Good things are happening here and it seems like they are
coming faster now. The Douala Branch has
the internet and electricity (legally), leadership problems are being resolved,
activity is picking up, and members are helping each other. If you want to serve a mission where you will
really feel needed, loved and appreciated, come to Africa.
We started our humanitarian project! On Monday we met with the school PTA
president, one of the directors, the branch presidents, and assorted parents
and church members. On Tuesday we bought
tons of cement, gravel, sand, and other supplies to repair the classroom
floors. We hired professionals to dig
the 7 meter deep septic tank. On
Wednesday work began in earnest and about 50 people came to help, mostly from
the families of students. They worked
until midnight and got 2 classroom floors and a large part of the septic tank
done the first day. By Friday most of
the concrete work was done. Romeo Dim is
directing the effort and it is going great.
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| Digging a Deep Septic Tank |
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| Elders Kabasele & West working on concrete |
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| Classroom floor finished and desks back in place |
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| Some of the volunteers from the neighborhood |
We helped Gregoire Ele’s family of four move
from a small 5-room home to a 1-room home.
It took five loads in our covered pickup to move all of their stuff. It makes you realize how little is really
needed. They are a happy family and don’t
need much. They cook with a dutch oven
on a tiny wood stove on their front porch.
Their bathroom is the brush next door.
I asked how they would move if we weren’t there with a pickup. They would rent handcarts.
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| Moving the family of Gregoire Ele (facing) |
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| Gregoire Ele's kids, Messie & Yweh |
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| Their new one-room home |
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| All of the neighborhood kids wanted to help |
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| 8 kids in the back seat |
Several less active families & members are coming back to church in
the Douala Branch including the families Dim (Romeo), Yamen (Hippolyte), and Samgwa’a
(Samuel). Joseph was there with Rosine
preparing to get sealed in the temple and even Bema Anne showed up. Attendance was 140 which is higher than usual. We’re excited.
Piano lessons are getting crowded in the Douala
Branch. The brighter building, the new
location, the new leader, we don’t know exactly why but we love it.
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| Piano Lessons in Douala (part of the group) |
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| Sister Coleman gets a hug from star student Samuel |
Movie night was well attended in Bonaberi. We counted at least 48, our best attendance
so far, with several investigators.
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| Elders Mandefu & Sperry and Wilfred |
Tuesday night the city hall in Douala caught fire due to
an electrical problem. A large portion
was gutted and the building shut down.
People are bemoaning the loss of all of those government records.
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| City Hall before the fire |
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| City Hall after the fire |
Wendesday we were informed that the Church could not
build a meetinghouse unless we turned in two overdue reports that day. We frantically worked with the Douala Branch
leaders to gather the information and cobbled both reports together just in time. We are hoping to get construction going on
that soon.
This week was crazy busy but full of blessings.
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| Worker carrying 100kg (220 lbs) of cement on his head |
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| Transporting a ladder & compressor |
Africans are very patient and perceive time
differently than westerners and that is reflected in their French expressions. Here are some common examples:
J’arrive
(I am arriving): I will arrive eventually but might have some things to do
first.
Je suis
à cote (I am next to you): I am within a mile or two.
Je suis
la (I am there): I will be there soon, maybe in 10 minutes.
On a commencé
(We have started): We will start soon, probably before you get here.
Ça commence a quatorze heures (It starts at 2 pm): It starts about 4 pm.
Ça commence a quatorze heures précis (It starts at
precisely 2 pm): It starts about 2:30 or
3.
Soyez
à l’heure (Be on
time): [This is a nonsense phrase.]
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