JOHN !!!

Kathy and Kurt spent a relaxing Wednesday in rainy Cape Town wandering through an upscale, modern mall and through the shops on the V&A waterfront. On Thursday morning we rented a car and drove over to the mission home to pick up Elder Krieger. What a thrill to see John after two years! He has grown a few inches but is his happy, effervescent self. It was fun to see him interact with his fellow soon to be released friends and hear some stories. President and Sister Merrill (who only arrived last month) were great.

We drove over to the hotel, disposed of some particularly worn-out clothing and headed out on a drive. With John navigating, Kurt could concentrate on driving on the left side of the road. We first stopped at Boulder’s Beach for lunch and to see the African Penguins (added to the list!). Then on down the east side of the peninsula to Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope enjoying great views and lots of scenery (we saw ostrich, hadeda ibis and a herd of 30 eland at the cape). We rode the funicular up to the lighthouse (and thought of Grandma Krieger, Happy Birthday Molly!) Our path took us through Fish Hoek (pronounced “hook” meaning corner in Afrikaans), which was John’s first mission area. We saw a bit of the township where he did most of his work and marveled that he spent his entire mission working in townships, where the poorest Africans live. He said he always felt safe there, as they understood the efforts of the Mormon missionaries. It is amazing that they were so welcoming to a young white man from Draper, Utah. We finished our drive back to Cape Town up the west side of the peninsula along the Chapman’s Peak Road past the mountains known as the Twelve Apostles, through the city and back to our hotel.

Cape of Good Hope