We had a WONDERFUL 3 1/2 days with the other senior couples in our South Africa Johannesburg Mission! We met in Dullstroom, South Africa Wednesday afternoon, spent Thursday seeing sights and ending up in Sabie, SA. Friday Pres. and Sister Leavitt had to go back to Joburg for missionary interviews.  The rest of us drove to Kruger National Park  and  stayed in Nelspruit Friday and Saturday nights. We had an AMAZING time!!  We drove home to Swaziland early this morning and delivered a mission call to a cute YSA in the Mbabane Branch! 

Lindokuhle Mbuli has been called to serve in the England Manchester Mission!

He leaves Dec. 12th for the England Missionary Training Center, where Elder East's

 sister works!! Nathi Dlamini, on the far right is in the branch presidency of Lindokuhle's Mbabane Branch.  He takes care of ALL of the missionaries' flats, visas, etc. here in Swaziland! 

Our Sidwashine elders 

Elder Dos Santos (brand new from Brazil) and Elder Francis (from Provo)

Our Mbabane elders

Elder East (from Wales) and Elder Chikoore (from Zimbabwe)

We left for South Africa early Wednesday morning and this was what the weather was like for MOST of the way!!  We stopped in Mbabane on the way to the border, to meet our NEW  elder from Brazil, Elder Dos Santos. He just arrived late the night before from Joburg.

We met the other couples in Dullstroom and checked into the Le Quartier Cottages on Wednesday, walked around the cute little town, then went to dinner at The Coachman.   

Here is the group from both ends of the table. Ü 

Sister Jensen always makes matching African ties for the men for each 

senior couples gathering we have, so we always get a picture of them.  

We LOVED spending a few days with these GREAT couples!

Our wonderful mission president, President Dane Leavitt 

and his wife Ruth, from Cedar City, UT

Elder Michael and Sister Karen Jensen from Provo, who serve in 

Nelspruit and organized everything for the gathering. They go home Sept. 18th.

Elder Clarence and Sister Linda Wagner, office couple from Spokane, WA, who also go home on Sept. 18th.  They are the ones who drove us to Swaziland and helped us get settled just after we arrived! 

Elder Larry and Sister Sandy Todd, from Centennial, Colorado,

who we shared our Cottage with on Wed. night and our Chalet on Thurs. night.

They served a mission in the South Africa Durban Mission before this one.

Elder Lowell and Sister Debbie Fugal from Utah

They drove in our bakkie with us all day Saturday on our game drive! 

Debbie's nephew, Dave Rich, married Bob's niece, Kari Orlando Rich.

Elder Jerry and Sister Charlotte Boyer, from Cedar City, UT

They are also an office couple and will be going home in November.

They took the Hunts' place after they returned home.

We left Dullstroom and stopped at Tiezers, about 90 minutes away, for breakfast.

The choice were fruit and yogurt (which we ordered) or the "Farm" breakfast, which was pap, a fried tomato, borewors sausages, onions & mushrooms and a fried egg. We tasted 

jam made from the nightshade fruit and looked like tiny blueberries, and we each bought a jar. The guys bought jerky, called "biltong" in SA.  They had Eland, Kudu, and Gemsbok.

We then headed to our first site, but the fog was so thick we couldn't go to "God's Window" or see "The Three Rondavels" or much of the Blade River Canyon.  : /  

So we went on to Berlin and Lisbon Falls. 

Berlin Falls

What beautiful scenery!

Lisbon Falls

As we were looking at the arts and crafts being sold at the falls, there were 
vervet monkeys all over the trees and tops of the buildings, entertaining us.

Our next stop was Bourke's Luck Potholes

Here is the whole group! Ü 

L to R: Boyers, Wagners, Fugals, Jensens, Us, Todds and Leavitts

(Elder Todd got a phone call and we didn't notice he had left!) : /

(Haha! Sister Fugal took this of Bob being so sweet to tie my shoe!)

We couldn't imagine what the "potholes" were.... Here they are!!

They were SO interesting!!

There were two bridges over the canyon.

It was a BEAUTIFUL place!!

The Wagners and Boyers had seen Kruger National Park several times before, so they went back Friday morning to try to see the sights that were fogged in on Thursday.  We and the Todds had never been to Kruger and the Fugals had just stayed with the Jensens and gone one time, on Tuesday, a day before the gathering started, so we all decided to go to Kruger. We got there and the gates were all closed, because the park was FULL!! : / They said we could only go in, if we signed up for a safari tour with a guide.  It wasn't that much, so we did and it was great!!  They also said the only way we would get in Saturday was to make reservations so we did that too and were SO glad we did! 

(See photos on NEXT post!)

Our district YSAs had a great activity today! They met at the high school in Elangeni and hiked Mdzimba Mountain, then walked to the chapel in Ezulwini and had institute and a braai (BBQ).  They had two kinds of meat, pap, salad, chakalaka (baked beans, with grated onions, carrots and a special sauce) and I made chocolate chip coconut oatmeal walnut cookies. They had a great time together! 

About 40 YSAs gathered between 9:30 and 10:30 then headed up the mountain, this morning, following Masebendza Msibi, who was their guide. Our branch president, Manqoba Shongwe and his wife, Pontso, (back row far left) were their chaperones up the mountain. 

(As you can see in the background, it was a foggy morning, but by the time they got to the top it was a very nice, clear day!)  Ü 

Moses Khanyile, one of our Ezulwini YSAs and a counselor in our branch presidency,

relaxing after a long hike to the top! 

The Manzini YSAs on top of the mountain!

Mandla Mantinto, Institute teacher in Mazini, taught the institute lesson to all 

three branches of YSAs. I heard it was great! (I was in the kitchen the whole time.)

The YSAs in the institute class 

(minus the guys out at the braai and the girls in the kitchen.)

We took Amanda Simelane, our Ezulwini YSA Rep, (third from the left) at 9:00 a.m. to cash the branch check and buy all the meat. Then we met the other Reps from Mbabane and Manzini, who had the pap, the lettuce, beans, etc. in Elangeni and we took it all, (as well as everyone's backpacks, purses, and jackets) to our Ezulwini building. Problem was, no one was there for two hours after we got there and we had no key to the building until the elders came and opened the gate and drove to get a key, so we could get in!! Charles Dlamini and his new wife from Durban and Siphiwe got there at 1:00 and started fixing the food until the others returned from the hike at about 2:00 pm. Then Pontso, Gcnile and Fezile (Reps from Mbabane), and Amanda worked hard in the kitchen until the meal was served! 

On Sunday, August 5th, Sister Sibongile Zandamela and her daughter, Padthwakuhle (10) were baptized in Manzini Fairview Branch.  Sister Zandamela asked me to give the talk on Baptism.  (Just before I got up, they announced I would be speaking on Baptism AND the Holy Ghost. I guess the other speaker wasn't there?! We are getting used to these kinds of   surprises! We just never know what we will be expected to do next!) 

We LOVE this family from Siphofaneni, who drive over 45 min. to church each Sunday.  We were blessed to go with Elder Musumhi and Elder Daybell to teach them a few times last month.  Brother Carlos Zandamela has been a member, but has not attended church for many years. It is wonderful for them to all be active in the church.  Sibongile said she always felt there was "something missing" in their life and now she feels "complete"!  

What a HAPPY DAY!! Ü  

I loved the sky on the drive home at 3:15 pm! Ü