Pam writes(in italics): This is probably the most talked-about place to go in the mission. It is spoken of with real feeling and amazement that such an interesting place exists as a stronghold of so many good members and yet also being so remote. Most people describe the hardships of visits there and quickly follow with a pronouncement of how wonderful the people are…making the trip well worth it! Well I am here now to report about our adventure in going there.
The first step is to get to the closest airport… that would be Mbuji Mayi. This area is about half-way between Kinshasa and Lubumbashi. Trips have to be well-planned because the airlines only fly in and out certain days of the week. This trip was a whole week for us.
I am not sure who started figuring out the logistics of how, when and with what to bring for this adventure, but I am grateful for their good information. You see…you cannot just go to Luputa. You have to prepare and pack for this adventure with specific things. It is much like going camping.
We arrived in Mbuji Mayi and spent the night. We hired a car from Catholic Charities and it comes with a driver who knows very well what he is doing. We soon saw that this is the ONLY way to do this trip. Another thank you to whoever found Omer and the Land Cruiser from Catholic Charities!
- Bad roads make a 4wd a must...like when we got stuck here!
Luputa is 4 to 5 hours away. We purchased 4 cases of water for our needs the day before then we loaded up the car and started on our way. Just before leaving town we were stopped by a policeman who wanted to see our “papers”… not a common thing for this town. It turns out he just wanted a bribe, so $5 later we were on our way.
The road was macadam with very good healthy potholes. They were often enough that we probably only averaged about 35-40 mph. Omer was pretty skilled at avoiding them…although I wondered on occasion if we might tip over when we rode half on the pavement and half on the shoulder. As we drove along we could see that this was really beautiful countryside…. rolling green hills (a little like NY, but with palm trees).
We passed through lots of little villages with thatch roofs. Goats were constantly crossing the road as well as mama hens and their chicks. My guess is that we passed no less than 500 goats scampering along or in front of us. Omer must have a soft heart…he beeped the horn for every person and creature we passed as a warning to get out of the way…even a mouse! This area has very few cars so we saw hundreds of people walking along the roadside continually. Most were carrying loads on their heads or on their bikes.
We saw very few other cars on the roads, but we did see lots of trucks filled with goods being transported and then crammed with people on top. This is hitchhiking at its finest!
- Either walk or ride a truck
- Lots of extra room on top
- Hang on tight!
- Even the side has room!
- No truck is too small...
- Always room for more
One interesting thing we observed after leaving the city of Mbuji Mayi is that people started taking pride in what their cities and villages and homes looked like. The garbage was absent. It was all dirt, but nevertheless it was swept clean and no litter was seen.
We entered the village of Luputa to find a mixture of old Belgian buildings and African mud homes.
One of the hardest things to see here in Congo is the ruin that has set in after 40 years of neglect. When you see buildings crumbling that once were beautiful you wish you could just see a glimpse of what it was like in 1940 or 1950.
It is easy to imagine. The basic infrastructure here is mostly ruins …no municpal water or power, streets that have not been maintained for decades and on and on. There is an important role that government plays and when it stops functioning for its people, then decay sets in. It was obvious that years ago this was a lovely little city. But now the roads had gone to ruin. Driving them is a major chore.
The people were all so friendly in this area. We seem to always be the center of attention. It isn't very easy to blend in here.
Mike (not italics): The Luputa Branch was organized in 1996. The first branch division took place in 2002. The Luputa District was organized in 2006 with 4 branches. Today the district consists of 7 branches, 3 of which are currently in the process of being divided. There will soon be 10 branches, 7 which meet the criteria to become wards in a stake. As of December 31, 2009 there were 1603 members in the district. At their current rate of growth they should reach the necessary threshold of 1900 members during the 4th quarter of 2010 or the 1st quarter of 2011. By then there could be as many as 12 units of the church in Luputa. There will be an immediate need for at least 3 chapels to be built in the new stake as soon as it is created. There will be a minimum of 3 wards to meet in each building as soon as they are available.
As soon as we arrived in Luputa we went to the offices of the district authorities to register our visit, accompanied by the district presidency. We next visited the home of the chief of the region to pay our respects and be welcomed. Then on to the monastery to unpack, relax and prepare to return to the chapel to interview prospective missionaries.
Returning to the chapel at 3:00pm I began interviewing prospective missionary candidates. This went on until after 8:00 pm, 16 in all. The missionary spirit in this district is very evident. They are led by a “missionary minded” district president right from the mold of Samuel Smith.
Saturday morning I met with the Luputa District Presidency and reviewed with them what they considered as their most notable successes as well as the challenges they currently face as a district. We also explored their current district goals which include the organization of a stake in Luputa in the very near future.
- District Presidency
They function very well as a presidency, led by an organized & very capable district president.
The presidency reaffirmed their success with branch missionary baptisms and the number of young people who have prepared for and who are serving full time missions. They are also very encouraged with the self sufficiency of their members as well as their increasing tithing faithfulness.
Their greatest challenge is obtaining suitable and adequate facilities for their rapidly growing congregations. They are also having great challenges getting to the temple due to the difficulty and cost associated with the obtaining of passports. They are a patient and humble group of saints.
They are currently focusing on increasing sacrament meeting attendance, encouraging family and individual scripture study, and encouraging more families to hold a regular family home evening.
The Saturday afternoon priesthood leadership meeting was very well attended as was the evening’s adult session which filled the chapel and the adjacent porches to overflowing.
The district choir sang for 20 minutes prior to the beginning of the meeting which created a wonderful atmosphere prior to the commencement of the conference session.
Sunday morning’s district conference was a real treat. We arrived at the district building at 9:30 to an already crowded to capacity chapel.
Attendance at Sunday’s general session was 1713. The district member ship filled the entire front yard which was covered with a makeshift tent for protection from the elements. Additional overflow was located next door in the building occupied by President Binene’s private school.
- Distict Conference overflow
There is not currently a building in Luputa large enough to accommodate our conferences.
Sunday afternoon following a 30 minute debrief with the district presidency we held a special meeting for returned, prospective, and branch missionaries. There were 65 in attendance. It was like holding an all-zone conference in Kinshasa.
- 65 people attended the branch missionary meeting
Following our missionary meeting we visited the home President Binene. His home is conveniently located within a ten minute walk from the current district center as well as the site the church has purchased for the construction of the Luputa District Center. Dallin Oakes is the name of his youngest son.
- District President at his home
Currently physical facilities.
There is a rental currently in Mwene Ditu approximately 40K from Luputa and a second rental 65K from Luputa that houses the Ngandajika branch.
In Luputa there is one rental which houses the Luputa, Kabusanga and Mukukuyi branches. This also serves as the district center and is a very good facility. A second building, owned by the church, houses the Katshisungu & Tshibiayi branches.
The Luputa branch building has a maximum capacity of 225. The Luputa branch’s average sacrament meeting attendance of 299 necessitates its division now. Following the creation of the Luputa 2 branch there will be 4 branches sharing the same facility until a new rental can be secured for the Luputa 1 & Luputa 2 branches. The other two branches currently sharing the building with the Luputa branch also have sacrament meeting attendance which exceed the maximum capacity of the facility, Kabusanga 230 and Mukukuyi 250. We will be requesting the Mukukuyi branch division as soon as a facility can be found for the 2 Luputa branches to move to. There will still be 3 branches meeting in the current district office facility until the division of the Kabusanga branch can be organized and submitted then it will be back to 4.
The other two branches in Luputa are meeting in a church owned building. We will need to secure a new rental for these two branches as soon as approval to build a new chapel on the site is received.
We arrived at the monastery where we would stay the next 2 days.
- The monastery earns money by renting rooms
It was a long line of rooms with a sitting room/dining room in the middle. No electricity unless you pay $5/hr for the fuel for the generator.
- Monastery Bedroom
- Bathroom which all guests share at Monastery
- Shower room....byow : bring your own water
- Junior (orphan from monastery) and I became friends
The 2 bathrooms are shared…along with the 2 shower rooms. Those were a little bit difficult…I can’t exactly describe the smell or the state of cleanliness…but believe me that some things are better left unsaid! Our room had 2 twin beds pushed together with mosquito nets on each. It was moderately hot & humid, but not oppressive. A fan would have been nice.
Mike had interviews all that afternoon…16 new missionary interviews in all. While he did that I went out to the Luputa water project to see it and to get water. Read about the Church's water project here: http://mormonchurch.org/147/church-helps-bring-water-to-african-communities
It is 15 kilometers there, but took about 45 minutes to get there. Along the road the same trail of walking people continued and the goats never stopped dashing along either. We saw 3 watering spots…out of 16. Each had a type of cement sink with 2 spigots. The water came out fast and it was clean! This is a great blessing f thousands of people in this area.
- How we take water for granted!
When I was told that there were lots of children in Luputa, I had no idea what that really meant. There are thousands of children here and everywhere we drove the children ran to the side of the road and yelled “Mutoka, mutoka!!!” (white person) We felt like movie stars everywhere we went. Because of the water project the Americans, especially church members are well received by the people here. Within seconds of approaching the wells I was surrounded by 60 to 80 children…all wanting to shake my hand.
- Everywhere we went we were swarmed by children
After heading back to the church I had to wait another 2 hours for the interviews to be finished then we headed back to the monastery. We came prepared for this camping experience. We had brought our freeze-dried backpackers meals with us and loads of other stuff. It took a large suitcase to hold it all… oilcloth, flashlights, electric teapot, sheets, towels dishes, easily prepared food for breakfasts & lunches, knives, cutting boards and, of course a pitcher for the “bucket shower.” The dinners were all really pretty good…and kept us from having to seek for local food, which might not have been safe or palatable. Once it was dark we paid for electricity for 3 hours and could then watch a movie on our laptop.
I am not sure how to describe my short night of sleep. Bed nets are not my favorite thing, especially in the heat. You kind of feel like you are being smothered. But that wasn’t all…I kept feeling jabbed by something sharp. As it turned out there was a spring that was in the mattress that came right through into me. I did bring a sheet to go over the sheet they provided and was supposed to protect us from…things. But in the process of investigating the metal protrusion I got a good look at the mattress…bad idea. Better to not see what you are sleeping on! I am sure it was at least 40 years old. They, of course, just put their sheet on top with no other protection. I was itching all night. I wasn’t sure if the mosquitoes were finding their way through the holes in the net or if the bugs in the mattress were finding a way through the sheets…so I was hot and sweaty and itchy and sleepless. I should have thought about taking an Ambien.
Morning came when the bare bulb overhead turned on with the roar of the generator. We had one hour of power for getting ready. Quickly we heated water in the electric teapot and filled the bucket with warm water for the shower. Armed with towel, plastic chair to put clothes on, soap, shampoo, etc., flip flops and the bucket & pitcher I headed to the public bathroom. It was best not to breathe through your nose in that place. I was hoping one bucket would be enough, and it was. The pitcher is a must. I’m not that good at rinsing my hair with handfuls of water. It was certainly better than no shower at all. I hurried to blow dry my hair and finish getting ready before the power went off.
Saturday training sessions for all the auxiliaries was my first assignment. They were supposed to have 3 or 4 talks in addition to mine. Seven minutes after we started they were done with their portion. I had 83 minutes of time to train! There were about 50 women in attendance. Concurrently Mike did the priesthood training. We then had the adult meeting and both spoke there. It was well attended with about 250 people.
We headed back for a repeat of the dinner and evening. This time we knew what to expect…I threw a towel over the bed for more protection from the spring and whatever else was under me. We watched “Walk the Line” on battery power until 1am. Afterward I wondered if everyone else in the monastery enjoyed the Johnny Cash music! We survived the night.
Sunday brought the District Conference. As we got out at the church it seemed as if there were a thousand children surrounding us. They all wanted to touch the Mutokos…We had a great conference. I gave my talk in Tshiluba, the local dialect. It was longer than I wanted and a challenge to pronounce…I was pretty nervous. I compared it to how I felt just before plunging into space at the Victoria Falls Gorge! We had a wonderful missionary meeting after the conference consisting of all the ward missionaries from the district, including the 16 who were submitting their papers. There were 65 in attendance.
We visited the district president’s home and then headed for Mwene Ditu. Before leaving we were able to find room in the vehicle for giving 7 people from there who attended the conference a ride…9 climbed in! The others would be walking that same distance the next day…it would take us 1 hr 15 minutes in our vehicle and they would walk it in 5-6 hours. We hoped to avoid any storms. They would have cost us another 2 or 3 hours in delays getting through the mud. 5 minutes after we got into our hotel room in Mwene Ditu the heavens opened up for an hour giving about 2 inches of rain!
- Giving a lift to Mwene Ditu
We enjoyed the hotel immensely. It was right out of the 40’s or 50’s. Very clean with a beautiful bathroom, but no running water! That is a thing of the past for rural DRC. They also had a generator on in the evening so we had power. The rains brought a wonderful breeze and we enjoyed the coolest evening since arriving in the Congo 7 ½ months ago! It was like a breath of spring.
- Rain turned the streets to a river
- Rainy season does a number on the roads
The next morning we met with the branch president of Mwene Ditu and toured the rented building used as a chapel after doing the “formalities” in the municipal building. It was the nicest rented building we have seen in our mission.
- Mwene Ditu chapel
- Members at Mwene Ditu
By mid-day we were on our way back to Mbuji Mayi…to the KayBe Deluxe Hotel.
- KaBe Deluxe
After staying in the monastery this hotel really lives up to its name. At first glance it seemed a little shabby, but that was 3 weeks ago when we didn’t have as much hotel experience. This place actually has air conditioning and a swimming pool. We were given the heads-up to ask for room #4 and indeed it was the best room because it actually was 2 rooms…a bedroom and then a living room. It also has a mini refrigerator. The water seemed to only be turned on from 7 to 7:30 am…but this stay we had it during the day, too. Since Mike does branch business during the day I spend a lot of time here. I am glad to have my laptop with me. They have a restaurant, but it wasn’t wonderful. We at least know to trust the chicken and frites. There is an internet café right next door and that is a blessing to Mike as he gets about 40 emails a day and it is discouraging to come home to hundreds of emails to answer.
The longer we have stayed in Mbuji Mayi, the more comfortable we have become. I have had a chance to go to the local Marché with the branch president’s wife and that was a lot of fun. The blessing of having water and electricity cannot be overstated. The hotel has it, but most people don’t. The 3 branches here now will turn to 4 by years end and this will soon become a district. Missionaries will be sent here possibly within a year from now. It has huge potential for church growth. The people are wonderful and they make it a pleasure to serve here.
Mike has spent a lot of time working with the leaders here in Mbuji Mayi, in Mwene Ditu and Luputa as he has helped to train and to assess their needs. The hours and hours of interviews has brought the number of new Melchizadeck priesthood holders to about 40 with about that many more to interview and ordain in the future. We are taking home with us almost 20 new missionary recommendation applications for processing. We will be submitting applications to the church to split at least 5 of the branches in this area. There is not one church-built building and that is the next challenge. We only will be able to continue to work with this area for another 4 ½ months as it will then be in the new Lubumbashi mission under President Gary Packer.
