Out in the Village ...

It has been serveral weeks since our last post, sorry for that. We have been on the road and most of the time we are without internet. So everytime we can upload pictures and send a message we try. Well last week we were able to Skpye the kids. It is always fun to see them. We can't believe how big our newest grandaughter is.  Pressly even has two teeth already. My how time flies. We had a good month. We were over in Malawi again and it was fun. We went into the city center to look at the crafts and things. The people of Malawi are really handy at making things out of wood. Arlene bought a Noah's Ark made from ebony wood. We have it upstairs in the office. It is really neat. 

We had a wonderful Easter. We went to Church here in Lusaka. We attended both of the Branches, Lusaka and Munali. They are good stong Branches. Their leadership is so wonderful. We have two sets of Sisters in Munali and they are doing a great job helping with visiting teaching and working with less actives. We were concerened a few weeks ago over a situation in Malawi. The sitting President of the country passed away suddenly from a heart attack. We immediately prayed for guidence concerning the safety of our missionaries and what we should do. As the first few days went by, we were worried that they might have a military coup. We were given direction from our Area Seventies and I was in constant touch with Church Security in Salt Lake.  I also have a contact in the Embassy there and that is really helpful. I told them of our plans to evacuate the country if necessary. We have had a plan in place since our first month on mission. We were ready for whatever transpired. I told our missionaries that I heard a Prophet of the Lord bless the land for the teaching of the gospel. He blessed the leaders that they would answer the call to become a strong counrty and that the Lord had a plan for their success. That was good enough for me. We were blessed last week with a new President in Malawi. She is a strong leader and a  President that will make a difference in that great nation. The Lord has answered our prayers. We are thankful for leaders who are so close. We are just a phone call away from those Brethren who lead and guide us and the affairs of the Church.

Arlene and I have been going out with the missionaries to teach and work with those who need a visit and to invite them to come back and be apart of this great family. Arlene has become quite the teacher. These wonderful Sisters just love her. Her smile and her love brings a whole new meaning to the work. On Thursday we are going back over to Malawi. It is such a long drive.  It beats going all the way down to Johannesburg. We will be there for several days. We are looking for property to purchase for a new building. A new building site will take some time to find. It is really hard to figure out who holds the rights to the land and if we can get it zoned for a Church. One step at a time. We will be down in Johannesburg during the first week of May. We will hold a Mission Presidents Seminar for a few days. We will get to see a dentist and have our teeth cleaned and see the doctor for a check up. Just routine, nothing to worry about. We hope you enjoy the pictures. If any of you have Skype we would love to "see" you. Our Skype address is: mikele.padovich1 We love you all, we miss you all. We love this work, the only thing that would make it more fun is, if you were here!. Make the decision, come to Africa, it is wonderful, it is hard, it is the best!! You can do it !!! 

xoxox,

M&A

Here little piggy .....

Sister P. on P-Day.

This  is the village outside of Lusaka.

And were walking ......

and were walking....

About 1/2 mile down the path and into the bush we found the water hole.

All day long back and forth.... just throw in the bucket and get dirty water from the ground ....

Yes, a small hole in the ground where the brown water comes out..... 

This is a 5 gallon bucket.

She filled three of them.

Now the fun starts.  Remember it's only 1/2 mile back to the hut.....

Let's see, water weighs about 8+ pounds per gallon X 5 gallons..... you do the math ....

Oh sure, I don't mind answering your questions with this bucket on my head ...

Sister Lookhart gives it a try....

Easy....

 And were walking ....

Sister Taggart  also joined in the fun ...

Whoa .....

Speed walking ....don't spill,  that's not allowed ....

Everywhere you go, we find kids in the trees.

 My new friends.....

We love to have our picture taken.

Bye, see you next time....

It was fun to see the kids.

As we were leaving a group from Mothers Without Borders arrived. This is Sister Hewlett from Utah. She and about 20 others Sisters came to work in the villages for two weeks. Sister Hewlett has a son who is serving in the mission over in Malawi. He is one of our Zone Leaders. A good missionary!

 This is the new building up in Kitwe, Zambia

It's coming along fine....

Classrooms next to the main building.

This will be filled in with bricks for a play area.

You can tell by the smile it was a good day. This was our first project after we arrived in Zambia. 

I was asked to bless the building last Sunday. It was really nice. We had 65 at the meeting.

Our new building is just down this road. This is a good road in Kawama Village.

We were in Malawi at the street vendors. They make everything. 

I'll talk price, you pick out what you want...

Remember the discount if we buy more than one ..... we bought  Six!!

You must count up the animals. Don't forget the ramp into the Ark.

Are you lookin at me? Are you talkin to me?? I'm makin a deal here .....

Two by Two.....

Almost got the doors on ...

Remember Chris ... the meeting is tomorrow .....OH!!

 Yes dear ... we will be ready...

I promise ....

 All smiles .....Elders Mantchichi and Okumu. They work in Kawama.

Remember the old song ...."the things you do for love"..... We changed the verse to read ...."the things you do for bugs"....... drink a Coke a day, it keeps the bugs away ..... I never, ever, thought I would see Arlene drink a Coke .....never say never .....