An Apostle Meets our Little Branch

After the dedication our caravan moved down the mountain and through the     streets of  Bangui.  The red dirt makes this area quite distinctive, but other things are much like the rest of our mission. Many little shops, people trying to make a living, children going to school and everywhere people walking and walking are found in every city in our mission.  




                                                           


In a few minutes we had traveled the distance from the dedication site to the building that is rented by the  church. 








The members had worked hard to make the building look it's best for the visit of an Apostle. They had a new sign on the front fence. The one that they had earlier had been stolen. It's hard to imagine why anybody would do that, but now they had one prominently displayed on the outside gate. They had painted the exterior and interior and had put in fans. The whole building just looked fabulous and they were so proud to show it off to the visitors.  There were 128 in attendance, in a very small chapel.

 As we come into the yard, we saw that the meeting room was not large enough for all who had come. The members had spilled out of the chapel and filled the porch in front of the building. 

Entering the room and taking our seats Elder Holland took special notice of the children. 

They were tightly packed in the front rows, siting quietly in their little plastic chairs.  They had been waiting for some time for the arrival of the Apostle.  Their primary leader had given each one of them a white tissue to wave to welcome the visitors. Just before we were to start the meeting Elder Holland said that he would like to have a picture with these little children.  

 

Quickly chairs were moved and little ones lined up. It was a special site to see Elder Holland standing among these little folks in this tiny hall in a small branch in Bangui.  

I thought of the words of the Savior when he said, "Behold your little ones."  It was a very tender moment.

After we were all seated again in our seats Brent, who had been asked to conduct, began the meeting. We were asked to speak, along with the Claytons, the Renlunds and finally Elder Holland. Brent interpreted for the Claytons and Georges Bonnet interpreted for Elder Holland.  

 Elder Holland first addressed the children directly. He told the story of a little girl who had worn her favorite dress out to play. It had been soiled and torn and she was brokenhearted when she returned to her mother. But her mother repaired and washed the dress and the little girl was happy again. He then related this to the atonement and how, through Christ's atonement, we can be clean and right again even when we make mistakes.  It was a great lesson for the children.
Then he addressed the adults saying how many places an Apostle could and needed to be and how happy he was to be able to be in this building today with the members of this branch. He talked about the blessings that would now come to their country. It was a message of love and hope for the members of the Bangui Branch. 

  As Elder Holland spoke he noticed that the little children on the front few rows in small plastic chairs were getting weary. The long day of waiting and listening had become too much for them.  One little girl fell fast asleep. Then a few more and a few more. Finally most of the row were sleeping peacefully. He chuckled about it and had us take pictures of the progressive abandonment of the little people. 

 

It was a great day for our little Bangui Branch. They never dreamed that an Apostle would be with them in their humble little rented building in isolated Bangui.

Later, in the church news Elder Holland was quoted as saying. 

 "I was so moved by their faith. These are believing people. They accept the gospel when they hear it — it is in their bones. They have genuine faith. They will walk scores of miles to attend meetings and perform their duties. It isn't superficial. It isn't a fleeting thing with them. They just believe. The thing I come back with from Africa is the spirituality and faith of the people who have so little materially."

Elder Holland spoke of Bangui Branch President Langue, a lawyer who trained in France, practiced law in the United States and then returned to Central African Republic. "He kept saying, with tears in his eyes, that he couldn't quite fathom that a member of the Quorum of the Twelve had come all that way and sought them out in their interior African world, in the jungle, in the isolated communities that they are in. He couldn't get over the fact that we would come and find them, that their little handful of members mattered. That was touching to me. I said, 'Of course you matter. Of course we will find you.' It was a great day."



After the member meeting we went back to the hotel and rested for a couple of hours and prepared for a reception and dinner for government, religious, and educational officials.  When we entered our room I was touched with what I saw. On the dresser there was a note from the Bangui Branch. They wanted to welcome us in a special way and had written a welcome note and left it with several bottles of water and some small packages of cookies. It was their way of saying how grateful they were for the visit.


That evening we went to the dinner and reception. I'm sad to say that after the remarkable day we'd had, it was quite a bit less remarkable. But how could it compare to the things that we had witnessed that day.  There was a small turn out but Elder Holland spoke to them in very clear terms about the mission and objectives of the church.  


We had spent a wonderful 24 hours with the devoted leaders and wonderful saints of Central African Republic.  We loved our time with them and look forward to coming back. There is a great love that forms between the pioneers of the church and those who are blessed to see them and help to watch over them. It's a special relationship that makes it hard to leave and makes us want to go back over and over again. 

Early Tuesday morning we had breakfast together at the hotel and then headed to the airport to take the charter flight back to Kinshasa.  We had to land at the main airport an hour out of town to have our passports checked.

 After a few minutes we took off again and flew four minutes to a small airport fairly close to the hotel and mission home.  The Salt Lake visitors spent a couple of hours resting at the hotel before catching a night flight for Paris and then Salt Lake.  Elder Holland told me that, when he arrived on Wednesday afternoon, he would go straight to the church offices to resume his work; this would be after three weeks of intense travel and meetings throughout southern Africa and nearly a 30-hour flight.  These men work so hard and give so much.  They could not do what they do without divine help. They left great memories and the love of the leaders of the church, which will always be remembered by the members of Kinshasa, Bangui and us. 

The Dedication of Central African Republic

On Monday, Oct. 29, 2012, after a short rest we drove on a small, red dirt road, characteristic of Bangui, to a heavily wooded hill behind the hotel  for the Dedication of the land of Central African Republic . 

 

 It was quite a sight to the people who walk that road daily to see a caravan of vehicles, full of  mostly white people, mounting the hill. They watched us with considerable interest as we drove to a quiet, wide space in the road and climbed out of the cars. 

Elder Holland was there by assignment from the Prophet to do this sacred ordinance, which can only be done by an Apostle. What a privilege it was to witness this great moment.

Elder Holland was accompanied by Elder L. Whitney Clayton of the Presidency of the Seventy and Sister Clayton, and Elder Dale G. Renlund of the Seventy and president of the African Southeast Area, and Sister Renlund. We represented the mission and President Langue, his counselors, branch clerk, and executive secretary represented the branch. Also there were two security men, Rob Milne and Ron Rumble, Sean Donnelly, the director of Public Affairs, Georges Bonnet, our Area DTA and Eustache Ilunga, director of the Kinshasa Temporal affairs Service Center. 

All those in attendance at the dedication.

Renlunds, Claytons and Jamesons

Brent was asked to conduct and, flanked by the Bangui Branch Presidency, he began the services. It was very simple and yet it was a profoundly meaningful experience. 

Remarks were made by President Langue and by Elders Renlund and Clayton and then the time was given to Elder Holland.   Elder Holland made some remarks about the sanctity of this priesthood ordinance.  Just before the dedicatory prayer he noticed the drivers of our vehicles a ways off and asked to have them brought over near us.  He said they "would likely be members by nightfall so they might as well join us."  

He invited us to stand in a circle and join our faith with his as he was voice for the prayer of dedication.   As we all stood together in the Gabazabangui hills, the site of the origins of the Bangui Tribe, overlooking the city of Bangui and the Oubangui River, a major tributary of the Congo, near the equator in Africa,  we felt as though we stood in a sacred place as Elder Holland offered a beautiful prayer of blessing and dedication.  He was very specific as to the historical background of CAR and the needs of this central African country.  He blessed the land that it would have increased productivity to support its people. He blessed the people that they would be provided with a solid foundation over time. He mentioned the Area Presidency and also Brent and me regarding our stewardship for the country.  He blessed the leaders of the nation as well.  He finished by pronouncing a blessing on the branch leaders and members and on future missionaries who would be sent there.  (That was music to our ears.)  It was truly a time when we knew what it means to be in "In the Mountain of the Lord'."  It was a beautiful and sacred moment.

 After the prayer Elder Holland asked us to be quiet for a few moments and just look at the city below. It was a wonderful moment to reflect on the blessing and also on the future of this land and the great things that the Lord has in store for it over time. 

We have been blessed to attend the dedication of two lands, Burundi and now, Central African Republic. It was a similar experience when he dedicated Burundi exactly two years ago, but the prayers were quite different, as they should be.  Elder Holland knew about this country and his knowledge and inspiration, even revelation, made this a special experience for us all.  Over the weekend together we talked a few times about our common experience in Burundi and we were amazed at his memory of the details of that event. We could never have imagined that our mission life would be so remarkable and are grateful for Lord's plan that brought us to Africa to see His hand as He moves across this Continent to bring light to lands that have long rested in darkness.. 

A Wonderful Weekend and Beyond

 Early Monday we joined Elder Holland, the Claytons, and the Renlunds, on a 14-seater chartered plane to fly to Bangui, Central African Republic to dedicate the land for the preaching of the gospel. 

We've been planning this for months but couldn't say anything about it for security reasons.  The two security men, the Area Director of Temporal Affairs, and the director of the Kinshasa service center joined us. 

The weather had look menacing all morning and it  started to pouring just as we left  to pick up the leaders.  Since I hate to fly, even in the best weather, I was pretty nervous.  By the time we got to the hotel,  it was a deluge. I could stand the pouring ran no longer and I yelled, literally yelled out loud, "STOP RAIN!" And it did!  Almost immediately the heavy rain stopped and before the plane took off the skies were clear and it was calm, beautiful  for the flight. 

Now, it's not unusual in Africa for weather to suddenly change dramatically and some would say it was a coincidence, but I believe that it was a tender mercy just for me that the ran stopped. 

Everybody needed to stretch a little now and then. It was a bit of a long trip in a tiny plane
for this group who had already had a very busy weekend.

 We flew out of Kinshasa over the long and infamous Lamumba Boulevard,  the road to the airport.  Below us was the sprawling Masina area of the city filled with tiny shops and homes and thousands and thousands of people. If you look closely you can see a very 

"large and spacious" white building, which is actually one of our chapels. It really stands out against the city surrounding it. We're not sure how it was chosen to be built there.  It sure doesn't "fit the neighborhood."
But we enjoyed seeing it from the air. 

Then we flew, following the Congo River, for three and a half hours to Bangui. The trip on a commercial airline takes only an hour and a half, but to do that you have to cross the Congo in a little boat, stay the night in Brazzaville, then fly to Bangui. Having done so,  you can only fly back every four days. So it's an extended stay operation.
It would never work to have an apostle spend four days Bangui, but the dedication was an important ordinance, only be done by an Apostle.So, the charter plane was the solution to all of that.

 Once in Bangui, we were met by the branch president, Pres. Langue, who is a member of CAR's  president's cabinet. He worked with the public affairs director to make all the arrange.  He had arrange for us to be in the diplomatic VIP lounge while they did the arrival "formalities."  It's the nicest place in the Bangui airport.

He also had five cars waiting to take us to the hotel.  This hotel is new and very remarkable. It was acclaimed by many as one of the nicest hotel in the Africa SE Area.  It was built by Muhammar Ghadafi. Interesting!? Nobody was sure if it's plan was to be a family vacation spot or a hotel, but it's quite amazing.   It's definitely a "large and spacious building" that doesn't fit into the neighborhood, as you can see by these pictures. But we enjoyed it just the same.

  

Amazingly, it's less expensive than the less-than-glorious hotel we stayed in our first trip to Bangui.  So we'll  be seeing a lot more of it now that  Bangui will be on our regular travel route.

We had just a minute in the hotel to settled in and renew acquaintances with the branch President, 

 Faustin and his wife.  He's a counselor in the branch presidency.He was our right-hand-man on our first visit to CAR. and Ferdinand LaGuerre, my "Ferdinand the Bull" (a character from children's literature )was also there.  He's a wonderful, gentle giant of a man, who served as the first ever CAR missionary and served with us in the Kinshasa mission.  He's now serving as the branch clerk.

Fostan and his wife and baby

President Langue

Elder Le Guerre  

  Then it was time for most important moment of this wonderful extended weekend, 

the dedication of the Central African Republic.

A Wonderful Weekend-Sunday's Events

Sunday morning we had the privilege of taking Elder Holland, his security man, Ron, and the Director of Temporal Affairs in Johannesburg, to a special stake meeting. It was held in a stake center that is somewhat challenging to get to. As we bumped along the uneven, pot hole filled dirt road, Brent apologized to Elder Holland for the bumpy trip.  Elder Holland's reply was, "Oh, don't worry about me. I'm just an old St. George boy."

We arrived safely at Mont Ngafula Stake Center where there were 1300+ in attendance, with 10 cars in the parking lot, which was more than we've ever seen.  When we arrived, 30 minutes early, the entire stake center was filled to capacity and they were sitting quietly waiting for the appointed time. Sitting on the front row were our four wonderful couples. What a great dimension they add to our life!

 The choir, under the direction of an exceptionally darling young adult who had both talent and spirit, was singing with great enthusiasm.  The sisters wore bright pink blouses and the brethren had matching pink ties. 

 Just before going into the meeting Elder Holland asked us to speak.This doesn't make for a comfortable meeting, but we did our best.  At the end of the meeting we had another very tender moment. Many times, in Africa,  when there's a big crowd they keep the children out of the chapel and have them in other rooms or halls of the building.  That was the case in Mont Ngafula Stake.  But as we were leaving, the little ones sort of surged forward to fill the hall near the exit. Dutiful leaders held them back from mobbing Elder Holland, but he stopped and said, "Where have you been hiding?" He shook a few hand and then looked right at the group and said, "I love you!  You know that I love you!"  Needless to say we exited the building with a large group of children, porting huge smiles, looking on. 
Simultaneously, there were three other meetings being held in the city with General or Area Authorities at each one.  Each had the same kind of attendance we had in Ngaliema, except for one.  In Kimbanseke Stake they had over 3,000 in attendance. They filled every inch of the building, watching on TV's in every room and hall.  Plastic awnings and chairs were set up around the building so that people could hear through the windows.  In all there the General Authorities met with more than 7,000 people on Sunday and about 3,500 on Sat. It was truly amazing. 
After the meeting we drove to the mission home for Sunday dinner.  The other General Authorities and wives, security and the DTA met us there since they had all attended meetings in different stakes.  We sat and visited together in our great room while the finishing touches were put on the meal and everybody had arrived.  

 What an unbelievably great experience it was to get to know these great leaders more personally and to learn from them. They were wonderful and kind to us throughout the weekend. Elder Holland called Brent by his first name all weekend and upon his arrival greeted him with a big bear hug and said, "How's one of our Green Beret mission presidents?" From that moment on we saw many acts of that same warmth and  kindness extended to us and to everybody around us. They are great examples of true discipleship, not only in their public appearances, but in their everyday actions. 

But the weekend was not over. The  best was yet to come as we extended our weekend for two more days. 

A Wonderful Weekend-Saturday's Events

Our Saturday was filled with meetings.  The General Authorities really are amazing. They never waste a minute of time when they come to visit.  They want to be with the members showed their love and support and filled their time here with meetings and great instruction.



All of the priesthood leadership of our mission were invited to a four-hour meeting Saturday morning at the Seminary and Institute building on the property where the temple will be built someday.






They had made the huge efforts and gone to great expense to help the branch presidents, District Presidencies, Bishops and Stake Presidencies come. It meant getting passports and visas and flying our leaders from Cameroon and Pointe Noire. There were 14 invited and 13 came. Only Pres. Langue from Bangui didn't come. He has had health problems and he wanted to save his strength for the visit that the brethren were to make to Bangui. These men where thrilled to be in the presence of an Apostle and the two 70's and to be with all the other, more than 100 priesthood leaders. 

 

It was, for many, the first time they'd been out of their country, or on a plane. They didn't even have suitcases to put their things in to make the trip.This was certainly the first time that they had seen this kind of a body of priesthood leaders or an Apostle.   They were very thrilled to be there. All the brethren were eager to learn and Elder Holland said that they had never had better questions asked by priesthood leaders in any place in the church.  They were thoughtful, and pertinent questions that would be asked by those who minister well.

Brent said that when they entered the room the priesthood leaders were all seated quietly by countries and stakes and they all stood to silently greet Elder Holland.  Our little band of 13 branch and district presidents was on the two front rows and they waved at Brent as he got on the stand like a child would wave to a parent.  It was most touching to him and he felt a great love for these sweet, devoted leaders. They're so eager to learn and to help the church grow and serve their people. We just love them.

***********************

Meanwhile, the wives of the General Authorities were holding a meeting in the adjoining stake center. There we over 1,500 sisters in attendance.  When we arrived the chapel, cultural hall, and most of the rooms and halls were filled  to overflowing with sisters waiting to hear the words of the wives of the church leaders. 

On of the most tender moments was when we were entering the chapel and we saw a sister who was crawling on her hands and knees, because of little use of her legs, to get down the long hill from the street to the building, which can be seen in the first picture above.  She had crawled past the S&I building on the grass, but when she got past it, there was only asphalt to crawl on. We all watched with great emotion as she made her way toward us.  Finally, Brother Milne, who was the security man assigned to the sisters, went over, picked her up, carried her to the chapel and placed her on the first row. After the meeting, he organized a group of men to place her in a chair and carry her to the top of the hill where she could wait to catch a transport bus to get home. Later, I was asked by the general authorities to investigate and arrange for a wheel chair for this devoted lady.  It was a real sign of the brethren's concern and love for each member. 

 

Don't they just look magnificent in their bright, beautiful Congolese dresses.
The Congolese women love to dress up in their finest for special occasions. They have matching shoes,purses and  and jewelry. Sometimes they even have hair to match their dress. No matter their economic circumstances, they dress in their very best for church. These ladies were looking good and were pleased to have their pictures taken.
This is a beautiful family of women who we know and love in Kinshasa. The Egombe twin sisters, on either side of the picture are two of our RM's.  Their mother is on  middle-left and their younger sister on the middle-right.  What a beautiful family of righteous women.

Sisters Renlund and Clayton, the wives of the 2 Seventies and five Stake Relief Society Presidents gave wonderful messages about the role of the Holy Ghost in our lives.  It was a great day for sisters in Kinshasa. 

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Then we met with the visitors in a room in the building for a quick lunch before heading out to other meetings. For me, this was a challenge. I was asked to fix a meal that could be eaten at the chapel and only take a few minutes time--sort of a little picnic lunch. Since there are no cooking facilities and nobody to help prepare an American meal and since I was in the meetings until the moment of lunch, it was a bit tricky, but all went well and we were soon off for the  next round of meetings. 

Elder Holland, the Renlunds and the Kyungus (an area authority) met with us and our missionaries from Kinshasa, Brazzaville and Matadi. Only our missionaries in Cameroon and Pointe Noire were not able to come. The expense of visas, and flights and the restrictions on young North Americans coming to DR Congo made their attendance impossible. We really missed them and are looking forward to our visit this month to share this experience with them. 

As we arrived in the room our 114 missionaries and all of our couples were sitting perfectly  reverently waiting for Elder Holland. When he arrived they spontaneously stood in respect for an Apostle and they were attentively fixed on his words throughout the meeting.  Before the meeting began Elder Holland invited the missionaries to come row by row to greet and shake hands with us and each of the visiting Church leaders and their wives.  It was a good meeting. Elder Holland was warm and relaxed as he taught our young missionaries.  Elder Renlund told the story of the creation of dynamite's and related it to the gospel and the church and how they need each other to truly bring power into our lives. Brent and I each took a minute to share our testimonies and it was a great time for our mission.    

When we left, Sister Fanantenantsoa began to play "God, Be With You" on the keyboard  and as we walked down the hall we could hear the missionaries as they spontaneously joined in singing. Sister Smith, one of our senior missionaries, described it perfectly when she said, "It was intended to be postlude instrumental music... but, as the last of the Church leaders filed out, the sound of soft voices 

began to be heard from the back of the room (Congolese just have to sing.. it's in their DNA!)

and it began to swell until every voice in the room was singing with a volume that we knew was being carried to the ears and hearts of those who were leaving as we sang through our tears.It was a powerful and sweet demonstration of love."  We did hear it as we walked away and it was a very tender moment.

*****

At the same time there was a meeting for young single adults held in the Stake Center with Elder and Sister Clayton. It ended just as our meeting did and scores of young adults poured from the building. It was attended by more than 1,500. We love the spirit of young adults and these were no different.  There was lots of friendly chatter, but also a spirit of joy and reverence that is hard to explain. What a great Saturday of meetings it was!

*****

When we dropped the General Authorities off at their hotel about 5:00, it had been a full day. We had enjoyed our time throughout the busy day. We were pleasantly surprised when Elder Holland extended an invitation to us to join them for dinner at the hotel that evening.  He and Elder Renlund assured us that it would be fine if we felt too tired or had too much to do to return.  Hah! Does one turn down a dinner invitation from an Apostle? We returned that evening and  had a wonderful meal with them and enjoyed the chance to just be in their company. Everybody had a good story and we laughed and laughed. 

What a  full, uplifting, wonderful day it was!

A Wonderful Weekend with Visitors-Event One

We've been blessed on our mission to spend time with many people who have inspired us and lifted us.  Some have been well known and admired and respected by many. Some of been unknown to the world, but are, none the less, wonderful and inspirational people. This weekend we spent time with both kinds of these amazing people.

Elder Jeffrey R. Holland and Elders Clayton and Renlund and their wives came to spend five days in our mission.  They met with literally thousands of saints in Kinshasa and then with a small group of about 125 in Central African Republic.  It was truly clear evidence that the Lord loves all his children, and church leaders are aware of and make great efforts to minister to them all.

The leaders arrived Friday Oct. 26, 2012, after having spent a week meeting with groups of members in South Africa and then a day of travel coming to Kinshasa.  The trip here is a long one, considering “the formalities” and challenges of travel.  They could have just settled into their hotel and relaxed and prepared for the full weekend.  However, knowing that  there was a graduation ceremony for 58 young men involved in the church’s program for construction, all five of them chose to attend the graduation.  It was a surprise to those attending and an evening that none of the 200 people who attended will not forget.

The planned program was presented and then Elders Clayton and Holland spoke a few words.  Elder Holland said that he had been to hundreds of graduations, sometimes five or six in a week when he was involved in Church education, and some were graduations for thousands of students.  But he said  he had never attended a sweeter, more meaningful graduation than this one.  He had never seen students who had accomplished more and had learned more about how to contribute to their society and to improve their futures than what he saw at this graduation.  He told them to remember the lesson that they had learned about keeping construction square, plumb and level. Then he related that to life and being honest with themselves and others. Then the three General Authorities stood in line to present the graduation certificates and to personally greet each graduate and have pictures taken with each one.  

One of our Lubumbashi  Mission Assistants- President Kabengele receiving his certificate

The certificates represent completion of a strenuous course of study in some phase of construction and are earned through LDS Business College in Salt Lake City.  This certificate, from a recognized US institution and the training they receive, will hopefully open doors for meaningful employment in the Congo. Our French friend, Eric, is the director of the program. They have been taught good construction skills, and lessons in life from our senior missionary, Elder Billings. We're so grateful to have him and Sister Billings working in our mission.  They teach these young men with great ability and love. This training is a tremendous advantage to these young adults. It is hoped that they will be the owners of construction companies someday and will do quality construction.  We pray that this will bless their lives and their nation tremendously. 

Each young man was also presented with a set of tools that will help him to pursue his chosen trade.

Then a reception with refreshments was held for the graduates and their friends and family.  

Three of our returned missionaries enjoy refreshments to celebrate their success.
Love what they chose for a table.

After the graduation Elder Holland greeted one of the men with whom our program works, who happens to be our neighbor across the hall.  We could tell that he was touched and felt the spirit as Elder Holland spoke.

For us this was a time of personal "parental" joy as we watched 11 of these young men, who had been our missionaries in Lubumbashi and Kinshasa received their certification. Several others of our beloved missionaries were there to support their friends and we paused to get a picture of us all together. 

We can see that the future of the church and the Congo rests on the shoulders of these wonderful, young returned missionaries and we're proud of and inspired by their efforts. They work against tremendous odds to be successful and represent the best there is in the young men and women of the church here. What a blessing it is to know and love them!  

Sister Mesenga and Elder Longonja  both served mission with us in Lubumbashi.   Now they're engaged to be married in March. He was among the graduates on Friday night and she works at Temporal Affairs.  These two are an example of the strong young couples who are doing things right.  They will create a  strong Christ-centered home and be future leaders in the Congo. 

Seeing our missionary children  move forward after their missions is something that we never imaged we would be able to do, but being here for a second mission has given us that unique blessing and is a great joy.

And having Elder Holland, Elder and Sister Renlund, and Elder and Sister Clayton there to share the wonderful evening with these young graduates was something we'll always remember.