Johannesburg Senior Couples Retreat

One June 13 and 14, the South Africa Johannesburg Mission had a senior couples retreat in Johannesburg arranged by President and Sister Omer. President and Sister Kimball from Gaborone rode with us during the retreat. On the morning of the first day we visited the Rhino & Lion Nature Reserve. This is a private reserve with many animals ranging freely within the reserve. The animals would congregate in areas of water, food, or salt which made them relatively easy to see. We saw twenty-two different kinds of animals from our car as we drove around. Notice the great variety of horns on the animals. It was fun to see so many animals in one place up close. The rhinoceros got so close Sister Rands kept saying "Back up!"

Black Wildebeest

Blue Widlebeest

Cape Buffalo

Cheetah

Common Waterbuck

Eland

Gemsbok

Lion

Ostrich with an attitude guarding a trash can and gate

Red Hartebeest

White Rhinoceros

Sable Antelope

Wild Dog

Traditional Thatched Building

For lunch all the couples met at Mike's Kitchen which is close to the temple. We were seated in two different rooms at the restaurant. After lunch we went to endowment sessions at the temple. There were thirty-eight missionaries so we had to attend two different sessions. Before we went to the temple session we went to visit Tom and Noreen Green from Spokane at the area office which is next to the temple.

Lunch at Mike's Kitchen

In the evening we went to Founders Restaurant for dinner. We did a lot of eating! It was all delicious.

On Thursday morning, we had breakfast and a meeting at the Church Education System (CES) office by the Mission Office and Mission Training Center. Khumbulani Mdletshe, the CES area director, and President Omer spoke to us. All the missionaries told a little about themselves including where they are from, where they serve, and their responsibilities. We enjoyed getting to know a little bit more about the other couples. It is amazing how many couples are on their third or fourth mission!

Meeting at CES Office

The afternoon was free time and we chose to go to the Organic Market where vendors sell crafts and organic foods. We really enjoyed wandering through the market. There was a lot to see and there was also live African music. We sampled some of the food. We would have liked to stay longer but the market closed at three o'clock. When the market closed, we drove to the African Craft Market to shop and bought an ebony wooden Christmas Nativity set, Noah's Ark with animals also carved from wood, and carved kudu bone salt and pepper shakers.

Elder and Sister Hymas at Organic Market

Thursday evening was dinner at the mission home. For entertainment after dinner, Elder Woolf told the story of "Prindercella and the Cince" (Cinderella and the Prince with starting letters switched). Everyone had a good laugh at that. We ended the evening singing hymns and the mission song. The whole retreat was very uplifting and enjoyable.

Dinner at the Mission Home

Elder Woolf telling the story of "Prindercella and the Cince"

On the way home from the retreat we came across an accident involving two semi trucks that had also derailed a train. It was a big mess and there were lots of vehicles and people working on cleaning things up. We could not figure out quite what had happened.