Going to Burundi-The Dot is Filled

On Monday night, we had our farewell dinner at the nice Italian restaurant in town and were all ready to leave on Tuesday. But it didn't work out until Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2010 when we finally left Lubumbashi. We were delayed for one final day because of visa problems and only by a miracle (and a crazy one at that) were we able to leave when we did. On Tuesday, which was the day we were originally scheduled to depart, our passports were still in Kinshasa and we had no visas. We knew that we wouldn't make it on Tuesday and weren't sure when it would happen. It didn't look promising!

Pres. Packer tenaciously kept calling the travel department all day. Finally, Vincent reported that he had the needed documents and would send them on a plane to us Tuesday afternoon.

He told us the name and phone number of the man who would bring them, who he described as an East Indian friend wearing a blue shirt and black suit. He was coming on a private African airline. Any other information kept changing hourly as we waited. The arrival time of the plane was reported to be anywhere from 4 pm and 9 pm. Our tickets were for 11 a.m. the next morning, so it was getting scary. We waited anxiously for word from the East Indian man. Finally at 9 pm we got a call from him. He had arrived at the Lubumbashi airport.

Brent and I hurried to the airport to meet him. We had to wait outside the doors this time and we watched for the East Indian friend in his blue shirt and black suit. It seemed that all the people were off the plane and we hadn't seen him. We were getting a bit panicky.

Then a man came up to us, stared at our tags and asked if we were from The Church of the Latter-day Saints. He was a black man dressed in tan pants and no jacket. He did have a blue shirt. We were confused that he didn't fit the description Vincent had given us, but relieved to see him. He handed us our package and assured us that he had not looked in it. As we eagerly opened it, there they were,passports, visas and airline tickets for the four senior missionaries and 6 of our eight elders. Two were not able to come because of passport problems and will have to come a week later.

Pres. Packer had promised a ride home for our helper in return for his kindness, so we put him and his friend in the back seat of the truck and headed for the city. It turned out that he lives on the other side of the city. He lead us around for 20 minutes through unfamiliar dirt roads almost too small to pass, around piles of dirt and garbage half the height of the truck, over bridges and all in total darkness. He and his friend were talking together in a language we didn't recognize most of the time. During our travels Brent asked the man how he knew Vincent. His answer was "Vincent Who?" Vincent had given our documents to a complete stranger because he felt like the man looked like an honest man. Thankfully he did turn out to be honest and we got our things.

So, there we were, driving around at 11 o'clock at night in the middle of Africa with two total strangers, who were conversing in a completely unknown tongue, on roads that looked like we were going into the middle of nowhere. I was gettng very nervous. I wasn't sure if we were allowed to leave safely, that we could even find our way home. Just before we got to the stranger's house, Brent said, "I know where we are! We once looked at an apartment to rent for the sisters which is right around this corner." We had not rented the apartment because of the complicated way you had to get to it in the rainy season, but sure enough, there was the street we recognized and Brent knew the way home. Our trip to Burundi was saved with the help of "an honest man" and we could actually find our way home so that we could go. We were relieved that it had all worked out and our documents were in hand. Finally we knew that we were going to Burundi in just a few hours.

Wednesday we left our home on Avenue Gambela in Lubumbashi for the last time with very mixed feelings. We had spent a good year there and we walked away with tender feelings for this place and it's people. We had helped to set up the Lubumbashi mission and worked with and loved the wonderful people of the Congo, especially the missionaries. We had visited the missionaries one last time on Monday and delivered support money and transfer letters. We were excited about this opportunity, but sad to leave behind people whom we love so much and will, in all probability, never see again.

Our departure will leave Pres. and Sister Packer there without any other couples and we know how difficult that can be. Our AP's, Justin and Serge were all there to see us off. It was a tender parting. But we were off to Burundi.

Burundi is about 600 miles from Lubumbashi, but you can't get here from there. So, our journey took us 18 hours of travel. We spent an 8-hour layover in the Nairobi airport where we took up residency in a cozy little corner at the end of a hall.

We arrived in Bujumbura, the capital of Burundi and our new home at 2:00 A.M. on Thursday . We had landed in five countries on our journey-Lubumbashi in the Congo; Ndola in Zambia; Nairobi in Kenya; Kilgali in Rwanda; and at last Bujumbura in Burundi. Our adventure in the establishment of the church in Burundi had begun.

Recently we saw the video Pioneers in Africa. In it there was a map of the Church's presence in Africa at the current time. All the countries where the Gospel has been taken were in red. In the middle there was what appeared to be a tiny little heart that's white. No church presence!

With our landing in Bujumbura that white dot was filled. What a privelege it is to help take the Gospel to a new land. At 2:00 a.m on Thursday, September 23, 2010 the dot was filled.