Kari Kruger pays us a visti

Meet Kari Kruger, our dear Young Single Adult friend from Cape Town. She came up for the week-end and spent a few days with us at the mission home. We feel very lucky to know Kari and feel a very special connection with her.

It was so great to meet Kari and Ryno's parents, as they invited us to their home when we were in Cape Town in May for the Mission President's Seminar.  Betsi and Paul Kruger are great people that have been strong members and at the heart of church leadership in Cape Town. Paul is one of two stake presidents currently in Cape Town.

We enjoyed fun times with Kari during her brief stay. We enjoyed the Botannical Garden, a lunch out with women friends and a trip to the temple.

Here are the missionaries, Elder Worton and Elder Olson enjoying Sunday lunch with  us and the Van der Hover's.

We enjoyed lunch with Lynne and Theo and Tyler Van der Hover. Lynne and Theo spoiled us with beautiful king protea flowers...again!  We love getting together with them.

Kari is so cute with everyone, including little kiddos. Here she is with Tyler Van der Hover. They made such a sweet connection in such a short time. Look who is photo bombing behind Tyler!:)

Amber Louw came to dinner on Saturday night with 6 other wonderful young single adults, including her husband Zach Louw, who was the reason we met in the first place. We made homemade pizza's and played fun games.

Johannesburg Botannical Garden was a fun  way to spend the afternoon of our P-day! This is like the Central Park of Joburg.

Kari joined us for an afternoon bike ride in Emmerentia Park. We had so much fun being together. She is so adventurous and is up for anything.

Before she headed to the airport on Sunday evening we took her to a Bears and Prayers Fireside. While there, she met with many ward members and also senior couples. The Lombardy's are friends Kari had met before. It was fun to see them re-connect.

Kari left us with one of her amazing drawings of an elephant. She has so much talent. She also copied off this poem for us. I love the message and reminder that we don't "own" anything really. We are visitors that have the responsibility to leave places and people better than we find them.

The Moment

"The moment when after many years of hard work and long voyage you stand in the centre of you room, house, half-acre, square mile, island, country, knowing at last how you got there, and say... I own this.

...is the same moment when the trees unloose their soft arms from around you, the birds take back their language, the cliffs fissure and collapse, the air moves back from you like a wave and you can't breathe.

No, they whisper. You own nothing. You were a visitor, time after time climbing the hill, planting the flag, proclaiming. We never belonged to you.

You never found us.

It was always the other way around.

~Margaret Atwood