A normal week in the Africa Southeast Area office

This is a great mission, however, it isn't the most exciting for blog posts.  The one thing I absolutely love about serving in the area office is the people we get to meet.  Francisco and Jamba Camufingo came from Viana, Angola, to be sealed in the temple as a family.  We were able to talk to them in Portuguese and Liz helped in the temple nursery with their sweet little daughter, Dulce.

We also had this young man stop by with his sister.  Phawulile Dlamini is from Mozambique, and he will be serving in the Angola Luanda Mission.  We couldn't say enough nice things about Angola.  Hopefully he is excited to serve there.

Another really nice perk of serving her in the Johannesburg area, are all the good restaurants.  We literally can eat out cheaper that we can at home.  So we are more than willing to check out the local culinary establishments.  In the past 2 weeks we have been out with the Elder and Sister Egan.  He is the Infield Representative for all the mission presidents in all of Africa.  Sister Egan pretty much helps Chuck with all the organization of new stakes, wards, branches and leaders for those units.  She also watches over all the senior couple apartments.  Then we took out Elder and Sister Wilson to celebrate his birthday.  We've known them since Portugal and they have a special place in our hearts.  

And last but not least, we went out to dinner with the head of the legal department and his wife, Bryan and Tina Jackson.  The group also included the area office Controller and his wife, David and Leigh Anne Bowman.  Funny thing is, it took the group quite a while to figure out how to divide the bill.  Good thing it was pouring outside with a lot of thunder and lightning, so we were happy to stay dry and warm inside the restaurant and have some dessert.  We are surrounded by good people!  For those of you who are worried about our weight gain, we are taking drastic measures between dinners out so that we won't come home looking like blimps!

Alice, the rhino, is done

All the things we did for the rhino were done in about 15 minutes.  We quickly took pictures with her before the vet gave her a shot to help the effects of the tranquilizer wear off.  We had a group of 7 youth with us who were working or volunteering in Botswana.  They drove 12 hours to take part in this rhino rescue.  They named our rhino Alice.  What an experience of a lifetime.

How to Save and Protect a Rhino

Once the baby rhino was tranquilized and on the ground we sprang into action.  I was able to move up alongside the baby and cover her eyes.  Then someone plugged her ears with socks.  These two steps helped the rhino remain relatively calm.  Then others monitored her breathing, took blood samples, drilled into her horn and placed a micro chip, and also imbedded 2 more microchips behind each ear.  Chuck helped clip her ears and cauterize the wounds.  His hands bore the blood and ointment for several hours.  Still others poured cool water over her body to keep her from overheating.  During the catch and tranquilizing she had run hard and fast to escape the helicopter and was very warm.  We had to remind ourselves that this was all for her safety and good.

The Rhino Rescue

We had the privilege of going on a Rhino Rescue.  We got up at 5 am and met the helicopter at a prearranged spot.  The veterinarian and ranger helped us understand how important this operation is to save the endangered rhino's in this area.  The helicopter went up to locate a rhino and then we sprang into action as we followed them to the spot where they had tranquilized a rhino.  They had located a mother and baby white rhino.  The mother had already been tagged and marked so we were able to help protect this 2-1/2 year old baby girl from the poachers.

Animals in their natural setting

 We came upon this elephant carcass.  There were 3 lions behind it resting in the brush because they had been busy devouring this catch.  The smell was awful but this is what it is like in their world. We passed by these 2 lions relaxing in the shade, oblivious to all us gawking tourists.

This big elephant had only one tusk.  He headed towards our car, looked us over, and passed right in front on his way to somewhere.  We stopped at a watering hole and watched as 36 elephants of varying size and shape came in from the brush for a drink and a bath.  That many elephants at one time is pretty intimidating. 

A Long Weekend in Kruger

This past weekend was very memorable for us.  We drove 6 hours to Kruger National Park.  We took an evening stroll in the bush to see the hippo in the nearby river.  We viewed crocodiles and elephants.  In all we saw 26 different animals including rhino, lion, giraffe, deer, ostrich, elephants, warthogs, baboons, crocodiles, cape buffalo, zebra's and so many different kinds of deer.

Missionaries in the Cosmo City Branch

The two elders serving in the Cosmo City Branch are kind of unique.  They are both from Spain. In fact they are both from the same town and now they find themselves together as companions in South Africa.  Their English is coming along nicely too.  They don't live in the Cosmo City area because it is too dangerous for them to stay there after dark, but they do a lot of teaching and finding in the daylight hours.  The hillsides and surrounding area near the chapel remind us so much our Angola.

Our Birthday Week

It's always been a fun thing that we celebrate our birthdays just 2 days apart.  The secretaries posted signs and brought in food and cake.  It was nice to be remembered!  Since Elder Cook is out of town we used his office for the festivities.  Those that were there included David Bowman, head controller in the ASEA, secretaries Diane, Thoko, Chattie and Elder Ellis.  They made us feel so welcome!

Happy 4th of July

For the 4th of July we had a BBQ in the courtyard at Duke's Court.  Somehow I got appointed cooker of the burgers and Chuck was the photographer.  It is the middle of winter here, but the weather was beautiful, sunny and about 70 degrees.  There were over 45 people that celebrated with us.  Sure love and miss our great country!