Our Trip to Mbuji-Mayi - Church History Assignment and Interviews

Elder Cook was coming to Mbuji-Mayi to create a new stake from a district.  While he was involved in interviews, he had us, along with Sister Cook, make sure that the history of this unique place was being recorded accurately.  So we sat in a very hot room while the invited 

guests discussed the timeline of events leading to this momentous day.  

Then Sister Cook went outside and with the help from a professional photographer/videographer, 

recorded the oral histories as remembered by the pioneer members.  

This area is special because it has now grown to 4 stakes 

without any outside help from missionaries.  The members have helped it grow all on their own by sharing the gospel with their friends and family and helping each other as if they were all family. 

 It is amazing and worth recording.

Even in remote areas of the DRC, technology is an ever present medium.

Sister Cook, with translation help from President Kyungu (the first mission president of the new Mbuji-Mayi mission who will start on July 1) and Papama recorded over 2 hours of oral history.

They found a nice spot outside, but the city noises and rain forced them inside to finish the job.

One man being interviewed arrived with his children and mother-in-law on his motorcycle.

Other family members crammed into a truck to be transported to the Church offices.

This is the new stake president, President Kalonji, and his family.

The young first counselor and his darling family.

The second counselor and his sweet family.

Sister Cook, Sister Thomas, whose husband is the mission president of the Lubumbashi DRC mission, Lindy and me.  Cute Lindy possibly has leprosy and it is slowly eating away at her nose, but she is still happy and extremely social.

The fabrics here are bright, colorful and so unique.

Our Trip to Mbuji-Mayi - Arriving in this Remote Area of the Congo

This was our ride to Mbuji-Mayi.  This city has almost 2 million people yet there isn't one paved road into the city from anywhere else.  The vehicles that will be used by the new mission and the office couple had to airlifted in.  Yet this is the fastest growing area of the Church in the DRC.

We called it the land of many palms.  It is so green and lush.

With no regular grocery store in Mbuji-Mayi we had to go to 3 different stores to get the staples we needed for the weekend.

This family doesn't have a lawn, but the woman takes great care in sweeping her dirt.

I think Chuck was caught taking their picture from our 4th floor balcony.

Walking along the road, the paths just disappear into the jungle.

Beautiful and green, hot and humid as can be, but quite the sight.  

Just what you would expect in the Congo.

Our Trip to Mbuji-Mayi - Water Project in Rural Kinshasa

Once we landed in Kinshasa we were met by two sister service missionaries. They were going to take us to a water project that the Church is looking at doing.  We started on a busy market street.

As we drove along it got more and more rural.  The road was a fine sand and it became more and more rutted.

It's a good thing we were in 4 wheel drive vehicles because we had to ford several streams.  The people were always so friendly and many would wave to us as we passed.

We kept driving and the curious locals came out to see who we were since not many cars traveled to their remote area.  They also knew the 2 sisters who were driving the vehicles.

Another stream to cross, but both sisters mastered the rough road with amazing skill.

This stream is about a mile and a half from the school.  Every day someone has to walk down here to get their water for the day.  This small stream is also used for swimming, bathing, washing clothes, dishes and cars, and for their drinking water.

This woman uses her leg as the wash board as she does her laundry.

Our two studly sister drivers are on the left.  Sister Cook and Liz are enjoying the beautiful countryside.

All of a sudden the sky let loose with quarter size raindrops.  We all ran for the cars.

We drove to the school/orphanage and were met by the students and inhabitants.  These cute kids sang us a song as loud as they could because of the beating raindrops on the metal roof.

I admire these helpers so much.  They help these kids to learn and have a semi-normal family life.

Driving back it was raining so hard that we were worried that the streams would be too full to cross.  Interesting that the woman outside was drenched to the bone yet she was wearing a shower cap.

With the rain came swollen creeks and lots of mud!

This creek was much fuller, but we made it across safely.

Our Trip to Mbuji-Mayi - First Stop, Kinshasa, DRC

Off we go for our first trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo.

There were many things to see in this big city, including remnants of a devastating taxi wreck near the airport.

We passed by one of the LDS chapels that they lovingly call the Nauvoo Temple.

I think the Chinese workers got tired of the unruly traffic.  Along this main route into town, they actually built robots (funny because that is what they call traffic lights in South Africa) to help with the traffic - red for stop, green for go, not that it is consistently obeyed.  They looked like large lego men to me.

Ouch! This car got too close to the truck in front of him and ended up under the back end with its front windshield smashed.

This is how a lot of the locals buy their bread.

You never know what you'll find along side the road - bunk beds, couches, gates, and lumber!

Durban Temple Groundbreaking

We were fortunate to get an invitation to attend the Durban Temple groundbreaking so we made the 6 hour drive with Elder and Sister Egan for this momentous event.  The land is atop a beautiful green hill with refreshing breezes blowing in from the nearby Indian Ocean.  Durban is hilly, much like San Diego, but much greener.  The day was very warm and everyone was taking cover under their umbrellas.  When the event started and we were asked to put our umbrellas away, I was worried that we would melt.  I know that the Lord sent the tender mercy of a cool ocean breeze that came up just minutes after the start of the groundbreaking.  Zulu Prince, Mangosuthu Buthelezi was in attendance and just after he turned his shovel of dirt, he delivered one of the most beautiful addresses about the importance of families, and couples staying faithful to each other, and the good things that the Church is doing in South Africa.  It was amazing.

Chuck's fun missionary responsibilities

Chuck is responsible for new and changing unit boundaries.  When the Nairobi Kenya Stake decided it was time to divide, they drew up the new boundaries and submitted it to the Area Office.  Chuck got approval and the stake was divided.  You can imagine everyone's surprise when they brought out new maps after the stake conference.  The maps that had been submitted to SLC had the dividing line between the 2 stakes going vertically.  After the conference they submitted a revised map with the dividing line running horizontal and with twists and turns for the ward/branch divisions.  Chuck and Sister Egan literally spent days trying to make sense of the new dividing lines before they could submit them to SLC for final approval.

Last Saturday, Chuck stayed all day to help out with the Area Council.  It includes all Area Seventies within the Africa Southeast Area.  One fun activity he had them learn to do was how to locate their home on their ward maps.  One of the Seventy from the Democratic Republic of Congo was still recovering from his first ever plane ride to SLC for General Conference.  When they pulled up the map of his ward, he literally couldn't understand how to locate his home because he had never seen an aerial map and it was difficult for him to comprehend.  Fortunately they helped him understand where he lived looking down on his home.