African Market!

February 10, 2013

We hope everyone is doing well.  This has been a different week for us.  The temple is closed for regular maintenance which gives temple missionaries time to explore and enjoy some of the attractions in South Africa.  Most of the missionaries and even the temple presidency have used this break as time to do those things they can't do while the temple is open.

We decided to stay here and use the time to let Laraine get better.  We did go to the African Market to see what souvenirs we want and that was quite an experience.  They have so many things that would be unique and fun to have.  We were told before we went that when you ask a price, the price they give is just the starting place and they expect to dicker back and forth.  Neither Laraine or I are very good at trying to talk them down, nor do we enjoy it.  There is so much there that you actually become overwhelmed.  We found that we had to decide on a couple of things, look throughout the market to find what we liked the best and then dicker as best we could until we decided that for us it was reasonable, but probably not the best price that someone else might get.

We were able to get a couple of things that we are pleased with and will be anxious to show off.

Office missionaries have been aware that the temple is closed and have tried to involve us in various activities.  With those and everything else that has happened, we haven't had much time.  Therefore, this email will be short and we will fill you in later.

We love everyone and send our love.  We feel your prayers and support for us.

Other Sheep!

February 3, 2013

We send our love and expressions of gratitude for your thoughtfulness in our behalf.  We love hearing about the busy lives of our children, grandchildren, and friends.  Yes, we miss being there for so many of the special events that are part of your busy schedules, but we feel your love and support for what we are doing too.

Monday evening, we had family home evening with the other temple and office missionaries.  The purpose of the evening was to let us watch the rest of the videos documenting the commencement and growth of the church in Africa.  This time, we were shown the segments detailing the start of the church in Nigeria and Sierra Leone.  Elder and Sister Knutson gave each us a DVD with the video for each of the four countries.  They said that there was an obligation that went with the DVD.  That obligation is to share it.  We are excited to have the ability share what was presented in our two family home evenings.

I should let Laraine tell these stories because she does better than I, but they are very similar to those of Ghana and Liberia, but in Nigeria and Sierra Leone wars and civil unrest seemed to have a greater impact on the lives of those who were committed to bring the true church to their communities.  The common thread in each of these countries is that there were people in different cities unknown to each other who recognized that certain truths taught by the Savior were not necessarily part of the church they were part of.  They came in contact with the Book of Mormon and knew it was true without knowing the source of the book.  After learning that it came from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and not knowing that others were doing the same, they wrote letters to Salt Lake City asking for missionaries and more information concerning the doctrine and teachings of the church. They were told to be patient and wait for the Lord’s timing.  They had to endure many trials and difficulties before missionaries arrived.

Our personal experiences here in Africa have changed forever our lives and the way we regard the people here.  For me personally they have broadened the way I feel as I read the scriptures.  This last week, I was reading and pondering 3 Nephi.

In John 10:16, the Savior tells us “…other sheep I have, which are not of this fold:  them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.”  Therefore, we know Jesus had other sheep besides the people in Jerusalem and that these “other sheep” would hear the Saviors voice.  In 3 Nephi 15:21-22, the Savior tells us that Lehi and his descendants are these “other sheep” of whom He spoke.  He said, “And verily I say unto you, that ye are they of whom I said: Other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.  And they understood me not, for they supposed it had been the Gentiles…”

Again for me personally, our experiences in Africa have broadened the way I feel as I continue reading in chapter 16.

In verses 1-3, it says, “And verily, verily, I say unto you that I have other sheep, which are not of this land, neither of the land of Jerusalem, neither in any parts of that land round about wither I have been to minister.

“For they of whom I speak are they who have not as yet heard my voice; neither have I at any time manifested myself unto them.

“But I have received a commandment of the Father that I shall go unto them, and that they shall hear my voice, and shall be numbered among my sheep, that there may be one fold and one shepherd; therefore I go to show myself unto them.”

I can’t help but hope and feel that these “other sheep” of chapter 16 included those on this continent.

As I read how He ministered to and showed his love for His other sheep in the New World, I can only believe that He loved His other sheep of chapter 16 in the same manner. 

He let them feel the prints of the nails in his hands and feet that they too know he was slain for the sins of the world.

He healed their sick.

He prayed for them.  He taught things that couldn’t be written.  The people wept.

He wept.  He blessed their children and wept again.

It reminds me of Elder Holland’s visit to Africa.  He went to Bangui to dedicate the land of Central African Republic.  He spoke of the Bangui Branch President, a lawyer who trained in France, practiced in the United States and then returned to Central African Republic.  Elder Holland said, “He kept saying, with tears in his eyes, that he couldn’t quite fathom that a member of the Quorum of the Twelve had come all that way and sought them out in their interior African world, in the jungle, in the isolated communities that they are.  He couldn’t get over the fact that we would come and find them, that their little handful of members mattered.  That was touching to me.  I said, ‘Of course you matter.  Of course we will find you.’  It was a great day.” 

I can’t help but feel that maybe Christ visited his other sheep in Africa.  I can’t help but feel that His sheep hear the voice of the savior as they hear His chosen leaders, the prophets.  And I can’t help but feel that they hear His voice as they come to the temple.  What a great opportunity and responsibility we have to perform these ordinances as He would.  This is our hope and prayer that we can help those who come to the Johannesburg temple.

We again had four couples from DR Congo come to the temple this week.  I watch these couples as they receive the ordinances of the temple in their own language and am grateful that I can be part of that.  I am only aware of Brother Bonet who can perform sealings in French so most of those who come to be sealed in the temple don’t hear this ordinance in their own language.  I am thankfull for the opportunities that I have to translate for the sealers.  It is only what the sealer says before and after the actual ordinance that I translate because I am not a sealer and cannot pronounce the ordinance itself, but it has created a bonding with these couple that I will always cherish.

We love hearing how well our grandchildren are doing.  We are proud of each of them.

We hope all is going well for each of you.  We send our love.

So many wonderful opportunities!!

January 27, 2013

We commented on the beautiful weather here in Johannesburg in our last email and made the comment that we understood that it was cold in Wyoming and Utah but that we wondered how much snow there was.  We immediately had family and friends email back giving us a current weather/snow report and that was fun to hear, but what was far more meaningful is that they took time to update us on their families and other events happening in their lives.  Thank you for those updates which really meant a lot to us.

On Monday, we had a full day.  The morning, we did our wash and had a plumber come to fix the slow drain in our bathtub.  We actually missed a trip to a botanical garden because we had to be here for the plumber, but two other couples invited us to go to McDonalds for lunch.  Not that we frequent McDonalds back home, but this is definitely something that we couldn’t do in the Congo and was our first time to a fast food restaurant since we left home.  

We were told that the hamburgers were okay and that they had the cheapest ice cream cones around.  We had a wonderful time with the Uzelacs and the Birds.  I ordered a quarter pounder, fries, and a Sprite.  Laraine had a chicken burger with a Sprite.  

It is fun to know that it is an option we have here.  And after we finished eating our burgers, we all ordered a soft ice cream cone which cost about 35 cents.  In the afternoon, we went shopping at Woolworth’s and Pick ‘n Pay.  We find that we have access to so many things that we have not seen for a long time.  It gives us the capability to start creating menus that we couldn’t have before.  In the evening, we watched a movie in the apartment.  Laraine will have to watch it again because she fell asleep about midway through.  I guess we will have to start earlier next time.

Several of you pointed out that “our” emails have included more of my happenings than Laraine’s.  I apologize for that.  I use the nebulous “we” trying to refer to me, Laraine, and other missionaries, and then in our blog, I included the photos that show Laraine.  In fact, most of the photos have her picture (which is by far better than mine) because I seem to carry the camera and take the photos.

I seem to get the assignments at the temple which I find much easier to put in the emails because I am the writer.  You will just have to put up with me.  Another example happened this week.  We had 4 couples from the DR Congo arrive on Tuesday.  When we have the right temple workers available, the ordinances are performed in French which we did.  Typically we have headsets available so patrons can hear the endowment session in their language while the session is officiated in English.  Since there were only two patrons who spoke English going on their endowment session, they ask me if I wanted to officiate the session in French.  The two English speaking patrons would be given headsets.  For me, it was a wonderful experience to be able to do everything in French including the prayer.  After the endowment session, each of the four couples with their children was sealed.  The spirit was so strong and I could see the excitement in their eyes and feel the joy in their hearts as these families surrounded the alter all dressed in white.   

Wednesday morning they went to the family history library and prepared to do the temple work for some of their deceased family members.  Initiatory was in French and I again was able to officiate the endowment session, but this time the numbers were 50% French and 50% English so they determined to do the session in English with the Congo couples having headsets to hear in French.  In the prayer circle, I actually had more French couples than English and almost decided to do the prayer in French but decided not to until I asked if it was appropriate.  I probably won’t have the same situation again.  After the endowment session, I was given the opportunity to translate during the sealing session since the sealer didn’t speak French.  I count my blessings that I have had so many special experiences here.  You can tell that I really love being able to help those who speak French.  It becomes so meaningful to me and I think to them also.

Yesterday morning, the temple was very busy.  It is good that we have quite a number of local ordinance workers come to help.  Both the 9 am and 10 am sessions had to be split into two sessions.  It slowed down in the afternoon but also most of the local workers leave and we were running the temple with barely enough to get by.  I actually officiated both the 12 noon and 2 pm sessions which I thoroughly enjoyed because two couples who were there for the first time were repeating a session and I really felt that I was helping them learn and understand more of the temple experience.

At 5 pm after we were done at the temple, I took advantage of Laraine and left her at the apartment to do wash while I went to have golf lessons.  I feel badly leaving her alone but she is not a golfer and didn’t want to go.  It was an opportunity that I couldn’t pass up.

There have been three sisters coming to the early sessions on Friday or Saturday for the last 2-3 weeks.  They have been very obvious with blond or sun bleached hair and very athletically looking.  Well, I found out that two of them are professional golfers in the LPGA or Ladies European Tour or both.  I don’t know.  The third is their coach.  They had offered to give golf lessons to any of the missionaries who showed up at 5 pm.  

I want Britt, Casey, Don L., and Mark to know that I have now golfed internationally and been instructed by professional players and a coach of professionals.  I  hit more balls than it takes to play nine holes of golf.  I better say maybe because it has been so long since I have been on a golf course that it would take me lots of strokes to get in a full nine.

Reeve Nield, on the left above, is the coach and is from Zimbabwe.  Laurette Maritz is from South Africa.  

Laurette became a pro in 1988 and was rookie of the year.  She has won the South African Open 3 times as well as many other tournaments.  

Cecilie Lundgreen is from Norway and has been Norway’s number one ranked golfer.  She met Reeve and Laurette playing golf and was introduced to the church.  

I received so many tips that I couldn't remember to hit the ball.  

Above is Reeve giving instruction to Elder Garrett.

Reeve sent us an email with some of her tips.  I'll forward it on to Britt, Casey, Don, and Mark even if they don't need it.

They train in South Africa during this time of the year and will be going to Australia and New Zealand to compete next week.  I couldn’t believe how personable they are and how willing to give of their time and connections to allow us missionaries to have a free golf lesson for 2 hours.  Their golfing accomplishments aside, I was more impressed with their commitment to the gospel and church.  Despite their busy schedule, they have the goal of doing 70 endowment sessions during the year.  Last year, they exceeded that number.

They met with the BYU golf team and were presented with BYU golf club covers and they proudly use them on their clubs.  They use them as opportunity to talk about the church.  They regularly had out Books of Mormon and church literature.  Reeve served a mission for the Church in the United States.

After the golf lesson, one of the sisters presented all three with a sticker and a ring with inscription "PROS."  She told them that these had been used in a stake with the young women to help them remember that they are "pros" when they remember what it stands for.  P = Pray.  R = Read the scriptures.  O = Obedience.  and S = Smile and be happy. 

Here Reeve is talking to Elder Renlund.  They weren't talking golf but talking church, temple, and how to help the church move forward in Africa.

I went up to Reeve and said there are a lot of Nields in Star Valley and we have good friends who are Nields.  She said that they have been trying to find their connection to the Star Valley Nields.  Her father was going to Star Valley once and there was too much snow around Bear Lake and they ended up at the Logan Temple.  She said when someone at the temple found out his name, he was invited in and told the Star Valley Nields were in the temple that day.  I invited her to Star Valley some time and said we would love to introduce her to all our good friends.

This is a group photo of all who participated in this wonderful opportunity at the World of Golf.  Most are temple missionaries, but included a couple from the area office and Elder and Sister Renlund.

Laraine and I enjoyed church today and are grateful for the Sabbath.  We hope all of you are doing well.  We send our love.

Where we live!

January 20, 2013

We hope everyone is doing well.  We appreciate the continued emails we receive telling us about family and friends back home.  We are grateful for the technology that allows us to stay in touch especially FaceTime and Skype that where we can see and talk to our children and grandchildren.  Today, we were able to FaceTime with Kara and Megan.

It sounds like it has been cold in Wyoming and Utah, but we wonder just how much snow you have.  I don’t think we associate the weather here with the months we are in because December and January are definitely summer months.  We don’t know what to expect when June and July come and we find ourselves in the winter months.  We know they have had snow in Johannesburg but only a couple of times.  It is very beautiful here although we have had some rain.  It stays warm at night and since we don’t have AC, the apartment seems to be quite warm all the time.

As we have mentioned, we have an apartment in Duke's Court.  Here is the street in front of our building.  You can see the parking garage for the Killarney Mall on the left.  Many missionaries walk the rooftop parking in the mornings.

I jogged to the Military Museum and took my camera to show some of the area in which we live.

 You can see how things are growing, green and beautiful.  You can also see the flowers in bloom.

 This is the street going to the back of Duke's Court.  The building on the left is our building.

Since I have showed the outside, I thought I should show you in the halls and entrance to our apartment to give a full record of where we live.

This is the entrance to the parking.  We have covered parking here and at the temple which is very nice when raining.

At the end of my jog, I saw the outside of the museum and an arch on the grounds.  We will come and visit and report more on it later.

I had to take this photo of  a common bird but I don't remember the name.

Last Monday, we had the opportunity to attend a Family Home Evening/Fireside in the devotional room of the area offices. This is a photo before we started.

 It was presented by Elder and Sister Kneutson who have the special assignment of gathering and compiling the history of the Church’s commencement and growth in the Southeast Area and West Area of Africa.  Much of the history is not written so they not only do research of church records, but they also take the opportunity to interview many people to obtain that which is only oral history of what has happened here.

For this fireside they presented  used a video prepared by the missionaries who preceded them.  The video was prepared to show the start of the church in four specific countries.  We only had time to see the videos showing the start of the church in Ghana and Liberia.  I am not sure how or if the program on BYUtv on the saints in Africa portrays the same events we saw in these videos, but it truly was a special evening and was personally meaningful to us because of our experiences here and in the Congo.  The faith, commitment, and dedication of those who endured so much for fourteen years before the Church officially opened Africa and sent missionaries is veritably a testimony to each of us.  When Elder and Sister Palmer, the first missionaries sent to Africa, arrived, there was already a congregation in Ghana of some 2000 wanting to be baptized.  It was necessary to slow things down and let them know that they needed to go through a baptismal preparation process to make sure they were ready to be baptized.  In the first baptismal service, 89 were baptized with the others following very soon after.

Many of these early converts had been introduced to a single copy of the Book of Mormon and started congregations teaching it’s truths before they even knew the source.  Some of them were interviewed.  After much fasting and prayer, after much written contact with the church in Salt Lake, and after being told to be patient for so long, they told of their excitement when they were told that missionaries had arrived.

I can distinctly remember where I was and how I felt when the revelation that all worthy males of the church could receive the priesthood, but my feelings and emotions Monday night were even stronger and deeper,  and tears came to my eyes as I heard these early African saints express their joy as they heard the same announcement on BBC radio.  I know my feelings are so much deeper now we have come to know the wonderful members here.

I took these photos as we left.  The first shows the two vans provided to get us to the temple.  They are also our mode of transportation for our other needs including shopping, to meetings, etc.  We have to have more than one couple going in order to use them.

This is a photo of the Area offices.  The patron housing for the temple is on the upper floor.

I love the opportunity to be in the temple here and see so many coming for the first time as they take out their own endowments and are sealed as families.  We had another couple come from Kinshasa this week.  I was able to help them in the temple, but what made it even more special was that Elder Mabaya, the  Area Seventy from the Congo, accompanied them.  I didn’t know he was coming, but he recognized me and greeted me by name when he saw me.  We visited briefly before the endowment session, and then I was able to help the husband from DRC and Elder Mabaya at the veil in French.  There are just so many wonderful opportunities and experiences here.

I continue to grow and learn in the workings of a smaller temple.  This week we were on the late shift which means that we leave at 1:30 PM except on Saturday when we leave early because the last session is at 2 PM.  I was able to officiate the 7 PM session twice this week and was able to officiate the 1 PM session yesterday when a newly called missionary came with his family.  Even that is a special experience as you meet them when they arrive, help them in initiatory. and finish with the endowment session.  I easily feel the excitement of the missionary and at the same time feel how proud and happy the parents are.  This missionary lives close by and had family and friends there with him.  However, in so many cases, the missionaries come from far off and only go through the temple while they are in the MTC and don’t have any family with them.

Laraine has enjoyed putting a puzzle together each holiday season.  She found two puzzles here that proved to be quite challenging.  They have stayed out for much longer than normal, but she finally finished the second puzzle this week.  Here's the process and the finished product.

We hope everyone is doing well.  We send our love.  We feel your prayers and thank you for them.

Johannesburg Temple!

January 13, 2013

We send our love to all.  We are getting to appreciate and love the many missionaries we work with and live by here in Duke’s Court.  It means so much to have other couples stop by to visit and see how things are going.  We also appreciate the emails from home.  We apologize that we haven’t responded to each one personally.  We hope to get better so be patient with us.

The Johannesburg Temple is very beautiful.  I asked the other missionaries if we could arrive a little early so that I could walk the grounds and take a few photos.

It was announced April 1, 1981 with groundbreaking taking place November 27, 1982.  It was dedicated August 24, 1985.

We enter the temple each week by accessing the underground parking.  Therefore, we had really not seen the temple or the beautifully manicured grounds.

I was able to go to the back of the temple and see just how beautiful and peaceful the grounds are.

The flowers and gardens were just beautiful.

Throughout history, the Lord has commanded His people to build temples. Temples are literally houses of the Lord. They are holy places of worship where individuals make sacred promises with God.

When the gospel of Jesus Christ was restored in the early 1800s, the Lord again commanded His people to build temples (see D&C 88:119; see also section 95). The earliest temples of the restored Church were built in Ohio, Illinois, and eventually in Utah. Today, the Church has 140 operating temples around the world. Regardless of the place or time period, temples are the most sacred place on earth-a place where earth and heaven meet and where we feel close to our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ.

In the temple we are taught, we make covenants, and we are promised blessings.  We receive ordinances that enable us to live in the presence of God.

Endowment and Sealing

One ordinance we receive in the temple is the endowment.  The word endowment means "gift" or "bestowal."  As part of this ordinance, we are taught about the purpose of life, the mission and Atonement of Jesus Christ, and Heavenly Father's plan for His children.  We gain a glimpse of what it will be like to live in His presence as we feel the peaceful atmosphere of the temple.

Another temple ordinance is the sealing ordinance, in which husbands and wives are sealed to each other and children are sealed to their parents in eternal families. This means that if we are faithful to our covenants, our family relationships will continue for eternity. People sometimes also refer to this ordinance as “temple marriage” or “eternal marriage.”

Last week I said that there were families from the DR Congo scheduled to come to the temple.  Three couples came on Tuesday to participate in the temple ordinances and be sealed together.  Two came with children.  I had the privilege of serving in initiatory when they were there for themselves and then was receiver at the veil when they finished the endowment session.  It was a special experience to use my French to help them have an easier time and hopefully help them have a better understanding of  the power of the temple ordinances.  Tuesday, they went through the temple for their own temple ordinances and were sealed as families. 

Ordinances for the Deceased

In addition to receiving these ordinances for ourselves, we can receive them for our deceased ancestors. In this way, people who died without receiving essential ordinances such as baptism and confirmation, the endowment, and sealing have the opportunity to accept these ordinances.

Wednesday they went to the Family History Center.  They researched and prepared family names so they could come back and do baptisms, initiatory, endowments, and sealings for their own deceased family members.  That way on Wednesday and Thursday, they get to repeat and reinforce what they did themselves.  I was able to work with Elder Rakotonjanahary and Elder Kabey in initiatory when they came back.  Elder Rakotonjanahary is from Madagascar and Elder Kabey is from Lubumbashi in DR Congo.  Therefore, we were able to do everything in French for them.  It was truly a special experience for me and I think for them also.  Then I was also able to officiate one session as they came back.

Two of the brothers recognized me from Kinshasa although I don’t know them really well.  We were able to visit.  I could tell that they had been told to look for me and I think it meant a lot to them to have someone looking out for them in their first temple experience.  They left on Friday, but for three days, I truly felt useful in being able to use my French to help them in what probably will be their only temple experience for the foreseeable future.

Friday was a little slower day, but yesterday was very busy.  Friday morning in the 6 AM session, there were many who work during the day who come for the only 6 AM session in our temple.  It was good to see Thabo who works in temporal affairs and whom we met when he came to Kinshasa.  It is fun to meet others at the temple.  Brother Omdall came with his wife Thursday night to do initiatory and then was there for the 6 AM session Friday morning.  He works for the American Consulate here in Johannesburg.  Saturday morning the first session is at 7 AM.  It was full and the 9 AM session had to be split to create an extra session.  Both filled every chair.  It was a great day.

We enjoyed talking to Ryan, Dallin, Carley, and Peter and also Megan yesterday morning.  We appreciate that Gina shared a video of Kaden’s live performance for his school during lunch.  We are proud of him and are glad that we could see him playing the base guitar.  We truly have the greatest family and are so proud of each and every one of them. 

Happy New Year!!

January 6, 2012

We wish everyone a very happy new year.  It is hard to realize that we are already into 2013.  We were pretty boring in ushering in the New Year.  It was early in the evening when the news reported that Australia had already celebrated the New Year with fireworks and partying.    And we knew that it would be 9 AM on New Year’s Day our time when most of you would be ringing in the New Year.  With that in mind, we didn’t have the desire to stay up till midnight just to say we did it.  That being said, we hope each of you celebrated in a meaningful way to you and your family. 

About three weeks ago, the area office missionaries and the temple missionaries organized an outing to take the train ride to Magaliesburg.  It was a national holiday so everyone was trying to get out of the city.  The price of the trip included the ride on an old steam engine train out into the country and a buffet luncheon in Magaliesburg.  It allowed us to spend a very enjoyable day with all the other missionary couples and to see the beautiful countryside.  It was a fun ride on a train where you could open the windows and smell the smoke from the steam engine.

We passed through Krugersdorp.

And finally arrived in Magaliesburg.

We wandered around the small village for a little while before being treated to a fun lunch buffet.

We were given a glimpse of what the countryside surrounding Johannesburg is like and also saw areas where they have been mining gold and other minerals.

It was a fun little trip that gave us the opportunity to get acquainted with the other couple missionaries here in Johannesburg.

This last Monday, we were to meet Joseph from the Area Office to go to the police and hospital to take care of requirements to get an extended Visa.  We arrived with a simple 90 day visa and needed to get the proper visa to be a missionary in South Africa.  Joseph, who is over travel, visas, and government relations, painted a picture of urgency to get all the paperwork completed.  He said he should have been notified as so as our assignment was officially changed but that he barely became aware of our situation. 

This is Joseph outside the Area Offices.

Laraine tells this better than I can so I’ll let her tell you of what turned into a special experience:

We’ll keep this e-mail quite short, but I wanted to share a special experience that happened on Wednesday as we went to the police station to be fingerprinted.  Yes, now we’ll have to mind our p’s and q’s in both the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Africa since we’ve been fingerprinted in both countries.

Joseph, our special helper that works at the missionary area office and has the responsibility for visas, travel and government relations for the missionaries here in South Africa, picked us up on Monday and then Wednesday morning to get this taken care of.  Monday we were told the officer that does the FBI check was still on vacation and would be back on Wednesday.  Well, Wednesday came and no officer.  Joseph, is not one who is easily discouraged, decided to take us to another police station.  The officer outside of this police station said they could not help us since we didn’t live in their jurisdiction.  Joseph parked the car and led us in anyway.  We were met with a very kind man who was willing to take our fingerprints.  I would have liked a photo of the fingerprinting process but was told it wasn't proper.  But I did get a picture of where they had us go to wash the black ink from our fingers and hands.  It was an outside faucet under a tree.

After finishing, the officer sent us down the hall to pay.  As we walked down the hall, we noticed a couple of women (and to be honest I didn’t know if they were officers or criminals), but one woman seemed very distressed, and she was an officer.   As we went in the office to pay, Priscilla, the woman who was pacing up and down the hall followed us in.  She sat in a chair next to Joseph and Joseph asked her if she had had a good holiday and if she had enough meat to eat (which seems to be a common concern here).  She started to cry, but wouldn’t talk.  The lady behind the desk said Priscilla, had been crying all morning, but wouldn’t talk to anyone about it.  Finally, she looked at Joseph and said she saw me walk down the hall and followed us in.  She felt she could talk to me and I could help her.  I sat next to her and let her cry for quite a while and then asked if she’d like to talk about her concerns.  She shared with me that her son was 21 and could no longer live with her and was living with her mother, but he was giving her mother problems and she didn’t know how to help him or her mother.  She asked me if I would pray for her.  I was so humbled and honored and know that part of it was because I was wearing my missionary badge.  I explained that we were missionaries representing the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and that the two men that I was with held the Priesthood, which was the authority to act in God’s name and they could give her a blessing.  What a humbling experience to find ourselves in a police station watching Joseph and Hal give this very worried and special little woman a Priesthood blessing.  She cried after and hugged us all and gave us her name and number so we could follow up and see how things are going for her.  What an incredible missionary opportunity, and how humbling to feel that she could feel that I could somehow help her.  The Lord certainly does work in wondrous ways.

The doctor wanted to get me off the medicine prescribed in Kinshasa and put me on one he is more familiar with.  Changing medicines has not been as easy as hoped.  Hal and Elder Garrett gave me a beautiful Priesthood Blessing today.  I love him so much!!!

(Hal again)  Today is Fast Sunday and I enjoyed testimony meeting.  It is interesting that a few offered testimonies in Zulu and other would change from English into Zulu and back to English.  One brother in sharing an experience changed to Zulu and everyone except we missionaries laughed and smiled.  We knew that we had missed something humorous.  But the Spirit was strong and we really can feel the strength and devotion of the members here.  We are so blessed to be here.

This is the Kwa Thema Ward chapel where we attend church.

We understand that there are some members coming from the DR Congo to be sealed in the temple this week.  That excites us especially if we can help make their temple experience meaningful and special.  I have been memorizing the ordinances in French and look forward to helping.  We will let you know how it goes.

Again, we wish you all a Happy New Year.  We appreciate your love and prayers.