Twilight Game Drive

Twilight Game Drive

One of the highlights of our trip to Kruger was a twilight game drive. Not everyone in our group chose to go. Saturday night was the first rugby game of the season and some of the men wanted to go to the local pub and watch the game, while a few of the ladies opted to stay back and enjoy the serenity of our wonderful lodge. The Barnes, The Davie's, The Poleman's, The Kinghorn's, and Elder Kirschbaum all decided to squeeze one more adventure into what was already an amazing trip. We were taken to the Giraffe Park around 5pm and returned to Ndabushe around 8. The decision to leave the comforts of the warm fire at Ndabushe turned out to be a great choice, however, we were a little worried at first, because the first 10 minutes we didn't see a thing but a lot of  tracks in the dirt road.



This is our tracker telling our driver which way to go to follow the tracks

Once the sun went down, we began to see herds of animals. 

 We saw Zebras, Giraffe, Cape Buffalo, Rhinos, Wild Dogs and Impalas.

Our tracker had a huge search light that he would shine into the bushes and we could see the reflection bounce from the animals eyes. One of the most incredible things we saw that night was just before the sun went down. Our vehicle was down in a little gully and we could see just up the road the neck of a very tall Giraffe with this gorgeous sunset framing it. I will never forget that sight.

 

Not only did we see all these herds of large animals we saw many smaller animals as well. We spotted a Bush Baby in a tree, a Jenette, and an Ardvark, which we were told, is extremely rare. Another really special sight was the night sky. Our guide pointed out the stars in the sky and we just sat quietly and marveled at the beauty.  

Saving Ammon

Rhino Rescue Day

We started the Rhino rescue before Sunrise. Our little group gathered on an old runway and waited for the helicopter to arrive.  The veterinarian arrived and spent about a half hour explaining the process of locating and tranquilizing the Rhino.

 He explained the importance of working quickly and efficiently once the Rhino was darted. The vet delegated about 10 assignments to our group. Once the helicopter arrived, they circled around until they located a mother Rhino and a smaller Rhino who was about 2 or 3 years old. The pilot and his spotter were able to determine that the mother had previously been tagged, so the younger Rhino was the target. Once they spotted the Rhino the helicopter came back to where we were located and touched down long enough for the doctor to jump in. The helicopter guided the mother and young Rhino into the clearing where we all waiting for the cue to "GO". Once the young Rhino went down, the helicopter guided the mother far enough away so that we could  quickly jump into action. It was important that we didn't keep the young rhino down too long, or allow him to overheat.  The tranquilizer took effect after 6 or 7 minutes. I was assigned to be one of the first ones out of the truck to place rolled up socks in the Rhinos ears. Elder Kirschbaum placed a towel over his eyes and Elder Lee monitored his respirations. All the other men were asked to quickly jump down from the open air vehicles to help roll the Rhino off of his side.

This took quite a bit of effort. Then we went to work. Elder Davie was responsible for drilling the hole in the Rhinos horn to insert the microchip. The vet placed the chip and then filled the hole. One of the women was asked to record all the vital information that the vet relayed to her. The next task was placing the notches in his ears. Sister Kirchbaum was given this assignment. Our Rhino (who we named Ammon), was the 211th rhino chipped. The notches represented the number 211. Sister Jones was assigned to take some hair from his Ammon's tail for a DNA sample. Someone else took the shavings from his horn as well for a DNA sample. We then administered an antibiotic and Brother Donnelly asked the vet if I could be given this assignment because he knew I was a nurse. Let me just say, I was thrilled to have Ammon for a patient. I stayed close to Elder Lee as he monitored the young Rhinos respirations. At one point his respirations were a bit shallow, so he was given another drug through a catheter in his ear to wake him up just a bit.  Just before we woke Ammon Sister Nielsen put some gel in his eyes to keep them from drying out.

The whole procedure took about 25 minutes. When we administered the antidote everyone was told to quickly get back into the vehicles. We all sat quietly as we watched the young rhino wake up. He stood still for a moment while his legs wobbled and then he slowly ran off.  We sat in complete awe as we listened to the gentle cries that came from this little guy as he searched for his mother. We were later told by the helicopter pilot that the mother was very persistent and kept trying to return to her young.

The past 5 days in Kruger Park really made me appreciate what a great gift these wonderful creatures are to us. I love my Heavenly Father and I am so grateful to be here in this beautiful county.

THIS is AFRICA!!!!!!!!!

I have fallen in love with Africa

We just returned from a 5 day trip to Kruger Park 

and I have completely fallen in love with

 

AFRICA
Bruce and I were asked to join a group of couples who were going to Kruger Game Preserve to participate in a Rhino Rescue. We took two vans with 7Missionary Couples, and Elder Lee. We had a total of 21 people. Sean Donnelly who is the Public Affairs Officer for the church and his wife Diane met us at the lodge, Ndabushe, as well as the Nielsen's, and the Poleson's.

 

FROM THE MOMENT WE ENTERED THE FIRST GAME PRESERVE

I FELT LIKE

A CHILD AGAIN

I OPENED MY WINDOW,

 HUNG MY HEAD OUT

AND JUST SOAKED IN THE SIGHTS, SOUNDS, AND SMELLS OF
AFRICA

 

After we checked in to our lodge we took a short drive through Klaserie Private Nature Preserve.

We arrived just before the sun began to set

 



and that is when I knew I had finally discovered

Africa

The sky turned a beautiful shade of gold

and then

as if a light switched on

the moon began to fill the night sky

 

 

Saturday morning we got up early and headed out to Kruger Park

No words can describe the feeling of seeing these amazing creatures

 

  

I was surprised at how big the elephants were

We found this little group and watched as the largest elephant showered herself with wet sand

 Each time we stopped the car I found myself completely in awe of these beautiful creatures

 

 

 

 

Genisis: 25 And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

 

and it WAS GOOD

 

IT WAS OH SO GOOD!

 

The Kruger Game Reserve  

In 2013 over 1,000 Rhinos were poached in South Africa alone. The Kruger Game Reserve is very concerned with protecting the rhinos from poaching. Sean Donnelly from our area office, organizes 3 groups of volunteers a year who finance and work on the capture team.  The park relies on sponsor groups to tag,(implant microchips)  and mark (ear notch) the rhino population. To date 210 Rhinos have been tagged and marked. Since the project began only three poaching incidents have occurred in Kruger Park, while there have been many more in the surrounding areas.  

 

 

These two sweet creatures were caught by poachers who cut off their horns with a chain saw. The Rhinos have been rescued and unfortunately they have been so mutilated their horns will never grow back. They now have steel plates put in place of their horns. The Rhino Rescue Project is an attempt to discourage poaching Rhinos for their horns.

 

 

 

 

Orange Farm

I sat next to these two little angels today during the first hour of church.
They were so adorable and sat so reverently during the entire service. When the 3 hours of church ended
I saw them begin their walk home
ALONE
I asked someone who they were and where their parents were
So one of the members asked the girls and they said their parents were home.
Their parents are not members of the church so these two sweet girls came to church
ALL BY THEMSELVES
I remembered when they arrived and I helped the little girl take her backpack off
She carefully unzipped it and brought out her Book of Mormon
She held it in her hand throughout the entire meeting

The third hour of church this little angel and I played with my I-pad. She loved taking her own picture.
Then we just looked though all my family photos.
I love going to church at Orange Farm. I especially like when I get to interact with the members of the church.
Today before church began I spoke to a woman and her 39 year old daughter. When I asked the older woman how many children she had,  she paused a moment, then said,

"I had 5 but then one of my sons

DISAPPEARED"

She went on to say,

"so now I have 4."

I wonder what that would be like

To just have a child disappear

The bond between a mother and child is so strong

Every day I see mothers caring for their babies,
Last week at church I watched a baby begin to fuss in her mothers arms and the mother gently wrapped her baby around her back and began to rock back and forth
  soon the baby was fast asleep.

Today I saw a mommy tie her baby to her back and when the mothers friend tried to adjust the blanket the mother said,
"Oh now, he is going to fuss"
Her friend tried to assure her the baby was fine,
and  asked
"Why do you say he is going to fuss"
The mother said,
"because I can feel him begin to struggle"

It made me think about how close a mother and her child are

From the moment we feel the first flutter as our child stirs within our womb are lives are interwoven.

In just a few days after birth we begin to develop an innate ability to read our babies cues,
We learn to know the distinction between a cry of hunger and a cry indicating it is time for a diaper change.
We know when our children need a little extra coaxing or encouragement to try something new
We know when our children need a little extra attention

It is an amazing, gentle knowing that mothers develop

We know that someday they will leave us
We know that someday they will be ready to be on their own
We prepare for the day they will marry and someday raise children of their own
But we are never prepared for a child to just

DISAPPEAR

today I am counting my blessings
and praying for my sweet friend
that someday
her beautiful son will return

Children are the same all over the world



Following the Disaster Response Vans into the area that experienced the fire

THE FIRST THING I NOTICED WAS THE CHILDREN

As I watched the vans being unloaded I couldn't stop looking at this little group of girls playing jump rope. I stood on the other side of the cyclone fence that surrounded the community center where all the donations were being distributed. I found myself drawn to the girls.
I was no longer  interested in the plastic bags we had taken days to sort but in the gentle snapping of the jump  rope and the sound of laughter coming from the children. 
It reminded me my own childhood and how I couldn't wait for the recess bell so that I could rush out to the play ground to jump rope with my friends.
 Oh how I wished I could run over and join them.
There was nothing holding me back but the warning we had been given by the leader of the Disaster Response team who told us it wouldn't be safe to be alone in this community.
The community center where the donated items were to be distributed was behind a guarded gate and several police officers were standing by in case there were any disturbances when the items were being distributed.

It struck me how resilient children are
How these children were happy to have their peanut butter sandwiches,
 their friends,
a jump rope
 and a rolled up plastic bag to play with

SOME OF THESE CHILDREN MAY HAVE LOST THEIR HOMES,
SOME OF THEM MAY BE SLEEPING IN A NEIGHBORS SHACK UNTIL THEIRS WAS REBUILT
SOME OF THESE CHILDREN MAY HAVE GONE TO BED HUNGRY
BUT TODAY,
THEY WERE JUST BEING KIDS








Fire in Capetown

 

 

Last Monday we were asked to go to Capetown in response to a fire that destroyed 200 homes in this community

 

 Capetown has several of these communities and it is not uncommon for them to experience fires that quickly ravish the area. The church was asked to help in the sorting of clothing and household items that were distributed to the affected families, We worked with some of the local members of the church so that the next time their community is affected by a natural disaster the members of the church will be prepared to respond quickly.

The first thing we did was enlist the younger missionaries who are serving their missions in Capetown
We couldn't have done it without them

 

Elder Kinghorn and Elder Lee kept right up with them, they were busy, sorting, stuffing, and carrying these heavy garbage bags for 3 days

We had to take a picture with Elder Wilde and his companion because he is good friends with Bo Oldroyd who was in our District in Ukraine for several months. (just had to show Bo who we ran into on our mission)