The assignment of a missionary couple to serve in Botswana, famous for its quality diamonds and vast Kalahari Desert, is "as an answer to prayers" for a handful of Botswana Church members.
Elder Bruce Midgley and his wife, Sister Patricia Midgley, were assigned by then South Africa Johannesburg Mission Pres. R.J. Snow as the first missionaries to labor in Botswana, a republic in central southern Africa. From Australia, they are serving in the capital city of Gabarone, located on the country's eastern border. Most of Botswana's approximately 1.2 million population live in the eastern part of the country, primarily in villages. Fifty percent of people are Christian.
"We have been impressed that Botswana is now ready, and we are prepared to begin teaching the message of the restored gospel," said Pres. Snow. "This very progressive country will be the location for branches, wards and stakes in the relatively near future."
A group unit of the Church was established in Gabarone on June 24, with Elder Midgley as the presiding elder.
Elder and Sister Midgley's assignment came after several meetings were held in Gabarone by Pres. Snow and Elder Karl W. Jenkins and Sister Marjorie Jenkins of the missing office. After initial inquiries, they concluded that two returned missionaries, now Peace Corps workers, were the only members of the Church in the republic.
Pres. Snow placed notices in local papers announcing the first meetings of the Church. Responding to the notices were some members living in Botswana: The Maurice Mzwinila and the Anthony Mogare families.
Brother Mzwinila and his wife, Nosho, joined the Church in 1982 while living in North Carolina, where he was a university student in electrical engineering. After he graduated in 1983, the family returned to Botswana. They are parents of four children. Sister Mzwinila's sister, Beatrice Mphoeng, was with the Mzwinilas in the United States. She also joined the Church and returned to Botswana with them.
"We have been praying for seven years for the Church to come to us," Brother Mzwinila, an elder, said at the first Church meeting in Botswana.
Brother Mogare, who holds the Melchizedek Priesthood, joined the Church while working on a graduate degree at Utah State University.
Pres. Snow said, "These two famiies will provide Melchizedek Priesthood leaders and Church members who will form the nucleus of the expanding group of saints in Botswana. Their leadership and example will mean that growth will occur very rapidly here. The Lord is blessing them and the future Church in Botswana."
Botswana comprises a land area of 231,804 square miles and is about the size of France. The official language is English.
