Burundi

9 DECEMBER – WEDNESDAY

We were up and prepared at an early hour for this day.  We departed for the airport at about 8:00 am.  Pam is headed for Johannesburg while I go to Bujumbura, Burundi.

10 DECEMBER – THURSDAY

Formalities at the Bujumbura airport were efficient and well organized.   The airport is never very crowded as there are a very limited number of flights to the capitol city of Burundi.  The 10K drive into town took less than 15 minutes.  The roads are very good and there is little traffic, we would learn, except during the morning and evening “rush hours.”

[caption id="attachment_210" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Lake Tanganyika and Congolese Mountains"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_211" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Bujumbura and Eastern Mountains"][/caption]

Eustache and I stayed at the Hotel Source du Nil, a nice hotel by African standards and is located very conveniently near the center of town.  I enjoyed the Presidential Suite for a whopping $135 per night.  I enjoyed the air-conditioned room, very nice swimming pools and the food was acceptable for all meals during the day.  This is a relatively advance country as indicated by the fact that I was able to pay the final hotel bill with a visa card.

The first afternoon we met with Pastor NKEZIMANA Venuste Paul (hereafter referred to a Pastor Paul) and 4 other members of his church.  They have a wonderful spirit and were anxious to receive instructions on how to begin organizing the church in Burundi.  We enjoyed their enthusiasm and faith in the newly discovered religion we are spreading throughout this continent.  Teaching Pastor Paul that “We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof” did not faze him in the least.  Something has stirred their souls and they are seeking and accepting of these truths.

11 DECEMBER – FRIDAY

This morning we met with Pastor Johnson HATUNGIMANA and several other wonderful people including pastors of other small churches..  Johnson had been taught the gospel several years ago by an employee of the American Embassy.  He knows and understands the local government protocol and was an invaluable advisor and is a friend of the Church.

At 12:00 we rented a car to be able to visit a grocery store and changed some money.  We also took time to tour the town, “quartier” by “quartier.”  There are numerous, very nice, safe areas in this city where American missionary couples can reside.  Imported food is expensive as in other countries in Africa but fruits and vegetables are very reasonably priced when compared to Kinshasa.  This once war ravaged city, and nation, seem to be progressing well since its first free democratic election in 2005 and are readying themselves to join the rest of the world in the 21^st century.

12 DECEMBER – SATURDAY

Today we visited the province of Cibitoke, approximately 60K from Bujumbura, accompanied by Pastors Paul and Johnson and two others.  We traveled into the mountains to small villages to discover numerous small congregations who were waiting for our arrival.  Another pastor came along with Johnson who manages and leads an additional six congregations with memberships of between 50 and 90 faithful. (450 in total)  We spent the entire day with pastors and their people.  We were exhausted following our long day on the road.

[caption id="attachment_196" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Road to the Valley"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_209" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Village on the hills"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_198" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Future Saints High on a Mountain Top"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_199" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Inside Cibitoke chapel"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_208" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Cibitoke Council of Pastors"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_200" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Outside Cibitoke chapel"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_207" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Tailgate Preacher"][/caption]

13 DECEMBER – SUNDAY

Today at 8:00am we met with a pastor from Uvira DRC about 36K from Bujumbura who was accompanied by Pastor Methode BELANWA from Baraka DRC.  He explained how he was working with international refugees in camps near the border with Burundi. The beginning of his conversion is inspiring.

[caption id="attachment_201" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Pastor Balanwa"][/caption]

Pastor BELANWA told us how his heart was touched by the spirit as he read the name of the church on the back of the wheelchairs that were being distributed in the camp to the handicapped refugees.  He then “googled” the name of the church to get information but was not able to find an address.  He eventually found references to the church on the internet site “Family Search” so he sent a message which was forwarded to the missionary department who in turn forwarded it to the DRC Mission President (ME) in October.   The final result of his efforts, and those of numerous others, was our meeting this Sabbath morning before we were to leave the hotel to attend church with various congregations throughout the city.

We gave them several copies of the book “Gospel Principles,” and the Book of Mormon with which they were already familiar.  We read with them the articles of faith, and answered questions regarding our “lay ministry,” tithing, and the word of wisdom.  He would have been very happy if we could have baptized him right then. We counseled him to first read from the books and meditate regarding our teachings and the books we gave him and told him we would return in several months. He and his traveling companions were also told that the Church would first be established in Bujumbura, the capitol city, and would expand from there several years hence.  They were encouraged that the Church would soon be coming to this country. He and his friend would wait the entire day for our return following our scheduled meetings so we could again teach and respond to their numerous questions. 

We next went to the home of Pastor Paul and accompanied him and his family to his small church.   We attended their worship service, which was a most interesting and spiritual experience.  It was inspiring to witness the spontaneity of the little children as they clapped and sang along with the adults.

[caption id="attachment_206" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Children after church"][/caption]

There will be numerous changes in the way meetings are conducted in the near future in this small congregation of between 40 -50 and I am confident they will welcome and accept these changes.  We sang, clapped and praised the Lord together with this small faithful group.  Their desire to worship and praise our Lord is heartwarming and encouraging.  At this meeting we met Isidore NDUWONKIJIJE who was baptized a member of the church in 2000.  He was asked to translate for us.  (Kirundi into French)

[caption id="attachment_202" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Pastor Paul Veneusti's Family"][/caption]

The son of the Pastor did most of the singing, along with his sister, and he did all of the praying.  The service was attended by a deputy of the National Assembly, the Hon. Arcade NGEDNANZI, his post being similar to that of Congressman in the US.

[caption id="attachment_203" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Pastor Paul's Flock"][/caption]

Following their abbreviated worship time the service was turned over to Eustache Ilunga and me.  I first taught the first 4 articles of faith, the first vision and the restoration of the gospel through Joseph Smith.  I bore testimony of a living prophet today and promised happiness, joy, peace and blessings through obedience to all of God’s laws and the words of our modern prophets.  I explained the roles of the Holy Ghost and that this member of the Godhead will reveal the truth of all things (Moroni 10:4-5) to each of us as we ask, having faith in Jesus Christ.  We bore witness to our divine nature as sons and daughters of our Heavenly Father.  They wanted to know more.  We bore testimony of living prophets and they wanted to know who he is and what he teaches.  We expressed our love for the savior and for them and they applauded.  Every congregation, family or group we visited are looking for more information and seeking direction.

Following a short visit to the Pastor’s home for refreshments following services we continued on to the KAMENGE “quartier” where we would meet with Pastor Johnson in his home, along with his family and representatives from another dozen families who have been waiting for months for our visit.  We met 2 people at this meeting who spoke and understood English well.   Both Eustache and I taught basic gospel principles, as we had earlier that day,  and then responded to questions for about 1 hour.

[caption id="attachment_204" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Pastor Johnson's Home"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_205" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Pastor Johnson's Home"][/caption]

We returned to the hotel to meet again with Pastor BELANWA, Jimmy and their traveling companion. We invited them to dinner and spent an additional 2 hours teaching and responding to their questions.  They had many questions as to how the church is administered and how to conduct a Sunday worship service.

During the day we learned of several members of the Church who were living in Bujumbura.  Somehow people knew we were in town and how to contact us. One was a young Burundian sister whose family was currently living in Nairobi. She has returned to her home country to obtain a passport in preparation for a full-time mission. We were able to arrange for her visit with us later in the evening.   During our meeting with her she informed us of a young man, Aimable Otis BURUNDI, who had been baptized in Kenya and had returned and was working in Bujumbura.  She contacted him by phone and he came “straightway” to the hotel to visit with us this same evening.  During our conversation with Aimable we discovered he had 3 other friends who were members of the Church and had also returned recently to Burundi from Kenya and he was very excited to inform them of our visit.  They have all been patiently waiting for the church to get established once again in their country.  At about 10:00 PM our newly found member friends departed for their homes.

As I read from the scripture before retiring I was profoundly moved by the 80^th Section of the Doctrine and Covenants.  After substituting my name and that of my traveling companion Eustache Ilunga into the 1^st and 2^nd verses I felt as though I had received this revelation directly from the Lord.

1. Verily, thus saith the Lord unto you my servant Michael Headlee:

Go ye, go ye into the world and preach the gospel to every

creature that cometh under the sound of your voice.

2. And inasmuch as you desire a companion, I will give unto you

my servant Eustache Ilunga.

3. Wherefore, go ye and preach my gospel, whether to the north

Or to the south, to the east or to the west, it mattereth not, for

ye cannot go amiss.

4. Therefore, declare the things which he have heard, and verily believe,

and know to be true.

5. Behold, this is the will of him who hath called you, your Redeemer, even Jesus Christ.  Amen.”

This was such an unexpected, yet sweet, reward for a Sabbath day spent in His service.

The promise in D & C 78:22 was also impressed on my mind.

14 DECEMBER – MONDAY

This morning was to be our last on this trip.  We first met with Pastor OBENGI SONGOLO Jacques, and another young man who had traveled for more than 4 1/2 hours by bus, at their own expense, to meet with us at 9:00am this morning.  This brother’s conversion story is amazing.  On his way into town from the refugee camp he found a brochure in the dust alongside the road.  It had an LDS Charities stamp on it.  He heart was touched with the words “Latter-day Saints.”  He searched the internet and found the address of the Church and sent a letter in July to SLC.  This was in turn forwarded to the Africa Southeast Area in August of this year.

The refugee camp is located about 270K from Bujumbura, a 4-5 hour bus ride.  There are approximately 10,000 refugees currently residing in this camp located in Kinama. He and a friend came to meet us, representatives of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  We met with them for about 3 hours teaching them the 1^st vision, of the prophet Joseph Smith, the Book of Mormon and the Restoration.  We gave them several copies of the book “Gospel Principles,” read the articles of faith, and answered questions regarding our “lay ministry,” tithing, and the word of wisdom.  They wanted to be baptized, receive the Priesthood, and return to start the Church in their camp.  We counseled them to first read, study and meditate regarding our teachings and the books we gave them and told them we would return in several months.  They were also told that the Church would first be established in Bujumbura and would expand from there.  They were excited that the Church would soon be coming to their country.

15 DECEMBER – TUESDAY

We started out the new day, just after midnight, leaving for the Bujumbura airport.   Our flight was scheduled to leave at 1:20 am.  The routing of the flight took me for my second visit to the Kigali airport and then on to Nairobi.  Our flight for Kinshasa departed on time and we arrived back home shortly after 9:30am.  After waiting for over an hour for our bags we made a claim and headed for the mission office.  Home sweet home.

I met with the assistants this afternoon.  They were happy to be able to present a pretty good weekly report, 73 baptisms and all of the other indicators were up, as expected following the week of a large transfer.  It was my turn to present the spiritual thought as we began our meeting.  I shared with them the thought that had come to me during our exploratory trip to Burundi.  I read section 80 of the D & C and substituted mine and Eustache’s names.  The spirit deeply touched my soul, once again, confirming my calling in a most unexpected way.  The promise in D & C 78:22 was also impressed on my mind.

[caption id="attachment_212" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Bujumbura from the Eastern Mountain"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_213" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="The Avenues in Bujumbura"][/caption]

Sad Farewell!

It is with great sadness (and fear) that we say goodbye to Elder and Sister Moon. They have been our office couple since our arrival and served with the Livingstones since March of 2008. We had a replacement scheduled in August but a medical emergency prevented that from happening. The Moons graciously stayed until a new replacement could be found. We waited and waited and sure enough we did get a new office couple assigned. Another medical emergency almost stopped this one again, but thankfully we learned that the James' from Roy, Utah will still come, only six weeks later. So the Moons continued their plans to be home before Thanksgiving.

Not enough can be said about what wonderful missionaries Annette and Bill Moon were. They shared their skills and talents in every conceivable way. They kept the office running smoothly and efficiently (which is a challenge in the Congo) and managed to do many other amazing things, too. They taught English classes, Annette taught piano lessons, they completed our kitchen renovation in the mission home, Bill repaired hospital equipment and they even taught missionary lessons, converting a wonderful family from Namibia. The list could go on and on. We will sing their praises forever and so will many many people in this country!  Most of all they became wonderful friends.

As much as we hated to say goodbye, we knew that there were many anxious people looking forward to their arrival home and we knew it was time for them to reunite with their family. We love them...we honor them... and appreciate all they have done to further the work here in DR Congo.

[caption id="attachment_186" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Annette and Bill Moon"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_187" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Farewell dear friends"][/caption]

Updated Kitchen

We brought some Ikea kitchen cabinets with us since it is so difficult to get them made here. We started assembling them and then the Moons helped us. During one of our trips they surprised us by finishing the whole job!  We appreciate them so much...what a blessing they have been!











[caption id="attachment_182" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Old stove - New stove"][/caption]

Beautiful Kananga

Kananga is in the central part of the DRC, pretty much in between Kinshasa and Lubumbashi. We have no missionaries there, but we have a district with seven branches. We weren’t sure what to expect. As we packed for the trip (the night before) I seemed to remember that it might have been one of the places where we needed our freeze-dried meals and other “camping” equipment. I searched and found the documentation that confirmed that fact, so I then packed up food and ready-made freeze dried meals, paper products, flashlights, knives, etc. We took this trip with Elder Kola and his wife, the area seventy from Congo.

[caption id="attachment_114" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Waiting for a taxi with the Kolas"][/caption]

The adventure began … as we landed on a very small airfield I realized that Kananga was a fairly rural area, with LOTS of people. The internet says 1.5 million, but the people that live here say it is about 5 million people. (Not sure who to believe!) It was easy to see that 40 years ago this had been a very beautiful city, with fountains and large grassy areas between lovely boulevards.

The district president drove up to greet us on a motor scooter… then I saw how most people were leaving the airport. I thought this would be a little tricky to fit all 4 of us with all our luggage on motorbikes…





This seems to be the way to commute in Kananga...

After waiting a while we did get a “taxi” of sorts…

[caption id="attachment_117" align="alignright" width="300" caption="This is how we felt INSIDE this car!"][/caption]

This car looks much better than it really was…. And fortunately for you, smells do not cross through the internet! The most interesting part of this car was the gas tank… a gallon jug sitting in the trunk with a little hose running out of it. I am sure the gas tank rusted out long ago, but the real advantage to using a jug is that you can clearly see how much gas is left. They buy their gas along the road from vendors selling it pint or quart at a time. It was about $8/gallon.

We were taken to a motel…a new one, in fact. Usually the mission president stayed in a local brewery, but the inn was full so we tried out a new business. The main lodge was not quite finished, but it should be by our next visit.

[caption id="attachment_118" align="aligncenter" width="224" caption="This motel is not quite finished..."][/caption]

So the motel was supposed to have air conditioning and water. Sounded good to us!  As it turns out, they have a generator that they run from 7 pm to 11 pm and indeed we did have air conditioning then. We just had to pay $10/room (Kolas and us) per hour for additional time with electricity. We opted for 2 more hours in the morning.

Here is the bathroom….

[caption id="attachment_119" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Ever heard of a "bucket shower?""][/caption]

They said WATER, not RUNNING WATER!  The 5 gallon bucket of water on the left was available for you to shower, wash and flush the toilet with.

If you got to sleep before 11, when the air conditioning went off, then you were okay until about 4 am, when you woke up in a sweat, suffocating with heat and humidity and tried to survive until the air conditioning came on at 6 am.

Are we spoiled, or what?  I remember in the good old days we didn’t have air conditioning and in upstate New York it was plenty hot and humid!

So once we dropped off our bags we proceeded to the branch building for a district auxiliary meeting. I thought with only seven branches that there might be just a handful of women. Imagine my surprise…

[caption id="attachment_120" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Kananga District and branch Auxiliary Leaders"][/caption]

What friendly wonderful women these were!  There was one who spoke some English so I was able to understand a little bit of what was said. Today’s discussion was what needs they had and how could the leaders help.

It was obvious that the branches were bursting out of their seams. They reported having between 25 and 70 children in their branches and there wasn’t enough room for them in Primary. They wanted sewing machines so they could learn how to sew and be productive. They wanted church pictures for the lessons. This was a humble growing group of sisters who believed in the Gospel and just needed more materials and space for learning.

That night we did walk to a local restaurant with the Kolas. It was a good thing that we brought our good flashlight because it was pitch black outside. Did I forget to mention that there is no public electricity in Kananga?  Only for those who have generators.

[caption id="attachment_121" align="alignleft" width="500" caption="Kananga Church, formerly governor's home"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_122" align="alignright" width="500" caption="Back yard of church and baptismal font (rain water)"][/caption]

The next morning (and throughout the weekend) Mike had interviews… lots of them… with 13 prospective missionaries and another 17 for priesthood advancements, temple recommends and new district callings. (He is the ecclesiastical leader for this district.) I toured the town with the Kolas.

[gallery]

In the afternoon we toured the town with the district president seeing the various branch locations, land owned by the church for future buildings and rentals. We were quite the attraction to young and old throughout the streets as we were the only white people in the whole city! Children flocked to see us and as I took pictures they all wanted to be sure they were in them.

We both spoke at the adult Saturday meeting after also speaking at the auxiliary training and priesthood leadership meetings that day.

The next morning we had the general session for the district conference in an old (1940’s) theatre in town. It quickly filled up and it appeared they were trying to get sound outside for those who couldn’t fit inside. We noticed that there were lots of people who didn’t raise their hands at the sustaining of the church leadership. As President Headlee started his talk he asked by a show of hands how many investigators were there… there were between 500 and 600!  The attendance was taken and it was 2162 people! The active members of the district is  about 1300. It is not hard to imagine that this area will be a stake or two before we are completed with our mission. We know that we need to send missionaries here within the next 6 months. They will be kept very busy!

[caption id="attachment_161" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="District Conference"][/caption]

We left from the theatre straight to the airport and then home. We brought some delicious fresh pineapple with us and some great memories.

Dedication of Cameroon

We were privileged to be able to witness the dedication of the country of Cameroon to the preaching of the Gospel. Cameroon is the northern-most part of our mission. Our North American missionaries serve here. We also have two senior couples here.  The four local branch presidents all attended this ceremony along with our area president, Elder Paul Koelliker and his wife.

A Special Houseguest

We just concluded our week with Elder Jeffrey Holland. What a thrill it was to witness his dedication of the country of Cameroon and then bring him back to Kinshasa where he stayed with us for 4 days!

An apostle visits Cameroon

After the dedication we visited the home of President Bala, a local branch president. There, his son played a hymn he learned while taking piano lessons from Sister Edith Baker.  We were all touched by this tiny sweet home which was filled with the spirit of the Lord.



We also visited a site proposed for the first chapel to be built in the country of Cameroon. There are four branches in the city of Yaounde, one missionary couple and 8 North American missionaries.



There was a member meeting that afternoon. Around 400 church members came to hear Elder Holland address them. They had a chance to shake his hand after the meeting.