MY STORY – IRENE LOUISE (NEE KUCKKAN) MUELLER
Written By Irene L. Mueller

Mom’s Autobiography – Chapter 7 – In Book, Page 16

Matero Dedication, Bush Churches, Translating, Timothy Peter Born, More Blessings

DEDICATION OF MATERO LUTHERAN CHURCH

The church building at Matero (which was also being built before we arrived) was dedicated November 24, 1957. Many people came, walking, on their bicycles, and vehicles if they were available. Pastor Arnold Mennicke, Chairman of the Rhodesian Lutheran Church, came with his wife from Winona, Minnesota. It was a very eventful day – cf. THE NORTHWESTERN LUTHERAN – News From Our Missions – March 30, 1958. Pastor and Mrs. Mennicke stayed with us, and a very funny thing happened. We were all asleep one night and heard Pastor Mennicke say, “Dick, Dick, it’s raining!” We looked out the window, the moon was shining, and it wasn’t raining! It also was the dry season. It turned out that the hot water heater in the attic over the dining room was leaking, and water was running down the walls. Dick climbed up there and un-stuck the float.

Shortly after the church building at Matero was dedicated, Dick was in the church, and I was outside with some other people when a fight broke out between two men. Me, just coming from the States, got in between them and said, “Why are you fighting outside of the church?” – and they did stop fighting. Later on we were told by an African that one of the men had a knife! God protects.

OTHER CONGREGATIONS

Dick served the Africans at Matero and Chibolya African suburbs. As time went on, more and more people wanted the Rhodesian Lutheran Church to bring the Word of God to them. So Dick also had services at Chunga Line. Mr. Timothy Tonga was the first to come to hear the Word of God through a Lutheran missionary. As time went on, we asked him if it was possible to have a “chimbuzi” – outhouse – near the church for our use when we came. We had been going to the maize field, and there were the driver ants marching along in wide lines! We read in the newspaper that people had to vacate their houses sometimes because the driver ants would go through and could eat people alive. Mr. Tonga dug the hole, but we didn’t get to use it; probably because we went on furlough. He was a very dedicated Christian man, and was trained to become an evangelist. Dick served Matero, Chibolya, and Chunga Line and Kapopo congregations in the bush, as well as the Lilanda Convalescent and Leper Hospital just north of Lusaka. He, the children, and I went all day Sunday from place to place. Many times he would have the service under a tree. The people would call the people to church by banging on a plowshare (no watches or clocks). The houses in which the people lived were of mud brick, dirt floors which they swept faithfully, and had grass-thatched roofs. There were no windows or doors. The women carried babies in slings on their backs and wore chitenges around their waists. People walked or rode their bicycles many miles to come to the church services. Oh, how they could sing our Lutheran hymns and liturgy – even harmonize – all by ear! It was wonderful to hear them.

Dick baptized and confirmed many people in the places he served after instructing them, with the help of his interpreter. (When Dick was invited to go back to Zambia (formerly Northern Rhodesia) in 2003 for the 50th anniversary of the Zambian mission and the 40th anniversary of the Malawi mission, we joyfully, along with one of our six children, Susan, decided to go. After the Malawian service a well dressed African man came up to us and proudly showed us his Confirmation certificate, dated, August 1, 1965, signed by my husband! What a joyful moment it was for us. For more information about our blessed trip to Africa in 2003, after thirty-one years back in the United States, please read AN ARTICLE FOR FORWARD IN CHRIST, written by Retired Pastor/Missionary Richard William Mueller, December 15, 2003, Missionary in Central Africa from 1957-1972 – “SO! IT WAS ALL WORTH IT!” Also please see WELS CONNECTION, May-Aug. 2005).

He also served the English-speaking people. There was a congregation in Lusaka, and as time went on, he went to the Munali Secondary School, Chalimbana Teacher Training College, and Hodgson Technical Training College.

TRANSLATING FROM ENGLISH INTO CHINYANJA

At that time he used an interpreter, which was done at that time. Dick and the interpreter sat and translated sermons, Sunday School lessons, prayers, tracts, hymns, Catechism, Children’s Christmas Service, etc. from English into Chinyanja to be used in spreading the Word of God. There was a Bible translation done long before the Lutheran Church got there. As time went on with an interpreter being used in the churches, Dick realized, as he was learning Chinyanja, that the interpreter was interpreting words wrongly, which was quite serious when it came to the Word of God. He made up his mind to learn the language, which he did. The Northern Rhodesian government paid him 22 pounds and 2 shillings, which is about $60.00, when he passed the test February 22, 1962, with flying colors. The government wanted the people in Northern Rhodesia to learn the language.

ANOTHER BLESSING FROM GOD

Our third child, “Timothy Peter”, was born in the Lusaka Hospital, April 24, 1958. We had an American doctor whose name was Dr. Foster. Timmy was born with a smile on his face, and that’s the truth! It was there when I first saw him. Timmy was baptized in the Matero Lutheran Church with Mrs. Mwenda, one of the members, holding him. (As he got a little older, all I would have to do is make believe I was going to tickle him, and he would start laughing). So now we had three children, gifts of God – Debbie, Dickie, and Timmy. In the evenings we would have devotions with them before they went to bed. Our favorites were Child’s Garden of Bible Stories, Child’s Garden of Song, Child’s Garden of Prayer; also Little Visits With God, Little Visits With God II, and Egermeier’s Bible Stories. Our children also attended Sunday School where they and other children – “European” (English-speaking), African, and Colored (Mixed – African/White) were taught God’s Word by me. Some “European” mothers got together and had the children put on a Nativity play in the mission house where we had services one Christmas. They brought beautiful towels to use for costumes, but alas, after they had put the towels in the car after the play, they were stolen.

MORE BLESSINGS

We loved the house on Suffolk Road. When we moved into the house, there was no landscaping, so we planted grass, beautiful Flamboyant, Tulip, Flame, Jacaranda, etc., and many fruit trees. One of the members, Mr. Volker, of the “European” (English-speaking) congregation had an orchard in the country, and gave us orange, grapefruit, lemon, granadilla, banana, mango, paw-paw, guava, avocado, etc. trees. It was wonderful to have all those fruit trees in our “garden”, as the English would say. As the trees grew, and we had more children, the children climbed the trees with their friends and helped themselves. And we had plenty of fresh fruit to eat. I froze lemon and orange juice for future use. We also planted flowers – Bougainvillea, Poinsettia (sometimes double which grew into bushes), Hibiscus, Cup of Gold, Golden Shower, Frangipani, etc. And we planted a garden – tomatoes, lettuce, radishes, carrots, etc. We could put a stick in the ground, and really, it grew, especially during the rainy season – and if it was watered, in the dry season.

We loved the tropical climate. Lusaka is 4,000 feet in altitude, and is on a high plateau, so the weather is quite nice. From December-April is the rainy season, from May-August it is cool (we sometimes used quilts on the beds to keep warm. There wasn’t a furnace or central heating, so we also used the fireplace or an electric heater in the evening when we were all together in the lounge). From September-November it is hot and dry, so then we could sleep with only a sheet over us with the windows open.

Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, came to Lusaka to lay the cornerstone of the Anglican Cathedral July 11, 1958. The decorations put up were quite something – huge elephant tusks (not real) overlooking the road on which she traveled from the airport, etc. Of course, many people, including us, went to see the Queen Mother in one of her beautiful hats. Some people were hanging from the trees; others crowded on the balconies.

I took the children to the park next door to the house quite often. There was a huge cement boat-shaped sandbox there which they loved. We also got a little puppy, part Jack Russell Terrier, and named him “Nippy”. He was brown and white, and had a curly tail. We had birthday parties for the children, and invited their little friends. Believe it or not, we could get Angel Food cake mixes in Lusaka, so I would make those. Also, it did not take us long to discover the Lusaka swimming pool, Olympic-size, at least as long as a football field. It had three diving boards. It was only about a half a mile from where we lived, so I would take the children there, even Timmy as a baby, and teach them to swim. Dick would meet us there at noon, and together we would all eat a picnic lunch I had made at one of the tables on grass surrounding the pool. It was wonderful! Dick would also swim then, and teach the children more about swimming.