Program for construction and Fun with Missionary Couples

Program for Construction

 Here in Kinshasa the church is doing a new pilot program for developing nations. It's the first one of its kind and is probably the last big thing done by Bishop Burton before he was released. He was very anxious about the lack of employment in the Congo and this was the idea that they came up with to help that problem. PEF is in Kinshasa, and is wonderful. Our missionary couple, Staggs, have really worked to get it started here in the Congo. It's a good  program and many are benefiting from it. But it's very hard to get a job even after you go to school. There are fewer jobs than people looking for work, even for those who are trained. So another alternative will be a great blessing too. This new program is addressing the problem in a completely different direction.
They will teach young RM's and other qualifying members construction and management skills. Then these people will work as apprentices in the construction of new church buildings. They'll start small with little walls and baptismal fonts and move on to the construction of 11 new, desperately needed, chapels in Kinshasa, Likasi, Lububmashi, Kananga, and Luputa. So everybody benefits.  After learning these skills, the young men will hopefully be well qualified to move into the private sector to start their own businesses or work for others.  It's a great idea and we're praying for it to work. There is such a tremendous need. We hope that the combination of these two approaches will be a help to build a better future for this younger generation.

The church has brought two couples here to work on this project.

The first couple is the VanHauvermat, Eric and Chantel. They come from just outside of Geneva, Switzerland.  He speaks a little English, and Chantal speaks almost NO English.  They also brought Chantal's 80-year-old mother, Janene. Can you imagine moving to the Congo at that age? She's amazing and wonderful. She's been called to teach young women in the ward. They love her and she's doing a great job! (There's a picture below of little Janene with big   Elder Bingham.)


We love this family and although he's an employee of the church, to us they  feel like another senior couple.                  

The other couple is the Billings, who come from Utah. He taught construction management during his career and is an able and willing teacher in the program. He says that he's never loved teaching more than he does with this group of students. We're happy to have these two great couples in our midst.

Fun with Couples

Having other couples  is one of the greatest blessings of our current mission. We love working with them and we love playing together. It's our only form of recreation and having a dinner together or making a little outing is our best idea (actually only) idea for a good p-day.  Dinner together is always fun and we've even found several outings to do that have been good breaks for us. Humanitarian projects make for a great Saturday outing. We just have fun being together. It's a dimension of missions that it very special. We're grateful for all of these good mission couples, who will be special friends forever.
Just about anything we do together is fun.

  

      Working in the kitchen for Sisters' conference         Craft shopping with the ladies on Thierry's B-day

              Many Nice Cream visits                                 At the horse Show with couples in Johannesburg

   

                 Chatting in two languages                                          Humanitarian outings with Binghams

 

                        Lunch at the Art School                              Long and short of it. Elder B and Janene

  

                  Humanitarian Turn over ceremonies in Kimbanseke and St. Joseph's Hospital

  

        Primate Park Outing in Yaoundé                               Callahans, Jamesons at Nutalls' home in Douala
Missionary couples are the greatest.  We're so happy to have them.This ten months has been a lot more sociable than our first 10 months alone in Lubumbashi. We love knowing these fabulous mission couples, those in Kinshasa, those in the outlying areas, and those who we just meet passing through our mission who work in the area office and travel all over Africa as Doctors, attorneys, accountants, humanitarian workers,   auditors, etc.  If you have a skill it can be used in Africa. If you don't think you have any skills, you'll discover them and be taught new ones.
We just have FUN!  Last night we got an email invitation from the Binghams to come with them at 10:30 today for a SURPRISE!
We were so curious that we made sure to be available. It turned out that we picked up Sister Smith and the Staggs along the way. When you're invited, you go!    As we drove it became clear that we were headed toward the Kinshasa stake center and then we knew what the SURPRISE was.  The big outing was to a new grocery store that just opened today. Now in the 'real world' a trip to the grocery store wouldn't be a reason for such great glee, but here we were almost giddy with the idea of seeing a real, modern, fully stocked store. And it didn't disappoint!  There was even a B2GOF offer on Laughing Cow cheese and the cow was there to advertise.

 

We'd watched the sign go up and were excited to see when and if it would ever open.  And it did!!  It was full of a lot of expatriates who were wide-eyed and thrilled to see this wonderful place.  It's called Shop Rite. It comes from South Africa and it's AWESOME!!! It's huge, and has isles and isles of stuff--All kinds of good stuff. It's like....... a..........a WAL-MART!  I would never have been this happy to see a Wal-Mart at home, but here, "It's heaven!"
(That's a direct quote from Sister Stagg.)

 We had a great little outing.  Our couples are so much fun, even  a trip to the grocery store becomes a party with these great folks.

PS. The cow became our best friend and was everywhere with us. It was just a little frightening. :)  He was just way too clown-like for my taste!