Elephant Kiss

The interim seminar (every six months) for ten mission presidents and their wives to receive instruction and comraderie from the Area Presidency and their wives was a full four days. As Security Senior Missionaries we presented to them recently approved and updated documents regarding the safety of missionaries. We were also invited, along with two SLC security managers, to some of their activities; the most unique of which was an elephant experience at Plumari Big 5 game reserve.













After an hour long presentation about the anatomy of elephants, the reclaiming of them from destruction and safety instructions to us, we met two elephants up close with their handlers. We each "fed" an elephant three orange segments: one he took with his trunk from our open hand, one we placed in his open mouth onto his smooth tongue, and the third he gently lifted with his trunk from being held between our teeth! I ended up with wet smudges on my nose and chin.



Notice the trainer nearby and safety strap on the elephant's rear foot.














Saturday we met with two women in our Sunday School family history class at the Family History Center and input their African family names into new.familysearch for a couple of hours. It is a remarkable experience to sit next to them at a computer and see their excitement in grouping families together by their own keystrokes. Today this second class concluded our lessons together with a temple baptismal session set for the ancestors whose names they have identified.