Watsons Serving in South Africa: The Garden of Eden

Dear All,

All is well here in South Africa and we are enjoying the work to which we have been called immensely. Each day brings a new and unexpected experience. We can't overstate how kind and loving the people are here. A good example of this is Yamkela Adonis, a young man who we are now teaching each week over the phone. He was introduced to the church by a member who he met briefly in a taxi (small bus). She gave him a Pass-along card and he was prompted to call the number listed on it. The Elders, who serve in Motherwell with us, started teaching Yamkela and he eagerly accepted the message of the restoration and was preparing for baptism. However, before he could be taught all of the lessons and be baptized it became necessary for him to leave Motherwell and return to his home which is a few hours away. He came to this area looking for work but was unable to find any and, after running out of money, was forced to return home. He is now helping his family by taking their goats and cattle out to pasture each day. We are praying that he can get back to the city soon so he can be baptized and associate with other church members. It has been a wonderful experience for us getting to know Yamkela, along with many others, and seeing their enthusiasm for the gospel. This work is truly amazing.

We traveled to George this past Saturday morning. It is a town of about 150,000 and located 340 km (212 miles) west of Port Elizabeth. There is a small branch there where two of our elders have been serving. President Merrill requested that they be sent back to Cape Town where the mission office is, so we helped them pack and got them off to the airport. We cleaned out their apartment and also cleaned out a senior couples residence since they have left the mission to go home. Lots of work!!! We attended the branch in George Sunday morning and met some more wonderful and faithful people. We were especially impressed with their young Branch President, President Moyo.

Sunday afternoon we headed for Knysna, a coastal tourist town about an hour east of George. We did an inspection of the Elder's apartment on Monday and it was pretty bad, so more cleaning!! Some of the Elder's from other parts of Africa have no idea how to clean. A lot of them come from homes with dirt floors and no kitchens to speak of so it is hard to find fault with them, so we just have to teach them.

On our way home on Monday we saw some absolutely beautiful scenery, and even baboons along the road, many of them. This is an absolutely beautiful country and we have seen some amazing things already.

This weekend trip was training for us as we will be taking on the responsibilities of President and Sister Pershing when they go home in December. They watch over 26 elders and take care of some pretty interesting needs. That should be very interesting experience for us but one we're not especially looking forward to. it will include another move for us and it seems like we have been doing a lot of that lately.

We love you all and miss you.

Elder and Sister Watson