Cradle of Humankind

The last two weeks of September 2010 were full as we stayed in touch with ongoing security projects and scheduled upcoming training. We taught a security presentation to our largest group of MTC missionaries to date (35), serve in temple sessions with them on Tuesdays, and served as temple ordinance workers on Wednesdays. Because of a shortage of temple missionaries, senior missionaries in the Area Office have been enlisted to serve weekly sessions in addition to our specific assignments.

In the past month three senior missionary couples have arrived to replace couples who have completed their missions and returned home. Two are Auditors and one is in Public Affairs. It is a delight welcoming them to the Area Office and giving them a security briefing for life here.

On 3 October 2010 Ron and I attended our regular Sunday meetings and taught the Sunday School Family History class. Following our 3 hour block of meetings we presented a fireside with the bishop prior to a "Break the Fast" luncheon with 18 Young Single Adults in our ward. General Conference will be held in the Africa Southeast Area on 23-24 October after each unit receives DVDs from SLC.

Receiving General Conference sessions live on BYU TV, Ron and I viewed them 6-8 p.m. and 10-midnight on Saturday and Sunday.

With the office closed due to a public holiday on 24 September, the senior missionaries held a baseball game and picnic in a nearby botannical garden. Ron pitched in a modified game with adapted equipment, playing field and rules to accommodate the players.



On a Saturday outing with another senior missionary couple (2 October), Ron and I went an hour's drive northwest of the city to a wind swept area known as Africa's Cradle of Humankind. In a beautiful, interactive center we viewed remarkable timelines of geology and humanlife from early dawn to the present. Illustrated in written displays and with life-like models were palaeoanthropology in South Africa.

Dolomite caves in the region have yielded rich finds of many hominid fossils over 2 million years old with more finds continually being made. Some of these hominid species are human-like primates.




In the fourth photo notice the two white mountains on the distant skyline on the left and at the far right. These hills were formed over a hundred years ago from gold mining tailings.