The road to Tzaneen!

We had a fun opportunity to travel to the northeast region of our mission this weekend and see what the town of Tzaneen had in store for us.  The missionaries there were excited to gather and we had our last zone "meet and greet."

On the way to Tzaneen we had a chance to stop by the capital of South Africa, Pretoria,  to see the famous Union Buildings and statue of Nelson Mandela.

On Saturday morning we met with all the missionaries for the last session to meet every missionary in our mission. We then had a "Meet and Greet" with the 6 wonderful couples serving in the area. (Butlers, Meldrums, Brammer, Winwards, Harwoods, Heyens.) They planned a most delicious lunch for all of us. It was comfort food that I recognized from home, sloppy joes, chocolate caramel cake, fresh salads, etc.

After our meetings on Saturday, we had a few hours to enjoy the scenery in the area. We traveled up the mountain and saw baboons, monkeys and the Druckenburg Range.

Sunday was so special, as we visited the Lenyenye Branch. The saints are so welcoming and it was a wonderful place to hear testimonies shared.  There was no electricity that day in the building, but plenty of electricity in the air. We loved being there for our second Sunday in South Africa.  On the way back to Johannesburg, we stopped and saw the world's largest Boabab tree. It is 1100 years old and we also saw the Debengeni Waterfall.

We hope to be back in this area often.

Yes...here is the blogger hard at work! I have much to learn about the mission records and how to blog. I am learning so much each and every day. Part of my assignment is to keep a mission history, so I hope this blog will help in that arena.

This street is a block from the mission office. It makes us feel right at home in South Africa!

In the famous township of Soweto-notice the sign for the church.

This is a common sight! Full taxi's taking local folks all over.  See how every seat (and more) are filled! They actually remove the seats and put benches inside to accommodate more people.

Pretoria is the capital and there is a great statue of Nelson Mandela below. This is a great place to visit to get a sense of the history of South Africa and the nations love for Nelson Mandela.

The amazing Elders serving in the NorthEast Zone that are from the African Continent.

All the North American and Polynesian Elders Serving in this area.

Great couples serving here.  Some are missing from this group shot, but all showed up for the "Meet and Greet" and helped to make the lunch for all of us to share.
Pictured: Harwards, Brammers, Dunns, Butlers, Winwards

The view outside our window in Tzaneen.
This morning sky was preceded by a most beautiful night sky filled with stars from the Southern hemisphere

You don't often see signs like this in the States! We actually saw a group of over 20 baboons and also  dozens of lemur monkeys. Watched them for over 20 minutes and they were studying us like people would from 10 feet away!

Lemon trees and fresh fruit are one of the most amazing parts of South Africa! It is spoiling  us in the first week.  Fresh squeezed juice is unbelievable.

Beautiful few of the Drackenburg Mountain Range


The Coach House- a lovely place we enjoyed dinner and plan to return for an evening again soon

Largest Boabab Tree in the world-
Remember it is winter here, so this tree has full growth in the spring. The inside is hollow and has a bar inside that fits a dozen people.

Beautiful Debengeni Waterfall

Fun to make a stop with the AP's and enjoy the view.

We even made a contact and shared information about the branch and common friends in Polokane.