Troesters to Visit Supporting Congregations in Summer 2019

Map showing the states we will be visiting this summer: Illinois, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York.

We hope to be meeting many of you in person this summer. We arrive in the U.S. in June and will be returning to Zambia in late August. In between, we will visit many of our sponsoring congregations in Illinois, New York, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. We have been in touch with our supporters and many of them have agreed to host us for a worship service or other gathering. Our itinerary is below; however, there are still a few events pending. We are greatly looking forward to meeting new people and greeting old friends.

Thank you for your prayers and support.

Joe and Deborah Troester

Troester Itinerary 2019

• June 16: Christ Community Church in Columbia, Illinois
• June 22 and 23: St. John’s Lutheran Church in Bloomington, Illinois
• July 7: First Presbyterian Church in Carbondale, Illinois
• July 18: Supper Club at First Presbyterian Church in Carbondale, Illinois
• July 22 to 26: Summer Missionary Conference near Chicago, Illinois
• July 27 and 28: St John Evangelical Lutheran Church in Oak Harbor, Ohio
• July 31: Luther Memorial Lutheran Church in North Syracuse, New York
• August 1: Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Fairport, New York
• August 3 and 4: Trinity Lutheran Church in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania
• August 11 (morning): St Matthew Evangelical Lutheran Church in York, Pennsylvania
• August 11 (evening): St Peter's Lutheran Church in Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Other events pending.

ELCA Global Mission Support and Contact Information

In all of this, we thank God for you—for your prayers and for your financial support. We couldn’t do it without you! If you wish to support us, you can give through your local congregation or through our new ELCA Missionary Sponsorship Page.

For more information on the ELCA’s Campaign to construct a national church office, re-furbish church buildings, and build new churches in Zambia, go to elca.org/globalministries and click on Zambia at the bottom of the page. You can contact us at Joe.Troester@elca.org and Deborah.Troester@elca.org

Joe and Deborah are ELCA missionaries living in Lusaka, Zambia, where they are serving with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zambia (ELCZa). Their daughter, Christa, is a junior at the University of Southern California, where she is studying French and Film & Television Production.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Happy Mother’s Day from Zambia! Yes, Zambians also celebrate Mother’s Day, although it is a relatively new holiday here. People may give their mother a gift or take her out to eat, just as in the U.S. Traditionally mothers occupy an important place in the family and community here in Zambia. They are the ones responsible for taking care of children and the home, although little by little fathers are taking more of a role, as in other countries. Women also do much of the farming here, as in most African countries. It is estimated that women do 80% of African agricultural work, so women are very important to the economy here in Zambia, although they are not always given credit for it. Mothers often supplement the family income by having a small business on the side, such as selling vegetables, or even dried caterpillars—a favorite treat here in Zambia.

Woman selling dried caterpillars to augment her family income.

As in most of Africa, a brother’s or sister’s children are considered as one’s own children. In the unfortunate case that a parent dies, the rest of the family, especially the siblings or grandparents, are responsible for raising the surviving children. As we visit churches throughout Zambia, we see many children being raised by relatives.

Rev. Mathildah Banda, General Secretary for the ELCZa.

Also, in honor of Mother’s Day, we want to feature the two women pastors of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zambia (ELCZa), Rev. Mathildah Banda and Rev. Doreen Mwanza. Rev. Banda serves as General Secretary for the ELCZa and Rev. Mwanza is the Lusaka District Pastor, as well as HIV-AIDS Resource Person for the ELCZa. She is parish pastor for Mulimba Congregation, about an hour west of Lusaka. Both are single and are raising their nieces and nephews, orphans of their siblings. Rev. Banda and Rev. Mwanza are both wonderful examples of the African tradition of making sure that all children have a loving upbringing. Please join us in wishing them a Happy Mother’s Day.

Rev. Doreen Mwanza teaching the youth about HIV and AIDS.