Sunday we went to Joburg 2nd Ward but left after Sunday School because Misti was pretty beat and it was freezing. The Primary President came into Sunday School asking if anyone had blankets because the children were cold. As you can see in the picture below, we have coats on because there is no heat in the flats and I am having a really hard time getting warm.
We invited Leslie Hadfield, from the Swahili Branch where we served in Salt Lake, for dinner and she brought her friends, the Pooe family ~~Antonio, son Lukhonya and Sonto.
Misti went to the devotional with us on Monday morning in the area office. She stayed with us while we worked the whole day. Lunch in the canteen was a time for her to meet our friends in the area office.
It was Sherry Week's birthday the previous Friday, so I brought her a cake for all of us to celebrate with her.
Greg and Sherry Weeks
Sherry's birthday cake
Misti meeting our mission friends
Monday night we had MISSIONARY EXPERIENCE. I think I told you in a previous blog about meeting two ladies at Pic N Pay a few weeks ago. They approached Dennis with such excitement and said that they had lost the church for four years and saw missionary badges and knew they had found it finally. We got their names, gave them to the missionaries and now they are being taught. Grace, the mother, had not been baptized but said that she used to clean the school rooms every Saturday to get it ready for Sunday service. Helen, the daughter, had been baptized. When they went to church one Sunday, no one was there. They must had grown out of the school but they didn't know where they were meeting. We figure that there must have been a change of elders or why else would know one contact them. Times became very rough for them after that. They had to move, lived three years without electricity, and at one point Grace said that she thought of suicide. At her lowest point, the blessings started to come. She found a job, Helen was admitted into school and then they refound the church. They are attending church every Sunday and Grace has a baptismal date of 7 August. We are so excited for them.
Elders Tekurio and Dube
Grace's nieces son.....they live with Grace and Helen
Grace, Helen, Nepota, niece who also joined with Helen
Neo, the son. The missionaries had him read in the Book of Mormon. He read fluently..shocked. They said that they had continued to read the Book of Mormon for those four years
Tuesday, 14 June, we headed out for a week of fun and exploration. We drove 5 hours to Graskop, South Africa and drove through Blyde River Canyon seeing God's Window, Pinnacles, the Potholes, the three Rondavels, Such unique, magnificent country. Dennis and I had seen this amazing country on our previous mission and was so excited to share the beauty with Misti!
The drive to Graskop was beautiful
Our place for the night - the Blyde Chalets. We froze!!! There was no heating and it was more than cold in Graskop that night!
The is called THE BIG SWING. It is like a bungee jump but it swings. The drop is way too much for me. Misti was trying to decide if she wanted to do it. We went back a few times but in the end, she opted out.
These mountains look like a rondavel which is a traditional circular African dwelling with a conical thatched roof. Magnificent!
Wednesday, 15 June we woke early to go visit some waterfalls. Breath-taking and as a bonus was able to meet some villagers. Had breakfast and headed for Hazeyview where we had an elephant adventure. We stayed at Cuckoo Ridge ~~ a beautiful spot a few miles up the mountain.
There are four falls but it is hard to capture all of them in one picture. It is such a fascinating sight.
Had breakfast at the famous Harrie's Pancakes. They were pretty scrumptious!
Thursday, 16 June, was Misti's birthday. What could be a better than spending your birthday seeing the African animals in Kruger Park - one of the largest game reserves in Africa! Our guide picked us up at Cuckoo Ridge at 5:30 in the morning. Eish, it was cold but we came prepared. By noon, we had seen the BIG 5 plus a lot of other animals.
Entering the park - I have no idea why it is blurry
Sunrise
Friday, 17 June started early at the zipline in Hazeyview. Another adventure that Misti had never done. We had a great time zipping through the gorges and wooded areas. After, we drove 5 hours to Swaziland where we stayed at the Maguga Lodge.
Getting ready
Our group
Arriving in Swaziland
A few years ago while we were serving in Swaziland, we happen to come across this sweet family that lived on top of the mountain above Maguga Lake. We visited them periodically and they became quite special to us. We hadn't been back since we left our previous mission and I was excited to see if they were still there. The minute we turned onto their dirt road - they started running towards us and their expression on their faces told us they had remembered. We drove into their homestead and was greeted with so muh love from everyone - over 30 people. It is a polygamist family but the father is taking care of them. How I had missed them!!!
One of our visits in 2013
Gcina (Robert) Hlatswayo greeting us along the roadside.
1 January 2014.......
Misti gave his son a soccer ball (forgot his name)
Off we went to check-in at Mantenga Lodge and to the Silver Smith. Here we found this darling little boy playing outside waiting for his mother to get off work - she is the clerk in the silver smith.
Sister Pierre and Mthethwe
Sivuse
Sbu Mabuli and his nieces
It must have been laundry day...
Swazi kids!
We arrived in St. Lucia rather late. We had tried to meet up with one of our Lobamba boys, Musa, who found a job in Big Bend, but he waited for a kombi for over an hour and it never came, and we had to leave. We were so disappointed.
We stayed at the St.Lucia Kingfisher Lodge.
Very appropriate after we were right next to some hippos!!!
Monday, 20 June we started the day with a river cruise to see the hippos and crocodiles. We were not disappointed.
Our main purpose for going to St.Lucia was so Misti could enjoy the Indian Ocean.
We saw another hippo on the grounds of where we had dinner Monday night.
In the morning on Wednesday we went on the Red Bus Tour of Johannesburg. It was a cold but clear day. It is a great way to see the important historical sites of Johannesburg.
We went back to work and then that night went and did a session in the temple.
The "temple elders" after their shift waiting patiently for their wives to come out of the temple.
ETHEMBENI CHILDREN'S HOME
The Ethembeni Children's Home house around 70 children from the ages of 0 - 36 months all of whom has suffered emotional, physical or medical abuse or have been abandoned. Many are HIV positive. Ethembeni is a Xhosa word, which means "Place of Hope". The home opened in November 1995 and nearly 1000 babies have come through its doors. The children are brought to Ethembeni from various places. Some are found in black rubbish bags, in dustbins, on rubbish dumps, at taxi ranks, or left at the hospital after delivery. Most of them arrive as newborns. As the children grow, they divide the them into age groups...0 - 6 months, 6 - 12 months, 18 - 18 months and then 18 - 36 months. Once the child turns 3 years old, they are transferred to another home. But they do work toward having the children adopted or fostered into a caring home.
While Dennis was working, Misti and I spent Thursday morning cuddling, singing and playing with the children in the Ethembeni Home. It was a fulfilling, beautiful morning.
This cute lady, Ruth, makes 400 - 500 bottles every day by herself.
Pap was their lunch.....
Friday morning we drove Misti to Benoni (about 35 minute drive) so she could spend the day at Kids Haven. Kids Haven opened in 1992 to serve the homelss (street) children in the Benoni, South Africa area. Their goal is to protect the children and give them a better future. The haven houses 100 children in the main facility and then another 100 in a village of homes a few kilometers away. Before we left to return to work, they took us on a short tour. What an amazing work they are doing.
Outside the main building
They have a gated area of 5 homes that they have been able to purchase that provides 100 children with a safe haven. These are the children that have proven to be better behaved.
Saturday morning we met with Sandile and his family and he guided us through the Apartheid Museum, Mandela's home at 8116 Vilakazi in Orlando West, Soweto and Hector Pieterson 's monument (his death started the riots in Soweto). Join us in our Saturday journey through my pictures....random order.
Too much excitement for these two old bodies....
The Tshabalala family came to say good-bye to Misti on Monday 27 June
Mitchell & Claire Gohnert
Claire was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. Her parents joined the church when she was one. They were instrumental in so many of the events of the growth of the church. Her father was the first branch president in Soweto - a township made of total blacks - during the apartheid. When him and his family would attend to their church responsibilities, they sometimes had to have a police escort to get into the township. They would be the only white people among hundreds of black. Claire shared the testimony that her parents taught them about having love for all people. She grew up not knowing white or black - something very difficult in this country during that time. Her family trained by example until the members inside the township could lead themselve. Claire went to BYU for school and there met Mitchell who was raised in San Jose, California. They were married in Johannesburg in 1984 before the temple here was built. But two weeks later they were sealed in the Oakland Temple. They decided to make their home in Johannesburg where Mitchell is a full professor at Wits University, head of the Civil and Environmental Engineering. He has served in stake presidencies and currently bishop of the Orange Grove Ward where we met him when we attended John Ndaba's baptism.
Those 2 weeks looked like so much fun with Misti. I'm so jealous that I could never make it to Africa. I'm glad you were able to go to Swaziland again. I loved Dad in his baby outfit and Mom riding the zip line with no hands. Everything looked so fun especially the animals and all the amazing kids.
ReplyDeleteThat was awesome. It is my dream to see a big cat in the wild. That Eagle was awesome!!!!! I can't wait got you guys to get home!!! Love you guys<3 -Evan
ReplyDeleteWhat a fantastic two weeks. So much seen and so many fun experiences! Wish we were there.
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