Week 70 - Sep 27th - Oct 3rd, 2015 - Start of month 17

Sunday, September 27th - Saturday, October 3rd, 2015

This week we got to welcome home the first full-time missionary to return to the Seshego Branch, Elder George Mphaka who has served in the South Africa Durban Mission just to the south east of us a few hundred miles.  His mission takes in the south Indian Ocean side of SA along with some of the south coast towards the Cape of Good Hope.  He said he made acquaintance while serving with my cousin George Barker's grandson, Elder Barker who serves in the same mission.  

His family and some of the Branch members were there along with us to greet him at the Polokwane airport.  I had to get him on the phone with President Wilson to be released.

The weather has now turned fairly hot from quite warm.  The blanket is off the bed now and the fans are running constantly and it's quite a challenge to keep the temperature inside our flat below 85F, but we will survive even if we melt some doing it!

Since taking over more office duties it seems like the problems with phones has been more than replaced with problems with cars.  Five crashes and/or blown engines, brakes, tires, clutches, etc. seem to come left and right.  Honestly don't know sometimes why the Elders aren't just a little bit more careful and cautious with their precious transport.  I know they don't like walking or losing their driving privileges.   It makes me grateful for those days many years ago when as an Elder in Switzerland I was blessed to have a moped to get around on.  And, if it didn't run the mission office had nothing to do with it, it was my problem!  Oh well.

Many month-end bill paying duties to care for as usual.  I'm working hard to get this to a point where we can transition it over to the new office couple, the Hawkins, when they arrive on October 31st.  Happy Halloween!

We spent much of the day on Thursday with Elder McClellan in the hospital where he was being treated for severe abdominal pain etc.  Due to conflicting opinions from the treating Dr. and the Area's medical advisor Dr. he was released late in the pm and we took him home to have some meds and a very bland diet for a few days.  In the meantime a good blessing and some sincere prayer is in order to sustain his recovery.

On Friday Melanie helped me enjoy a terrific birthday, # 67, here in Polokwane.   Started out with my favorite breakfast, creamed eggs over toast.  Followed by a Big Mac for lunch.  Ended with a wonderful chocolate cake she made for a dinner-time celebration.

Even had another fun day with the kids at basketball in Seshego too.  We are going to miss them when we go home.

On Saturday we visited our beloved Jimmy and his new pal Simon, the preacher boy!  Such a highlight of our week each Saturday.

As usual we had some quick but such enjoyable video calls with Wendy, Cody and his kids, Annie, then Marlie and James.

Later on we stayed up to watch the morning session of Conference and then to catch excitement of the sustaining of the new Apostles, Elders Rasband, Stevenson, and Renland.