Kevan Kingsley Clawson's Blog, page 22

Misc

Here are a few misc items I thought I would share:

The most typical sight in the Congo: waiting to get water from a local water source.

This is the Gecamine market in Lubumbashi on Sunday: clothing day

Typical transport waiting to be filled with customers, at about 300 francs each (30 cents)

The new Kisanga Stake Center. We learned why it is sitting empty even though it is finished: they have no chairs or furniture…just another boondoggle I guess…

 

The ‘last supper’ with the McMullins at our favorite Indian restaurant.

Elder Atkinson trying to clean his hands after dinner in the ‘dipping bowl’, and yes, it was as funny as it looks!

The McMullins take one more picture with Emanuel and family just before leaving for the airport

Always, one last picture of the President before leaving for the airport…

They will truly be missed!

While in Kipushi we noticed men making bricks right next door to the Church, so we all watched for a while and took pictures. It is a three-four man process with the machine. One fills the machine with dirt (just dirt and water), one pounds it down with a bat or a shovel, one uses a steel bar to move the compressed adobe up, and one stacks the bricks. They claim they can make 1,000 in one day…

The Last of the Mohicans

The last days of the McMullins service in the Congo were interesting. They were real road warriors—they spend at least half of their entire mission on the road! There are, or were, ten zones in this mission: three in Lubumbashi (Lubumbashi, Katuba, and Kisanga—which includes Kipushi and Kasumbalesa that are both an hour or more outside of Lubumbashi), two just outside of Lubumbashi (Likasi and Kolwezi) Mbuji Mayi, Mwene Ditu, Luputa (which at this time still includes Ngandajika, but in the future, after it becomes a District, will be its own zone), Kananga (which as of July 1 was transferred to Kinshasa mission as part of the change that occurred when Brazzaville became a mission), and Bujumbura (which is actually another country). In order to visit all of these Zones for the required Zone Conferences (I think they are supposed to happen every six weeks—but that becomes prohibitive here due to simple logistics of getting there and back), the President and Sister McMullin traveled constantly.

Add to the travel required for Zone Conferences, as Mission President, McMullin was also charged to oversee any and all Districts (a District is a group of small branches that is not advanced enough to become an official Stake). There are five Districts in the mission right now: Likasi, Kolwezi, Mbuji Mayi, Mwene Ditu, and Bujumbura; with one more coming: Ngadajika.

So, think about it… A Stake President/District President is in charge of a large area covering several Wards/Branches of the Church. Most would think that job alone would be enough! But the Mission President here in the Congo not only has to run the mission (with almost 200 missionaries), but also five Districts! Which means that every time there is a District Conference, or any major change in the District Leadership, the Mission President has to travel and be involved.

Before they left the McMullins traveled once more to every Zone and District in the mission. The last Zone Conference was in Likasi, and they chose to travel to the small branch in Kipushi for their last Sabbath meeting.

This is Kipushi Church

The McMullins with our local Kipushi missionaries

They were truly an impressive couple, and labored without ceasing while here. President McMullin had a picture above his desk—his inspiration/motivation for pushing forward the work. It is a picture of two elders kneeling in prayer before the day’s work begins. As you gaze at the picture you notice one significant feature: the soles of the missionaries shoes are worn through. The holes in the shoes of these kneeling missionaries was a sign of how hard they worked for the Lord. The McMullin’s goal was to work until they wore out the soles of their shoes. There is no question they fulfilled that goal and many more! They laid a foundation of hard work and great success that will last a long time.

I discovered how profound an influence the McMullins had upon the missionaries at the first meeting between President Thomas and the missionaries. The missionaries had come early and were quietly waiting in the Katuba Relief Society Room for President Thomas to arrive. The reason the missionaries were being so quiet and reverent was due to something the McMullins had drilled into them. In fact, it had been written on the chalk board in front of the room: “Reverence vien avant revelation”. Reverence comes before revelation.

Due to the profound effect the McMullins have had on these missionaries, the work continues to move forward without ceasing, and there will be a generation of missionaries ready to move into the leadership positions necessary to continue to move the Church forward long into the future.

 

First Steps

We had the privilege of going with the Thomas’ as they began to introduce themselves to the local missionaries. They began with the Katuba Zone. They had a short meeting: song, prayer, brief introduction and testimony by Sister Thomas, then the same by President Thomas. They closed with a song and prayer, and then answered questions from the missionaries about their personal lives.

After the short meeting, President Thomas met with the local Stake President (each Zone in Lubumbashi is tied to a Stake: Katuba, Lubumbashi, Kisanga).

The next day is was Lubumbashi Zone’s turn, then Kisanga Zone.

Next week we travel to Likasi and Kolwezi with the Thomas’ to do the same thing.

It is exciting and an honor to participate with the Thomas’ as they begin their missionary journey in the Congo. We do what we can to aide them in their journey, and ‘show them the ropes,’ but they are dedicated, sincere, and ready for the challenge!

President and Sister Thomas being introduced to the missionaries in the Katuba Zone

Sister Thomas speaking and sharing her testimony- in English- with one of the missionaries interpreting for her (in almost every Zone there are missionaries fluent enough in English to be able to interpret)

President Thomas speaking and sharing his testimony. President Thomas speaks beautiful French…which means that the more coarse French of the Congo hinders both sides from understanding one another! The Elders were quick to aide the President in ‘reshaping’ his words to fit the Congo dialect! :)

The Thomas’ with our two Assistants

The Transfer of Power

A Presidential Transfer

President and Sister Thomas (left) President and Sister McMullin (right) transfer the ‘keys’ of the mission (the President’s car)

Today was an interesting day for Terri and I. President and Sister McMullin left and President and Sister Thomas arrived. We were invited to share the entire process, simply due to the fact that we were assigned to drive them to the airport.

The McMullin’s had planned on leaving tomorrow (because the new mission president was arriving today!), but, true to the Congo, their flight got cancelled and they were fortunate to get an earlier flight—one day early. What this meant, however, was that the only time the two mission presidents could talk was when then met at the airport (one coming and one leaving!).

So after all the goodbyes were said we drove the McMullins to the airport. Justin had arranged for us to use a travel agency, and their guest waiting rooms, so that the two presidents could have some privacy. We arrived at the airport and went into the travel agency. They chose to sit outside in a little canvass cabana, and waited for the Thomas’ plane to arrive. The McMullins went into the airport to greet them as close to the gate as they could get, and brought them back to the agency guest area. Then the six of us (we offered to be excused, but were asked to stay) sat for about 4 hours as they talked about the mission and the transfer of power. President McMullin gave President Thomas a few files, and answered all the questions they could in the time they had.

About the time they seemed to be finishing up, it was time for the McMullins to board their plane to leave. We drove the Thomas’ to the mission home, gave them a tour, and then talked for a little while. It was clear they were tired, so we said goodnight.

Tomorrow we take President Monga and his family to the airport. He had been President McMullin’s counselor in the Mission, but was recently called to be the Mission President in the new Brazzaville mission. The rest of the week is dedicated to aiding the Thomas’ to get acquainted with the city and culture, etc., as they slowly try to get a feel for their new calling.

Here are a few memorable pictures of the McMullins:

First are foremost: who can ever forget the rough roads going to Luputa and Ngandajika

I was always impressed by President McMullin’s faith: he always knew we would get where we were going–we just had to be patient.

There were a lot of times when we were stuck in the middle of no-where that I was sure we would be spending the night in the bush…but somehow we always got through, and had a bed to sleep in at night!

They did a lot of waiting: flat tires, stuck cars, fallen trees, etc.

They did a lot of walking: here they are walking to dinner in Mwene Ditu

Their lives here were full of meetings of one kind or another. Here they are at a Zone Conference with their missionaries in Mwene Ditu

They ALWAYS had to speak in Church! Such as Ngandajika

Or Stake Conference in Katuba Stake, Lubumbashi

But most of their life here was dedicated to their missionaries. Like here in Luputa

Or here in Kananga

Here they are with the local Kananga Stake Leaders, and with President and Sister Cook of the Area Presidency, in Kananga

They were often guests of the tiny branch in Tshitenge, held in the bamboo grove

They did get to rub shoulders with many Church leaders– such as Elder Cook

Local leaders and men from South Africa and Kinshasa

General Authorities like the Area President

And even Elder Bednar came to call!

But after all was said and done, it was the missionaries that were their focus. Here we are at the opening of a new missionary apartment in Lusuku.

After a wonderful Stake Conference in Kananga

Dinner in the “upper room” of a restaurant in Mwene Ditu

And after some quiet one-on-one time with the elders (Luputa)

Or important meetings with local leaders (Tshitenge)

It was back to big conferences and talks to thousands (the Catholic Theater that was rented to hold Stake Conference in Kananga)

Speaking at Kananga Stake Conference

But it wasn’t ALL work, and no play! Everyone has to unstring their bow, put down their shovel, and unwind. Like Sister McMullin teaching piano lessons…

Or the President taking pictures of the children, and then showing it to them (one of the children’s favorite things was to see themselves in a picture!)

Or making a surprise birthday cake for a missionary

Or simply trying to have fun with the local children

The children could get overwhelming at times. President McMullin tried to give some children each a piece of candy…and almost didn’t make it out alive!

Here is Sister McMullin with the same problem…and she was handing out pamphlets about Jesus!

But it was soon back to work: here President McMullin is overseeing a ‘water project’. The elders in Luputa were getting water to take back to their apartment. They have no water at their apartment, so they have to walk about a block to the Stake Center.

But then it was finally time to pack-up and leave.

And no matter how hard the labor, no matter how difficult the sacrifice, the rewards come down to one thing: through their efforts the missionaries were able to be taught and trained, guided and instructed…and became productive. And the result? Souls that were saved, families (like the one shown above who ran a little hotel in Mwene Ditu) that came into the church. The McMullins changed lives. They changed the lives of hundreds of missionaries; they changed the lives of hundreds of local leaders, who will now serve the members better; they changed the lives of literally thousands of individuals and families who have accepted the gospel and have become the pioneers of the Congo! They made a difference.

Now…what about you? What are YOU doing with your life? Why aren’t you here, with us, serving the Lord in the mission field? Elder and Sister Thomas need help. Terri and I will be leaving soon. The Eastman’s are gone, the Wrights are gone…frankly, we are short-handed. Time to step-up  and put your working boots back on: the field is ripe and ready to harvest, and we need help.

You know you want to! So just do it already!

The Police Crack-down/Kasumbalesa

The Police crack-down

Every few months, for some unknown reason, the police become unusually aggressive. One always has confrontations with the police now and then, as they try to intimidate you into giving them money—they stop your car for no reason, and then harass you until you give them money. They will try to use some kind of an excuse of your paperwork not being in order, or you broke some traffic law (what laws?), but in the end just want some money. Some will actually just cut to the chase and ask for money (or, in the parlance of the Congo: ask for water).

As I have discussed in previous posts, I learned from a local, Emanuel, how to avoid and evade the police in most cases—but sometimes you are just unlucky.

Now that the Atkinson’s are in Lubumbashi I have been taking Elder Atkinson to see the apartments and to try to get him oriented with the city. On one recent occasion President McMullin was following me and Elder Atkinson to a new apartment (we have a new apartment for the Lubumbashi sisters that have many beds for when they have sister’s conferences, etc.). On the way we had to pass through the city and as luck (or bad luck) would have it, there was a major police stop—five police were stationed at the side of the road to stop unlucky vehicles. I was using one of the tricks of the trade, following a transport truck, to evade being stopped…but just before the police, the truck turned right, and I was in the lead with nothing between me and the five police!

They immediately stepped out into the road to stop me. But I was still a few yards away, so I stopped…and waited for another transport to come along (I knew it was just a matter of time—the transport drivers are not patient, and after a few moment of just sitting there, a transport pulled out of line and came around me). As soon as the transport was in front of me, I started off again, trying to stay as close to his bumper as I could, without running into him.

Sure enough, all five police jumped out in front of both vehicles, and we both came to a stop. But, because I was so close to the back of the transport in front of me, they could not actually get in front of the car—just to the side. Since they were after me (they figured I had more money than the poor transport driver), they let the transport go—and I, of course, followed right after! As they yelled at me and pounded on the side of my car, they ran up to try to get the transport to stop again…but it was too late! The transport did not stop, and as long as he was moving, I was able to move ahead also.

And since they had concentrated so much on my vehicle, they let the President’s car go through as well.

It is a frustrating and trying experience, and even when you are successful in escaping, it does not leave you feeling anything but frustrated. But it is still better than having to sit for 15-45 minutes as they try to look at all your papers, yell at you for some error in paperwork, and try to ‘fine’ you $50 or whatever they can get out of you. Whether you try to work with the police, or try to evade them, the experience is the same: one of disappointment and frustration at the experience.

A couple of days later Elder Atkinson and I traveled to Kasumbalesa (a city on the Zambia border about an hour and a half away) to bring a new bed and some water pumps to the missionaries working there. It was a bad time to travel! It is a holiday weekend here, and they were doing roadwork as we headed out of town. As the road was completely blocked, we turned to go off-roading, hoping to follow a transport or someone to get us around the blocked road, only to hit a dead-end (there was a large ditch where there wasn’t supposed to be, according to our map…), and we ended up back were we started. So then we tried the other direction, towards Kipushi and the new stake center, hoping to find another road that would take us around the road work.

Since we were in that direction, we stopped to see the new stake center (NOT open yet… don’t get me started…it was supposed to be opened the first of the year, then in April, then in May, then in June, etc…). It looked great! Looked ready to open…but? Who knows? We are hoping it opens before we go home so that we can participate in the Open House!

We then took one road that ended up in another dead end, and had simply giving up about getting to Kasumbalesa today, but saw one more road, and a transport on it, so tried it. We finally got lucky! It brought us back to the main road to Kasumbalesa and was just before we entered the pay toll road.

As we got near to Kasumbalesa the police were out again in force to stop people and attempt to get money from them. There were 4 or 5 locations that were stopping people, but all of them were on the other side of the road, stopping people leaving—so we noted their location and prepared to try and avoid them on the way back.

We got to the missionary apartment and dropped off the new bed and water pumps. The owner was working on the apartment—fixing doors and putting in a new bathroom—lots of work that we were not aware of! When they are done it should be quite good, but it is a pain for the missionaries while they are working. I showed Elder Atkinson the dry well, and to our surprise, there was water in the well! We used the rope and bucket to check the water, and it was very clear. The water was at least 50 feet deep, but there seemed to be a lot of it.

Work being done at the Kasumbalesa apartment

The ‘dry’ well at Kasumbalesa that is now wet!

We also drove down the road to find out where the local LDS Church building was located. Next week we are assigned to take the new mission president there to church. It is just a small house on the side of the road with a small sign telling people the name of the church. It should be an interesting visit.

After all of our chores were done, we headed back to Lubumbashi. I parked on the side of the road for a while until a row of cars and transports passed, so I could travel with them in a convoy (it is much more difficult for the police to stop you if you are in a crowd). We were fortunate to get around all the police stops by simply staying behind a transport: as the transport was stopped in front of us, we would pull around them and the police before they could react.

As we got back to Lubumbashi we found ourselves right back in the big traffic mess—it was just much bigger now. But by driving in the dirt on the side of the road, and eventually taking the side road we had found that morning, we were able to get through the mess again and get home before dark. It was a successful trip without too much aggravation between the traffic and the police.

Tonight we go out to dinner as a group with President and Sister McMullin to our favorite Indian restaurant, to celebrate the successful completion of their mission here in the Congo (they go home on Tuesday).

The Congo was not about to let them go with one last problem to throw at them! There are two airlines that fly out of the Congo we use: CAA and Korongo. CAA is the worst, charge exorbitant fees, and are dishonest. Korongo is better, but only has ONE plane—and when it goes down, you are out of luck. The tickets for the McMullins had been purchased for weeks, and they had hard copies in their hands, ready to leave. But we learned that Korongo and CAA had been changing their flight times and days, so Terri was checking to see how that would affect the upcoming road trips with the new president…

To her surprise, she learned that Korongo had cancelled the McMullin’s flight on Tuesday! There had been no notification of this! No email, no phone call, nothing! The problem was that they are on a tight schedule: they have one day with the new president (who comes in on Monday), a large catered party in Kinshasa on Tuesday night, another on Wednesday, and fly to Paris on Thursday…

If they had gone to the airport on Tuesday morning, as planned, tickets in hand…only to find the flight had been canceled…

Well, they had no options: there is a flight going out on Monday—the same day the new mission president comes in! They will have a few hours in the airport to meet and talk. After that, they go home and the new president begins his reign…

We have a couple of quiet days this weekend, to wash, get haircuts, and prep for the coming week, and then the hurricane starts as the new president comes in and does his best to grapple with all the problems, concerns, and work associated with running a mission and 200 missionaries. We are geared up to help him in any way we can, but in the end, it is all on him and his wife. No one in their right mind would ask to be a Mission President!

Wish us all luck, and send some prayers our way, I think we will need them!

Luano chapel being built using local materials

The roof is attached to the metal joists using J wires

Man-made bricks to be used as paving stones at the new Luano chapel

Luano children’s choir

Congo ladder

What a mess at the local Catholic Church after a special mass…

Time to Sing!

Yesterday we attended the Lubumbashi Stake choir program, held each year (this is the second year). All wards in the Stake are invited to participate. Most sent both their adult choirs and their children’s choir. They also had several other groups (RS choirs, individuals, youth choirs, etc.). The program lasted 31/2 hours!

They had cookies and soda for the participants after the program. The children packed into one room to wait their turn…

Some of our ‘singing’ missionaries

Misc

We got through another busy week. Opened another new apartment and finished moving elders and sisters around (both due to the new apartment and finishing the transfers). We also prepared an apartment for the Atkinsons, the missionary couple who have been working in Likasi (Brother Atkinson has been teaching locals return missionaries construction techniques, while aiding in building two new church buildings in Likasi); who are now moving to Lubumbashi.

We had planned to travel to Likasi to take up some furniture and aid the Atkinsons in their move, but to our surprise the road was closed due to a bicycle race. It made a mess of the roads from Likasi to Lubumbashi. Instead, I ended up traveling to Kipushi to take the Zone Leaders there, as well as two new beds.

Here we are waiting at the entrance to the main road to Likasi. They eventually told us to turn around and go home! Last year at this time we were traveling to Likasi during this race, and remember passing all the cyclists. This year they decided to close the road completely.

While traveling to see a sick missionary, we stopped at the Lubumbashi Stake center and found the missionaries preparing for a singing concert to be held on Saturday. I remember this from last year, and we look forward to seeing it again.

 

Elders and sisters practicing for the concert

Here is something amusing for you–to show how USA only focused we are: this is a local church bulletin board, which normal church announcements… all dutifully put up as directed by Salt Lake, and all in English! They only speak French or Swahili here… hmmm

While taking the Atkinsons grocery shopping to fill their empty cupboards, we discovered maple syrup! Havn’t seen that here before! So this morning we actually had French Toast for breakfast. Wow!

It is so cold here, you cannot believe it! You could actually see your breath this morning! This is AFRICA for heavens sake! It is winter here (we are below the equator), but we are not that far south of the equator! Oh well…there aren’t any African animals here either… one has to go to the local zoo to see any animals that we thought we should see while driving into the Netherlands here; yet even traveling to Luputa or Lusuku one will never see any animal other than an occasional chicken, pig, or goat.

But, then again, we are not here to sight-see are we? So it is back to work!

Time to sing

We got through another busy week. Opened another new apartment and finished moving elders and sisters around (both due to the new apartment and finishing the transfers). We also prepared an apartment for the Atkinsons, the missionary couple who have been working in Likasi (Brother Atkinson has been teaching locals return missionaries construction techniques, while aiding in building two new church buildings in Likasi); who are now moving to Lubumbashi.

We had planned to travel to Likasi to take up some furniture and aid the Atkinsons in their move, but to our surprise the road was closed due to a bicycle race. It made a mess of the roads from Likasi to Lubumbashi. Instead, I ended up traveling to Kipushi to take the Zone Leaders there, as well as two new beds.

Here we are waiting at the entrance to the main road to Likasi. They eventually told us to turn around and go home! Last year at this time we were traveling to Likasi during this race, and remember passing all the cyclists. This year they decided to close the road completely.

While traveling to see a sick missionary, we stopped at the Lubumbashi Stake center and found the missionaries preparing for a singing concert to be held on Saturday. I remember this from last year, and we look forward to seeing it again.

 

Elders and sisters practicing for the concert

Here is something amusing for you–to show how USA only focused we are: this is a local church bulletin board, which normal church announcements… all dutifully put up as directed by Salt Lake, and all in English! They only speak French or Swahili here… hmmm

While taking the Atkinsons grocery shopping to fill their empty cupboards, we discovered maple syrup! Havn’t seen that here before! So this morning we actually had French Toast for breakfast. Wow!

It is so cold here, you cannot believe it! You could actually see your breath this morning! This is AFRICA for heavens sake! It is winter here (we are below the equator), but we are not that far south of the equator! Oh well…there aren’t any African animals here either… one has to go to the local zoo to see any animals that we thought we should see while driving into the Netherlands here; yet even traveling to Luputa or Lusuku one will never see any animal other than an occasional chicken, pig, or goat.

But, then again, we are not here to sight-see are we? So it is back to work!

Kolwezi, encore, 2

I thought I would continue to share pics of our trips. They are not the best in the world (I’m not my Liz), but it will give you a feel for the land and the people.

Perhaps the most typical sight in the Congo: the line of people waiting to fill up their bidons with water. In most places there is no running water–so they get water wherever they can find it. In the cities, they go to the nearest water tap, stand in line, and then fill-up one day’s worth of water–to be repeated every day by every family.

The typical roadside gas station

Pretty typical: they don’t have the tools or the material to attach the metal roof to their home–so they hold it down with stones.

Misc goings on

If there is no rest for the wicked, then Terri and I are in trouble! It seems as though we have been going non-stop since January, and it seems to get ramped-up every time another couple goes home. But this weekend we finally get a reprieve! ALL the senior couples went with President and Sister McMullin on their last trip north: Mbuji Mayi, Mwene Ditu, and Luputa. We get to stay home and vegetate for two whole days… then it is back to work.

We just finished transfer week, with its usual bumps along the road (with the airlines canceling or changing flights). But everyone got to where they were supposed to go.

Next week we open two new apartments and will be moving missionaries around. We finally found a ‘dorm’ apartment for the sisters. We have a ‘dorm’ apartment for the elders called Golf. It can sleep 24 elders and is used all the time during transfers, or conferences, etc. But we really didn’t have one for the sisters, which was a problem when they all came in for conferences. But we finally found a good one and will be moving in next week. It will house four sisters all the time, but will have room for an additional 16 sisters if needed. It has easy access from a good road (many apartments can only be driven to by a truck—the van cannot go over the rough roads), has good water and electric (a real find!), and, of course, has four bedrooms and three bathrooms. It also has a good sized garage for us to store stuff.

The other new apartment is Gecamines 1. It will simply replace one we are closing. It had been in a rough neighborhood that had a gang of thieves and other problems. The new apartment is owned by a member family, the grandfather is the Stake Patriarch. It is smaller but a very nice neighborhood.

We also continue to move missionaries around to their final positions prior to the new mission president’s arrival in about two weeks.

The Davis’ (the new humanitarian senior couple) are settling in well and have already received good input from local leaders about possible projects. As with all new couples to the Congo, it is an adjustment seeing the severe poverty and living conditions. I always tell people: just think 1800’s. Think about how the pioneers used to live, and that will be a close comparison to how many, if not most, live in the Congo. No running water (you go find it and carry it home), no electricity, what few roads you have are poor and hard to travel, etc. In fact, many urban cities in the 1800’s were far better off than the villages in the Congo… So, there is a lot a humanitarian couple can do here. The toughest part is trying to build something that will last when you are gone. Many humanitarian projects last a year or two, but when something breaks, that is the end of that—because they do not have the knowledge or money to fix what is broken…so they just return to the way they did it before, and life goes on as it has for thousands of years. The key is to try to get community involvement (vested interest and knowledge), and training so that the project can continue indefinitely.

Also, the Atkinson’s will be moving down to Lubumbashi next week! Their construction classes in Likasi will be over and they come here to start some new classes. They will stay in the same complex the Davis’ are in and so will have some good company. We also hope they will have time to aid us here in the Mission Home.

We all have mixed emotions: excitement for the new mission president, and sadness that the McMullins will be leaving. They have been simply terrific! I cannot imagine a better mission president for Terri and I. We got along well, have the same philosophy of work, etc., and he was unafraid to let us spread our wings a little in our callings—especially Terri. Terri became a major player in the running of the mission, due to the counsel she was able to share with the President (from her knowledge of the missionaries), and the additional jobs she was given to do—such as the phones, and, of course, the biggest chore of all, the transfers! The fact that he trusted Terri to do those additional jobs, on top of the medical work she was already doing, is both a testament to Terri and to the openness with which President mcMullin was willing to share responsibility for work in the mission.

Anyway. That is life this week. A new group of missionaries begin work, others start anew in new areas, and we get a short break before the whirlwind that comes with the changing of the guard.

This is for all the fathers on father’s day: notice the American Indian tie. According to Terri: some child in the US bought this for his father; the mother hid it in a closet for years and finally gave it to Goodwill; it made its way to Africa, and is worn proudly here!

The Nyashi ward choir practicing before Ward Conference

One of Sister McMullins jobs is to feed the missionaries. Almost every meal she makes at home is for 30-40 people! For someone who really doesn’t like to cook… well, she says she has ‘angels’ helping her with her calling… they must be culinary angels?

The new missionary luggage. The sacs in the back are gifts we give to each new missionary: items for them to use on their mission: blanket, sheets and pillow cases, mosquitoe nets, emergency light, water filter bottle, umbrella, colored pencils

Every missionary meeting ends with picture taking…and President McMullin gets very serious about this!

They are getting serious: the McMullins start packing

I just love these shots. Notice the passenger in the back!