Our first Christmas Eve in Lusaka! 30 for dinner and white elephant gift exchange that kept us all laughing.

 

These terrific Elders and Sisters have departed the GZLM in the last 2 months. Our association with each one of them is precious! and we love them all!

                                                                     Elder Mabuza

                                                                   Elder Ian Tsunda

                                          Great companions: Sisters Napwanga and Webster

                                                            Sisters Mncwabe and Chua

 Sister Bennett and Elder Patton (below) got their VISAs to Zimbabwe. We were very sad to see them leave just 2 days before Christmas, but we know they will be a great addition to the Zimbabwe Mission.

                                                                Elder Govindasamy

 Had a really neat spiritual experience this weekend. The Lilongwe branch was the very first branch in Lilongwe and it was formed almost 7 years ago. From that original branch there are now 4. This past weekend Leif called a new branch presidency and the 3 men called were so humbled and touched that the Lord would consider them. Their testimonies and conversion stories (all 3 joined the church in the last few years) were nothing short of completely inspiring. The one brother's wife died just prior to his conversion and he is raising their little children alone. When Leif was setting him apart he had a very very strong impression that the deceased wife had been given permission to be present and was witnessing his setting apart. She wanted her husband to know she was pleased at what a good father he was to their children and that she was watching over them all. Leif told the man all this in the blessing. It was a wonderful day. We see the Lords hand in the lives of these saints. Their humility and love for the Gospel touches me deeply and makes me want to weep...and sometimes I do.

Saturday night we went to dinner with the 4 branch presidents and their wives and the Fisks. We went around the table and told stories of how everyone met their spouse. There were some very funny stories. Then they told their conversion stories and of their continuing journey to get to the temple in Johannesburg to be sealed for all eternity with their families. It was a most delightful night and one that I want to remember forever because of the love and connection that we felt in our hearts for these faithful people. 
The Dumas, The Mwales, The Mitambos and The Nthalowas.

December road trip to Malawi

 This meetinghouse in Lilongwe, Malawi sits on the edge of a hill that looks down over the village Kauma. There is a Kauma 1st Branch and a Kauma 2nd Branch. The members are easy to love as you can see…especially the children.

Training meetings with the Relief Society leaders of the 4 branches in Lilongwe. Helping them become a district.

This was driving west back to Lusaka. The beauty of the green hills and sky speak for themselves. There are wonderful cloud formations in Zambia.

We have flown to Malawi many times and finally got the opportunity to drive the 7 hours to the border and 2 more hours to Lilongwe. The border crossing was interesting to say the least and we would have taken pictures but there were too many authorities.

She wanted to sell me the entire bucket of mangos on her head for 5 kwacha….that is about 92 cents. I only wanted 7 or 8 mangos and I gave her 4 kwacha. They were very happy and were laughing at me for asking to take their picture.

We arrived in Zambia the end of June and did not see a cloud, not one, for about 4 months. I was beginning to wonder. The rainy season is here now and we are loving it so far. All the locals keep telling us by March we will be sick of the rain.

Our newest missionaries arrived today. We expected 2 of them and 2 were unexpected Kenya visa waiters from South Africa .