Mission Presidents' Seminar

The month of August has flown by. It's amazing that we've been here for two months already. It seems like a day, but yet, some days seem like a month.

August started with a trip to South Africa to attend the New Mission President's Seminar. The seminar was two days long, but it took us a full day of travel each direction, although it's only about a four-hour flight. There are just a lot of "formalities" getting in and out of Kinshasa. We stayed an extra day because flights only go from Kinshasa to JoBurg on Monday-Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. It was like walking into another world and time when we walked off the plane and into the JoBurg Airport.

It was a great trip. We stayed in the beautiful Sunnyside Hotel near the Area Office. It was a lovely Victorian-looking hotel. I enjoyed every minute of our stay there and just drank in all the beauty and style of the place. In front of the hotel there was a beautiful walkway with trees and grassy areas, fountains, ponds and sculpture lining the walks. I can't say enough about how wonderful it was to see beauty all around us. It's so enjoyable and was a great lift to our spirits.

Inside the hotel was also lovely and the restaurant had good food, good service and great company as we shared meals with the Mission Presidents and wives, with whom we'd been in the MTC and totally enjoy.

The seminar held in the area offices and lunches were in the home of the Area Presidency, a lovely old mansion that has been transformed into living quarters for them.

The area offices where meetings were held and the "White House'" home of the area presidency.

The seminar was very informative and we all learned so many things about how to better run a mission. Questions were answered and we came home better informed and able to get things right in the mission and coordinate with the Area. We enjoyed meals and mingling with the other presidents and wives, with the area presidency and with senior couples serving in the area office.We also got to see some old friends from our first trip to JoBurg and from home. In every way it was just a breath of fresh air for us to be there.

After the seminar was over we had a day to spend in Johannesburg since no flights from JoBurg go to the Congo on Saturday. We were able to attend the temple, which is an unusual blessing for Congo missionaries. We thought of our people in the Congo and their longing to go to the temple. It was a special time for us as the Lord blessed us with feelings and insights that will help us to better serve.

Then the Area Executive Secretary and his wife, the Lewises, were kind enough to drop us off at one of the MALLS in JoBurg. Rosebank Mall is just like any mall in the US and a great place to have lunch and "poke around" a bit. We got a couple of souvenirs, a nice black soapstone family figurine and a batik wall hanging for our bedroom. I had a fun time bargaining with the vendor of the statue. He even had a Book of Mormon to entice me to "help a brother." In the end we both got a good price and it was actually pretty fun.

We found post cards and since they have mail in South Africa, we bought them and sent them to our grand-kids. We went to the grocery store (which is in the mall??) and also got CRACKERS. It's strange what you can't get in the Congo. It seems that they haven't discovered crackers. So we came home with a suitcase full of figures, crackers, marshmallows for RK treats, and pencil holders. What a successful outing at the mall. I dislike the mall at home and avoid it at all cost, but it was a delight to see all the things that felt so much like home.

On our way out the door the "hominess" disappeared as we found ourselves back in Africa as a group of young African drummers gave a street performance right outside the mall. But they were sure fun to watch. Brent especially loved them. It was a great ending to our fun p-day in Johannesburg.