PS!!

Having just reviewed the postings I put in today, I just wanted to let you all know that to see all of them, you will need to click on older posts at the bottom of first page! There are about 12 posts with today's date on going chronologically from October to a few days ago with lots of photos etc! Hope you enjoy them!

Happy New Year!!

Updates at last!! We are now just over one quarter way through our mission, time is starting to go quickly but it still seems like a long time since we left home on 1st August 2009! We miss you all more than you can ever imagine, you have no idea how much your skype calls, emails and especially the Christmas cards and pressies keep us going! Following are some pics that show what we've been up to the last few months. We spend most of our time in the Regional Family History Centre which is on the Area Office/Temple complex in Parktown, Johannesburg. We are trying hard to liaise with the other centres in the area to help them be more familiar with the new temple and family history programmes. We are also being trained on oral history and hope to get more involved in this exciting work. We love to read your comments, so please feel free to add something here, that way, we know someone is reading all this stuff!!!!

The White House!!

This is what is known as The White House here! It's the offices and homes of the Africa SouthEast Area Presidency and is on the Area Office and Temple site in Johannesburg. As senior missionaries we sometimes use the grounds for farewells and activities. Stunning views from the grounds but all spoilt by the noise from the motorway just below the area office complex!

Voortrekker Monument

In October we visited the Voortrekker Monument near Pretoria which commemorates the northern trek of the Boers from the Cape area of South Africa to escape British rule and try to have more freedom and land. The monument is huge with the displays etc giving such moving accounts of the treks which happened in the 1830s and 1840s. So much comparison with the early pioneers of the Church who trekked west to escape persecution.

Jacarandas and Zoo Lake

October is Jacaranda month when these stunning trees blossom and really brighten up the city! The pics are of some streets and views with the jacaranda trees and also of Zoo Lake, which is a favourite spot to walk, about a 30 min walk from us. On the weekends and holidays the lake area is packed with friends and families getting together for picnics.

Halloween!!

We had a missionary outing on Halloween to a church owned camp/recreation centre near Hartebeestpoort Dam about an hour's drive from us. This is run by a missionary couple who used to live in Birmingham UK, and are great friends with the Balloch family from Weston; we had met him once and had a walk in the Quantocks where the guys got us lost! The site is used for Young Men/Young Women/ YSA/Ward/Family and Stake camps. Very remote and beautiful but a very energetic hike up the mountain! We had a great day though and it was so good to get away from the city and breathe such clean fresh air! At the top of the mountain is an old Boer Fort, stunning views from there, the pics just don't do it justice. We then enjoyed a braii (BBQ) and just enjoyed a relaxing day together. This was a hike in the true Woodhead Walk sense of the word!!!!

Our chapel!

We finally got our car at the end of November, the red one in the pic! So very good to be independent and have our own transport. We requested to attend and have been assigned to a little branch about an hour's drive from our apartment. Stan's Mum lives about halfway between so we often visit her on Sundays on our way home from Church. This is a black african township unit on the outskirts of Krugersdorp; wonderful people, such a joy to meet with them. The Branch is growing very quickly, as are many other places in Africa; our mission president told us that there have been almost 1600 baptisms this year in the Johannesburg Mission! We attend the Gospel Essentials class in Sunday School and there are always between 12-17 investigators in attendance!

The building in the photo is our chapel, a modular building with large chapel and several other untis for classrooms.

Gall stones!

At the end of November I had another attack of gallstones which seemed to go away but then came back with a vengeance the next morning! The mission doctor came to see me, confirmed that the problem was gallstones and arranged for me to see a consultant at the local hospital a few hours later. He gave me some strong painkillers which unfortunately made me extremely nauseous and dizzy; even driving to the hospital, being moved in a wheelchair once I got there and then when they took me for X-Rays on my bed, all movement made me throw up; felt pretty awful that day! That eased enough the next day for me to have an MRI scan which, with the X-Rays and ultra sound, confirmed I had at least 4 large gallstones plus other bits and pieces in the gallbladder! Surgery happened Weds 25th Nov and through prayers and fasting of family and friends, the doctor was, to his surprise, able to perform keyhole surgery; the tests had shown inflamed liver, gallbladder etc which made keyhole surgery unlikely. Such a relief when he came to see me 9pm that night to tell me that all had went well with keyhole procedure. More or less back to normal now, took it easy for a couple of weeks and rested when I felt tired! Had some beautiful flowers delivered from the kiddies and a cute card from Ellie and Jayden!

We just love the batik which you can see on the wall behind the flowers! Where are we going to put the stuff we have bought and know we will buy here!!! More to the point, how on earth will we get it all home! Think we'll have to leave all our clothes here!

Madikwe

It was so good to get right away from the office for 2 days, no computers etc etc! The bush at night was just so quiet with just the sounds of animals and birds and only light from the moon and stars....plus oil filled lanterns and torches of course! We went with 3 other couples and met an LDS couple from California also staying at same bush camp! The picture above right is our room for the night!!!

More animal pics!

I've always hated zoos, seeing the animals cooped up in tiny spaces, has been wonderful seeing these beautiful creatures in their natural habitat.

On Safari!!

We were able to get away for 2 days 23rd/24th Dec to Madikwe Game Reserve about 4 hours north of Johannesburg. The bushcamp we stayed at, Mosethla, has no running water or electricity but very comfortabe nonetheless; to take a shower meant filling your bucket, heating the water using something called a donkey boiler and then pouring the water from your bucket into the bucket that had a little tap on it!

We had 2 game drives and saw elephants, giraffes, rhinos, wild dogs, buffaloes, wildebeests, impalas, elands, klipspringers etc etc. We also witnessed 2 lions having a fight! Apparently, the one lion was interested in a lioness and her brother was trying to protect her but was soon seen off! We were very close to them, about 15 feet away, quite scary, roars of the lions very very loud! One of the other couple missionaries managed to get some of it on video and you can see it on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tc1pk7w2M0E

Turn the volume up to get full effect!

Christmas Day

We spent Christmas Day with Stan's Mum, sister Sheila and extended family at the home of the Wills, Stan's cousin's son's in laws! As you can see, a very different view compared with an English Christmas Day! It was wonderful to spend the day with a family and have some interaction with their 4 children aged 4 - 14. But it was very hard being so far from home and our own little ones. Thank goodness for Skype and emails! We started the day by having a carol service in our flat, overwhelmed by the number of missionaries who came, about 36! But a great way to start the day by singing carols and reading the Christmas story from the scriptures.

Lesedi Cultural Village

We visited here on Boxing Day with 12 other senior missionaries, a great day out where we viewed examples of 5 tribal villages and learnt some of their customs. We also were treated to some great traditional dances and a wonderful lunch.

Wishing you a joyous Christmas

I cannot believe that my last post here was way back in October! How time flies! Near the end of November I was rushed to hospital for an emergency gall bladder removal operation which put me out of action for a few weeks. More or less fully recovered now but still don't quite feel up to playing tennis, stretching still a bit difficult!

For now, let me wish you all a truly joyous Christmas and a sincere hope that 2010 brings you all every happiness.