September 14, 2014 - Clark

Sunday, September 14, 2014

I remember Roger Low’s WWWWWWWW (work will work when wishy washy wishing won’t)  I have somehow become addicted to work and it isn’t always good.  I remember my father did not know how to relax and always had to be on task.  Well I’ve become my father.  Without Davis and Bott, without being the stake executive secretary, without a yard to work in, without cars and kids to care for, I’ve resorted to different forms of work.  I do the laundry, I do the dishes, I bake bread and rolls, I wash the floors and occasionally I repair water wells.  All in the name of work and it all seems to be fulfilling and make the time spent more meaningful.  The time passes much faster and somehow seems more rewarding than simply idling away.  I’ve been busy this week doing most of the tasks mentioned and enjoying it.

We welcomed another new missionary couple this week, Vaughn and Renee Mikesell from St George.  He will be the new medical advisor and this is their third mission.  They said when you’re a missionary you have a lot of uncommonly rewarding experiences and after you return, it’s not long until you long for similar experiences to return to your daily routine.  They have served in the mid-west US, in Chile and now here.  He is a retired dentist who lived in Sandy and relocated to St. George just a few years ago after retiring.  They are replacing the Clawsons who are leaving on Tuesday.  We had a farewell dinner for them on Friday night at the local favorite restaurant, Latte’licious.  We understand it is owned by the Governor.  Public office does have its perks; he owns several other local attractions, hotels, gas stations, multiple properties, etc.

With all the coming and going, we have been required to change offices this week.  We feel like we’re a man without a country.  Some mention that we’re not really part of the mission.  Our call was to Lubumbashi Mission but we report to Johannesburg, our budget is supported from humanitarian and we feel like the ugly stepchild at times.  This is one of those times.  We did however make some progress on our humanitarian projects this week:

1. The Katuba Bridge contract was signed and we are finally ready to proceed.  The problem is they will only approve 25% of the contract cost for mobilization and beyond that the construction needs to be completed before payment can be made to the contractor.  The problem is we have a 100% cash economy and the jobs are often 75% materials or higher.  This means the contractor has to have their own working capital to order materials and most do not.  This makes a 30 day project now a 120 day project.  More bureaucracy to adjust to.
2. Mapendano School Latrines was approved by Salt Lake City and we are ready to start 4 months after originally submitting the proposal.  Things seem to move so slowly and patience is not one of my many virtues.
3. Fire response in rebuilding the marketplace at the government owned site encountered some snags.  Elder Atkinson has supervised that job and they have struggled building on top of an old landfill or garbage dump.   No cooperation from the city on preparing the building site and they had some demands when we visited on Friday.  The head representative asked why they had not been given the money to repair their own site and now they want to send 2 representatives with our people anytime materials are purchased.  I told them no, we will buy all materials and provide them to our construction department and turn over to them the finished product.  Everyone wants to be involved so they can rake off some of the money for personal benefit.  Unbelievable, never a mention of thanks for what we are doing, just how can I personally benefit from this project.

We did spend the first of the week with Francis, the assistant DTA (director of temporal affairs).  We visited several of our on-going projects and he seemed pleased.  The project beneficiaries were pleased that we would bring him and they especially liked the fact that he was African rather than white.  He’s from Ghana and has worked for the church for over 10 years.  Working for the church is a peach of a job for most local members who struggle to find meaningful work.  Many work on their own in some entrepreneurial ventures but few have benefits and steady work.  Our translator Flavien has been approached by Desire to apply for church employment.  He interviewed a week ago and hasn’t received any offer yet.  We have grown extremely dependent upon his local knowledge and would miss him terribly but want what is best long-term for his family.  

The adjustment to full-time companionship has taken time and effort.  You need to remember I came directly from tax season where we saw one another a few hours a day at the most.  Now you’re talking 24/7 and getting reacquainted all over again.  Anyone who knows the transition that takes place following tax season can relate to the adjustment that requires without a change in culture and language.  Don’t get me wrong, there is no one I’d prefer to spend time with over Shelley but it hasn’t happened to this degree since we were dating.  We’re finding our way regarding strengths and weaknesses and who does what.  She is much better at documentation, organization skills, reporting and calendaring, however, I’ve been delegated all financial issues and proposal preparation.  I also have to take the lead in all meetings.  It’s surprising how our prior experiences have prepared us for our different roles.  We’re doing much better now and I believe I’m past tax season.  Everyday seems to have the same routine and the same weather, so I don’t know if I’ll recognize the return of tax season because I associate it with cold weather and winter conditions.

We have enjoyed teaching English to the missionaries.  Mom is the leader here and I try not to get in the way.  We started small with 6-8 elders depending on who was sick or out of town but with the latest revision of adding the sisters to the elders in our zone, we are now at 20 (12 elders and 8 sisters).  They used to come late or whenever they wanted, but mom started quietly rewarding those who were on time with a candy and for the last two classes we have almost perfect on-time attendance.  The sisters seem disinterested or maybe they are just more interested in the elders than English.  This does allow us to get to know their names and develop a personal relationship with the missionaries.  Their English is progressing faster than our French.  We are probably way too dependent upon our translator but it feels regardless of our language ability there is so much in cultural understanding we gain from our translator.  

We are supposed to have Saturday as our diversion day but we usually fill it up with work-related assignments.  The weekends are the most challenging because we are used to being busy from morning till night every weekday and so having too much time is a challenge.  We did some shopping for the Mikesells yesterday and went into the office so we could use our old printer while the Drapers were taking a P-day.  We are now the designated drivers and took the Drapers shopping.  Sundays are different because we don’t understand the language although French is much more recognizable now; it’s when they switch to Swahili that I’m totally lost.  We are having the Mikesells over for dinner tonight, so I have to dedicate some time to my now “famous cinnamon rolls” so we can send both they and the Atkinsons home with breakfast.  Have a good week, life is good for us here in Lubumbashi.

Love, Dad (Elder Davis)