THE LIFE OF RICHARD WILLIAM MUELLER, JR.
(Continued)

Dad’s Autobiography – Chapter 17 – In Book, Page 37

Longest Bush Church, Building Loan Fund, Tattered Bibles, Trips to States a Blessing, Greece, Germany, Lectured for Church Extension Fund, Dad’s Death, Dedication to God’s Word, Deb and Dick Left in States, Back to Africa, Scary Flight

Another offering which all could give was time and talent. An example of this is what happened in the congregation about fifteen miles west of Lusaka. A group of people had been gathered together by one of our evangelists. He began to instruct them and to conduct Worship Services with them. Soon he needed a separate building in which to worship. He came to me with that need. I told him, “You know what to do.” He did – and the next time we came to that village, a thatched roof had been built on poles set into the ground. A number of months later – as the rains came – he came again to me and said, “We need mud walls around the building.” Again I told him, “You know what to do” – and he did. The very next time we visited him, he showed me the mud walls that his members had built around that pole building.

But the story does not end here. Once again this evangelist came to me and told me that his congregation needed a larger church. Once again I told him, “You know what to do.” And again, he did. Not too long after this conversation, the church was twice as long. The members had taken off part of the grass roof, embedded more poles in the ground, built more mud walls, and then thatched the entire structure. This congregation was taking the first steps toward a self-supporting indigenous church. Irene and I told them that if they continued to build as they were building, their church would be the longest church in Africa.

In other areas, we did help congregations with mission funds to build churches. However, it was always with the thought that they would pay back the funds which were given to them. In one case, funds were given for the zinc roof – but immediately the congregation began to give offerings to pay back that loan.

In another case, a metal building was purchased and loaned to a congregation. It did not take long before that congregation built a nice church out of mud blocks and a grass roof. When that happened, the metal building was loaned to another congregation. Where it is now, I do not know. The work of establishing a self-supporting church in Africa is a slow process – but we were determined to guide it in that direction.

My duties also included some teaching at the Bible Institute. We also took it upon ourselves to translate Sunday School lessons, sermons, prayers, instruction materials, hymns, liturgies, and tracts from English into Chinyanja. The Africans who could read, loved to read. We saw Bibles worn out by use. Knowing this, we tried to supply them with as much good Christian literature that we possibly could. That, too, was used until the paper on which it was printed was tattered beyond recognition.

OUR THIRD TRIP BACK TO THE STATES — 1969

On the way back to the States in 1969, we went to many of the same places to which we had gone before. We revisited Athens, Greece – a city which we would visit again if we had the opportunity. I should add that it was another blessing that we received being missionaries in Africa. We were able to visit places which we would never have been able to visit on our own. We were able to see some of the places where the men and women of the Bible lived, walked, and talked about their Savior and Redeemer. These are blessings for which we thank our Lord – and the members of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod.

On this trip back to the States, we made it a point to stop in Frankfurt, Germany. We wanted to visit the home of the Mueller ancestors in Gemuenden and Markbreit. My father had told me that his father had told him that, on a clear day, the Alps could be seen from his home. We had hoped to see that sight, too. However, a number of circumstances shattered that hope. First of all, our time was short. It would take us more than a full day to make the journey. Secondly, our money was just as short. It was way beyond our means to travel that far with all of our six children. Yes, they were still all with us.

OUR THIRD FURLOUGH — 1969

This furlough turned out to be our last furlough. We did not intend it to be, but it was. It was spent as the two other furloughs were spent. We visited families and friends. And again, I preached and lectured in many of our Wisconsin Synod churches and schools. This time the monies which were given went into a Church Extension Fund to be used by the Lutheran Church of Central Africa. It was intended to be a fund from which funds would be loaned to congregations in Zambia and Malawi in order that churches might be able to be built in the bush, in villages, and in the towns of Central Africa.

The most important event which took place during our last furlough was my father’s death. It happened the day before my fortieth birthday. It was a day no one in our family will ever forget.

We were in Watertown, visiting with Irene’s folks. We were outside, on the front yard. It was just before noon. Irene’s sister came driving up – fast – jumped out of her car and told us that my father had died.

We were to go to Jefferson for supper that evening. Mom was preparing a meal for us. Dad had gone to the church to prepare to conduct the Worship Service the next morning. He was to preach also. Before he left the house, my mother told him to stop at the Jefferson Bon Ton Bakery and buy a pie for dessert. The clerks remember that he did so – before he went to the church to do what he did every Saturday before he retired from the full-time pastoral ministry. He had semi-retired nine months earlier.

When he got to the church, he went to the sacristy. It was to that room to which our heavenly Father sent some of His holy angels to transport Dad’s soul to Himself in heaven. It was a blessing for which Dad had prayed many a time. His pastor had been taken to his eternal home in heaven when he was in church.

Mom waited for Dad to come home – and became concerned when he did not return when she thought he should. She called Pastor Lauersdorf who had been called to Jefferson when Dad retired. He told us that when he entered the sacristy, he found Dad lying on the floor with his coat half off and half on. He called Dr. Quandt, who came and confirmed Dad’s death. When the two of them came to the house to tell my Mom, Dr. Quandt told her that Dad was dead before he hit the floor. He had had a massive heart attack.

We, of course, hurried to Jefferson as fast as we could – and comforted Mom as best we could. Finally, it was only God’s Word that gave her comfort. She was consoled by the Truth that Dad had received his Crown of Life –by the Truth that Dad’s soul was in Paradise – and by the Truth that she would see him again when it came her turn for her soul to be carried into heaven by God’s holy angels.

I did have a little bit of a problem after Dad died. I was scheduled to preach in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. It was a commitment I had made many weeks before. What was I to do? After giving that question just a little bit of thought, I determined that there was nothing much that I could do in Jefferson beyond that which I had already done. I also knew that my father would want me to do that which I had pledged to do when I entered the Holy Ministry – to proclaim God’s Word and His Work “in season and out of season”. I went to Oshkosh the next morning, the day after my father died, the day of my fortieth birthday. With deep sadness – and great joy, I proclaimed salvation from sin from the pulpit at Faith Lutheran Church.
In spite of my Dad’s death, it hardly entered our minds not to return to Africa – and continue doing the work which our Lord had called us to do there. So, a month after my Dad had died – and the day after a drunk had damaged my Mom’s car which we were using – we left the United States again. Think of it!

My mother was left alone – and with a vehicle that needed repair. However, she was content. We were doing what she wanted us to do – and she was looking forward to being with us in Africa very soon. She and her brother were planning to visit us the next summer with the two children we were leaving behind.

That was hard for us – leaving Debbie at Dr. Martin Luther College in New Ulm, Minnesota — and Dick at Northwestern College in Watertown, Wisconsin. We wanted them to have a Christian education – and there was no way to do that without leaving them behind in the United States. They will have to tell you how they coped with the situation. However, we do know that it was not easy for them either. Debbie lived on Tootsie Rolls for the first three weeks. She did not go to the cafeteria. She felt completely out of place. She dressed differently – and spoke the English language differently – with a broad English accent.

Dick was more fortunate. He had Irene’s parents – his maternal grandparents nearby. He spent a great deal of time with them. He was privileged to ride his Grandma’s horses – and run in the fields – which he did quite often to relieve the frustration of being away from Mom and Dad and his four siblings.

BACK TO ZAMBIA – 1969

On our way back, with two of our children left behind, we decided to go to a place to which we had not been before. That place was Lisbon, Portugal. We stayed in a beautiful hotel overlooking one of the main streets. The view was magnificent. So was the view out of the dining room window. From it we looked over water to a castle on the other side. Before we left Lisbon, we visited that castle and a mosque. They were beautiful, but they did not impress us. It was a place of worship to a false god.

We had wanted to visit Spain, too, but our plane did not touch down there. In one way, we wish it would have. The flight over Spain to Rome was the worst plane ride we have had. We flew through a terrible storm. Lightning flashed all around – and the plane twisted and turned so much that even the steward hung on for dear life. I can still see his white knuckles grasping the storage rail above our heads. But our Lord – and His holy angels were with us again. We landed safe and sound in Italy.