January 10, 2015 - Clark

Saturday, January 10, 2015

We’re traveling to Johannesburg tomorrow and may be unable to write.  I won’t have my computer with me because we are returning with an ultrasound machine for Luputa.  Often there is a duty or import tax even on donated gifts from charities.  If I carry it personally it will appear to be a personal computer.  Mind you we have attempted for 6 months to get the appropriate waiver but have been unsuccessful.  Shelley and I have looked forward to the humanitarian couple’s conference for months and the time is finally here.  

Looking back it was certainly a blessing to be able to connect with all the other couples at the beginning of our mission.  In May, 2014 we started in Johannesburg with 10 days of training with all the other humanitarian couples from Southeast Africa, covering over 20 countries.  Little of the classroom training stuck but the relationships were enduring.  As we look at the agenda of those attending the conference this year, at least half of our friends have returned home and we are delighted to be able to meet the new couples.  We hardly feel like veterans, because the transition period continues and I suspect will until we return home.  

This past week we have spent much of our time preparing to submit project proposals.  The process is laborious and has been restricted for local projects for the last 4 months.  We will finally be able to submit our proposals for new projects following our conference.  The process requires a written report, pictures of the proposed project, and request letters from beneficiaries and pro-forma invoices that support the budget proposal.  One disadvantage is that we only have a single computer that is authorized for church business and we cannot use our personal computers for that purpose.  It would be nicer if we both had such access.  Well, I believe we are prepared to submit three new proposals:

1. Orphanages in Lubumbashi for beds, desks, sewing machines, paint and a piano.
2. Peage School is the poorest school we have visited.  They are the school where we saw 132 4th graders in a single classroom.  We’re requesting desks, sewing machines, fabric and paint.
3. Kamweneja Institut is a high school of 700 students.  They requested new desks but the roofing on the buildings has failed.   We’re requesting roofing materials which they will install themselves.  We are not to be involved in construction, but an investment in desks would be unwise until the exposure to the elements is corrected.

We are also working on a couple of major water project.  One is the drilling of new wells within Lubumbashi.  Yesterday we took 3 contractors with us to visit 3 proposed sites in Taba-Congo.  It had been raining throughout the night and the very first site we visited was only accessible by way of an extremely muddy road.  I never did much off-road driving at home, but here everything is off-road.  Of the 3 cars we took, ours was the only one to navigate the road successfully.  The other two got stuck.  There are no tow trucks available but whenever someone’s vehicle is stuck it seems there is a flash mob that appears immediately to rescue you.  They want to be paid of course, but the cost is nowhere near what a tow truck would be.  To make the story short, we eventually were successful in visiting all 3 sites.  We had mud on our pants up to our knees and spent much of the morning in the mud and rain and enjoyed every minute of it. These are everyday adventures here.

This week we welcomed the arrival of new missionaries.  There are two new senior sisters, Janet Cook from Lehi and Heather Vance from Calgary.  Both sisters have connections with this mission and were warmly welcomed.  We also received 21 new missionaries. They also called a temporary missionary to provide the right number to establish companionships.  These temporary missionaries are young men who have already received their call and have a few months before they enter the MTC in Ghana.  They usually come from Justin’s stake.  Justin Mukuna is the Katuba Stake President and also the mission office manager.  

I need to mention another ”chance” meeting.  Dr. Saban is over all the hospitals and health clinics in the entire city.  We spent a day with him and Flavien visiting hospitals when Mikesells first arrived.  On our fieldtrip, he took us to his personal clinic near Mapendano School.  This was four months ago and we have tried unsuccessfully since to schedule a follow-up visit.  We are trying to develop a block-wide water project with Mapendano School and Rala Institut in the same block as Dr. Saban’s clinic.  Just so happens that when we traveled to pick up Baltazar, the Kampemba health zone representative, we saw Dr. Saban at the Health Zone.  We spoke with him and arranged for a joint meeting upon our return from Johannesburg and voila, magic.  We recognize the source of this “magic”.

We also received some good news from Phil Squires this week.  He is a patient of David’s who serves as a short term specialist who visits countries around the world to help with agriculture projects.  We had made a request for a short term specialist and it has been granted.  The unemployment here is 90% and anything to help the people to gain knowledge on growing crops for self-reliance and for selling would be a shot in the arm.  He may not be the one assigned, but he definitely helped us know the ropes on how to initiate the process.  Mbidi Ilunga, a local bishop and a full-time church employee as the director of public relations and the newly created self-reliance center, had asked us for help in establishing such a program.  We’ll keep you posted on the progress.  The soil here is extremely fertile and the possibilities seem endless.  This will not be a church farm and will start small with both members and non-members involved.  Training is the key rather than giving tools, seed and fertilizer.  The end objective of humanitarian projects is to develop self-reliance.  This seems a perfect fit for Mbidi.

It was disturbing to receive news from home this week and it is always a distraction.  Lynn Yeates’ death was a shocker.  Lynn and I served Box Elder County together.  He was not only a great public servant, but also a close personal friend.  I remember attending emergency training together in Emmitsburg, Maryland, not far from Gettysburg.   While there he made a trip to the hospital and I gave him a blessing.  He was married to my cousin, Roxi Ann, at one time and their daughter Amber now lives in our stake.  These are sobering events, but remind of the Plan of Salvation.  Lynn was truly a person who wore out his life in service.  Being the Sherriff wasn’t enough for Lynn, who also served on the Ambulance Crew and Search and Rescue.  I don’t know when he ever slept.

Have a great week.  Mom and I are healthy and happy.  We hope to have exciting news to report following our conference in Johannesburg.

Love, Dad (Elder Davis)