Africa Contingent Update

Early Adventures in Africa

by Jeff

Well, I've had some great times so far...I've arrived in Africa, located a home, our church, a bank account (they charge for EVERYTHING here, including if you make a deposit - I don't think I will complain about Citi again!), a car, a laundry AND done some actual work for my new job...not too bad for a short time on the ground.  Oh yeah, and remind me to tell you about the Angolan visa process sometime.

Then, since things were getting a little routine, I decided to go to Nigeria.  I started off in Lagos on Sunday and part of Monday, packed up and went to Port Harcourt on the Niger Delta for 2 days of meetings, and back to Lagos for a day.  Then I caught the red eye home (which is now Joburg, South Africa).

Nigeria is really cool.  It has a sense of energy and optimism that is unbelievable.  But it is a little more difficult to travel in.  I've got some pictures to share.

     I flew from Lagos to Port Harcourt on Arik Air, which is a bit like Southwest, complete with a free full-body frisk as you head up the steps to the plane.  

This is the Port Harcourt INTERNATIONAL Airport

Arrival & baggage claim

     Ok, so I've never waited in a baggage claim TENT but it was very cool!  There is amazing growth in Port Harcourt.  I was speaking with a Nigerian about the massive shifts in the economy over the last decade that are driving some of the changes from an agrarian lifestyle to a fully industrialized one.  It's interesting to observe.  People are very friendly and like to talk and exchange pleasantries as well.  I really enjoyed my visit.

     Another very interesting item for me was the security.  My company likes to keep folks safe, and so I had police escort and lots of guards.  I felt a bit disconcerted, but also, what guy doesn't occasionally dream of having a full security detail?

    

     Finally, I just wanted to let you know that Nigeria won their semi-final match against Mali today:

 4 to 1!  (Shout out for Brian J.) and are in the Africa Cup Finals.

Utah Contingent Update

So, Jeff left for Africa 3 weeks ago.  Here are a few things we've been up to while he's been gone...

Kate--skiing every Monday at Sundance with her school and Courage Reins
horseback riding

John--Oquirrh Mountain Temple w/Corbin & Kayden and "test driving" a SmartCar 

 Michele--"Africa Night" with my awesome book club and reconnecting with Breeann and Desiree whom I worked with 20 years ago in Milwaukee when they were in the 12-14 year old class at church!

All with the backdrop of more snow than we've ever seen since moving to Utah!

...3 weeks down and 5 to go till we're all together as a family again.  Yeah!! 

OK....This is a little different than our other moves!

Moving Day (Stage 1) has arrived!

17 January 2013

By Guest Blogger - Jeff

Home sweet home is now mostly wrapped in brown paper and packing tape.  Tomorrow, our furniture and a lot of other stuff will be loaded into a crate and begin its journey to South Africa.

...So most of us have moved at one time or another.  If you're lucky, you open the door to the house and tell the moving company "Take it all, and careful with Grandma's china."  Then, a day or so later, you hop in the car and drive across the country to where you're going.  Shortly thereafter, your stuff shows up at your new place.

Turns out, moving across the globe has a few differences.  After you decide what will fit in the space the company gives you, you have to plan the move in three stages - 

First, what's going in your suitcases (limit 3 per) the day you fly from SLC to JHB - you probably can guess - it's mostly the clothes you will need to wear until the rest of your stuff arrives.

Second, what's going in the "air shipment" - we get an LDN container (which may sound big, but it's only the size of a pallet).  This will contain the computer and other odds and ends the family will need to use immediately.  The air shipment takes about 2 weeks to arrive in SA.

Third, you get a 40' shipping container for the cargo ship.  This is a good 15 feet shorter than the normal moving company truck - which means we're not taking Grandma's china, Jeff's library or the family's food storage.  The shipping container will take 3 months to arrive after sailing from Oakland to Shanghai and across the Indian Ocean to Durbin.

These steps happen in reverse order - They come pick up the boat items first, then the air shipment items, then your suitcases.  And if it's big or heavy and it misses the first stage of loading, it gives new meaning to the phrase "You missed the boat."  Literally.

So if you're doing the math, you probably have figured out that my family will be living in our Alpine home for the next 2 months with only folding chairs and lame kitchen utensils.  Not a problem for me, as I'm headed out to Africa Monday, but my fellow bloggers might have a few words to say about that....

Seriously, a big vote of thanks for my wonderful Michele who orchestrated this move and has been totally amazing while I've been largely absent.  And will hopefully continue to keep the home fires burning while I'm in Africa the next 2 months.

I'll return mid-March to pick up the family and we'll all head out to our new home in SA, hopefully JUST as the shipping container and air shipment show up in the driveway of our hoped-for rental home.

A big thanks to friends and Michele's parents for meals, childcare, probiotics, and help with driving as we've prepped for the movers the last few weeks!

This is #3

See December 16, 2012.

...Still thankful!

(And frankly, a little surprised that Enterprise continues to rent cars to us.)

Merry Christmas Everyone!!

So...Why are we moving to Africa?

(by guest blogger Jeff Stitt)

One of the questions we get asked most often is "Why are you moving to Africa?"  It's a very understandable question, as before May of this year, it would have not occurred to me that Africa was a likely destination.

The short answer is that we've been offered an opportunity for a great job in a very exciting part of the world.

It was a surprise to us as well, but back in May, when I was starting to look for my next opportunity, I was talking to a friend who has been very supportive at work and he asked if I'd like to consider the role of Chief Compliance Officer for GE-Africa.

Needless to say, I felt that I needed to consult the Michele before I committed to that.  We both felt good about considering the opportunity.  After further research and prayer, we determined that we should move ahead and look at the role.

In September, GE asked Michele and I to visit South Africa.  I also went to Nigeria and Kenya to get a feel for the traveling I will do.  On these trips, we found good schools, a welcoming ward, nice neighborhoods, and wonderful friends (old and new).  We continued to feel reassured that we should move forward.  So in November, I officially started in my new job, a job I have the opportunity to create from the ground-up.

Here are a few pics of our trip to South Africa:

Here's a picture of the highways there. Other than the right hand drive cars, it looks pretty good (My understanding is that rush hour is kind of tough though).

Michele and I visited Nelson Mandela's home in Soweto and the Apartheid Museum.  We also went to this cool market in a renovated urban area.  It kind of reminds me of Pike's Place Market in Seattle (without the smell of fish).

It makes it much easier to move to the other side of the world if you already have great friends there.

This is a picture of where John will be going to school - the American International School.  It feels very So-Cal.

And finally, this was what clinched the deal for Kate....her favorite store is in the mall there!

So, there is Part I of why we're moving to Africa.  Stay tuned as we discover more reasons.  And come see us there!

So Much To Be Thankful For...

So, we've always heard that "bad things" happen in three's...

 #1:  November 24--This is our trusty Sienna after being totalled when a young man ran a red light.  Jeff was driving.  Everyone survived.  ...Thankful!

#2:  December 10--This is the Mazda 6 we rented to replace the van.  It was hit by an older man who lost control of his van coming down the Healey Blvd hill (yes, just yards away from our home!)  and Michele wasn't able to dodge him quickly enough.  Everyone survived.  ...Thankful!

#3:  We are hoping we can count Michele flooding the bathroom by leaving the sink running unattended on November 23...


...What we cannot count are all the times we have surely been protected from "bad things" happening.  Especially this week, we thank God for each other and for the life we share.  There is so much to be thankful for.

2012 Highlights

It is disturbing when you visit an "historical home" and its avacado appliances and shag rug walls remind you of the home where you grew up.  (Rob Stitt, Jeff & Michele)

 Ostensibly, we went to Louisville to "visit friends."

 Our favorite Leprechaun!  (thanks to Jessica for the hat)

Best ride in Orlando:  Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey at Universal Studios

Best ride that makes you feel like a toy Army Man:  Toy Story Mania 3D at Disneyworld

 Jeff and John swam with Dolphins but did not fly with owls at Discovery Bay

Standing on the Speaker's Balcony at the US Capitol ...

John got a 2nd place trophy in the state science fair.  ...He may have been even more excited about getting to keep the fog machine!

John was ordained a Deacon in the Aaronic Priesthood in May 

(with Grandpa & Grandma LeMon)

If it has 4 legs, is furry, and barks or meows, it is a friend of Kate's 

(with Michele's Uncle Paul)

Lady Katherine and a few of her royal subjects at the Princess Festival, Lehi, Utah

 Michele's brother Jeffrey celebrated his first birthday in Utah this year.  We love having him here!

Bald Mountain, Sun Valley Idaho

This is Kate when she stops long enough from her high speed scootering to be photographed...no one can pull off pairing rhinestone clip-on earrings with soccer shorts like she can

 The fires in Alpine, looking from our front porch

Seaside, Oregon

Maritime Museum, Astoria, Oregon with Jones cousins:  Sara, Ann, Stephanie, John,
Kate, Rebecca

Fort, um, Fort, what was the name?  (with Jannelle Wilde, Michele's sister Wendy and our kids)

Kate was baptized in September by her Dad

A view of our new home--Johannesburg, South Africa (photo taken
from the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site)

 
Yellowstone (with Chandler, Chloe & Lori Memmott)

HOW BLESSED WE ARE TO HAVE FRIENDS AND FAMILY
LIKE YOU!  HAPPY HOLIDAYS!  Love, the Stitts