Signs and Sayings

These are some photos that just don't fit into any specific category.

This is a great party recipe!

They are not afraid to share their spirituality in public. 

Instead of bumper stickers they sometimes use window stickers.

One of our favorite charities that our daughter Leslie has done 10 medical missions with.

Cape Town

During the Christmas holidays, the Area Offices tend to empty out and the work flow slows to a trickle.  It is a great time to take the opportunity to see some more of this amazing country.  We decided to go to Cape Town since we were not sure we would get any other chance.  During the holidays many South Africans go to Cape Town so it gets crowded and sometimes things are all booked up.  We were able to find a flight to Cape Town and we were very fortunate to find a rental car, a hotel in Cape Town and a B&B in George so we booked them while we still could.  The Winns had already made reservations so we managed to link up some of the time with their schedule.  The Deamers also came down at the last minute and got a great deal so all of us did Table Mountain, Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, the Castle of Good Hope, and the Two Oceans Aquarium together.  It was super enjoyable but your heart really went out to the people down there with the severe drought they have been experiencing.  They are talking about the city running out of water about the 12th of April if they do not get any rain.  Our overall impression is that Cape Town, known as the Mother City, is definitely a slower pace than Joburg and not only more laid back, but friendlier and safer.

We flew into Cape Town got our rental car and then drove the Garden Route over to George. We enjoyed the area around George and also over at Knsyna where the Winns were staying.  We had "pudding" at Elder Jacque Van Reenan's home in George.  We learned that pudding means dessert not necessarily pudding.   We had waffles and some super delicious homemade ice cream.

The Knysna Heads (or narrows) where the boats have to navigate into the bay.

The wharf in Knysna at sunset.

Cape Aguilhas where the warmer greener Indian Ocean meets the colder darker Atlantic Ocean

The Cape Aguilhas lighthouse. 

The Southernmost tip of Africa where the two oceans meet.

The view of Cape Town from Signal Hill.

Table Mountain - the most famous landmark in Cape Town.

The cable car up to the top of Table Mountain.

Cape Town - The Mother City from Table Mountain.

The imfamous Robbin Island where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned.

A Rock Dossie eating bushes on the top of Table Mountain.  It is closely related to the elephant.

Sister Sharon Winn and Sister Evelyn Deamer admiring a handmade quilt at the Kirstenbosch Gardens gift shop.

The Winns, the Whytes and the Deamers on the elevated canopy walk above the tree tops in Kirstenbosch Gardens.

The South African penguins (formerly called Jackass penguins) at Boulders Beach.

Penguins nesting on the beach.  Sometimes they steal some nesting material from a neighbor.

The clouds flow down the face of Table Mountain like vapors from dry ice.

Table Mountain from the Victoria & Alford wharf.

South Africa - A Land of Contrasts

One of the things you see in South Africa is so many contrasts.

Big cities and small villages.  Big mansions and tiny metal shacks.  Great wealth and great poverty.  From mountains to deserts, from palm trees to baobab trees.  Penguins to elephants and hippos.  South Africa seems to have a little bit of everything.

A view of Cape Town from Signal Hill.  Cape Town is a large metropolitan city.  It is known as the "Mother City" of South Africa.

Just a picture of some of the humble homes found in the villages or townships.  These areas are often found close to the cities as well as out in rural areas.

                                   One of the large mansions located on a hillside in Cape Town.

                              Some of the humble shacks made from corrugated metal scraps.

You can find the very large incredible elephants....

or the much smaller incredible penguins who are so fun to watch!

We have palm trees...

and  Baobab trees...

... and beautiful Jacarandas trees.

The Office

Both Sherry and I work at the Area Offices.  Her office is located on the second floor across from the Humanitarian Department.  Her days are full helping process missionary applications from the Southeast Area of Africa and to prepare them to be presented to the Area Presidency.  Once they are approved, she assists in the preparation of the applications to be submitted to Church Headquarters for Mission calls.  She has learned a lot about various software programs like Word, Excel and some specialized software programs that are used to facilitate the processing of the files that she deals with, including a new program written for her Department to use. In her position, she reports to and receives her assignments from Sister Martha Ludwig (who serves as an Assistant Executive Secretary).  In addition, Sherry sends many emails to Stake and Mission Presidents and works closely with the Area Medical Advisor and his wife (Elder and Sister Johnson).  Truly, it is a great team to work with.

Sherry at her desk with her two monitors, working on missionary applications. (For those of you who know Sherry you will see she has lots of bright sticky notes.)


About once a week,  Sherry helps tend the children at the temple annex ("Gatehouse") for those who have come from other parts of South Africa or from other countries in the Africa Southeast Area (like the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Angola, Zimbabwe, Botswana, etc.) who are waiting to be sealed to their parents in the Temple for all eternity. Most of the time, the children do not speak English which always makes it a little challenging, but it is amazing how well they manage.  And knowing Sherry, you know how much she loves serving there!  Often they have French, Portuguese, Malagasy and a host of tribal languages all being spoken on different weeks and sometimes, several languages on the same day.

                       Here are five children waiting to be sealed to their parents for all eternity.

Sometimes Sherry has to draft her "Assistant" to help out.  Even if he can't speak Zulu, he can speak "Lego."

          Sometimes the children like to be carried like their mother's carry them  bundled on their backs.

Sometimes you entertain the children, and sometimes they entertain you.  Some of these children are amazing. It is obvious to see this child knows his Primary songs!        

 


The Office of General Counsel where I work is on the first floor across from the IT Department.  It is a small very compact office with 4 attorneys and two Legal Coordinators.  It may be small and cozy but it is a happy, supportive, and friendly environment.  When an older gentleman was here from Salt Lake meeting with us about Church History records, we got joking around with him and laughing and he commented it was definitely different than the last legal office he visited.  We really do try to help each other as we get promptings on the different issues.  It can be very stressful dealing with many of the issues that come up and one really needs to rely upon the Lord for guidance. We also enjoy being together outside of the office and have taken opportunities to visit wildlife reserves on our preparation days, exploring the area or getting together for meals  My boss, Bryan Jackson and his wife Tina are outstanding.  They see their job as trying to make sure the senior missionaries have positive and spiritual experiences.  And they do a great job of it.  We also enjoy reaching out to other missionary couples who serve in different departments to join when we go as an office to the Temple on Friday evenings or out to dinner.  Truly, we have loved serving in the Area Offices and getting to enjoy so many missionary couples.  We may not serve in the same departments, but we are each doing our part to further the Gospel here in Africa. It is amazing the love and support you feel from these great missionaries.  They each have been examples to us.

      This is part of the Area Office Complex.  We park underneath.  The main doors are to the right.

The Area Offices are responsible for 32 African countries and Islands off the coast of Africa.  We have a Church presence in about 26 of them at the present time.

                  The entrance to our small office.  I work in the small office behind the gray door.

Here is my boss Bryan Jackson and his wife Tina.  This picture was taken on Heritage Day.  Our legal coordinators gave our wives Zulu hats that are worn by married women.  Tina is also wearing a beaded necklace that is common here.

This is Zanele Dlamini who is a legal Coordinator in the office.  She is the font of all the Corporate knowledge with over 10 years experience.  She is going to law school at nights. and is the mother of an 8 year old.  She keeps all of us out of trouble, but she sure can load me up with work.

This is Dorcus Murumo who is our second Legal Coordinator.  She has about 8 years of experience and she too is going to law school.  She also has a daughter and leads an incredibly full life.  Her husband is a Bishop and up until recently, she has been serving as their Stake Young Women President.

This is Elder Winn from Saint George who shares the small office with me.   He handles most of the HR matters because of his background.  He was my sponsor in the Air Force when I finished law school 39 years ago, and was transferred to South Dakota.  We worked for a man named Bryan.  Now 39 years later, I was his sponsor when he was assigned here to South Africa where we again work for a man named Bryan.  There is a certain symmetry in life.

 

This is Mike Deamer the other Associate Area Legal Counsel.  He and Evelyn are from Centerville where he was mayor, a highly successful attorney in private practice, and an assistant Utah Attorney General.  Mike handles most of the land acquisition issues and many other difficult issues such as those directly involving missionaries.   It is a toss-up as to who is funnier, Mike or Rod.

And finally, here I am working at my desk.  We all have two computer monitors and I wonder how we ever managed with just one.  I don't think Sherry will want to go back to a single monitor either. Africa is so big and has so many countries! The map behind me helps me see where the all the various cities are in the different countries we work with and how to spell them.  It is truly amazing to see the Gospel of Jesus Christ roll forth among so many nations.