Sunday, April 21st - In Phoenix

Garbage Dump Neighborhood

The Murdocks wanted to go to Phoenix to attend church today and we said, Great, we love Phoenix. Then they told Elder Kyle that he had to drive...whoops! He knows where Phoenix is but was not quite sure how to get there by car...hmmm. Believe it or not, there is a town called Phoenix in South Africa...amazing. It is actually a mostly Indian city (whoa...another similarity)...East Indian. We started off for Phoenix and right off the bat, the GPS took us to the wrong place. Apparently, there used to be a road going through to the freeway right by the garbage dump, but it's under construction, so we got a tour of the dump and the people who live there...They really do live there, in homes they have built out of various pieces of garbage. If you could see this photo up close, you would see cardboard homes with metal or cardboard roofs, each one very imaginative. They've built a whole town and nobody seems to mind that their town is around the dump. Apparently garbage day is an exciting time for them, as they dig through to see what treasures may be in the new load of garbage that can improve their home or situation. There are hundreds of homemade structures on the hill surrounding the dump!

We got to Phoenix and realized that they hold church in rooms on the second floor of a reform school. We got there a few minutes late, due to our tour of the dump. When we arrived we drove through a path towards a run-down school building. We drove right up on the grass/mud area. There was a member of the ward in a lawn chair guarding the cars that were parked there. We squeezed through the fence and climbed up to the second floor. The door to the room where they hold their sacrament service was closed and we discovered when we opened it that they were showing General Conference with a laptop computer, small projection machine and white sheet over the blackboard. The members were packed into plastic lawn chairs in rows close together watching the conference. We found a place to sit and realized it was the one session that we had already seen. We've now watched that one session three times. It's what happens when you go from ward to ward and aren't able to see Conference until two-three weeks after it happens. The amazing thing...though the room was hot, the chairs uncomfortable and the picture hard to see, there was not a sound in the room. The children sat there without making a sound and the adults were very attentive. I couldn't help but compare that with our beautiful buildings and noisy members and children. No children were being fed
Cheerios or given books to color. They were all sitting there looking perfect in their Sunday best quietly watching conference. Wow. This group of members whose ancestors are from India have been trying to get a new chapel for some time, but cannot find the land that will work for the members and the church. We met with the Branch President between sessions and he said a counselor in the area presidency had taken over trying to negotiate for land. He has lived in South Africa for a long time and is a realtor. They seemed encouraged that he was taking it on.  We offered our support if they needed us. A member came around with a Tupperware dish with cornbread in it and asked us if we wanted some cake. The people in that ward are so optimistic and when you consider they live in a city of Indians that are Hindu, you realize that it is not easy for them to be Mormon in that community. Academicians have often joked of Durban being the largest Indian city outside India. Once home to the young Mahatma Gandhi, Durban has more overseas Indians than any other city outside India. This photo was taken in the Indian spice market.

We left for the airport to take the Murdocks to catch their flight back to Johannesburg. Then we went home to rest up from our whirlwind experience with the Murdocks...fun though.

Saturday, April 20th - Meetings

We got up and I fixed french toast for breakfast, then we went with the Murdocks to Victoria's market again, so they could get something they saw the last time they were in Durban. Elder Kyle said we could take them there if Elder Murdock would agree to drive. Downtown Durban is very busy on Saturdays and there are hundreds of pedestrians (all with dark skin). There is also the taxi district where dozen of white vans that they call Taxis pick up these pedestrians and take them home. If you get caught in the middle of that, you may never get out, so we let the experienced driver take the wheel. He did admit that the only driving he has done in Johannesburg is driving to and from the area office which is ten minutes away from their flat. He is as afraid of driving in Johannesburg as we are in Durban. After a few purchases...I bought a tablecloth and a necklace...we took Elder Murdock around the corner to a tailor to get fitted for his new suit. A custom suit $250-300 with a silk lining that contains the big five game on it...very cool, but beyond our budget.

We then went to lunch at Roma's restaurant downtown. It is on the 32nd floor and revolves, so the views are amazing and prices are really good for Delicious food. We had a mini meeting before our meeting at lunch with Dominic Tshabalala (National Director of Public Affairs for South Africa), Sipho Duma (Hillcrest Stake Director of Public Affairs ),  Sibusiso Mathe (Durban Stake Director of Public Affairs), the Murdocks and us. These are some amazing black men and very funny too. Plus, they can really eat! We had a great time and the view from up there was just fantastic. The place kept turning, so every time I looked out the window the view was different.


We then hurried home to get ready for our meeting. We picked up tablecloths and paper goods, then went to the store to get snack food and water. We then hurried off to the Chapel for our meeting. We got everything set up and ready to go.

Subject: Bi-Stake PA Meeting 4/20/13 -Conducting: Elder Murdock, Opening Prayer: Elder Kyle
Introductions:  Elder Murdock - Area Public Affairs...Sister Murdock - Area Public Affairs... Elder Kyle - Durban Public Affairs...Sister Kyle - Durban Public Affairs...Clive Reddy - Hillcrest (PA Interfaith)...Mpume Shangase - Hillcrest (PA Government)...Sipho Duma - Hillcrest Stake PA Director...President Patrick Thwala - Hillcrest Stake Presidency...Graham Sabela - Hillcrest, Bishop of Pinetown Ward...Meridan Creak - Hillcrest (PA Media)... Siphosiso Mathe - Durban Stake PA Director...Shareen McDonald - Durban (PA Media)...President Ray Holder - Durban Stake Presidency...President Charles Magaqa - Durban Stake Presidency...Dominic Tshabalala - National PA Director... Nokuthula Zikalala - PA Director Newcastle District - Spiritual Thought: Dominic Tshabalala - Elder Mkhabela:  Taught us about our  PA responsibilities to aid the stake President and he spoke about General Conference and how he got to shake all the apostle's hands. It was a moving story. Elder Murdock talked about:  Everything we do in Public Affairs comes down to Relationships.  What another person thinks of you and the Church will govern what you are able to accomplish. Call on Public Affairs for help!  Public Affairs councils are  here to help the inspired work of the Stake Presidency.

Then Elder Mkhabela turned towards me after the meeting was over and said, "Sister Kyle, you and Elder Kyle will be expected to summarize what just happened in this meeting to our Coordinating Council of Stake Presidencies and Area Presidency on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. So, we'll be reporting a week from tomorrow on this meeting. Of course, I said we would.

Friday, April 19th - Murdocks again?

Today, we are picking up the Murdocks from the airport. They are flying in for the Area Public Affairs meeting on Saturday. This means another adventure in driving for Elder Kyle. We woke up and it is raining...looks like it will be that way all day. Then we figure out that their flight comes in about 5:15 pm (RUSH HOUR TRAFFIC)...so two strikes against driving. We wrap up our emails and phone calls for the day and make sure everyone knows about the meeting tomorrow. We head off for the airport at 5 pm giving ourselves 45 minutes, which should be plenty. Of course we have to use the GPS, because we have no idea where the airport is. I look on the airport settings and see Durban International Airport...yeah...that must be it, so I program it to follow those directions. We drive for about 30 minutes in the rain and traffic and the GPS points us to turn left and says we are at destination. We drive in and OOPS...doesn't look like an operating airport...fences everywhere and no sign of planes. Now we are nervous, so we see a taxi with two women in it coming out of one of the gates and we tell her we are supposed to be at the airport. She says, "Oh no, you are no where near the airport and she tells us to go back out on the freeway, going the other way and keep going until we arrive at King Shaka International Airport. The one the GPS took us to was closed down about ten years ago! By now the traffic is even worse, we are on the left side of the road and it is pouring down rain. I say, "What else could happen?" AND, we hit construction! After we pass that, we continue down the freeway and the cell phone rings. Elder Murdock is telling us they have just landed...I say, "Sorry, but we're not there and have 45 more kilometers before we get there. I agree to call when we are about there. The miracle is that we arrived about 15 minutes late...not so bad considering we went 30 minutes in the wrong direction. GPS's are so much fun.

The Murdocks took us to dinner at a seafood restaurant called Ocean Basket. This platter is only $11.00! We talked about their experiences in Johannesburg and how they have to go to Zimbabwe on Monday and then off to Kenya, Ghana and Congo all to help set those countries up with their own Mormon Newsroom. All Sister Murdock wanted to do to live in Durban again. They are overloaded with office work. We just smiled and said, sorry guys, but inwardly thinking, "Glad it's you and not us." Ha. We then went back to our flat and they slept in our spare room. Wow, what a day!

Monday April 15-Thursday, April 18th - writing stories for newsroom-misc

On Monday, we went through all our Durban public affairs emails and calendared various items. One of our priorities is to acquire a location for the David Glen Hatch concerts that will be performed here in August. He is an Emmy award winning pianist and his CDs are for sale in all the church bookstores. He is bringing some of his students, at his own expense, to do a concert tour starting in Johannesburg and then to Durban and Cape Town. He has offered to do these concerts for free and even pay for the venue, if needed. He is also offering to do a youth fireside while he is here in all the locations. We contacted our public affairs people here in Durban and got them going on looking for a location. We also contacted our Cape Town contacts and tried to find out what was happening with the University down there...where we hope to secure a location. It turned out to be a lot harder than we thought, even though the concert is free. We are thinking about turning it into a charity event, where entrance is a couple of cans of food,which we will donate to a local charity in each of the venues. We are in the planning stages but lots of work needs to be done. This will be a continuing process for the next few months.

New branch in Leribe, Lesotho celebrates with Von Stettens

The mission president called and asked me to stop by the mission office. He wanted me to write a story about the new Branch in Leribe, Lesotho for the Mormon Newsroom for South Africa. This was a surprise, but I figured the Mission President wants me to write a story, I'll write a story. We went to the office before lunch and Sister Holt (the mission secretary) gave me her account of the beautiful ceremony and how happy the people were for the new Branch. They have been meeting in a rented business office. You can see the story here: http://www.mormonnewsroom.co.za/article/leribe--lesotho--group-achieves-branch-status

We went to the mall afterwards to pick up some groceries (All grocery stores here are located in malls where you have to park, take a ticket and pay for the parking when you are done). Most parking anywhere is paid parking, but not all that expensive. I finished up the story and sent it to the newsroom where Sister Murdock edited and took out stuff that the News Media would not understand (church terms) or gave explanations for those items. The newsroom is basically a place for the media to find out what is going on with our church. The same article with lots of stuff added will go in the Liahona. I didn't get to go to the ceremony, but I had met most of the people, so it was fun to write about it.

Flyer I am working on for Lotus FM

Tuesday, I got busy creating a web page for Lotus FM radio station for our wheelchair give-a-way. I spent most of the day on that one trying to create it in a rather weak software that we have in the office. I really miss my graphic software at home, but it turned out okay. Everett is working on getting to know names and faces. It is so hard to pronounce names and accents are so thick that we cannot understand what they are saying when they call. It is rather embarrassing, but it gets easier every day. Hopefully they understand and will be patient with us.We get up each day, get dressed in our Sunday clothes, put on our missionary badges and go into our upstairs office. It is nice not to have to travel to an office. The Durban/Cape Town public affairs office is actually in our flat. We have a great office computer and printer. Loads of church supplies, maps on the walls, filing cabinets full of stuff and we work from 8-9 am until about 6 pm at night making phone calls, answering emails and going to meetings.

We occasionally take a break and go to lunch at the mall, or to the dry cleaners or drugstore, but this is a full time job! Wednesday at 2:30, we headed off to meet with the member from Umlazi that is putting on the Mother's Day Event. She told us to meet her at Mega City, so we found an Umlazi Mega City on the GPS and headed off for that location. It just happened to be raining and schools were getting out, so lots of car and foot traffic, but we got to our destination and it was a huge liquor store. That didn't seem right, so instead of getting out, we called Zanele and she said we were at the wrong place. We call our GPS Liah, after Liahona and she is very helpful, but sometimes, she is way off. After several phone calls and a few wrong turns we finally met up with Zanele at a fast food place, called Spur. Three other people showed up, including the manager of the restaurant. They all wanted to help her. We had a good meeting, but I left there wondering how in the world she will be able to pull this thing off. I had agreed to call the radio station to get their support, as we have a good relationship with them, so I got to work as soon as we got back to the office and immediately emailed everyone involved and Elder Kyle tried to check with the Bishop to make sure this project was OK'd by him and we put out feelers to the other Public Affairs people in that area.

Lotus FM wanted all kinds of disclaimer stuff on the web page, so I redid the web page to include that. Just another day in Africa!

Sunday, April 14th - Church

We attended church today with the Murdocks. We first went to a ward in Umlazi (check out the surrounding street names on the map!), which is pretty much an all black ward...just a couple of white people. The talks were great, the people humble and it was a very nice sacrament meeting. We met the leaders of the ward and they were very nice. We spoke to a lady named Zanele Hlongwane. She is putting together a Mother's Day project to honor mothers and she wants to advertise on the radio about the event and try to get sponsors. I didn't know what to say, as Mother's Day is only three weeks away and the scope of the project is huge. We agreed to try and get the radio station to air news of the event and get a speaker from the station. She said the Relief Society in her ward was making the food. When I asked her how many people she expected, she said about 300. My mouth dropped and I squeaked out, "Does the Relief Society know that you are making this much food. She said they did and they were used to making that much food for weddings. Yikes! She is very energized, so I'm sure she will pull it off, but she wants to offer free massages to the women (or very discounted). It's kind of wild, but maybe normal here.???

Recently the Elders in the surrounding areas all painted a mural for the Umlazi Library. It was a sweet thing to do. I thought you might like to see them and the mural they painted. Hopefully I won't get in trouble for copying the photo...ha.

After Sacrament meeting, we went to another ward in Chatsworth. It is an all Indian ward. We attended Relief Society and the sister that taught did a great job. We all sat in a semi circle, only about 10 women, plus Sister Murdock and I. It was fun hearing a lesson "Faithfulness in Times of Trial" in an East Indian accent. There was one woman answering all the questions. Everyone else was kind of quiet...probably because us white folks were there...But they were all very sweet and pretty with their dark skin and black silky hair. The children are really cute and very well behaved. After church, we came back to our flat in Durban and the Murdocks packed up and drove back to Johannesburg. We will miss them, but we are enjoying our peace and quiet and not having to rush off anywhere.

Saturday April 13- PDay

Today is PD and I spent the day washing clothes and getting caught up on personal chores. Then we went to the large 4-story mall with the Murdocks to look for some items we could not get at the mall close to our place. I bought a curling iron that actually works with their electrical system here and we tried to find some adapters for our camera and cell phone chargers. This mall is so huge that I was glad the Murdocks were with us, because we would have been lost for sure. The Mall is VERY crowded with mostly Indian people, some blacks (and almost all workers in the stores) with just a few whites. We are definitely in the minority. Elder Kyle was trying to buy some Tylenol in the drugstore and was informed that he needed to wait in line for the pharmacist to okay it. They do not have regular cold, allergy or pain medications on the shelf. He had to wait a long time and they did not know what Tylenol is. They ended up giving him a non-aspirin pain killer with a strange name, but we are not sure if it is Tylenol or not. It doesn't use the same ingredients on the label. I also had trouble finding a curling iron or curlers for large curls. They have different hair issues here than in the states and my hair would not be the norm....Ha. I tried to find a keyboard that attaches to my Lenovo note pad, but the store did not have much variety and we couldn't get anyone to help us. The ones we did find that might have worked were way more money than I was willing to spend.

The grocery stores do not have the same spices here that I used at home. I could find no ground oregano, only the leaf kind. I had trouble finding black pepper that was already ground. Hamburger is called mince. Ketchup is called tomato sauce and tomato sauce is called tomato puree. The tomato sauce tastes very bitter and the ketchup is very sweet. French fries are chips. Beef Jerky is called Biltong. Powdered sugar is called icing sugar. Brown sugar is in kind of crunchy pieces instead of ground. White sugar is crunchy too, so you have to look for castor sugar to get the refined sugar. They do not have chocolate chips at all or pieces of nuts...only the whole nut. They do not have a large supply of green leafy vegetables. You have to buy your spinach at Woolworths in small packages of organic spinach. If you buy it at the main grocery, Pick and Save, it goes bad pretty quickly.

Fruits are great. Their potatoes are different...no Idaho type potatoes. Their pinto beans are called red speckled beans and they have no black beans. None of the restaurants so far even serve any kind of bean. It seems so strange that a country like this wouldn't use lots of beans. I have cooked one pot of beans and they are almost all gone. You can't get any corn tortillas here and the white tortillas are not plentiful and not all that great. The only chilies that are used a lot here are jalapenos. It's hard to find a boxed cake mix here and the only ones I've seen in small quantities is chocolate cake. They do not sell Pepsi or Doctor Pepper here, mostly coke and sprite products. They do not have 100 orange juice, only OJ blends all of which have sugar in them. Their bread selection is pretty small too. Luckily, we really like their brown bread that obviously has lots of grains in it, but it is not called multigrain, only brown bread. The choices are brown or white bread. They don't have natural peanut butter, only the one with sugar and oil in it. They don't have pie fillings. I made a chocolate cherry cake for the Murdocks and had to make my own cherry pie filling to put in the cake. There are lots more differences, but this gives you an idea of our grocery store selections. There is no Target, Walmart, Costco or any other store that we are used to at home. Woolworths is the closest to Target...It has clothes and a small grocery department. Since the only thing I cooked so far is a pot of beans, brown rice, cheese crisp, ground hamburger and chocolate cherry cake, I need to figure out some local favorites that we will enjoy. Even the pizza here is different...crust is not that great and sauce is different. No pepperoni here on pizza either and cheese is not the same. We've eaten out a lot and we've had some really good food, but it all seems pretty fattening. We will try to experiment with Indian food. All we've heard about it is that it is all really hot. Sounds good to us! Ha.

On the other hand, seafood here is great and very cheap compared to the states; however, their shrimp looks like a sea spider, because they leave all the legs and the head on. I wouldn't touch the stuff, but your Elder Kyle ate a place that was piled high with the critters. I'm trying to be creative and we certainly aren't starving. Every day is a new adventure, in food, culture, weather and people. We work hard, but get enjoyment out of the experience. I only wish everyone we love could be here too. What a party we would have!

Friday, April 12 - shopping and wheelchair give-away

Native African Clothing in Victoria Market

Today the Murdocks took us to Victoria Market downtown. It is full of handmade African wares at great prices. I stocked up on some African necklaces that everyone here seems to wear (at least all the Senior Sisters) and watched Sister Murdock make some purchases. I was introduced to a member of the church that has a shop there and bought a necklace from her. I bought a beaded eyeglass chain, but it broke when I tried to put it on my eyeglasses. Since it only cost $2 and probably took six hours to make, I did not complain. There are many African Zulu dresses here. Sister Murdock had already purchased a complete outfit. I admired a dress that a lady in Lesotho was wearing and she offered to make me one in any color that I like. I decided to wait until I have a better idea of what I want. Elder Kyle bought a shirt that is very African. When I get my dress, we will take a picture.

Wheelchairs made by local business 

We then went to an appointment with TJ, who has a store that makes wheelchairs. We have a project coming up with Lotus FM radio station. For their 30th anniversary they want to give away 30 wheelchairs to people who need them, but cannot afford them. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is paying for the chairs, which have the church's name on them, and Lotus is advertising the contest. We will have a part in choosing the finalists. We talked with TJ about the need of 30 wheelchairs and he told us that he also manufactures the chairs and will want the people we choose to come and get measured for their chair as soon as they are chosen. We took TJ to lunch and learned a bit more about him and his family. He is of Dutch descent and has lived here most of his life. He is a very nice man and we will enjoy working with him on this project. He ordered coffee and lunch and then apologized for it. Of course, we told him he could order whatever he liked, which started a conversation about what is healthy and what is not as most of us proceeded to order the unhealthy...ha

Thursday, April 11th - Mission President

This morning we went into the area office to meet with the Mission President that we will be reporting to while we are in the Durban mission. President Von Stetten is a very nice man and welcomed us into the mission. He told us about the successes and challenges of the mission and the dos and don'ts while we are here, plus gave us a packet of written materials to take home with us. He even gave us a peak at the missionary board that shows all the missionaries in the mission, plus the ones due for transfer and the new ones coming. What a huge responsibility he has for all these missionaries. Of course, he closed the board quickly so none of the missionaries working there would see it. We met the others in the office as well. Three other couples work in the area office.

Indian Ocean pier 10 minutes from our flat

The Murdocks then took us to the beach to show us the best part of Durban. It is the most amazing  beach I have ever seen. There are five miles of bricked walkways and five piers, all very clean and beautiful. The sand is beautiful as well and there are waves good enough for surfing. While walking along the beach (in our suits and dresses and missionary badges), it seemed we were in San Diego, instead of South Africa. But, we were looking at the Indian Ocean. Who would have thought that we would ever dip our toes into the Indian Ocean??? It is very surreal.

Elder Murdock talking to stranger about the church

While on the pier, a man came up to us and pointed at our badges and said, "I like that." This man was from Ghana and very nice. Of course Elder Murdock asked if he would like a pamphlet with the addresses of all our church buildings with a free Mormon Tabernacle CD number to call on the back. He said he would, so we walked him out to our car, so we could pick up a pamphlet. We gave it to him and he smiled and said he would try to go to church while he was here. People here often comment on our missionary badges. It is a very Christian nation and the name Jesus Christ on our badges is pleasing to them. While we were at the bed and breakfast in Lady Smith, one of the maids there came up to me, looked at my tag and asked me to pray with her. She then bowed her head and started softly praying to herself. This went on for a good five minutes. Afterwards we hugged and she smiled and went on her way...a very humbling experience for me.

Cloudy day at the Durban beach

Thursday evening we went to dinner at the Von Stetten's home here. It is a beautiful home that Sister Von Stetten decorated herself. They have been here five years and will be going home in July. We had chicken, salad, baked potatoes, broccoli, carrots, rolls and peach cobbler for dessert. Yummy meal and great company. We enjoyed it very much, especially President Von Stetten's stories about Africa. It was kind of a welcome for us and a goodbye to the Murdocks as well. It was a good day.

Tuesday - Wednesday, April 9 - 10 in Durban

Our Durban Flat - part of duplex

We arrived in Durban Tuesday afternoon and the Murdocks are doing their best to train us on Public Affairs for their area. Durban is beautiful, similar to San Diego in vegetation and weather, though today is a little chilly. According to the Murdocks that is uncharacteristic for here.  We have already met so many people on our journeys, from Priesthood leaders and public affairs leaders in all the branches, districts, groups and wards to all the area office personnel. Remembering names is the hard part...pronouncing them even harder. Needless to say, our minds are swimming with the huge task that has been entrusted to us. The Murdocks got up at 5 am today and took a quick walk around the neighborhood. We opted for extra sleep, a relief from all the early mornings of the past three weeks. The duplex where we live is located on a steep hill, at the top of an area that houses another apartment complex at the lowest part where other missionary couples live. The Murdocks requested to be moved from their apartment down below because of their lack of cell phone signal and their need to have room for an office, as they/us are the PA office for the Durban area. One side of a duplex up above became available for only $50 more a month and it is three times as large, so we are in a 3-bedroom/ 2 1/2 bath two-story home, using one bedroom for the office. It is old and not exactly up to date. The faucets don't work well and the kitchen is very small, but is has beautiful views and the other rooms are spacious, so we feel blessed to be here. There is a toilet just outside of the building in a small enclosed area. When I asked what that was for, I was told it was for the black servants, as they were not allowed to use the home's toilets. It made my heart ache to think of it.

Window from master bdrm overlooking apartments below

We are behind a guard gate. Homes here have barbed wire at the tops of their fences, bars on their windows and extra locks. It makes me a little leery, but the church security people assure us that it is just decreasing the opportunity for robberies. Since the unemployment is high here, people steal to put food on the table...it is a fact of life and the police don't seem too worried about prosecuting, so it persists. We were told that if someone tries to rob us, just give them what they want, as it keeps us from harm and they need it more than we do... A little hard for Elder Kyle and most other men, but safer. I actually feel pretty safe here and we've walked to the mall, which only a few blocks from where we live.

Our flat looking out the front to other couples apartments

We had a public Affairs meeting on Wednesday, April 10th, 6 pm at the Hillcrest chapel. The Bishop of that ward, who used to be one of our public affairs people), Bishop Sabela was in attendance. What a sharp, well spoken man he is. The Spirit radiates from him. The person conducting the meeting was Sipho Duma, the Hillcrest Stake PA director. Others invited were: Mpume Shangase (Government PA), Sherene McDonald, PA from Durban Stake, Basil Smith and his wife who are putting on the Family History conference for the stake (the reason for the meeting), Thembeka Mzolo (Community Outreach), Meridan Creak (Media), Sharon Thumboo, Stake High Council Rep and others. We had 15 in attendance, so it was a good meeting. It was nice to meet everyone and they all seemed prepared to spread the word in the community. The work is going forth in Africa so fast that it seems impossible to keep up, but everyone is trying so hard and the Spirit is so obviously with them. We just hope we can contribute to their efforts.

Elder & Sister Murdock in the Durban office in our flat

Monday, April 8th - heading to Ladysmith

We got up early this morning and ate a nice breakfast at our B&B (Top House B&B). Almost all breakfasts here consist of the same thing: Thinly sliced ham (that they call bacon), sausage, eggs, tomatoes, juice, toast and fruit. Their fruit is very fresh, tropical mainly and good. After breakfast, we headed back to Lesotho to meet with Sister Moorosi and the Elders. We drove to the place she thought the Public Eye newspaper was, but found out that it had moved and we had to go about a mile farther to get to the newspaper office. They welcomed us and scrambled to find enough chairs in their conference room to seat us all (7 of us). Elder Murdock introduced them to the Elders and Sister Moorosi as our Public Affairs person in Lesotho and told them that we wanted to establish a relationship with them, so our projects (like Helping Hands) could be advertised to get people to come and help and also to join with them in finding ways to help their community. The man we met with was very nice and asked for Sister Moorosi's business card. She said that after watching how it was done, she felt comfortable going to the Lesotho Times Newspaper and talking to them. Our entire goal on this mission is to help our public affairs people do the work themselves. We never want to take charge on anything that is going on in their area and we involve Priesthood as much as we can, so they can be the 'go to' in case of questions from the community or media. Our job is to train and encourage and all of our local Public Affairs people here seem to be taking the ball and running with it.

After our meeting, we crossed the border again into South Africa (a longer wait this time as people who have jobs in South Africa were also crossing the border) and headed off to Lady Smith. We got a late start, so we did not arrive in Lady Smith until after dark, about 9 pm. It was a long drive and we were tired, but the B&B where we stayed (Peaches and Cream) was great and the owner met us in her bathrobe. The next morning we had breakfast with Elder and Sister Wilding who are the MLS (Missionary Leader Support) couple in Lady Smith and surrounding area. Keep in mind, that about this time, both Elder Kyle and I are brain dead...jet lag is starting to hit. Our meeting with the Wildings was about the upcoming celebration in Lady Smith that will commemorate the Mormon Pioneer Trek and the Voortrekkers - African term for pioneer or those who pull ahead - African migration through South Africa as the wars raged around them. The idea is to show the similarities of both groups and show how the groups have come together in harmony and how the church is playing a role in that. Those members playing Mormon Pioneers will be in costume with carts and the Voortrekkers will have their costumes and authentic carts. It will all conclude in a park where a major battle during the second Boer War was fought (British against Boers - Dutch). The British used British and black mercenaries to fight the war against the Boers. The Boers were trying to extract themselves from the British rule. They were a distinct part of the Afrikaans movement and today are called Afrikaaners instead of Boers. They are a white race that speaks mainly Dutch with a little German mixed in. We had a great meeting with the Wildings and told them a bit about the family history conference in Bloemfontein. Sister Wilding is a family history buff, so she was very excited to incorporate that into their celebration. It is wonderful to see this couple so out in the middle of nowhere in this relatively small town, showing excitement about this activity and working hard to make it a success.

We then headed off for Johannesburg through the city of Lady Smith and Elder Murdock got pulled over for talking on his cell phone. He is quite a talker and talked the police woman out of getting a ticket. It would have cost him about R750, which is about $80 US. He was talking to me on the phone, but I was not driving. We left the town and entered some construction before getting on the freeway. We had a long wait, so Elder Murdock got out of the car to come and talk to us about how long it was going to take (We were following them). When he did this he smelled gas and looked down at the rear of our car to see a stream of gas coming out onto the ground about the size of a pencil. Elder Kyle looked down and sure enough the gas gauge was quickly going down towards empty. We call this our little miracle, because we were close enough to turn around and head back to Lady Smith for help. We called the Wildings and got a recommendation for a dealer that could fix it, so we headed over there. The guys went in and a young man (mechanic) came out to take a look. We were afraid we would have to stay the night, but he went in, got a clamp for the fuel line that connects to the fuel filter. In less than an hour it was fixed and only cost R8 which is about 70 cents US. He would take no payment himself for fixing it, but he just stood there looking at us. Elder Murdock gave him a brochure offering a free Mormon Tabernacle Choir CD and when Elder Kyle tried again to pay him, he said he would just like to see some American money.  He would not accept a $20 bill, but did accept a $1.00 bill for a souvenir. He continued to watch us as we drove away, as if he knew the Lord was with us. It was so obvious that the Lord was watching over us. We see miracles every day here (If Elder Murdock had not decided to get out of his car, if he had not smelled gas and looked under the car, we would have run out of gas on the freeway somewhere and been where we could not get it fixed). We traveled back to Johannesburg without any more difficulties and arrived in the evening. We went to a Family Home evening with the other group couples in the Johannesburg apartment building where a couple were speaking about their mission and a group of 12 young African men known as the band of brothers.

Sunday, April 7th off to Lesotho

Street heading into Lesotho

Today, we got up and had breakfast, then drove to the country of Lesotho, which is located in the center of South Africa, but they are their own country and not part of South Africa. Therefore, we had to show our passports when we left South Africa and get them stamped. We drove across the border and then had to show our passports again at the customs desk in Lesotho (pronounced laysootoo). Luckily Sunday was not a busy day, but certainly no one is in a hurry there, so it took longer than it should have. As soon as we crossed the border, it was obvious that Lesotho is a poor country. They have the highest incident of aids in all of Africa...about 54%. It was obvious as we drove down streets and saw neighborhoods that this country is poor, but when we arrived at the Masero Branch for sacrament meeting, the members were clean and all dressed up in their finest to go to church. All that we met were very humble and happy to be there.

Lesotho people selling their wares

They treated us like visiting royalty. Sacrament meeting was fast and testimony meeting and we hear the sweetest, purest testimonies that we have ever heard. After sacrament meeting, we drove to the Masianokeng Branch, a couple of miles away. They do not have a building yet and are meeting in 'speed  trailors'. Even though their buildings are modest, they are spotless and full of people. We could not fit in the trailer holding Sunday School because it was so full. They asked the Murdocks to give a youth fireside during YM/YW meeting hour. They came prepared and talked to the youth about cell phones, Facebook and social media dangers and ways to use them for good. I thought perhaps these people were too poor to know about these things, but judging from the questions, many of them have used them or have friends at school who do. After we were finished, we went back to the Masero Branch and taught the same fireside again to their youth, who stayed after church to hear it. The response was about the same. What I learned from this was the amazing difference the church is making in these people's lives, the positive impact it is having on their self-esteem, regardless of their meager incomes. The African people are a very religious people and most believe in Jesus Christ. Many cannot come to church each Sunday because they do not live close, but they save their money and take a taxi whenever they can. Their love of the Savior is very evident in their humble testimonies. Our PA director in that area is Sister Moorosi and she is a very sharp and beautiful African woman. Her husband is the Branch president of the Masianokeng Branch.

The Elders in this branch are amazing. One of them, Elder Falcom was in Ghana and got tranferred to Chatsworth, the Indian Branch outside Durban where he completely turned the branch around and then was transferred to Lesotho to help them get going. He was such a nice young man and so excited to help the African people. We promised him that we would come back the following morning, before we left to head back to Durban, so we could take Sister Moorosi to the local newspaper and show her how to approach them regarding things our church is doing in the area. We left there and headed back to Lady Branch where we were invited to dine with the Olsens. We had to stop at customs in Lesotho to exit and South Africa to enter...it took a bit longer, but still wasn't bad. Sister Olsen fixed a great meal and we watched the Sunday morning session of conference live (It was 6 pm our time). Because of the time difference and many wards not having access to the broadcast, most wards watch the conference from DVDs two to three weeks after the conference has aired, usually in their ward or branch buildings. We then headed back to our B&B for the evening. It was a GOOD DAY, but we are so very tired.

Saturday, April 6th - Family History Conference

Tshabalala -  Family History Speaker

Saturday we got up and at breakfast at our hotel. We then took off for the Bloemfontein chapel. We drove through some very nice neighborhoods and were surprised to see such a beautiful chapel.

We were told that the plans for the chapel were mixed up with a chapel that was supposed to be built in the Islands and they had most of the chapel built before they realized their mistake. This chapel and their membership is still small, but they are growing and the chapel is loved by the members there. The Family History Conference was organized by Sister Nontuli, our PA person for that area. She put together a list of speakers who were mostly non-members, but very knowledgeable about African history. The keynote speaker was Dr. Mathole Serofo Motshekga, the Chief Whip of the Majority Party. The Chief Whip, is the most senior party Parliamentary Office Bearer; is the political manager and strategist for ANC Caucus and acts as a communications link between ANC MP's and the Executive (Cabinet). He is also Very interested in African roots and geneology and a history buff, plus he is friends with Dominic Tshabalala, our area office Public Affairs specialist, who also spoke at this conference. From those two we learned much about African history and then we heard from a couple of people from the War Museum in Bloemfontein and a man who is a DNA genealogy buff, who shared some very interesting facts on DNA and it's association with different areas of Africa, to tell a person where they came from. Apparently, the church helped the war museum transfer thousands of documents into digital files that can be accessed by the computer. The Branch President then gave a beautiful testimony of the importance of family history. They then broke into five classes, each one a different level of family history knowledge, from those first starting to those who were very experienced.

Elder Murdock, Dr. Motshekga, ?, Stake President, Elder Kyle

Break for lunch at family history conference

After the conference split into the different classes, Sister Nontuli asked us and the Murdocks to take the speakers out to lunch. Unfortunately, we had told one of the other Senior missionary couples that we would have lunch at their home with four other couples after the conference. The Wyatts were fixing us lunch. We didn't know what to do, so I suggested that we if it was okay with the Wyatt's that we take the speakers there for lunch with us...supposedly six extra people. The Wyatt's said okay and Elder Murdock sent one of the couples to buy more food. Instead of six people, there were more like 16 and the Wyatt's home was very small, but we made it work. I helped serve up food and we ate a mexican meal that consisted of tortillas, mince (hamburger), guacamole, sour cream, tomatoes and cheese, etc. Everyone made their own. Dr. Motshekga sat on the couch and noticed a triple combination sitting on the table next to the couch. He opened it up and it opened to the picture/diagram of the twelve tribes of Israel, and he said, "What is this? This is what I was talking about. Where did you get this? What is this book of Moses and Abraham? I must have this book." Those were Sister Wyatt's scriptures, and she was not going to let him have them. Luckily Dominique went out to his car and got his scriptures and told Dr. Motshekga that he could borrow them until he got him his own copy. It was amazing...just more evidence that the Lord has his hand in all of this success in Africa. After the luncheon, we got back on the road and traveled to a B&B just before the border of Lesotho, in a town called Lady Branch. We checked in there for the night and Everett and I relaxed while the Murdocks visited the Olsons, a MLS couple assigned to Lesotho, but living in Lady Branch. They watched Saturday mornings conference, while we got much needed rest.

Lady Branch Lodging

Friday, April 5th, off to Bloemfontein, Africa

Visit to Free State

Bloemfontein & Lesotho

After a rocky night waking up three times because my mind would not shut off and jet lag had set in, we got up and went into the area office with the Hatch's. Sister Hatch trained Sister Murdock on the computer and we attended another meeting with Sean Donnelly and Ukhozi FM radio, a local radio station who are community based and try to supply people who need help with those who can help them. We told them about the church and our desire to help people and suggested that they partner with us to help those in need. We gave them a tour of the area office and told them of our humanitarian efforts in Africa, as well as Helping Hands projects.

They were sweet people trying to make a difference and hopefully the church can find a way to help them. The Hatches went to the airport to head for Utah and we packed up our stuff and headed to Bloemfontein with the Murdocks. It was a five hour drive, so we got to see some of the African countryside. We learned about DLA (deer like animals), because there are so many varieties of deer that no one can identify them all. Other than cows, we didn't see any other animals and we could have been in the United States, as the countryside was very similar to places we have been in Arizona and Texas. We stopped at a large, very nice service station for gas. It had a Wimpy's restaurant, which is very popular in Africa and considered fast food, but no food is fast in Africa. They operate at a slow pace in the way they talk and serve at restaurants. So far most people have spoken English, but we still cannot understand most of what they say. Zulu is also a popular language. Afrikaans is a white person language that sounds like German (very long words), but is supposed to be Dutch. There are plenty of them as well in South Africa and especially Bloemfontein and Cape Town. After about five hours, we arrived in Bloemfontein and met up with three other couples for dinner at a mall restaurant. The mall was VERY upscale and the other couples kept saying, "This is not Africa." The entire town was very nice and just like being in the States. It was very hard to believe we were in Africa, except for the large number of Africans working in the mall. The couples were very nice, some were there there as MLS (missionary leader support) and some as office workers or temple workers. They were a fun group and we had a nice dinner. Everett had a plate piled high with shrimp, at least 30 good sized shrimp. The food was delicious. We then went to a hotel and stayed the night. We were very tired.

Thursday, April 4th, BIG NEWS!

Johannesburg Temple at night

We were picked up by the Hatch's at 7:45 this morning to go into the area office. The office is right next door to the Temple, about 10 minutes drive from our flat. We are both suffering from jet lag, but ready to meet the Area Public relations director and everyone else at the office where we will be working. As soon as we arrive, Sean Donnelly, the Area PA Director, says he wants to meet with us before the meeting and we join him in his office. He welcomes us and then starts in by saying that he had been inspired to change our mission to Durban. He said the Durban PA couple have been out ten months and know the ins and outs of the area, so he thought it would be good to bring them into the office and put us out in the field until their mission is over in December. Then we would come back to the area office in Johannesburg to take their place and the new missionaries would go to Durban to take ours. He said he wanted to do that from now on with all the missionaries in the area office, so he would have experienced couples to work there. That was quite a surprise, since we had just unpacked our stuff and didn't know anything about Durban. He also said he had changed the Durban mission and was taking Madagascar (French Speaking) and the other islands by Madagascar out of our mission and he would cover them, since he speaks French and was the Mission President there before this assignment. He added Cape Town to our mission, as the PA couple there, Roberts (Sherry Toler's brother and his wife) were going home and they were not replacing them. Capetown is about 1200 miles from Durban. We will also have Lesotho, Swaziland and other small places in between. He then brought in the Murdocks from Durban, who were just as shocked as we were. They loved Durban and wanted to stay there, where they had established lots of relationships. She even teared up at the news, but we are both here to do the Lord's work and if that is what he wants, we were glad to do our part...until he told us that we would be leaving with the Murdocks the next day to go on a trip to Bloemfontein, Lesotho and Ladysmith (and would not arrive back to Johannesburg until the following Monday evening. Considering how tired we were, this was crazy news. It was a very difficult trip to get here. We had to go back to the apartment and pack up our stuff again and then we had to leave the next day to drive several hours by car with the Murdocks, who we did not know for a four day road trip to other countries in Africa! We just looked at them blurry-eyed and said "Okay."

Dianna & Sean Donnelly,
SE Africa Public Affairs Director

Wednesday, April 3rd - arrive in Johannesburg!

Johannesburg! Finally here with 18 months of  luggage

We have finally arrived! We were so glad to get off the airplane. We got through customs with no problems and then were off to get our mound of luggage. The five Elders and one sister going to Mozambique looked lost and approached us to see what they do next. I felt kind of sorry for them, but we sent them to the airlines booking desk and they sent them to their flight. It's hard to imagine being 18 or 19, first time out of the United States and not sure what to do. By now they are in Mozambique and learning about the African people.




We were met at the airport by Elder and Sister Hatch, the couple we are replacing. They were very nice and got us back to our flat while filling us in on driving on the left side of the road and suggestions for safety while driving or walking. Apparently there are a lot of 'grab and snatch' occurrences, where you come to a stoplight and if your phone or purse is visible from the street, they use a spark plug and break your window quickly and snatch the item. The advice was to keep things out of sight. Sometimes beggars will get close to your car asking for handouts, but they are really scoping out the inside of the car and relaying the info to the snatchers. Elder Hatch said all we had to do was eliminate the opportunity (by putting our things out of sight) and we would have no problem. They took us to our flat, which was on the third floor of the apartment building. We lugged all our luggage to the elevator and up to the apartment while getting instructions on where to park, how to use the electronic gate, etc. Then they left us to rest up and get picked up at 6 pm for dinner. One of the other couples had purchased food for us, so we had bread, milk, eggs, juice, peanut butter, fruit, etc. It was great not to have to worry
about that stuff. We tried to communicate with our children, but the email did not work and we had no phones, so we put in a call to our IT person from the church who was not available until the next night. We started unpacking our stuff. The apartment was large with one large bedroom and a small office, plus a large bath, large kitchen and large living/dining area with big windows. All windows in Johannesburg have bars on them and there was a gate to our apartment with a lock on it and a patio before reaching our front door. I was happy that there was a mall across the street from the complex, in case we needed groceries, etc. After we unpacked, we took a two-hour nap and then Hatches picked us up for dinner and took us to their favorite restaurant where the food was indeed great. We were told that we were expected for a meeting at the area office at 8 am the next morning. We slept okay, but were still pretty wiped out.

Flight to Joburg

Wednesday, April 2nd . . .
our flight to Joburg was to leave at 9PM London time. We went through security and after the most thorough pat down that I have ever had, we got through security and walked to the closest store so Everett could get a drink, but when he reached for his wallet, he realized that he had left his wallet in one of the trays when he went through security. He went back to find it but it was no where to be found. WE said a prayer and the guy checked one more place and found it in the bottom of a tray on the other side of the security area stacked under another tray...just one more miracle.

This flight lasted 10. 5 hours. This flight was the hardest, because neither of us could get comfortable on the plane and could not sleep. They served good food, but it was too cramped to stretch our legs. finally I dozed a short while and when I woke up  I discovered that Elder Kyle and the man next to him were not in their seats. I could hear them talking in the back of the dark plane. I promptly put my legs up on their seats and enjoyed some relief.  When EK finally came back to his seat, he told me that the guy wanted to know about the church... He seemed really interested and Elder Kyle was beaming from the conversation. He will definitely follow-up with this man.

Tuesday, April 2nd at the London Heathrow Airport

We arrived at London Heathrow Airport after an eight-hour flight. We were in economy, which means no leg room, so when the person in front of you puts their seat back, it crushes your knees. Not very comfortable! It seemed to take forever and because of the time change, we arrived about 10:00 AM London time.

Luckily, Shannon fixed us up with American Airlines Ambassador Club/Admirals Club. It was at another terminal, but we got on the tram and went to find it. What a great place to spend 12 hours in the airport. They had private showers, which is basically a total bathroom with a toilet and sink as well as the shower. They also had recliners that fully reclined and a place that was quiet. There was all kinds of free foods and drinks. GREAT. We slept a little, showered, ate and relaxed. We are getting closer to Africa. I will write more tomorrow.

Monday, April 1st - leaving MTC

Today we got ready to leave the Missionary Training Center. We got on the bus at 8 am and it was full of Elders and Sisters all going to the airport. We were sorry to leave the MTC, but also excited to finally be going to Africa! They had to bring an extra truck for our luggage and the bus was a full-sized bus, which apparently leaves every day with the same amount of missionaries.

The other missionaries waiting for the same flight to London

When we got to the airport our plane was supposed to leave at 11:35 am. We went through security and headed off to the gate. We soon discovered that 19 elders and sisters going to Leone France were on the same flight. They were so excited and happy to be going. Unfortunately, our plane was not ready to go until 3 pm because of some technical problems, which meant that the whole group of them going to France were going to miss their connection for London. That's okay because they ended up on our flight to London as well. Fun having so many travel companions, plus another senior couple who were going to London to serve their mission. While we were waiting one of the missionaries from Argentina who flew to Provo to learn French (and spoke Fluent Spanish) saw his parents walk by the area where we were all waiting for the plane to get fixed. They had just flown in from Argentina to SLC  to go to General Conference the following weekend. If we had left on time, he never would have seen his parents (who hadn't seen him in six weeks). Needless to say it was a joyous family reunion. His mom looked at me and said, "Is it okay that we spend a little time with him before he goes...Ha. I pretended I was in charge and said "No problem, if the Lord wants you to see each other before he goes on his mission, far be it for me to stand in the way." Lots of miracles since we have been here. It was a long day and we arrived finally in London with a 12-hour layover before we were to go to Johannesburg. More later on our flight to Africa.