Another Day at Home, Another project

Political situations have required us to stay in our apartments on several occasions the last week. We're safe and well, but things are pretty unstable in the Congo. So, we're spending some days confined to home. Thank goodness I brought my fabric and quilting things. Another day of confinement, another project. I like these simple little table squares that are making it look a little like the holidays.

We also found a tree, one string of lights and some red ribbon in the storage closet. We bought a few ornaments and some little beaded trees in South Africa. So, the weekend in the apartment passed pleasantly. I'm not sure what we'll do if it turns out that we're in our apartment for a week or two, but this weekend was not too bad.

Thanksgiving 2011

Our third Thanksgiving in Africa was a very nice, but quiet day. We missed watching the Macy's parade with grand kids, playing four square, eating yams and turkey, and lots of noise and confusion and fun! And of course checking out the ads and Black Friday shopping with my girls was missed as well.

But we had a wonderful afternoon with our missionary couples, Binghams, Hatches, and Staggs. We remembered back to the first African Thanksgiving when it was just Brent and me at the table. We're so grateful for good friends in Kinshasa. It such a blessing to have our senior missionary family here. They're terrific and we're so grateful for them.

Binghams made a basket of pies. They were made in the lids of pyrex dishes since pie tins are nowhere to be found. Africa makes you resourceful. They included apple and "pumpkin" pie made from some strange squash and real whipping cream on the top (that set them back $10). They were yummy. Staggs made gourmet hors d'oeuvres, and Hatches were on home-made roll-detail. It was a Thanksgiving feast as good as any at home, even though turkey and yams were missing. But, hey, it's Africa, you can't expect to have everything.

We tried to make it as festive and fun as we could and it turned out pretty well. We even had candy corns and chocolates (our tradition) to use to share our "thankful thoughts."

Brent even found a BYU replay on the computer and also watched part of a very late night football game, so we even had a little football.

We also got to talk to all but one of the kids' families. That was definitely the best part of the holiday. It was a Happy Thanksgiviiiiiiiiiiiiiing!

Shweshwe

We had a long, busy week with transfers happening Wednesday-Friday. Ten outgoing missionaries,nine incoming missionaries, 28 trainers and trainees, all came through our house. We held four meetings of between 2-4 hours long each and served almost 50 meals. So, we were ready for a quiet weekend.

I chose to have fun with some fabric I bought in S. Africa. It's called Sehoeshoe or shweshwe..

It comes in interesting small patterns with bigger coordinating prints on the back. It makes it easy to make outfits with this coordinated fabric used in different parts of the dress.

I've been trying to figure out how they make it, but even after reading about it I'm not sure how they dye it one way on one side a different on the other. So far it's a mystery to me.

I used shweshwe to make the box sashing around the autumn leaves and pumpkin. It was a fun and easy project. I do love a good project! I'm going to use it on the table for Thanksgiving and then make it into an autumn throw quilt for the back of the couch next fall. It sure was a fun weekend.

First try Second try

Here's a question for the OCD who read this. Can you see why I had to take the quilt apart last night and remake it? Just couldn't have enjoyed it the way it was the first try. Neurotic, right! Quiet evenings locked in the house can make you do crazy things! But it looks so much better!

Letter to the Pres.

Weekly missionary letters are one of the great things about being the mission president. Even here, where there aren't good ways to send them, most of the elders find a way to get letters to him. They mostly come hand written and stapled about 10 times for privacy. Nobody can afford to spend money on envelopes.

He receives about 120 letters a week and reads every one of them. He responds weekly to those who live far away, so they know he hears what they're experiencing and they feel his support from afar. It's hard to respond to every one in Kinshasa, since they have to be hand delivered. They relate their problems and needs, but they also tell about their joys, successes, new scriptural insights and the great epiphanies that occur in the life of a missionary. They share the simple miracle that occurs in their investigators. Even more wonderfully, they share the miracle that happens to change them. Reading their letters and hearing their feelings and stories is really one of the great pleasures of his calling.

I record, with his permission, an except from a letter from Elder Lamb. He's an American missionary, an excellent athlete who played football for BYU, yet a gentle, humble guy and a happy, hard working elder.

"It really is cool to see that by small and simple things, great things come to pass. Like us small and simple missionaries all throughout the world helping 1 or 2 people at a time come unto Christ. 180 years of small and simple things and a marvelous work and a wonder has come to pass. It's just cool."

Now there's one of the many great rewards of serving as a senior missionary.

Post cards home

In South Africa there is mail. It's a treat to be able to communicate with family. We're happy to let them know we're thinking of them. Seems a bit silly to those who live in a place that has mail service. You don't really think about this blessing or you even complain about getting piles of mail a day. But here in the DRC, mail is non-existent. So, we found post cards of the animals we'd seen on this trip. The stamps we got commemorate the 100th anniversary of airmail service in S. Africa. They were just awesome, although getting the stamp unattached from the airplane was a bit of a challenge. If I were a stamp collector, I'd have this in my collection. Next trip, we may even try sending a package!

The Lion Park and a Casino visit

Friday we decided to take a P-day. There are few recreational opportunities in Kinshasa, so we took advantage of our time in Johannesburg and visited the Lion Park.

We were able to go with the Harms, who are just about to return home to Arizona from the PA mission. They were orienting two new PA couples who had arrived days before. The Roberts will serve in S. Africa and the Pugmires will serve in Kenya. We all played hooky and took the day off to visit the Lion Park and MonteCasino.

In this park you drive through in your own car.

The animals are in separate enclosures, not living together as they do in the big game parks, but there are no fences between them and us. So, it was easy to see and enjoy them.

We saw a large herd of Impala with lots of new babies.

giraffes

zebras

foxes and cheetahs

varieties of birds

and meerkats (so cute!)

But the main attraction was lots of lions. There were lions and white lions. White lions come from a recessive gene. It was a hot day and they were all pretty lazy, but we still enjoyed them.

Again we had a chance to interact with the animals. They had a lion cub petting compound.

They were so adorable, but even as cubs they didn't hesitate to make their wishes known.

One little guy got a bit feisty and chewed on my arm. It didn't hurt at all, but made me a little nervous. Another cub stole Elder Robert's BYU hat away from him and he had little tug-a-war to get it back.

After our time at the Lion Park we went to a local casino. Yes, missionaries at a casino! Oh my! It's like a casino in Las Vegas. In JoBurg, however, the casino part is totally separate from the theaters, shops, musical venues, restaurants, etc. etc. We had a nice time walking through the "fake streets" of the MonteCasino and stopping for an Italian lunch at a sidewalk café.

It was a fun P-day. We loved spending time with the great PA couples and appreciate the Harms letting us tag along.

Stuck!

As the time to return home approached, we received a call from our staff in Kinshasa saying that one of the candidates for the presidency of the DRC was coming to the airport the same day that we planned to arrive. They didn't feel like it was a good idea for us to be at the airport that day, so our stay was lengthened. We'd planned to fly on Fri. There are no flights to Kinshasa on Saturday and so we rebooked for Sunday. Being STUCK in Johannesburg certainly isn't the worst thing that could happen, but it was just another test of how flexible we can be. How long can one live without a blow dryer? We were also getting anxious about the things that we needed to do at home. We were supposed to speak in a Stake Conference on Sunday and felt badly about not being there. But we are making sure to be prudent in all the things we do, so we stayed for two more days.

Thanks to the wonderful Area President, we were allowed to stay in the residence of the Area Presidency. They have an apartment that is empty since the Claytons, who actually graduated from Highland High School with me and are coming to serve as area legal council, are still in SLC awaiting visas. We had a beautiful and convenient place to stay and a car with a GPS. The house is on the same property as the temple, area offices and distribution center. So, it was a great place to be staying in order to get a few things done while "stuck" in JoBurg. We were also pretty ready to leave hotel living after a full week, so we were most grateful for the kindness extended.

The "White House," as most missionaries call it, is a beautiful old mansion that has been converted into the living space for the three members of the Area Presidency, the area attorney and their families. With my love of architecture and old places, it was a dream to stay there. It's actually called the "Endulini House" The name is Zulu for "on the hill." It was built in 1937 and owned by the church since 2001.

The house is beautiful inside and out. Brent even got to watch a little BYU sports and it was about the first time in five months that I've seen him so relaxed.

While staying there we got to do some work with people in the area office, go to the temple, have a nice meal out with the Elder and Sister Soares and one with Elder and Sister Webb, the area PEF directors. Every senior couple and area staff member we met treated us kindly and were so helpful to us. What great people are serving in the SE Africa area!

We also spent a great day with the Harms and two new PA couples who had just arrived from the US. But that's for another blog. Being "stuck" was actually quite a sweet blessing and all was well when we arrived home in Kinshasa.