August 12 - August 26

      Tom advised Telcom on August 14^th  that we would be moving but he did not specify a date because the date was subject to the internet and telephone landline being hooked up at our new intended flat.  The woman he talked to told him it could take up to 21 days to get our internet switched over.  What we didn't expect was that in applying for this service to be installed at the new flat , our landline and internet would be cut off the next day. Consequently, we spent the next nine days without any service.

Monday, Aug. 13^th  Tom picked up the key to the flat at 11 Stethen Place.  It has 3 bedrooms, 2 baths and is larger than #17 Turnburry so  we  needed more furniture.  We went looking for a living room and dinette set but could not find anything in our price range.  So we went shopping at Macro.  I ran into Sister Spear there and asked if she knew anyone who was selling used furniture.  She said Traci and Stanley Bannister were emigrating with their family to Canada and had two houses of furniture to sell.  She gave me Traci’s cell number.  I called about 4:00 p.m. She was at her law office but agreed to meet me at the town house at 5:00.  Nothing in her home would work so Traci drove us out to her vacation home near Addo, an elephant park, to see a dinette set and and living room furniture.  We bought a beautiful striped couch with two matching chairs, an entertainment center, a buffet, a dinette set that will seat all three senior couples, three sets of curtains, and several very beautiful African pictres; all for just $625, the price of a new low-end dinette set.  What a blessing.  We were pleased to see that everything matches the earth tones in our new flat.  I’m so glad all the walls or not off white like most of the rentals here.  So from being in the boarding that nobody wanted we are in a comfortable and beautifully decorated house now.

Tuesday, August 14,  We started packing as we must be settled by August 25.  We are having dinner with President Wood and other senior couples the evening of August 30.   The three senior couples here in P.E. are preparing lunch for 45 (leaders and the young elders) in this zone on Friday, Aug. 31st.  We are having stake conference on September 2^nd  and a new stake presidency will be sustained.  The new couple replacing the Taylors arrive on September 22 and will stay in our flat until the Taylors leave on September 24.   

Wednesday, Aug. 15^th, We celebrated Tom’s birthday with a dinner for eight young elders, two neighbors, Verushka and Janette Lake, and the Clarkes. I surprised Tom with a ukulele purchased from a second hand store.  The Polynesian elders bought it.  The Polynesian elders presented a song, Tom sang some Maori and Samoan songs, and elder Wolfgram did the Maori haka. I made yummy potatoes and we bought lemon herb chicken from Nandos, which the elders claimed was better than Kentucky Fried Chicken, and I made a carrot cake.  It was farewell to our neighbors in Turnburry and turned out to be a very nice evening.

Thursday, August 16^th,  We painted the office and walls and floor of the garage.  Now the garage is my dance studio. The young family who lived here before us used the study as their baby’s room.  It was white with a blue fence as a border.  We painted the room a soft satin, off yellow which compliments the framed water-color paintings of birds we found in storage when we arrived in P.E. 

Friday, August 17, Tom and I went to district meeting with the Lorraine Elders.  Then they returned with us and helped unload the truck that brought the furniture in from the Bannister's vacation home.  Afterwards we took Elder Alexander and Ssemanu to lunch along with Jessica, our maid, who had cleaned both flats that day.  We mentioned our internet problems to  these elders and Ssemanu suggested we contact Brother Mshumu, who had just been baptized.  He is the manager of the Telcom office in Sherwood.  Tom stopped at his office and Brother Mshumu had an installer come out Tuesday and set us up.  What a blessing to have our service restored as we need it for our PEF assignment.

Saturday, August 18,  We went to the SOS Children’s Orphanage with members on the Port Elizabeth Ward to do a “Helping Hands” service project.  We planted four vegetable gardens for the orphans as part of this church wide "day of service."  I donated lots of seeds.  Kevin Fourie remarked, “You have enough seeds for a small farm.”  Tom took pictures.

Sunday, August 19, We attended Port Elizabeth Ward and then drove out to Cleary Branch to talk to Joshua Mosiah and schedule his truck in order to move the rest of our furniture on Wednesday.  We arrived there just in time to witness the baptism of Sikelelwa Wellem, the wife of a member.  Then we returned to P.E. where we had lunch with Gale and Kevin Fourie and their daughter, Elders Cowey and Balmforth, and brother James Chemuti and his two sons.  Brother Chemuti is 1st counselor in the PR bishopric.  The Fourie's are both practicing attorneys. They own the complex at Prospect Road where the Port Elizabeth Elders live in a nice flat that we inspect regularly.  Gail is the daughter of Pearl Ek, who hosted us for dinner with Elders Critchfield and Sutherland at Easter.  The food was great and we had a very enjoyable afternoon.

Monday, August 20, Senior Activity zip lining.  Taxing on the stomach muscles as we had to swing with legs outstretched and body practically parallel to the land.  Eight stations with steep steps leading to some of them caused loss of breath and leg muscles to slightly burn.  Overall, a fun activity followed by lunch at a nearby eatery.

Tuesday, August 21,  We met Andre, the installer for Telcom, at our new flat and got our Internet up and running.  however, with moving, I had no time to check my e-mail or update the blog.  We made several trips back and forth in the car to bring clothes and other items.  It’s a good thing that Turnburry is only a mile away from Stethen Place.  We worked until about 8:00 p.m.  I was very tired.  With zip lining and moving, I was so sore I could not sleep and had take a warm bath in the middle of the night to sleep.

Wednesday, August 22,  I organized our goods while Tom with two Polynesian elders and Joshua Mosiah moved the rest of our furniture over in his truck.

Thursday, August 23,  I painted a small table for the patio purchased at a second hand store and a book shelf we use for storage in the garage.  We picked up the elders mail from the airport and distributed it stopping only to buy other items we needed.

Friday, August 24,  Tom blew a circuit while making toast and we had to call Brenda to send over an electrician.  We missed district meeting.  We got all the pictures hung and everything put away.  We went with the Lorraine Elders to visit the Mshumus and thanked Brother Mshumu for getting our Internet restored  so quickly.  We made an appointment to go with the Lorraine Elders on Tuesday to the Frail Care Centre next door.  We will help the physical therapis plan and plant a vegetable garden.  The people who live there need a hobby and gardening will  bless their lives.

Saturday, August 25,  We are speaking in Sacrament meeting in Port Elizabeth Ward tomorrow.  Our subject, the parable of the talents.  This is our first speaking assignment.  We were asked to speak on Thursday which has not give us much time to prepare.  Also we must shop for the dinner we are hosting tomorrow night.

Sunday, August 26,  Sacrament meeting is at 10:00 p.m. then we are going out to Kwa Maxagi to take new petrol cards to the elders there and give some volley ball equipment to the elder’s quorum president for their sports day in September.  Tom is donating the equipment.  At 6:00 p.m. we are hosting Sister Van Sickles birthday.  The Taylors and Janette will join us.  We will probably invite the Clarkes for Family Home Evening on Monday night as this is the last time we will be able to get together until October.   Hope you are all well.  We are in a very beautiful flat now.   It’s amazing how things have turned out.  Love and Blessings, Sister S.

Tom's Report

Hello:

After 9 days with no internet we are now moved as of today and back in internet communication.  Two Tongan elders, Elder Wolfgram of West Valley and Elder Tukuafu of Arizona, helped along with a good Zulu brother with a truck and his assistant.

Monday we Ziplined through the jungle as a senior couples activity, 8 of us total, which was fun though slightly strenuous on the stomach muscles as we had to fly parallel with the ground with outstretched legs.  Climbing steps taxed our breathing and leg muscles  as we walked between flying stations, but an enjoyable activity overall.  Add to that packing over a 3 day period, 8 carloads of possessions relayed from old place to new place, plus 3 truckloads of furniture and accessories and Sister S. was completely wiped out.  Her body ached and she felt miserable so I booked a 1 and a ½ Thai massage for her and now she is feeling better.

Now 3 loads of furniture and accessories may sound like we are basking in affluence.  Not so.  The truck was a pickup truck a little larger than Everett’s.  We initiated our newly acquired kitchen table in our new home with the 6 of us eating food bought at a home-made cooking establishment.  We were blessed to receive some new furniture.  A family is emigrating to Canada so we purchased some of their furniture.  It looks quite nice.  Our old stuff we gave away – some to our Zulu friend and assistant, and some to a member in a ward who hosted us for lunch last Sunday.   Our flat is quite nice and Sister S. is genuinely pleased.  I am too.  She would not enjoy living in squalor so it’s a good thing we were not assigned to a mud hut somewhere in the jungle though I think that would have been fun. 

We’ll be heading out in September to a totally new location called East London, about a 4-5 hour drive from here.  We’ll stay there for a month and try to get some PEF action going.  There are 11 wards and branches.  Our senior couple friends, the Taylors are leaving for home in 4 weeks.  They are from Wyoming and we’ll be sorry to see them go.  They have helped us immensely and we would not be able to technically do this job had it not been for their computer assistance.  So much depends on computer savvy in doing this job.  

It’s enjoyable driving through this country.  Parts look like Idaho and others like Hawaii, some like New Zealand.  Drivers fly past the police who never pursue.  There’s no issuing of tickets, it’s all robot camera.  Twice in one week we were stopped at a police blockade.  They were searching cars for weapons and drugs.  Upon showing my license on both occasions, the policemen proclaimed, ”UUUUUtah.  Where is UUUUUtah?  They had never heard of UUUUUtah but they had heard of California.

They were very friendly.  Sister S. has now revived and is unpacking boxes and putting stuff away.  I’m sure she will issue a documentary about everything in the next day or two.  Aloha,

Elder Stokoe

Transitions

August - September 2012 - Newsletter

South Africa

Cape Town Mission

    Our mission newsletter just arrived.  I came to realized that Elder Stokoe and I have been in the mission field for six months now.  One fourth of our mission is behind us.   I’ve been contemplating just how much we have learned from this experience.  Being with the people of South Africa has been a great joy.  The Saints are so committed and obedient.  The  young elders are an inspiration.  They encourage and strengthen us.  It’s a joy to participate with them in their Zone & District Conferences.  We like inspecting their flats and praying with them.  We like collecting their mail and having them call and ask, “Do I have any post?”  It’s a blessing to present firesides, attend classes and help the youth apply and qualify for PEF loans.  Although technology has been a huge problem for us, we are learning.  We are having many wonderful experiences which we would never have had if we’d stayed  home.  This message from President & Sister Wood really impressed me:  

TRANSITIONS

Crest Article 1 Aug 2012

Our mission is in transition. By year’s end over half of our mission will be new and many experienced elders will transition to their post-mission life. Goings and comings. Transition to the mission field. Transition from the mission field. Of course, every six weeks we undergo the transitions occasioned by transfers. Life is all about transitions: pre-mortal existence to birth, birth to death, marriage, childhood to adulthood, pre-mission to mission to post-mission, education. Transition is one of life’s constants. Dealing with change is one of life’s constant challenges.

As I pondered all the transitions occurring in our mission right now, my thoughts rested on the following language from Alma 34:34 where Alma is talking about the transition from physical death to the spirit world: “. . . for that same spirit which doth possess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal world.” In short, we transition from mortality to the spirit world with whom we have become in attitude, desire, motive and purposes. Elder Dallin Oaks tells us that those words are descriptive of what the scripture refers to as our “heart”. Proverbs 4: 23 tells us to “keep our heart with all diligence for out of it are the issues of life.” We go into the next phase of life with what we have become in our hearts from the previous phase.

When thinking about the process of becoming it begins with our thoughts and desires (heart). There’s an old saying that goes something like this: thoughts become actions; actions develop into habits; habits form character; character determines destiny. In this life what we have become is determined by what we think and by what we do. Attitude and effort-- just like Elder Renlund taught us last September. The same attitude and effort we possess in one phase of life goes with us into the next phase of life. Or for our departing veteran missionaries: the same attitude and effort you demonstrate in the last weeks of your mission will be with you as you begin your post-mission life. For example, if you lose your diligence in maintaining your personal study habit toward the end of your mission, you will struggle to even have regular daily scripture study after your mission. On the other hand, if you will delight in your scripture studies to the end of your mission, you will make the time in the busy world of post mission life to nourish yourself spiritually by daily scripture study. The same would be true of prayer, living a responsible schedule that enables you to accomplish worthy goals, and magnifying your duties in the priesthood.

Another way of talking about how we approach transitions is to say that how we endure to the end of present circumstances measures what we have become as we enter into our next circumstance. The standard for “enduring to the end” is to model our Savior. Nephi taught that unless “we endure to the end in following the example of Son of the living God,” we cannot be saved. How would the Savior approach the new missionary 12 week training program and adjust to the missionary schedule? How would the Savior love a difficult companion? What would the Savior do in a difficult area where there is seemingly insurmountable opposition? How did the Savior endure to the end of His Mission? (Can we even compare our situation to Gethsemane and Calvary?) He fulfilled every aspect of His mission and purpose to His very last breath and opened up the door for each of us to gain the ultimate transition of a marvelous resurrection and eternal life with God.

Our attitude and effort in our present circumstances define our transition to whatever is next for us. Now determines later. Now we live the mission schedule, obey the mission rules, maintain our studies, preach the word so that later we can we can maintain the spiritual attributes of prayer, scripture study, priesthood duty, and obedience to God’s commandments throughout mortality as we face the challenges of this life. “. . . For that same spirit that doth possess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal world.” ( Alma 34:34)

Message from President and Sister Wood

The

Vineyard

South Africa Cape Town Mission

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
August 29	30	31 NEW MISSIONARIES ARRIVE	1 TRANSFER DAY	2 VETERANS DEPART	3 “HAPPY BIRTHDAY” Elder Fowers	4
5	6 Zone Leaders Counsel	7 Zone Leaders Counsel	8 Zone Leaders Counsel “HAPPY BIRTHDAY” Elder Magetse	9 “HAPPY BIRTHDAY” Elder Mholo	10	11 Pres. Sister Wood in Grahamstown
12 Pres. Sister Wood in Grahamstown Fower’s in Knysna	13	14	15 Veterans Interviews “HAPPY BIRTHDAY” Elder Stokoe	16 Veterans Interviews 6:00pm Veterans Dinner Veterans Depart	17	18
19 Work on Transfers “HAPPY BIRTHDAY” Elder Moangare	20 Work on Transfers	21 “HAPPY BIRTHDAY” Elder Mkwezalamba	22	23 “HAPPY BIRTHDAY” Elder Lukoye	24 Pres Fly’s to Namibia “HAPPY BIRTHDAY” Elder Andriamanantena	25 Pres & Sister Wood in Namibia
26 Fower’s in Port Alfred	27 NAM Zone Conference	28	29 Queenstown Zone Conference	30 EL/MD Zone Conference “HAPPY BIRTHDAY” Sister Van Sickle	31 PE/KwaNo Zone Conference	1 September CT Zone Conference
2	3 “HAPPY BIRTHDAY” Elder Nance	4 “HAPPY BIRTHDAY” Elder Houston	5	6 ZLC Skype Call	7	8

Dear Bishop Farmer

Bishop Farmer:

     Thank you for the update on the ward.  We appreciate you taking the time to write and inform us.  We enjoyed hearing from you.  It’s was good to hear about events in the ward and the Madsens going on a second mission.  I would go on a three mile walk in the neighborhood and run into Dave coming from the opposite direction approximately a mile and a half from where we both live. There we would chat for 10-15 minutes about missionary work. Now we are half way around the world engaged in it.

     Speaking of distance and relativity to church and attendance.  There are three temporal things that affect church attendance in this country and that’s distance, weather, and the lack of transportation.  Some live close to the church building, but for many it takes 30 minutes to an hour or more to walk to church. Some enter sacrament meeting with beads of sweat on their brow having walked a long distance in the hot sun.

      Now when it rains, it’s a different story.  You need to know about the rain here. There are days when it rains all day.  There are times when it rains three days in a row with hourly breaks here and there. On these rainy days hardly anyone comes to church and I don’t blame them. When you have no transportation, why walk for an hour in the rain, get wet, sit wet through a three hour meeting, then walk home for more drenching in the rain? The same occurs for seminary, institute classes, and church activities during the week. A few may be fortunate to have a raincoat or an umbrella.  Very few members have cars.  In the outlying areas you may see ten cars in the church parking lot and 1/3rd of them belong to missionaries.    

      Due to the distance factor and lack of transportation some members quit coming to church and become inactive. Some newly baptized, after a while, fall into this category.  Consequently, our young missionaries have been instructed not to baptize anyone who lives more than 45 minutes from the church.  It’s a challenge for these distant new members to sustain activity.

       There is strong faith in the wards and branches in South Africa and many have excellent knowledge of the scriptures. There are also some excellent teachers.  We enjoy rotating to different wards and branches on Sundays.  It’s interesting to be in a congregation where we and 4 other missionaries are the only white faces in a congregation of 250 Black faces. We really enjoy visiting with the people.  The members are very warm, congenial and friendly from the little children to the adults.  The saints really sing out in church and the choirs over here are truly excellent.

        Bishop, there is a ward here of Black saints that has a unique priesthood opening exercise
after Sunday school.  They sing 2 hymns, all verses, as a prelude.   Then the bishop or a counselor gives opening remarks, covers business and the priesthood sings the opening song - all verses. The prayer is given and the brethren disperse to their respective classes. When they sing the prelude hymns and the opening song, there is no holding back.  They sing with gusto.  It’s good to see the smiling faces and white pearly teeth of the saints. Whenever we visit the wards and branches, women and young girls are constantly hugging Sister Stokoe.  There is a genuine spiritual love here.  The handshake of the Africans is a triple shake: you shake hands, then hold and shake thumbs, then handshake.  

       A ward announced that on a following Saturday at 4 p.m. there was going to be a special
Thai Kick Boxing Class in the recreation hall with visiting instructors from a gym.  All interested should come. They had never had this before.  I walked into that class of Black saints and it was rocking.  Around sixty ward members were kick boxing.  The people here are very athletic.  The instructors only showed once what to do and they all caught on. The session was very strenuous and the participants loved it.  They whooped and cheered.  I was surprised to see a couple of Relief Society sisters around 250 lbs each, go all out non stop for the entire hour. I kept thinking they would quit but they never did.          

       We really enjoy our association with the young missionaries.  They are very dedicated, hard working and committed. They are out tracking every day, making appointments, teaching and fellowshipping the inactive.  They have excellent rapport with families and the youth.  They are doing a commendable job.        

        Bishop, you asked what would a ward like our Willowcreek 3rd ward be in the mission field?  The answer is, “Dynamite, absolute dynamite.”  Thanks for giving the statistics on our ward.  We can appreciate the numbers we have in Willowcreek.

        We attended a ward a month ago that has 151 members on its roll.  I saw the bishop preparing the sacrament table and trays so I asked him, “Where are your Aaronic priesthood boys?”  He told me his ward has 1 deacon, 2 teachers when they show up, and no priests.  I saw his bulletin board with a list of sacrament speakers assigned for the entire 2012 year.  I was surprised.  I commended him on doing that and asked if all the speakers showed up. He said he had to do that because he has no secretary and that 90% of the assigned were faithful and fulfilled their speaking assignment.

         That Sunday was ward conference.  The sole deacon showed up minus a tie.  The bishop removed his and placed it on the deacon so he would look appropriate passing the sacrament.  The bishop sat on the stand throughout the conference with no tie.  My heart went out to him for his goodness.

          The works moves forward in this part of Africa.  A branch became a ward two weeks ago and they are about to split a ward to form two.  There are baptisms regularly and some reactivation is occurring.

As for a little TRIVIA here’s what’s what:
# We accompanied the elders to teach a family that had a daughter named Beauty and a grandson named Gift.
#  We have a young elder in our PEF class whose name is Prescious
#   And the young man at the Pick N Save store in charge of the vegetable department is named Passion.
#   When I pay for groceries the cashier asks “Packet?” meaning plastic bag.
#    When I ask for a loaf of French bread the pastry lady says, “Short or stick?”  If I say stick I am given a thin loaf about 2 feet long.
# When seeking driving directions I was told to, “Turn right at the 3rd robot.” meaning streetlight.
# When requesting sauce to put on meat I was offered tomato sauce, worchester, or monkey gland.
# On the menu at a restaurant were garlic snails.
# Everyone has to pay for electricity in advance or they get none for their home.  Hence, there are no unpaid electric bills in this country.
# And whenever you say thank you to anyone they reply, “Pleasure.” which is the equivalent of our “You’re welcome.”    

Bishop, thanks for the communication and thanks to Peggy Chastain for sending us the monthly ward newsletter.

Elder & Sister Stokoe






 

Duties of PEF Missionary vs Counselor in a YA Wards

Dear Elder Stokoe,

. . . Whimpy hamburgers there in Port Elizabeth uses giraffe, ostrich, chicken and any other meat/animal that is available.  Probably monkeys and gazelles, and ????  ... whatever else is roaming around!!!

You know, I like your idea of "going on a mission", especially there, to Port Elizabeth!!!  Sounds like it would be more relaxing than being here in Utah in a single adult ward, that's for sure!  Monday evening, FHE was from 6 PM to 10:30 PM.  Last night's blessing from 6:45 to 9 PM.  Tonight, home ward "Annual Ward Picnic" which starts at 6 PM, then Prospective Elders at my singles ward at 8:30 PM, tomorrow (Thursday evening) bishopric meeting starts at 6:30 PM followed by interviews until 10 to 11 PM, sometime until midnight!  Right now, Friday and Saturday is free of church activities, but we'll have to see if that holds true.  Hope you're enjoying the Olympics.  I haven't had time to watch any of it!!!  Got some paper work to do.  Hope to write more .... later.

Take care,  Everett

Elder Stokoe replies to Everett on  Mon, 30 Jul 2012  

Thanks Everett.  We have Norton anti- virus on our computer.  We’ve had for a couple of years.  There must be something else blocking reception and application of Smile Box.  We’ve uninstalled and reinstalled several times to no avail.  Had help from Janette and Elder Taylor but still does not function.  

Whimpy’s has the same as us back home except their burger meat is not as good as ours.  Interesting the different kinds of beef jerky they here:  impala, bontebok, springbok, ostrich, giraffe and others.  I was surprised at these offerings.  You wouldn’t think that there would be such a thing as giraffe and ostrich beef/chicken jerky but it exists.  Anyway – we went to an animal park last week about 5 days after 4 days of solid rainfall and got stuck in the mud.  We had to be rescued by a truck and tow rope.  Our flat situation is still up in the air.  

Some good spiritual events over the weekend.  Made 30 ham sandwiches to feed our Planning for Success class and whoever was hanging out in the church building, plus took 3 bottles of guava juice.  Everything eaten.  Fruit juices over here are really good with all kinds of varieties – sort of like Egypt in a way when we came across some we had never known before.  Today is P Day – well every day is practically a P Day.  Sister S and I were discussing your busy church schedule.  She suggested you and Corrine ought to come on a full time mission so you can take a break from your busy ward schedule and relax.  With a full time mission like ours you might have 1/20^th the work and responsibilities you have there and can sight see at leisure.  Well, it will be a different story when we go to East London next month and have to jump start PEF in 14 different wards and branches, plus 2 branches in a neighboring bush town.    Diane wants the lap top to exercise with zumba so this is it for now.

Elder S.

Supporting the young elders and processing PEF loans

   Monday night we took Miriam and Phillip Clarke and  Elders Pack & Acton to dinner to celebrate Tom and Phillip’s August birthdays.  Tom enjoyed the best steak he’s had since leaving Utah.  The steaks  in S.A. are  rather tough and they taste different.   Tom said the steak he had last night was as good as “Applebees.”  Even hamburger, called mince meat here in Africa, is not very good.  We usually just eat chicken or fish.

   Yesterday we did flat inspections and said a final goodbye to Elder Pack.   Acton  welcomes two new missionaries today.  They will stay with him at Prospect Road until he goes home in two weeks.  Saying goodbye to Pack & Acton was like bidding farewell to our own kids.  Working with them has strengthened our testimonies, encouraged us and enhanced our lives. The Taylors and Van Sickles are very busy.  They spend  most of their time working in the black township wards out in the bush.  We have held firesides and participated in "planning for success" classes there, but our focus has been in the two Afrikaans wards here in Port Elizabeth.  Both have few members and need lots of activation work.

  We learned  more about Pack and Acton yesterday by looking at their family pictures posted to the wall.  Their parents are about the same  age as our  Belov kids.  I asked Elder Acton who proposed and when he was going to get married?  He said, ”Chelsey proposed to me.  We are getting married October 13^th.”   I asked if another woman  in a photo was his mother?   ”Actually she’s my step mother, but I love her like a mother.  I’ve only seen my real mother twice since I was three years old.  She lives in Arizona with my 23 year old sister.”   President Wood said Elder Acton has had a lot of challenges during his mission.  He turned his furniture moving/repair business over to another and now it's gone under.   Still Acton has been able to do an amazing job in the mission field.  Both mothers can be very proud of these sons.

  Yesterday afternoon Elder Taylor arrived for yet another computer training session.  He is determined to teach us how to process PEF loans before we leave for East London.  Taylor drew a lot of charts explaining how all data is stored in either files or folders (like my Docs) on the hard drive.  (Someone divided the hard drive on our PEF computer into haves.  So all the PEF documents are stored on the D drive rather than on the C drive.)  There is a folder called “My Docs” and within that, there is a file called “my scans.”   Using the icon for our new HP printer/scanner, we scan PEF documents into a student's folder.  Then we open a different program to bundle or zip all the documents we just scanned together.  After doing that, we must go to LDS.org.  Once there we navigate to the PEF section where Tom signs in as “administrator.”   All PEF loans are initiated by students on line. (Good luck in Africa where only one person in 10 has a computer.) 

  Then the application receives a loan number.  Once we get into a student account, we must navigate back to "scan" to access the documents and post them.  Lastly we hit  “done.” Then everyone with rights has access--the student, the loan committee in S.L., PEF headquarters in Johannesburg and us. Every loan is initiated, processed, approved, and managed by this on line system.  We should have learned all this during  our training at the MTC or in Salt Lake but by the time we were faced with processing a loan, we had forgotten how and had other problems;  Internet now working, scanner/fax not working and our land line was blocked.  Without Elder T.'s help we would have been shut down.

   Elder T. says that Tom’s problem is that he has big fingers, moves fast and has a heavy touch.  When he  hits more than one key, he finds himself on the wrong page or out of the program. He get frustrated.  Taylor says he is a very bad student; does not read and jumps ahead.   But we have been practicing. Between the two of us,  we can finally close a loan.  However these problems have taught us about technology, how
computer work and  how to work together as a team.  Perhaps this mission is boot camp for eternity.

   As for PEF in South Africa, Elder Kelly Haws, the church's education director, wondered how it was going?  Elder S. replied, "very slowly."  I said, "If we were working for a bank we would be fired."  Despite presenting seven firesides and participating in workshops, we have only generated one loan.  However, had we not been  here and PEF left up to the wards, nothing would have happened.  This effort is to encourage people to grow and provide opportunities, not just generate loans. 

  We have taken just one student through the entire PEFF process, Mawethu Dlepu, the son of  the protestant minister who paid for his LDS mission to Kenya.   Dlepu  wanted to become a pharmacist.  However in doing research in the planning for success workshop, he discovered that he did not like standing around waiting to fill prescriptions; so has decided to become a "fire fighter".  Dlepu's loan was approved and has been sent to Salt Lake.  His classes begins on Monday. Elder Stokoe and I are teaching make-up workshop classes in Kwanobuhle.  We will have three more students ready to apply for PEF loans next week.