June 19, 2014

Fam - I just thought you might like to see a project we're working on.  It is such a beautiful spot!  The bamboo grove where they hold sacrament meeting is a place where they always take the visiting church authorities.  I'll write more later.  We've been busy writing up the findings from our trip. Just a little side note - one of the sisters that was with us, Sister Riendeau, asked a young girl who was carrying water from the lake if she could try putting it on her head.  She chose the very smallest container and it was only half full.  And Sister Riendeau couldn't even lift it up to her head!  These people are amazing - and they have beautiful posture!  Love,  Shelter

Tshitenge – E/S Davis, Lubumbashi – A brief report of our visit on 6/19/14, to Tshitenge.

  

Left:  The Branch President/tribal chief gave his home to the church to use for a meetinghouse.  He built a smaller home nearby.

Right:  The outline of the new meetinghouse is staked out.  You can see the two holes for the latrines have been dug already.  The structure will not be a conventional “Utah” looking church but will have a local look to it.

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Left:  This is the famous bamboo grove where church is currently held during the nice weather.  During the rainy season, it isn’t possible to meet there, of course, and the branch has grown too large to fit into the small meetinghouse that used to be the branch president’s home.

Right:  Primary is held underneath this large mango tree

 

Left:  This lake is over the hill from Tshitenge.  We estimate that the distance from the church to the lake to be approximately three miles.

Right:  These women are returning from filling their buckets in the lake.  While we were there, we saw a steady stream of people going up and down the mountain.

 

Left:  Elder and Sister Davis with the Branch President/Tribal Chief.

Right:  We invited three engineers from Mbuji-Mayi to meet us at the site.  Over the course of the next two days, we met with them twice more for two reasons:  

• For them to show us other projects they have worked on
• To explain the type of project we are looking for so that they would all be bidding on the same type of water system.

From that second meeting came the conclusion that we need to have a feasibility study done to determine the correct location for the project and to determine the possible depth needed for the well.  Representatives from FM, Serge and Emmanuel in Mbuji-Mayi, suggested a consultant they have worked with before.  While we were together, we contacted this consultant who is from Kinshasa, and he is planning on meeting with us in Lubumbashi later this week.  His name is Augustin Mushibe Ing Des Mines.