Elder Bednar came for dinner

Elder &Sister Bednar came to Kampala for a Special 

Adult meeting.  It was the first time they had conducted this 

kind of meeting and it was very effective.

Elder Hamilton & his wife with the Chatfields.

They had circulated three talks for everyone to read before they came to the meeting and then conducted a question and answer session.
The questions were very good ones and Elder Bednar kept everything on track with the subjects that he wanted to discuss. The questions went back and forth for three hours and people were actively engaged in learning.  After the meeting they all came to the mission home for dinner.  There was an apostle and five seventies for dinner along with their wives.  Sister Chatfield and I had everything ready before they got there but when they walked in the door and headed for the bathroom after three hours of meetings there was no water.  Surprise - Somehow we managed and everyone was gracious.  It was a very nice evening. 

 The Himles are going home.  They spent the last year in South Sudan.  

They have done good work there. 

 The Eklunds came to serve in Uganda 

They are from Lethbridge - Great Couple

We invited 9 missionaries for supper and somehow 

ended up with 16.  Remember the Loaves and the fishes?

They all got something to eat and there even were a few left overs.  

Two dentists came from the US to work on Missionaries teeth.  Dr. Openshaw and Dr. Holyoak. 

Sister Holyoak is an accomplished pianist and composer.  She taught lessons and gave talks about 

music and achieving your potential.  She did a little concert for us at the Sheriton. She is a very inspiring and a talented lady.   

January was an eventful month and went very fast.  I am not missing the winter and have to smile when the Ugandan's complain about the weather being so cold.  Heavy coats, gloves and hat come out if it drops to the low 20s C.  They would never survive in Canada.  We show them pictures of the snow and they are amazed.  We love it here and love the people.  Everyday is an a'venture. 
Miss you all.

South Africa

We got the privilege of accompanying Susan and Moses to the 

Temple in Johannesburg  - Beautiful Temple - Beautiful Day 

I didn't realize how much I missed the Temple until I got there.  

I LOVE the temple

The temple grounds are absolutely beautiful.  Plants, flowers, pathways and ponds all around the large temple plot.  The temple itself is a small one but the gardens are large and very breath taking
 We spent some time taking pictures outside and just enjoying the scenery and peace that comes from being near the temple.

Guess who we met there?  We had contacted the Meldrums who are serving in the Johannesburg South Africa mission before we came and asked them if they were anywhere near the temple.  They are 20 minutes from there so we spent a couple of days with them.  It was great to be with good friends

Suzan & Moses - a Forever Family

 The Meldrums showed us Johannesburg and we enjoyed the order and cleanliness of a first world country.  No Boda Bodas to deal with on the roads, street signs that people obeyed, traffic lights and especially the grocery store.  The fresh produce was awesome.  I bought a whole box of grapes and we ate all of it in one day.  Grapes are very expensive in Uganda and not that good.  They took us to the China market where you can buy lots of cheap stuff from China.
South Africa is beautiful and modern but you cannot go out at night.  Everyone is in their homes by 6:30 or 7:00 and that is where you stay, locked in you compound until it gets light again.  There is a lot of crime and you have to be careful.

Elder and Sister Meldrum took us out to where they work and introduced us to some of the people there.  The showed us the garden they are working on.  There is a huge garden that provides food for members and jobs for some that tend the garden.  They are doing a lot of good work there and the people love them.  They are training the leaders and we visited some less active members that needed some encouragement. 

Above is a South Africa manufactured home.
You pay per room.  This tin is the most popular building material in the townships.


Beautiful flowers everywhere.  

Elder Meldrum showed us the Harley Davidson Store.

This is probably exactly what happens.  We didn't stick around to find out.

We spent most of one afternoon at the Apartheid museum.  It was very interesting - sad - but interesting.  There have been many changes in South Africa over the last several years but there is still a feeling of bitterness for the injustices that happened during that time when the whites were trying to control the power and the resources of that country. 
Nelson Mandela was a great influence through that time in history.  One of his quotes is

"No one is born hating another person because of the 

color of his skin, or his background, or his religion.  

People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, 

they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally 

to the human heart than its opposite." 

 
 

Suzie & Moses Wedding in Uganda

 Suzan Apondi, from the Office got engaged to Moses and we were all so excited. We learned lot about the traditions of the country relating to weddings and marriage.

 Weddings are a really big deal.  There is a "Bride Price" that the groom has to pay to the father of the Bride.   It is the real life Johny Lingo.  If the bride is well educated, pretty and has a job she is very expensive.  The wedding is also expensive because the couple are expected to feed everyone a big meal and provide entertainment.  Young  people choose to  live together or do a traditional village wedding instead of a church wedding.  

We put on a western wedding shower for Suzie at the mission home.  She got some nice gifts to start her new life as a married woman.   The ladies wrote some words of advise for her to keep.  Suzie is a popular woman and has many friends that came to wish her well. 

 The Senior sisters with Suzie 

Sister Wallace, Chatfield, Casperson, Suzie, Hansen, Jonson

Suzies Aunties from Kenya 

Her mother has passed away and she calls her Aunties Mom 

 Just a simple wedding

 Suzies Aunt and Uncle She calls them Mom and Dad 

They negotiated the "Bride Price" with Moses Family  

Suzie is an expensive Bride

 

Aunties in their Best outfits 

Picture is taken at the source of the Nile in Jinja.  This is where the water from Lake Victoria empties into the Nile river.  It takes three months for the water that enters here to reach Egypt.

 Grace and Sarah.  Grace is the maid of honor and has much work to do.
Sara also works in the office and is a good friend to Suzie. 

 This cute little girl had the chicken pox at the wedding 

Suzie and four other guests got the chicken pox two weeks later.

The wedding reception was huge.  They planned for 200 people and 400 came.  

The ward relief society stayed up all night cooking, matoke, rice,and beans

There was a DJ, native dancers and a professional MC. 

It was the biggest wedding we have ever been to.