The King & I in Africa: Ndola Zambia

NDOLA ZAMBIA

Elder & Sister Orien, Pres Kapata, Pres Kapato, Pres Chishimba
Elder & Sister King at the Ndola chapel

This past weekend we visited Ndola Zambia in the Kitwe District to provide audit and financial training. We had 25 in attendance. Some of them left home at 4am to attend the training. What a warm friendly people!

President Chishimba (District President) was so kind to pick us up for the meeting even though he lives next door to the church! We then went out to get his councilor President Kapato (in the wheelchair). Pres Kapato has a delightful sense of humor! As we were driving to the church from his house he said (referring the the potholes on his street) "You know what they say about driving these streets don't you? If you are driving straight, you're drunk!" ha ha I can tell these brethren are well loved!

Elder & Sister Orien are serving there in the Kitwe District. I wished we had more time together as they have many great stories to tell. Sadly we learned that 3 Elders & 3 Sisters were sick with malaria! Usually it is because they stop taking their anti-malaria medicine. In the past two months, 9 have died in that Branch from Malaria! There has been 3 die in the Kitwe Branch this last week. One was from malaria, one was an old man, and one was a little baby who got struck by lightning through the window! :-(

Elder Venter & Elder Walusimbi

Chris teaching in the Ndola chapel

We taught the Kitwe District Presidency and audit committee about their responsibilities Saturday morning and then in the afternoon we taught the branch presidencies and clerks how to be wise stewards over the Lord's sacred funds.

My favorite story came up in a discussion of the proper use of fast offering assistance. The brethren talked about how the Lords funds are for sustaining life and not lifestyle. A brother asked the question "If you give a needy family macaroni instead of nshima, would this be improving their lifestyle instead of simply sustaining life?"

Nshima is the staple food in Zambia, as well as most of Africa is seems It is corn mush. In South Africa they call it pap.

Nshima is made from fine ground corn meal, called mealie meal. It's served in blobs (for lack of a better word) and eaten with the hands. You kneed it into a ball then make an indentation in it to scoop up greens or beans etc. Sometimes it's eaten with fish or other meat.