This is Africa

We had a great week in Namibia although we wondered why the plane was landingout in the desert without any civilization in sight. Our flight got us intoNamibia on Sunday afternoon. We breezed past the passport checks, picked up our luggage without delay and only had a problem when we got to the Avis rental car desk. They had given away our scheduled car because we weren't there to pick itup at 8 am. Well, our flight didn't even get in until after 2 pm so how could we have picked it up in the morning?? We have a popular saying over here whenever something goes a little haywire, "This is Africa!" It was appropriatefor this moment. We eventually were given a little green Nissan to drive and we were off toWindhoek...47 kilometers away. I think they want the city to grow towards the airport some day.Namibia is a desert country reminding us a bit of Utah...instead of scrub oak it had plenty of small thorny trees all over the hills and valleys. Our trip upto the northernmost border was fun because we had to slow down for wart hogs running across the street and children walking on the roadside going home from school. We got many smiles and waves. We saw ostriches, springbok, gemsbok andmany colorful birds. There were hundreds, possibly thousands, of termite mounds all along the way, the picture shows how tall they can be. Sorry to say your dad killed two birds, two spiders (not so sorry) and about five jokes on this trip! We were taken to one of the bore holes sites that will be drilled next month. Two pictures were taken in this area, the one with your dad, Mr. Mpareke and Mr.Livingi, and a curious villager and the other with the lady carrying water intwo containers. Those poor women have to walk so far to get that dirty water out of the river and then they also have to be careful because there are crocodiles and hippos in it. The site for the borehole is surrounded by many little villages with huts built of sticks and grass. The remainder of our trip was spent in Windhoek visiting government leaders and non-profit organizations to see if we can be of assistance to the people ofNamibia. Our best contact was with the manager of the hotel where we were staying the last three nights. Once she found out what we were up to, she offered the hotel's used blankets, bedspreads, curtains and bags of soap that could be used for children's homes or the poor. We have put our Public Affairs Person onto the task. The last picture shows some of the circumstances that thousands of people live in...the structure to the right is an out house and this one is in better shape than most we saw. It absolutely breaks your heart to see the humble conditions of these people. Give everyone our best, tell Ashton that we wish we could hear his talk Sunday and we are proud of his decision to serve as we are of Cade.

Rhino-Lion Park

Yesterday the Rhino-Lion park was so amazing. The timing was perfect for getting the most out of each animal grouping. We were just six feet away from a huge rhino who walked over to the car to check us out. Good thing that rhino's are very near sighted...seeing us clearly might have agitated him and we would have had a completely different experience. We were able to get almost as close to the lions. The park workers fed the wild dogs, cheetahs and a pride of lions. My, the male lions get grumpy when the females try to get their part of the meal!! There was a large amount of growling and swatting going on. After seeing them have their meals it put us all in the mood for barbecued ribs!

Wildebeest etc.

Hope this email sent today is a precursor to lots of pictures don't you?

We are excited to go to the Rhino-Lion park tomorrow but we're really getting excited to go on our trip to Namibia. The fellows from physical facilities heard we were going there so they came and gave us lots of suggestions; like where we can stay, take water and food on our long drive up north, drive only in the day because there will be animals all over the roads...wort hogs, cattle, sheep, goats, elephants, wildebeest etc. We are going to have our camera ready at all times.

Brain Strain

I slaved over a letter to the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education in Namibia today to have him request a career workshop for schools in his area. I'm sure he, along with the other ministers I wrote today, will pull out their red pencils to make corrections on my compositions. Man, this is the hardest part of my calling!! People walking by my desk probably wonder why I'm pulling such faces. "Brain Strain."During the lunch hour the sister's around the office worked hard tying quilts for an orphanage. They were made with a cute I AM CHILD OF GOD motif in the middle so not only will they keep the children warm physically but they will start learning who they really are.In an hour we will be on a conference call from Salt Lake concerning a measles immunization program for Lesotho in September. We are full of questions so we're happy for the opportunity to get them answered.

Loose Your Noodle

Hello dear ones,We have been on the learning edge again this week. Last Friday I had sent out an email to three different entities in Lesotho regarding a shipment of wheelchairs. I had suggested that they get in communication with each other to determine the date, time and place for the presentation of the chairs. Well, on Monday I received a phone call from the Queen's secretary (one of the emails went to her), and she informed me that it was ONLY the queen's call as to date, time and place, the others wouldn't have any say in the matter. 'Do you understand that?' she asked me. Dah...of course I do. It only takes me once to be hit over the head before I understand!!We are hoping they remember to invite us to the event.Last night, Terry and I were put in charge of Family Home Evening for all the missionary couples and a member of our Area Presidency. It was a farewell dinner for one of our couples who will be leaving next month. We decided to have fun by having them order their items from a menu which was a 'little vague' on what the items actually were ie sticker picker, toasted igloo, hunter's special, and festival fluff. It was pretty funny to see the combinations of items go out to the different people. Included in the items were also the utensils so some people had food to eat but no civilized way to do it. One brother was eating his kernels of corn one at a time with his toothpick. Anyway they all had a good laugh and no one left hungry. We were relieved to have it over.We are still loving the work and the people and we just received word that the truck to Lesotho that we loaded last week is now in the process of being unloaded. Soon the orphans will have some blankets to stay warm through this winter.We miss you all and love you.Kris and Terry

Lights out

We have spent some time the last two days at the warehouse and in the process have met some more wonderful people. Yesterday, Sister Parmley (her husband will be the new Area President soon) picked up some blankets and toys for a day care and orphanage, Bishop Mabunda and his brother gathered quilts for poor people in his ward boundaries and our stake president came for a wheelchair for a sister in his stake. Today we had three returned missionaries there to help us load the truck with blankets and hygiene kits for Lesotho. They had walked for an hour to be there and were very hard workers. We asked one of the missionaries how many languages he spoke...he said four! That isn't the exception, either. They are very intelligent people.The electricity went off last night at our apartment building so we stayed at the mall and went to a movie...might as well be warm and have some entertainment too! The other couples said it got very cold in their apartments so most just went to bed!well 'they' are coming in to spray the carpet with antistatic solution so we have to vacate the building.

Scraps for the Orphans

Do your kids like to cut up paper? There is a lady here in St. George who makes books out of magazine scraps IE images of happy babies and kids, fresh food such as fruit, veggies, natural things (nothing like pizzas or casseroles or fast food. Basically any kind of food that has been prepared because these kids will never see these luxuries) cartoon characters, pretty scenery. Nothing commercial like cars, electronics or things of monatary value.
The finished product is bright, fun and laminated. She told me these books are sometimes the only possession these kids can call their own. So if you are hard up for something to do with the kiddies one day this summer see how they like cutting up your old magazines and then you can send them to me (sushicat) and I'll pass them on to her. She will be thrilled.