Sunday, August 12, 2007

A Pleasant Sunday

I had a pleasant day today, though I don't have any pictures to show for it.

I got a ride from Tex to church again today. He gave me a ride last week as well. Can you close your eyes and picture Tex with me? Let me guess what you have in mind. A large white guy who has eaten a bit too much BBQ. Wears a tall hat and boots. Speaks with a drawl.

That's not Tex. Tex is about 5' 6" and was born in Portugal, named Jose Texeira. Cracks me up. Extremely nice guy. Married to a beautiful blonde South African with three adorable children. They'll likely be our closest neighbors here in Joburg, so we'll probably get to know them well.

I love the multicultural aspects of the ward here. There are such great insights raised from members here, especially the black ones. I love when they contribute talks or comments.

After church I was invited to dinner with the Cowans. Bob Cowan is the new DTA here in the South East Africa Area. What a fascinating job he has! He covers thirty or so countries and is responsible for all the church's assets across the entire southern cone of Africa. His wife and two sons arrived about the same time I did. They had lived in Holladay for the last 28 years or so. This is quite an adventure for them as well. It was nice to chat with them and hear about some of the things happening with the church down this way. He also noted several more things we need to do while we're here:
* Flea markets - named several
* The Lion King (the musical) - supposedly amazing here.
* Cheetah park, not far away
* A place about 30 minutes away where we can ride elephants.
* Pilanesberg - they went there last week and were like 15 feet from a massive bull elephant

Get excited guys!

3 comments:

Amy Gelwix said...

Hey...I was talking to my in-laws last night and made the connection that you might know the Cowans. They are from the same ward that Larry's parents are in and that Larry grew up in. Then I came to your blog and found it's true! Take care...

Katie said...

John,
this is exciting. I read your blog every single day. Are you able to see the comments?
love,Katie

Tyler said...

What does DTA stand for