We’re getting pretty well settled in. There are still a few things to do in our flat, but things are coming along. We’ve found our favorite place to shop for groceries and incidentals. It’s another mall about 5 kilometers away. The mall across the street is good, but this other one has a Pic n Pay Hyper. For those of you who we haven’t explained this, Pic n Pay is the largest grocery chain in South Africa. A “Hyper” is like a super Target or heaven forbid Super WalMart. We’ve found a number or other malls so we’re now ready to look for some of the more open markets that we hear are quite good.
We were able to have a real “diversion” activity yesterday. We went with another couple to the Rhino and Lion Nature Reserve. It’s about 50-60 kilometers out of town. It was really nice to be in the country and enjoy the scenery and peace. For most of the reserve you drive through the countryside to see the animals. This reserve has rhinos, lions, cheetahs, zebras, wart hogs, wildebeests, lots of birds, lots or “antelope”, type animals, wild dogs, and others. The countryside is grassy rolling hills and covers quite a large area. We’ve attached a couple of pictures. They also have an area of some animals that are caged. Notice the picture of Debi with some 4-5 month old lion cubs. She had to be careful, but they do allow people (under supervision) to go in with the cubs. It was nice to spend a little time relaxing.
Our schedule is starting to get quite full. In fact, the temple president asked us if we would like to spend an afternoon or evening as temple workers. We would love to so we’ll see if we can work it out. We met with one of the Stake Presidents who is coordinating a social services committee for the entire greater Johannesburg area. He was really pleased that Debi would be available to assist with a number of things.He would like Debi to help put together some training and help for a group of 6-8 people who are providing family counseling services. Also, he asked if we could put together some basic training on listening skills and general counseling for Bishops. Then, it turns out they have an addiction recovery support group where the facilitator/trainer just had back surgery. So we went to the session Friday evening and Debi will be helping with that until the sister returns in a few months. I have basically been trying to understand how the area office technical group functions and provide support in a number of areas. Right now I’m thinking we can do a number of things to help with their processes. Elder Koelliker, the area president, also asked me to see what we could do to provide a video link for a stake conference. The conference will originate in Roodepoort, a suburb about 40 kilometers away. However, they would like to provide live viewing in Gabarone, Bortswana. So that will be really interesting. We may need to go to Gabarone the weekend of the conference (Maybe we can look up the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency).
Again, we just love interacting with the local people here. There was a group of about 12 people who came to the temple from Malawi. To get here they had to ride a bus for 32 hours. When they got to the border of South Africa, it turned out 4 of the people had some type of provisional visa and could not come the rest of the way. We talked to the spouses of two of the people. It was kind of sad because they were planning to be sealed in the temple. Although they were disappointed, they were very grateful to be at the temple. I suppose it took a significant sacrifice for them to come.
I’m still amazed how many people ask us about they read our name tags. We bought some rugs at a “home” store and the cashier was asking us some questions as we were paying for them. Each time I come back from Church, I have a whole range of emotions from gratitude, respect, love, and empathy for these wonderful people. We’re learning that it is quite an adjustment to relate to the people. The culture is quite different. However, they are so gracious. Today was fast and testimony meeting. The people bore such sweet humble testimonies of the gospel of Jesus Christ and of their love for the Lord. (jlw)
We were able to have a real “diversion” activity yesterday. We went with another couple to the Rhino and Lion Nature Reserve. It’s about 50-60 kilometers out of town. It was really nice to be in the country and enjoy the scenery and peace. For most of the reserve you drive through the countryside to see the animals. This reserve has rhinos, lions, cheetahs, zebras, wart hogs, wildebeests, lots of birds, lots or “antelope”, type animals, wild dogs, and others. The countryside is grassy rolling hills and covers quite a large area. We’ve attached a couple of pictures. They also have an area of some animals that are caged. Notice the picture of Debi with some 4-5 month old lion cubs. She had to be careful, but they do allow people (under supervision) to go in with the cubs. It was nice to spend a little time relaxing.
Our schedule is starting to get quite full. In fact, the temple president asked us if we would like to spend an afternoon or evening as temple workers. We would love to so we’ll see if we can work it out. We met with one of the Stake Presidents who is coordinating a social services committee for the entire greater Johannesburg area. He was really pleased that Debi would be available to assist with a number of things.He would like Debi to help put together some training and help for a group of 6-8 people who are providing family counseling services. Also, he asked if we could put together some basic training on listening skills and general counseling for Bishops. Then, it turns out they have an addiction recovery support group where the facilitator/trainer just had back surgery. So we went to the session Friday evening and Debi will be helping with that until the sister returns in a few months. I have basically been trying to understand how the area office technical group functions and provide support in a number of areas. Right now I’m thinking we can do a number of things to help with their processes. Elder Koelliker, the area president, also asked me to see what we could do to provide a video link for a stake conference. The conference will originate in Roodepoort, a suburb about 40 kilometers away. However, they would like to provide live viewing in Gabarone, Bortswana. So that will be really interesting. We may need to go to Gabarone the weekend of the conference (Maybe we can look up the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency).
Again, we just love interacting with the local people here. There was a group of about 12 people who came to the temple from Malawi. To get here they had to ride a bus for 32 hours. When they got to the border of South Africa, it turned out 4 of the people had some type of provisional visa and could not come the rest of the way. We talked to the spouses of two of the people. It was kind of sad because they were planning to be sealed in the temple. Although they were disappointed, they were very grateful to be at the temple. I suppose it took a significant sacrifice for them to come.
I’m still amazed how many people ask us about they read our name tags. We bought some rugs at a “home” store and the cashier was asking us some questions as we were paying for them. Each time I come back from Church, I have a whole range of emotions from gratitude, respect, love, and empathy for these wonderful people. We’re learning that it is quite an adjustment to relate to the people. The culture is quite different. However, they are so gracious. Today was fast and testimony meeting. The people bore such sweet humble testimonies of the gospel of Jesus Christ and of their love for the Lord. (jlw)
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