Mindélé: White people

As we walked through the crowded dirt road in a small Kinshasa village we could hear the distant cries of  "Mindele!, Mindele!" Which I soon learned meant "white people".

The littered streets were crowded with street vendors and small children walking hand in hand along the dusty path.

The cries of "Mindele!, Mindele!" continued as we walked past small brick homes with women washing clothes in plastic buckets or cooking over small coal filled pots, and men sitting on stoops or broken plastic chairs.

 

 

We passed men and women carrying their wares on their heads.

 

 

 

We stopped at the office of the Village Chief long enough for him to put his suit coat on a join us as we walked to the sight he had determined would be the best spot for his village well.

 

 

 

The cries of "Mindele, Mindele", continued and soon I was lagging behind the group.

 

I had noticed a small group of children walking close behind us.

I stopped long enough to give high fives and "knock the rock" like   my grandchildren do with their daddy.

 They squealed with laughter as my white hand bumped their clenched fist.

 

 

 

Sister Johnson was waving and calling out "Mbute!, Mbute!", which means "hello, hello". We passed old women squatting next to  small tables of wilted fruits and vegetables. As we passed Sister Johnson would cheerfully say, "Mbote Mama!", and the woman would smile and reply, "Ahhh..... Mbute Mama!"

 

 I must say, I was really enjoying the hike down this dusty trail strewn with litter.

 

Sure I was hot, and sweaty and I was wishing I had left my long pants at home in favor of a lightweight skirt like Sister Johnson was wearing, but it wasn't long before I found myself smiling and calling out "Mbute Mama!".

 

 

Now this is what I had been waiting for,

I was out of the office, walking through an African Village, surrounded by the most friendly people I had ever met.

 It wasn't long before we stopped at this hole in the ground,

 which was actually a small well where the villagers fetched their water

This man showed me how it works then gestured for me to take his picture

I am not sure what these young men were doing there but they looked "too cool" to not take their picture

 Each time we stopped to look at something,

 I quickly found some children who were more than happy to have their picture taken. This grandma was so cute trying to get them all in the picture.

 They made me laugh as they giggled and pointed to themselves when I showed them the photo in my camera

 One of the things that touched me most was how sweet the older boys were to the younger ones

 It wasn't uncommon to see boys of 7 or 8 walking along with their arms around each other.

This group was funny because the little boy in the blue shirt kept wanting to pose with a "tuff guy" face.

 

Along the path we saw men getting a shave, or women getting their hair cut, or braided, or having extensions put in.

The red stuff on the ground is hair.

 As we headed back to the car I found myself behind this little girl carrying her sister on her hip.

 

The chief led us to the location where he wanted the well and we met these wonderful women. One woman came up to me and did a little dance, pointing to the sky and praying. I don't know what she was trying to say, but I think it had something to do with our bringing water to their village.

 

 

The lady in the green scrubs came out of a small medical clinic nearby and joined us. She laughed and laughed when she saw herself in my photo.

 

I will never forget this day

The day of "Mindele" and "Mubote Mama!"

 

The day that the white people passed through a small village in Africa

Lubumbashi, DRC

I knew it would be exciting to leave Johannesburg and visit some of the other couples who are doing Humanitarian work, but I had no idea 

HOW MUCH I WOULD LOVE IT!

We just returned from a one week trip to the Democratic Republic of the Congo

The week was filled with new experiences for us.

We had no idea we would be sleeping under this!



We started out in Lubumbashi where the Davis's are serving a Humanitarian Mission. They took us to see some of their projects.

How could you not LOVE being surrounded by these happy faces!





This amazing couple started a school for girls. They currently have 350 girls. Our Humanitarian Program provided a Sewing Lab. The Davis's are working on a project to set up a cooking lab. So Elder Davis asked Terese if she would be willing to "pay it forward" and offer service to another needy organization in her community. She was very willing to help so we took her to a home for girls who have been brought in from the streets. We fell in love with the art work on the walls. The sweet girls gave me a beautiful painting to bring home with me.

This is the Terese, Sister Davis, and the Davis's interpreter. We are sitting in the art room.

I wish I could have brought this home with me. Love the story it tells.

When we entered the home for girls we found these girls all lined up along the wall doing each others hair

Terese just stepped right in and put her arms around the girls

I was heartbroken to hear that this girl had been set on fire by young men on the street. Our interpreter explained that young men will rape a girl and then set her on fire. So sad.

THE NEXT STOP WAS AT AN ORPHANAGE WHERE I MADE SOME INSTANT FRIENDS WITH MY CAMERA

I HAD FUN LEARING THESE GIRLS NAMES
THEY KEPT LAUGHING AT THE WAY I SAID THEIR NAMES
THE GIRL IN THE MIDDLE IS ESTHER, SHE HAD A BEAUTIFUL SMILE, THE GIRL IN THE BRAIDS IS FLORA

I WILL NEVER FORGET ESTHER AND FLORA

THIS LITTLE GIRL FOLLOWED US OUT OF THE COMPOUND AND SHE AND I SAID GOODBYE TO EACH  OTHER SEVERAL TIMES AS I WALKED TO THE CAR. SHE AND THE LITTLE BOY BEHIND HER JUST KEPT SAYING "BYE". IT WAS A TENDER MOMENT FOR ME.

I MET THIS BOY IN A VILLAGE NEAR THE CATHOLIC SCHOOL WE VISITED. HE ASKED ME TO TAKE SEVERAL PICTURES OF HIM AND HIS FRIENDS. I TOOK PHOTOS AND THEY LOOKED AT THEM AND ASKED ME TO TAKE ANOTHER SO THEY COULD POSE (HOWEVER THEY DIDN'T SPEAK ENGLISH) WHEN WE GOT IN THE CAR TO LEAVE HE FOLLOWED US, AS I LOOKED OUT THE BACK WINDOW AND WAVED HE GESTURED TO ME TO TAKE HIS PICTURE AS HE RAN BY THE WINDOW. LOOK AT HIS BEAUTIFUL SMILE.



Water Project in Swaziland

SUCH AN AMAZING DAY IN SWAZILAND!

Swaziland

A few weeks ago we had the opportunity to travel to Swaziland to visit an organization that we are partnering with on a water project. The organization is called Gone Rural. Click on the link to learn more about this incredible organization that is empowering women.

 These are some pictures of their office and distribution center.  We began our day with a tour of their facility and a bit of shopping then went out to meet with a Water Committee. These women create the most beautiful woven baskets.

Humanitarian Work in South Africa

Last week we received several projects in the Africa Southeast Area Office for what we call Area Initiatives. Bruce and I review the projects submitted by 7 couples who are responsible for Humanitarian work in the following countries, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, DRC Congo, Kinshasha, Lubumbashi, Burundi, Gabon, and Ethiopia.  My job is to review all the projects the couples submit and present them to our Area Welfare Manager for approval. Bruce has the rather challenging job of handling all the financial aspects of their projects. Every day we respond to 60-70 emails from our couples as well as from the Short Term Specialist from Salt Lake City who come to South Africa to do Major Initiatives. You can read about Major Initiatives here. We also meet with our Welfare Manager several times a day to discuss projects or questions or concerns from the couples.

We are fortunate to share an office with the Humanitarian Couple who cover South Africa, the Kirschbaums. It has been fun to watch them get excited about Humanitarian Work. We met the Kirschbaums when we were in training in Provo Utah and we all came to South Africa at the same time. This is their first Humanitarian Mission. They have been busy with Wheelchair Projects, Orphanages, Garden Projects and they recently finished a project with a Center for Children with Special Needs. This week when they returned from a visit, Elder Kirschbaum told me that they went to a place called " Door of Hope." When he explained why it was called that, it haunted me for days. The building has a wall that surrounds it. There is a hole built into the wall where people can anonymously leave unwanted babies. Their website says, "In greater Johannesburg alone, at least three babies are abandoned every day."

Some days Humanitarian work is incredibly painful. We are reminded daily how blessed our lives have been.  Humanitarian work takes you to places you never dreamed existed. There were days when we were serving in Ukraine that I thought "I just can't bear to see another abandoned child." It broke my heart. As a Humanitarian volunteer you are exposed to the daily suffering of women and children, the elderly, the handicapped and the forgotten.  The positive side to it is, that you know that in some small way you are making a difference. Many times while serving in Ukraine, I felt like it wasn't the "things" we provided, but the love that we shared. Sometimes people just need to know that they are not forgotten.

This mission in South Africa is different than when we were in Ukraine. We are not out in the field meeting with organizations, however, every day we review the projects the couples submit to the Area Office. We don't walk the streets of Uganda, Ethiopia or Kenya like the couples, but we do get a small taste of what they are experiencing when they submit their projects.

Last week I received several request. One request was for school desks. The couple described the crowded classrooms where the children were sitting on the floor on small pieces of bricks.  We had another request to build latrines in several schools and teach hygiene to the teachers and students.  We received a request to purchase school uniforms, computers, and a refrigerator for an Orphanage with 8 different homes for abandoned and abused children and children with Aids. There are so many orphans in South Africa. The Aids epidemic has left many children without parents. In some cases very young children are raising their siblings.  We had a project submitted last week to help a clinic that treats a skin disease called jiggers. This proposal had photos of children with the skin peeling off their hands and feet. The children suffer from all kinds of diseases from drinking contaminated water, or walking barefoot in contaminated soil.

This week left me filled with gratitude. I am so grateful for my family, for my home, and my health. I am grateful to be a member of this church and to be given this opportunity to come to South Africa. I am grateful for all the amazing couples we work with who live in much more challenging conditions then we do here in Johannesburg. I am touched by their dedication and love for the people of South Africa and for their willingness to leave the comforts of home and their family.

Missing Orange Farm

Since Bruce wasn't feeling well last week I went to church with another couple who meet in a different branch. Today he was so still not feeling well. So we will not be going to Orange Farm tomorrow either. If I were home I would just drive myself to church however, our branch is 45 minutes away and sadly, it is not safe for me to be on the roads alone. Johannesburg has a very high crime rate and it is just not advised to be alone in the car. The criminals target women alone in cars and they do what is referred to as "smash and grabs". They will walk up to your car while you are stopped at a light and smash your window and grab your purse, your phone, or your jewelry. It happens to men too. We met a man, a local, who told us he was stopped in traffic once and someone smashed his window and put a gun to his head and robbed him and hit him in the head with the gun. It is hard to get use to not being able to just go where I want to go. Last Saturday a group of us women went to a dance performance at one of the church buildings at night. I was the designated driver. I am always careful when I approach stop signs to make sure there is no one standing around. I told the ladies, "be prepared if anyone approaches my car I will run the red light." So I guess I won't be driving myself to Orange Farm tomorrow.

 

Update on Bruce

This is pretty much where Bruce has spent the last two weeks.

This Friday it will be two weeks since Bruce first started feeling sick. He went to the hospital against his will for a Chest X-ray and blood work. (can't really protest when your wife is a Nurse and a doctor lives right down the hall.) Dr. Barton even offered to drive him to the hospital and then he sat with us while all the test were run. The doctor said there were no infiltrations in his lungs and his white blood cell count was slightly elevated but they didn't put him on antibiotics just cough medicine. Then after 4 or 5 days of coughing his lungs were sounding much worse so we went to see a doctor. It was kind of interesting. We went to see Dr. Milne who is the brother of one of the men we work with in our office. We were sitting in the waiting room and out came the doctor to escort us into the room that was both his office and his exam room. He sat at the desk and asked lots of questions then took Bruce over to the exam table and took his vital signs, temperature, blood pressure, and  pulse. Dr. Milne was a one man show. No receptionist, no medical tech, and no nurse. It was pretty cool. So he decided to put Bruce on an antibiotic and a new cough medicine. For the last two days it has appeared he is on the mend. Today he ventured out and went across the street to the mall to make an appointment at the nail salon for a pedicure. He did report that he was quite out of breath by the time he returned to our apartment. Dr. Milne said this flu has probably hit Bruce so hard because he has been exposed to different bugs here that his body hasn't built an immunity to.
 I am keeping my fingers crossed that I am not next.

Children

we went to a dance performance the other night and I found this little darling crawling around on the floor. When she saw me with my camera she came right over to me. I just kept snapping photos and showing her the pictures. She loved seeing herself in my camera.

These little ones are some of the Primary children in our branch. I have been attending primary lately and these sweet little girls wait for me to sit and then they come and sit right next to me. They laugh at me when I try to say their names. Most of them speak Zulu until they are about 4 or 5 and their names are very hard to pronounce.  So we don't really communicate with words very well, but we still have fun. The little one with curly hair on top of her head has an English name which is Faith, but her Zulu name sounds something like Bongewe. She pronounces it for me, then I say what I think she is saying and she laughs and says it again, but it sounds just like what I think I am saying. So we do a few rounds of that then I give up. Two weeks ago I was asked to teach a group of about 15 children while the teachers were in training.  These children are so amazing. We put our chairs in a big circle outside and then I taught a short lesson and had music time. The children ranged in age from 4-10 years old and even the 4 year olds sat quietly and answered the questions when I called on them. Then we had music time and the older boys stood in the front and sang songs to the younger ones. I couldn't believe how well they know the primary songs and how great they sang without any musical instruments.

 I am loving Sundays and can't wait to see my little friends

Gratitude

Bruce has been sick all week. When he finally left the house, it was to walk across the street to go have some blood work done. As we slowly made our way through the mall, for the first time in 35 years, I saw my husband vulnerable. Bruce has always been very healthy. He rarely gets sick. Watching him spend the last week in bed, struggling to just sit up long enough to eat some lunch, I reflected on how grateful I am that we have both been blessed with healthy bodies. How grateful I am to have had so many opportunities to enjoy life with Bruce by my side. Life is so incredibly fragile. My father died of cancer at age 50. I watched as cancer robbed  him of his independence. In just a few months my father went from being a man who was up before the sun, washing his car, mowing the lawn, and cleaning the house before most of us were even out of bed, to not even being able to lift a glass to his mouth. I was young when my father died. That was over 31 years ago. Since then, I have learned many lessons about life, both in my professional life as a nurse and in my private life.  I have watched loved ones age, I have seen patients riddled with cancer struggling just to breathe, I have sat by the bedside and held the hand of loved ones, as well as patients, as they have taken their last breath. What I have come to understand is, just how fragile our health is. We are subject to illness, disease and trauma that can rob us of even the simple joy of going for a walk in the sunshine. I remember the day before my father died he asked me to take him outside so that he could sit in the sun. That last request has burned an indelible imprint on my heart. Many a day when I find myself sitting in my favorite spot at Laguna Beach and I feel the warm sun on my face I reflect on that last request of my fathers. As Bruce and I took that short walk through the mall and I watched as he painfully took each step, I thanked my Heavenly Father for this wonderful companion, and for all the walks we've taken, all the sunsets we've watched, all the places we've traveled. I am grateful that this is merely a virus and that Bruce will recover. I am grateful for this past week and that once again Heavenly Father has reminded me of all that I have to be grateful for. We see these reminders everyday in Africa, but that is for another post.

Somebody is NOT feeling well

 

BRUCE RARELY GETS SICK BUT WHEN HE DOES HE IS WIPED OUT.

 

There has been a bug going around our office and it finally hit our house.

It started with a sore throat, and sneezing last Friday

 and for the last 4 days Bruce has been home in bed, or snoozing on the couch.

NO NYQUIL TO BE FOUND SO THIS WILL HAVE TO DO!