The children in the Cosmo City Branch are adorable. We travel about 40 minutes every Sunday to get to the branch. All members of the branch are black. What started as a group is now a branch and they hope to become a ward in the next 2 years.

Mom and the Primary. Can you guess what song they were learning to sing?

A little shining star.

Mom and I brought a mirror so they could see how beautiful they were.

We got some wonderful Christmas tree ornaments from our grandchildren. We hung them on the ficus which is our Christmas tree this year.

Christmas afternoon we had lunch with about 40 senior missionaries. That's Sister and Elder Hoffman next to Mom.

On Friday December 13th the Africa Southeast Area Office held its Christmas luncheon and program. Mom lead the music and after the program of Christmas songs and narrative we had a wonderful buffet.

Some of the food. You'll notice I started at the desert side of the buffet line.

 The Christmas luncheon was held at the Sunnyside Hotel which is only a couple of blocks from the Area Office.

Last Saturday Mom and I discovered the Johannesburg Botanical Gardens. If I had a stand up surfboard, I might try paddling across this lake. It's about 2 miles from our apartment.

There were at least 6 wedding parties in the gardens. The brides were beautiful and the dresses and suits over the top. The guy on the right is selling ice cream.

This was my favorite wedding party. Everyone brought their own Harley.

Clark Wardle will be very envious of this guy's bike.

While walking through the gardens this lady just started talking to mom and before mom knew what had happened, she took off her hat and yellow wrap. She wanted mom to have a picture in it.

So here's the picture. Obviously, with so many weddings going on there was a lot of happiness and love in the Botanical Gardens, but we've found the Africans are quick to smile and laugh where ever they are.

Mom feeding the giraffes at the Lion Park just outside of Johannesburg on Monday, December 16th. The giraffe's tongue is long and feels like sandpaper, if you want to know.

Want a kiss?

Mom couldn't stop laughing. The fellow in red shirt is Elder Gus Hoffman. He is the Area doctor. For 20 years he was the doctor at the BYU Health Clinic on campus.

Here's looking at you!

The park did have some very large white lions.

Mom and Sister Becky Hoffman. She is also a nurse and is serving here with her husband.

It's begining to look like Christmas around Johannesburg, South Africa. This is picture of Mom with Sister Becky Hoffman. Sister Hoffman is a nurse and her husband is a doctor. Gus Hoffman is the medical advisor for the Africa Southeast Area. 

A week ago last Sunday we visited the Johannesburg, South Africa Missionary Training Center. They put on the Christmas story for the senior missionaries. Here are some wise men and some shepherds. 

"And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." (Luke 2:13,14)

A picture of all 32 missionaries in the MTC. They left for their respective fields of labor this past Tuesday. Some will stay here in South Africa, others will head to Kenya, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. 

Mom decorated the Area Office Christmas tree with what was on hand.

This is the Christmas scene at our apartment. I purchased this ebony nativity set last week. Mom got the beaded Christmas tree. She brought the stockings and Ann Gladwell's white angel from home. If you look close you'll see some grandchildren.

For the past 3 days Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela's body has laid in state at the Union Buildings in Pretoria. Tomorrow, Sunday, he'll be laid to rest in his hometown of Qunu, in the Eastern Cape Providence. The above picture is looking from the Union Buildings toward the grey enclosure where his body has been on view. There has been a somber mood in South Africa this past week. Nelson Mandela is viewed as the father of a democratic South Africa. He was an amazing man.

 480 youth plus 70 Young Adults, as counselors, attended the Special Multi-Stake Youth Conference. They came from the Pretoria and Johannesburg Stakes of the Church.

 Priesthood session for the young men.

 Always happy.

I can't tell you how much fun Mom and I had at this conference. It was a blast! They are planning to do two more next year here in South Africa.

Mom speaking at Special Multi-Stake Youth Conference, Konka south of Rustenburg, South Africa. "What is Your Word Worth?'

 Can you see the big piece of See's Scotch Kiss on the screen? Do you remember the story?

 Great smiles!

 Sitting on the floor for the variety show and having fun.

 Waiting in line for the buffet.

 Their smiles make you smile!

A couple of handsome Teachers.

This past week I flew back to Maputo, Mozambique. The purpose of the trip was to meet with a city council director to discuss the city's efforts to take property away from the Church. The meeting never happened. Probably because the city does not know what to do now that the Church has brought its lawyers to the table. If the rule of law could be trusted in Mozambique, there would be no problems but this is a very difficult place to get matters resolved fairly.

I had time for lunch but decided to pass this place up. The take away assados might be the "worse" in town.

 The resistance to Portuguese colonial rule in Mozambique began in 1962 with the formation of the Mozambique Liberation Front. By 1966, most of the north end of the country had been liberated but the war continued to drag on. In 1975, the Portuguese just got up and left the country over night. There was no transition period. The country was left in chaos with few skilled professionals and virtually no infrastructure. The Liberation Front began a policy of radical social change. Private land was replaced with state-farms and peasant cooperatives. Most businesses were nationalized. It would become a failed socialist experiment.  This statue is of the first president of Mozambique, Samora Machel. He ruled from 1975 until 1986 when the plane he was riding in, with 33 members of his entourage, crashed. There has never been an official reason given for the crash. Some have opined that the plane was following a false beacon and flew right into the side of a mountain.

 The Maputo Cathedral built in 1911.

 The central train station built by the Portuguese in 1910. Most of the beautiful buildings in Maputo, and there aren't too many, were built by the Portuguese.

 The dome on the train station was designed by Gustave Eiffel. The designer of the Eiffel Tower.

 Near the Maputo harbor entrance is the old fort built in the mid-19th century by the Portuguese.

So having looked for a better place to eat, I ended up eating at the Restaurante A Cegonha on the left. The picture does it credit, but I have to add the curry prawns didn't make me sick.

Nelson Mandela passed away Thursday evening November 5, 2013. I awoke to the news. He lived about 2 miles from our apartment. All South African TV stations have been showing tributes to him all day long. Friday night Mom and I went out to Mandela Square for dinner. As the video shows there is a heroic sized statue of Mandela there. Many people were paying tribute to him with flowers, candles and notes. This will be a somber week in South Africa. The State funeral will be held next Saturday.

Last Thursday was Thanksgiving. It was a normal work day at the Area Office; but at lunch time, all the senior couples got together at the "white house" for a traditional Thanksgiving meal. The white house is a former mansion which sat on this property when the Church purchased it. The mansion has now been divided into 4 apartments. The Area Presidency live in 3 of the apartments and Jeff and Marge Clayton live in the other. The white house is on the right of this photo. Directly ahead is the immaculate 3-car garage, which was used for the meal.

 Some of the senior couples preparing for the Thanksgiving meal.

 Looking toward camera with a red tie on the right is Elder Cook, 1st Counselor in the Area Presidency.

 A very nice looking garage prepared for the Thanksgiving meal.

 On right is Elder Renlund, Area President, and his wife, Ruth. On left is Billy Van Heerdan and his wife, Theda. I first met Billy when I was serving in East London. He was 11 years old. He and his wife are now serving a temple mission here in Johannesburg. It was his birthday this week so Mom and I took him to dinner. Before coming on his temple mission, Billy served as the East London Stake President, but I'll always remember him as that 11 year old boy.

Serving in the Area Office are Humanitarian Missionaries, Perpetual Education Fund Missionaries, Public Affairs Missionaries, Employment Missionaries, Church History Missionaries, Family History Missionaries, Finance and Audit Missionaries plus 2 attorneys. The Thanksgiving meal was great. I even got some pecan pie.