The Last Days in Pointe Noire

The last city remained on our farewell trip was Pointe Noire.  It was such a nice thing to have a plane leave on time, go where it was supposed to go and arrive with so little difficulty.  We had done some of our hardest flights of our mission on this trip.  I  was very tired by the time we headed for Pointe Noire.  On the plane I couldn't help thinking that I just wanted to get to Pointe Noire and fall into bed.

However, Sister Wheatley had arranged ahead of time to have a little dinner party with the branch presidents and their wives the night we arrived. Thankfully Sister Wheatley was wiser than I. She had planned a perfect evening for us and it was just what I needed. She had made all the preparations for a delicious meal, had the table set beautifully and all was just fabulous. Our little gathering was just delightful and I felt  refreshed and ready to move on after spending this time together.  Many thanks to the Wheatleys for always going the second mile.

Brent with Presidents Sombo, Deckous and Caillet

This group of  people were among the first to join the church in Republic of Congo having been baptized in the 1990's when the church came to their country. They  have been stalwart leaders and are the pioneers of the church there.  We have come to love these devoted leaders and are inspired by their efforts.

Saturday was our day with the Pointe Noire missionaries and the Wheatleys. We held our  last zone conference on that side of the mission. These conferences have truly been one of the great joys of serving.  We love being with our missionaries. 

                                                                        

Then we took the missionaries out to lunch at a little Italian restaurant owned by a member of the church. It was fun to do something  nice for them. They seemed to enjoy it, even if it meant being crammed into the back of a truck to get there.  

It was a pretty hard week of goodbyes, but we will always remember our time with them.  Most of the missionaries in the outlying cities are North Americans and we have high hopes for seeing them again.  We tried to remember that as we said our goodbyes. How could you not have tender memories with pictures like this in your head?

Sunday we went to church in all the branches for at least part of the meeting.  We went to Priesthood/Relief Society in one branch and then headed across town to the other building in time for sacrament meeting and then the Wheatleys and I went back to their apartment for a couple of hours between meetings and Brent began interviewing 7 brethren for the Melchizedek Priesthood.

Then we had plans to go back to the last ward for sacrament meeting. However, on the way back to the church all the streets were closed because the Presidents of the Republic of Congo and of Ivory Coast were driving across town. We had to wait for almost an hour before any street to the church was open.  Looking closely at the picture of this bar you can see brave Elder Wheatley sitting in the front row of spectators waiting to see the presidential motorcade. Sister Wheatley and I chose to wait in the locked car until they ordered us out of the car just before the motorcade arrived. Since there were police with automatic assault rifles present, we complied but have no other pictures of the traffic blockades.

When the streets were finally opened there was a monumental traffic jam. We had to go to the church through a different neighborhood and it was an interesting drive. I had never seen these homes behind the church. There wasn't really any road. We just meandered through the area until we came to the church.  It was quite an impressive site as we finally drove up to the beautiful oasis of the church property and lovely building.

 

I thought that perhaps we were late enough that I would miss my speaking assignment, but we got there just in time.We had spoken in all three branches. In each branch we had to say goodbye to the members and priesthood leaders.  It’s so hard, knowing we won’t see these people again. 

We had planned to take an 11:00 flight to Brazzaville, but the night before our departure Aimé called to say that Monday was a holiday and river crossings would end at noon. So he put us on a flight at 8 AM instead.  When we arrived at the airport at 6am, they couldn't find our change listed. It was another tense airport day. The young man at check- in told us to just give him our luggage and go and wait for him to see if there would be room on the plane for us. This was TAC (Trans Air Congo) on which we fly business class because they tend to oversell and will only make sure you have a seat if you fly business class.  It was a tense couple of hours, but just before they boarded the plane the young agent arrived with tickets and luggage tags.  It would have been a real problem to have missed the flight  and the trip across the river, as our next zone conference was at 9 the next day.






We were met upon our arrival in Brazzaville by Gaetan, who has been our trusted aid and friend.  He took us to the beach where we waited in the comfort of his truck while the "formalities" were done by Isaac who has helped us cross the beach many times and has also been a friend.

Time to say more goodbyes to these great members who move the work forward with their faith and hard work as they make the necessary physical arrangements for our travel. We couldn't have done any of these trips without them
In nine days we visited five cities in four different countries, holding zone conferences in four of them. We've said goodbye to 48 missionaries.  At the end of this trip, which was filled with travel trials, we were quite tired but we have a week of zone conferences ahead of us and then another trip next weekend to Matadi, so we have to find energy enough to persevere.  The Lord always provides.

Final Day in Yaoundé Cameroon

Our schedule was so tight that we had only planned to spend a day and a half in Youndé. It wasn't much time to hold a zone conference, do District and Branch business and say goodbyes. To make matters tighter, African airline travel was not on our side.  Our flight to Yaoundé was again delayed. This time the Gaileys, who live close to the airport, took pity on us and  we went back to their house for our five hour wait for the plane. The plane, which flies back and forth between Yaoundé and Douala, had a flat tire in Yaoundé and they had to send a tire and crew from Douala to fix it.   They never did get the plane fixed, so we had to wait another couple of hours at the airport.  Finally they put us on a plane that made a stop in Yaoundé on its way to Paris.  What a temptation!  We eventually  made it to Yaoundé at 1 am. Again we decided to stay in a hotel, the Djeuga Palace, rather than forcing the couple to pick us up in the middle of the night. The stay, though just 24 hours, was well worth the effort.

Yaoundé Elders

We had another great zone conference, another happy day with missionaries, the Whitesides, and the priesthood leaders, and more great missionary goodbye hugs!

Whitesides and Jamesons

 

 Zone Conferences are a really wonderful event

Hard to drive away from them for the last time.  Love these guys!

Visiting Douala Cameroon One More Time

From Libreville we move on to Douala, but not without the challenges of African travel.  Upon our 7:00 pm arrival at the airport in Libreville, we were told that the ticket contained the wrong time and the plane wouldn't leave until midnight.  So, it was a long evening in the Libreville airport. In addition to the wrong time on the ticket, the plane was over an hour late leaving.  Six hours in an African airport is a long, long time!  We finally arrived in Douala at 3am.  We decided to go to a hotel because the original flight was still rather late for the couple to come and get us. It was a good thing that we'd planned a night in a hotel. We took the shuttle to the Bano Palace and collapsed into bed where we got three quick hours of rest before heading out to our last Douala Zone Conference.  It was worth all the effort as we met with these wonderful, mostly North American missionaries and the Gaileys. We had a great conference, many laughs, a few tears and a fun finale at a restaurant.

Douala missionaries gave us a souvenirs missionary autographed soccer shirt

Jamesons and Gaileys

Finding their names on the  mission quilt

Missionaries sharing "ties of love" in their RED ties.

Lunch at the Restaurant Mediterranee  Yum!

  

   

 AND WE WERE OFF TO THE NEXT CITY !

Last Visit to Brazzaville and Libreville

Saturday we left Kinshasa to visit our outlying cities for the last time.  It's an emotional  experience to know that this is the last time we'll see so many of these people whom we love.  But what sweet memories we have.

 Brazzaville  Zone

Saturday we were in three countries.  We began in DRC. Then we crossed the Congo river on our most frightening trip EVER! It was on a small speed boat with a driver who was totally crazy.  The usual trip is about 10 min. He made it in five!  It was choppy that day and he didn't seem to know that you go directly into waves.  About 3/4 of the way across one of our assistants, who went with us, turned to Brent and said, "President, can you swim?"  Brent assured them that we both could swim.  Then asked Elder Kabuya
if he did. He answered "NO!"  Brent asked the other assistant, Elder Mpungu and, with eyes as big as dinner plates, he shook his head from side to side indicating that he had no idea how to swim.  But we made it safely to Brazzaville and had a great zone conference.  All was good. That evening we flew to Libreville, Gabon.  So, we'd been in three countries in one day. Amazing!
In Libreville we finally met Michael and Marie Moody, our new senior couple. They're just wonderful. His name is very recognizable  from all the church music he's written, including "This is the Christ," which is one of my favorite church songs.  His name is found in several places in the church hymn book. We have a very interesting history that we didn't know about until we got together. In 2009 the Moodys turned in mission papers and were called to be an isolated counselor in Lubumbashi, DRC to prepare that area for the coming of a new mission. This story is starting to sound very familiar, isn't it!  At the last minute they were called instead to serve instead as the temple president in Tahiti. They accepted that call and the church called the second string to serve in Lubumbashi, which was us.  The Moodys have pictures of our house in Lubumbashi and other things that they were sent as they prepared for that first assignment.  Several years before that he had served as the mission President in Haiti.  They had been home only a few weeks from Tahiti when their son, an employee of the US Embassy who had just moved to Libreville, told them of the need  for a French speaking senior couple in Gabon. They contacted us and volunteered to serve for six months while we looked for a permanent couple.  By the time they got their call they had decided that they would spend a year in Libreville. I'm so inspired by this kind of dedicated servants of the Lord. They hit the ground running  a month ago and are preparing for the church to be fully installed in Gabon.  We went to see the church building, senior couple home and the apartment for the young elders, who we hope will soon be sent to Gabon, that they have arranged to rent.   All three are in a large compound owned by a family who have built several homes to live in and to rent out on a large piece of land.  It's the perfect situation.

The interesting thing about this is that again the Lord has put things in place for the church to move forward in Gabon.  When the Moodys and the TA worker talked to the woman, she was somewhat nervous about a church being on their property.  So, she called her son in Italy for advice. When she told him what was happening and what church was interested in renting their home, he replied,"Mama, that's MY church. Please don't rent that home to anybody else. Wait as long as you must to rent it to them."   When Brent asked the Branch President who had actually found the place, he immediately replied, "the Lord." Truly the Lord is watching over Gabon.

Couple's apartment on top floor and Elder's apartment on the bottom. 

We spent our time in Gabon in the home of the Moody family. Brother and Sister Moody and their five children, and the Moody senior couple made us feel very much at home and we wonderful hosts to us. They live in a lovely neighborhood in a home rented by the US Embassy and it was about our nicest accommodations ever on our mission.
What a pleasure it was for us to be with children for a few days. This little family is thriving in a country where the church is just starting.



  They're home schooling their children, staying faithful and making a huge difference for those around them.  We loved hearing the children play their piano and violin pieces, listening to them having school in their home and watching them serve in the church.
 Dad is in the branch presidency. Mom teachings the Primary, Emma, age 10, played the piano in church and little Ann Marie, age 7, conducted the music in church like a pro. Being with this family for a few days was a special treat for us.

Church was held in their home that fast Sunday and the spirit was strong as each attending member bore their testimony. When Corinne was a little girl and ran for office at Meyer school, she used the theme "Small but mighty."  That was the perfect description of this lintel group of faithful saints in Libreville. We can't wait to hear about he grown in this city when the full-time elders arrive and go to work. Miracles will continue!

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The Last Interviews, First Mission Council and Lots of Meals

In the past ten days  Brent's done a hundred personal interviews with about 100 missionaries. These are the most important things that he does and also one of the most exhausting.  It's where you have to talk to the naughty ones and encourage the sad ones and listen to the health concerns of the sickies, etc. etc.  It's also a time to share the joy of being a good missionary as he meets with faithful, devoted elders and sisters.  I think that the missionaries look forward to this time, but this picture makes it look like the 'hot seat.'
While Brent's doing the interviews I do a little teaching. This time it was how to help the less active. I showed a great video and then we had a discussion. It's still challenging to me to do this kind of thing in French, but we work together and I think that they get the message. We always get a little time to just enjoy them too.

 

All Seminary and Institute coordinators in the DRC were in Kinshasa this week for training and our dear friend, Monga from Lubumbashi, called to ask if we could see him while he was here.  It was he and his wife who met us at the airport in Lubumbashi when we arrived and generally shepherded us the entire time we were there.  They also came to General Conference in April 2011 and came to Ryan and Linsey’s house to go with us to Conference.  We took him out to a hotel restaurant for dinner ( we had just fixed too many meals that week to do home cooking."  We spent the evening laughing and reminiscing together.

In addition to all the interviews, we had lots of visitors and meals to fix.  We had our first mission council on Friday.  There's a new calling in the mission. It's for sisters and is called Sister Training Leaders. They meet with the zone leaders in a council held monthly.  It's quite a change for the elders to have sister leaders and they had lot of questions.  It was a good meeting. There's a big group now and it about fills our great room to hold the meeting there. We had the meeting, including lunch for 26.  It pretty much filled the great room.

Then that night we had the couples come for dinner to share an evening with the Elder and Sister Renlund.
That made a total of 40 people that we fed that day.  The meeting with the Renlunds was wonderful. They're such great people.  There was a great spirit there and our couples were greatly edified to have been with them in this personal setting.  We'll  really miss our association with the Renlunds.  They've been woven into the fabric of all of our 4 years of missionary service and that relationship is very dear to us. 

Then on Sat. we hosted a dinner for Bishop Gary Stevensen, the presiding bishop and Gary Porter from SLC. The Renlunds, Georges Bonnet, area Director of Temporal Affairs, Eustache Ilunga, Kinshasa Service Center director and Francois Kazey-Anfo, a church employee were with us. We've had the chance to meet with a lot of really wonderful people during our little dinner parties. During the dinner Francis, who is Georges Bonnet’s assistant, shared his story.  He was baptized in Ghana as a young boy in December 1978, just six months after the announcement giving the priesthood to all worthy males.  He said that 129 people were baptized that day and that they were lined up to wait their turn to go into the water.  The stories of the church in Africa are simply amazing and we are blessed to have seen many of the miracles that have taken place here. During the dinner Bishop Stevenson asked Brent, “What did you do in the pre-existence to deserve an assignment like this?”  We truly feel  fortunate to have spent this time in a place where the Lord is hastening the work and the people are so prepared to receive the gospel.

Bishop Stevensen had held a meeting Saturday for YM and YW.  Was he to hold that kind of a meeting in Tempe, how many YM/YW would attend?  In Kinshasa there were 1119 youth in attendance. At the end of the meeting President Renlund invited anybody who was interested to come and shake the hand of men who'd had the opportunity to shake the hand of the Prophet and the Twelve Apostles.  For more than  30 min. the youth reverently came forward to shake hands with  Bishop Stevensen and Elder Renlund.  What faith there is here in the DRCongo!

We also had dinner for one of our friends from South Africa, Steve Wrench.  He's in charge of distribution and was here with the area car czar, Francois Nortje, to do some training.  It's such a great change to have these good people from South Africa Area office come to see, train and supervise our service center. We have good discussions over dinner and have made some really good friends. 

Finally!

Excitedly showing us his passport and visa.

After six months in prison and three weeks of work to get a passport and visa, Frere Malabi was finally united with his family in Tanzania last week. We were still nervous until his plane touched down in Tanzania. But he called us from the airport, where he was with his dear wife for the first time in seven months. What a great reunion it must have been. We're still thanking the Lord for his intervention to make this happen. We never thought we would see the day and especially while we're in Africa. This good man has experienced his Liberty jail and come out victorious! We'll never forget being a part of this miracle.

There is Always Change, but the Lord Provides

June 1, 2013 marked the end of an era in our mission. After almost four years of devoted service Thierry Mutombo left his job as office manager at the mission and went to work for Temporal Affairs. He'll be a great asset to the church there, but we were a bit panicked about how the mission could get along without him. He did so many of the "formalities" of the mission that we couldn't imagine that things could go on smoothly without Thierry paving the way for us in so many areas.  He knows everybody and everybody loves Thierry. His infectious smile and bright personality light up any room.  We love him and couldn't imagine life without him in the office. When asked by the human resources people about having him change jobs, Brent first invited them to take two of our own children instead of taking Thierry.  Then he acquiesced and suggested that it would be fine for him to start at TA on July 1st, the day after we leave. In reality, it's going to be a good move for Thierry, but he will be sorely missed both professionally and personally.  We miss his daily answer when asked how he was felling today.  "Like a fish in water," was always his response.  What a great guy.

The staff members, Thierry, Pascal and Aimé have worked together so well.  Each has his own strengths and they fit together perfectly. We just weren't sure how Pascal and Aimé could handle things without Thierry.  However, both felt that they would be able to do it without another employee and wanted the chance. So, we were glad to give it a try.

We felt like Pascal's plate was always very full. This is his "list" of  "to do" items for the day. We knew that Aimé had been somewhat underused. He has much more talent and ability than he was using with the assignments that he had been given.
Both of these young men have stepped up in an amazing way. The office hasn't skipped a beat and even the most difficult situations have been well handled. We feel a lot of parental pride in these two. We're so proud of them and couldn't be happier with their work.

The Three Amigos