Youth Day in Motherwell & Zone Conference

Monday was Youth Day in South Africa. It's a national holiday.   We spent that day in Motherwell where these young men and their non-members friends played soccer.  Everyone enjoyed Elder Stokoe's refreshments.  I washed windows and instructed group leader Zitsu and young Sifundso in how to hang curtains.

Soccer and lunch activity in Motherwell 

Youth enjoying the lunch that Elder Stokoe prepared.

On Tuesday Elder S. and I shopped and cooked in preparation for Zone Conference.  Elder Bricknell of the area presidency and Sister Bricknell gave some wonderful, inspiring talks.  

Elder Baricknell is a member of the 3rd Quorum of 70.

Doctor Scott and Sister Scott with a Knysna Missionary

We spent Wednesday at Zone Conference where President and Sister Woods both talked.  The A.P.'s also did training.  Thirty-two young elders, ten senior missionaries and our four leaders were in attendance.   The Gardners are from Enterprise, Utah and are staying with us through tomorrow night. Last night we all had dinner at the Van Sickles.  The Gardners are the member support couple for George.  The Scotts have the same calling in Knysna Branch.  Dr. Scott is a medical doctor who taught at the University of Utah for years.  He and his wife were serving as humanitarian missionaries in Burndi, near the Democratic Republic of Congo, until Elder Scott was robbed, mugged, his money and all his I.D. was stolen.  So his mission president there thought it best to transfer them to S.A.

This is Dr. Scott's sixth mission.  It's a second mission for the Gardners.  They both served in the California mission.  Both couples arrived in May and this was their first Zone Conference in South Africa.

I asked Sister Wood if mission headquarters is still considering sending out some Sister Missionaries?  She replied that after this week she doubted that sister missionaries would come as two companionships were robbed at knife point.  Elders Martin & Washburn were stopped on the N2 by thieves who had thrown spikes on the highway which punctured their tires.  When they stopped these elders were robbed at gun point.  The Van Sickles also had another break in last week.  However their new alarm system scared off the would be robbers and they got nothing.  

We enjoyed excellent talks and a nice dinner which included KFC fried chicken, baked potatoes with different toppings, green salad and strawberry short cake.

Sisters Wood and Bicknell opposite their husbands at Old Austria Restaurant after Zone Conference.

We discovered that the Van Sickles had owned a construction business in Ferron. They know the Tomsicks, our son's in-laws.   Nikki was very young at the time so likely would not remember them.  Before returning to George we took  the Scotts and the Gardners on a game drive to Kargga Kamma Game Reserve just 15 minutes out of Port Elizabeth.

Elder & Sister Gardner