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 - Mary found elder Liera who we miss here in Potch…

June2015 – Transfers – Elder Turauskis with his new son elder Khwela who is from South Africa

June2015 – Transfers – Elder Savage will train elder  Mpiyakhe who is also from South Africa

June2015 – Transfers - 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 - 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 - 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 – Alvial, Woniala were companions for the last 3 weeks.

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 – New Missionaries Meeting

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 – Rini, Masta, Souza fence sitters

June2015 – Transfers – Rami, Smith and others

June2015 – Transfers – Elders May and Yates both served in Orange Park but I am not sure if they served together there.

June2015 – Transfers – Elders Clegg and Savage both managed to close their eyes for this photo…

June2015 – Transfers – Elder Oldroyd squeezing Elder Harris- we had the blessing of serving with both of them in the district

June2015 – Transfers – Elders Segil and Arthur

June2015 – Transfers – Adjin, Rami and friend

June2015 – Transfers – The Gathering

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?

Another beautiful day at the Potchefstroom Branch….between meetings and after church they gather in yard to enjoy the sun…

Church 6/21/15 – Menzi, Kea

Church 6/21/15 – Philip, Simon

Church 6/21/15 – Meisie

Church 6/21/15 – Adam Laboba – Sister Nebo

Church 6/21/15 – Dorcas, Georgina, Viona, Merriam

Church 6/21/15 – Merriam

Church 6/21/15 – Primary Children singing and dancing to ‘Follow the Prophet’ with lots of spirit and smiles.

Church 6/21/15 – Nomsa

Church 6/21/15 – YSA gather for a picture…

Church 6/21/15 – Ncapayi, Philip, Kwaikwai

Church 6/21/15 – Priesthood meeting outside

Church 6/21/15 – Primary Fathers Day Singing

Church 6/21/15 – Menzi, Lebo, Kea, Meisie, Adam

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…

June2015 – Kruger – Bill at Sabie rest area

June2015 – Kruger – view from deck

June2015 – Kruger – Sunrise with tree

June2015 – Kruger – Sunset drive – sunset

June2015 – Kruger – another view from our deck

June2015 – Kruger – Dead Tree

June2015 – Kruger – colorful large rock

June2015 – Kruger – rocks and water

June2015 – Kruger – View from our deck

June2015 – Kruger – River by Kruger

June2015 – Kruger – Gods View 2

15June15 -Kruger Trip – LS – Unusal Rocks

15June15 -Kruger Trip – LS – Mary at Pinnacles

15June15 -Kruger Trip – LS – Mary at Sabie close

15June15 -Kruger Trip – LS – A last Look at our tent

15June15 -Kruger Trip – LS – View from our deck

15June15 -Kruger Trip – Sunset – First Night

Looking out of park to the cane fields

Sugar Care fields from the park

15June15 -Kruger Trip – Toilet Sign – Ladies- Gents

15June15 -Kruger Trip – Mercure Hotel Sign

15June15 -Kruger Trip -Mercure Hotel

15June15 -Kruger Trip – LS – Happy Anniversary

15June15 -Kruger Trip – LS – Sunset 3rd Day

15June15 -Kruger Trip – LS – Sunset on Palm

15June15 -Kruger Trip – LS – Sunset Tree

15June15 -Kruger Trip – Lower Sabie Beds

15June15 -Kruger Trip – Landscape Cliff

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…

June2015 – Kruger – First Rhino

June2015 – Kruger – Rhino crossing road

June2015 – Kruger – Rhino eating

June2015 – Kruger – full sixe rhino

June2015 – Kruger – rhinos pair

June2015 – Kruger – First Rhino

June2015 – Kruger – 3 Rhinos

June2015 – Kruger – Rhino Head and Horn

15June15 -Kruger Trip – White Rhino

15June15 -Kruger Trip – 2 Rhinos on Road

15June15 -Kruger Trip – Mom and Young Rhino

15June15 -Kruger Trip – Young and Old Rhino

15June15 -Kruger Trip – Rhino along Road

15June15 -Kruger Trip – Rhino Side View

15June15 -Kruger Trip – 3 Rhinos

15June15 -Kruger Trip – LS – Big Rhino

15June15 -Kruger Trip – LS – Rhino with sun shining on it

June2015 – Kruger – Rhino crossing road

June2015 – Kruger – Rhino eating

June2015 – Kruger – full sixe rhino

June2015 – Kruger – rhinos pair

June2015 – Kruger – 3 Rhinos

15June15 -Kruger Trip – Rhino Crossing Road

       

15June15 -Kruger Trip – Keeling Warthog –

June2015 – Kruger – Warthog 2

June2015 – Kruger – Warthog close up

June2015 – Kruger – 3 Warthogs

June2015 – Kruger – Warthog = good

June2015 – Kruger – Warthog

Coming soon to this spot – lots of great giraffe pictures…

We have some great shots of elephants with the best being a series showing a week old calf with its mother and one where an elephant is drinking from a cistern that is about 6 feet tall. We saw lions everyday but only got one really good photo opportunity because most of the sightings were at night…but we did finally see a leopard and got one photo! We also saw three cheetahs but once again it happened so fast and at dusk that we have no photos. Is a hyena considered a canine? We did get to see a couple and got one photo of this very shy animal.

15June15 -Kruger Trip – Elephant Taking a Dump

15June15 -Kruger Trip – Elephant

15June15 -Kruger Trip – Elephant on Sand

15June15 -Kruger Trip – Little and Big Elephant

15June15 -Kruger Trip – Elephant Herd

15June15 -Kruger Trip – Elephant at Cistren

15June15 -Kruger Trip – Elephant Drinking from Cistren

15June15 -Kruger Trip – LS – Week old elephant under mother

15June15 -Kruger Trip – LS – Week Old Elephant side view

15June15 -Kruger Trip – LS – Week Old Elephant

15June15 -Kruger Trip – LS – elephants at water hole 2

15June15 -Kruger Trip – LS – Last Elephant

I will fill this in as I have time…lots of pictures including ones of a week old elephant and its mother, lions, our first ever leopard and hyena, and lots more. We had a great time…Here are a few samples…Note that there is a problem with my iPhoto files so I have to post from Picassa and for some reason it does not put the pictures in neat rows like iPhoto did. But there is a plus…it shows the titles I put on while editing…

15June15 -Kruger Trip – LS – Happy Anniversary

15June15 -Kruger Trip – LS – Sunset Tree

15June15 -Kruger Trip – LS – Lioness on sand

15June15 -Kruger Trip – LS – 7 Color Bird on wire

15June15 -Kruger Trip – LS – Hippo Pod Clese

15June15 -Kruger Trip – LS – Week Old Elephant

15June15 -Kruger Trip – Rhino Crossing Road

15June15 -Kruger Trip – Birds – Black with Red

15June15 -Kruger Trip – LS – Giraffe Head down

15June15 -Kruger Trip – LS – Sunset on Palm

15June15 -Kruger Trip – LS – Hyena Finally