Our Christmas Corn Roast (minus the corn)

As most of you know, in California our family has a tradition of going to the beach for a Corn Roast for special occassions. Well, we tried the corn and it tasted like I would imagine the colored corn that is used for decorations on Thanksgiving would taste like. Totally bland, hard, unchewable kernals. However, we didn't let that stop us. We were losing 3 great elders and decided to have a beach party for Christmas, while they were still with us. We found some interesting hot dogs, and used baguettes for buns... the only marshmallows we have are pink... the chocolate bars don't melt... and we used a cookie for the graham crackers. I guess the Elders didn't think we were serious about going to the beach... because they all showed up in their tracting clothes... but all in all... it was a huge success!


This is a photo of Ed asking who thought the occassion needed a Christmas Tree... They all voted Yes, and he went home and brought our tree to the beach. I love that Man!

What does it mean to live on the Equator?

1. The sun comes up about 6:00 and goes down about 6:00 every day and the sunsets at our beach (a 5 min drive or 20 minute walk) are fabulous!


2. The waves seem to come straight into the beach, not at an angle, like in California.

2. For the first three months of our mission, the weather was mild. However, the wet season has hit and it has hit with a vengeance! This is our home! The water was so high it came up across the porch and into the house. The road in front of our home… and then the calm after the storm.





And now it is HOT & HUMID!!!!!!
But it is all part of the adventure and we are loving it!

Kriss’s Congo Birthday

My birthday was on a Thursday which is P-Day for the elders, which means it is our fun night together. On Wednesday night, Ed took me out to a nice restaurant on the beach. We watched a fabulous sunset...

and then I ordered a great crab salad and, for my main course, Lobster Thermadore (only $20 American). The day of my birthday, we slept in until 7:00 a.m. and then did normal errands and regular work, but that night the elders cooked dinner to give me the night off. They cooked Lasagna and Ed made his fabulous brownies. We played train game and they gave me a gift of a small painted statue of an African mom with her baby on her back. (I think I am collecting them.) I got 2 special messages from Dad and heard from most of our kids and some friends, so it was a great day! Thanks to all who made it so fun.

Odds & Ends....

We live on the Atlantic Ocean. We are only about a 5 minute drive from the beach and we enjoy going down to walk or go out to eat for dinner on the water.
This is our "pet" that lives in our pump cabinet close to our front door. We have named him Connor after our cute red-headed grandson.

We had a General Authority, Elder Watson, and his wife stay with us for 2 nights. He is one of the Area Authorities over Africa. They were touring the mission and stopped here for a Zone Conference. They were wonderful and very interesting people. He served 35 years as the secretary to the First Presidency of the Church. He was the one that used to read the statistical reports for General Conference. His stories about the prophets were wonderful and we enjoyed having them with us.

We did have lots of mosquitoes when we first came. However, Ed has eradicated the problem! Every night he would climb on the bed, or a chair, and anything that hinted at being a mosquitoes was crushed or sprayed. We have almost no mosquitoes in our house anymore!

Finding Hope in Africa

(from Lani)

When I was asked to give a talk in church about "Finding Hope through the Atonement," I asked mom and dad if they could share a good Africa story of hope with me. They gave gave me one that fit perfectly in my talk. I thought I would post it here; hopefully, that is OK with mom. Thanks for your help mom.

Stories about Hope and Africa
August 20, 2010
(by Kriss Gates)

When we were called on our mission to serve as missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Republic of Congo in Africa, we read all the articles we could find on the church in Africa. We were amazed at the reports of how quickly the church was growing. One report said that there were 20,000 members in our mission area. 10,000 of them joined last year. Other reports were just as positive.

Soon after reading these reports, Ed and I were discussing what would make the gospel grow so quickly. In our ward in Irvine, we only have a few baptisms a year. I had recently been released from serving as the Relief Society President (women's organization) of our ward (congregation), and in my narrow mindedness and my Orange County, California mentality, “I wonder if the reason the Africans are joining the church in throngs is because the people are very poor and they are just joining so they can collect welfare.” Then, I wondered if it they were joining in groups because it was the “in-thing” to do. I kept trying to think of why else the gospel was growing so rampantly in Africa.

A couple of days later we had the opportunity to attend a homecoming for one of the elders who had just returned from serving in the city where we had been called to serve - Pointe Noire, Republic of Congo. This elder stood up and looked across the well groomed affluent congregation in Newport Beach, California. He started his talk by telling us that the bishop had asked him to speak on “Hope”. And then he shared a story with all of us about a night that he and his companion visited the home of a woman in Pointe Noire.

In a country that is ridden with poverty, alcoholism, wars, broken homes, abuse in the home and general despair, I discovered something wonderful! Let me give you just one example. One of the sisters that we had the opportunity to teach worked hard from early in the morning until late in the day. She had several children and she was the primary provider for the family. Wednesday nights were our regular night to teach her. When we arrived one evening and entered her very humble home, with a dirt floor, she was sitting on her “sofa” with her head in her hands. (Her sofa was really just some springs with a piece of fabric on it.) She looked up at us and said… “Oh, elders. I am so sorry. I am just too, too tired to have a lesson tonight. I am just not up to it.”

The elders said she looked exhausted so they said… “Can we just sing a Hymn to you, and we will be on our way?” She nodded and the 2 young men, who had been transformed in one short year from being high school socialites and athletes into stalwart men of God, started to sing in French all the verses of “Come, Come Ye Saints."

Perhaps their tune and accents were less than perfect, but their hearts were full of love and compassion for this sweet sister.

When they were done singing she lifted her head up out of her hands and smiled a big smile. “Thank You, Elders, I needed that. Now I am ready for the lesson.” These fine young men had brought the Gospel into this home and with it, the power that the Gospel brings of HOPE.

I sat in the chapel that day and felt my testimony grow by leaps and bounds as my spirit was humbled and my heart burst with happiness. I knew then why the African people were joining by the thousands. It isn’t a “social thing” or a “welfare thing”. It is the gospel of Jesus Christ in it’s purest form. The marvelous byproduct of believing in and loving Jesus Christ is HOPE!

Family Home Evening

In this country of despair the church offers support and education, but especially the knowledge that life is wonderful and well worth living as our families learn about Jesus Christ and how much he and our Father in Heaven love them.

In the 6 weeks since we arrived here in Pointe Noire, we have had the opportunity to see the happiness in these great people’s lives. We have sat in homes where the fathers shared their testimonies with their wives and children at Family Home Evenings. We have been with investigators as they were taught by the young elders and watched as they flipped through their well-read and very highlighted scriptures and glowed as they asked questions.

We have seen branches with over 150 children, teenagers, young married couples, and families fill up a small chapel… with only 2 cars in the parking lot. We realized that they had either walked to church (long distances) or used their precious funds for bus rides to get to church… and they were thrilled to be there.

We have seen HOPE glow in their faces as they welcomed us into their meetings.

The heart of the gospel of Jesus Christ is HOPE in everything that is now and all that is forever.

Bargain shopping

I have spent days and shopping for the stuff for the new apartments. Thanks to staging the beach houses with Christel and Caren, I have had lots of experience. It is a different experience than shopping in the fancy shops of Newport and Laguna Beach... but I did learn from the best.



I have learned to bargain with the shopkeepers. I was very excited to find a clothes tree for Dad and I, and stackers for our bathroom and closets. In fact, they have worked out so well, and I had got them down in price so much, we bought each companionship a stack of 4 baskets, a clothes tree and a little office table that we are using as a table between their 2 beds for scriptures, alarm clock, etc. The Elders are thrilled with any little "luxury" and they like having a place for all their small things and books, other than in a big pile at the bottom of their closet or on the floor of their rooms. (They didn't have any drawers, etc.)

These photos are of the place that we bought our sofa set for the boys, and I am going to have them make us sofas once we know where we are going to be permanently. As you can see, my options for fabric are exciting, most are velour... and I would hate to choose bright purple if our new apartment is bright orange!

Fabric options for sofas

The shop, the carpenters and the treddle sewing machine that they make sofas on.

Our Daily Exercise

The above picture is part of our walk... It is what I thought Africa was going to look like. This lush quiet green area is our favorite 3 minutes of our walk.

The elders daily schedule starts at 5:30 am. They exercise, eat, shower and get dressed. At 7:00 they have an hour of personal study and then at 8:00 they have an hour of companion study. From 9-10:00 they study French (or read the scriptures or Preach My Gospel in French, if they already know the language. Elder Chirwa teaches us French every day. We make our own schedule, so we try to get up before 6:30.

An important part of missionary work is to get exercise every morning. We are trying to walk every morning we can. The first day we drove to the beach and walked. It was ok, but it took 5-10 minutes to drive there and then back. The next day we walked around the streets, but even early in the morning there was a lot of traffic and it was a noisy experience. The 3rd day we decided to take off on one of our dirt roads and off on the trails that go through neighborhood areas. The poor ones are called "quartiers" (Quar-tee-ays) We finally saw the real Africa. The first day was humbling to see how they live, but everyone was very friendly and we realized that this could be an opportunity for us to be out in the areas like our elders are serving in all day, every day. Our morning walks have become a treat that we look forward to. At home we walk on the green belt. Here we walk on the brown belt.


I feel like Belle in Beauty and the Beast when we walk along the village roads saying “Bonjour”, “Bonjour” and “Bonjour”. And everyone’s countenance changes from a serious look to a big smile and a sincere “Bonjour” back to us. We have decided to quit being critical of the garbage… and be proud of those who take the time to sweep the dirt in front of their homes, and sprinkle water to keep the dust down. Early morning is a special time that we see the women cooking breakfast over their little campfires, children starting to get up and walk around, people brushing their teeth, women doing the laundry, boys carrying piles of sticks home to make the morning fires, and little old women sitting in front of the "houses" watching life go by. I don't have pictures of the people this early. I feel like we would be invading their privacy to take photos of them at this magical time of the day.


If we look closely we can see some special sights...



But our favorite part of the walk is probably the same part of when we walk at home... the time to be alone together and talk. We are enjoying each other immensely.

Our first real "P-Day"

We have been told that there isn’t much to do around here, so you get to be creative and make your own fun. Our last P-Day was one of those days.

President Calle is one of our 2 branch presidents. He speaks a little English and is absolutely wonderful to try to help us with whatever he can. When we go to church, there are only 2 other cars in the parking lot besides our truck. President Calle’s nice SUV is one of the other 2 cars. On Thursday, July 15, we all loaded into our truck or President Calle’s car and headed for north to Diosso. Our city is land locked and there are few roads going in or out, but the one road going north that takes about 40 minutes to drive, and that’s what we did. We drove about 25 minutes and then stopped at a village "boutique" for snacks.

We stopped at a slave trail museum, but it was only open on weekends, so we didn’t get to go in. We will do that another day.

Then we went on to the “gorge” (Gorges de Diosso) which is a beautiful lookout point that has red rock formations. It was amazing, if you look around the Congo. You don’t see anything else that hints of red rocks.
After the gorge we went to the beach,

where the guys played football. Ed amazed everyone on the first play as he grabbed the ball out of the air and ran a great play.
However, on the 2nd play, he tripped on the uneven African ground and wiped out.
He played the entire time with those 19 & 20 year olds, and had a ball.

The highlight of the day was going to the one and only golf course.
We went over to the only person we could see to see if they had a score card for Morse Travers’s collection. They didn’t. We talked to the man, who seemed to be the only one on the course (working or playing). He said that it costs the equivalent of $40 American to play, plus $20 for the caddy and club rental. I had the interpreter ask if they have twilight rates, like in the United States. He said “No” this isn’t the United States. In my very broken French I explained that we were missionaries and didn’t have very much money. The guy smiled and said in French… “Would you like to play one or two holes for free?” He gave us 6 clubs and 8 balls and the 13 of us headed off to play golf. The elders had a ball. They all caddied or hit or just laughed and ran around like little kids. Several had never played before and thought it was great fun. Ed will now take over a description of the play.

This is my caddy and our zone leader, Elder Chirwa.

After my drive I am actually in the middle of the fairway. Many of you may not think this looks like a fairway, as there wasn't much grass. It made the Kahuku golf course, which we nicknamed the "Eternal Sandpit" look quite plush. It is tough to hit a 180 yard sand iron, so I tried it with a 3 iron.
Looking at this sand trap above, you can actually see the difference between the grass and the sand trap. However, there is really not much difference. If you look below you can see that the grass, or mowed weeds, are sparse. Great form on this golfer, though.
My approach shot was headed for what I thought would be the green. There was a flag there. Little did I know that there would be no grass at all on the green. It was made of hard packed, oiled down dirt. The green actually had little walls around it, because an approach shot would actually roll and not stop on the green. By the 2nd hole, we got the idea that you wanted to hit short of the green and let it roll into the pit.
It was amazing how flat the green/dirt was. It was a very hard surface.
Nice Put. I made it! This hole in the ground reminds me of how when I was a little boy we used to dig holes to shoot our marbles into. There was a metal part at the bottom of this hole that held up the flag.

Three of the first time golfers. Nice form though. This is our district leader Elder Kesler.


Now I can say "I played golf in the Republic of Congo!" I don't think I will go back and pay $60 to play it. Ken... if you come over and work the course, you could maybe get me on free.