Couples Conference....January 27 - 30, 2015

We are putting out a plea for a Senior Couple to take our place this coming July 6!  If you have thought about a mission let us know, we will refer you to our President Monga!

Brazzaville. . . . 

     This past week all of the couples in the mission headed to Brazzaville to be taught by our President and Sister Monga.  May I just say how much Elder Bailey and I needed that!  We were able to renew our "wells" and talk to each one of the Couples to see how they are doing in their respective assignments.  We are so blessed to have two Office Couple Missionaries.  We have Elder and Sister Nelson and Elder and Sister Bills.   They are doing such a wonderful job of helping the mission run smoothly and helping with some of the overwhelming responsibilities a Mission President has to deal with each day.

      Besides everything President and Soeur Monga do for the Mission, they also have the  responsibility to their family.  They have 4 children who accompanied them on this mission.  So they are very, very busy with everyday life. 

      President was telling us that he looked forward to finishing his First Counselor responsibilities to the Mission President in Limbubashi DRC last year, when out of the "blue" he received a call from Elder Bednar from the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.  Can you even imagine picking up the phone and having the person on the other end say hello. . . this is Elder Bednar.  

     Elder Bednar interviewed him and  told President Monga that he would probably be receiving another call from the First Presidency soon and to just forget that he called!!   Sure!  

     Within a week, President Henry B. Eyring called him and extended the call to serve as the President of the Brazzaville Republic of the Congo Mission.   

President and Soeur Monga in front of the Stake Offices for Brazzaville, which is also where the Mission Offices are located.  

The wonderful Couples for the mission:

  From left to right:  Elder and Soeur Bills who serve in the Mission Office, Elder and Soeur Moody who serve in Gabon, Elder and Soeur Dimond who serve in Yaounde, Cameroon; President and Soeur Monga, Elder and Soeur Bailey who serve in Pointe Noire, Congo, Elder and Soeur Nelson who serve in the Mission Office and Elder and Soeur Coleman, who serve in Douala, Cameroon. 

Some of the beautiful plants that surround the Mission Office.

Interesting seed pods from one of the trees.

The Dimond's

After a long day of intense instruction, we headed to Mamiwata for a nice sit-down dinner.  This was a very wonderful restaurant with great food.  The menu was all in French, so we just had to guess what we wanted and hoped that it would be good.  There were a few words that we knew to stay away from like..... canard.. (duck) and escargot (snails).  

The Bills and the Coleman's

Our table overlooked the Congo river.  On the other side of the river is Kinshasa DRC.  

The Moody's were ready and waiting!

President Monga was very happy with his choice.  Shrimp!

There are a few rules that I like to adhere to when eating out. No eyeballs and legs are two of mine!

The dinner was delicious.  I had a steak and Elder Bailey had a skewer of beef.  

Sunset at Mamiwata.  

It was a very romantic night and one that we will never forget.  The food, atmosphere, and friendships were wonderful!  

     

Day 2. . .  

It was Elder Moody's birthday, so Sister Bills made him a chocolate cake.  It was great!  He is a young 76 years old.  You are never too old to serve!!  Elder Bailey is dipping up a nice big bowl of Lentil Soup.

That night we went to an Italian Restaurant and had African Food.  I must say it was some of the best African food that we have eaten.  

This was my plate.  We had potato salad, chicken with onions and mushrooms, vegetables, rice and wonderful fresh rolls.  For dessert they brought out a big plate of fresh watermelon, papaya and pineapple.

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We are so grateful that we were able to be together with these wonderful Couples who have chosen to serve the Lord for 18 months. It was so good to realize that we are all giving our all to help in building the kingdom of God in our little corner of the world.  We laughed, worked, cried and just reassured each other that when you are on the Lord's errand, you are entitled to the Lord's help.  We were ready to begin again with the stewardship the Lord has called us to. 

The Gospel is True! 

Until next week! 

Preparation Day ~ . . . 27 Janvier 2015

Preparing Every Needful Thing. . . . 

Every Monday is Preparation Day here in Pointe Noire.  Yesterday, started out at 6:30 a.m. with Elder Bailey getting water for the cistern.  It was so low that he and Patrice had to go two times.  So 60 bidons later, we had enough water to get us through the day.  After they get water he and all of the Elders have a "rousing" game of basketball.  

They love to get together and play "sport".  Most of the African Elders are not the best in dribbling the ball.... but they are wonderful at participation and willingness to try.  Everyone has a great time.  Elder Bailey came down wrong on his heel when he went up to make a layup........ so he has been hobbling around ever since. 

After getting water and playing basketball, we spend the rest of the day "preparing every needful thing".  We clean the apartment, wash, and get Family Home Evening ready.  The Elders use this day to physically get themselves ready to be "spiritually" in tune the rest of the week.  One of the best ways to invite the spirit is to have a "clean and orderly" home.  So they have work hard to make their apartments "Spirit Worthy".  

The Mvou Mvou apartment with Elder Etherington, Elder Nzoronka, Elder Andri and Elder Bulendolo, have not had water which is a BIG problem.  They also have been without power for a day.  This always adds to the "everyday dealings" of being missionaries here in Africa. You never know what will be on your "plate" for this day.  We had a "water truck" come and fill up their cistern with water so that they could wash and clean.... Hopefully, today will be "back to normal"........  

   

We try and get our groceries for the week on Monday.  On our way to the store we see beautiful  "Eucalyptus Trees".  

There is always construction going on.... everything is done by hand.  The person on the top lowers a bucket tied with a rope and the person at the bottom fills it up with the gravel used in making the floor.  They do this kind of work for the whole entire house.  

We are amazed at how hard these workers work. 

We pass our little market where we get our fruit for the week.  We pull up alongside of the road and "walk the plank" over to get the fruit.  They have wonderful mangoes, bananas, papayas, avocados and pineapples.   

We pass the "high-rises" where people who have work, live.  These were all made by hand.  From the foundation up they just add more cement blocks..... 

This is one of our "grocery stores".  We love it, as it has most of everything we need.  

What we love most of all is that it has it's own "private parking".. Where you see "Entrée Parking is where we turn down to park.  It has been a life-saver in being able to get our food.  A policeman is always there to make sure that no-one parks in front of the entryway. 

As we return home we take my favorite road.  On the other side of this road is where the ocean is.  This is where most of the wealthy people have built their homes and where a lot of businesses have been set up.

My favorite row of palm trees.

Not too many cars today!

Notice the "tile-work" on the walls of the fences.  The Africans are masters at making cement and tiles.  They use tiles to cover just about everything.

We never know who we will share the road with.  Today it is a forklift.  He just goes right along with the traffic.  In front of him are 6 ft. "forks", just waiting to "scoop" somebody up!

This is a statue at the "round-about" by our house.  We are not quite sure what it is for.

And this is the road to where we live.  It is always an adventure when we head out to go anywhere.  We were able to get everything we needed for the week!

Family Home Evening.... Soirée Familiale. . . 

Every Monday night we have Family Home Evening.  I have to do a demonstration this next Saturday about it, so I decided to make up a chart so that everyone will know their assignments.  Our little family of Elders and Young Men loved it.  We just use a dry erase marker to change the assignments each week.  

This is our family..  Elder Mbikayi, Jhostavie, Desti, Paco and Elder Sperry.  We love them!

Jhostavie is the only member in his family.  His parents live in Brazzaville and he has not seen them for 11 years. He lives with his uncle so that he can go to school. We love Jhostavie so much. He is one of our piano students who has learned to play beautifully.  He now plays for the Baptisms.  

After FHE Elder Sperry decided to share his new fruit that he found in the market.

We don't know the name of it, but it looks like a cactus on the outside, has a core like a pineapple, seeds like a watermelon, and fruit like a mango and tastes like a starburst.  Does anyone know what it is called?

It takes a little time to get used to the "sweetness"..... but we ended up liking it for the most part.

Preparing For Our Purpose..... Baptisms

Last Saturday, we had three baptisms.  To fill the "fond" we have to turn on the normal water pipe and then add the outside "hose" to get it to fill within the hour.

Elder Bailey adjusts the hose so that it stays down in the water.

Elder Mbikayi, Exauce, Elder Sperry and Elder Muamba.  Exáuse was so excited about his baptism day.  He is the son of Bijou and Alain.  When he came up out of the water and was trying to walk up the stairs, he almost passed out!  When Elder Sperry asked him if he was ok, he told him he thought he was going to die!!!......  With his "faithful testimony" of our Savior Jesus Christ, he trusted in Him even though he was "scared to death" to go into the water.  Elder Sperry just hugged him until he could get his breath.  It was a very tender moment for all.  

Last week, Ronel was baptized, and this week he baptized his dear friend Tresor.  What a very special day.

Elder Muamba and Elder Johnston taught "Hans" the Gospel.  He also was so excited to be baptized.

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We are so grateful for the "time to prepare" every needful thing.  Being missionaries for the Lord has given us the opportunity to serve the people here, the missionaries, the Branches and each other.  We truly love the "hastening His work"......

The Gospel is true!!

Until next week.... or............!

Hastening the Work in 2015... 17 January

Hastening the Work..... in California 

This has been a very busy week for Elder & Sister Bailey.  First of all, our oldest grandchild Brody, received his mission call to serve in the California Redlands Missison.  Some of the cities in Brody's mission were in Elder Bailey's California Mission he served in 49 years ago.  Brody reports to the MTC in 44 days.

  

Oh, how we wish we could be there to help him get ready and send him off, but part of being a Senior Missionary Couple is knowing beforehand that you will not be there for very special events in the lives of those you love.  We told our family before we left that we were not "leaving them".... we were "leading them"... We know our example and love will be with Brody as he prepares to serve the Lord for the next 2 years. 

Hastening the Work in Pointe Noire Congo. . . . 

Elder Mbikayi, Elder Muamba, Elder Bulendolo, Elder Sperry, Elder Andriamiasinarivo, Elder Johnston

Our Elders prepared for one of the first baptisms for the year 2015.  The Aéroport Elders have been teaching Ronel, and all came together today to attend his baptism.  

Elder Bailey, Soeur Bailey, Jhostovey, Ronel and his friends.

Elder Sperry was asked by Ronel to baptize him.  

Frere Kende who is the 1st Counselor in the Aéroport Branche presided over the baptism.  Jhostovey, who is a Ward Missionary, conducted for Paco who had to attend a funeral.  

The person who was supposed to give the talk on Baptism did not show up, so Elder Mbikayi gave the talk.  He did a wonderful job.

Elder Bailey handled the music for the meeting.

Christ gave the talk on the Holy Ghost.

I usually help with leading the music, but when we found out how much Elder Muamba loves music, we now have a new music leader.  He didn't have a music book when he came from Brazzaville, so we gave him an extra one we had at our home.  He was so grateful and already had a leather holder to put it in.

Frere Kende gave the remarks and talked about the symbolism between Jesus' death and resurrection and baptism. 

Finally, Ronel was asked to give his testimony. He was a little hesitant, but gave a heartfelt testimony of his gratitude for the Gospel and finding truth.

He wanted a group picture of everyone who celebrated his special day.

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We love this part of being missionaries for the Lord.  The Spirit was very strong today and we all are so grateful to be a small part in the grand work of "Hastening the Work of Salvation"  all over the world.

The Church is True!!

Until next week.