Church in Malueka

 

When we're in Kinshasa we try to go to different wards each Sunday to see our missionaries, visit the investigator classes and meet the ward leaders. Since there are seven stakes with about 8-10 wards per stake, that doesn't mean that we're frequent visitors. It would take us a year to go to each ward, if we didn't travel outside of Kinshasa..  But it's still a good idea to visit when we can.

This week we were invited to go to church with the Billings. They go occasionally to a ward where one of their construction program students lives. This week they were going to go to Jacob's ward. Jacob would be meeting us on a main road since finding this building is a challenge and the Billings had only been there a time or two.

The Malueka Ward is one that is far out in the city and meets in a very isolated, rented building. The building was clean and well cared for, although not too well quipped.  

The chapel isn't big enough for all the members so they've put an awning outside and about 25 people sat there. Because there was no microphone, I doubt that they heard much of the meeting. It's always amazing to me that they are so patient and willing to deal with inconveniences. They sat reverently and faithfully through the whole meeting.

We were please to find that two of our returned missionaries were there, as well as two of our current missionaries. There was also a missionary who had just returned four days before from the Lubumbashi mission, who had served in Burundi. We had a great little visit with all of them. 

One of the returned missionaries was one whom we dearly love. He began his mission the same day we went on our first mission. We served together in Lubumbashi and Burundi.  He's just a wonderful young man. After going home, and because he had no family to help him get re-established he ended up in a very bad position.  He was homeless, jobless and pretty desperate.  With a little gift from an anonymous donor that would allow him to have transportation and a little encouragement, he got into the program for construction. Today he has a full-time job as a mason and a tiny home of his own and is just full of hope and joy.  It was so wonderful to see the turn around in his life. he just needed an opportunity and he worked hard and made a good life for himself. We're so proud of and happy for him.  In Sunday School class he leaned over and handed me a little piece of card stock. It was a letter from us that we gave him and the other Elders when we left Burundi, along with a nice triple combination. He gave me one of his big grins and we both know of the special moment we'd spent together as missionaries. What a great joy it is to see him doing so well.

The people in this ward have rarely had visitors.  The Bishop and his counselor were very pleased to have the two couples come to their ward and wanted to have their picture taken with us.

They told us that a mission president had not been there before because of the bad road. They were right about the bad road. We've been on a lot of pretty bad roads in Africa  but this one is prize winning and Elder Billings gets the new "mission dare-devil driving award" for having driven it. Sister Billings tried to video it, but it was impossible. All she got was a camera waving around as we were being thrown around in the truck.  The few pictures I got don't do it justice, but most of the time I was hanging on too tightly to stop from being tossed around to worry about pictures. It was the most unlevel, deeply-grooved road that we've ever seen. It was just wide enough for one car, but we had to pass several huge trucks hauling things to the end of the road.  It was about 30 minutes of  four-wheeling that I won't ever forget. Sometimes we were up on the edge of a gully and then sometimes we had to drive down threw the gullies to even move forward. We drove up hills that lead out of the gullies at about a 60% angle.  It had rained the night before so there was a lot of mud. In one place Elder Billings got through a space between a wall and a truck and having pulled in the rear view mirrors we had about 1/2 inch clearance on either side. We were on a muddy slopping road and we couldn't believe that we didn't slide into the truck or scrape any vehicle. Masterful driving. There just is no accurate way to paint a picture of this 30 minutes of driving each way.  These pictures seem to be all at good places in the road. I think that on the bad parts I had my eyes closed and didn't worry about pictures. 

 

No taxis or buses come to this part of the city, so you have to walk or take a moto-taxi to this area.  People really stared to see four "mundellés" driving in their truck.

All along the road there were homes and businesses that came right up to the road. 

There was commerce and family life going on all along this long, crazy dirt road. I'm guessing that some of these people live their whole life and never get down the road far enough to get past this terrible street.  It would be a couple of hour walk to do it and they have most of their needs met right in their neighborhood.
There was even a Protestant Church on the road to Mulueka. It was a tin building with curtains instead of doors and blue plastic chair inside.  It made our chapel look pretty good.

There was a small bridge and down in the river we saw men in the river bed. They had diverted the river to expose the sand, which they collect and sell. When they've taken the sand they want from that area, they tear down the wall and move it, forcing the river to change and expose other areas of sand to gather. People are so inventive as they work to find ways to make a living.

After 30 minutes on this bad road, you travel about ten more minutes on a good dirt road and then you come to a crazy, packed intersection that puts you back on the main asphalted street. 

 There's another  20 minutes of travel on the main road along the Congo River and then into the Gombe quarter of the city, where one finds one of the few nice streets in Kinshasa and our apartment.

It was quite a trip, but well worth it, not only for the adventure, but to feel the sweet spirit in this little ward where they have so little, but where the lessons and the order of the church and the spirit are as strong as any place you'll ever be. It was a great place to worship with the Saints, see our elders, who were very happy to have us come, and be with the Billings. Thanks to their invitation we had a great Sabbath Day.