Dec in Joburg - training Cinquinis in Durban-miss zone conf-secunda-area office

Missionary Zone Conference: 

We started December in Durban training the Cinquinis and as a result we were able to attend Missionary Zone Conference with them. We met lots of Elders, had some good training and as is customary at zone conferences, had a lot of pizza and fruit. The missionaries are so fun to be with. They all have this spirit of excitement about being in Africa and teaching the Gospel. I love attending their conferences. We have some interesting one-on-one conversations with some of them.


So much happened in Johannesburg with Christmas and holiday activities and yet not a lot was happening at the Area Office. In Africa, everything pretty much stops for at least a couple of weeks, but more like a month during the Christmas and New Year's Holidays. Sean wanted us to be in the office because he and his wife were going to visit relatives in Cape Town for Christmas. I'll admit that it allowed me to figure out the financial system and took away a lot of the stress I was feeling. It gave me time to look for and write stories for newsroom and Facebook. I got caught up on all my stuff. Elder Kyle, on the other hand, was frustrated because all the stuff he needed to do involved communication with others and he could not get a hold of anyone. They were all AWOL.


There were several Christmas celebrations we were invited to. We were invited to a luncheon at Sunnyside Park Hotel for the Area Office people. There was a choir and a special story, plus really good buffet. We were invited to the MTC to hear the missionary choir and play about Christ's birth. Unfortunately, we could not go to that one. We were invited to join other Senior couples at a Christmas party and program at the Area Presidency Residence. It was very nice. We attended a dinner in the lobby of our apartment building on Christmas day. It was potluck and very delicious. Every day someone would bring over a Christmas goodie plate for us. Sometimes we would open our door to our gated patio and it would be just inside the gate. Since there are about 30 couples staying here, we had lots of treats! We have been invited to dinner by five different couples. One time we played cards afterwards. It was fun. We were invited to go to a very nice park on a Saturday and out to lunch afterwards. We went to a New Year's Eve party and had a gift exchange of white elephants that was pretty fun. We also popped balloons with new year predictions in them. Some were quite funny, like "You will get pregnant with triplets."

Of course we have also been to the temple and one time witnessed a sealing of a couple from Zimbabwe and their three-year-old son. It was a very sweet event and the little boy was really sweet. The temple worker brought him in to be sealed to his parents and he was sound asleep in her arms. They woke him up and he was really good, considering. This couple came alone and had no one there to be with them, so the temple worker came to the celestial room and asked if anyone would like to attend. He needed two witnesses. So, we all followed him and they ended up with quite a crowd of senior couples. So, they were not alone and it was a very nice ceremony. It was so touching to see their brown hands and the sealer's white hands on each other. For couples like that it is often hard to pay for transportation to come all that way to the temple. We take so much for granted in the US. It reminded me of when our children were sealed to us. We were so afraid they would bring them in and they would say something about how funny we looked or how upset they were having to be with strangers all that time, but when the matron brought them in all dressed in white, they had their arms folded and were very reverent through the whole sealing. It was wonderful. I am so glad they are sealed to us. We couldn't ask for better children.

Elder and Sister Hamilton from Africa SE Area Office

Since Sean was gone for the holidays, we also got to give the quarterly public affairs report to the Area Presidency. We met with President Renlund and Elder Hamilton, one of his counselors who is over our public affairs department.  They are member of the First Quorum of the Seventy and are called to do that for life! They are younger that we are and yet they have left their families to serve for an indefinite period of time in Africa. They have had children come back from missions, graduate from college, have babies, get married, etc. while here. What a sacrifice for their wives (both of them actually) to leave their children and not know when they will ever be back. Luckily, they have had children come and visit them, plus they get a month off each year to go back home and see their families. This photo is Elder Hamilton and his wife. He is the Area Presidency Member that we deal with the most and he and his wife are both great!

We got to Skype with our son and his fiance on Christmas and meet her family on the computer. We got to Skype with our daughter and husband on Christmas day and watch them open their presents from us. We got to see our grandchildren open the Zulu outfits that we sent them and then go and try them on. They looked so cute! It was special actually getting to see our children on Christmas. Hurrah for SKYPE! It was a simple Christmas for us...I got a new set of scriptures and Elder Kyle got some casual clothes since he didn't bring much casual stuff. Clean up was pretty easy for a change, unlike boxes and wrapping paper and presents covering every surface of our living room. Our daughter sent us some presents, but alas...the mail in the states and Joburg could not get it to us by Christmas. Now we have something to look forward to.

December was also a month for changes...new apartment (flat) in an actual five-story apartment building. It seems very institutional until you get inside our apartment and it is very spacious and nice. We leave windows open, so we can hear other tenants. We also can smell whatever they are having for dinner...mostly curry smells. They serve a lot of that here. One guy around the corner from us goes out on the fire escape and talks on the phone each night. I am usually in the office on the computer and I can hear every word he says, only I can't understand him, because it is in Arabic!



We hear children crying sometimes, birds squawking and people talking to each other as they get off the elevator. It reminds me of some of the programs on TV where people live in New York, Chicago, Boston or places like that. The good news is that all the couples live in the same building so when we are invited to something, we don't have far to go.

We also live across the street from the mall, where we go for everything, groceries, haircuts, clothing, books, restaurants, grocery stores, drugstore, hardware store, health foods, office supplies, computer and telephone supplies, movie theater, bank, etc. We walk over there, fill our 'trolley' (shopping cart) with all the stuff we buy (even take it in all the stores) and then take it out of the mall and up to the third floor apartment where we live. We don't have to get in a car or carry groceries into the house. I have to admit that it is very convenient. A lot of the couples go up on the roof of the mall each morning and walk or run laps around there for exercise. This photo is taken from the exit of our apartment building. We just walk to the crosswalk and were are there. This is how close it is to us...very convenient. Who needs a car?

Mandela passed at the beginning of December and there was quite a lot of things going on regarding his death. Newspapers were filled with stories and photos about him. People went to his home and left flowers and other tributes along his sidewalk. I was given the task of putting the First Presidency's official statement on all the Mormon Newsroom websites in Africa and on our affiliated Facebook page. People in our office were allowed to go into the devotional room and watch the televised funeral.






Three ladies from the area office finance department and a couple from our office went there to pay their respects. They said people were singing praying outside his home...quite a crowd. Johanna on the right is who I work with directly in the finance department. Everyone I work with at the Area Office is very nice.






We have devotionals every Monday at 9 am. There is a special devotional room where chairs and podium and piano are set up. Employees at the Area Office are assigned the spiritual message and prayer on a rotating basis and there is an opening hymn. It is a great way to start the week. On the rest of the days, Sean comes into our office between 8:30 and 9:00 AM and we say a group prayer with us and Sister Shupe and Sean. We take turns saying the prayer. on Tuesdays we have our group public affairs meeting with the four of us to discuss upcoming events and things we need to pay attention to that are happening in Africa.

We had a missionary couple in South Sudan that had to be evacuated, because opposing tribes were fighting there and they could hear tanks (noise rattled their windows) and mortar fire not far away. The church security was in touch with them and got them out of there. It was sad, because the members of the church there are such strong members and now we don't know when our missionaries will be back or how long the fighting will last. We do know that the Lord is watching over all of us and we can all feel it. I am more convinced than ever that He is determined to get the gospel to everyone in Africa...and they are so ready! This is one fight the opposition cannot win. We put the story of their plight on Mormon Newsroom, but the Area Presidency asked us to take it down, as they were worried about the people who are still there.

Kenya had some problems with terrorist attacks in December too, but our public affairs couple are still there going strong, everyone is safe and the work goes on.

Arriving for church at Secunda Ward Building

Also in December, we were asked to attend the Secunda Branch on Sunday. Secunda is about 1 1/2 hours away from Johannesburg, so we were a little surprised to get that assignment, but we were told that they have been asking for a Senior Couple for months. We figure the Lord has a reason for wanting us to go there. December was pretty sparse at the Secunda Ward. Many of the members were on holiday and did not show up at Church. There were nine of us the first Sunday, not counting the missionaries. They have four elders assigned to that branch. The elders bless and pass the sacrament, give talks during sacrament meeting and teach Gospel Essentials. They help with computer problems and any other issues the ward needs help with each week.

On December 15th, we attended the branch and met an older couple named Harrison. Brother Harrison told us as soon as he met us that they needed a new printer, that he could not print the reports for the Branch Presidency and theirs had not worked for some time. He then told us their PA system was terrible and they needed a new one. He said it was terrible that they could not get these things fixed. Then he turned to me and told me they really needed a computer. I agreed to check into it and he said to Elder Kyle, "See, when you want something done, go to a woman." He is a very interesting little guy. We got him a printer!

President Soko's very cute daughter

In attendance, there was only us, four elders, the Harrisons, the Fouries (both Africaans) and four black people, the Branch President and his counselor (both also black). We weren't sure what to think of their low attendance. After sacrament, they held Sunday School in the chapel taught by the missionaries. Then there was a combined meeting with the men and women also taught by the missionaries.

President Soko's very cute son

The following Sunday was the same and the Branch President let everyone go home after Sunday School. His wife operates the electric piano. No one conducts the music. His little boy is about three and quite active. His daugher is about 13 and very well behaved and sweet. They were the only children there.

Elder Pearson

In sacrament service the 22nd of December, the Elder going home (Elder Pearson) bore his testimony of how much he learned to draw closer to Jesus Christ on his mission and how he loved serving the members of the Secunda Branch. He expressed his love for them and urged them to continue to grow and serve one another in hopes that they can eventually become a stake.






Then the missionary from Nevada bore his testimony. He said that he thought he would miss Christmas at home and opening presents with his family, but he said he found out that a mission serving the Lord was the perfect way to celebrate His birth. Not only was he not sad, but he was very happy to be here.

Elder Buchanan

Elder Buchanan talked about the story of Agnes who was raising eight children in Salt Lake after the death of her husband. She was working hard to make ends meet and had sacrificed much to make the trip to Salt Lake because of their conversion to the gospel. Her daughter Isabel at age 14 was taken into a wealthy family's home to help them with their children. She worked there for three years and the family became very fond of her. The family had to move to another state and asked Agnes if they could adopt Isabel into their family and take her with them. They told her that Isabel was like a daughter to them and they would treat her as such and provide her with whatever she needed and pay for her education and find her a suitable husband when the time came. Isabel also pleaded that she be able to go, but Agnes said, "No." She was not about to trade her daughter's spirituality for wealth, as this family was not in the Church. The sacrifices of her family to come where they could worship the Gospel freely she would not trade for the worldly things this family was offering her daughter. Isabel, after she was grown and Agnes was gone, gave a talk about this and thanked her mother for teaching her what this family could not, something precious that money could never buy.

Then Elder Buchanan talked about those who leave the church because it is 'too hard' or because they don't want to spend three hours plus at church each Sunday...or give up coffee, tea, alcohol or cigarettes. He told them to think of Agnes' sacrifice to keep her children in the gospel, to teach them righteous principles and to be in the world, but not of the world and to remember Isabel's thanks to her mother in later life. She knew that her mother sacrificed everything for this and she was grateful for the gospel in her life and the kind of life she was blessed with because of her mother's decision.

Many people believe that they have been converted, but then become offended by another and stop going to church. Being converted is not just having a change of life, but a change of nature - a shift is made. Mosiah says we become as new creatures and unless we do that we can in no wise inherit the Kingdom of Heaven. When we are converted, we possess a light in our countenance that others can see.

Some people say, "I'll be happy to live the law of tithing when I receive a confirmation that it is true, but the Lord wants us to put in the effort first before he gives us a confirmation of the truth of tithing. There is no shortcut to conversion. Conversion is a quiet process - continuing effort will lead to conversion.

The elder continued with a story about himself. "I did cross country at home and didn't like it much, but I noticed when  I would see the finish line, I would pick up the pace and I became better and better and learned to like running. That's what we need to do to be converted...if we want to get to heaven, we need to pick up the pace and finish the race. I'm striving myself for pure conversion. I'm not there yet...I still have room to grow. Let us each think about what we need to do to grow and reach true conversion."

After sacrament Elder Cazier taught Sunday School. We all met in the chapel together. There were only a couple of children there and they were Branch President Soko's son and daughter again, so primary was quite small again this Sunday.

Elder Cummings from England

Elder Cummings from England (6'5") based his talk on the new year. He said that this time of year people like to think of things they've done and how to improve on those things they've not been able to do well. He said that after a year has passed and the new year begun, we should reflect over the last year and instead of thinking of things we did not do or did not do well, we need to think of our blessing the past year and how much we've gained. We need to remember those special times when we felt the spirit. He said he was very grateful for that blessing the month before he came on his mission.

He then talked about committing to be better in the new year. He quoted Alma 29:4, "I ought to harrow up in my desires the firm decree of a just God, for I know that he granteth unto men according to their desire..." How can we be better? If we commit to change, Heavenly Father will respond to us. Why wait a couple more days? Let's make ourselves better now. We all know our weaknesses...Let us start now to make our weaknesses into strengths. If we commit to righteous goals and do our best, God will grant us our desires.

Branch President Soko (middle) and Counselors

The next speaker was a counselor in the Branch Presidency (on the right). This guy smiles all the time and looks very young. He is very kind to everyone. I love his smile. In his talk, he said: "Have you ever heard that people who get lost tend to walk in circles? The GPS people tracked several people that they sent on a journey to find their way to a destination. Those with the sun followed an almost perfectly straight course, but on a cloudy day they walked in circles, not following a straight course. Without fail, this always happened. President Uchtdoerf gave a talk about this recently. He said we need  two landmarks to help us reach our destination. At this time of year it is the time we cross our own path once again. We ask ourselves, "Didn't we cross this path before? Didn't we say we were going to do this the same time last year, but didn't do it?" This time, let's ask Heavenly Father for help staying on the right course and avoid crossing our own path and going in circles, never really accomplishing goals or getting to the desired destination, but always returning to the starting line to try again.

In 2Nephi 32:3 it says: 3 Angels speak by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore, they speak the words of Christ. Wherefore, I said unto you, feast upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all things what ye should do.

How do you get tea in a cup to be clear again? Pour two liters of water into the cup until it is clear.
The first landmark is 'the word of God.' Without spiritual landmarks we go in circles. Reliable landmarks are why Nephi and his brothers were sent back to Laban to get the plates that contained the history of their people. Why is it so difficult to read the scriptures? People can read the entire newspaper in one afternoon or they can read a novel for hours at a time. Opposition from Satan keeps us from getting back on the path and causes us to walk in circles.

The second landmark is General Conference. In Alma 37: 38-47 is says:
39 And behold, there cannot any man work after the manner of so curious a workmanship. And behold, it was prepared to show unto our fathers the course which they should travel in the wilderness.

40 And it did work for them according to their faith in God; therefore, if they had faith to believe that God could cause that those spindles should point the way they should go, behold, it was done; therefore they had this miracle, and also many other miracles wrought by the power of God, day by day.

41 Nevertheless, because those miracles were worked by small means it did show unto them marvelous works. They were slothful, and forgot to exercise their faith and diligence and then those marvelous works ceased, and they did not progress in their journey;

42 Therefore, they tarried in the wilderness, or did not travel a direct course, and were afflicted with hunger and thirst, because of their transgressions.

43 And now, my son, I would that ye should understand that these things are not without a shadow; for as our fathers were slothful to give heed to this compass (now these things were temporal) they did not prosper; even so it is with things which are spiritual.

44 For behold, it is as easy to give heed to the word of Christ, which will point to you a straight course to eternal bliss, as it was for our fathers to give heed to this compass, which would point unto them a straight course to the promised land.

45 And now I say, is there not a type in this thing? For just as surely as this director did bring our fathers, by following its course, to the promised land, shall the words of Christ, if we follow their course, carry us beyond this vale of sorrow into a far better land of promise.

46 O my son, do not let us be slothful because of the easiness of the way; for so was it with our fathers; for so was it prepared for them, that if they would look they might live; even so it is with us. The way is prepared, and if we will look we may live forever.

47 And now, my son, see that ye take care of these sacred things, yea, see that ye look to God and live. Go unto this people and declare the word, and be sober. My son, farewell.

General Conference is like our Liahona. If we pay attention, words spoken there guide us on the path we should go. It is not easy to pay attention, because Satan continues to distract. Is there not a way for us to stay on the path? If we but look, we would live forever...'Look to God and live'. In South Africa the Liahona magazine contains info that will help us stay on the path. Read the conference talks twice a year over and over again until they are ingrained in your mind and heart. The word of God is our light. Without us we are in spiritual darkness.

President Monson is a true prophet. He gives us truth piece by piece. When we continue to read talks that General Authorities have given, we need to ponder their statements and pray about what they tell us to do, so that we will stop walking in circles, looking for our destinations and will walk a straight path and find it.

"I am going to stop walking in circles. I know what I need to do: focus on scriptures, General Conference and the Liahona to increase my faith. All of us need the gospel and the landmarks that will guide us back to Jesus Christ.

Branch President Soko

Branch President Soko was the final speaker. He said he was surprised that the chapel was not full. He expected people to be back today from their holidays. He said while thinking about what he should talk about, he came across the photo of Jesus and John the Baptist. Jesus sent an example for us to be baptized, even though John said he was not worthy to baptize Him. Jesus also set an example of washing his apostles feet, even though they thought he should not be doing that. He was showing them that we should all be humble enough to serve one another, regardless of our position in life. Our main purpose on this earth will always be to serve others.

AS we sang the song, "Come Follow Me," I was reminded that we as humans always have doubts and excuses. Peter when he saw Jesus walking on water and Jesus beckoned him to walk on it too, he did it until he took his eyes off of Jesus and began having doubts and then he immediately sank into the sea. Doubt and fear cause us not to believe - doubts that we can be perfect, that we cannot succeed. He is our creator and as long as we keep our eyes on Him we can overcome fears and doubts and accomplish great things. It is only when we take our eyes off Him that our fears double and doubts creep back in. He knows us better that we do ourselves. If we come unto Him, he will show us the way and take away the fear and doubts. Let us try and emulate Christ's attributes. Pick one that you need to work on, like: faith, patience, humility, love toward your fellowman, trust in his love, keeping the commandments and continuing to do those things He expects of us. Faith brings many miracles. 

Moroni 10:7 says: 7 And ye may know that he is, by the power of the Holy Ghost; wherefore I would exhort you that ye deny not the power of God; for he worketh by power, according to the faith of the children of men, the same today and tomorrow, and forever.

And in Moroni 7:3-4 it says: 

3 Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your hearts.

4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.

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Of course the way to end my summary of December would be New Year's Eve. We really lived it up. We were invited to the Shupes flat for a NY Eve party. We were to bring gifts that nobody would want or that everyone would want  for a gift exchange (Why we did this on New Year's Eve was beyond me). We picked an old soccer ball that was dirty and worn and left in our flat. We also picked the yellow clown's wig that I got at the couples' conference in Durban. We wrapped them up very nice, so everyone would want them...tricky. 

At the party we had finger foods. We had balloons that we had to pop and read the predictions for 2014 in the balloon. They were pretty silly, for example: All senior missionaries would get a silver Porshe in 2014; All Sister missionaries would have to wear 5-inch heels in 2014; In 2014, President Monson asks all senior missionaries to extend one year.

Then one person at a time would open a new present or take the present someone else opened and they would then take a new present. The popular presents were: A wooden chicken, A wooden giraffe, a wooden cat with a bird feeder in it's arms, a Rummy Cube Game and dart guns, a book of celebrity conversion stories (which I ended up with) and Christmas candles. The worse gifts were, shoe polish, the soccer ball, hairspray and mousse (which Elder Kyle ended up with).

Sister Susan Shupe

We ended the party with each of us telling a special experience that happened in 2013. Sister Shupe told a story that happened back in California before they went on their mission. They moved to a different neighborhood and one of their neighbors was a black man who never smiled and acted quite grumpy. Sister Shupe said she tried everything to be nice to him, but he did not respond with anything other than a mean look. That summer, his 15-year-old granddaughter came to visit him. Susan said she and her husband were having all their children and their families over that night and realizing that the girl might need something to do, she invited her over to meet her grandchildren who were of a similar age...She came and seemed to have a good time, so they invited her to Church the next day. She began to take the missionary lessons and became very active in the church. When she finally got permission to be baptized, 180 people, including her grandfather were there. It reminded Sister Shupe of the scripture where Mosiah clapped for joy at the baptism of the people.

Sister Hoffman talked about the ward they attended here and how the Bishop asked her to teach Sunday School 14-15 year olds even though she told him she had never taught the youth before. Each Sunday different kids would come and go. One week they stayed for a baptism and she discovered it was a boy in her class that she thought was a member. In her class, she had asked him to pray several times and he participated in class. She just assumed he was a member. She said the same thing happened with six other teens who attended her class. She thought they all were members by the way they participated.

Sister Nielsen

Sister Nielsen said she went across the street early one Saturday morning to walk on the roof of the mall, but it was too cold up there, so she came back down into the mall and saw a guy trying to put up a huge decal on the window of  Woolworth's store. She could see that he was having difficulty and not sure how to get it up, so she asked if she could help. He seemed surprised that she would offer, but said that he would appreciate some help. She helped him for forty minutes and then had to get back. On her way back to the entrance she ran into another sister missionary who had her jogging clothes on and had decided it was too cold that day too. She asked her if she would go and help the young man trying to put decals on the window. When she told the young man that Sister Nielsen asked her to come and help, the young man told her that last night he was praying because he knew he had a hard day ahead and didn't know how he was going to accomplish what he needed to and then he came to work today and the Lord sent two angels to help him. He is now taking the missionary lessons, he quit smoking and is preparing for baptism. Sister Nielsen is currently putting together stories for the Liahona and she works in the Perpetual Education Fund Department. She is an English Professor.

This was a great way to end 2013, a year of changes, a year of joy, a year of missing family, a year of finding friends, a year of seeing beautiful places and magnificent animals, a year of understanding God's plan for us, a year of building faith, a year of miracles and blessings pouring from heaven. 

November 29, Area office Training of Kyles and Cinquinis

November After our Public Affairs training in Kruger Park, we were in the office for a couple of days to get trained on the office stuff, so we could take over for the Murdocks in December after they were headed back to the US and SNOW. Unfortunately, we didn't get much training, as the Murdocks were very busy getting ready to go home and people kept coming in the office to say 'goodbye' and wish them well. She tried to explain the finance to me, but I knew I would only learn by doing, so I grasped as much as I could in the total of two hours of training and figured I would catch on quickly when I finally started to do it. Everyone else just hung out in the room where all the computers are set up, to see if they could work on some Newsroom items that they were having trouble figuring out.

PA Coordination Meeting in Sean's office

Elder Murdock tried to teach Elder Kyle about all the things happening in each country, but there are so many that he too will have to just jump in and learn on the job. We met in Sean's office to discuss some current things that were happening and then we all got packed up and headed back to the hotel. Murdocks invited us over for dinner, which was nice. It will be tough to see them go.

On Friday it was time to leave for Durban. The Cinquinis got the Murdocks' car and we kept ours. We loaded up both cards and they followed us to Durban. We planned to stay a few days to show them around and tell them all that was happening in the Durban and Cape Town mission areas. We went to the Hillcrest Stake Public Affairs Council meeting, of which Sipho is the Stake Director. We discussed 2013 and what worked and what didn't. We got a Helping Hands report. We then talked about 2014 and after Elder Kyle told them what we learned in training, they decided to go back and revise the 2014 plan to be in alignment with the priesthood goals and objective of their stakes.

Elder Kyle and I were invited to have dinner with the Holts, who were also training their replacements. We were both staying in the same bed and breakfast, so we saw them at breakfast and then at dinner. It was great seeing them again, but sad that they were going back to the US.  I have a feeling that these friendships that we form here will be with us in eternity. I certainly hope so. The Holts left and then the Sutherlands called and asked us to dinner, so we had some great dinners while we were there. After deciding that the Cinquinis were probably pretty sick of us by now, we packed up our car with the rest of our stuff and headed back to Joburg.

We are looking forward to the second half of our African adventure. We know we will learn and see some amazing things while we are there. All is good.

November 27, 2013- PA Training summary

We really enjoyed the game drives. We learned so much from the gentle beauty of all the animals we saw. Our lives will be forever changed by that amazing experience.

Our schoolroom while at the Game Park

We also loved the training and the things we learned there. When you get that many temple recommend holders together who are on a mission for the church in all parts of Africa, the spirit is so strong that the learning is greatly advanced and you get a sure knowledge that what you are learning is true and the Lord is pleased with what you are doing.

Learning about Strategic Events

We learned about strategic events, Helping Hands, 'task pyramids', funding, the unified core message, websites and Mormon Newsroom, reporting from each unit, planning for success, creating country plans, talking about 'the new brand, setting goals, councils, callings and training, building powerful relationships with opinion leaders and religious leaders, and we did a couple of team exercises. The best one was 'lost at sea' which Sean chose because he used to be a Merchant Marine. We were given a list of items that we could take on our life boats with us when our ship sunk. We were supposed to number them in the order of the ones we would have taken first, etc. Then we had an opportunity as a group to talk about them and decide whether to keep or change the items.We each got individual scores for our answers. I had one of the worst scores, because my total focus was on staying alive. Apparently that was the wrong goal. What I should have been thinking of first was getting rescued, which I did, but I wanted to stay alive long enough to be rescued. Elder Kyle got a better score, but we both 'missed the boat'...ha. The other one was a peg with round rings on it of all different colors and graduate sizes with the smallest size at the top. We were supposed to (as one of two teams) transfer the rings from one peg to another one at a time without putting a larger ring on a smaller one. We gathered on the deck and had to go out in the yard where the two pegs were about 20 feet apart. Only one person could go with one ring and when they got back another could go. I'm sure there was a strategy but we certainly didn't figure it out, nor did the other team. I think Sean thought we were the most inept people he had ever trained...and this is after he told us were the best group he has worked with. Ha.

SE Africa Senior Couples with guides

Nov 23 -27, 2013 - More photos of Game Drives in Kruger National Park

Starting Friday evening, November 22nd, we were on two game drives a day through Tuesday Nov 27th. We started the day with a game drive at 5:30 AM. And finished with a game drive at 5:00 PM. These are the some of the animals we saw during these game drives. Another post will follow with more photos.

We started off the day with this guy and his buddies who I could swear was giving us the evil eye. He is quite large and weighs close to a ton. Once again these males travel together and the females go on ahead. The females have horns as well, but they do not go all the way across like the male in this photos.

The guide told us the Cape Buffalo is one of the most dangerous animals in the park, because you cannot keep him from charging by making a loud noise, like with the lion and the elephant. He looks like a giant cow, but acts like he owns the entire area. He stared at me the whole time.


We then were off to another game park across the road. The Big Five (most dangerous) animals in these parks are the Cape Buffalo, Lion, Elephant, Rhino and Leopard. Up to this point, we had seen all but the leopard, so we told David we expected to see one. He explained that they were hard to see, because they were skittish and did not like to be seen, but since we were going to be there for several days, we would see one. We were hoping this was true. In the meantime, we saw some giraffes, our first real spotting of them on this trip. Their heads were poking through the trees.








We left them and then came across some zebras grazing in a herd. They are such beautiful animals. The South African zebras have a shadow stripe like this zebra. Zebras in other parts of the country do not have that extra stripe. Although they didn't act like they felt threatened. They often looked back at us. This zebra is a female because of the black stripe that goes down below her tail. Males do not have this.

We asked if they were ever used for riding, like horses and we were told they have weaker back muscles than a horse, so cannot be ridden.

Wildebeest

We also saw these odd looking animals called wildebeest. I've never seen them before on TV or otherwise and found them to be very interesting animals. They are grazers as well and seemed to be a favorite prey of the lions. They were grazing right next to the zebras and seemed quite content to be side by side. They also paid us no mind. It was quite civilized, but like the photo to the right, they looked a bit scary at times.

Finally, a leopard in the tree. Can you spot him?

We then saw the leopard we had been looking for on the limb of  a large tree. David pointed to him and we were all saying, "Where, where. Finally we spotted him and David tried to get closer, but the leopard knew he was being watched and got up and started down the tree. He was going fast enough that he made a good picture hard to take, but then he went into the bush to hide and eventually, even though we drove around looking for him, disappeared. David was true to his word and those in our vehicle were the only ones to see a leopard on this trip.


They are such beautiful animals. As we were driving closer to the tree, I began to imagine the leopard jumping down right into our vehicle, which was open and no top on it, but that cat wanted no part of us and took off rather quickly after he spotted us. We could see him peaking through the bushes and grass at us, but David said they actually crouch down in tall grass so you cannot see them and virtually disappear.

It must be true because we never saw him again.

We were very excited one day to get the call on the guides radio that hippos were spotted at the watering hole. We sped down there to take a look, but since they were in the water, we basically only got to look at the top of their bodies. We waited quite a while, but they never got out of the water. I guess we were lucky to see them at all. It was a nice one to add to our list. Hippos can stay under water for long periods of time. Their bodies adjust to the temperature of the water and allow them to hold their breath quite a while...like ten minutes or more.

Hippo 

This hippo also seemed to be looking at me, but did not oblige us and come out to play. I hear they can be very dangerous animals and though quite large can run very fast. This one did not come out of the water, so we could not test this theory, but we enjoyed keeping our eyes on him...wait, maybe he was keeping his eyes on us. What big eyes you have Mr or Miss Hippo.

Looking for Leopards

Often times we would go off the road in search of a spotted animal and sometimes all three vehicles would just sit there and wait with their engines turned off. Who knew that going on safaris daily could be such fun. I clearly remember saying before we came to Africa that it was the last thing I wanted to do, but after this trip, I am ready to go again.

Warthog

 


We saw many animals several times and a few just once. Here is a warthog that I spotted. I saw two others, but they were at a distance and this was the best shot. They don't like us much and run for the hills when they spot us.

We also saw several rhinos. This one walked right down the center of the road towards us. He was really big, but got off the road and tried to hide from us, impossible really because of his size, but he recognized that our vehicle was bigger and wanted no part of us. What magnificent animals! White rhinos are not actually white, but the name for 'wide' is very similar to 'white' in the Africans language, so some mistakened 'wide' for 'white' and thus they have been called that ever since. They have wide mouths which are good for grazing. Black rhinos have a pointed mouth which is good for plucking leaves from bushes...nothing to do with color at all.

We ran across this huge bull elephant and followed him around in our vehicle. He stopped suddenly, wrapped his trunk around a tree and ripped it out of the ground, then hurled it to his left. It was almost as if he were saying, 'Don't mess with me, see how strong I am." However our driver kept following him, even though he obviously was trying to get away from us.

Finally, as we followed him in the bush, he came out onto the road where we were waiting for him. Elder Kyle and I were in the back in direct line with his huge tusks and we suggested that he seemed mad and perhaps we should start the engine in case he charged us, but we were ignored. Sure enough, the elephant came out of the bush and gave us the evil eye...what is it with this evil eye I've been getting from all the animals?"  The driver still stayed where he was with the engine off. 

The elephant was approaching the rear of our vehicle where we were sitting, higher than anyone else. At that moment, the elephant made a noise, put his ears back and jumped forward. Our guide started the car fast and moved forward. The elephant stopped and looked at us as if to say, "Now you know how tough I am, get lost." Then he ambled off in the other direction. I'm telling you that these animals have definite personalities...not so different from humans.

Us with our friends, the Bybees, and Sean

I loved riding in the open vehicles once I got over being nervous that we were going to be jumped by wild animals. After that, I enjoyed the ride and visiting with the rest of the gang. One day we were out and it started a torrential downpour...it was lightening and raining so hard that I couldn't see a thing. Sister Jensen passed out garbage bags to cover ourselves. I tore a hole in the bottom and put it over my head, but all that did was cause water to run down the bag and between my legs...whew. I could not wait to get back to the lodge and out of this cold and rain. I was wearing my bush hat, but it had ventilation holes in the top, which might have helped in the heat, but not in a cool rainstorm. A flash of lightening almost hit the vehicle...came right over the hood and scared us all. Elder Kyle pulled out the umbrella he brought, but it had a long metal handle and all I could think of was lightening striking that handle, so I didn't get mine out and endured the downpour. All of a sudden the lady beside me started laughing and I joined in and before long we were both hysterical with laughter. Here we were in the middle of the bush with wild animals all around, getting drenched by rain with lightening close to our vehicle and it became funny. I will never forget that moment. The Lord provides us with memorable moments in ways we could never imagine. We were seeing so many parts of nature all at the same time...what an experience. Unfortunately, we could not get many photos because it was raining so hard.

During this downpour, we were trying to get to the main dirt road leading to the main highway and it seemed to take forever. Finally we spotted one of the main dirt roads that would take us out of the bush and we turned onto it. The roads were getting increasingly wet and puddles were gathering. We had not gone far, before the rain started to let up a bit and right in front of us on the road were two lions, one of which was getting a drink from the puddle in the road. 

He drank and drank and drank until I didn't think we would every get out of there. Our guide just turned off the engine and waited.  Eventually the lion stopped drinking and another one joined the two. Our guide said they were brothers and they all started down the road in front of us three abreast. They were taking their time and stopped again for another one to have a drink. Then they smelled something and turned right into the bush. I am so bummed that I did not get a photo of the three of them walking in front of our vehicle down the road. They were so huge and it was so amazing.

We often stopped and took a little break, had some juice or grapetizers and some potato chips or nuts. We would all get out of the vehicle and no one seemed worried about a Lion or Cape Buffalo showing up. In all, we felt pretty safe with our guides. The breaks were a little unnecessary, but the guides just wanted us to be happy and have plenty to drink and snacks to hold us until breakfast or dinner. The people to the right were mostly from the vehicle I was riding in. Elder Kyle missed this particular game drive one morning when he was was sick.

Nov 26 - More Kruger discoveries during game park safaris at PA Training

In addition to large animals on the drives, we often stopped to look at birds, insects and reptiles. We saw a cobra snake rise up in middle of the road right in front of our vehicle one day. It looked just like it does on television with that flat head rising up and hissing at us. We stopped and it slithered into the bush. Wow. We also saw a crocodile on the bank of the waterhole. A bird practically sat on his head and he did nothing. We waited, but he never tried to get the bird that was walking all around him.

We also saw some amazing birds, including several types of eagles and buzzards, the brown eagle being one we spotted several times. I still can't find the name of the bird that during mating season goes straight up in the air, delivers this shreek and then rolls itself into a ball and falls until it almost hits the ground and the spreads its wings and flies. Does anyone know what this bird is called?

We saw beautifully colored birds in blues, yellows, pinks, etc...very pretty. We saw large birds, including ostrich, secretary birds, herons and other birds that looked for pray on the ground. In addition to all the birds, there were insects like the dung beetle who rolled the elephant dung into a ball and laid eggs in the ball of dung and then buried it in a safe place so the eggs could hatch more little dung beetles. Watching them roll the dung balls trying to find a place to bury them was pretty funny. How do you think of an insect like that?




These birds are large with those funny red additions that look like turkeys. I have no idea what they are called!

These beautiful aqua blue birds are plentiful in the bush and quite a contrast to the brown, gray and beige of most of the bush. They are called Cape Glossy Starlings, but found their way into Kruger.







While we were patting ourselves on the back about seeing the BIG FIVE game (most dangerous), consisting of the elephant, lion, rhinoceros, buffalo and leopard some clever people came up with the little five.

Ant Lion

The Big Five Lion - The Little Five Ant Lion is an odd yet familiar feature of the bush, digging conical depressions in dry, soft sand with which to trap its prey – ants. In advanced stages this larvae-like creature has wings and sometimes resembles a dragonfly, although it's not well-adapted for flight.

Leopard Tortoise

The Big Five Leopard -The Little Five Leopard Tortoise (which we saw often in the bush) is a striking feature of the bush landscape, getting its name from its black and yellow spotted shell. The animal is one of the largest breeds of tortoise in this part of the world; a mature leopard tortoise can weigh over 23 kilograms, with a shell circumference of up to one metre. The males are larger than the females. Younger tortoises have dark brown patterns, while adult shells take on shades of yellow with somewhat smaller spots. Leopard tortoises live in savannah and grassland areas, close to water

Rhinoceros Beetle

The Big Five Rhinoceros - The Little Five rhinoceros beetle is one of the largest beetles in southern Africa, with horns on its head much like those of its larger namesake. Both males and females are horned, but only the males are known for aggressive behavior, using the horns to fight rivals. The horns are also used to dig, climb and mate. 

Cape Buffalo

The Big Five Cape Buffalo - The Little Five Red-billed Buffalo Weavers are social birds that build their nests in the forked branches of tall trees. They nest in open colonies and are a rather noisy and busy lot. The weavers' nests can be recognized by their rather bedraggled state, made from coarse grasses and with untidy twig structures. The nests are larger than normal and can sometime house a whole colony of weaver birds. The red billed weaver birds would weave these elaborate nests in the trees, some would look like balls and others would cover the whole tree and look more like a thatched roof.

Shrew

The Big Five Elephant - The Little Five Elephant Shrew is a tiny insect that lives in arid lowlands, rocky outcrops and Savannah grasslands, getting its name from its elongated snout. Elephant shrews are found all over South Africa, and only grow to a length of 250 mm, with an average weight of 60 grams. They feed on insects, fruit, seeds and nuts. They in turn are food for snakes and raptors, making them extremely shy and wary. The chances of spotting them are slim indeed, so if you manage to see an elephant shrew before an actual elephant, you can count your safari a real success!

Wild Dogs

We saw Wild Dogs and found that they are a highly social species that live in packs. Normally only the alpha male and female breed and other pack members help to raise the pups. The packs inhabit large areas in the Kruger National Park. The Wild Dog is South Africa’s most endangered large carnivore. Wild Dogs are considered to be extinct in 23 countries in Africa. In natural areas the lion is the Wild Dog’s main enemy and competitor.

On left is some kind of hornbill bird. On right is a type of raptor.

Dung Beetle

This is the infamous Dung Beetle rolling his ball of dung.

This Crocodile stays close to the water and thinks no one can see him if he doesn't move. Little sneaky fellows. Is there any animal or reptile that Africa doesn't have?

Kudu

This is two male Kudu eating off the bush. The female does not have horns and instead of being gray is a tan color; however they both have the stripes that look like someone poured something over their backs. They are very large animals.

Jackal

This little guy is a jackal.

These two guys are Baboons. They often are by the side of the road. The have long coarse hair and are pretty ugly up close. They are good size and I hear they are pretty mean, though we didn't see much of them in Kruger. We saw more on our trip from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth and East London.

The cape Buffalo was getting a little mad, I think because we kept watching him or he was just trying to show us who is boss...no problem. We certainly would not have messed with him, especially when even the guide was kind of leery of them.

I took this photo just as a very large rhino and her baby appeared next to this zebra where they peacefully grazed together. See baby rhino on left.

This is Elder Murdock on top of a termite hill. There were lots of them in the bush and by the side of the road. They are as hard as concrete. Elephants sometime use them to scratch their backs and may penetrate their hard exterior, but nothing but elephants have been able to do so.

Monitor Lizard

This is a monitor lizard that we saw while driving through the park. I think we saw a total of three of them.

The Cinquinis trying to seek shelter from the storm in which our vehicle got drenched. Charles is smiling. The storm doesn't bother him a bit.

I enjoyed watching this herd of elephants. I loved the way the mothers took care of the young. They were very protective, as evidenced by the Matriarch chasing the lions away the first day we were in Kruger. The lions knew they were not well matched with that very large elephant, so they got up and left. 







I also liked knowing that a white rhino keeps her young in front of her, because she has her head down munching on grass and can keep her eye on her little one, so any dangers from behind will have to go through her. A black rhino keeps her young in back of her, because she eats from bushes and paves the way for the little one to follow through the bushes.They are interesting creatures and we enjoyed getting to know all of them a bit better. 

Impala

There were also many DLA (Deer-like animals). It seemed that we saw so many of them that we eventually didn't pay them much attention, but there are some beautiful creatures in the wild. This bad boy is a Kudu male seen close up. Look at those ears! They are quite large and magnifiscent!

Impala

We saw a lot of impalas. This one is a male and not too sure about us being so close. He is not as big as a Kudu, but still pretty amazing in his own right. The females are smaller with no horns.

Water Buck

We also saw a water buck that has the ring around its tail. One of our guides said he got it from sitting on a white man's toilet...hardy, har, har. They are also very pretty animals, but quite skittish.






The Stembuck below is the national animal of South Africa. They look like little baby deer, but the guide assured us they are full grown and do not get any bigger. They are also loners, do not run in herds and do not stay with mates, but they are very cute, don't you think?

Stem Buck

I'm going to end here with this cute little Stembuck. I have hundreds more photos, but these are a good representation of what we experienced in the wild. Once again I marvel at the beauty of nature and the beasts of Africa. I often thought while on these game drives and seeing all these amazing animals that Heavenly Father is really creative. He must have had lots of fun putting the animal and insect kingdom together. I can't wait to have my children come and see what we saw. They will be as thrilled as we are...How fun is that to be able to show them this beautiful place called Africa?