A fond farewell to Botswana

                                                  

With great joy and after months of anticipation, we finally welcomed our replacement couple, the amazing Team McCuistion.  They graciously agreed to come one month earlier than planned so as to be as well versed as possible in all things office, and it's been one busy month teaching them the ropes.  We are confident they are not only ready to take over our multiple assignments but that they will also have a truly wonderful experience in Africa.  

                                       

                                                 

We did manage to squeeze in a quick weekend safari with some of the other senior missionaries to visit the Khama Rhino Sanctuary. These "kids'" are such fun, and the friendships we've made will last a lifetime.  Hands down the best part of serving these 18 months in Botswana have been the people, not the work; the locals, the church members, and missionaries young and old.

                   

                    

                                           

                      

                    

                       

                    

During this time of transition and training we also bid farewell to our wonderful mission leaders, Clint and Janette Walker from New Jersey.  At the same time, we welcomed new mission leaders, Greg and Roxann Neuberger from San Antonio Texas.  They are full of spunk and energy, enthusiasm and fresh ideas, and it almost makes me want to stay a wee bit longer.  Almost.

                    

                    

An evening spent with a delightful and valiant family.  They have precious little in this life yet have an abundance of what matters most:  a love for God, charming children, and unending faith.  The children taught and sang gospel music for us in exchange for pizza and ice cream.

                                                

How I have come to love these young people.  They come on a mission, learn by leaps and bounds, make deep and lasting friendships, and then they return home making way for new missionaries, moving over for others to begin their journey.  And so it is with us.





  


  


A birthday party for a truly stupendous young friend of ours.  


  

My friend crafted a traditional Botswana dress for me.



Africa, including its trees, are all about survival.  Wicked!


I cried as we exited the mission office for the last time today.  Everybody else had already left, giving us a few moments of quiet to ourselves to reflect on countless hours of work for our beloved missionaries in the beautiful country of Botswana.  Time to hand the reins to others.



The Tropic of Capricorn.  This marks the southernmost point on Earth where the sun can appear directly overhead at noon which occurs during the December solstice.  The Tropic of Capricorn is one of the five major circles of latitude on Earth and is the southern boundary of the Earth's tropics.


We have become good friends with one of the Botswana's most stellar men, Clemente Matswagothata.  Possessed of an oversized personality, he is a natural leader of men and women.  The Church has long known of and utilized his talents.  Now he has been called, at age 45, as a General Authority Seventy.  He will move his wife and three girls to Salt Lake City where he will spend the next two years training.  Afterwards, his family will serve the church wherever they are assigned around the globe until he will retire at age 70.  It is such a privilege to have been instructed by and to associate with him, and we fully intend to hob nob with him periodically upon our return to Utah.  


     


"Do not pray for an easy life.  Pray to be a strong person."
- Nadia Comaneci

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