May 24, 2015 - Shelley

May 24, 2015

As I sat down to write today, my computer had little reminder that tomorrow is Memorial Day.   I must give credit to my in-law’s, Bill and Jean Davis, who made Memorial Day such

a special holiday for our family.  They carried on the tradition from their parents of decorating graves in the Brigham City Cemetery to honor their loved ones there.  Our whole family now meets at THEIR headstone at 11:00 on Memorial Day, carrying flowers and stories to remember our family members – and them!  A picnic always follows.  In my mind, it’s such a special and important righteous tradition!

As I mentioned in my letter last week, this was going to be a week of changes for us.  For one thing:  we moved!  After living at Avenue Madingusha #18, Quartier Makomeno for one year – we moved to the mission home complex at 1299 Boulevard Kilwa, Quartier Golf.  I will never complain about the housing we have had here – both places are lovely.  One nice thing about our new house is that now all of the senior missionaries and the mission president live together in the same complex.  Below is a picture of my companion with Papi, one of the guards in our old

house.  After Kieu died and her husband Michel left, it never felt the same.  Michel will be staying for an undetermined amount of time with his daughters in the US and Canada.  Below is the front of our “new” home.

We’re settling in and feeling happy to be so blessed.  Our office is only a few feet away – so no excuses for being late to work!

Our other big change is that we needed to find a new translator.  It’s pretty hard to find a person who is:  1.  available, and 2. can speak English, French, and Swahili fluently.  Flavien and Steve have both been wonderful and have set the bar pretty high.  They will actually both be working in the same office now – and we’re happy that they both have a full-time job with benefits.  It’s a rarity around here.

We interviewed four candidates and chose Marcel Buzangu as our new translator.  He and Steve worked together with us last week, as Steve showed him the ropes, so to speak.  Marcel is a returned missionary who will be getting married on June 27th.

We were invited to attend what I call a “Catholic UEA” last week.  The Catholic Church owns over 200 schools in Lubumbashi.  Each year they have a day of meetings and classes – pretty much like UEA, I think.  Anyway, one interesting tradition they have (which Utah may want to adopt!) is that every teacher is given matching fabric to make a dress or shirt for this occasion.

Above is a candid shot of both dresses and shirts – but just imagine THOUSANDS of people wearing them!!!!  Quite the sight!  I’m not sure how it would go over in Utah, but it’s a thought . . . haha

And speaking of schools, we took a picture of a very common scene at every school.  Just imagine some place like the Pie Dump on a smaller scale.

Big schools have a dozen of these ladies sitting outside the fence selling treats to the school kids.  This lady was selling fried bananas, peanuts, and little donut things called beignets (I’m fuzzy on the spelling but it’s pronounced BEN – YAY).  Suckers, hard boiled eggs, and cookies are also big items.  They are popular gals!

We continue to try to get our big water project going with the water company Regideso.  As it stands, Regideso has sent the project details to Kinshasa for final approval on their side.  My able

companion was at his finest as he explained how it all should work to Regideso’s local boss, who is sitting on his left.  I am so proud of Clark’s ability to speak comfortably with government and business leaders.  

One thing that we’re facing on projects is that we have already “spent”  (really just “designated”) our money for the year.  Every week we are approached

by people with very worthy causes – all asking for our help.  The photo above was taken at an orphanage that has 31 children.  The owner and her husband started it in 1997 – but her husband died suddenly this year.  Now she is trying to run it alone and needs help desperately.

Another plea this week was from a school that includes life skills training as a part of their curriculum.  The students

put on a play for us in which a father is making his 12-year old daughter get married so that he can collect the dote.  The message is that girls need to stay in school and not get married until they are older.  This school is also asking for financial help.

It’s heartbreaking not to be able to help everyone.  Actually, our mission is to help people help themselves and to teach self-reliance, but there are, none-the-less, many worthy causes.

Well, on this Memorial Day Eve, I must pay tribute to the men and women who have in the past and who continue to keep our country free.  After seeing firsthand what an ineffective, corrupt government can do to oppress its people -  even though we all at times complain about this or that -  I will ever be grateful for my American citizenship.   I will never again be able to sing the national anthem or say the Pledge of Allegiance again without feeling a lump in my throat.  I’m proud of our son Matt and his wife Ashley as he serves in the Air Force.  And on this Memorial Day,

I will remember the sacrifices that our families made as our fathers served in World War II.  God bless America!  And God help Africa!

Love,  Mom/G-ma/Soeur Davis

p.s.  Happy Birthday to my mother who is turning 88 this week.  And to our lovely daughter-in-law Jacey, who is still a young chick!