January 15, 2007

Dear family and friends!

Wow! What a great first week in the mission field. This past Friday was my first zone conference. And it was very different from what zone conferences usually are. We had a special visitor named Christoffel Golden Jr. who is the area president of the Africa Southeast Area (which by the way is the highest baptizing area in the world, I am told). So my first zone conf. I was able to hear from a general authority! He was so powerful. The ZC was in Lusaka, so E. Minch and I had to drive the 4 hours with the Copperbelt zone leaders, E. Carruth and E. Blanco. By the way, Mom, E Carruth’s dad works for Shell, and they have lived all over the world. He was born in Kingswood, TX (which I think is where one or more of his siblings now live.) and I think he spent most of high school in London, but since he’s been on mission his parents have moved to Tokyo. So that is where he is going home to later this year. Anyway, the Zone Conf was great. We heard from Pres and Sis Bester (who are awesome) and then from Sis Golden and finally Pres Golden. He spoke to us for a good 2 ½ hours and he talked about how to use our daily planners and how to teach with authority. At the end, he did a sort of Q&A and missionaries just asked questions about the scriptures and the gospel in general. He is a really powerful speaker and he knows his scriptures very very well. We drove back to Kitwe on Saturday afternoon and the ZLs interviewed our candidate for baptism, Brother Kabonso. Minch has been teaching he and his wife for a while, and Bro K is definitely ready and excited to be baptized. His wife had said she wasn’t ready yet, but on Sunday when we visited her, she said she would prepare to be baptized on Feb 18. So that’s good. Bro K will be baptized next Sunday by a recent convert by the name of John Phiri. The Phiri family (all 5 kids) were baptized just a couple of weeks before I arrived here and MAN, are they cool! They already have a picture of the temple up in their home and Sis Phiri already is 2nd counselor in the RS presidency and is working hard in that calling. Church yesterday was great. E Minch taught the gospel principles class for investigators and recent converts. I believe I will be teaching next week (woohoo!). In sacrament meeting, the Copperbelt district president spoke. He is so good! It’s really good \ to know that the gospel is so young here and yet there are quite a few strong members/families. The missionaries and the branch started here about 6 years ago, FYI. We are still building a foundation for the church to work off of. So virtually 90% of the members are converts of between 2 and 5 years in the church.
To answer some questions: My companion is Elder Minch and he is a very good trainer. He works hard and you can tell he is out here for the right reasons and he knows the gospel very well.

As far as the food goes, on p-days we come into town and buy our food from a store called Shoprite. Shoprite is actually based in South Africa and it’s really the closed thing to an Albertsons or Kroger in Zambia. It has Kraft and Frito-Lay products just to give you an idea of how much America stuff there is. So far, Minch and I haven’t been fed by any members or anything. I don’t think the members really know they can feed us. Oh well. BUT last night I did try my first Zambian “nshima.” Most Zambians eat it with every meal. It’s lots of cornmeal (they call it mealie-meal) boiled in a pot until it’s verrrrry thick. Then they cool it off a little bit and put it on a plate next to your food and you roll it into balls and eat ittogether with your food. It tastes like nothing. Actually it really reminds me of waaay thick cream-of-wheat. Our branch mission leader made it. His name is Wesley Nzima and he’s 21 years old. He is getting ready his mission papers. I think he usually will teach and visit with us one full day a week. Usually to visit single sisters who we aren’t allowed to visit alone. Wesley is really cool and he really understands the gospel. He loves the missionaries too. E Minch and I pay him to do our laundry for us on p-days, haha. We have to wash our own garments in the bath tub, but he does everything else. I don’t know I’ll be lucky enough to have someone do my laundry the rest of my mission though.
About my shoes. We are walking on dirt roads, gravel roads, 45 yr old unmaintained asphault roads, and winding paths. Hardly any paved roads. So it’s really rough on the shoes. Both pairs have held up fine so far, but it’s only been a week. I’ll keep you updated, mom.
As far as mail, I’ve received one thing from my family at home. At the zone conf last week, I got your Christmas card, which was nice. Since we use the pouch, sometimes we only get mail once every 6 weeks! At ZC, missionaries were getting big stacks of mail and Christmas packages. Especially up here in Zambia we don’t get mail too often, but if anyone wants to write me, please do so! It’s always nice to receive real mail in addition to email. Also, if you feel so inclined to send a package, don’t send them to the Harare mission office address while I’m here in Zambia. Send them to :
Elder Mckay Joseph Moline
Zimbabwe Harare Mission
P/Bag 325x
Ridgeway, Lusaka
ZAMBIA

The weather here is just beautiful this time of year. Right now it’s the middle of summer, but it’s usually nice and cool. We always have the windows open at the house.It does rain a lot though. Rainy season will last until end of February I hear, so I always carry around my rain jacket thing with me, and it’s saved me a few times. I haven’t used those shoe covers yet. The elder who I replaced here was caught in the rain without a jacket and his scriptures got drenched and ruined, and I don’t want that happening to me. By the way, my shoulder scripture bag has worked very nicely so far, mom.

Well, I have to go now! Time to go shopping.
Thank you so much for the emails, prayers and everything! I love you all very much! The church is true!
Elder Moline

P.S. Dad, sending the cards back and forth is way too risky. E Minch did that once and when it arrived at home, the card was corrupted and he lost all of the pictures. Today I will try to put some pictures on Photobucket for you, alright? I think I will still make and send a CD home, because I really have a lot of pictures.

P.P.S. Congratulations on the jobs, Tanner! Baskin Robbins is cool. E-mail me and let me know what it’s like there and at Kroger if you decide to stay. Also, GET YOUR EAGLE, MAN. Have fun playing racquetball! I miss it already.

P.P.P.S. Thanks for the Richmond’s addresses. I will get them to Sis Naisbitt as soon as possible!

P.P.P.P.S. Mom, I sent the Hills a thank you note. I thought you might like to know.