Christmas, Monkeys, Lions & Elephants! Week 46

 We did some Christmas preparations this week, of course.  We enjoyed the holiday, got things done in the Mission Office, and had some adventures.

We had invited Elders who also live in our building to pot-luck Christmas Eve dinner, so Sue decided it was finally time to spruce up the front entrance.  

When previous senior missionaries lived here there were wonderful potted plants outside our door, but with young Elders living here for eight months, they didn't think to water them.  Some were dead, others pretty bedraggled.  Sue started watering the living ones and they are coming back.  She also went to this wonderful Tropical Nursery and bought some plants to fill the empty pots. 

 It's the most amazing place!  There are paths that wander up a hillside with any kind of plant imaginable.  She bought a six-pack of six herbs and planted them in two pots.  

She bought nasturiums for a hanging pot gadget so they can grow down like the ones we love from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston.  

Sue also asked for a "bag of potting soil, or mix."  When they started to load up her cart with SIX bags of potting soil she realized there had been a mistake, and got an instant refund on five of the bags.  The cashier also asked Sue if she would like a Christmas tree?  This was on 23 December, and so Sue said no -- we had one.  But then the woman said, "But they are free!"  Sue is never one to turn down anything free, and told them to put one in the car.  It is a live tree and growing in a pot and about five feet tall!  At home Sue couldn't lift it out of the car at all -- too heavy.  When the young Elders walked by on the way to their apartment downstairs, Sue asked them to please pull the tree out of the car, and they could have it.  That made them excited.  Elder Russell carried it down to their apartment.  They even found a string of lights for it!  Next week we'll take it over to the Mission Home and plant it in their yard.  

Biggest accomplishment in the office this week for Sue was getting all the electric and water purchases straight.  For most of the mission apartments the utilities are paid directly either to the landlord or to the local utility company -- just like at home.  But we have at least eight where the electricity and/or water are on a meter that has to be 'fed' when it gets low.  This is done by going to a store -- like the grocery store or household goods store -- and buying some power or water by giving the clerk the meter number.  We usually buy 1,000 Rand at a time (ca. $65) and it lasts a month or so. We get a receipt with the meter number and a 20-digit PIN.  Put the PIN into the meter to refill the system.  We learned about this system when we were here in March.  We have a small pink box with an envelope for each apartment that needs this.  

The idea is to keep one purchase ahead.  The missionaries inevitably call late at night, after they get home, to say their power is gone.  It's easy to give them an already-purchased PIN.  Then next time we go to the store we can buy a replacement and have it on hand when needed again in the future.  However, during the lock-down and our absence the whole system fell apart.  The Assistants to the President took over buying power and water, but they didn't know about buying one ahead, and we never thought to tell them.  Sue made new envelopes and figured out who needed power or water soon and who needed the extra one ahead.  And she put it on a G-sheet that she can see from her phone.  

Those late-night phone calls are now easy.  Send a text to the Elders with the new PIN, erase it from the G-sheet, and make a note to buy more for that apartment. Whew!

Ken's big accomplishment in the office this week was getting all the bills paid.  Things were way behind.  And besides that, the accountants in Johannesburg and Salt Lake want all the 2020 bills paid before the end of the year, right?  And with the holidays that meant requests for payments really needed to go out by 23 December.  Usually rents are sent out on 25th of each month, but he had to get all those done early this month. He felt like Jacob Marley's ghost!  It's summer vacation, besides being Christmas.  School is out and everyone is traveling.  Many, many offices are closed from 23 Dec to 4 January. 

One of our granddaughters asked about different Christmas traditions in South Africa.  It's summer, so the big traditions are to do Braai (BBQ) and go to the beach!  This year, theoretically, most beaches are closed 21 December to 4 January due to COVID, but unfortunately people are not complying.  Back in April/May the police were arresting people who went out, but they aren't doing that anymore and the COVID rates are rising.  But nothing like at home.  California is over 2.1 million cases for its 40 million people.  South Africa is just under 1 million cases for its 60 million people.  

We enjoyed our Christmas dinner with the Elders, and a quiet Christmas morning.  

Our big gift was the "home gym," that is, one exercise ball, an exercise band, two 4 kg (8.8 lb) weights and a jump rope.  We can't go to the gym here, and we are doing too much sitting at computers.  The goal is to do either thirty minutes of exercises, or a good long walk every day.  Walking is strenuous, because anywhere we go is uphill in both directions.

We also got matching socks in South African colors.  We liked the package that said "Together we can de-feet anything."

Christmas morning was quiet, but the afternoon gave us a little excitement.  It was such a nice day, about 73F, that we turned off the noisy A/C and opened the doors and windows.  Ken was sitting at the desk.  Sue was on the couch reading.  

All of a sudden there was a funny noise by the door.  A monkey came in through the bars on the outer door and stole the plastic bag of left-over Christmas dinner rolls that were sitting on the counter!!  

It happened so fast we couldn't believe it.  Ken got out the camera and took some photos of the monkeys eating our rolls up in the parking lot and on the hillside.  (Notice the baby hanging on Mom's tummy.)  They are sneaky little critters!  

When Sue wanted a photo of the front door to put here in the blog she opened the door and a monkey was sitting right outside waiting to come in again. She put another baggie of English muffins in the spot where the original rolls were.  Ken later found the first empty plastic bag out in the yard.

 

Saturday night Sue was cooking dinner and looked outside -- not a monkey in sight, so she opened the door again for air.  A few minutes later a monkey dashed in again, but didn't get anything this time.  He was headed for Sue's Christmas bag of peanut M&Ms.  He had another biscuit in his hand, but it wasn't from our house.  (We found out where else he's been sneaking into:  the Elders in the apartment below us!)  He sat right outside our door and watched us chastise him for coming into our kitchen!

Christmas evening we enjoyed talking to kids and grandkids all over.  They were having good Christmases, too.  We are so grateful for the Internet and instant face-to-face communication!  We got to see Nia's new pet mouse and Myra's new pet fish.  The Schmalbecks and Allens got to tell us thanks for the ping-pong tables we sent.  (Isn't on-line ordering wonderful?)  And we got to tell them thanks for the goodies they ordered for us from Take-a-Lot (South African equivalent of Amazon.)

President & Sister Lines invited us to go out to Natal Lion Park with them on Saturday afternoon.  During the lock-down it was one of the few places open, because you ride around and never get out of your own car.  The Lines had taken all the missionaries there -- in small groups.  On the way there we passed some Zebras just hanging by the side of the road.  

At the park you drive around inside the lion pen.  They come right up to the car and stare!  Windows have to stay shut!  

You can see the cubs up in this tree.  Simba and Nala?

We then drove to another part of the park and had an up-close with Emma the Elephant.  Ken put together a great video of our first animal outing.  

It was a beautiful day, and the Lines kept commenting about how green and lush everything was.  Last time they were here was last June -- middle of winter when everything was dry.  

These cactus trees are huge!

We are so grateful to be here in this beautiful country, but it is hard to still be isolated.  We don't go to church or anyplace with crowds of people. We are looking forward to the time when we will be able to attend church and share our mission time with the people of South Africa.  In the meantime we are grateful we can still attend our home congregation in Palo Alto via Zoom. 

Especially this time of year we most appreciate our Savior Jesus Christ -- His birth, His life, and His sacrifice for us that we may all have eternal life.  We have enjoyed listening to Christmas Crèche concerts from prior years, and the special Christmas devotional for missionaries by Apostle Neil Andersen and his wife.  Their message reminds us why we are really here -- to share the true story of Jesus Christ and the restoration of His Church in modern times.