Camp Luka Water Project with Cooks and Moons

While Elder Cook and Brent had things to do on the Saturday of the stake reorganization, the Moons, our Humanitarian couple took Sister Cook, their daughter, Marie and I to see a water project in Camp Luka.  It's a very humble part of the city of Kinshasa and the project is a great blessing to bring safe water to people who live in very meager surroundings. There is no power or water in this area of the city.

Water for washing food and other uses comes from a contaminated river a long distance from this place.   So the water brought from this well is a source of health and life to the people who live here.

 Whenever we go to an outlying area the children begin to gather. They love to see "musungus" and love, love.love having their pictures taken. They squeal with delight when they see themselves in pictures.  I used to wonder why they wanted their picture taken.  We don't give them the pictures. Now I have come to believe that it just makes them feel that in these masses of humanity they count. They're important the there will be a record of their being here. 

After visiting the well, we went to see a school where the church built a latrine.  It appears that the latrine was built some time ago.  It was still functioning and was the only facility for this little school.

The school master told us of his great need for materials and asked us to provide desks and school supplies, however the church doesn't do those projects. We concentrate mostly on supplying health care needs.  This school services 250 students, but that's only a fraction of the children in the neighborhood. Most of the children spoke no French, which is a strong indicator that they don't go to school. None of the teen age girls hauling water spoke any French, only Lingala. 

Near the school as a medical clinic.  It was the only source of medical care for many hundreds who live in this area.  There was a kindly nurse who runs the clinic. She was happy to show us her one-room clinic. There were posters talking about health care, hygiene and sanitation.  She teaches the children in the school. Elder Moon asked how families learn hygiene. The school master said it was hard because they must go door to door. People wouldn't leave their daily tasks to come to a class. Then he said "when you have no food, it's hard to worry about how to wash it when you do get it."

Seeing how clean water improves life in this land makes us so grateful for the church's humanitarian work.  We feel proud when we see the efforts of the church to make a difference. 

The Seventh Stake, Mokali, is created in Kinshasa

On Sunday, December 16, 2012  Elder Carl B. Cook created the Mokali Stake  in Kinshasa  DRC.  Members of the new stake came from the Masina and Kimbanseke Stakes.  At the meeting to announce the stake division there were more than 6,000 people in attendance. That number represents 93% of the membership of the two parent stakes. In order to accommodate the numbers attending, the special conference was broadcast into the halls and all the classrooms of the building. Tents were set up on the grounds of the chapel and were filled to capacity. Chamberlain MBONGOPASI was called as the first Stake President of the Mokali Stake.  President Thierry MUTOMBO of the Masina stake and President LONO of the Kimbanseke stake remained in their callings.

This stake is located in a densely populated area of the city teeming at all times of day with thousands of people .It will most certainly grow quickly and be a strong stake. 

Elder Cook was accompanied by his wife, Lynette and their recently returned-missionary daughter, Marie.
It was a pleasure for us to spend some time with the Cooks and to share this experience as the Mokali Stake was created.

 

We witnessed the creation by Elder Soares of the Binza Stake just three weeks ago and then this week the creation of the Mokali Stake by Elder Cook. The church is growing!! The Lord's hand is over Africa.

PS. As a personal note, did we ever think that we'd be speaking before 6,000 people? And that we would be doing it in French? Never!

Christmas Celebration and Piles of Dirt

We flew from Gabon to Pointe Noire. There Brent planned to have a priesthood leadership training and I did an auxiliary training. We also had  a zone conference and Christmas party with the eight American missionaries and the couple who are assigned there.   It's always an uplifting time when we're with them.  They work hard and have a lot of fun doing it. We had a great experience with these elders and the Wheatleys.  They are all hard working, kind and devoted to teaching and loving the people in Pointe Noire. We love them dearly!

The house in construction and the gate to Wheatley's home.

 The Wheatleys live on what is unquestionably the worst street that any senior couple has ever lived on.  It' a rough dirt road with many ruts and hills and lots of construction going on that make it difficult to navigate. Next door a man is building a new house and it's always a bit of a challenge to pass it and get into the driveway of the Wheatleys' house. Just as we were finishing our meeting we heard a huge truck that was making beeping back-up sounds in front of their home. Then we heard the sound of dirt sliding out of the truck and we all ran out to see what was happening. 

We arrived just in time to see the truck dumping the last of the sand and rocks in the middle of the road, making it impossible to get the Wheatleys' car out of their yard. When they saw us the driver hurried and  drove away.

 

Stunned,we stood for a minute wondering what the plan had been for the Wheatleys to use the road. Then we realized that they had the only car in the neighborhood and nobody else cared about a pile of sand and rocks blocking the road. They'd just walk around it. 

We began to wonder how we'd get to the planned training or even get to the airport the next morning. But the elders, without much hesitation, shed their ties, went around the neighborhood borrowing shovels and went to work. They shoveled sand and rock feverishly. They laughed, sang and threw a little sand on each other and within half an hour a small path began to emerge on the side of the road.

 Elder Wheatley wasn't very sure that it was going to work to drive on that little space and thought maybe we should move more sand and not just push the remaining  sand and rocks out of the way with the truck, forging a path as we went.   But Brent, a real lover of a driving challenge, jumped into the truck and off he went. The first try without 4-wheel drive didn't succeed, so he backed up, put it in 4-wheel drive and went right over the remaining sand and rock and was soon past the blockage.  

With a mighty cheer the elders "high-shoveled" each other.  We were all thrilled with the way another African obstacle had been surmounted. 

           These missionaries are awesome!

        Love, love, love 'em!

A Historic Moment-The Creation a Church Branch in Gabone

After many years of waiting, legal recognition was finally given for the church to enter Gabon. On Sunday, December 9, 2012 a small group of members in Libreville gathered  in the home of a friend of the church for the creation of the first branch in the country of Gabon.

With the approval of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve and under the direction of the Area Presidency, President Jameson announced to them that the Libreville Branch of the church was now created.  With great enthusiasm  the 15 members raised their hands in support of this historic moment for which they have been waiting.  It was a great blessing to be a part of this event with this sweet group of faithful saints.

President Armand and his counselor, Michael Moody, where then sustained and the work of the church officially began in this small corner of Africa.

With a little training and encouragement  the new leaders begin the task of helping it to be truly established and bringing others to share in the joy of the gospel.

The members will meet in the Moody home until a suitable rental property can be found. This cute little family from the US is going to be a great strength to this infant branch.

 Like the beginnings of the church in the time of the Prophet Joseph there was only a small group of members there, but we have faith that, like the church in times past, the numbers will grow and be a great blessing to this lovely little country of Gabon.

Our "African" San Diego Birthday Weekend

The first Monday of Dec. the Smiths invited us to their apartment for FHE with the couples.
We were going to see the pictures of the Moons' trip to Luputa, where I've always wanted to go and won't get to see.  However, it turned out to be a little surprise party for my birthday. These sweet senior missionary friends add so much to our life here.  We love these couples!

 

 Some weeks back Brent told me that he had planned a "San Diego Birthday getaway" for me. I knew immediately what that meant. We were going to be in Libreville, Gabon. We had recently received permission to create the first branch there.  It's a nice African city, which we have dubbed "San Diego à l'Afrique."  It is really a pleasant place, in a very African sort of way.  We stayed in a hotel on the beach and if you stretch your imagination a little  (no! a lot) you can think that you're in San Diego. However, it's definitely not the Hotel Del Coronado, even though it's about the same price to stay there.

  Meridian Hotel on the Beach in Libreville, Gabon.

The city is the nicest, cleanest and most comfortable in our mission. The Security man, who accompanied Elder Holland in November, was also there to assess the city. He was very impressed with its security.  We were amazed to see almost no barbed wire and generally there was no heavy security outside of properties.There were many Europeans and  people walked the streets without apparent concern. Those were all good signs that this is a safe and healthy city.

I actually sat in the lounge chairs, listened to the ocean and read for while when Brent was in meetings. In the afternoon we visited an arts and crafts marché and bought a solitaire game that I've wanted. The grandkids will love it. I must admit that I'm actually a bit addicted. We watched the sun set over the ocean and it was a beautiful evening. We talked with our kids too.  This was a birthday that is completely unique and I will not forget.  

Faithful 'til the End-Elder Prince

We have some wonderful missionaries in this mission and are learning great lessons from them.  We got this message from our senior couple about one of these terrific Elders,who finished his mission this week. He was indeed faithful to the work that he was here to do until the end.  We're so proud of him and will try to follow his example.

Here's the email that we were sent by our couple.

We took Elder Prince to the airport tonight at 8:30 and wished him luck.  I was at a rendezvous (teaching appointment) with him and Elder Porter until 6:30.  It was a 26 year old man that was baptized last Saturday.  They were there preparing him to receive the priesthood.  Elder Prince worked up until the last possible minute.  He then went home and packed his bags.  We will miss him.

In his last interview he promised Brent that he would be strong to the end of his mission. Well done, Elder Prince. We love you!

The Every Sixth Week Ritual

Every sixth week we have transfers. It's really a crazy time even when the numbers aren't too large. With big groups, it insane.
The schedule is that the day after a transfer Brent starts thinking about and working on the next transfer. When it's all in place Thierry starts working on visa issues since there are three, soon-to-be four countries involved.  Then we deliver the letters to each missionary who will be affected, usually between 25 and 50.  We work on plane tickets, packets of information and papers for both incoming and outgoing missionaries, transportation and schedules.
Transfers take three days.
Day 1- The new missionaries arrive and are picked up at the airport and brought to the office. We take their pictures for our missionary board  and give them their papers and supplies provided by the mission (bedding, books, red pencils, etc, etc.) The we get them settled in transition housing.
We bring the missionaries back from outlying cities who are going home and do the same with them.
Day 2-Brent has a final interview with each missionary going home and issues them a temple recommend. We weigh their bags and give them documents for them and their stake president and their transportation home. Then we take the going-home picture.

We take them to our home and do dinner and a testimony meeting. 

 

After that we send the departing missionaries to the employment center for a day and a half to help them see what possibilities there are in their future. The reintroduction of RM's to life is very hard, so we do this to help them see that they do have things that they can do to have a good future. Going home can be very discouraging with 90% unemployment and few good opportunities. So we hope to give them a hand up by having them do this training.
Immediately after that Brent holds the "train the trainers meeting." Each new trainer comes to the house and receives about 90 minutes of training on the church's First 12 Weeks training program.

Day 3- Brent interviews the new missionaries and then we and the Assistants do a morning of orientation and then lunch. Then they're trained in the afternoon on the First 12 Weeks program and they meet their new companions.  Our staff then loads them all into vehicles and delivers them to their first areas. 

We, at this point, collapse on the couch until we realize that we've done none of the normal things that we do during these three days, so we get up and move on.  This is the Every Sixth Week Ritual. 

Lesson from Alex

Today this sweet little four-year-old boy, named Alex, sent us an email. He had is mom type it for him. It's so wonderful that I have to have it in our history.
 "I love cheetahs. I love you so much Grammy and Papa. I want you to come back because I love you, but I know that Heavenly Father needs you being at Africa. 

I learned a sight word at school. I am practicing it all day. It is the-Like the cat, the moose, the horse and the cow.
I love you.

Love, 

Alex (typed by himself)
   Here's the whole story of this email, told by his wise and wonderful mom. 

"Alex wanted to send you an email today so he asked me to type it while he told me what to say. Here it is. He started telling me what to write and after he said "I want you to come back because I love you" he suddenly paused, then burst into big tears. When I asked what was wrong he sobbed "I just really miss them and want them to come back. Are they gonna stay forever?" I assured him you wouldn't stay forever and that it would just be a few more months and then you would come back. We talked about doing what Heavenly Father wants us to do and that we can all do hard things. I told him it was hard for you to live in Africa and that it was okay if it was hard for him because he misses you, but that it's very important for us to do what Heavenly Father wants, even when it's hard. He hugged me and wiped his tears and told me he could do a hard thing and that he wants you to do what Heavenly Father wants you to do. He loves you and misses you like we all do, but how better could he learn these lessons than through your example. What a blessing that our kids get to learn these lessons so young. We are all blessed for the sacrifices you make and are grateful that you are willing to teach us by example.

Love you,

Corinne "

I can think of a million reasons to go on a mission as a senior couple, but this is the best one I've ever heard. Thank you Alex and Mommy!  We can do hard things and we're blessed far more than we ever imagined when we do!! 

Stake Division- Kinshasa Continues to Grow

The day after Thanksgiving Elder and Sister Soares arrived from Johannesburg. He was here to divide three stakes, Ngaliema, Kinshasa, and Mont Ngafula, to create a fourth. That makes six in Kinshasa and a seventh will be created in two weeks.  He spent the whole day and into the evening Saturday interviewing because he  changed two stake presidencies,which requires getting people back and forth from long distances to interview and extend calls. Rule #1 really applies here. It's not like you can just call them and have them run over to the stake center. Moving people around is not easy! They had to go to great length to have interviews and make calls.
Saturday, Sister Soares held auxiliary training for stake leaders. We had the biggest classroom the building and it was filled to capacity.
 Sister Soares is just learning English and speaks no French, so they found a Portuguese translator. Ten minutes after the appointed time, he was not there and she and I were getting pretty worried that she would be trying her best in English and I would be trying my best to translate into French. But by the time we'd done the opening song and prayer the translator came. We were both very relieved. Sister Soares had prepared beautiful visual aids for her lesson and she had made a copy for each stake. Since there are very few visual aids available here, the sisters were delighted with what they received, not only in words but in beautiful posters. I had planned to do some of the training, but translation takes so long that I ended up just being there for moral support and it was OK! Her training was very good and the sisters loved her, how could they not? She's a sweet, gracious lady.

Notice there are no smiles.  It's like it was in the pictures of our ancestors, where you looked very serious for photos. 

 Sunday we had a conference where Elder Soares announced the stake division.  It was well attended with over 1,800 people there.  Since we can't take pictures in meetings, I only have a few of us trying to get out of the parking lot with the crowds parting like the Red Sea in front of our car, which was one of about 10 in the parking lot.

  Some wards had rented taxi buses for their members 

and they stood ready to cram in 20-30 people and head home. 

Later in the day Elder Soares held  a meeting for all endowed members. As we sat down on the stand he leaned over and asked us to give five-minute testimonies about the temple. In English, no problem! In French, extemporaneous speaking of any kind is challenging. I thought about using a translator, like Sister Soares did,  but I still think it's important that I use their language if I can, even if it's not perfect , which it certainly isn't. But I got through it and sometimes I feel like the spirit speaks better for me than I could with beautiful English. So, it was OK (except for my minor nervous breakdown) and after, people were kind  and appreciative of my efforts.
 In a city where over 8,000 members attended the conferences with Elders Holland, Clayton and Renlund last month, there were less than 300 in attendance at this meeting of endowed members.  Kinshasa anxiously awaits the new temple.

A Very Fast Trip

The day after we got home from Mission Presidents' Seminar Brent decided that we needed to have a Zone Leader Council, which we had thought we would skip because of our 19-day travel schedule this month. But he felt the need to go ahead with it.  So, I hurried and arranged for the lunch and Brent got the training ready and we held a monthly Zone Leader Council.  This is a tremendous group of young missionaries. Their job is to discuss mission issues, consider objectives, and receive training and then take the messages and decisions back to their zones. They are serious about this responsibility, take copious notes, and are just wonderful.

Walking the hall at the Adonis Hotel does
bring to mind a cruise ship.

 The day after that we headed out on our fastest trip ever to the outlying cities.  We had to cross the river and spend the night in Brazzaville because of the flight schedule.  Brent told the office staff that he was taking me on a little "overnight, romantic get-away." Crossing the river, staying overnight in a hotel, meeting with the Brazzaville stake president, eating camping meals, and reading and answering the 60+ emails from missionaries that come every week, is not my idea of a vacation!  But it was a nice thought.

Then Friday we headed out for Cameroon. We were gone for four days, took six flights, and visited three cities in two countries. Brent did priesthood leadership training in each city and interviewed 24 missionaries . We  held short zone conferences and dinner in each of the three zones. We have 20 North Americans, three Malagasies, and one Congolese there, plus our three fabulous couples.

While Brent interviewed missionaries I shared our Central African Republic and Elder Holland visits and talked about things we learned at the seminar. These were the only missionaries in our mission who missed the visit of Elder Holland. They were understandably sad not to have been there.
Distance, finances and national boundaries make it impossible for them to ever get to Kinshasa. The North Americans only serve in these three cities but are very accepting of this situation. .

I love to see the elders heading back to their sectors. They're really awesome!

It rained on and off for most of the trip, but it was a blessing to me that it didn't rain on any of our six flights.  When we got to Pointe Noire, the Wheatley's told us that it had rained heavily all the day before and there had been many areas flooded. As if life isn't hard enough, this is what  happened when hard rain hit this weekend and there was flooding.

 

So sad to see these people who already have so little suffer even more because of flooding. It will take them a lot of time to re-establish their homes.

We arrived home  the day before Thanksgiving just in time to get ready for dinner with our couples. We just love these folks and it was great to share Thanksgiving with good friends.

Later we talked to our children on Skype. They had it set up at Emily's home so that each family could greet us as they arrived and made last minute preparations.  It was really fun to almost feel like we were there.  When dinner was ready they asked Brent to ask the blessing, which he did in FRENCH.  Then they said goodbye and went on with their celebration.  We also had a chance to visit separately with some of the families at different times  We're so grateful for this good family of ours.

Late in the evening Brent turned on the television and to our surprise there was a football game. This was the first football game that Brent has seen in more than three years. He completely enjoyed it, even though the power went out right in the middle of the best play of the game.

We feel grateful for our bounteous blessings from our loving Heavenly Father.

We were also thankful for a great holiday with good food, friends, family and football. 

It's just what Thanksgiving should be.