April 28, 2008

Dear everyone,

Hello again. Zambia is great. The week was chawama maningi (very nice). We had three people baptized and confirmed: Frida Banda (20), Michael Banda (16), and Sarah Chifunda (45). The baptism on Saturday was ok. There was a district young mens service project at the same time, as well as a wedding being planned for the afternoon so both of those took a toll on the attendance. There were also three people being baptized from two other branches. It was supposed to start at 11hrs, but no one from any of the three branch presidencies showed up until 11:30 and that guy asked us to go pick him up at his working place. The branch mission leader didn't come and neither anyone from Relief Society. So basically we had to do everything: find keys to the clerk's office, get and distribute baptismal clothing, set up chairs, etc. Quite a pain to do, but alas we did it. We had branch council meeting yesterday and we brought it up as an issue. We suggested to Pres Chikusu that he call and assistant branch mission leader because though our current one is cool, he always gets called into work at the last minute before important things.

Wednesday I went on exchanges with Elder Cole who is from Spokane, Washington. He is in Matero, currently one of the most fruitful areas in all of Lusaka. We had a pretty nice day. He's a good elder.

The Chembe family (another investigator family we have been teaching) has been having some issues. We're struggling to get them to read the Book of Mormon. The whole family has missed church the past two weeks. They did have baptismal dates but they just haven't been keeping commitments so . . . we're doing the best we can with them. Because they are a family referral from a member, we won't be giving up easily.

Saturday there was another wedding that I somehow got sucked into playing the keyboard for, haha. The strange thing about it was that the district president was returning from the South Africa temple trip and he got stopped at the Zimbabwe/Zambia border and so he couldn't make it on time for the wedding. Unfortunately he is the only one in the Lusaka district registered to perform civil marriages so there was literally no one to perform the ceremony. Our branch president presided at the wedding and everything happened like normal except that there was NO VOWS. So we went to a wedding where there was NO WEDDING, haha. That was pretty strange. The vows were done after church the following day (they didn't even attend the service). The groom is a completely less-active member, and the bride isn't even a member at all.

This week we had an experience that really strengthened my testimony. Last Sunday (8 days ago) a random guy came to church named Patrick Zulu. We had never met him before but apparently he had met a member of Matero branch in a shop somewhere and had a great discussion with him about the Book of Mormon and some other things. The member got his info to give to the missionaries and invited him to church. He attended Matero branch, got a Book of Mormon, and was told that he lived in the Lusaka branch boundaries. Anyway, he came to church in Lusaka branch and just soaked it in like a sponge. He told us he has been searching and searching for religious truth for years. He has many different versions of the Bible and studies them like crazy but never has found anything satisfactory to explain what they mean. . . until now! So we set an appointment with him and his family and visited them on Friday. As we taught the Restoration his eyes were just glued on us. Yesterday he came to church with his 11 year old son Manasseh and we taught them again after church last night. He, his wife Beatrice, his son and his daughter asked great questions and committed to read 3 Nephi 11. I don't think I have ever met someone so perfectly prepared for the gospel. He was just saying, "This is so right. It is exactly what I've been looking for." Both times we left their house Elder Musgrave and I couldn't wipe the smiles off of our faces for hours. The Zulu family will definitely be baptized! We are very excited about them.

Alright, I love you all dearly! Thank you so much for your prayers and everything else you do.

I know that the atonement of Jesus Christ did occur and it was the most important event ever to happen on the earth. As one of the hymns says: How great, how glorious, how complete redemption's grand design; where justice, love, and mercy meet in harmony divine. That is the message of the gospel! The restoration of the church is merely incidental.

Elder Mckay Moline

April 21, 2008

Dear everyone,

Well hello again! Another week flown by. It was a good one as well. Frida Banda (20), Michael Banda (16), and Sarah Chifunda (45) all passed their interviews. The only one we weren't sure about was Sis Chifunda. She has been learning English recently and sometimes she freezes up and forgets words, but she pulled through and will be baptized on Saturday along with Frida and Michael. Sister Chifunda's husband is the district executive secretary and a wonderful member of the branch. Next we will work on baptizing their 11 year old son Davis.

Saturday Elder Musgrave and I interviewed a husband and wife for baptism in Matero branch. I interviewed the husband. He was about 50 years old and the father to the branch clerk in Chainama branch, Field Banda, who has just submitted his mission papers. It was a great interview. He said he never though much of the Church until 5 of his 8 children had joined and then his son Field told him he wanted to leave his home for two years to teach people about the gospel. That was when he realized there was something unique and important about this Church and decided to investigate. Bro ans Sis Banda will also be baptized this Saturday.

Saturday also was the wedding of a member of Chainama branch. Saturday he was married to a returned sister missionary. They had the ceremony at the chapel at which they asked me to play the organ. It was cool to be a part of it. All in all it was quite "western," with a white wedding dress, her father walking her down the aisle, etc etc. The only thing that was a bit different was the bride arrived in a train of cars all with bows and ribbons on the hoods and all honking like crazy. And then when she got out of the car, all the old women (they call them gogos) make a weird sound sort of yelling and moving their tongues around in their mouths. Strange. Just an African tradition I guess. They said it means they wish her success and happiness or something.

The past few weeks we have been teaching a guy named Stephen Kabo. He was a referral from a recent convert and he had come to church 3 times and told us he knew the Book of Mormon was the word of God. So we were pretty excited about him, ready to give him a baptismal date. Then yesterday we were teaching his recent convert friend when he told us that Stephen's family are fiercely opposed to us being in their house and they would kick him out if we came over again. I can't even tell you how many times this has happened to investigators of ours. So sad. And honestly it is for no good reason. Rumours fly everywhere about us. That is the biggest hinderance to the work here. People are told by their friends that we are "satanists" and that we do all sorts of crazy things in church. There are even people that won't greet us on the streets sometimes because they are so afraid. Nevertheless, the work of God will move forward! No unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing! So Andrew (the recent convert) said he and his wife would go visit Stephen's family and talk about the Church with them because they are too scared to talk to us muzungus about it.

A lady came to church yesterday named Beatrice, probably about 55. She stays in Eastern Province where the Church hasn't gone yet. Apparently she came to Lusaka once and somehow got a copy of the Book of Mormon several months ago and now she and her husband have stopped going to their church are just waiting for the Church to go to her home and establish a branch there. Reminds me of what Elder Packer said once: "The Book of Mormon has somewhat of a self-converting power." Wherever the Book of Mormon goes, people are converted.

I know this is the Lord's Church. No doubt about it.

Love you all,
Elder Mckay Moline

P.S. Again, send all photos, cash, taco seasoning, letters, packages, Butterfingers, nice ties, music CDs, and any other items to:

Elder Mckay Moline
P/bag 325x
Ridgeway
Lusaka
ZAMBIA

April 14, 2008

Dear everyone,

Weird, because I did send an email last week and yet I can't find it in my sent box. Oh well. I'll write everything I remember from last week as well.

My last week in Munali branch was alright. Elder Ulloa and I had some really cool lessons and met some good people to teach. Maron Njelele was baptized on 5 April which was great. She was really ready and excited to be baptized. That same Saturday morning I was transferred to be with Elder Musgrave in Lusaka branch. At the same time Maron was baptized, a family that Elders Musgrave and Sisneros had been teaching was baptized as well. They're called the Banda family and they stay in Northmead. A mother and three of her daughters. The husband/father committed suicide in December and the missionaries first met them about a week after the incident. So now they are recent converts in the Lusaka branch; a really great family.

Now I've been in Lusaka branch for about 9 days including two sundays. All I can say is WOW. This is definitely the best branch I have seen in my whole mission. Sacrament meeting attendance was 141 last week and a bit less than that this week. The branch president is Pres. Chikusu who is a doctor with a PhD and his two counselors are returned missionaries, quite young but they definitely know what they're doing. The Relief Society president is a wonderful cheerful plump lady, Sister Nkowane. There is actually a young mens organization. PEC is short and effective. WOW. Of course every branch has its weaknesses and developmental areas, but I am quite impressed with what I've see so far here. Our branch mission leader is Blessings Musandu (a Zimbabwean) who is quite dedicated as well. We even have two and a half American families in the branch who work for the American embassy, and also a family from Paraguay who hardly can speak English correctly. I try to practice my Spanish talking to them, but everything I ever learned about Spanish has escaped me. All I can speak is Bemba, Nyanja, and Lozi, haha.

We should be having three baptismal candidates interviewed this Saturday, two other children from the aforementioned Banda family (Frida, 21 yr old girl, and Michael, 17 yr old boy), and Sarah Chifunda who is the wife of a very active member Davis Chifunda, the district executive secretary. Two weeks later we should have a family of SIX interviewed. They're called the Chembe family. The father works for the Examinations Council of Zambia is very intelligent. They've been coming to church for a while but have struggled with reading the Book of Mormon so their date was pushed back once.

So yes, now I'm in a car. It's quite different and quite strange. We have a pretty nice Toyota Corolla, manual transmission. Elder Musgrave sort of taught me how to drive a stickshift and now I mostly have the hang of it. Still sometimes when getting in the car I'll accidentally walk to the wrong side thinking that is where the steering wheel is, haha. Once on my first day I even drove on the right side of the road for a moment. Now I feel quite good about it though. Driving here is crazy because the roads are AWFUL. Potholes and ditches galore. Roads are not maintained well at all.

This week we did a lot of driving. On Thursday the new missionaries arrived from Harare by car, so we had to shuttle them around Lusaka to their various areas .This transfer we had 4 different Lusaka missionaries get Zim TEPs, so we had to pick them up Thursday night as well so they could drive back to Harare the following morning. Thurs night we didn't get home until nearly 11:00 (23hrs). Most nights this week we got home past 9 because of the same sorts of things. Being a zone leader is cool but we have to run errands and deal with all sorts of problems that take away from proselyting time. Oh well. Someone has to do it!

Being a missionary is awesome. I love the gospel and the Church and I know that the things I am teaching are true because I have seen them change people for good.

love you all,
Elder Mckay Moline

P.S. Crazy story of the week: Tuesday afternoon one of our neighbors (we live in a flat) had some clothes stolen from off of their clothesline and he were furious about it. Wednesday morning around 7 these three guys knock on our gate with a bunch of wet clothes asking if they belong to us. Two of them had seen the third one wandering around in the morning with the clothes and so he pretended that he had found them in the bushes and was bringing them back to the rightful owner. Then the man whose clothes were stolen the previous day came out from his door and started yelling at the third guy for taking his clothes. Elder Musgrave and I quietly went back inside our house, and then a few minutes later we hear the thief confessing and begging for mercy. Our neighbor called the landlord and he came over and they all participated as one of them held the thief, another one grabbed a huge stick (more like a baseball bat) and beat the thief on the legs, ankles, and ribs nonstop for probably 15 minutes. All this was going on right outside of our window as Elder Musgrave and I were trying to eat breakfast. Then they took him to the police post nearby. Moral of the story: Do not steal in Zambia. Thieves are BEATEN.