A couple of firsts

This morning I had another first in Zambia--a first traffic ticket.  I was headed across town when a traffic cop stepped out in the middle of the road and flagged me down.  Yes, that's right.  Here in Zambia, most of the traffic police don't have vehicles.  So, instead of sitting in their car with a radar gun, they stand on the side of the road.  When someone is going over the speed limit (meaning anything over the limit), they step out into traffic and motion them to pull to the side of the road.  This time they got me!

This evening, I had another first--a visit to the funeral home.  One of our Zambian friend's (Alex) father passed away from complications related to a stroke.  When I say funeral home, I don't mean one like in the States.  Instead, it usually takes place in the home of one of the deceased's family members.  When we arrived, all of the men were congregated outside while all of the women were inside.  The guys were quite reserved.  Most of them didn't even talk very much.  They just sat down in chairs outside and kind of stared into space.  But the women were much different.  They were all inside sitting on floor mats wailing.  At first I didn't know it was the women making this sound, because it was like something I had never heard before.  It lasted the entire time we were there (about 1 hour) and I was told would last much longer.  Right before we left, the pastor asked me to share some encouraging words with the family, which I was praying he wouldn't do.  I felt so unequipped to share with this family, because I only knew one of the sons and never knew the man himself.  But I prayed that God would provide the words.  I do hope they were encouraged despite the circumstances.

Please pray for this dear brother.  Alex has just been someone who has blessed my soul since we've been here.  He is a man of great joy and a constant encouragement.  Pray for him and his family during this time of sorrow.  Pray that the God of all comfort would settle their hearts and bring them a peace that surpasses all understanding.