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.