Another 90 Degree Curve Ball

There's so much to tell and so little time to tell it!  You'll understand why just a few spaces down.  I'll do my best to fit everything in.

It was nearing the end of the sixth week of the transfer in Protea Glen as Elder Mkhize and I were driving toward the chapel early Saturday morning.  I would be lying if I said it wasn't difficult getting out of from my warm bed to exercise in the cold of winter.  (Yes, winters in South Africa can chill you... pretty epic, neh?)  Nevertheless, we went forward to exercise with the YSA's in the Protea Glen Branch, after which we would clean the baptismal font for Khanyisile's baptism the following day.

During our half-time break, I was refreshing my senses with a cold cup of water when I heard a squeel from my companion as he was checking our phone.  He updated me that we had missed a call from our mission president, President Leavitt!  We sent him an SMS to let him know we were ready to talk as soon as he was.  It was no surprise that he had called us, as President Leavitt usually calls on the Saturday before transfers to extend leadership assignments.  What was so surprising was the fact that he had called so early in the morning.  The suspense and suspicion grew with every second we awaited for his phone call.

Within two minutes the phone was wailing its ringtone to alert us that President was returning our SMS.  We immediately answered, putting him on speaker phone.  After exchanging greetings, President cut to the chase: "Elder Benson, we have full confidence in your next assignment.  We'd like to call you as our next Assistant."

......

I don't remember much of what he said after that.  Maybe I blacked out, or maybe I was hit my a soccer ball to the head, or maybe I just wandered into my own little world for a few seconds.  Eventually I came to and had enough time to say goodbye to President Leavitt before the call ended.

Flash forward to the present:  I'm sitting in an office chair in the South Africa Johannesburg Mission Office, first day on the job, preparing for transfers tomorrow.  Luckily we had the chance to play some epic games of ping pong with the departing elders at the mission home, then we zipped back to the Mission office to make final preparations for take-off.

The amazing feeling over the past weekend since that fateful phone call is peace, the emotion so sweet above any other that is helping me to keep me level and balanced.  I'm grateful for this support from my Father in Heaven, though I'm not completely sure why He'd select me to fill this responsibility.  But it's no surprise to me, seeing what he's done in the past.

The Lord has blessed me with a plethora of ninety degree curve balls such as this throughout the course of my mission.  When He first pitched them my way, I was completely caught unawares to these surprises.  The first wave of these surprise curve balls were first followed by worry or stress.  However, I'm come to love the Lord for giving me these unexpected events in the space of my eighteen months as a missionary, because, with all of the curve balls he's thrown my way, I've been able to handle them better and better, no doubt that He was preparing me for more to come.

If anyone reading has had experience as an Assistant to the President, I'd love any advice or comments to help me prepare for this assignment that might carry me through to the end of my missionary experience.

Thank you all for your support up to this point in my mission!  I feel of your prayers on the daily.  God bless you all!

My new companion, Elder Zitumane!

The view from the Cumorah Crest aka the mission home:

My first official assignment as an AP: