Unforgettable Birthday-Part 1

On December 8th, my birthday, the Kinshasa Refugees spent the whole day playing. It was a great Birthday Party.

We started by going to the Lion Park. We'd been there last month, but it was fun to share it with our couples. We took the "TOUR" this time and it was really terrific. We saw and learned a lot more than on our drive-through trip.

It was the same animals, but we got better views and had a great time with our friends.

On our tour we saw:

LIONS

CHEETAHS

WILD DOGS

ZEBRAS

DEER-LIKE-ANIMALS (DLA)

GIRAFFES

MIRKAATS

OSTRICHES

And naturally the best part of all were the baby lions. There were some that were 6 months old and some that were 9 months old. We enjoyed watching the sleepy little guys and getting to pet them was fun us all.

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I loved the Lion Park Birthday Party! But there was more fun to come...

Amatuli and the Military Museum-An African Cultural adventure

Wednesday the Sisters and Elders split up and headed to different directions. The men went to the Military Museum where they saw artifacts and information about the military events of South Africa and then on to a burger lunch at the missionaries' favorite restaurant, Mike's. (Sorry that they took no pictures)

Sister Renlund invited the sisters to go to Amatuli, an African artifacts store.

It's filled with antiques and reproductions from all over Africa that represent the many varied and amazing cultures on this continent. It's like going to a museum and then being able to take a few things home with you. We had a great time and enjoyed learning more about Africa and it's people and traditional items.

The store is filled with treasures. There are Nomadic chairs and head rests, pots and vessels of all kinds, ceremonial stick horses from Ivory Coast, swords and raffia aprons from Sudan,

nickel items for Ethiopia and beaded-shelled dolls from Cameroon

covered pots from Zambia and masks from every nation,

shields, clubs and weapons of all kinds, armor and ceremonial vests

baskets and pots from the tribes of Africa which are identifiable by shapes, styles and colors.

This is probably one of my favorite places in the world. It's an African education, museum and fabulous shopping place all in one.

After Amatuli's we went to lunch in a little outdoor cafe and then to yet another African craft store called Art Africa. It was a perfect ladies' day out!

Tuesday night we were all invited to the Clayton's home again for dinner. It was a fun evening where we could relax and just enjoy each others company.

Refugees

One Sunday night eight tired refugees from the troubled land of Kinshasa landed in Johannesburg, after an uneventful flight. We were met by two wonderful senior missionary couples, the Webbs and the Martineaus. It was a welcome sight to us all to see them and the calm and beautiful city of Johannesburg.

They gathered us and our belongings and took us to the places that we refugees are now calling home for an undetermined length of time. On the way some of us went to the home of Marge and Jeff Clayton, legal counsel for the SE Africa Area. Interesting, I graduated from high school with Marge and Jeff and now they're among the 8 seniors currently serving in the SE Africa area who attended Highland High School in SLC. Wild, huh! They had a wonderful dinner fixed for us. It was so welcoming of them to prepare a nice hot meal for the "refugees."

We were invited by the Renlunds to stay in their lovely apartment in the "White House." They have welcomed us like family and have been so kind and hospitable to us. It's been a joy to share this time with them. Despite all they have to do in their busy assignments, they have taken time to help us to feel most welcome. They're amazing people and wonderful friends.

Monday we all went to the area office to meet with those who have the same assignments as our couples. We hoped to find some things that we could accomplish while we're here. We were able to meet with people and make progress on issues that we've been trying to solve long distance. The Staggs were able to solve in about 10 minutes one issue that they'd worked on for months. We were able to talk to many people in different departments on quite a few concerns. It's actually a blessing to be able to talk face to face with those with whom we work by phone and internet.

We've been able to do some good work here, but we've also had quiet time that has allowed us to do a few non-missionary activities. It's been fun to share these things with our couples who never get out of the DR Congo and have seen very little of the interesting things in Africa.

Monday we went shopping at the African Market, which is a huge store with 50 or more booths filled with African arts and crafts. We all succumbed to a few little things to take home. Brent bought a new drum and I got a carved ostrich egg and a few other little treasures.

Tuesday we all went to the temple. It was such a blessing to be able to go there. After having lived for a couple of years where the temple was very far away, we have a greater appreication of the blessing it is to attend. We thought that it was a good day to spend there, since that was the day the election results were to be announced in the Congo. We put all the people we love and worry about in the DRC on the prayer rolls. It was a sweet experience. We were also able to be with the missionaries from the MTC who were there that day. While talking to one of them we discovered he was a good friend of our granddaughter, Rachael. Small world. It was extra special to have missionaries there with us. It made us think of our elders at home in Kinshasa.

A very special event took place on Tuesday and Wednesday. Here is the story.

While in the temple our hearts and thoughts were with our missionaries and we put their names on the prayer roll. We wanted them to know that we were thinking of them so we called our elders and told them that we had been in the temple and had been praying for their safety and well-being. Although we're not near them, we still have them constantly in our thoughts.

The next morning we got a call from our assistants. They called to tell us that our prayers in the temple had blessed them. Wednesday morning a bullet came through the window of one of our missionary apartments and went into the bed of one of the elders. He was not there at the time. When Brent asked where he was, the assistants replied that he was doing companion study, just where he should have been at that hour. It was amazing that these good elders, who had been locked in their apartments for over a week, were up and doing companion study at the appropriate time instead of sleeping in or laying on their beds reading or a million other things they could have been doing with all that time on their hands. Their obedience to the mission schedule and rules saved this young elder from serious harm or even death. It was a great example to all of us that if we're obedient the Lord will bless and protect us. Even in our times of trial the Lord is watching over us and we will not forget this tender mercy!

To Go or Not to Go - That is the question!

Things have really been happening in the month of November and December in Kinshasa. We have had an even more interesting ride than usual. We'd known for some time that the national elections would be held on Nov. 28th and there was some concern about it not being peaceful. So we prepared boxes of staple foods, water, flashlights, etc. for the missionaries. We knew if there was trouble during the elections they might have to stay in their apartments for awhile. We set up a plan with the senior couples to move to a "safe house" to ride out any problems and if necessary to evacuate to South Africa. We non-Congolese really stand out in a crowd and blending into the general population is impossible. We would be a much easier target than others. Then we began to wait impatiently for election day to come, listening carefully to our local advisers concerning how things were going. All this preparation was made so that we "would not fear" the things that might happen.

We made reservations for our four American senior couples to fly to JoBurg on Nov. 24th if things didn't go well. The painful process of waiting to see if we would be safe to stay was challenging for us. Many of our regular duties had to be abandoned because of safety concerns and the work was suffering. Not knowing what tomorrow would bring and trying to stay focused was hard. It was especially challenging for Brent, who had to make the final decision. He paced the floor long into the night for days and we prayed for confirmation as to what do.

Although the campaigning began on Oct. 28th, the major opponent of the sitting president was not allowed into Kinshasa until two days before the election. However, people began to campaign in the streets. This was their way of getting the word out that they were supporters of a certain candidate.

They travled in cars, on foot and in trucks with signs and banners proclaiming their candidate.

They marched and drove in the streets shouting and sometimes had loud speakers blaring.

As the election approached Brent kept in constant touch with the US Embassy, the church security and with advice from our office managers and others. All were helpful and with their advice, the decision was made to stay in Kinshasa until the election had been held. So, we stayed on and confined ourselves to our apartments for large portions of time. We changed our plane reservation until two days just before the announcement of the election results, Dec. 6th. Then we tried to work and focus on what needed to be done while constantly wondering what we would be doing in the days and weeks to come. Campaigning continued and our worrying continued.

The voting took place and because of problems with incomplete preparation, instead

of one day, they held voting on three consecutive days. Many people were never able to find their names on rolls or found them in out of the way polling places. There were questions about how organized and transparent the election was. Ballots were thought to be lost and destroyed and many other irregularities seemed to threaten the integrity of the election.

An eery quiet fell over the city. There were many fewer people and cars on the streets and we were advised to stay confined to our homes. Huge buildups of military began to arrive and the military presence was unnerving. Large vehicles with mounted guns and soldiers with automatic weapons were a common sight. Riot police were everywhere.

Finally, two days before we had reservations to leave, Brent came home, as I was working on talks for that Saturday and Sunday's stake conference. He came into the office and told me that I didn't need to work on those talks. He had felt the strong impression that the time had come for us to go South Africa. That very day, after attending the temple in South Africa our area president had the same impression. So, we quickly packed, finished preparations for the security of our homes and cars, set things in good order for the missionaries and made final preparations with our staff to help run the mission long distance. We were ready to leave on Sunday morning, Dec. 4th.

On Saturday night we got reports from the US Embassy to stay in the Gombe area where we lived and not to go to the airport as the road there was not very safe. We decided that we needed to get to our plane regardless. To facilitate that we decided to leave for the airport at 6 am, even though our plane didn't leave until 1:45 pm. By doing that we could get through the most dangerous areas before the city was really awake. We got to the airport with only one small incident of young boys trying to get into our car. It was a minor inconvenience and were very grateful.

Brent had decided to have us use the VIP lounge since it kept us away from the crowds in the airport terminal, which are always crazy and unpleasant. We would be spending 6 hours there. He had us all go to the lounge while he, Antoine, our airport facilitator, and Theirry went to check bags and do the "formalities." It took them over two hours to get it done. Then we all sat and waited, hoping and praying that a plane from JoBurg would come. We were thrilled and relieved when the plane landed on schedule and we all boarded without problem. Our hearts were heavy as we left behind our African missionaries and friends, but relieved to be away from the stress and danger of the situation. We were headed to Johannesburg, hoping and praying that we could keep in touch and continue to support our missionaries and run the mission from long distance.

The day after our departure, the US Embassy reported that international air traffic in the Kinshasa airport was interrupted and, as far as we can tell, we got on the last plane out of Kinshasa. We're grateful for the inspiration to leave when we did.

Our American missionaries are not in the DRC and are safe and unaffected.

We continue to pray for our African missionaries who are restricted to their apartments. We pray that they are being wise and obedient and will have the protection of the Lord with them.