A few days in Rwanda

It's been a little while since we took a selfie! I decided to take one while we were getting ready to leave for Rwanda. We spend a lot of time flying... they are starting to recognize us in all three airports now.

First of all, what a blessing it is for President Collings to have counselors! There are just so many things that need to be done, and he is not able to be everywhere at once. On Sunday, August 5th, we had a District Conference in Ethiopia. Elder Mdletshe was presiding at the conference, and President Collings and I needed to be in Rwanda. We were able to have President Richard Okello represent the Mission Presidency for the Conference. I was told by our Senior Couple that the conference was great, and Elder Mdletshe was amazing. 

District Conference in Ethiopia

Meanwhile, Sunday morning in Rwanda we were able to witness a baptismal service. Because of the issue with getting appropriate buildings that meet the new requirements  set by the government, we no longer have three separate church buildings in Rwanda, and the building we meet in is a convention hall, so there is no baptismal font. We have had to rent out a local swimming pool so we can baptize those who want to join the church. President Collings and I have heard about the baptisms at the swimming pool, but this was the first time we were able to be there to participate in the meeting. It was actually a  really wonderful meeting. We all gathered on chairs at the side of the pool, sang a hymn, had an opening prayer, and then one of the missionaries gave a spiritual thought. We were outside and could hear the birds singing. It was really beautiful! Then we proceeded with the baptisms. There were three people getting baptized. It was a really neat experience to enjoy.

We went to church in the hotel for the last time with all three branches combined. Next week the Kigali 2nd branch will move to their own building. Which we are all very excited about. We listened as Sister Josee bore her departing testimony. She will leave on her mission Thursday morning. She will be serving in Benin, french speaking. She has been preparing for a long time for this, and is very excited to go. President Collings gets to set her apart while we are in town.

Sister Josee's farewell

 I had to snap a picture of the cutest little girl in Rwanda! She was carrying her baby on her back just like her mom carries her. It was so sweet!

After church, I left with the sister missionaries. As we have said, President Collings and I have been trying to spend more time actually working and studying with the missionaries. I haven't done that in Rwanda until now. We went to the apartment to break our fast with the rest of the district. While the Elders cooked dinner, the sisters had their personal study. I actually decided to spend some time talking with them, and sharing some scriptures that I felt impressed to share. We had a wonderful discussion, followed by a wonderful meal! The Elders are pretty good cooks!

I promise I was here! I was just the one taking the pictures of the groups! Haha!

Sisters Agbo and Manqele, and Elders Mdletshe, Ieremia, Moncur, and Masters

The sister missionaries with a new recent convert who helps them with translation.

Our teaching appointment. Sister Sarah lives with a family of members. I'm sure she will be baptized soon. She has very good examples of church members all around her. 

Dinner appointment with President Bizimana and his wife. 

We had a very busy Sabbath Day, and I really enjoyed the time I spent with the sister missionaries, and with the K-1 District.

That night I slept on a mattress on the floor between the two beds. The sisters stay in an apartment building right on a busy road. It was kind of loud, but the sound was like "white noise" and I was able to sleep pretty well. What I love most about staying with the sister missionaries is that they all keep their apartments VERY clean!! No worries about rodents, cockroaches, or ants crawling all over me.

Monday morning we got up and straightened up the apartment. The sisters had been asked to cook a dessert for zone conference the next day, so we got to work. We decided to make rice crispy squares because we found marshmallows! But we couldn't find rice crispies... so we made the next best thing... corn flake squares!! We learn to compromise here! They turned out pretty good.

Sister Manqele goes home in two weeks, and this is the first time she has used the measuring spoons her mother sent for her. We had to take a picture!

Pictures at the apartment. Fun times!

 For preparation day we all decided to play frisbee. It started out as a game of monkey in the middle while we waited for the entire zone to arrive, but then we played ultimate frisbee. I took this picture because I wanted to show our audience! Every time we do something like this, a crowd gathers and watches  us. We let some of them play with us too, but mostly they just wanted to watch.

We ended our Rwanda trip with zone conference. We had it at the couple's apartment because we are still waiting for a meeting house to be ready. It is strange to meet there because that's where my parents were serving, and right now it's vacant. But we are very glad we have a place where we can meet, and very soon we will have a building too. The zone leaders did a great job of training, and we very much enjoyed the time we were able to spend with them. They are doing very well in Rwanda!

Our zone picture with Sister Josee who was set apart right after the meeting. We had to take the picture inside because it was RAINING so HARD!!!