President & Sister Rebers Homecoming

Today our family & Cami had the pleasure of going to President & Sister Reber's homecoming. They were James's MTC President in Johannesburg. It was an amazing experience to hear them talk about the missionaries. The love and joy they had for these missionaries was unbelievable.

Sister Reber talked first. She told a number of stories about the missionaries that came through the MTC. The missionaries are suppose to arrive on Thursdays. Most arrive on time, but some come a little early and some come a little late. This story is about one missionary from the island of Fiji that arrived five days early on Sunday. He had never left Fiji before and was on his own. She said that the young elder arrived at the airport and looked all around for someone that would take him to the MTC. He looked at every sign that people were holding with names on them, but none were for him. He searched and searched, but there was no one there. There he was, all alone in a foreign country. He did not have any African currency and did not know how to use their phones. So after a while, he found a quiet place away from all the crowds and knelt down and said a prayer. After he was through, he walked back to the crowds and started looking again. Then he saw a man wearing a suit. He got really excited and walked over to him. He ask the man, "Who are you waiting for?" The man replied, "I'm waiting for my son to get back from a business trip." The elder was saddened that he was not waiting for him. The man asked, "Who are you looking for?" The young elder said "I am a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and no one is here to pick me up." The man told the elder that he was a member of the church and that he and his son would be on their way to church right after he got off the plane. He told him that their branch meets in the meeting house right on the MTC property and that they would take him to the MTC.

She also spoke of the different backgrounds that each missionary came from. Some missionaries arrive with two suit cases and a carry-on bag. All matching suit cases and nicely dressed. Those missionaries usually come from the US. Others arrive with a small tattered suit case with a broken handle and a missing wheel. She recalled a story about one sister missionary that when she arrived, she asked if she could use Sister Reber's sewing machine. Of course she said. As the sister missionary sat sewing her clothes, Sister Reber asked her "Tell me about your wardrobe?" The young sister missionary told her that "This skirt was given to me by the relief society president and this blouse was given to me by the branch presidents wife..." and so on. She described that eighty percent of her country was unemployed and she tried to find a job, but wasn't able to make any money. So she had no money to buy clothing for her mission and that all her clothing was donated to her, by her branch. They sat there together and hemmed some skirts by taking them in and letting others out. By the end, she had a wardrobe that she could now wear on her mission. She remembered another elder that came to the MTC in a suit that didn't quit fit and was very thin and well used. She asked him, "Elder, tell me about your suit?" The the young elder told her that he didn't have any money to buy clothes for his mission, so the branch president gave him his suit that he used on his mission.

Sister Reber told a couple of other stories and then President Reber got up to speak. As this elderly gentleman got up, he had a little difficulty standing and walking to the podium. His voice was kind and gentle. He first started talking about the MTC building and facilities. He described how the whole MTC building could fit into the chapel we were in. He spoke of when you walk into the MTC main doors was like where he was standing at the podium. That his office was right there at the entrance, so that he could see every missionary as they came in the door. "As you walked down the hall to the right was room seven and eight", he said. This is one of the rooms where the elders would stay. Each room had six to eight beds and had a bathroom. He continued to describe the entire MTC facility in great detail. Visually walking us through where our missionary stayed for his short time there while in the MTC. He also talked about how the grounds were surrounded with very sharp spiked fences and they had guards at the front entrance.

President Reber talked about how he and his assistant would sit down and talk to everyone of the missionaries that came through the MTC on a one on one basis. One question he asked each missionary was "Tell me about your family." As he described these missionaries and their experiences, you could see the love in his eyes and feel the compassion in his voice. He talked about how many of the missionaries come from very humble backgrounds. Some were the only ones in their family that were members of the church. Many of them were also the ones that had jobs and made the money for the families to live on. Some of the families were angry that they left and went on missions. He said that eight out of ten missionaries came from fatherless homes. There were many that had one or both parent die. He remembered one that lived on his on in a grass hut and decided to go on his mission when he was twenty-two.

He talked about how the couple missionaries were wonderful to have there in the mission field. Helping the branches and the other missionaries. He asked couples in the congregation to think about going on a mission. That South Africa was a wonderful place to serve the Lord. The mission work is going really well and that the Lord needs everyone to help bring all his children back to him.

After sacrament meeting, we briefly talked to them about James. They both remembered him and said he was a great young man. That he was going to do well on his mission. As we were standing talking to another family that had a missionary in there MTC, Sister Reber came back in to the chapel and asked if we were coming over to their house. She also asked if Jaela would like to ride over with them to their house. Jaela was really excited. The Rebers had one hundred and seventy-seven groups come through the MTC while they were there, almost one thousand missionaries. Coming from approximately thirty five different countries. The first part of their mission, the missionaries were there for three weeks. Once they changed the age, they also changed the amount of time in the MTC to twelve days. They had to teach the same things to them, but at a faster pace. When we went to their home, the told us that they has just gotten back home on Thursday. It was wonderful to walk in to their home and see on their walls, pictures of the groups of missionaries.

President Reber is a very humble man and genuinely seemed to love the missionaries and the work he did over in South Africa. Sister Reber is a very kind and loving woman that reminds me of my grandmas. She was very nice and sent us pictures and letters while he was there. I am very grateful to both of them for their willingness to serve our Heavenly Father for two years. To be there for James and help him adjust to missionary life. It was a short time to prepare, but they did a wonderful job in seeing that he was ready to go out into the mission field.

Sister Reber, Katrina & Sister Sylvester (a mom of one of the missionaries that flew to South Africa with James, her friend took them all around London.)

Cami talking with Brother & Sister Sylvester

All of us with President & Sister Reber

One interesting fact is that there were a lot of other families, one even came down from Idaho. One family we talked to was pronouncing the Reber's name wrong just like us. It is pronounced like 'web'...er with and 'R'. Sorry we were saying it wrong. :-)