March 15th

The Devotional again was great. It was on missionary work. The Elders were asked how they would describe their work. It was wonderful to hear their responses. Their love for the Savior is amazing. To be able to teach others about his life is truly a blessing for them. They read a lot of scriptures. We see a lot of things in the scriptures that can certainly help us to be better. It is certainly amazing to me. You can read the Book of Mormon each and every day and still learn so much each time you read it. These missionaries certainly know their bible. They continue to quote from the scriptures. They are a great example to me.

In the middle of Church they just come and climb into her lap.

In the evening Elder Craven had a district meeting. A meeting with all the district presidents. President Bizimana was there who is the district president. We call him President Yves it’s shorter. President Mavinga was there and 2 others. They waited 1/2 hour, then closed the meeting with a closing prayer. It was sad. President Mavinga was in charge the last time, everyone was there. But for some reason the same outcome doesn’t happen when Bizimanta is in charge. I know the brethren don’t have any respect for Bizimanta. I don’t think he does his job the way he should. He was put over the institute program before the Birds left. It is a job and he is paid to do it, but he doesn’t seem to do his job.

Between Sessions, 9 Branches 1 Building.
The other 8 building have been closed for 
8 months due to government restrictions,

Today is Wednesday and tomorrow we instruct and feed the missionaries, so we went shopping and bought the food. I made beans. Pinto beans Africa style. I got the recipe on line. I did have to change it. But it was great. I will put it on my blog. Remember the blog is 16andme.blogspot.com. I made the changes for the recipe, on the blog. I also made rice. So they could put the beans over the rice if they wanted too. We made tortillas the way the Africans do. They chop up little green onions and put them in the dough. They call them chapatis. They are made a little different than ours but pretty much the same. They use 3 cups of flour, 3 tablespoons of oil, 1 teaspoon of salt. They add water until it is sticky. Mix the best you can. Dump out on a floured surface. Still sticky, do the same thing again. Kneading each time. Then roll into a ball, put in a bowl, let rest for 30 minutes. Roll them into balls, let rest for 15. More minutes. Then roll them into round tortillas. Cook in hot fry pan for a few seconds, turn over and try again. Make them golden brown. We roll them out by hand which takes a long time. So do they. It takes a lot of preparation to get ready for a dinner. This we made the day before the dinner.

Back Leaving: Sister Sibanda, Elder Lono, Elder N'goran, Elder Malamulo
Front: Sister Irankunda, Elder Kpokou, Elder Osanyongmor. Elder Harward

Next day Elder Craven sliced chicken then tenderized it. He sliced red, green, yellow peppers, and onion. He cooked the chicken in a separate fry pan. Cooked all the other things in another fry pan with a little oil. We put it altogether to make fajitas. I added spices. What I can get in Africa. Cumin, oregano, salt, pepper, paprika and chili powder. It was great. We made coleslaw which consisted of carrots, cabbage, apples cubed. Mayonnaise, lemon juice, sugar, salt and pepper.. All and all it was great. Elder Craven gave a beautiful presentation . Then we ate. You know me and I made a lot. I wasn’t very explicit in what I said.  I told them to line and go in the kitchen, all the food was across the counter. It was the same place I line up my vegetables. I told them to get a plate off the table and fill up their plates. They did just that. Including the apples I had at the end of the counter with my vegetables. I tried to cover them with a paper towel, but I guess that wasn’t enough. We had a great time with them all.  We always hate to see them go. It will be hard to never see them again, at least in this lifetime. We  took the sisters home back to Nymirambo. Because the zone leaders can’t take everyone. I think we got the sisters because they live so far out. I don’t like going there, but we do want we can. It was night so terrible traffic. But thanks for all your prayers it wasn’t near as bad as it usually is. The Lord certainly watches out for us. We have a lot of guardian angels in heaven. Also we are willing to do anything for these missionaries. I can’t get upset over the apples! They are certainly inspiring. 

Have yet to not be cleaned out. It's like they haven't eaten in weeks!

It is Friday, time for a music lesson with Fidele. I spent 2 1/2 hours with him. I am going to start a different strategy next time. What I am doing isn’t working. I need some inspiration. Lisa gave me some advice, I am grateful for that. I received a new student, his name is Prince. I think he will be good, he is anxious to learn.

Brought in tents so the branches can overlap. We're
going to need to have some side protection added. The
rain came for the last two session and it poured buckets

Saturday, I’ve been asked to speak in Relief Society for the 183 anniversary of the Relief Society for our branch, the Kimiranko branch. I was supposed to take 15 minutes, I told them I would do it, if I could sit. I shake so bad standing. I spoke last week in sacrament meeting but not in the Kimiranko branch. They agreed to let me sit, I kind of explained my situation. It was supposed to start at 3:00. So I got there at 3. The room was being occupied by Elder's and members. They were doing confirmations for newly baptized members. They had 42 baptisms today. They were not doing all the confirmations in this room. They were having other meetings for baptisms in the chapel. The meeting in the room we were to be in ended at 4:00. We finally got in the room but the ladies who were supposed to bring the refreshments hadn’t shown up. We ended up singing about 8 different songs. In Rwanda our buildings only have one keyboard and that is in the chapel. So of course we sang accapella. One song they were way off, so I had to help them. We all do the best we can. Anyway I was getting a little worried because even after the songs they didn’t start. I knew Elder Craven would be waiting and we hadn’t even started. We waited around for another 10 minutes. The ladies finally showed but they kept leaving. Finally they all came together. I don’t think they wanted to start without a few more people. When we got started Sister Stephenson walked in. I knew I would be ok with just the members, but how would I do this with another Senior sister. She wasn’t part of this branch so I was surprised. She was invited by Julienne which is in the Relief Society presidency.  When it was my turn I felt like I couldn’t get the word’s out, but I did and went right through my talk. It certainly was a miracle. I felt more confident after that and I felt like I did a good job. I definitely had help, because I felt calm. They had a beautiful cake made for this special occasion, and pop to go with it. I took some pictures then left. I didn’t want the cake or the pop. But it was a joy to be there with that special sisterhood. We got home a little after 5:30. It was slow in starting but worth the wait.

Sunday and 3 branches to attend. I don’t know what we would do with our Sundays if we weren’t able to go to so many meetings. We actually got to hear them all in English. We met a lady today who was from the states. She was a surgeon and out here to help teach people. It is amazing what the United States does with some of their programs. We had a young man approached us today. He had an Elder White sponsoring him. Paying for his schooling. We have searched way back and there isn’t such a person. He even gave us an email address so we could help him. He can’t reach him with the email so what makes him think we can. We tried the email but no such address. Don’t get me wrong it isn’t that I don’t believe Patrick. We have talked with him before over texts. We wondered where he got our name. He told us the missionaries. Elder Mecham brought him to us. We thought we had told him we couldn’t help him. Apparently he came to the church to find us. We will have to tell him at church next week we cannot help him. He expects us to step up and take over, unfortunately that can’t happen. You would not believe how often we get approached. They think whites are wealthy and will help them. This young man isn’t even a member. So I don’t know where this all came from. Sometimes we wish we could help but we can’t. The church won’t allow it. People would go broke. Plus they learn to expect it, they will never appreciate it. When we left the church it was pouring rain. We had to leave him in that rain. We are not allowed to transport anyone except missionaries. The others are not covered by the vehicle insurance. Sometimes it’s tough being in Africa! But this is the Lords work and we are out here for a reason!

Miss the Temple. Looking forward
to a visit even if it's only an open
house. Scheduled for April 22nd.