The Okavango Delta

Hillary and Roger have come and gone allowing us to share in a whirlwind tour of the Okavango Delta in Botswana and Mafikeng South Africa.  They arrived last Saturday afternoon and flew out this evening.  We flew to Maun last Sunday evening and stayed overnight there.  We then flew into the Delta the next morning in a light 4 passenger airplane.  Flights are not allowed into the Delta after 4:30 pm.  The Okavango

The OkavangoDelta is the largest inland delta  in the world and is a mass of intertwined rivers, hippo ponds and islands.  We were able to see many of the animals that make their home in Africa while we were there. We used a dug out log canoe named the mukura as a transport from the island where our tents were through the hippo ponds to a large island where we then walked for a couple of hours hoping to see and seeing wild animals in their natural habitat.  We were able to see elephants, hippos, buffalo, impalas, wart hogs,zebras, Reebok, wildebeests, mole rats, huge termite mounds, baboons, monkeys and a variety of bird life.  What amazed us was the fact that we were able to walk among these animals and as long as we respected their space we had no fear.  It helped me to understand how the lamb and the lion could lie down together during Christ's Millennial reign.

Saying Goodbye to South Africa Johannesburg Mission

President and Sister Omer and Sister and Elder Gubler

Missionaries lined up ready to sing "Called to Serve" as the Omer's drive away

President Omer saying goodbye to the missionaries (the sisters are wearing traditional clothing.) Sister Joseph, who is ready to shake President Omer's hand is wearing my blanket and skirt.

This was such a sad day to say goodbye to the Omers. Not many mission presidents are as kind and loving as the Omers. We are so fortunate to serve with 2 of the best mission presidents in the church.

This was the last day for us to be members of the South Africa, Johannesburg mission. We have a wonderful meeting and luncheon. We were all teary saying goodbye. No one wanted to leave. It was such a bitter sweet time. President Omer had a HUGE mission to work with both in size of area and missionaries. He spent most of his time living in his vehicle going from place to place. 10 hour days just in the car weren't abnormal. Hopefully, the split has given him a respite. Botswana is the size of Texas but with a population of 2,000,000 people spread out all over the country. There are about 500,000 in the greater Gaborone area. The next large population is the Francistown area, and it is much smaller.

Our New Botswana/Namibia Mission

The newly formed Botswana/Namibia Mission with all of us at the Broadhurst building welcoming our new President.

These the Botswana/Namibia missionaries as of 1 July 2013. Our wonderful President and Sister Wilson are sitting next to each other in the middle. Sister Wilson is wearing a peach sweater. It's so fun to be a part of this mission! The missionaries are amazing and so are the Botswanan people that they work with. I love working with everyone here and look forward to the new missionaries that are coming in. We have 9 missionaries, 5 elders and 4 sisters, arriving next Tuesday. We are losing 2 wonderful elders. I have such a love/hate relationship with transfers. I just don't want anyone to move anywhere until Oct. 2014 after we go home. Oh well, learning to be flexible! (Oh, the reason the senior sisters are wearing red, white and blue is because it's July 4th!)