Welcome back to the next episode of the Holt's adventure in South Africa!
Even though it is winter - there is always beauty abounding.
President and Sister Zackrison are complete opposites to our past President. Time does not mean too much to them and they do not arrive in the office till about 10 AM and so far they do not stay very late. I am sure they are still trying to adjust to the jet lag etc. so the jury is still out on this one. Punctuality is not nearly as important either. Tuesday was the Zackrison's anniversary and so they went for a late lunch and spent some time together Tuesday afternoon. Sister Zackrison comes into the office everyday with the President and she has a desk set up in his office for her to work at.
Thursday and Friday President and Sister Zackrison interviewed all the Elder's on the coast. This turned out to be very long days for them. They did not finish until about 7 PM both days. Then, Saturday morning they were to leave to tour the mission and interview the rest of the elders throughout the mission. They did not get away as soon as they were supposed to, so I am sure they were quite late getting to Richard's Bay and then Swazi land. I feel a little bit sorry for Sister Lombardi as she had an open house planned for President & Sister Zackrison in Swazi to meet with the district Presidencies there and I am sure that they did not get there in time to meet or greet them. Then, I found out this morning that the hotel that I had reserved for the President and his wife to stay in said that someone called and cancelled their reservations and so they did not have a place to stay and ended up staying with the Lombardi's. I will get to the bottom of that one tomorrow as I had reserved it with a credit card so, even if they got there late it still should have been available for them.
Monday at noon I took Sister Zackrison to Victoria Market with Sister Murdock (she was visiting from Johannesburg). She had been very ill all weekend and they weren't sure what was wrong - they did not discover until Thursday evening that her appendix had ruptured and they had to do emergency surgery to remove it and clean up the mess inside. She will be in the hospital for a few days. Sister Zackrison enjoyed the market and found a lovely ostrich egg for the President for their anniversary.
As Wayne goes for his walk in the morning this is a sight that he sees. In the background you can see a beautiful home, just below it on the hillside was some empty land. People have come in and put up temporary housing out of left over scraps and garbage and because the land owner was not making good use of the land, the people who have squatted there have a legal right to come in and use the land to live on. Doesn't do much for property values.
On Thursday morning, Wayne left work to run an errand, outside on his car he found this lovely rhino horn. The AP's had bought this (a fund raiser to help save the Rhinos) and wanted to put it on their van, but didn't think the President would approve, so they put it on Wayne's car hoping he wouldn't notice. Of course he saw it right away. They were so disappointed that he removed it. Needless to say we have a plan to get them back. We will execute it when they get back from their mission tour with the President!!
Thursday evening about 6:30 we get a call from some Elder's who had been sitting in their car listening to music and as a result had run their battery down so their car would not start. So Wayne had to go over to the mission home garage where he keeps a spare battery, and he also got some jumper cables and some tools and then headed out to Kwamashu to rescue the knuckle headed disobedient missionaries. He was prompted to bring all the above mentioned tools and so he was able to get them fixed up and on their way again. Disobedient elders not only hurt themselves, but they cause all kinds of grief to others as well.
Friday night we had been invited over to Teddy and Kathy Pallay's home for supper. They are the Indian family that have been so kind to us. Teddy repairs all of the mission vehicles. They had invited the Mission President and the Stark's as well, but it was Stark's 50th wedding anniversary that night so they declined the invitation, and then about 3 PM that afternoon the President called and asked Sister Stark to call Kathy and tell her that they couldn't make it. As a result it was only the Holt's that went. We had a great time. Kathy had been cooking for two days preparing this traditional Indian feast. She was very kind though and tempered the temperature of the food so that we could enjoy it. It was delicious. Then we sat around and visited with their family till about 9:30. Their grandson just snuggled up to Wayne and talked his ear off. Teddy and Kathy could not believe it because he is usually very shy and not very friendly to strangers. They sent us home with lots of left overs which we have been enjoying.
Saturday afternoon the monkeys came once again to visit. I am much smarter these days though and so far they have not been back in our flat. It is fun to watch them in the yard though and enjoy their very human like actions.
You can hear them scampering across the roof of the building. They are always looking for something to eat.
They will sit on the fence or on our brick wall and watch us. They won't let us get close though - if you try they scamper away. They do like it if you set out food though, and once you back off they will come in and get it.
Most night these two little gecko's visit our living room and bedroom windows. We leave the curtains open and the lights on. The bugs are attracted to the lights and then these cute little critters come and make the bugs their lunch. They provide us with lots of entertainment in the evenings.
Monday was the first of July - this is the 2nd "First of July" parade we have missed on mission. Rod sent these fun pictures to update us. Jenn was on a float as it was her High School reunion this year. The kids collected plenty of candy as usual. Once the parade was over the Rod Holt family loaded up their van and headed to Denver to spend the week with Michelle and Kaleo and family. I have to admit we were feeling a little sorry for ourselves, knowing we were missing out on the good time. Oh well, next year!
Pretty cute cousins. They had a great time watching the parade together, and then had a very long all night drive to Denver. I am sure they were glad to finally get there.
Once they arrived in Denver, they were good to keep us posted with pictures of their fun activities. They went to "Pirates Cove" the water park and had a great day on the water slides etc. Jackson and Lincoln and Jenn, gearing up for a fun day in the sun.
A bevy of beauties. Gracey, Leo'lani and Sidney. Great memories!
Then it was July 4th. Michelle provided great back yard water games at her house for their friends and then they went over to the Tenny's for a great July 4th picnic. They played "corn hole" all afternoon and I understand that Kaleo and Rod pretty much ruled the day. Keola is getting so grown up and beautiful.
Mealii looks like she was judging the shot here. All in all the Holt's and Enos families had a great time on July 4th in Denver. Rod made an apple and a strawberry pie and also oreo cookie cheese cake to take to the party. They were a hit!
Leo'lani looks like she is enjoying the water fun at Pirates cove. We miss you all and wish we could have joined you.
Spencer's family were in Idaho with the DaBell family enjoying a fun time there.
This morning everyone was heading back home once again - so they can begin work again on Monday morning.
We want to say thanks to you all for including us by sending us pictures and sharing your fun time together. Next July we will be altogether at Aspen Grove enjoying some family time together!! Can't wait!
We love you all and are so thankful for your prayers on our behalf. We feel grateful for the many blessings the Lord continues to pour out on us and on each of our children and their families. Our new mission President will lead this mission with a new fervor and will direct the work with the Lord's direction and we are looking forward to being a part of this work, helping it move forward.
The Holt's
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