Mission Adventures in Uganda: Special Hello and Goodbye

This has been an interesting week. A week of saying Hello and Goodbye. We welcomed a new group of missionaries, which is always special. This time it was a little extra special. Elder Manqele was an assistant to the President with another one of our missionaries, Elder Afrifa. One day Elder Afrifa was looking at the list of missionaries who would be coming in to our mission and noticed a Sister Manqele. He showed his companion, Elder Manqele, and said, "It looks like she is from the same area that you're from, and she's coming in March." Elder Manqele looked at the screen, and said, "That's my sister!" His sister had been called to the same mission. She would be arriving on Wednesday, and he would be returning home on Friday. President Collings said that when she arrived at the airport, he would be sure Elder Manqele could be there to welcome his sister. It was a wonderful day. They were both so happy to see each other.

We had 7 missionaries come from the Ghana MTC, and 3 come from the Provo MTC. We had orientation with them, and I keep saying, I'm amazed at the quality of young men and young women who are sent to this mission. They came on two separate days, so we trained the group of 7 on Wednesday, and sent them to their new areas, then we picked up the group of 3 elders. They came in at 10:30pm, and by the time we reached the mission home, it was midnight. We had them stay in the mission home for the night, and then had a nice breakfast in the morning before orientation.

A quick thank you to Sister Dennison. Elder Dennison met me at the airport, and immediately opened his bag and pulled out a gift from his mother. It was a wonderful surprise! So sweet! Thank you!

Just a fun reminder, we are still in Kampala. I had to snap a quick picture of the boda-boda traffic. Also, as we were coming into town, Uganda was having their own Women's March. The missionaries from Ghana were treated to a parade, with a marching band. It was really fun.

On Thursday, after orientation, we prepared a farewell dinner for those missionaries who were returning home. I had Suzan and Jackie prepare the main dishes of Pilau, beans, irish, and salad. Sister Tower brought a fruit salad, and I made some cake. The food was wonderful, and all the missionaries loved it!

Over the past couple of months, our office secretary has had some health issues. It was decided that it would be best for her to travel back home until she was able to figure out what needed to be done to be well again. It was with great love, respect, and sorrow that we bid farewell to our beloved office couple this transfer. They were only able to serve for six months, but we are so grateful for their service.

We had ten other missionaries who finished their missions this transfer. We have seen much growth in confidence, testimony, and understanding with these missionaries. They have great potential, and we pray they will always remember the things they have learned on this mission.

We ended the week with Mission Leadership Council. Always a highlight for us. The Zone Leaders came in from around Uganda. Rwanda and Ethiopia watched via web cam. Very positive day all around. We love these missionaries.