Humanitarian Couple's Conference

In January we had a Humanitarian Couple's Conference in Johannesburg. 12 of our 13 couples who are serving all over South Africa were able to attend. These amazing couples are serving in Rwanda, Burundi, Gabon, Kinshasa, Kenya, Lubumbashi, Madagascar, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Zambia.

 

On our previous mission to Ukraine we had the opportunity to attend two Humanitarian Couples Conferences with couples serving throughout Eastern Europe. We really enjoyed the chance we had to meet other couples who were serving Humanitarian Missions. It was fun to hear about the different types of projects they were doing and to get new ideas for projects we could implement in Ukraine.

 We wanted the couples in Africa to have the same wonderful experience that we had had in Ukraine at the Conferences we attended. We spent months preparing for this Conference. We decided that we would have the couples participate in the conference as much as possible. We assigned couples to be in charge of the morning devotionals which included the music, a spiritual thought and the prayer.

Our theme for the conference was "Providing in the Lord's Way".  We asked a few couples to share some thoughts from a talk given by President Uchtdorf  entitled, "Providing in the Lord's Way."   We asked couples to share some of the things they do as  Welfare Services Missionaries.  We learned that some of the couples are teaching English classes in their branches or wards, some are teaching piano, or music to church members.  One sister shared that she is planning on teaching Family History in her branch. Couples shared how they were involved in "Mormon Helping Hands Projects" as well as Disaster Relief, or Emergency Response Projects. We asked a few couples to share a specific project they worked on this past year that helped promote self-reliance.

 Sister Van Wagoner shared that she wanted to teach some of the women in Burundi a skill that would help them to become more self-reliant. Sister VanWagoner is a very talented woman. She decided to teach the women to sew. Her goal was to teach them how to make dolls. The plan was to make 50 dolls that they would donate to an orphanage and then the women would be given some fabric to make something for themselves. It was a huge undertaking. The women gathered scrap material to be used as stuffing for the dolls, then they got busy making dolls, and clothing. They even painted the faces and added hair which wasn't easy to find in Burundi. In addition to all the other challenges Sister VanWagoner faced she also had to teach the ladies to sew with the use of an interpreter. The original goal of 50 dolls was exceeded and I believe they ended up with 80 dolls. What a wonderful accomplishment.

 

 

Elder and Sister Davis shared the project they did with Therese and the girls school that I posted about previously. The Davis's provided some appliances for a girls school cooking lab.

 

 

 

Elder Johnson shared some photos of one of his water projects in Kinshasa.

 

The final day the couples learned about the LDS Addiction Recovery Program and the Strengthening Marriage and Family Program. 

 

 

We concluded the week with a beautiful testimony meeting followed by a trip to the Temple. 

It was a wonderful week that we hated to see end.

We really did enjoy spending time with these amazing missionaries.

 

We know that it isn't easy to leave homes and families behind to serve a mission for 18 months.

 

We are blessed to serve with wonderful people like the Moody's who have returned to Africa to serve a second Humanitarian mission.  

 

 

And the Lee's who are currently serving their 6th Humanitarian Mission.

 

We are so blessed to work with these wonderful couples and to learn from their examples of Christ like service.

 

My Mission: Hermana Clark

this is a wonderful short video that helps explain why we serve missions.

Notre Dame School For Girls in Lubumbashi

One of the most rewarding things about doing Humanitarian Work is meeting the incredible people who dedicate their lives to helping the poor and needy. We had the opportunity to meet such a lady  in Lubumbashi a few months ago. We had gone there to visit our Humanitarian Couple, Clark and Shelley Davis. While we were there they took us to see a few of their projects. Elder Davis had told us about Terese before we arrived at her school for girls. Terese and her husband live in a modest home on a small parcel of land where they have built a school for girls. A few years ago the Humanitarian Program provided some sewing machines so that Terese could start a skills lab to teach the girls a marketable skill. Elder and Sister Davis wanted to be sure the previous project had been successful before decided to propose another project with Terese. The Davis's  asked about the sewing machines. They wanted to know if they were still in operating order and if they were being used.  This is what they found.

 

Terese had the sewing machines not only in working order but stored in this cabinet.

 

 Terese then took them to this classroom that was filled with beautiful dresses

Terese explained that the girls not only had learned to sew but they had also learned to knit.

Elder and Sister Davis were so impressed that they were happy to propose we do another project with Terese. Her dream was to have a cooking lab for her girls. Her  husband was building a new classroom and they needed help with the appliances for the cooking lab. Terese and her husband had even saved up enough money to buy some of the pots and pans and utensils for the cooking lab.

The girls were so excited about learning to cook that they made their own aprons.

 

When the Davis's came to our Humanitarian Conference last week they shared these wonderful pictures of Terese and her girls.

 

I love this picture of Terese and the gratitude that shows on her face. She truly is changing lives of hundreds of girls in Lubumbashi.

 

The Holidays

Holidays on a mission are NOT like they are at home.

Christmas in Africa

 was especially unusual for several reasons, 

FIRST OF ALL IT IS SUMMER HERE!

WE ARE RUNNING OUR AIR CONDITIONERS WHILE YOU ARE SITITNG BY THE FIRE TRYING TO STAY WARM

THEN THERE IS THE FACT THAT WE DON'T REALLY WATCH TV,

 SO WE HAD NOT BEEN BOMBARDED WITH BLACK FRIDAY CHRISTMAS ADS, OR CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWNS CONSTANTLY REMINDING US HOW MANY DAYS ARE LEFT TO GET OUR SHOPPING IN,

THE MALL ACROSS THE STREET DID HAVE SOME HOLIDAY DECORATIONS BUT

THERE WAS NO HOLIDAY MUSIC PLAYING IN ANY OF THE STORES,

THERE WAS NO MAN WITH A FAKE WHITE BEARD

AND A BELLY STUFFED WITH PILLOWS,  DRESSED IN RED FROM HEAD TO TOE, SITTING ON A RED VELVET CHAIR,

AND NO LINES OF CHILDREN ANXIOUSLY WAITING TO SIT ON HIS LAP.

  

THERE WERE NO HOMES DECORATED WITH CHRISTMAS TREES IN THE WINDOWS AND RED AND GREEN LIGHTS TRIMMING THE ROOFTOPS. 

WHEN YOU SERVE A MISSION YOU MISS THE FAMILY TRADITIONS THAT COME WITH CELEBRATING THE HOLIDAYS, LIKE BAKING COOKIES OR FUDGE FOR THE NEIGHBORS, OR FINDING THE "PERFECT CHRISTMAS TREE".

WHEN DECEMBER ROLLED AROUND THIS YEAR, WE DID NOT HAVE VISIONS OF SUGARPLUMS DANCING IN OUR HEADS.

 WE TOOK A TRIP TO RWANDA AND MOZAMBIQUE TO TRAIN TWO COUPLES WHO ARRIVED FROM THE  STATES TO BEGIN THEIR HUMANITARIAN MISSIONS.

ONCE WE RETURNED TO JOHANNESBURG, WE BEGAN PREPARING FOR THE UPCOMING HUMANITARIAN COUPLES CONFERENCE WE ARE HAVING IN JANUARY.

EVEN THOUGH WE WERE EXTREMELY BUSY AND FAR FROM HOME

AND IT DEFINITELY WAS NOT BEGINNING TO LOOK ALOT LIKE CHRISTMAS.......

SLOWLY WE BEGAN TO FEEL A CHANGE IN THE AIR......

 OUR AREA PRESIDENCY MADE SURE WE HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO FEEL THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS.

PRESIDENT COOK, ELDER HAMILTON AND ELDER ELLIS AND THEIR WIVES INVITED US INTO THEIR HOMES FOR A WONDERFUL DINNER AND TO HEAR THE STORY OF THE SAVIORS BIRTH, SING CHRISTMAS CAROLS, AND TO SHARE SOME OF THEIR FAVORITE FAMILY CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS WITH US.

Sister Ellis introducing the story of the birth of the Savior

PRESIDENT COOK SHARING A TENDER MESSAGE ABOUT HELPING THE BEAUTIFUL SAINTS OF AFRICA PREPARE TO BRING THEIR FAMILIES TO THE TEMPLE TO BE SEALED AS ETERNAL FAMILIES.

Sister Hamilton shared one of her favorite family traditions was making snowflakes with her family

 WE ALL MADE OUR OWN SNOWFLAKES AND HUNG THEM ALL OVER THE HAMILTON'S APARTMENT.

DURING THOSE FIRST FEW WEEKS OF DECEMBER SOME OF THE MISSIONARY COUPLES DUG BOXES OUT OF THEIR CLOSETS AND MANAGED TO STRING A FEW CHRISTMAS LIGHTS AND A STRAND OF GARLAND ON THEIR FRONT DOORS, SOME WERE EVEN LUCKY ENOUGH TO FIND AN OLD FAKE CHRISTMAS TREE

(THIS ONE WAS IN THE HAMILTON'S HOME AND IT WAS BEAUTIFUL)

BY MID DECEMBER IT WAS BEGINNING TO FEEL LIKE CHRISTMAS.

ONE DAY WE ARRIVED AT WORK AND FOUND THAT THE AREA OFFICE EVEN HAD CHRISTMAS TREES AND DECORATIONS ON EVERY FLOOR. 

IT WAS FUN TO SEE THE CREATIVE DECORATIONS THE OTHER COUPLES WERE COMING UP WITH TO DECORATE THEIR LITTLE APARTMENTS.  

SOME PEOPLE EVEN COMMENTED THAT IT REMINDED THEM OF THE DAYS WHEN THEY WERE NEWLEYWEDS AND HAD NO MONEY FOR STORE BOUGHT DECORATIONS SO EVERYTHING WAS HANDMADE.

THE MOST BEAUTIFUL DECORATIONS WERE THE HANDCARVED AFRICAN NATIVITY SETS THAT MANY OF

THE COUPLES DISPLAYED IN THEIR APARTMENTS.

WE SPENT ONE EVENING WITH THE OTHER COUPLES, TALKING ABOUT OUR FAVORITE FAMILY TRADITIONS, ( which I have to admit, made me a little homesick)

WE ENDED THE NIGHT BY SINGING CHRISTMAS CAROLS

THEN, ON CHRISTMAS EVE, WE ALL HAD  A PROGRESSIVE DINNER AND READERS THEATRE

JOSEPH AND MARY WERE AWESOME

(BRUCE AND I WERE THE INNKEEPERS CHILDREN)

  

WE ENDED THE EVENING BY DIMMING THE LIGHTS AND SINGING SILENT NIGHT.

IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL EVENING THAT HELPED US TO REMEMBER THE TRUE MEANING OF CHRISTMAS.

I WENT HOME THAT NIGHT FILLED WITH GRATITUDE FOR MY SAVIOR AND WHAT HE HAS DONE FOR ME AND YOU.

HIS SACRIFICE WAS FOR ALL MANKIND.

ON CHRISTMAS DAY

WE JOINED ALL THE COUPLES FOR A BRUNCH AND ONE LAST OPPORTUNITY TO CELEBRATE THE BIRTH OF OUR SAVIOR. 

CHRISTMAS TRULY WAS DIFFERENT IN AFRICA

HOWEVER, I WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER THE TENDER MOMENTS I FELT THROUGHOUT THE MONTH OF DECEMBER AS I REFLECTED ON THE BIRTH OF THE SAVIOR.

I AM GRATEFUL TO BE A MISSIONARY. I AM GRATEFUL TO HAVE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO CONSECRATE EVERYTHING THAT I HAVE TO SERVE MY HEAVENLY FATHER. I KNOW THAT JESUS CHRIST IS MY REDEEMER. I KNOW THAT I HAVE A FATHER IN HEAVEN WHO LOVES ME. I AM GRATEFUL FOR THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE RESTORED GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST.

MAY YOU HAVE A BLESSED YEAR AND FEEL THE SAVIORS LOVE FOR YOU IS MY PRAYER.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Bruce and I would like to wish all of our friends and family a wonderful Christmas.

We miss you all and want you to know that you are always in our hearts and prayers. 

We have missed the sights and sounds of Christmas, 

the Holiday Traditions,

Christmas Parties, Christmas Lights, Trees, and Cheerful decorations

Taking the Grands to see the homes brightly lit in Christmas gala,

Baking fudge and Chex Party Mix for our family,

and most of all a home filled with loved ones.

However,

We have truly felt the true meaning of Christmas as we have served the Lord's children. We have been blessed to see the Humanitarian Arm of the church bless so many lives in South Africa. Each day we review projects that 13 couples submit to our office with the purpose of relieving suffering, and helping people become more self-reliant. 

I recently received the following pictures from our Public Affairs couple (Elder and Sister Berg) who went to visit one of our Clean Water projects in Kinshasa with our Humanitarian Couple.

Our WORK

I would hate for you to think that all we do is play so this post will be dedicated to the WORK we do in the Africa Southeast Area Office. Elder Kinghorn and I leave the house every morning,  Monday through Friday by 8:15 to work in the Area Office. Most nights we return home by 5:30 or 6:00. Some days we force ourselves to leave by 4:00 or 4:30 so that we can do our grocery shopping. Our mission call is to serve as Area Welfare Specialist (AWS). The Lee's, who our the friends that invited us to come to Africa are also AWS. The four of us support 13 Welfare Services Couple Missionaries who serve in: Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia, Lubumbashi, DRC Kinshasa, Rwanda, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia, South Africa, Gabon, Tanzania, and Madagascar. The couples develop Area Initiative Projects and also help support Major Initiatives that the Humanitarian department at Church Headquarters initiates.

Our job is to train and support the couples with the work they are doing as Welfare Services Missionaries. Bruce works with Finances. Our office processes the request for all 13 couples for the funding of their projects. My job is reviewing the project request and submitting them to our Area Welfare Manager for approval as well as reviewing the contracts for each project submitted. We work very closely with the Lee's as well as our Area Welfare Manager.

The Area Office is a wonderful place to work. We are blessed to begin each week with a Monday morning devotional that is usually attended by a member of the Area Presidency or the Director of Temporal Affairs.  I personally believe that the best part of our mission is when we have an opportunity to travel to train and support the Welfare Services Missionaries.

We recently took a trip to Rwanda to train Terry Lieble and Dr. Peggy Toro who are the new couple serving as Welfare Services Missionaries in Rwanda. We had the opportunity to go with them to see one of the projects that had been done by the previous couple. It was a rain catchment system and water storage tanks.

Elder Lieble and Sister Toro with members of the water committee and their interpreter.



My favorite part is always meeting the local children

 

Then we headed off to Mozambique to train the Pond's who are the new Welfare Services Missionaries in Mozambique

Mozambique is a very colorful country
We saw some interesting sights on our drive to Church

 

We are very blessed to be called to serve in Africa Southeast as Area Welfare Specialist.

We love to work with the couples as they develop projects. It is really fun when they share the joy they experience when a project is completed. Each month the couples send us monthly reports about the work they are doing. Thanks to the generous donations of members of the Church all over the world the Welfare Services Missionaries are able to develop projects that relieve suffering, help the people of Africa become more self reliant and provide Christ like service.