August Transfers

We got home from the New Mission Presidents' seminar in Joburg just in time for transfers. Letters were out and people knew where they'd be heading by the time we got home. This time there were no complaints about their assignments, which was progress. Some of the elders had already started shifting by the time we got here. Pascal, our office worker, had headed off to Matadi to take the transfered elder there and pick up a departing elder, and the shift in Brazzaville was beginning. By Thursday it was total craziness around here.

We had the departing elders in our apartment all morning while Brent interviewed each of them and then we had a testimony meeting and farewell dinner with the departing missionaries, AP's and us. These 9 elders came to Kinshasa on their missions the same day that we arrived here on our first mission. It's very strange that we came, went home, and came back just as they finished their missions. Elders Yongoie, Mukenge and Kapele (on the back left in this picture were with us in Lubumbashi, came here just as the mission split and all now head home to Lubumbashi and Likasi.) It's the end of an era and kind of sad to see them go. They were part of our special Lubumbashi Camelot moment and we love them.

On Friday the 14 new missionaries arrived, wide-eyed and happy and eager to go to work.

There were missionaries coming and going everywhere and half of them were coming from remote cities and were pretty clueless about what was going on. Even running water, flush toilets, elevators, cars, and eating utensils were all new to them. The office was a madhouse with piles of belongings left behind by the departing elders who had packed too much weight to be allowed on planes and arriving missionaries laden down with every personal belonging they owned.

We had the new missionaries up to our apartment for a breakfast. Then we held orientation meetings done with Brent and the AP's. It was a little stressful since both the AP's had only been called two days before because of unusual circumstances. But it all went wonderfully. They did a great job, assisted by Elder Yongoie, our AP who was heading home this transfer. We then served lunch and had a testimony meeting. After that we sent them on their way. As they headed for the vehicles, one tiny, little sister from Mbuji-Mayi swung her gigantic suitcase up onto her head and marched to the truck. Only in the Congo!