Today, President and Sister Dube (Doo'-bay) flew out of Harare Zimbabwe en route to the MTC for Mission President's training. First, they will take a Church History tour. Just imagine their amazement in seeing the sights on the American continent where the Restoration took place. This elect African couple will stand in the Sacred Grove, marveling that the recent message of God the Father and His Beloved Son as delivered to Joseph Smith, found them, a world away in Zimbabwe, and gave them truth eternal and joy everlasting. If I could have the wish of my heart today, it would be to be with them, and see the miracle of the Restoration anew thru their eyes--their most faithful and deeply appreciative eyes.
We will soon be serving with them, benefiting from the enriching experiences that await them in the upcoming weeks. When they return, a beautiful mission home awaits them, equipped with most of the modern conveniences that the western world depends on, but which will be new and exciting for them-- an automatic washing machine and tumble dryer, dishwasher, large fridge and freezer, large cooktop and oven, microwave, air conditioners, extra bathrooms, extra bedrooms, beautiful grounds including an orchard and even a swimming pool! The mission home is a sanctuary in the midst of Zimbabwe's devastating decline. The Dube family could not be more deserving of such a sanctuary. Pres. Dube will not, however, enjoy it as much as his family, as he will be almost constantly on the road or in the air managing the mission in the three countries, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi, that fall under his stewardship. (Just to clarify, we haven't actually seen the mission home, as we have never been to Zimbabwe, but Sister Bester has told us about the mission home, and we have smiled imagining the delight of the four Dube children.)
We have written a letter of welcome and observation to Pres. Dube. In part, we outlined our responsibilities in Zambia, realizing that an outline doesn't ever tell the whole story, but it might be better than no story at all when the story is too long! (We wrote a similar, albeit wordier and incomplete, outline on one of our earlier blogs.)
These are just a few lines from our longish letter:
Our
responsibilities include, but are certainly not inclusive to:
And then we go on to list a few options for his consideration in these, and other, matters. Sooo, if this request sounds ridiculous or unreasonable, please let us know immediately before we send it and make total fools of ourselves!
Today, Elder Patterson has flown to the Copperbelt once again with Pres. Bester for mission presidency business, necessitating my second day of solo driving. Tuesdays are always busy. It is DDM (District Development Meeting) which all the missionaries from the far-reaches of Lusaka attend, so that is when we give them their mail, medications, supplies, immigration updates, etc., etc. Today, I was also on the schedule to give my "doctrinal" talk about keeping boardings clean. . . you know, "teach them correct doctrine and they will govern themselves"? (Clean boardings truly puts that truth to the test!) Everything I needed was stacked at the door, ready to be loaded into the car, and what what to my wondering eyes should NOT appear? . . . The car keys! DEJAVU: car-keys-in-a pocket-on-an-airplane-in-the-sky. (I should write a song--the song of my life!) Plan B: call the APs. . . they drove in from Zimbabwe yesterday and they are staying with us for two days, but they had already driven to DDM. They drove back to "collect" me and they laughed all the way to the church listening to my many keys-in the-sky experiences.
One cute little story: Two Elders who live close to us dropped by our boarding after DDM to pick up a mosquito net. When I bade them goodbye at the door, Elder Olanya stopped and asked thoughtfully, "Sister Patterson, what must it feel like to be in a big house like this all alone?" It is a reality, I sometimes forget, that most of our African Elders come from the traditional African homes. Indoor plumbing and running water might be a luxury for a few of them, but more than three or four rooms would be unlikely. And thus our boarding is considered huge with three bedrooms, two bathrooms, kitchen, dining area and lounge. And to be alone is such an expanse is incomprehensible to a culture where one's tiny home is usually crowded with family relations and village neighbors. If only Elder Olanya knew how often I have been alone in a much-to-big house, he would be shocked, and I must admit, I would be embarrassed.
Tomorrow, Pres. Bester flies back to Zimbabwe and the APs drive the long road back. And the next day the two Area Auditor couples arrive in Zambia to audit all the branches. We know it will not be a pretty deal. Corruption has been rampant, as I've mentioned before, with so much cash being used because of Zimbabwe's tail-spinning economy. So, after digging in our heels and declaring that we will not be part of the ridiculous cash-plan, we actually received a JP Morgan credit card this week, issued from church headquarters in SLC!!!! Miracles have not ceased, prayer works, and squeaky wheels are at last heard.
P.S. Sad news at the end of this day: We got word that our little Brynnie fell off the trampoline and broke her arm quite seriously. . . bone is severed close to the shoulder. She is probably in surgery just now. How we love Bryn. One thing we know for sure, there is not a more brave child in all the world than Bryn. If we were there, she would be the one making us laugh and trying to hug us, even with only one arm. Love you forever Brynnie.
We will soon be serving with them, benefiting from the enriching experiences that await them in the upcoming weeks. When they return, a beautiful mission home awaits them, equipped with most of the modern conveniences that the western world depends on, but which will be new and exciting for them-- an automatic washing machine and tumble dryer, dishwasher, large fridge and freezer, large cooktop and oven, microwave, air conditioners, extra bathrooms, extra bedrooms, beautiful grounds including an orchard and even a swimming pool! The mission home is a sanctuary in the midst of Zimbabwe's devastating decline. The Dube family could not be more deserving of such a sanctuary. Pres. Dube will not, however, enjoy it as much as his family, as he will be almost constantly on the road or in the air managing the mission in the three countries, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi, that fall under his stewardship. (Just to clarify, we haven't actually seen the mission home, as we have never been to Zimbabwe, but Sister Bester has told us about the mission home, and we have smiled imagining the delight of the four Dube children.)
We have written a letter of welcome and observation to Pres. Dube. In part, we outlined our responsibilities in Zambia, realizing that an outline doesn't ever tell the whole story, but it might be better than no story at all when the story is too long! (We wrote a similar, albeit wordier and incomplete, outline on one of our earlier blogs.)
These are just a few lines from our longish letter:
Our
responsibilities include, but are certainly not inclusive to:
- Managing the finances of the Zambia Sub-mission;
- Mission Presidency
responsibilities;
- Immigration
- Missionary Medical
- Allotments
- Boardings
- Missionary supplies and miscellaneous needs
- Missionary
mail
- Fleet vehicles
- Bicycles
- In-home Zambia Distribution
- District
shadow-leadership
- Real Estate scouts (for new chapels)
- Travel Agents for Zambian-mission travelers
- Chauffeuring mission visitors
- Assisting with District Conferences, Zone
Conferences and transfers - And a lot of other daily surprises
On preparation days and on Sundays, Sister Patterson and I would
like to be involved in searching out, inviting back and fellowshipping
the hundreds of less-active members. As it is, our time does not permit such efforts, in fact,we haven't had one preparation day, or one office-free-Sunday, yet. We would also like to be more involved with District shadow-leadership. We have been helping the district by default because the presidency is new and because their funds were frozen for months due to forensic audits. The
mission office had to facilitate district funding during that time. We find it most disconcerting, seeing the serious needs in the two districts and 10 branches here, that we have no discretionary time to help with such needs. Pres. Dube, we pray that you will be able to help us resolve this out-of-balance situation.
like to be involved in searching out, inviting back and fellowshipping
the hundreds of less-active members. As it is, our time does not permit such efforts, in fact,we haven't had one preparation day, or one office-free-Sunday, yet. We would also like to be more involved with District shadow-leadership. We have been helping the district by default because the presidency is new and because their funds were frozen for months due to forensic audits. The
mission office had to facilitate district funding during that time. We find it most disconcerting, seeing the serious needs in the two districts and 10 branches here, that we have no discretionary time to help with such needs. Pres. Dube, we pray that you will be able to help us resolve this out-of-balance situation.
And then we go on to list a few options for his consideration in these, and other, matters. Sooo, if this request sounds ridiculous or unreasonable, please let us know immediately before we send it and make total fools of ourselves!
Today, Elder Patterson has flown to the Copperbelt once again with Pres. Bester for mission presidency business, necessitating my second day of solo driving. Tuesdays are always busy. It is DDM (District Development Meeting) which all the missionaries from the far-reaches of Lusaka attend, so that is when we give them their mail, medications, supplies, immigration updates, etc., etc. Today, I was also on the schedule to give my "doctrinal" talk about keeping boardings clean. . . you know, "teach them correct doctrine and they will govern themselves"? (Clean boardings truly puts that truth to the test!) Everything I needed was stacked at the door, ready to be loaded into the car, and what what to my wondering eyes should NOT appear? . . . The car keys! DEJAVU: car-keys-in-a pocket-on-an-airplane-in-the-sky. (I should write a song--the song of my life!) Plan B: call the APs. . . they drove in from Zimbabwe yesterday and they are staying with us for two days, but they had already driven to DDM. They drove back to "collect" me and they laughed all the way to the church listening to my many keys-in the-sky experiences.
One cute little story: Two Elders who live close to us dropped by our boarding after DDM to pick up a mosquito net. When I bade them goodbye at the door, Elder Olanya stopped and asked thoughtfully, "Sister Patterson, what must it feel like to be in a big house like this all alone?" It is a reality, I sometimes forget, that most of our African Elders come from the traditional African homes. Indoor plumbing and running water might be a luxury for a few of them, but more than three or four rooms would be unlikely. And thus our boarding is considered huge with three bedrooms, two bathrooms, kitchen, dining area and lounge. And to be alone is such an expanse is incomprehensible to a culture where one's tiny home is usually crowded with family relations and village neighbors. If only Elder Olanya knew how often I have been alone in a much-to-big house, he would be shocked, and I must admit, I would be embarrassed.
Tomorrow, Pres. Bester flies back to Zimbabwe and the APs drive the long road back. And the next day the two Area Auditor couples arrive in Zambia to audit all the branches. We know it will not be a pretty deal. Corruption has been rampant, as I've mentioned before, with so much cash being used because of Zimbabwe's tail-spinning economy. So, after digging in our heels and declaring that we will not be part of the ridiculous cash-plan, we actually received a JP Morgan credit card this week, issued from church headquarters in SLC!!!! Miracles have not ceased, prayer works, and squeaky wheels are at last heard.
P.S. Sad news at the end of this day: We got word that our little Brynnie fell off the trampoline and broke her arm quite seriously. . . bone is severed close to the shoulder. She is probably in surgery just now. How we love Bryn. One thing we know for sure, there is not a more brave child in all the world than Bryn. If we were there, she would be the one making us laugh and trying to hug us, even with only one arm. Love you forever Brynnie.
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