On Saturday, 28 March we held our first Mission Leadership Council with all our zone leaders and assistants during Lock-down. We held it using Zoom--our first time. It went pretty well, except I didn't take a photo.
So many missionaries--so much bedding--no help! It takes so much time to reorganize the mission and deal with all the back office items and new missionaries. But we are moving forward and eventually, I conquered the laundry and bedrolls while keeping us fed.
1 April 2020, Wednesday
No April Fool's day--I called and got my internet fixed the next morning--YEAH!
I started at 9 am training missionary companionships all day, trading off with President Leavitt downstairs doing interviews--all on WhatsApp! I have another mission phone that lets me see any companionship's digital area book. We have so many missionaries who have just joined our mission but never had digital area books. Right now, we gave each companionship just one area to cover. Later, we will distribute the 50+ more areas between all the companionships. I did my last training on Sunday, April 19. We have had full days. I didn't think to take very many photos of interviews.
2 April 2020, Thursday, Elder Paongo was moved from the surgery floor to a regular single room in a ward. He didn't ask for a shaver when we sent things up to him in the hospital before the Lock-down. His luggage is in Sierra Leone. He is slowly recovering.
All 17 sister missionaries housed at the MTC.
Our transfer board:
Our Elder missionaries in flats within 30 minutes of the mission office:
4 April 2020, Saturday
Elder Ndlela had a swelling in his salivary glands. I called it the "Mumps" because it reminded me when I had the mumps as a little girl.
7 April 2020, Mission Leadership Council
Includes our zone leaders and sister trainer leaders, our assistants and President and Sister Mkhabela (who are the Johannesburg Temple president and matron on assignment at the MTC with the sister missionaries who returned to South Africa, except two Ugandans, while the temple is closed).
8 April 2020, Wednesday
Zone Conference, 10:00 am to 12:20 pm
Zone 5 (All our sister missionaries at the MTC)
Our Assistants, Elder Mtyobile and Elder Kunjuzwa
Zone Conference with Zone 4, 2:15 pm to 4:30 pm.
April 8, 2020: Elder Ndlela's pain and swelling started diminishing yesterday. He was able to enjoy zone conference today as shown above. And as shown below later today.
10 April 2020, Friday
President Leavitt and I drove to Milpark Hospital and Elder Paongo walked out the hospital doors and got into the middle seat of our car (President Leavitt was in the back on a Zoom meeting), and I drove us back to the mission home. No one stopped us. We put Elder Paongo in the Bungalow next to our house as he needs to be isolated for some time while he recovers. I stocked it with food.
10 April 2020
Our Area travel office people drove three vans with four English missionaries and one Austrian missionary from the Durban mission to our mission home, arriving at 5 pm. They had travel documents to bring them--and passed successfully through two roadblock stops. I fed them dinner after they arrived.
After getting them settled downstairs, President Leavitt and I had a Zoom meeting at 8 pm with Elder and Sister Parrish, over the area communications department, and the sisters at the MTC about an advertising campaign in Africa on Facebook and Instagram. Sister Sithole and Sister Kipela would be the lead missionaries fielding the referrals.
11 April 2020, Saturday
The area travel people picked up the Austrian elder at 5 am and took him to the meeting point for transport to OR Tambo airport to fly to Amsterdam and then to Austria on a charter plane. I'm sorry I can't remember his name and didn't write it down.
I fed the other four breakfast, lunch and dinner. We received their plane tickets and health forms they filled out. They gave each other haircuts, washed and vacuumed our car, vacuumed the main floor of our house and dusted part of the house. They helped me get all the clean bedrolls organized with pillows, sheets and towels and roll them up and put into plastic garbage bags for later use. They also emptied the water out of the fountain and pond that isn't going right now--getting some mosquito bites for their efforts.
While outside in our driveway, we spotted this very small fellow. I would have picked him up, but didn't know what kind he was, so didn't. Turns out he was a black collared centipede eater--and perfectly harmless. But we couldn't find him after we looked him up. The only other snake in our driveway, was a bigger snake that looked like a green mamba. But only President Leavitt saw it before it disappeared down a hole in the brick planter by our house.
12 April 2020, Sunday Happy Easter Day
We had sacrament meeting outside in our carport with Elder Paongo and our four English Elders. After administering and passing the sacrament, we all spoke for a short time. It was wonderful weather. It is such a wonderful blessing to be surrounded by men who have the priesthood of God so I can participate in priesthood ordinances that bless my life. We enjoyed the Spirit this beautiful day, and celebrated the life of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
After finding out they could only take 30kgs each, the basement because a dumping and repacking place. Many of our missionaries have gone through this painful process before going home and taking a charter plane requires even less luggage.
President Leavitt and I held a Zoom meeting with all our missionaries at 7 pm. Then had another Zoom meeting after with the area communications director, Elder Parrish.
13 April 2020, Monday
Our English Elders were picked up at 5 am to drive to the meeting spot to board buses to go to OR Tambo Airport to fly home to England. We made sure they had all the health papers filled out and had their tickets and transport letters.
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| Elders Smart, Vickers, Turner and Gore and President Leavitt |
We held another MLC from 4-6:15 pm. President Leavitt does interviews and I do training during the days.
15 April 2020
Zone Conference with Zone 3
Elder Paongo feeling stronger.
2:30 pm Zone Conference Zone 2
16 April 2020
Zone Conference with Zone 1 at 10 am.
18 April 2020, Thursday
The Australian Embassy called and asked if Elder Garrett still wanted to travel home to Australia. England had a charter plane on Friday he might fly on to England and then take a plane to Australia where he would be put in a hotel in Perth for two weeks and then fly on to Sydney. We got all his documents ready. President Leavitt did his exit interview at 7:10 pm. Area Travel picked him up Friday morning at 5 am to take him to the meeting place to get on a bus to OR Tambo airport.
As usual, we did another day of interviews and training on our WhatsApps. We had a staff meeting on Zoom at 5 pm.
18 April 2020, Saturday at 4 pm, I did my first Zoom training with all 16 Sister missionaries staying at the MTC--except 3 were sick. I think it was helpful as an addition to their companionship training I did. They are all new to doing missionary work on smart phones with digital area books.
President Leavitt and I continue to help young adults from our South Africa and Swaziland branches get their papers ready to submit to be called on a mission. Because of the lockdown, most will be serving first with us until they can travel to their assigned missions. They do their virtual MTC training first.
19 April 2020, Sunday
I just had to take a picture of these Birds of Paradise that start blooming in the fall. We have many flowers blooming here now and I am thinking of springtime at home. The weather is fabulous here in Joburg.
24 April 2020, Saturday
President Leavitt came out for a few minutes to play ping pong with Elder Clark, then Elder Paongo took a turn. Elder Clark's companion was in the hospital for a few days--not a COVID-19 illness, although they tested him outside in a tent and held him in an isolation room for 14 hours for the negative test results before letting him in a ward. No visitors allowed. His companion is okay.
26 April 2020, Sunday
We held sacrament meeting with Elder Clark and Elder Paongo outside under our carport. The wind kicked up a bit so we did part of it inside. We each spoke from a different book of scripture about Christ's atonement.
Sunday evening we held a mission Zoom meeting.
28 April 2020, Tuesday
President Leavitt and I held another Zoom MLC at 4 pm. There are many items to counsel about with our zone leaders, sister trainer leaders, our referral leaders and President and Sister Mkhabela.
We should have a transfer 29 April, but are still in lockdown until 1 May. We move to level 4, which doesn't change much of what we can do. We have been working on our interview and general schedule, district council topics, our transfer of a few companionships with the addition of two new missionaries (who reside close by) and transferring all proselyting areas to our missionary companionships and their digital area books. Right now most have only one area on their phones.
On Friday, we will reorganize the mission to cover all areas our missionaries lived and taught in. We have less than half the missionaries and most are new to digital area books and some new on their mission. A lot of training will continue. Everything happens in their flats on their phones. It has been an adjustment for all. However, the Lord's work is moving forward. Christ's gospel and His blessings are being shared, accepted and experienced. Missionaries are growing and changing in their thoughts, spirituality and capacities--a marvelous experience.
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