A Thanksgiving Feast

On Sunday, stakes and districts in parts of the Southeast Africa Area had a televised Stake Conference. My husband and I were really looking forward to it. It’s always nice to hear from some of the General officers of the church who are talking directly to members in our area.

We left early so we would be able to have plenty of time to park and find our seats. As we were driving to the Stake Center, which is just a couple of minutes away, we saw that every road around the church was blocked. Uganda had a marathon on Sunday morning, and it took place directly across the street from the church. A lot of people walk to church, or take a taxi, so they were just dropped off up the road a bit and were able to make it just fine. We, however were not able to drive the car anywhere near the church where we could park. We could have parked back at the mission home and then walked to church, but we were already driving, and we were concerned that the roads back to the mission home were too congested with cars and people. We finally decided to keep driving another 10-15 minutes and watch the Stake Conference broadcast at the South Stake Center instead.

We arrived in plenty of time, greeted our missionaries, and then found a seat towards the back of the room. (Many people had come early, which was nice.) As the meeting got started, we sang an opening hymn and had an opening prayer, and then they did some stake business. The stake presidency was supposed to take the first 30 minutes, which they did, and then turn on the broadcast. After President Kamya spoke, he said something...interesting. He said that as they had planned this meeting, they looked at the time wrong, and the broadcast was not going to start for another hour. They had decided to make a DVD of the broadcast which had aired earlier, but they were not finished with it yet. Then he said, “what a relief that we have our mission president and his wife here. They can come and speak to us, and when they are done, hopefully we will be able to have the broadcast...” WHAT? Haha. We literally had about 2 minutes notice to fill about 30 minutes of the meeting. It actually was fine, after being here on a mission for 1 1/2 years now... almost, I don’t get too surprised when I am asked to speak. But I must admit, I was shaking quite a bit as I stood up. I was able to have a clear mind, and my fears left as I started to speak, which was a blessing. President Collings always does really well, and after we spoke, they were able to start the broadcast. Haha.

Unfortunately, we had planned a pretty tight schedule for our day. After the broadcast, we had interviews with two of our missionary districts, a meeting with both stake presidents, and more interviews to take us to 7:30 pm. We hadn’t planned for the conference to go so long in the South Stake, and had to leave after the first talk because the missionaries in the North Stake were done and waiting for us at the mission home. Sometimes things don’t go exactly as planned.

Monday for preparation day we decided to have our Thanksgiving Dinner. We have not been able to find any really good turkey here in Uganda, so we decided to cook the next best thing... GOAT! It was such a fun day. We had the Assistants to the President come early and prepare the meat.

They put some in a stew, and fried the rest. They also made some rice and sauces. Our Sister Training Leaders brought rice, the Wittwers brought an incredible pumpkin dessert, Godfrey and his wife brought chapatis, Richard brought fruit, and we made mashed potatoes.

It was an amazing Thanksgiving Feast. We enjoyed spending time with everyone, and it felt like we started the holiday season off right. It was definately the most unusual Thanksgiving dinner we have ever had, but it tasted amazing, and was a blast. After we ate and people went home, about 16 missionaries came to the mission home for interviews. We had enough food left over to feed all of them as well, so it really felt like a true holiday. They were all so happy to have a meal, and spend time talking with President Collings.

We took some time on preparation day to take Conner to the Entebbe Zoo. We have been told that going on the "behind the scenes" tour is amazing. You know what, it's true!! What an amazing day we had!

This was right at the beginning of our experience. The animals are in their natural habitat, with several different animals living together. It was very nice.

We were taken right into the cheetah's cage, and took turns petting him. I was pretty nervous at first, but he was very docile. I'm pretty sure he was purring, but his purr sounded a lot like a growl. 

Next we got to get up close with the rhinos. There were two, a male and a female. We got to feed them, and pet them. We were just warned to stay away from the horn on their nose. It was amazing. 

Our next "hot spot" as the zoo keeper called it, was the leopard. He was not docile or sweet. He saw us coming and ran up to the cage where we were standing. We were given some raw meat to feed him, and WOW! It was shocking to feel his strength as he grabbed onto it with his claws and pulled the meat off the bone with his teeth. We each took turns feeding him, and it was pretty intimidating. 

I can't believe we fed a leopard, touched a rhino, pet a cheetah..... 

and played with a baby elephant!! This is Edward. He is an orphan who was found in Lake Albert. He is a sweetie! We really enjoyed feeding him and playing with him. So fun.

We got up close and personal with this giraffe. He loves to eat fresh vegetables, but does not like to be touched! The guide kept saying, "don't touch him." Do you see how close he is? How can we not touch him? Haha. 

And finally, a shoebilled stork. Very rare, and very unique looking. What surprised me the most was how soft his feathers were. He flew over the pond to us, and then would bow his head to greet us, and we were supposed to bow back to him, haha. He made this clicking sound with his bill. They say these birds are prehistoric. I would agree that they really LOOK prehistoric. It was such a fun day!

With Thanksgiving over, it was time to decorate the mission home for Christmas. We pulled out the Christmas tree and got it all set up, but I didn't feel much like decorating it. Good thing a have so many missionaries who are willing to help!! 

It really felt like a holiday with Steve and Conner watching a ballgame on the iPad, eating snacks, Christmas music playing, and setting up the Christmas tree. 

The lights on the tree were pretty depressing. Luckily the missionaries helped fix two strands of lights and hung all the ornaments on the tree. It ended up looking so nice. 

Each time a group of missionaries comes in they comment on how nice it is to see a real Christmas tree. (A real fake Christmas tree, haha.)

These missionaries continued serving after the decorations were up. They all pitched in and started slicing vegetables, and washing dishes for me. I feel so blessed to have so many helpful young men and young women around. 

Because of the Mission President's Seminar, we needed to combine our zone conferences. Although we had a lot of missionaries each day, we really had wonderful meetings. I was surprised with how well they all did in preparing for the meeting. There was a lot of participation, and we had an incredible time with each of the zones. 

Central  and South Zone Conference

North and Masaka Zone Conference

Jinja and Iganga Zone Conference

Ethiopia Zone Conference

Transfer Week and Johannesburg

Well, it was transfers again. We had a large group come in again. We had 12 new missionaries scheduled to come. 11 came, and one stayed in the MTC to learn English for a few more weeks. There were also a few who were leaving from Uganda to serve in other missions. Their visas did not go through on time, so they became missionaries of the Uganda Kampala Mission. So we actually received 15 new missionaries this transfer. We are always so happy to receive them! They come to the mission field so excited to serve the Lord. It’s up to us to keep their flame of faith burning, and help them to start off on the right foot. 

Twelve of our 15 new missionaries

 We picked up some at the airport on Tuesday evening, and brought them back to the mission home for training.

Then we had another group come to the airport on Wednesday morning. By the time we got them all to the mission home and fed, it was time for orientation.

We went over some of the particulars about the mission, including medical, financial, visa/ work permits, and talked with them about the mission culture. They were all able to email their families and be interviewed by President Collings.

After orientation, we took them to their new areas where they were able to meet their new companions. We keep saying, we are given the BEST missionaries! This mission is blessed to have each one of them.

Once we took the new missionaries to their new areas, the missionaries who were returning home made their way to the mission home.

They spent the night at the mission home, and then we had the farewell dinner and testimony meeting the next day. Four very strong missionaries returned home... and I cried. I love these young men!! They are such great leaders in our mission! They have amazing potential, and I can’t wait to see where life takes them. We have been so blessed to know them, and to have them serve with us in the Uganda Kampala Mission.

Elder Moyes, Phiri, US, Watts, and Quinton

 On Friday, we took our friend  Esther out to dinner for her birthday. She and Jackie have helped Conner to know more about Uganda, and have been such sweet friends to us. We wanted Conner to taste some of the exotic foods that are available here in Uganda.

 He ordered a dish that had four different types of meat on it, Spring buck, Ostrich, Hartebeest, and  Wildebeest.

I think it was a fun day for all of us. Esther really enjoyed her cheesecake for her birthday as well.

That evening as we were talking with Esther and Jackie, they talked about how they were going downtown the next day. They had some things to purchase in the shops there. I have been wanting to go on a taxi for a long time, and so I asked if I could tag along with them. They said that would be okay, and we set up a time to meet together. It was so fun! I had also mentioned that I have never had Nsennene yet since we have been to Uganda. It’s a type of grasshopper that is seasoned and fried. Everyone here loves it, but it’s only available in November. When we met at the taxi stop, they had bought me some!! I was so excited to try it!! I’ve been told they taste a little bit nutty, and they are a little bit crunchy. All I can say is they remind me of eating potato chips! Anyone who knows me knows I love potato chips more than any candy or chocolate!! I won’t say they are my favorite snack, but they were not bad at all!

I didn’t take a lot of pictures while we were out together. They were afraid that my phone might be taken while I had it out. But, WOW! What a great experience!! I rode in the taxi’s that we have our missionaries ride in all the time. I went to the marketplace downtown. You can’t believe how many shops there are! I’ve been one time before with Sussie to buy some medication for the missionaries, but it was a really quick stop,   and we went by car. This was such a blast. There were people everywhere selling everything you can imagine. Jackie and Esther  would hold my hand as we crossed the crazy busy streets, and one walked behind me while the other one walked in front so that nobody would give me any problems. I don’t think there would have been a problem, but they really were sweet to take care of me.  

At the taxi stop 

Back seat of the taxi 

A view from inside. We had about 16 people inside with us. 

Stuck in a jam

It was a great day spent with great friends! I’m thinking I would like to do it again sometime. We will see.

This past week we went to the Mission President’s Seminar in Johannesburg. Can I just say, this is my favorite time of the whole year? We have really gotten to know the other mission presidents and their wives, along with the Area Presidency and MTC Presidents and their wives,  and I love being able to see each of them, and spend time with them. But it’s also such a spiritual uplift to be taught and interact together. It really recharges us when we go.

We went a day early to Johannesburg so that we could get our teeth cleaned at the dentist. It also gave us a chance to see some of our return missionaries, and have a small reunion with them! We had worked it out with Roderick Duma, one of our missionaries, to schedule us to go on a session in the Johannesburg temple. Then we said we would like to be able to just have dinner with everyone so we could talk and enjoy each other’s company. He did such an amazing job!!

We all met at the Johannesburg temple.

This was our first time to go back to the temple with Conner. We only went once with him before he left on his mission. It was a great experience. I think he has had more experience in the temple in the last 1 1/2 years than we have. Apparently, if you are on the island where a temple is, you get to go once every 3 months. Boy do I miss going often!

 As we walked through the gates of the temple, all of these wonderful missionaries were there! It brought me to tears! As each of them left Uganda, I really felt like I may not ever see them again. To have them make the sacrifice to come and see us, was amazing!! Several came from different parts of South Africa. One came  from Swaziland, and two from Zimbabwe.  It reminded me of the story in Alma 17, where the sons of Mosiah met Alma as they were traveling, and “what added more to his joy, they were still his brethren in the Lord.”  These young men and young women were able to spend time with us in the temple. They are diligent in keeping their covenants, and are really lifting the members of their wards and branches as they are serving. All I could think of was how much joy I felt in being with them. It was a wonderful experience.

 After the temple session, we had a meal prepared for us in the cafeteria. But what surprised me the most was that they had arranged a program! They each took time to stand and say when they served, and what they learned from their mission that is blessing their lives today. They had myself and President Collings each take time to talk to them. We all joked that it felt a little bit like a zone conference again, but nobody complained. It felt good to have a spiritual meeting with them, just like old times!

 We have decided that next November we want to meet together one more time. Hopefully a few will be married by then, haha. And we will have a few more missionaries home that can join us. I highly recommend mission reunions!! They are the best!!

By Wednesday, we had the Mission President’s Seminar. As I said before, this was a time to recharge our spiritual batteries.

Our son Conner served his mission in Hawaii, and while there he spent time in one of the Tongan Wards. We have a mission president and wife from Tonga serving in the Zambia, Malawi Mission. It was so fun for them to meet Conner. They know several of the same families, and it was so fun hearing them talk about and reminisce different friendships. Apparently, they say Conner speaks very good Tongan. I think he does, it sounds good to me, but it’s better to hear it from a native Tongan. Haha.

Conner with President and Sister Kupu 

 This was our seat for three days as we listened to instruction, and interacted with the other leaders in the Southeast Africa Area. I enjoyed it all so much, I didn’t want it to end.  We both had just a flood of ideas come to us that we want to implement in our mission. It’s amazing how revelation works, things that we have been thinking about, and wondering how to do this or that, and then as we interact together and share ideas, our minds are enlightened with what the Lord wants us to do in our own mission.

Me with my companion. 😉 

One of the meetings was held with just the sisters. We had the wives of the Area Presidency, the MTC presidents, and all the mission presidents, along with staff and sister missionaries serving in Johannesburg. It was such a wonderful experience.  We talked about having Joy in the Journey. And, although sometimes the days seem pretty crazy, and extremely busy, I really believe that all of us really feel joy in what we are doing. We took turns sharing with each other the training that we have been doing that has helped our missionaries.

I love these women! 

We took a picture of the men and women together as a group. Needless to say, this is an experience I will treasure forever.

While we were in meetings, Conner was exploring!  Roderick took him around and showed him some of the “must see” places in Johannesburg. He went to he home of Nelson Mandela, and a museum. He also went to an amusement park one day. We all enjoyed time at the mall, and just seeing the sights of Johannesburg. I would highly recommend visiting! It was so fun!

At the Mandela House

At the amusement part 

Dinner together with Conner and Roderick 

Visiting with Elder Duma!