Just Some Random Stuff -gfh

April Transfer: Elder Jones from Utah in the Traveling Transfer Day Brown Suit:

Brother Shoko has been serving as a ward missionary and being a full-time companion to one of our "odd men out" elders. His official mission call came while here. It was fun to be part of the excitement! His call was to the Zimbabwe Harare Mission. (he's from Zim but has been living here) Also, the name tag he is wearing is a ward missonary name tag in a plastic pin on badge. Looks real, neh?




A few Ennerdale Priesthood holders hangin' out and lookin' cool:

January Transfer: Elder Rodrigues from San Jose Californa in the Traveling Transfer Day Brown Suit:

This grandfather type white man can be seen carrying this little black African boy on his shoulders walking to and fro around our flat complex. One day he was without the little boy and I asked where his little friend was. He said that he had checked next door and he was still asleep. Not sure what the relationship is. Maybe just a kindly neighbor being a grandpa to this young boy. They were out walking one day and I asked if I could take their picture. The man asked why? I told him they would be part of my warm memories of South Africa.

AKA -gfh

The morning of Transfer Day each new missionary gets his picture taken with President and Sister Poulsen. One is sent in a "safe arrival" letter to his parents and he gets a copy. Right before pictures were going to be taken the morning of the April Transfer, Sister Poulsen discovered that she had lost her name tag somewhere between the Mission Home and the Mission Office. We quickly took mine off and clipped it on thinking that no one would be able to read the name anyway but they would notice if she didn't have one on..
Oops! When one of the new elders came in to the office a week later and received his picture, he looked at it and instantly said "What is Sister Poulsen doing wearing Sister Henrichsen's name tag? Who knows but maybe that picture will become a collectors item. Hmmmm.

Munsiville U-Nite -gfh

We love doing U-Nites! This is our fourth one.We were asked by Elder Samoela from Madagascar and Elder Ngcobo(that is pronounced with a click in it. Tricky to do) from Durban. We are pictured above during refreshments at the end of the evening. The cups of tea are Rooibos tea. Very popular here in ZA. It is the bush tea that Mma Ramotswe loves in the books "#1 Ladies Detective Agency". Elder Samoela from Madagascar made chocolate crepes that his mother used to make. Simple but delicious! He made the crepes and while hot he put on Cadbury chocolate bar pieces and rolled them up. The chocolate melted and the result was fantastic! A little bit about Elder Samoela. He knew almost no English when he arrived in ZA. Not too long ago there was a family that needed to be taught in French and he realized he couldn't do it!

After Elder H did his presentation on budgeting and home finance, we had them divide in to teams and do a financial word search I had put together.The picture below shows Elder Samoela helping with the word search game.



Below is a picture of the host family. He has been a member about a month and his wife is being taught.
At the end of the activity I asked if they had any questions or concerns about what we had talked about. One of the women said "We have a problem with budgeting in our culture." I wondered what she meant by that. She went on to explain that they can have their food storage and the food budget for the family but then someone knocks on their door who is hungry and needs a place to live and they take them in. Usually the person does not have the funds to contribute towards the food. The woman asked "What do we do then?" I turned it to the group and asked "What DO you do?" It was decided that if we are careful with our means we are better prepared to care for others which is what the Lord would have us do.
I have added below some more pictures of our U-nite:

Horses -rh

In our transfer meeting yesterday, President Poulsen told of his experience with three of his horses. They would ride up in the mountains of Utah where there are cougars and bears. The horses sense that there is potential danger around them and adapt to their particular roles as they ride. He found that the lead horse would have his ears cocked forward at all times to listen for sounds of danger. The last horse in line would have his/her ears turned as far back as they could go to listen for something trying to sneak up on them. the middle horse in the procession would have his ears constantly moving to listen for things coming at them from the sides. He told us that no matter which horse was in the lead, the ears would be the same - cocked forward. He also said that no matter what order the horses were in the procession they always assumed the role required of their position in the line.

He likened this to the different roles the missionaries play in the mission. Some are junior companions, some senior. Some are district leaders, others are zone leaders while still others are assistants to the president. Each has a role to play and a job to do and we should all be able to adapt as did the horses. Sometimes they are called to be trainers, or zone leaders and then assigned to be a senior companion, even though they have done that job previously. Some would say that we should always be moving to a "higher" position and not going back and doing something that has been done before - but that is not always the case. We accept the call and then adapt to the role assigned, just as the three horses did on the trail high in the mountains.

I am examining the various roles in my life and trying to determine how the Lord would have me play them. I can buck the system and try to be something I am not, or I can make the best of my particular assignment. I have learned that the position of stoker on a tandem bike is not to steer or brake - it is to give my all to making the bike go forward and assisting the captain as asked. If I try to decide where and when to turn, I may be leaning right when the captain wants to go straight or even left. If we don't work together, we can crash and be delayed in our progress or even suffer injuries. It is best to keep within the role assigned - then be the best and most cooperative stoker possible - let the captain decide where to go and when to stop.

I really believe that President Poulsen, although he was likening the horses to the missionaries, was giving us a life lesson to be used every day, in every situation we may find ourselves.

Not A Hero -gfh

So, this is Saturday morning and I'm sick! I was going to be the office hero...the only one not to get sick. But alas, it was not to be. Two weeks ago one of the senior elders was in the office when he was sick. Shortly everyone else took their turn. Rusty was sick last week and we didn't go out to our branch. I stayed home with him because it's too far for me to travel alone..even tho I am independent and capable. President doesn't like it and I am obedient. It looks like I'll be home again tomorrow.
Last night we were "investigators" for the teaching experience in the SAF MTC. We love doing that. However, I had told them earlier in the week not to plan on us because Elder H wasn't feeling well. But the other office couple was planning to go. So Friday morning at devotional the other couple is sick so Elder H, who is now feeling fine, and I volunteer to take their place. Now we hope the germ circle does not continuue in the MTC.
Rusty is hovering. He wants to pamper and take care of me. He won't let me do that when he is sick. I told him this morning that he's just been waiting for me to get sick so he could take care of me. He says "not so". (but it is very nice to be pampered.)
Well, that's the saga of the old sick people. ...

Botswana visas are coming along. Four of our sister missionaries were going to be "kicked out" because they hadn't received their residence visas. But with a new lady in the "power position" they were told to stay and it would be worked out. The sad thing would have been that Botswana is the only place where they can serve in the South Africa mission. First Presidency has directed this because it is the safest place for them..."a kinder gentler nation". So now they can complete their mission. Also, did I tell you that all the stress over getting papers, and requirements together for Botswana residence visas for our other missionaries so President would have a "pool" to draw from for Transfers...that has all been placed on hold. This is a great burden lifted from my shoulders. All the time I'm doing this I'm thinking " why are we flooding the Bots immigration with visa requests when churches are under investigation. Doesn't this raise a red flag?" So I got a call from the Visa Czar in Area Office and he said to suspend all applications BECAUSE it was making the Bots government nervous. Ahhhhhhh, now my office stress is very manageable. The Lord works in mysterious ways. Maybe he was just testing me to see my level of commitment and obedience. I hope I passed. But the Botswana investigation is due to be completed the end of March, which is very soon. We shall see. Don't stop praying yet.
We have our flight itinerary already...actually cause I'm the one who does that. We're stopping over in London for three days and will be home, PDX, 15 July. Sounds like I'm trunky but very definitely not. I do need to see family, and new grandbabies and have some walks on the beach, but there is so much still to do here. I'm editing the office secretary handbook. There have been a great deal of changes since the last update and especially during my time. Funny thing is that I understand the book more now after 15 months than when I first got here and was desperately looking for direction. So my update may not help the new secretary much. We thought our replacements were the couple arriving 11 June which would give us good time to train. It turns out they will be replacing the other couple who do not go home until 1 August and our replacement couple will be here just a week before we leave. Well, that's probably a good thing. Too much time to train can be overwhelming for all concerned. Better to give basic training, hand her the new office manual and wish her well. The work goes forth! It's kind of like drawing the hand out of wet sand...eventually they will say, remember so and so? What was their names anyway! I have put together a folder for each couple with bios and contact details of each they have served with. We had something similar in DC and it has proved to be a treasure! Each couple does their own bio and gets it to me. I add their picture, print it off and distribute out at transfer time. The one in DC was called The Trumpet. Ours is called “The Shield”. There is a line in our mission song that is in Zulu and it means "Faith is our shield". Thought that would work.
New mission president, President Omer and Sister Omer arriving 28 June. We'll have about two weeks with them. Hope that will be helpful to them. We know it will be a blessing for us to serve with them even a brief time.

When ye are in the service..... -gfh

Last Saturday we had a YSA service project of cleaning up the litter around the branch neighborhood. The church grounds are very well cared for and there is a high fence around the property but the surrounding area can be a real eye sore.





The Ennerdale Litter Patrol: Pride, Ntokozo, Brassington and Admire(Elder H was off getting some goodies and Molefe was still out on "patrol")

Of course there were refreshments! I served "Sloppy Joes" which they had never had or heard of before! The guys came to understand why they were call that! The next day at church Ntkozo told me he couldn't get sloppy joe spots out of his shirt but then he asked "When can we have sloppy joes again?"




The missionaries were having a meeting at the branch and joined us...of course!


Molefe, the independant member of The Litter Patrol, joined the group for the food



The activity was great fun! We accomplished a good service not only for the branch but for the surrounding neighbors. This activity had been planned for some time but it turned out to be the day before our Branch Conference with all the stake people visiting! Ennerdale Branch was all "Spiffy" for the occasion!

Behind The Scenes -gfh

I've blogged about our transfer days before but didn't say about the behind the scenes.
First of all, I am in charge of the Transfer Packets. This is a plastic bag for each area (85 of 'em) with the forms, planners, Transfer News, and Ensign/Liahonas that the missionaries will need for the next six weeks. A couple of weeks before the bags need to be "stuffed" I compile all the forms. One morning there were a couple of elders in the office with nothing to do so I recruited their help! It was the fastest counting and sorting I'd ever seen because those young guys turned it in to a competition. Speed and accuracy!! and the winner is......



On the morning of Transfers the President, Sister Poulsen and the Assistants pick up the incoming missionaries at the SAF MTC (which is just through the door from our office). I tag along in the background to keep things going smoothly and to try to keep everyone on schedule. Pictures are taken outside and then the elders hurrying to the chapel(which is also in our compound)for orientation.


I love this picture of President with the new elders. He is giving them counsel about how to button their suits, show their teeth when they smile, hands to side...

Then off with the luggage to the orientation meeting where the office couples get to take a few minutes to introduce ourselves. President wants the missionaries to know that we are "real people". If Elder H and I fail to tell them about our long distance bike riding President reminds us. He has even asked the missionaries "Any of you ride bikes? What's the farthest you've ridden? The Henrichsens will tell you what a REAL bike ride is". So that opens up a fun connection with them.

And after the orientation there are three hours for President interviews and orientation from the office staff relating to medical,flats,cars, post,finances, etc. etc. I'm sure by the end of the day everything is a blur. (hopefully a happy one)
Elder H is in charge of lunch and it's pizza and cold drink (soda) for all the new missionaries and their trainers.
Then the big Transfer/Departure meeting at 1:00 with testimonies and sometimes, parents here to pick up their missionary. It is a Fabulous day of activity, inspiration, and exhaustion! Just thought you'd like to know.
We really do love it!!