We are here! And South Africa is as beautiful as everyone told us it would be. We are now trying to adjust to a new rhythm of life. Here is the whole story in order:
We flew South African Airways on a brand new Airbus A350-900 from JFK in New York to Johannesburg. They just started this service the end of January. It was a loooong flight. 14.5 hours.
We've since learned that SAA is having major financial difficulties. They are trying to restructure after bankruptcy and have canceled almost all their domestic flights after 29 February.
The flight was long, and so for our second red-eye, we splurged and upgraded ourselves to First Class. The seats go out to flat, so we got a decent night's sleep! Ken was across the aisle from Sue. The person next to her in the middle was so far away, with tables between, that Sue never even met.
We met two other LDS couples in the Johannesburg Airport who are coming to be Temple Missionaries. They were on our same flight from New York. The Harkers are from Canada (related to Sue's Uncle Reed Harker) and the Wards from Oregon. Wards served here as regular missionaries eight years ago, so are glad to be back!
Because it hadn't been dedicated yet, we were able to take our own tour around the inside. We just wandered all over and saw it all. It is a very small Temple--about like Helsinki, Finland, where we attended while we were in Russia. For this mission we are quite excited to have a Temple so close by. Helsinki was a 3.5 hour high-speed train ride away, and we only got to attend four times during our two years in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Home! Here we are in our new apartment--at least long enough to drop off the luggage. The front door comes in through the kitchen and then to the living room. On the left is a short hallway to the bathroom and two bedrooms. It's about twice the size of our apartment in St. Petersburg, and quite nice--with much-needed air conditioning.
And here is the view out our living room and bedroom windows. Monkeys live in those trees. Durban is very green. It's the "middle of August" here, according to our northern hemisphere mindset.
We were laughing yesterday that the temperture here is about the same as St. Petersburg. There it's mid-to-low 30's, and so are we! But that's counting SPB in Fahrenheit and us in Centigrade. So we are really high 80's F while SPB is just above freezing. And the humidity here runs 85% year around. Walking outside feels just like walking into a sauna.
Hooray for air conditioning!
Next stop, the Mission Office. We are glad to have Elder and Sister Howell, from South Jordan, Utah, to train us before they leave in four weeks. The office is in great shape, and we won't have any trouble taking over their good systems. We also share the office with Sister Damon. She's a Senior Sister from Eugene, Oregon, and she does the apartment stuff--leases, repairs, utilities, etc. We are worried because she is going home in May, and there is no replacement for her yet. The number of senior couples is going down in the mission. We need more!!! If you have any desire to serve a mission, let us know and you can come and join us!!
Ken's desk is just to the left of the photo, and Sue's desk is behind her, with Sister Damon between at her desk.
And here is the view from our Office window looking toward the big university on the hilltop. The Mission office is in a regular office park--not in a Church building like we had in St. Petersburg. We'll miss seeing the Church members and missionaries who dropped in regularly there because they were at the Church.
President and Sister Lines were out of town on the day we arrived, so we met them on Thursday when they returned. They travel a lot. There are seven Zones in the mission, and most of them are far away. One is an eight-hour drive. There is no public transportation here, except taxis, so they drive a lot! Doing Zone Conferences takes two weeks. That's so different than St. Petersburg, where it took two days, and everyone came to the Office.
We got two presents in honor of the Temple Dedication. First, a small vial of dirt from the ground-breaking three years ago. The dirt here is quite red. (Ken put his Russian temple recommend in the photo for a size reference.)
President Lines has a friend who owns a silk tie company in China. He made white ties and handkerchiefs with the Durban Temple etched on them. They are really beautiful, and will be a long-time souvenir of this occasion.
Here we are at the Temple with the other senior couples in our area. Going around clockwise: Sue, Sister and Elder Lund, Sister Damon, Sister and Elder Howell, and Ken.
The Temple Dedication Ceremony was wonderful. No photos allowed in the Temple, of course. But here is one of the stained glass windows from the outside. It's a protea blossom on a sugar cane stalk. This same motif is used throughout the building as symbols of South Africa.
For those who are not members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, a bit of information about Temples. They are not our regular Sunday worship meetinghouses. They are special buildings specifically dedicated to ordinances and covenants made with God. The main purpose of Temples is to tie each of us to God, and to tie families together for eternity.
There are only 168 Temples in the world. Fifty years ago, when we were married in the Los Angeles Temple there were only 12 Temples! As the Church has expanded around the globe, so have Temples so that they can be closer to the Church members. This is the third one in South Africa, and those who live in Lesotho ("Loosootoo") and Mozambique will also come to this Temple.
Before a Temple is dedicated, there is an Open House where people of the general public can come and visit to see the building. After the dedication only observant, active members of the Church may enter. Yesterday the King of the Zulu Nation was one of those who came through on a tour of the Temple. He felt the spirit that was there and expressed his wish that others could feel that way, too.
Above the front door of every Temple is inscribed "The House of the Lord" and "Holiness to the Lord." To us, these are the most sacred places on earth. We enter to learn and to make and renew covenants with God that we will try to live our lives according to His Gospel. So much of what we learn there is to remind us of our Savior Jesus Christ.
The Temple sits on top of a hill with beautiful views. On the left side of the photo is the N2 Freeway that runs North near the coast of the Indian Ocean. So, the Temple can easily be seen by those driving on the freeway, especially at night when it is lit up. The Church tries to be a light to the world. (See Matt 5:14-16)
On our way home from the Temple Dedication we drove along the highway that parallels the beach just north of downtown Durban. This is just a smidge farther east than the N2.
First we saw the big soccer stadium near downtown.
There is a 10 km stretch where you can walk the beach uninterrupted. (We may have to do that one day.) It's another sign that God created a wonderful planet for us.
We flew South African Airways on a brand new Airbus A350-900 from JFK in New York to Johannesburg. They just started this service the end of January. It was a loooong flight. 14.5 hours.
We've since learned that SAA is having major financial difficulties. They are trying to restructure after bankruptcy and have canceled almost all their domestic flights after 29 February.
The flight was long, and so for our second red-eye, we splurged and upgraded ourselves to First Class. The seats go out to flat, so we got a decent night's sleep! Ken was across the aisle from Sue. The person next to her in the middle was so far away, with tables between, that Sue never even met.
We met two other LDS couples in the Johannesburg Airport who are coming to be Temple Missionaries. They were on our same flight from New York. The Harkers are from Canada (related to Sue's Uncle Reed Harker) and the Wards from Oregon. Wards served here as regular missionaries eight years ago, so are glad to be back!
One fun thing is that the new Durban Temple is between the Airport and the Mission Office, so all us new missionaries get to stop by and see it on the way to the Office. It is beautiful, and we were privileged and excited to attend the Temple Dedication today.
Because it hadn't been dedicated yet, we were able to take our own tour around the inside. We just wandered all over and saw it all. It is a very small Temple--about like Helsinki, Finland, where we attended while we were in Russia. For this mission we are quite excited to have a Temple so close by. Helsinki was a 3.5 hour high-speed train ride away, and we only got to attend four times during our two years in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Home! Here we are in our new apartment--at least long enough to drop off the luggage. The front door comes in through the kitchen and then to the living room. On the left is a short hallway to the bathroom and two bedrooms. It's about twice the size of our apartment in St. Petersburg, and quite nice--with much-needed air conditioning. 
And here is the view out our living room and bedroom windows. Monkeys live in those trees. Durban is very green. It's the "middle of August" here, according to our northern hemisphere mindset.
We were laughing yesterday that the temperture here is about the same as St. Petersburg. There it's mid-to-low 30's, and so are we! But that's counting SPB in Fahrenheit and us in Centigrade. So we are really high 80's F while SPB is just above freezing. And the humidity here runs 85% year around. Walking outside feels just like walking into a sauna.
Hooray for air conditioning!
Next stop, the Mission Office. We are glad to have Elder and Sister Howell, from South Jordan, Utah, to train us before they leave in four weeks. The office is in great shape, and we won't have any trouble taking over their good systems. We also share the office with Sister Damon. She's a Senior Sister from Eugene, Oregon, and she does the apartment stuff--leases, repairs, utilities, etc. We are worried because she is going home in May, and there is no replacement for her yet. The number of senior couples is going down in the mission. We need more!!! If you have any desire to serve a mission, let us know and you can come and join us!!Ken's desk is just to the left of the photo, and Sue's desk is behind her, with Sister Damon between at her desk.
And here is the view from our Office window looking toward the big university on the hilltop. The Mission office is in a regular office park--not in a Church building like we had in St. Petersburg. We'll miss seeing the Church members and missionaries who dropped in regularly there because they were at the Church.
President and Sister Lines were out of town on the day we arrived, so we met them on Thursday when they returned. They travel a lot. There are seven Zones in the mission, and most of them are far away. One is an eight-hour drive. There is no public transportation here, except taxis, so they drive a lot! Doing Zone Conferences takes two weeks. That's so different than St. Petersburg, where it took two days, and everyone came to the Office.
We got two presents in honor of the Temple Dedication. First, a small vial of dirt from the ground-breaking three years ago. The dirt here is quite red. (Ken put his Russian temple recommend in the photo for a size reference.)
President Lines has a friend who owns a silk tie company in China. He made white ties and handkerchiefs with the Durban Temple etched on them. They are really beautiful, and will be a long-time souvenir of this occasion.
Here we are at the Temple with the other senior couples in our area. Going around clockwise: Sue, Sister and Elder Lund, Sister Damon, Sister and Elder Howell, and Ken.
Durban South Africa Temple Open House with Sue, Sister & Elder Lund, Sister Damon, Sister and Elder Howell, and Ken 16 Feb 2020 - Spherical Image - RICOH THETA
The Temple Dedication Ceremony was wonderful. No photos allowed in the Temple, of course. But here is one of the stained glass windows from the outside. It's a protea blossom on a sugar cane stalk. This same motif is used throughout the building as symbols of South Africa.There are only 168 Temples in the world. Fifty years ago, when we were married in the Los Angeles Temple there were only 12 Temples! As the Church has expanded around the globe, so have Temples so that they can be closer to the Church members. This is the third one in South Africa, and those who live in Lesotho ("Loosootoo") and Mozambique will also come to this Temple.
Before a Temple is dedicated, there is an Open House where people of the general public can come and visit to see the building. After the dedication only observant, active members of the Church may enter. Yesterday the King of the Zulu Nation was one of those who came through on a tour of the Temple. He felt the spirit that was there and expressed his wish that others could feel that way, too.
Above the front door of every Temple is inscribed "The House of the Lord" and "Holiness to the Lord." To us, these are the most sacred places on earth. We enter to learn and to make and renew covenants with God that we will try to live our lives according to His Gospel. So much of what we learn there is to remind us of our Savior Jesus Christ.
The Temple sits on top of a hill with beautiful views. On the left side of the photo is the N2 Freeway that runs North near the coast of the Indian Ocean. So, the Temple can easily be seen by those driving on the freeway, especially at night when it is lit up. The Church tries to be a light to the world. (See Matt 5:14-16)On our way home from the Temple Dedication we drove along the highway that parallels the beach just north of downtown Durban. This is just a smidge farther east than the N2.
First we saw the big soccer stadium near downtown.
There is a 10 km stretch where you can walk the beach uninterrupted. (We may have to do that one day.) It's another sign that God created a wonderful planet for us.
Great surfing waves of the Indian Ocean.
Awesome first update! Excited for more. Such a fun adventure.
ReplyDelete