Good-bye to the People at Temporal Affairs

We and all of our couples were invited to come to the Temporal Affairs devotional on June 25.  In place of their usual weekly devotional they had asked if they could do a little Farewell Devotional for us. It was so kind of them to give us a chance to say good-bye to many with whom we've worked closely.

They had a nice program planned using our favorite hymns- Because I Have Been Given Much and Lord I Will Follow Thee.  We so love to hear the Congolese sing!

Then Eustache Ilunga and Pascal Lomboto spoke. Each has had many experience with us and it was just right that they were the speakers.

Eustache went with Brent to Burundi when the men went for the first time. He was the office manager of the mission when we were in Lubumbashi., so we've known him for a long time. Now he's the director of theTemporal Affairs Service Center and he and Brent have worked closely together.  He talked about Brent in a very personal way. He especially referred to his kind nature and how he could work through a problem in a positive and loving way, even when the situation was very frustrating. He talked about how Brent had taught him to be grateful and how often after working through a difficult time with many emails going back and forth, the last one would be from Brent. It would just express his appreciation for the resolution of the problem and the work that had been done by individuals to make it happen. He talked about Brent's even, steady way. It was very tender because Eustache really represented who Brent is.

 Pascal is our senior office manager. He's worked for seven mission presidents. He talked about things that he's learned from President Jameson.  He said that he wasn't sure what to expect when we came because he knew from "the grape vine" that President Jameson was a "by-the-book man." He said that he worried that Brent would be severe and hard to work with.  But he had quickly learned that it was just the opposite. He had learned humility, kindness, encouragement, respect and love from Brent.  He has also learned that you can be completely obedient and still be loving and compassionate. It was a great tribute to Brent to have these two men who know him well say things that were so "Brent."  They really know him well and represented his personality and talents well.

They presented us with a gift. It's the most perfectly Congolese table cloth that there could ever be. Matching place mates are to follow but didn't get done by the meeting time.   They're made of  fabric woven for the celebration of Congolese independence. The date of June 30th and pictures representing Congo are appliqued on fabric with the Congolese national colors.                                                                                          

Sister Maggie, who made it, told us that it represented not only the country of DR Congo, but our departure date, June 30th.  It's a treasure!  It's appliqued  pictures so perfectly represent the Congo.

Then we were invited to share our testimony one more time.  These "lasts" are certainly difficult to do, but we were glad to share our testimonies of the truthfulness of this work and our gratitude for the help of Temporal Affairs, without which the work of the church couldn't go forward.

 

After the meeting everybody greeted us and then they served pizza and soda. It was a real effort on their part to make this a nice event for us.

We were grateful for this time spent with these dedicated TA workers and our senior missionaries.

Theirry, Mbuyi, Tommy and Brent visited while enjoying the refreshments.

Elder Alfred Kyungu and Elder Jean Claude Mabaya, two friends and Area Seventies were there too. Both are church employees.

The Smiths, our every faithful, hard working office couple and Chantal and Eric Van Hauvermat, our French friends, were enjoying the pizza too. I Chantal tells us that they are "delicious!" Whenever they eat with us, Chantal always says that American food is "delicious."  When she says it in French it's delightful and she says it often. She always asks for recipes.  This week I gave her a box cake mix and jello to make herself because she'd asked for the "recipes."

It was very kind of Temporal Affairs to have this wonderful evening for us.  We have made good friends here, African members, senior couples from the US and Canada and expats who work for the church.

A mission is an enriching life experience in so many ways.