2019 July 31 Mid-Transfer

Wednesday evening we had departing interviews, making memory pages, dinner and our departing program at the mission home with Elder Lowell J. and Sister Debbie Fugal and Elder Lopuliak.

Elder Lopuliak with his Ukrainian smile!

Elder Lopuliak with his missionary smile!

Elder & Sister Fugal

Departing program

2019 July 31 MLC

On Wednesday, we held our Mission Leadership Council at the CES classroom by the mission office from 10-4 pm. President Leavitt and I and our assistants, Elder Mpapa and Elder Jolley did technology training that the zone leaders will teach their zones. All received new cell phones. We included Mission Technology Specialists and their companions and a few elders being driven by the zone leaders after MLC to their new companion from the mid-transfer.

Assistants, Elder Jolley & Elder Mpapa, President Leavitt

2019 July 29-30 Mid-Transfer

On Monday, starting at 12:30 pm, missionaries were brought to the mission home with their bags for their departing interviews, weighing bags, making a memory page, writing in journals, playing ping pong and visiting. All who come during the day were fed soup and rolls. Sister Leavitt fed 28 missionaries during the day. 

We had our farewell dinner for 10 at 7:30 pm and pictures and our departing meeting before retiring to bed.

Elder Dos Santos

Elder Macario

Elder Bowen

Elder Burlaka

Elder Papenfuss

Tuesday morning after breakfast, Elder Willison and Elder Flood picked up Elder Dos Santos and Elder Macario to deliver to the airport to fly home on medical releases to get well and deliver Elder Burlaka to the Joburg temple to meet his brother returning from another Africa mission and fly home together to Ukraine tomorrow. They brought back Elder Gcwabe from the airport to continue as a zone leader--now with Elder Forward.

2019 July 27-28 Mbabane District Conference

The Mbabane Swaziland (Eswatini) District Conference meetings were held on Saturday at the Manzini Chapel and on Sunday at the Mbabane Chapel.

President Leavitt did ministering visits with other leaders Saturday morning while I took Sister Matswagothata and Sister Sehloho to The Gables shopping in Ezulwini. I left them there and went to pick up sandwiches and drove to the Manzini Chapel and set up lunch for the leaders to eat at 12:30 before their presidency meeting and leadership training meeting. I went back and picked up my guests just as they finished lunch and we drove to the Blue Roof shops for awhile (each our first time there). Then I drove them to their hotel to freshen up and drove us to the Manzini Chapel for our 4 pm Adult Conference session (President Leavitt and I spoke along with Area Seventy Elder Matswagothata and our new SAJM 1st Counselor President Sehloho--replacing President Jacksen Mkhabela, who is the new Johannesburg Temple President beginning November 2019).

Johannesburg Mission Presidency
President Sehloho, President Leavitt, President Simelane

Back row: Elder Matswagothata, President Sehloho, President Leavitt, President Simelane
Front row: Mbabane Swaziland District Presidency, 1st Counselor President Samkelo Bhekumusa Mthethwa; President Siko SM Ntshalinsthali; 2nd Counselor President Vusi Charles Malinga; Not pictured: District Clerk, Jabulani Mbongeni Motsa (changes made at a special General Priesthood Meeting on 15 June 2019 when we were in Eswatini during the mission tour)

2019 July 25 ZC Eswatini Zone

We held zone conference at the Mbabane Chapel on Thursday from 9-3 pm.

Eswatini Zone

Front row: Elder Santos, Elder Walker, Elder James,

Elder Bogosavac, Elder Kisembo, Elder Delvaux

Back row: Elder Matayaunga, Elder Lopuliak, Elder W. van Thiel Berghuys, Elder Boshoff, Elder C. Lee, Elder Barnum

2019 July 21 Mbombela District Presidency Reorganized

President Leavitt and I traveled to Nelspruit on Saturday and did interviews with our missionaries that afternoon. We had dinner with President and Sister Maleka and President and Sister Manjate later that night. 

On Sunday, 21 July 2019, at 9 am, President Leavitt held a half-hour Mbombela District Conference in KaNyamazane and then the branch continued the meeting with a half-hour sacrament meeting and Sunday School class. The Nelspruit branch held Sunday School at 9 am and then President Leavitt held a Mbombela District Conference for a half-hour followed by a half-hour sacrament meeting.

Mbombela District:

Released: 
Lebogang Maleka as District President

Sustained:
Nazario Pedro Manjate as Mbombela District President
Wilson Siguake as District 1st Counselor
Rudolph G. Roeloffze continues as District Clerk

Nelspruit Branch:

Released:
Nazario Pedro Manjate as Branch President
Francois Karel McCarthy as 1st Counselor
Theophilus Nkosamaswazi Mabusela as 2nd Counselor
Alfred Mxolisi Sibanyoni as Elders Quorum President

Sustained:
Theophilus Nkosamaswazi Mabusela as Branch President
Alfred Mxolisi Sibanyoni as 1st Counselor
Melusi Nyoka as 2nd Counselor
Christopher Glen Smith as Elders Quorum President

Formed Lydenburg Group -- Pres. Sibanyoni will conduct and preside at most group meetings in Lydenburg (an hour and twenty to forty minute drive to Nelspruit Chapel down a windy mountain road which members have been faithfully driving for 14 years). The Lydenburg Group will start meeting on 4 August 2019 at the Roeloffze home.

We have found a flat for our missionaries to stay in Lydenburg to work there for three days and to work in Nelspruit for four days until we receive more missionaries to send a dedicated companionship to Lydenburg. Another companionship serves in KaNyamazane.

President Leavitt and I drove the four hours home (one construction delay and two large trucks stopped in the middle of the freeway at different places) after all the extra meetings afterwards were completed.

New Mbombela District Presidency
Wilson Sigauke, Nazario Manjate, Rudolph Roeloffze

President & Sister Mabusela

President & Sister Manjate

President & Sister Maleka
(They moved by Rustenburg for a new job--on the complete other side of our Joburg Mission. We so appreciate their wonderful service in the Mbombela District.)

2019 July 17 ZC-BD, BN, CN, JO, SO

On Wednesday at the Florida Chapel we held zone conference from 10-4 pm.

Bedfordview

Front row: Elder Austen, Elder East, Elder Ncwadi, Elder Ndlelo, Elder San Pascual, Elder McAllister, Elder Bindrup

Back row: Elder Neuenschwander, Elder Harr, Elder Macario, Elder Andrews, Elder Steiner, Elder Shaffer, Elder Kirby,

Elder B. Rocha

Benoni Zone

Front row: Elder Wailagala, Elder Mlenze, Elder Leterme,
Elder Thornton, Elder Papenfuss, Elder Reeves, Elder Atkinson, Elder Mumford

Centurion Zone

Front row: Elder Souza, Elder Gabriel, Elder Diniz, Elder Jangard, Elder Esele, Elder Mthembu, Elder Nocanda

Back row: Elder Ellaso, Elder Rodgers, Elder Sommer,

Elder Tobiasson, Elder Rash, Elder C. Smith, Elder Pickford

Johannesburg Zone

Front row: Elder Sol, Elder Kani, Elder Bowen, Elder J. Smith,

Elder Clawson, Elder Mercado, Elder Dmitri

Back row: Elder Andrus, Elder Carlson, Elder Molteno, Elder Hess, Elder Daniels, Elder Odro, Elder Osmond

 Soweto Zone

Front row: Elder Mwiyawanyoka, Elder Gaigulo, Elder Taylor, Elder Mtyobile, Elder Campos, Elder Dupaix, Elder Rodrigues

Back row: Elder Previatti, Elder Mickleson, Elder Hlatshwayo, Elder Garcia, Elder Mills, Elder Chifarimba, Elder Sande

Some impromptu singing at zone conference.