While visiting Blantyre to meet the missionaries, the Kupus held a devotional to meet the members. President Kupu encouraged the members to become more involved in missionary work and to get referrals to the missionaries.
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We are so blessed to have eight new wonderful missionaries come to join us in the GZLM! They are Elder Thomas, Elder Olsen, Elder Fuller, Sister Ntwe, Sister Chibase, Elder Tidwell, Elder Batson and Elder Chingwara! We are soooooo excited you have come to join us in this wonderful work! Sister Ntwe and Elder Olsen are serving in Lusaka, Elder Thomas and Elder Fuller are serving in the Copperbelt, Sister Chibase and Elder Chingwara are serinv in Blantyre and Elder Tidwell and Elder Batson are serving in Lilongwe. A FOND FAREWELL On July 12, five of our wonderful Zambia Lusaka missionaries returned to their family and friends after completing successful and honorable missions. The missionaries were Elder Owor, Elder Collins, Elder Tayembi, Elder Sagers and Elder Cunningham. They were able to serve a few short week with President and Sister Kupu. They will be missed and we wish them well! The missionaries who transferred down from Malawi were invited to the dinner. They would not be in Malawi when President visits and they were in Malawi when President did the "Meet the President" meeting in Lusaka. So he wanted an opportunity to meet them. The missionaries are Elder Kububa, Elder Knobloch, Elder Majekodunmi and Elder Salyards. The main dish for the meal was a roasted pig cooked Tongan style! Thank you, Junior, for your awesome chef skills! Sister Kupu also made other delicious food which was enjoyed by all! The next stop for meeting the missionaries was to visit the Copperbelt Zone where President and family met with all missionaries serving in Kitwe, Luanshya, Ndola and Kawama Districts. The missionaries waited quietly and reverently preparing to meet President and Sister Kupu. The love of the Kupus for the missionaries is felt when meeting them the first time. They are so happy to be here in Zambia serving the Lord by working with and loving the missionaries! The missionaries equally extend their love and support to President and Sister Kupu. President Kupu reminded us that the true leader of this mission is our Savior, Jesus Christ! A pretty awesome group of missionaries if ever there was one! However, they DO have their CRAZY side! They returned safely to Lusaka to prepare for upcoming transfers and their next trip which will be to Lilongwe and Blantyre to meet the missionaries there!
We were all very excited to welcome President and Sister Kupu and were anxious to get to know them. They facilitated that excitement by calling a short "get to know us" devotional starting with the missionaries in Lusaka. It was wonderful to meet their family through pictures and to also see pictures of the beautiful country of Tonga. They said Zambia is much like Tonga in climate and environment--minus the beaches, of course! We know they will love it here! Who knew that Tonga has 136 islands, but only 36 of them are inhabited! Tonga was never colonized and so has a King and Queen. The church started in Tonga in 1891. There are 19 stakes there, and about 50% of the people are members of the church. In 1916, a mission in Tonga was created. We loved learning about the Kupus and their Tongan culture. President Kupu's vision for the mission includes being a "Preach My Gospel" mission and a "Read the Book of Mormon" mission. He challenged the missionaries to read the Book of Mormon twice every year. Since the year is half over, we should be through it once already and starting on the second time for the year. Some of us have some catching up to do!
He emphasized that our goal is teach repentance, baptize converts and establish the church in Zambia and Malawi. In order to teach repentance, we each need to have a broken heart and contrite spirit and repent ourselves. ZAMBIA CONFERENCEThe last combined conference for Zambia with the Ericksons was held on June 9 and 10. The missionaries from the Copperbelt came to Lusaka for the conference. We were reminded of the importance of temples and instructed on ways to use the new pamphlet "Families and Temples" to introduce temple ordinances to members, investigators and recent converts. Participating in these saving ordinances in the House of the Lord, sealing families together for eternity and receiving the many blessings of the temple are what missionary work is all about! There were 36 wonderful young missionaries and two senior couples in this zone. Amazing and funny group of young people! It was the last mission conference for these four wonderful missionaries: President and Sister Erickson, Elder Tayembi, and Elder Cunningham. They will be so missed! It was also the last zone conference for these three fine missionaries serving in Malawi: Elder Sagers, Elder Owor and Elder Collins. We wish them all the best! President and Sister Erickson instructed us on the importance of obedience, sacrifice and consecration. They have been a wonderful example of all three of these principles. We returned to the work with renewed commitment to be truly dedicated and to consecrate this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of service to the Lord. A table runner with the printed names of all the missionaries who are serving or who have served in the Great Zambia Lusaka Mission over the past three years was presented to the Ericksons. We thank them for their exemplary service. They have touched the lives of so many missionaries, members and the people of Zambia. May God bless them in all of their future endeavors and may they always cherish their experiences in this chosen land!
The last Blantyre/Lilongwe Zone Conference for the Ericksons was held on June 2 and 3. It was an amazing and spiritual conference. It was difficult to say good-bye to President and Sister Erickson! They have provided such wonderful leadership over the past three years. We love them and feel so blessed to have served under their leadership. Our missionaries are very spiritual and hard workers, but they also know how to be silly and have lots of fun together. The missionaries enjoyed a wonderful meal of missionary-favorite "pizza", apples and home-made chocolate chip cookies and ice cream! Thank you Sister Birrell for the delicious cookies! President and Sister Erickson, the zone leaders and the assistants provided excellent training. One of the topics was the importance of temples and the covenants made there! How to use the new pamphlet, "Families and Temples" and the importance of getting members to the temple was emphasized. This transfer we are blessed to receive two wonderful new elders joining us in the Great Zambia Lusaka mission . These will be the last missionaries to be received by President and Sister Erickson. We are very happy to receive them and pray for their success as they begin their mission experience!
As part of their missionary service, missionaries are asked to spend some few hours each week to offer service in the community. The road opposite our Mission Office was becoming overgrown, so Lusaka Zone missionaries took matters into their own hands! This transfer we are blessed to receive one new Sister Missionary into the Great Zambia Lusaka Mission. Sister Brown is such an amazing missionary . We are happy to have her here and we pray for her success in the next 18 months. Again this transfer we are sad to bid farewell to these two Great Missionaries
Sister Nyachwo and Elder Rugumayo both returned home to Uganda. Their hard work and legacy will go down in the history and the heart of the Great Zambia Lusaka Mission. |
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October 2016
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