PRESSING FORWARD

There is no stopping someone that loves golf this much.  Somehow he is able to squeeze it in occasionally and there's no problem finding a golfing buddy.

Birthday Cake- Brother Noel

 Birthday Cake- Brother Jackson Phiri

This is a pretty common sight in the villages, not so much in the city though.. This young girl is responsible for her baby sister all day, probably while her  mom is at work.  Pretty incredible. Imagine your 6 or 7 year old in charge of your 6 or 7 month old- all day.

Elder Etiang was born with these beautiful blue eyes- so unusual but so cool! The Zambians are a little freaked out by it but I think it's awesome.

This little guy is less than 24 hours old.  He belongs to one of our guards.  Father and son are both named Daniel.  We gave them a ride home from the hospital, otherwise they would have had to take public transportation.  Baby Daniel is wrapped up in two big blankets and a winter hat.  It was about 80 degrees outside.  Another very common thing to see that I don't understand.

Part of the fish raising business included adding pig manure to the water.  As you can tell, it was not a pleasant experience.  I had to steer clear of this portion of the process.

Bagging it up and getting it ready to add to the tanks.

No one enjoyed it.

Finally it was time to pick up the baby fish.  We brought home around 2000 fingerlings.

I'm not quite sure how they counted them.  How do you count out 500 (in each bag) swimming fish?

Anyway, we finally got them into the tanks and now we hope and pray that they live to adulthood.  It's kind of scary when someones livelihood depends upon it and we don't really know what we're doing.  Elder Salmon will try just about anything.  Nothing scares him!

We spent half a day with these three characters who came to Lusaka from the Copper Belt  to go to immigration.  There are so many rules involved with immigration between Zambia and Malawi I can't keep it straight.  It's so complicated  the church hires a member here to take care of it.  If the missionaries are under 21 they have to go to immigration every six months or something like that.  If they are over 21 the rules are not as strict and if you're really old like we are, they barely notice that we're here.  These elders made a 6-8 hour bus ride (depending on how fast their bus is) to Lusaka the night before and we had to get them to immigration and back on a bus home the very next day.  This picture was taken at the bus station.  But like most bus stations, it's not a great place to hang out.

As we were waiting for the Elders to buy their bus tickets we noticed this big lump wrapped up in a dirty blanket right in front of our car and I said, "Craig, that looks like a body- do you think there's a body in there."  And he said, " It sure looks like it. Why don't you go look and see.  Take a picture."

Needless to say, I didn't but he did. No idea if it was dead or alive.  Only at the bus station................!

Luckily we had time for a trip to KFC before they had to head home.  I was never a big fan of KFC at home but sometimes it sure tastes like home out here. 

Elder Zimene had 4 pieces of chicken and this is all that was left- I'm talking bones and all.

We had a special Zone meeting with one of our area presidency and his wife, Elder and Sister Ellis.  They came to tour the mission with President and Sister Kupu.  This is just the Lusaka Zone.

I finally got a hold of all the right ingredients and made a couple of batches of caramels.  They have been a big hit with nearly everyone.  I don't have a candy thermometer so I had to resort to the ice water test and it works great. There are some Americans here who are members of the church that work at the US Embassy.  They have a commissary where they can get corn syrup.  There is no corn syrup in any of the stores here in Lusaka (among a great many other things).  If I give them caramels they get me Karo Syrup.  Fair trade.

Another p-day activity with the Elders.  Most of the African Elders don't know how to play basketball but they are learning.  There are several courts around town so I think it must be catching on.

Just down the street from where we live there is some kind of construction going on behind these walls and there's always a bunch of men hanging around hoping for work.  I don't really know what kind of building is going up- I've never been able to see behind the barriers.

Elder Ford from the UK has gone home now but the day he left he was waiting around at the mission office and we noticed the bottom of his shoe.  There was a hole worn all the way through to his sock.  Now that's a hard working missionary.

Somehow I got elected to do the missionary immunizations.  I have only

done insulin shots which are much different.  On top of that there was no electricity the night I had to do this one.  I'm pretty good at it now- even in the dark.

Craig has also helped some young return missionaries start their own security business they are calling Ocean Eyes.  Security is big business here in Africa.  Most businesses and many private residences, including ours, have security guards.  The guards don't make a whole lot but if you own the business you can become self-reliant.  And that is the goal.  This is their logo.

They are taking it very serious and are doing a good job.

This was a long one and I hope I haven't bored you but I have to end with my monthly quote.  This is by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland from the Ensign, Jan 2003.

"However dim our days may seem, they have been a lot darker for the Savior of the world.  As a reminder of those days, Jesus has chosen, even in a resurrected. otherwise perfected body, to retain for the benefit of His disciples the wounds in His hands and in His feet and in His side- signs, if you will, that painful things happen even to the pure and the perfect; signs, if you will, that pain in this world is not evidence that God doesn't love you; signs, if you will, that problems pass and happiness can be ours.  Remind others that it is the wounded Christ who is the Captain of our souls, He who yet bears the scars of our forgiveness, the lesions of His love and humility, the torn flesh of obedience and sacrifice.

"These wounds are the principle way we are to recognize Him when He comes.  He may invite us forward, as He has invited others, to see and to feel those marks.  If not before, then surely at that time we will remember with Isaiah that it was for us that a God was 'despised and rejected...; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief,' that 'he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed' (Isa. 53:3,5)".