and helping experiences here. Attached are a couple of the special ones. The first is the baptism of Tajuanna and Merwez Whaleboat. They are a set of identical twins who were taught the gospel and baptized in Innisfail. I had the wonderful experience to interview them for their baptism. They are both 17 years old and two of the most spiritually prepared young women I have ever met. They are already talking and preparing to serve missions of their own. We have a special place to baptize in Innisfail. It is in the middle of the rainforest between Cairns and Innisfail. They call it the "Waters of Mormon" and it is so beautiful and peaceful. Its a very, very sacred and a special place for those who have the opportunity to attend a baptism and especially for those who are baptized.<br />
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Below are pictures of Sister Boyce and I going into the dense forest towards the "Waters of Mormon". Also pictures of the beautiful little stream where the baptisms take place. The 3rd picture is of Merwez and Tajuanna.<br />
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Another wonderful event we had was the marriage and baptism of George and Lina Waianga. This is a beautiful family from Holloway's beach here in Cairn's. They have never been married (many people live like this over here, as it sometimes is too expensive to get married and also many see no need for it). We testified of the importance and the sanctity of the marriage vow and that they needed to be married before they could be baptized. We shared the possibilities of their Temple Marriage in a year and the knowledge that they can be with their families forever. President Gardner (our District President) married them on Friday the 12th of February and I had the opportunity of baptizing them on Saturday the 13th of February. <br />
<br />Here are pictures of the wedding and the cake (held at the Church) Sister Atu'ake and Sister Yeh who taught them. Two of the children were baptized previous to this. <br />
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We are also involved in a Missionary Preparation Class each Sunday evening at 6:00 for YSA and YM and YW who are16 and older. This a picture of last weeks class. We had about 20 YM and YW attend. It is incredible training for these future missionaries (Preach My Gospel)<br />
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We love our Full time missionaries, there are 10 of them here in the Cairns District. Last week for our Snap Gravity (daily vigorous exercise programs for all the missionaries via President Henderson) we hiked the Cairns Botanical Gardens. Its a beautiful 1 hour hike through the rainforest. Here is our wonderful group of missionaries.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5MeBpDCqj3vZcXEotgAVB9quVdh-bpvi6Iuk8b0H1kBX7WHEqX2p3iWxOH4v3m1oFhIUoGkh0GebWW0LCw85tV3Dvuya3eU8HFnRmUNw-p7NndrhtIe2Al85pHAcJ3O84KmlFLAR_HwY/s1600/IMG_4186.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5MeBpDCqj3vZcXEotgAVB9quVdh-bpvi6Iuk8b0H1kBX7WHEqX2p3iWxOH4v3m1oFhIUoGkh0GebWW0LCw85tV3Dvuya3eU8HFnRmUNw-p7NndrhtIe2Al85pHAcJ3O84KmlFLAR_HwY/s320/IMG_4186.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Just outside of Cairns on the way to Innisfail and very close to our special baptismal font (The Waters of Mormon) is the Babinda Boulders. Beautiful area where a small river runs though and huge boulders are in the middle of the river. People love to swim and jump off the boulders. <br />
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These are banana plants (they are actually not trees, but large plants). The blue wrapping protects the banana pods from birds, insects and anything else that wants to invade. These plantations are just outside of Innisfail (about 60 miles south of Cairns)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Last Friday evening the Cairns 2nd Branch had a Cultural event where many of the diverse cultures with their food, customs, dances and music, were displayed, for all to enjoy. Cairns is a very diversified with many different cultures and people. (Torres Strait Islanders, Aborigine's, Polynesians, Maori's, Asians, and then there are the English Australians and New Zealanders) We love all these different cultures and we learn from each one of them.<br />
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We just experienced a Cairns District Conference last weekend. we enjoyed two days of teaching and learning from President and Sister Henderson. Amazing experiences and phenominal testimonies from new converts. Treasures galore!<br />
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Stressed strongly in our District Conference was the reading and studying of the Book of Mormon! Everyday! Everyday! Everyday!!</div>
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"The Spirit of that great book will come to permeate our homes and all who dwell therein. </div>
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The spirit of reverence will increase, mutual respect and consideration for each other will grow.</div>
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The spirit of contention will depart.</div>
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Parents will counsel their children in greater love and wisdom.</div>
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Children will be more responsive and submissive to the counsel of their parents. </div>
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The pure love of Christ will abound in our homes and lives!"</div>
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First Presidency</div>
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Thanks for listening!! We are having a great time! Enjoying every minute of it!<br />The weather is beautiful here in Cairns!</div>
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We miss you all and St. George. . . . . . well . .</div>
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However, we really miss our kids and especially our grandckids!</div>
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Love,</div>
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Elder and Sister Boyce</div>
Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07918450959338372853noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5815226271181521455.post-5185165751365734402015-12-31T16:02:00.001-08:002016-01-01T02:28:25.855-08:00<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: red;"><u>Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!! </u></span></h2>
We thought we better start another entry to our blog. Its been awhile and we are sorry for the non-performance. </div>
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Its just been very very busy and sitting down at the computer and writing about what we've been doing is really the last thing on our mind. But we will repent, as we know its important to keep you all informed and please know we do love you so much. Anyway, we had a fun Halloween. Its not celebrated to the extent it is back home, but it is definitely getting more popular here. We had a branch Halloween trunk or treat party with a BBQ and everyone dressed up and decorated their cars. It was outside in the parking lot and we had spook alleys, and activities for the kids. We had many non-member friends who were invited and they thoroughly enjoyed the evening. Here are a couple of pics. of the event.<br />
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<span style="color: #6aa84f;">Happy Halloween! </span></h2>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-HhAuVz9yTzWSslS1SHcMvxfVUlcKeEuqGWs_LR1hyphenhyphenTlJCrunvZwILvYRSMFv4KTHfpV9491AY0A7GOrZbo2ZxsHmRPLdC8Ya2dfzZgwOhoOP9vaiMnkMtrx1clqognaE-XK2LFWNXHM/s1600/IMG_1678.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-HhAuVz9yTzWSslS1SHcMvxfVUlcKeEuqGWs_LR1hyphenhyphenTlJCrunvZwILvYRSMFv4KTHfpV9491AY0A7GOrZbo2ZxsHmRPLdC8Ya2dfzZgwOhoOP9vaiMnkMtrx1clqognaE-XK2LFWNXHM/s320/IMG_1678.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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We also had a District Meeting, accompanied by a visit from President and Sister Henderson! Everyone was excited to see them, here in Cairns. President Henderson interviewed each one the missionaries, and we had a bake potato bar for lunch. Here's a couple of photos.<br />
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Here's a group picture of all those involved in the October District Meeting.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj15HThlJ0AR8qzCxXrQ8K9pL_CL5hraBO0nCKxP0E8o_EXpuK8WCZHNttM9fnvPEUqcJ2hVZLQkFzEdVRTpeWSe7EG4KGLd56ZkK1PPcXyPjt7uluUg_moWeYVd3dT60Sm9_csoYaiuRk/s1600/IMG_8345.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj15HThlJ0AR8qzCxXrQ8K9pL_CL5hraBO0nCKxP0E8o_EXpuK8WCZHNttM9fnvPEUqcJ2hVZLQkFzEdVRTpeWSe7EG4KGLd56ZkK1PPcXyPjt7uluUg_moWeYVd3dT60Sm9_csoYaiuRk/s320/IMG_8345.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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We wouldn't want to miss out on any food - so here is Thanksgiving dinner as well!!<br />
Just 4 sisters and 6 Elders and Elder and Sister Boyce!<br />
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<span style="color: #e69138;"><b>Happy Thanksgiving!! </b></span></h2>
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During November Cairns Branch 2 had a Culture Christmas celebration.</div>
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This took place inside the church and in the inner courtyard of the church building.</div>
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Notice the Palm trees. </div>
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<span style="color: red;">Merry Christmas! </span></h2>
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On November 22, Elder Boyce and the District began a Mission Preparation Class.</div>
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He personally invited 22 future missionaries from the Cairns area, Atherton, Innisfail, and Thursday Island. On Thursday Island, Innisfail and Atherton, we Skyped the participants so they were able to interact with the teaching. </div>
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Mission Prep runs for 10 weeks and is very will attended. </div>
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It's quite an experience - we both get to attend each class on Sunday evenings for about an hour and a half.</div>
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The class is taught by a return missionary from the Brisbane Mission. (Elder Garry Talaia)</div>
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He's an amazing teacher because he was instructed by the best - President Henderson!! </div>
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Here's a picture of part of the class.</div>
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Here in Cairns we have an awesome member who is so generous to the missionaries and with service throughout the community. She and her
non-member husband know how to give and show the true spirit of Christmas. She had
all the missionaries, in Cairns, come to her home and helped them create gift baskets
for their investigators or members who are in need. <br />
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Here we are making the baskets, then taking them to those we choose to deliver them to.</div>
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She also had all the missionaries in Cairns to Christmas day dinner. We were invited,</div>
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but were in Brisbane with Becki and Rich and our 4 little grandchildren!! Sorry no pictures of the dinner.</div>
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Here's a picture of this giving Sister's Christmas home.<br />
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On Sunday, December 20 we organized a Christmas music Fireside - </div>
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"He Sent His Son".</div>
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We invited all members, friends, investigators and who ever would like to come and share in</div>
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Christmas music and songs of the Savior.</div>
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We also presented </div>
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"A Savior is Born,"</div>
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a Christmas message offered by the Church.<br />
We also played a video of the</div>
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"Testimonies of Our Prophets and Apostles".</div>
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We had 10 Christmas musical numbers from members in the two Cairns Branches and the music selected was absolutely perfect.</div>
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It turned out wonderful, we had about 150 people attend and about 50 of them were non-member investigators.</div>
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This is a copy of the invitation.</div>
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Two days after our fireside we flew to Brisbane to help President and Sister Henderson with the Brisbane Christmas Zone Conference.</div>
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Sister Henderson had been working on it for a couple of months and asked us to help her get the food organized. She then took a short trip to St. George for Sarah's wedding and arrived back in Brisbane on the 22nd. The Zone Conference was held on the 23rd. It involved about 225 Elders, Sister Missionaries and the Missionary couples.</div>
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We hope, along with the other couples, we made the Conference and the meal a little easier for President and Sister Henderson.</div>
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Below are photos of the lunch.</div>
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The best part of Christmas, this year, was that night after the Zone Conference - Becki and Rich and<br />
4 of our grandkids met us in Brisbane!!<br />
Richie (12 yrs) </div>
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Mia (10 yrs)</div>
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Georgia (8 yrs)</div>
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Ivy (5 yrs)</div>
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First excursion was to the Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo in Brisbane. They were able to hold live animals!<br />
Aren't they cute . . . the kids!!!(Notice Georgia, she got a little more brave with the snake) <br />
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The day after Christmas we all flew up to Cairn's where we spent the next 4 days together. Here we are in front of the Cairn's chapel. We had the opportunity of "showing off" some of our family to our good friends here in Cairns.<br />
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On Monday we all hopped in the rented van and drove about an hour to Port Douglas. We then caught a charter boat to the Great Barrier Reef. Here we snorkeled and saw so many beautiful fish. Even our little Ivy (age 5) got into the action. The first thing she said,<br />
"I saw so many Dory's down there".<br />
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Because the Jelly Fish are out this time of year, they require us to wear these beautiful stinger suits. It was in incredible adventure and the kids will never forget it.</div>
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On Tuesday we hopped on a scenic train and took a 2 hour ride through the rain forest. We ended up in Kuranda (a cute little resort town in the rain forest). The kids able to see "bird world" and all the beautiful tropical birds in their habitat. We then took a 90 minute skyride (It started raining on the way down) back to our vehicle. Here are some of the pictures.</div>
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Barron Falls north of Cairns.<br />
Below is a photo of our kids and grandkids as they leave the airport from<br />
Cairns, Australia.<br />
We hated to see them go! <br />
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<h2>
<span style="color: #674ea7;"><b>Happy New Year!!</b></span></h2>
As missionaries in the Australia Brisbane Mission we have 6<br />
recitations and scriptures that we have been invited to memorize.<br />
Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has
explained: “Great power can come from memorizing scriptures. To memorize
a scripture is to forge a new friendship. It is like discovering a new
individual who can help in time of need, give inspiration and comfort,
and be a source of motivation for needed change” (“<a href="https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2011/10/the-power-of-scripture?lang=eng">The Power of Scripture</a>,” <i>Ensign,</i> Nov. 2011, 6). <br />
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This is one that we have been invited to memorize. <br />
Helaman 5:12 <br />
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<a class="bookmark-anchor dontHighlight" href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="12"> </a><span class="verse"></span>And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation;
that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts
in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat
upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf
of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built,
which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they
cannot fall.<br />
<br />
We wish you a belated Merry Christmas and a very<br />
prosperous, exciting and growth filled 2016!!!<br />
We Love You.<br />
Ren and Debbie<br />
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<br />Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07918450959338372853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5815226271181521455.post-36099983243411515152015-10-14T16:23:00.002-07:002015-10-14T16:23:30.011-07:00Springtime here in Australia is beautiful and especially here in Cairns. The temperature has been absolutely perfect. It is about 75-80 degrees and the humidity stays around 70%. The evenings get down to about 65 degrees and it is delightful. The summer is coming and we understand that the temperature gets hotter, and the humidity is even higher. We can endure this, as we had high temperatures and high humidity in South Africa and know what it is like.<br />
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The summer is also the rainy season and even the season of potential Cyclones (Hurricanes back home). Because we are on the coast, Some Cyclones have hit this area in the past. Some of the church members (who live in the beaches cities and have their homes in low elevation areas) have been evacuated in the past. We live in a higher elevation area and should not have any problem if any of these tropical storms hit. Although it may be kind of fun and unique to experience one of these Cylcones. Below is an awesome sunrise one morning!<br />
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Many of the homes here are built above the ground and seem to be elevated like on stilts. (from a foot to many feet above the ground elevation). We always thought this was prevent water from getting into the home, but recently found out that people build their homes above the ground to get air flow under the home. It makes it much cooler when the air can flow underneath the home and less expensive to run air conditioning or fans. Here are some of the homes that show this.<br />
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We work with all the branches in the district. (Thursday Island, Innisfail, Atherton and 2 here in Cairns). Because we are here in Cairns most of the time, we attend both Cairns Branch church services, council meetings, missionary correlation meetings and as many of their activities as time permits. Cairns 1 Branch had their annual Brisbane Temple trip this past month. We have been actively helping them ready themselves to attend the Temple. Many of the new converts were able to attend and had researched many of their ancestors in the Family History Center here in Cairns. They were so excited to go and do some of this vicarious work for their family members that have passed on. Tears of joy attended them as this work was completed.<br />
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92 Branch members got on a bus to travel for 20 hours to Brisbane and attend the Temple. 20 new members, who had joined the Church within the last year, had the opportunity of doing baptisms for their ancestors. Several Young Men and Young Women also attended with the group. Over 800 baptisms were performed and 300 confirmations. Debbie and I had the opportunity to teach a family the Temple Preparation Classes and prepare them to go through for their own Endowments and have their 4 small children sealed to them. What a great joy it was to be with them in the Temple and watch them receive these Sacred Ordinances. (especially tender when the 4 small children were sealed to their mom and dad). Along with the baptisms and confirmations there were 6 new Endowments, 2 family Sealings performed and 17 Patriarchal Blessings given. Because we belong to a District, we do not have a Stake Patriarch. Arrangements were made, and 5 Stake Patriarchs from Brisbane were at the Chapel next to the Temple to give these blessings to 17 of our Cairns 1st Branch members. It was an amazing experience.<br />
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One of the new converts to attend the Temple was John Manatan. A convert of about 6 months, a rough Australian Torres Strait indigenous man. He has had a rough life and the gospel of Jesus Christ has completely changed him. The Holy Ghost touches and changes the internal spirits of these unique people, but their exterior appearance sometimes does not change. John told us he had not had a a haircut in over 30 years. We prayed as to how to approach John and what to say to him as to not offend or cause him to rebel. We used Elder Oaks talk on BYU grooming standards and expressed the importance of how your physical tidiness and cleanliness in appearance can effect your spiritual growth and well being. We shared how Sacred the Temple is and you naturally would want to feel and look the very best you can before you enter. The conversation was incredible and he was so willing to change and prepare both spiritually and physically to enter the Temple and do the work for his ancestors. Below are pictures of John before and after.<br />
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Our work here is so varied, we seem to do everything. We even have a home teaching assignments in both Cairns Branches. One of the families we home teach is a single mom who has 10 boys (8 of them still living at home and the oldest is 22 and the youngest is 3) We recently had a family home evening with them and Debbie dressed all the boys to appear as Lehi's family in the wilderness and told the story of when Nephi was commanded to build the boat to travel to the America's. The pictures show the event. We had a wonderful evening.<br />
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Please continue to pray for the missionaries who are serving throughout the world. Our work is so critical and important and we need all your support and prayers. Thank you so much. We love and miss you will write again.<br />
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Ren and Debbie<br />
Here are some streets and businesses named after us!!<br />
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Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07918450959338372853noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5815226271181521455.post-9714695721551381122015-09-07T04:23:00.006-07:002015-09-07T04:24:44.975-07:00September 7, 2015Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07918450959338372853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5815226271181521455.post-21631037869838047512015-09-07T04:23:00.004-07:002015-09-07T04:23:47.318-07:00Okay so its time to write again about our extra ordinary mission adventure. Today is September 7th 2015. Labor Day back home, but just another Monday here in Cairns, Australia. Its our P day today and we usually take a couple of hours in the afternoon, so we decided to blog again. <br />
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We love the work and have jumped in with all 4 of our feet. (Ren's size 13's keep us more stable). Let us give you a little semblance of what we are doing. Our responsibilities with the young missionaries are not quite as time consuming as they were with the Elders in South Africa. We support 6 Elders and 4 Sisters in our Cairns District. We try to help them as much as we can with any issues that arise. Example, the Sisters had, in their flat, a real cockroach problem. These critters being the size of small rodents. (we thought they were big in South Africa, but these are like 3"long. We couldn't get their pictures, as they move too fast). We also attend and participate in their district meetings, zone meetings and all trainings. We are very far away from the mission office (1100 miles), so much of the training is done through conference calls and conference video. We also teach and fellowship with the Elders and Sisters in our district. This is very rewarding. They work very hard and are obedient with exactness and thus they have incredible success.<br />
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This is a sister we taught with the Elders here in Cairns. Elder Pitts and Elder Murdock (Elder Murdock is from St. George) Her name is Ansile and she is from Rwanda. She and her 2 children are refugees from that country and escaped the turmoil that existed there. All her family were killed by the terrible conflict. She is wonderful and so loving and sweet. <br />
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We teach Temple Preparation classes to those who are preparing themselves to go to the Temple. We also teach post Baptism lessons to those new converts who have recently joined the church. We also minister to many members who are less active and or struggle with life and it's challenges.<br />
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We have found it very helpful to have a card with our info on it for all
the people we meet. <br />
We used one in South Africa as well. <br />
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The weekend of August 28-30, starting on Friday, we had our Cairns District conference. We
started with a dinner/dance on Friday night at the church. It is such a
beautiful setting. This photo was taken inside the courtyard looking above the roof of part of the chapel. The trees are in the front yard of the chapel and in the courtyard. This was a few minutes after sunset. The rainforest covered mountains are in the background.<br />
See how beautiful it is!!! Don't you just feel so sorry of us!!<br />
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This photo is Olga. She is a member but seldom comes out of her home except on some Sundays. She lived with her parents till they died, she was 34 at the time. She now lives alone and has since her parents died. She has 2 brothers and a sister but has not seen them for years. She has no idea where they even are. We suspect she last saw them when her parents died.<br />
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As we took her home she said, "That was the best and only party I have ever been to, <br />
I will remember that the rest of my life!" We had talk and persuade<br />
to even get her to go with us. <br />
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Young Single Adults with Elder Leota after a Fireside on Sunday night.<br />
Elder Leota of the Seventy, was our visiting General Authority.<br />
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Ren serves in the Cairns District Presidency. This district has 5 branches (2 in Cairns, 1 each in Atherton, Innisfail and Thursday Island). We travel quite often to each of these branches to assist, speak and support. Atherton is about 2 hours to the west, and Innisfail is about 2 hours to the south. Thursday Island is a 2 hour plane ride north of Cairns at the very tip of the horn of the Australian Continent. It is an small island that is 3 1/2 miles long and 1 1/2 miles wide. It is inhabited by about 2600 people most of them being indigenous Torres Strait natives. Thursday Island is only about 40 miles from New Guinea. (If you get a chance look up Thursday Island online and research it. Very interesting). This little branch has about 30 active members, but could grow immensely.<br />
Debbie serves in the District Young Women's Presidency. Most of the work done in our church callings is served with the Cairns 1st Branch and Cairns 2nd Branch. We meet with their Branch Councils each week and their Missionary Correlation Council each week. We train, support, visit and minister to their members. We also home teach a couple of families.<br />
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Last week we had an assignment to fly to Thursday Island and visit and support this small branch. We left on Thursday and returned to Cairns on Sunday evening. What an incredible time we had up there getting acquainted with all the members and trying to help them with their needs. We visited and invited many. One adventure we had was visiting a family on Hammond Island. This is an even smaller island than Thursday Island. The Branch President loaded us in his little dingy (small boat) and we traveled about 10 minutes and met the Petero family. We had a wonderful experience with them and after our visit, the Branch President picked us up at the dock and returned us to Thursday Island. Below are some pictures of our journey.<br />
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This is the plane we took from Cairns to Horn Island.<br />
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Leaving the mainland of Australia and approaching the Torres Strait Islands.<br />
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Getting on the ferry to Thursday Island.</div>
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On the dingy going over to Hammond Island.</div>
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Visiting and eating lunch with the Peteros.</div>
This is under their home, quiet a typical setting for company.<br />
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Here's a peaceful end to our busy month. This a video of a sunrise on northeast coast of Cairns, August 27th, 2015 at 6:40 in the morning. The ocean is lapping on the sand and the birds are singing in the trees behind me. We miss and love you all, but we'll stick it out it here if we have to!!<br />
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Our most love goes to Luke, Richie, Landon, Mia, Brock, Georgia, Annie, Ivy and Kate!!!!!<br />
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Gadday mates,<br />
Elder and Sister Boyce<br />
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Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07918450959338372853noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5815226271181521455.post-20806799318449503432015-08-03T03:53:00.000-07:002015-08-03T03:53:41.104-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We really were in Anaheim California, here we are with the President and Sister Taggart, president of the California Anaheim Mission.<br />
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We were there for two weeks being part of the rescue and teaching with the Sisters.<br />
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There is so much need, even here in the states!</div>
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NOW.....</div>
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We are finally in Brisbane, Australia! We have hit the tarmac running! Literally! We have had Specialized Training with 10 zones of Elders and Sisters all day Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, . . . we think, we met 90% of the Elder and Sisters in the mission! It's all a BLUR!<br />
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We also had Member Missionary Training on Thursday night and Friday night and a meeting to confirm training for another Member Missionary Training that we did Sunday morning. These Member Missionary Training meetings are with President and Sister Henderson, us and 3 other couples. We, of course, had no idea it was going to be this intense with President and Sister Henderson! (HAHA!)<br />
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Part of this Mission are Elders and Sisters from Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Mainland China, Canada, Japan, Taiwan, United States, Australia, New Zealand, Tahiti, and several other Island Countries. Many languages are being spoken in the Mission. A Chinese missionary will learn and speak English and an English speaking missionary will learn Chinese and teach the Chinese. Same for the Samoan and Tongans. It is so incredible how the Lord assists these missionaries with the language. <br />
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We have visited the Brisbane Temple grounds a couple of times and experienced the beauty around the Temple.<br />
This is a photo of the sunset Friday night July 24th, as we came out of a baptism in the chapel next door to the Temple. We saw this as we looked across the street and across the Brisbane River.<br />
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In front of the Brisbane Temple. Looking across the Brisbane River.</div>
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In front of the Brisbane Temple.</div>
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Looking across the Brisbane River, as we were tanding in front of the Brisbane Temple.</div>
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This is Cleveland Point Park. We went here after church today with the Hendersons.</div>
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We found out tonight, we are on our way to Cairns (pronounced Cans) on Tuesday. (Cairns is 1100 miles north of Brisbane). We will assist with 5 branches in the Cairns District. (Cairns Branch 1, Cairns Branch 2, Innisfail, Atherton and Thursday Island). Innisfail and Atherton are about 90 minutes opposite directions from Cairns). Thursday Island is a 500 miles north of Cairns and close to New Guinea. Fellow shipping, training, assisting the Elders and Sisters, Missionary Proselyting and doing every thing we deem necessary to assist the members there. We think this experience will be similar to what we did in South Africa, which we will love and are looking forward to this new adventure. We will driving our car from Brisbane to Cairns, filled to the hilt!<br />
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On our long drive to Cairns (about a 20 hour drive), We stopped at the Billabong Animal Sanctuary outside of Townsville. Here we saw some of what Australia is famous for. The Crocodiles, Kangaroos and the Koala Bears. They are amazing animals.<br />
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President and Sister Henderson arrived in Cairns on Friday night to conduct some interviews and meet with the Elders and Sisters. We met at 6:15 Saturday morning to all exercise together. We hiked the trail of the Cairns Botanical Gardens to a beautiful overlook of the city, at sunrise. It was spectacular. Here are the Elders and Sisters in our Cairns District <br />
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Elders and Sisters in the Cairns District.</div>
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We stay in a nice 3 bedroom flat. Here are some pictures of where we live. Cairns is in tropical rain forest and much like living in Hawaii. Its absolutely beautiful here. Its winter now and the temperatures are perfect. About 60 degrees in the evening and 75 to 80 in the daytime. We understand the summers are pretty warm and humid, but we can deal with that. (we had the same in South Africa when we were there.) Notice how green and beautiful everything is. <br />
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Back Patio</div>
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Side Patio</div>
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Front yard</div>
We will write again,<br />
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Love you all, Elder and Sister Boyce <br />
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<br />Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07918450959338372853noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5815226271181521455.post-57082973295171829922015-07-15T14:21:00.002-07:002015-07-15T14:21:24.594-07:00We completed our mission to South Africa in June of 2014. It's hard to believe that a whole year has gone by! We both got right back into work and life with the kids and grandkids.<br />
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It quickly seemed like the 18 months we spent in South Africa was a blur. We yearned for the same feelings we had when we were in South Africa. About the same time we were called to South Africa President Lon Henderson was called to serve as a Mission President in Brisbane Australia. We were thinking about the possibility of serving another mission and we made contact with President and<br />
Sister Henderson. His immediate response was, "Yes, we would love to have you come and help us." <br />
We fasted and prayed about leaving so quickly, and talked to our kids and 9 little grandkids. We also talked to our business partners about leaving and they said, "Go, we received more blessings when you were gone serving". So receiving love and encouragement from our kids and grandkids, we're on our way again.<br />
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Not surprising, we were officially called to serve in Brisbane, Australia to leave on June 29th. To get an Australian Visa is quite a process. Australian immigration was naturally concerned about our time spent in South Africa. We were required to obtain a police clearance from South Africa and special medical clearances. We finally received the needed documents. We waited and waited. We could see the 29th of June coming and not having our visas, so we asked for a temporary assignment until our visa's arrived. We were called to serve in the California, Anaheim mission. We are serving in Disneyland. How great is that? We have been here in Anaheim, for the past 2 weeks. We were assigned to the Anaheim 1st Ward and have been visiting the lost sheep and actually teaching investigators. We have been with the Elders and Sisters here and have thoroughly enjoyed what we have been doing. We have learned on Friday the 10th that our visas have been approved. We will be on our way to Brisbane this week. Leaving from St. George on Sunday evening the 19th of July and arriving in Brisbane on Tuesday morning the 21st of July. We can hardly wait to get there and start our adventure. <br />
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We are continuing the same blog we set up when we were in South Africa. Some of you may want to look at what we did there. We also will have an Instagram account for those who would like to follow our blog, and also see the pictures we post on Instagram. To get Instagram you have to download the application and search for Debbieboyce9. It will then send us a request and we can accept you to follow our Instagram.<br />
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Here's our amazingly supportive kids and grand kids!!! Aren't they all the cutest!<br />
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We've had the opportunity to attend the Newport Temple twice this week. Once for a session with our Zone and once with the ward to help with baptisms. What a beautiful temple!<br />
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Fireworks over Anaheim Angels Stadium on JULY 4TH! The stadium is right next to our apartment complex!</div>
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Signing off till we get down under next week!!<br />
Love,<br />
Elder and Sister Boyce</div>
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Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07918450959338372853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5815226271181521455.post-1086114137115768002014-05-27T01:55:00.002-07:002014-05-27T01:55:42.512-07:00We knew this time would come, but its now difficult to accept and as we wind down on our Mission experience we reflect on all these treasures that will be forever burned in our memories. We have absolutely loved every minute of this adventure. We love this beautiful country, it's people and the feelings we have of being in the service of our Savior. Our knowledge and testimonies have grown and we are even more convinced of the truth and its blessings. <br />
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Let us share just a couple of pictures and experiences we have enjoyed in this last month. <br />
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Attached is a picture of Elder and Sister Boyce with our little 91 year old Sister Peggy from East London 3rd Ward. Sister Peggy has been a member since 1952 and from the onset of her membership she has been hosting and feeding the missionaries here in East London. She has them over to her home each Monday evening for food and a Family Home Evening. She has been doing this each week for 62 years. Needless to say, she has seen her fair share of missionaries as they serve in this area. She is so sweet and charming and so kind and gracious to all those who pass within the walls of her home. Besides feeding the missionaries, she also sews and takes care of all there split out pants, rips in their shirts, holes in their socks and everything they wear that needs to be altered. She even takes their pants in when they have lost weight, but more often lets them out when they gain weight. We are sure her eternal reward is pretty well guaranteed. <br />
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We enjoyed our 2nd Mothers Day with the Elders. We had about 20 Elders to our home and they had the opportunity to call or Skype their mothers and families. Each Elder had about 40 minutes to talk. We had 4 devices so they could talk to their families. It was quite a challenge to find private locations for each of the Elders to talk to their families. Our flat only has 2 bedrooms, a great room, bathroom and garage. We used each of these stations to make sure the Elders were able to talk privately to their moms and families. The Elders loved being together, eating (naturally) and talking to families back home. At nights end we were exhausted! Here are some photos of the fun day!<br />
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The above picture is of Elder Steele. He is from Nephi and is a great Elder. In the past 6 months we have had 3 Elders who have been bitten by spiders. The African Sac Spider that usually will bite in the evening while they are sleeping. The venom of this spider is similar to that of the Brown Recluse (called the Violin Spider over here) as it will deteriorate the flesh. (But on a much smaller scale). Elder Steele was one of these elders and was bitten between two of his toes. The morning after he was bitten he woke up and couldn't even walk. The infection went up his leg. He didn't know what was happening to him and noticed all the swelling and infection around his toe. He said he had a hole where he was bitten that was large enough to put a Q-tip swab end entirely in it. He immediately started putting some anti-biotic cream on the bite (some that he had brought from the States). The wound began to heal. After about two weeks, he decided to tell his family about his experience. We went to see him about this time and he showed us the scare and how it was healing. We could tell by the size of the healing wound that the hole was substantial! We have bug and spider spray that needs to be applied in their flats very often to eliminate these spiders, fleas, bed bugs, roaches, flies and mosquito's.<br />
Elder 2 was bitten on his arm and it left a huge hole in his arm that needed 3 weeks to heal. Elder 3 was bitten on his elbow, but we were able to treat him quickly and the infection only lasted a couple of weeks. <br />
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Elder Maciver from Yorkshire, England. Below Elder Kaufusi (sitting in the bathroom). He's from Salt Lake.<br />
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Some of the greatest experiences we have is actively proselyting the gospel. Sharing and inviting is truly a blessing. We have had many experiences teaching people the message of truth. Generally we find and then turn these great contacts over to the full time missionaries who teach them the lessons. Often we fellowship and join them as they teach. Testifying and sharing personal experiences helps touch their hearts and instills a desire for more learning. One young man, Lamla Mafundityala, is an incredible 18 year old. His brother Luvuyo is a member and currently serving a mission in Ghana. Before he left on his mission, he tried to get his brother to listen and accept the message of the Restored Gospel. He was not really interested and did not progress. Many sets of Elders tried to teach him and nourish the seed, but he did not act. Luvuyo challenged us to visit him to see what a couple of old people could to do to spark his interest again. We met with him and shared our testimony and message. We read from the Book of Mormon and committed him to get back on track. The seed started to germinate again and he committed to read, pray and attend church. A great ending to the story - he was baptized yesterday!! It was a wonderful, spiritual event as he bore his testimony following his baptism. He will now prepare himself to receive the Priesthood and start his efforts in preparing himself over the next year to go on a mission like his older brother. These are some of the treats of serving here and are really the most rewarding things we do. <br />
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Recently we concluded all the Mission Branch Conferences. We as a Mission Presidency, along with our wife's, train the branch leadership on Saturday and Sunday. These branch conferences are patterned after the Ward Conferences. We have Priesthood leadership (This usually involves most of the men in the branch) and also relief society, primary and young women leadership training. Its a special experience and we love the association we have with these wonderful 'hungering and thirsting' members. This year our conference was based on the scripture in Matthew 11:28-30. All of us that labor and are heavy laden, need to take upon ourselves the yoke of the Savior and he will give us rest. Here in South Africa many are heavy laden with adversity and trials. We try to help them understand that they can gain rest from their problems as they trust in the Lord and his Atonement. Besides these trials in there lives (really in all of our lives), these two women are definitely 'heavy laden' with these burdens they carry on their heads. These bundles weigh about 80lbs. They must have very strong neck muscles and their balance is incredible.</div>
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We wanted to have a final lunch with all the Elders in our zones. (Except the Queenstown zone) So after their zone conference we took them to their favorite Chinese Restaurant here in East London. We fed 32 young men lunch. Oh, how we love these guys, they are incredible servants of the Savior and we have become close friends with each of them. Following the lunch they all stood and sang the mission song to us. It brought some tears and was very special. Here is a short video of their singing. All those in the restaurant listening were pretty impressed.</div>
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One of the families we talked about in one of our previous blogs is the Gqola family. They have now been members almost a year and have progressed in their gospel learning and development. Ayanda is now serving in the Young Men's Presidency and Jackie is teaching Gospel Doctrine. They are preparing to go to the Temple and be sealed as a forever family. Siyanda (their 11 year old son) is preparing to receive the Priesthood in December. Kelly their young daughter is 7 years old and will be baptized on June 14th. We unfortunately will miss this event, but Jackie requested a picture of the projected upcoming baptism. Ayanda (who will be baptizing Kelly) and Kelly were dressed in their 'whites' so we could get a picture before we leave. So these following picture is in anticipation of the upcoming baptism on June 14th. <br />
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We had the opportunity of having Brett and Mindy come to South Africa and visit us last week. What a great experience is was with them. They loved with the beauty of this country and meeting these wonderful people. We saw many sights, animals, and they even attended church with us. (The Bishop invited them to share their testimony in Sacrament meeting) I think their eyes were opened to how most of the people in the world live and how truly blessed we are. We were able to go to dinner with Brett and Mindy, Our Bishop Mahlangabesa, President Mangwane (Stake Presidency) and Brother Mahlangabesa (High Council). We had a wonderful evening.<br />
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What a ride this has been. We have learned so much and grown so much. This mission has made us want to be better and strive for more perfection in our lives. It has brought us closer to our Savior Jesus Christ and His teachings. We have learned how to be more charitable and to love everyone as we serve them. It has been amazing. We will share our mission experience on June 29th at 11:00 am in the Sunset 8th Ward (On South Dixie Drive next to the fire station in St. George).<br />
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We love you all and again appreciate all your kindness, love and especially your prayers.<br />
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Ren and Debbie<br />
<span id="goog_494674944"></span><span id="goog_494674945"></span>Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07918450959338372853noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5815226271181521455.post-59060386190520914612013-12-30T22:37:00.001-08:002013-12-30T22:37:23.882-08:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We hope you all had a very Happy Thanksgiving!<br />
We also hope your Christmas was very Merry and awesome and you were all able to celebrate with your family!<br />
We wish you very Happy New Year filled with blessings and happiness!<br />
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We are reminded each day of the many blessings we have and the amazing experience we are having here. The beautiful South African people that we have come to love, and the Elders . . . oooohhhhh the Elders! The choir we are in, the investigators we are helping to teach, the less actives we are trying to help renew their blessings of living the gospel, and also the new members who are striving so diligently to live the gospel! <br />
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We miss you all and our family! It's a good thing that we can Skype our kids and grandkids every single Sunday and we are still able to see them grow and change. We have been here for 1 year now, and all our grandkids are a year older. Even little Kate is now 1 year old!<br />
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Part of November was filled with an incredible visit from some of our wonderful friends from St. George. We then had a missionary couples conference the week of Thanksgiving. Here we are, with our friends, getting ready to do the Zip Line near Knysna, South Africa.<br />
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We also went on a game drive and saw this female leopard. It walked along within 10 feet of us. <br />
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We arrived back in Cape Town on the 23rd of November. We all climbed Table Mountain on Monday morning. This is a rigorous hike that took us 2 hours. It's not for the weak or feeble!! Table Mountain is a land mark for South Africa and is one of the new 7 wonders of the world. Everyone who can, will climb it, when they come to South Africa. It's on the right side of my head in this picture.<br />
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We spent the week at the Mission home with the other couples and President and Sister Wood. We all pitched in and had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner, with all the trimmings. we spent some time learning and studying with President and Sister Wood. They both know the scriptures very well! All the couples shared wonderful experiences and tough times as well! If was an uplifting week!<br />
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Then we returned home to East London to take care of things here. We were missed by the Elders, and we had a lot to catch up on.<br />
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We decorated our flat for Christmas as you can see in the picture below - yep - that's it! This is extent of our Christmas decorations and it all sits on our kitchen table!<br />
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We had a car wash workshop and BBQ for the Elders in Mdantsane and East Londaon Zones. They all brought their cars and we taught them all how to keep a car clean and how to wash it. They all did very well! Not sure how long their cars will remain clean, but they sure looked good when they left! This is East London Zone - Denise and Dave can you see Elder Potter - 5th one from the right in the grey shirt.<br />
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We also began planning for our Christmas Zone Conference. It a conference for all 3 of our Zones, East London, Mdantsane and Queenstown. The Conference is from 9 in the morning till 8 in the evening, and the Elders look so forward to this Christmas zone conference. Ours, with our 3 zones was on the 17th of December, we had teachings from the Assistants, President and Sister Wood, and we were also asked to share with the Elders our experience with the Living Christ and the invitation to memorize it. We actually toured the whole mission that week with President and Sister Wood inviting every Elder in the mission to memorize the Living Christ.<br />
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We just heard from the AP's and they told us that they are almost done! This was an unforgettable experience!<br />
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Here are pictures of our meals. We did a snack for breakfast, and a lunch and a dinner. It was a BIG day for us! Then we set out the next day to tour the rest of the mission.<br />
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This is our car - loaded to the hilt!<br />
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This is our snack - a water, banana, in the green sack are a huge muffin, granola bar and a little pack of skittles!<br />
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This is the table with the gift bag that we prepared for each Elder - notice the candy kisses scattered on the table - We sisters can't give the Elders a hug but I can give them a kiss!<br />
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The meal was roast beef, potatoes and gravy, beans and corn, homemade rolls, 3 layer jello, (that was so fun to make and the elders loved it!), for deseret we had a brownie with a scoop of ice cream and homemade hot fudge, with a candy cane stuck in it!<br />
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We had a great time planning and preparing it. We had 3 other couples that helped us! One couple made cookies for the gift bags and homemade hot fudge, one couple did amazing potatoes and the 3rd one made rolls. The Elders loved it all and were very appreciative.<br />
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The evening meal was Pizza and ice cream bars, by then they weren't even hungry - well . . maybe . . <br />
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After we were done with that, we left East London to complete the rest of the Zones in the mission. However, we did not have to do the meals for the other Zone Conferences! We just gave them the Living Christ and invited them to memorize it!<br />
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After visiting each Zone in the mission we took a day off and climbed Lion's Head with President and Sister Wood! Another great hike in Cape Town South Africa. These are not the most appealing photos so look at the view and not the old people!<br />
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We also had a Thank you dinner for the YSA Choir - we did a concert for our friends and the Choir put in many hours preparing for the concert so we thanked them with a dinner. That's one thing about YSA, they love to eat!<br />
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Christmas Day we had an open house for the Elders. Of course food . . . and they were able to Skype their family. We had about 20 of them at our home. It was a fun day.<br />
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After they left we were able to Skype our kids and grandkids! It was fun to see them on Skype and see their excitement of Christmas!<br />
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One of the most memorable and exciting thing about this Christmas are the SMS (Texts) we receive from the Elders as they tell us about their experiences of memorizing "The Living Christ". They share with us how it makes them feel, how it has change their life and how it changes the way they look at the Savior and how it has changed how they look at Christmas. It has also helped them as they teach the gospel to investigators. They are working so hard and some of them are so fast at memorizing, yet some say "it is much harder than they thought but has been well worth it!" It seems that every SMS we receive from them brings tears!<br />
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We thank you all for the support, love and prayers you send our way! We love what we are doing and are having an amazing time doing it!<br />
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May the New Year bring blessings and hope to you and your family and may you, like us, have an increased appreciation for all the blessings that are bestowed upon each of us from our Heavenly Father each day!<br />
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Happy New Year and "Go Well"!<br />
Love,<br />
Elder and Sister Boyce<br />
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<span id="goog_203590788"></span><span id="goog_203590789"></span>Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07918450959338372853noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5815226271181521455.post-74119702529439200662013-10-27T01:27:00.001-07:002013-10-27T01:27:19.787-07:00Happy Halloween!<br />
Seriously, where has the year gone! <br />
We were able to go to the Johannesburg Temple on September 25 and 26th with our ward. There were 17 people that went with our ward. That is a record number for the members of our ward. One couple were married and sealed in the Temple on the 26th. They were both alone -with no family for either of them. . . just us as the ward family! We arrived a day before everyone, because they rode in a bus from Mdantsane to Johannesburg, which was a 13 hour ride thru the night. We only had 2 days so we had to fly! Shame! (as they say in SA).<br />
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Needless to say we had some time to look around and wander the beautiful grounds of the Johannesburg Temple before we went in!<br />
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This is the view from the back of the Temple - it looks over the city. Of course the Church always finds prime property for the Temples.<br />
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It was great to have the opportunity to go to the Temple again..<br />
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We had to be home for our Zone Conference on Friday the 27th. This Zone Conference was for 3 Zones - 46 Elders and 4 couples and 1 member from Grahamstown - 55 in all! Our responsibility is providing the snack at 11:00 am and lunch/dinner at 4:00. It's always a lot of work, but the Elders help in the set up of tables and chairs, and the other couples help in the serving and clean-up. We try to make it as organized and quick as we can. The mission president is on a tight time schedule so we have to be quick, organized and efficient as we serve the snack and meal. <br />
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This transfer we are doing surprise flat inspections. We always do flat inspections but we warn the Elders when we are coming. This transfer - no warning! We will drive up and send them a SMS (text) that says "Surprise" and they open their doors or gates. They all live in some pretty secure places as all of our boardings have iron gates or doors.<br />
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Well - no warning for flat inspections was pretty dismal! Some of the Elders are excellent - some of them . . . . well . . . need to spent a little more time in cleaning! Of course . . we are EASY inspectors! NOT!! <br />
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Here's some unusual things that we see -<br />
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This is Standwa, he's our Bishop's son. We told the Bishop and his wife that<br />
when we go home if Standwa is gone, he's on the plane with us, but we'll send him back in a couple of weeks! He's 6 years old and so smart!! He knows Xhosa and English.<br />
There are very few children who know English.<br />
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This is a young male lion we saw in a game park on a p-day.<br />
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Car accident involving some of our Elders on transfer day. All walked<br />
away, but car was totaled! <br />
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Transporting his treasures, on the 70 mph freeway!<br />
This is so common, along with many hitchhikers, bicyclists and pedestrians,<br />
on the FREEWAY! (even at night)<br />
We drivers need to be very careful!<br />
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Two very cute girls who have been members for some time and have a brother on a mission in Uganda but parents who are not members of the church. The missionaries are starting to teach .<br />
the parents, we join them when we can. <br />
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These two Elders, the one on the right is Elder Taylor from Salt Lake, the one on the left is Elder Warentino from the Pacific Islands. They were "grounded" from their car (so-to-speak) because Elder Taylor misplaced his Utah driver's license. It took us about a month to secure another copy. We had to involve personnel from DHL in Salt Lake and in two other locations, his parents, the Utah DMV, and many phone calls to the U. S., to get this all worked out, so Elder Taylor could drive again. We finally were successful and Elder Taylor sent a copy of this picture to all who were involved.<br />
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There are certain foods that we cannot get here or even the equivalent South African food is very different. Stuff like chocolate chips, Frenchs mustard, crisco, red licorice, brown sugar (they have something like it but different), graham cracker and oreo pie crusts, the ice cream is very different, canned pumpkin (for pumpkin pie) and turkeys, . . . <br />
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HOWEVER - they have great vegetables like cucumbers and onions and red peppers and all the spices that I used to make great Mustard pickles! <br />
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Also they have magnificent strawberries and other fruit now . . . . (however no raspberries) in Oct., Nov, and Dec, and Jan - to make beautiful freezer strawberry jam.<br />
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I also made a variation of Strawberry Short Cake for Zone Conference this past week as<br />
fed 54 hungry Elders on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.<br />
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After our Zone Conferences we took a day to relax to go hike the Hogsback. This is a beautiful area about 2 hours west of us. It is a mountain area that has an incredible forest with large trees, beautiful flowers and wonderful waterfalls. We hiked about 4 hours to the waterfalls. It was beautiful. The English author J.R.R. Tolkien was born in South Africa and it's been said he received his inspiration to write of the talking trees (Ents) in his book "Lord of the Rings" from these trees he saw at the Hogsback Attached are a couple of pictures showing and even showing one of the trees that may have inspired him. <br />
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In conclusion let us share a wonderful experience with you. We received an email from Sister Carrie Henderson in Brisbane, Australia. Most of you know they are serving as Mission President's in Brisbane. In her email, she asked if any of our South African, Cape Town missionaries were from the African country of Rawanda? Two of their Australian sister missionaries were teaching an investigator from Rawanda and she was very interested in the gospel, but only spoke the native language. They couldn't find anyone who spoke her language to assist in the teaching. She was asking questions they were unable to be answer, without an interpretor. Sister Henderson asked if any of our missionaries knew the language and could assist with her questions. We did some searching and none of our missionaries were from Rawanda or even knew or could speak the language. But, we had a faithful member, a brother in Cape Town (Brother Sotter) who knew the language and could speak it fluently. We set up a Skype call (9 hours difference in time) with this translator member, the two sister missionaries from Brisbane, and the sister investigator. Anyway, after about 4 or 5 Skype calls and lessons, this sister was baptized. (about 2 weeks ago). Attached is a picture of her. Isn't it wonderful how technology can serve the world and make it smaller to accomplish the Lord's work. (From South Africa to Australia). It really makes us realize who is in charge of this great work!!<br />
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Sorry this blog has taken so long to get out . . . we have no excuse . . . we don't know what I've <br />
been doing . . .<br />
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WE LOVE YOU and appreciate all your support, thoughts and prayers. They help us so much.<br />
Elder and Sister Boyce<br />
<br />Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07918450959338372853noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5815226271181521455.post-59218355744709328682013-08-19T12:07:00.000-07:002013-08-19T12:07:06.653-07:00<h2 style="text-align: center;">
We're starting off with something exciting . . . . like some wild animals that we actually saw on July 8th at Schotia.</h2>
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We were on p-day with some of the other couples in the mission.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07918450959338372853noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5815226271181521455.post-81753093918195142512013-08-19T11:52:00.000-07:002013-08-19T11:52:46.933-07:00The days and nights are a blur and we seem to never have the time. But we absolutely love every minute and wouldn't have it any other way. Our duties and experiences change every single day, really . . . . really . . . . like try this on for example.<br />
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Last week we received a SMS (text) from a pair of our Elders who were doing service at a farm here in East London. Their text said, "Elder Boyce will you approve us to get new windshield wiper blades for our car? We just watched an EMU peel them off the windshield of our car and run away with them. I told the Elders to try and catch the big bird and get a billing address, but the bird was too fast!!! None of the experiences we see, shock us anymore, we see everything here in South Africa. <br />
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Elder Boyce is always busy making sure that the fleet of cars and bikes under our care, are in good order. We seem to always be juggling with car and bicycle breakdowns and repairs. Businesses really don't move very fast, over here. If we have a car accident, it usually takes 2-3 months to get the car repaired and back in service. This is always fun to try and make things work when 4 Elders share a car, to get to their areas, and the car goes down for repairs. But you know what, everything always seems to work out. We really don't even wonder how and why things always fall into place because we know the true source of why we are all blessed so much. <br />
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So I think on this round of our blog, I am going to just post a bunch of pictures and do some explaining what they are. I really don't want to burden you with a bunch of dialog (and me either) so just enjoy the photos and some things we have been doing in the last 60 days. <br />
This is May 12th - Mother's Day.<br />
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We invited any Elder's over to our flat to Skype and call their moms. We had them coming at different times. We also had dinner for them and they played some games (in hopes of making a homey atmosphere for them!)while they were waiting for their turn to Skype their Mom's and family. We had three locations in our flat so they could have privacy to Skype. (you can imagine how noisy it was!) It still took about 4 hours. The Missionary Handbook restricts them to 30 minutes each, but the good thing is that it was all free for them to call! We probably had about 26 Elders calling home and this was just a few of them!<br />
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This is a beautiful cactus that is the entrance of our complex where we live, or as they say it in South Africa - where we stay. It also covers the countryside as we travel to areas within our mission.<br />
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If you want to move or change residency, you can do it like this! Most people do not have a car, let alone a bakkie (truck). So they just pick up, what few belongings they have, and move them to their new location! We see this as a con<strike>v</strike>enient way to move, and an even better way to move their belongings is with a wheelbarrow. <br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;">Brett and Min - aren't you glad that you and the kids didn't have to move this way!!</span></span><br />
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Ren is holding the daughter of the Branch President in Grahmstown. </div>
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Her name is Lucy Budaza.</div>
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She's a cutey!</div>
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But not as cute as 5 little girls that we have back home!</div>
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Mia, Georgia, Annie, Ivy and little Kate!!</div>
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Or as handsome as 4 little boys we have back home!</div>
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Luke, Richie, Landon and Brock!</div>
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We love you all! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcSKDoFbqVDwv_NtUVoet-b44AGJ-YyFrYrDkOt62VyPUQhtoUhERLQZTqeDsSdUjS32kgYzJWHk15kLmXGElYgcS-Z5huT5ghlbc4e1YeUL9FhWDHLm6SWvpViMX3VopQBtYHJQLmXe0/s1600/photo+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcSKDoFbqVDwv_NtUVoet-b44AGJ-YyFrYrDkOt62VyPUQhtoUhERLQZTqeDsSdUjS32kgYzJWHk15kLmXGElYgcS-Z5huT5ghlbc4e1YeUL9FhWDHLm6SWvpViMX3VopQBtYHJQLmXe0/s320/photo+2.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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We were part of a Young Single Adult Committee. </div>
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On the 29th of June we had a Young Single Adult Conference.</div>
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Saturday evening was a dance and we were chaperones for the dance.</div>
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Sorry it is so blurry and I'm so WHITE! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifN7ZWwC4HPMOjR6jpN5U7GkylM6_hv8Y9Q6qLjh77EH9Ew2-0qxBdDZtCyHvSXDDZ2cbJjV1JjL7JYBveudGoe_-pD1V1C_tBewLMBaIcqRsHGbORFvD3drUP5Xb5O_lcAfPNbT5pCQc/s1600/photo+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="476" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifN7ZWwC4HPMOjR6jpN5U7GkylM6_hv8Y9Q6qLjh77EH9Ew2-0qxBdDZtCyHvSXDDZ2cbJjV1JjL7JYBveudGoe_-pD1V1C_tBewLMBaIcqRsHGbORFvD3drUP5Xb5O_lcAfPNbT5pCQc/s640/photo+3.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGwIC1YEnshuzT8w9-bqQHTq_lBqflnJzp1Cpae5RUEyz9ReujmDGTAxGEzFZyin6LndCOAuvoYeHrMXFWae5pgCruFxwxveuddJAwx5jXdgu5o8w5jTIP5tHD5uDYNx9quabCkjrhKLI/s1600/photo+4%5B1%5D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGwIC1YEnshuzT8w9-bqQHTq_lBqflnJzp1Cpae5RUEyz9ReujmDGTAxGEzFZyin6LndCOAuvoYeHrMXFWae5pgCruFxwxveuddJAwx5jXdgu5o8w5jTIP5tHD5uDYNx9quabCkjrhKLI/s400/photo+4%5B1%5D.JPG" width="298" /></a></div>
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This is Sister Magibisela.</div>
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She had 4 steps to get out of her front door with no handrail!</div>
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We installed a handrail for her and she thanked us by baking a delicious pie!</div>
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It actually was very good, as good as home - it was apple!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMlIh8VpGAZWuRvz3ipM2EARQiXKE6d5tGobpJrPMkOYnQvPNkVAJDPZyB9sOdaSFfp0Ag7tZ9s7lMM-NZjtgCJJAjvQsGa0Zk0yG5FuK6wvzddIkBGIPxgVhdflpfAKDA2mi8ttZh2Ec/s1600/DSC04714.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMlIh8VpGAZWuRvz3ipM2EARQiXKE6d5tGobpJrPMkOYnQvPNkVAJDPZyB9sOdaSFfp0Ag7tZ9s7lMM-NZjtgCJJAjvQsGa0Zk0yG5FuK6wvzddIkBGIPxgVhdflpfAKDA2mi8ttZh2Ec/s400/DSC04714.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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This is a church in Alexandria, is about 30 minute south of Port Alfred.</div>
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Doesn't it remind you of what we see back in home?</div>
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This is the start line of the Knysna Half Marathon on July 6th.</div>
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We had a Branch Conference at the Knysna Branch on the 6th and 7th.</div>
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So President Wood (our mission President) and I decided to run it!</div>
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There was 6500 runners from all over the world! </div>
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It was great fun!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOYns-mb1BOjuY-NXcXFk5gy1eerx7UWYDm-95E7wp40yOMomNW09wzpJaJtokK5i_dIaPDQj7NCqvAPsm7ZRApH-TNzLRH1FIz8GGI-tbQ9foOHhQymKz-oXMCjz522D8aMwE5JpijBw/s1600/photo+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOYns-mb1BOjuY-NXcXFk5gy1eerx7UWYDm-95E7wp40yOMomNW09wzpJaJtokK5i_dIaPDQj7NCqvAPsm7ZRApH-TNzLRH1FIz8GGI-tbQ9foOHhQymKz-oXMCjz522D8aMwE5JpijBw/s400/photo+1.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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The start line sign is waaaaayyyyy in the back of the picture.</div>
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It started in the Knysna Forest and it was COLD! Can you tell!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiNdR9v51WnG9-nIAfQNnUC8VdU1vV9vpW-41WMkRmgsdBFArPiRcGwiSr8kZiby6MOPAGyotl-xnZjA-i_sWXNeYlLxoXBDrTJxVJXfbh9LVKDWV3TaebjgFrbKcIggTYyPq_Cb5ZxZs/s1600/DSC04737.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiNdR9v51WnG9-nIAfQNnUC8VdU1vV9vpW-41WMkRmgsdBFArPiRcGwiSr8kZiby6MOPAGyotl-xnZjA-i_sWXNeYlLxoXBDrTJxVJXfbh9LVKDWV3TaebjgFrbKcIggTYyPq_Cb5ZxZs/s400/DSC04737.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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The finish line . . . well 100 yards away . . . I did finish!</div>
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Just this past Saturday - August 17th was Helping Hands Day in South Africa.</div>
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A day that </div>
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The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints reaches out to</div>
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all communities in South Africa in service.</div>
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Our ward - the Mdantsane 3rd Ward</div>
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decided to go to an orphanage just down the street from the church.</div>
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This orphanage gets no government funding, is housed in a corrugated shack, it has no power, no washing machine, no running water, no indoor toilet, no shower facility,</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK46j8-e2kE4utVLTWjjNMQsr7dLBdMqcC29FB5YGUNfrSncZXyiSNIj3VyQfbybyfAytkRikmZiuqEWJ-8GXy9iSSj6GhPX5BH-dAVJKL5yG_skIW_p9Sp9Mphn-nI_R0t6BnRF6v0m0/s1600/DSC04869.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK46j8-e2kE4utVLTWjjNMQsr7dLBdMqcC29FB5YGUNfrSncZXyiSNIj3VyQfbybyfAytkRikmZiuqEWJ-8GXy9iSSj6GhPX5BH-dAVJKL5yG_skIW_p9Sp9Mphn-nI_R0t6BnRF6v0m0/s320/DSC04869.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Leaving from the church . . . .</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKjrRlqalMCfw9NrZwubRP93OC4vli0TqeV9HDIOppxmWVxXbQb5bquakRFhjQIXSZF2LCFdm6moXGB_4tv_bd76PU5mu5edQ-RzZ_fR058YM9CIvLSTPCawKMOidlCy1X30J28rTW7AQ/s1600/DSC04871.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKjrRlqalMCfw9NrZwubRP93OC4vli0TqeV9HDIOppxmWVxXbQb5bquakRFhjQIXSZF2LCFdm6moXGB_4tv_bd76PU5mu5edQ-RzZ_fR058YM9CIvLSTPCawKMOidlCy1X30J28rTW7AQ/s320/DSC04871.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
Arriving . . . . <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9NhyrQG5V0m8z8HxTl9n4GM5khaxANjqi2WR6tMGYLTMum4lY0_xueD1hUImyf8NMsgSLwvC7roSr9mFPXQx4TJp4ke9rGj893P0OVDS6j6SToypfVh0a7eKFztDGDLuq2lWXvDEgynI/s1600/DSC04872.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9NhyrQG5V0m8z8HxTl9n4GM5khaxANjqi2WR6tMGYLTMum4lY0_xueD1hUImyf8NMsgSLwvC7roSr9mFPXQx4TJp4ke9rGj893P0OVDS6j6SToypfVh0a7eKFztDGDLuq2lWXvDEgynI/s320/DSC04872.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
Home to 23 children - 9 months to 18 years.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHvpQ9eM1ASqE2xryP0EYm_sb2vrd5gCy8R8kd7SaPTjH5bPLl0fvmPYY-uBG9je5GzWM82CZKOrSBl3g7Sx2_nbanB_VwjrIh5r-rMTkBjlo3LmkOZwwq-z7UlnKaN72Q7dtmEPZEx78/s1600/DSC04874.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHvpQ9eM1ASqE2xryP0EYm_sb2vrd5gCy8R8kd7SaPTjH5bPLl0fvmPYY-uBG9je5GzWM82CZKOrSBl3g7Sx2_nbanB_VwjrIh5r-rMTkBjlo3LmkOZwwq-z7UlnKaN72Q7dtmEPZEx78/s320/DSC04874.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
Washing clothes - this is a bath tub. We washed 9 loads like this, plus other containers. <br />
Notice the color of the water.<br />
We did change the water, but the color didn't change.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio-fpwvGhG_CllM_t_X-Y4CUMUvYzoQxnPbkWifBFpcqH-O2kCeKlxPwi1TGm05asu0u-glPNXS6TyYdjs3l4wUrhlQ4jhKStE_lPngEddEXe57IotfQUvAsTahNH8DnzE5-KBEERUElc/s1600/DSC04878.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio-fpwvGhG_CllM_t_X-Y4CUMUvYzoQxnPbkWifBFpcqH-O2kCeKlxPwi1TGm05asu0u-glPNXS6TyYdjs3l4wUrhlQ4jhKStE_lPngEddEXe57IotfQUvAsTahNH8DnzE5-KBEERUElc/s320/DSC04878.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Wonderful, willing, working hands.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh40snCEKP6DO9VN6yeHEYpiydBzmf7zDFnruk-EdBhn7rnOxcvmuwZbu-p0vH-DQrd234FFT4vvUCAh3dxQaNFK2mjcm5N5ehLDFCvL_mQLhAnh8HLrDJrHgni_mNR_9-ZvLxI2pwHhUw/s1600/DSC04879.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh40snCEKP6DO9VN6yeHEYpiydBzmf7zDFnruk-EdBhn7rnOxcvmuwZbu-p0vH-DQrd234FFT4vvUCAh3dxQaNFK2mjcm5N5ehLDFCvL_mQLhAnh8HLrDJrHgni_mNR_9-ZvLxI2pwHhUw/s320/DSC04879.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Clothes line is the fence around the facility. </div>
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Planting a garden . . . .</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7t3rqJLDKFmDcX6JnOK-OegQG2-JYjJ40ozFBrWWKZU79p-MYa1jL42mSjFUMKTXS6pc0O9XJEJ44HcRpHwD6jCoZIaSbBT_5yHQJLeRmOHwBeIOtRVo8iM6aoZMKriBntAxQO24EoWY/s1600/DSC04888.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7t3rqJLDKFmDcX6JnOK-OegQG2-JYjJ40ozFBrWWKZU79p-MYa1jL42mSjFUMKTXS6pc0O9XJEJ44HcRpHwD6jCoZIaSbBT_5yHQJLeRmOHwBeIOtRVo8iM6aoZMKriBntAxQO24EoWY/s320/DSC04888.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Building a fence around the garden to protect it from the neighbor's goats. </div>
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Fence complete with a homemade gate!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3ci23-3THEkW0Woy5PkeJUgtChzae7oFOUNtkUSrU2qG2Jg6q-BKpHU1uUgaJH87CvsFGOvlKXS_AHnovRKSWwFSsZBpoEfJESxsj1lbcH2BkkSZJJLUZ0wjjl2DSe48H4_LMDdgyUNg/s1600/DSC04909.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3ci23-3THEkW0Woy5PkeJUgtChzae7oFOUNtkUSrU2qG2Jg6q-BKpHU1uUgaJH87CvsFGOvlKXS_AHnovRKSWwFSsZBpoEfJESxsj1lbcH2BkkSZJJLUZ0wjjl2DSe48H4_LMDdgyUNg/s320/DSC04909.JPG" width="222" /></a></div>
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23 happy children and 4 grateful orphanage workers.</div>
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Be grateful and show it,</div>
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Hug your kids,</div>
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Be happy </div>
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Write a note to some one who lives alone, </div>
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Kiss you wife</div>
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Call someone who's going thru a trial,</div>
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Bake a loaf of bread for someone . . just because</div>
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Do your home teaching and visiting teaching and report it</div>
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Hug your grandkids</div>
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Compliment someone</div>
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Invite some one to dinner </div>
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Love your family! </div>
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WE ALL HAVE SO MUCH!!</div>
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Love,</div>
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Elder and Sister Boyce</div>
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Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07918450959338372853noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5815226271181521455.post-58147485834939064232013-06-17T10:21:00.000-07:002013-06-17T10:21:07.699-07:00We wish all you Fathers a Happy Father's Day!!<br />
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Well, Sister Boyce has asked me to enter the blog this time around. Naturally, I do everything that she asks of me. <br />
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Things have been very busy since we last posted. Time has been flying by and its hard to imagine that we have served for 1/3 of our mission. It seems like we just arrived and started our labors. We continue to love what we are doing and everyday becomes a different adventure. Let me see if I can recollect some of the wonderful things that have happened in the last 30 days since we last posted.<br />
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Probably the highlight of our mission, so far, has been meeting Jackie and Ayanda Gqola. When we first arrived in East London we were asked to attend the Mdantsane 3rd Ward, our Bishop Mangwane, asked us to visit some families who were not taking advantage of the benefits of the gospel. One Sister we visited, hadn't been to church for 5 years, was staying with her daughter and helping her with a new baby. She agreed to let us come and visit her, and we created an instant bond and love for this good sister. We visited and taught her several times and she started attending church. On one of the visits, she decided to invite some friends, family members and neighbors over to read the Book of Mormon with us. One sister, Jackie, a close neighbor, was invited and Sister Boyce and I wanted to read in 3rd Nephi 11, where the Savior appeared to the people after his resurrection.<br />
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We asked each person in the room to read a few verses. When we got to Jackie, she read a verse and then began to cry. She was overcome by the Spirit and by the things she was reading. (She told us later, that she had prayed the night before and asked God to show her a new path and direction for her family.) One of the others took over and finished her part. After teaching we invited those in attendance to come to church with us on Sunday. Jackie accepted our invitation and attended. She absolutely loved what she heard. She said, "I want my husband to feel like I do, I want him to hear this too."<br />
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Jackie and her husband, Ayanda, attended the next Sunday. Things just began to blossom. They have 2 children Jade, age 10, and Kelly, age 7. Jade and Kelly were at their Grandma's for a time and didn't get in on all the lessons that the full time missionaries began teaching them. To make a long story, short, I had the privilege to baptize both Jackie and Ayanda last Sunday afternoon, I also confirmed both of them today in Church. Ayanda is so excited to receive the Priesthood. He will then be able to baptize his son Jade, who is already old enough, and Kelly when she turns 8. They are both anxiously preparing to attend the Temple next year and become an eternal family. Teaching and testifying, to this family, has been so rewarding. It's incredible to see the way the gospel completely changes lives.<br />
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Jackie and Ayanda with Ren, Elder Boyce.<br />
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All of us on baptism day. The two young Elders, Elder Mapeka - left end and Elder Ndlovu on the right end, were the teaching Elders, they did a terrific job!<br />
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Cute 7 year old Kelly with a little attitude!<br />
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The Gqola Family in front of their home prior to being confirmed.<br />
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We also have been very busy taking care of Elders and all the things that seem to arise for their care and well being. Its the middle of the winter here and although the temperatures are mild (40 to 70 degrees), the change in weather, has caused a few illnesses. Because it is so humid, the mornings feel pretty cold. None of the housing have insulation in the walls, heat or air conditioning. We have to keep the Elders warm with little fan heaters, blankets and hot water bottles. In our Queenstown zone, the elevation is higher and the temperature is much colder. It gets below freezing and even snows occasionally. We've spent a few days taking Elders to the doctor and nursing colds, coughs, and the flu. Sometimes they don't eat the correct healthy food, so Sister Boyce and I have given each of the Elders vitamin packs that they can take daily doses of Vitamin C. We have found that this is helping them. We also give them hand sanitizer that helps them from getting sick.<br />
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Weekly P day sports sometimes produce injuries that affect these young men. They give their "all" playing soccer and rugby. Unfortunately many of these young elders become very competitive. The elders are not suppose to play competitive or even keep score. The purpose of sports is to get some physical exercise, but its hard to prevent the hard fought competition with 19 and 20 year old young men. I'm sure that dealing with this situation is the same throughout the mission world.<br />
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Before we go to P-day with the Elders, however, Sister Boyce get's her hair done here! (ha ha) <br />
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Last week, Sister Boyce and I traveled to Port Elizabeth (about a 4 hour drive) to pick up a returning South African Missionary, Elder Ndlela, from the Uganda Mission. He had completed his 2 year service and was returning to his home in Grahamstown. Grahmstown is a quaint old city in our mission between Port Elizabeth and East London. Part of my Mission Presidency responsibility is to see that these returning South African Elder's get adjusted to life at home. We want to insure they get an opportunity to find a job and enroll in school. (Possibly taking advantage of the Perpetual Education Fund) We also want to get them totally involved in the branch and enrolled in institute. Elder Ndlela is a great Elder and adjusts to post mission life very well.. He's already been called to be the Elders Quorum President for his little branch.<br />
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We went for a walk on this "popeye" boardwalk on the Port Elizabeth coast before we pick up Elder Ndlela.<br /><br />
This Friday we have a 3 zone conference where Sister Boyce and I will feed a mid morning snack and lunch to 56 missionaries. We're having french dip sandwiches, salad, fruit and chips, with brownies and ice cream for dessert. We found a good butcher here in East London where we can purchase lean roasts and put them in crock pots (we have 3 big crock pots) and cook them all night. We have had this before and the Elders love it. Its hard to limit them to 2 large sandwiches each, but along with a good salad and with ranch dressing (they love ranch dressing, but hard to find here in South Africa), bananas and applies, and a little bag of chips. At this zone conference we are lucky enough to have a visiting general authority, Elder Colin Bricknell, from the area presidency. He will instruct and teach and we will have the opportunity to spend some time with him. Zone Conferences are a great experience for the Elders. They loving getting together to eat and learn. At zone conferences we always sing our mission song. You might be interested in the words -<br />
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Verse 1: "We stand as armored soldiers in the service of our Lord.<br />
We are ready, willing, able to go forth and preach the word.<br />
Marching forward into battle, we are armed with shields of faith<br />
And there's nothing that can stop as we go...<br />
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Chorus: Forward marching forward, we will hold our banners high,<br />
As we go. Forward, conquering forward, with the eagles we will fly.<br />
We cannot be discouraged, we will not be turned away,<br />
For the Gospel in South Africa is here, forever to stay.<br />
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Verse 2: South Africa is where we have received our call to serve.<br />
In this land of splendid beauty we will march and never swerve.<br />
Sharing further revelations, bringing Gospel truths to light,<br />
Wielding swords of might and power, we fight for God...<br />
Chorus<br />
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Verse 3: When our call is at a finish and we leave the battle field,<br />
We can truly say its over? Do we dare lay down our shield?<br />
Once as soldiers we're enlisted in the army of our God.<br />
It's our duty, hold your head up, Carry on...<br />
Chorus."<br />
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Great song with incredible words that motivate all of us to be diligent and accomplish our missionary duty. <br />
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This is a sun rise on the beach near our home. It's a delightful run or bike ride!<br /><br />
Well, I think I will end for now, we don't want to bore you with too much. We thank you for your love and prayers in our behalf. Believe me, we can feel your support. Thanks again,<br />
<br />
Ren and Debbie<br />
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<br />Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07918450959338372853noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5815226271181521455.post-20326342052875004812013-05-04T02:31:00.001-07:002013-06-17T06:11:25.779-07:00<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ALL!!</span><br />
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<br />Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07918450959338372853noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5815226271181521455.post-74804128764109168382013-05-01T10:44:00.000-07:002013-05-01T10:44:16.774-07:00AMAZING!! AMAZING!!<br />
Time is flying - we haven't written since March 10th and we are sorry to be so negligent.<br />
Really,
time is has gone so fast and we haven't enough of IT to get everything
done that we need to do. So unfortunate for the "blog" it's the last
thing on the list!<br />
<br />
Since we last posted . . . . .
the boring stuff is . . . . . <br />
*We've put 6,000 miles on our car :| <br />
*We've had more sick Elders :( <br />
*Another Elder arrested for speeding :(<br />
*We've
petted a giraffe :) <br />
*A couple of car accidents for the Elders (not us)
:( :( <br />
*Prepared & planted a garden for a less active family, with the help of another less
active Bro. :) :) <br />
*Put security bars on
windows of a home of an investigator FAMILY, (their baptism
date is May26th :) :) :) <br />
*Made 9 birthday cakes for Elders
in our Zones :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)<br />
*Had an Elder crashes on his bike and he got up off the
ground just in time to watch as a car ran over and smashed his eye
glasses :-( <br />
*Traveled to Mthatha and Queenstown to inspect flats, repair a frig, haul a washer to be repaired attended a District Meeting :) :( :(<br />
*New Elder Training at our flat
(Monday 22 - Dinner -16) :)<br />
*East London Zone Meeting (Tuesday 23 - lunch - 26)
:)<br />
*Queenstown Zone Meeting (Wednesday 24 - lunch - 22) :)<br />
*Mdantsane Zone Meeting
(Thursday 25 - lunch - 20) :)<br />
*Trained and taught Leaders with President and
Sister Wood at the Port Alfred Branch Conference, :) :):)<br />
*Went to Port Elizabeth
to the Makro Store for Elders supplies - (a Costco wanna-be store!) :) *Inspected Elders flats and vehicles, some :) and some :(<br />
*Hair Cuts for Elders, :) :)<br />
*Practiced many hours and performed a concert with the
Young Single Adult Choir - a choir with 25 YSA kids and 4 older adults -
Elder and Sister Boyce being 2 . . . of the older adults :) :) :) *Enjoyed
some amazing weather, :) :) :) :)<br />
*Rode our bikes next to the ocean at sunrise, :) :) <br />
*Ran along the Gonubie eastern shore
of the Indian Ocean at sunrise, :) :) <br />
*Taught Sharing Time and Primary Songs to some beautiful Primary
children, :) :) :) <br />
*And many memorable and tender experiences - :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)<br />
<br />
This little lady was walking along this road which runs parallel to the ocean. It was raining and cold - I was running when I ran past her. Notice she is bare footed, no coat or jacket, but was wrapped in plastic. I stopped and gave her my running sweatshirt that I had tied around my waist. Ren was driving along side of me and gave her a R5 coin. She really was happy - I think that is the biggest smile she could muster up! <br />
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We had the assistants in our home on Monday and Friday of last week.
They spent the night on Friday. When they got up the next morning we
took a picture of the ELDER ZARBOCK's shoes. He is very proud of them.
Elder Twitchell's are just as bad if not worse - he is proud as well -
WELL WORN SHOES . . . much walking! Grandma and Grandpa, Julie and
Buddy that is Elder Zarbock's hand.<br />
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Petting a giraffe or having a Giraffe pet US!<br />
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<br />
Putting in bars on windows of an investigator. Too many of their possessions were being stolen out of their home, so we secured it well. <br />
The white lattice bars in the inside are the bars we installed. Elder's Carlson, Manda, Ndlovu and Oyiembo assisted along with the investigators little girl, Kelly. Kelly, by the way, is 6 and speaks 3 languages, English, Khosa and Africans! The Dad (Iyanda) is in the white shirt with the blue and red stripe next to me.<br />
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A garden that was called "powerful" by those who planted it! The Mom and Dad, 2 boys ages 13 and 15, and a daughter 17 all helped.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2litqzkXCQ649Q3Lr12JjCIP1O5LWA9uONIZpcxcZiYFURrAbqk213G0pDjcmyJN2qkgpoqCN3Clmofbfveg85pe-lfE2EmuI0VwWnHbn4qiqHMuuvTTOj7xFqSnF7iSyhr8Ef_gmjjg/s1600/photo+1%5B3%5D+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">Typical shoppers in downtown Grahamstown, <img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2litqzkXCQ649Q3Lr12JjCIP1O5LWA9uONIZpcxcZiYFURrAbqk213G0pDjcmyJN2qkgpoqCN3Clmofbfveg85pe-lfE2EmuI0VwWnHbn4qiqHMuuvTTOj7xFqSnF7iSyhr8Ef_gmjjg/s320/photo+1%5B3%5D+2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">We do have amazing missionary experiences daily. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">While traveling to meet with some
Elder’s in Mthatha ( 3 hour drive - pronunciation Mmm Tata) and Queenstown (another <span style="font-size: small;">3 </span>hours
drive), we were halfway between Mthatha and Queenstown in the vast
countryside and<span style="font-size: small;"> had </span>a flat tir<span style="font-size: small;">e. This </span>seemed unusual because our tires on
our vehicle are relatively new. I changed the tire and put the spare on and drove on to Queenstown.
It was late when we arrived so I got up early the next morning
and went looking for a tire shop in Queenstown, there were several. I selected one and fully
expected to just leave the tire there and pick it up later in the day. <span style="font-size: small;">At the shop I selected<span style="font-size: small;">, there </span></span>were many cars in the bays to be repaired or have tires put
on them, but the sales clerk <span style="font-size: small;">told me <span style="font-size: small;">he </span>would</span> get <span style="font-size: small;">me in immediat<span style="font-size: small;">ely. </span></span> I pulled in and they attempted to
fix my tire, but there was no hole or nail or anything that would cause the
tire to go flat. Somehow it had
just lost all the air. They filled it full of air and re-installed it on my car. I went to pay the bill and the
clerk told me, “we are not going to charge you for this. You are with the Church and represent
Jesus and I thank you for that. We
need more of you people here to help us”.
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As I was getting ready to leave the shop, another <span style="font-size: small;">attendant</span> came up to me
and said, “I know where your
church is and I want to attend, do you have any literature for me to
read”. I quickly jumped at the
opportunity to <span style="font-size: small;">share the gospel</span>. I gave him a Book of Mormon and he committed to start
reading it and come to church on Sunday.
I filled out all his contact information and gave it to the missionaries
assigned to where he lives. He has a great interest and desire in the gospel, my feeling is that he
will become a member of the church.
</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Was
I supposed to have a flat tire, even though I had new tires on the car and there
was really no reason for the tire to go flat? Was I directed to have my tire fixed at this particular
repair shop? Was it by chance that
I got in quickly and was able to share the gospel with the service attendant
and<span style="font-size: small;"> not </span>even charged for the repair? The Lord works in incredible subtle ways.</span></span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> <span style="font-size: small;">Have we <span style="font-size: small;">shared</span><span style="font-size: small;"> HOW MUCH WE LOVE THIS WORK</span>.</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">One more - </span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">April 18th thru the 26th was parti<span style="font-size: small;">cularl<span style="font-size: small;">y busy and taxing -<span style="font-size: small;"> meals</span> for New Elder Training, Zone Meetings with lu<span style="font-size: small;">nch<span style="font-size: small;">es</span> </span>and <span style="font-size: small;">in addition we were hosting</span> Assistants and the Mission President <span style="font-size: small;">and Sister Wood, Elder and Sister Van Gass (area P<span style="font-size: small;">sychologist</span> visiting our area for Zone Meetings) with <span style="font-size: small;">breakfast<span style="font-size: small;">s </span>and dinners </span>in our home du<span style="font-size: small;">ring the same time. Friday came and we had a full day ahead of us and we got in the car to take care of <span style="font-size: small;">our list for the day <span style="font-size: small;">- I sat <span style="font-size: small;">down in the car and an overwhelming feeling came over me and I felt like I couldn't do any more<span style="font-size: small;"> that day little alone the rest of the week and it was only 8:00 am! . . . but playing on the car CD player was one of our homemade CD's <span style="font-size: small;">and I heard</span> - "Because I <span style="font-size: small;">Have Been Given Much" - <span style="font-size: small;">I knew the Lord was aware of me, what we had done that week and what we still had to do<span style="font-size: small;"> - I knew I was so blessed - we have far beyond what anyo<span style="font-size: small;">ne in this country has . . . I can do it<span style="font-size: small;"> and I will<span style="font-size: small;">! - HE will help me!</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Again, we need more <span style="font-size: small;">of you experienced members ou<span style="font-size: small;">t here as missionaries.</span> There is much to be done and we can't do <span style="font-size: small;">it</span> all by ourselves<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">! </span> <span style="font-size: small;">H<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">aving us do it by ourselves, </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">a</span></span></span>s <span style="font-size: small;">a great Elder<span style="font-size: small;"> <span style="font-size: small;">once</span> said, is like</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span> "stuffing a turkey thru the beak!!" We can't do it! <br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Love to you all!</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">G<span style="font-size: small;">O WELL!</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">
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<span style="font-family: "Lucida Handwriting"; font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt;">Elder and Sister Boyce</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">South Africa Cape
Town Mission</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">54 Hazy Ridge – 9
Swallow Lane</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">Gonubie, East
London 52517</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">Eastern Cape, 5241</span></div>
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<span style="height: 110px; margin-left: 0px; margin-top: 145px; mso-ignore: vglayout; position: absolute; width: 94px; z-index: 1;"><img alt="Picture1" height="110" src="file://localhost/Users/Debbie/Library/Caches/TemporaryItems/msoclip/0/clip_image002.png" width="94" /></span><span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">South Africa</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">083-406-1845</span></div>
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<br />Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07918450959338372853noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5815226271181521455.post-32447322959270988522013-03-10T11:37:00.002-07:002013-03-10T11:37:37.121-07:00Wow, we have had a busy three weeks! Things keep moving faster and faster.<br />
Monday
February 18 started transfer week. Elders usually find out if they are
being transferred on Monday or Tuesday so whether they move or not they will usually spend Monday (P-day) cleaning their flats and catching up on
everything in preparation. If they have been in an area 3 to 4
transfers, they typically have a good chance of being transferred.
Transfers are every 6 weeks (church wide) After these transfers are confirmed
they get their itinerary as to how they will travel to their new areas.
Distances can be far here so they usually take a bus or fly.<br />
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Elders
who are being transferred are dropped off in the morning at the bus
station or airport for their departure, their companions take care of
that. Then in the afternoon we go, with the Elders who are staying, to
the airport to pick up the Elders that are being transferred in. We
generally have food for everyone! That is one of our main
responsibilities - BRING FOOD EVERYWHERE WE GO! Elders were born
hungry! There are typically 30 - 40 Elders at the airport. They love
to see who's coming in and they will run and hug an Elder they haven't
seen since the beginning of their mission. It's funny and touching at
the same time. After all the new Elders get here and settled in, we
left on the 22nd for Port Alfred, Grahamstown, Port Elizabeth, George
and Knysna - all beautiufl port cities except Grahamstown (it's a college
town inland). Ren had to do audits with the branches in all areas
except Port Elizabeth. However, Port Elizabeth is the largest city and
it has a store called Makro - it's like Costco! We had fun buying
Elders supplies there! We also bought a mix master - for us - I've
become a cookie chef and it's too hard to use a hand mixer! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixOzqmkIT-z1FKIAy-Fv064xkBDN8V9mnc8lVyN_VDYhrguEYAvEQCnhcgBvXem_jglzqA0EcifQKkfulKH5p2876zAy_tNK1NZMuoU9oscrEdETDAj-64JzQGIaD83lGB2tYDt_-4a8M/s1600/DSC04535.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">In Port Elizabeth we went to dinner with the other senior couples. We
also stayed with one of the couples in Port Alfred. They have a 5
star flat! We took some pictures the morning of our walk on the beach just outside
their back door! The third one at the sunrise. The fourth one is their condo complex from a distance on the beach. They live on the second floor. </a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4Opu_H8ByVCxaGCqGoFRUJxjoEmDeaIw9vamGOymYiIeaTVo3TBMPaWuyNVtsJY80EDe6d9PwnGdDA_pwuZHr7T9dvowohOonQ_YijgL1nDV8Xstlo2W1qVzdoqp_U3wEPjKpK_wJClY/s1600/DSC04536.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjugulJVEImcwq7i-h5g3PYLlWFtBpQ6CN0aTLpZgKUJmgZRrGzmEoJ6YDS2uWo9d7hmx7lVwN2AMISzXVd80gmrzmpRG73QbvDZMIchE3fLyXT1vjiSqVP4fEr8oq3YEaGKC03Velb-M/s1600/DSC04537.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjugulJVEImcwq7i-h5g3PYLlWFtBpQ6CN0aTLpZgKUJmgZRrGzmEoJ6YDS2uWo9d7hmx7lVwN2AMISzXVd80gmrzmpRG73QbvDZMIchE3fLyXT1vjiSqVP4fEr8oq3YEaGKC03Velb-M/s320/DSC04537.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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We traveled 6 days and drove home in one day, it was a 8 hour drive from the furthest point, which was the City of George.<br />
We arrived home on Wednesday night and got up the next morning and drove 2 hours to Queenstown to help 4 Elders move from one flat to another. They worked so hard to get moved and then they had to clean the flat they moved out of - . . . . OK . . . . I have to admit I clean the flat they moved out of! We had to wander home in the dark, but Elder Boyce is an excellent driver (on the left side of the road)!<br />
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On Friday the 1st we had the 6 Zone Leaders of our area for breakfast and a Skype Conference with all the other Zones in the Mission with the Mission President. They are all very cute and wanted to take a picture in our backyard while they were here together so this is what they did!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEsHVs3LRQjin0dzAgAJizj0ocXKD2hNvvrRmZlesN8_47VH26VVud775lLeXxUFT_MgxDYv-GvpmNwL6G1vaVyVFtOZ0eguN_l7Joxjs3mjdR4WTp4PKFcA_MXATPQ-O7bM-UuQxRmy8/s1600/DSC04558.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEsHVs3LRQjin0dzAgAJizj0ocXKD2hNvvrRmZlesN8_47VH26VVud775lLeXxUFT_MgxDYv-GvpmNwL6G1vaVyVFtOZ0eguN_l7Joxjs3mjdR4WTp4PKFcA_MXATPQ-O7bM-UuQxRmy8/s320/DSC04558.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Ov_gmOck7e8B1MVPnAgAtnGosQ6psWeGIeGtkqugy3zC7NZLWKI4xSbLMbMNXvw9F7XoLBw1_GM3KeZs1cZoYuVK8LyXLIV1v8q35ZB4LX5IV33P7K9dqgFH9QXFX0kD5xiFEyE58dA/s1600/DSC04561.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Ov_gmOck7e8B1MVPnAgAtnGosQ6psWeGIeGtkqugy3zC7NZLWKI4xSbLMbMNXvw9F7XoLBw1_GM3KeZs1cZoYuVK8LyXLIV1v8q35ZB4LX5IV33P7K9dqgFH9QXFX0kD5xiFEyE58dA/s320/DSC04561.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
Crazy! Notice our amazing View!<br />
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We have the opportunity to work with wonderful, humble, sweet and loving people in the Mdantsane 3rd Ward and love working within the confines of this ward boundary. It is a ward of about 400 members and only about 30% attendance. There is a tremendous amount of ministering that needs to be shared with this 70% of the ward members who do not attend. We visit several of these members and we are having some wonderful successes in inviting and getting them back to church participation. These pictures are the grandchildren of Brother and Sister Ngangalizwe, A couple that have fallen into inactivity, but have committed to return. We gave them school kits and a soccer ball and they absolutely love it. Most of these children have very little and even gifts of pencils and toothbrushes are choice presents that bring incredible smiles and hugs.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW78qWYbMmEp_a0AHDbBx68tyV4JSJ7xgiLhsnpdo6z71I_c03Vbv_oEsq-DRfqiiUTcepCp5GOpdFrvrnw_49dp_TEyfnItrgVbq7RruPUnXNZReg7e-Ul67rlS0hhEWEF0eKootqyh0/s1600/photo+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW78qWYbMmEp_a0AHDbBx68tyV4JSJ7xgiLhsnpdo6z71I_c03Vbv_oEsq-DRfqiiUTcepCp5GOpdFrvrnw_49dp_TEyfnItrgVbq7RruPUnXNZReg7e-Ul67rlS0hhEWEF0eKootqyh0/s320/photo+1.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Here's two more pictures of kids that we stopped as we were driving in our area. We gave them a soccer ball and some school kits. They loved having their picture taken too!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeKCkCcfXxZFGY837Lv4cHHRG3HMxpY0Ht0qF7EMZuf6j0llWQeqMUR4o_tC0XY7_qYNhCVgKZy-dKaWLuwr-yPsCbi2Vf4I6XbuWazkdVxqlDt9zKNlKv3q0Lxs3MdC5eTa6Sx5DID7U/s1600/DSC04562.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeKCkCcfXxZFGY837Lv4cHHRG3HMxpY0Ht0qF7EMZuf6j0llWQeqMUR4o_tC0XY7_qYNhCVgKZy-dKaWLuwr-yPsCbi2Vf4I6XbuWazkdVxqlDt9zKNlKv3q0Lxs3MdC5eTa6Sx5DID7U/s320/DSC04562.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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With a little bit of Young Single Adult experience, we have also been focusing on YSA's and their rescue. Some 40% of the membership within our Stake are young single adult age (18-30 years old).<br />
We are attaching a video of a 2 ward (Mdantsane 2nd and 3rd ward) YSA choir. So the choir consists of young single adults and 2 old married adults (Elder and Sister Boyce). We love singing with these young men and women and I really think they like our attendance (not our singing) to the choir. We are practicing for the Easter Program. This video is at a practice and these kids are singing an elementary school song they all learned many years ago. They are singing in Xhosa (Kohsa) which is their native language but the song is called "We are Marching in the Light of God". Remember they learned it and sang it at elementary school. The older woman is the conductor mom. They are a fun bunch of kids!<br />
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<br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzktQMv-EvUgxhY46EhZ-k3C-jfc62TI4fzbFL1PRWUIn8NYK-sm5PzfCVXpxQBQmx5bwBf8Ad1X0EWBgFVOQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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This is an option we could have for dinner - if we wanted - roasted chicken feet! </div>
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On Friday the 8th we had a Zone Conference for all 3 zones in our area. We received teaching from the Mission President, his wife and his assistants. The assistants consist of Elder Tuckett and </div>
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ELDER ZARBOCK! (2nd row, 2nd from right) </div>
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The conference started at 9:00 am and went to 4:30. Elder and Sister Boyce are in charge of providing a snack in the morning, then lunch, and a snack as they walk out the door to go back to their areas. There were 54 of us, we had spaghetti, (not roasted chicken feet!) bread, salad and Sheepherder Brownies and ice cream.</div>
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Here is a picture of all the missionaries that we assist in the work - you could say that we take care of their wants, their desires, their needs, their wishes, and their requirements!</div>
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They are the cutest Elders and are so grateful for everything we do for them!</div>
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Besides the Mission President and his wife the picture also includes a Branch President from Port Alfred and a new couple from Grahamstown, two other cities in our area.</div>
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President and Sister Wood are in the center of the second row - the empty chair next to me is for Elder Boyce but he is taking the picture! </div>
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Sorry this is way too long and way too much information!!</div>
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Next entry we will wander thru our days quicker!</div>
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Go Well! - we appreciate your prayers and support!</div>
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Elder and Sister Boyce</div>
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<br />Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07918450959338372853noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5815226271181521455.post-47199243173531999382013-02-16T12:37:00.002-08:002013-02-16T12:37:22.929-08:00Well, Valentines Day has come and gone, President's Day weekend is here and the Parade of Homes has begun in St. George. It's time for all of northern Utah to come to St. George!<br />
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We have been serving for 2 months now and we are finally getting accustom to the area and this wild and crazy driving over here. Everybody either drives really really fast or extremely slow. It's pretty wild. People walk everywhere, there are always many people walking on the roads. They walk even on the freeways! They walk up and down on both sides and even in the median!<br />
This is a typical sight on the roads - <br />
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We saw her as we were driving down the road and I had to get her picture. So we turned around and pulled up by her. I got out of the car and walked up in front of her and held up my camera and a 5 rand coin. She got a big grin on her face and shook her head - yes. I took the picture and gave the R5, which is like maybe $5, yet with exchange rate it's like 75 cents in US$. Women are always carrying something on their head . . . men rarely do.<br />
I call this picture - <span style="font-size: large;">"All in a day's walk!"</span><br />
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Anyway, we have been extremely busy and there is so much to do. We are so tired by the end of the day, we seem to just fall into bed and it's morning. Morning is usually up at 5:00 am and we go to the gym and work out from about 5:15 to 6:30 am every morning. (Not Sunday). We then try to get some study time in, but usually have to take off early and assist Elders, do inspections or have meetings. Our area is very large and there are 3 areas that we have to travel to monthly. Queenstown is about 2 hours drive to the west. Mthatha is about 3 hours drive to the North and Grahamstown and Port Alfred are about 3 hours drive to the south.<br />
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There are Elder's serving in all these areas and we inspect their apartments and vehicles, attend their district meetings and try to meet their needs. We are their mission parents while they are here in our area (about 40 elders). The Mission President is some 500 miles away, so we assist him in caring for these young men. We have had accidents, sickness, fires, family deaths, and even an Elder put in jail for excess speeding. We had to attend to an Elder that was down for 10 days with a back problem, an Elder who snapped his Achilles tendon (required surgery and he is out for 3 months).<br />
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By the way - to all my dear friends in PACU - here in South Africa an operating room is called a "theater". So think about your day's work as being at the theater!! :) :)<br />
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We had an African Elder, this last Tuesday, that had an infected wisdom tooth and had to have all his wisdom teeth removed! He was in sad shape, but is recovering well. The other night we had down pour rain storm and one of our driving Elders swerved to miss a dog and crashed into a high curb, causing about $2500.00 in damage to his car - it can't be driven till it's repaired.<br />
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We are also serving in the Mdantsane 3rd Ward. I serve in the Primary. I do the singing and sharing times. I've made a board with all the kids pictures on it. They are very excited to see their pictures.<br />
Ren is teaching Gospel Doctrine this week and then we sing in the YSA Choir.<br />
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We have also attended our first group of Zone Conferences. We have 3 Zones here in East London so President Wood comes to East London and trains each Zone for about 3 to 4 hour for per day. We do the conferences on a Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Then after the training, Ren and I feed them lunch. It's usually between 18 to 22 elders per zone conference and include the adults and AP's if they come. I've made dozen's of cookies over the last 2 months. 6 - 7 dozen at a time for various functions!<br />
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We have also been visiting less actives in the ward. We have one family, that we have been visiting, that has come back to church the last 3 weeks. It's great because it's a whole family - husband, wife, son and daughter. So we are happy about that. Then another single sister who has come with her daughter and her grandson. There are others that say they will come, but then don't, but they are making progress.<br />
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Well this is long enough - here are some pictures of our flat - we really are blessed to live in a very nice home in a gated community. This mission is really the BEST of all missions!<br />
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Congratulations to President and Sister Carrie Henderson for their call to Brisbane! Are those missionaries in Brisbane ever lucky and bless to have you two coming to guide and direct that mission!!<br />
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Have a great weekend and as they say here in the South Africa Cape Town Mission - "GO WELL!"<br />
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<br />Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07918450959338372853noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5815226271181521455.post-9166556994534762652013-01-27T10:38:00.002-08:002013-01-27T10:39:18.837-08:00It's Sunday evening and we're organizing and planning for the coming week. We ran across some photos we took when we first arrived in Cape Town back on December 28th. The office couples took us around Cape Town and showed us several sites that they thought we would enjoy and that maybe we wouldn't get back to Cape Town to view.<br />
So along with Table Mountain Hike, that we have already posted, here are some views from Cape of Good Hope. Cape of Good Hope is where the warm Indian Ocean meets the cold Atlantic Ocean and the wind is always at gale force!!<br />
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This is Simon's Town Beach - where the only African Penguins hangout!<br />
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Below are some pictures taken at a beautiful garden in Cape Town on December 30!!<br />
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These two pictures are of some kids in our ward area - Mdantsane. Notice the the little boy carrying his stuffed animal on his back. He's imitating his mom - moms carry their babies like this.<br />
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You may remember our Elder that we had to rescue out of jail for speeding - here he is!<br />
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We love what we're doing! The people are very humble and gracious. The missionaries are so grateful for what we do for them. We sure do stay busy!<br />
Love to you all!Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07918450959338372853noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5815226271181521455.post-54993251680228990352013-01-20T06:12:00.001-08:002013-01-20T06:12:14.993-08:00Count your blessings!!<br />
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<blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">The Bishop in the ward that we are serving in is a young man about 38. He is really is a good humble Bishop. One of things he is trying to do in his ward is trying to get his members to sit together in church. He says that in Wards here in Africa that the fathers sit on the back row and the mothers and kids sit closer to the front. Every week, before church starts, he stands at the pulpit and asks that families please sit together. They really have some issues of absent fathers in this culture. The fathers feel like they have little or no responsibilities in the family. He is trying to get the fathers in his ward to own-up to helping their wives take care of the children, not only in church but in life as well. <br />
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We just received a report for 11 Young Single Adults males (YSA – like I was over in St. George, except I was over girls) here in East London. They are all in College and studying for careers. The report was to emphasis the lack of family involvement in the lives of these young men. It is quite sad here in South Africa. Out of these 11 YSA males only ONE young man has a family “in-tact” (they call it) meaning a mother and father that are still married! Two of them have been abandoned by both mother and fatther, two of them have had both parents die. The rest, 6 remaining, have a single mother with the father either unknown or abandoned the family. We don’t realize how blessed we are to be born in America and the Church! </span></span></blockquote>
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I'm counting my blessings every single day! <br />
Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07918450959338372853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5815226271181521455.post-5641366737574511702013-01-15T21:22:00.000-08:002013-01-15T21:22:55.298-08:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07918450959338372853noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5815226271181521455.post-20487796341769227572013-01-15T21:14:00.001-08:002013-01-15T21:14:36.736-08:00<span style="font-family: Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Hi everyone!<br />
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We are now in our assigned area – which is East London, South Africa. It’s about 1080 K or 600 miles from Cape Town and the Mission home and office. It took about 2 hours to fly here. We spent 5 days in Cape Town and then were sent here to East London. We spent 1 week with the couple, the Fowers from San Deigo, they trained us and now we are on our own! They left on Thursday and we were able to start moving in to our flat. So we have been cleaning, taking inventory and moving in for 3 days. We have included photos of the outside of our flat and our amazing view. We had to order some new blinds for the inside so as soon as we have them we will take photos of the inside of our flat. <br />
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We are assist over 40 Elders, so part of that responsibility is making sure their flats, and cars are inspected for cleanliness and operate properly. We also supply them with items for the maintenance and cleaning of both. So the inventory in the garage consists of items to take to the Elders each time we inspect their flat and car. Items like dish rags, dish cloths, dish soap, (no dishwashers here – not even us – we hand wash every dish, no disposals either) shower cleaner, mold remover etc. We keep a “store” in the garage of these items to take to the Elders when they need them. <br />
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Mondays are our P-days, it is also the Elders P-day so I will also be cutting hair for who ever needs it on Monday afternoon right before they go back to work on Monday evening. P-day ends at 5:00 pm.<br />
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So we actually began our missionary service on Wednesday before we moved into our flat. Our first duty was to take a missionary to the airport because he was being sent back to the mission home. <br />
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As we were driving from the airport we received a call from another Elder that was caught in a speed trap and was arrested on the spot! Which rarely happens – he was going 104 km in a 60 km zone. So we had to go to the Cambridge police station and bail him out of jail. We went to court with him and his companion the next day to pay his fine. His companion was studying law before he came out on his mission so he found it all rather fasinating - the law system here in South Africa. It all turned out OK. <br />
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Then as we were returning home we received a call from 2 Elders that had a kitchen grease fire and we had to drive to King William’s Town (60 miles) to assess the damage, buy them a new stove and arrange to have the kitchen cleaned and painted. That was Wednesday, Thursday. <br />
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Saturday we received a call from President Wood, the mission President, saying that Elder Davuke’s father past away. He’s from Suva, Fiji, (how about that President Cope – his mother is from Quaima) and is serving in Queenstown (2 hours from Gonubie – where we live). Pres. Wood asked us us to go up to Queenstown the next day – Sunday. We had to talk in church in the Mdantsane 3rd Ward, we have been asked<span id="goog_862052104"></span><span id="goog_862052105"></span> by the Stake President to attend that ward. I will assist the Primary and Ren will assist the High Priest Group. So we spoke in church and then headed out to Queenstown. (Elder McDonald, are you getting all this!) <br />
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The couple that we replaced called us yesterday and said that we have already seen much more than they saw their whole mission!<br />
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So we are ready for our p-day! However, transfers are next week and we are meeting the new Elders at the airport on Wednesday and have to move Elder Zarbock (Yea, that’s right, Boyce family, Elder Zarbock!) and his companion into a different flat on Thursday . . . wait just a minute . . . we just recieved word that Elder Zarbock is being transfered. So we will be moving 2 Elders but not Elder Zarbock, he's headed somewhere else.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, Verdana, Helvetica, Arial;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Well, things couldn't be better! We're doing great. The church is true!</span></span><br />
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Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07918450959338372853noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5815226271181521455.post-5957923394245653392013-01-04T11:39:00.000-08:002013-01-04T11:41:19.149-08:00Conquering Table Mountain<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Happy New Year everyone!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Our last day in Cape Town before we leave for East London - January 1, 2013! We decided to take a hike up Table Mountain. This is 3300 ft vertical climb. Wow, it was an awesome climb! However, Elder Boyce is very sore - as in his quads took a beating on the way down. Sort of like I feel every time I run a marathon! Here's some photos of the climb and the view!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Bottom of the Hill </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Gale force winds all the way to the top!</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">View from the top!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">On the way down!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">We did it!</span> </div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> Now we can't walk!</span></div>
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<br />Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07918450959338372853noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5815226271181521455.post-91215483539167109572012-12-29T11:10:00.000-08:002012-12-29T11:10:28.589-08:00Hi everyone!! Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!<br />
Well, our 29.5 hour flight to Cape Town South Africa is in the past! We are here! We arrived yesterday about noon and were picked up at the airport by the Hendersons, an office couple from Far West, Utah. We piled all our luggage into two cars they brought from the mission office, we warned them that we had 6 pieces of luggage, with 4 smaller carry-ons! They came prepared!<br />
We dropped off our luggage at a bed and breakfast that we will be staying at for a few days till our interview with President Wood on Tuesday. It's a very cute and clean B & B. <br />
We are extremely tired but the Hendersons insist on keeping us awake for a few hours - the best thing for over-tired missionaries who have just flown for nearly 30 hours!<br />
Besides the bank, the grocery store and lunch, we went to sight seeing places like Signal Hill, Mariner's Wharf and Mall, then dinner and finally back to our B & B and a bed!<span id="goog_1784020155"></span><span id="goog_1784020156"></span>Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07918450959338372853noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5815226271181521455.post-59952746855582112442012-11-08T20:32:00.000-08:002012-11-08T20:32:00.418-08:00First Blog!!It's November 8, 2012 - we received our call to South Africa Cape Town Mission almost 2 months ago, on September 13, 2012. By the way, the call letter was dated September 11, 2012, interesting!<br />
Still can't believe it's South Africa!<br />
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We have talked to many return missionaries about South Africa - seen some beautiful photos and found out some great hikes to take, magnificent views to see, and "must-see" places to visit! We are excited<br />
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Having already sold our home with furniture<span style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span></span></span>, we have been living in a furnished condo in Black Rock. We put all the stuff we still have in storage, we don't have much. We stored our piano, art, food storage, books and holiday decor. A little strange not to have a home but we're getting use to it.<br />
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We have been very busy getting ready to go, mountains of paper work and collecting copies of documents. It's amazing what you need to go to South Africa, finger prints, chest x-rays, driving records, diplomas, passport pictures (even though we have our passport), FBI clearance letter, police record letter, birth certificate etc - it's been an experience. We have completed most everything - just a few items left. We have completed the visa application and are just waiting for it now.<br />
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Here we are - ready to go!Debbiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07918450959338372853noreply@blogger.com1