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?

Monday, Nov 25, 2013 - Public Affairs Training

Although it may seem like all we did during our annual Public Affairs Training is go on game drives, we actually spent most of the day in training sessions. Our official training started Monday, November 25th.

We spoke first about our direction for 2014. Elder Murdock explained our focus using a PowerPoint Presentation with our focus being in the shape of a rocket. He talked about the fuel or base of the rocket being Jesus Christ.

In our role of Public Affairs Couples, our theme is "We Follow Jesus Christ." That is what we want to come through in our branches, wards, districts, stakes, on television, on radio, in our Sunday meetings....throughout Africa. As members we know it is our focus, has always been our focus, but others do not know this; in fact, many think the opposite, that we do not follow Jesus Christ. Some think we worship the devil or Joseph Smith, or Mormon. Our goal is to do nothing more than get the truth out there that we do indeed follow Jesus Christ, that we believe in his birth, death, atonement and resurrection. Yes, WE DO BELIEVE IN THE BIBLE as well....another common misconception (that the Book of Mormon is our only Bible). For years, the Church ignored all the misconceptions and bad press that contained a variety of falsehoods. It was not until they realized the harm it was doing to their missionary effort, that they began to try and get the truth out there. Since we've been in Africa and seen the many ways the Church is helping this huge country, the amount of money being spent on hundreds of humanitarian projects, always to mainly non-members of the Church with no expectations that they will ever be members. In essence, we are teaching these people that we follow Jesus Christ and are only doing those things that Jesus Christ would have us do. This is the basis of our Public Affairs Plan, the fuel that gets the rocket in orbit.

Next, the key to accomplishing this goal involves Key Option Leaders and Internal Opinion Leaders. Key opinion leaders would be those in the community that can influence others for bad or good, meaning they can promote a bad or good impression of the Church. This could be government leaders, Media, interfaith leaders and community leaders. Internal Opinion Leaders would be those inside the Church in key positions that could influence society at large in a positive way. Since they are Africans, it is one of the best ways to dispel the untruths that are out there.

In the middle are the internal workings of the rocket, the computer network, electronics, wires and all other parts that make up the core of the rocket and keep it on target. Because each country has their own challenges with the way their government and people see the Church, they each need to have a plan customized for their country. This would outline key steps to address the problems in that country, key opinion leaders or media contacts that they need to meet with or invite to a lunch or dinner to show them videos about the Church that dispels the untruths by showing things the Church is doing to help the people of Africa.

The next item is Helping Hands. This program (Which I am charge of for 2014) is the best way to get out in the communities and show by example what our Church is all about. Following Jesus Christ means providing service to others. In Africa we've had Helping Hands projects that have refurbished  orphanages and provided donated food, clothing and blankets to those in need. We've painted hospitals, provided toys, books and school supplies to local schools. We've cleaned the grounds of the local zoos, planted community gardens, refurbished police stations, passed out mosquito nets. We've helped the Boys and Girls Town organizations by fixing their furniture, rehanging their doors, painting and making quilts for their beds. We've cleaned city streets and cleared trash-littered lots. We've helped build bridges, dig ditches, pour cement, build walls, serve food, clean up youth centers, and so much more.Many spectators have been amazed that so many from our church would take an entire day, and sometimes weeks or months, to provide service to others with no expectations. I also gave a presentation on Helping Hands showing the couples what kind of projects we had in 2013 and what improvements we need to make and communicate with those in our countries.

The next one in the middle is 'Strategic Events'. These are events that will help get the word out there and include events like: Open Houses in our church building where we have displays, handouts and maybe even videos of Primary, Relief Society, Sunday School, Emergency Preparedness, The Family, Family History, etc. Opening the church to those in the community lets them know what our church is all about and dispels the untruths, plus it helps us be friends with other faiths in the community so we can join forces with them to accomplish even more for the community. Family History fairs where we show the community how to search for ancestors is another good way to make friends with those in the community and show them how we can help them in their genealogy searches. Events where you invite key opinion leaders to a breakfast, lunch or dinner and show videos and explain what our church believes in and what we are doing for the community. Their are also humanitarian efforts we can be involved in when the job it done and we are ready to handover the project to the community. These are just some of the examples.

The next is correct messages. We need to be aware of what is being said about the church and be proactive in sharing the correct message to media, opinion leaders and other churches, for example.

If we do all those things, we will be ready to separate from the rest of the rocket and the nose of the rocket will continue to it's destination of providing real growth for the Church in South Africa.

Diane Donnelly making delicious meals in Camp Kitchen

Of course, during the day we have food prepared three times a day by Sean Donnelly's wife, Diane. She did a great job feeding the whole bunch. We enjoyed our meal time in such a beautiful facility looking out into nature as we ate.

It also have us time to relax and get to know each other as we ate. The Bybees kept sitting by us. I accused them of stalking us, as it seems they always ended up right next to or across from us during each meal, but they denied it with a smile...I'm on to them.



Seriously, we love the Bybees and would sit with them anytime. Their experiences in the Congo are so far and beyond anything we experience in South Africa and they do a great job and don't complain. Sister Bybee did admit that there are no good stores close by, so we did some shopping for things like hairspray, toiletry containers and head scarves after the conference was over. This is sister Bybee on the right. She is sitting across from the Jensens and her husband and Elder Kyle and I are still getting our food.




At night, Sean would do a Braai (BBQ) of various meats, potatoes and vegetables. They have such a nice place outside to do this with a very nice built in BBQ. Sean would get a great campfire going in the middle each night. When it was nice and hot, he would shovel the coals into the BBQ and cook our meal.




One evening there were so many flying termites (because they all hatched after our rainfall the previous night) that we had to move inside (They were flying around the lights on our tables and if we left our mouth open...), but the rest of the time we enjoyed the outdoors. Sometimes we could hear the animals calling to each other, like the mating lions the first night.




We loved having a training day where we had prayers and devotionals and the knowledge that all attendees were strong in the Gospel and had sacrificed their time and money to be there serving Jesus Christ and the African people. The spirit from the Group was so amazing that even the young couple running the lodge commented on what a different feeling they felt since our group had come, so different than the many other groups they have hosted there. It was obvious they meant that in a good way. They mentioned no alcohol or loud parties and no cleanup the next day after those parties, but they also loved the feeling they had while we were there. We were the only ones ever to come that actually had a church service while we were there.



So that's the end of our first day. I didn't talk about everything that happened and the game drives have already been covered, but know this....It was a GREAT day!

Sunday, November 24th at Kruger PA Training

Today, we prepared to have sacrament meeting and a combined Priesthood and Relief Society meeting at the lodge. Elder Kyle was conducting and responsible for bringing the sacrament trays and cups. We got bread from the kitchen and set up the main room at the lodge for meetings. The lodge has a lot of these tan recliners, so it was fun to see half the people sitting in recliners for sacrament meeting. Elder Kyle conducted, we sang hymns and prayers and a couple of guys blessed the sacrament and one passed it...just like normal. This photo is before everyone showed up. We filled all the seats!

Our Game Drive guide, David with Diane Donnelly

The nice surprise was that the young couple who ran the lodge attended (with their casual bush clothing) and our guide, David came all dressed up for church.

This is him with Sean's wife Diane. Sean asked him to give the closing prayer in his language, which he did quite beautifully. He has 14 children!

Elder and Sister Jensen

We started with a talk from Sister Jensen that was quite good. It as based on a story from Elder John Groberg's book, "Anytime, Anywhere". He and his wife were in Peru to handle two Stake Conferences. They had many delays in getting there and had nothing to eat. They were hungry and exhausted. Their luggage was the last off the plane and their were no restaurants open, because of the late hour. As their tired bodies walked down the corridor to exit the terminal, and they pondered why all of this had to happen to them, they suddenly heard someone call out, "Kolipoki, Kolipoki!" That was the name the natives called Elder Groberg when he served in Tonga as a young Elder. He looked back and saw a sister from Tonga whose daughter was finishing her mission in Peru. The mother had traveled there to meet her. There was some kind of mix-up and the daughter was not at the airport to meet her mother. The mother did not speak Spanish or English and no one could speak Tongan to help her find her daughter or figure out what to do next. She had just knelt in a corner and prayed for help. She received an impression to open her eyes and turn around. When she did this, Elder Groberg and his wife were walking by...the one person who could speak Tongan and help her. What a huge blessing for that mother to receive that special answer to her prayer. He was able to lend his support to her at a time when she really needed it.Sometimes in life we need to open our eyes to see the many blessings we receive from our Father in Heaven.

Elder Jensen talked about the importance of Public Affairs and the impact it can have on our future missionary effort and bringing the Church out of obscurity. He spoke about the misconceptions that are out there and by putting the truth there for all who wish to see and hear it, we can clear up the misconceptions and give the Church more opportunities to help those in need, by providing job training, humanitarian efforts, education and more. Through the love of Christ we can accomplish great things where all mankind can benefit. It is our duty to help ALL those in need. We are all God's children and as such, He expects no less.

Elder Hamilton spoke of the beauty of the plants and animals all around us in this beautiful setting. He said he didn't know how anyone could doubt that God created this world. He said the Garden of Eden must have been much like this...how we could feel the gentleness of these amazing animals that are considered a danger to man and yet not consider them a threat. This must have been what it was like in the Garden, when lion, lamb and man could be together without fear.

Elder Kevin Scott Hamilton describes himself as "the product of a conversion and a rescue." The story goes back to his birth in March 1955 in Wenatchee, Washington. "After I was born, my mother had all these questions about life," related Elder Hamilton, who was sustained at the general conference in April, 2013 as a member of the Second Quorum of the Seventy. "She talked to her minister, but didn't receive the answers she was looking for, so she talked to one of our friends who was a Latter-day Saint, Richard Pratt (a good Mormon name)."

Brother Pratt connected her with missionaries of the Church, and she began to receive lessons from them.   Meanwhile, her husband let her know he was already a member of the Church. He was born into an LDS family and baptized, but at the age of 27, had not been active since his early teens and had not advanced in the priesthood, so the subject of his membership in the Church had never come up in conversations with his wife. "So she joined the Church, my dad became active in the Church and shortly after that, I was sealed to them in the Salt Lake Temple."

Subsequent children - two sisters and two brothers - were all born under the covenant. The family grew in faithfulness, and by age 19, Elder Hamilton was prepared to serve in the Switzerland Geneva Mission.  "I was probably as green as anybody," he said, "but going to France and Switzerland and learning the language and preaching the gospel in that part of the world changed me. It changed my heart. It created a fire and a burning desire to serve that never left."

While serving, he undertook "an intense quest to read the scriptures and pray and really come to know for myself." He added, "I would not say that I had a visitation from heavenly messengers; I just came to know in the depths of my soul, in a very personal and sure way that Jesus Christ was my Savior and that this is His Church. Once I understood that and it really became part of me, then everything else just kind of flowed from that."

Elder Hamilton found a kindred spirit in Claudia Keysor, and on July 27, 1978, they were married in the Los Angeles California Temple. Six children have blessed their marriage, all married now with families of their own, except for the youngest, who is attending BYU.

While rearing the children, Elder and Sister Hamilton endeavored to make of their home something of a visitors' center for gospel precepts. For years, the entryway has been regularly stocked with copies of the Book of Mormon, For the Strength of Youth booklets and other Church literature that is regularly replenished as visitors take them. "I don't have to say anything, but I notice the stack diminishes," Sister Hamilton said. And the copies have been handy when family members encounter missionary opportunities.

"They say you can have a silent sermon in your home, and we have had these little quotes around the house," Sister Hamilton said. For example, a plaque in the home bears the passage from Joshua 24:15, "Choose you this day whom ye will serve; ... but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." The hope is that, whatever family members choose to do on any given day, they will thereby serve the Lord.

"It has been our family motto," Elder Hamilton affirmed. It guided them when he was called to preside over the Belgium Brussels Netherlands Mission from 2003 to 2006.

"We served with marvelous young elders and sisters and senior couples," he said. Half of our mission was French-speaking, and the other half was Dutch-speaking at the time. They've reorganized it since; it's not that way today."

He was serving as a stake president when called, and that gave him occasion to get involved in what has become an abiding interest in community interfaith activities. Members of some Evangelical Christian organizations at the time had rather negative perceptions of the LDS faith.

"There was a large congregation in our community," Elder Hamilton recounted. "I picked up the phone one day and reached out to their senior pastor, Larry DeWitt. I said, 'Larry, you have about the same number of members as I have. We're in the same community. We should be friends.'

"He was a little reluctant, but I persisted, and he invited me to attend their interfaith prayer breakfast they had monthly. I showed up, the only representative of the Latter-day Saint faith.

"Over the years, Pastor DeWitt and I not only became friends, we became good friends, dear friends. He introduced me to a number of other faith leaders we normally wouldn't have interacted with."

Then the mission call came, and President and Sister Hamilton departed for their three-years' service. When they returned, they joined with a coalition of Catholic and Protestant groups to work together on community affairs and public issues. "We had a wonderful outpouring of interaction and support with these different faith groups who have some of the same values that we do, especially concerning the family," Elder Hamilton said. "We have so much common ground. And ironically, so much of the negative discussion about the Church has just kind of quietly died away. You hardly ever hear it anymore."

In bridge building, as in other endeavors Elder Hamilton has seen the wisdom of relying on the Lord.     "Every time I have been called to do something, I kind of shake my head and think, 'How could the Lord possibly trust me to do that?' And I have found that, whether the task be large or small, if we simply just move and start the process, the Lord miraculously opens doors, provides strength, wisdom and capability that was unknown previously." It is a knowledge that gave him assurance as he embarked on his calling as a member of the Second Quorum of the Seventy.

Elder Hamilton told us that we too can participate in bridge building by just reaching out to interfaith leaders and working with them on shared issues. Not only did he do this, but they became such good friends that this Pastor still calls him for help, even though he is not the Stake President anymore. They have built a mutual respect and admiration, willing to help each other with whatever needs come up. Developing Christ-like attributes will be the most productive thing we can do on this earth and the best way to represent Jesus Christ.

After the service was over, we had a combined Priesthood Relief Society meeting taught by Sister Shupe from our office. She talked about teaching seminary and her love of the scriptures. She then talked about how important it was to know the scriptures and be able to quote some important ones when asked questions about what we believe on a certain topic. She was very passionate as she talked about possible questions and the scriptures which explained our beliefs. I asked her for a copy of the scriptures. She said she had printed some, but forgot to bring them. They were really good.

It was a great Sunday and thoroughly spiritual and refreshing.

Saturday, November 23rd game drives

Saturday, I got up early for the game drive (4:30 AM), but Elder Kyle was throwing up and stayed behind. It was a beautiful day, brisk but not cold, and the air smelled so fresh. David was our guide and we were told he is the best. We had two vehicles and the other one was driven by the lodge's manager. He and his wife run the place and they are both very nice.

twice a day went out in these vehicles with no top and no guns

One of the big surprises was how knowledgeable they were about the animals and how much they cared about preserving certain species. They knew when new baby impalas were born and how many lion cubs were in the bush. David knew the names of all the birds and when we asked about them, he would hand us a book over one inch thick and tell us what page it was one. He did this over and over. Amazing! They communicated by radio with other parks close by and would tell each other when animals were spotted. The vehicles were all-terrain and we certainly put them to use, driving over small trees down ravines and over hills and dirt roads. If we saw an animal, the guide would just go off the road and take off after them. I kept expecting a blowout and was wondering how we would be able to change the tire without risking our lives, but they weren't worried about dangerous animals at all. It was like their vehicle with all of us in it was just another big animal, one that proved to not be dangerous to other animals. The animals acted like we weren't even there for the most part.

On this drive we first saw some female and male Kudus. They are very large animals and the males have large curly horns, while the females have no horns but big ears. Males are gray and females are tan. They are pretty cute and the females and babies stay together, while the males hang out together.

After that we saw more elephants...maybe the same herd as the night before, but we couldn't be sure. We also saw two males elephants by themselves staying close to the herd, but not too close. According to our guide the females decide whether a male can join them or not and until then they just follow waiting for an opportunity. In this species, the female rules. They were eating the bark off the trees, basically destroying the trees, but our guide said the trees are fast growing. It's a good thing, because when the elephants get done, the area looks desolated.




Then we saw another lion. The guide said he was a brother of the Lion we saw yesterday. How in the world he knows that is a mystery to me, but he was pretty sure. No females were in sight, so it did seem like a different one. He was just walking along, paying us no mind. Wow, only two games drives and look what we've seen already!




After this drive, we had breakfast and visited with each other. Elder Kyle was still not feeling too good, but he had some toast and then went back to the room. There was an extra game drive at another game park set up for 1:00 for those who wanted to go. I opted to go while Elder Kyle rested up in hopes he could go on the regular game drive at 4:00. I wanted to go on the earlier one because the promised we would see white lions and rhinos. We did see a rhino this morning, but he was hiding behind a bush and we couldn't get that close to him, except for a brief time when he passed from one bush to the other and was captured on camera.


We headed off for the other game park after lunch. It was about ten minutes up the road and then about ten more to the lodge when we made the turn off the road. We had different guides, but I liked the one we had. He was easy to understand and very knowledgeable. He also told some pretty good jokes. The first thing we did was visit a couple of rhinos that were orphaned when their mothers were killed by poachers. They had grown up in a protected area of this park and came to the park at different times, but had become inseparable. One of them is blind and the other takes care of him. It was very sweet. Although they were not able to be out in the wild and were behind a rather flimsy fence, they were preparing them to be in the wild. We got to actually touch them and their skin is hard as a rock, except for a small space behind their ear which is very soft.

Then we were off to search for the lions. They told us that they knew where their kill was from earlier in the day and the lions would stay close by, so we headed off to find them. The rains had made the bushes and trees really green, so the scenery was pretty and we saw all sorts of forms of animals life on the way, birds, dung beetles, leopard turtles, etc. When we finally got close to the kill, the smell of the dead wildebeest was pretty awful. The guide pulled right up to it and cut off his engine. Pretty soon someone yelled that a lion was coming our way. "Don't you think maybe we should not be so close to his kill," I said, but was ignored. The lion kept coming closer and closer and I was on the side he was headed towards. I'll admit I was a bit nervous. Finally he walked right up to the side of our vehicle, turned around with his rear close to the tree where his kill was, then plopped down and yawned. He could have cared less that we were there. What a magnificent animal. The white lion has blue eyes that seem to look right through you. They are very rare in the animal kingdom. I felt privileged to have seen one, especially that close.

Then we saw five more lions, including a female that we followed. She suddenly stopped and crouched down to do her business...whooh...smelly. We finally had to leave her to it. I never smelled anything so foul...Ha. Once again, she just totally ignored us as if we were not there. I never expected to be able to see these animals up close without being afraid, but they paid us no mind at all. They even acted like we were friends. You can see how close we were, all of us taking photos of this poor girl going to the bathroom...crazy!


While we were looking at white lions, Elder Kyle was going on the evening safari at the lodge. He was lucky enough to see some hyenas, something I didn't get to see while I was there. The hyenas were waiting for the lions to finish the wildebeest they had killed and then would probably move in when the lions were not there.







Elder Kyle got to see the female lions and their cubs eating their kill. The photos show them  eating and then the bloody fur around their mouths after they finished. I was glad I missed this part. At home, I would leave the room when the animals were killing another animal for food, so seeing it in person did not appeal to me at all, even though it was a normal part of their quest for survival.




All the things we've seen on animal programs via television we witnessed at this park. We even saw a type of bird that when he is mating, flies straight up, rolls into a ball and then dives towards the ground. At the last minute, he spreads his wings and flies back up to a tree limb. The guide knew how to rev the engine and get them to do this. They make a funny sound and we would just look around for the bird. It was the funniest thing to see them do this.

Saturday night we had a braai (BBQ) outside in this cool area surrounded by a rustic fence made out of trees. Sean cooked meat on the braai and we had salads and baked potatoes. It was fun sitting around the fire and enjoying the outdoors. This is really an amazing place. The sound of the animals at night, the fresh air and stars in the sky, a beautiful place to sleep and eat. We feel very fortunate. It is so easy to feel close to God when you are in an atmosphere like this. It helps us understand and be awed at God's plan when he created this earth.

Friday, November 22 Couples Training at Kruger Game Park and the first Safari

New Couple, Cinquinis

Friday, we loaded everyone into two cars and a van and headed off to our training in Kruger...a six-hour drive. The Bybees rode with us. Three couples rode in the car being driven by Elder Jensen, who serves in Kenya. The rest rode in the van with the Murdocks.

Our public affairs couples in Africa total six couples. There are only 32 public affairs couples in the world, so six is a lot for Africa.

The Hansens are serving in Uganda and are responsible for that country plus Ethiopia, South Sudan and Rwanda.

The Humphreys are serving in Zambia and are also responsible for Malawi, Mozambique and Angola.

The Cinquinis, who are taking our place in Durban, are responsible for South Africa, Capetown, Swaziland and Lesotho.

Elder and Sister Bybee are responsible for Democratic Republic of Congo- Kinshash and Lubumbashi, Republic of Congo, Gabon, Burundi, Central Africa Republic and Cameroon.

Our boss, Sean Donnelly is responsible for Madagascar, Mauritius and La Reunion (mainly because he speaks French). However, we can be called to help in all of the countries named above.

Our new job is to support all of them, all of Southeast Africa, and we are directly responsible for Johannesburg, Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe. It's a big job because Johannesburg has about 14 million people, and Zimbabwe is causing us some concerns about visas for our missionaries.

I will be doing all the financial stuff for all the couples (reimbursements, credit cards, etc.). Elder Kyle will be getting materials to them for open houses, family history fairs, dinners with opinion leaders, etc. I will also be responsible for posting articles on Mormon Newsroom South Africa and posting items on South Africa's Facebook Page. Right now we have a competition going with Kenya to see who can get the most views. I also am responsible for the other countries Mormon newsroom pages- for getting final approval for their articles, positing some myself if need be and training them on newsroom. I am also responsible for Helping Hands 2014, which is very time consuming. Both Elder Kyle and I are responsible for hosting opinion leaders at the area office. We have some coming from the Congo in January to visit our Family History Center and talk about how they can preserve their records. We will have to plan a tour of the building and taking them out to dinner, etc. WE will be BUSY. We will learn more when we return from Kruger.


We stopped for lunch on our way to Kruger. Elder Kyle and Sister Jensen ordered quiche and they both got sick the following day...oops. It was not pleasant for either of them and just when they started getting better, a couple of other people came down with flu-like symptoms.

It's the first time in Africa for either one of us to get sick from food, so it was just unlucky. I actually felt pretty good the whole time.

We got into Kruger about 2:30 pm and we given our keys to our own private cabanas, separate buildings for each couple, except for us. We roomed with the Cinquinis, but we each had our own bedroom and bathroom. We were in #8, which was the closest to the electric fence and the wild life in the game reserve. The first night we heard lions roaring most of the night.

Once we got settled in our rooms, we met back at the lodge for a snack and our first game drive. The vehicles were open and nobody had guns, so I was a little nervous, especially when the first thing we did was find a herd of elephants with their babies.

They pretty much ignored us and it was amazing to be sitting in the middle of a herd of elephants, watching them eat and mangle the trees and protect their young. Just listening to their sound (because the guide shut off the engine and just let us be in the midst of them) was amazing.

This little guy was pretty fascinated by us and our vehicle. His mom eventually pushed him behind her.

Then while sitting there looking at the elephants our guide gets a radio communication that a male and female lion are coming our way. I'll admit I was a bit nervous, especially when we spotted them coming and our vehicle started following them. Eventually they stopped and lay down right in the road. They could have cared that we were there. We shut off the engine and watched them and the elephants. The male lion had been limping a bit and the guide said he probably had picked up a thorn in his paw. The bushes and trees had some wicked looking thorns.

Eventually, the elephant matriarch and largest elephant in the herd was getting nervous having the lions so close by, because they had several young elephants that the lions could overpower if they wanted to, so she came over to the lions and chased them away. They got up and left, but did not act too worried about her...they were in no hurry.

I could not believe that we had just gotten there and we had already seen several animals including the elephants and lions. We were told that our next game drive would leave 5:30 tomorrow morning and we would have breakfast after our game drive. We were tired from our drive there, so we ate dinner and went right to bed. It was such a beautiful place and hearing the lions roar was rather surreal. I imagined it was the ones we had seen today and smiled at the thought. I never would have believed that I would be amidst these amazing animals. There was definitely something spiritual about the whole experience with nature. And seeing these dangerous animals act so docile around us gave me a whole new respect for them and their quest to find food and stay alive.
It was a GREAT day! Except that Elder Kyle got sick about then, and he was throwing up during the night. YUCK - I feel bad for him.

Monday, November 3 to Thursday, November 7th-farewell to Durban friends

Monday November 3rd, we finished packing up the car and did some last minute cleaning. Then we headed out to Joburg. It is a nice drive and Elder Kyle drove the whole way (7 hours). We arrived there late afternoon and stayed in the Sunnyside Park hotel again. We met up with the Bybees serving in the Congo. I love them...such a nice couple serving in a country that has difficult living conditions. We rested a bit and then went to dinner at the hotel with the Bybees.

Tuesday Nov 4 and Wednesday Nov 5, we tried to learn something from the Murdocks about how to do our area office jobs, but a lot was going on. Couples kept arriving. We went out to lunches and dinners and Thursday, November 6th we went to the airport to pick up the Cinquinis, our replacements. Sister Murdock kept getting interrupted by everyone saying 'good bye' and asking when they were officially leaving. It was difficult to learn anything with all the distractions. This photo is a mystery to me...What were they laughing about? Perhaps me trying to find the key to Sean's office? Sean Donnelly is on the left, then Sister Murdock, me, Elder Murdock in front of Sean's office, Elder Kyle and Sister Bybee.

We met Sister Shupe and Sister Belliston that work in our office. They are really fun, so we should have a good time. Sister Shupe said that I remind her of a friend back home whose last name is Divine, so she started calling me Sister Divine. She will be an assistant to Sean and Elder Kyle and I. Her husband is on the legal team. I can tell already that there will be lots of laughing in our office. I may not be laughing very much until I figure out this financial program. It's pretty complicated with lots of procedures to be followed, if people in other parts of Africa want to be reimbursed. The area office is the hub of all Southeast Africa. We are who they will come to for help. It should keep us hopping.

One day we went out to lunch at this culinary school. It was a beautiful atmosphere and the menu was very interesting. We had a hard time choosing, all the dishes were so different and sounded so intriguing. Sister Murdock kept using her x21 zoom on her camera to take close ups of Sister Shupe. She got one of her teeth. It was pretty funny, but Sister Shupe was a little embarrassed by it.






These aspiring cooks really know how to present a dish. Look at Elder Kyle's Salad! Everyone's dish was a masterpiece and they were all very delicious.

Thursday night we had what they call a funeral for Elder and Sister Murdock, where everyone says something about them and cries because they are leaving. Murdocks wanted it to be a bit more fun, so they showed a slideshow of their mission, most of which was trips to game parks. Everyone commented on that one and wondered when they got any work done. They asked me to read the poems I wrote for them. One was about Sister Murdock's appendix rupture and the other was a poem I wrote about Elder Murdock being a cowboy and eating chocolate. This is Doctor Seuss style:

A cowboy, a salesman, a jokester, a dad,
A grandfather that looks like a lad.
He works alot. He talks alot.
He cannot get enough chocolate.

I love my chocolate. I love my cake.
I eat it till my belly aches.
I love chocolate Syrup...It is the best.
I use it often when I'm out west.

I love chocolate no matter the location. I even eat it on vacation.
I love chocolate at work or play; I love to eat it every day!
Any kind of chocolate is swell; there's nothing else I love so well.
Chocolate on ribs is very good; I'd lick it off...I would, I would.

I love to eat it with my peers; I love the leers and jeers and sneers.
I love to rub in it my hair; I cannot stop...I do not care.
I love it with my eggs and bacon; I love it when my tummy's aching.
I love it on my steak and burger; I love it when I use it further.

I am happy to have chocolate...I am, I am.
The only chocolate cowboy in the land.

I love to eat chocolate; I love to eat smores.
I love to eat them when I do chores.
When I'm asleep, when I'm awake,
There's always room for chocolate cake.

I love chocolate - I'll say it again; I love chocolate no matter when.
I love chocolate in my stirrups; I love chocolate in my syrups.
A happy man I am, I am when I lick chocolate from the pan.
I am the chocolate cowboy man...A happy man, I am, I am.


Of course while I was being creative, Elder Kyle was focused on the food...a wiser choice.

It was sad to think of the Murdocks not being there. They have pretty much been our mentors since we got to Africa, a hard act to follow. Everyone had a good time and got to say their goodbyes, even though Murdocks would be back for a few days before they actually left. This gang at the area office has a party and food at the drop of a hat. They love to party. I guess we will have to become social.


Sister Jensen, who is serving in Kenya blended in with the table so much we almost couldn't find her.

We all went back to the hotel after transferring some food and drink for our trip to our couples' conference the next day and Jensens picked up a car that would seat six people to help us transport everyone to the couples training in Kruger the next morning.