Friday, July 11, 2014

Little Brenty



In the Zambian culture it is common for parents to honor others who they love and respect by naming their children after them. This afternoon, we found out that one of our workers was doing that for us.

Lloyd has been working for us for the past 2+ years. His wife Mutinta has been part of Kerri and Elise's monthly discipleship and has also helped us out in many occasions here on the farm. Both are very special to us!

Yesterday, Mutinta gave birth to their second child and son. She had been staying with her parents near the clinic the last week just to make sure she would have access to doctors when the time came. Lloyd, on the other hand, stayed here at the farm awaiting word on the safe delivery.

So, this morning after we knew that the baby had come, we expected Lloyd to be on his way to see his new son. Instead, he was back at work. Imagine!

Well, it didn't last long. I told him to get ready and we headed to where Mutinta was staying. As we walked into the small house, we found Mutinta and the baby resting. We didn't stay too long because Lloyd needed to get some things for her and the baby, but it was great having this tiny moment to visit with baby and family.

Then, as we were driving back to the market, Lloyd asked me a question. He said "Do you want to know the name?" I guess I should have asked when we were in the home, but I forgot. He then told me that he and Mutinta decided beforehand that if the baby was a girl that they planned on naming her Kerri, but if he were a boy, they were going to name him Brent!

I can honestly say that I never thought that there would be a little Zambian boy in the middle of the African bush named after me. But I am deeply honored by this act of love and respect.

Thursday, July 03, 2014

Tuesday, July 01, 2014

Habibi



One thing I love about Zambia is the exposure we get to different cultures. Case in point. This is one of our friends at a local grocery store. He's a Muslim from Lebanon. Whenever we see each other we greet by calling each other Habibi, which is Lebanese for friend.

Here in Zambia we have a variety of friends from a variety of backgrounds. We have friends who are Afrikaans, British, Indian, Belgiun, and other parts of the world.

I'm so thankful for it too as it allows our kids such great opportunities to grow in their love and understanding for different people around the world.