South Africa Johannesburg Mission: March 2020

16 March 2020, Monday

Buying food at Checkers or any store this week is an ordeal of many people and long, long lines.

16 March 2020

We had six elders sleep at the mission home last night (I fed 11 people for dinner) who had to leave at 5:30 am to travel to Pretoria to submit their papers to renew their 18-month visas.

We went to the mission office and sorted out a list of emergency supplies needed for each flat that mission couples need to start buying today. All the couples started mobilizing and shopping. This week they delivered many totes to the flats.

I also continued to work on a list of those with compromised health who would leave soon and President Leavitt sent it in to the IFR.

A few photos to capture the shopping task of the mission couples, organizing it all, putting items in totes and taking them to all the flats.

17 March 2020, Tuesday

We had many missionaries coming and going from the mission home for various reasons. I gave four English tests. President Leavitt interviewed departing missionaries and I fed a lot of missionaries today.

We had a departing dinner and meeting along with taking photos.

Elder James

Elder Mendes and Elder James ate at a separate table

because of colds.

Elder Diniz

Elder Mendes

Elder Almeida

Elder Ncwadi

Elder Bah

Elder Thornton

18 March 2020, Wednesday
Transfer Day

We went to the MTC and picked up Elders Anderson, Clark, Garrett, Geyser, Heaton, Larsen, Maina, Mudijire, and Klintsworth (assigned to New Zealand but temporarily assigned to us) with those who are leaving (Elders Bah, Mendes, Diniz, Almeida, Thornton, and James--sleeping more to get well to fly home) and our assistants, Elders Jangard and Sommer--and Elder Eldredge who slept at their flat last night.

We took them to the CES classroom for a cinnamon roll and yogurt breakfast and orientation and training with the office staff, lunch and the match meeting and photos with their trainers before going to their areas.

Elder Robison, trainer, and Elder Maina

Elder A. Smith, trainer, and Elder Mudijire

Elder Thompson, trainer, and Elder Anderson

Elder Daybell, trainer, and Elder Geyser

Elder Tobiasson, trainer, and Elder Klintworth

Elder Valentine, trainer, and Elder Garrett

Elder LeSueur, trainer, and Elder Heaton

Elder Mumford, trainer, and Elder Clark
Elder Mumford is in Mbabane, Ewatini, awaiting Elder Clark's arrival.

Elder Kirby, trainer, and Elder Larsen
Elder Larsen will join Elder Kirby in Daveyton.

The rest of the day was a bit crazy. Some of the elders going to Eswatini needed to pick up passports at the area office (they took them after they went to Pretoria to renew their visas). They took Elder Hess with them (who came from Eswatini to serve in Joburg) and by the time they returned, it would be too late to cross the border so they slept at the mission home. Elder Osmond also came in to travel to Eswatini the next day as his visa will also expire before the next transfer and his renewal hasn't come.

19 March 2020

I fed breakfast to Elders Sommer, Jangard, Hess, Durrant, Mickelson, Diogo Santos, Osmond, Osborne, Clark, Julander, Flynn and President Leavitt. After, those going to Eswatini left and our assistants helped us reorganize. We are going to send about 18 health-compromised missionaries home now. We will have to combine nine areas and we will whitewash three zone leader areas.

President Leavitt meeting with departing, companion or driver missionaries at 5:25 pm (time when I took the photo) on our front lawn.

At 6 pm, I took this photo of President Leavitt giving in mass his departing interview to those leaving.

Elder Pickford

Elder Lubelwana

Elder Mills

Elder Carlson

Elder Earl

Elder J. Smith

Elder Blaauw

Elder Austen

Elder Mickelson

Elder Previatti

Elder Harr

Elder Romney

Elder Ricks

Elder Sol

Elder Delvaux

Elder Diogo Santos

Working on memory pages.

Showing off their asthma inhalers.

Elder East (Pres. Leavitt was in an interview)

21 March 2020, Saturday

We have had many flights out to different countries. Below is the office elders taking Elders Mills, Mickelson and Dupaix to the airport today. We had a staff meeting at our home and lunch after. Today, Elders Briggs, Ncwadi, Austin and Vaughan are sick but getting better. Elder Ncwadi flies home at 11:10 am tomorrow.

Elder Ncwadi

22 March 2020, Sunday

We had Sacrament Meeting at the mission home with our office staff, Elder Austin and Elder Vaughan (both sick but recovering). I had Liz Vizzini from the MTC bring us food for lunch.

Our transfer board is looking so lonely with all those slated to leave removed and put at the bottom.

There is a charter plane coming to take all American missionaries from South Africa home on Tuesday night. (A humorous sidelight--we won't have to worry about renewing any of their 18-month visas that are expiring.)

Our Philippine Elders Ellaso, Mercado, Niez and Egay flew home Sunday night at 10 pm.

Elder Ellaso

Elder Mercado

Elder Niez

Elder Egay

9 pm Sunday night

23 March 2020, Monday

South African President Ramaposa announced he is imposing a lock down of the country on Thursday night at midnight.

Elder Wendo, Elder Odro, Elder Maina, Elder Mudijire,
Elder Shikoli all departing home at 8 am.

10 am departure, only Elder Rattana came back because of flight requirement complications.

Elders Rattana to Thailand, Banda, Yasa, and Mwiyawanyoka to Zambia

Our departure gathering to get departure packets and instructions for our Brazilian, English and Australian missionaries before their 2 pm departure to the airport:

Elders B. Rocha, Willison, Osborne, Zarza, Silva, Pereira, Flynn

Elders Hamilton, Rea, Bonfim, Fernandes, Gabriel

Elders Osborne, Hamilton, Flynn, Willison, Garrett. Elder Garrett's middle leg of flight was canceled. He stayed. The other Australians had direct flights and made it home.

Elders B. Rocha and Kirby on piano bench.

Elders Pereira, Souza, Rea, Fernandes, Gabriel, Cerquiera

7 pm, two of our three Ugandans, Elders Nganda and Wailagala at the mission home. They fly home at 2 am with Elder Kireta. Unfortunately, tonight the Ugandan president announced an immediate border closure instead of waiting until Wednesday. So they stayed in our mission.

At 10 pm, we moved all Americans off the transfer board as they are flying home on a charter plane at 6 pm on Tuesday.

24 March 2020, Tuesday

President Leavitt and I met with all the departing, arriving and staying missionaries and gave them their new companions and flats. Those who knew where an assigned flat was went with the new companionship to the flat to show them how to get there, which flat is theirs and how to get in through security or gates and anything about the inside of the flat.

We met with the departing missionaries and President gave his departing interview talk to all at one time.

These are the missionaries who are still here, plus Elder Torres who finished serving in Mozambique and was on his way home to Costa Rica but got stuck here in Joburg. He is ours now.

Elders Mtyobile and Kunjuzwa are our new assistants and Elders Austin and Hlatshwayo are our new office elders. (Last two sets of photos on right bottom.) They have a lot to learn and do immediately. Our two office couples, assistants and office elders all are flying home. 70 American missionaries boarded two buses at our mission office at 1 pm and drove to the OR Tambo airport for departure Tuesday evening on a chartered plane. One bus experienced a flat and had to wait for another bus to take them on to the airport. They were joined by over 200 missionaries from other missions. They had a safe flight home--although the young missionaries all left one large bag behind if they had two.

9:05 pm After dinner photo at the mission home: Our eight new South African Elders who flew in tonight from different African missions to serve with us, except Elder Fierro, who just went into the MTC and was to serve in Uganda. He can't fly home to Chile. He is ours now along with the rest!

From left to right: Elders Goje, Tyantsi, Khumalo, Malgas, Bopape, Mufundityala, Fierro, Ndlela

Elder Fierro

Elder Malgas

Elder Tyantsi

Elder Ndlela

Elder Khumalo

Elder Mafundityala

Elder Goje

Elder Bopape

Elder Torres
(Finished mission in Mozambique, couldn't fly on home past Johannesburg, so joined our mission.)

Our assistants, Elder Mtyobile and Elder Kunjuzwa, went to Milpark Hospital to visit Elder Paongo, who was Medivac flown in from a hospital in the Sierra Leone Mission in the middle of the night. They gave him one of our smart phones and took a photo at 9:16 pm. Elder Paongo will be able to WhatsApp with us and Messenger video with his parents in Tonga.
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25 March 2020, Wednesday

All our missionaries met at the Florida Chapel. We made some adjustments to our companionships with the additional elders.

We also received 17 Sisters. Most are South African who flew to South Africa from other African countries where they were serving, some are South Africans at the MTC headed to other missions and two are from Uganda that can't go home because of the closed border.

We went through all the areas and decided which ones to assign to the remaining elders and sisters. It took a long while. At 8:30 pm, I sent the office elders with some cash to get some food for everyone. One fast food place was open. They came back and everyone ate in the parking lot. Elders were packing their cars and some were getting their two emergency supply totes if their flat didn't have them.

Malvern came from the area office at 9:30 pm with our registration discs for the cars we were using that have expiring registrations on 31 March (including our car). We handed them out. I handed out cash to those who came with no allotment cards or cards that don't work so they could shop on Thursday before the lock down at midnight.

We left for the mission home after 11 pm.

26 March 2020, Thursday LOCK DOWN AT MIDNIGHT

The office elders gave smart phones to the sisters at the MTC. At 4:30 pm President Leavitt and I went to Milpark Hospital, but they were not allowing visitors. We did send him some things with a nurse.

President Leavitt and I with our assistants, Elders Mtyobile and Kunjuzwa, and our office elders, Elders Austin and Hlatshwayo, spent the evening at the MTC with the Sisters. There was much to talk about. This is the first time they have used smart phones with digital area books. They were each given an area to be responsible for missionary work. All the records of those people on date to be baptized and those being taught, etc. need continued contact and teaching.

Another late night before we drove to the mission home. Our last time to the mission office complex until the lock down is over.