Thursday, May 16th Zone Conference

We got in last night from Swaziland and Richard's Bay and today we are off to Missionary Zone Conference in Durban. We saw the missionaries we met in Swaziland, plus several other ones we have met over the last two months in our travels.

They started the conference by introducing everyone, including Senior Couples. Then Sister Von Stetten had them all stand up. She then went down a list of things they may or may not have done that week, like making their beds every day, cleaning their flat once that week, washing their clothes once that week, etc. After each item, the ones that didn't do it had to sit down. It was pretty funny seeing them sit down until only a few were standing. She then handed out treats to the ones still standing. They were thrilled, of course. Missionary packages from home are few and far between because of the time it and expense of getting things from the US to Africa and many of the African missionaries receive nothing, because their families cannot afford it. Treats make them very happy and they act like boys about it. Sister Von Stetten also spoke about what the Elders needed to learn from their mission that would help them be a better husband and father. She told them they needed to think about that now, and her husband yelled, "Not yet, they don't." It was funny. She had a panel of six missionaries come up and then gave them some questions to answer, like, "What have you learned on your mission that will help you be a better man when you go home." They all did a pretty good job, but there was lots of laughter when one of the Elders got the question, "What did you learn on your mission that makes you the perfect choice for a husband?" and "Do you want to marry someone just like you?"

One of the missionaries then played a musical number on the piano that was quite good.

We heard from President Von Stetten and he spoke about the many things accomplished by the missionaries in this mission and about their missionary theme from the Doctrine and Covenants, which they stood and recited. He also had us all stand and sing the primary song, only we sang, "We are as the armies of Helaman. We have been taught in our youth and we will be the Durban missionaries to teach the Durbans the truth." It was very fun. He talked to them about avoiding things that would take away the Spirit and to how to be the best they can be. The Elder he had asked to conduct then talked about how to plan your day and have back up plans if the original plans don't work. He said you needed up to five back up plans if you have five appointments in case they all are no shows. They showed a funny video about safety when driving that had two guys with low IQs making fun of the missionaries for their safety rules (like one missionary standing behind and to the side of the car and guiding the driver when he backs up in a grocery store parking lot). It was very funny and yet made some good points. They are always stressing safety because these guys are young without very many years of driving experience. They have their little accidents. Thankfully, not too many.

We broke for lunch and had pizzas that actually tasted like Pizza from back home...almost. Pizza here is really not all that good, because the crust is usually terrible and they don't use Mozzarella cheese, but cheddar or some other kind and most don't have any pizza sauce. One of our favorite Italian restaurants actually offers pumpkin sauce on pizza...Yikes. I helped cut up the brownies that the Senior missionary couples made and put them on plates to serve. Then I helped wash the serving dishes and put them away in the cupboards. There are only glasses and plates in the kitchen, because everything else disappears, so they do not have any serving dishes or bowls or serving spoons, etc. We put out bowls of bananas and apples and those disappeared like magic. I have a feeling some ended up in pockets to be eaten later.

It was great seeing so many Elders in one place. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera, so no pictures were taken, but I am trying to get a copy of the pictures others took at the conference. After lunch, classes resumed. Sister Von Stetten talked about how much she would miss the Elders, that they had become like sons to her. President Von Stetten talked about the new mission president that is coming the end of June and how he would now be their leader and they needed to make him feel welcome. They also read a letter that their new president and his wife wrote to them. It was a very humble, touching letter and they projected the new Mission President and his wife's photo up on the screen while they read it. Both he and Sister Von Stetten were teary as they said their goodbyes at their last zone conference. They served a total of 3 years as Mission President and right before that 1 1/2 years in the area office, so they have been gone from home for 4.5 years.

There was more talked about, but I can't find my notes and it's hard to remember, but you get the idea. There was an Elder there from Nigeria that was 6'8" with a really deep voice and another missionary from Germany that spoke excellent English with no accent and could speak four other languages. One missionary serving in Durban talked about how his companion at the MTC was now in his same mission. Another talked about how someone he knew in high school was now his companion. I love listening to their conversations. They are all so much fun. One guy that is a missionary in Umlazi came up to me and said, "Are you guys taking the Murdock's place in Durban?" When I said "Yes," he said, "Well they were really good. It's going to be hard to replace them." I wanted to smack him, but instead, I said, "Yes, we are not trying to replace them, just to follow them." He then proceeded to ask if we were going to continue teaching "The Strength of Youth" program at the Umlazi high schools. I assured him that we would, but I could tell that he didn't think we'd be as good as the Murdocks. I guess we'll just have to show him. It was a fun conference and we were glad to be there.

Aleta M. and James C. Von Stetten,
Outgoing Mission President

Dorothy & John Zackrison,
new misson President