Since our phone line was struck by lightning, it has been very difficult to have a conversation with our loved ones overseas. And sometimes, this difficulty makes the distance feel greater! To let you know we're still alive and kicking, here's our latest post:
Birthday Dinner at Kai Thai followed by "Mama Mia"
Linda, Michele, Cherise, Charnell (birthday girl), Kathy, Wendy
Farm Fieldtrip for Kate's 4th Grade
Birthday Party for G4 Teachers
We've discovered that our estate has a very large fenced area for dogs called K56
Emma LOVES to go there and meet her friends, VB and Paddy
At a local market, I've fallen in love with some amazing beaded artwork. The owner of the business, Sally Chalmers, started it as a source of income for the children of her gardener and housekeeper. They work in the cottage on Sally's property and create masterpieces!
Here, Sally is holding the piece I commissioned for my parents' birthdays.
For spring break, Michele and the kids went to Durban with her friend Lisa and her kids. Michele and Lisa enjoyed a week at Lisa's flat--beach walks, catching up email, and watching the first 3 seasons of "Downton Abbey" which neither of us had ever seen! Kate and John went with Lisa's kids to a weeklong camp at Sugar Bay--kayaking, crafts, sleeping in a sugar cane field, games, pretty good food, nice kids, etc, etc.
Uhmlanga Lighthouse
Lisa and our friend Jo who recently moved back to Durban
We spent an afternoon with Nomthi and Ephraim who were also at their place in Durban
John came home and within 24 hours was on a plane to SLC! He did his TB test (Utah Dept of Ed won't accept TB tests done in Africa), tentatively registered for G10 at Lone Peak and picked up our replacement computer to bring back with him. He was only in Utah a week but had a great time with Grandma and Grandpa and some of his cousins and friends. Here he is with Michael at the Payson Temple open house.
Speaking of the Payson Temple, I met the architect in South Africa! He traveled here for the Joburg Temple inspection with my friend Kathleen.
We had dinner at the Dunns: Linda, Lanny, Kathleen, Michele, Charnell, Jenny
Then the next morning, Kathleen, Jenny and Michele headed to Kruger Park for an extended weekend! We stayed in the rondavels at Skukuza Camp. It was great!
Besides the usual game, we saw some things I've never seen in the wild before: honey badger, hyenas in daylight, vultures at a kill, boomslang, cape porcupine!
We found this magical spot one evening toward dusk. It was better than DisneyWorld! Crocodiles and hippos coming in and out of the water, Goliath herons, eagles and other beautiful birds, lizards, buck drinking at the water's edge. And then to top it off, a herd of elephants showed up!
Earlier the same day, the car "high-centered" on a very secluded sand road. Despite signing a paper saying we wouldn't even stick our hands out our windows, we all jumped out of the car. Kathleen and I pushed while Jenny drove. No luck. Then Jenny and Kathleen emptied the luggage from the boot and I retrieved a big tree branch to use as a shovel. This time when Kathleen and I pushed, the car moved! Within a minute of reloading the car and resuming driving, Kathleen said "ch-ch-cheeta!" It came right up to the car and sniffed and stared; then it simply walked across the road. In the middle of the day! Amazing! We're so grateful it didn't come any earlier.
VISA Update: The appeal to Michele's refusal was approved! Yay! I'm "legal" again.
Eskom Update: The rolling blackouts continue. Michele was most appreciative her dentist had a generator when the power went out in the middle of an appointment. Our landlords and GE installed this diesel generator at our home. It flips on whenever the power goes off. Now we have even more in common with the rest of Africa.
In this picture is wonderful Susan. You may have heard about the xenophobic attacks here in SA. Being Zimbabwean, Susan was at risk in her settlement. She and her roommate stayed with us during the worst of it. I once asked Susan how she lives in such a dangerous settlement. She said she and her roommate get up every night at midnight and 3am, kneel down, and pray for safety. She said "We are in God's Hands. All we can do is trust Him." The faith of African women like Susan has changed the way I pray and I'm thankful to learn from them.
We said goodbye to the Adams in May. They were serving a mission to assist with poverty relief all over Southeastern Africa. We estimate they helped over 500 families find employment and stability in the nearly two years they served here! (Note that winter is starting with Kate proudly wearing her earmuffs!).
This is Jeff on an unusual work trip - to Paris, France. He and some colleagues had a bit of time to see sights one day and it stayed light until 10pm at night! In addition to seeing some great sights, Jeff enjoyed being able to walk to work from the hotel and use the step count to stay ahead of John (see below).
Jeff's next trip might be to Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, which may not be quite as fun....
Finally, John and Jeff have moved their fitness to the next level! They both got Fitbits and are enjoying challenges with each other to see who can get the most steps. It was quite fun for them one night when they were close to their 10,000 step daily goal to see them jogging around the house trying to beat each other. Jeff is grateful that John is motivating him to be more active!
...So that's life and kicking for now!
