The Smiling Details

SOUTH AFRICA.  "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way." (Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities).

The Best of Times

Our wonderful friend Beth came to visit in September/October.  We had such a great time!  

 Soweto

Nelson & Winnie Mandela's Home, 8115 Vilakazi Street, Orlando West

Venda Women at Hector Pieterson Memorial

Entering the Apartheid Museum

One of our favorite drivers, Steven.  He is the one who fetched our family at the airport when we first arrived.  He spent a day touring with Beth and me and had his first visits inside the Mandela home and Apartheid Museum.  (He usually sits outside in the car).  It was beautiful to see how much those places meant to him.  He kept saying  "Please take a picture of me here so I can show my children (back in the village) that I was here."  

Happy Birthday, Beth!

At the Lion Park

Johannesburg LDS Temple

Jacaranda Season!

Beth and Michele enjoyed 3 magnificent days of game viewing at Notten's Bush Camp

See the leopard up there on the left?

  

 It takes patient watching...

...but eventually hippos come up out of the water!

Our beautiful friend, Jenny, was baptized!

Jeff, Michele, Jenny, Kathleen (who came all the way from Utah!), and John.  

What a joyful day!

We went to a potjke (Afrikaans dutch oven) cookoff at Jenny's new ward in Roodepoort.

Kate flying her kite

The way professionals do potjke

Elder & Sister Adams with Beth at the Bryanston Market (the Adams are self-reliance missionaries here in SA so Jeff works closely with them and my kids consider them their SA grandparents)

Jeff and I had birthdays!

We celebrated with friends

Epraim & Nomthi

Charles & Cheryl-Lee

Lincoln, Sam, Brent, Jenna, Cailin

Emma Has Arrived!!!

She is a 6-month old labradoodle, and she's the best dog in the world!  Emma is John's dog and she follows him around like a, well, like a puppy!

Emma had a horrible experience with the first groomer here who apparently didn't understand English language or metric measurements.    She was shaved to the skin!  Oh it was awful for all of us, especially her!  Here John and Kate are giving her her first bath.

Michelle (our wonderful au pair), John, Emma, Kate, Baili (our wonderful former au pair's daughter)

The Boys

Mike & Linda Dunn (new Joburg mission president) and Kathleen

Women's Lunch at Dunns' Home

(That's Charnell at the front and Jenny at the back)

From the other direction with Pam on my left.  

(Linda, Jenny, and I hosted this lunch and will be doing it again in the new year!)

 Thanks for all the support for John's Diepsloot shoe project!!  Enough was raised to buy 170 pairs of brand new shoes for students!

Arriving at Diepsloot Combined School this week

One of the G5 classes that received shoes

Kate in front of her awesome school.  Michele still serves on the board and has been busy helping do a business turn-around.  Lots of fun! 

 Kate's best school friend, Mosa

 Kate was recruited to play cricket for her school (the only girl).  She has learned a lot and really enjoys it!

Kate is still representing her school well in running events as well.  She has taken up running with bare feet!

Halloween decorations as you enter the gate to our neighborhood

Kate went trick-or-treating with our neighbors and I completely forgot to get photos!  (...She was an astronaut).

Jeff took this photo at the Lagos, Nigeria Airport.  Fortunately, we haven't had Ebola here in South Africa!  (Thanks for your concern!)

However, you know you're in South Africa when

1.  Rolling black outs don't phase you.

2.  You are pulled over by the police and you're surprised that they DON'T ask for a bribe.

3.  Your South African friend asks you with a straight face if you are de-worming your family every 6 months.   (And no, you haven't been!!)

4.  It takes 4 hours to create a blog post because the internet connection is so slow.

5.  You walk by a Parktown prawn and don't even get scared.        

     (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parktown_prawn)

6.  You have been working on VISA renewals since March and have just found out that your VISA applications which expire 31 Dec 2014 have been or will likely be refused by the SA government.  So you are making plans to visit the SA Embassy in LA or NYC in December and hoping then to spend Christmas in Utah!  

The Worst of Times

Arthur C. Brooks has observed that when using social media, we tend to broadcast the smiling details of our lives but not the hard times at school or work. We portray an incomplete life.  Please forgive us for only photographing and sharing widely the smiling details, but know that, probably like your life, ours has its share of tears and hard days.  On these days, the comfort of your friendship reaches across miles and helps us smile again!  You make our lives complete, and we love you!