Partying...in Congo?

Well this week was an eye-opening week. Let us start on Sunday. We went to church, and I learned in Relief Society, mainly through the senior missionaries there and others who could translate to me, that the men here sometimes have more than one wife. I know...polygamy here. The missionaries told me that before anyone gets baptized here they have to go through lots of interviews to understand that there is only one wife, and no other girlfriends or wives. Never knew that happened here. But the reason they were talking about it was because our lesson was on Family Geneology. They weren't quite sure how to do it if there were two or more wives in the family, like their dad or grandpa having more than one wife. They also were talking about how it was difficult to understand when things happened, because they don't have seasons, they just have the rainy and dry season. I never really thought about the family history of Africans, but it is hard for them. Especially here, since most likely there is no record of anything. They just don't keep them. So we, me and the missionaries, might start helping them to see if we can find anyone for them. Oh and we had four little kids sit with us on Sunday, because they were amazed at Spencer's I Spy books, and his Magna Doodle, because they can't get things like that, no money.

Then on Wed. night we were invited over to the Mission Presidents house here, the Livingstones, to have dinner with them and some other missionaries, and Elder Young, from the South Africa General Presidency, and his wife. It was fun to meet them all and one of the couples did a presentation about the service projects that they are all doing here. It was awesome to see how they have gotten water pumps to people, and done eye surgeries. Amazing! They had a quote on the slide show from one man here in Congo, and he was saying how if someone was coming here to put in a water pump for them it probably wouldn't get done. But then he saw that the Church was involved and he was like oh I'll help how, because I know that this will get done now. It was great.

Other than that....not much is going on. Oh Mom wanted me to put this little fun fact about our lives in here. They, mom and dad, were asking me about the walls that surround the compound that we are in now. They are made from cement blocks with mud, like stucco, on the outsides of them. Then I told them that on top of the walls was barb-wire. Yes we are enclosed with barb-wire walls. It's common here so I didn't think anything of it. Everywhere here there are walls, and there is either nothing, barb-wire, or shards of glass on top of the walls. Oh and the rainy season for sure is upon us. Sometimes it's sunny and raining, or like the other night we were woken up by the rain, it sounded like we were under a waterfall! But it's starting to make everything green here. Well, that is about it. We are moving into our permanant house next week, which I'm very excited about. And then hopefully in a couple of weeks we'll have internet at home. Write more then!