Ever changing

I think that this subject has been explored before, but it is a period of change again.

The changes taking place presently are the same as previous changes just different faces. The Gates were called to serve as Construction Missionaries to work with the Church's program to train members to develop skills to help build the numerous buildings contracted as well as future plans because membership is growing about a ward a month in this mission, most of the growth is in and around Kinshasa. Elder Gates taught two groups of students and was planning on a third group before their release but with the changes to their program becoming part of the Self Reliance program, there wasn't a third group. The Gates have taken temporary assignments like three weeks in Cameroon, Mission office, possibility of Kisangani which didn't happen, and other tasks like nets for the basketball court (concrete) near the chapel. They have dedicated hours and hours as well as thousands of dollars to improve conditions in an orphanage out on the edge of the city. This is the orphanage that was flooded last Christmas. The Gates along with Westland Construction (contractors for Kinshasa Temple) have rebuilt the housing area, a wall that will protect the property from flooding, new toilets, excavated the courtyard so the water will not get trapped and flood it again. To make the neighbors happy, they constructed a path along the new wall for them to get to their property. They have dedicated a lot of time and love to make their lives a little better. They received some information about departure and it looks like they may be leaving soon, October 7, 2014. Well we have mixed feelings, happy that they can return to loved ones in North Carolina and California but they will be missed.

This comes shortly after the departure of Bybees and before that the Moons - each leaves a void socially and spiritually.

The "body" count is likely to diminish further also. We know of no new couples assigned to our mission. It looks like the mission may have to close two couple apartments - a lot of work for the mission office. That is the bad news, the good news is that some of the furnishings from the Bybee's apartment is going elsewhere, we got two large plants and a painting from the Bybee Apartment, they are beautiful and remind us of them. The other good part is that American helpers are training their coworkers who eventually replace them.

There is ongoing construction everywhere. We wish to report that one project close to our apartment has been completed and is open for business - A hotel called the Beatrice Hotel. We haven't been inside yet but they are still in the "shake-down" (or is it shake-out period, not sure which is right. Shake-down maybe is the method of business in Kinshasa). They have had some events but most of the time it is quiet, a unique building.

Another change is to the PEF data base. The administrative side of PEF was shut down and replaced with CRM. It has been challenging because the technology used to develop the program is light years ahead of the available technology in our office and available in the Congo, just loading one page can take minutes and it may take ten screens to navigate to the page you need. I haven't been cleared to "add" information to a student file (hard to understand why) so Frère Didier as Loan Service Specialist is stuck with all the paperwork (or is it data-work) not only for Kinshasa but for Lubumbashi, Kananga, and Madagascar. I have been able to help some students with their on-line application for PEF loans which is also time-consuming. One day last week, we had three young men making application that finished the task in one day, they each took around three to four hours to complete them and that was a red-letter day because there were no power outages nor loss of connectivity. Elder Smith has been stuck by many little "gotchas" trying to complete his tasks. An added requirement for the student is to identify a person that can act as their mentor. First problem, they don't use the word mentor in French and they do not have a clue what a mentor is. The idea has merit but trying to get the leaders as well as the students to understand has been a challenge, then you get a student who doesn't speak English or French, only Lingala or Swahili - well "Katie bar the door".

We got "new" desks for our call center, a little odd but they will work. Because the computers are old and have been "personalized" by the volunteers using them, so it is loaded with stuff that doesn't have anything to do with PEF. When the desks were installed, they just pushed the computers with screens and keyboards, mouses etc. onto the floor. It took three successive "technicians" to put together four desks (we heard that they cost $4,000 US) and they didn't get it right but that is another long story. 

 

The volunteers just sat around and then claimed "their" machine and got them going somewhat but wires were tangled messes. The other two were not their concern. So I had some time and a little knowledge how to get the wires in the right places so I did it myself with the volunteers fuming a bit because it required that I disconnect "their" computer and interfere in their "studies", one comes to the office and practices English for his class at CALI and the other is taking an on-line English class through University of California and uses "his" computer. The other two "don't work" according to them, "no use trying, Sister Smith." I was able to get all four working. Now I turn them on when I get to the office and set the log-in page for the students that want to make application. We have also had people that want to register to ldsjobs.org another program for the Self Reliance Program. We are now officially called the Self Reliance Center of Kinshasa. Elder Smith's title is Mentoring Center Supervisor and I am "back office" support secretary ("no more 'missionaries' will be the 'face of PEF'" a phrase used by an operative in South Africa). So we labor without proper equipment but Mark is succeeding because he has his MacBook Pro and a wireless wifi device. Frère Didier also has his own laptop and wifi device or we would sit around and wait for screens to resolve. One day we are promised new computers, new networks, and phones then the next day we are told by another operative that they are not needed. So we just lurch along hoping it will get better so we can get back to contacting recipients to encourage them to fulfill their contracts.

I was asked to help with the choir one week and now I am the de facto ward organist. Today I was playing the prelude and Dieumerci Kalonji a former assistant in our office and the Stake Music Chairman came up to me and said the choir would sing two numbers, "can you play page 59 and page 5 and we will sing 5 right now?" We got through it but not my favorite thing to do. We went to the chapel Saturday for practice and stayed for an hour because one other brother (a white guy) came but no one else. What a surprise. They sustained a young man to be the music chairman for the ward and he has a nice voice but doesn't know anything else. He is handsome and wants to do his best, I like his attitude but he said, "Sister Smith will you help?" I hope he needs a tutor not someone to do it for him, I think not, but. . .

We have expanded our "known" shopping stops to around six regulars. Extra, Shoprite, City Market, Regal, and Boucherie - Charcuterie (a meat market très beau). Yesterday we went to Extra and spent $30 on vegetables and a little cheese, not complaining because most of it is local and not quite like an $8 head of lettuce from South Africa.

It looks like Elder Smith will have to endure one or two more amateur haircuts then he will be back to his professional barber, hope he is still in business.

We are not in Kansas anymore

They are ever "building" but never getting finished. There are hundreds of unfinished buildings in this city, Kinshasa. Some look like they were built in the "stone" age because of all the mold and dirt, not really a way of knowing. There has been one completion, the Hotel Bernice next to our compound. Some activity is seen in about ten buildings we pass every day but most are empty hulks. Some have one closed-in room with a laundry line strung from one corner to the other, we assume that a guard lives there but just a guess.

After a building is finished, the exterior is a perfect place to hang a billboard, some of them are massive. We have seen billboards taken down along Justice (an alternate way to the office), we were hoping that they had passed an ordinance to limit them but no, they replaced the old ones with bigger ones, I guess the views are not that great so why not make a buck.

  

The longer we are here the Place de la Gare looks better, no nothing has changed but we are seeing it as normal. At least the area has paved streets, sidewalks, street sweepers and police which do not exist in this sprawling city except police and they are everywhere.

  

We are officially participating in the implementation of the new PEF Self Reliance Program. The major change is that the stakes and wards have greater responsibility for the "management" of the program. The program uses computers and databases extensively making it challenging because so few have had any experience with computers, uploading, downloading, scanning, etc. as well as language barriers. Most of the population speak a dialect like Lingala or Swahili, and French is used in schools and offices. Women who work at home have limited experience with French making it difficult for them to understand what they need to do. So far progress is slow but Mark and Frere Mutombo are making progress on online registration. The Self-Reliance Center where we work is responsible for training the priesthood leaders and each stake is responsible for a Self Reliance Center in their own stake. We have been to three training sessions, one was called a Jobs Fair; the other two were meetings with the Priesthood leaders in six of the stakes instructing them how the new program works. I was the only female in two of the meetings for Priesthood, but where my companion goes there go I.

Self-Reliance Center Manager Russel addresses job fair crowd.

Our office is in the Seminary and Institute building and a larger building next to S&I is the chapel, the stake center for the Kinshasa Stake and the GB Ward where we attend. One day last week, Wednesday I think, we had all these missionary-looking youth coming into our building. I didn't see badges so no, they were not missionaries, but what a large group. The gathered in a room across the hall and started singing, typically what missionaries do, and they sang and sang for several hours. I asked an English-speaking person what was this gathering? They said that all the newly called missionaries from the Congo gathered to Kinshasa to get transport to Ghana for their two-week Missionary Training Center experience. Most of them are assigned to the Congo, either Kinshasa or Lubumbashi, and most of our missionaries come from Congo.

We have received help on our planting beds around the apartment. We asked that the soil be removed so no water buildup during the wet season. That was finished yesterday and hopefully we will be dry this year.

Mark joins Elder Gates and President Cook at basketball on Saturday morning with a lot of local kids. It is good for the kid in these three.

 We arrived a year ago August 6th, we just thought that we were fresh meat for the mosquitoes and had serious problems with them than but it improved somewhat during the wet season. Now we are having the same mosquito attack so it must be the dry season - these little "bugs" proves my theory that God had to create something that proves there must be opposition in ALL things, mosquitoes are at least one obstinate creature.

Chantal and Eric are French citizens that are in Kinshasa working for the church. They are great. We were invited to their house for Roclette a unique dinner using a tabletop barbecue. It is hard to describe but hopefully Mark has a picture. Included in this meal; cheese, small potatoes, cold cuts, spices, I forget what else. You assemble your choices in a little ceramic tray, insert into the Roclette and wait until the cheese bubbles.

We had a Sunday fireside with President and Sister Cook. With the changes occurring with the split in the Mission, the Kinshasa mission got part of the Lubumbashi mission. These areas are on the edge of civilization, one on the coast call Matadi, quite remote. In the other direction, to the Northeast to an area called Kisangani, a large city of 1.5 million people. President with his assistants, Sister Cook and Bishop Ngoy went and in four days, baptized 31 people out of 50 that wanted baptism. Some had some problems to resolve before they could be baptized. The pictures were amazing. They had three performing the baptisms, one in French, one in Lingala and one in Swahili. They did the same with the confirmation. They filled the Sabbath with this baptism service. They want to send missionaries and possibly with a couple but it will take a bit of time to get it all organized mainly because it is hard to find apartments that meet the requirements for missionary housing.

We try to encourage students to faithfully make their monthly payment which is usually only $5. Some of the recipients want to pay off the loan so they pay $100. When that happens, we treat them to a cake. Celestin is the recipient of one.