Elder Jeffrey R. Holland ( a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles) is here in Johannesburg for what they call “Area Review”—he looks at what's happening throughout the 37 countries in the Southeast Africa Area to be sure that everything is moving along properly.  The Area Presidency has been preparing for this for weeks and there has been a lot of tension in the offices.  Elder Holland has been here all week training local priesthood leaders and meeting with different groups.  

I have been helping the Public Affairs office prepare for a very big event set for Thursday.  It was the launch of the MormonNewsroom.ca.za –a website for all news media to go to for information about the Church in Africa—with links to the Church’s official newsroom for any answers to questions about the doctrine or organization.  We rented a huge tent, prepared a multi-media presentation with two big screens, sent invitations to all the big wigs in the South Africa media world, prepared a luncheon and special gift bags for all.  It was a BIG DEAL!  On Wednesday, I was running back and forth between the offices and the tent preparing lots of flowers, and I just happened upon Elder Holland, Elder Clayton and Elder Renlund walking through the parking area.  It was a sweet moment to shake their hands and speak briefly with an Apostle of the Lord.  He was very kind and friendly.

Yesterday, Thursday, we were all invited to a special devotional for employees and couple missionaries working in the Area Office, where Elder Holland, Elder and Sister Whitney Clayton and Elder & Sister Renlund spoke.  Elder Clayton used D&C 123:16-17 “…a very large ship is benefited very much by a very small helm in the time of a storm, by being kept workways with the wind and the waves.  Therefore…let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed.”    He said it takes each of our small parts to keep the huge ship of the Church on course and moving ever forward (at an ever accelerated pace) in the storm of a turbulent world.

Elder Holland said that, after the announcement a couple of weeks ago in General Conference of the change in age of young missionaries, the Church would be creating 50 new missions and there will soon be 80,000 missionaries throughout the world.  He talked about the accelerated, dynamic angle of progress of this Kingdom—beyond anything in history—ours is the only dispensation that can say that the Gospel will never again be taken from the earth.  All prophets of old knew that everything they were doing would lead to this time, to our day.  We bear a heavy responsibility to carry the legacy of all who paid the price in previous dispensations.  After the devotional, all were invited to shake Elder Holland’s hand and at the end of the line, Dave and I had our picture taken with him.

After the devotional, we had the media event, which went well.  I was working with registration and missed the things happening in the tent, but heard that Elder Holland gave a beautiful message there, as well.

Lerato and me at the registration table--we were freezing cold!  It's supposed to be springtime here, but winter is reluctant to leave.

October 2

Sean Donnelly (the ASEA Public Affairs Director who I now serve as a secretary/assistant) invited Dave and myself to go on a “Rhino Capture” with him, his wife and several other missionary couples.  He’s part of a conservation group here in South Africa who are trying to prevent rhinos from being poached.  Hundreds of them are killed every year (over 400 to date this year)—even in the National Parks and protected reserves—because their horns are so valuable.  In China, Vietnam and other Asian countries, the ground up horns are considered to be an aphrodesiac and to cure cancer and other illnesses.  Per kilo, it is worth more than gold or pure heroin on the black market—between $300,000 and $500,000 a horn.  Many people are very poor here and are willing to risk their lives for that kind of money.  It’s so sad—they usually use an axe to extract the horn and just leave the animal to die.

We were part of an effort to protect them—in an interesting way.  We drove about 6 hours into a private reserve called Klasseri that connects with the thousands of acres of  Kruger Park.  

We spent Saturday on Safari in Kruger and saw many beautiful animals—lots of elephants, kudu, impala, giraffe, cape buffalo, jackel, hippo, etc.  On Sunday we had a Sacrament Meeting together with the approval of the Area Presidency (Dave gave a wonderful talk) and then we were on the road at 5:45 AM on Monday morning.  

This is a black backed jackel

Zebras are like a human fingerprint--no two stripe patterns are alike.

These two hippos were doing a mating dance--it was actually a graceful maneuvering of their mouths for a long period of time in the water.

Out on the reserve, we met up with the vet, his assistant and the head ranger.  While we waited for the helicopter, they explained what we would be doing and gave assignments to everyone. 

The vet and his assistant carefully prepared the tranquilizer darts and other medications.

This is the air rifle used to shoot the tranquilizer dart into the rump of the rhino.  Apparently there is one place that is soft enough for the needle to get through the tough skin.

We were all involved—someone had a cloth to cover the rhino’s eyes, someone had some wads of socks to put in the ears, someone had to monitor the number of breaths per minute, someone was assigned to put a special cream in the eyes, etc.  Because I had just had a birthday, I got to ride in the helicopter when the vet shot the tranquilizer into the rump of the rhino.   First, the helicopter went up and located and identified the rhino they wanted, then he came back to the group and picked up the vet and me.  I had borrowed a movie camera so I could film the whole thing—I felt terrible pressure to do that well!   What a glorious experience it was for me—just amazing to fly over the vast expanse of Africa and see the animals and endless bush below me.  

There were no doors on the helicopter--the sides were just wide open--what a thrill ride!

We flew down low and the vet shot the dart right into the rump of the rhino—one of a group of four—a young female.  It was so touching to me to watch how the other three stayed with her—even as she began to be drugged and to fall.  When the helicopter came down to land, they finally, reluctantly left her and ran away. 
If you look closely, you can see the dart with a bright pink feather in the one in the center.

The helicopter hearded her a little bit to keep her from going into thick bush--we needed her out in the open where we could work on her.

 As soon as she was darted, the vet radioed the group and they raced across the savannah toward where we were hovering over her—it probably took them about 10 minutes to get there—and then everyone sprung into action.  Dave and some of the other men pushed her from her side into a lying upright position and held her there so she could breathe better. 

I jumped out of the helicopter and immediately began filming the safari vehicles racing toward us to get to work.

As the medication began to take effect, she fell down and the vets quickly began stabilizing her.

 She went onto her side and the men had to push her upright so that she could breathe better.  It took a lot of strength to hold her in that position.

  The vet put an IV into a vein in her ear so they could give her medications.  DNA samples were taken, they drilled a hole in each horn and placed trackable microchips in each one (then filled in the holes with glue and a wood plug—you couldn’t even tell where the hole had been).  Then they notched her ears in such a way that from the air they could recognize exactly which rhino she is and can keep track of her.  She was number 160 to have this procedure done in that particular reserve—though many others have been done elsewhere.  She began to shake and quiver a little and I just wanted so badly to comfort her—we all named her Sister Lulu.  Her vital signs were being monitored constantly and records were being kept on everything. 

 They monitored her vital signs continually.

Here they are clamping off the edges of the newly notched ear.  They have a unique way of numbering them with the notches and can identify each one.  Below you can see the notch clearly.  That is Dave in the foreground taking the surgical clamps off.

 Finally, when all was finished, we went back to the safari vehicles and watched while the vet administered the antidote and removed the needle.  Within 3-4 minutes she was recovering and trying to stand up.  In 5-10 minutes she was walking around trying to figure out what had happened to her and where her family had gone.  A field ranger was going to stay near her all day to just be sure she was fine, and we reluctantly left her.  

She's beginning to come around!

Struggling to get on her feet!

 She's upright--if a little wobbly!

She takes off to find her family--

Turns to us and nods as if to say "good-bye and thank you"--

And then takes off into the bush!

The tracking devices have been a big deterrent to the poachers to this date in the areas where they have been implemented-- and our efforts might just protect her from losing her life.  We sure hope so!  We feel very attached to one sweet African rhino--our dear little "Sister Lulu."

On Wednesday, September 13, we flew to Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo.  With 70-90% unemployment and many social and political problems, we knew it was a poor and backward country, but we were still amazed by our experiences there.   Everywhere were masses of people walking, many carrying loads of things on their heads—baskets of bread, boxes of vegetables, packets of wood—everything!   And everywhere are little stands with people selling anything they can put together to sell.  The streets are literally lined with people selling everything imaginable—and throngs of people just walking somewhere—everywhere.  The streets are mostly dirt—so there is dust and dirt and mud everywhere.  It’s all so colorful, though, because most of the women wear the traditional African dresses out of bright prints with matching dukes (fabric wrapped on their heads).  Even the men often have colorful outfits.  There is a lot of trash all over the ground and the traffic is bad because there aren’t any traffic lights—it’s kind of a free-for-all on the roads.  Fortunately we always had a local driver taking us wherever we went.  

However, in all of this, we found the members of the Church to be so wonderful—so full of hope and happiness in the midst of struggling lives.  We attended Church on Sunday, and even though it was all in French, I felt the Spirit and truly enjoyed every minute of it.  We saw the piece of land that has been chosen for the new Kinshasa temple and felt the enthusiasm of the people for that temple.  I wish we could be here to see it completed and be part of the joy that will bring.   Here is a picture from the temple lot looking toward the existing stake center and seminary/institute building on the property.  The church buildings are the nicest structures in town!

While Dave was working with the local stake presidents and other local priesthood leaders, I went with the mission office couple, the Smiths from SLC, to look at new missionary apartments for some of the young men companionships.  I was shocked at how simply they live and eat, but they are all from the Congo or other similar African countries, so this is actually better than most of them had in their lives before their missions.  We stayed in President & Sister Jameson’s apartment, the mission president, and it was very nice.  Here are some of the sights from the neighborhoods.

On Monday, September 17^th, we crossed the Congo River to Brazzaville, Republic of Congo (a different country).  That was quite an experience.  Someone from the Church Service Center who knows the ropes for this complicated experience, took us to the river.  There he hired a “facilitator” and negotiated a price for him to figure out how to get us across.  He left with our passports and a couple hundred US dollars—and we waited, and waited, and waited in a locked car with the windows rolled up.  I guess the facilitator was negotiating and bribing and doing whatever he had to do to get our passes and tickets—and then he had to find a boat for us to squeeze onto with our luggage (the boat was meant for 10 people and there must have been 20 or more on it with lots of luggage & STUFF).  It took about 3 ½ hours to finally make the 10 minute crossing of the river.  But, when we finally got across, the incredible sights on the Brazzaville side are hard to even describe.  The throngs of people with cargo of every kind trying to get onto boats and barges—everyone talking at once—loudly—people pushing and pressing to move forward when a boat became available.  Handicapped people don’t have to pay for the crossing, so others pay them a small amount to carry cargo across for them.  Many blind people with loads of cargo on their backs were moving toward the boats—holding onto each other in long lines with only the lead person being able to see.   We tried to snap a few pictures without being noticed, but pictures can’t even begin to do it justice. 

We spent a lovely day visiting with members of the Church in Brazzaville and one dear man took us on a long driving tour of the city.  It really is a little better and cleaner than Kinshasa—the economy is somewhat healthier.  The members are so kind and wonderful.  Bishop Gaeton & his wife went to dinner with us in the evening and they gave us beautiful gifts that were way too costly for them.  I received a lovely African dress and Dave an African shirt—they wanted us to have a part of real Africa to take home with us—such generous, good people.  Going back across the river the next day was a complete repeat of the experiences from the day before—3 1/2 hours for a 10 minute crossing.  Dave had encouraged me to read “Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad before we left, and it made the Congo River crossing even more meaningful for me.  It’s the second largest river in Africa, but it actually puts out more water than the Nile River.  Most of the central African rivers flow into it.

In both countries, the people (and particularly the police) are extremely paranoid about anyone taking pictures.  I got into a few bad situations by trying to snap a few with my little phone camera here and there.  I don’t know what they are so worried about—but, you can really get into trouble trying to catch any photo memories.  Most of our pictures were taken quickly from inside a car, through the window glass—but we did end up getting a few good ones.

 This is the huge Congo River--It's not as long as the Nile, but actually sends more water output to the ocean.  You can see the rapids a little bit in the middle of the picture.  Unfortunately, the river is not navigable from the ocean outlet because of these rapids and falls that you can see in the picture.  From Kinshasa north and eastward, it is very navigable all the way into central Africa, however they had to build a railroad from the coast to the city to transport goods.  The railroad was built at terrible cost to human life--and, since almost nothing is produced in DRC--everything must be transported in and is VERY expensive.

 We had lunch at our hotel in Brazzaville with some of the members of the Church.   Neche, on the left, was our driver and negotiator for crossing the river.  The one on the far right is President Boyembe of the Brazzaville stake.  He is also a colonel in the army--a dear, gentle man.

The pictures above and below are just an idea of life near the river.

Several new friends came down to the wharf to say good-bye to us.  What good people!

This was a building in downtown Brazzaville covered with bullet holes from the last revolution.

This is Bishop Gaeton and his wife sharing a dinner with us in one of the nicer restaurants in Brazzaville.  He was the one who went to Gabon with Dave.  His sister was close to government officials there and was able to help them get the signatures needed for the Church to finally be recognized in that country.  He is a very special person!

We just returned from a trip to Kenya.  Dave had to work on some legal issues there and I got to go along for the ride—because we’re missionary companions, I guess.  It was an amazing learning experience.  We spent a lot of time in Nairobi with Elder Morgan and  Sister Ann Harris who are a humanitarian missionary couple serving there for the second time.  They served an 18 month mission in Kenya five years ago.  Actually, this is their third mission—they served two years in Serbia before that—what an amazing couple!  While Dave worked, they took me everywhere around Nairobi—the elephant orphanage, the giraffe house, the famous Kazuri Beads, the Karen Blixen home & museum(“Out of Africa”) and interesting downtown stores.  We spent some time at the LDS Service Center where at least 6 other missionary couples work and where the mission home is located for Kenya and Tanzania.  We met President Broadbent and his wife (mission president) and had dinner with all the other missionary couples.  We went to Church on Sunday with the Harris’ to a local ward and it was wonderful—sweet, dear people.  There is a lot of poverty in Nairobi—people walking everywhere and little stands selling everything imaginable along the roadsides.  The big problem is the traffic.  The roads are narrow, in poor repair and there are no traffic lights.  It’s just a game of “chicken” and a “free-for-all.”  Elder Harris drives just as crazy as everyone else, so we were OK. 

This is the LDS Service Center in Nairobi.  There is a chapel, a large area for Institute & seminary, the mission home, distribution center and many offices for missionaries and other employees.  It is very nice and, as always with the Church, beautifully landscaped and maintained.  We loved the Spirit that we felt there.

 This is the manager of Kazuri Beads.  It was started when an English woman saw a need for homeless single mothers to have a way to make a living.  She got them started making beads with the local clay, bought a kiln to fire them--and today it is a huge business.  They have 345 women working there.  All the beads are hand formed and hand painted and they are fired at least two times in the kilns.  They make really beautiful jewelry and all the tour buses stop here--so they do a great business.

This is the Karen Blixen home.  She left a huge impact in this part of Kenya and, because of her love for and help with caring for and educating the local tribal people, she is highly revered.  The movie "Out of Africa" (which is based on her biography) was filmed in her actual home and property.

This was a picture taken out the window of the car.  This is just a typical sight on the roads of Nairobi.

The elephant orphanage in Nairobi is where baby elephants all over Kenya are brought if their mother has been killed or for some reason can't care for them.  Sadly, may of their mothers are killed by poachers for their ivory and the babies are just left to starve to death.  They have about twenty young elephants they are raising--all ages--from a few weeks old to 4 years.  At 4 years they reintroduce them into the wild and make sure they are accepted into a family group.

 
Warthogs are the funniest creatures!  We saw them all over the Mara.  They eat by getting down on their knees--and apparently are just as comfortable on their knees and their feet.  They are very skittish and run away with their tails straight in the air.  I guess you could say they have a face only a mother could love!