Cheetah Preserve- November 2011

At the end of the seminar we were bussed out into the countryside to a cheetah preserve.

We were amazed how much the landscape reminded us of the trip to Payson, Arizona. We even thought that we saw Saguaro cactus dotting the hills. Sister Packer told me that they were aloe vera. They must be a distant cousin to the aloe vera that we know in Arizona. They had tall stems and then leaves just at the top. We felt like we were in the rim country heading for a little family camp-out at Ponderosa Camp grounds.

The DeWildt Cheetah and Wildlife Center started when a lady who owned a farm bought two little orphan cheetah cubs. Now the farm has become a wildlife preserve for over 80 predators.

We rode in open vehicles through both caged and open areas. We saw some interesting cats, vultures and brown hyaenas in cages and then moved on to the open areas with wild dogs, antelope and cheetahs. The guides were very knowledgeable. I loved hearing every detail of the animals' habits and characteristics.

Next we saw the wild dogs. I've never been a great lover of wild dogs, although I do love domestic dogs. But after hearing about their habits, I like them much more. They live in families and they are very protective of their own. Babies and the weak who are not able to care for themselves are left in the den and taken care of by the other dogs. A runt is also left at home during hunting to guard the weak in the den. After the hunt the strong bring food and feed the weaker animals before they eat. With most predators the strong get the food and then the others eat the scraps. Wild dogs won't leave others behind if they are injured or lost. They take care of the family, hunt together and have a protective society.

They are, however, the fiercest hunters in the savannah. They hunt in packs and only eat fresh meat. Wild dogs are the killers of prey and then they must eat all they can very quickly before other larger predators come and take the kill away. Now we can tell grand kids not to eat like wild dogs!

The animals are fed by hand and do not prey on other animals like in game parks. We were able to see some feeding times. We were surprised to see the handlers walk right over and put the food in trays without being bothered by the dogs and cats. After the dogs devoured the meat, they went to the pool,drank and splashed in the water. Then they took a rest in the shade.

They seem like they'd make nice little family pets, but watch them eat. You'll change your mind.

We also saw a large herd of antelope and some interesting birds along the way.

Next, it was time for the CHEETAHS.

It wasn't quite feeding time and the cheetahs just weren't all that interested in coming out of the shade on this hot day. So, the guide and animal feeder went looking for them. We couldn't believe that they just wandered off into cheetah country. All in a day's work.

After considerable coaxing the cheetahs decided it was a good idea to have a little snack

and devoured the horse meat roasts in a minute.

The last thing we did was pet a cheetah. The handlers train some of the cats to be quite obedient and docile. However, Roy, the cheetah, did occasionally decide he wanted to get down from the table or didn't want to be bothered by people. Then those who were with him had to stand back until he decided it was time to play again. He was pretty much in charge of how playtime went.

Packers and Jamesons with Roy, the Cheetah

It was a great day with the predators of the Wildt Center!

Mission Presidents' Seminar-November 2011

We just got home from ten days in Johannesburg where we had an extraordinary time. We arrived two days before the mission presidents' seminar because there are no planes that go to JoBurg on Sat. and we didn't want to travel on Sunday. This extra time also gave us a chance to do a little shopping for things we can't get in the Congo. The Packers from Lubumbashi mission (and our past mission president) were also there early. They had a car and, having lived in Johannesburg on their earlier missions, knew their way around and were kind enough to take us with them shopping all day Saturday. We mostly bought staple things that we can't get in the Congo like oatmeal, granola bars, staples and boring stuff like that, but we did venture into the African market and had fun looking at and playing with African souvenirs.

That evening we went to dinner at the home of one of Packers' good friends from their days in JoBurg. It was really nice to be in the home of a real member in South Africa. This was a great family and we appreciated the hospitality of the family.

The Rawlings family- Brigid, Rob, Liam (leaning), Kit, Annie, (hidden) and Katie

Sunday we attended the Ennerdale branch which is located south of Soweto. It is held in a modular church building that they had put in several places in South Africa. It think it's a great idea. It was much nicer than any rented building in the Congo. It was a sweet, little branch and we enjoyed sharing this Sunday with them. We love going to small units.

Johannesburg is so different from the Congo. It's a beautiful modern city and I kept feeling like I was back in the US. We spent most of our time in the upscale areas and it seemed like San Francisco. It was hard to imagine that we were in Africa. There are very poor areas that they call "townships," but I don't think that there is the large scale poverty that there is in the Congo. At least we didn't see it.

We happened to be there when the Jacaranda trees are in bloom and they were magnificent. Trees were everywhere. Some streets looked as if they were covered with purple snow. Beautiful!

This is taken from the area office and home. his is the street in front of the temple.

The real reason that we were in Johannesburg was to attend the mission presidents' seminar. Each year during the month following General Conference the Area Authorities in the South East Africa Area hold a mission presidents' seminar. It's a time of instruction, fellowship and sharing of ideas of the eleven mission presidents in our area. The conference lasted three days and was wonderful as they brought information, instructions and enlightenment from the other general authorities with whom they'd recently met.

We stayed in the beautiful Michelangelo Hotel and held our meetings with the other presidents and the Area Presidency, Elders Renlund, Soares and Cook and their wives. It's a world class hotel and quite stunning, especially to those of us who were coming from impoverished countries. It was a bit hard to even remember that such places exist in the world.

The hotel was connected to the Sandton and Nelson Mandela malls. There were many good restaurants and shops and a fun courtyard where we walked in the evenings. The Christmas decorations were beginning to appear and it was just like a fairyland setting.

But all of this beauty was far surpassed by the seminar itself. Everything else was just frills compared to the meetings in which we were involved. The daily instruction was so helpful and uplifting and we learned things that gave us a new vision of how we're called to help "establish the church firmly" in these new nations. Tracy Watson came from the missionary department in SLC and did excellent training and the teaching of the area presidency was inspiring and motivating in every way. The time just flew by and we wished for more. It was a spiritually nourishing experience and we were honored to be there.

As part of our seminar we were able to go as a group to the Johannesburg temple. It was wonderful to be there and even better to share this experience with these great people. We were also about to go on the extra Saturday that we had to stay on in JoBurg. Going to the temple is such a blessing. Can't wait for the day when the people of the DRC have this blessing.

Our good friends- Packers from Lubumbashi Mission and Woods from Cape Town Mission

We love our area presidency. We also came to love, respect and learn from each of the unique couples who serve as mission presidents and wives in the South East Africa area.