We just never know what will happen next around here.... Ü  We got a phone call from Pres. Leavitt Monday night that a young man in Ngwane Park (Manzini), Elder Mayisela who was supposed to go to the Brazil MTC on the 28th, did not get his visa but would be set apart Tuesday night. He will serve in Nhlangano until his visa comes through. So he went with his companion, Elder Rodgers to Nhlangano while we drove Elder Molteno who has been in Nhlangano, to the airport here today, to fly to Johannesburg, where he will be opening a new area.  Ü 

Elder Nathi Mayisela

He's a GREAT young man!

Elders Rodgers, Souza, Mayisela and Mtyobile

 Elder Mayisela has been going with Elder Souza and Elder Mtyobile 

teaching for the past few months in Ngwane Park.

Elder Rodgers is now a new trainer and the district leader in Nhlangano!

Elder Rodgers with his trainer, Elder Molteno

The Manzini and Nhlangano elders (new and old)

L to R: Elder Souza, Elder Mayisela, Elder Rodgers, Elder Mtyobile,

Elder Molteno, Elder Musumhi, and Elder Daybell  

Saying "good-bye".... 

King Mswati III International Airport

He's off to Johannesburg!!  We will MISS him!! 

We saw this cool little guy on the wall outside of our compound as we drove in.

He is the PRETTIEST color of BLUE!! 

Across the driveway is this pretty flowering tree!

We had a fun zone activity with our Swaziland elders this afternoon, 

playing soccer and having a braai in Manzini today for their p-day. 

(These were not part of the braai, but I couldn't resist 

taking a picture the other day at the market.... )

Elders Chikoore, Molteno, Musumhi, Daybell, Rodgers, 

Souza and Mtyobile

Elders Dos Santos, Wold, Sinclair, Smith, Francis and East

(We were too far apart so the guys pushed their table over next to ours!) Ü

Elders Molteno, Musumhi, Chikoore and Mtyobile,

our four African elders

Elder Dos Santos from Brazil

              

 Elders Rodgers, East and Francis       Elder Smith kicking & Elders Daybell and Sinclair

Elder Francis, Mtyobile, and Smith, with 

Elder East (Wales) and Elder Souza (Brazi) looking on

I liked this license plate on a car at The Gables today.

(SD is the abbreviation for Swaziland.) 

We met this cute mom and her 2 month old baby on . 

He was so tiny and such a cute little guy! 

The trees and bushes here are constantly in bloom! Every few months we see

different trees with different colors of  flowers blooming on them, along the roads all year round!  It seems that MOST trees and bushes here have flowers at SOME time of the year! 

It is AMAZING!! 

I found another pretty flower I have not seen before!

I also LOVE the sky and the clouds here in Swaziland

in the late afternoon.  

Kruger National Park!! This is a continuation of our last post....We took SO MANY photos! It is hard to narrow it down to even this many!! Ü   These are from Friday, August 10th when we were with a guide.

Our safari jeep and our fun guide whose name was "Nomatter"! 






Zebras and Impalas

This is a Lilac Breasted Roller bird with the most beautiful turquoise wings! 

We saw LOTS of baboons. I loved the tiny baby ones!

Two crocodiles next to each other on the riverbank

Trumpeter Hornbill

Male impalas with antlers (above)

Females (below)

There are more impalas than any other animal in the park. They have a marking on their behind that resembles McDonald's arches. Ü They become dinner for many other animals! 

We were watching this big group of impalas and all of a sudden their tails starting moving back and forth REALLY fast! Our guide spotted a cheetah below, sitting a distance away by a tree, just watching them... They all ran!

Cheetah!

Hippos getting some sun...

A statue of Paul Kruger outside the Paul Kruger Gate in the park

These two zebras just stood up on the hill and watched us as if they 

were posing for our pictures!

Giraffes have always been my favorite animal.  We hit the jackpot today!!  

We saw SO many giraffes, all different sizes, up close!! Here are a few....

I loved this one walking down the road right next to us!

Vervet monkeys were all over the park. 

These guys (below) were getting food from the people in the car 

and stood up to beg for more! 

Purple Heron

This Marabou Stork is one of the "Ugly Five".

The Warthog (below) is also in the "Ugly Five".

Greater Kudu

We watched this herd of elephants walking down to the water.

Tree Squirrels

We are not sure that's a crocodile on the bank

but I loved this pretty spot in the park!

Sunset as we drove back to the Pensao Guesthouses in Nelspruit

Saturday, August 11th at Kruger National Park with all the senior couples

Sunrise....

Here are just some of the photos we took...

Southern Ground Hornbill and the huge nests they build (below)

Guinea Fowl

One of three types of vultures in the park

Elands

Black Shouldered Kite

Female Giraffe high above the trees 

Female Elephant

Male Impala

Wildebeests

Lots more giraffes! 

Termite Hill

Cute baby elephant with its mother

This Baboon was SO funny just sitting there on the road, with his hands folded, 

watching all the cars go by.... He looked right at us!

A herd of African Buffalo walked across the street in front of us

This is very hard to see but this is a leopard under the tree,

right under the black space to the left of the tree trunk! 

All you can see is his head, lying down.

There was a crowd watching it when we pulled up.

It was almost time for the park to close and we wanted to see a male lion

so badly!  We saw TWO!!  This one in the bushes and another one walking along the river.

This hippo kept opening his mouth to chew, but I missed it every time.... : / 

We LOVED seeing Kruger National Park after hearing about it for years! 

It is HUGE!! You can only see a part of it, driving all day long! The park closes at 6:00 and we had to hurry to get to the gate by 6:00, but we made it! 

(There is a fine if you are in the park after that time!)