By Sister Lorraine Bird Jameson

 Mukanya Mwilombe, Muba Wa Umbalo Jean-Gilbert, Muba Wa Umbalo Delphin of Kinkondja. Picture by Sister Lorraine Jameson In Likasi we met three men whom we hope never to forget. When we begin to think we have challenges, we will think of these three Congolese Saints. We don't even know their names, but their faith and courage are beyond our imagination.

 These three men live in a village in the bush North of Kolwezi called Kinkondja. Having seen how it is in the villages, we would never have guessed that they lived there.   Somehow, we're not sure exactly how, they learned about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and were baptized. There are now 15 members, 6 priests, 20 investigators, all of whom usually attend Church on Sunday. There are, however, 30 tithe payers.  These men bring the tithing from the village every 6 months when they come to District Conference. This helps us better understand the sacred nature of tithing.

 These people do not have the full programs of the Church. As far as we know, they hold Sunday School and study only from the scriptures. They have not even been given permission to administer the sacrament, but they are faithful Saints.

For District Conference some of them come to Kolwezi twice a year. This time it was only these three. It's the rainy season and it rains almost every day, making travel hard. In the dry season 10-20 people will come. Sometimes they come for a week or so in order to go to a regular church meeting to take the sacrament. It is such a show of strength and faith that they continue to meet and, even more so, that they come to District Conference. We have known too many in our life who think that Stake Conference is a vacation weekend in the church.

The reason we find their coming so inspiring is that the village they live in is 520 km from Kolwezi. That's roughly 300 miles and they WALK all the way. Either there are no transports that go that far or they can't afford to pay for them. So, they WALK 300 miles to attend District Conference. It took them 2 weeks this time. That's 20 miles a day. They will stay for a week or so and then WALK another 300 miles home. On the way home they will carry boxes on their heads containing copies of the Book of Mormon that they requested. I wondered to myself--If I got up one Sunday in Tempe and my car wasn't working, would I walk to the church a few blocks away from home? Or would I just stay home because it was too far or too hot? And if it was raining all day as I walked, would I choose to go?

Elder Jim Bullock reassures children at vaccination clinic. Photo by Sister Nancy Bullock.By Lillian Shea, Public Affairs, and Elder Garry Flake and Sister Janet Flake

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was very active July 19^th to July 24^th in helping the Health Department with the Measles Campaign in Zambia.  There were 417 members of the church that helped at the clinics across the country, each member giving about 10 hours in a day.  More than 1,000 members were expected to participate in distributing fliers and assisting during the campaign.

The Church was one of 4 organizations with logos on the material, alongside the Ministry of Health, the UN World Health Organization and UNICEF. The Health ministry lacked the man power and so members were the ones who went out into the centers to help with ensuring that the mothers stayed in the que and registered the children’s names.

One of the clinics treated over 700 children in one day.  Children were given Vitamin A drops, polio vaccine, measles vaccination and were dewormed. It is hoped that through the combined efforts, well over 90% of the 1.7 million children targeted to be vaccinated for measles will be treated.

In June of this year, Zambia experienced a measles outbreak affecting approximately 1,000 individuals. For this reason, the campaign was of utmost importance in the minds of health personnel.