We still do not have our internet hooked up yet, but are still able to use our neighbors internet until we do. We hate to bother them too much, so I am going to write this letter on our computer and save it on our “thumbnail”.
We (all three couples going to South Africa) left for the Salt Lake Airport at around 11:30 am on a Friday. We found out when we checked in at the Airport, that our flight was going to be delayed at least 45minutes due to bad weather at the Chicago Airport where the flight originated. We figured that would not be a problem because our British Airways flight to London didn’t leave for 2 hours after our arrival at Chicago, so we had lots of time. After we boarded the flight late in SLC we were told that due to the bad weather earlier in Chicago, our departure from SLC would be delayed due to congested traffic in Chicago. So we sat in the plane on the tarmac in SLC for almost an hour before they would let us take off. This meant that we would be two hours late arriving in Chicago and thus would not make our connections on British Airways to London. So just before we landed in Chicago, all three couples agreed to pray that Heavenly Father would help us make our flight. When we left the plane in Chicago we headed for the international terminal, which was 40 minutes away. A young man helped us find the train we needed to transport us to the international terminal. When we arrived there, the British Airways Ticket counter was completely deserted. Than we saw one agent getting ready to leave. We asked her if our flight to London had left yet and she said no, that it had been delayed in London due to President Bush landing there and shutting down the airport. We asked if we could still get on the flight and she made a call and they said they would hold the plane for us. Needless to say, the prayers of three missionary couples were answered and we were on our way to London. No one should ever doubt the power of prayer. Our flight to London was 8 hours long and we flew over Canada and the tip of Greenland, across Ireland and into Heathrow Airport in London. We had a 9 hour layover in London, so we all decided that we would take a tour of London during our layover. We all bought tickets on the “London Tubes”(subway) and took a 45 minute ride into London. We were able to see the homes as we went in, and they were just like you see in books. All look very much alike and all in rows along their individual streets. We saw that everyone had a very nice vegetable gardens in their backyards. We left the Tubes at Green Park Station and when we came out of the subway, we were right across the street from Hyde Park. We walked across Hyde Park to Buckingham Palace where the Queen had just waved to the people. It just happened to be her birthday. We did not see her, but it was fun looking at the palace and the guards in their red uniforms and Black head gear. From there we walked about a mile to the Tower of Big Ben, Westminster Abby and the Parliament buildings. Big Ben Chimed for us and it was great to see these sights after seeing them in pictures all our lives. We then watched the boats for a while going up and down the Thames River. Unfortunately, none of us had remembered to bring our cameras!! So we didn’t even get any pictures of our London experience. It was a great experience, but we had to get back to the subway and return to Heathrow Airport. While walking back to the subway system, we cut across Hyde Park again and were stopped by four young women. They saw our missionary badges and told us they were members of the church and talked to us for a while. You meet members where ever you go. Our ride back to Heathrow was interesting. I sat across from a black woman from Nigeria. She kept looking at my missionary badge and was reading a book on faith. She finally ask me if our church believed in the Bible. We had a great talk and became friends before we got to the airport. Another woman also wanted to talk religion with us and she asked a lot of questions about the church. I gave her a pass along card and told her that the phone number on the card would probably not work for her, but the e-mail address on the card would get her in contact with the church. She said that she would like to have a book of Mormon. No matter where you go, people are interested in the Church.
We arrived at Heathrow Airport and boarded our flights to South Africa. We left London at about 6 pm and flew over the English Channel and crossed the coast of France. We flew over Paris, lots of farm land and then over the French Alps. They were beautiful. We did not realize how big they were. Then we crossed the Southern French coast and could see the city of Marseille. Our flight then took us across the Mediterranean Sea and across the north coast of Africa at Tunisia. Our flight continued on into the night and our course took us across Libya, Niger, Chad, Central African Republic, The Congo, Zambia, Botswana and into Johannesburg South Africa. We arrived at 6 am and the Temple President meet us at the airport and took us to our flat.
We both suffered from jet lag for three or four days, but I think we are finally getting over the effects of the flight. It was just impossible to sleep on the airplane. It took us the better part of three days to travel to South Africa.
The Temple in Johannesburg is very beautiful and is on a large compound that also houses the distribution center, Family History Center, and the Area Seventies complex. The Temple complex is completely fenced with security guards everywhere. We have been working in the Temple now for a week and a half and it is so great to work with the African people. They have a facility (patron housing) to house the African people when they arrive from their various countries. Last week we had several bus loads of saints from the Congo and from Madagascar. They usually stay for about a week, return home and in most cases never return to the Temple again. It is very special to help them receive the saving ordinances and they are so happy and grateful for the experiences they receive at the Temple. When the families are sealed together, the little children look like angels in their white temple clothing and the girls have white ribbons in their hair. It is hard not to cry all the time.
Well, it is time to end this letter, and we hope all of you can enjoy reading about our experiences here in South Africa. We miss all of you and especially our families. We know that the work we are doing is what Heavenly Father wants us to do at this time in our lives, and would not want to be any other place. We hope to hear from all of you soon.
