Poignant farewells

On 19 March 2011 one of our Young Single Adults, Donnavan Sibanda, passed away in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, due to complications from asthma. Having joined the Church as a teenager, Donnavan was the Relief Society visiting teaching supervisor.

The current ward Relief Society presidency are left to right, counselors Nothando and Thembi, secretary Noluthando and president Tilungile.





Friendships extended to me reach across many ages. I will dearly miss many stalwart women, including Thelma, Lendra and Thoko.

Hartebeesport images

With the Area Office closed on Monday, 21 March 2011 in observance of Human Rights Day, Ron and I invited Elder and Sister Bert and Charla Nielsen (Humanitarian senior missionary couple from California) for a day in the countryside.

Driving one hour north to Pretoria we visited Freedom Park with displays set amidst walls of intricate rock work (photos three and four).

Our drive turned westward to Hartebeesport for lunch and browsing through two of our favorite shops, Jasmyn farmer's market where all the displays of produce, meat and bakery goods are written in Afrikaans and Just Sun Africa taxidermy store with fascinating animal displays and crafts.

Along the roadways were displayed for sale a wide selection of household goods, crafts and produce; including roasted ears of corn being sold by a woman seated in photo below.

In a township on a hillside boys were flying a homemade kite in the breezy sunshine (final photo).

Along Kruger's roads

Some of our favorite sightings in Kruger National Park occurred on our 10 hour drive 18 March 2011 through the center of the park from the Phalaborwa gate east to Letaba, then south to Satara and Skukuza, exiting at Paul Kruger gate.



Perhaps the most memorable was watching a leopard draped over a limb in the canopy of leaves similar to a tree in the first photo. Discreetly camouflaged, he could be seen but poorly photographed. It was our closest encounter with both of us seeing a leopard at the same time, so was thrilling for Ron and me. We first noticed his tail hanging down, then paw looped around a branch, and finally its entire length as it stood and moved gracefully down the tree.

We were awed by the sheer size of elephants and Cape Buffalo, graceful height of giraffe, and a resilient Leopard tortoise slowly crossing a tarred road. Lounging in the rivers were hippos and crocodiles. Beautiful songbirds such as the blue European roller perched in a tree top were in abundance and unique water birds caught our attention, this wading one is a Hamerkop. Flocks of Guinea fowl scurried across the roadways.

Visiting Kruger in late summer (equivalent to September on the North American continent) we spotted a variety of babies with their mothers, including Bushbuck with white spots on their flanks, Waterbuck with a white circle on their rump, zebra, Cape Buffalo and elephants.

Most exhilerating was a herd of elephants that crossed the dirt road in front of us as we returned from viewing an isolated baobab tree, then crossed in front of us again over a tarred road to frolic in a lake of water. Cars dwarfed in comparison give a sense of the elephants' enormous size.

Kruger is truly a place where nature becomes up close and personal.

Baobabs and pines

With three unscheduled days (Thursday-Saturday, 17-19 March 2011) near the close of our mission, Ron and I made a getaway from Johannesburg leaving familiar traffic behind. At a rest stop we photographed bags of charcoal briquettes with Sable antelope images imprinted on the bags, representative of unique South African labeling.





The freeway-size Ayoba sign with vuvuzuela being blown by an avid fan was reminiscent of unity this country experienced as hosts of the 2010 World Cup.









Driving 5 hours north our destination was a majestic baobab tree claimed to have been carbon dated to an age of about 6,000 years and the largest of its species. A vent inside had been cleaned out with room to accommodate 60 people. It was awesome.

The young woman was a gardener hoeing in the landscaping. Notice her typical rubber boots and square headed hoe she is using.

A second baobab tree, following two photos, we viewed from our car the next day in Kruger National Park.

Another two hours of driving eastward on Thursday took us to Phalaborwa, a gate midway the length of Kruger. Staying at Masorini Bush Lodge we were awed by two porcupines who meandered up to the outdoor veranda where we were seated for dinner. Their show of quills was beautiful. As Ron was photoing the female, the male saundered up behind him for a closeup of his head. It was definitely an impressive encounter.

Unexpected blessings

As our mission draws to a close Ron and I have reflected on choice opportunities we've experienced that were totally unanticipated.

The delight of our assignments has been teaching a security presentation every three weeks at the Johannesburg Missionary Training Center (MTC) to each group of young missionaries prior to their departure to countries across the continent. Today was another remarkable session with valiant young men and women who will be serving in missions from Cape Town, South Africa, to Kenya and Uganda.



In our training with stake and unit leaders we have met and visited with valiant men who are influencing for good the people around them, teaching others by their examples of faith and courage.

Representative of the African people who are blessed with keen intelligence, nearly everyone we met on this continent speaks at least three languages--their mother tongue, their tribal language and English or French. Many have command of five or more languages.

As U.S. citizens we met with Regional Security Officers in U.S. Embassies in Uganda, Kenya, Zimbabwe and South Africa and discussed with them the political environment of those countries. With a group of 15 Americans gathered in the Democratic Republic of the Congo we sat around a large table for an hour long open discussion with the U.S. Embassador to that country.

For four months (February-May 2010) we assisted with Family History in our Johannesburg ward, teaching three 4 week Sunday School classes and spending numerous Saturdays at the Family History Center helping class members input their African family names into newfamilysearch.

In September 2010 we were set apart as ordinance workers in the Johannesburg Temple and continued in this service the final seven months of our mission.

As those around us have noticed our missionary nametags and interacted in Gospel conversations, we have given copies of The Book of Mormon to engaging people from Zimbabwe to Johannesburg to Lesotho.



In February and March 2011 Laurene was assigned as an assistant to Sister Renae Lewis, recently called to serve with her husband Elder Robert Lewis as Executive Secretary to the Area Presidency. Across the Africa Southeast Area all missionary applications from 10 missions are sent to the Area Office where Sister Lewis is responsible to see each missionary file of documents is complete, scanned, typed into the computer, individually reviewed and approved by the Area Medical Advisor and a member of the Area Presidency, and submitted to Salt Lake City. My part of the process is to help Sister Lewis scan completed files, type the missionary applications online (43 to date) and address mission calls received from SLC for delivery to the individual missionaries.

Sister Lewis' graciousness and infectious laughter make it is a joy serving with her in assisting with her many responsibilities. She was born and raised during her early youth in Ririe, Idaho, so was fun realizing we have similar roots.

For the final ten months on mission we attended the Young Single Adult Sunday School class, serving as mentors to 30+ young people ages 18-30. They are remarkable examples of articulate African youth with great potential to become dynamic leaders in the Church's future across this continent. Their radiance, and love to tease us, are captured in their photos below.

We will miss most the kind, wonderful people we have come to love in Africa whose warmth and goodness we will always cherish in our hearts.