December 5, 2010

Well, we’re two weeks into our mission here in Johannesburg (the locals say “Joburg”) and already we’re on a dead run between the work we we’re doing and all that we have to do getting settled in.  Our greatest frustration has been the fact that we have little or no access to the internet for emails and Vonage phone calls.  The phone in our flat (apartment) was supposed to be hooked up when we arrived, but there was some issue with it and we’re still waiting.  In the mean time, we have had a few chances to connect to the system at our office to do some limited emails.  Hopefully we will have our internet up and running this coming week.  Say a little prayer for us!

We landed in Joburg on November 23^rd and were immediately welcomed by several of the other missionary couples as well as office staff here at the Church’s area office.  We have been genuinely touched by everyone’s effort to make us feel welcome and “at home”.    The flight from Atlanta was not too bad.  Service was much better that what you might get on a domestic flight in the US, and it was smooth all the way.  16 hours seemed to go by fairly quickly.  Dian adjusted to the time change right off the bat, but it has taken me a few days to get sleep patterns back to normal.

On Thanksgiving day, our 2^nd day here,  the entire staff here at the area office got together to put on a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner out on the back lawn of the area office.  I should mention, the grounds of the Area Office and Temple are absolutely magnificent with beautiful gardens and covered with trees and lush foliage, and quiet pathways, little streams and waterfalls.  The following day the Area Presidency hosted the annual Christmas devotional and luncheon.  Yes…. that did seem a bit early, but  the staff all leave the first of December to spend the holidays with family at their home villages and townships.  Well at that point, we began to think they had a party every day.  Actually, I couldn’t think of a nicer way to begin our stay in a place that is about as far away from our home as we could get.

Johannesburg is an interesting city.   About 4 million population, it’s a city of contrasts……… incredible wealth and terrible poverty.  The best description I’ve heard is that it’s a first world city with third world problems.  Yes, the crime rate is high, and there are neighborhoods you would not want to get out of the car…..  or even drive through,  but there are parts of the city where you would think you were in Beverly Hills.  The Santon Mall is said to be one of the most sophisticated shopping centers in the southern hemisphere.  We spent the afternoon there last Saturday and even went to a movie……… the new Harry Potter movie (I thought it was very confusing).

Our flat is located in what is known as Dukes Court, a 5 story complex of about 100 condo apartments about 5 minutes from our office.  Its old, but liveable.  Most of the missionary couples live here.  Its very secure.  There are guards at the front entrance and at the gated entrance to the complex garage.   The kitchen and bathroom  are basic, but probably much better than what most would have here.   One nice benefit is the fact  that we have a very nice mall across the street.  It includes a large department store, a grocery store, dry cleaners beauty salon, good restaurants, and next month a new movie complex.  The down side is that all the stores close between 5 and 6 PM.  I’m still trying to understand that one.

We have a little Chevrolet to use while we’re here.  Probably my biggest adjustment has been learning to drive on the left side of the road.  I’m  actually pretty good, but it does require constant concentration.  If you let your mind wander for an instant, you could easily find yourself going down the wrong (right) side of the road.  We drove to Pretoria this morning to go to church at one of the local wards there.  Its about 40 miles of freeway all the way, but I was a nervous wreck by the time we arrived.  It definitely takes two of us to drive under these conditions.  I couldn’t have made it without my wonderful co-pilot, Dian.  She manned the Garmin and kept me headed in the right direction at all times.  The freeways are excellent, but the speed limits change constantly and they have automated cameras that are triggered by radar if you go over the speed limit, so you have to be very aware of what the limit is where you are driving. 

Weather here is about as nice as you could have.  Joburg is 6,000 feet on a high plateau.  We are just coming into summer here.  December is similar to our June.  The temperatures have been getting up into the mid-80s the past couple of days, but after sunset, they drop right down into the low 60s.  Since we arrived, we have had days that only got into the high 60s, and with summer being the rainy season, we have had several days of rain……… some very heavy with dramatic thunder storms.

To keep active, we are getting a membership to Planet Fitness, a very well equipped gym located about 5 minutes from here.  We try to put in about an hour each morning.  Also, there is a group here in our complex that play golf early every Friday morning and have invited me to tag along……….   Not now, but maybe later when we are better established.

As I think I mentioned earlier, we did land on the run as far as our work here.  For now, we will be responsible for conducting Public Affairs training for all the Stakes in Johannesburg and Botswana.  We sat in on a training session last week at the Johannesburg Stake, and this coming Friday we will travel to Botswana to do some training there.  The principle objectives of Public Affairs is to establish and maintain positive relationships with core opinion leaders in the community.  The Church is very misunderstood throughout the world, and its no different here in Africa…….. in fact maybe more so.  In the northern part of South Africa, there is widespread belief that those in the LDS Church are “devil worshipers”.  By building positive relationships with community leaders, the hope is to build a better understanding  of who we are and what we believe.    There are a number of tools and activities that have proven to help, and these will be part of our training.  In addition to the training, we will also be working with a video production team here in Joburg to re-do many of the Chuch’s “Homefront” videos in a way that better reflect the people of Africa and their way of life.