Hal and Janis

Mighty Men of Valour  Men who are less concerned about being recognized than in being right. They are driven by conscience, not by a desire for credit. These four, Elder Ngcamphalala, Elder Norris, Elder Arnell, and Elder Miller represented the Lord in just that way...mighty men of valour. The best of the best! They will be missed for their examples and leadership! Elder Norris and Elder Miller were Assistants to the President when we first came to the mission. So in a sense they were our trainers. Some things that they shared with me while serving their mission: Elder Ngcamphalala said that coming to learn and understand the power of the Priesthood has had an impact on his life. One time he and his companion were asked to give a blessing to a lady who was going to the hospital to have a baby. The doctors had told her that there were problems and she would not be able to deliver the baby normally. After the Priesthood blessing she went to the hospital and there were NO complication...

  We had the opportunity to attend church at a place that does not meet in a building. They meet under these trees. We were a little late in getting there (we were a little lost the and GPS wasn't working well) and we wondered if they had waited for us to arrive. No, they were waiting for the Bishop. The meeting started about 20 minutes late, typical African time.   We were greeted by missionaries and members of the little branch. They were all so happy to have visitors!   LOL!! I was trying to be a little discrete and take pictures. Here they are setting up chairs. The funniest part of the whole meeting was when we started to sing the opening hymn. All music is acapella. When the congregation of about 25 began to sing...so did the chicken. And that chicken was loud!!! The chicken sang through the entire song. I could hardly carry the tune because of the competition! When the hymn was complete and the congregation stopped singing, so did the chicken! Never made a peep for...

  We had the opportunity to venture away from the office and go to Makeni School. It was about an hour drive from where we work. It was nice to get away!! This is another Humanitarian Project in process.                                                                                                                                            School kids Here you see some of the existing buildings. I am always intrigued by the barb wire they put along the hedges. I guess that is one way to keep the children off the grass. No such thing as a play ground...just dirt.      This is the flushing latrines that are being build. And ...

  Dixon is one of the guards at the mission office. He is very attentive and takes his job very seriously! He is so polite, happy, and helpful! A common custom here is for people to greet people (especially women and older people) with a little bow or curtsy and clasping the hands together or placing them over the heart. They do this everywhere…at church, when they see you at the store, or everyday when we come to work. The guards always do this when we come and go!!  The above picture is of Dixon happily pointing to an avocado tree...not quite old enough to bear fruit yet. He was pretty pleased when we asked if we could take his picture! The mission office is located on a plot just off a very busy street; maybe on a about 3/4 acre of ground or less. It has a wall around it, just like most places here; it's gated and it is guarded (one during the day, two at night, and there is a gardener).  A few days ago we asked the guard, Dixon, if he could please identify the plants ...

  Her name is Rose Daudi from Tanzania. I was so impressed with her the other day while she was in my office, I had to write something about her! She joined the church less than two years ago and is the only member in her family. She met the missionaries while attending a university, studying computer maintenance. She said that she “ran away” from them!🤣 A short while later she met different missionaries, but this time she did not run and was soon baptized. I was asking her about her family and since she already had a FamilySearch account, I let her log on. Her tree consisted of herself and her parents. Well, we spent the next hour or so adding grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. As I directed her she mentioned two babies that had died. So we added them, even though she didn't know if they were male or female or their names. She promised to ask her mother lots of questions the next time she talks to her. Like I have said before there are very few, if any, records that contai...

  Social media is a huge way the missionaries contact new friends! Remember this is a walled, gated and locked city. So there is no door to door tracking. Missionaries will often greet people on the street. However, there is a big push for members creating and posting on Social Media. The missionaries often help the members create posts. Maybe you have seen Facebook posts from places that say, “Come Unto Christ in (name of place).” Well it is the same here. The ad says, Come Unto Christ in Lusaka.”  When we were taking Sister Day to the airport to go home, she related to us an impressionable experience she had had recently through social media. The Sister’s had contacted this man because he had “liked” a page he had seen on Facebook. He wrote the following to Sister Day: "Evening, you already know my name....I first came across the information about the Book of Mormon and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints on Facebook, on a page called "Come unto Christ". To...