This Blog will be dedicated to the Christmas Couples Conference we had. All pictures are of the Senior Couples that serve in the Lubumbashi DR Congo Mission. Two couples, the Burton's and Frogley's serve in Burundi. The Frogleys will be going home in April. The Moores serve in Mbuji-Mayi. The rest, Wilson's, Bunkers, Evansons and Bowers serve in Lubumbashi. The President and his lovely and wonderful wife (Packer) are here in Lubumbashi also. I can not express how nice to talk with other couples that can share an laugh about the same things. Honestly there are things we can not begin to express to our friends and family that would make any sense or not scare them to death. It is just a different world here. It has taken a good 4 months to just sit back and say " Only in the DRC".
We learned while in South Africa they say "Only in Africa" but that does not work here. This is different than South Africa and we are learning daily to love every moment.
On the back row, Bowers, Evanson, Moore's, Burton's. Next row, Frogley, Packer and Wilson. Seated are Bunkers. As I mentioned Frogley and Wilson will leave in April. We have not heard about replacements yet, but praying that names will come soon. Pres. and Sis. Packer leave 1st of July. Moores leave in August and so do Evanson's. Bunker's in Nov., Burton's in Feb. 2013 and us in August. It will be strange to have a whole new group arrive in next 6 months along with a New Mission President. This is considered a Hardship Mission so the President only serves for 2 years instead of the usual 3 years. This is our casual picture on Christmas Eve. We had Ham. Just to give you an idea of how expensive food is, it was a 25 lb. Ham and cost over $4 you can add the zeros. It was a treat and to tell you the truth we are still eating the left overs !!
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| Elder and Sister Wilson (Utah) |
This is taken on Christmas Day. We had church at the mission home which was very special. We had Christmas Dinner and then we all went to call our families.
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| Elder and Sister Bunker (Utah) |
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| Elder and Sister Burton (Utah) |
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| Elder and Sister Evanson (Canada) |
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| Elder and Sister Frogley (Utah) |
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| Elder and Sister Moore (Utah) |
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| President and Sister Packer (Utah) |
This is our DRC Family. Sister Packer is holding her Christmas present. It is a wooden purse and it is fabulous. President Packer has a wonderful Zebra. They found them at a craft store during the Holidays. I will be looking for that purse all year long, just loved it.
This is the closing chapter to 2011. It has been an eye opening year with lots of challenges and surprises. Thanks to all our support from home I am sure 2012 will also be an exceptional year with many wonderful experiences, new friends, projects and new sights. We are off to Burundi in January, Zambia in February and South Africa in March. Never in my wildest dreams would I have guessed this would be my where I am in 2012.
Love to All
Wendy and Bob
