MOM’S MEMOIRS – IRENE LOUISE (NEE KUCKKAN) MUELLER
(Continued)
 
Mom’s Autobiography – Chapter 19 – In Book, Page 46

Work with Evangelists, Gifts from Africans, Dedication of Seminary, Deb and Dick on Second Vacation, Tim Confirmed, Vehicles Stolen, Dickie’s Accident, Vacation at Livingstone, Elephants, Nippy Died

Dick used part of the servant’s quarters building near our home as a meeting place for him and the African evangelists under his care. Each evangelist had several congregations under his care. Dick had a map pinpointing all of the congregations throughout Zambia and Malawi. Also, every day he would go to the Bible Institute, with other missionaries, to teach classes which the evangelists attended.

When Dick would go and visit congregations in the bush under his supervision, he would bring back pumpkins, “mponda” (a kind of squash), sugar cane, sweet potatoes, cooked maize, groundnuts, and other gifts to us from our African members. I would roast the groundnuts in the oven and we loved them. Also I would cook the pumpkins and freeze the cooked pumpkin to use when I would make pumpkin pies.

1971

“GOD HAS DONE IT ALL!” That is the title of an article written by Dick which was printed in the June issue of THE LUTHERAN CHRISTIAN – “ On April 18, 1971, the Dedication of the Seminary of THE LUTHERAN CHURCH OF CENTRAL AFRICA was dedicated. More than 500 people gathered at the door of the Seminary chapel for the Dedication service. Missionary Theodore (Tate) Sauer preached the sermon with the theme of how “GOD HAS DONE IT ALL.” Missionary E. H. Wendland also officiated at the Dedication service. Mr. B. Kawiliza, a Seminary student, translated their words into Chinyanja. Mr. S. Hachibamba, another Seminary student, preached in Chinyanja for the service. He based his sermon on the Word of God as it is written in the Gospel of St. John, chapter 15, verses 1 and 2. Again and again he reminded the congregation of the message which a servant of the Lord should bring to those whom God has placed into his care, the Law of God and the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Again and again he reminded the congregation that the one and only purpose of the Seminary is to teach men how to bring that saving Word to others. At the close of the service, Mr. C. Bowman, an evangelist from Malawi and a member of the Board of Control, led the congregation in a prayer of Thanksgiving for God’s almighty Works.” (The article about the Seminary Dedication also appeared in an issue of the Northwestern Lutheran).

What a glorious, happy, day it was for all! The Executive Committee members ofTHE LUTHERAN CHURCH OF CENTRAL AFRICA came with their wives from the States. I made “maningi” (many) pumpkin pies. When all of us were eating them, one of the Executive Committee Member’s wives said to me, “Who made this delicious pumpkin pie?” I said I did, and was very pleased that she liked it. Fresh pumpkin makes the MOST delicious pumpkin pies!!!

DEBBIE AND DICK(IE) COME BACK FOR VACATION!

Our children, Debbie and Dick(ie) came in June for their summer vacation from the States. How happy we all were to see one another again! And, of course, their friends were happy to see them too. They flew over in a 747 Jumbo Jet. Lusaka now had an International Airport which it didn’t have when we arrived in 1957. The first thing Dick(ie) and Timmy did was wrestle in the lounge, and the tea set went flying Miraculously it didn’t break.

Our Tim was confirmed in his faith by Missionary Donald Fastenau in the English-speaking church on August l, 1971. We were very thankful that our whole family could be together for this blessed occasion. Now Tim could partake of Holy Communion with the people in the congregation in Lusaka, the congregations in the bush, our loved ones in the States, Debbie, Dick(ie), and us, too.

Vehicles were being stolen in Lusaka at this time. Station wagons were especially preferred because they made good taxis. The missionaries started chaining their vehicles to the poles of the carports. The thing about that was that sometimes they forgot to unchain the vehicle, and had a shock when they backed up. Missionary Wendland’s son, Ernst, took his father to the airport because he was going to the States. At the airport, he told his son, “Take care of my car!” Well, young Ernie went out to the parking lot – NO CAR!!! It was found later in the bush, completely stripped. They called that a “chop- shop”. The Africans living in the villages did not report it because they did not want to be accused of doing the dastardly deed.

Dick had a motorcycle which he used to travel through the bush paths – bicycle paths – where vehicles could not travel. He used it to get to the bush congregations under his care. Thieves had tried to steal it one night, but our dog, Barney had that special bark which Dick recognized as “thieves around” bark, so he and Barney chased them away. When they couldn’t get the motorcycle over the fence because it was heavy, they tried to take the wires of the fence apart, but were stopped by Dick and Barney.

When Dick and the other missionaries had a Conference in Lusaka at the English-speaking church, the wives and I were sitting on our verandah visiting. All of a sudden we see our Dick(ie) practically flying up and down the street on the motorcycle. It didn’t stop, and I was sitting on the edge of the chair. Then Erich Schneider came running and saying, “Mrs. Mueller, Mrs. Mueller, Dick(ie) flew off the motorcycle!” We couldn’t see it happen because the verandah was facing the other direction. I took off and ran as fast as I could down the street. And there was Dick(ie) sitting in the middle of the road. He had blood under his left eye, on his elbow, his knee, and his ankle. He said to me, “I’m fine, Mom. Don’t worry.” (That is what he (and his brother, Tim) says to this day, no matter what happens in his life).

What had happened was that he was showing off for Laurel Schneider (a very pretty girl), who was sitting in a car in our driveway reading a book. Someone got Dick out of the church, and we took Dick(ie) to the doctor. He was patched up. The most stitches he had to have were on his knee, and he had a big bandage on it. The drainage ditch he and the motorcycle had gone into was about eight feet deep with rocks on both sides and on the bottom. We were so thankful, and it was only through God’s grace that our son’s life was spared. (Missionaries Ernie and Betty Wendland lost their son, John, because of a car accident while he was attending Northwestern in the States and they were in Africa. It doesn’t matter where a person is. Accidents can happen anywhere in this world. When we go to Christberg Cemetery east of Jefferson, Wi., where Dick’s parents are buried, we also visit John, and his mother, Betty’s, graves who are also buried there).

Dick(ie) really didn’t need any more scars. When he was still small, he dove into the shallow end of the swimming pool and landed on his head, cutting his forehead open. We took him to the hospital. The doctor gave him an injection and sewed up his forehead. To this day he has a scar shaped like a cross on his forehead.

We had planned to go to Rhodwin’s on the Copperbelt on a little vacation with our children before they went back to the States. But now with a bandage on Dick(ie)’s leg, we couldn’t go swimming. So we decided to go to Victoria Falls at Livingstone. We were always awed by the sight of the Falls. We followed a road next to the Zambezi River to get there. Across the Zambezi we saw a herd of elephants. Oh, and look, one is going to swim across the River. And why not drive where we think he will come up from the River?  YIKES, DICK, HE’S COMING UP!  I SEE HIS HEAD! GO FORWARD, GO, GO, GO!!! All of a sudden the children who were in the back of the station wagon saw GRAY, AND MORE GRAY RIGHT BEHIND THEM ON THE ROAD!!!  Unbeknown to us, cars were behind us. And some of the people had gotten out of their cars. An Asian man standing next to the elephant threw his child into his car, but there was nowhere they could go. The elephant looked at us, and looked at the other people in their cars, and went on straight into the bush. Thank you, God!

The very next week I read in the Lusaka newspaper that a woman had gotten out of her car to take pictures of elephants along that same road. An elephant was coming at her, but a man saved her life by flailing his arms. It was known that sometimes an elephant would actually crush a car under its huge feet in Africa.

Our little Terrier dog, Nippy, died one morning. He was 13 years old, and had been with us almost since the time we first arrived in Africa. The following is an excerpt from a letter our son, Dick(ie) wrote to the grandparents in the States while he was still on vacation in Lusaka – “Today Nippy, our dog, died of a heart attack, as soon as my father let him in from the utility room. He was as frisky as ever when he was running into my room. Suddenly he collapsed and started to squeal a few times and died. We buried him under the banana trees, and all of my African friends paid tribute to him by bringing flowers for the grave.” All of us were very sad when that little dog died. He was a “yappy” little dog, but we all loved him.