Week SEVEN in the Mission Field!

 Week SEVEN in the Mission Field!



Here it is … Week SEVEN in the Mission Field. I can’t believe how time flies when you’re trying to figure out how the other half lives in this part of the world, Johannesburg, South Africa. It’s beautiful here. It’s supposed to be summer but so far we haven’t experienced hot temperatures to be uncomfortable.

 Our flat doesn’t have air conditioning, but does have lots of windows, some that don’t open and some that don’t close all the way … but at least we typically get a nice breeze which flows nicely through the flat. We understand that it can get quite cold in the winter and it won’t be as nice when the breeze blows through the flat with no central heat. Brrrr … I can feel the cold already!

Sister Hansen has been appointed to be the designated driver while the children have requested that Elder Hansen be the Co-Pilot and navigator due to some past driving incidences in his past life. He still claims he wants to learn how to drive in South Africa but Sister Hansen won’t give in. Perhaps out in the open country she may consider. He may be able to outrun an elephant! Getting used to the slipways, motorways, using the right turn signal instead of the wipers, looking for stop signs on the left, driving on the left side of the road, finding the gear shift on the left and finding the rear view mirror on the left has been quite the challenge. Not to mention that many motorists do NOT stop for Red lights and you DO need to watch out for them, plus pedestrians who have no fears of motor vehicles. It takes TWO to drive in South Africa. One to navigate and one to call out the twists and turns and ‘watch outs!’ We laugh at the signs that say, “No Hooting”. That means “No Honking”. Every time we hear a horn honk. We laugh and say, “No Hooting!” They’re most likely “Hooting” at us! Sister Hansen has only turned in oncoming traffic once. The look on the oncoming motorist’s face was priceless.

We have been assigned to a Group on Sunday for Church. A Group is smaller than a Branch. We had (16) people in attendance this morning and that included (4) full time missionaries. We meet in a classroom in a Sr. High School. The room is surrounded by a court yard and we compete with other congregations not of our faith, who preach very loudly and sing louder. Our metal door sticks and is noisy as our members often arrive late to meeting because many of them have far to walk. It takes us about 30 minutes to drive to Wadeville where me meet. It’s out in the country and it’s a beautiful drive from Johannesburg. I believe we’re most likely the only White’s in the area for it’s a Township where we’re meeting. There’s only one outlet in the classroom and I bring my portable keyboard and provide the organ music for Sacrament meeting. They are enthralled with the music since they’ve never had anything like it in the past. They’ve asked me to help start a Choir and teach them music, beginning next Sunday. I’m thrilled with the challenge. They soooo want to learn, as well as the keyboard. I’ll do my best since I’ve never had piano lessons. But voice … I CAN do! There’s only about (4) women in Relief Society and they’ve ALL been endowed members of the Church. It’s wonderful hearing their conversion stories and testimonies. I love them already!

Many of you have asked, what are we doing? Most days we ask that of ourselves. The Elder we report to is on leave until April 1^st and our Director has been busy with the Durban Temple Open House we have been kind of left to ourselves to figure things out. We are NOT proselyting missionaries but have been called as Public Affair Specialists. We work with Opinion Leaders who have an influence on the Church for either good or bad. We work with the Public Affair Committees throughout the 24 countries we have been assigned. We ARE responsible for the financial accounts for the public affair committees. We have to reconcile bank accounts, write articles for the Newsroom for the various countries and Facebook. We’re not sure what our responsibilities, if any, will be for the Durban Temple Open House. Basically, for now, we show up at the office by 8:00 a.m. and try to leave by 5:00 p.m.

(View from our Office Window)

(View from the Distribution Center)

Stores close by 6:00 p.m. so it’s hard to do any shopping on the way home from work or grab a quick bite to eat. There is no dishwasher in the flat or disposal, but there IS a washer and dryer and we are so grateful! Meals and grocery shopping need to be planned accordingly. My first purchase here was an electric pressure cooker, similar to my Instant Pot, back home. It’s been a life saver and I use it a LOT!


I’ve finally mastered my oven. The controls are different than here and learning Celsius and adjusting accordingly as well as the metric system in sewing and baking has been a challenge. I DO have a conversion chart on my cupboard door, thankfully. It took quite a few tries to get a good batch of rolls to turn out, but finally I think I’ve got it figured out. The flour just isn’t the same here. How I miss my good ole Lehi Roller Mills! Nothing better.

During the holidays the Area Office full time staff, most of them anyway, leave for their homes for a couple of weeks, so the office is a like a ghost town. Several of the Senior Couples decided to fly to Cape Town for a few days to visit the sites. We were invited prior to even leaving for the Mission Field. We bought and paid for our trip before we were even set apart, knowing this would be our Christmas present to each other. My favorite part of the trip was visiting Robben Island where Nelson Mendela spent 18 of his 27 years in prison. It was a humbling experience and one which really touched my heart. To actually see his tiny prison cell and to see the view from his cell, which was surrounded by a cement wall where you could see nothing but the sky. I have nothing to complain about when I look out my windows from the 4^th floor of my flat and complain because all I can see is a partial sky and the apartment building across the street!

It wouldn’t be Christmas if Sister Hansen didn’t think of a last minute craft to do. The day before Christmas we went to the fabric store to buy batting and supplies to make Kozi’s for the Senior Couples for their Christmas gifts. Sister Hansen spent the entire day sewing Kozi’s and was able to deliver the gifts on Christmas Eve to the couples. She wanted to make ‘2’ for each couple but ran out of time. She told them that if they were here next Christmas, they would get their second one.

And last but not least our first little great granddaughter, Holland, was born. Although we weren’t there for her birth, we were there in Spirit. We’ve been able to FaceTime and see her through Video. What a blessing technology is.


My New Year’s Resolution is to update my Blog every Sunday so it won’t be so long and so dreaded for me to write. We’ll see if I can keep my New Year’s resolution, starting next week.


May God Bless and Keep You!


Elder and Sister Hansen with Elder Sitati (Counselor in the Area Presidency)

Farewell

Telling our friends and family goodbye for two years is one of the hardest things we've ever had to do. Being 10,000 miles away makes it even harder, knowing that it takes over 20 hours to get home by plane. We spoke in Sacrament meeting in the Kenwood First Ward on October 27, 2019 at 9:00 a.m. Family members even came to support us from  Colorado, Texas, and Montana.

 Siblings

I think this picture tells it ALL. We drove to Oregon to place our little 11 year old Dieter in the best of hands, our daughter and her family. They will love him as much or more than we do. They will exercise him, cuddle him, snuggle him, and spoil him. Nat says that he is a magical dog. He brings calmness in their life and they love him! Oh how I miss him. He waits for us … laying under the bed that I last slept in. It will be a long wait until we return … two years … but I hope he's still living so I can hold him again. I sure love my little boy. He's been the best and sweetest companion.

 I presented a quilt to some good friends who went to Africa with me last year. I purchased the fabric in our little village of Abomosu and quilted it for them and gave it to them just before we left for South Africa.

I

 Teaching my little granddaughters how to make granny's homemade rolls before church.

Friday night, the 25th, we hosted an Open House at the Ward and invited all to have supper with us and come tell us fare thee well. It was well attended with about 150 people in attendance. Supper included Café Rio style burritos, chips, rice, beans, granny's homemade bread, butter, and jam, various desserts and bottled water. A huge thank you to my great friend, Joyce, who had been collecting and freezing foods for the event for months and helping me put the event together. And a huge thankyou to great friends and family who came to set up tables and chairs, decorated, cooked, cleaned, washed dishes, and cleaned up after … I love you more!

 Ellen and Elayne, our good neighbors who are twins, made me promise that I would take their picture and make a copy to take to our office in South Africa and place it on my desk so I could look at it every day and remember them. I have their picture tacked up on my wall of our flat so I can see them every day!

 My best friend, Carol, and angel minister who has watched over and taken care of me for over 20 years!

Bishop Reynolds and wife Carolyn

What Did We Sign Up For?

Most days I sit and wonder what in the heck are we doing at this stage in our lives? We have literally turned our lives upside down. We have now decided to sell our home which we have lived in for over 20 years, sell most every possession we own, move what we have left over to an unfinished basement of our daughter's in Spanish Fork, Utah and move to South Africa to serve a mission for the church for TWO years. What are we thinking? And then I think, "This is kind of exciting! I have no idea what we will be doing in the mission field. I have no idea what they are expecting from us. I have no idea if we can even do what we have been assigned to do. I don't even know if we are going to like our assignment. I don't know if we are going to enjoy living in Africa. But this sounds crazy and sorta kinda' fun." 

Today was an emotional day as I told members of my Weight Watcher's workshop goodbye. I've been their coach for over three years and loved them dearly. After Thursday I will be officially retired after 55 years of working. It seems surreal. I'm excited but unsure how it will feel. 

We've been working non-stop for days, thankfully with the help of many children, with packing and painting the upstairs to the house. I had two rooms to finish by myself. They should be finished by tomorrow. It's been a painstaking job and one where I heard a few swear words come out of a few helper's mouths as to whose bright idea it was to paint the house when we were just going to sell? (My idea and Angie's, our eldest.)

Last Sunday a member in our Sunday School class mentioned that the 3 C's could pull us apart from the Savior: 

1. Complaining
2. Criticizing
3. Complaining

I found myself throughout the week looking for 'joy' in the journey and through the daily struggles of life, trying not to complain, criticize nor compare.

May you all make it a goal to find JOY in your journey as you face each new day. Make it a great one!

And away we go ...! I can't believe what it takes to prepare to serve a mission for TWO years. It's certainly different preparing for a mission when you're 70 years compared when you're 21 years.

We received our call to the Africa Southeast Area on March 26th, 2019 and we don't enter the Missionary Training Center until November 11, 2019. EIGHT long months of waiting. We thought we would leave in June. Now I can see the wisdom in the long wait. We were going to have family members move into our home while we were gone. That fell through. Then we decided to rent it to strangers. That didn't sound too appealing. Now we've decided to sell our home that we've lived in for over 20 years. This is the 'family compound' and the property has been in the family since General Grant's era. I feel like I'm almost letting my mother down, who's long since passed, but made me promise that I would never sell the property to someone who didn't belong to the family. Who know's? Perhaps a distant relative will buy.

Anyhoo ... it's been ups and downs as we've been preparing but we can see the Lord's hand in our preparation as we put our trust in him that all will be well. As we were contemplating what we should do with our home, we were attending Lynn's 50th class reunion in Logan, Utah. Two of his classmates shared with us their faith promoting experiences of asking the Lord what they should do when contemplating a move. They simply put their faith in Him, asked, and said, "What would you have us do?" One of his classmates wives had just retired from the Tabernacle Choir and was feeling sad that she wasn't using her musical talents. Out of the blue she received a call from a musician in southern Utah telling her that they needed her talents as a Choir Director in their valley. They put their home up for sale and the very next day they had a bidding war on their home and received MORE than the asking price for their home. They went to Southern Utah, found a home within a day, bought it and made the move. Miracles do happen and are led by the Lord. She's now using her musical talents which the Lord blessed her with.

After hearing of the two 'miracles', we came home from the reunion and I told Lynn, "We need to sell our home and have a miracle." We called our youngest daughter and asked her if her offer was still good for us to come live with them. She jumped for joy and said it certainly was. Within a day they were here helping pack up the garage and haul things to the local charity, Deseret Industries, and dump. Another daughter has been here helping us de-junk and haul things away.

Several months ago I bought a storage shed which hasn't been put together yet. We've been waiting for cement to be poured, which was supposed to happen this past week. After deciding to move, we called the cement guy and asked if the cement had been ordered, which he replied no. We asked if he could pour in Spanish Fork, instead and he said that wouldn't be a problem. With a few phone calls a trailer was arranged, with helping hands, and the storage shed will be delivered on-site to the new location waiting for the cement pad to be poured. Another miracle!

At church today I mentioned to a neighbor that we were going to sell both properties, our home and our parent's home, next door. The neighbor told me not to list and that his brother, an investor was interested in property in our neighborhood and would be contacting me within 24-48 hours. Another miracle!

Of course it's going to be hard leaving my marvelous family. They are so dear to us. So loving and kind. We have to much fun when we get together. I've made them all promise to save their dollars to they can come visit us in South Africa. They ALL will try to make the trip if they can afford it. The flight is quite spendy, but once there they can stay with us in our one bedroom flat. We'll make room!

They surprised me with a 70th birthday party. Our daughter Natalie and 4 of her children drove from Salem, Oregon to celebrate with us. Now, that was HUGE surprise. Didn't know we were going to have company. The house was a mess with moving boxes and no food for company. It was a good excuse for not having a clean home. We made 'do' and had a ball with them camping out on the floor and scrounging to find bedding and towels. I had given my excess away to D.I.

As much as I love my children and grands, this is the little guy I'm going to miss the most! Our little Dieter who has lived with us for the past 11 years. Our little schnauzer who is the BEST fur baby. He really is the sweetest and best companion. Our granddaughter is going to take care of him for us in our absence. I have a crying session, most every day, looking at him and wondering how I'm going to get along without him.

Most of our grands. Sarah, Spencer, Ethan, and our missionary Logan are missing. We have (28) grands who will be praying for us day and night!

Before we were married, Lynn and I served as single missionaries in the Gulf States Mission. At the end of my mission I had the privilege of serving as the Mission President's personal secretary and Lynn was the Publication Manager. We both lived in the Mission Home with the Mission President and his wife, Golden K. Driggs. I knew what a great missionary he was while living in the home. Now I get to have him as my constant missionary companion 24/7. I can't wait!

This is our current missionary, Logan, serving in the Scotland, Ireland mission. He's been out 9 months. When we return it will be 3 years since we're seen him. A long wait!

A LOT has happened since my last post. Another grandson, Spencer, returned from his mission to Ecuador and has since married his eternal sweetheart, Fernanda from Columbia.

And another grandson, Bryant, returned from his mission to Spokane, Washington and has since married his eternal companion Josie and they are expecting my first great granddaughter in December. We will have to Skype her arrival!

We've had births, baptisms, employment layoffs, but through it all life is more than great. It's wonderful because of the knowledge that Jesus Christ lives and he loves us. He has a plan for us. There's a purpose for us here on earth, to gain a body, to keep his commandments, to be baptized, receive the Gift of the Holy Ghost, and receive the eternal ordinances of the temple to once again live with Him. I love life. I can't wait to share our experiences through this blog. Sorry for the long ramble, but it HAS been years to catch up!

Has it REALLY been years since my last post? This is just a test to see if this blog site even works. If so ... I will begin again and start sharing the ups, downs, ins and outs of Life with Lynn and Linda as we prepare to serve a full time mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in the Africa South East Area.

Up, Up, and Away We GO ...!

My bucket list has included a Hot Air Balloon ride so my wonderful children gave us a gift certificate at Christmas time for a Balloon ride in Park City, Utah. What a glorious day with the leaves changing into their fall colors to take a sail over the hills of Park City.

Because of Lynn's impending knee surgery, he was unable to come along for the ride, so I asked my daughter Laurel if she would like to accompany me in my adventurous quest. She jumped at the chance!

Laurel met me at our home shortly after 6:00 a.m. and off we sped to Park City to help set up the balloon and basket for our sail. It was COLD! The sun wasn't up yet and there was dew on the ground and we could see our breath in the cold morning air. Luckily I found an old 'grandpa' sweater in the trunk of the car for Laurel to wear and I had two shirts and a sweatshirt over my skin to keep warm.

Unlike many of the balloon companies, we were asked to help unroll the balloon and hold the sides while the fans filled the balloon with air. Laurel held one side while I held the other. We shouldn't have volunteered for that part ... we thought it was cold before we helped fill the balloon ... now our hands were frozen and were were shivering from the blast of cold air blowing across our bodies.

 

Then the pilot turned on the fire while we were holding the ropes to the balloon and standing on the edges to keep the balloon open. Now this was getting dangerous and wasn't so much fun, anymore. The fire was singing my hands and the  balloon was so full of air it was lifting my feet off the ground. I was beginning to worry that the poor little man on the other side was going to fall into the balloon. He didn't weigh as much as me and the balloon was lifting his entire body off the ground. I yelled for a young man to come help me and as he took over the ropes for me the balloon began lifting his body up as well. Finally they just let go of the ropes and stepped away from the balloon and the basket slowly rose from its side to a sitting position and the balloon was in the air. It was a glorious site! Our balloon and basket had only made 4 journeys. It was still brand spankin' new.

We climbed into the basket, one at a time, using the footholds on the basket. After all nine of us were in the basket the ropes were released and we started to rise into the air. Laurel was freaked out at first but then soon relaxed as we began the rise to an altitude of over 5,000 feet. Since the balloon was so new and the pilot was unsure of its capacity we just sort of sat up in the air, slowly spinning around. "Where's the action, Jackson?" I thought as I watched the other balloons in the sky dipping and ascending to greater heights than us and skimming along the neighborhoods picking up more passengers! The pilot explained that the ballon was like a new car ... he had to slowly break it in before he could test the limits of the balloon. BOOO ... is all I can say. Yes, it was great fun, but I was expecting a little more 'tickle tummies' for excitement. The most exciting part of the ride was looking for a place to land. We quickly descended and were skimming over the sagebrush and I thought for sure we were going to land on the side of a hill. But to my surprise we skimmed over the top of the hill and then ascended higher over the valley, still looking for a place to land. Now we're talkin' ... we're going faster and there's much more excitement. Soon we came down over a neighborhood ... started dropping ... and I could see a woman in her kitchen waving to us out the window. Are we going to land in her yard? Looks like it! But slowly we descended right next to her back fence and while we were a few feet above ground the co-pilot on the ground pushed the basket into the street and softly we set down. We all clapped and gently climbed out of the basket, one at a time and helped roll up the balloon and load everthing on the trailer.

Back at the ranch we celebrated with a toast of Sprite and a thankful prayer! Everyone should experience a Hot Air Balloon ride. It really is amazing. To experience great heights with silence is something I've never experienced.