SPRING FOR YOU, FALL FOR US

Greetings Everyone:
Well here we are again.  This time you are heading into Spring and we are headed for Fall and Winter!  Hope you are all well and enjoying life . We are coming up on our 6 month's anniversary in South Africa and I can tell you that it is flying by.  There were a few days in the past weeks that it seemed to be at a standstill but as I reflect now, it's all kind of a blur.  Elder Jarvis and I did not escape the "African  Flu" that  arrived with a vengeance here but I'm very happy to report we are on the mend.  Yea!  I missed 5 days at the temple and Elder Jarvis has missed two.....so far.  But not to worry  we are both feeling much better today.  Several of the missionaries have been ill but those who stayed well have taken very good care of the rest of us. They have brought in meals, delivered flowers, phoned us and kept the temple going with a very  "skinny crew".  We are so grateful for all the temple missionaries.  They are the best!

We continue to be very busy at the temple,..  This week the temple housing is full of patrons from the D.C. Congo.They are so anxious to complete work for their ancestors and arrive early each day to do baptisms and be ready for the other ordinances by the time we arrive. It has been an amazing week!  There is a little chill in the early morning air so I do believe it is beginning to be Fall in South Africa.  This week we are getting another temple missionary couple, the Johnsons, from Texas.  That brings our total to 5 couples  but we are losing another couple in April.  The Johnsons will be moving into the flat next door to ours so we are anxious to meet them.  We understand that Elder Johnson is a retired medical doctor......so won't that be convenient!  Friday was quite the day.  There were only 3 couples to run the whole temple....but guess what we made it.  Yes, it worked. We were really  hustling around but we were able to do it.  We had 4 sessions and that meant that most of the time one of the 3 couples was running a session and the rest had to do all the other things that go with the running of the temple.  We were so blessed and when it was over we couldn't believe what had been accomplished.

My group of piano students continue to grow but we are not very consistent.  Hopefully we can find a way to purchase a few more keyboards since that seems to be our biggest problem.  Our ward is getting ready for Ward Conference next month and I have been asked to help the choir again.  I love doing it, it's just the time factor,.  Since we are in the temple everyday, the only time I can help them is on Sunday and that's when we try to do the piano lessons too.  Just need an extra week here and there I guess.  We are blessed to have a Pday each week and that has been a wonderful time to experience  the beautiful birds, scenery and  animals of South Africa.  Tomorrow the temple couples are going to Pilatesburg.  It's not too far and many of the amazing animals of this country  are in that area.  Kudu, giraffe, zebra, elephants, hippos, rhinos, baboons,and the birds!  I am really looking forward to it. Joe continues to be very busy with the management of the flats  People always seem to be coming or going but he enjoys being of service and as you know he is not afraid of hard work!
I
I thought you might be interested in a typical week for temple missionaries.  We work at the temple Tuesday through Saturday and are assigned to a ward that we attend each Sunday.  We are unable to participate in many of the ward's activities because we are in the temple but we enjoy participating in the Sunday meetings and getting to know our African brothers and sisters a little better.  On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday we work from 12:30 until about 8:30 or 9:00.  On Friday we go in at either 4:30 a.m. or 12:30 p.m. and on Saturday we report at either 5:45 a.m. or 8:00 a.m..  When we report at 4:30 a,m. we work until 12:00 and when we report at 12:30 we work until 8:00 or 9:00 p.m. We rotate going in early every other week.  The weeks truly do fly by and the work is always so exciting that no two days are the same. It truly is a miracle to see how just a handful of workers can keep the temple operating.  Truly a testimony to see how it works!

There are 7 tribal languages in South Africa plus Africaans, French, Portugese, and of course English.  But we have patrons from Madagascar who only speak Malagasy.  Patrons from Mozambique who only speak
Portugese and also patrons from Botswana, Uganda, Congo, Swaziland, Namibia, and Zimbabwe and several other countries.  It really is an amazing experience to be here.  I love seeing the sisters come in in their native dress.  They are so beautiful and have prepared themselves both physically and spiritually for this very special day.  Wish you could all see it!

Well I have rambled on long enough...We send our love and prayers to all of you dear friends and family.  Thanks for your emails, cards and calls.  We love hearing from you. Happy Easter to all!

Till next month
Love,
Elder and Sister Jarvis
Grandmother and PaPa Joe
Joe and Kathy
Mom and Dad