Mission Life in the UKM!

We have had such an amazing couple of weeks! We finished up the zone conferences with

Rwanda Zone, 

Jinja Zone, 

Iganga Zone, 

and South Zone. 

We absolutely love the time we are able to spend with our missionaries!

On Saturday we brought President Okello with us to Lira. We had a combined branch fireside on Saturday afternoon with Lira and Adyel Branches. It was such a fun experience spending time with members of both branches. We also brought Jackie and Esther with us. Jackie's mom lives near Lira, so we invited her to come along so she could spend a little time with her.

On Sunday we had branch conferences in both branches. President Okello presided at Adyel Branch, and President Collings presided at Lira Branch. There was very good attendance at both meetings.

President Collings focused his remarks on Jesus Christ. John 17:3 "And this is life eternal that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent." He spoke about the difference between knowing about God and Jesus Christ, and actually KNOWING them. He talked about what we need to do to come to know them. It was a very special meeting.

After the meeting, we went to the various classes. President Collings was asked to teach Gospel Doctrine, and Priesthood afterwards. He really had a special experience teaching. There were some who came up to him and said that they had been taught things that they had never understood before. It was a highlight for them, and for President Collings.

I went into the primary room and spent the rest of the meeting with the children. This is where I spent the last 25 years (give or take), so it's where I feel most comfortable. I loved that they were using the same outline as the Primaries use in the United States, and I'm sure, worldwide. I was able to participate in sharing time, which I really enjoyed.

After church in Lira, we went over to Adyel Branch to pick up President Okello, Jackie, and Esther. It sounded like the meetings there were really nice as well. We were so happy to see Jackie's mom at the church. It was her first time attending, and it sounds like she really enjoyed it. I was so happy to meet her, and let her know how much we appreciate the work Jackie does at the mission home for us. It was a great day.

Another highlight of this week was a special training we had for the Branch Presidents in the mission branches in Uganda. We invited the Branch Presidents and their wives, if they were married, to come to the mission home for two days of training. We enjoyed so much having them stay with us!

They arrived in Kampala on Thursday around 1:00. We had lunch waiting for them at the mission home, and spent some time just visiting together. We have several new Branch Presidents, so it was nice for them to get to know each other a little bit better. We started the actual meeting at 2:00. After some small opening remarks, I took the ladies out and we had a nice activity. There were 5 of us total, and I took them to the mall near the mission home. We sat down and enjoyed some ice cream. We each bought two scoops, which I think was too much for Sister Dilish. The rest of us ate it all, but I think Sister Wittwer and I ate it the fastest. The African sisters struggled with how cold it is. Then we let them experience some things that maybe they hadn't experienced before. We took a ride on the escalator, and also on the elevator. It was fun to see their reactions. We really enjoyed our time at the mall.  Then we went back to the mission home and watched a few Mormon Messages on the television. Finally, we all came back together for the rest of the meetings.

The entire experience with these branch presidents was amazing! There is such a good feeling of love and unity with the whole group. I feel like they all felt encouraged, and excited to do more in their callings.  We were able to have a fireside, where President Collings spoke to them. He said that because of the good feelings in the room, and the spiritual preparation of the Branch Presidents, he was able to teach them more. We had this training a year ago, and it was good, but this was so much better. We hope that it will continue to get better and better each year.

After the meeting, we went as a group out to dinner. We were in a private dining room, and were fed more than any of us could eat. It was fun to sit on a large round table, all together. We went around the table and each told something interesting about ourselves that we thought nobody knew. It was so fun.

That evening we had 8 of  them stay at the mission home, and 4 others stayed at a nearby hotel. I love that we have enough beds to house so many in the mission home. It's so much easier than trying to work out other arrangements. And I feel like we really get to know each other better when we are able to just spend time together.

The next morning, I made a big breakfast for the group, and by 9:00, we started the meetings again. This time President Okello was in charge. President Collings and I had to get to the airport and catch a flight to Rwanda. But we really felt like they were trained well. We had men come and speak to them about audits, church history, and perpetual education in addition to the training that was done by President Collings, President Okello, and the Wittwers. We felt that as we left, they were in very good hands.

Meanwhile, we were off to Rwanda for the first District Conference they have had since becoming a district. It was a very quick trip to Rwanda. We had the adult session of District Conference on Saturday afternoon. The meeting was held at the Kigali 3rd branch, and it was pretty full. We were happy with the attendance, and the talks that were given.

That evening we met with one of the members of the church in Rwanda, and his friend, who is a member of Parliament in Rwanda. He had just returned from a two week trip to Utah, where he was given a tour of temple square, welfare square, and was shown many of the programs the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is involved in. He was happy to find out that the church he visited in Utah also exists in Kigali. We invited him to the General Session of District Conference, but he was busy with his family. It was a wonderful meeting.

Sunday morning I was able to sit down with my mom and watch Women's Conference on the internet. I don't remember the last time we watched it together! It was so fun to be together with her for this fun meeting. I love having her and my dad so close. Truly a blessing! The talks were amazing, and really make me want to be a better person!

On Sunday, we had the Priesthood leadership session at 8:00am at the Marriott Hotel Ballroom. There were over 90 priesthood holders in attendance. It was amazing!

Elder Corbridge did a wonderful job playing the piano for conference. 

We had the General Session at 10:00. All of the members of the church were invited to come, along with those who are investigating the church. The missionaries invited all who were interested to come enjoy conference with us. We were so pleased with the turn out. We had almost 400 people come to the general session. The spirit was strong, and there was just a great feeling there.

Fun pictures after the meeting.

Some of the sister missionaries serving in Rwanda.