Stuck!

As the time to return home approached, we received a call from our staff in Kinshasa saying that one of the candidates for the presidency of the DRC was coming to the airport the same day that we planned to arrive. They didn't feel like it was a good idea for us to be at the airport that day, so our stay was lengthened. We'd planned to fly on Fri. There are no flights to Kinshasa on Saturday and so we rebooked for Sunday. Being STUCK in Johannesburg certainly isn't the worst thing that could happen, but it was just another test of how flexible we can be. How long can one live without a blow dryer? We were also getting anxious about the things that we needed to do at home. We were supposed to speak in a Stake Conference on Sunday and felt badly about not being there. But we are making sure to be prudent in all the things we do, so we stayed for two more days.

Thanks to the wonderful Area President, we were allowed to stay in the residence of the Area Presidency. They have an apartment that is empty since the Claytons, who actually graduated from Highland High School with me and are coming to serve as area legal council, are still in SLC awaiting visas. We had a beautiful and convenient place to stay and a car with a GPS. The house is on the same property as the temple, area offices and distribution center. So, it was a great place to be staying in order to get a few things done while "stuck" in JoBurg. We were also pretty ready to leave hotel living after a full week, so we were most grateful for the kindness extended.

The "White House," as most missionaries call it, is a beautiful old mansion that has been converted into the living space for the three members of the Area Presidency, the area attorney and their families. With my love of architecture and old places, it was a dream to stay there. It's actually called the "Endulini House" The name is Zulu for "on the hill." It was built in 1937 and owned by the church since 2001.

The house is beautiful inside and out. Brent even got to watch a little BYU sports and it was about the first time in five months that I've seen him so relaxed.

While staying there we got to do some work with people in the area office, go to the temple, have a nice meal out with the Elder and Sister Soares and one with Elder and Sister Webb, the area PEF directors. Every senior couple and area staff member we met treated us kindly and were so helpful to us. What great people are serving in the SE Africa area!

We also spent a great day with the Harms and two new PA couples who had just arrived from the US. But that's for another blog. Being "stuck" was actually quite a sweet blessing and all was well when we arrived home in Kinshasa.