I am so proud of the members of Branch 2 and Branch 3!  On Saturday, Nov. 1st, they held the 1st ever Open House for the Church here in Bujumbura.  It was all their idea, all their plans, all their creation from inception to completion.  We were simply handed an invitation to come, and so we did.  I was so totally impressed!  They put together a well-organized program of 2 hours which included contributions from all of the auxiliaries, from the full time missionaries, from the branch choir, from some native dancers, and with a funny skit with 3 of them (2 branch presidents and 1 counselor) dressed in cowboy hats talking about pioneers!  Absolutely delightful!

The branch choir singing Gloria In Excelsi.

These are the 2 Branch presidents and a counselor who did a fun skit about pioneers in which they spoke  as they imagined cowboys would speak if cowboys spoke French!  The one in front is President Dieudonne, the one behind on the left is President Jean Rene, and the one on the right is 2nd counselor Samuel.

 Some of the Primary kids singing their songs.  Awesome!

 The Primary children were a definite hit, singing 2 Primary songs and then some of them reciting the Articles of Faith,  one child at a time.  The crowd clapped and cheered for each child.

This is a photo of the Primary chorus performing Primary songs for the first time.

 A group of  about 6 young ladies performed two native dances.

 Desire and Wivine performed a dramatic poetry reading.  Gotta love it!  Beats any poetry reading I've seen at home!!

Here the full time missionaries sang a song together.

The YM/Y/W acted out the parable of the 10 virgins, complete with lanterns, and the Relief Society did a dramatization which had to do with avoiding gossip and keeping the Word of Wisdom.

I am amazed at the growth these branch members have demonstrated.  They are maturing in the gospel, in their understanding of it, in their ability to lead, in their ability to fulfill assignments.  They are understanding better all the time the organization of the Church and the different auxiliaries.  I got such
a kick out of the music they chose to use in their Open House production-----the Mo Tab Choir singing Christmas Day in the Morning, Sleigh Ride, With Wondering Awe, and then their own choir singing Gloria in Excelsis Deo (Angels We Have Heard on High).  They do love their Christmas music year round!  There were 240 people in attendance at their Open House.  I think it was a great success!