Hal and Janis

Elder Phelps setting up a gas cookstove for the missionaries to use when they can not or choose not to use their electric stove. African missionaries tend to prefer the gas stoves. These are kind of a pain because the tanks of gas have to be refilled multiplied by a bunch of missionaries!! And that means more work for Elder Phelps or Zone Leaders (the only ones with vehicles).   All of Zambia is on Power Load shedding mode. This means that a rotation happens throughout the country where the power will be shut off for certain lengths of time. From a news article the beginning of January: " Zambia will begin experiencing rotational load shedding as a result of a planned generator outage at Maamba Coal Thermal Power Plant for routine maintenance and a drastic reduction of water for electricity generation at the Kariba North Bank." So how are we dealing with no power from 8 to 12 hours everyday? That is right EIGHT to TWELVE hours of no power every day! This started 10 January 20...

I think I made a post the end of October or the first of November and said it was the "rainy season." Well, we hadn't seen anything yet!!! The past couple of weeks it has RAINED! Even then some of the missionaries said that it was much more rainy last year with roads being flooded all of the time.  Maybe we have seen a piece of it now. This morning on our way to work was the worst we have seen so far. This guy was quite clever holding an umbrella and peddling his bike to wherever he was headed.                        This is usually just a grassy area. Not so, this morning. It was flooded!! Some people have umbrellas but a lot do not! I feel sorry for all the people who have to walk to work, rain or shine! And they look like they are quite cold...probably in the 60's.                                Water creeping up to the road and more water a...

Themba Chanda, Starphel Lunga, Mary Banda, Augustine ??, and Tarisai and Patricia Mhlanga. These are six of the Munali Ward members who finally got to go to the Johannesburg South Africa Temple. Hal and I were able to assist them in preparing for this special time in their lives. We helped teach the Temple Preparation class and assisted with getting FamilySearch accounts set up and entering family names. Maa Starphel, as she is often called, had been trying to go to the temple for years. Covid and subsequent temple closures prevented her from going sooner. She was able to do the ordinance work for her mother and a sister and was also sealed to her deceased husband and parents while at the temple.  Augustine had done a lot of family history work, but the Sunday just before the group left we realized that he had not actually entered anything into FamilySearch. So we spent quite awhile with him after church getting everything entered and reserved so he could do the work once he got to...

We sent Sister Ward and Elder Church off today. Many, many mixed emotions!! They loved their missions and don't really want to go home, but they realize they need proper medical care.    Sister Ward saying good-bye to her companion, Sister Keitirile. They were companions for an entire week! Sister Keitirile had another surgery yesterday. Hopefully, her last one and soon to be released from the hospital, as well. Elder Church looking sharp in a new white shirt that we bought for him. One last incident at the hospital was when they brought wheelchairs for Elder Church and Sister Ward to use. The one Elder Church was put in was ready to fall apart. I said, "He can't use that chair! He needs a different one." Someone said to me, "They know what they are doing. It will be alright. Let them do their job." "No!" I replied. "That wheelchair is about to break!" Truly the wheels...one in front and one in back were literally ready to fall off! The n...

  "I will be on your right hand and on your left, and my Spirit shall be in your hearts, and mine angels round about you, to bear you up." D&C 84:88    Eleven missionaries were traveling from Malawi to Lusaka, Zambia, in two separate vehicles on 2 January 2023. It was about 1:00-1:30 in the afternoon; it was raining so the roads were a little bit slick, even though it was very warm. They were coming around a curve when an oncoming car was in their lane. Elder Masengere swerved to avoid a head on collision. The side of the road had a small embankment, large enough that it flipped the Ford Ranger over that five missionaries were in. Elder Masengere, Elder Wantoe, Elder Church, Sister Ward, and Sister Keitirile. The flipped car did not roll, but spun around and slid on its top on the pavement. The on coming car just sped away! The other missionaries traveling in the van was close behind and saw the accident. They quickly got out of their vehicle to assist. They helped El...