Visit back home

Surprise! Yes, I didn't mention it before, but I returned to the U.S. at the beginning of April for a two-month visit. In May, my parents are celebrating their 60-year wedding anniversary, quite the big event! Here is a picture of my entire family:

And for the benefit of my Rwandan friends, I have included here some photos of my hometown of Sacramento, California, U.S.A. The impressions that Africans have of the U.S. come generally from movies, which do not always provide an accurate picture of what life is like here.

No, not everyone is rich. The streets are not paved with gold.

First off: Sacramento is the capital city of California, which is the most populous state of the U.S. Here are some of Sacramento's landmarks:

Capitol building, Sacramento

Tower Bridge, Sacramento

Sacramento has two rivers, one called the Sacramento River (running along the west side of the city), and the other the American River (dividing downtown from the north part of town). These rivers give Sacramento, which sits in a valley, a climate that is hot during summer days, but cool during the nights. It is also dry here, a condition which has not been helped by the four-year drought that has affected all of California.

The congregation I attended prior to coming to Rwanda was the only Chinese congregation in Sacramento, called "Oak Park Mandarin."

Here is a photo of the Sacramento Remote Translation Office (RTO), which at the time of construction was the only place in the U.S. outside of headquarters in which translating is done. Languages translated: Hmong, Mien, Navajo. There is also audio/video production done in these languages. It is like a Bethel outside of Bethel!

Brother Cheng Vue (translator), standing in front of Sacramento RTO
(Double Kingdom Hall downstairs, translation offices upstairs)

Finally, here is a picture of us doing cart witnessing with Chinese literature in front of a high-rise apartment building where many Chinese live.

Yes, there are plenty of spiritual activities taking place in this part of the world!