Monday, April 18, 2016

Visiting one of our favorite families...the Van Heerden's and a piggery near their farm.


Andries and Kathy Van Heerden



Their son Andries served his mission in Johannesburg and is off to BYU-I.



We had to shower on site and change into these clothes and boots to enter the facility. Keeping our germs away from the pigs! HA!
At the end...we showered again to get the pig smell off of us!!






As clean as the facility was the smell was something else!  This young Afrikaans pig keeper was so kind to show us around. He is very proud of his pigs!




Got to watch the birth of a few piglets.






In late March we visited the Yakhobe Village 5 hours north of Chipata (which is 7 hours east of Lusaka) in northeastern Zambia. They are the Ngoni and Tambuko tribes. We made the trip because we were persistently summoned by Innocent Chipapula who knows the church and has implemented it's principles in his village and would love to be baptized but is too far away from any center of strength. We are not authorized to send missionaries there. He will be patient and enjoy the principles of the Lord's church with out the ordinances of the Lord's church. This is the case for hundreds, even thousands of faithful and devoted families across Africa. We have several of these groups in Zambia and Malawi.


The road was paved from Chipata to Lundazi but not beyond that.
Where we turned off to the village it became a trail in the tall grass.




Leif taught the plan of salvation and the restoration. Many did not speak English and Innocent interpreted. We felt deeply of their love for Jesus Christ and their faith in their Father in Heaven who provides everything for them.




Innocent Chipapula is in the middle.




They had us plant a sapling in honor of our visit.






Salt of the earth women who serve the vulnerable children and disabled in their village. They adopted the name for their organization "Family Welfare Services".




This is Innocent's office, He was delighted with all the church materials we brought him.






Surrounded by Maize, ground nuts, sunflowers, cotton and soy beans.


On the way back to Chipata we came across these fishermen! Fishing for relish! aka something to go with their staple of Nshima.








And last of all....a visit to the senior chief of the area. Which was quite interesting. We presented him with a Book of Mormon. He was very interested in the church coming to his corner of Zambia....someday.....maybe??