I thought I would post what the LDS chapels in Lusaka, Zambia looked like in 2015.
The word has reached us that in March the Lusaka District will be transformed into a Stake.
No one is happier than the Mission President because at that time the responsibility for the local members in Lusaka will go directly to the new Stake President who will report to the Area Seventy just like the Mission President does.
Below are some of the missionaries who have helped make that happen. We just sent thirteen home after serving two years or eighteen months for the women. This photo is of their last day in Lusaka.
Here are Elders Johnson, Van Arsdale, Blanchard, Moya, Barnard, Hunter
and Sisters Lyon, Jones and Scott at the Mission Home. Four of them missed my photo.
This is the Chainama Chapel. It is a home that is converted into a church.
Out back a large chapel was constructed to accommodate everyone.
Here is an old sign that Elder Humpherys had the legs sawed off and then he took it to Botswanna to use for a chapel there.
Below is the Libala/Woodlands chapel. The two branches meet there on Sundays at different times.
This is Elder Ketchum playing for choir practice (with a little help).
The Libala Choir will be singing at District/Stake Conference in March.
Here is the Aaronic Priesthood class in the Woodlands Branch.
Below is what the chapel looks like between meetings.
Here are Elders Ouma and Ketchum heading out after church.
The chapel is very nice now that major repairs have been made to the electrical and water systems. A borehole was added this past year so now there is water all the time. What is now needed is the construction of a cultural hall addition. Hopefully it will come now Lusaka will become a Stake.
I never miss an opportunity to have my photo taken with pretty girls when asked!
This was Sisters Ruth and Nxele's last Sunday at the Woodlands Branch.
Below is the Lusaka Chapel where the Lusaka and Munali Branches meet.
Inside there is now a "self reliance" centre where members can learn job hunting and educational skills. It is not only for creating a resume and internet job search, but can open the door to many educational and entrepreneurial opportunities. Soon this will also be used as a Family History Centre.
The Lusaka building has had a few structural changes lately. A High Council room was created and the District President's Office was moved to where the storeroom for the Distribution Centre was.
Below is a new outside door created to be the new entrance to the Distribution Centre. This change will make Sister Teke, who runs the centre, more accessible and the building more secure.
Sister Teke is almost ready to move in. This will be the display room and behind a storeroom.
The Lusaka chapel is in a very nice and handy location but will prove to be a little small in the future for Stake Conferences.
Below is the Matero Chapel gate.
It is also a rented house that is converted to accommodate Sunday meetings.
It is large piece of property and the owner is starting to build three more houses there.
Inside is fairly roomy.
Here are some basic guidelines for smooth operation.
Around the corner from the rented house is a large plot that is owned by the church.
Authorisation has been given to begin building here this year 2015.
Matero Branch also has a Group that meets in this house because many members live out on the outskirts of Lusaka.
Bulletin boards are crowded, so big green felt ones have just been installed.
Primary rooms look about the same in each meeting house.
Below is the sign for the Lilande Branch.
The large gate is opened on Sundays but during the week most people enter the grounds through this little gate.
This is the rented house where the Lilande Branch meets.
It is another house converted for church meetings.
Meetings get a little crowded and several classes need to meet outside because of lack of space.
The last church building in Lusaka is the Mission Home. It is also a rented house.
The offices where Kristi and I work are upstairs and the Mission President and his wife live downstairs.
So that is what an LDS District looks like in Zambia. Lusaka has seven units and most likely five of them will be made into Wards and two will remain as Branches for now. We will see what happens on the 15th of March. Many decisions will be made that weekend.
To make it clear, the Zambia Lusaka Mission is comprised now of five separate Districts and soon one of them (Lusaka) will become a Stake. The Copperbelt was one District and it has just been split into two Districts to make administration of the units in that area more manageable. In Malawi approval has been given to create a District in Lilongwe. This will relieve the Mission President of much personal training by him and now the District leadership can train under the direction of the Mission President. Blantyre, Malawi is the other District in the Mission. So the work goes on. There are really four separate areas in the mission that are separated by five or ten hours of driving between each area.
Ten new missionaries arrived this week and are now being trained by their new companions.
The work moves on!
