The 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.

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.
 
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.

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.
This is May 12th - Mother's Day.
                                              

 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!

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.

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 convenient way to move, and an even better way to move their belongings is with a wheelbarrow.


Brett and Min - aren't you glad that you and the kids didn't have to move this way!!

 

Ren is holding  the daughter of the Branch President in Grahmstown.

Her name is Lucy Budaza.

She's a cutey!

But not as cute as 5 little girls that we have back home!

Mia, Georgia, Annie, Ivy and little Kate!!

Or as handsome as 4 little boys we have back home!

Luke, Richie, Landon and Brock!

We love you all! 

We were part of a Young Single Adult Committee.

On the 29th of June we had a Young Single Adult Conference.

Saturday evening was a dance and we were chaperones for the dance.

Sorry it is so blurry and I'm so WHITE!

 This is Sister Magibisela.

She had 4 steps to get out of her front door with no handrail!

We installed a handrail for her and she thanked us by baking a delicious pie!

It actually was very good, as good as home - it was apple!

This is a church in Alexandria, is about 30 minute south of Port Alfred.

Doesn't it remind you of what we see back in home?

This is the start line of the Knysna Half Marathon on July 6th.

We had a Branch Conference at the Knysna Branch on the 6th and 7th.

So President Wood (our mission President) and I decided to run it!

There was 6500 runners from all over the world!

It was great fun!

The start line sign is waaaaayyyyy in the back of the picture.

It started in the Knysna Forest and it was COLD!  Can you tell!

The finish line .  .  .  well 100 yards away .  .  .  I did finish!

Just this past Saturday - August 17th was Helping Hands Day in South Africa.

A day that 

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints reaches out to

all communities in South Africa in service.

Our ward - the Mdantsane 3rd Ward

decided to go to an orphanage just down the street from the church.

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,

Leaving from the church . . . .

                                                                     Arriving .  .  .  .

                                              Home to 23 children - 9 months to 18 years.

            Washing clothes - this is a bath tub.  We washed 9 loads like this, plus other containers. 
                                                         Notice the color of the water.
                                       We did change the water, but the color didn't change.

Wonderful, willing, working hands.

Clothes line is the fence around the facility.

Planting a garden .  .  .  .

Building a fence around the garden to protect it from the neighbor's goats.

Fence complete with a homemade gate!

 

23 happy children and 4 grateful orphanage workers.

That's the end of this story!

So . . . . 

Be grateful and show it,

Hug your kids,

Be happy

Write a note to some one who lives alone,

Kiss you wife

Be grateful and show it

Share the gospel

Call someone who's going thru a trial,

Bake a loaf of bread for someone . . just because

Be happy

Kiss your husband

Smile at someone

Hug your kids

Do your home teaching and visiting teaching and report it

Share your testimony

Be grateful and show it

Hug your grandkids

Compliment someone

Be grateful and show it

Invite some one to dinner

Share your testimony!

Love your family!

WE ALL HAVE SO MUCH!!

Love,

Elder and Sister Boyce

                                                                                                                                                                                        

We wish all you Fathers a Happy Father's Day!!

Well,  Sister Boyce has asked me to enter the blog this time around.  Naturally, I do everything that she asks of me. 

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.

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.

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."

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.

 Jackie and Ayanda with Ren, Elder Boyce.

 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!

Cute 7 year old Kelly with a little attitude!

The Gqola Family in front of their home prior to being confirmed.

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.

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.

Before we go to P-day with the Elders, however, Sister Boyce get's her hair done here! (ha ha)

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.

We went for a walk on this "popeye" boardwalk on the Port Elizabeth coast before we pick up Elder Ndlela.

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 -

Verse 1: "We stand as armored soldiers in the service of our Lord.
We are ready, willing, able to go forth and preach the word.
Marching forward into battle, we are armed with shields of faith
And there's nothing that can stop as we go...

Chorus: Forward marching forward, we will hold our banners high,
As we go. Forward, conquering forward, with the eagles we will fly.
We cannot be discouraged, we will not be turned away,
For the Gospel in South Africa is here, forever to stay.

Verse 2: South Africa is where we have received our call to serve.
In this land of splendid beauty we will march and never swerve.
Sharing further revelations, bringing Gospel truths to light,
Wielding swords of might and power, we fight for God...
Chorus

Verse 3: When our call is at a finish and we leave the battle field,
We can truly say its over? Do we dare lay down our shield?
Once as soldiers we're enlisted in the army of our God.
It's our duty, hold your head up, Carry on...
Chorus."

Great song with incredible words that motivate all of us to be diligent and accomplish our missionary duty.  

This is a sun rise on the beach near our home.  It's a delightful run or bike ride!

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,

Ren and Debbie

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO ALL!!

AMAZING!!  AMAZING!!
Time is flying - we haven't written since March 10th and we are sorry to be so negligent.
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!

Since we last posted .  .  .  .  .  the boring stuff is  .  .  .  .  . 
*We've put 6,000 miles on our car  :| 
*We've had more sick Elders  :( 
*Another Elder arrested for speeding :(
*We've petted a giraffe  :) 
*A couple of car accidents for the Elders (not us)   :( :(  
*Prepared & planted a garden for a less active family, with the help of another less active Bro. :)  :)  
*Put security bars on windows of a home of an investigator FAMILY, (their baptism date is May26th :) :) :) 
*Made 9 birthday cakes for Elders in our Zones :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)
*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 :-(
*Traveled to Mthatha and Queenstown to inspect flats, repair a frig, haul a washer to be repaired          attended a District Meeting :) :( :(
*New Elder Training at our flat (Monday 22 - Dinner -16)  :)
*East London Zone Meeting (Tuesday 23 - lunch - 26)  :)
*Queenstown Zone Meeting (Wednesday 24 - lunch - 22)   :)
*Mdantsane Zone Meeting (Thursday 25 - lunch - 20)  :)
*Trained and taught Leaders with President and Sister Wood at the Port Alfred Branch Conference, :) :):)
*Went to Port Elizabeth to the Makro Store for Elders supplies - (a Costco wanna-be store!)  :) *Inspected Elders flats and vehicles,  some :) and some :(
*Hair Cuts for Elders, :) :)
*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, :) :) :) :)
*Rode our bikes next to the ocean at sunrise, :) :)
*Ran along the Gonubie eastern shore of the Indian Ocean at sunrise, :) :) 
*Taught Sharing Time and Primary Songs to some beautiful Primary children, :) :) :)
*And many memorable and tender experiences - :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)

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!

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.

Petting a giraffe or having a Giraffe pet US!

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.
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.

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.

Typical shoppers in downtown Grahamstown,

We do have amazing missionary experiences daily. 
  
While traveling to meet with some Elder’s in Mthatha ( 3 hour drive - pronunciation Mmm Tata) and Queenstown (another 3 hours drive), we were halfway between Mthatha and Queenstown in the vast countryside and had a flat tire. This 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.  At the shop I selected, there were many cars in the bays to be repaired or have tires put on them, but the sales clerk told me he would get me in immediately.  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”.   

As I was getting ready to leave the shop, another attendant 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 share the gospel.  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. 

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 not even charged for the repair?   The Lord works in incredible subtle ways.  Have we shared HOW MUCH WE LOVE THIS WORK.

One more - 

April 18th thru the 26th was particularly busy and taxing - meals for New Elder Training, Zone Meetings with lunches and in addition we were hosting Assistants and the Mission President and Sister Wood, Elder and Sister Van Gass (area Psychologist visiting our area for Zone Meetings) with breakfasts and dinners in our home during the same time.  Friday came and we had a full day ahead of us and we got in the car to take care of our list for the day - I sat down in the car and an overwhelming feeling came over me and I felt like I couldn't do any more 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 and I heard - "Because I Have Been Given Much" - I knew the Lord was aware of me, what we had done that week and what we still had to do - I knew I was so blessed - we have far beyond what anyone in this country has . . . I can do it and I will! - HE will help me!

Again, we need more of you experienced members out here as missionaries.  There is much to be done and we can't do it all by ourselves!  Having us do it by ourselves, as a great Elder once said, is like "stuffing a turkey thru the beak!!"  We can't do it!

Love to you all!
GO WELL!

Elder and Sister Boyce

South Africa Cape Town Mission

54 Hazy Ridge – 9 Swallow Lane

Gonubie, East London 52517

Eastern Cape, 5241

South Africa

083-406-1845

  

Wow, we have had a busy three weeks!  Things keep moving faster and faster.
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.

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! 

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.

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.
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)!

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!

Crazy!  Notice our amazing View!

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.

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!

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).
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!

This is an option we could have for dinner - if we wanted - roasted chicken feet!

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 

ELDER ZARBOCK! (2nd row, 2nd from right) 

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.

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!

They are the cutest Elders and are so grateful for everything we do for them!

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.

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!

Sorry this is way too long and way too much information!!

Next entry we will wander thru our days quicker!

Go Well! - we appreciate your prayers and support!

Elder and Sister Boyce

Well, 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!

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!
This is a typical sight on the roads -

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.
I call this picture  - "All in a day's walk!"

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.

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).

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!! :) :)

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.

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.
Ren is teaching Gospel Doctrine this week and then we sing in the YSA Choir.

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!

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.

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!

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!!

Have a great weekend and as they say here in the South Africa Cape Town Mission - "GO WELL!"