Kelly, Dan, Callie and Tessa come for a visit - First 2 days

Dan, Kelly, Callie and Tessa flew all the way from Utah for a visit.  To keep them awake during the day, we visited the Apartheid Museum.

The South African flag is beautiful and represents so many things.  Nelson Mandela made a pile of rocks, much like the pile that Callie is standing on, when he returned for a visit to Robben Island near Cape Town where he was held in prison for so many years for his 

involvement in the apartheid movement.

Going down into the Gold Reef Mine was fun, but you can't go down too far because the mine is almost totally full of water.

Happy grandpa with his Layton girls.

The next day was Sunday.  We took them to the Kensington Ward.  Rory and Leona grabbed the girls right after Sacrament Meeting and showed them the "secret" way to go to Primary.  They basically ended up being the best of friends for the next 2 hours.

This building was the first stake house in the Johannesburg area about 60 years ago.  There are now 3 wards that call this building home.  It is only about 10 minutes from our flat.

You Meet the Nicest People on a Mission!

This is the Stake President from Beira in the middle.  President Freeman Dickie is rather young to be a Stake President, but he is such a joy to work with.  He orginally came from Zimbabwe, so he speaks good English to go along with his excellent Portuguese.  He had his clerk with him at the Temple, so they met with Chuck about a few items of business.

Our newest member of the Area Presidency and his wife arrived safe and sound.  Elder and Sister Palmer, in the middle, were a bit jet-lagged but we towed them along with Elder and Sister Broadbent, the new IFR, to the Protea Glen Branch in Soweto.  It looks like the August winds have kicked in, but it wasn't as cold as normal,  It will be wonderful to get to know the Palmers and the Broadbents while they serve in the Africa Southeast Area.  Welcome aboard!

Movie Seats and Dinner Groups

We have only been to one other movie on our mission.  We saw Star Wars down in George in a pretty normal theater.  So when Jason Bourne came out, we decided to go on the spur of the moment to the theater in the mall across the street from our flat.  These were some of the most comfortable seats in the world.  You have a place for your popcorn and a place for your drink.  The only drawback was you couldn't snuggle with your date because they were too far away.  Opening night and there only about 20 people in the place.  As for the movie, it was great, but be sure you take some Dramamine before going!

Our social life is full and fun.  For our monthly dinner group in July we had a safari theme.  We dressed the part, ate good food, and then tried to guess the animal sounds.  It is fun to have such a wonderful group of senior missionaries serving in the Area Office.

Elder Mariquele's Visit

Elder Mariquele was one of our missionaries in Angola.  He arrived near the end of our year there and we sent him down to Lubango shortly after his arrival.  But we have been keeping up with him via Face Book.  We were so happy that he came to the Johannesburg Temple from Mozambique with his buddies and brothers, Binildo and Naldo.  The are 3 of the finest young men I have ever met and are so good and trying to do what is right.  We enjoyed their visit so much!

Elder Mariquele wanted to have a good old hamburger that his American companions had talked so much about.  McDonald's was closed for remodeling so they all had to settle for a double Whopper from Burger King.  We also treated them to KFC for dinner.

Our boys from Mozambique in the Temple Patron Housing cafeteria.

Brithday Joys and Campaign Promises

When the Hungerfords came to town they brought us some delicious treats that we have been missing.  Chuck was elated to get 2 Hostess Snoballs and 2 Hostess cupcakes.  Happy #67 to Chuck!

The Hungerfords also brought my all time favorite candy bar, Baby Ruth.  I still have a few left to enjoy over the next few months. Happy #60 - am I really that old?

Today is election day in South Africa.  Who knows what will happen here, but we loved this campaign promise - Flushing Toilets for All.  Hope he is elected and can meet that goal!!

The Hungerfords come to South Africa

It was the Hungerfords turn to come for a visit in South Africa.  First up, the infamous Red Bus Tour.  It is a great way to get to know the history of a city.  We got off at Constitution Hill.  This started out as fort for the British.  Then it was turned into a prison.  Two of its most famous inmates were Ghandi and Nelson Mandela.

We visited an orphanage run by the Salvation Army.  We started by holding the infants then went to play with the toddlers.  We fed them yogurt, sometimes multiple kids with one spoon.  Seth entertained the boys, and we held and loved as many as we could.  There were times it seemed like we didn't have enough arms.

After the 3rd day, jet lag was still very real for Seth and Molly.  But we got up the next morning to visit the Rhino Lion Park.  We saw many animal up close as we did a self drive through the reserve.  We also got to feed a giraffe.  He tickled our hands as he ate the food.

Then we stopped at the Lesedi Cultural Village to learn about 5 of the tribes in South Africa.  We learned some Zulu words and ate caterpillars.  We learned that one tribe wears the Scottish kilt.  Back over 100 years ago when the Scots came to fight the tribes, they wouldn't fight because they thought they were women in skirts.  To this day they wear the kilt as a reminder of the mistake made by their king so long ago.

The next day we visited the Elephant Sanctuary, The Hungerfords were able to ride the elephants.  We also brushed them down, fed them, walked with them and even got 

sloppy, dirty kisses from them.

We saved the best for last.  We stayed at the Ivory Tree Lodge in Pilanesburg National Park.  We went on an evening game drive to return to hot chocolate and a warm fire.  We got up early the next morning for a chilly game drive.  But it was worth it all.  We saw a rare black rhino, herds of elephants, a pride of 7 lions who circled in front of us, giraffes necking - practicing their fighting skills, warthogs, wildebeest, hippos, a leopard up a tree with the dinner it had just caught, kudu, impala, and many more animals.  It was the trip of a lifetime!

And our last planned activity was a zipline on the way back to Johannesburg.  We all had fun flying down the lines.  Sad to say good bye to our Hungerford group, but we'll see you in 4-1/2 months for Christmas at our home!