Kasane

Kasane (Chobe National Park)

Cape-Buffalo

Elephant by the road

Hippo on a swim

Impalas

Elephants at the river

Last April we went to Kasane, with the Abrahams and the Taylors, two other missionary couples. When we were in Kasane we went on a river trip on a pontoon boat. It was amazing to see the African animals from the river. We loved watching the Hippopotamuses from the boat. They were huge! The elephants came down to the river to bathe and roll in the mud.

The next morning we went on a game drive. There were 3 couples in a game-drive-jeep. The weather was cool and driving made it even cooler. It was a wonderful morning and we were able to see lions, giraffes, elephants, impalas, zebra, and cape buffalo. We loved it! 

On the way up to Kasane and going back to Gaborone, we passed elephants and giraffes crossing the road. The Chobe National Park doesn’t have any fences and the animals literally walk the streets. We saw a Hippo and an Elephant on the street the night we spent in Kasane. 

The only problem in Kasane was that there were quite a few other safari jeeps in the same area during our game drive. When we saw a lioness picking up her cubs and moving them down the road, there were a bunch of jeeps jockeying for space.

Madikwe

Madikwe Game Reserve, South Africa

The Madikwe game trip we took was taken in June (our winter) with Barbara, Maddie and Sam. We stayed in a bush camp. Showered with hot water from a “water donkey” and slept in a platform tent complete with hot water bottles. 

We went on game drives in the morning and evening. It was cold on the drives but nice and warm during the day. We felt like we were all alone in the area and there wasn’t anyone around for hundreds of miles. The stars were amazing and our “host” showed us the constellations such as the Southern Cross. 

We had a lion sit about 10 feet from our jeep to rest in the shade! We stopped by a watering hole and just watched the elephants, lions, impalas and other animals come into get water. We got to see lions napping, rhinos wandering around, elephants fighting and playing. We even saw a few giraffes. The animals were all so close!

The bush camp was nice and the food was good. The best part was being with Barb and kids while seeing Africa. The part that wasn’t as good was the cold! It probably would have been better to go when it was warmer but it was so fun, who cared?

While we were at Madikwe, we drank our weight in Hot Chocolate! 

For our Grandchildren and anyone who loves animals

Elephants and Zebra at Madikwe

Zebra in Okevanga Delta

Baboons behind our office

Hyena at the BDF

Cheetah at the BDF

Lions at the BDF

Lobatse, alive!

Hillary with the Lobatse YW

Elder Gubler teaching the YM/YW Sunday School class (outside because it was too cold in the building)

Our Primary with Hillary and Roger

A few months back, we received a young English Elder into Lobatse, Elder Butcher.   He came at a time when our ward was stagnant and the missionary work was not doing well.  As soon as he arrived, we could tell that he was a special young man.  He and his companion Elder Illungole and later on Elder Bangani were very hard workers and soon they gained the respect of the members and especially the Bishopric.  

We were having Ward Conference about that same time and the stake president requested that the Ward Choir sing a song.  Elder Butcher could play the piano and often substituted for Sister Gubler playing the music for Sacrament meeting.  Bishop Moapare noticed this and asked Elder Butcher and Elder Bangani if they could organize a choir and have them ready to sing at Ward Conference in two weeks.   They went to work and prepared a medley of church hymns to the music of Come Thou Font of Every Blessing.  The choir was made up of five ward members (mostly Young Single Adults) and Elder Butcher played while Elder Bangani conducted.  It was very beautiful and had harmony and rhythm with an African flavor.  The Stake President was very impressed and suggested they come and participate with the Stake Choir. Our choir is now lead by one of the ward members, Sister Montsiwa.(Side note: Today Sister Montsiwa and another Sister sang in Sacrament Meeting. They sang I Pray in Faith. It was beautiful and with no accompaniment.) 

While Elder Butcher was there, he was able to change the entire atmosphere of the ward. You could feel the energy. He became a zone leader in Broadhurst, the Bots East Zone and is now one of our APs.  When Elder Butcher became AP, Elder Fackrell the AP Elder Butcher replaced, requested that he spend his last 6 wks on mission in Lobatse, where he had served for 9 months. Our Mission President added another set of Elders. We have had 6 baptisms last month, all young single adults. Lobatse is just coming alive! Last week, we filled the building, this week extra chairs had to be brought in. Wow! It was so exciting. The people are excited to be at church. 

We have about 8 member children in Primary (4 are under 4), but we have had 30 children in Primary. We are constantly teaching about Jesus, The Book of Mormon, and Joseph Smith. These kids are so hungry for the gospel. They come without prodding from their parents because their parents don’t bring them to church. Every Sunday we have new people coming to church. They recognize the truth and are so eager. This week we had an Area Authority Seventy and our Mission President and their wives with us in Church. It was so exciting. We also practiced our Primary Program. What a challenge! We never know who will be there in attendance so we just keep practicing the songs. The kids have copies of the words to the music because they haven’t been there often enough to memorize the words. 

Oh, the challenges and joys of the gospel out in the mission field.  We love being on a mission. The people of Botswana are amazing and it is so fun to see the Lord’s work among these people.

Dong Liu

Sister Gubler, Elder Gubler Dong Liu and chicken from the Colonel (KFC)

We love our little ward in Lobatse. So many good people live in Lobatse and we have become so attached to many of them. One such friend is Dong Liu. He is Chinese. We have watched him come to church, alone, for months. When my sciatica was acting up, he brought me some "patches" to put on my hip to make it feel better (he noticed me standing in the back of the church on Sundays). When he was called on to pray, he gave the sweetest, pure prayer I have ever heard. Just recently he was given the Aaronic Priesthood and ordained a Priest. He passed the Sacrament several weeks ago. On fast Sunday, he bore his testimony and told his conversion story. Dong Liu had been walking past the church on Sunday and heard music. He stopped to listen. A missionary saw him standing there, went out and shook his hand, didn't let go of his hand, and pulled him in. The rest is history. After meeting with the missionaries he joined church two years ago. His father allows him to attend Sacrament meeting.

2 weeks ago, we found out that Dong and his father were moving back to China this week. We were so sad. We invited Dong Liu over for dinner on Thursday before he left on Friday. Thursday was a hectic day. Dong called to tell us on Wednesday that he wouldn't be able to come to dinner. We were all over place Thursday with a couple leaving, missionaries coming for cinnamon rolls and to say goodbye and just a jumble of stuff going on. We were excited when Dong at 4:30 called to say, guess what, I can come to dinner! Wowser! we put our heads together to figure out what to do. Elder Gubler and I decided that the Colonel would provide the main course (KFC chicken), with mashed potatoes and tossed green salad. We ran past KFC, picked up the chicken and rushed home to started the potatoes. while I was cutting and cooking potatoes, Elder Gubler ran to pick up Dong Liu. In the mean time, several sets of Elders came to dinner also. We had two of the missionaries that served in Lobatse bring their companions and enjoy the meal.

When Dong came in the house, he asked if he could help cook. By this time I had the potatoes cooked and mashed. Dong asked if he could taste the potatoes. Now I had put in butter, cream and sour cream into the Pots and I thought they were delicious. Dong tasted them and pulled a really funny face. He made a few comments about the "interesting flavor" of the spuds. Oh dear. So we sat down to dinner. Most of us really enjoyed the food. At 7:00 Dong told us that he had to leave for a family activity. One of the elders asked Dong how he liked the food. He said it was good and the potatoes were his favorite. Hmmmm. I did wait until he left before I laughed out loud.

We will miss Dong Liu. He is a remarkable young man. We wish him well in China,

Our (almost) Garden

Sister Gubler, Sister Cook and Elder Gubler attending to the garden.

If any of you know Elder Gubler, you know that one of the things he enjoys most in life is planting a garden. The other thing that he really loves is giving his produce away. He has had remarkable gardens in Santa Clara and the neighbors love the bounty. OK, maybe not so much the zucchini but the tomatoes, cucumbers and watermelon are legend. The Taylors went home several months ago, but not before Elder Taylor figured out a way to hook up a hose. Hose bibs are not a common sight in Botswana and especially not in our complex. Elder Gubler decided to maximize the use of the hose and in addition to using it to wash our car, he decided to plant a garden in the area available next to the Taylors flat. He planted tomatoes, radishes, carrots, green onions, squash, watermelon, peppers and cucumbers.

The garden started coming up and of course was looking beautiful so he decided to expand. The search was on for "stuff" to incorporate a hose bib at our house. Under our stairs, in the closet that contains our washer, drier and freezer, he drilled a hole through the outside wall. With a hose attachment that has a splitter so that allows two water connections, he hooked up the outside hose and the hose to the washing machine. (Don't be alarmed that he drilled a hole through the apartment wall, it's OK here to do those kinds of things) Anyway, after several trips to the Home Builders Warehouse for attachments and hoses, it was time to plant the garden. Last night, Elder Gubler, put the finishing touches on our beautiful garden.

Now the sad part. An Indian couple Elder Gubler has made friends with came over to give him some news. A few months ago Botswana proclaimed that anyone using a hose to water outside would be given a P5,000 ($600US) fine if caught. ARGH!! Botswana is in the midst of a horrible drought so growing things outside isn't allowed unless bore-hole water is used. Checked into how much bore-hole water would be and it's 5,000 liters for P650 ($80US) By the time we paid for the water the vegetables would be some of the most expensive ever eaten! So now we are praying for rain. :-)

Elder Gubler made a phone call to one of our High Councilors to find out exactly what the water situation etc is. Well, it gets even more interesting! Swimming pools, grass but most of all, our Baptismal Fonts have to be filled with bore-hole water or face the possibility of a fine. In Lobatse, there are 3 baptisms schedules for next Sunday. Hopefully we can figure something out by then.

In the meantime, please pray that Botswana's reservoirs will fill.

Warthog Chops!

 

"Warthog on the Hoof"

We bought 3 beautiful warthog chops to take to a braai at President and Sister Wilsons.

We had a surprise birthday party for Sister Wilson on Monday, P-Day. As you can see, these warthog chops are lovely! And, they weren't too much (they were P21.50 which is about $2.50 US) We thought we could share an experience with the missionaries. Sister Wilson had gotten a Warthog roast for Sunday dinner and had a bunch of delicious leftover roast. Sister Wilson maybe BBQ "pork" burritos out of her left over warthog roast. We just grilled our warthog chops. Everyone who tried them thought they were delicious and tasted, well, like Pork! We had to get over the idea of eating Pumba, and we really enjoyed the flavor. Most of us have had Bambi and recognized that animated animals aren't real "people". Now we have a new food for our menu.

Well done warthog chops (grilled to perfection!)

I understand Impala is pretty tasty but I'd like to try a smaller piece before I buy an entire roast! :-)