10 new elders came into the mission this transfer…9 were at the transfer meeting but elder Williams was still on the plane from the US and did not get in until later in the evening.
10 new elders came into the mission this transfer…9 were at the transfer meeting but elder Williams was still on the plane from the US and did not get in until later in the evening.
White headed vultures
After the meeting the new companionships get together, car boots are emptied and refilled as the missionaries shift their earthly belongings from their old area’s vehicle to the new one. But it is also time for more getting together with friends, signing journals and finally the cars start exiting until after the last training meeting is finished and the last piece of luggage is stored the parking lot is again empty of cars, missionaries and chatter until 6 weeks from now when it will happen again…
June2015 – Transfers -Â I ran into elder Barton who was transferred out of Potch – we will miss him!
June2015 – Transfers – Elder Peterson with elder Hehir who is elder Wild’s new companion here in Potch.
June2015 – Transfers -Â Elder Todd also was transferred so we will only get one or two more chances to enjoy his great smile – at least until he is released.
June2015 – Transfers – Elder Clegg managed to close his eyes in every photo I took of him. I noticed that I also got a photo of the back of Elder Smith’s head.
June2015 – Transfers -Elder Garnica – our only real Mexican – will be training elder Ssendege who is from Uganda
June2015 – Transfers -Â I was taking group pictures when I noticed elder Lyon leaning against a car. One of the first photos I took in South Africa was of elder Lyon.
June2015 – Transfers – Elder DeSouza the third new missionary from  South Africa will be trained by elder  May way up in Tzaneen.
June2015 – Transfers – Elder Dye is writing in someone’s journal – all over the parking lot there are elders writing in their companion’s journals…
June2015 – Transfers – During one of the early transfers after we got to the mission, elder Stilgoe was proudly displaying his country’s flag. Since he was transferred today, he brought it and I got him to hold it up for a photo. Many of the missionaries display their country’s flag on their flat’s wall.
June2015 – Transfers – Elder Worton a current AP and elder Menendez a former AP gets a last photo as elder Menendez was going home in just a few hours.
June2015 – Transfers – I got a picture of elder Cummings who is another elder I seem to run into at every meeting.
Another great transfer meeting…14 elders finished their honorable missions and 10 new missionaries started their’s. About 90 minutes before the actual meeting cars full of missionaries start arriving and everyone moves around the lot greeting old companions and friends. There are lots of smiles, hugs, handshakes and talking going on.
June2015 – Transfers – Lasen, Nelson, Pickup – Alvial – Elders Larsen and Alvial served with us in the district. We served in the Florida Fort Lauderdale mission with elder Pickup’s sister.
June2015 – Transfers – Elders Dutson, and Stilgoe served in the Vaal Zone together…elder Stilgoe was transferred today…
June2015 – Transfers – Elders Dutson and Dye will fly all the way back to Idaho Falls together – a great pair of missionaries.
June2015 – Transfers – Elders Neuenshawnder and Compton - two of those who will be going home – but elder Compton only after he spends time in South Africa with his parents.
June2015 – Transfers – Elders May and Yates both served in Orange Park but I am not sure if they served together there.
June2015 – Transfers – Elder Oldroyd squeezing Elder Harris- we had the blessing of serving with both of them in the district
June2015 – Transfers – Compton Family came to pick up their son…Elder Compton was our first district leader when arrived at the end of February 2014 – we talked about how it seems like yesterday….
June2015 – Transfers – Menendez saying Goodbye? Elder Menendez was one of the missionaries being released. We got to know him when he was a Vaal Zone Leader and later as an assistant to the president.
June2015 – Transfers – Elder Togiatomai is also on the phone but probably not talking to elder Menendez since they were standing about 30 feet apart..but then who wants to walk 30 feet to talk when you can use your phones?
With the large amount of pollution in the air, sunrises and sunsets in South Africa can be spectacular…especially with the low mountains and stark trees to add interest…
Mary has a thing for zebras…I enjoy them also but we have seen so many zebras on our drives that I have reached a point where unless there is really something special about the scene I do not even get out my camera…I would like to see a mother with a brand new colt but other than that or one with three legs I am done with zebras.  The same thing is true of Wildebeest and Cape Buffalo…I did get a great shot of an old bull lying on the sand…
We saw tons – no pun intended – of white rhinos but of course no black rhinos…people claim to have seen them but no one has a photo that they took – “it was too far away” – it went into the bush before I could get a shot” etc. I think black rhino sightings are a myth. On a game drive during our first mission to South Africa one of the guides pointed out across the plains to a disappearing dot and said “There goes a black rhino” – right!
Warthogs are among the ugliest animals on the earth and I have come to love them. That is why  Mary had a special picture of a family of warthogs custom made for my birthday…
Coming soon to this spot – lots of great giraffe pictures…