Month of May at a Glance

The transition to South Africa has been very easy for us.  We have found the people to be exceptionally kind and helpful.  Our furnished flat along with a new laptop, car and cell phone were waiting for us, so we got to work immediately. 

Drizzling chocolate on hot croissants at a Farmers Market
Our first MAJOR discovery in Durban!!

 

We are replacing Elder and Sister Cinquini from Oregon.  They transferred to the Area Office in Johannesburg until they go home in July.  We had a few days with them for orientation and training, and then we were off to drive six hours to JoBurg to meet our Area Public Affairs Director, Sean Donnelly

After our first meeting with him, we knew that he was special.  He has an amazing spirit about him.  Before taking this position, he served as the Mozambique Mission President.  He took a simple spiritual thought by Elder Howden and turned into general authority-level, quality gospel lesson.  We are in good hands. 

All handmade with wire and beads

Our ecclesiastical leader is President Zackrison who is the President of the Durban Mission.  We went out to dinner with him, his wife and the Cinquinis our first week here and thoroughly enjoyed meeting them.  We also had a dinner that first week with 7 other senior couples who all live within a short distance of us.

In our Public Affairs assignment, we have been given the responsibility of the Durban Mission, the Cape Town Mission, Swaziland, Lesotho, Zambia and Malawi.  That means five African countries!   Needless to say, we will be traveling quite a bit to meet people, train people and attend Public Affairs Council meetings at both the National and Stake levels.

This gal crossed the highway in front of us

We certainly have been in training for this mission for some time.  Our travels to foreign lands the past several years have made the transition to Africa fairly easy.  Even driving on the LEFT (wrong) side of the road hasn’t been too much of a challenge.  Dick had practiced in the United Kingdom and New Zealand so he was off and running.  I personally have not felt the need to try it yet.

More later.......Thanks for your support.  The stone continues to roll down the mountain and we are grateful to be a small part of this great work.   

Sister Howden