Kevan Kingsley Clawson's Blog, page 20

The mice will play…

There is the old saying: when the cat is away the mice will play! Well….

We all went out to dinner at our favorite Indian restaurant while the President and Sister Thomas were up north eating dry chicken with Elder Ellis…

But, then again, I think we deserve it since we have had no water and power problems the whole time they have been gone!

Here is the water truck come to deliver water into our tanks so that we don’t have to live out of bidons.

These are the two tanks that feed all the homes and office in the Mission home complex. Elder Atkinson created an ingenious tool to tell how much water we have in the tanks: see the water bottle? There is another in the tank, attached to a string. When the water is low, the bottle in the tank is low, so the bottle outside the tank is high (you can see we are empty!)

However, when the tanks are filled, the water bottle in the tank is high, so the bottle outside the tank is near the bottom (these tanks are now full, and should last us 3-4 days, if people don’t waste the water).

 

Overtime

Part of the reason for looking back at our mission is that today is our official ‘go home’ day (it says so right on my official called to the ministry card I have to keep on me: 25 February 2013 to 25 August 2014).

We have been greatly blessed to be asked to stay longer to aide the new mission president and his wife, and have had opportunities to see and do things we have not done before. Terri is getting an in-depth look at how a mission is run as she acts as President Thomas’ personal secretary, and we both have been traveling with the Thomas’ as they have visited every part of the mission.

We are preparing for yet another, very large transfer, and have run into multiple road-blocks and problems, especially with the airlines. Many of the airlines that service Lubumbashi have cancelled flights, changed schedules, and/or sent smaller planes. The MTC in Ghana is having the same problems, and so has changed dates on us three times as they try to get the new elders to Lubumbashi (they are now arriving on a Friday, late in the day, instead of early weds).

The new couple, the Drapers, have also been delayed in arriving.

Add to that the fact that Lubumbashi airport is doing some runway work and is closing the airport completely three days a week (tues, weds, thurs)! It is just a nightmare!

But we all find ways to pull together and get through it. Just like ‘the show must go on!’ the work must go forward!

So….do Terri and I get overtime pay?

Sisters and their…shoes

Today we moved the two Sister Training Leaders from the Annex behind the Mission Office to the new Lubumbashi apartment. This apartment is set-up like a dorm, with 18 beds, so that when we have transfers and a lot of sisters in town, they have a place to stay. The STLs will stay there all the time, but will have sisters drop-in during transfers.

When we moved the two sisters, we expected more bags than normal (all sisters seem to accumulate more stuff than the Elders), but this was unexpected!

Their stuff filled the back of a pickup truck, with stuff in the front seat also! It normally takes 5-6 elders to fill the back of this truck with bags! And some of the bags were so heavy, it took two of us to carry them and lift them into the truck.

So, you are probably wondering about the shoes… One of the large bags were filled with nothing but shoes! In fact, we have decided that women’s attraction to shoes has to be genetic, as no matter where you go, you see the same compulsion about shoes…

The Ellis’ Arrive

Sister Thomas speaking (in French!) to the missionaries. President Thomas is in back, along with Brother and Sister Ellis.

Brother Ellis speaking with the missionaries (using one of the Assistants as an interpreter)

 

The Missionaries take a short break, and eat some apples and bananas before starting the Leadership meeting.

This week Brother and Sister Ellis (a Seventy) comes to Lubumbashi this week for a mission tour. His first stop, Lubumbashi, included a Zone Conference with all the local missionaries (3 zones: Lubumbashi, Katuba, Kisanga), and then a leadership meeting with the local missionary leaders (Zone, District, and Sister Trainer Leaders).

Then they go to Likasi for the same meetings, then fly north to Mbuji Mayi, Mwene Ditu, and Luputa, for more of the same. As the Thomas’ have now been to all of those places, Terri and I are staying home (we also have the Drapers who are arriving this week, and continued prep for the next transfer that starts soon).

On Sunday we take them to the airport for their flight to Mbuji Mayi. Then, we might have a quiet week (it is always quiet around the office when the President leaves… when the cat’s away, you know!)

I am in the process of documenting all the apartments in the mission: apartment info, pictures of each apartment, history of problems, etc., so the mission will have a data base they can refer to if they have problems.

We are opening new apartments in Luputa and Ngandajika, then, I think, we are done for a long while. We actually have too many apartments now—the number of missionaries has fallen due to the change in mission Presidents (they are kind and don’t sent a lot of missionaries for a while—so we had more go home than came), but that will soon change and we will begin to add missionaries again…at which point they will need all the apartments we have found.

There is a good chance there are a lot more senior missionaries coming to serve in the Congo, so we will perhaps be able to send a couple to Mbuji Mayi (we have be trying to do that for a long time—Terri and I were supposed to go there to replace the Moores when we first got here, but that changed).

Change is coming to the Congo

As President and Sister Thomas progress in their stewardship here in the Congo they are beginning to make their own mark on the tapestry of the mission. At first it was subtle changes in the way they did things (a natural result of being different from the previous mission president), but as they grow in their callings and begin to sense the direction the Lord would have them take the mission—and the missionaries—I can see that some big changes are coming for all of us!

The Lord has never designed or chosen leaders that are the same. To do so would, in fact, defeat His purposes. Every person, every leader, is different, and brings with them different talents and abilities. The Lord knows and understands this fact, and therefore uses these natural differences to enhance and move forward the Kingdom of God on earth. By placing leaders with differing talents in succession, he can modify and direct how the Kingdom is shaped and the direction it moves.

Think of God as an owner of a fishing ship. The owner wants to make a profit and reap rewards, so he selects captains for his ship that have the ability to direct the work in a certain manner. For example, if the market is good for shrimp, he might hire a shrimp-boat captain for a few years and reap the rewards of the current market. If the market changes and suddenly crab is the best-selling item in the market, the owner might change the captain to one who knows crabbing, etc. By his choices of captain he would not only be selecting the type of work being done, but where the ship would be traveling (as each different product would be found in different areas of the ocean). A thoughtful owner could not only make sure the ship was always making a good profit, but could protect his assets, simply by the choice of the captain who would lead the ship.

The same is true with the Church (as the ship) and the Prophet (the Captain) that are chosen by God to lead the Church.

I remember a wonderful talk I heard many years ago while on my first mission given by President Packer. Harold B Lee had just died and Spencer Kimball had become the new prophet. President Packer described the change in leadership this way:

President Lee was a “policy” president—he focused on and was concerned about the organization of the Church and the policies that directed the day to day workings of the Church organization. As President Packer described it: the Church was like a bus and President Lee was like a mechanic. The problem was that with President Lee driving the bus, every time the bus had a problem, the mechanic would stop, fix the problem, and then start driving again. The bus was in good condition but wasn’t going anywhere very quickly.

Then came President Kimball—he was very different; he was a driver, not a mechanic. He was focused on getting the Church moving to a specific destination, and didn’t care about the mechanics of it all. When his bus hit a problem he would simply give the engine more gas and drive through, or around, the problem. President Kimball’s favorite saying (put on a sign on his desk) was: ‘just do it!’

Very different leaders, with very different approaches to running the Church on a day to day basis. Yet the Lord, knowing their specifics strengths and weaknesses, had chosen them to serve in succession to both prepare and to move the Church in a specific, long term direction. We, as mortals, cannot always see the designs of God—until we look back on history and go: oh, that’s why He did that! But we can have faith that God knows and understands His own grand design and can and does choose specific leaders at specific times to fulfill His ultimate goals—both for us as individuals and for the organizations within which we serve.

I find it fascinating, fulfilling, and exciting to witness the unfolding of God’s plan for the Congo! How grateful I am to be able to participate in this work and contribute even a little to the building up of the Kingdom of God on earth.

The Perfecting of the Saints

One of the blessings of going on a mission is that an individual is cleansed and perfected through and/or because of the sacrifice, work, and trials they endure. I witnessed this in myself during my first full-time mission as a youth, saw it in the Hopkins (my in-laws) during their two senior missions in Mongolia and Hong Kong, and have seen and experienced it again during my own senior mission.

There is a proven adage that you only get out of something the amount you put in. That is true with a mission also. The amount of hard work and dedication a person puts forward during their mission directly correlates with the amount of blessings one receives, or the growth/perfection one can and will obtain during your service.

We have seen missionaries that spend their time in worry and complaining about the work, or the people, or the circumstances in which they have been placed…and in the end they remain either unchanged or embittered. They received no blessings, and in some cases lost blessings, due to their poor attitude.

On the other hand we have seen missionaries that came with many issues and problems…but, due to their persistence and dedication to the work, they developed into great men and women—blessed with power and spiritual insight.

The difference in outcome was due to their attitude and desire to do the work. Those that focused on the work, or, who ‘lost themselves’ in the work, soon forgot their problems and, almost without realizing it, changed their very nature. They lost their imperfections at the same time they were blessed with strength and power. As noted in the oft-quoted scripture in Ether 12:27: God made their weaknesses strengths.

As Terri and I look back on this mission (a natural situation as we prepare to leave) we both can see areas of our lives—parts of ourselves—that have changed and/or become better.

In reflecting upon this process that we have both experienced in ourselves and seen in others who have served missions, we have pondered about the importance of making the profound and life-changing decision to serve a mission:

The person who is willing to “lose their life for my sake” (Matthew 16:25) will, in fact, find it. They will be blessed beyond their understanding—the blessings received quite literally cannot be measured because they included blessings upon your entire family. More than once we have heard the profound blessing that our sacrifice of coming on a mission will ensure that we will be able to keep all of our children and eventually bring them with us into the kingdom. So, we not only assure that we will make it to the kingdom (through the process of change that occurs during our time of service), but we assure our entire family can receive the same blessing!

On the other hand, those who do not find the faith/courage to make the decision to “lose their life” through service, not only will not receive, but cannot receive these blessings. It is not possible because it is a ‘process’ of perfection, and you cannot be made perfect without going through the process! While many refuse to serve because of the great love they have for their children or grandchildren, they simply do not realize the blessings they have lost—both for themselves and their family—due to their unwillingness to make that sacrifice.

We long ago learned the lesson that sacrifice brings forth the blessings of heaven. From what I understand, there is no other way:

“My beloved brethren and sisters, humbly and gratefully I approach this sacred assignment with a prayer in my heart that what I say will strengthen our resolve to live the principle of sacrifice as a prerequisite to a godly life, for this is a day of sacrifice.

The Lord said in September 1831, “Now it is called today until the coming of the Son of Man, and verily it is a day of sacrifice … of my people” (D&C 64:23; italics added).

The Prophet Joseph Smith prepared this remarkable statement on the principle of sacrifice for the Lectures on Faith:

“Let us here observe, that a religion that does not require the sacrifice of all things never has power sufficient to produce the faith necessary unto life and salvation” (Lectures on Faith, 6:7).

As I have pondered this principle of the gospel, I contemplate a legacy of faith and sacrifice left by our forefathers…

Yes, as I contemplate the faith, devotion, and sacrifices of thousands—even tens of thousands—of faithful Saints who have preceded us, I am in complete accord with this statement by the Prophet Joseph Smith:

“It is in vain for persons to fancy to themselves that they are heirs with those … who have offered their all in sacrifice … unless they, in like manner, offer unto him the same sacrifice (Lectures on Faith, 6:8; italics added).

I repeat: This is a day of sacrifice, and the opportunities are ever present.”

(This is a day of Sacrifice, Ezra Taft Benson, April 1979 Conference)

These comments may seem rather tough to hear, even offensive to some, but that does not make them any less true. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The universal principles that bring men to Christ and bring blessings to men on earth do not change, nor are they confined to a specific religion or race—we are all children of God. Any man or woman who is willing to sacrifice their lives to serve others will receive the same blessings.

For example: Mother Teresa sacrificed her own life to serve the poor in India. Though of a different faith, she went through the same cleansing process that all go through while serving God. She became perfected as an individual through serving others. Gandhi did the same, as have others through history. Though of different faiths, races, and nations, it is clear from simple observation that it was through their personal sacrifice they became personally blessed and perfected. The whole world honors them for what they did and who they became.

We can do the same. Anyone can do the same! It is simply a matter of making the choice to serve.

So, I encourage you to make the choice! Choose to serve, choose to give up your life—to save it. You will not only bless your own life, you will obtain eternal blessings for your entire family.

Simple.

Yet profound.

Just do it!

Still Learning

Although my work has decreased a little, as Elder Atkinson has taken over a lot of what I used to do with Emanuel, Terri is busier than ever! She still is on call 24/7 with sick missionaries and has the added task of aiding President Thomas with arranging his schedule and missionary transfers. They are currently in the middle of a very large transfer as we have a large group of missionaries arriving and President Thomas is ‘shuffling the deck’ by making some major changes in how and where missionaries are serving.

Throw into the mix one sick missionary that is going home…and stuff is bound to be missed. The missionary was scheduled to return home to been seen by their local doctor (and perhaps return if/when they get better), but we forgot one important thing: new missionaries who arrive from other countries have to have their passports sent to Kinshasa to obtain a long-term visa to stay in the Congo for the two years… We all forgot this little fact until the very morning the missionary was supposed to leave! Oops! Everything had to get cancelled until we can get the passport back from Kinshasa.

There is always something else to learn/remember…

In the mean time, we hope to have a relatively quiet weekend where we can catch-up on laundry and some basic chores. We also have had to do some planning for when we get home. We want to see our family (of course), but since they live all over the world, we have to make long-term plans to see them. So after we get back we are planning trips to Pennsylvania, Mexico, Brazil, among other trips to see family and friends. Time will tell how all that works out!

We are not sure what our ward/stake will want us to do when we get home. We have notified them of our return date but have not heard back from them.

So we are trying to have a couple of days to relax, because Monday we are back to work!

Winding Down

It has been an interesting experience ‘winding down’ our mission here in the Congo. Both Terri and I have been very busy our entire mission, and have accumulated numerous jobs as we picked up work after other couples were gone. Now it is time for others to pick up the work we are doing, with the hope that nothing will be ‘dropped’ or left undone.

It is a balancing act between wanting to stay busy till the last day, and making sure that others learn and begin doing the work that we have been doing.

Elder Eastman did a great job aiding me to transition to his job of managing the apartments. He had put in place policies and procedures that helped me to understand the scope of the work, and then he let me slowly take over much of the work before he left. I still use all the things he put in place for me to use…I am simply building upon the work that he started.

And even though I was doing a lot of the work before Elder Eastman left, I did not understand just how much work there was until he actually left and ALL the work fell to me! I can see the same thing happening as I prepare to leave. There are so many little things Terri and I do that no one is aware of (as they have their own jobs to do), that they will not be noticed until we leave.

Tomorrow is our official on month day. Next week will be busy with Elder Ellis coming for a mission tour, and even though we just finished with a transfer, Terri is already up to her neck in the next transfer—which will be a huge one, as the new President has decided to shake things up a bit, and we have 14 new missionaries coming. I doubt there will be more than 25% of the mission that is not moving.

The week after should be slower, as the Thomas’ and Ellis’ will be in the north country; but we also have a new couple arriving that we will need to start training. The Drapers will need to hit the ground running as they will be charged with handling the transfers when Terri leaves, and will only have a week until this next huge transfer hits.

The next week begins the big transfer… and then we leave for home. Enough said.

Of course we are thinking about home a lot now (especially since we have our tickets and a set date!), but try to concentrate on the work and making sure that things are in place when we leave.

I learned a long time ago that everyone is expendable—life does not permit a vacuum. When we leave someone else will come and fill-in the holes left behind. It is the same in the corporate world, and even in families: life goes on and those left behind find ways to move forward—often finding better and/or more efficient ways of doing the things you once did. That being said, we are trying to make the transition easy for those following us.

I am constantly amazed at how much time and effort it takes to run a mission, and how blessed missions are that have senior couples—people who actually know what they are doing—working behind the scenes to make the mission function, and to provide a framework for the missionary work being done by the young men and women called to serve. We may not preach the gospel, we may not even be seen that much, but the mission could not run without us!

All the more reason for those pondering a life of service to make the decision to come! What greater reason is there than: you are needed! You have spent a lifetime developing talents and abilities that have earned you an income, and perhaps acclaim in your specific field of endeavor…now perhaps it is time to use those same talents and abilities in the service of God!

Our last trip North?

We just got back from what may be our last trip north. We left on Sunday morning for the airport in Lubumbashi, and with the normal assistance received by paying someone to get us through, we got on the plane with all of our luggage intact (it is always a nerve-racking experience going into the airports here—simply a mass of confusion). When we landed in Mbuji Mayi, Serge (one of the FM people who recently took over for Emanuel, who was promoted and moved to Kinshasa) was there to greet us and aide us in getting through the other end of the airport process. The airport director wanted to meet the new Mission President and get the ‘fee’ for coming to Mbuji Mayi for the first time (about $150).

 

Mbuji Mayi

They had brought two trucks so that the President could be taken immediately to begin interviewing elders while we waited for the luggage. After the luggage arrived we went to the Hotel. There are two hotels we use in Mbuji Mayi: one across the street from the District Center called the Equinox, and another that is father away, but a little better. As this was the Thomas’ first trip north we thought it appropriate to stay at the better hotels (ease them in gradually?). After checking in Terri and I went to the District Center to meet with the missionaries while they wait to be interviewed (normal for us as we always carry stuff to give out and can talk to them about any problems they are having that we can help with). I also left with Cote-foi to buy water for our trip.

Mwene Ditu

The next day we left for Mwene Ditu, about a three hour drive. We had a long stop at the border getting out of Mbuji Mayi as they had some issues with our paperwork. It is very interesting: they insist on checking your passports and paying fees to get OUT of Mbuji Mayi, but never do the same coming back IN to Mbuji Mayi !?

When we arrived in MD we did the same thing: dropped the President off at the chapel to begin interviews while we went to the hotel. Again, there are two hotels in MD we use: one that is more upscale (by upscale I mean a “hotel 6” with no running water and power for only 3 hours at night…), and the other we affectionately call the ‘Turkish prison’ due to it being built out of concrete. We stayed at the better hotel this time. Again, Terri and I went back to the chapel to talk with the missionaries for a while, and I also went with the elders to see their apartments and note problems. The Bondoyo apartment has no power (we have a solar panel there that is having problems), and has a well we installed for water. The other apartment also has no electricity and uses solar panels, but has better water. We have plans to run an electrical line to this apartment soon.

That night we ate dinner with the Mbele’s, the native missionary couple who are living in MD (they stay in a small annex behind the second apartment). After dinner Terri and I went to the ‘Turkish prison’ hotel to see our good friends Jean-Pierre and Aime. They were sad we were not staying with them this time, but were happy to see us. We were all sad that this might be the last time we see each other. Their daughter had just left for a mission the same day we came (we probably passed her on the road!).

Luputa

The next day we traveled to Luputa. What a difference! The road is quite smooth and we arrived in a little over an hour (the first time we traveled to Luputa it took several hours as it was just after the rainy season and the road was bad). We stayed at the church ‘hotel’—a building behind the Stake Center that has three bedrooms and was built for this purpose. The President did a few interviews and then about noon we headed for Lusuku.

Lusuku

After another 11/2 hour drive we came to Lusuku, perhaps the most isolated village we have missionaries serving at this time. There had been about 200 members of the church ‘discovered’ in this small village and over time (out of compassion and necessity?) it was decided to make it an official branch of the church. When that happened the mission felt obligated to send full-time missionaries there also. It took some time to find a suitable house for the missionaries, but we finally found a house, put in a solar panel (they have no power, and must carry their water from a few blocks away).

We toured the apartment and the President interviewed the Elders as we waited. Then we all went to see the ‘chapel’ used by the local members (if you can call it that…). I also met with the owner of the apartment to pay him rent (there is no bank there, and no other way to get money to him other than sending cash).

After visiting the chapel and talking to some of the church leaders, we purchased some bananas and headed back to Luputa. The President had a meeting with the Stake President that evening, and then we ate dinner. Dinner in Luputa is whatever you bring! You don’t buy food there, other than fruit, so we brought some freeze-dried food and added hot water for our evening meal.

The next day the President finished interviewing all the local missionaries. I walked with the Zone Leaders to visit all the apartments and to see a new apartment we are trying to rent (we have been negotiating for some time, as the apartment is not quite ready to be lived in). We walked through town and visited the apartments. Most of the apartments in Luputa and in good shape now. They either have solar power or power from a local hotel (which comes 3-4 hours each night), and they have a water line run into their yard (not into the house) from the local water—part of the LDS Church water project there.

While waiting to talk to the owner of the new apartment I played with some of the neighborhood children. They were playing jump-rope. I filmed them for a while, then asked to join in. They all got quite a laugh as I tried to jump-rope! Sorry, no film on that!

Just as I was finishing with the owner of the apartment, I heard Terri’s voice in the yard: they were ready to leave for Ngandajika and had come to find me! We said goodbye to the missionaries, and hello to President Binene (the Stake President who was travelling with us).

Ngandajika

We filled the car and with people (driver, President and Sister Thomas, Terri and I, two Assistants, and President Binene) and headed to Ngandajika—a good two plus hour drive over much rougher roads than coming to Luputa. We arrived and stopped at the local chapel where the President began interviewing missionaries. We stayed a while to get to know the local members. The driver and I went to the hotel to check-in, get the keys to the rooms, and to order dinner for that evening. Then we came back to the chapel.

After the missionaries were done, and while the President met with the local church leaders, we went to see the missionary apartment, went to the hotel, and then the missionaries and I went to see a new apartment that had been found. It was great: it had two sources of water! City water that worked on and off, and a well. We will need to install a solar panel, and do some other minor things to prep it for missionaries, but it will be a good place.

That night we ate dinner at the hotel and went to bed to prep for a long ride back to Mbuji Mayi the next day. The Stake President would return to Luputa on a moto while we continued on.

Mbuji Mayi

The trip from Ngandajika to Mbuji Mayi (completing the circle) is a rough one! It took a good three to four hours on very rough roads. It was amazing to see how many people lived along the road—it was almost one continuous village, with few open breaks between. We finally got to Mbuji Mayi and had some time to rest before the President had a meeting with church leaders. We then ate dinner at the hotel with four guests: the President’s local mission counselor and his wife, and another member who was one of the first members and leaders in the area.

Lubumbashi

We traveled back to Lubumbashi the next day. As the flight was not until after noon, we stopped and visited a few missionary apartments. When we got to the airport, as usual, it was a madhouse. So many ‘stops’ or stations one had to move through for taxes and fees and baggage checks, etc., yet it was all in ONE ROOM! So though we stayed in one room to get everything done, there were people yelling and pushing and moving around, going back and forth from one station to the other—simple chaos! At one point, in order to get our passports back, they asked me to talk to the station chief. He gave me a receipt for the previous fees he charged President Thomas a few days before, but then wanted some money from me to get our passports back—all being very nice about the whole thing! So I gave him $20 and got our passports and we were finally able to pass through the last document checks and get into the waiting room for the plane.

We were all happy to get back to Lubumbashi…it is amazing how a short trip north can change your perspective! Lubumbashi now looks like a modern city with all the amenities, and seems like home. Where before it might have looked very poorly, after seeing the rest of the Congo, it now seems like a great place to live! Everything is relative!

This coming week is transfer week so we will all be busy moving missionaries around. Then next Friday we fly to Bujumbura for a week. Ahhh, no rest for the wicked, eh?

Gecamine market

Here are some pics of the local market in Gecamines quartier, Lubumbashi. On Sunday it is clothing day–everyone sells clothing rather than many other goods normally on sale.