New flat at 11 Stethen Place

Friday, July 27, 2012

     We found a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom townhouse last night.  It’s about the same size as the flat we now occupy, it’s in Lorraine, and only a mile from the other two senior couples.  Which will make coordinating area and leadership training dinners for the young  missionaries easier.  Lucky we arrived early for our 5:30 appointment.  Four other prospective renters came shortly after we got there.  Evidently 11 
Stethen Place had just been listed.  We had only a few minutes to make our decision.  The property compares favorably to the flats that the other two senior couples occupy and will work well for the couple that replaces us. So no more switching flats just before the new couple arrives leaving the least desirable property for them. Elders Critchfiled and Ssemanda arrived to collect their mail a few minutes after we got home last night.  They stayed for dinner and Elder Critchfield invited us to attend district meeting at 10:30 today.  

 ­­ -----

Saturday, July 28, 2012

  Went to breakfast  at Whimpy’s this morning as there was nothing in the house to eat.  I expected to defrost the refrigerator and get ready to move.  However since Cape Town has paid our rent here thru  August 31st, they advised us to stay put.    Still Elder Oldham suggested that I call Talanna and explore the possibility of a refund.  Which I did.  But she was not willing. Legal work on the sale of this flat has been done and her buyers expects to close August 31^st.   So we will move the last week in August.  Which works  for us.  We will have time to settle in before leaving for East London on September 1st.   

We went to district meeting. Elder Critchfield had organized a Jeopardy game.  The subjects: scriptures, general conference talks, local and current events, “missionary commitments” and questions from Preach My Gospel.   Elder Ssamana, from Kenya, ended up with the most points.  He really knows his scriptures and he's very bright. Team Stokoe lucked out when we got  500 points for knowing what Jeffery Holland’s analogy in his conference talk concerning people who takes offense at other’s good fortune represent. The answer: “It’s like drinking another bottle of pickle juice! “  Then we took the elders to lunch.  They are happy to see Phillip Clarke attending sacrament meeting.  They suggested we spend our down time working with less actives.  

 Elder Critchfield (who resembles Clark Kent) believes Tom and I relate better to these people than the young elders since we are closer to them in age.  He has made an appointment for us to visit a single sister next week.   The P.E. elders have given us contact information on a school teacher.  They hope we can provide some continuity as Elder Pack goes home on Wednesday and Elder Atkin will welcome two new elders on Wednesday and then work with them until he leaves in two weeks.  I asked Pack what he would be doing at this time next Friday.  He said, “Kissing my mom hello at the airport;  having dinner at Café Rio and then going to Eden with my family.  (It's near Pine View Resevoir north of Ogden.)

It’s rained on and off again all day. Tom is delighted that the Olympics is being broadcast on one of the three TV stations here.  He watched the opening ceremonies in the middle of the night and is happily settled in front of the TV watching a rugby game even as I write.  We are going to an activity in Port Elizabeth Ward at 5:00 p.m.  We will watch "The Home Teacher."  The Cleary Elders sponsor a movie in their ward on the first Friday of the month.  We set up our Eiki projector so they could show "The Other Side of Heaven."  Over 40 people came including less actives, investigators and the youth.  It really helps to have these kinds of church activities going on in a colored township where people have little or no money and must walk everywhere they go.