oot 'n aboot...

While Jeff has been slaving away in the Area Office, I have been trying to find my way around the city and get adjusted to the home and culture.  Just learning to drive a car has been a huge challenge and I am finally not "white knuckled" when I get behind the wheel.  I am now able to go grocery shopping and go on errands alone!  We have been assigned a ward - Betrams Ward - which we will attend this Sunday for the first time.  Our shipment is due to arrive on Friday and that will make a huge difference to our lives.  I hope to get into a routine of service in the Area Office as well as genealogy and temple work.  Everything that Jeff does is "kingdom building" and my work has been mostly temporal to this point in time.  He still has not yet driven the car and is in his office about 12 hours a day.  I hope to get him out this weekend and teach him how to drive on the left side of the road and the right side of the car.  The city is huge and sprawling but it is starting to make sense to me. 

The Area Office Sisters invited me to go with them for a short shopping trip at a SA couple's home.  This is a young couple who are very creative and have turned their creativity into a thriving business.  Their #1 customer is.... drum-roll please.... none other than TJMaxx!!!! All of the things that we saw, that we didn't buy at their home, is being shipped to the states.  They also ship to the HOME store -  affiliated with TJMaxx. I actually wondered when I was there if I would buy this stuff in the states.  (probably not... :} )   This fun "blue box man" was a great conversation piece in their home.

In the small garage the women were sewing pillows  which will be stuffed.  They are all made of authentic African fabric and beads from all over Africa and are While Jeff has been slaving away in the Area Office, I have been trying to find my way around the city and get adjusted to the home and culture.  Just learning to drive a car has been a huge challenge and I am finally not "white knuckled" when I get behind the wheel.  I am now able to go grocery shopping and go on errands alone!  We have been assigned a ward - Betrams Ward - which we will attend this Sunday for the first time.  Our shipment is due to arrive on Friday and that will make a huge difference to our lives.  I hope to get into a routine of service in the Area Office as well as genealogy and temple work.  Everything that Jeff does is "kingdom building" and my work has been mostly temporal to this point in time.  He still has not yet driven the car and is in his office about 12 hours a day.  I hope to get him out this weekend and teach him how to drive on the left side of the road and the right side of the car.  The city is huge and sprawling but it is starting to make sense to me. 

The Area Office Sisters invited me to go with them for a short shopping trip at a SA couple's home.  This is a young couple who are very creative and have turned their creativity into a thriving business.  Their #1 customer is.... drum-roll please.... none other than TJMaxx!!!! All of the things that we saw, that we didn't buy at their home, is being shipped to the states.  They also ship to the HOME store -  affiliated with TJMaxx. I actually wondered when I was there if I would buy this stuff in the states.  (probably not... :} )   This fun "blue box man" was a great conversation piece in their home.

In the small garage the women were sewing pillows  which will be stuffed.  They are all made of authentic African fabric and beads from all over Africa and are very cute. 

 

       

I noticed that these workers are beautiful, happy people and are full of light.

    In this room, two workers were making hundreds of cool

    necklaces, bracelets and key chains.

After we went to Brett's home, we stopped by another place where they stock cases of genuine African artifacts.  Vendors buy here to sell in the markets (a wholesaler) but the very creative, "nosy" Office Sisters found out about it and come here about once a month to shop for very unique, old, DIRTY antiques.  It was interesting.  I didn't buy anything this time.  The items at the left are head rests of different designs and sizes.

Another room was full of beaded items.  

All of these things are made of small beads. 

I would love to watch how this is done.

 How about a new (or very old) salad 

 bowl or scary mask?

The following day, Sister Renlund hosted a tea for her friend Carol Foster who is an author of a creative children's book:  The Night Before Christmas in Africa.  The Office Sisters now and  previous years, have bought more of these books than all the stores combined have sold so Carol was happy to meet some of her audience.  (Sister Renlund, in pink and Carol in the forefront)  I was happy to become acquainted with Carol, who is originally from San Antonio, TX and has lived for 23 years in So. Africa.  She told us about some of her experiences of living here and how much she loves Africa.

Sunday-Sunday....

Church was really wonderful today.  At the ward we visited, we met some of the young women that Sister Martineau has been teaching to play the keyboard and lead music.  Four of those YW led the music today in Sacrament Meeting - for each of the musical numbers.  The girls were so beautiful and smiling as they participated and they did a great job.  They are all recent converts and are so full of light and joy.  It was a thrill to see them.  The woman in the center is Victoria.  She gives the girls a ride to church each week and has been a stalwart in the church for 23 years.  She told me her conversion story and I was inspired by her faith.

 

                                            Here are some of the members leaving church.

   One of my favorite flowers is the Agapantha and they grow in abundance just outside our door.

This is our new car with steering wheel on the right side.  Right now, I'm the only driver.  Jeff is too busy to learn the new rules of the road.  That gate on the right is our back door gate and three keys are required to get into the flat from there.

The Coi outside our flat were very hungry today.  They were hoping we had a handout for them but we didn't.

This is the side of our house.  You can see the front gate on the left and the back gate on the right with the green dot on the right side of the wall telling the history of  "The White House."

Our "water feature" directly in front of the home, drowns out the freeway below us.  In the distance is the sprawling city of Johannesburg.

      
    This bench and path are on the opposite side of the fountain and below is the view from there.

After church, we took a walk up behind our house.  The property is fenced well and has great security fences all around it.  At the top of the hill (about 75' up) is this little lookout place where you can see Joburg.  The Temple is in the background and it looks distant but it is not far at all.  It is just a very small Temple.

This is part of the pathway and security fence.  One would be foolish to try to cross it.  It is HOT-wired and sharp!

                                   Angel Moroni trumps his horn beyond and above this fence. 


           When we came back from our walk, we ran into our neighbors - Elder and Sister Cook from the Area Presidency. They were also out for some fresh air and we had a nice visit. 

  
                      Today was wonderful and restful.  We feel refreshed to begin again tomorrow.

Thanksgiving in the garage....

Not only did we have Thanksgiving dinner in the garage but we had T. dinner in the garage at the White House.... in Joburg, So. Africa!  Where was the President - Pres. Renlund, that is??  Well, he was right here with us along with the other members of the Area Presidency and their wives.  It reminded me of when we were in the Missouri Independence Mission and Julie would have parties in our over-sized garage.  Here we go again.

Senior missionaries are always so creative and this event was no exception to that.  The tables were so cute with Guinea Hens and fresh flowers - sitting on top of zebra striped table cloths.  Dinner was delicious and there was lots for seconds for everyone.

Jeff had a hard time prying himself away from the office the the huge back log of work awaiting him but he managed to inhale his share of the turkey and pumpkin pie.  We both had a big case of jet lag - still do - and for the rest of the day, we tried to start the process of getting settled.  

 We enjoyed meeting Elder and Sister Soares and their daughter Natalia.  They are our new upstairs neighbors and are such great people.

Elder and Sister Cook are saying goodbye to a wonderful couple who has been serving here in the temple.  They are from Madagascar and they sold everything they had to come and serve a mission.  Special people.... and we wish we could have known them more than just 1 day. 

In the background is our new home - The White House... where we live with the Area Presidency.  Our flat is at the bottom where the green potted trees are.  The Cooks live upstairs on the other side of us and the Renlunds live across the hall from us on the main floor.  We will enjoy living here very much but we miss our neighbors at home too.  We could not do this without the great help of David and Norma Woolley, many wonderful friends and a great family - who love and support us all the way.

I almost forgot to mention that this is summertime in So. Africa so instead of having frozen pipes here, we are mostly warm.

Leavin' on a jet plane....

Fake smiles hiding the tears.

         The website said we got 3 bags, 50 lbs. each so we were loaded down - 6 bags 4 carry-ons.

 

This is Jeff when he found out that we had to pay $400.00 for the 2 bags which the website said we could take for free.  Hmmm.... I don't have time to fight it but I wish I did. 

          The plane was about 1/2 full so we got to stretch out and each have a row to ourselves.  No, we were not in First Class - but Economy Plus!!! woo-woo!!!

Elder & Sister Marineau met us at the airport.  They are great people and work so hard.  They have really helped us get around and learn everything that is going on here.

             This is at the Joburg airport - which is actually a nice airport and easy to navigate.

                                Michele Nelson made us this beautiful pillow 
and gave it to us the night before we left.  It was our first decoration in our new home.  Love it and love Michele!

After my last wimpy entry – complaining about moving, I vow to not complain again …. for a while.... maybe for at least 5 minutes!!!

We are on our way to Joburg now and now have a long layover in Atlanta.  After our flight from Salt Lake and lack of food, we stopped at Chili’s Restaurant here at the airport and had a bowl of warm, “loaded” potato soup.  I think it was more about the comfort of warm soup that appealed to us at the time but it tasted really good. 

 

I’m not going to lie; moving is just plain hard.  (Oh no!  Complaining again already!) When it comes right down to it, the actual physical move is not so bad but saying goodbye to loved ones is a killer!  With two of our kids living abroad in Europe, saying goodbye to them was a snap.  Hey, they left us first.  Both Heather and Julie (our oldest and youngest) gave us good advice and counsel and goodbyes over the phone.  Heather said that "there will be hard days in the next few weeks" but advised us to “cut ourselves some slack and have down time.”  Julie said that “she really doesn’t even mind her tiny European fridge anymore.”  If they can do it, WE can do it too!!!

So saying goodbye to Pete, Jane, Joanna, Laurie and families was just painful and the grandkids….. well… no words... gulp!  How touching was it to get a three month supply of “once-a-month inspiration letters, a dinner toast/tribute, letters and pictures from these darling inspirations?  There was one goodbye we didn’t have to say – Tad – our oldest son who died 9 years ago.  He will be along with us this time!!! That was a happy thought.

Here we are again in the International Terminal getting ready for a 16 hour flight to Joburg.  My plan for the flight is to hibernate myself and slow down all my cognitive functions.   For 16 hours, I will watch mindless TV and movies.  I try to get warm and keep my pulse rate looooooow.  After a few hours of sleep, I might do some reading but that just wakes me up and gets me antsy so it will be minimal.  Jeff is up and down throughout the flights; up and down, up and down.  No wonder the flight seems so long for him. The secret to long travel is just to stay put, do leg pumps to keep the blood flowing, keep warm and just chill. 

Thoughts on moving....

Maybe I would be more excited about moving in 4 days if I hadn't just had a root canal! Up until now, I've been content and peaceful about leaving but maybe I've finally run out of enthusiasm. I'm sick of living out of a suitcase and my "leftover" clothes in the closet. Besides, it is summer in JoBurg now and the clothes left for my suitcase are mostly summer clothes. The temp. outside is 49 degrees and I'm freezing.

My house is pretty much a big mess with piles everywhere for this-or-that and open suitcases in the living room, dining room and bedroom. It is good that I don't have much food to cook/serve because the dining room table and flat surfaces are covered with computers, software, cameras and paperwork and lots of yellow sticky notes and legal pads.

Numerous accessories like paintings, flowers and frills are on their way to So. Africa so the house looks bare. I finally listed my favorite car for sale yesterday and that makes me sad - especially because it is so clean and in perfect condition.

Jeff hit the wall yesterday and told me that I'd better get going on the freezer and garage fridge because "on Saturday, he was going to throw it all out"!!! (Wait till he sees the starving children in Africa.) This morning he woke up with a gruff, "froggy" voice and feels awful (probably why he hit the wall yesterday)

I am lucky enough to have a fabulous dentist who is also very kind and agreed to see me on his day off today. I was grateful that he would take the time to do a root canal which it appeared I needed badly, but that doesn't help my outlook at the moment. I think I will be a happier person in So. Africa if I don't have a massive problem with a tooth and no competent dentist to help me.

Now it is time for errands.... bang trim, pick up lamp shade, Ambien and corn tortillas. I guess the biggest pain I have had (besides the one in my mouth) has been moving all my programs and files from 2 computers to one NEW computer and backup storage. Anyone who knows me, knows I'm incompetent with the computer and hate doing tech things.

Am I complaining? YES! Should I be complaining? NO! I really am very grateful and see many blessings each day. I love seeing friends and family - even if it is just to say goodbye and get a hug. It's just one of those days.

Still married.....

Because of the safety issue of life in Joburg, we were told it would be best to leave all jewelry and valuables at home. After learning yesterday that our visas were here, we upped our efforts to get everything done in just a week. After 45 years, we took off our wedding rings and replaced them with simple bands. Jeff took all of our valuables to the safety deposit box and we are trying to get used to our new cheapie rings today. It is really weird to look at my hand and see a CTR band instead of my wedding ring but I would rather that I didn't get my fingers cut off when someone decided to steal my diamond rings. In reality, it just doesn't matter what rings we wear because we are linked forever!

The Journey.....

Just one week after accepting this assignment, we packed our bags for a quick trip to visit our new home in Johannesburg, So. Africa. The flight to JoBurg on Thurs/Fri was LONG (understatement) but we survived the 16 hour direct flight from Atlanta, GA. Our 3 1/2 days were packed full on interesting discoveries. Stan and Susan Martineau, who are serving as missionaries there, were our hosts. Elder Martineau is the Assistant Area Legal Council and his wife works in Public Affairs. They were kind and gracious in every way and we really enjoyed their company all weekend.


We stayed in a lovely hotel in this big city of about 7.5 million people. On Saturday morning, we did some sightseeing and went to The Lion Park - a small drive-thru area where they have a small assortment of wild animals.









On the way home, we stopped at an outdoor market and looked at some of the shopping areas. Area President Dale Renlund and wife Ruth took us to a lovely restaurant called Sophia's for dinner and we had a delicious and relaxing evening with them and the Martineaus. After dinner, we went with the Renlunds to see our new flat which is located on the Church property and is divided into 4 flats occupied by us and the Area Presidency. We were delighted to see our home and know that we will enjoy living there. It is a 130 year old historic home located adjacent to the temple and the Area offices.

On Sunday, we went to church and loved the experience of meeting the Saints in the area. The meetings were outstanding and were full of doctrine and testimony. Martineau's once again fed us a great Sunday dinner and we enjoyed the rest of the evening at our hotel.

Jeff went to work on Monday.... to his new work! He attended some meetings and met staff and received some orientation. Susan M. and I went to the important places... like the grocery store, fruit market and surrounding markets which included some fun So. African stores. I got a feel for some of the interesting artifacts from the different countries. I have to say that I was intrigued by wonderful masks, beading and the schway-schway cotton cloth which is used by the Africans. Susan and I decided that we would try to make quilts which depict our African experience.

Monday night was Family Home Evening with the missionary couples. It was at one of the couple's flat's in Duke's Court - the Apartment Complex where the couples live. We heard an incredible report from a young man (about 35 years old) who lived his youth in the Apartheid era. He told us how he lived in those conditions and how he joined the church. His story was incredible and I will report more on that another time.

On Tuesday, we went to another mall where they have a nice art store. Susan knows that I enjoy painting and so we checked it out to see what things they have there. It is certainly not like what I am used to here but they have a lot of the same supplies and it will be fun to do some painting. Jeff was with us and we went to a little area by the mall that has So. African crafts. We picked up a few items there but Susan said to wait for shopping till we could go to a better market.

One of our missionaries from the Missouri Independence Mission is from JoBurg. His name is Elder Slater. We have not had any contact with him since our mission and we fully expected to never see him again. I had mentioned to Sister Martineau about him and that I doubted we would even run into him in So. Africa - since it is such a huge place. When we walked into the office on Tuesday afternoon, a young man walked up to me and asked me if I remembered him... I about fell over!!!!!!!! It was our Elder Slater and he works in the Area Office a couple of times a week. He is married with 3 kids and is going to school. What a thrill to see him and surely a TENDER MERCY!