More from DR Congo! A water well project sponsored by the church.

More of Our Adventure in the DR Congo

During our few days while we were at Kinshasa, DR Congo we went with the Humanitarian couple, the Johnson's, to a water project.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sponsors many clean water projects throughout all of Africa.  These are pictures of just one project consisting of four wells in various stages of completion.

We had to park the pickup and walk down some narrow streets to the newest of the water wells.  There is no way a truck could make these streets.

This fellow is the engineer on the latest well project.  He is carving out the base for the well.  This void will be filled with concrete and when dry will be moved to the well location (about 30 feet away).  The workers will then get inside the ring of concrete and dig under it until it drops...  again and again.  then they will place a concrete cylinder on the ring and dig down until it drops down and they then repeat until the well is 40 to 50 feet deep (in this area).

This ring will be about 18 inches tall and provides the base to place the other concrete cylinders on it as it drops into the ground as the soil is dug out from under the ring.

The man in the white shirt is the local bishop & also the site manager for these projects.  

This is a look inside a handmade concrete cylinder showing the bracing.  Once dry it will be used as the liner in the well.  It is about three feet across.  The workers will work inside this oftentimes many feet below the surface.

Elder Johnson and Olivier Tshimanga (our National Public Affairs director for Kinshasa DR Congo.)

The workers seemed to always be singing.  Sister Johnson is singing and clapping in time with them. BTW, it was about 90 degrees and humid that day, which is typical for DRC. Ugh, that would be rough working conditions!

A little girl playing catch with Sister Berg

Mother and children at the home of the site of the well.  She was very proud of her kids.

One of the workers explaining the concrete cylinder construction to Elder Johnson.

The kids just loved having their pictures taken.

This grandmother waved at me and wanted me to take a picture of her grandbaby...  she was very happy.

Discussing the well.

I took a picture of my hand on one of the homemade concrete cylinders to gage relative thickness of the cylinder.

The kids were happy to be around us! We just can't get enough of these cute kids' smiling faces!

The engineer explaining the nearly completed pattern for the bottom guide piece.

Explaining how they make the cylinders.

This is the pump body.  They have made a concrete base for the pump base and will put it on the top of the well when they are at that point.

This little girl is carrying a full water container on her head.  Placing these wells closer together will make it easier to retrieve water. As you can see from the 'homes' in the background, these villagers live in extreme poverty conditions. But...they still seem happy. We could learn a lot from these humble people.

The kids were all clean, healthy and well kept.

School kids waving to us as we walked to another well site.

This is another well project that is nearly complete.  The inscription on the side is in French and indicates that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints sponsored the well.

Sister Berg taking pictures of the kids and showing them to them....  they would look at their picture and then run around laughing.

We went to another well that was not yet complete.  they moved the capstone and showed us how they "spider walk" down the inside of the well to dig out the sand and soil.
It was about 50 feet deep, and we were told this was one of the more shallow wells!

There is no way I could fit inside this well to work.
These guys had to be slim and brave to work in there.

I had to take a picture of this cute boy playing in the sand pile the workers used for the well.

Happy boys playing!

As we walked to another well, I took a picture of this young man playing a native flute-type instrument....  he was very good.  The boy at the right turned away when he saw that I was going to take his picture.

This shows a completed well, with clean water pouring out.  The Church requires that a local committee be established to maintain the well to keep it in working order.  There are charges for the water but they are very small and affordable.  These funds are kept to keep the well up and a small portion going to the owner of the property.  

A close up of the well mechanism.  Made in India.

The kids were singing a song and making hand gestures as they sang. Most of the people in these villages speak the native language, Lingala. Even though we couldn't understand them, their smiles 'spoke' to us.

A very proud mother and child.

As we walked back to the truck and saw these guys milling some sort of root shown in the next picture.  I was told it was a staple food here.

(from Sister Berg): It was an very eye-opening experience to see how these projects are constructed, and to meet the great people in these villages (locally called 'cartiers'). We were continually amazed to see how resourceful the people are, and were filled with humility as we wandered through the 'neighborhoods', filled with dozens of wide-eyed, smiling children and hard-working mothers. 

As we enter into a New Year and look toward what 2015 will hold for us as full-time missionaries, we are filled with gratitude and determination to make this one of the best years of our lives...a year that will be spent entirely on African soil. It is such a blessing! 

We love all of you, and pray that the Lord will bless you with His love and great blessings for a prosperous and happy year ahead. May we all look at our lives and find ways to serve those around us. For as Elder Holland so humbly stated in the last General Conference, "Rich or poor, we are to 'do what we can' when others are in need...Although I may not be my brother's keeper, I AM my brother's brother, and 'because I have been given much, I too must give'."

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2015

From Elder & Sister Berg

Area Office Hosting & Incredible Symphony in Kinshasa, DR Congo!

We are often asked ,"What do you do as Public Affairs Missionaries?" One of the things is hosting 'key opinion leaders' at the Area Office. This past week, we had the opportunity to host "Pinky" who works for the South African Embassy in Madagascar. She is the one who stamps Visa applications for people wanting to come to South Africa to either attend the MTC or attend the JoBurg Temple. 

Unfortunately, there have been misconceptions, sometimes through the media, as to what our Church believes & what our members' purposes are in wanting to travel to other countries. So...through our tour, we were able to visit Humanitarian, Self-Reliance & Family History Departments, as well as Patron Housing (where patrons can stay overnight while they attend the temple). 

Here are some pictures from the Area Office tour:

Sandile Makasi (Travel/Visa Dept), Elder Cook (ASEA Area President),
Pinky, Sean Donnelly (Area Public Affairs Director)

Display in Humanitarian Department

Sister Kinghorn & Sherrie explain various Humanitarian & Mental Health
Programs the Church is involved with throughout the Area

Elder Jarvi shows Pinky one of the resources available at the
Family History Centre.

Thousands of microfilm records available for patrons to use in
their Family History research

Elder Hale shows Pinky the Family Search website

Due to this wonderful visit, Pinky was able to understand the programs & gain insight into members' beliefs, etc. She was very touched, & greatly appreciated the time we took to answer her questions. She said she will address concerns with her colleagues & let them know that the Embassy does not have to worry about approving Visa's for members of the LDS Church - yay! This is what we hope will always be the positive outcome of these informative & spiritual visits.

Last weekend, we were asked to travel to Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This is one of the most northern areas in the Africa SE Area. We were excited to have this opportunity, because it is not one of the countries we directly oversee, because it is French-speaking. But, Sean was on holiday & so we were blessed to go. 

Our purpose was to cover a historic event taking place on Friday night. Our PA Director, Olivier Tshimanga, had been working for several months with a local orchestral group to put on a performance at the Stake Center. The group, Kimbanguiste Symphony Orchestra, was created 20 years ago by their director, Armand Diangienda. In the midst of this worn-torn country, with almost 9 million people in Kinshasa, this group began performing with only 12 original artists, working with home-made, refurbished instruments. It has now grown to over 200 talented musicians, including a full orchestra & symphony, Artists travel weekly by taxi, car or on foot for rehearsals & performances, making their way through the run-down, extremely crowded streets. Knowing this background, it was even more incredible to hear the spectacular music resounding from the Stake Center at the evening's performance.

Here are some pictures of our amazing trip to DR Congo!

Talk about stark differences between the tranquil resort-setting outside our hotel,
with the backdrop of the dilapidated building, with laundry hanging off
every balcomy!

Setting up for the evening's concert

Elder & Sister Johnson (Humanitarian missionaries from Oregon)
They were our "tour guides & translators" for the weekend.

While we were there, they were having a mission-wide Christmas Devotional for the Kinshasa DRC Mission. Look at all these handsome, shining faces of the powerful "Army of Helaman" in the DR Congo!

These Elders & Sisters LOVED chowing down on some great food!

They actually ran out of meat, & had to grill up some more!

Friday morning, we were blessed to meet with Olivier & his National Public Affairs Council. They are such dedicated servants of the Lord, & have lots of enthusiasm & great ideas to share.

Olivier (Nat'l PA Director - in middle), surrounded by his Council.
Elder Mabaya (right), the Area 70 for Kinshasa ,shared his amazing spirit
& testimony with us during the meeting. What a great man!

Elder & Sister Johnson showed us around the Service Center, where
their office is housed.

Another view of the Kinshasa Service Center - beautiful architecture!

Now, it was time for the big event! It was absolutely incredible! We hope you'll enjoy these pictures & watching the video, to give you a taste of this incredible orchestra & choir:

Venue was the Kinshasa Stake Center. This is a view from the
future site of the DR Congo Temple. It will be such a great blessing for
these wonderful Congolese people!

Did I mention everyone hear speaks French? Or the native language, Lingala (sp?)

Advertising Poster

Musicians arriving for the evening's performance

Program

This little one was excited to join in the fun!

Darling family getting ready to enjoy the music!

Full house of over 500 delighted guests!
All three of the DRC Area 70 were there (in the foreground)

The choir joined the orchestra for the last half of the performance

Women were adorned in beautiful Congolese outfits

Soloists added an great dimension to some of the numbers - they were SO good!

As you will see from this video, they were amazing musicians! They received several standing ovations, and an especially powerful one following their performance of Handel's "Hallelujah Chorus". We felt so blessed to have been there to watch & listen. 

For more details regarding the background & history of the Kimbanguiste Symphony Orchestra, please check out www.mormonnewsroom.co.za 

Click on this link to see a video on YouTube

Merry Christmas, 

From Elder & Sister Berg