Mission President's Seminar Nov/2014

We always look so forward to going to Johannesburg especially me!! These come up every 6 months!  I can honestly say time has flown by.  We left Sunday afternoon and this time our plane was not canceled yeah!!!!  It's about a five hour flight on a nice South African airline.  In Joburg a haircut and color, a bathtub, beautiful clean hotel and mall, and wonderful food and friends await us.  The meetings didn't start until Tueday so that only gave us Monday to go to the temporal affairs offices, distribution center, and African shopping ( which by the way didn't happen)!  Meetings were held at the Hyatt Hotel from Tuesday through Thursday and we were to leave to go back to Kinshasa early Friday morning.  So not much time for relaxing.  But it was wonderful and appreciate all the Area Presidency and their wives do for this.  I was asked to lead the music Sister Hamilton took this picture of me leading the music with the picture if the Savior behind me!

 

Here is dad and I enjoying the great talks and information ! And sharing ideas with the other Mission Presidents.

Here is the whole group of Mission Presidents of the Africa SE Area and the Area Presidency.

This mission president seminar they planned a mini safari. It was like a petting zoo but no one wanted to pet these animals. There were lions and tigers and bears oh my!!! Here's the lions 

And zebras !!

And Red Hartebeest Oh My!!!

Then there were wild dogs right by the brown striped hyena

           This just gave us a taste of a real safari that we are going to in a few months.  We love having the opportunity to go to South Africa and to renew our commitment to help the Work move along here in Africa. Now back to the real world and sprint our last 6 months.!

Update on the Orphanage

Elder and Sister Gates, Elder and Sister George Smith, Elder and Sister Mark Smith, and Elder and Sister Roy Sneddon have worked and contribute to the orphanage since we were last there. The Sneddon family had desks made for the school and Elder and Sister Gates built and remodel the entire building that houses the children.  A new kitchen with shelves, a retaining wall to prevent the rain from coming into the bedrooms, a new shower and toilet. Storage bins for each child to store their personal items and clothes.  A water tank to store water!  It is amazing! Elder and Sister Gates will attain the Celestial Kingdom for this one thing! God bless the  Gates!!  I will show "Before" pictures.

And now TODAY!!!!!

New mattress and sheets and blankets

Storage bins for all the children. Look how happy they are!!!

Outside a retaining wall to prevent the rain going into their rooms!!! And a drain to collect the excess water!

Another wall around the orphanage to protect from others and the walking path that goes by the orphanage!

Stairs to walk down into the grounds

The school desks the Sneddon Family had made for the school!!!

  The water tower for clean water !

Toliet that flushes

Warm showers for the children look how excited they are!

Thank you all especially Elder and Sister Gates for making it possible!!!!!!!! Love you All!

October 2014 Where Did October Go?

We have been going through all of the missionaries apartments taking an inventory and showing them how to clean (deep clean)!  Thanks to Sister Gates and Sister Sneddon they organized and replenish the necessities of the 24 apartments.  Sister Jacky has been showing how to clean each Monday on their P-day.  We have been encouraging this with all this Ebola!  We are fine with Ebola there are some cases of it way up north in the DRC but apparently it is a different strain than the Ebola in west Africa .  Here are the Elders and Jacky after they have cleaned.

 President Cook has even gone and shown how to clean especially the bathrooms (his favorite)!  This has been so good for the Elders and Sisters to see their President being of service to them.  He says he has the best interviews while cleaning!  Here he is showing them how to really clean those bathrooms!

They are so happy and love how clean the apartment is! Aren't they the best!

Each Sunday Elder Sneddon does what he does best, teaches the English Sunday School class!  How great it is for those of us that don't speak french.  

If he isn't at church he is here at the office taking care of all the finances of the mission.  He and Sister Sneddon are the BEST!!!!!

 We went to Kananga this month and saw our good missionaries. This time we took Pascal with us to evaluate the apartments and get them up to standard.  After he worked so hard the three days we were there he said to me " I am strong like a lion in the jungle!"

He has the funniest sayings. We love Pascal.  We couldn't do what we do without him!!

We attended district meeting with the elders in Kanaga.  Here's President Cook teaching with them.

Another exciting thing that happened this month is the mission got a new car for the President of the mission.  It's so nice and I am sooo nervous that we will put the first dent in it!  It came just in time for our visit with Bishop Stevenson.  It's a Toyota Foretunner . Never heard of that model in America but it's like the Toyota highlander has the two back seats in the far back.

President Cook goes and teaches with his missionaries as often as he can.  He loves to teach with them. Here he is teaching with the sisters at the church after Sacrament meeting

Where ever we go President Cook seems to have a following of children.  Between his whistling like a bird, snapping his nose, squeeking his palms together or playing Simon Says  kids are drawn to him.  Here are some of the faces of the children we love!

HereisFoundation from the Orphanage.  We have gotten to be best buddies with him!

Don't you love those cheeks and of course her cute hair!  Here are three Amigos !

While in Boma we were able to see William Bryce Vaudi.  He's now 4 months old and is the cutest baby!  I can see a resemblance can't you?

William has two brothers Samuel and Micheal aren't they the best in their matching outfits!

But the best part of the month was having Bishop Gary and Lesa Stevenson come to visit us for 1 1/2 days! It was like having alittle bit of home! He came to visit different building sites and the temple site!  No they have not started the temple yet!

We went to look at a special meeting house that is a building that the Church rents.  When we arrive there was a group of saints there at the church and Gary decided to talk to them. Here is Bishop Stevenson talking to them and President Cook interpreting for him.  This was the best!!

Gary and Lesa agreed to have a meeting with our missionaries.  This was so great so they could witness that we have the best missionaries in the world! (And they sing the best too)!!!

Here is a little bit of Providence in the Congo-the Sneddons, the Stevensons, and the Cooks! And Lesa and I getting all caught up on family!

We then took them to the "beach" they were going to cross the Congo and visit Brazzaville and the missionaries over there. President Cook said we look like we are in jail!!haha

It was hard to say goodbye to them but how grateful we were to have them come to Kinshasa.  As soon as they left we were on the road again!