The VanHeerden's Farm

Today we went out to a 30,000 hector farm where a member family has been working.  They are moving next week so it was today or not at all.  It was nice to get out of the city.  They raise about 1,000 pigs there and also many chickens.  In the past, some of the missionaries had been able to go inside the buildings and see the operation.  However, today we were not allowed to do that.   

This family, the VanHeerdens, are originally from Zimbabwe where they had a good sized farm.  However, the government came in and took it away from them because they are white and then gave it to a war veteran.  They allowed them to keep their house there, but they could not live there because they had no work.  That’s when they came to Zambia and started farming for this other big farm.  They are moving now about 6 hours away from Lusaka in order to work on a smaller farm with his cousin.  We will miss them.  They said the government is considering compensating them for their farm, but it may not happen with this generation, but maybe the generation of their grandchildren.  Governments in Africa are scary.  Kathy, Andrais and Anna VanHeerden.

The place they stayed was very beautiful with nice landscaping.  We love the Jackaranda Trees, the pretty purple one.  The picture doesn't really do them just as to how beautiful they really are.




They also raise potatoes and were harvesting them.  So we went to the potato fields and watched them “lift” and pick the potatoes.  There was actually a potato digger and then they put them in bags and threw them on a truck.  It brought back many memories.  They really needed baskets or a belt, but they were working successfully in the hot sun without even having gloves. 
 
They raise some seriously BIG potatoes.  The don't fill the bags very full so they are much easier to put up on the trailer than the ones we used to fill.



Then we stopped at a cheese factory and bought some cheese. They have quite the operation there!
 


   

Lusaka West Game Park with District and YSA

One Preparation Day we were invited by our district to go to this small animal park close to Lusaka.  It as basically a cow pasture owned by a family where they had lots of cows, two horses, ducks, geese and a few zebra.  It was a relaxing afternoon, and the young missionaries had fixed a great lunch. 

This is the Matero District.  Seated Elder Komakech from Uganda, Elder Maele from Kenya, Elder Ssengooba from Uganda.  Next row:  Elder Etiang from Uganda, Elder Day, Orem Utah, and behind is Elder Brewerton from Alberta, Canada.  We were supposed to have shirts made to match these beautiful ones, but we never had time to get to the tailor to get them done!



They are a wonderful group of missionaries.  Elder Brewerton and Elder Etiang went home the next transfer and Elder Day is now in Copperbelt.

This is the whole group (minus us.  We had to leave early for a piano lesson so didn't make it into this picture.) They really had a great time.  

The zebra were pretty tame, but didn't seem to like their picture taken.  In the picture on the left, the other missionaries were behind the zebra and as they walked away from the missionaries, they walked right towards me and Elder Day.
 
This is Sister Memory Mulenga.  She didn't want anything to do with the boat so kept the ostrich company while the other YSA were paddling around in the pond.  This is probably the bese picture we have of guinea fowl.  I thought they were the most awkward looking bird with their huge bodies and small heads, but now I think they are really beautiful.

There was a small pond with an old boat on it and the members had a great time trying to paddle it around the pond.  It was really shallow and the boat kept getting stuck in the mud, but they had an amazingly fun time.  As we visited with them afterwards, that was the first time most of them had ever been on a boat of any kind.  So much of what we take for granted is a great opportunity here!

It was a great day and a fun time was had by all!

Matero Ward Happenings

I know there are so many pictures of Primary in this blog, but that's where I spend most of my time. Sister White, Primary President, is teaching Sharing Time on the left and Sister Magunje is teaching the lesson from the Book of Mormon Stories book on the right.  The children listen very well when they teach because they teach in Bemba.  When I speak English, I lose most of them in a few short minutes!  So thankful for these wonderful sisters who are learning how to magnify their callings!
 
The stake put together a Primary Choir for our last stake conference in Lusaka, which was September 2016.  They measured and made dressed and shirts for all the children.  They looked pretty sharp.  But, because of the clothes, only 5 children from each ward were allowed to sing.  It was hard choosing them.  I chose the ones who I felt would actually show up, and they did for the singing, but not for the practice the Saturday before.  They did make it to the Sunday morning practice because we went and picked them up.  It's hard when our ward is so far from the Stake Center and when there is so little money for transportation.

                                                                      Four of the five children from Matero.  Joseph and Anna                                                                         Kaluba, Helen White and Chileshe Shimchimba.
   
Andrew is our EQ president and the sole graduate, so far, of the piano teaching course.  He is playing prelude for church here.  He has been teaching Davis Chifunda, the bishop's son, how to play and Davis is making good and steady progress.  He is also playing prelude for church.  Andrew and Davis have both learned how to lead the singing and are doing a great job in the ward.  I'm so proud of them both.  Andrew really stuck with it and practiced consistently.  And Davis is doing the same. He also has a good ear for music which helps him to play without knowing the notes.  But he is also learning those.  I wish all those who are taking lessons were so diligent!
 
Blessing White, Leonard, Steven White and Hope     Our fabulous Nursery Leaders, Fides Zimba
Musanga.                                                                     and  Faith Sikaonga. The children love them and                                                                                      they re so good with the little ones.

We are the Home Teachers for the Sikaonga family and were finally able to visit them. They live out at 10 Mile and the road into their house is treacherous.  We planned to go out once a few months back, but we had the little car and it was the rainy season.  We were told NOT to take the little car out there.  Anyway, we got the truck and took them home one Sunday after church so we could know where they stay.  It was quite amazing.  Brother and Sister Sikaonga have six daughters of their own and then keep six other children of various family members.  As we counted, there six children between the ages of 7 and 9. The parents have started a school for the children in their area, many who have never been to school before because there is no government school (which is free) near their home.  And they can't afford private schools.  So they have about 125 students they said, and the young man in the white shirt, Shumbe, is one of the teachers and is a family member.


They danced and sang for us.  They are such cute and well mannered children and were a little shy at first, but warmed up and were happy to perform once they got started.

    
So we decided we should teach them a dance as well.  I hummed the music to the Heel and Toe Polka and then we taught them the dance.  The really seemed to enjoy it.
 
This is Bishop Chifunda and his family.                 Sometimes after church we go visiting with Bishop                                                                                  to places that are a little far for him to walk.  His                                                                                      HT companion is Brother Magunje and this day we                                                                                  visited Grace and her mom.
 
This is Brother and Sister VanHeerden and their daughter Anna, on the left, and the girlfriend, Monique, of their son who is going to school at BYU-I.  The are from Zimbabwe where they once owned a large farm.  However, the government took over the farm and they had to leave Zimbabwe, so they came to Zambia.  He works for a large farm that raises pigs, and lots of maize.

The Work of the Mission

There are so many things about serving a mission that make it all worthwhile.  We had a great visit with Elder Ellis, of the 70 and a counselor in the South East Africa Area, and his wife KK.  They visited all four zones in the mission in a week and it was a busy week.  I know, because I was the one who was asked to put together the schedule with various versions before they picked one.  I then made all the hotel reservations and plane flights.  It was a very busy time for me as well, but the time sure flew by quickly.  I really like being just the right amount of busy--not so busy as to be under too much stress, but not so slow that I am bored.


This was the night Josephine Phiri opened her mission call.  We took it out to her home with the elders.  She was so excited to be called to serve in the Ghana West Mission.  Her mother, who is not a member of the church, is very excited for her and is very supportive of Josephine giving 18 months of her life to teach teh gospel.
 
Some of our wonderful missionaries at the Mission Leadership Council Meeting.  Sister Bingham, Sister Thueson, Sister Arok, and I think Elder Majekodunmi and Elder Kobyana on the side.


Baptisms in Matero Ward. To demonstrate how Africa time works and how we experienced a tender mercy, I’m going to tell you how one of our Saturdays this month went.  Primary children from each ward were selected to form a choir to sing for stake conference.  I was playing the piano for them.  They said the practice would be Saturday morning at 10 for one hour.  Great, that would work because I was scheduled to play the piano for a wedding at 1:30.  Well, the practice didn’t even get started until 11 and I finally left at 1:15 when they finally decided to practice in the chapel.  I got to the wedding at 1:45 and there were about 6 people there.  It didn’t get started until about 2:30 and went until about 3:45.  I was supposed to be across town to a baptism where I was providing the music and also giving a talk on baptism..  The traffic wasn’t too bad that day.  We got to the church about 4:30 and started the baptism with only one of the 5 baptism candidates there.  Just as the program was over and we were going outside to the baptismal font, the mother and 3 children who were supposed to be baptized walked in.  They had walked for the last hour to get to the church and just couldn’t make it in time.  The baby is about 3 months old and he was carried the whole way on the back of his tiny mother!  Anyway, the 4 of them quickly dressed and were able to be baptized.  Had we not had all the delays and the baptism would have gone off as planned, they would likely have missed the entire thing.  As it was, they were able to receive this sacred ordinance.  I was so impatient and annoyed at all the delays, when I should have just realized I don’t see the big picture and if I but just have faith, things generally work out just fine.  I’m a slow learner about patience I guess.

 
The sisters had no water for their baptism.  NO PROBLEM!  They filled and loaded all these heavy bottles of water to fill the font!  GIRL POWER!

I made an ice cream chocolate cake for President Kupu's birthday.   The Assistants and Zone Leaders were happy to help celebrate it with us and have cake too!

Helping Hands in Matero Ward

In early September, all the wards in the Lusaka Stake were encouraged to do a Helping Hands Project.  Matero Ward accepted the challenge with this awesome group of members and missionaries who helped clean floors and windows in a residential center for adults.

We were asked to clean the floors, which included raising all the beds and cleaning under them.  There were four buildings with three units per building and eight occupants per room.  They had everything they owned in the little space around and under their beds. Some were pretty neat and some beds looked like they had not been lifted up and cleaned under in a good long time.
LaNice trying to get the back corners under the bed.  Sister Chifunda sweeping.

We had mostly Young Adults and Young Men and Young Women, but also several of us older folks.
The floors were cleaned by most with rags as mops were in short supply.  We provided most of the clothes to clean the windows with some coming from the Ward.  Below is Nathan White, a recent convert, who is happily cleaning windows.

Mark, a long term member and RM.      Elders Brewerton and Ssengooba - Lifting where they stand!
  
This is Juliet, a faithful young woman.

                
This is Andrew Kampelya, our EQ Pres and RM,
       
Below is Brother Kolunga, the counselor in the bishopric who organized the service project.


The residents gathered with the Helping Hands Mormons for a short presentation.  Alan visited with this elderly gentleman who found shade and coolness almost sitting inside this bush.

 
Some items to be given out were left at the church, so while we ran back to get them, the members danced and sang with the residents.  Alan also made friends with the man on the right.  His name is Samson and he is quite the character.

  
The "handing over" portion of the meeting consisted of providing each resident with a small bag of rice, a small bag of sugar, some toilet paper, a bar of soap and a small box of laundry soap, and a toothbrush and toothpaste.  They were all so appreciative.  The gentleman below was so ill he could not leave his bed, so the volunteers took him his gift.
  
It was quite a humbling experience to be able to help those who really are not able to help themselves and made us feel quite fortunate to have a nice place to return to that has all the basic necessities of life.  The gentleman on the right was left sitting in the sun at the conclusion of the meeting, so LaNice pushed him back to his room where a staff person helped him out of the wheelchair on to the step where he wanted to sit and enjoy the afternoon.  Such a wonderful opportunity to be "helping hands" to those who could really use it!