 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
May 6th – it was raining when we left home for the Louisville airport with plenty of time to spare to meet Terry, Nancy and Doug and consolidate luggage before check in time of 11:00 – However there was an accident just across the I-65 bridge into Kentucky and traffic was backed up. Called Terry to advise her and she helped me detour around the accident so we arrived 25 minutes later than planned but still in plenty of time.
The plane we were leaving on was late getting in because of bad weather and even later leaving because of more bad weather and then we were held in a holding pattern outside of Atlanta because of more bad weather. This resulted in us missing our flight from Atlanta to Johannesburg (Jo-burg). We did give it our best effort and ran, made the train (Nancy got caught in the door as it tried to close) and we made it to the gate just as the plane was leaving. Delta rescheduled us to fly to Paris leaving at 10:30 that night and arriving in Paris (losing 6 hours on the way) at 1:00 P.M and then fly out of Paris to Jo-burg at 11:30 that night. We were delayed a while leaving Atlanta as some guy did not like his seat assignment (the plane was full) and caused a fuss to they threw him off the flight but had a strong tailwind so made good time to Paris. We spent the day in the airport as we could not leave. We left that night at 11:30 and arrived in Jo-burg at 9:00 and caught our originally scheduled flight from Jo-burg to Livingstone arriving here on Friday the 8th around 1:00 P.M. local time which would be 5:00 A.M. at home. Not 1 of our 6 checked luggage bags arrived so we are staying in Livingstone at a neat place called the Zig-Zag. After having spent 2 nights trying to sleep on planes (I am reasonably certain I slept 3 hours each night) I am tired, glad to be here and praying that our luggage shows up on Saturday! Lameck and his wife had come to pick us up and we were to drive to Choma but now that the luggage has not arrived we will stay overnight here.
The roads are not good here and the people are so different. They are selling stuff on the sidewalks and trying to get you to give them stuff and this is still in Livingstone! I knew this would be an eye-opening trip for me and it sure has been.
May 9th - We went to Victoria Falls this morning – the
falls were totally amazing! The
water comes over them and creates a mist that settles across on the other bank
creating a rain forest. The mist is
thick and a constant rainbow and sometimes a double rainbow is seen.
We rented raincoats (they put 2 on actually) and crocs to
walk over on the rainy side and even though we had those got totally wet.
It would be kind of like standing in the carwash and letting someone
spray you down. I had to sing “How
Great Thou Art” it was the only response to such a beautiful expression of our
God The Creator of Heaven and Earth!
Our luggage came in so we had lunch and then went to pick
it up. Unfortunately they had put
the 4 Rubber Maid totes in the customs office and the
customs officer had left since it was a Saturday.
They did call her and she came back but was not too happy.
We thanked her profusely and as she looked through the totes saw a small
Bible and asked for it. Pray that
God will use that Bible. The 2
suitcases were there also but not in customs so around 3:00 we were on our way
to Choma.
I had been told about the incredibly rough road but did not
believe it could be that bad. Well I
was wrong! It was (for about 30
miles out of 120) the worst road I have ever seen!
Huge potholes so bad that you drove beside the road.
Finally it was to where the pavement was
totally gone for miles and that was actually better.
Then at the town of Zimba it was a perfect road.
About 20 miles from Choma there was an accident.
A tractor-trailer had tipped somehow so we had to drive off the road and
around on a little dirt road. We
arrived safely in Choma and had a wonderful dinner that the staff lady who takes
care of the guest house had prepared.
I knew that this would be an eye opening trip for me and I will share a couple items of note. First off the shear number of people on the streets trying to sell you something or flat out begging is beyond my comprehension and this was in the city of Livingstone! I can only imagine that things are so much worse out in the villages. The second thing is seeing young men (soldiers) walking around with machine guns is very different and the third thing that sticks out so far is the box of condoms in the airport bathroom free for the taking!
I know that I will see and experience much more on this trip. Please pray for Gods continuing hand on the work here and for the Staff - Lameck (the country director) and his wife Judith, Cleanwell (project manager), Loveness (the lady who takes care of the guest house) and Oliver the night watchman.
One thing I know for a certainty - God loves these people and came a died for them! It was such a joy to meet Lameck and instantly be able to share the joys of fellowship with him! Even though we had just met, we have been brothres for a long time! Such is the privilege of being a child of God.
May 10th - I am not adjusting to the time change really well and was up for a while last night. Oh well! We went to church here with Lameck. The church was an easy walk from here and it was a beautiful day. The Sunday school teaching was on doing the Will of God (as was the sermon and both were very good.) They do all the teaching in English and in the local language of Tonga. The singing was all in Tonga BUT it was wonderful! The harmonies in the whole congregation was great! They had several specials and they were beautiful to listen to. We then had a nice meal with Lameck at his home which is between the office here and the church. I took a nap in the afternoon and then went for a long walk. Some boys were playing soccer and I stopped to watch for a while. I have found several things that need fixed here so I am going to try to find the supplies I will need tomorrow and also start in on the computer needs. The internet is working but is too slow to use Skype (which was one of our goals) so I will be talking to the provider about that.
May 11th - We had a group come in to the guest house last night who are from the village where Nancy is going for the week and where we will be for 2 days. They did not arrive until 1:00 AM so we did not get to bed until around 2:30 and then up at 7:00 so it was a short night! It was good to meet them. I talked to the internet providers today and what it is, is what it is! The power did not go off at the office today BUT it was off down town Choma so we did lose internet completely for several hours. I had the experience of going to 5 or 6 hardware stores in Choma in search of a faucet for the kitchen sink. Very interesting stores and did not wind up with anything that will work. There are no road rules like we are used to - you can make a U-turn anywhere you want as long as you can do it. Also pedestrians do NOT have the right of way even though there are many and they cross everywhere and walk on both sides of the road. I did get some work done on the office network but it is slow going when you need to download updates on this internet connection. Going to try to get a decent nights sleep here but not too hopeful as Terry and I are proof reading employee manuals and hiring documents to give to all the staff in the morning at a staff meeting and it is already 10:00 - oh well, it is what it is and God is good!
May 12th - Virus on a laptop! Not good when your internet connection is S-L-O-W and you need to download fixes. Well it will be fixed one way or another and that one way might be the old reformat routine. The weather here is nice although the locals think it is cold and wear coats. It is all in your perspective I suppose. I went to hardware stores to get wood glue and a kitchen faucet for the guest house. The stores are just a wee bit different here (OK so they are a lot different) you walk in and everything is hanging on the wall and you point and say "I need one of those" and they get it for you. The stuff is hung up on all the walls and quit high. The search yesterday for a faucet did not yield the correct faucet so we ended up going to every hardware store in the town. Some very small and others larger. I did manage to get the faucet replaced and the drawer and door fixed on the kitchen cabinet. Also they had 2 office desks that all the drawers were not in the correct slide position so B did not close and I fixed those and tightened screws on chairs and door fixtures. The water heater is on the outside wall and is in pretty bad shape but still works. Still having trouble sleeping partially due to my rib but also just the whole time change thing and everything else I suppose. I will miss a couple days of updating when we go out to the village but I should have some good pictures to put up. Got the new printer setup and networked. We had no internet all morning and sporadically the rest of the day. The power here was on but it was off downtown where the signal comes from. They told me they were waiting for generators (right). Duvon would say "Welcome to Africa".
May 13th - Sat in on 5 interviews for accountant / administrative director here at the office. It is amazing the differences in cultures. When asked a question that the obvious answer would be "No" they would not say "No" but rather "not really" or "I've heard of that" at any rate it was a neat experience and with 6 of us in the room keeping notes we all concurred on the ranking of which candidate was best suited for the position so that in itself was of God! Speaking of being of God, the whole fact that I am here is of God completely - for more click here
May 15th - well the internet totally died the other night as I was updating this page but that is life over here! We left early Thursday to head out to the community of Chikanta which is about 60 miles from Choma. Even though it was only 60 miles it took over 3 hours to get there. The roads are not paved and are horrible. The closest thing I could say is that it would be for the most part like driving along the edge of the field. I do remember roads from up north in Alberta that were like that and some of you might know what I mean when I say it was like leaving Grouard and heading to Peerless Lake. Actually the whole village reminded me a lot of that. The people were wonderful to us. Meeting Pastor Patrick was like meeting a long lost friend. He sings and plays the guitar and we had a great time. I told them that we had been brothers for years but we had just not met face-to-face before this time. There was also an American Missionary doing work with an NGO called LinkNet that was staying in the village for a couple of weeks. He was neat to get to know and also played guitar. Seeing how the people live out there your first impression might be how poor they are and how rough it is. BUT, that is only seeing it from our American eyes. My eyes have been opened to see that it is not what you have that determines how happy you are but rather that happiness comes from within. And true happiness can only come when God is within. I have also realized that Americans are considered arrogant many times due to ignorance and not actual arrogance (although I am sure that some are just plain arrogant). What I mean is that we assume that what we have is better than what they have so we try to push our values on them. This is wrong as the only absolute that I can tell anyone is that they need to know the Messiah, Jesus Christ as Lord! Everything else needs to be viewed through their culture and their eyes. Yes, we know that safe water is great and we need to continue to spread that, but it is wrong to arrogantly assume that we have it better that they do. I saw families who were happy, children who were content, a community that cared about each other and if that is not contentment then I challenge you to tell me what is! We in America have so much and we complain the most! I have been humbled by my brothers over here and I am grateful to them. They are showing me how to live the Christian life, with patience, humility, love and a servants heart. I pray to God that I do not forget this lesson. The trip back today was long and torture on my back BUT as I told Lameck on the way out "it still beats walking!" Have a great day, be grateful for all that you have, and server one another in love.
May 17, 2009
We arrived in Monze last evening and had supper and visited with Bisha & Priscilla who are church planting there. Bisha and his brother Teddy are very musical and we had a wonderful time of singing together. We stayed at a nice Guest House in Monze and went to Bisha’s church in the morning. More good singing and then I shared with the adults for what we would call Sunday School but they call Bible Study. I have never had a translator as I shared my testimony before but it was God ordained and a great experience. Then before Terry shared in the service we had special music time. Some of the kids sang and others shared bible verses. The praise team led in some worship songs and I sang 2 songs and then asked Bisha and Teddy to sing Amazing Grace with me. Well that was an experience! Of course the whole congregation entered in and what praise we lifted to God! Bisha also translated for Terry and she shared on the Purpose Driven Life. 3 hours after beginning the service (approximately as I do not have a watch) we were done and went to Bisha’s for lunch. Then at 14:00 (actually probably began around 15:00) we had more Bible Study. Nancy shared with the women inside the house and I shared with the men and teenagers/young adults outside under the shade of a parachute. We sang many songs and once again it was incredible. I shared between some of the songs and Teddy translated as he felt it was needed. This went on until Lameck arrived to take us to Lusaka (probably 1 ½ hours but who knows as time goes fast when you are having fun and it was fun!). My fingers are sore and so is my throat, my rear end is sore from riding in the van and there is no Internet tonight at the Guest House (or any other time at this Guest House) BUT my spirit is praising God! When I met those 15 outside of Bishas house it was a handshake and how are you I am fine. When I left them it was no handshake but a warm hearted hug and come back to see us again please! And send us a DVD of those songs (the old hymns I had sung with them that some new the choruses for). All in all I am flat out beat and tired in the body but other than that things are great!
Tomorrow we are suppose to have lunch at a place where you buy internet time so I will hopefully be able to access email and maybe update my webpage and upload some pictures.
As they said many times today – God is good (and the reply back is All the time!)
May 18th – well I do not like big cities at home and I do not like them in Zambia! Lusaka has 3 million plus people and what a crazy place! They do not obey most traffic laws and apparently as long as there are no accidents no one cares! There are many small shops everywhere and in the market areas of each town no matter how big or small, there are booths setup like a flea market or craft fair and you can buy about anything there every day. They take everything down at night and bring it back in the morning. In Lusaka there are street vendors that stand in the street by the slow places and you can buy many things right from your car. We went to ½ dozen of so car lots looking for a 4 wheel drive vehicle for New Life Zambia to use and the prices on vehicles is astonishingly high! Of course they have to import every vehicle and most come from Japan so Toyota seems to be the highest number and then Nissan. You also see some Hondas, a few VW’s and I actually saw a couple of Ford’s (an Escort wagon and a Ranger pickup) and a Citroen station wagon but the Japanese autos rule the day and are good. The majority are diesel with standard shift. They drive large trucks also and I have seen a couple Freight Liners (one with the left fender completely gone) and pull 2 large trailers sometimes with triple axles on both and a tag on the tractor so it does not seem there are many regulations regarding that either. Many people get to and from places riding in transports (which are trucks with an open box and they pile whatever they can in, people, luggage, animals or whatever) and off they go for miles. The other thing that is heavily used are the mini-buses. These are vans that can seat up to 16 people in the back (4 rows of 4 in a row) and they are quite small. They have 2 shopping malls but unlike at home it is the small shops that rule and not the shopping centers. We stayed at a nice Guest House but they had no internet. We did all our shopping and made it home safely (a trip of 4 hours) and saw several semi’s broke down on the road and one that had rolled. The highway to Lusaka was quite good but only 2 lane and I would compare it to Hiway 200 in ND. All along there are people walking or riding bicycle carrying large loads. They will setup on the side of the road and have for sale about anything, crafts, food etc. When it gets dark they will just start a fire and there they are in the ditch. Sporadically you will see thatched roofs sticking up and cattle or goats wandering around grazing. It is amazing to me that more accidents do not happen as they drive 110 KM/Hour on the road (especially the min-buses).
May 19th - We spent the day in Choma at the office. Made a deal on the Nissan Safari that we looked at in Lusaka so that is good! It is from an Australian man who has been working for the Salvation Army in Lusaka and is moving back to Australia. Hopefully the money will transfer and Lameck will pick it up next Monday. We spent the day working on employee contracts (here in Zambia all employees work under a contract, usually a 2 year contract) and then had a staff meeting with the staff to go over them. After a week, and 4 visits face to face with our internet provider over here the guy finally came out to check out why the signal was so poor. He ended up moving the antenna to the other end of the building and now it is some better but still not what I am used to. I did not sleep well last night, not sure why but perhaps all the travelling is catching up with me. I did go on a long walk this morning out into the country side and thoroughly enjoyed Gods creation. Tomorrow we are going out to a village where New Life has water purifiers installed so another long day BUT I am looking forward to seeing more of what God is doing here in Zambia!
May 20th – today we left early and went out to visit 3 villages (all in one community called Sinazase) that have purifiers and tanks installed and are providing safe water to those families there. They share 1 battery and the focal point person takes it from tank to tank. Each tank is filled and purified twice a week. It is incredible to see firsthand fruits of the work New Life is doing! The community development progress is very exciting to see. They are making things to sell and growing crops and taking pride in their communities. A group of around 100 met underneath a huge tree. It was a great tree as you had shade no matter where the sun was at because you were completely underneath it. The women sang many songs but one of them was basically We thank you New Life for what you have given us. All I can say is wow! God is at work and it is absolutely thrilling to be a part of it. Lameck asked me to share and even though I was caught unaware God spoke through me as Lameck translated. Even though they have so little, they fed us lunch. A drink called sweet beer (although it is not anything like beer – it is a drink that has corn mashed up and you can chew it while you drink it. It is not fermented at all and is made right before drinking it) they do not have an English word to describe it so I guess sweet beer is what they call it in English. They also served a disk with a few beans and the rest was white corn. I wanted salt for it but they served it with cane sugar. I was a bit doubtful as to how that would taste but it was actually quite a nice taste. They then presented us with gifts and I was given a handmade clay pot that had been fired in an oven. They are hoping to be able to make and sell such pots. Nancy received a hand sewn place mat and Terry some hand woven baskets. The road out there was not bad BUT right near the villages it was really rough and we went about 15 miles past the village to the District Commissioners’ office (a district is sort of like a county at home) at Sinazongwe and that road was about impossible (and impassable) in places. We ended up being right on the shores of Lake Kariba which is a huge manmade lake and generates power at the Kariba Dam for both Zambia and Zimbabwe. The need for the new vehicle was again impressed on me and I am so glad that next week Lameck will take possession of it. I saw more evidences of Gods creation as I marveled at the diversity in the landscape. Even though it might be some flat land and then some hills, it is totally different from flat lands and hills at home. God is the only one who can create and He alone is worthy of our praise, honor, and worship!
May 21st – Wow! I know that I use that word a lot here but I don’t know what else to say. We went to a village called Cars (because there had been a manufacturing facility there that had something to do with automobiles BUT if moved to South Africa about 20 years ago leaving much poverty behind) today to see the people and what they have been doing with community development. It was exciting to see the tank setup with the purifier and I filled my cup from the tank and drank. It was wonderful to see what the people had done there. They have a community garden that New Life provided seeds and fertilizer for and use the money from produce sales to help the orphans in the community. They use the sewing machine that New Life provided to make crafts and clothing that they also sell. They sang and expressed their gratitude to us. Meanwhile they are living in poverty! An old woman told the story of life before New Life came with the purifier and then all that has happened since. I was overcome with emotion as I listened and saw the thankful hearts of these who still have so little but are glad for what they have. They asked me to share and I was almost not able to talk. I told them that they might have expected to come and learn from this American BUT that I was learning from them. I did sing for them as they wanted me to show them some of my customs. Then the orphans got up and sang a welcome song and then a song about mother and father dying which was hard to take as they were orphans. One girl shared her story about her parents dying and how the women’s group had sold cabbages and bought her some clothes. All in all it was completely overwhelming. They shared more sweet beer with us and we toured the garden and the bore hole area. They then asked us to give speeches so I got up and shared with them and I trust that God was speaking. I expressed to them that we are the same in Gods eyes and that skin color makes no difference. He loves us all and desires for us to accept His gift of salvation. Terry also shared (Nancy had stayed at the office to do her own work for her project) and they of course gave us gifts. A big head of cabbage each and also a hot pad and a door mat they had made. Once again I am overcome with emotion at the giving hearts of these people. God is working here and it is wonderful to be even a small part of it.
May 22nd – we left Choma and travelled an hour to Zimba where we were to meet with representatives from 7 villages in that area. We met at a new school (the kids liked that because they ended school as soon as we arrived) and eventually we had around 150 people there. After introductions were made the womens clubs from the various villages sang and danced and showed what they had done with what New Life had helped them with. Clothes sewn – Maize raised – tablecloths made etc. They sang variations of Thank you New Life for what you have given us. They gave us gifts and fed us and once again I found myself completely undone and humbled by the spirit of these wonderful people. There was a young mens group that sang and they were really good! The harmony was excellent and of course all this singing is acapella. After the meeting I sang some with them and it was very good singing! We looked at only 1 village to see the water tank setup and it was nicely done. New Life has done small things for these villages and they have done much! Yes, they still need and ask for more. More sewing machines to help the widows and orphans. Material, pumps to fill the tanks, more tanks etc. It is all a bit overwhelming and yet at the same time they are humbly grateful for what we have done for them so it is not like a child begging for candy or anything. More like saying, the oatmeal for breakfast was good and it would sure be nice to have some lunch too! We left Zimba around 4:30 and took the torturous road to Livingstone. Not the whole road but probably 25 miles is just absolutely shot! We arrived in Livingstone and had supper and will fly out of here tomorrow for Johannesburg and then on to Atlanta hoping to arrive in Louisville 1:30 on Sunday afternoon. I will try to put together a coherent document detailing what God has shown me on this trip as soon as I am able. God is good – all the time!
May 25th - all the flights were on time and the connections
were made BUT we still had only 1 out of 5 pieces of luggage when we arrived.
Oh well, it is not so crucial when the luggage does not arrive with you on the
way home! It was a long flight from Joberg to Atlanta about 19 hours on
the plane. 2 hours of that was sitting on the tarmac at Dakar Senegal
where they refueled, dropped off a few passengers and picked up a few.
None of use got much sleep on the plane and were really tired by the time we got
home. We had 4 hours in Atlanta before the flight to Louisville. I
am already wanting to go back to Zambia for reason that are beyond my
comprehension so please pray that God will work it all out. I do not want
to lose sight of what He has shown me these past days. It has been a
wonderful feeling to know that you have been lead by God! To see firsthand
Him working things out! God has much work to do in Zambia and he does not
need me and yet He seems to want me! Once again the wonder of God is not
that we choose Him BUT that He chooses us! He is not interested in talent,
good looks or what resources you have or do not have. He is only
interested in a willing and listening heart. These are the 2 things that
are lacking the most and are seriously holding back the work of God not only in
Zambia but all over the world including our desperate needs for awakening and
revival right here in North America (you are including up in Canada in this)!
Pray, fall on your knees and ask God to have mercy on us all. Then just
maybe if we begin in our own hearts, there will be a change effected in our
life, in our family, in our church family, in our town, our state, our country
and the world. This verse from 2 Chronicles 7:14 sums it up "if My
people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My
face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will
forgive their sin and heal their land. Now before you get upset with me
just remember that I am preaching at me too. I am not pointing the finger
I am just asking you to honestly come before God and let Him do the finger
pointing. It might hurt but the end result is fantastic!
.