Saying Good Bye

This week 3 of our dear friends finished their missions and left for home. One additional couple was reassigned to Cape Town in the Public Relations department. Even though we have only been here a short time we have come to love these dear people. /The Merrill's, a couple in their late 70's (actually, he is in his 80's), have served 5 missions all somewhere on the African Continent. This assignment was their most comfortable as far as accommodations are concerned. They are going home to visit with their children, but will put their paper in for another mission in May. They plan to leave again in January. He is a retired doctor and fertility specialist whose specialty now is tropical diseases. She is an angel; his support, she tempers his rough exterior, which is charming once one discovers the real Keith. They have 17 children; 4 by birth, 4 adopted and the rest foster children that still call them mom and dad. /Our first encounter with doctor Merrill was Monday of our first full week. He gave us instructions on food safety; what to eat, what to leave alone, and what to Jik (wash in a Clorox solution). He also gave us instructions on how to treat your homes for bug infestation. His remedies were practical in most instances; like how he drinks Coke Zero to keep himself free of worms. If we have any questions, even the slightest, about health issues he wanted to know, now! Prescriptions? We were told to go to the Mall Pharmacy, tell them Dr Merrill said we needed a certain prescription and they sold it to us. We refilled old prescriptions the same way. We just need to mention his name and everyone in the store moved to help us. Talk about old time doctor. He made house calls, went to the hospital with the missionaries if they needed to go, and gave out his own meds to help one through if the store was closed. He always refers to local doctors but checks us to see what our needs might be. The Merrill's love life, they make any party more interesting, and are a joy to be with. Our dinners at "Mike's Place" (a local restaurant they introduced us to) are just not the same. /The Ericksons were our security specialists. He is a retired Spokane Police man, she a retired school teacher. Come to find out they were actually neighbors of Liz and Derek when they lived in Spokane, Washington during their residency time. The Ericksons gave us very specific instruction on what we must do to keep safe. They also had the bars on windows installed to keep our flats as safe as possible. /Also last week we discovered a little about utility service here in Joburg. One day we came home from work to find the electricity off. It seemed a little strange as we approached our street and noticed that the traffic light was not working. The cars seemed to manage taking turns maneuvering through the intersection alright. Then we noticed that there were no lights on our block. We parked in a garage and it was almost dark, but the small emergency lights gave us some direction and we were able to get to our flat. I had flashlights which we were able to find. We could see that the lights were on across the street at the mall so we walked over and spent some time there. We bought some emergency candles and went home. We tried reading by candle light but found our eyes became tired and soon we were ready for bed. At 9 pm we were asleep. That doesn't usually happen, but it was nice. We were both awake by 5 am feeling well rested. The morning came and went without electricity. We got word, from the radio, that repairs were being done and we could expect electricity would be on the following morning about 9 am. So, that's how they do it. No warning, just turn it off, do the work and people go about their business. We lost everything in the fridge, but found we could manage as long as the lights stayed on in the Mall across the street. Some missionaries who have been here awhile shared their experience the time repairs were being done on the water system. The block was without water for 3 days; no warning. They said living with out electricity is a piece of cake. Needless to say we are encouraged to keep a supply of water and emergency supplies. It's not if we will need it, but when. /We attended church in Soweto this past Sunday. The picture of the cooling towers is something we saw on our way to church. It is an incredible piece of art. I could not keep my eyes off of it. The colors are so vivid and the scale is massive. We were told that the towers were unrelated to nuclear but were for a coal plant that is now shut down. There sit the towers, without any use except as someone's pallette. /As with other weeks we were truly spiritually fed at church. The speakers were a 14 yr old boy and a 19 yr old young woman, and Elder Watson a councilor in the Area Presidency. Elder Watson told us he has been reassigned to New Zealand as Area president. The young man told us he and his sister are the only members of the church in their family. He gave one of the best Sacrament Meeting talks I have ever heard on living the gospel and being a good example. She spoke forcefully on working hard and not being lazy. We have been so impressed with the level of spirituality and the knowledge of Jesus Christ and his gospel these people have. They know their scriptures; the Bible and the Book of Mormon. They love the Lord and they speak with such reverence using words and expressions which lift one closer to God. As they pray one cannot help but listen with new ears and a greater desire to be more reverent oneself. /As with other church services we were treated to the music of other congregational choirs during our service. Not far from the Ward house we attended is a large tent structure constructed for church services. The Black African people love to sing and praise the Lord. Their music is full of energy and voices that border new spectrums of sound. It is always wonderful. The neighboring congregation let out just before our service. As we were leaving for home we saw lines and lines of people on the street waiting for their rides home. Most people here travel to and from church and work or where ever they need to go in a "Combie". A Combie is a 14 passenger mini van that is used as a bus/taxi. (see pictures). People wait on corners and give hand signals and the vans will stop (or not) to pick them up. The roads are full of these vans, always with 14 people (and the driver) in them. Norriss and I leave to exercise a little after 5 in the morning. As we travel by the corner of Oxford street we always see people out waiting for their Combie to come along. /The day starts very early here. We head back to our apartment before 6:30 am and construction workers are already on the job. Most of these people arrive by Combie. Across the street from the construction sites one will see many street venders with small block structures about 3X4 covered with some sort of cloth. On these home made tables one might find a variety of fruit, bread, and sometimes sandwiches which have been prepared to sell to the workers. These traveling mini bars are set up whereever there is a large building project going on. I think we saw about 15 stands across from the construction site as we traveled home. This goes on day after day until the market is gone. I have no idea how they get their product to this market. We are not there early enough to see how it is set up. /This past week Norriss and I were set apart as Temple Workers. This means we were ordained workers in the Temple. We received beautiful blessings. I continue to marvel at how the Lord blesses us and fills us with his love. We are having so many wonderful experiences and are surrounded by extraordinary people. We miss our family very much but trust the Lord will bless them and keep them safe as we serve him here in South Africa.