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Members relieve hunger in DR Congo
For the faithful saints who live in remote and impoverished locales, many lack the means to attend a temple even once in their lifetimes. For families that travel to the temple for the first time from regions as remote as the DR Congo, the Church has established the General Temple Patron Assistance Fund to provide financial assistance to those who otherwise could not afford to attend a temple and participate in the sacred blessings available only in the House of the Lord.
Even with the assistance of the Temple Patron Fund, members must pay a portion of their expenses. For Nestor and Sombodi Ilunga and their seven children, that meant saving money for several years.
At first, the Ilungas had saved enough to take only four of their seven children. The oldest and the two youngest — all boys — would go later. "They will be endowed when they go to the temple at the start of their missions," said Brother Ilunga. With the youngest only 2 years old, this was quite an expression of faith. That faith was rewarded, however, when a way was discovered to take all of the children.
Brother Ilunga is one of the faithful saints in the DR Congo. Unlike more than 80 percent of the Congolese, he is employed, albeit only temporarily. He has been the site supervisor during the development of the cassava project in Luputa where hundreds of Latter-day Saint families have planted — and harvested — an improved variety of the starchy root.
To date, only one family in the Luputa district has been sealed in the temple: the district president and his wife. Full-time missionaries called from the district have also been to the temple. Following the pioneering spirit of Brother Ilunga and his family, others are preparing to go.
When the Ilungas have obtained their passports, they will ride five to seven hours on the back of a transport truck to Mbuji-Mayi, board a plane for the capital city of Kinshasa, then fly 1,730 miles to South Africa, where they will be sealed as a family. They understand the significance of their sacrifice — and are grateful to those who sacrifice for them as well.
