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 21st 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 80th Section of the Doctrine and Covenants. After substituting my name and that of my traveling companion Eustache Ilunga into the 1st and 2nd 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 1st 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]
