Congo

We just arrived home from Congo and as always I run to the computer to see if any of my kids have e-mailed. Often one of you has written or sent a picture and we love it. Thanks. My eyes are really tired (if that makes sense) from all the visuals we've had these past few days.

(Right now it is hailing and lightning like crazy!) I almost can't believe what me eyes saw in that very tired, poor country. I'm going to start at the end because that is on my mind the most. Running from the conference where 1700 members were in attendance we made a dash for the airport and I mean a dash!!!! President Waldram is quite the driver and he wanted us to get there. We wanted to get there too and there was another plane out until Tuesday if we missed it. We went through potholes and over "things" in the road. We drove on the wrong side of the street a few times to miss potholes and trucks and goats. In one area particularly there are dozens of people going here and there. They are walking, selling something, riding bikes,buying something, talking, laughing and generally just being busy. It is hard to describe, but the scene is just full of color everywhere and the color is on the people. The fabrics are fabulous.....bright colors with and unique patterns. The dresses are long....sometimes 2 piece and sometimes one. Often there are matching fabrics tied on their heads in the most beautiful fashion you can imagine. ....sticking out and up. If the women don't have head regalia on then they have wonderful hair. The hairs is either wigs or extensions fixed in hundred of ways. It is glorious. The men wear bright colors too.....a good to describe it might be "pajama-like". The surroundings are colorful and vivid. There are many things on the street to buy...furniture, car parts, fruit and vegetables stacked in beautiful ways. There are chickens and goats wandering and hardboiled eggs being carried on heads to sell one at a time, but the cartons are tens layers high. We see onions and garlic in mounds to sell, and beans and the white meal like stuff (can't remember the name, but it is not corn) that is the staple, but doesn't have much nutritional value. We've seen people hawking water in bags from the Congo river, fish hanging on a pole, and one I love are nurseries along the way where you can stop and buy plants that are planted mostly in plastic bags. There will be rows of these containers on the side of the road just waiting for purchase. It truly is a mass of humanity. We didn't take pictures because the people hate that and yell at you and raise their fist so our pictures will only be in our head.

The airport is another sea of people....everyone wanting to help you....crowding around you. Pres. Waldram has hired one man to help us and he took us through 7 checkpoints before we got to the waiting room. It was hot.....humid....and not air conditioned. Our luggage was searched 3 times before we boarded the plane. The last time was on the tarmac in the blazing hot sun. We were in the intense heat in the sun for about 15 minutes. We were dripping and soaked by the time we got on the plane Everyone was soaked and grumpy when they got on the plane. Some were very loud with complaints. Then this handsome blackman got on the plane. He was dripping....his shirt was soaked, his face was wet with perspiration. He stopped and smiled this huge smile and said, " the important part of the journey is getting home." He was saying this is hard, but we can do this because we are almost home. I loved it. People smiled back and some said, "yeh". It put a dfferent spin on the horrible 2 hours we had just spent getting through the entire ordeal. . At these various check points there were not any lines, only people surrounding the counters or desks, waving passports and boarding passes and whatever. Everyone is loud and of course speaking french so we didn't know what anyone was saying. In spite of Anton helping us, it is REALLY something and we were glad to get on that plane bound for our home in Joberg. We had all but one meal at the Waldroms home as there is only one restaurant that they dare go to. We had some whipping cream on something which was like gold as it was $13 for the pint. The food is soooo expensive and many things are not available. The Wardroom go home in July (mission president) after 2 years instead of the usual 3 because it is considered a hardship mission which it is. They have had some great experiences, but it has been hard and they are about ready to go. They have been great.

The meetings were great.....I think!!!! It was all in french so what ever my interpreter told me I believed. Actually, it was great fun. Auxiliary training is always my favorite thing and even with language barriers going on it is fun. Women are the same everywhere. They want to look pretty (and they do), they love their families and want to serve them, they are anxious to do their best in church and they were happy and fun. We laughed and cried together as women do. We testify of the Savior together and we sang together, which was so great. Let me tell you, those Africans really can sing and in the Congo they sing at the top of their lungs. Oh what a thrill. In the conference session with the 1700 people, I thought the roof would come off with the singing. I loved it...at times, I was in tears. These people are soooo very poor....,but to look at them you would never know it. They were groomed, clean and happy. The Gospel brings joy, service, education and oh so many things. There were baby twins on the front row and I couldn't take my eyes off them. They were soooo very cute.....2 little girls 3 months old dressed fit to kill. I just watched them every minute.....as I did the other children. I love the children. Josh, I met some 8 year old boys and I thought of you. I had the interpreter ask them if they had been baptized, and they said,"oui, oui". I winked at one of them on the first row and all of conference he tried to wink back. He couldn't so he took his finger and held one eye shut. How cute is that.

Tomorrow Sister Snow and I are going to the Twilight Boys Home to take pictures for Dwight Jackson's service project. He is have the youth of the stake make 70 quilts for these boys so we are sending pictures to show where they are going. We are also going to a children's handicapped place to teach the children how to play UNO. We had some little stands made to hold the cards because they can't hold them with the handicaps they have. I'm also preparing for the Mission President's Seminar in Cape Town that starts next Monday and then the next we the auxiliary women are coming. Sister Susan Tanner the General YW President is coming and the new General Primary President, Sister Lant, and Kathleen Hughes a counselor in the RS. We have a lot of preparing for them too. We will host them in Kenya and Uganda. They will really have more of an understanding of this part of the world very soon.

We loved our trip, but we are REALLY glad to be home. Congo is not an easy place to go, but it is worth it when we see the saints there. They are really pioneers as our ancestors were. They are paving the way for the generations to come. It is a blessing to serve. I'm so grateful for energy and good health. We miss you even though we are busy and we love you.

Love Mom and Dad

General Board Members

Cape Town Etc.

Dear Family,

We arrived home about an hour ago very tired but exhilarated too. We had a great trip, but a very busy one. i want to type this while it is still in my heart and if I wait until tomorrow when I have much to do it will not happen and then the moment and the memory is past. We leave for the Congo on Thursday Am so much has to be done. We were very busy with 4 cities, 4 mission tours and one leadership training and I taught RS today, so that is in 6 days time. I just feel very grateful that Dad and I have the energy to do all this and that my health allows such wonderful experiences, so I will not complain. We went to Port Elizabeth, East London, Cape Town and a city in Namibia which I can't spell and I am too tired too look it up or go find your father. We loved the missionaries in those cities and we were with them for about 5hours of training each time. I love being with them. They are exuberant, dedicated, happy but of course some are homesick or whatever, especially the new ones. It is wonderful to see the stages of growth as they go through the stages of a mission. It is a miracle in my mind to see these young people serving and testifying and growing. I love them. There are always one or 2 that I am drawn to to get to know a little and I love that.

Namibia is the place that stands out in my mind the most as that is where we were with the members of a tiny branch. They have a brand new building which replaces one that burned down about 2 years ago and it is lovely. They are so proud of their building that looms up and is quite a lovely sight in the middle of places that are not so lovely. First I have to tell you that we had trouble getting in the country. We traveled with the mission president and his wife and 3 assistants to the president so there were 7 of us, and when those young elders looking so neat and wonderful went up to the desk of immigration the officer saw all of us and said, "no, we will not let you into the country....there are too many of you." So we had to wait in a corner for at least an hour for someone to come and see us and then it took a long time to approve ;our entry. We honestly didn't know whether we would get in or not. We had to show return tickets and all sorts of documentations. That is the hardest it has every been for us, but we finally we given permission, found our luggage and were on our way to the hotel.

The next day after zone conference and a leadership training session with the leaders of this tiny branch we went to their branch dinner....the first they have ever had. There were probably 180 people there and they had gone to lots of trouble to cook a pig, chickens, and sausage on a spit in the back yard of the church. They had worked for days to do a few decorations and prepare the food. We were at the head table looking at the people and chatting as we were waiting to be served by the deacons and some YW. ( the boys always held one hand behind their back as they came in and served the food. They took this all very seriously. I loved them. In front of us were 2 1/2 tables of just children....ranging from about 3 to 13 years old. They didn't have any adults at their tables....I couldn't figure it out. When they finally started serving the juice (first) after about 45 minutes of waiting I watched as they put pitchers of juice on the tables. I could see that these children couldn't and were not going to pour the juice. I waited for their parents to help, but they didn't I supposed the were in the mad house kitchen trying to serve all these people. ..a first for the branch. I finally got up and went over and poured for them I loved it. I love the black children with their big black eyes and wonderful hair and great smiles. I told one little girl that I loved her hair as she had about 8 tiny ponytails sticking out all over. I asked her who did it and she didn't answer. i thought she maybe only spoke a tribal language so I asked slowly if her mother did it. She shook her head and said, "no, I did it". She was 7 years old. After I poured the drinks and encouraged a "thank you" the waiters brought a plate of rolls. Two or three of the boys stood up and started grab ( wanted to say BLC) the rolls. I took the plate and showed them how to take one and pass it and we did the same with the butter. While I was standing there with the children the served plates came with 2 salads and 1 sausage on each plate. I went to my seat and was a served plate with a big piece of pork, a sausage, and a half breast of chicken. On our table were salads served home style. I couldn't eat it. I knew the water wasn't safe....I knew the vegetables had been cleaned in the water. I had seen the kitchen. I wasn't hungry...actually I was tired. I didn't drink the punch because of the water. I moved the food around and just enjoyed the people that came by and just watching and visiting. After a while the children had finished their food and they were having a hard time waiting for people to finish and it was hard waiting for dessert, so the children were allowed to go out in the fenced in yard of the church while others finished. There was one beautiful little boy dressed in army fatigues that stayed at the table. He caught my eye and we smiled at each other....several times. I finally motioned with my finger for him to come to me. He looked around to see who I was motioning to and finally understood that it was him. He came over and I asked him if he wanted my juice.....all the children were thirsty and had had one cup. I he said, " no, I would like your meat.".. I gave him my plate......and he took it back to his table and started devouring it with his fingers almost in a frenzy. i couldn't believe my eyes. Dad and I watched this, and then 2 other boys came back in and sat by him and he shared and they did the same thing....devouring like they were really hungry. Then the children came in for dessert. Many had second helpings and I noticed they were wrapping some of it up in a napkin. A former branch president then sat by me and he noticed my interest in these children. He said, "do you see that little boy that is chewing on something? (he was my little friend and I had seen him chewing long after the meat was gone, but couldn't figure it out) HE IS ONE OF OUR ORPHANS. He is eating chicken bones. He won't stop until every piece of the bones are gone. He then finished the chicken bone and started on the pork bone that he had in a napkin. It all made sense all of a sudden. There were no parents to sit by them and care for them....the little girl had done her own hair, they were hungry. There is a woman in that branch who has opened her home to aids orphans. The ward helps when they can, but of course they are so poor there is not much they can do....but they gave them some food at the dinner. They bring them to church when they can, but there are only about 8 cars in the branch so that is hard. They put a new roof on her home recently and they do what they can. It was quite touching. I couldn't sleep thinking of that beautiful little boy eating the bones. I realized after and Dad noticed it too, that he had a distended stomach. They get one meal a day of a maize mush.....it looks like cream of wheat, but the elders say it is flavorless. It is simply for survival. I thought of all the food we throw away, of the blessings we have with food and home. This morning, when we went to church the orphans were all squeezed on the front row looking clean and neat and ready for church. I don' t think any of them are members. One little 8 year old had 3 inch heels on (sandals) that someone had given. She could hardly walk, but she took care pf the little girl next to her during the meeting. If she moved or looked behind her and squirmed, the older one shook her or chastised her. They all tried to sing...they loved the hymn books and during the meeting they took turns just turning the pages. I'm sure they don't have any books....when you don't have much food, you don't have books. My heart was a little heavy, but then I looked at the wonderful side of this....these orphans are not on the street. They do have some food. They have clean clothes. They have woman who loves them They all have Primary teachers and they love Primary. They have a roof over their heads and someone cares. I love those people for accepting them and helping them the best they can. I have tears as I think of it and as I think of my grandchildren who have wonderful parents in their lives who love them and feed and clothe them and teach them about the Savior. My cup runneth over with gratitude as I come home exhausted in a good way. I feel so blessed to have these experiences....to be with the people. I loved teaching RS and being witht he women today. We laughed and cried together as we would anyplace. Their lives are hard, but the Gospel brings them peace and purpose and they are learning self reliance as they learn about gardening and education and work and doing and leading. The beautiful RS president in her bright yellow blouse came up after the meeting and said I think I get it (I talked mostly about Visiting teaching and being our brothers keeper) now. I have only been a member 2 years and I have so much to learn, but I love the Gospel and I love helping the sisters. I"m going to be better. I gave out RS stickers again, and said put this where you want.....book, mirror, paper, etc. and a young girl about 19 or 20 up and said, "Look, Sister Parmley, I put my sticker on my cell phone, cause you know we girls are always on the phone.!!! I loved it. Many live in townships with one room houses, but they do have cell phones, and I can see that get much joy and communication....I can't judge anything anymore. Dad teaches so well as he instructs the missionaries and the leaders. He has a great ability to teach. He and I are ike frick and frack a little, but he always helps me with my suitcase and carries for me and opens doors and loves me. It is good. We miss you and love you. It is good we are busy. The Snows greeted us when we got home with an open door and food and love. We will miss them sooo much as their assignment has changed. They go back to Utah on August 1st. We'll enjoy them until then. I'm going to bed. I love you. Mom