The 4th of July in Johannesburg

Celebrating the 4th of July in Johannesburg, South Africa is quite different from the normal Summer picnic we are use to experiencing in Oregon, Montana or Utah.

First of all, it is a work day not a holiday. Second it is the dead of winter and though we had originally planned to have our celebration at Zoo Lake park complete with base- ball, barbecued hamburgers, and root beer floats, cooler heads prevailed and we moved the party to the Area Catina. We served Sloppy Joes, a variety of salads and desserts and had some historical trivia games to keep our brains in working order. We invited the Temple missionaries to join in the festivities and had quite a lovely time of it. There were no fireworks or long speeches reminding us of the sacrifices of so many, but we did have the National Anthem sung by a quartet consisting of Norriss and Carol Webb, Pam Richardson as Soprano and Mark Ethington and Tenor. (we needed Dan)

The flowers were red white and blue, as were the rest of the decorations. I had the good fortune to spend a little time with Kathy Whitman before we left on our mission so I was able to arrange the flowers in a most respectible way considering the occasion. We found some American flags but not the size and quality we would have liked. You might be surprised to find American flags are hard to come by here in S.A.. I had to take one from the United Nations display which I found in the storage closet. I returned the flag when we were finished (in case anyone from the area office is reading this). We hung one flag which was a little larger than the others and recited the Pledge of Alleigence. When we sang the National Anthem. There were many wet eyes and a few sniffles and some of us had a hard time getting through the song in spots. We all miss the Good Old USA.

You can see the patiotic missionaries were proud to wear red white and blue.

Notice the flower, white daisys and lilys, red roses and blue painted decorative leaves. Not the best arrangement in the world but we were sure happy to have them.

We took the afternoon off, enjoyed singing patriotic songs, and telling stories of long ago. Everyone enjoyed themselves but we all would have loved to have gone home turned on the TV and watched the Boston Pops 4th Concert complete with the spectacular fire works display.

Sister Webb with Thembinkosi. He is the director of the PEF program here at the Area Office. Until January last year this position was held by missionaries. Slowely, but sure these positions are being turned over to the South African Saints who become full time employees of the church.
We work together to see that the program runs smoothly. In June, all other PEF missionaries except the Country heads and we at the Area Office have been moved under the Seminary and Institute program and will be working for that division. So, the Webb, the Bakers, and the Staggs who served together in the MTC are the missionaries left under the PEF umbrella.