MOM’S MEMOIRS – IRENE LOUISE (NEE KUCKKAN) MUELLER
(Continued)
 
Mom’s Autobiography – Chapter 18 – In Book, Page 43

Matero Cemetery, Women’s Club, Christmas at Bush Church, Steph’s Friend’s Death, Steve and Dried Fish, Trips to Copperbelt, Vacation in Malawi (Rats), Deb and Dick Return from U.S.A., Uncle Art and Mom Mueller in Zambia, Deb and Dick in Switzerland

Thinking back to the congregation at Matero, with the children, takes me back to when we first came to Africa and a little girl died. The members got a packing crate from one of the stores in town and built a coffin for her (there was no embalming). The box was in the middle of the aisle in the church. After the service, someone came and nailed the top of the coffin shut. I’ll never forget the sound of that echoing through the church. But the people did not wail and raise a ruckus as the heathens do. There were tears, but they knew that the little girl had gone to her heavenly home to be with her Savior. It was sad going to the cemetery in Matero. There were rows and rows of empty graves waiting for the mothers to bring their dead babies during the night.

The American Women’s Club each year would have a party for the American children at the American Embassy which always was very nice. (Once I was privileged to be in the American Ambassador’s house when the American Women’s Club had a meeting there. I still have a wonderful “Forget Me Not” cookbook compiled by American women, and also a “Welcome to Lusaka – Information for Newcomers” book, also compiled by the American Women’s Club which I treasure.)

One Christmas I had put a meal into the oven, and Dick, the children, and I went to the bush for services. When we got to the last place, we were pleasantly surprised when we saw that the African ladies had made a chicken dinner for us, complete with a white table cloth on the table. But, what about that meal in the oven? I drove at least ten miles back into Lusaka to turn off the oven. When I got back, we had a very delicious meal, one we will never forget. The ladies broke the chicken bones to get the sweet marrow out. We also had mealie-meal (corn meal) which we love. But, most of all, we were thankful for the loving-kindness which was shown to us.

Our children had friends from many countries, also attending the International School. A friend of Susie invited her to her house. When they were playing ball, the ball went over the wall into the Russian Ambassador’s garden. They had to go over and ask for it. A friend of Steph’s was killed when her sixteen-year old sister came out from England, was driving the car, and crashed into a tree. The friend’s mother called and asked Stephanie and me to come to their house because she wanted to give Stephanie some things because Steph was their daughter’s best friend. Stephanie inherited all of her friend’s Barbie dolls, complete with clothes. That little girl is buried not too far from Missionary Bill Schweppes grave in Lusaka.

Our youngest child, Steve, was still very little. He had an African friend named Joseph, but to Steve he was “Hotah”. One day he was crying, and we asked him what was wrong. He said, “I want to be black like Hotah”. He often ate mealie-meal and “kapenta” (dried fish) with “Hotah” and his parents. One time when we made a trip to the Copperbelt, we stopped at an African market. Before we knew it, Steve went off like a shot and came back with a handful of kapenta. When we asked the African lady what we owed her, she laughed and said, “Nothing, if a little white boy likes what we eat so much, he can have it.”

On our mission trips to the Copperbelt in the earlier days, we would go to the Edinburgh Hotel in Kitwe. Sometimes Peter Katende, one of the boys’ friends, would go with us. One day when we were preparing to go, another friend, Robert Masiye, wanted to come along. Dick asked him if he had permission of his parents to go. Of course, he did, he said. But Dick thought he’d better check, his father being the Ambassador to Ghana. Well, Robert had not asked permission, so could not go with us. He was very disappointed. We were, too, but happy that we did not have the police out looking for Robert, and us.

As time went on, we had a little “caravan” (trailer) to use to camp when we would go up to the Copperbelt on mission trips. When we got to a group which an evangelist had gotten together in Ndola, we found that they had built a church of cardboard and sticks. We sat on stumps, and had the church service. We also visited people in some of the other cities on the Copperbelt, many of them living in the huge African compounds, who work in the copper mines. Dick had church services at Lubuto Community Centre in Kitwe on Sunday afternoon. Quite a lot of people attended, and Dick baptized many children. Those groups in Ndola and Kitwe got larger and the evangelists kept in contact with the mailing program, receiving materials – sermons, Sunday School lessons, prayers, hymns, etc. to use in their services. Now there are missionary families living on the Copperbelt, thanks be to God!

When we went to the Copperbelt, we camped at a place called Rhodwin’s. We carried all our provisions with us. There was a pond there, kayaks, and a ”fufi” slide which the children loved. We have some very fond family memories of that place.

We also made a trip to Blantyre, Malawi, to visit Missionaries John and Yvonne Janosek, and their children. The road to Blantyre was still dirty and dusty. We had been having tire trouble, and Dick had told “Jack” that if we didn’t get there by a certain time, he should come looking for us. The tire kept giving us trouble, Dick tried to fix it with a stick, but finally the stick wouldn’t work. We were all sleeping in the bush when Jack came. He took the children and me into Blantyre while Dick stayed with the car until Jack would bring the right tire back. Jack took the right tire back, and both of them came to Blantyre together.

The Janoseks had reserved a cottage for all of us to vacation at next to Lake Malawi. When we got to the cottage, the African caretaker told us to put our bread and other perishables in a screened in cage with its legs sitting in tins of water. We thought, “why?” and laid everything on the table. Well, during the night we saw RATS crawling along the walls, the roof, and the floor. Thankfully, Steve was still a baby in a “pram” (buggy) at that time, and I had mosquito netting over the pram. Ha, as if that would help if a rat tried to bite him! But the Lord again took care of all of us. In the morning we found out why the caretaker had told us to put the bread and other perishables in the cage. The rats had helped themselves and eaten bread, etc!!!! The cottage had been paid for, so all of us stayed longer. Missionaries! – They are of a different breed. Missionary Schweppe used to say, “A person has to be a little crazy to go to Africa”. When we did leave that cottage, Dick and Jack signed the book asking for comments about the cottage. Jack wrote, “Get rid of the rats!” – And Dick wrote, “ditto”. All of us did have a good time together at Lake Malawi. The swimming there is awesome!

On the way back to Lusaka, we got behind a semi-truck, and did we ever eat dust, for miles. The cars in those days had no air-conditioning, so because of the heat, the windows were open. Finally, Dick decided to pass the semi, and thank the Lord, no vehicles were coming from the opposite direction.

1970 – DEBBIE AND DICK(IE) COME BACK FOR VACATION!

Debbie and Dick(ie) came back for their summer vacation from Dr. Martin Luther Prep and Northwestern Prep for their school vacation in 1970. Dick’s mother and uncle, Pastor Arthur Laesch (who had also lost his spouse) came to Africa with them. It was a great blessing to see all of them. We took Dick’s Mom and uncle out to the Bible Institute and showed them around, and to all the congregations under Dick’s care. “Uncle Art” said to one of the women holding her baby, “Oh, what a cute baby. May I take her?” The woman gladly handed over her baby, but would have been happier if Uncle Art had taken her to America with him. She knew that her baby would have a better life there.

Dick’s Mom and uncle were also privileged to go to the dedication of the church at Mwanshama which was one of the congregations under Dick’s care (his Mom asked me to take a thermos of coffee for her. She did not want to drink the tea (which we loved) which the village women made. Combined with the delicious fresh loaves of bread which we had picked up at Caruso’s Bakery in Lusaka, all of us had a great meal (we also took Caruso’s bread to the congregations’ mission festivals). Dick’s Mom and uncle were also happy to go with us to the mission station and Dispensary out at Mwembezhi, 40 miles from Lusaka.

We sent them on safari to the Kafue Game Reserve, and took them to the Kariba Dam. And, of course, we took them to see the great Victoria Falls – Mosi-oa-tunya (which means “The Smoke That Thunders”), which David Livingstone had discovered in 1855. We walked on the Knife’s Edge Bridge over the gorge which gives a spectacular view of the Falls. We also took them to the town of Livingstone to the Open Air Museum which gives tourists a view of African village life. We had been to the Victoria Falls before, but never tired of going there.

I took Dick’s Mom to the African market where the people were selling furniture, curios, vegetables, fruits, clothes, etc. We came to one place, and his mother asked me, “Irene, are those what I think they are?” “Yes”, I said, “they are”. There were rats for sale lying neatly in a row. Caterpillars were also for sale. She and Uncle Art took many pictures, and had many wonderful experiences to tell the people about when they got back to the States.

Dick’s Mom and uncle left before Debbie and Dick(ie) were due to go back to school, so Dickie and Debbie still had some time with us and their friends which we were thankful for. When they did leave, all of us were very sad, but knew that we would be counting the days until we would see them again when their next summer vacation came. When they left, Dick gave them Traveler’s Checks, to be used in case of emergency. Those two went to Zurich, Switzerland, and ate fondue, had dog sled rides, went up the Jungfrau, etc. They were fourteen and fifteen years old at the time. We were thankful when they arrived safely in the States.