Transfer Time Again

It was transfers again this week. It's always a crazy time. The staff is picking up and transporting missionaries everywhere. They work so hard because the real burden falls on the local office staff, Thierry, Pascal, and Aimé, who shuttled them to the airport and to their new areas.  Thierry organizes the entire operation and we can’t imagine getting through transfers without him.  And he does it with a huge smile on his face at all times.

We're all busy preparing packets of things for the departing missionaries. This process is headed up by Sister Smith.  We also have a farewell dinner and testimony meeting for them in our home. We weigh their luggage, trying to get them under the weight limit and sending them on their way to the employment center for some training that we hope will help them to make plans when they get home. Then it's off to the airport.
We also make packets for the new missionaries, greet them as they arrive, take pictures and make pictures of the new elders for all three missionary boards, rearrange all three missionary boards to reflect the new transfers and make up new rosters. We take pictures of the new arrivals with us and send them and a letter home to their families so they'll know that their missionary arrived safely. We do a half-day orientation and lunch for new missionaries, meet with their trainers to help them prepare for their program with the new missionaries. This transfer we have eight new elders. Six are Congolese and two are from Ivory Coast.

Brent also does a personal interview with each arriving and departing missionary. It's a huge couple of days and a week in the planning.

And then preparing for a nervous breakdown, which we never have time to enjoy before we move on!  We do usually try to spend a quiet "movie night" at home on the Friday when all the dust clears. Then Brent starts looking at the board and planning for the next transfer.

This transfer we only had two missionaries who finished their missions.

One of them was Sister Banza. She is the first missionary who began and ended her mission with Pres. Jameson.  All the others so far have had two mission presidents. With only a two year assignment for the president , elders rarely have only one president and just a few sisters do..  Sister Banza was our first.  She's been a fabulous missionary. In fact, almost every transfer for months and months, when Brent was trying to decide on new assistants to the President, he would say, "How about Sister Banza?  She'd be prefect in every way."  We love her and are sad to see her leave us, but know that she'll be a great leader of sisters in the church in Lubumbashi.  Elder Nsenga also returns to Lubumbashi and will help strengthen the pool of returned missionaries who add such stability to the church.