In our last exciting episode.......

Let's see where to begin. Last we spoke we were heading over to Malawi for the dedication. It was fabulous. We had been working on the program and the planning of this event for several months. When it finally came down to the last couple of days, we were ready. Sister Bullock and Arlene were at the chapel and Elder Bullock and I went out to the airport to meet Elder Russell M. Nelson and Elder Dale G. Renlund and their wives. It was so great to be with these Brethren. When I greeted Elder Nelson he said, "How are you Mikele?" I said we are doing very well. He asked, "Have you got all of the tree's cut down yet?" I told him no, not yet. We went on to the meeting and enjoyed the Spirit that comes from such a great event. Later in the day as we were on the way back to the airport, Elder Nelson spoke of the "tree" question. He said, "Remember President, your job here is to cut down the tree's. You just get us pointed in the right direction. Someone else will pave the road." I am thankful for those simple words. For me they spoke volumes. Since we came here, we have wanted to do so much. We feel everyday that we are running out of time. We have so many things we want to do. But because of "things" you just can't. My "things" list is a block long. We are so hampered here. We lack the electronics that we need. If the powers not off, the Internet is down, and if the Internet is not down the cell phones won't work. So it goes on and on. I am thankful that the old "Mike" the one who has no patience is not here anymore. The Mission President has taught him that it will all take place in the Lord's own time. I am thankful for those simple words, "Just cut down the tree's Mikele". We hope you were able to see some of the pictures on the Internet and in the Church News. After the dedication, we were able to go out with some of the missionaries to a wild game park. We will put up some of the pictures tonight. If the Internet works, HA! We just got back from a week in Johannesburg. We were invited down to a conference with all of the other Mission Presidents and their wives. We had a wonderful time. We were able to listen to council from our Area Presidency. They are inspired men and we were filled with good council and good food. We were able to do some shopping there. We even went to a Cheetah Park. We were up close and personal with them. Oh my! It was very exciting. The things you get to do on a mission are things you only dream of. To be in the wild with these animals is beyond words.

We have been home now for a few days. We have been working hard. We were blessed this week with a new couple to work in the office here. We are so blessed. They will be such an asset to us. We pray that the rest of you will want to come. We have lots of room and there is plenty of work to do. Next month we will have our own Public Affairs couple come and be here. We have so many things to do. It will be so great to have them help with all of the projects we have planned. We are sorry it has taken us so long to post to the blog. We have been on the run. We are now in the rainy season. Now for us at home, you might get some rain. but here we get RAIN. Oh my were talking major league rain and the lighting! WOW! It just shakes the house. I am so happy to pull the covers over my head. Samantha, you would never survive! Wow! We hope all is well with you all. We miss you. We love you. We think of you always. We are thankful that the Lord took a chance on us. We thank all of you for your kind words, your love and prayers. We hope you like the pictures. We will write again soon.

xoxox M&A

A few weeks ago we were able to take a day when we were in Johannesburg and go out into the bush to another wild animal park.....

I know it looks like Jurassic Park right?

Just on the other side of the gate was this big Lion, the King of the Jungle. This guy wanted to eat the head of this Springbock. He was pacing back and forth trying to figure out how to get the meat.

In just a matter of minutes he dug his way under the fence and was able to get a claw on it. It was so neat. His growl still keeps me up at night!

He got hold of it but he couldn't figure out how to get it under the fence....

If you pull just hard enough....you get the prize!

Just down the road we were followed by a pack of wild dogs. They hunt in packs about twenty at a time will chase their prey down. They hunt at night. They will chase for hours at a time.

This was one of the most amazing things we have ever seen. We entered into another part of the park and were able to get close to the Cheetahs. There were three of them. The guide stopped the truck and said, watch the bushes over there. We waited for just a few minutes and out they came.

The dogs were close by.....

These guys came right up to us. We were about 10ft. from them. When this one walked by, he raised the hair on his back to let us know....don't mess with me!!

This one just watched....

After the guide gave them some horse meat, they just went over next to the tree and sat....probably looking for dessert....

The old bald guy.... I bet he dosen't run very fast.......

Naw......let's see what else we can find.....

It didn't take long to figure out where he was headed....

This one was the guard.....boy can they run fast.....

Look at those eyes.....

It was a neat day. We will post again soon.

More pictures.......

We were able to get back on.....scroll down for more....we hope!

Scroll down.....

We were able to get on the internet on the 17th and the 19th. We will send you more pictures as we get back on the network. We are fine and doing well. Miss you all.

M&A

You just never know what will run across the road...

We continued on and we finally found the elephants....

We were able to get out of the truck and walk right up to them!

Unless you go way into the bush most of them are in small parks. The ones out in the wild won't let you up close. This guy was huge!

We were just down the road and we spotted these Giraffe's. The look on their faces speaks volumes. We looked at them and they looked at us.

We saw a total of 17.

Our guide said he had never seen this close together. Must have been a meeting! What a picture. You lookin at me?

We walked right up to them. They were really quite.

This one just kept to himself.

When you need, desks, chairs, or anything else.......

just head on down to "Muyambango & Company"

If we don't have it in stock....we'll make in 30 minutes of less......available on any street corner in Lusaka.....

So I happened to mention that the plane from the border would probably be just a bit smaller than the one we took when we arrived....

It hold eight people and you get a great view out the front window.....

Oh, did I mention the thunderstorm.....

What a ride......

Everyone cheers when the plane comes in.....

These are our Sister's in Malawi. A good group.

A big group of new Elders......

How many can you fit in one small truck??

We were able to find new bikes in Malawi. Assembly required.

About 30 minutes later.....last minor adjustments.