Up-close to Nature

With our SLC manager leaving in a couple of days and being replaced by another who arrived this week, we accompanied both of them on Saturday, April 17, to Pilanesberg Game Reserve which is a two hour drive northwest.

Exciting to see were a leopard on rocks above the roadway, six solitary White Rhinos in grasslands, nine hippos in three separate groups mostly submerged in bodies of water, giraffe, warthogs, various African birds, and herds of hartebeest, impala, kudu, reedbuck, waterbuck, blue wildebeest and zebra.






This is a Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill eating a grape.















Our most amazing encounter was with two adult and one baby elephants within 12 feet of our car grazing on trees next to the roadway. When the one female began flaring her ears back and forth we knew it was time to drive on! She immediately crossed the road behind us.










Today during Sacrament Meeting Ron and I found ourselves invited by the bishop to be impromtu speakers in place of an unarrived scheduled speaker. We began our second Family History class during Sunday School with participants representing South African ancestral tribes. Our main focus is collecting data through family interviews and oral traditions, registering class members in new.familysearch.org and inputing their family information for temple ordinances to be completed. It is awe-inspiring feeling their excitement for this important work in behalf of their deceased ancestors.

Training in Harare

Harare, Zimbabwe, was the destination for our first Security training, April 10-14, with mission and stake presidents and missionaries in the field. The past three months we have been developing, under the direction of our SLC manager and Area presidency, standards for missionary housing, mission homes and offices, and meetinghouses in the Africa Southeast Area.

We felt honored to meet with the mission president and two stake presidents currently serving in Harare area, attend Sunday church meetings and receive direction and insight from them. We met with officials at the US Embassy for an update of the political environment and recommendations specific to our missionaries. In addition to surveying security measures in the mission home and office and two meetinghouses, we taught security presentations to two groups of missionaries in their district conferences; 36 remarkable young men and women from countries throughout Africa and North America.

Traveling to an appointment we were approached by this family on the move carrying their two children and entire life belongings. Notice the man's left hand positioned on his right arm, a universal sign of respect used by people throughout the continent; a quiet reference that touches our hearts each time we see it.














Arriving at another appointment we learned that this stake building has installed two bore holes (wells) with faucets and hoses attached that reach through the perimeter fence to fill water containers for nonmember neighbors whose homes are without water. This is a daily activity for many in the area.














During our short stay in the downtown area we were across the street from a stately city park. Beautiful bouquets and sprays of flowers were available each day from vendors who provide a lively trade.

Swazi Interview

As the first weekend in April approached, we traveled 4 1/2 hours east to the kingdom of Swaziland with a Senior Missionary couple serving temple patrons in the Area Office Family History Center. Leaving Thursday afternoon we arrived at the border crossing with a migration of people similarly headed to the beautiful countryside for the upcoming four day Easter weekend. Maneuvering the last 2 kilometers took us another 4 hours! Our return back across the border two days later headed toward Johannesburg took only 15 minutes.

On Friday we had lunch and visited for a couple of hours with two elders at KFC. This interview was a main purpose of our trip as the elder had been the victim of a kidnapping in January. These elders are representative of the fine young men and women who we have the privilege of associating with in our mission.

Notice the free range peacocks in the background at the right.

Swaziland is a pastoral setting amidst gorgeous mountain ranges.
Much of the farmland is on the curves of hillsides by manual labor such as this farmer plowing his field. Children were seen everywhere herding small groups of goats and cows, visiting at roadside stands of fruits and vegetables and playing outdoors with their friends.

Many craftspeople sell their wares in roadside stands such as the one labeled NOAH (a favorite name to us).

We admired carvings from stone and wood, remarkable items made from batik fabrics and handcrafted candles, among many others. The most fascinating to us was watching four men create a large glass-blown vase in their native arts factory.

We arrived back to our flat on Saturday evening to view on our computer the first session of the General Conference broadcast, 6-8 p.m. our time, followed by the next session at 10 p.m.-midnight; Sunday sessions also arrived at these times. On Sunday we attended our regular morning branch meetings. General Conference sessions will be replayed in their entirety from DVD disks in each of the meetinghouse locations throughout the Africa Southeast Area on April 24 and 25 during regular broadcast daytime hours.