MOM’S MEMOIRS – IRENE LOUISE (NEE KUCKKAN) MUELLER
(Continued)

Mom’s Autobiography – Chapter 10 – In Book, Page 24

Susan Rachel Born, Sawalls, Cinemas in Lusaka, Kafue, Munda Wanga, Furlough 1961, Stops on Way to U.S.A.

ANOTHER BLESSING – SUSAN RACHEL

This wonderful blessing was in the form of another gift from God, our cute little bald-headed (you should see her lovely long blond hair now) girl, “Susan Rachel”, born January 17, 1960. How excited all of us were again to have another baby in our home – and a little one to take back to the United States with us on our furlough to get acquainted with the grandparents, relatives, and friends.. Our four miracles were very active, and healthy – and are as adults.

ANOTHER MISSIONARY FAMILY

In 1961 Missionary Bob Sawall, his wife, Charlene, and their family came to Northern Rhodesia to spread the Word of God at Sala in the bush. We greeted them at the airport, invited them to stay with us in Lusaka for the night, but they were anxious to see where they would live and work. We phoned the mission, and were told by Missionary Bill Schweppe that it had just rained and the road would be muddy. But the Sawalls wanted to go anyway. So, we piled all of us and their luggage into two cars and started out. The road was a sea of mud and water. I was driving one car and could not see the road. I tell people to this day that it was God’s holy angels guiding my hands, and my husband’s (driving the other car), who got us all safely to the mission that dark African night.

CINEMAS IN LUSAKA

We had three cinemas in Lusaka; Century 21, Carlton, and Palace. I would pile our children and their friends into the car and take them to the matinees at Century 21, a very nice cinema. The Carlton was on Livingstone Road. I remember one time when they had a James Bond movie, one of the first, with Sean Connery. Dick, the children, and I were about the only white people there. Wow! – was there ever loud cheering, hooting, and hollering! It was a joy to watch the Africans enjoy it so much. This was after the color bar was lifted in 1960 because Africans had not been allowed in cinemas and restaurants. Africans had to go to a side door even to buy milk. And there had been six doors to the public restrooms, two (men and women), for the “Europeans”, two for the Asians, and two for the Africans. After the color bar was lifted, all the signs were painted over, and everyone could use the same ones. There was also a drive-in cinema outside Lusaka. We would all pile into the car with our picnic sandwiches, park, and the older children would get out of the car and sit next to the speakers and watch the movie. One of the movies we saw there was the wonderful “The Sound of Music”. Sometimes new movies would reach us in Africa before many movie theaters in the States. Dick and I would go to the Palace Theater (in the Asian area of Lusaka) at night. There we would be the only white people surrounded by Asians and Africans. One time the reels of the movie were mixed up. Have you ever tried to piece together a movie like that?

KAFUE AND MUNDA WANGA

We also went to Kafue, a town about twenty-five miles from Lusaka, to which we would take the family sometimes on Sundays. There was a swimming pool there. By now there were Africans helping spread God’s Word to many congregations with the printed word. The Kafue River was near where we would go to watch the hippos in the river. We also went to a place called Munda Wanga (“My Garden”), about fifteen miles from Lusaka. There was a small swimming pool there; also beautiful flowers, plants, trees, and peacocks strutting about displaying their gloriously colored feathers. There were also two pits of snakes – one pit poisonous snakes and the other non-poisonous. People had to be careful they didn’t fall into one of the pits – ha! It really was a wonderful place to spend a very relaxing day with the family.

Missionary Raymond Cox, Lois, his wife, and children arrived in Lusaka in September, 1961. On October 16th my husband and Ray made the long, but very fruitful trip of 650 miles to Balovale in the Northwest Province of Zambia to visit the many people there, and along the way, with whom we were in contact through the mailing list.

It was on November 26, 1961, that the Medical Mission Dispensary building at Sala was formally opened and dedicated to God with the name, “Lumano Lutheran Dispensary”. The women of the Wisconsin Synod (LWMS – LUTHERAN WOMEN’S MISSIONARY SOCIETY) supported the Dispensary, and through their gifts of money and useful items, the Dispensary existed. Lois Cox and I designed and hand-painted the window for the chapel – cf. cover of “LET US DO GOOD, Forty Years of Medical Missions in Central Africa – 1961-2001 – The Story as Told by Ernst H. Wendland & Theodore A. Sauer”. As Pastor Sauer (“Tate”) wrote in his Christmas letter of 2001 – “The window was a daily reminder to workers and patients alike that we have a Savior who not only heals our physical ills, but above all, has our spiritual well-being at heart as He invites us, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” We still had the plans in our files after all these years, and sent them to him on February 8, 2002 – after LET US DO GOOD was published. He was elated, and said that he “could hardly believe that they were actually in his hands!” “Tate” was called to his heavenly home on April 29, 2007. He lived to be ninety-one years old. He will be sadly missed, but know he is now with his Lord and dear wife, Althea).

FURLOUGH TIME – DECEMBER, 1961

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia –

During our trips back to the States, we were privileged to stop at many countries. During our first trip back, we went to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. We visited the Voltzes who had been missionaries in Nigeria. Missionary Voltz was head of a powerful radio station, RVOG, Radio Voice of the Gospel. He and his wife took us to see the huge curtain antennas from which the message of the Gospel was beamed to many different countries, even Russia. They also took us to an Ethiopian restaurant to eat. A basket table was brought to us with a large gray mass of food, resembling a pancake, covering it. It was called “njira”. Also some pureed lentil mixed with a spicy hot sauce was brought. It was called “watt”. To eat, we tore off a piece of njira and dipped it into the watt. Also, we had “tej”, a honey wine. Actually, everything was quite good. We love to sample different kinds of food wherever we travel.

Cairo, Egypt –

From Ethiopia we went to Cairo, Egypt. Our plane had to circle around northern Ethiopia because there was a war going on there. We got to Cairo around 4:00 a.m., and were taken to a dark hallway of the Tulip Hotel. A man who had been sleeping took us up a rickety elevator. The door opened, and there was a small, but bright, lobby of the hotel. The bedrooms were all off the lobby. All six of us slept in one room. The next day we had shish kabobs to eat, and they were delicious! A guide took us to the Pyramids and the Sphinx. Wow! What a thrill to see them! We sat on camels, and have the pictures to prove it. I got more than a little excited when the guide put our Dickie on a little horse, and he was led away and disappeared behind a pyramid. But the guide told me not to worry; he would come out the other side of the pyramid, which he did. We were disappointed that the guide would not take us to the Cairo museum because of the children. He did take us to some shops, but we were appalled when he chased away little beggar children in the streets with his whip.

Athens, Greece, and Rome, Italy –

We loved Athens. The people were so friendly, and loved it that we had four children. We ate gyros on the street, and then took a bus tour. We saw the Parthenon and other temples on the hill. They were beautiful! We also went to the museum. Wow, that was fantastic! There was a huge statue of the Greek god, Zeus. He actually stood on his toes on one foot. Also, a statue which appealed to Dick especially was of a little boy with a goose and a smile on his face. One couldn’t help but smile when looking at him. We also saw ruins of stadiums in which you could almost hear crowds of people cheer.

In Rome we saw the Coliseum. Can you believe – it was full of cats, and I don’t mean lions, living there at that time. It was hard to believe that Christians were actually torn to pieces at that place with people also cheering. We also saw St. Peter’s Cathedral. People were kissing the statue of St. Peter. Our little daughter, Susie, said to me, “Mommy, I don’t like it in here. Let’s get out of here.” Even at her age, she knew something was very different, even though St. Peter’s cathedral is a magnificent building decorated with Michelangelo’s paintings, statues, and much gold. We didn’t stick around to see the Pope.