Monday, Sep 2nd - Tuesday Sept 3rd Chatsworth Youth Center-Missionary transfer day

Monday morning we went out to the Youth Centre in Chatsworth to speak to the Director, Clive Pillay. He had a good feeling after our wheelchair event and concert and wanted to meet with us to discuss the area in Ixopo that needs help. His organization donated a thousand blankets and food to the people there to help them get through the winter, but they have many more needs. He wanted to know if the Church would be able to help too. Elder Kyle told him about the water projects that Humanitarian can do for certain areas. Luckily, Clive knew quite a bit about an organization that is located in Ixopo who could provide the information the Humanitarian Services Department (Elder and Sister Eggett) would need to find out if the project would be something they could do, plus they might be able to supervise the maintenance once the water supply was installed. Clive offered to take us out there to see the area and meet the people. He said he had a guy with a 4x4 that could drive us and it takes a couple of hours to get there. He wanted to know if we wanted to go on Friday. Elder Kyle told him that we had to contact Humanitarian first and would let him know.

After we arrived back home, Elder Kyle called Elder Eggett and he told them that we needed to see if it met certain requirements before they would get involved and suggested we make a trip out there to meet with the organization that could possibly make sure the maintenance was performed and several of their other requirements. We tried to set up the trip out there for Friday, but that didn't work out, so we are doing it after out trip to Johannesburg on September 10th.

We got some office work done and because there was no Family Home Evening with the Seniors Couples due to missionary transfers and total chaos at the mission office, we spent a nice evening at home watching a movie that Elder Kyle ordered from the church website called "A Good Man." It was about a man who has a lot of challenges in his life with his job, one son leaving for a mission and one son coming home from a mission, a rebellious teenage daughter. He gets called to be the Bishop of his ward on the same night that his other daughter announces she is getting married and the same day that he is trying to decide whether to quit his job and start a new business. It is a very true to life story about the hardships of being Bishop and the blessings that come to him and his family through this difficult, but rewarding calling. There were some funny moments and some sad and challenging moments, but it was really good.

Welcome to Africa

On Tuesday, missionary transfer day, we were asked to pick up a couple of Elders at the Mission President's home and take them to the airport to head back to their homes. We were a bit concerned about their luggage fitting in our car, but no one else seemed to be concerned, so we headed over there to pick them up. When we arrived there were missionaries everywhere with luggage filling one part of the driveway. On the back patio were tables and chair filled with missionaries that had just arrived for their missions the day before. They were waiting to be taken to their various areas. We had no idea that this was so difficult. The mission area covers Southeast Africa, so missionaries need to be driven to several areas seven hours away and many other areas in between.

The two young Elders that work in the mission office, whose job it is to figure out the transport of these missionaries, were working hard to make sure transport was set up for them, including driving many themselves. Sister Zackrison, the Mission President's wife seemed pretty frazzled, so I asked her how she was doing. She said that this was only the second transfer they had experienced and there were so many more new missionaries that it was crazy. She said she was expected to feed them dinner on Monday, but they arrived at 11 am, so she had to figure out lunch too and then Tuesday morning breakfast, but they were still there at lunchtime, so she had to get pizzas for lunch and the way it was looking perhaps dinner as well for some of them that would still be there. I told her to let me know next time and I could help her with all that. She seemed relieved by the offer.

Too many missionaries and only one mission president

We found out that we were not taking only two elders but four, so we had to drive the van to fit them all in. We tried for quite a while to round up the missionaries, but it was a madhouse and when we got three of them, we couldn't find the fourth. President Zackrison looked a little harried himself, especially after Elder Gideme from the area office told him that one of the missionaries that was taken to Lesotho couldn't get in the country because his visa was going to expire...he only had a 90 day visa...and when they assigned him there, they did not get it renewed ahead of time, so he was at the border and someone had to go get him and take a different Elder in his place, which meant rearranging missionaries again. I could tell that he did not know what to do. It was then that I realized what a huge responsibility a Mission President has for all these missionaries. I found out this was the largest influx of new missionaries the mission has experienced in years. This transfer thing happens every six weeks!!!!! I don't know how they do it.

New missionaries getting their assignments

We gathered up the four missionaries to take to the airport and stuffed their luggage in the back of the van. Two were from Idaho and two were from Utah. We asked questions about their plans for the future on the way to the airport and listened to their funny comments about different places they served and sweet comments about the ones they liked best. Then they started talking about one group of Elders that lived in a flat where several sets of missionaries had posted 'Dear John' letters on the wall above a desk. They were laughing about how funny some of them were. One said that his girlfriend was getting married and she and her new husband would love for him to write them. They laughed at that one...just another thing that Missionaries have to deal with on their missions.

Uh...Oh...too much baggage?

We arrived at the airport and Elder Kyle waited in the van while I went in with the missionaries to make sure everything was okay and they got their boarding passes and luggage checked. The first missionary checked in and everything was okay. He only had one bag, but the other three Elders had 2 bags each, which was what they were told by the mission that they were allowed. The ticket agent didn't show that on the ticket, so she would not let them have two bags. This caused quite a bit of stress, as the missionaries tried to figure out what they would do. It was going to cost about $100 to do another bag which two of the missionaries could not do. The third used his parents American Express Card and went ahead and charged it, while the another one tried to figure out how to fit more into his carry-on without going over the limit there. He was having the most trouble. The fourth missionary had a small bag that he was going to check, but since he could only check one bag, he used that one as a carry-on and had to put stuff from it into the main suitcase to keep it from being overweight.

A little panic at the airport, but all worked out with baggage

Needless to say, it was complete chaos causing the poor missionaries a lot of stress. I tried to tell funny stories and keep it light and succeeded for the most part, until the airline woman told one of the missionaries that his passport was expired in 2011. The look on his face was one of shock and maybe a little bit of fear, but I quickly showed her that she was looking at when it was issued and the expiration was not until 2021. She asked another elder to see his and when she realized it was her mistake she was a bit embarrassed, but said it came up on the screen as being expired; however when she did it again, everything was okay??? Hmmm. TIA!

Missionaries waiting patiently to go to their new areas

Finally, they all got checked in...The first Elder somehow had three bags allowed on his ticket, so he let one of the Elders send his bag on his ticket, with the understanding that they would both end up at the Salt Lake airport and he would pick up his bag there, before he went on to Idaho. Their passports were accepted and they were all checked in. We said our goodbyes and I went out to look for Elder Kyle who was going to try to stay at the unloading area, but it had been an hour and he was gone. Luckily, I only had to wait a few minutes before he came back around. Our supposed quick jaunt to the airport had turned out to be an all day thing, but we couldn't help feeling bad for all those who were working so hard to do the rest. We dropped off the van and got our car. There were still missionaries waiting around and leaders trying to sort it all out. We never realized how much work this all is, but our appreciation for the job they do and the sacrifices they make have been heightened. We learned a lot - Mostly that what we are doing is not that hard...a good thing to learn when you think you are busy...there is always someone doing more.