Projects and Blessings

Progress ongoing on several projects.  Several meetings with partners to keep things moving.  We love to visit the schools and mingle with the kids.  Teachers here work so hard to help the students learn.  The younger grades usually have to split into two sessions with some grades going for 3-4 hours in the morning and other grades going 3-4 hours in the afternoon. 

The church provided these preschoolers with these tables and chairs.  It was so fun to deliver them.  They really don't learn much English until 2nd grade. 

One of the 7th grades had a math problem on the board so Grandpa had to show them how to solve it.  But the answer didn't make sense so I realized I had multiplied wrong!  The kids got a kick out of my mistake.  After I fixed it and solved it correctly, I told them I had gone to college in Math.  Pretty funny!

Grandpa jump roping with kids at the Lupani School after checking on the progress of the classroom building.  

 After dropping the school supplies off, there was a small zoo just down the street so stopped to see.

Zebras were just wandering around.  Was tempted to see if I could ride it.

Very friendly, ugly gal.

An albino porcupine in with a dozen other ones.

We are really enjoying our mission.  We see God's hand in this work on every front.  From the humanitarian projects that help improve educational opportunities, health, and self-reliance to the missionary work that our young people are doing.  We marvel at how the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ is blessing lives as we witness lives changed and people striving to become better disciples of Christ.  We wish we could share all the Zambian pioneer stories we hear.  We are all truly blessed in so many ways as we embrace the gospel, repent, study scriptures, pray, follow the prophets, and draw closer to God.

Baptism of a man and two young boys by Elder Latola from South Africa and Elder Davis from Gilbert Arizona.  The boy's parents were baptized a few weeks ago.  Can't you see those two young men serving as missionaries in a few years?  Many of the young men here do serve missions.   

Chirundu

Another busy week juggling various projects and exploring new ones.  We drove to Chirundu on the lower Zambezi river to check on two nearby (1.5 hours) health clinics that the Kafue District wants help with.  Stayed overnight at a lodge in Chirundu and did a quick river safari, spotting lots of hippos, birds, a couple of crocs, and elephants.

Lower Zambezi river looking towards Zimbabwe.  Very big but not too deep.  Some villagers get their water from the river but it is very dangerous because of the crocs.  

Saw mostly hippos.  

Our room at the lodge.

How would you like to see the termite that comes out of this hill?  We see these all over in the bush.

Saw some very large banana plantations along the way.

Love these huge trunked Boabab trees.  Trunks can hold up to 120,000 liters of water.  

Grandpa in front of the Boabad tree.  These trees have been hollowed out and used as stores, prisons, pubs, and shelters.  

The two health clinics we visited.  One has a collapsed borehole so no running water into clinic. 

This clinic has no running water into the clinic and they want to see if the church can help with a sustainable agricultural program for the community so they will have healthful, year around food. 

Working on the Mazyopa school.  Notice how many of those working are women.  

Delivered bunkbeds for vulnerable children living at the Mazyopa School.  They were sleeping on the cement floor on boards or cardboard.

Kids at the Mazyopa School singing their ABC song to Grandma

Attended a Stake Valentine Dance.  Fun being with them and watching them make up their own dances. 

Johannesburg

We attended a training conference in Johannesburg South Africa this week.  We received excellent counsel and had many questions answered.  Four other Welfare couples also serving in the Africa Southeast Area participated.  It was great to compare experiences, challenges, and joyful successes. 

At the Jo-Burg Airport

Missionary Couples (from left, Smith, Perry, Russell, Us, James) and President Palmer and our two Area Welfare leaders (Teboho and Phillip).

Our Welfare Area leader, Phillip

We enjoyed two sessions at Johannesburg Temple while there.

Grandpa found a Rino in the airport on the way home!

Mikango borehole handover ceremony

The highlight this week was the handover ceremony at the Mikango School borehole. Some of the office couples wanted to attend this so we went up a few days before to see how the road was that we usually travel.  Because of the rains, it was terrible!  So we bought some bags of dirt and poles and found some broken bricks, loaded up the truck and tried to repair the worst places.  Even after the repair we almost got stuck in a few places even in 4 wheel drive.  So we got permission to go thru the army barracks on a better road but they wouldn't let the other senior couples attend.

Big logs in a very muddy, slick ravine.

The ceremony planned by the school was great!  Opened with their national anthem and the Lords Prayer.  Then entertainment by school kids.  Speeches by the dignitaries then a little ribbon cutting ceremony at the well.  Finally more entertainment then we handed out 350 muffins (and needed every one of them).  They were so grateful for the water.  We saw the hand of the Lord in this project.  They had been without water for 10 years at this school and had tried 4 boreholes before unsuccessfully.  The place where we were going to put the well originally became inaccessible to the drilling rig because of the rains so they had to site it closer to the school, where they successfully found water. God knew where that water was!  A great blessing to this school and community.

Dignitaries from the school and water district and the Kupus our mission president.

At the borehole they had some of the kids talk about the importance of water to their education and what they hoped to do after they finished school  

Grandpa got to do the first pumping of the well at the ceremony.