The US team part 3

  Sunday June 12th the team was able to participate with the local village church again.  Mark was able to preach, the kids were loved on and taught in Sunday School, and team members were able to share testimonies and worship with the local congregation.  It’s amazing how physical differences such as language, skin color, socio-economic status, and age can disappear in the midst of true worship.   
  The team continued to work hard both that next Monday and Tuesday to finish up as much as they could and even though   some were up until the early   morning Wednesday finishing the roof, it was nice to be able to see it covered and mostly completed!  There were many tears  as the team said goodbye to the kids and locals that they had fallen in love with over the past 10 days (and year for many of them).  During their few  days of debrief and sightseeing in Livingstone, the team was able to witness a rare occurrence of a lunar eclipse and lunar rainbow at Victory Falls at the same time.  The team headed back home Friday, June 17th,  tired from all the work and activity but hopefully satisfied in their hearts for all that they were able to do and the impact that they were able to make.  Thank you team members for being willing to serve and sacrifice and to a Church and all the supporters who helped make this trip possible. 
When the team left for home, the remaining three of us headed to Lusaka for a few days to submit Alyssa’s work permit and do some errand running while we were there.  We returned back to camp Wednesday June 28th.

3 months pregnant and a broken foot

Just the other day Jako was commenting on how our blog updates didn’t seem to be as exciting as they were several years ago before the orphanage was established – back when we were in little rubber duck boats, praying the waves on Lake Kariba didn’t capsize us and feed us to the hippos and crocodiles that were everywhere.  Back when we were traveling from South Africa to Zambia every month or two, in borrowed vehicles, then our own 1964 Land Rover that Jako built (praying that it would make it because it was never really designed for the open road), putting up tents in the pouring rain and praying over difficult border crossings 6 or more years ago……. Well, I don’t know if God has a sense of humor or what but only a few days after Jako said that something “interesting” happened. 
We had just finished picking up the team from a Church in Florida (which included Amber’s brother Josh and new sister in law Katie) when at a mid-road trip stop, Amber went to go and stop Jakob from picking oranges (bright balls) from a friend’s tree.  After picking him up to direct him somewhere new, she accidently stepped into a trench that was covered by grass and subsequently twisted her foot and ankle.  Since we still had another 2 hour bush drive left before we got home Amber didn’t mention much and just hoped it would feel better in a bit.
Unfortunately when we got back to camp, it was evident that the injury was a bit more serious than originally thought.  Not only did she have a nice swollen ball on the side of her foot but she could put no pressure on it.  Not wanting to take any pain medicine due to being 3 months pregnant (surprise – now the word is out!) she tried to tough it out but woke up in tears because of the pain.  Fearing that the strain that she was under would be worse for the baby then a bit of medicine she did eventually took 1 tylenol and with a a bit of good ace wrapping from Jako she was able to make it through the night.  Praise God that that was all the pain meds that she needed to take the entire “adventure”.  The next morning, due to the pain we figured the foot was broken and decided to call our local African insurance company to see what they would suggest doing.
They were great to us and after looking at all the logistics (a four hour ride to the nearest good x-ray place, Amber being pregnant and not able to take pain meds etc.) they decided that the best course of action would be to fly Amber out via helicopter!  We were definitely surprised but weren’t going to complain.  Jako quickly got to work making sure the local soccer field was cleared, that they had a flag visible from the vehicle as a marker, and making sure they had the correct GPS coordinates in order to find us.  You can only imagine what the villagers were thinking as they saw the helicopter land, load Amber up and then take off.  There was definitely a crowd around the soccer field as many had never seen anything like this before.  While the helicopter ride wasn’t Amber’s favorite part of the whole trip (thank God for doggy bags) she did get to see a nice ariel view of their home, the orphanage and mission, and it did cut her travel time down from four hours to half an hour. The insurance company was great (thanks SES) and got her to x-rays and a doctor in the time that it took Josh (Amber’s brother) to do his first solo drive out of the bush and meet her in Livingstone.  Jako stayed back to help with the team and Alyssa picked up the slack of overseeing the cooking and other responsibilities that Amber normally handled. 
In the end the x-rays revealed that her foot was broken but we praise God that it was a clean break, with nothing out of place, only requiring a good cast and crutches for about a month and that the pain was greatly lessened once the cast was on. We were quite relieved to hear the news as we feared that if anything was out of place (as often is with foot injuries) she would have to be flown to South  Africa for surgery, and didn’t know what that would mean with her being pregnant.  Amber and Josh returned to the camp the next day and apart from almost daily visits from villagers wanting to see if she was okay, life went back to normal – well as normal as life can be when living on crutches.  The Lord knew the timing of everything though because the team was great at helping to care for Jakob, and taking over most of the “big cooking being on the feet a lot of the time” responsibilities and making sure that Amber had enough time to rest and recuperate.  Now Amber is looking forward to two dates.  July 3 when the cast finally gets to come out and mid December when the new baby is expected to arrive.  Praise God for his wonderful provision and watch care over all of us.

What have we all been doing? (At least in May)

WELL OH WELL……
Jako and Ben have been attempting  to remove the water pump from the dry well by the orphanage.  Despite their best effort (pulling and winching with a pulley system and the Land Rover, and then a brand new 3 ton block and tackle etc), the pump proved to be stuck so severely that it’s future is unknown.  It is likely that someone from the village intentionally sabotaged this well meaning to do it harm.  So then men then tackled plan B – uncovering the second previously dry well which now seems to have water in it.  The hope was that the hole was still clear and open and that by inserting plastic piping they could put the new pump down it and get it working.  Unfortunately they found it full of sand and after creatively trying to drill/flush it out with water, they concluded that this hole was probably purposefully sabotaged and filled as well.  Bad news – they couldn’t get it working.  Good news – there is water down there and it seems it is just sand filling it (not solid rock like before) so maybe God will provide another way for us to remove that with a smaller/local drilling rig.  Please keep this situation in your prayers.
Ben has made himself useful in helping with various other work  projects going around here and has formed quite a friendship with Charles our local security guard/foreman.  Many days found him helping Charles with brick runs, digging trenches for running electricity to the tent’s new location and to the outside shower and toilet area, fixing the doors for the team toilets and showers, helping with the tent move- digging and relocating tent poles, distributing clothes to the orphans, cutting the kids hair (and encouraging them to try a new hair-do – the one pictured didn’t last), and helping Charles with harvesting his personal crop so that he would be free sooner to keep helping us around here.
Jako’s “Chief” Issue
Apart from all the general maintenance and fixing that Jako has had to do around here, (not to mention laying electrical lines to the outside shower, tent and toilet, rebuilding a completely new tent door, getting two lights installed in the house, and hooking up the generator electricity to the orphanage house) May has found Jako traveling back and  forth to the chief (2 hours drive one way) and the district council in Kazungula (4 –5 hours away) in order to sort out land issues that arose a few weeks back.  Thanks for all of the prayers that went out on the matter.   In short, it seems that the Chief has been hearing lots of rumors, lies, and villagers complaining about us (due to promises that were made from visitors of ours many years ago that didn't follow through on things) and in the end God brought Truth to light.  Not only did the chief promise his protection once again, he also straightened out those that were spreading the rumors and allowing them to circulate.  The headmen that went with Jako were very supportive of the project as are most of the villagers and community around us.  It just goes to show how a few people, spreading false witness, can do a lot of damage.  The Chief, headmen, and Jako had a good heart to heart talk and in the end the Chief ended up going with to the district council in order to sort out the situation of who is in charge of the land and make sure that we are not being taken advantage of.  That meeting went much better than expected and now everyone is on the same page, with unified support of the project and understanding of what we are doing and where we hope to grow and expand.
Please continue to keep the Chief in your prayers.  While he confesses to be a Christian and seems to be trying to follow after God's way he is under tremendous pressure from the community and his council to continue in the traditional ways.  He seems to be at an important crossroad where he is surrounded by people trying to help disciple and lead him and many trying to lead him in the ancestral and traditional ways as well.  We continue to pray for him and as we believe that, at least now, his heart is earnest.  In fact, his comment to Jako was "Don't worry - God will work everything out for you".  We pray that the truth will continue to deepen and take root in the Chiefs heart so that he can influence many more for God's kingdom.
Alyssa teaching already…

Alyssa has been active teaching  the kids at the orphanage  math, reading and English.  In fact, when the moms saw what a benefit she was to them, they asked her to help them with their English as well.  The mom’s now enjoy their twice weekly meetings with Alyssa and the hope is that as she teaches them English, the mom’s will in turn teach her the Tonga equivalent that she will then teach to us : )  The kids are really enjoying the nightly reading program that Alyssa has set up with them, being able to borrow and “read” different books which is a true rarity out here in the bush.  On top of all of this Alyssa was able to visit both of the local schools that the kids attend and talk to their teachers to hear how they were doing and what areas they most needed to work on.  Did I also mention all the work she spent sorting through the donations and organizing new clothes for the kids at the orphanage?

 

One exciting thing that Jako and Alyssa were able to do on those visits was bring a  huge smile to the teachers and kids at the two local schools by surprising them with a donation of soccer uniforms and a new soccer ball (Thanks Idlewild Church in Tampa, Fl).   We can only imagine what pride and sense of self worth it will bring to the kids as the compete against other teams in their “new” uniforms and we pray that every time they see them they will be reminded of their father’s love and provision for them.

Part time Eye doctor?
May also found Alyssa busy acting as “eye doctor” for the chief and his entire counsel.  During one of the meetings Jako had with the chief, he noticed that the chief was having a hard time reading some of the paperwork.  Jako asked him about it and soon after Jako was offering the services of Alyssa who had been trained last year with the eye-doc-in-a-box program.  Two days later both of them went back to the chief where she promptly examined him and all three of his wives.  All but one needed and received glasses.  On another visit, the chief requested if there was any way that they could come to look at the eyes of all of his chief council members.  With all that he had done for us, we felt we could hardly refuse so a few days later, they took the few hour trek though the bush to examine all of them.   In the end more than 15 pairs of glasses were distributed and plans were made to have the team from Va come and do the full eye program for the entire chief’s area the end of July.  The neat thing about this opportunity is that along with many receiving the physical gift of sight through eye glasses,  all that are examined are given the opportunity to hear the gospel and look at spiritual things in a way they might not have “seen” before.  We look forward to seeing what God will do through this program in July and ask for your prayers in the preparation process of this. 
And what about Amber?
Apart from not feeling very good lately (more on that in the next update) Amber has been busy keeping up with Jakob (the best missionary around here we still say because of the way that the  community is always drawn to him), handling all the admin work of finances, correspondence, and documentation, general supervising, encouragement and training of the house mothers, food and toiletries stock and weekly distribution for the orphanage, plus taking care of the household duties of cooking, cleaning, laundry – that allow the ministry here to continue on a daily basis.  Much thanks to Alyssa for  stepping in and helping in almost all of these areas on the days that Amber was not feeling too good.  She has proved not only to be an excellent cook, caretaker for Jakob (who absolutely adores her), great multi-tasker, but also a wonderful friend in the process.  Thanks for being so flexible Alyssa and for standing in the gap.  God knew what we needed when he sent us you. 

May 2011

This month found many projects happening, all at the same time at what seemed like lightning speed.  Probably the most visible difference to the landscape was the building of the education center (left) and Alyssa’s flat (below) but Jako was especially excited about the floor to his covered work area being cemented and completed.  It was exciting to see the dreams becoming reality every day as the buildings grew higher and higher, brick by brick.

Although we were able to hire local builders to do most of the brick work that does not mean that it was with out effort on our part.  Apart from the general supervising to make sure things were being built to correct standards, bricks and rocks had to be transported, water had to be pumped more frequently and tools had to be borrowed out, assigned, and accounted for.

Moving House (or tent so to speak)

We decided that Alyssa’s flat would best be built on the slab where our first permanent home stood (our permanent tent).  The foundation there was quite strong and larger than necessary and a few years back an additional slab was built next to it to accommodate a different, more temporary shelter tent to house extra wood.  That second tent didn’t work out as ideally as we had hoped with the wind and the rain and so although the open slab worked great for sorting and processing the harvested sunflower and soya beans, when we measured it we realized that with a bit of extension on the front end it would fit our permanent tent perfectly.  So the process to move homes started : )

After removing all the cemented metal poles from their old location, digging and replanting them in their new location, and rebuilding new A-frames to fit the new angles, we were happy to have the help of the local soccer team (who lately have decided that it would be a good idea to help around here and the orphanage once a week in exchange for assistance with a soccer ball and team uniforms) to help move the tent.  While they have been mostly hard at work digging bigger beds for the trees in the orchard, having all of them on hand the day of the big “tent” move made the move much easier and kept us from having to completely break the tent down and set it up again.

Unfortunately in the deconstruction process, it was discovered that the wooden door frame that was built 2 years earlier had been badly damaged by termites.  While the initial plan was just to replace the damaged parts that quickly changed when the local kids accidently knocked it over directly onto a wooden stool that shattered the supporting wood and shredded the metal mesh attached with it.  So…. onto plan B – building a termite resistant metal framed door.  While the effort required in building it will reap it’s rewards in the long run, the extra two days required to build it, when it seems like 1000 other things need to be done and everyone is needing your time and attention, often seem the straw the breaks the camel back ;)

Daily Interruptions or God appointments?

It sure does seem like we have had a lot of these lately.  Apart from the tasks that we seem to be busy with on a daily basis, there always seems to be something else that “pops” up and requires our immediate intention.  While some of these things we are happy to help with, other’s we wish we could just close our eyes and have God miraculously “fix”.  All of them take time and energy, we are also learning that God doesn’t allow anything to happen without his permission, authority, or just by chance.  With this in mind we are trying to see our often daily interruptions through God’s eyes, trying to lean on Him for understanding and wisdom in how to proceed, and what He wants us to learn from it.

Some examples this month included… tending to villagers medical needs (including giving stitches), fixing the generator, fixing the fridge, blown tire on the Land Rover, redoing the lights on the Land Rover because of an electrical short somewhere, tightening loose bearings on the trailer, unexpected visits to the chief and Livingstone, villagers requesting Bibles, having to move clothes lines several different times due to building around here, and receiving a new baby at the orphanage

Baby # 5

On May 31st we received our 5th baby of the past year.  At two months of age, we were surprised at how well he looked considering that he had only survived on a mixture of cow and  goat milk since his birth (due to mom being so sick and then subsequently dying).  Given the name Mapenzi (meaning trouble) at his birth, we asked the family to choose a new for him and everyone agreed on the name Nchimunya (meaning normal).   While I was a bit unsure whether this name was any better the house mothers and Charles assured me that yes, this was a good name and so little Nchimunya came to be under our care that very day.  With a father that was  unknown (thought to be a relative of the deceased husband), Nchimunya has two siblings age 3 and 5 and two others that passed away at age 1 and 2 due to hunger.  The husband had passed away a few years ago and the mother has been sick  for a while.  The family that brought him was a relative of the mom but felt that they were already strapped to provide for his two siblings and their own 2 year old daughter.  It was a special time when we were able to pray and dedicate him to God (in the presence of the family) and remove the charms that had been placed on him from birth when he was dedicated to the spirits.  He is a sweet precious baby boy (the older boys were more than happy to add another male to their numbers) who has taken well to his new environment and just thrived on formula.  We praise God for sustaining his life up to this point and look forward to seeing what will become of this precious life.   

Another full time house mom

Unfortunately, the addition of the 5th baby to our orphanage house brought forth a staffing dilemna for us.  While the first house is equipped to hold two families of ten kids each, we all recognized that 5 babies between two mothers would be a bit too much for them to handle with all the middle of the night wakings, bottle feedings, and nappy (diaper) washing.  We had to make a decision on what to do and quick (we often have no warning as to when a kid or baby will come).  After some time spent in prayer and weighing all our options we decided that we would hire Belita (one of our part time helpers) as an additional full time mother for at least 6 months (when baby Esther will be returned to her father at 1 year of age – she is the only baby that has a living parent and that we made an exception for when her mother died).  She will either go back to her part time hours after that or stay on depending on if we get more children in the mean time or not.  That now brings our total to 3 full time moms, 1 part time mom and the need for a possible second part time mom.  Belita has done a wonderful job adjusting to her new role (and everyone enjoys having her around more) but please pray for wisdom for us and the logistics involved in whether or not to hire an additional staff worker.

Clothing and Shoes donation

Praise and thanksgiving to God (and a group called runners for Africa) who provided quite a large donation of clothing and shoes  to us in May.  Alyssa spent many hours sorting and organizing them, as well as inventorying the clothes that the orphanage children have so that we could determine what their current needs were.  Every year tattered and torn play clothes get turned into rags, last years nice clothes become this years play clothes, and each child receives at least one “nice/church” outfit.  In trying to keep with the standards of community living we try to make sure that the kids don’t acquire “too much” and that any excess that they do acquire get’s redistributed to other orphans in the area.  We were happy to find that this year, we have received enough donations so far to distribute to some of the 30+ double orphans that we are helping to support in the community and another 30+ that are single orphans, many being raised by widows struggling to make a sustainable living.  We believe that if we can help support these families to care for these children on their own then not only the children, but the community in general will be the better for it.  Our goal for the orphanage is only to accept those children who have no one that is willing and able to care for them.  While we are still praying for enough donations to provide blankets, clothing, and educational assistance to most of these children, we are so blessed by what we have already received.  We pray that God will continue to bless those that have given and that He will continue to provide for ALL the needs of those living in the community as well as those in the orphanage. 

April 2011

April found us busy with harvesting, harvesting, and more harvesting.  The first crop we harvested this year was the maize (corn) and we were blessed not only by a truly good yield but also by the number of  orphanage committee members and community people that showed up to help us harvest it.  It was a real team effort with some building the maize storage shed, some cutting grass to line it, some helping with harvesting, loading and unloading and even the kids from the orphanage got involved.  We have found that when given the chance (and a one month school holiday gives a great one) the children not only learn another life skill about how to provide for themselves out here in the bush but also that they can prove to be very hard workers.  And working together as a team reaps greater benefits than working alone. 

 

Then we moved on to harvesting the sunflowers. Last year when we planted and applied fertilizer the villagers laughed at us saying that we were wasting the fertilizer because it isn’t worth it to put it on sunflower.  This year, the villagers received a lesson straight from nature and were amazed at the size and yield that we received from the small portion that we planted.  Of course we also attribute the good yield to God’s favor and blessing but we have already heard several in the village saying that yes, fertilizer for sunflowers really does work. 

School Holiday

On a happy note, the children at the orphanage are all doing well.  The babies are growing and getting bigger by the day, and the kids are enjoying their month long holiday from school.  With their free time they have been busy with the harvesting, helping the mothers with the garden and other spring cleaning chores but also enjoying the extra time to have fun as well.  Thanks to previous donations the children enjoyed getting a few new coloring books, crayons, books, toys, and games to play with (and see how they do with taking care of them).  With all of the older kids having been at the orphanage more than a year now, all seem to be settled in with less behavioral issues and feeling more comfortable in their “new” home.  Sylvester has stopped wetting the bed in the evenings, the children are more obedient, and even Millium and destructive behavior has gotten much better.  It’s hard to recognize some of these kids as the same ones that came just over a year ago.  The moms are also more confident and settled in their roles and things seem to be falling into a nice routine at the house.

School wise, the kids seem to be doing pretty well this year.  While we have only received reports back on 3 of the 8 that are in school of those three, Pillohead is first in his class at the government school, Enest is passing, and Sylvester (who failed last year) is now number 1 in his class at the community school.  What an amazing boost of confidence that has given him as He has learned that if he tries hard he can accomplish almost anything.  His goal next year is to be able to attend the government school which he seems right on track for.  We are still awaiting the rest of the grades for the other children but fear those might not be as good as the boys.  We even wonder if Precious might have a significant learning disability so pray for us as we try to assess and help her with that.  Thankfully help has come!

Help is Here

Thursday the 21st Alyssa and Ben (both from the States) arrived to lend us a helping hand.  Ben will be with us for two months helping Jako wherever possible (like fixing the car in Lusaka) and Alyssa will be joining us for two years, focusing on helping the orphanage children with their education and hopefully helping us to establish a community preschool which may eventually lead into a grade school. 

Although their first week with us was spent in Lusaka picking up our work permits (PRAISE GOD WE HAVE BEEN ALLOWED ANOTHER 2 YEARS IN THE COUNTRY!) and filing for Alyssa’s they have been real trooper and have already proved their benefit in many ways.  The children have enjoyed hearing their Bible stories on Sundays, working along side them and Alyssa has already begun helping the children with their math, teaching them their times tables, and assessing where each of the children are at educationally. Please pray for them during their time here, that God will guide and direct them in all that they are supposed to do, give them peace and comfort as they are separated from friends and family and that God would give them strength and wisdom for each day. 

God’s protection

One day as Charles (our local foreman/manager) was going to get paperwork signed from Salomi’s family we were wondering what was taking him so long.  After dark he showed up apologizing saying that he had accidently rolled the quad going over a hill too fast.  Not only was the quad inoperable but in the process Charles had hurt his hip and his jaw.  While we trust that the quad can eventually be fixed (although it is definitely an inconvience at the moment) we are just thankful that he was not more seriously hurt because according to the speedometer he was going at least 35 kph (21mph) after he slammed on the brakes upon impact.  Charles now respects any moving vehicle (tractor and quad included) saying that they are “like a lion” and need to be respected as such. 

May Plans

Please pray for us as we have a few busy months ahead of us.  Not only do we hope to get the education center and Alyssa’s two room home built but we also need to prepare for the two teams coming our way in June and July.  May or June should also see us returning to Lusaka in hopes of getting Alyssa’s work permit.  Please pray that her fingerprint clearance from the States gets back to us before too long so that we can continue with her application process.

We look forward to ALL that God has in store for us these next few months.  With praise and thankfulness for His provision and faithfulness.  To God be all the glory. 

Our return to Zambia March 2011

After being gone from the orphanage for so long we were certainly eager to return and see “in person” if things were going as well as they appeared to be through our weekly phone calls.  During the 2 hour bush drive in we noticed that the rains appeared to be good with the roads still wet (but travelable) and most of the local crops fairing well.  It did our hearts good to see all the kids and the housemothers at the orphanage healthy and happy and we enjoyed getting to meet not just 1 but 2 new babies.

In addition to baby Salomi (which we talked about in the previous post and have since determined she will be staying with us long term) we now had a new baby boy named Mainza who was born in November of 2009 (just 1 month older than our Jakob).   We asked more about him we were told that his mother recently passed away after being sick for quite some time and that his father was previously deceased.  His grandmother had brought him to the orphanage not long after stating that there was no one that could adequately provide for him as her and her husband were old and already had two other children they were currently caring for (one being Mainza’s brother).  At 15 months of age he weighed only 6.8 kgs (15lbs) compared to Jakob who weighted 9.8kgs (22lbs), wasn’t able to stand even with assistance, and was covered with some sort of rash all over his skin.  The photo taken above was taken almost 1 month after his arrival when he was already picking up weight and looking better. 

We are happy to report now that after taking him to the local nutritional clinic and given extra assistance he is now picking up weight nicely and his skin is looking much better.  Praise to God  that his HIV test came back negative and with the diligent care of the housemothers his leg strength is slowly increasing.  While not one to move around much on his own yet, you call tell that this precious treasure is very observant and while still a little weary of the Makua (white people) he is definitely attached  to his new mother and very observant and smart, even at such a young age.   Above is a photo of all four of our babies in a cute “real life” pose.  (from left to right is Mainza, Genesis, Esther and Salomi).

Jakob was more than thrilled to have a new play mate and be back home around his local friends, the dogs, chickens, pigeons, and all the familiarity of life in Zambia.  There is no doubt that this boy was built for the bush.

 

The Wells. the Garden, and work permits

We were very happy to discover that yes, things had indeed gone as good as we had heard (and hoped) during our time in the States.  While both wells were not working when we arrived and Charles was having to drive quite a distance with the quad to get water for all the orphanage needs, I was very thankful that upon further inspection, the one well was able to be fixed with relatively little effort (meaning only 1 days labor instead of many).  The well by the orphanage is still dry and despite our best efforts to remove the new pump that was placed inside not long ago, it appears that it is stuck and not wanting to budge with the 1 ton block and tackle that we we rigged (along with the towing power of a vehicle as well).  In fact, the casing  of the well started to come out instead of the pump and so we are going to have to put that project on hold until we have a larger block and tackle (as well as adequate time) to “tackle” it again.  Please pray that God gives us wisdom and favor in that because the hope is that we can use that pump to see if there is water in one of the other dry holes that was dug. 

Praise God that the rain was plentiful enough that the garden was still doing good (and flourishing) and that despite everyone still being in the learning process as how to best optimize space, weather and soil conditions, and what plants grow best where, the garden is providing 95% of their vegetable and produce needs.  In fact, we already see the need to expand the garden to be able to grow more but due to time restraints that might need to wait a while.

Unfortunately along with the good rain comes a lot of critters that we don’t normally describe as good.  One day Charles and I discovered this puff adder right behind the chicken coup where Jakob and the other children often play.  Puff adders is one of the top two causes of snake bite deaths around here in the village.  Praise God that He used His creation to alert us to this danger and take care of it before any of the children got hurt.

March also saw Amber, Jakob, and I making a trip up to Lusaka (Zambia’s capital) to renew our work permits.  Even though we were pretty sure they would renew them and had no reason to believe they would not it is always a bit of a nervous (“trusting in God”) time.  Thankfully, God showed us favor, the submission process went even quicker than expected and we returned to the bush to wait out our time before we would receive an answer. 

USA Wrap Up- March 2011

Thanks to those of you that prayed for us during our last few weeks in the U.S.A.  After having the privilege of being present for Amber’s brother’s wedding (congratulations Josh and Katie Finklea) it was time to focus on the events of Missions Conference that we had been invited to a Church in Florida.  It has been our joy to participate in this conference for the past few years and so enjoy the exposure and opportunity it allows us.  Not only did we get to reconnect with faithful supporters, friends, and previous Zambia team members, but also enabled us to meet with new supporters, friends, and people just interested in finding out God’s call on their life and what they can do for the cause of missions.  Over our time in the States we were blessed to be able to share at 4 different churches, 9 different small groups, and share with many different people about the progress, needs, and happenings of the orphanage and all that God is doing in our little part of Zambia.  Two days after the conference ended, with tears in our eyes, we said goodbye to our family and friends Stateside and with great expectancy looked forward to our return “home” to Zambia.