April 12, 2015 - Shelley

April 12, 2015

I’ve never paid much attention to goats before.  In elementary school I remember singing about Bill Grogan’s goat, but that’s about it.  Until now.  Goat meat is an important source of protein here.  Goats can be seen everywhere – both tied up in town and running freely out in the villages.  This cute little gal is holding one of her

family’s goats.  We’ve tasted the meat a time or two and it’s not too bad.  It won’t ever replace beef in my book, but it’s popular here.

I was so surprised last year when one of our granddaughters wrote to tell me that she was raising a goat as a 4-H project.  All went well at the fair, and she’s raising another one this year.

This is Elizabeth, her brother Sam, and her goat Horizon.  Who knew that goats were so popular everywhere?!

(Don’t look at this, Elizabeth!)  This is goat meat on display at a local market.

You can see vendors with grills selling cooked goat meat on the street – kind of like the taco stands in Ogden.  Whatever sells, right?  ☺

We’ve had a couple of interesting experiences this week.  We delivered backpacks to two orphanages.  One was a good experience – and at the other, the kids didn’t seem very excited.  The good one was at the orphanage that is for sure the most needy – the Muslim orphanage.  We provided paint and new beds – and then brought backpacks for the “closing ceremony”.  We thought they needed them more than the usual refreshments we have brought to other places.

Here are the girls who live there (one boy in the photo, too.)

Here are the Muslim ladies who help run it.  Two of them were fired because of the way they had let things get so run down.  The gal on the left end is the wife of the man who made the beds – and it’s pretty obvious who I am!  Haha

A group of Muslim men have recently taken over the orphanage after the government threatened to shut it down.  We’re just hopeful that the new paint job, etc., will help to keep it open.  

Here are the boys:

And these are the men leaders who have taken over (plus Clark and Steve):

Amos, a man from the Ministry of Social Affairs, has become our friend.  He is over all of the orphanages and has traveled with us as we have visited them.  He mentioned to us that his neighborhood was in crisis and wanted us to see the problem.  He took us to a bridge that washed out in February.  Thousands of people cross it each day.  Well, now that part of the bridge is gone, entrepreneurs with little boats are ferrying people across.  And some people just wade through the water because it’s only a few feet deep.  We started to take some pictures – and a big crowd of people started yelling at us and closing in around us.  We had no idea what was wrong.  Apparently,

people thought we shouldn’t be taking photos of ladies holding their skirts up a couple of inches because it would be an immodest shot.  (I shudder to think what they would say about the immodesty we see in other parts of the world – including the US!)  It all turned out okay after Steve and Amos were able to explain that we were only trying to help, but it was surprising for us to get that reaction.  After talking with local officials, it looks like they already have a plan in place for remedying the situation – which is really the best thing anyway.

Sister Thomas brought packages of seeds from Canada so that she could grow a garden.  She gave them to the guard/gardener at the mission home, and to her dismay, he planted all 12 packages in an area about 3 ft. by 3 ft.  She thought all was lost.  BUT – as soon as the plants started to pop up, he transplanted everything – and it’s a

beautiful spot now!  He knew what he was doing all along!  

Well, actually our week has been kind of a tough one.  Kieu Sunguza, our landlady, died suddenly on Monday.  She was 66.  She became ill at church last week.  Her husband took her to the hospital, she went into a coma, and she died on Monday.  They said that the cause was related to high blood  pressure.  It’s hard to imagine because she appeared to be the picture of health – very energetic and spunky.  Clark and I live in her home, and she and her husband Michel live in a tiny little apartment that is attached to the back of the house – that alone has made me feel guilty.  Anyway, we’ve become friends, and they have really looked out for us.  However, we had no idea how many other people loved her until now.  Kieu joined the LDS Church about 20 years ago.  Michel belongs to another church, but he’s very supportive of her and attends activities with her.  Their 3 daughters are all members.

It is a law that people need to be buried within 2 days because there is no preservation of the body done here.  The Sunguza girls are all married and live in France, Canada, and the US.  So the family paid dearly to have Kieu’s body kept at a cool temperature until the girls could all get here.  Clara, the

youngest daughter is on the left. Clara’s husband Christof and the oldest daughter Natasha are next to her.

Anyway, it was a difficult but very rewarding experience for us to have this glimpse into another family’s personal trial.  The support they received was absolutely unbelievable!  Michel has stayed with his brother all week.  His brother has a big home – and hundreds of people have come each day to offer their condolences.  We went on Wednesday and found at least 100 people sitting around everywhere.  The stake choirs from around town took turns singing each evening.  Relief Societies cooked foo foo, chicken, rice, sombe, etc., to feed everyone.  It was amazing!  And this happened every day until Saturday!!  This photo shows

Michel’s brother’s yard with a canopy, red carpet, and Kieu’s casket at the viewing before the funeral on Saturday.  In a poor country where almost everything is “bare bones”, this was absolutely lavish!!!  Family members were wearing shirts like Christof’s with Kieu’s picture – it read “We love you my Kiew”.   Her funeral was held at the Lubumbashi Stake Center – and it was totally full with hundreds of people.  At the end of the funeral, we drove to a new cemetery in Kasangiri (about 20 minutes away) where she was buried.

It was such an emotional experience, but we learned to appreciate the lovely people here even more.  We spent time with all three of Michel and Kieu’s daughters.  It was really great to be able to talk with them because they speak English, and they were able to help us understand the culture and traditions surrounding the death of a family member.

Natasha, the oldest daughter, told me that she has been trying to do her family’s genealogy, but it’s very complicated.  She was wishing for some help from the other side.  And only a little more than a week ago, Kieu told me that she felt so restless because she just didn’t have enough to do.  I assumed that she meant here in Lubumbashi.  I feel very confident that Natasha will receive the help she needed – and that Kieu will be busier than she ever imagined.

Love,  Mom/Soeur Davis

p.s.  Happy Birthday this week to Logan Roche and Bridget Davis – two grand-

children born on April 14th – 12 years apart!