HAPPY VALENTINES DAY 8 - 14 February 2016

HAPPY VALENTINES to all my family and dear friends.  I love VALENTINES DAY!!!  Valentines Day is so much more than a "romantic" greeting to someone special in your life.  It is a day to acknowledge all those that have made an "imprint on my heart".  Special people that have blessed my life with their smiles, kindness, love, laughter, support and just complete goodness.  It is a time to recognize all of you.  So just want to say.......HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!  I am so glad that our paths crossed and that you call me friend.  

Our daughter, Misti, wrote a post on Valentines Day wishing everyone a special day.  She describes my feelings adn so many others of this day. I received her permission to share it on my blog...."Happy Valentine's Day!! Many call this single-awareness day but I disagree with that saying. I may not have a "significant other" to call my Valentine but I am truly blessed in the love department. I have a family that I love and who also loves me. My niece told me the other day that she thinks she will love me forever. smile emoticon How can that be bad. Children celebrate Valentine's Day with classmates and friends because it's about showing kindness. So today whether you have a special someone or not, may we all show a little more love to our family, friends, acquaintances, and even enemies. The world can only get better with a little more love!"

Misti, you are loved by so many.  I am in awe that you are part of me!

on Saturday, 13 February we had a Valentines Party with the senior couples in the area.  We had such an enjoyable time.  It truly is a fun time to have a party.  I had a great time decorating our home for the occasion but then we spent most of our time outside because it was a gorgeous evening.  We had a braai with chicken and sausage, with salads, baked beans, homemade rolls and dessert.  It was Sister Charlotte Needs' birthday on the 14th, so we had cake and birthday wishes.  There were different props for pictures of each of the couples, played a Valentine trivia game, Kubb and then ended with the Newlywed Game.  It was an evening of laughter, fun and just pure enjoyment.

We are ready for our guests!!!!!

Greeting at our door....

It was a gorgeous evening.

The group that played kubb.....Dennis was impresses with the accuracy of the women...

Braai is ready for all to enjoy...

Elder Walton trying to figure out the Valentine trivia.

A crown for the birthday girl.....Charlotte Needs

Her husband surprised her with this cake...so yummy.

Such a fun group....

Newlywed game

Our Valentine couples.....

Linford and Mary Beckstrand - Area Auditors

Rion and Charlotte Needs - Area Auditors

They will be leaving us in May.  They have been reassigned to the new Mbuji Mayi DRC mission as an office couple.  They speak French and he is an administrator.  Perfect for the area.  We will surely miss them.

Paul and Ginny Graf - Legal

Jann and Emery Powell - ICS

Karl and Margaret Blake - Humanitarian

Chuck and Liz Walton - Executive Secretary

Susan and Walt Peterson - Humanitarian

Me and Dennis

The week prior to Valentines was spent in the center working on further preparation for training.  Bro. Holmes is doing Madagascar this weekend; then he is going to Zimbabwe next week to train church history advisers from Zambia, Malawi and Bulawayo and Harare, Zimbabwe; and then he travels to the DRC to train advisers from there, Congo and Cameroon.  We have been helping him prepare booklets.  We are also working on a wall display in the center.  On Wednesday night we skyped with James from Salt Lake about the RPC and when we got home late, we had no internet.  Frustrated.  Thursday we had Elder Robert and Sister Sharon Berg (Public Affairs) over for dinner and did an oral history.  They leave for home on 1 March.  A great couple. They have done so much for the public affairs department.  They followed in the footsteps of their two previous predecessors....the Murdocks and Kyles!

 These two came in to see us.  The young man (Andrew ?) served in Durban while we were there but never in Swaziland....can't remember his name.  But he just got a job.  He was so excited. This young lady was just baptized two months ago.  So excited about the gospel.  She is teaching her mother.  Blessings of our center being situated where it is. 

 This little girl was in the Self-Reliance room with her father.  Absolutely ADORABLE...

 Her father...

 This is our secret room behind where Dennis works. It is called our RPC - Records Preservation Center.  It is where we keep the artifacts that people give us.

 The cabinet opens to our secret hideaway.

 Inside where we store the artifacts - special boxes and folders

 Bro.. Leon Holmes in his office

 We are in the process of preparing the Clive Hickolls collection of the history in South Africa for digitalization.  We had to take out of the binders behind Dennis, years of collecting papers so we can store them forever in Salt Lake.

 Sharon and Robert Berg - Public Affairs.  We did their oral history.  Great people!

 This cute family was sitting in the patron housing waiting room and I could tell they needed suckers!

 Mark from ICS helping us with our computers

Sunday, VALENTINES DAY.  I got up and made blueberry pancakes for Dennis and then we left to attend the Alexandra Branch for church.  We searched for an hour and never did find it.  I wish we cold have captured what we saw during that hour of searching.  Not too sure we were in very safe places and saw so many squatter camps.  The places they call home just went on and on.  I never stop being amazed.  We finally decided that we had better go back to a ward to partake of the sacrament.  So we drove to the Joburg 2 ward for the 10:00 sacrament meeting.  We were so bumped. We had bought valentine suckers for the branch and we were so looking forward to going there.  Our plans are to go there next Sunday.  We have a plan.  That afternoon we went to visit Sherry Weeks.  She has been sick and we wanted to take her the valentine candy and roses that we had given out at the party the night earlier.  There was a special missionary fireside broadcast that we went to that evening.  Another full Sabbath day. 

This is all I could get of Alexandra......bad pictures 

 We had no idea what was going on at this place but cars were lined up for miles along this road. Double parking in some cases.

This is Rodney and Madeline from Zimbabwe.  They sent us this recent picture.  Dear friends....

 

It is BIRTHDAY time at the Arkell family.  More than a third of their family has birthdays in one week.

Ben's birthday was 9 February.  A great husband and father.  We are so glad to have him in the Lombardi family.

Kamri and Jessa's birthday is 11 February.  These two get to share their birthdays with each other.  Kamri is such a delight...just full of life and spunk and enjoys life to the fullest.  these are her new glasses.

 

This adorable one was born right after we arrived home from our last mission in 2014.  What a glorious day that was.  She is just getting cuter and cuter with each passing day.  I could just sweep her up and kiss those little cheeks of hers.  Jessa, stay little until we get home!

 Jessa talking to grandma on the phone....

 The other two-thirds......beautiful family.

This is what I am striving for: