Transfers Are NOT Fun

We have had a very busy week in the Congo. We started out with transfers. I HATE transfers. We get very attached to our elders and when they leave it's very hard. This transfer we lost six of the greatest young men ever. Here they are.

Elder Kirongozi was our kind, sweet Zone leader

Elder M. Kapele,our English speaker, who dreams of going to BYU.

Elder Bunda was my Swahili teacher

We will see these three again after their missions, if we still go to Likasi, since they live there, but some elders we will very likely never see again. It's sad!

Elder Tshibangu asked me to tell him how to get an American wife.

Elder Sabue, was a tough Elder, whose name I couldn't pronounce.

Elder Ngandu, after working through a serious problem with Brent, added Jameson to his name on all his communications out of respect for his "Beloved President Jameson."

We could think of a million things about each of them that make them special to us. These young men have been with us for our whole mission and we will miss them. It's part of the plan, this transfer thing, just like having your kids move out or get married is good and part of the plan, but it's not an easy part.

The experience we have had with them will be some of the great joys of our time here. We had a very special experience with Elder Bunda. He told Brent one time (and gave us permission to record it) that he had been reading in the Book of Mormon and had found ways in which his life was like Nephi's. He made these sweetest comparisons.

1. Nephi was persecuted. I have been persecuted for the Gospel.

2. Nephi was bound by his brothers. I was bound once in Kinshasa.

3. Nephi had the spirit to guide him and the spirit has guided me.

4. Nephi studied the plates. I study the Book of Mormon.

5. Nephi built a temple. I went to the temple, the house of God.

6. Nephi taught the gospel. I teach the gospel.

7. Nephi was rejected by his brothers. I too have been rejected for the gospel's sake.

8. Nephi was a good example. I’m trying to be an example to my companions & others.

You just have to love these good Elders. These young men are the hope of the church in Africa. They will go home and be great leaders and examples to the infant church that needs just such leadership. What a joy it is to work with them!

Now six new ones have joined us. We will love them too!

Things work out

Very often we are without power, which also means no water because our water is on an electric pump. We only have a few days a month when we have power all day. Sometimes it's off all day. However, we are fortunate because we are in one of the best areas in all of Lubumbashi for maintaining power. Some places only have it every other day, if that often. On Saturday it was off from 6am to 7pm. Thirteen hours is a long time without power and water. There are so many things you can't do without power or water. Actually, there are not many things you can do without power and water. These pictures may help you see why there are problems.

This is the transformer for our area.

Our house is in the middle of this picture.

The power line after it crosses the street.

One day they put up and new power pole on our street.

We are learning to adapt. We now have drinking water stored and a bidon and big pan in the bathroom for showering.

This week we bought a propane stove. No hot food is the worst thing, especially when we have company. We found the stove for a good price at a furniture store, so we bought it on the spot. Done, right? NO!!. Nothing is that simple in the Congo!

Our new stove

Side note: You may be wondering about the figurine in the background of this picture. Those are real feathers.

The shop owner saw our missionary tags he gave us a big discount and sent his worker to get us a "gift." We just didn't have the heart to turn him down. He was so kind. So we left the store with a stove and a figurine. There are nuns on our street who we think will find a nice home for the statue. As we left, he asked us to pray for him. It's good to live in a place where religion is respected.

The store that sold the propane stove didn't sell propane. (The paint store also doesn't sell paint brushes.) However, they did tell us where to get propane and even drew a map for us. The map sent us out of town, but we didn't find the place, so we asked some police for directions. They told us to just continue and we couldn't miss it. So, we continued for about 20 minutes but found no store. Finally, we stopped a very well dressed, clean cut young man and asked for directions. He said he would take us to the propane store. It was so nice of him. I must admit that I was pretty nervous when Brent invited him to get in the truck and we headed out. It turned out that he was a young doctor who was in that part of town for a consultation and was heading back to the clinic near the gas company. He knew a young Dr. in our ward and all the members of that family, so I felt much better. He took us on a long drive that, surprisingly, ended up at the gas company. However, at the gas company, although they had gas, they had no gas regulators. Yes, this is the Congo! They said they might be able to get one from Zambia by next week.

The Dr.waited for us and gave us a map to get home. After we dropped him at his clinic we followed his map and discovered that the gas company is about 5 minutes from our house. The original map had taken us in a huge circle around Lubumbashi.

Now we have a stove and we hope that sometime soon, it will work. We have visitors from South Africa coming in four days.

We have a sign in our office with a quote on it sent to us by Barry Anderson. It's our motto nowadays.

We're trying!

Oh, How I Miss Him

Tomorrow, Jan 10th, is the one year anniversary of my Dad's death on his 90th Birthday. What a blessing it has always been to be the child of such an amazing and loving father. I still miss him every day! Sometimes, for just a moment, I find myself thinking that he's just home with the rest of the family in Arizona, as I go about my days in the Congo. Often I think if he was here with me, some of the things that I can't get would be so easy for us to make. He was always my "partner in crime" as we planned and plotted things together. He was always such a good problem solver, such a smart man. But even more than that, he was always my advisor, my supporter and one of my best friends. I hope that he and my Mom are hand in hand now watching over us all and sending love our way. Today I miss him more than usual.

We also remember the passing of our sweet Grandma Jameson 14 years ago on Jan. 10th. We are grateful that we can both say, as Nephi, "having been born of goodly parent" we are most blessed.

The Likasi Tour

We took the mission president and his wife to Likasi and Pres. Shimbi, the District President, gave us a tour of all the buildings and future building sites in Likasi.

The church where we met him is the standard small chapel used everywhere in the Congo. It has windows along both sides of the chapel, which are opened during meetings to give ventilation. It also has fans in the chapel, RS and Primary rooms, but people here don't like them. They think the moving air is not healthy and they get cold easily. It can be 80 degrees and they're all bundled up. So, they must have even thinner blood than we Arizona desert rats. It is a very nice building, despite the fact that it has no frig, stove or drinking fountains and is often without power and water, which was the case that day.

Our trip was quite an experience. I wish that somehow I could have people at home be in this world for just an hour. It's impossible to explain or photograph it in a way that others could understand what "normal" "everyday" life is like here.

From the church we went to a piece of land owned by the church where they plan a chapel soon.

It's on a road that we would call a foot path. I'm sure that you can only access it on foot or with a four wheel drive truck. That's not so much of a problem here because most people are on foot. Usually ours is the only car in the parking lot at the big church in Likasi. The path becomes too small for our truck just beyond the church property.

The plot of ground is small and will probably need to have a different type of building on it. Those buildings are made much simpler, just a square brick meeting room in one building and primary, RS, etc. in smaller out buildings. Many members live nearby and it would be very helpful to have a building closer. Transportation is always a problem here.

From there we went to see a rented building where Likasi 2 branch meets. Again the roads are a wonder to behold. We were never quite sure we were really turning onto a road when being directed by Pres. Shimbi. But then, suddenly we would see a church sign.

This building is too small already. They open the doors and some people sit outside on the patio in plastic lawn chairs during Sacrament meetings. It has rooms that would fit only about 20 chairs for RS and Primary. The rooms are about the size of the usual classroom in our chapels.

They were pleased to show me that they had a working sewing machine with a hand turned fly wheel. I'd like to have it to go with my antiques. We see them everywhere. I just love them!

Several Relief Society sisters were there. This beautiful young woman lives in a tiny house on the church property.

Curious children who live next door came to see the strange visitors. We always draw a crowd of small, curious onlookers.

This is the daughter of the First Counselor in the Branch Presidency. They live by the church.

Next we headed to another neighborhood, or commune. It's called Kikula. It's probably our fastest growing area in Likasi.

This is the main street of Kikula.

Brent and Pres. Shimbi at Kikula 2 meeting hall.

Here's the view of the street from the chapel.

A lady selling her wares next to the church.

Then we went to a neighborhood where the church is planning to buy 12 houses, tear them down and build a chapel. The people thought that it was going to happen in Dec. and when they saw us they wanted to tell us how anxious they are to make it happen.

While the men were talking business, I started talking to the groups of children who were playing in the street.

The girls had made a hop scotch in the dirt street. I used my limited French on them and they responded. We started to talk and laugh and soon we had quite a group of us enjoying a few minutes together.

I tried to use all my French to talk to them. We could actually carry on a small conversation. It was so fun!!

One little boy knew some English. He told me he could count to ten in English and then demonstrated his ability.

I tried to get all the children counting in English. They mimicked my words and then giggled with embarrassment. I also counted in French and they did that with me several times.

Then they tried to teach me 1-10 in Swahili. Boy, did they enjoy that! They squealed with delight at my every strange sound. Crazy American! Can't even make these sounds right! It was one of the best times I've had in the Congo. I love the children and we are able to connect despite the language and cultural barriers. I hated to leave them and they stood and waved for a long time as we drove off. It was awesome!! This will be a treasured memory!

Bush Bargains

When you travel in the Bush, people are selling things all along the way. Most are selling food, but they sell anything they have in order to make a little money. They sell tomatoes, cassava, onions, mushrooms, unidentifiable strange live and dead animals, which they think that you might enjoy for dinner, as well as mangoes, avocados, etc.

You see potatoes, corn, charcoal and sometimes a huge basket which they use on the back of bicycles to transport things.

But, there is a village just before you get to Likasi that has very interesting brown and black wooden things for sale.

At first I was pretty nervous about stopping in the bush. We are "musungus" (white people) and people think we are pretty freaky. Then to complicate things, many bush people only speak Swahili. So, it took me awhile to feel secure about stopping. Then I kept wanting to stop each time we went . However, we were always arriving just in time for an appointment or hurrying to get back before dark or it was Sunday. So, I just looked at them as we sped by. At first I thought that they were drums. Then I thought they were planters or art.

Then, as I got to know more about African culture, I began to think that they were mortars and pestles that they use to make what they call "bukari"(in Swahili) or "fufu" (in Lingala).

It is their main source of good. It's made by grinding corn and then crushing and pounding the roots of the cassava into a fine white powder. They use a very large mortar and pestle to do it. Then they mix it with water and cook it. No seasoning are added, not even salt.

Most Congolese eat it for every meal, which for our elders is two meals. They all love it! Most Americans we've talked to don't! We haven't tried it yet. Our elders have promised to make it for us someday. It's about the consistency of very thick mashed potatoes and they eat it with their hands. Elder Kirigozi says it just doesn't taste as good if you use a utensil. Sometimes they serve a vegetable stew with onions, carrots, cabbage, etc. over it. They eat it as a side dish with fish, chicken or meat on special occasions.

One brother in the ward told us "If you haven't eaten bukari, you haven't eaten!"

This week we went to Likasi with the mission president and his wife to visit the elders and had time to stop at the village.

The pots were even more wonderful than we thought they were when we saw them from the road. They were mortars and pestles and they were hand made and primitive, but wonderful. We had been told that as a "musungu" we would pay three times as much as an African, so we were prepared to barter with them. We found a medium sized mortar that we really liked and thought wasn't too heavy to get home someday.

They also had small ones, which I'm guessing they use to grind herbs for flavoring or medicine.

There was also an older gentleman there wearing a suit with no shirt and no shoes. He spoke only Swahili, as did most of the women. He was selling hand made wooden boxes. They were just awesome.

We asked the price, expecting to have to try and get it down to something reasonable. The price for the big mortar was 3,500cf. That's about $3.75. The small one and the box were each 1,500cf. That's about $1.65. Obviously, we didn't barter with them. We felt a bit guilty only paying them that much. We are thrilled with our find. We just love them.

Nothing could be more authentically Congolese than these things and coming from a village in the Bush makes them even better. Having these lovely hings to enjoy is great! They are really beautiful and the memory attached is fun. I don't suspect we'll be using them for their real purpose. But we are thrilled with our bush bargains.

New Years-Congo Style

We have discovered that the Congo gets way more excited about New Years than about Christmas. They put up a metal tree in the island of the round about with a 2010 on it--LIGHTED! They have been wising each other "Meilleurs Voeux!" (best wishes) for about five days now. The neighbor passing by, the stranger on the street, the members of the ward, and even the police. There was a band concert in the middle of town when Brent took the elders to catch a transport.

We spent New Year's Eve day with our elders. It was awesome. The mission president and his wife came to town to visit the missionaries, so we went to lunch with 12 0f our elders.

Then we went to dinner with 8 others.

Then on Sat. we went to Likasi to take those elders out to lunch.

I forgot that it was New Year's Eve until we were in the restaurant (the nice Italian one in town.) After the meal they brought us each a little heart shaped cake. Each cake had miniature figures on it and Bonne Annee (Happy New Year) written in tiny typed letters of chocolate around the side of them and on the top was a little edible sign saying Happy New Year. I only realized when I saw them that it was New Year's Eve. It had been a busy week and I just forgot what day it was.

Elder Kabengele loved his cake!

The elders thought it was all fantastic. I think it was the first time that some of them had been in a restaurant. It cost as much for their meal as they get for two weeks in living expenses. Restaurants are very expensive here. The Italian one ranges from $18-$50. They almost all ordered chicken at all three places. There couldn't have been a better way to spend a New Year's Eve here in the Congo than watching these young men have an unforgettable time.

Wonderful Wedding

Dec. 29th Jennifer married Marvin Pearce in the Mesa Arizona Temple.

It was a wonderful time for our family and things went well. The family pulled together in our absence and now we know just how much we're needed! NOT!

Actually, it was a great blessing to see what competent, caring, incredible children we have. We could not be happier or prouder of how they took care of everything.

They were all there pulling together to help make Jen's plan for a perfect wedding come true. Well, every wedding does need a little craziness to remember, doesn't it? -no recommend and no rings, but it was pretty close to perfect.

We are so happy for the Pearce/Tassainer family and to have them all in our family.

This cute family's configuration is exactly like our family's. They have- girl, boy, three girls, and a boy and they're spaced out just about the same number of years. It's just right!!!

It was very hard to miss out on the great blessing of being in the temple together for this grand occasion, but we were thrilled that all our children and their spouses were there.

We talked to Jennifer and Marvin the morning of the wedding.

Then, we had a great surprise when we got to talk to Jen on Linsey's cell phone minutes after the wedding as she came out of the temple. Aren't Linsey and technology wonderful to make that happen! We had hoped to talk again at the reception, but our power went out for six hours. So, we could only imagine how much fun it was. What can you say. We're still in Africa.

Gotta love these boys. The little one and the big ones too.

We heard that it was wonderful and again our children did a great job. We are very proud of them.

What a beautiful, happy couple.

Everybody danced, partied and had fun, which is just what Jen and Marvin wanted for their celebration.

We have to admit that we missed being there. But, it was a wonderful day for our family, a day that we had prayed would come. We are so grateful! Somewhat surprisingly, we felt a great deal of comfort and were happy on this special day, despite being half way around the world.