Mission President Seminar- Cape Town May 2016

 Cape Town, South Africa

It has become a wonderful place to gather each May for the                                      Mission President's Seminar.

We like it here!

L to R- Ellis's, Cook's, Soares's and Hamilton's

This year was extra special. We had a special visiting General Authority in Elder  Ulisses Soares and his wife  Rosana join with us. We met them back in July 2014 in the MTC. They have served in the SouthEast Africa Area Presidency and has a fondness for Africa. He and his wife are from Sao Paulo Brazil and he has been a General Authority Seventy since 2005.
Elder Carol Cook and his wife Lynette are leaving right after this conference for a new assignment back in Utah. They have served for 5 years in the Area Presidency in Africa and we feel so lucky to have served with them for 2 of our years here.

We love serving in South Africa and it is such a privilege to be able to see more of this beautiful country.
Table Mountain in one of the 12 Wonders of the World.

We have a large group picture coming. Here we are pictured with the Koch's who are serving in Mozambique. Elder Martinho in our mission is from Mozambique and it is so special to connect with these great folks.

On our first day in Cape Town we had time to drive down to Cape Point.  What fun chairs to find along the way on the beach. It made us  feel like we were king and queen of something!

 During the seminar we were able to enjoy a fun activity together on a sunset cruise through the harbor and out into the bay. 

We loved this outing!

Elder and Sister Egan

Sister and Elder Ellis

Sister and Elder Soares  

Linda and Leif Erickson

Sister and Elder Cook

Sister and Elder Hamilton

A South Africa Mission President discussion
President Dunn (Johannesburg)with President Merrill (Cape Town)

Relaxing with the Foote's (Madagascar) 

Sister and Elder Walton

We enjoyed one dinner out with couples- the Merrill's and the Erickson's at the Cape Grace. Lovely time to catch up and share mission stories and experiences.

The best pat of the activity is that it was a SUNSET cruise. As we were out the sun went down and the moon came up. The lights of Cape Town and the waterfront guided us back into the harbor. It was a beautiful night and fun to be together with all the couples. I wish I could have got a picture of everyone!

On our last day we had time to take a bike ride along the coast and towards Chapman Peak before we flew out. It was so stunning.

We also visited the most famous Botannical garden in all of South Africa
Kirstenbosch

 

I loved the Protea Garden most of all!

Nestled right up against Table Mountain makes this an extra special setting.

We also made time to drop by the mission home in Cape Town and see where our dear friends the Merrill's reside. We came out together with Elder and Sister Merrill in 2014 and will go home together next year. There mission home was purchased in 1985 and it was a girls boarding school. It was so special to see where they serve and we love them and look forward to connecting with them again in November in Joburg. We hope to get them over to the SAJM mission home in Roodepoort at 21 Carnation Street at that time for a dinner!

We even made it back to the airport with time to spare.....which is unusual the way we packed in the day!