Barlows in the DR Congo

New Adventure for the Barlows

2010-04-06T11:30:00.000-07:00

If you enjoyed the Barlows in the DRCongo you will love Barlows in Uganda This is a new mission and another great adventure.

New Humanitarian Directors in the Congo

2009-04-10T08:59:00.001-07:00

Our replacements in the Congo have finally arrived and are in full swing. If you want to follow the Congo Adventure you must hook up to their blog and read about what is happening now.

It is called

http://moodysinthecongo.blogspot.com

Good things are happening and will continue to happen with this great couple in place. It is fun to read their impressions of this wonderful part of the world.

2009-04-01T05:58:00.000-07:00

No excuse, can’t even explain it – it has been very difficult to write since leaving Kinshasa. My Journal has no entries except . . .

Nov 5, 2008 Thursday
I am finally awake enough to think about a blog. We left Kinshasa .

So much has happened since coming home and so many mixed feelings have been hanging around us that we have not been able to put into words our thoughts.

We left Kinshasa excited to meet our daughter Christie and granddaughter Jenny in Nice, France and spend a great week. When we walked of the plane in nice there they were waiting for us.

All I could do was cry after not holding them for 19 months. We had a great week traveling around Nice and Paris, laughing, freezing (it rained and it was so cold we had to go buy coats).

Since it was so cold we found many opportunities to have rich, wonderful hot chocolate and pastries. We were on a mission to find the best hot chocolate in Paris... I think we found it many times.

Our homecoming was memorable with all the family at the airport to greet us. I was so excited I had to check my desire to run through the airport to find them.

Some of the grandkids were hard to recognize. I looked everywhere for Adam (middle) and couldn't find him only to find out he was standing right in front of me. He had changed the most.

Our first time to hold our two new grandchildren Samantha and Mari.

Who missed us the most? I think it was Rachel. she kept a calendar the whole time we were gone and knew to the hour how long we had left.

Matt and Shirlene had decorated the house with banners and balloons to welcome us home

Everyone loved their Congolese shirts we brought them and immediately put them on.

Waiting for us were a few things we had missed like FRESH MILK, rootbeer and microwave popcorn.

It didn't take Farrell long to get his glass of milk and toast our welcome home.

Kimberly had spend some time cleaning and spiffing up the homestead making it sparkle and she had decorated with our Congo treasures we had sent home. All the kids had chipped in and got us our favorite picture and hung it over the mantel.

We were now home without a car and our Torres sons came and parked their parents car in our garage for us to use. Their parents had recently left to go to Guatemala as mission president. They are like our own and we appreciated so much their thoughtfulness.

Mark took us to look at new cars and on the way we stopped at Temple Square. He had something to show us. There in the bottom floor of the visitors center was a picture of Luputa water project. There we were with all out Luputa friends. What a great memory.

Several times while on our mission Pres. Livingstone would ask me, “What are the ten things you are going to do when you get home?” or “What are the ten things you miss most about home?” My answer was always the same. “I try not to think about that so I won’t get homesick.”

Well now I am home and all the abundance of life in America hits you and you wonder if all of this isn’t just a bit overkill.

What was it that we had missed about home?
1. Standing under the shower and being able to open my mouth and taste the clean water. Actually Farrell said that it’s getting in the shower with an expectation that water will come out of the shower and it may even be hot water.
2. Going to the grocery store and finding anything you want. I cried the first time we went to the store as it seemed so overwhelming to see so much food in one place and that the price was so reasonable that I felt no guilt getting everything I wanted.
3. Driving down the street that had stoplights and stop signs and turning lanes and no pot holes.
4. Rules of the road – there actually are traffic rules and people somewhat obey them. We have encountered a few drivers that rival the Congolese drivers who seem to have no rules.
5. Playing with our two new granddaughters, born since we left on our mission.
6. Being cold – for 19 months we slept in a bed with just a sheet over us and we came home to the beginning of winter where we couldn’t seem to get warm.
7. Clean streets, garbage collection, the great law of no littering.
8. Airports that accommodate your needs, do not require bribes, have safe airplanes to ride in.
9. My mom. It took me two months to watch the video of her funeral. I wish I had some video of her. I miss my mom.
10. Family, family, family – calling them, visiting them, having dinner with them, thanksgiving , Christmas, New Years.

That is just a few things we have missed about home. But what about the Congo? What have we missed about the Congo.
1. Pascal, Eustache, the Moons, the Livingstones – our mission family - number one in our heartache.
2. All our friends – our church friends and our many friends we made doing projects – we receive emails from them and we love hearing anything about them and what they are doing.
3. The weather – I don’t ever remember being cold in the Congo except once when we visited Lubumbashi in the dry season and our hotel had no hot water. I couldn’t get warm for three days.- even the rain, though harsh at times left the world looking rejuvenated and everything grew with abandonment.
4. Wonderful bread – abundance of fresh fruit - $20 boxes of cereal.
5. Wivine, Mimi and Eric, our friends on the corner who sold us fruits, veggies and plants. Eric was my gardener and came regularly up to our balcony to tend to my multi. plants making sure I didn’t kill them.
6. Movie night every Friday night. Dinner and a movie at either the Moon’s or the Livingstone’s ( or the Thomas’ before they left).
7. Rationing of chocolate chips, coconut, rootbeer or any other treasure we were able to get from the US knowing that it was irreplaceable.(note that these are all food items)
8. 4 wheeling – always an adventure – my back will never be the same.
9. 24/7 with my companion. We had no choice but to spend our days together as we were not suppose to leave each other’s side. I miss that dependency and reliance on each other.
10. The presence of my Savior building, directing, inspiring and watching over all we did. I know he is still with me but our need is less today and the mantel of being a missionary is gone and so the feeling of his presence is less intense and I miss that.

So President Livingstone, there it is. I have thought of little else since we returned. Serving a mission really is one of the best times of my life. I am a different person. I have changed --- for the better I hope. I will never be the same.

And it is true what they say. “Once you go to Africa part of you stays in Africa.”

Africa, our friends and new family au revoir - Bittersweet

2008-11-11T06:03:00.000-08:00

We knew the time would come when we would say goodbye to Africa and all our new family. Such a bittersweet farewell.

Our flower sellers who kept us in fresh flowers (for a wee price) and Eric (far right) who taught me much French and learned some English to communicate with me. He kept my beautiful garden on our balcony alive and well.

Wivine and Mimi who kept us healthy with their fresh vegetables and fruit. Their stand was on the corner of our apartment block. I bought many a pineapple through the fence. Wivine never missed a chance to prod me into buying more than I needed. Many of our francs went to supporting their enterprise. I cried when saying goodbye and they cried as well. A big part of our life in Kinshasa.

The hardest people to leave behind were Eustache and Pascal. They have been our mentors, our protectors, our friends and our sons. We love them like our own and it hurts to think we may never see them again in this life.

Our planning wall. Here we listed all the things we did or needed to do for our whole mission. The board was full and as we looked it over we realized why we were tired and why we were always so busy doing good.

One last lunch in the mission kitchen. Sis. Moon knows how to throw a quick lunch together but it wasn't the food that was so good as it was the company.

Our replacements the Davis from Montana arrived excited to get to work and ready for anything.

Newly appointed Bishop Jean Pierre Nguwa became a dear friend and a great help with our projects as he had a company that could transport goods for us and helped us make the City of Hope project a success. He gave us some special gifts as we left including a beautiful statue of a Congolese woman we are sure was made of alabaster not ivory. We are unable to post a picture of his statue as it is without clothes.

Pres. Livingstone an Pres. Koliker (counselor in the area presidency) presented us with our missionary release certificate.

Pres. and Sis Livingstone held a farewell dinner for us at the mission home with the Davis, Moons, Eustache, Mami, Steven, Staci, and Pascal. We had a lovely dinner and then the Livingstones and the Moons sang us a farewell song, fun and very tender.

We gave memory gifts to each person.

Pres. Livingstone: a French Dominos game so now that we were leaving he could play games. Farrell wasn't much of a game player so game playing had been held to a minimum.

Sis. Livingstone: My prize gardenia bush, a piece of material to match her Congo dress so she would have a pagne to wear with her dress and a Congolese cell phone holder to wear around her neck because she could never find her cell phone.

Sis. Moon: A Congolese outfit from Lubumbashi that matches one I have. We were always going to get matching outfits. Just a little late.

Elder Moon: A water bottle with a fan to keep him cool on his Congo walks

Eustach and Mami: Mormon Tab. cds to remind them that English is their second language

Pascal: Farrell's guitar so that he would start singing again. It had been a long time since we had heard Pascal sing.

Elder and Sis. Davis: We bequeathed our wonderful bug zapper so they could keep the mosquito's under control.

Eustache's family has become part of our own. We were here for Staci's birth and claimed grand parenting rights to his children. He is a wonderful man who keeps the mission going and serves well in the church.

Farrell had to play his guitar one last time so sang one for the road, Long Tall Texan.

It was special to have the Kohlekers there when we left. He paid us a wonderful tribute for all we had done and made us feel very successful.

Temporal Affairs had a farewell party for us and gave us a certificate that everyone signed with their thoughts. We will treasure them as we read these comments and remember them.

Pres. Albert, director of CES for the Congo.

The new finance officers, Bro Jacob and Bro. Zenga.

Good food always when you have a party in the Congo.

Maguy, who manages all the church properties, a beautiful Congolese woman who values her heritage and always wears Congolese fashions and looks wonderful.

Pres. Tierry Mutumbo, travel and purchasing and Didier Mutumbo.

Leaving the Moon's is like leaving your right arm behind. They are the best of friends and worked hard to support us in all that we did.

Eustache came to the party. We are sure it wasn't just the promise of good food. He was the one who helped Farrell with his French when we first came, he arranged for our safe keeping when ever we had to go across the Congo River to Brazzaville, he translated many things for us and gave us sound advise when ever asked. We could not have done our mission without him.

Pres. Lunda is a counselor in the stake presidency and runs the distribution center in Kinshasa. He too became a dear friend.

Bro. Bufunga who is IT for the mission and Temporal

Affairs. We drove him crazy with our IT problems and he drove us crazy as we learned how IT works in the Congo.

Willie was a service missionary in the distribution center. He is a hard worker. We went to his wedding a couple of months before we left. It was our second wedding to attend in the Congo and his wife Nancy was a missionary while we were there. They married as soon as she was released from her mission.

Pres. Thierry Mutumbo is one of the most handsome men I have ever met. He was just hired by Temporal Affairs and is a very hard worker. We love him. He loves our Savior and emulates that in all he does.

Our two Bishops, Bishop Kuteka of the Malueka Ward (second from left) and Bishop Haboko of the Kimbwala Ward (far right). These are two spiritual giants that we had the privilege to work with and observe in their callings. They are dear friends and their families are choice people.

As good as they get Bishop Haboko and Pres. Mutumbo. They both gave us tributes at the program and said many kind things. I think they love us.

Bishop Da Tarr is a Liberian who came to the Congo and is now head of Temporal Affairs. He is a gentle, kind man with an unshakable testimony of the gospel. His personal story of surviving war and finding the church is inspiring.

Our Temporal Affairs family.

After an adventure of a life time it was time to leave our home away from home. This was truely a bittersweet experience and one we would not have missed for anything. We are better because of our experiences here. We will never be the same.

We arrived in the Kinshasa on April 7, 2007 and left Kinshasa Oct 23, 2008.

What a glorious adventure!

Neonatal Resuscitation Initiative, Our Last Hurrah!

2008-11-06T16:38:00.000-08:00

Time moves very quickly when you are busy doing the Lord's work. Time for us to go home was drawing close but we still had much to do. We extended our mission a month so that we could do the NRT initiative for 2008. That decision set us up for a whirlwind final two weeks in the DRC.

On Oct 11th we went to the airport and picked up our replacements Neal and Sandy Davis and the NRT Team, Dr. Michael Preece and his wife Merrilee and Dr. Steven Grover and his wife, Carolyn and daughter Emma.

It was a crazy and wild beginning for the Davis as we got them to bed Saturday night at about 12:00 pm and then were up early to take the NRT team and the Davis to church at Kimbwala Ward. This was and was meant to be a cultural experience for all as the ride to Kimbwala and the ward itself are part of the African experience. We hurried home to fix dinner and be ready to meet with our local Congolese doctors, Dr. Ngoy and Dr. Empamossa who were going to help with the NRT training this year.

The Neonatal Resuscitation Program has grown into a wonderful partnership with our Congolese partners. They have worked hard in Kinshasa running many trainings to perpetuate the NRT program.

DR. Arthur Ngoy and Dr. Valerie Empampossa were trained last year (Aug 2007) and have been perpetuating the training ever since. We have supported them in two trainings this year as they have tried to make sure that every birthing attendant in their Catholic system has the benefit that the NRT training provides. We have grown very close to these two doctors and have had a wonderful opportunity to get to know them.

This year for the first time it was decided to use the local doctors to teach the training under the supervision of the NRT team from the US.

Kinshasa doctors, Dr. Empampossa and Dr. Ngoy.

The plan was to help these doctors develop a plan for the country and then have them manage the training and follow up. We asked Dr. Ngoy to come up with a plan for perpetuating the training and to help us see where he felt the program could go.

He came back with the idea that he could work first with the Catholic System of which he is a part and then spread out to the Protestant hospital systems and eventually to the government hospital systems. His needs were manuals, training kits and resuscitation kits for those who are trained. He arranged for us to collaborate with a hospital in Lubumbashi to extended the training even further this year. We met with Dr. Kaluiba in Lubumbashi and found an enthusiastic partner.

The program for 2008 was set up to test this idea as we held 2 trainings in Kinshasa and then flew to Lubumbashi and did two trainings. We had worked with Dr. Kaluba in Lubumbashi to identify possible trainers for that area of the country. We planned for 3 Lubumbashi doctors to come to the Kinshasa training and then return with the team to Lubumbashi for two more training sessions focusing on the Congolese doctors doing the training..

This was a big undertaking and required that the church NRT program place a lot of trust in these local doctors.

Training for Kinshasa went very well with 96 doctors, nurses, midwives and birthing attendants receiving the training.

The following day we flew 13 people to Lubumbashi: The NRT team consisting of Dr Preece, Sister Preece, Dr. Grover, Sister Grover and Emma Grover (daughter) along with the 2 Lubumbashi doctors Dr. and Dr. and Dr. Ngoy and Dr. Valerie , the Davis and ourselves. We were met at the airport by Dr. Ngoy's brother, head of a security agency, who gave us the VIP treatment. Dr. Ngoy was so excited to go to his home town of Lubumbashi and see his family for the first time in 3 years. He dressed for the occasion in a beautiful,intricately embroidered african dress.

The Lubumbashi training was held at our church building by necessity as the hospital did not have a place for the training. This was a real plus as the church is a beautiful building and was spacious, spotlessly clean, well furnished with tables and chairs and with a kitchen for preparing lunch and breaks.

The best reason for using the church was the beautiful clean bathrooms with flush toilets, toilet tissue, soap and paper towels. Dr. Ngoy stated, after coming out of the bathroom, “My that is like a palace.”

We had the ward bishop. Bishop Justin hosting at the building and another church member Deseri who had helped us set up the program who greeted people and helped us make sure things ran smoothly.

Relief society sisters catered the breaks and lunch and did a wonderful job. The training could not have gone smoother and the people attending seemed to enjoy their experience, were very animated and seemed to grasp the concepts fully.

Lubumbashi doctors

After each training we have a ceremony and present certificates to the participants and have a speaker give a short keynote address.

The first day the Providence Health Minister gave the address. He stated that two years ago they were in a national meeting with the Minister of Health and were discussing the needs of the DR Congo. The number one problem they faced was infant mortality. Their statistics show their death rate at 150/1000. They made some changes and tried some things and came back together a year later and found that their statistics had changed and actually gotten worse 165/1000 infant mortality. He prayed about what to do and how to help this problem and the missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints came to his office asking permission to do a training on Neonatal Resuscitation. He had heard of this program in Kinshasa and was very excited to have it come to Lubumbashi. He attended the first day training and said he was over whelmed with the simplicity of the training an the ability of all who attended to grasp the concepts and be able to take it back to their health centers. He was very appreciative of the materials that were given to help the health centers. He said this was an incident of having a problem, praying about it and God sending the answer. He then stated that we are not done until every infant born in the Congo has the benefit of the NRT training.

Our new champions in Lubumbashi are excited and have already started making plans on how to perpetuate the training, reaching out to smaller areas maybe even having them come into Lubumbashi for training or taking doctors out into the field to train

Our last night in Lubumbashi we were invited to dinner at the brother of Dr. Ngoy. His wife had fixed us a real Congolese meal and had their daughters sing for us.

they sang in English, Kumbaya. They ended by presenting each family with a gift. Our host stated he just wanted to say thank you for bringing the NRT program to his town and blessing his people with the gift of life for their children. He was very gracious.

The opportunities are endless and the chance for the church to support a national program seems very possible. We could not have asked for a more successful training this year. We have made wonderful friends who we will never forget.

Our prayers will be with the Davis as they plan for supporting the doctors in the perpetuation of this training and in planning for another training in 2009.

The Worth of a Girl

2008-10-03T03:24:00.001-07:00

What happens to the children of the Congo whose parents are killed in the wars or who die from aides? Where do the young girls go who are living in such poverty that their parents abandon them because they are unable to feed them. What happens to those girls who are left on their own to survive when there are no relatives or neighbors who are willing to help.

Young girls are at high risk everywhere here in Africa and often little value is put on their lives.

A few months ago the Parks, a missionary couple in Lubumbashi asked us to come and see an orphanage they had visited and felt was deserving of some help.

Maison d’Accueil Amani pour Filles Abandonnees is an organization managing an orphanage for girls who are abandoned or orphaned. The girls are at high risk for making it past their teen years. The people running the orphanage are beautiful, giving people who have a reverence for life and a Christ like love for children, especially those in difficult circumstances. Often the red cross will bring them girls they find who need some where to stay.

Today the orphanage supports 68 of these young girls from infants to 17 years of age. The girls come from Lubumbashi and from the war area. Many are brought to them by the Red Cross (CICR).

They have three categories of children: 1) abandoned girls, 2) orphans of both parents 3) girls from difficult situation such as divorce and poverty.

The leaders want to be able to help children find their parents, help them find a place in society and to employ them in gainful employment helping them take charge of their own lives..

We were very impressed with this orphanage as the compound was clean.

It had adequate sanitation facilities-showers and latrines.

They have a garden that the staff and children manage.

The children’s rooms were neat and orderly and there was no odor of uncleanliness in the rooms.

The children at the orphanage were clean and polite and appeared to be well cared for.

The needs for this orphanage were many including food, clothing and supplies. We looked at their request and saw a great project that would build and strengthen this organization.

They wanted to start a sewing school for the girls to teach them to sew there by giving them a profession to support themselves when they leave the orphanage.

The project supplied sewing machines, embroidery machine, and supplies to start a sewing school.

The monies generated from the sewing will go to supporting the orphanage.
There are two staff members who are trained seamstresses who will be the teachers and the girls will be given the opportunity to learn to sew and to sell what they sew at the market. The orphanage will also incorporate the church’s “Family health and Hygiene” program into their classes to prepare the girls for better health and avoidance of disease and illness
The project will become self sustaining as the orphanage is able to generate some income from the sales of the articles they will sew.

When we picked up the sewing and embroidery machines we didn't realize that we would have to assemble them along with their tables.

The girls got very excited when we pulled into the orphanage with the truck loaded down with boxes.

Assembling the machines is a technical job (where is Elder Moon when you need him - back in Kinshasa doing his real missionary work). We hired a technician to assemble the machines and went ahead with the ceremony for turning over the goods to the orphanage.

There was much clapping and singing and many thank yous. The girls were so excited to see the equipment coming into their home knowing they were going to get to learn to sew.

The orphanage asked us to keep the donation quiet as they feared that if someone found out they got all this equipment that they would be robbed. This had happened previously when someone donated some supplies to them and the whole neighborhood knew about the donation

The day after the ceremony we took the two sewing instructors to the store to purchase sewing material and notions to get their business going.

Having a love for sewing I was right in there pitching for the gold thread and the beautiful fabrics.

We had a great time SHOPPING! Some just stood to the side and rolled their eyes.

Fabric, thread buttons, snaps, hooks, needles, ribbons, lace decorative thread the pile kept getting bigger and bigger.

I told Pauline ,the shop owner, that we were on a budget of $500. She assured me that we would be well with in our budget and they continued to add things to the pile.

These two sisters were all business. You could see their brains working figuring out all the things they could make with these supplies and the opportunity to generate some needed income for the orphanage.

Pauline started adding up the bill - and adding - and adding -

Farrell watched the process getting a bit worried that we were way over our budget.

Finally Pauline announced the news - $830 grand total . . . . . . .

There were some gasps, some sighs and Farrell did a lot of choking sounds.

The instructors looked sadly at their pile of goods trying to decide what they should put back.

It was painful and wrenching as we watched them trying to figure out what was the best thing to do without.

Finally Farrell stepped up and said "Ca va." and pulled out the money to pay the price then leaned over to me and said "I think you just spent $300 of YOUR money. I was delighted - some of the best money I have ever spent.

All though we didn't put anything back, not everything on their list was purchased. They were not able to get the electric scissors they wanted very badly but that is give and take , right?

After we loaded the goods in the truck Pauline beckoned me to the second floor of her shop where she gave me a beautiful pink Congolese outfit. I think she felt rather guilty about not keeping a better handle on things but not that guilty - she took the money without flinching a bit

Can't wait to go back to Lubumbashi next week and see what those girls are learning and see if they have started generating an income yet. Can't wait!

You win some. You lose some.

2008-09-25T08:02:00.000-07:00

Early this summer we went to look at a new project submitted by OBIPHA, a handicap organization. They are located in the Kingaseke area and are trying to meet the needs in their community of the blind, physically handicapped, and mentally handicapped (specifically Autism).
They have no funding source but work together trying to help the handicapped be productive and learn ways they can generate an income. They have a school where they run a full curriculum for the blind, They teach sewing, hair design and nail care . They requested wheelchairs for their physically handicapped, supplies for their blind students, and support for a bakery they are trying to run as an income stream for the organization.

On our first visit we were greeted warmly to the neighborhood. The area was difficult to get to even with a truck as most of the roads are very narrow and not much more than walking paths. We met some of the blind students and the girls learning to braid and extend hair. The blind students are being taught to be pig farmers as it is a type of work they can manage.

They are renting a complex for their school and tables and chairs to furnish it. They have a small library and a few supplies including some sewing machines for their sewing class.

Emmanuel is President of the organization. He is also a minister in the Methodist church. The young man (center) is blind and was taught braille by a concerned member of the community. He now teaches the blind but he has no equipment other than his personal braille tablet and white cane. Next is Willymar, director of the center and a member of our church.

One of the blind students took us to see the pig farm that actually was a pig house. The pigs were boarded into different rooms of a house each room housing a mother pig and her young. It was impressive. I was snapping away pictures trying to hurry this experience along and get out of the pig house when . . .

I stepped off of a step and the floor beneath my foot gave way dropping my leg into a pit of some kind of liquid. My camera went flying and I was splayed out on the floor with my right leg down in this pit. Farrell and our guide pulled me out and took me outside where I examined my dripping leg for cuts – none were found – a miracle as the floor that gave way under my foot was a rusted piece of tin covering a hole. I was soaked to my waist in this liquid. Needless to say I smelled terrible. This area has no running water and all that was available was a bucket half full of water. Our guide grabbed a totally worn out wash cloth (a shredded rag) and started wiping my legs and shoes off. I squeezed out my skirt then dipped the bottom into the 1/2 filled bucket of water and then rung my skirt again. I rinsed my shoes off in the bucket and called it good. Our guide was so upset and Farrell looked like he was going to throw up at anytime. It was one of those times when you just pull up your pig poop skirt and say, ”Ca va” and move on

We headed back to our truck where I wiped down with some antiseptic wipes and lathered my arms, legs and hands in antibacterial gel and called it good. It wasn’t good. I was having a hard time myself with my stomach wanting to fight back but, we had not finished our tour as we still needed to go to their bakery. I knew if we left I would just have to return later to see the bakery so I opted to just finish the tour as this area was such a difficult place to get to.

We all jumped in the truck and headed for the bakery. I noticed that Farrell turned the air conditioner up full blast and everyone opened their windows with some even hanging out their windows.

Now I know this is a bad story to tell to you who are considering a mission but let me reassure you. . . I survived. I didn’t get a bruise, a cut or a scrape from the fall. I didn’t develop any terrible disease and best of all I got over it. We actually don’t talk about it and I dare anyone to mention it as it is best forgotten.

My camera literally bit the dust and has not worked since. Elder Moon, true to his form, is repairing it. I loved that camera so I encourage him to try whatever he can do to make it a survivor. Last I heard he had sanded down a drill bit small enough to work on the camera and is building a new part for it. I have no doubt that before we leave I will have my camera back.

As the camera was dead I didn't get any pictures of the bakery which was just a cement building with open windows and door, a wooden trough where they mixed the dough and a large brick oven into which they were putting loaves of bread with a big wooden paddle. It out smelled my skirt and we were amazed at the productivity of this little building out in the middle of no where accessed only by a rutted trail. The handicapped students were working in the bakery to earn money and they were selling everything they could make, their need being more supplies to boost their production so that they could increase the income which would support the students and the association.

We went to work developing a project from what we had seen on our visit -- the project which has ever since this ordeal been affectionately called the PIG POOP project.

We wanted to help them develop an income stream with their bakery but it didn’t quite meet our guidelines so we settled on putting the support to the Blind School.

The products we needed were not available in the Congo and we couldn’t get them sent in through the church (customs issues) so we went to some priests who have dedicated their order to the support of the blind. They ordered the supplies in from Europe. The list of goods included: computer, braille typewriters, braille notebooks, braille math system for learning math, audio watches, white canes, braille paper, plastic tables and chairs and 10 wheelchairs to help the physically handicapped in the organization.

When we picked up the braille typewriters they were very dirty and not in good repair. These machines are much like the old, old typewriters before electric.. They were suppose to be refurbished but we had to get Elder Moon to work his magic to get them in proper working order.

We held a closing ceremony at the center and one of the blind students serenaded us.

Farrell explained the Family Health and Hygiene program the center was going to offer to the community in an effort to help the community improve their management of family health and the avoidance of disease.

The closing ceremony was hampered as the wheelchairs were not delivered as promised. They didn’t come till the next day. We left the ceremony thinking the w/c would be delivered later in the afternoon but it didn’t happen. The w/c recipients thought that, Emmanuel, the Assoc. President had absconded with the w/c and they became very angry. He was roughed up and his phone was stolen. It was not a very pleasant situation but the next day the chairs were delivered and given out. This incident put a dark cloud over this project and caused us to second think our desire to help this group. We had thought this organization was stronger and more united than this and it was upsetting to have Emmanual treated with such disrespect.

Not our favorite project but one that will benefit people. We wished we had left the wheelchairs out of the proposal but then again we have to remember how desperate these people must feel when they are trying to survive in such poverty and have been mistreated for so many years. We hope that the blind school will be stronger, which it undoubtedly will be and that those who are trying very hard to be independent and overcome poverty will be strengthened by the supplies that were provided.

(Yes that is a Congolese dress. I needed a new outfit after this project)

Here is a tender photo of a man who came to the ceremony to receive a cane. He is blind and has had his left leg (below the knee) amputated. He was so excited to get a cane but as he left I caught this picture of his shoes. I wondered how he was walking in this rough terrain, blind and with a prosthetic in those worn out shoes

Oh my head Hurts!

2008-09-24T09:22:00.000-07:00

Here in the Congo it often feels as if time has stood still for the last 100 years and you are just an observer looking back in time.

Children are taught to carry a hughe amount of weight by balancing it on their heads. Walking is the main way of getting around in the Congo as few people have cars or other transport. It isn't a new idea, in fact it is an ancient idea but here in the Congo some things never change.

Every day you can see people bustling to get to the market. Their pace is fast and their posture erect - must be why they have such good posture.

I remember as a teenager walking with a book on my head trying to balance it. I found it very difficult. I wanted to improve my posture. Posture is not a problem here. I have never heard a mother here say "Stand up straight Johnny, don't slouch.

Enjoy these pictures. I have been collecting them to share with you over our whole mission. It is such a part of Africa.

big or small it doesn't seem to make much difference.

A baby on the back and a full bowl on your head leaves your hands free to do many other things.

Some people can carry everything on their head they will need when they set up their road side stand. Just keep piling it on

It is the way. Many women even carry their purse on their head rather than carry it.

This is full load!

Boiled eggs are a big lunch time treat and in the morning you may see a man hurrying down the road with the eggs piled twice as high as this man has. I keep missing the big shot because I am always so amazed they he will scurry in and out of traffic, balancing this huge column of eggs on his head with out any hands to steady it. I get so engrossed watching the balancing act I forget to take a picture.

Well, you never know when you may need a stool so you better carry one along.

We stopped these ladies in Mweni-Ditu on their way home at night from a day at the marked. I wanted the picture of the sewing machine on the head but everyone wanted their picture taken. When I had snapped the picture they wanted to be paid for me taking the picture. I refused and told them I don't pay for pictures. They weren't happy.

Learning at an early age. That yellow crate is full of soda pop bottles.Heeeaavy!

Nothing is wasted in the Congo. Often you will see people gathering wood from a fallen tree and then they take the wood home and make charcoal out of it which they will use for their cooking fires and sell for some income.

Want a scarf? Get it from the scarf lady. She has at least 100 scarfs on her head any of which she will sell you for a price. The price being double for a mondeli.

When you drive down the street you see people toting their loads on their heads where ever you look.

Aha, they must have got some new chairs at a good bargain.

When you have to tote a baby on your back and carry your bundles you shouldn't forget how handy it is to put one of the loads on your head.

Another crate full of large bottles of beer. We once saw a man carrying a crate of beer on his head and one crate in each hand held only by his finger tips. Again I was so fascinated I missed the awesome picture. I must add he didn't look like it was a very heavy load but we know different.

Women daily gather greens from the garden and tote them to market to sell. These three are dodging traffic as they cross a very busy thoroughfare.

My favorite has to be the bread ladies. Every day, several times a day you will see woman picking up bread at the Victoire (a large bakery). They carry it back to their neighborhood where they sale it Bread is a main stay and often people have a loaf of this bread along with a cup of tea for breakfast. Lunch may be a handful of peanuts, a banana or another piece of bread. The only real meal that is eaten is the evening meal which mainly consists of foofoo, rice and beans with ground greens and maybe a little fish or chicken (but meat only on a good day).

Where ever we have traveled we see people gathering sticks to make the charcoal. It is a very important fuel.

The hardest job is the toting of water for daily needs. It is endless and requires all to participate. It is unbelievable that a child can carry this much wait on their head. It isn't easy and they usually walk/run trying to shorten the distance to home.

The path is often steep and makes it rather treacherous for carrying a heavy load.

This is one of my favorite pictures. I didn't take this one. But I love it, not sure why. Maybe it is because it is just sooooo Africa.

Remember the chicken lady - another favorite from Luputa

Returning home after spending a day at the Marche sewing beautiful Congolese clothes.

Don't you Love it! Very African!

Marie . My Friend . My Sister

2008-09-11T05:33:00.000-07:00

Marie Jose. the Mother Teresa of Luputa

Marie is the head nurse of Maternity at Luputa General Hospital. We first met her when she came to the NRT training in Kinshasa in Aug 2007. Armed with a Neonatal Resuscitation Kit, she went back to Luputa and trained all her staff in maternity how to use the skills she had learned in the NRT training and then reached out to other clinics in the area and trained them.

One Sunday morning we got a call from a very excited Marie. She was crying and laughing saying, "Hallelujah, Praise God. Praise the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for teaching Marie Jose how to resuscitate babies. We just had a hard case. They said the baby was dead but I went through the algorithm and it worked, the baby started breathing. Hallelujah,we are saving babies in Luputa!"

We would not have ever started the Luputa Hospital Project if it had not been for Marie Jose. She was the one that invited us to the hospital and showed us what they were working with and convinced us to get the church to help.

On our last trip to Luputa, after the ceremony for the hospital project, Marie invited us to her small clinic she had started to care for the very poor.

The clinic has grown into an orphanage as she finds children without parents who need help. She is often brought children who are starving and need medical attention. She also helps widows with children feeding them and having the mamas help with the orphans. Presently she is caring for 40 orphans. This does not include the widows and their children.

On our visit we held a baby that was so malnourished and weak she could hardly cry.

This child had been found next to it's mother who had died.

No one knew how long the baby had been left on it's own but the baby was brought to Marie and she is keeping the baby at the clinic and caring for her.

This little girl was born in Marie's clinic and has lived there her whole life. Her mother died in childbirth. Her home is with Marie at the clinic.

Tears flowed as we were introduced to the 40 children she is trying to support without the benefits of a real orphanage. We tried comforting this baby but it wasn't until Marie took her in her arms that she cuddled in and found some comfort.

Marie has no where to house the children so she farms them out to families at night so they have a secure place to sleep and then they come back to her clinic during the day and she and her staff care for them.

They feed the children once a day a gruel and as you can see they are anxious to get it.

The clinic is a small 3 room structure with a small office a birthing room/exam room and a larger room where patients lie on the floor on blankets recovering from birthing a baby or from illnesses.

The birthing of babies is done under rather primitive conditions. The room was clean but without any equipment except a birthing table.

The day before we had given Marie a gift from Farrell and me. We gave her a stethoscope and a pair of nursing scissors. She was so excited and showed them to the hospital director and the staff. When we visited her little clinic we noticed that the nurse on duty had the stethoscope around her neck and the pair of scissors were sitting on the side table by the birthing table. It looked like she had found a good use for her gift.

On the wall of the birthing room is the NRT algorithm, handy for those difficult babies.

In the office was a small table that held the medicines she had stocked which were very few. There were also some vitamins. She tries to get vitamins and minerals donated where and when ever possible to supplement the diet of these children. Her supply was very meager.

We sat down in the small room, so close our knees touched. With us was Sis. Livingstone, Sis. Parmley and Sis. Moon besides Farrell and Me. She told us of her desperation for help. She wanted to know if the church could help support her orphanage or build her a dormitory to house the orphans. Both of these requests are outside of the guidelines for the church humanitarian services. We cried with her as she explained her dream of having a safe place for the orphans of Luputa.

Our hearts went out to her and so did some of our personal monies as none of us could think of any other way to help.

Marie is an ministering angel to her fellowman. Her hopes and dreams are all about how to help others. She is very outside herself in her wants and desires always trying to find ways to help those in need.

Marie is my kindred spirit. We are sisters. I love her and her tears about broke my heart. When we return home I will miss her tremendously. She reminds me of the song from Don Quixote, "To Dream the Impossible Dream," as her dream at this point does seem impossible and her task she has taken on, overwhelming.

From Don Quizote:

ALDONZA : Why do you do these things?

DON QUIXOTE: I hope to add some measure of grace to the world.

Whether I win or lose does not matter.

Only that I follow the quest.

ALDONZA What does that mean... quest?

DON QUIXOTE: It is the mission of each true knight...

His duty... nay, his privilege!

To dream the impossible dream,

To fight the unbeatable foe,

To bear with unbearable sorrow

To run where the brave dare not go;

To right the unrightable wrong.

To love, pure and chaste, from afar,

To try, when your arms are too weary,

To reach the unreachable star!

This is my Quest to follow that star,

No matter how hopeless, no matter how far,

To fight for the right

Without question or pause,

To be willing to march into hell

For a heavenly cause!

And I know, if I'll only be true

To this glorious Quest,

That my heart will lie peaceful and calm

When I'm laid to my rest.

And the world will be better for this,

That one man, scorned and covered with scars,

Still strove, with his last ounce of courage,

To reach the unreachable stars!

In the Congo there are thousands of people like Marie who care for orphans. Our hearts go out to them as they try to "right the unrightable wrong" done to these children. May the Lord bless them and keep them safe and may we all find ways to share our blessings to bless others.

Luputa General Hospital - Getting better every day!

2008-09-05T23:42:00.001-07:00

Last February we reported on the hospital in Luputa which was providing care for many people with very little supplies and a dilapidated facility. The church approved a project to strengthen the hospital and a second project to support a pre-natal program. The closest medical care to Luputa is Muene-Ditu a 2 hour drive by a 4x4. Of course no one has a 4x4 so it actually means a 2 day trip walking or by bicycle

The biggest problem was getting the equipment we had gathered transported out to Luputa. We aren't talking about a few boxes, we are talking about

20 hospital beds with vinyl mattresses

operating table

4 surgical instrument kits (1 birthing kit, 2 cesarean kits and 1 laporatomy kit)

newborn kits

400 Family Health and Hygiene manuals

ultrasound machine for the prenatal program.

We included 10 pair of scissors, nursing and bandage scissors. We were told on our last visit that they only had one pair of scissors in the whole hospital. Every nurse needs a pair of scissors in her pocket, kind of basic equipment. At least that is what I was told in my nursing class.

Dr. Muliele, a member of the church and an OB/GYN physician was instrumental in helping us find quality equipment to purchase and when we found a vendor for the beds we negotiated that they would deliver the beds to Mbuji-Mayi and then we would have to figure out how to get them on out to Luputa, a 4 hour 4x4 drive. We did know of someone who had a large truck in Luputa, our water contractor, Dominique Sowa. We called and asked for his help. He not only committed to transport the hospital beds and the operating table but had his office in Mbuji-Mayi pick up the equipment at the airport go to the mattress factory in Mbuji Mayi and pick up the mattresses and deliver everything to Luputa.

The week before we went to Luputa we got a call from our water site monitor, Daniel, telling us they were delivering the beds to the hospital and the people were dancing and singing in the streets. Wish we had got a picture of that.

Saturday morning was set as the time for a little ceremony and turn over of the equipment.. Elder Parmley, our Area President, consented to represent the church and give the supplies to the hospital. There was much excitement as we arrived Saturday morning.

We arrived early as we wanted to set up the equipment for the ceremony and make sure everything was in good order. A crowd had already started gathering.

Elder Moon unboxed the operating table and proceeded to put it together. He had a lot of help as all the hospital staff wanted to be in on the excitement.

Dignitaries started arriving including the Territorial Health Administrator and several government people who the hospital had invited.

The children gathered at the gate and wanted also to be in on the excitement. We gave them pieces of the bubble wrap from the packing boxes and they had a lot of fun popping the bubbles.

Sister Moon and Sister Parmley kept them busy by teaching them songs and had them singing in English without much difficulty.

The hospital looked much different this trip as they had painted and cleaned and it was looking very good and much improved.

The ceremony was conducted by Daniel Kazadi, our water site manager and by the hospital administrator.

The District Health Administrator spoke at the ceremony and thanked the church for remembering the hospital and their needs. He said that because of the attention of the church to these needs the health department of the province was trying to help the hospital also to upgrade their supplies and improve their system.

Then Elder Parmley spoke and Farrell translated his comments into French.

Elder Parmley told the people about his career as a Cardiologist. During his career he was president of the Cardiology association in the US and head of a large hospital in San Francisco. He praised the hospital staff for their good efforts. He counseled them to take care of the gifts they were given and improve the health care of their community.

I remembered when we first started dreaming about this project. We could see so many needs and wondered how we could strengthen them and help them improve the communities health. The Lord truly inspires us as we do this work. We took their wish list and soon narrowed it down to what we could do in an area initiative and it didn’t seem like much. But when we saw the improvements they were making in anticipation of getting these new supplies and saw that the district health officials were taking note and starting to support the hospital with some help, we realized that what the church provided was a catalyst for the community to help themselves.

The program included a tour of the hospital and this was an experience for those who had not yet seen what this hospital was working with.

We needed to do some training with the ultrasound machine but before we could do the training Elder Moon said he could hear something loose, rattling in the machine. He immediately dismantled the machine and found a screw had come loose and needed to be put back in its place. He also tightened up all other connections. Our driver Alphonse was itching to get his hands on the machine. He told us he was a technician and he could fix it. Elder Moon graciously allowed him to tightenp some of the screws. He was very serious as he worked on the machine and was very proud of his assistance.

Much more is needed here at the hospital but the few things the church has supplied will help considerably, The morale of the hospital has increased and has helped the staff take pride in their work. Just having the church recognize their needs and offering some help gives them hope that things can get better.

This was a shining star experience of our mission. A dream, a lot of work and finally success. And yet again we are reminded how impossible this mission would be without Heavenly Father's influence, opening doors, providing earthly angels to help us and guiding us in the direction we should go. Humanitarian work is working hand in hand with our Savior. We realize we are limited in our ability to see the big picture. We have learned to rely on the promptings of the Spirit to guide and direct us in His work.

Anna Iola Evans Sanders

2008-09-02T03:54:00.000-07:00

When we left on our mission to Africa we left behind our aged mothers - aged but in good health. You always worry about what you will miss being gone on a mission for 18 mo.

This week I was notified that my mother had fallen and was deteriorating rapidly. The last few days have been sorrowful, joyful, tender and sweet. I have seen miracles happen. I have seen a brother who not so long ago struggled with his own relationship with his Father in Heaven bless my mother with peace and tranquility for her last hours here on earth. I have seen my children band together and bond in a sweet collaboration of caring for their grandmother in their mother's absence.

I had thought first that I must quickly find a flight back home to help with my mother's care and be a part of this experience but after much prayer and contemplation I realized I should stay in Africa.

I remembered when I left Utah my mother, suffering from dementia, struggled to make sense of all that was happening with us leaving and going to the other side of the world. Our last goodbyes were sweet as her mind cleared and she very firmly hugged us and told us to go and enjoy our experience. She would try to be there when we got back but she was 90 yrs old so she wasn't making any promises. She confirmed what my heart had already known telling us she supported us fully and wanted us to go and have this mission experience. She told us not to worry about her, that she would be just fine. All this was said with a very clear mind and without any hesitation.

I remembered all of this as I made the decision not to return home for her final hours on earth. It was the right decision, I knew it at the time and I have had it reaffirmed now that she has gone.

I have monitored her care and kept my own vigil through our SKYPE connection. This morning as I had full view of her bed and was observing her breathing, I was chatting away with Nathan who had come to sit with his grandma. My other children had left the room. Very peacefully her breathing just stopped and together Nathan and I witnessed her departure from her earthly body. Sweet . . tender . . . peaceful.

I feel so blessed to have witnessed this departure. I feel blessed by my children who have shown such sweet tender mercy to their grandmother. I feel a boundless love and gratitude for my brothers who have sustained my mother, watched over her and cared for her in my absence.

I am grateful to a loving Heavenly Father who guides us, directs us, teaches us and refines us as we strive to get through this life in a manner that will be pleasing to Him.

Thank you my sweet family for your tender mercies. Thank you for loving my mother. Thank you for loving me. And mom, thank you for loving me also.

Anna Iola Evans Sanders

Nov 15, 1915 - Sept 2, 2008

Luputa, Our last Hurrah!

2008-08-25T08:51:00.000-07:00

One thing about coming to the end of your mission you have to start saying those goodbyes. We made our last trek to Luputa and it was wonderfully sad.

Aug 7-11 2008

This trip we traveled with Elder and Sister Parmley, Quorum of Seventies and he is also our Area President over the South East Africa Area, Pres. and Sis Livingstone and Elder and Sister Moon (Mission finance and Mission Sec.).

Pres. Kasadi, Counselor to the Mission President, joined us for the trip when we reached Mbuji Mayi.

After hooking up with our drivers we headed to Muene-Ditu. The dry season was continuing and the roads were bumpy and dusty. It is always a site to see the people along the road and see what they are carrying from place to place.

The roads are jarring to the body and sitting facing the side of the truck doesn't help the car sickness any.

When we arrived in Muene-Ditu it was 7:00 PM. The church members were sitting in the dark in the garden of our hotel waiting for Elder and Sister Parmley to arrive so they could have a meeting with him. There were about 25-30 people including children and babes in arms.

Pres. Livingstone and Elder Parmley had prayer and then spoke to the members. This little branch of 97 members of the church in Muene-Ditu is growing. There are no missionaries in this town. The members are trying hard to draw together and build a strong foundation. After the meeting we gave each member one of the rolls we had purchased at the bakery in Mbuji-Mayi. They had been waiting a long time and were hungry.

A view from the balcony of the hotel in Muene-Ditu. It is called the Delux.

Dinner in the dining room which we brought ourselves. Sis. Livingstone is showing off her headlamp. She is always prepared knowing that electricity is a luxury and she likes to read before she goes to bed.

The next day on our way to Luputa we stopped and visited the Catholic Monastery we pass about half way to Luputa. It is so strange to see this beautiful complex right in the middle of the Congo where there is no towns to speak of. It has a beautiful chapel with stained glass windows and is surrounded by a school and living quarters for the staff.

We had our pictures taken with some sisters who were all dressed alike and looking very beautiful.

We arrived in Luputa by about 11:00 am and went straight to the church where we were greeted by the district Presidency. They were in the process of planning District Conference and were excited to have Elder Parmley come to Luputa. They don’t get to see General Authorities and were so excited to have him come.

We had to go check in with the government, a courtesy more than a necessity. We had our passports checked by the immigration officer and were invited to visit with the Territorial Administrator.

He was very warm and thanked us as a church for all the good things we were bringing to his territory. He knew we were doing a project for the Luputa Hospital because the 20 beds we had ordered had been delivered a few days earlier. We had received a call from Daniel our site monitor, telling us that the people were dancing in the streets and singing as the beds were being delivered to the hospital.

We then went to the Catholic Mission , our home away from home to get settled in.

Sister Parmley and Sister Livingstone got busy and made P&j sandwiches for everyone and then we all headed out to show Elder Parmley the water and Cassava projects.

Cassava Project:
The church has partnered with a research organization called IITA. They are working to find cassava varieties that produce well, are disease resistant and have more food value than the plants currently being used in Africa. They move into a community and organize co-ops, plant cassava cuttings and then use those new plants to propagate more fields of cassava. Cassava is the major food source for people in the Congo. The church is funding this project to help the people be more productive in there farming.

Well the planting of the fields was late and the dry season started early so the fields have had very low production since the planting in April. IITA is going to borrow cuttings from another project to supplement our project and replant the cutting fields an start the co-op fields without delay. Eventually we hope this project feeds many people. Before the project is finished the co-ops will be producing their own plants and propagating to keep the harvest going. IITA is in the process of training the farmers the best farming methods and helping them be successful. Right now there is not much to see but we have great hopes for the future.

It had rained early in the day and the road to the water project was a bit muddy.

Luputa Water Project.
Phase one of three phases is going well. The catch basin for the water project is finished and 6 sources have been captured to feed into the pipelines. This first phase will take water to the first village. The community has dug several feet of trench but the large pipe has been delayed in route but hopefully will be to the area by Sept. 1st. Meantime, the trenching for the large pipe is being worked on every day by the community. The local RADIO STATION comunicates to the villages whose turn it is to work, how many people are needed and where to report for duty. The small pipe for the village is being laid and buried. The community enthusiasm remains high and the community water committee is working well with ADIR the contractor. We will turn this project over to our replacements in October.

Daniel, our site monitor finally got his Moto and is so excited. He has wheels. Only problem is he hit a goat the other day. The goat is fine but Daniel has a pretty good limp. Farrell said we were going to start calling him the "Goat Killer."

Saturday morning we had scheduled the Ceremony for the hospital project. Look for that in the next blog.

After the hospital ceremony the Parmleys and the Livingstones went to the church for district meetings and we went back to the mission to prepare for a water project meeting with the water committee and the contractor. On the way we found a dressmaker on the side of the road who had pretty Congolese dresses. Sister Moon decided to buy one and we had to go to the Marche to find some fabric and then the man would make her dress.

While Farrell met with the site monitor before the meeting the Moons and I went to the Marche. I were looking for a patchwork dress like this one. It is made of fabric ends and is just put together like a patchwork..

I had bought one the last time I was in Luputa but had given it away and wanted another one. We didn’t find one but we did find a crazy dress that was loose and cool. Sis. Moon found some fabric and we took it back to the dressmaker and he said he would have the dress made by the next day..

We got back to the mission and the water meeting was already well underway. The meeting was productive and Farrell felt like all the concerns and problems from our last visit had been resolved now, which was a great relief. The biggest problem was getting the workers up to the site to do the trenching. The new truck had not come yet so ADIR arranged for a truck from another project to be brought over and it solved the problem. The project truck is in Kinshasa and in the process of being driven to Luputa. (I didn't know there was a road from Kinshasa to Luputa but Domonique Sowa, the contractor, assured us there was a road but I can't imagine the condition it must be in. Pray for the truck..

After the meeting Farrell came back with us to the Marche. I had to get a chicken basket. I, again, had bought one last visit but had given it away. I have got to stop doing that.

Sis. Moon had to have one too and then we had to ride with them for the rests of the trip, in the car and on the plane. It was worth it to have a chicken basket.

Sunday morning Alphonse showed up with sister Moon’s dress which she promptly put on and wore to district Conference.

Many community dignitaries showed up for District Conference and Elder Parmley took the opportunity to preach the gospel and testify of Jesus Christ. He talked about the Disciples and their death , then the Apostasy and then the Restoration. He explained it so simply using scriptures from the bible and it was a very spiritual experience to hear him teach.

Farrell was asked to speak also and talked about his father and how hard he and his mom worked to help the church grow. He asked if the members were willing to give 100% or were they 10% or 40% members. He challenged them to be 100% members.

After conference Marie Josee our great friend and the nurse for the maternal care at the hospital invited us to visit an orphanage she had established and we accepted. More about that experience in the next blog.

We had one more visit to make before we were through as we had been asked to come to the Catholic’s health clinic/hospital. They have a very nice complex and are building a new wing for patient beds. They have no equipment and there were hardly any patients there when we visited. They have a building where they treat people with TB and there was a woman who had been bitten by a snake. She was sitting with her family on the grass and she looked terrible. The Nuns told us they feared she was not going to make it as she was not getting any better. They have a nice primary and secondary school . They would like some help with medical equipment. We wish the church could help everyone but that isn’t possible. We are winding down our projects list now as we have spent our 2008 budget and then some.

Before dinner we decided we needed to take the Moons on a tour of the village. Walking from the Mission down through the village is an experience and the Moons just had to experience it. When you start out all the children come running from everywhere and follow you. They want to talk to you using the few greetings they know in English. They want to feel your white skin and your hair. Sister Moon's long hair was irresistible. It is difficult to take pictures as the children all want to be in the picture and if not their face they want their hand in the picture. After about an hour of this walk you are more than ready to seek refuge back at the mission.

Monday morning we were heading back to Mbuji-Mayi by way of Ngandjika. Before we left we had our picture taken. In the back are the Livingstones - the Moons on the Left and the Parmleys on the right - our drivers Omer and Alphonse in front of the Livingstones. The man in the white tee shirt is the priest and the lady in orange is the mama that takes care of us making sure we have water to bath etc. - Pres. Kasadi in the middle.

In Ngandjika there are about 100 members of the church. They were all sitting in plastic chairs in a yard singing hymns when we arrived. Elder Parmley and Pres. Livingstone spoke to the congregation. Farrell translated for Elder Parmley which was choice experience.

After this meeting we were off to Mbuji-Mayi. The road between these two towns was rough and we were late so the drivers literally sailed down the road throwing rocks and dust in every direction. It was a rough ride but it was rougher on those walking or biking on the road as we could see them struggling to get out of the way of the flying rocks and dirt. It was upsetting to us to have the driver driving in that manner.

It looked like this family was moving as they seemed to be carrying all their belongings.

Look at that great chicken basket full of live chickens. Notice she needs no hands to steady her load.

AT Mbuji-Mayi we went to a meeting where Pres. Livingstone and Elder Parmley divided the branch. Now we have two branches in Mbuji-Mayi, There are approximately 300 members in Mbuji-Mayi. None of these 4 towns or villages that we visited have full time missionaries. The church is growing because the members are sharing the gospel and the Congolese people hear and believe. It is hard being a member of the church as they have to give up many of their tribal ways (polygamy, alcohol, infidelity, etc) These members are so faithful and most of the young people are saving money and going on missions. We know the Lord will bless those who sacrifice so much.

All day Farrell was giving Elder Moon a bad time because his shirt was collecting red sand around the collar and down the front.

He couldn't see his own shirt which was just as bad if not worse.

Good bye Luputa. Farewell to all our friends, the Benines, Pres and Helen Tshizanga, Daniel and Nestor our site monitors, all our ADIR friends and IITA friends, Maree Josee, my sister and kindred spirit. As I write this the tears flow knowing we will never see them again. Africa is a long way from Utah.

Got to make your own fun!

2008-08-14T06:48:00.000-07:00

All children love to play and children in the Congo are no different but they are much more creative than the average child . . . . by necessity.

Anything tied to a stick can become a toy when combined with imagination.

While stopped at the bank (yes we have banks in the Congo but not like any bank you have ever been SERVICED by), this young boy asked for something to eat. I gave him a bag with melted Nerts packets and a toy from out of a box of cereal. The toy was just a pretend gameboy and you would have thought i had given him a million dollars. He loved pretending it worked.

Now I have seen sand paintings but these children make you feel like they have an open pallet as they draw pictures in the sand.

These children were playing a game that seemed like "Jacks" but without a ball. They were using bottle caps.

Often you will find children and adults playing well used board games.

Anything can be used as checkers or chessmen, buttons, washers, rocks, bottle caps etc.

At Camp Luka we watched these boys play a game that appeared to be much like gambling using gum wrappers or some type of folded up paper. Maybe it was a Congolese PoKyMon.

Fooseball is big here and you can play for 50 francs or sometimes for nothing if you have a friend with a game. Mom and Dad like to play also. The games are usually set on the side of the street for all to watch the fun.

The best toys are the homemade toys you see that the children have carefully crafted with much detail

These boys have made a train out of sardine cans and plastic bottle caps

A great creation made of card board boxes and tin cans.

This car is a unique design of cardboard and plastic bottle caps

A boat is fashioned out of bamboo and wire. Very unique!

Now this is clever. the car is made of wood, tincan lids and plastic.

But look closely. Did that plastic use to be a flipflop?

A little girl is fixing dinner for her friends using her kitchen set or is it tea and crumpets for the ladies?

Plastic cartons and small tin cans! It works!

A kite can be sticks and a piece of plastic from the garbage if you add a string to it.

Football or soccer is big in the DRC. Where ever there is a patch of dirt it won't be long and sticks will be stuck in the ground for goal posts and a game is under way. A cloud of dust and tangled bodies and then their appears a ball flying out of the dustcloud The soccer balls are often plastic bags wound up tightly and wrapped with string or ribs from large leaves. The games the same, the rules haven't changed, just the gear is a bit different. How much does it cost to play little league football in the USA?

The Village Junglegym is big enough for everyone to play on.

But Farrell's favorite has to be the home made guitars. We have seen many of them .

This one is made out of a plastic bottle.

This guitar is made out of a tin can.

Life is good when you have an imagination, and you can make your own fun.

The Value of One Small Pamphlet

2008-08-03T13:40:00.000-07:00

We went out to Kimbwala for church today. When we arrived Bishop Haboko was standing in the parking lot. No one who goes to church in these two wards have cars so the parking lot is always empty. He was standing at the gate and opened it so we could drive in. We asked him why he was out in the parking lot when his ward had already started their meetings. He said he thought he must be out there to greet us.

Last week he got free to attend Sunday School which hardly ever happens and he said he was sitting there enjoying Sunday School and the Spirit told him to get up and go out to the parking lot. He didn’t want to leave Sunday School because he was really enjoying it and he so seldom got time to go. He said the spirit kept telling him to go out in the parking lot. He finally got up and went out into the parking lot where there was no one. About a minute after standing there by the gate a women he did not know walked up. Bishop Haboko welcomed her and asked if she was in the other ward. She said no, this was her first time. She had in her hand a Joseph Smith pamphlet. She said she had found this pamphlet and there was a phone number on it so she called and they told her where she could find the church. She had come to learn more about the church. The bishop said he welcomed her and walked her into the building and introduced her to the missionaries and left her in their capable hands and he went back to Sunday School. Got to love Bishop Haboko. He is a man of great faith and is obedient in all things.

Another story of the Joesph Smith Pamphlet

In January a new family, Bro. MBUYI-MARCEL and Sis. META-BERTINE and their 7 children started attending the Malueka ward. They were soon baptized. The family had been attending the Apostolic Protestant Church. Bro Marcel had many questions and went to his pastor for answers. He wanted to know about apostles and prophets and why there weren't any today. He also wondered why there was no longer Revelation coming from God to his children here on earth. The minister did not have the answers for him but handed him a pamphlet and told him he didn't know how to answer those questions but this pamphlet talked about apostles and prophets and revelation. Maybe it would be of some help. It was a Joseph Smith's Testimony pamphlet. Bro. Marcel was intrigued and started looking for this church. It took him a while to locate the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as the pamphlet did not have a phone number or any information about where the church was located. Once the missionaries started to teach the family it wasn't difficult for Bro. Marcel and Sis. Bertine to accept this story of a young boy and angels and prophets who receives revelation from Heavenly Father. Mom and Dad were baptized one week and the following week the children were baptized. They are a strong family and a wonderful addition to the Malueka Ward. Sis. Bertine is the Young Women's President in the ward. Bro. Marcel is a Sunday School teacher.

This is a precious family that were just waiting for the gospel to enter their lives.

If you would like to know more about this pamphlet or find the answers to your questions visit http://www.mormon.org/mormonorg/eng/

How important is a bathroom to a school of 500 Children?

2008-08-03T11:21:00.000-07:00

When we first came to Kinshasa the first humanitarian project we submitted for approval was to improve a school in the community of Camp Luka.

The ASAMI Primary school was missing roofing in many places,

holes in the walls and no windows,

steps leading into the class rooms and

It had a partially finished latrine that was falling down

None the less they were holding school in the building but would have to cancel school if it rained. We had just completed the final pieces of the Camp Luka water project and it was such a wonderful addition to this neighborhood and here were all those children with no school to attend in their neighborhood.

We had been told that schools were not a priority for the humanitarian funds as there are so many schools in need of help here in Africa and no regulations or standards for schools but, we had been told of a great organization, IFESH, that specialized in building and improving schools so we worked with them and wrote up a project for the ASAMI Primary school.

As we had been told would happen the project did not pass the criteria for an area initiative. We were very disappointed but moved on to other projects.

A few months ago we had the occasion to return to Camp Luka and follow up on the water project and saw that some improvements had been made in the primary school building but the school still had no usable latrine. IFESH had already evaluated the latrine situation and had a plan drawn up from our first efforts. We worked with the community and submitted a project to add a latrine to the school along with Family Health and Hygiene training which did pass criteria and we were on our way.

We went with Jeanne, from IFESH to tell the community and start the project. The meeting was choice in that Jeanne conducted an election among the community members and a project president, vice president, sec and treasurer were elected along with a committee for construction, and a committee for community outreach taking responsibility for the health and hygiene training. The election was very serious business and took 2 hours to complete. At the end everyone had a job to do and the project was officially underway.

One site visit found the footings and pit completed and the health and hygiene training was already underway.

The community was doing the work under the supervision of IFESH. A second visit found the walls nearly finished and a training for the community on conflict resolution ,being taught by IFESH. It was very rewarding to see the community work together for the common good.

Sister Moon took advantgage of all the children wanting to be a part and taught them some songs like the Hokey Pokey, Going on Safari.

They had a logt of fun. They then sang her some songs in Lingala.

The Closing Ceremony was soon at hand. The Latrine was officially turned over to the school and a dedication prayer and ceremony officially opened the latrine for business.

Eric our site manaager conducted the ceremony.

The Chef of the village and some of the elders offered a prayer and then drank Orange Fanta which they spit on each corner of the latrine as part of the dedication ( they were suppose to use Palm wine but settled for Fanta). We understand this was part of the ceremony to ward off any evil or harm to the latrine.

The official ribbon cutting(actually TP cutting)

Four latrines 2 for girls and 2 for boys

We then held graduation with certificates of participation for all the Health and Hygiene trainers that will be going out into the village to train the members of the community.

This was a pretty grand event for a latrine. It made us realize how important it was to the community to have this addition to their school.

The Moons came to lend their support and enjoy the festivities.

This project has accomplished several goals. A school of more than 500 students now has a latrine, where before they were using the outdoors. A community has received a training course in basic hygiene and now are better prepared to help themselves avoid disease and achieve better health. The community also has a better understanding of resolving conflicts and working together to complete community projects. The community now feels better about itself.
Working with good partners always makes for a better project. The good people at IFESH, along with the Camp Luka community members put forth the effort necessary to make this project a winner.

"Look at Me" Video

2008-07-27T08:26:00.000-07:00

Graduates singing "Look at me! Look at me! I can read! I can write"

Look at me! I can read! I can write!

2008-07-26T08:37:00.000-07:00

It's Graduation Day in Malueka for those participating in the Literacy Program. They sang a song, "Look at me, Look at me, I can read, I can write."

Do you remember when you learned to read, how excited you were. Remember when your child learned to read and you saw their world open up to wonderful possibilites.

These women and men are celebrating their 9 months of effort to learn to read and write for the very first time. They are so excited to be able to accomplish something they have wanted to do all their lives. This is a result of a project conducted by Humana People to People and funded by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Malueka, the same neighborhood we reported on for the Family Health and Hygiene training also has been busy taking literacy classes. The classes were held in nighborhood churches and under mango trees in neighborhood yards. The project funded 200 people to learn to read and write in their native language of Lingala. No one was turned away who wanted to learn and the classes mushroomed to 500 participants. A community voluunteers were trained to teach the class by a professional teacher. Along with learning to read and write the classes used matereials supporting the strengthening of the communitysuch as health and Hygiene, ethics. etc. There were about 30 community teachers that taught 2 hour classes 3 days a week. Participants ranged from 15 yrs of age to 80 yrs of age. Most were woman but there were a few men.

When we visited a class we observed the students writing the letters in the sand, then writing the letters in the air, then writing the letters on the chalkboard in front of the class (with much cheering and encouragement) and then they would write the letter or word in their notebook.

One lady stood during the class and said, " Five weeks ago I could not read or write, but now I can read and write. Now I can help my children with there school work. I have always wanted to know how to read. Thank you for this gift."

We were touched by the joy we saw on all the participants faces. We attended the graduation for six classes of participants. It was a joyous occasion with a demonstration of their reading and writing. They performed a skit about a woman who got in to trouble because she couldn't read a letter that was sent to her. The skit went on to show that by being able to read many problems of our lives are solved and we can make decisions for ourselves.

Each participant was congratulated by the HPP leaders, the church missionaries, bishop of the church from the area and a representative of the Minister of Education who was over adult education. Some came up very reserved and tearfull while others clapped their hands and sang and danced.

An 80 yr old man spoke and told how all his life he had gone with out being able to read or write. He said that when he was young they drove the white man away and declared independence and now today here is a white man coming to help me learn to read and write. Now I can read just like my children and grandchildren.

What a choice experience to share with this community the gift of literacy. The community has taken on a new life with woman being proud of who they are and what they can accomplish.

Everyone was dressed in their best and many were dressed alike matching the class they were associated with.

"We are getting better. We are getting stronger. We are getting smarter," said one woman.

Humana People to People are a solid NGO with many partners. The church is in good company in their support of this organization and their programs for the community of Malueka.

Good changes are happening in Malueka!

2008-07-19T07:15:00.000-07:00

Last Sept. a group called HPP Congo (Humana People to People, Congo) came and asked if the church would like to be their partner in helping mobilize a community. This is an international NGO that is trying to improve the quality of life of poor areas of the world by teaching communities independence. They have a 10 arm plan to implement into communities.
1. Hygiene and Sanitation
2. Security for children without parents
3. Pre-school
4. Strengthen the economy of families
5. Youth activity in political, social , cultural and economics
6. Education/ Literacy
7. District development
8. Safe and healthy envirnoment
9. Food Security
10. Limit Malaria

The HPP Team
The church agreed to fund two arms of the HPP program, Health and Hygiene and Literacy. The Health and Hygiene program started immediately and used the church's Family Health and Hygiene manual for training.

littered pathway family well

cooking facility

Malueka is a community of 4200 families. There is high unemployment rate and a lot of illiteracy. Most of the people speak Lingala only. Often the families have to choose which child to send to school as they can not afford to send them all. Families average 5 - 7 children. Water comes from family wells which are often contaminated and their is little knowledge of healthy living practices.

Coordinators Family Hygiene Class
HPP mobilized the community by calling family action group coordinators from the community and training them to be educators for the program. Two family action group coordinators became responsible for 10 families. They followed up with their families offering encouragement and helping them to see how to improve their families living conditions to reach a higher standard of living and there by avoiding illness and disease.

Health and Hygiene training for coordinators
This is a class conducted in Lingala by Rochelle (yellow sleeve shirt). She is an employee of HPP and is teaching the Family Coordinators how to teach the class. Most classes are held outside under the Mango tree at various places in the neighborhood.

The project required that each family in Malueka would revise their latrines to meet the minimal standards. They needed to have a door that would open and close and they needed to have a cement base with a cover for the hole to keep flies from entering the holes. Thirty latrines were funded for the project. The community groups voted which families would receive the latrines provided by the church funds. They were chosen as to their need and level of risk (widows, elderly, handicapped), etc. Those receiving the latrines had to provide the labor and if they were unable to do all the labor their neighbors pitched in and helped them there by learning to care for one another, learning to cooperate and learning how to be a community.

Latrine holes were dug deep enough to accommodate 2 ½ 50 gallon drums that had their tops and bottoms removed and were welded together in a tube. This would keep the holes from collapsing in the sand. The latrines were build of wood and covered with a galvanized medal roof. Note the pop bottle lids used as washers to secure the screws.

We observed the community making many changes because of the Family Health and Hygiene program. We saw yards being swept clean. Refuge pits were dug and used for disposing of garbage. Cooking areas were cleaned and sheds were built with a shelf to put cooking utensils up off the ground.

Washing stations were set up where people could wash their hands before cooking, eating or after using the latrine. Mothers were taught nutrition for their families and the importance of protein, carbohydrates and the need for a variety of foods to meet the needs for vitamins and minerals.

The before and after of the latrines.
The new latrines are easy to clean and have a cement base to stand on with a cement cover for the hole which is easily moved on and off the hole. UNICEF funded cement bases with covers for all 4200 families in the community.
This elderly woman was so excited to get a new latrine and was very appreciative of the Health and Hygiene training she was able to receive.

We had planned on giving Family Hygiene Kits to each family who received the new latrines. The community leaders had been so responsive and had worked so hard, volunteering many hours to the project and had been very responsive to their responsibilities. When we held our closing ceremony it was decided to give the kits to the Family Action Group Coordinators as a thank you for all their hard work. They were pleased and were grateful to have their efforts acknowledged. One coordinator spoke for all the leaders. She said, ”In five years (HPPs time frame for the mobilization of the community) Malueka will be a model community. We are learning to help each other. We are learning how to take better care of our children. We didn’t know what foods were important to our children. We now know that our children need protein every day. We know that we need to boil our drinking water to prevent getting sick. These hygiene kits are very much appreciated but the best thing in this kit is the bar of soap. That is what we will use the most, a bar of soap. Thank you for your help for our community.”

Who will benefit the most from this community raising their standard of living? The children will be the biggest beneficiaries.

This first Health and Hygiene project went so well and was so successful we were able to get the church to fund 50 more latrines.

More to come on Malueka as we are ready to close the Literacy project. We can't wait to report on it.

Things are changing in Malueka.

Wheelchair video

2008-07-15T14:31:00.000-07:00

Wheelchair Project

The Gift of Mobility

2008-07-13T12:03:00.000-07:00

Mobility is another thing that most of us take for granted. We jump in our car and drive to work, pick up some groceries or take the kids to school. We walk 3 miles for exercise and complain if we have to mow the lawn.

Mobility in Kinshasa is a daily task and quite an adventure as most people do not have cars and have to take commvies. (See past blog). Transportion is in high demand and many times we see people pushing and shoving to get on a bus or commvie so they can get to their destination in a timely manner. Many people just walk where ever they have to go and 10 miles is not a big deal.

If you are handicapped and unable to walk mobility is very limited. Imagine standing on the side of the road with 50 other people fighting to get transportation except you are on the ground on your hands and knees. Impossible!

The gift of mobility is priceless as most people can not afford the $330 to purchase a wheelchair. They don't even have a hope of ever affording a wheelchair for trasnportation. So that is why it is such a wonderful experience to see people given the opportunity for independence and mobility through the gift of a wheelchair.

This past week 21 wheelchairs given to people. That is 21 dreams came true. Twenty one people now have the freedom of mobility. These wheelchairs were a gift, a hand up for those whose hands were hanging down.

Anticipation is high as people wait for their name to be called.

What does this really mean to these recipients?

It means that fathers can take resposibility and help generate income to care for their famlies

It means mothers can go outside and play with their children and be independent in the care of their children.

It means opportunities to qualify for jobs they have up to now been unqualified for.

It means a person can be independent and care for themselves.

It means dignity and being lifted out of the desperation one can feel when they have no control over their own life.

It means a great deal to 21 people who received a gift of a wheelchair on July 8, 2008.

MERCI BEAUCOUP!

The Gift of Sight!

2008-07-09T11:59:00.000-07:00

There are countless individuals worldwide whose lives are impacted by the loss of sight. Many of these vision problems could be addressed with simple medical procedures. The objective of the Church's vision treatment training program is to assist local medical care providers with training and treatment to solve these problems.

In 2006 the vision program was brought to Kinshasa with the aid of Humanitarian Missionaries Elder and Sister Christensen. A partnership was formed with local opthamologists at St. Joseph's hospital.., Dr Makwanga and Dr. Kalangalanga. Dr. Makwanga in his position as Assistant to the Minister of Health over Vision and being heavily involved in the Christian Blind Mission (CBM) developed a 5 year plan to improve the vision treatment of the DR Congo. An integral part of that program was the partnering with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

In 2006 Dr. Hunsaker came to share equipment and train the opthamologists in some surgical techniques. The equipment did not arrive in time for the training but he managed to get training done and when the equipment arrived the Christensen's got it set up and ready for use.

Another Vision Project was set up for 2007. We arrived in Kinshasa the week before this project was to happen. Dr. Hunsaker returned to Kinshasa with much equipment and supplies and taught the opthamologists sutureless cataract surgery. Throughout the year that we have been here in Kinshasa we have continued to receive lenses and supplies for this surgery so that the doctors could practice the new technique.

This year the program has developed even further. Dr. Hunsaker returned with his married daughter Megan to further the work and support vision program. This time all but the training microscope arrived on time for his training.. We spent Saturday opening and assembling equipment, Dr. Hunsaker had arranged for equipment for St. Joseph's Hospital and for Kinshasa General Hospital, trying to upgrade their treatment facilities and give them the tools they need,

This year we had a special engineer as our Finance officer of the mission in Elder Moon. Elder Moon is an expert in electronics and has a back ground of running a large company that has revolutionized the computer world. He is a fix-it man and we are putting him to good use here in the mission. He is a tad overqualified but when on a mission you just do what needs doing and his special skills served us well on this project.

Monday was spent at St. Joseph's hospital assembling equipment and Dr. Hunsaker then trained all the doctors and techs on the use of the Keritometer, portable slit lamp, and Goldman Vision Field scan.

The original opthamologists in the partnership, Dr. Kalangalanga and Dr. Julie Mkondi have been training other doctors in the sutureless cataract surgery technique. The day we were at St. Joseph's there were two doctors from Camaroon training and drooling over all the new equipment.

The training room was really just an exam room with at least 10 people trying to learn about the equipment. Farrell decided to take a breather outside and made friends with some of the patients waiting to be seen in the clinic.

The second day was spent at Kinshasha General Hospital doing more of the same thing. Dr. Julee, Dr. Mapumba and Dr. Kiwa were all very excited to see what treasured equipment they were getting. They were trained on a new slit lamp, retinoscopes, A-Scan ultrasound, keretometer and a lensometer.

We invited Elder and Sister Moon along as General Hospitals operating microscope was not working and needed some "diagnostics" . We all went into surgery and after some improvising Elder Moon had the microscope working but he had a few things to warn the techs about plugging 120 into 220 plugs.

When we went over to the clinic to set up the equipment the Team from General were pretty upset that St. Joseph's had received the Goldmann Visual Field scan. They thought they were getting it. because theirs was broken. Elder Moon soon had their old machine working just fine but it did need a new bulb to work properly.

That evening we were invited to go to the practice for the Kinshasa Symphony Orchestra. We knew Megan was coming with Dr. Hunsaker and he had told us she was a professional cello player so we went looking for a cello. Dr. Joyce Hightower, administrator of Mutumbo Hospital (yes, that is the Mutumbo of NBA fame. He build the hospital and named it after his mother), had put us in contact with the Maestro of the Orchestra who is also a cello player. He was going to be in Germany during the time we needed the cello but was very gracious to let us take hiscello. Dr. Hightower arranged for us to go listen to the only all Congolese Orchestra in the world. They practice in a very small room with a full chorus. It was a great experience to see and hear these amateur musicians who have taught themselves to play their instruments. After the practice we were introduced to the group and they were told that Megan was a professional cello player. They asked her to play for them. She was very nervous but it didn't show as she accepted one of the cello players instruments and played a piece from Bach. It was beautiful and she was given quite an ovation for her efforts. As we were leaving one of the cello players came and asked Megan if she would have any time to instruct them on some basics about the cello. She agreed not knowing what they really wanted and it was arranged for them to come to the mission office the next evening for an impromptu lesson.

Wednesday was Safari day. The National Vision Program has plans to develop a Safari program using Dr. Kalangalanga and Dr. Julee to travel around the country with portable equipment and perform cataract surgery. A third of the equipment that the church gave this year was for the Safari Program.

We went to St. Joseph's to deliver the equipment and they gave Dr Hunsaker a beautiful statue, thanking him for coming again to the Congo. Dr. Kalangalang then took us on Safari to two clinics they are supporting in the suburbs of Kinshasa and where they are going to do surgery on the people of those communities.

Transportation is such an issue here with most people not owning cars and unable to pay for the transportation to come into town to visit the hospital. Many of these people in the poorer areas are not even aware that there is something they can have done to help them see again. Cataracts are so advanced in these people that it leaves them relatively blind. The plan is for these clinics to actually go out into the communities and recruit people for the procedure. The cost for a patient is $25 - $15 depending on their ability to pay. Many of the surgeries are done at no charge.

The man in this picture is a nurse who is in charge of the vision program for 6 small clinics.

This clinic is in Malueka (near where we go to church.) It is clean and been renovated and upgraded to meet the standards needed for surgery. When we went to leave one of the nurses came running up and grabbed us and reminded us that she was in our last NRT training and she wanted to report she had trained everyone in this little clinic how to do the Neonatal Resuscitation and it was working. She thought we had come to see her and she was so very excited.

Dr. Kalangalanga decided he needed to be in this picture. The children always come runniing when they see a Mondeli and want their picture taken.

We also went to a little clinic in Camp Luka, another very familiar place to us. This is where the first water project was that the Christensen's started and we finished right after we came to Kinshasa. It is a very poor area. We are currently doing an area project building a latrine for a Primary school there. Camp Luka is very near and dear to our heart and Farrell's favorite place to drive to because the roads are so well defined and easy to maneuver through (Not!)

This Sister manages the clinic in camp Luka. She had a surprisingly well stalked pharmacy and does full immunizations for mothers and children. In the Congo UNICEF and World Health provides all the vaccines, vitamin A, and deworming pills that need to be given to children and mothers. Every certified clinic has access to the immunization program. The vaccines are stored in a huge refrigerator box furnished along with the immunizations. It is a pretty amazing project to see how much support UNICEF has done to get all children immunized.

Both of these clinics are part of the six satellite clinics of St. Joseph's. They have plans to upgrade all of these clinics and prepare them so that the very poor have a place to go for good health care.

Our next stop was Ngaliema General Hospital. It is a large hospital in Kinshasa very close to our office. This hospital was once the hospital for the rich back when the Belgians had a big presence. After the war and the Pillage that happened here this hospital suffered from lack of supplies and upkeep. It is a beautiful campus with multiple buildings. There is a lot of donated equipment but most of it does not work and there is no one that knows how to fix it, such as a beautiful x-ray machine donated two years ago by the Chinese. It has never worked since they received it and they can not find anyone who knows how to fix it or make it work. It sits in a large room and is of no use to anyone.

They had an operating microscope fairly new) but it did not work.

They had a Goldenn Vision Field that was taped together with bandaides.

their instrument sets were old, well used and outdated.

Dr. Makwanga and Dr. Kalangalanga wanted Dr. Hunsaker to see these places to show him how much work is still needed here in the Congo. The materials donated so far are helping many people and the program is growing each year but they desire to continue to partner with the Church to keep the momentum going and help the people of the Congo.

That evening we had invited all of the doctors in the program to dinner at the Mission Home. We wanted to bring everyone together for a social time to get to know each other better and help them understand the role the church is able to play in their overall program. We had all the doctors, the administrators of the two hospitals and an assistant to the minister of health and their wives. It was a lovely evening with several speeches. Megan played the cello for everyone. She is extremely gifted in her playing and wowed everyone especially the doctor's wives who felt they had really been given a gift of a cello concert. Dr. Kalangalanga sang after a bit of coercing from Farrell. Well, he has a plaque in his clinic that is an award for being the best singer. We just wanted him to prove it.

Dr. Makwanga was very gracious in his praise of the church and their willingness to help the program grow. He stated that the vision program in the Congo is the leading vision program in Africa and that doctors are coming from many countries to be trained in the cataract surgery technique. He will be going to Germany next month to receive an award for the greatest improvement's in eye care in any country. He is honored but is quick to say it is the team that deserves the award and the church is part of that team.

Thursday was a trip across the Congo to Brazzaville in the Republic of Congo. We traveled by speed boat and had a windy ride both going and coming.

There we met a doctor from Point Noir who is working with the Safari program. She wants help to up grade her practice so she can do surgery in Point Noir. She is the only opthamologist in her hospital.

We visited the Salvation Army hospital where we observed their clinic in action. the equipment is very old. We had never seen anyone use these glasses before to determine a prescription.

The clinic was in a large open room and there were dividers half way down the middle of the room. On the other side of the dividers was the operating area.

Dr. Kalangalanga had brought the Safari program over and had actually operated in this little area. There were also beds in the room where he slept when he came to operate.

We also visited the University Hospital's opthamology department. It also had a lot of old equipment. The head of the department told us he knew how to do cataract surgery but didn't do it because he didn't have the needed supplies.

We were told that if people are blind from cataracts they will operate and remove the lense from the eye and just not put a lens in. People then have to wear very heavy,thick glasses to be able to see anything but at least they are not totally blind. Seems like such an archaic treatment but . . .

We got back across the river just in time for Megan's cello lesson Five cello players and their leader showed up for a lesson. They wanted very basic information and hung on every translated word that Megan gave them. They particularly wanted to know how to use the bow properly. They worked for an hour and then Megan played an American number for them that includes picking and slapping the cello along with bowing. They were blown away having never seen the cello played in that way before. they were so appreciative of her time and wanted to stay in touch with her. They had come to the office in an old Mercedes bus with spot lights wired to the hood for headlights. What a great experience to spend time with these people who are trying so hard to make beautiful music with little or no help.

Friday, the last day, was the closing ceremony. We gathered in the same room at General Hospital that was used last year for the ceremony. We were to be seated by 8:45 am so that the Minister of Health could arrive at 9:00 am. We visited twiddled and finally at 10:30 the minister and his entourage arrived including his body guard.

The Minister presented Dr. Hunsaker with a piece of Congolese art in gratitude of all his efforts to help the National Vision Program.

Pres. Iyomi, Stake Pres. of the Kinshasa stake spoke for the church. Dr. Makwanga spoke for the vision Program and then Megan was suppose to play the cello. The man conducting the meeting forgot her and went ahead and had the minister speak and then the National Anthum sung. finally he remembered Megan but had already dismissed everyone for refreshments. The Minister sat back down and told Megan to go ahead.

I don't know if it was the hall or her playing but probably both. She played beautifully and everyone was touched. The Minister immediately got up and came to her to shake her hand and have his picture taken with her. He was very gracious.

The ceremony was filmed for TV and sure enough, that night we were all on national TV. The next Sunday the members of our ward were so excited because they had seen us on TV with the National Minister of Health. National TV! not bad publicity I guess.

Well it was a full week with little sleep but lots of fun and a lot of good done. We also sneaked in a trip to Thieve's Market and took a few walks along the Congo River in between everything else that happened.

Thank you Dr. Hunsaker for all your good works. You always come through with more than expected and always bring things from your own office to suppliment the program.

Thank you Megan for adding that sweet touch with your Cello playing and your work at supporting your father in his great work.

Thank you Humanitarian Services of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for supporting such a worthy program and helping the Congo become #1 in Africa for vision care.

Thank you to all of you who donate the moneys and supplies that allow us to do such wonderful things in this special place called Africa.

Malueka BYC

2008-06-30T15:23:00.000-07:00

The other day Bishop Kuteka from the Malueka Ward met Elder and Sister Moon in the Distribution Center. He told them he was reading in his Bishop's Handbook about Bishops Youth Council. He was wondering how to form this council, how to run it and what it's purpose was. Elder Moon invited him to the mission office where he and Elder Barlow sat down with him and talked about BYC.

This bishop wants to follow the handbook and understands that if he follows the programs as outlined many of the ward problems are solved just by using the handbook and he can be assured he is following the programs in the way they were intended, to strengthen his ward.

They spent time explaining to him that BYC was the tool he could use to train his young men and young women how to be leaders and would help his presidencies function to reach their full potential. He invited Elder Moon and Elder Barlow to meet with his council and train them how to function.

After attending Sacrament meeting Elder and Sister Moon and Farrell and I meet with the Bishop's Youth Council and Elder Moon taught the group while Farrell translated. The whole committee was in attendance along with the full bishopric. They had a great meeting.

Elder Moon talked about how the adult leaders were to be shadows to the class presidencies. They were to counciil and direct but to stand back and let the youth lead the council. You could see the lights go on as the members caught the vision of the program. At one point Bishop Kuteka wanted to instruct the group but he set the Priest Quorum assistant (who was conducting the meeting) directly in front of him and told the assistant what to teach the council exemplifying the shadow concept that Elder Moon had taught. They were taught each concept from the handbook and shown how to adapt it to their ward.

The meeting ended with a wonderful prayer offered by the YW Pres. True to "Mormon"standards refreshments were served by the bishop.

We love watching the church grow here in the Congo. Bishop Kuteka is a great example of how using the handbook will strengthen a ward and help each member be successful in their callings. Life is so different here but the gospel is the same here as it is anywhere else.

We honor our bishop in his efforts to lead his ward. They grow stronger each week under his leadership. We can't wait to see how BYC functions after this training.

"Lead me, guide me, walk beside me. Help me find the way. Teach me all that I must do to live with Him someday."

Babies, Babies and more Babies!

2008-06-25T12:56:00.000-07:00

Leaving the main road you head down a little alley way and make a couple of turns and you find yourself in the commune of Kingasani. This area is very poor and people are often reduced to eating only one meal a day. Here in the middle of the commune you find Kingasani Hospital. This amazing little hospital is run by the Catholic hospital system and is quite the baby machine. Kingasani births close to 1000 babies a month. Much of their care is charity. It has many of the problems that most hospitals here have but they are a center of hope for many mothers who have no where to birth their babiesl

Every where you look there are babies. Families are not allowed into the hospital. They come everyday to bring the new mother food and fresh linen but have to pass them through the gate which is guarded and no one but the mothers are allowed into the interior of the complex. If the family doesn't bring food to the mother she goes without.

Babies are identified with a wooden disk tied on to their wrist. The tag has a number on it that corresponds to a number that the mother wears around her wrist.

There are many premature babies born here at the hospital, more than can be accomodated by the isolets that have been furnished from a grant from the Spanish government

The hospital is very clean. Most of the mothers wear white gowns furnished by the hospital (this is not true of all the hospitals we have visited where the mothers must bring their own clothes.)

Many of the nurses are nuns and have devoted their lives to caring for these mothers and babies.

We were visiting the hospital with Dr. Ngoy from St. Joseph's hospital. Dr. Ngoy wanted to enlist all the birthing attendants to attend a Neonatal Training he was hosting. Dr. Preece, the church's NRT specialist was coming to plan our next NRT project in Lubumbashi and we decided to enlist his help in Dr. Ngoy's workshop so that he could mentor 3 doctors we had identified who are working hard to perpetuate the NRT program. He would help the doctors in two separate trainings of birthing attendants and he would help the doctors to use a shorter program for training which could be done in one day instead of the two days we had use the previous year.

Dr. Ngoy and I could not help having our pictures taken with this table full of babies. Thirteen babies were lined up on a flat table tucked in side by side and then another layer laying across the top. The table was set by a window for the ultraviolet light of the sun and then layed close together to keep each other warm.

What a site they were - Precious beautiful little spirits so new to this world. It was tender, thrilling and awesome all at once.

The training did take place and every birthing attendant at Kingasani was given the Neonatal Training. In two days Dr. Preece and our 3 Congolese doctors trained 97 doctors nurses and midwives representing 30 centers. Each center was givenat least one neonatal resusitation kit.

The following day Dr Preece, Sis Preece, Elder Barlow and I flew to Lubumbashi to meet Dr Kibula who we hope will be our champion in Lububmbashi and help us organize another training for that area to be done in October. The plan is to have Dr. Preece return in October. Fly 3 Drs. from Lubumbashi to Kinshasa for a training where they will learn how to train birthing attendants while our Kinshasa doctors work with them and hold another training session for more of the centers in Kinshasa. After that training the Dr. Preece, the Kinshasa doctors and the Lubumbashi doctors will all fly to Lubumbashi where another training will take place with the 6 Congolese doctors and Dr. Preece doing the training. The plan is to train some master trainers who will perpetuate the program throughout the Congo. The ultimate goal is to have every baby born in the DR Congo taken through the algorythm of the NRT training. The achievment of such a goal would save thousands of babies and prevent many birth injuries.

Sauver la bébé!

Stylin in the Congo - Hair styling that is . . .

2008-06-15T13:51:00.000-07:00

One of the most surprising and amazing things you see in the Congo is the hairstyling. Hairstyling is an art and it is practiced by grandmas right on down to the babies.

It's not easy being stylin. It takes a lot of work. People go to school to learn hair braiding and wig styling. You see people getting their hair designed in beauty shops or sitting under a tree. Last week in a market place a man had a mattress thrown out on the ground and women were laying on the mattress with their head hanging over the edge while he braided cornrows in their hair.

Grandma Barlow always use to tell the girls they needed "pretties" in their hair. Her pretties take on a whole new meaning here.

Some hair pretties are as simple as Q-tips

There are corn rows and more cornrows
There are trees and then there are trees!

There are hair extensions that change the hair from root black to ends of red or yellow - or just make the hair very longThis girl must have run out of extensionsThere are wigs for moms and sometimes children wear them also

They are usually always very colorful

Is it a wig or not? That is the question. Braids of every shape and size
There are hair nets for stylin

There are shower caps for keeping that lovely hair dry in the rain -Why didn't I think of that?

Hair styling is truly an art! It just adds to the ambience and

shows how important style is in this African country.

But if it is a bad hair day don't fret just wrap your head in a beautiful piece of cloth to match your dress and you're STYL'IN

Look'in mighty pretty!

I need to get with it. For a mondeli everyday in the congo is a bad hair day. I could use some "pretties"

Back to Luputa - Much progress is being made!

2008-06-04T14:03:00.000-07:00

Well, everyone in the world now knows that Luputa is large village in the Kasi Oriental Province of the DR Congo, well at least several more know about it than did a month ago thanks to the great coverage of the LDS Church News.

As the country directors we are responsible to make sure that the humanitarian projects go according to the contracted plan. That requires us to visit these projects on a regular basis. We returned to Luputa for our second visit to check on the large water project and also on the Cassava Food Production project that have been started there.

We were better prepared this time as we knew what we were in for but this trip was made easier as we are now in the dry seson and what were great ponds and rivers that we had to traverse on our first visit were now dried up and we just had these caverns we drove down into and back out again. It is a good thing we didn't know how deep some of those holes were when we went through them when they were filled with water or for sure we would have turned around and gone home.

Luputa was all a buzz with the excitment of work getting started on both projects. We stopped at the church on our way into the village to meet the District President and let him know we had arrived. As soon as we pulled into the church the children came running and wouldn't allow us to ignore them so of course we had them line up and let us take one great picture of the group.The couselor in the district presidency, Bro. Sewil Bakasa,was waiting to greet us. We had brought with us a copy of the church news for them to see. They were so excited to see their little village in print but wondered how come they didn't show a picture of the church or congregation. We wish we would have had a good answer for him but reminded him that this was an article about the water project not about the church.

Distict President, Pres. Benini was so happy to get a copy of the church news and was very pleased to see the article getting a three page spread. He asked us tenatively if we had brought the paper for him and was thrilled when we told him it was indeed for him.

The children didn't want to be left out so they laid in the door way of the Pres. office and listened. They probably didn't understand much of the French being spoken as their main language is Chalupa. they are so beautiful and always happy.

After settling into the Catholic mission which we call our home away from home we met with the site monitors for the projects and planned our site evaluation for the next day.

We were old hands at settling into our room at the mission and it didn't take us long to pull out our sheets and make the bed and spread our things around the two rooms. We even appreciated the bucket shower that night.

We started the next day by going to the Cassava fields to see what progress had been made.

They had brought in a very old tractor to plow about 5 hectures of land and then cleared out stumps and weeds by hand. They then planted cuttings of manock (just sticks from the plant) and prayed they would germinate. The planting was late in the season and may well cause some problem with the germination as the dry season has already started before the plants got a good start. The dry season came three weeks early this year. Never the less we found many new plants and the fields look hopeful.It is a trek out to the fields and families oftten come together riding their family bicycle.

We next headed up to the water source to see the progress on the water project. There was much activity at the site with many community members digging trenches and laying pipe. The contractor had originally identified 3 sources of water (springs) but once they got started they found three more and have been able to divert them all to the system which will be more than enough water for the communites and leave room for growth. This brought the production of water to 25 liters/sec rather than 18 liters/sec. That is alot of water.

The workers had cleared a path down to the first village and beyond marking the way that the pipe would be laid. This pathway was cleared by hand with machets and sickles The pathway is about 15 - 20 feet wide.They then marked the pathway with log poles that they painted red at the top. This path seemed to go on for miles. The project is planned for three phases and the first phase will take water to the first village only. At the rate they are going the first phase won't take too long to complete.While we were walking the path a young girl, carrying her baby on her back, came by and was very curious about what we were doing. She had her panne draped over her head. We asked her if we could take her picture and she then became very shy but I snapped her picture anyway and then the panne started moving and we could hear a noise coming from under the panne.

Now we were the curious ones and asked what was under that panne on her head. She didn't seem to understand our question but then the panne fell off her head and . . .

there was a chicken sitting on her head. We don't know if she was going to sell the chicken or if she had just purchased or traded for it but a live chicken it was. We missed the picture of the wings flapping in the breeze and had to settle for the chicken just sittng on her head.Well the progress of the projects was confirmed and we headed back to the mission and a meeting with the site monitors. Both of the site monitors for the projects needed some training and help in solving some problems so Farrell had to spend some time with each of them.

After he finished we went to the marche (the market) to get some fruit and pass out some pictures we had printed from our first trip. I had taken a picture of a young woman sewing and when we visited her and gave her picture she was delighted. We asked her if she would sew me a dress and if she could do it by the next day before we left. She said she would make the dress if I would go purchase some fabric.

Her machine is a very old Singer treadle sewing machine and it was set on a table that was cracked and had many rough places This picture is looking down at the top of her machine.

Nestor, our site manager for the Casssava farm, was with us and said he would show us where we could buy some fabric. He took us to his wife's shop. We didn't realize she was also a seamstress or we might have asked her to make the dress.

When we looked in her little fabris stall. there was their new little baby asleep on the lengths of fabric. They woke him up so we could get a picture.

We returned to the mission to have our dinner and we took a walk through the village. This woman was returning from working in the Marche and we couldn't resist getting her picture with her sewing machine balanced on her head for the walk home.

The next day we returned to the Marche before leaving Luputa so we could pick up the dress. She had finished the dress and was so afraid I wouldn't like it. We made a big fuss and asked her to let us take a picture of her holding the dress. She was so very shy. She had a large scar on her face and we wondered if this was one reason she was so shy as most all of the people are so out going and friendly.

The dress was rather big but it is true Congolese fabric and it was made in 1/2 a day and the seamstress was delighted that I wanted her to sew it for me. It is a treasure.

(This is a picture of the dress amongst the flowers on our balcony back in Kinshasa. The design has fish of many colors and is a great fabric.)

We started back to Mbuji Mayi with both of us sitting in the front seat with Omer, our driver. The front seat is much easier on the back, the hips and even the head.

Omer was shopping along the way back. We stopped for a bag of beans and a bag of corn. They are much cheaper out in the country than in the city.

We were flying down the road pretty fast and all of a sudden Omer put on the breaks and came to a screeching halt. He backed up and got out of the car and bought a muskrat, rodent looking thing. I asked him what he was going to do with it and he said it was for his Saturday dinner. He was kind enough to hang it on the outside of the car not in the car. So we drove all the way back to Mbuji Mayi with a muskrat thing hanging from the side mirror.

Oh and we also stopped and bought a bag of oranges from a very beautiful Congolese woman. who had such a beautiful smile we captured her picture for our "beautiful faces" file.

It was a great trip with great success confirming good progress on the projects and another experience to remember from our mission. We are getting to love Luputa. The life pace is slow and comfortable, the people are busy and working hard, and the people are very gracious and friendly. We will get to go back at least once more before we leave to come home.

NRT Progress in Point Noir

2008-06-01T11:38:00.000-07:00

In May we returned to Point Noir to deliver some promised NRT kits and to check on the progress that the participants were making on perpetuating the neonatal resuscitation training. The practioners from Point Noir came to the NRT program in Brazzaville last August. We were so pleased to see the progress being made. It just holds true that if you give practioners good information and the right equipment they can work miracles. Point Noir is practicing the Neonatal Resusitation Program and perpetuating the training BIG TIME!

This nurse came from the army hospital. She had returned from training and started teaching everyone in their center even though she didn't have a training kit or even a resusitator. Even with the part of the training that just talks about clearing the babies airway and stimulating the baby they started seeing progress in the way babies were responding in their first few minutes of life. We returned and brought her 2 kits and she promised to retrain everyone and start using the knowledge she had to help those babies that need help in taking that first breath. She was very excited. She had trained 32 people and had plans for training more.

A doctor from this group from the Madaline Moulssou Maternity Center had returned his center and had trained 18 people with a borrowed kit. They were elated to get two kits to practice the new technique they had learned.

This nurse atteneded the training and was given a training kit. She returned to her hospital and immediately trained everyone in her center, abourt 35 people. The Director of Obstetrics, Dr. Seraphin OMPALINGOLI was so pleased with the results of his staff and the number of babies they were helping that he organized a training just like the one the Church's NRT Team had done and taught 104 more practioners from around the city. He told us that all they need are more kits as they are unable to purchase any resuscitators or bulb syringes within the country.

We found this doctor eating his lunch taking a break from his 36 hour shift. He was very tired but greeted us warmly and was pleased to get two kits. His center was trained and again had no kits to practice thier new found knowledge. He committed to retrain his people and put the kits to good use.

Although we only took 10 kits with us to distributre, we could have used 100 kits. Everyone was so grateful for what we brought. As far as we could determine the 4 centers in Point Noir have trained over 300 people and have more training sessions planned.

The Pavillion Hospital births about 80 babies a month. The nurse was so excited to see us. She had been to the training but did not have a kit. We gave her one kit and she started dancing and singing. She hugged the kit to her and kept kissing it all the times thanking us for remembering their center. She said she had been trained but because whe didn’t have a kit she couldn’t practice what she had learned. Now she was ready to really save those babies.

Well, if we wanted confirmation that the Neonatal Resuscitation Training Program is worthwhile we sure got that feedback this trip. We will continue to try and find kits for these people to help all the centers they are training. The program is so simple and yet so powerful. These practioners are being empowered to practice good medicine where they have so little to practice with.

We are in the midst of planning the 2008 NRT program and will have Dr. Preece here next week to set up the training for Lubumbashi. We have arranged for him to conduct a training here in Kinshasa for the Kingasani hospital that births over 800 babies a month. He will supervise the training using doctors who were trained last August in his last training. This will be exciting to see the doctors from the Congo start doing the training in conjunction with the team from the church. This program couldn't be going any better as it is helping this area to become independent and take ownership of the program. This will allow the church to move on to other places yet to be trained.

A fun sidelight to Point Noir is the chance to stop at the local art gallery and purchase some original paintings. We purchased the three painings you see sitting on the ground closest in the picture. The man on crutches is the artist and very proud of his work. They are now our treasures from Point Noir.

Water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink!

2008-05-10T01:57:00.000-07:00

Imagine having to travel everyday to gather the water for your family from a spring, a river, a stream or a water hole and then haul it back to your home. Now you must let the water sit so that the debris can settle to the bottom of the container and you can dip out water for cooking, bathing, washing your clothes and oh yes drinking. How much water would you have to gather? 5 gallons? 10 gallons? 20 gallons? Well actually you probably would only gather 5 gallons and try to make do untill tomorrow when you would trek again out to your water source with your 5 gallon container that weighs approximately 65 pounds. Mom and all the children have the responsibility for fetching water. Children often spend a good portion of their day helping mom get water. Here in Africa you would balance that 5 gallon container on your head as you climbed the steep embankments and traversed the trails back to your abode.

But what about the dry season when the rain doesn't replenish your water source and the water diminishes becoming acrid and muddy and unfit to use for anything, or until the source dries up completely. You may have to rely on someone with a vehicle to transport some water in to your area or you would walk to another source which may take you 2 days to bring back enough water just to survive, no water will be used for washing at this time.

I use to think that you may be poor but you can at least be clean. I have learned in the last year that this is not true. Washing from a bucket of warm water every day as we did in Luputa is a luxury and one that most villagers can only due by sharing the same water for the whole family and washing your clothes happens only once a week, if there is enough water. Clothes are washed in a bucket of soupy water and rinsed in another bucket of plain water. They are then hung in the sun to dry draped over rocks, bushes or hung from trees. (Sometimes even a piece of rope to make a clothes line is a luxury and not always available even if you could afford it.

Although it rains abundantly here in the Congo the rain runoff contaminates the water sources by washing dirt and sewage , etc, into the rivers and streams. The dry season reduces the water available in streams and wells and again they become contaiminated because of stagnant water, the animals and then comes the disease bearing insects.

Family wells that are often contaminated
Water is life! The church has concentrated its humanitarian efforts on helping people get access to water. It is such a basic need and yet so many people in the world do not have access to this life sustaining gift from heaven. The church just featured their largest water project to date in the Church news, Saturday, May 3rd. You can read the story at Luputa - Large Water Project You can read the full story here at this blog in the entry for Feb. 25th.

Water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink. People are resourceful though. If they have a roof they set up a collection system to divert rain water to a rain barrell which supplies a lot of water . But most homes in the bush have thatched roofs or tin roofs with holes and always home improvements are not priority when you are worrying about water and food for your family.

We have three new water projects we are looking at that if passed will bless many more people. There isn't a project that the church humanitarian funds support that is more important than this gift of water. So, when you donate your monies to LDS Charities be assured that every penny you donate is being sent somewhere in the world to bless the lives of those receiving service. There is a well organized system of checks and balances to determine the best ways to use these sacred funds. The church believes in a hand up not a hand out. If a project doesn't strengthen the beneficiaries and help them to become more independent it doesn't get passed.

Woman getting water at a distribution site at the church's water project in Laloux, DR Congo

So today when you throw those clothes in the washer, or when you take your morning shower and stand under it just a little bit longer than necessary, or when you turn on the hose to wash your car or water your garden, or when you go to your subzero refrigerator and fill your glass with crushed ice and then crystal, clear, pure water don't forget to say a little prayer and thank the Lord for the blessing of water and remember Water is Life and it is not a gift that all god's children are given..

And the Training goes on and on and on . . . . . .

2008-04-27T13:34:00.000-07:00

You all know about the Neonatal Resuscitation Training Program that the church sponsors throughout the world. We hosted the program last October here in Kinshasa and in Brazzaville. See our August 2007 blog.

While doing the follow-up to the program we realized that those physicians and nurses who had been trained were perpetuating the training far beyond their own centers. Many people had been trained but were without the resuscitation kits to practice their new found skills. We submitted an Area Project for 100 resuscitation kits to give to these newly trained centers.

The other day we met with Dr. Ngoy from St Joseph’s hospital. We wanted to give him 4 kits to share with any of the centers he had trained. He invited us to a session he was having the next week where he was training 35 people from 30 centers around Kinshasa. We told him we would bring him 31 more kits for his training session. He was elated and told us this was an answer to his prayer.

We went to the Dr. Ngoy’s training session and were delighted to see the teaching method being passed on to 35 birthing attendants, nurses and midwives. The instruction was being given by Dr. Ngoy and another doctor who had also been in the original training in August. The session was patterned after the training they had received from Dr. Preece and the team. This was confirmation that the NRT Program was truly successful. Perpetuation of the training is the key.
Well we submitted for a new NRT project for 2008 and we have approval. We have plans to take the training to Lubumbashi on the other side of the DRC. We have found a champion there who had never heard of the program and was very escited to get involved. He will help us set up the program and Dr. Preece will come and help us with the arrangements in June. While he is here we plan to have a special training session for the Kingasani hospital here in Kinshasa. Kingasani births more babies in a month than any other hospital. They give a large amount of charity care and have other centers besides their main hospital. This hospital has yet to participate in the NRT training but we hope by doing a special training for them we can guarantee that every person attending births in their system can be competent in the NRT program. Dr. Preece will conduct this training and use some of the doctors he trained last August who are carriny on the training.

Dr. Preece will return with a team to the DRC before we finish our mission so we can do the training in Lubumbashi. Got to love this program. In the words of Marie Josee, a nurse in Luputa who called us one Sunday morning very excited to tell us that because of the training she received on NRT, they were saving babies in Luputa.
WELL THE NRT PROGRAM IS SAVING BABIES IN THE DRC AND WE HOPE WE CAN MAKE SURE EVEN MORE BABIES GET SAVED.

Today Dr. Ngoy cancelled an appointment with us because he was busy training again. He was so excited. He said that this morning they were delivering babies and two babies were born who refused to breath. In the past they would have just pronounced them dead and moved on with heavy hearts but today they followed the algorythum set up by the NRT program and both babies started breathing. Their APGAR scores were good and they felt like they would be fine healthy babies. He praised the program and expressed his appreciation for the new skills he had learned that he felt were making such a difference in their maternal health practice. It seems to prove the theory that if you give people good training and the right equipment they can do their job, be proud of what they are doing and most of all love what tyou are doing.

Hooray for the NRT program!!!

Bishop Kuteka, A Spiritual Giant

2008-04-24T05:40:00.000-07:00

Our Bishop, A Spiritual Giant

Bishop Kuteka is bishop of the Malueka Ward here in Kinshasa. This ward covers a population that is quite poor and has many needs.

Bishop Kuteka is a man who lives by the spirit. In 1994, President Howard W. Hunter advised all worthy Latter-day Saints to get a temple recommend, even if they lived far from a temple. Bishop Kuteka, living far from any temple was touched by these words and he asked his branch president for an interview so he could have a temple recommend. He says he did not realize then that Father in Heaven had a great blessing in store for him. It wasn’t long before he felt the Lord’s hand touching his life. Through his work he was given an opportunity to go to Korea for some meetings. He arranged to lay over in Switzerland on the way home and was able to attend the temple and receive his endowment. You can read his full account of this experience in the Liahona, Aug 1997 “From Zaire to the Lord’s House.”

Last week we witnessed a wonderful example of shepherding the flock when Bishop Kuteka again followed the Spirit.

We had been given a bag of clothing by the out going missionary office couple, the Thomas. We wanted to take it out to our ward to help the members but were unsure how it would be received. We took the clothing out and gave it to the bishop to use at his discretion.

He later told us of his experience. He took the clothing to welfare meeting as promted by the spirit in directed his welfare committee in how to use the clothing. He knew he had many members of the committee who needed the clothing for them selves and their own families but he asked them to think about the ward members and as a committee they should decide who was in most need. As he held up each article of clothing he asked the committee to think about the ward members and who that article of clothing could benefit. The committee assigned each piece to a member and then the bishop assigned two members of the committee to deliver the clothing. He said he witnessed the confirming of the spirit as the committee chose the same people he had in mind and who he knew were in great need. The bishop could have made the decision on his own or given the clothing to the Relief Society Pres. to disperse but instead he took the opportunity to teach his counsel in the welfare plan.

Here in the middle of Africa we have a wonderful bishop, living by the Spirit, shepherding his flock, teaching the principles of the gospel and training his ward officers in the true principles of welfare.

The Thomas will never know how many people benefited from their bag of clothing nor does it matter. The blessing of this clothing is the lessons learned from a bishop who listens to the spirit and then acts upon the spirit.

High Fashion in the DRC

2008-04-19T14:21:00.000-07:00

High fashion in the Market. We found this lady and her gorgeous outfit in the market in the little village of Luputa. She was selling plastic tubing and other hardware items. She was so elegant we had to take her picture.

Older people in the congo can remember when clothes were made out of raffia and bark. Today the Congo is the African center of fashion. Beautiful colorful textiles are produced from 100% cotton fabric wax dyed in brilliant, colors and patterns unique to the Congo. Women wear long dresses with detail work and then cover the skirt of their dress with a pagne, a piece of cloth wrapped around and tucked in the band to anchor it around the waste. The Pagne is a versital piece which is part of the the dress but can be removed and used as a shawl or worn over the head as a cover from the sun or rain. It can be wrapped around an infant and tied on the mothers back to carry the child and leave her hands free. We have been told that the pagne is suppose to only be worn by married women and is noted as an honor and sign prestige.

Dress designs are unique and dresses are decorated with machine embroidery, bias tape, lace and often the fabric itself is used in a way to create a unique design to the dress. Some parts of the dress may be cut on the diagonal or strip pieced with two coordinating fabrics. Much attention can be paid to detail making the dresses artful creations.

Men's shirts are made of the same fabrics as the womens and the design of the shirt is often adding borders or turning one piece of the shirt one way and the other side a different angle.

Fabric can be bought at the market where you will find women selling fabric in small stalls. The stalls often have similar fabrics as the women usually buy their fabrics from the same wholesaler. Fabric is sold in 6 yrd lengths for about $10. The dresses are fashioned so as to leave the salvage edge as the bottom of the dress and the salvage edge shows along with the fabric design label. Often the salvage edge is decorated with medallions or emblems (mark of the dyer) that add to the uniquness of the fabric. Fabric is labeled with glued on paper labels which have to be removed carefully or they become a permanent part of the fabric. It isn’t unusual to see these labels left in place after a dress is made.

Note the sewing machine being carried on top of the head.

Dressmakers and tailors are educated in technical universities and colleges. The skill is very detailed. Most sewing machines are the treddle Singer sewing machines because of the inconsistancy of electricity. It is not unusual to see seamstresses and tailors sewing outside under the mango tree and often they are teaching someone else how to sew.

The following women are all from small villages and what they are wearing is their everyday clothing.

Dressed alike for a funeral Momma and her baby I bought this same fabric -fishes

Sunday Dress in Luputa a small village in central Africa

Sunday dress for church Dressed up for announcement of water project

Dressed up for Sunday

These women are preparing a garden plot. These are their work clothes.

A Trip to the Grand Marche

2008-04-05T05:23:00.000-07:00

Today was an interesting day. We started work on a new project. We are working to strengthen the handicap center’s Vocational School. This school is for the physically and mentally handicapped who are unable to function in a regular school and whose families are unable to afford special school. It’s curriculum is to prepare the students to become independent and have a way of earning some money. They teach French, reading and writing, health and hygiene, math, business skills, cooking and sewing. While we were doing our wheelchair project the instructors of the school invited us in to see their school which consisted of three rooms at the center. It was obvious they were working with very little materials but were giving help to many families by helping their handicapped family member be productive and more independent.

They needed 6 sewing machines and a freezer to meet the needs of their sewing and cooking classes. We added a service component to the project by furnishing bolts of material for the sewing class to make surgical drapes and gowns for the handicap surgical center and we added copies of the church’s Family Health and Hygiene book to be used in their personal health and hygiene class.

Today we took the sewing instructor shopping for the goods. We rode in the back of a van (like The Luputa vans) and we went to the Congolese market area. I wish I could show you a panorama of this place. It is just unbelievable. It is just a two way street with businesses on both sides and parallel parking on both sides. Nothing to get excited about but add the Congolese to the mix and it becomes quite an adventure.

The one teacher that went with us worried about me and was afraid I was going to get robbed. She told Farrell, “The sister needs to be more careful there are robbers and mean people around here.” I kept walking out in front of her or lagging behind her so she finally came and grabbed my hand and drug me down the street. She would have been real nervous if she had known I was carrying $1000 in my purse to pay for all the things we bought. We had to go to 3 different stores to get the supplies. The store where we bought the sewing machines was just a little walk-in with a counter and boxes piled clear to the ceiling. We could barely fit three people in the store. The store where we bought the freezer was larger but had hardly any merchandise in the store. The fabric store was packefd with bolts of material for making drapes and hardly had any room to walk down the two isles. The fabric was cut on a table about 3 feet by 5 feet. Not big enough for a bolt of fabric and I was glad we were buying full bolts of cloth and not having to go through the chore of cutting fabric.

Our transport was unable to find a parking place so he circled the area while we shopped. We purchased everything and then hauled it all to the van. Several men helped us with the hauling and then each felt they should be paid for their service but we were not sure who had really helped and who just were the groupies. Farrell paid everyone something. Some were not happy saying it wasn’t enough and others were pleased to get 500 francs.

Although we had a large van the driver neglected to put the seats up and just laid the sewing machines on top of the benches. We were unable to get all the machines in the van so we ended up having to go back the next morning. The pictures of the streets are from the 8:00 AM traffic. By noon the congestion is complete but I was unable to take pictures at that time as many people do not like you taking pictures and get very angry and the police may confiscate your camera. Therefore you will need to use your imagination to visualize the true congestion we encountered.

There are so many people on this street. If I had to guess I would say at least 2000 in a 3 block stretch. Like Farrell says, it was pandemonium.

I wish I could have taken pictures of all that was happening, better yet a movie. This is a part of the Congo that is impossible to describe. I am sure there are placed like these elsewhere but I have never seen them nor do I think I will ever go anywhere that is quite the same.

When we were buying the sewing machines the instructor from the school that was with us admired some watches in the store. She Pointed to my watch and indicated that she really liked my watch and it was just like the ones in the store. When we were riding back to the handicapped center she again pointed to my watch and then to her own wrist. I thought she wanted my watch but finally I realized she had wanted me to buy her the watch in the store. I was turned off by this behavior when we were trying so hard to help the school and felt she was brazen to expect me to buy her a watch. After I had thought about it I realized, well, she didn’t have a watch and she is a teacher trying to run a school without a timepiece to help her know what time it is. She probably really needs a watch and really needs one. I wish I had had on a junk watch like the dozen or so I have at home (the USA) in my drawer but the one I had on was a memento from my IHC days and not one I wanted to give up. I will have to think about getting her a watch. Shucks, I should get each of the instructors a watch. Now if I can only get that passed Farrell. He continues to tell me I can’t feed everyone in the Congo.

Instructors for the Handicapped Vocational School (one on the right asked for the watch)

Everyday we are inundated by people wanting something. I can pass many up but I can’t handle those homeless boys who know when they see the red truck with the moondele lady they are sure to get a handout. Those with braces on get more than just the ragged little beggars and I am in tears when the little boy without an arm hits us up. This is the hardest part of this mission. Farrell talks tough but if I keep a firm upper lip and don’t give the handout he usually succumbs. Just part of life in the Congo.

One of "our" homeless boys.

City of Hope

2008-03-29T03:19:00.000-07:00

Camp by the River

When ever we would drive out of Kinshasa towards the airport we would pass an area that was very dilapidated. The river bank was covered with lean-tos covered with plastic and palm leaves. There were hundreds of people and everyone was dressed in rags. The area looked very desolate even compared to the poor areas of Kinshasa. We wondered who were those people and why were they all gathered on the river in such terrible conditions. We asked several people and were told that these were displaced persons, or refuges, who had come to Kinshasa from the eastern part of the Congo fleeing the violence of that area. Many were widows, orphans and people who had been injured in the wars.
There wasn’t much sympathy among the citizens we talked to and they said that the government was taking care of them. Each time we would drive by my heart went out and I wondered if they had any medical care, how were they avoiding cholera and malaria, were they working or earning any money or were they starving. This was not an area you could just stop in and ask questions as it is not safe to tread into these areas especially when you don’t know the circumstances or understand the language.
Then last Oct. 25th Kinshasa was hit with the heaviest rainstorm that the area had experienced since 1969. There was a lot of flooding and at least 30 lives were lost. We were unable to travel to our assigned ward in the suburbs as the roads were impassable and everyone was trying to dig their homes out which had been buried or undercut by the washing away of the sand. We worked at helping some of the areas such as Laloux where we have a water project. They needed sandbags but we were limited as to what we could do as travel to the areas was limited.
As we took the road passed the refuge camp we saw that the camp was gone. There was nothing there. Apparently the flooding had washed this whole area right on down the Kalamie river and out into the Congo river. We started asking about the refuges and found out that the government had came with trucks and forcibly removed the refuges and had taken them to an area east of the airport and quite a distance from Kinshasa proper. We tried to find someone that was monitoring this group or anyone who might be helping them but found no one. We read on the internet that the refuges were in great need as they did not have shelter or food or cooking utensils as everything had been washed away.
We felt this should qualify for some emergency relief but could not find any agency involved in offering any relief. We were approaching the holidays and all the Red Cross workers, Doctors without Borders etc. had gone to their home countries for the holidays and not scheduled to return till the first of the year.
Now we could just ignore this problem but it kept nagging and we decided to approach the church for advise. We were told to find a partner to work with and find out what the needs were. Easier said than done as we had no idea how to get to this new area and we again were concerned for safety and always the language is a problem.
We called our friends at IFESH, an NGO out of Arizona. We had worked with them in supplying some humanitarian containers for a project they were doing in the eastern part of the DRC supporting a program to rehabilitate child soldiers. They have native Congolese on their team and we felt they might could help us. Kinge and Jeanne of IFESH agreed to do some research and see what they could find out. We learned that the government had indeed moved this group of people to the new area and given each family a plot of ground 20X25 meters. They had provided some police for the group to keep order and were starting to build them some shelters from 2x2 boards and plastic sheeting. IFESH had arranged for us to have a meeting with the presidents of three different groups who had been moved to this new area.
What we found on our first trip to City of Hope

The trip to the area is difficult requiring us to travel through a maze of communities or suburbs of Kinshasa, a trip that took about one hour. As we crested a hill we could see off to our right a haze of orange. That Jean said was the New City of Hope, so named by the government because it was suppose to give these people a new chance and a new hope for a better life.

City of Hope across on the other hill.

Farrell with Kinge and Jeanne of IFESH

This “tent” city was heart wrenching as the area had hardly any shelter from the sun, only a few trees. The ground is very sandy and poor quality. The people were sitting in the dirt with just lean–tos made of palm frons as their only shelter. There were the plastic covered shelters being built but the people had so many needs.
We met with the presidents of the association and discussed their immediate needs. They told us that people were hungry, they did not have medicine or a health clinic although Doctors without Borders was coming twice a week to offer some health care to those who were sick. They had no cooking utensils, clothes or other basic necessities as everything had been washed away in the flood. We asked them for a prioritized list of needs which they had already prepared for us. The needs were great but it seemed difficult to determine the best way to help as we knew we couldn’t do everything on their list. This is a picture of all those we met with.

Plastic tents built by government
Defining their space with stick fences and planting hedges

We received approval from church headquarters for the project 2 months after making the request. We knew we needed to reevaluate the situation as things may have changed and needs may be different. We met again with the committee at the City of Hope and found things improving. Many of the Tent houses had been constructed and people were starting to define their space. The needs were still the same and so we proceeded to get started on the hard part, getting the goods to the people. It would have been easy to have the church send us containers from humanitarian services in SLC but since we are unable to receive containers and the shipping is way out of site we have to find the supplies we need right here. We needed to find 1502 mattresses, 1502 tarps and 1502 blankets. I wish I could explain how difficult this is to do but we did have our IFESH partners who would help us and we set to work to arrange monies, transport, security, and the required amount of goods.

Barriers to success in the project.

1. The DRC is a cash society. The church finance department requires you to have a receipt before giving funds and prefer that you pay by check. Nobody accepts checks and this financial quagmire is a battle that Farrell worked on for 3 weeks. It alone is quite a story but too long to tell.
2. Difficult to get bulk items here in the Congo.
3. Transportation to the site is very difficult and impassible by large trucks.
4. We were naïve

Transportation was arranged well in advance and at the last minute fell through. The only road big enough for trucks to get through was impassible because a bridge had been taken out. A little miracle happened. We were directed to a member of the church who happens to have a trucking business and he wanted to help us by delivering the goods. He found a way to get the goods up to the city of hope by taking his trucks to the area of the bridge and unloading them, carrying the goods across the ravine and loading them on a smaller truck he was able to get through the back way. This required numerous trips by the trucks. We were receiving goods at the site all day during the distribution

The Minister of Humanitarian Services came and started the distribution by giving a speech and handing the supplies out to the community leaders.The community members danced and sang songs prior to the ceremony. They sang "Thank you Jesus for Papa Barlow and Mama Barlow" then they gave their tongue warbling shouts and danced some more.
IFESH spent four days at the site handed out vouchers to each family so that we would not have any problem distributing the goods on distribution day.
No Voucher – no goods. This proved to be very valuable as we had people from outside the area come in wanting to be part of the distribution and we had no problem identifying those we had come to help.
The day was hot and humid and where we were was very dirty. We loved being part of the distribution as we were able to show people that the church was serious about treating others with Christ like love. We met some wonderful people and saw many families blessed. We worked 12 hours on Monday and didn’t finish before dark so had to come back the next day to finish. Going home that first night was interesting trying to find our way through the craters and avoid all the holes and ditches along the narrow roads. Thank goodness we had a great guide.

Did we do any good ? We hope so. The ones that made you think so were the children who came with their voucher to get their blanket for their families and the mothers who had tears in their eyes and a great smile that would warm any heart. One mother, with a baby on her back and one in her arms told us, “Tonight me and my babies will sleep warm.”

This beautiful woman expressed her thanks and gave me the Congolese kiss on the cheek three times. she had dressed up for the occasion and was very grateful for the help.

An exhausting experience but one of great satisfaction. We continue to be overwhelmed with the generosity of the people who donate to the Church Humanitarian Services and the ability of those in charge to determine where these sacred funds should be used.
Someone got a little too much sun today!

A couple of days after the distribution we had members of the church coming to the office and calling on the phone to tell us they had seen us on the DR Congo National television showing us handing out the blankets and tarps and a great explanation of the church’s humanitarian program. Farrell had been interviewed by the TV and newspaper reporters at the ceremony. They asked him if the church was doing this service to get new members and he told them no that we believed that we are all children of our Heavenly Father and should actively be helping each other.

A man , a recipient of the supplies came by the day after distribution and told us he had been to our church before. He had wanted to play his guitar and sing with his wife for the congregation at Sacrament meeting but was told we didn’t have that type of music in our Sunday meetings but he was welcome to come and be a part of the congregation. He said he was somewhat offended and left feeling like he had a gift he wanted to share and praise the Lord and our church would not allow him to do that. He said when he saw us handing out the supplies he wondered, are they imbeciles, coming out in the heat and the dirt and personally handing out these goods or are they showing the love of Christ. He watched us and felt a wonderful feeling of peace and knew it was the Savior’s love. When he was handed his blanket, tarp and mattress he again felt that wonderful feeling and knew we believed we were truly volunteers for Christ.

He told us he was going to swallow his pride and go back to the church and listen this time because he felt he was missing something very important. We were so touched. This was important enough for him to come tell us that he had walked (no money for transport) all the way from the city of hope to our office to tell of his experience.

We're off to Luputa

2008-02-25T13:16:00.001-08:00

The next 6 blogs are an accounting of our new water project in Luputa. We wanted to let you experience this wonderful region and get a feel for this gentle countryside. In the posting the first two posts got switched so the account starts with the second blog and then reads through chronologically about our experience. Enjoy the pictures as that is what it is all about.
Life in the Congo is a great experience and this trip was a keeper. Scroll down to "The Water Project" and then come back and read from the beginning.

There are roads and then their are roads but some roads should not be called roades!

Heavy loads for those transporters using bicycles

The trucks travel very fast thinking that if they hesitate they will get stuck. consequently the pedestrians hear the cars cooming and scatter into the tall grass and then peak out after you have passed. They are probably also trying to stay out of the way of the flying mud.

The scenery on our trek was amazing with the landscape of palm trees, lovely villages, beautiful farms all along our path. The roads were a different story. Have you ever ridden on the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland? Well, multiply that by 3.5 hours and you now understand the rigors of our trip to Luputa. All along the road we passed women carrying babies on their backs and large bundles or baskets on their heads. Men had their bicycles loaded down with large bags of corn and produce taking it back to Mwene Ditu, pushing their bikes all the way. This trip, taking produce to Mwene Ditu can take a full week before they arrive back home and will earn them about $10. The young men in Luputa who want to go on a mission earn the required funds by making these trips. To go on a mission they have to come up with $240 for their passport and visa then the church funds the rest of their mission.

We arrived in Luputa in the early afternoon and went straight to the church, a nice rented building with an additional building for classrooms and offices in the back yard. We were greeted by the District Presidency, Pres. Benini, a gracious, gentle man who is a farmer. His wife runs a nursery school right next to the church. The members here want a new chapel and they are growing and need a bigger place but the cost of building out in this remote area is in the Millions and the church cannot justify the amount of money it would take to do this. We visited with the members who had come to greet us and the hundreds of children who came running as soon as they saw the white faces in town.

We had to check in with the government and register with the immigration office. We were greeted with much enthusiasm and everyone knew why we were there. They were more excited than we were that they were going to get water. We met some of the water committee and the government engineer who we had heard about from the Christensens. He had a baseball cap from a Pizza place in Nephi, Utah. When he came to meet us he had on his cap and remembered that it was pretty famous. We told him that the Christensen’s were going to take the picture of him in the cap back to the pizza place and make him famous. He loved that. You will find him in his Nephi hat in the picture with the Water Committee. He is wearing the red baseball cap but you can't see Nephi written on it.

The Water Committee

This is Relief Society meeting at church where the women are learning how to sew beautiful baby clothes. I bought little girl dresses and a sweater set for the new granddaughters. Very special and they were delighted that I wanted to buy their handiwork.

The bed

the shower

the water closet that doesn't work but then Leopoldville has been gone for a very long time. It is now called Kinshasa

We had arranged to stay at a Catholic Mission. It has a generator so we would have some electricity. Turned out we had electricity when we arranged for it and paid for the fuel to run the generator. The mission is a beautiful spot with a chapel, a school and living quarters. We were using 5 rooms in the mission which is all the rooms they had to rent out. The rooms were pretty bare, not clean and the beds were something else but we brought our own linen to cover the beds and mosquito nets to put over the beds. The Facilities were . . .a . . interesting as the toilets needed to be flushed with a bucket and the shower was a room with a drain so showering was out of a bucket. It smelled like the camping outhouse so we just pretended we were camping out and it worked just fine. We all shared one bathroom which meant we had to space our use but it worked and we were glad for a bucket of warm water every night to wash the dirt away. We had access to a dining room with a large table where we could fix our meals and eat.

The team, the Frandsens, Robert and us, had important business to conduct. We had to choose a site monitor for our project. The site monitor acts in behalf of the church as their representative to monitor the project and report back to us what is happening. Because this project is big and expensive we had to choose a very responsible person that we could count on to take care of our interests. We needed someone who could ride a motorcycle (his transportation to the project), work a computer (write reports and email them to us), use a camera and transfer pictures to email, use a phone responsibly and be honest and forthright in working with ADIR and in reporting back to us. Pres. Benini had 3 candidates for us to interview. We interviewed each candidate separately. One man was a farmer and needed the work but had no computer skills. The second candidate had a degree in Agronomy and had limited computer skills and he had a license to drive a motorcycle. The third candidate was a recently returned missionary, good computer skills and eager to learn. They all interviewed well but after we considered the three and prayed for guidance we all felt very strongly to choose the recently returned missionary , Daniel Kazadi. We didn’t inform Daniel till the next day, then we took him with us to see the water source. He was so very excited and somewhat emotional when told he was our new site manager. He later told us that he and his new wife prayed every day for a way to earn enough money so he could take her to the temple. He knew that this was the Lord’s blessing so that they could fulfill their goal.

Daniel Kasidi, our site manager.

We needed a little walk so took a stroll and ended up in the market. This is an open air market as most markets are in the Congo. People put together wooden stahls and sell their wares. We have never seen so many expert bicycle repairmen or so many bicycle parts than in this market. . I wanted to find a straw hat. It was very hot and I knew we were getting sunburned. We found this lady dressed very elegantly, selling in her stall. There were several women selling termites covered in oil to keep them from flying away. There were live caterpillars and they kept trying to get us to eat one. Elder Frandsen bought some for a boy if he would eat one and he pretended to eat one but never really did. We have seen them before roasted and the kids eat them then. Many of the bikes here are very old and I am sure I saw one just like the bike I got when I was 7 years old. I never did find a hat but we did get to see the train come in. There were several men and women sewing beautiful Congolese fabrics. The Congolese are known as the fashion setters of Africa and sewing is a real art. I must get a dress made before we return home.

That night we celebrated by eating our MRE’s and our bleach washed pineapple and counted our blessings.

Our first night took a little getting used to our accommodations but by the 3rd night we sat on the veranda and looked at the stars and fireflys and started planning how we could serve a mission and live in Luputa. The place was starting to grow on us. Luputa has a peacefulness, a serenity that is hard to find these days.

The Luputa Water Project

2008-02-25T12:32:00.000-08:00

The Water Project:
The greatest problems in Africa can be directly linked to the need for clean water. Over twenty years ago a water engineer from the Congo saw great potential for capturing a natural water source up in the hills of the Kasi Oriental region and bringing it down through the small villages and into Luputa. It became a dream project that he would pursue with anyone who would listen. The Humanitarian missionaries, the Christiansen’s (our predecessors ), contracted with this engineer, Dominique Sowa of ADIR to do a 5 phase water project in the Kinshasa area. This is the water project we are completing at this time (Camp Luka, Laloux etc.) Dominique took the Christensen’s along with the church water engineer specialists Dave and Lena Frandsen to Luputa in February 2007 to see his dream project. Bro. Frandsen, a retired water engineer with a wealth of experience was elated with the project as it had many positives for such a remote area. (1) It was a quality water source (2) The project could be gravity fed ,eliminating the need for a pump, electricity or a well, making it virtually maintenance free (3) it would serve up to 200,000 recipients. (4) the project would take water over a route through 4 villages over 30 Km. The only problem was that the cost of such a project exceeded the cost of any previous water project the church had ever funded.

The Christensen’s and the Frandsen’s returned to Kinshasa and proceeded to write up the project for submission to the church. This is where the Barlow’s enter this wonderful story. The last thing the Christensen’s did before leaving the Congo at the end of their mission was to submit this project for approval. Now the long process of questions and research and reassurance started as the project went through the church Area Authorities on to Salt Lake City to the church Humanitarian Services to the presiding bishopric and then to the first Presidency. This was a long process and one which had its ups and downs but, in a way, very reassuring as we experienced the rigorous process that a project goes through before your humanitarian dollars are spent. The proposal was reworked and rewritten several times.

During this time Luputa natives were praying for the Lord to bless them with clean water. They have such great faith and know that Heavenly Father knows who they are and are aware of their suffering. In the first of December 2007 we were notified that the project was approved and we could proceed with the legal documents, the contract etc. When we notified Dominique Sowa of the acceptance of the project, he shed tears of joy. He said this is a dream come true, something I have dreamed for 20 years. No one was more excited than Dominique.

A trip was planned and the Frandsens and Robert Hokason, in charge of all church water projects made arrangements to visit the new water site. To start, meetings were held in Kinshasa with the ADIR staff. Contract issues were ironed out and agreements were reached. Now it was time to go to Luputa.
We wanted to celebrate with our Luputa friends. We scheduled our trip to Luputa for Feb 7-12. The head of water projects for the Church, Robert Hokanson, had never been to the Congo so it was only right he better come see where all the money was going. The Frandsen’s needed to come and recheck the site and work on the contract. Pres. and Sis. Livingstone (the mission President) had to go to a Church District Conference in Luputa and we had to get some hands on Luputa experience, pick a site monitor to monitor the project and participate in telling the villagers they were going to get clean water. We were quite an entourage heading for Luputa.

The trip was difficult and required we take our own food and water with us. We would spend the first night in Mwene Ditu, 3 nights in Luputa and one night in Mbuji Mayi The first leg was a flight from Kinshasa to Mbuji Mayi on Central Africa Airways. The plane wasn’t bad but when we landed safe and sound everyone cheered and clapped, kind of made us wonder if we should have been a little more leery of flying CAA. We were met in Mbuji Mayi by the branch Pres. who had arranged for us two 4W drive vehicles rented from a Catholic organization. Actually we only had one vehicle reserved with a previous driver Omer who scrambled to find us a second vehicle and a driver Alphonse. We had been warned that the trip was arduous and that the chance of getting stuck in the rainy season was very high.

Omer and his son Patience. Patience was the look out and the puddle measurer (literally. . . he measured the depths of the Grande Puddles.

Alphonse was our driver for most of the trip. He was new as a driver for the mission as Omer has driven the Pres. and missionaries since the time the Christensens came to Luputa. Alphonse found the Mormons to be a tad different than most people he has driven . . .Hmmmmmm.

Mbuji Mayi was much like Kinshasa but much smaller. We had to fill the cars with gas and get 75 bottles of water (1.5 liter bottles). We also bought bread at a bakery there. We were off to Mwene Ditu to spend the night at a little hotel. The church also has a small branch in this little town. The roads were mostly paved this far with the usual potholes that we know and love. Our hotel was fairly clean. We brought our own bedding to lay on the bed and we ate MREs for dinner. We took a walk before dinner and saw some of the town , gathering many curious eyes, a grundle of children and some great pictures of people. We had to flush the toilet with a bucket and shower from a bucket while standing in a tub but that is all part of the adventure.

In the morning we had granola, powdered milk and some great rolls left from last night’s dinner. We loaded up and were off to Luputa. Barely out of Mwene Ditu and we were on the red sandy roads bouncing from one end of our vehicle to the other. The vehicles had the front seat and the back was two benches on the sides of the vehicle facing each other. We piled our luggage and food behind the driver and four of us rode in the back of our car. We had the Frandsen’s, Bro Hokanson, actually by now he was Robert (that wasn’t hard since he is the same age as Mark and looks, laughs and utters puns just like Ben). Robert rode up front with Alphonse and the four of us got cozy in the back. I didn’t think I could stand the ride as I get so car sick but blessings come and I didn’t have a problem.

Luputa General Hospital

2008-02-25T03:50:00.000-08:00

Hospital Administration

The next morning we were off to see the source of the water for the project. We had a little time before we could meet the contractor, ADIR and Dominique Sowa, so we decided to go to the Luputa General Hospital and check up on one of the nurses that came to our NRT Training, Marie Josee. The church had paid for Marie to fly to Kinshasa to attend the NRT training and we had talked to her several times since on the phone.

One Sunday she called and was so excited we couldn’t understand what she was saying. She said she had just saved a baby that before the training she would not have known how to help. She was crying and yelling “Praise the Lord, Praise the church for inviting Marie Josee to the training so that she could come back and teach everyone how to save babies, We are saving babies in Luputa!” She had us in tears and we were so grateful for the NRT program and being able to host the program so Marie could come and learn how to save babies. Supply Closet in Surgery

Autoclave

The hospital is very simple, not really a true hospital but all that they have in Luputa. The operating room had an obscure light strung to a battery over the surgery table. The autoclave was something out of the 1920s and was heated by a Bunsen burner. They had a supply closet that was 8 feet tall and 2 feet wide and their supplies only filled two shelves. Keep in mind there is no electricity and no running water. They are doing surgery here in spite of the conditions as it is the only place they have.

Scrub room

The maternity ward had 6 women who had given birth by cesarean section and there was a set of twins that looked just the same size as Christie and Carrie when we brought them home from the hospital at 4 pounds each. The best part of the tour was seeing the NRT Algorithm hanging on the wall in the birthing room. There is so much needed at this hospital and whether we do anything or not they will continue to do emergency surgery and birth babies , just as they are. We hope we can do an area initiative for the hospital to strengthen them. They have a great, dedicated staff and they are doing the best they can with what they have.

Surgery operative
OR Table note surgery light

Half way through the tour our contractor Dominique showed up but declined to finish the tour with us saying it would make him cry, so he would meet us when we were finished.

We finished the tour but wondered how this hospital was providing the medical support for this community. Marie told us that the ones that are the hardest to help are those who get in trouble during delivery at home and they climb on a bike and come to the hospital for help. Can't imagine a bike ride while in distressed labor. That made us all cry.

Let's go see the Source of water

2008-02-25T01:10:00.000-08:00

We still fit two more bodies in the back of this truck before we headed to thewater source.

We went to find Dominique and Jewells (ADIR engineer) so we could head up to the water source. When we found them the whole water committee was waiting and wanted to go with us to the source. We didn’t know where we were going to put them but Farrell said it was their project so they better go with us. We piled ten people in the back of our 4X4, 5 on each side and three in the front seat. We realized that our commvie dream ride was coming true. We were getting to ride in a commvie at last (see previous blog). We were packed in and actually it was somewhat easier as you bounced off of each other rather than the sides of the truck ,as you went over the terrain. Across from Farrell sat Maree Josee (Yes, she is one of the water committee ,a real community advocate). Our legs were all tightly bunched side by side and Marie’s legs were between Farrell’s We went over a big bump and everyone went flying and Farrell grabbed Marie's knees to keep her in place and keep her from coming on top of him. She cracked up and Farrell told her she needed to stay on her side of the truck. That really cracked her up.

We traveled through 4 villages. We stopped in each village and the people came running. The government water engineer told the crowd that the water project had been approved and would start very soon. There was much yelling and singing and tongue warbling (if you have been to Africa you know what that is). Everyone was very excited. This will be such a blessing to all of these people . Approximately 200,000 people will benefit from this water.
Walk from here!

When we got to the top of the hills we thought that Omer would stop and we would walk up but he just kept on trucking and we were bouncing up the mountain, a real four wheeling experience. He finally gave up and we got out and walked. The source is down a ravine and the hill we walked down was very steep with footholds to stick your feet in. I knew if I started to fall I would just roll to the bottom. We had an entourage of village children who had followed us up and so there was quite a crowd with all of us , the water committee, the ADIR team and all the children. We reminded ourselves that people walked this trail everyday with 60 lbs of water on their head.

The Water Committee

This is the owner of the property where the source is located. He was carrying a machete to clear his path through the brush.

Elder Frandsen pronounced the water source as good and strong as before and everyone had a drink of the beautiful water. Well almost all of us. Some of us stuck with the bottled water.

There are three sources they are going to capture and pipe to a large reservoir and then the water will gravity feed down to 4 villages ending in Luputa. The source is large enough to give a good flow all the way down. What a blessing water is. We just keep thinking about the mothers who have to spend so much time getting water for the family and how much easier this process will be and the gift of time it will give to families when a large chunk of their day can be devoted to something other than getting water.

Well, when you go down you have to go back up and so now we had to hike back up that steep climb. I started up doing pretty good when all of a sudden our site manager, Daniel, came up beside me and said something in French. He grabbed me by the wrist and started hauling me up the mountain. I could hear Farrell laughing down below me saying Daniel’s responsibility is to always take care of Sis. Barlow. Now this boy was moving. He had me climbing at top speed. My butt was burning but I didn’t dare slow down as he was moving and I knew I would get dragged so I just kept climbing. This was like climbing up a step ladder. By the time we got to the top I could hardly catch my breath and I was gasping for air. Daniel got a good laugh out of that and at that point I felt my legs turn to rubber. Daniel has been doing those bicycle trips to market and he looks like one solid muscle. Farrell forgot to tell him I have very little muscle.
Second source

We all felt so rewarded for our trip. The project was on its way. We had our site manager. The people had been told and were overjoyed at the prospect. The water committee was ready and the source was as good as ever.

Robert could return to SLC and report that all is well in Luputa and calm the fears of all those who are worrying about the $2.7 million dollars being spent on a water project in a little village in Africa.
My partner on the hike

ADIR Engineer who will manage the project