Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Well we arrived home from Kinshasa Congo last night all in one piece. It was a fascinating trip and filled my heart with gratitude for the country we live in, the United States of America. We should never overlook our freedoms and the beauty of our land. If you don’t believe me come with us to the Congo and other countries similar to it. I won’t say, just like it, because I don’t believe you will find a country fraught with so much poverty and sorrow anywhere.

The Congo is rift with corruption and poverty beyond your dreams, filth that boggles your mind and assaults your senses.

When I was thinking what I would write I realized that I don’t think I can put the conditions in words. Let me describe a little of what I wrote in my journal. When looking out of our Hotel windows called the Memling, the best hotel in Kinshasa, all we could see were buildings covered in black mold, buildings like that in America would be condemned. The heat and humidity was so thick that it was hard to breath and we were soaked to the skin all the time we were there.
As we walked down the streets, streets that were mostly dirt roads even in this major city, with trash lining the streets like it was supposed to be there. We saw building after building derelict except for the poorest of the poor living in them. No water, no toilet facilities and no electricity, windows gone, bullet holes in the walls from the shells that were flying there only a few months ago during the election. Building after building all looking the same with beggars on the streets and hawkers surrounding you to buy whatever they have to sell to make a little money.

As our driver Richard drove us to our meeting on Saturday the streets were filled with people teaming all around us, cars going in any direction passing us on the right, on the left, in between us and the car traveling beside us, no rules, it was much like bumper cars. People walking in front of you, darting from every side with no rules and no stop lights. It was the bravest who managed to make his way in and out of the traffic and get wherever he/she wanted to go. Hardly a newer automobile was found anywhere mostly “Junker’s” from South Africa. That’s just as well because they wouldn’t have stayed nice anyway with the foot deep potholes everywhere you turned. The people walking were soaked in mud and water because it rained while we were there and people all around us were soaked to the skin.

As our driver showed us around he took us by the building where the Mission President lives and where the Mission Home and offices are. The building was probably the nicest one in Kinshasa except for the Area Office which is also nice. The Mission Offices were in a seven story building with the Church renting the first 4 floors The main flaw the building has are bullet holes and mortar holes peppered throughout, due to the revolution that took place a few months ago during the elections. The Mission President and his wife and office workers were taken out by UN Forces tank and moved across town to a safe hotel. We had heard missionaries had been taken out of Kinshasa and sent to Johannesburg for about 3 months until the elections were over and then they returned. I could go on and on and tell you the things that we saw but you wouldn’t be able to really imagine it.

I would like to tell you about the most wonderful part of our trip there. We were sent there to train Audit Committee, Stake Clerks and Ward Clerks on how to handle the sacred funds of the Church. Bob had made a wonderful presentation in French. They were in awe of the presentation and the fact that Bob spoke fluent French. I must say that I was in awe myself, I knew Bob had a real facility for French but didn’t realize he was as fluent as he is. The training presentation went very well. We finished that presentation and returned once again on Sunday for Conference. They had saved us seats right up in front. Now you can’t believe the size of this Stake Center, it’s huge. There were over 1,000 Saints in attendance filling every room in the building even the hallways. The women were dressed in “traditional African clothes”, bright colors, that make you happy just to look at them, they are very beautiful people with ebony sculptured faces that an artist could get lost in. After the meeting, as we went out side, people began sending their little children up to dad and me to shake their children’s hands and after they saw that we were receptive to the children all the adults came forward to greet us until we were surrounded for about one hour. We started taking their pictures and captured many wonderful pictures of a delightsome people.

These wonderful people have the same desires we each have, we love our families, they love their families, we want a safe place to call home, they want a safe place to call home, they want peace and comfort from the elements just as we do, but mostly they want to be close to their Heavenly Father, just like us. They want to know of His love, they want to share it with others, that others too may find the joy of the gospel.

We learn that wherever we go we find love and acceptance as we mingle with the people, it fills our hearts with appreciation and love for our Savior Jesus Christ, it is a pure blessing to be here and to be called Missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

May God Bless you, may you find peace in a troubled world, the peace not of man but of God.

With Love,

Elder and Sister Taylor, Mom and Dad, Grandpa and Grandpa lastly Jan and Bob