We were introduced to Lolo and George’s orphanage by E/S Knowles who we followed here in Potchefstroom. They have 13-15 orphans who they provide housing, food and a chance for an education. George works at a butchery – meat market – to help supplement the small amount of money they receive each month from the government. Mainly the orphanage is run on faith, hope, prayer and love.

The orphanage is out in an area that is mixed between houses and informal houses. Informal houses are usually single room shacks made out of tin and anything else they can find that does not cost much. The upper left picture shows a woman washing her clothes in a pan sitting on top of a washing machine. The lower left shows a sight that is seen all over South Africa. A house that is being built but not finished. They get some money to buy materials. Build as much as they can and then must wait until they can afford more. The pile of sand with bricks or rocks around it is a very common sight also. As we drove up the road that leads to the road where the orphanage is located there were chickens in the road. The young man on the side tried to get them to move out of our way. In Swaziland it was cattle in the road – here it is chickens.

 

As we were parking next to the orphanage I noticed these two young men searching through the dumping area at the end of the road. I think they were looking for something to play with and not for food – at least I hope it was not for food. The other picture is the front yard of the orphanage.

Some children are not quite sure what to make of a couple of white people. They do not see many as this is outside of the Ikageng township at the end of a road that most white people would never think of traveling to as there is no reason to be there. But the children always greet us with a smile.

 

I asked Lolo the age of the young lady with the beautiful cap. She told me she was two but since she was HIV positive she was not growing as she should. There are a number of HIV positive children in the orphanage which is one of the great problems that there is in all of Africa. Lolo and George try to supply the children with safe places to play but with limited space and money it is difficult. What a difference $200 – $300 a month would make to this wonderful couple and the children.

Lolo had a gas stove blow up in her face a number of years ago and it caused a terrible amount of scaring. But she does not let this get her down or feel sorry for herself. She just smiles and tries her best to take care of the children.

While we spend a good deal of our time visiting members, going to meetings,      working with missionaries, and just taking care of missionary business, we also have everyday things we need to do where ever we live and whatever we are doing. Here is a few things that we have experienced this week.

We of course have to eat and usually once a day we get something from a fast food place. In a small center less than a mile from our house there is a number of them and one is called Chix. They are just across a driveway from a KFC and are little in the way of competition for the Colonel. However on Monday they have a great special. A nice chicken burger – great bun, generous chicken breast and tasty sauce – plus two pieces of their fried chicken. Since the burger is plenty to eat for lunch we save the chicken for a later meal. All of this cost about $2.50 US. 

Now that it is winter here of course most of the trees are bare. Outside our flat is a tree where I noticed a couple of these unusual nest. I should remember what the name of the bird is that makes them but for not it escapes me but the nests are neat little houses to bring up a family until they can fly away.

Until yesterday our electricity was billed to the landlord who then billed the mission. But for some reason the owner did not like this arrangement so we now have a prepaid meter to contend with. This means we have to go to the store and buy an amount of electricity. Then the long number on the bottom of the ticket is entered into the keypad and we then have electricity – at least until the meter reads 0. This is something we do not want to have happen so every time we go into the garage we check the reading. Other than I have to pay cash in advance,  enter a long number, and remember to tell elder Thompson how much we spent for electricity during the month so he can give us credit off our car charges it is not a big thing. However it was a lot easier when the bill went to the mission.

One of the things we miss serving here in Potchefstroom is access to a real game park. We were spoiled by being in Richards Bay on our last South African mission because we were just an hour away from two wonderful parks. To make up for this lack of seeing live animals, I spend some time each day looking in on the Tembe Elephant Park webcam. The other day I was happily surprised to find a pair of lions at the waterhole. It is only the 3rd or 4th time in over 5 years of checking Tembe that I have seen lions so I thought I would share. Hopefully we will get a chance to go up to Kruger National Park and see them and many other animals live! But until then these pictures will have to do.

While we were out visiting members this week we got to see some very cute children. The young lady with her bowl of pap was at the creche we often visit. She was sitting in a pool of sunlight because it was cold in the shade. Actually it was not all that warm in the sunlight but it felt much warmer.

We visited the Tlotleng home to check up on sister Tlotleng who had been in the hospital because of a major illness but was happily home and feeling very good. While we were there I played peek-a-boo with the young man in orange. He would not let me pick him up but liked the game. He obviously did not have the same problem with Mary. Notice that the children are wearing sweaters and hats inside the house. Most homes here are not insulated and often have just single layer tin roofs with no ceiling at all under them. Elder Kankkunen and elder Raymond are companions in the Sebokeng area. They were recently moved there because the area in Joburg where they were serving was a little too dangerous for them to stay. The safety of the missionaries is always one of the greatest concerns of the mission president and the Church.

We had the opportunity to go to the Johannesburg temple with the Vaal Zone. The first picture is of elders Ryan and Flynn who are the zone leaders and who both will be released in just two weeks. We also had our picture taken with elders Msangi and Kelem who are the Ikageng elders who we work with every day. They also will be leaving for home at the next transfer.

The Joburg temple is a bit of heaven that we are able to go to regularly. To add a little color to a rather colorless winter season I picked up these beautiful African Daisies for just $4.00. If we were home they would be planted where they could be seen from the kitchen window. Here we keep them inside on the kitchen counter.

Serving in South Africa is a great blessing but this experience is much different from our first mission. Here in Potchefstroom it is much colder and dryer. In fact we were blessed to be here for a record low temperature of 15 F the other morning. A record we just as soon have not been a part of.

We spent the 4th in Johannesburg where President and Sister Collins were are hosts. The Collins started serving here in January after having served as mission president in Russia and PEF missionaries in Columbia and Ghana. President Collins broke in a new grill with hamburgers which we ate along with potato salad and other goodies. We sat with our good friends E/S Dummer and E/S Taylor. It was the last time we saw the Taylors before they left for their service in the Botswana mission.

While we were at the mission office on Thursday I took some pictures of companionships. these are missionaries from the Ikageng district as well as those of elders Harris and Rogers who we were privileged to serve with earlier in our mission. I love elder Larsen’s smile which is how we usually see him. He is one happy elder. On the other hand the pictures of elder Kelem and Msangi are not typical because they also are usually smiling.

On July 3rd we were able to go up to Johannesburg with the Vaal Zone and have a very nice meet and greet with the new mission president and his wife. I must confess that I was less than diligent in taking pictures so I borrowed the Church News photo to post.

While waiting for the meeting to start the elders played some pingpong and our powerful Vaal Zone leaders handily beat the assistants to the president. This in spite of the fact that the assistants have had lots of practice. With the pingpong match going on behind him, elder Cummings tried his hands at Fussball.

I posted all four pictures of the zone with the president because one never catches all the elders and sisters – our good friends E/S Dummer were there also – at their best.

President and Sister Dunn introduced the missionaries to the 7 maxims or general guidelines for the mission and explained what they meant.

1 – We believe it is a sacred and special opportunity to have been called to South Africa.

2 – We are a Doctrine of Christ and PMG Mission

3 – Joyful Obedience Brings Unimagined Rewards and Gladness

4 – If we are not failing once in a while we are probably not trying hard enough.

5 – We are a dynamic mission that will continually seek innovations through inspiration.

6 – Do the hard things first.

We have had a good couple of days since Transfer Meeting. One of our visits was to Mary Mothobi a sister who lives out in an extension. We had met her when the Knowles took us out to where she lives but this is the first time we had actually been in her home. Unfortunately she lives a long way from church and can not afford the cost of traveling in each Sunday. But she has a strong testimony.

Mary is at the gate of the other Mary’s humble home. Mary takes care of her granddaughter while her daughter-in-law goes to school to learn computers.

When I told Mary that sister Pier’s name was Mary she was very happy and so I took a picture of the two Marys and will have it printed for her. I never was able to get the little one to smile.

Another one of the blessings of being a senior couple is to attend district meeting with the young missionaries. Today was the first meeting of the new Ikageng district.

Elder Otieno is from Kenya and is the new district leader. Elder Msangi is elder Kelem’s new companion.

This is the new Ikageng companionship. Elder Larsen is from California’s Clear Lake area. Clear lake is the largest natural lake in the US. He is elder Perkin’s new companion serving in the Klerksdorp area.

The first Ikageng District picture…elders Kelem, Perkins, Larsen, Mdletshe, Otieno, and Msangi. After district meeting we went to the Pancake Den for lunch. Pancakes in South Africa are not like pancakes in the US. Basically they are what we would call crepes. The Pancake Den has been in business for 19 years and they make truly delicious crepes of all kinds.

We had some things we needed to do up in Joburg so we decided that we would combine them with being part of transfers. Transfer day is very special because missionaries from all over the mission come together for a few hours to either get new seasoned companions or become trainers for the new missionaries that have come into the mission. One thing that is convenient about the Johannesburg mission is that the MTC where most of their missionaries have been being trained is in the same building as the mission office. So all the new missionaries walk out one door and are immediately in their mission field.

The Assistants and the Office couples are busy for days getting ready for transfers. Of course so is President and Sister Omer. The new missionaries ‘arrive’ at 7:00 and spend three hours being trained by the couples on things like cars, phones, debit cards, and anything else that they need to know about being a Joburg missionary.

Elder Dummer tells the new missionaries the ins and outs of driving and how to use their finance cards. Sister Dummer took notes on the new companionships. She also took pictures of the new companionships which will be included in the package that goes out to the families of new missionaries.

Our good friend sister Taylor was kept busy making sure the new missionaries had all they needed to start their adventure. Mary and I were just along for the ride – we got to enjoy the excitement of transfer without having any responsibility.

While this is going on cars start arriving from all over the mission bringing those who are being transferred and those who are not being transferred but who are getting new companions. The parking lot becomes one big gathering place where missionaries meet and hug old companions and those they went through the MTC with.

 

The missionaries gather in the parking lot and greet old friends before finding out who will be their new companions. I did not make notes of how the elders knew each other so I will just share the pictures – Elders Day and Mukarti.

Elders Day and Olson and Elders Massou, Mukarti. Elder Massou is one of the elders chosen to train a new missionary.

Elders Pius, Cummings pose for my picture – we keep running into elder Cummings at different locations. He was in the MTC with elder Rogers.

The assistants post the transfer information on the walls in a cultural hall and missionaries flock in to find out where they are going or who will be their new companions. Then comes the sorting out as they find the companion they will spend at least the next 6 weeks with. Luggage and other things must be transferred from one car to another and journals need to be written in and signed. The meeting and greeting goes on for a long time before cars start to exit the lot for the trip home or to a new area.

While those who are being transferred are getting sorted out, the new missionaries are in a meeting with the trainers, the assistants, and President and sister Omer.  President Omer has spent the morning interviewing the new missionaries and seeking the spirit to know the first area they should serve/be born in and who should be their father/trainer. The new missionaries  are invited to share their testimony and then they are matched up with their trainer.

The 9 new missionaries occupy the front rows while their trainers sit behind them. However at this point no one except the president and the assistants knows who will train who!

I was out of the room when the new missionaries bore their testimonies and only got back in time to take single photos of elders Hehir and Anjin. But I did get companion pictures for all of them.

Elder Allen will train elder Maraetefau who comes to the mission from the isles of French Polynesia while elder Hughes who comes from the island of England will be trained by Silvester.

Elder Kenyah if Uganda will be trained by Andritiana. Elder Massou will train elder Adjin who is also from Uganda.

Elder Mead is training elder Hehir who comes from the UK. Elder Nkosingphile who is serving from Swaziland got a new purple tie from his trainer elder Packard.

Elder  Rizk will train his son elder Natwijuka who is from Uganda. Elder Widdison from the US  will be trained by our friend elder Compton who was our district leader when we first came into the mission.

Elder Hentunen from Finland will be trained by elder Quigley.

They then gather up their luggage, get a new pillow and comforter – it is cold here at this time of the year – get everything loaded into a car and off they go to serve the best two years of their life.

One of the other reasons we enjoyed being at transfers is that we got to see and meet the new companions of the elders from our district. Elders Rogers and Harris were transferred out of the Ikageng district while elders Kelem, Mdletshe and Perkins stayed in their areas but got new companions.

Elder Rushton is elder Harris new companion and they will be serving in the Rabie Ridge area. We were sad to lose elder Harris but we know he will do well in his new area. Elder Hallman will be elder Roger’s third companion as he moves from Ikageng to Germistron area.

Elder Otieno joins elder Mdletshe in Jouberton and Elder Perkins now has elder Larsen as his new companion in the Klerksdorp area. Some how I missed getting a picture of elder Kelem with his new companion elder Msangi who will serve with us in Ikageng.

My double vision is almost gone so on Friday the 5th I was able to drive for the first time in a month without keeping one eye closed. But before that Mary was the designated driver as we made trips to Vanderbijlpark for apartment inspections on Tuesday, to Joburg for Zone Conference on Thursday, and to Klerksdorp for District Meeting on Friday. On Saturday we went around visiting members and then a normal Sunday. It is wonderful to be able to devote moer of our time serving the members of the branch The are truly great saints who always make us feel welcome.

Inspecting the elder’s flats is one of the blessings that senior couples get to have once a transfer. For the most part they do a good job cleaning up for our inspections. However you really do not want to drop in unexpected very often. Unless the electricity goes off or something major happens they hardly ever complain. The story is told about some elders who called to say they were having a problem with their door and could someone come out and fix it when they have a chance. Since they did not say that it was urgent it was scheduled for the next time someone from the office was going that way. They called a couple of times more before they were asked just what was the problem. It turned out they could not open their front door so for three weeks or more they had been going in and out of their flat through a window!

Mary is with elders Malapula and Sikuku who are serving in the Sharpesville area. If I remember correctly elder Malapula is from the DRC and elder Sikuku is from Kenya and is a friend of elder Kelem who serves here in Ikageng. The picture on the right is the first one from the Zone Conference that was held in the very nice Sandton chapel. Elders Bodily and Davies are not companions but are good friends.

Elders Holmquist, Arthur, Chifokoyo, and our own elder Mdletshe. Our elder Harris in the middle has elder Johnson on his right – picture left and elder Browning on the other side.

Elders Pulley, Lyons, and Beers with an elder I am afraid I do not know. The picture on the left includes elder Rokotoarimanana who has the honor of having the longest name in the mission. If you enlarge the picture you may be able to see how they squeezed all that on his name tag. The other three are elders Bird, Perkins and Rogers. Elder Bird was here in Potch when we first came and is now serving as a zone leader in Soweto. He trained elder Rogers who will be leaving us this transfer.

 

Elder Roybal sitting in the boot of their car is my favorite one from the conference. He is even wearing the right color suit. Later he joined elders Richards and Rushton – the three R’s for another picture.

Elders Stapley, Carpenter, Cummings and Malapula get two pictures because they could not seem to all look at the camera at the same time.

I took a number of pictures of the elders enjoying their lunch. E/S Taylor, E/S Dummer and E/S Meldrum and sister Omer all pitched in and set up the tables and the decorations. Elder Taylor and I picked up the food from the most impressive super market I have ever been in. For about $4.50 per person they were able to get a salad, rolls, rice, sweet and sour chicken, and stir fried vegies. For dessert the sisters supplied Texas sheet cakes. I can assure you none of the elders went away hungry.

I am providing 3 pictures of the whole conference because there is no way to get 80 plus people to all look at the camera at the same time and I did not want any parents to miss their son’s smiling – or not smiling – face.

After the group picture many of the elders wanted a last picture with the Omers who go home at the end of June. They lined up and gave me or one of their friends their cameras so I kept busy for a while recording these goodbye pictures…I took some with my camera when someone else was taking the picture. Notice how windy it was by looking at sister Omer’s hair!

While most of the elders were outside talking to friends or having their picture taken, a small group of elders went back into the cultural hall and put away the tables and chairs and cleaned up the floor. Other than elders Rogers and Johnson I can not identify these elders but i do salute them for their work. On Friday we went to the last Ikageng  District meeting of this transfer. It may look like elders Perkins, Harris and Mdletshe are singing but they actually are telling the rest of the district about their investigator and how they are doing.

We took a picture with elders Harris and Rogers who we are pretty sure will be transferred next Tuesday. We have truly enjoyed getting to know these two fine elders and hope to see them again at some conference or perhaps the Christmas social.

We kept up the tradition of taking some last district pictures which has to include one crazy one. They may be crazy but they are above all dedicated representatives of the Savior.

On Saturday when we were visiting Mary got to hold sister Spiegelhoff’s one month old baby. i was not sure she was going to give her back to her mother. Sunday morning it was really cold here in Potchefstroom so we broke out all the heaters. Brother Njabulo Zondi took off his shoe and basically stuck his foot in the heater – he said it was frozen. I had to take a picture of his very bright chartreuse sock.