Songs are my friends. I have seven hymns in Tshiluba with French translations. I have hard copies and also recordings of the songs. Daily, I practice some of the songs. Music helps our brains retain information, which is why most of us remember nursery rhymes. I gave a prayer in Tshiluba at church–to the surprise of the members there. They didn’t know I had been working on it. I had sent myself the words to review on my phone, and... Read more
The first step in learning anything is love. A parent coos to the child, sings to the child, calls the child by name. This is love, and it’s the fertile ground for language learning. Must we be born again, you may ask (like Nicodemus). No. But we must love again. Not everyone will have the ability to learn a language with the equal fluency, but success will be directly attached to love. By that I mean that you must want... Read more
The word “zombie” probably came from Africa. “Nzambe” means God in many African languages, including here in the DR-Congo. Zombies are terrifying. And people believe in them. (more…) Read more
Djemba and Marie weren’t speaking. They hadn’t spoken for a week, not since Djemba had yelled at her for taking too long to serve dinner. They had been married for four years, and had had a few of these spats, which usually faded away. Djemba would say something to Marie—it didn’t matter what—indicating that the time of coldness was over, and they would continue their lives until the next argument. They were at the church, Djemba setting out the chairs... Read more
Small and Simple Things A decade ago, I was writing to LDS missionaries in the DR-Congo. I had met these missionaries because my husband and I had served with them in the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah. One of them, Henry Lisowski, asked me to write to his Congolese companion, Aime Mbuyi, whose family could not access the internet. While the other missionies perused and wrote emails to their families, Aime would simply wait. Of course, I did... Read more
3 Weeks in the DRC We landed in Kinshasa late on November 2, 2021, just in time to celebrate Bruce’s 71st birthday on the 3rd. We celebrated by attending the Festival International de Cinema- Kinshasa, where we saw evidence of the growing film industry. Some beautiful films from the Congo and elsewhere were shown, and nascent filmmakers mingled. We were impressed by the common goals and cooperation of everyone in attendance. While at the festival, we met two young men... Read more
Not a Curse but a Calling It’s not a curse but a gift to us, The best path we could seek A place where God can lift us We kneel; our knees is weak And when one of us is kneelin’, We understand his fears. We know what all us is feelin’ We cry each other’s tears. That’s just what Jesus done For all us human folk. He agreed to come get born To feel ever’ pain and poke.... Read more
I received this from Cort McMurray in August, 2020–a year before his untimely death. He asked me to keep it private (it’s a sacred experience), but I think I should share it now. From Cort: “I have debated sharing this with you all day today. I ask that you kind of keep it between us, because it’s something I don’t talk about very much. This is going to be a little long. I had a lot of problems with the... Read more
Text from Darius: 5:35 p.m., Friday July 2 Contacted Jed Woodworth from Church History Dept. Gave him your “short” version of today—including the pastor’s contact info. He will follow up with personel in that department. There is much more to the Len and Mary Hope story. This is enough for now. I will work on the screenplay during my long layover in Denver. We will get moving on it quickly. Texts to Bruce: I am ready for a... Read more
I left Utah on Thursday, July 2nd at 3:15 p.m. and flew to Denver, planning to board a connecting flight to Columbus, Indiana, where I was needed by my nieces. I found the right gate quickly. It said Columbus. I sat down and worked on my screenplay about Len and Mary Hope, a Black couple who attended an LDS Church in Cincinnati, Ohio (1936-ish) until the branch presidency let them know that they should no longer come to church. At... Read more
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In