Happenings of the week 29 March - 4 April

Our weather has been warmer than usual, so the locals are telling us, plus we were here last year and remember a chill in the air around this time. The air con unit has been running on and off throughout the week, but Sunday afternoon the temperatures dropped dramatically and it looks like a storm is brewing.

Monday afternoon we spent downloading a patriarchal blessing and with our FHE missionary couples. Missed having the Pier's join us, as they had been planning to come early for Zone Conference on Tuesday. One of our elders up in Richard's Bay is battling a recurrence of malaria (brought with him from his home country) and had to be admitted to the hospital, so mom and dad Pier were staying close by in case they were needed. The young elders come to love and appreciate the couples and the feelings go both ways, knowing this from personal experience. Sister Mann has said that when transfer time comes around and the elders find out their new assignments, one of the first things they ask, "Is there a couple in the area?" (Another plug for so needed couples!)

Tuesday was Zone Conference and the mission was introduced to their new president and his wife through pictures and a personal letter read by President Mann from President James Von Stetten. The Von Stetten's came to South Africa with us as missionaries and were serving in the Johannesburg Area Office with the PEF program, when they received this new mission call. It was quite a surprise when they shared with us in February, the location of their mission - South Africa Durban!

A great deal of our week has been spent in our home office updating records and making ready detailed information about how we go about our PEF work, so that the Allen's (our replacement) might have a base to start from. Also, we want them to feel comfortable in their surroundings and as they have indicated to us through e-mail, they want perimeter security and walking areas, we spent a little time Friday searching for a new boarding and then joined Elder and Sister Cox for lunch. It was without success and we only wish we could magically pick up our flat and move it in closer to Pinetown and Berea chapels, where we do much of our work. This boarding has been wonderful for us, and we love our views, the fruit and especially our monkeys who keep us entertained periodically, but it doesn't meet the criteria that the Allen's desire. Speaking of our friends the monkeys - they were back in full force on Friday morning and had so much energy that it made us tired just listening to them run back and forth on the roof, then jump off and catch a tree branch, swing to and fro.

Some letter sounds in the Zulu language are made by different sounding clicks. These sounds we have been able to master, but not incorporate into the word itself. During one of our visits with Patriarch Courtney, we shared our interest in these incredible sounds and his face lit up. There is a song in the South African culture called "The Click Song" and he wanted to share it with us. Back in November, he made reservations for the Mickelsen's and Courtney's to attend Diamonds & Dust, where "The Click Song" would be performed. April 3rd rolled around faster than we thought and Saturday evening we attended a live performance at The Barnyard Theatre at the famous Gateway Mall. What an experience, starting off with our dinner, one we have never had. The seats for the theatre surround picnic style tables, plus there is seating on different tiers overlooking the floor which have a shelf that is used as a table. People bring in their dinner to eat before and during the performance and we were treated by a wonderful little banquet prepared by the patriarch himself. Out of a freezer bag, he pulled four trays and placed one in front of each of us, containing fruit and veggies, egg salad finger sandwiches, samoosas, grilled curried chicken on a skewer, all beautifully arranged. Don't know how the food stayed as he had placed it during the car trip. During the intermission, out from the bag came individual cups of trifle to finish off our dinner. The theatre doesn't allow the patrons to bring any drinks in, but supplies pitchers of water, which we took full advantage of. As for the musical production, the brochure says it all - "We South Africans are fiercely proud, unquestionably patriotic, need no reason to party, and this year we have reached our finest hour as we prepare to embrace the 2010 FIFA World Cup. This is a feel-good production which tugs mercilessly at the heartstrings, and features instantly recognizable songs that are now an intrinsic part of all South Africans lives." It was non-stop singing and dancing for nearly two hours and as the audience begins to participate, the building really rocks! The music was almost totally unfamiliar to us, with the exception of The Lion Sleeps Tonight, but the whole evening was unforgettable. Patriarch Courtney has really taken care of us while we have been here in Durban and our work with the patriarchal blessings and his lively personality will be greatly missed.

This is General Conference weekend, but not for us here in South Africa. It has been decided that on the 24-25 April weekend, all the units will have a conference weekend. The DVDs will be sent to every unit to be shown locally in order to help the people have the experience of seeing all of the sessions. Because of time differences and transportation costs, the most any of the people see is two sessions. So the priesthood leadership is really looking forward to this, and so we will wait patiently to see General Conference. We did cheat a little by checking out some conference highlights on the Internet!

Advertisement for the stage production we attended at the Barnyard Theatre

called Diamonds & Dust

Pictures taken from the website for the production - the bottom picture is the audience who all sit at tables and enjoy a self catered picnic dinner before the show. There were flags displayed on the tiers, representing the countries participating in the FIFA 2010 World Cup.

The following photos were taken two weeks ago as we drove through Golden Gate Highlands National Park on our way home from Lesotho

Entering the park - reminded us of southern Utah

The park had one resort with lodging

The park has some wildlife including baboons

Roan antelope checking out the tourists

As always - zebra

Leaving the park