Voting

This past Friday, we, along with most other Americans were visiting the Marine House near the U.S. Embassy for a "Town Meeting."  The Marine House is where the U.S. Marines that protect the U.S. Embassy stay.  The Town meeting was to help us prepare for the upcoming election in the States.

They provided hot dogs and hamburgers, free of charge, and only asked that we bring a desert or a side dish.  We adults had a good time getting to meet other Americans living here in Zambia.  While the children had a good time playing on the jump castle that was rented for the evening.

I was surprised at just how easy it is for us to vote in the U.S. elections here in Zambia.  No lines and really no hassle.  All we have to do is fill out a form identifying who ourselves, our voting district and who we will be voting for and return to the U.S. Embassy.  They then take the absentee ballots and mail to the States with the Armed Services mail.  I think it's easier to vote here than it was back in the States.

Something Funny (If you're a little bit sadistic)

Yesterday afternoon, I was returning home from a meeting.  When I pulled up to the gate, I noticed that our electric fence was producing a popping noise.  This usually means that some tree limb or unfortunate animal is touching the wire while being grounded at the same time.  It turned out that a tiny gecko decided to cross one of the electric wires, but when it reached for the gate and grounded itself, it got electrocuted.

That's not the sadistically funny part.  I usually don't laugh at geckos getting fried by our electric fence.  The funny part, was that because the gecko was touching the wire and the gate at the same time, it passed the current from the wire to the gate and, as a result, the whole gate became electrified.  

So, here comes our guard Charles to open the gate.  He was hearing the same popping that I was and was aware that there was some creature somewhere getting barbecued, but he wasn't aware that the current was also passing through the gate.  And neither was I, until I saw him jump back as he tried to open the gate.  Needless to say, we both got a good laugh out of what happened.

The Change of Seasons

Sometime at the first of August, it seemed that someone flipped a switch and the Zambian winter was over! Suddenly it was getting hot and the everything started to bloom. This is the first time that the weather has felt more like home. It's like May or June in good old South Carolina, minus the rain (we haven't had a drop of rain since February)! Since there's so much dirt here and it's been SO dry, I thought you might like to see some of the beauty that God has given us to enjoy now!

This tree (above) is my new favorite! It's called a Jacaranda Tree. They bloom the most beautiful purple and I've never seen anything quite like it. It's gorgeous! Unfortunately we don't have one of these in our yard, but they are all over the place. The rest of these pictures came from various trees and bushes in our yard. Lovely sights and smells!




With the change in seasons there are also some not-so-nice things like mosquitos and other assorted bugs! So, we've been spraying and trying to ward off the critters before they decide to invade our house. They tell us that October is the hottest month of the year, so we're getting ready for that. So far I don't think the temperature has been above 90 degrees, but on those days this pregnant lady has been spending lots of time in front of the fan!

The Zambians also say that since the warm weather came earlier this year, the rains will also come earlier - maybe in October. Although we'll be leaving in the middle of rainy season, I'm anxious to experience what that will be like. It's amazing to me how God delicately orchestrates the care of this earth!

Speaking Engagements

Dear Friends,

Kerri and I will be returning to the States on November 13th for a 3 month stay. We would love to share with those who might be interested, the work that God is doing in Zambia, Africa.

If you would be interested in having us speak during a church service, to a sunday school, to a small group during the week, etc... we would love the opportunity. If you would like for Kerri to sing, she is available for that as well.

We have availability from November 17th - December 10th and then from January 1st - February 15th. If you would like for us to come and share, please e-mail Kerrisings@aol.com with the following information: Date, Time, Location, Type of Group we would be addressing.

We look forward to sharing with you what the Lord has been doing through our ministry here in Zambia.

Blessings,
Brent Roberts

Prison Ministry

On Tuesday, Glenn, Luke and I went to Kabwe--a city/town about 2 hours north of Lusaka.  A couple of weeks ago, Glenn had met the head chaplain over all of the prisons in Zambia.  He setup the meeting because we were hoping to begin taking various churches into prisons to minister to inmates as well as prison guards.

In Zambia, there are 54 prisons housing over 14,000 inmates, but there are only 14 theologically trained chaplains on staff to minister in those prisons to those inmates.  So, it's an understatement to say that they need help.

During the beginning stages of the meeting, none of us could really get a feel for how it was going.  The head chaplain was very hard to read and conversation was slow.  But one thing that I've learned is that, in Zambia, you can't read body language quite like you can in the States.  By the end of the meeting it was clear he was excited about us wanting to assist the chaplains office and discussed the many opportunities that we would have in doing so.  Specifically they expressed a desire for our ministry to begin training their assistant chaplains for the work of ministry.  And also, once we're approved, they will allow us access into any prison in Zambia to work with inmates as well as guards in the areas of evangelism and discipleship.  It was truly an answer to prayer as to how well this meeting went.

Our desire with this ministry opportunity as well as the hospital ministry is to begin to expose some of the churches we are working with to practical ways of ministering God's word to those in tough situations.  In essence, we're trying to mobilize the church here in Zambia to fulfill its calling to minister to, evangelize and disciple those around them.

Will you pray for us?  Please pray that we would keep in step with the Spirit, that God would begin to raise up churches for us to assist in training for ministry.  Pray for the Church in Zambia.  Pray that they would be burdened for the lost and have a heart to serve instead of be served.

Hospital Visitation

This past Monday, Luke, Chiluba and I went to University Teaching Hospital (UTH) to visit and pray with some of the patients.  Luke and Chiluba have been going for a few weeks now, but this is the first opportunity that I have had to go.  UTH is a very large hospital with different wards for different needs.  We ended up visiting two different wards, and praying for several patients.  I have to admit, I wasn't prepared mentally for what I saw.

Adult Ward:

The first man we visited with was the victim of a poisoning.  He was in a bar in the northern province of Zambia drinking, when someone slipped acid into his beer.  The results were horrendous.  He has yet to get an x-ray or any other scan.  So the extent is unknown, but he has not had a bowel movement in 2 & 1/2 months (Yes, I said months).  Basically, he eats and hopes his body gets enough of the nutrients from the foods before he throws it back up.  He recently made a profession of faith, but please pray for this man.  Pray for healing.

The second person we visited was a teenage boy.  This boy was diagnosed with liver cancer and is visibly suffering.  The tumor is now the size of a bowling ball and his entire mid-section is distended.  As we sat there and prayed for him, I couldn't help but notice his heart beating in his chest.  He is so skinny because the tumors restrict his eating and you can literally see every time his heart takes a new beat.  Please pray for this boy.  Pray that God would work a physical miracle in his life just as He has already done one spiritually.

The third person we visited was an elderly gentleman.  I could barely hear what he was saying, because he was going in and out of consciousness.  But apparently he has issues with his kidneys and is very weak.  We prayed for him, and he fell asleep shortly after we walked away.

Pediatrics Ward:

The pediatrics ward was in a small building on the other side of the property.  As we walked in, I was blown away by just how many babies and small children were there.  The mothers were there caring to the needs of their children and often performing some of the nurses duties.   It was difficult seeing these little children, full of tubes, laying there helpless and then looking at the mothers struggling to disguise their emotions about the situation.  As we prayed, I just sat there at times thinking, "What if this were my child?  How would I be handling this situation?"  I think it made me pray all the more earnestly and I hope that we were an encouragement to them.

Please pray for this ministry.  It is in its infancy and desperately needs  your prayers.  Our desire is to see the Church here in Lusaka take up its responsibility and begin to minister to the hurting people in this hospital.  Pray for laborers.  Pray for a vision to ignite amongst the members of the different churches we are working with here in Zambia.  Pray that the Church would become mobilized.

Is Gas Really This Expensive?

Kerri and I have heard a lot lately about the rising gas prices back in the States and I have to admit that because gas here is distributed in liters and sold in Kwacha, I never realized just how expensive it has gotten here.  As you can see on this picture, Unleaded is 9495 Kwacha per liter and Diesel is 8350 Kwacha per liter.  

Curious what the equivalent was in U.S. dollars, I did some conversions.  I converted liters to gallons and Kwacha to US Dollars (based on recent exchange rates).  When I multiplied everything out, I was quite shocked.  Regular Unleaded is selling here for $10.13 per gallon and Diesel is selling for $8.91 per gallon.  So, remember that even though prices are rising to levels never seen before, it can always be worse.

Changes for ACTION Zambia

Last Friday we received the news that Glenn and Liese Ripley, along with their children, Gift and Grace, have felt God calling them on to a new season of life and ministry and will be leaving Zambia in early October.  The Ripleys opened the field in Zambia for Action International Ministries in 2002.  When we came to Zambia for our survey trip in 2005, the Ripleys had a great impact on us and were very influential in our decision to serve in Zambia.  While we are sad to see them go, we are also rejoicing with the Ripley family as they follow the clear direction of their Heavenly Father!  Please pray for Glenn, Liese, Gift, Grace, John, Mark and Stephen Ripley as they walk through this change.

I encourage you to read the Ripleys' own letter detailing their decision to go back to the U.S.  

Click Here

Please also remember to pray for our team here in Zambia as we go through an adjustment period and seek the will of God for our team moving forward.  

Happy Birthday Zambian Style

I've finally figured it out!  I was born in the wrong culture.  I should have been Zambian.  For those of you who don't know me really well, I am a prankster.  Back in the States, I developed quite a reputation with my friends because of the pranks I sometimes played.  Well, here in Zambia, things haven't changed.  They have a birthday tradition here that is right in line with my personality.  Whenever someone has a birthday, friends of that person are allowed to and, in fact, encouraged to douse the birthday boy/girl with water.

This past Wednesday, I got together with some of our Zambian friends and we decided to introduce Luke to this tradition.  I went over to Alex's house and set the trap.  We called Luke and told him that my car needed a jump.  Then we filled several buckets and balloons with water.  Alex waited at the entrance of his house and I stood beside him, responsible for opening the door so he could hit Luke with the bucket of water he was holding.  The others involved (about 7 in all) waited by the side of the house with the water balloons and other buckets of water.

The plan worked to perfection.  Luke showed up, came to the front door and knocked.  Immediately, I opened the door and Alex hit him with the first bucket of water.  Then everyone else came from around the side of the house and started pelting him with the balloons and other buckets of water.  By the time we were done, he was soaked.  He was a good sport about it and vowed that he would be paying me back in the future.  Regardless of the promised payback, I think I love this birthday tradition.

Pastors Discipleship

On Thursday, Graham and I, along with 10 Zambian church leaders (mostly compound pastors) started a new discipleship program.  Over the next year, Graham and I will be leading this group through some material focused on Deepening Our Intimacy With God.

The first meeting went really well.  We did the normal introductions, introduced the material and then tried to memorize a verse from scripture.  Everyone seemed to be really excited about what God is going to teach us as a group.  Our desire is that the pastors attending this discipleship program will take what they learn and start similar discipleship programs in their own churches.

One of the biggest needs in the church here is discipleship.  In most compound churches, the pastors have no more than the equivalent of a 7th grade education, coupled with little to no theological training, which is the case of most of the pastors in our discipleship program.  Imagine having only a 7th grade education, no theological training, struggling to read English (in some cases) and overseeing congregations where 70-80% of the members cannot read and therefore are unable to learn from God's word unless taught by someone else.  Now, you can somewhat understand what these men are up against.

Please pray for this group.  Pray that God would use this program for His glory and for the benefit of these men and their churches.  Pray for the daily physical provisions of these pastors.  Many of these men struggle to provide for their own families, much less their churches physical needs.  Pray for Graham and I.  Pray that we would be sensitive to culture, and would lead in a way that equips these men for effective ministry.

Indecent Exposure

Wednesday morning, I decided to go for a run, which is the same time President Manawasa was being laid to rest.  The run was a long one and I didn't have a proper running shirt.  So, I decided to run without a shirt and get some much needed sun.  

The run started out great, I ran out of our neighborhood, past parliament (passing several police officers on the way), and up past Manda Hill, a local shopping center which was closed for business because of the funeral.  I have to mention, that before I reached Manda Hill, I must have passed at least 10 police officers, all of who said their kind hellos and other familiar morning greetings.

But when I got in front of Manda Hill, there were about 8 officers sitting just inside the closed gate.  As I passed by, a few of them stopped me and asked me to come over.  After asking the officers what the problem was, one of them said "I know you are in training, but today is a special day and we have a lot of important people here.  You need to go back to your home and put a shirt on."  I was caught a little bit off guard, but I complied, turned around and headed home.  I guess I won't be going on any runs without the proper attire from now on : )

Internet Woes

We're sorry for not posting for the last week.  We've been experiencing issues with our internet and keep getting knocked off.  I am typing this post hoping the same will not happen.

Here are some quick updates.  We hope to have some more posts up soon.

Discipleship Materials

The past two Sundays, I have been piloting some discipleship materials with the church that we attend here in Lusaka.  They asked me to come in and teach the church on Sunday mornings.  Please pray for me in this area.  I'm trying to develop a basic discipleship curriculum which teaches believers here the core aspects of the gospel and then equips them to share it with other people.

Village Piggery

I went with Alex yesterday to Chongwe (about 45 km east of Lusaka).  We were finalizing a design for a village piggery and negotiating prices for its construction.  Alex desires to go into ministry full-time and wants to use this piggery to allow him to pursue this option.  I'll be posting something about him and his family soon.

Language

Kerri and I are still plugging along in our pursuit to learn the language here (Nyanja).  We're nearing the end of our lessons on grammar and continue to need your prayers for this aspect of our ministry here in Zambia.

National Holiday Today

For those of you who don't know, Zambia will be laying to rest their president this morning.  Several foreign dignitaries are now in the Lusaka area and it is supposed to be a major event.  Zimbabwe's president Mugabe is here as well.  Please pray for this country.  Changing leadership in an African country is no easy thing.  There is always potential for violence as different parties vie for a spot in the president's office.

Again, we're sorry for not keeping you updated recently.  Hopefully, our internet will get better.  Blessings!

The Whitfields

Please take the time to read this update from Luke and Elise, our good friends and partners in Evangelism and Discipleship here in Africa.  Cool stuff!

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Dear Friends

Greetings from increasingly hot Lusaka, Zambia. I (Luke) wanted to write a quick note and let you know the latest on new ministry opportunities and development with us. As Elise has mentioned in a previous update we have been investigating ways to “mobilize” the churches we are working with. We have realized, during our two years here, that there is much knowledge transfer going on in churches but very little mobilization of the congregation. While knowledge and study of God’s Word is essential, if that knowledge cannot be transferred into practical actions are we really helping the Zambian we came to serve? It to this end that we have been intent on developing outlet ministries that allow different congregation to see the power that exists when we take the knowledge of the Word of God to the streets. This has mainly been in the areas of door to door and open air evangelism, as well as hospital visitation.

The past two weeks I have gone over to the main hospital here in Lusaka, UTH, and spent time visiting with various patients. I always take a member from a local church with me because of the language barrier and most importantly because we are hoping they will catch the vision for themselves. Yesterday, 25/08, we went to the pediatrics ward and all I can say is that I left broken hearted. So many little ones with tubes stuck all over their bodies and anxious mother with looks of desperation covering their faces. We went to visit a little 8 year old boy named Enzo. This little guy has a significant hole in his heart which means you can literally hear his heart murmur without a stethoscope. With or without treatment the diagnosis is that Enzo will probably die in the next year but the hope is that treatment might prolong the inevitable. We went to love on little Enzo and pray a pray for healing in faith, what a privilege to serve this little one in this manner. 

While there we also meet a little girl name Musonda who, just like Enzo, also had a heart condition as well as problems with her lungs. As we prayed for her she labored heavily to take each new breath in, but when we finished she rewarded us with a big smile. Her mother, a Jehovah’s witness, was reluctant at first to let us pray for her but finally agreed. After we had finished we noticed that all the other patients in the ward has gotten up and left the room we were in. We took this a clear rejection of our prayers and proceed to leave the ward. 

As we enter the hall, Musonda’s mother came running after us and frantically explained that she was concerned that we had only prayed for her daughter, what? As I asked the Zambians who had come with me to explain what she was so concerned about, they told me that there is still much superstition towards whites (we are sometimes thought to be Satanists) and she believed bad things would happen to her daughter if we only prayed for her. We assured her that we had just prayed for a little boy in the next ward named Enzo but she would not be satisfied until she asked him for herself. These are the little ways satan has bound these people in fear and keeps them from receiving the healing message of Jesus Christ. Continue to pray that the name of Jesus would break down these spiritual barriers and that He would continue to equip us to do battle for His name sake.

We are also still organizing a meeting with the head of all prisons here in Zambian with the hope that we will be granted permission to begin work in the prison system here in the country (amazing opportunities for ministry). 

I continue to help lead, with my good friend Brent Roberts, a small group ministry with Great Commission Baptist Church. We are excited as we have identified two future leaders in the group and are hoping they will partner together to start a new small group within the church. This is such an answer to prayer as our mission, from the beginning of our small group ministry, has been to see replication happen (praise God). We also began work a couple of weeks ago on creating a curriculum for evangelism that will be piloted at Evangel Baptist Church, which is the church we are currently attending. I have begun a five week program on evangelism with the men’s group each Saturday morning a 7:30 and I am excited at the evident eagerness to see a heart for evangelism fostered at this church. 

Please pray as the long term vision for this program will be to implement it into all levels of the church—leadership, men’s/women’s ministry, youth programs, AWANA, small group, etc. Elise and I feel that this type of training and educating is why God has called us to Zambia. 

Also, as you continue to pray for us you might be interested to know that last Tuesday 08/19 the president of Zambia passed away in Paris, France. This has been such an interesting time as the government has decreed that there will be 21 days of national mourning which will end with his burial on my birthday September 3rd. Things remain very stable here but the implementation of the new government would prove to be troublesome. I am sure that violence will be avoided at all costs but as we have seen in other instances bathing these types of situations in prayer is essential. Pray that Zambia would continue to remain a beacon of stability in a somewhat unstable region and that the Christian heritage they claim would continue to be the cornerstone on which this great country rests. 

FYI—please check out our blog at: www.whitfieldwateringhole.blogspot.com as we have added some new feature that will allow you to give online and also sign up for email updates every time a new entry is posted. 

Thanks again for your continued support and prayers. We are so appreciative of your partnership.

His Servant

Luke

I think we're winning the war

This afternoon, Kerri came inside with the laundry, which had just been cleaned.  When she got it out of the dryer, she noticed a different smell in the laundry room.  She said it smelled like a dead animal.  So in stepped Brent to save the day.  I went out to the laundry and pulled the dryer away from the wall and looked in the vent and sure enough, there was a little furry dead rat.  We figured it had been there at least a day or two.  What stinks, besides the dead rat, was that we had to wash all of the clothes again and the ones that we had washed, we had to hang to dry.

Since we've laid poison out, I think we've killed about 5 adults and two babies.  So, I hope this is evidence that we are winning the war with these little critters!

Saturday Conference

This afternoon, I had the opportunity to speak to about 25 pastors and church leaders on the subject of church cell groups.   Things went pretty well except for a few glitches (One, I was late and, two, there was no electricity).  If I had been giving the presentation in the first few months of being here, I probably wouldn't have anticipated the electricity being out, but being here 6 months (now a veteran--yeah right!) I was prepared.  I just used the printout of the powerpoint presentation as reference and used a white board to draw all of the illustrations.  

During and after the presentation, there were a lot of questions from those in attendance.  That coupled with the fact that no one fell asleep made me feel like today was a success : )  In fact, several of those in attendance said that the conference gave them a whole new perspective on cell groups and that they looked forward to implementing some of the things that they learned from our time together.    Thank you so much for praying for me during the preparation and presentation of this material to these church leaders.  Please continue to pray that some of the things that were taught will be applied at the various churches in attendance and that God would be glorified as a result!

Ministry Stuff

Developing Curriculum

Please pray for me over the next several weeks.  I am developing some basic discipleship curriculum that is geared towards the African Church and new believers in the African church.

Cell Group Seminar

This coming Saturday, I will be teaching a seminar to a group of local pastors and church leaders on Cell Groups.  In addition to discussing the need for cell group ministry, I will be training these leaders on how to facilitate.  Please pray for me as I teach this seminar.

Piggery???

This past Monday, I sat down with a deacon at Great Commission who wants to start a piggery as a means to provide financially for his family.  His desire is to get this piggery up and running so he can leave his current job as a teacher and go into ministry full-time.  We projected all of his startup and operational costs.  He plans to begin in the next few months.

Hospital Visitation

Luke and I will begin visiting Lusaka Teaching Hospital this week with members of Great Commission.  Pastor Kandela expressed a desire for his church to start this ministry.  So, Luke and I will be doing whatever we can to assist them.

Discipleship for Pastors

Graham and I will be starting a Navigators 2:7 discipleship course with a group of 12 pastors and church leaders in the first week of September.  Our desire is to see these leaders equipped to then go and train the leaders in their church on how to disciple their church members.

Zambia Loses Their President

The President of Zambia, Levy Mwanawasa, died yesterday in a Paris hospital from a stroke that he suffered from nearly a month ago.  The government declared 7 days of mourning, which started yesterday, and will hold a funeral service sometime shortly after that period.  Since Zambia is still fairly young, when it comes to gaining their independence, this is actually the first president that they have ever lost.  Vice President, Banda, will step in for the next 90 days, at which point they will hold elections for a new president.  Please pray for Zambia during this time.

Mushingashi

Ok.  We made it back safely, but I do have some great stories to tell.  Instead of giving you every single detail of our camping trip to Mushingashi, I'll try to give you just the highlights.  If you are receiving this via e-mail, you will have to go to our website to view the slideshow: www.RobertsInZambia.Blogspot.com.

Leaving for Mushingashi

On Thursday night, I went to Luke's house to pack up the car.  We decided to do this a day early to make sure we could fit everything in or on the car.  As you have seen from the first picture in the slideshow above, we barely made it.  Gracyn and Payton (Luke's son) had to sit in the back seat on top of the tent and the food and hold a cooler in between them.  It was truly a sight.

Day 1

Setting Up Camp

When we arrived, we pulled out the cans of diesel we had packed in the car.  I decided that it would be better to go ahead and pour the diesel into the car so we didn't have to keep track of the cans while we were there.  The only problem was that while trying to pour the diesel, my hand slipped and, as a result, I got sprayed all over my head, face and pants.  Yes, I know.  I'm retarded.

A Walking Safari

After setting up our tent, we took all of the team's children on a walk up the Kafue river.  We ended up walking about 1/4 mile up the river before turning around.  What's significant about the 1/4 mile?  The next morning, our guard, who took us on the walk, told us that we had come within 100 meters of a Pride of lions (7 lions)!  I don't know what we would have done if they would have seen us with all of those little buffet items, oops, I mean children.

Fishing on the River

Luke was the fisherman of the group.  He brought his collapsable rod and reel with various fishing tackle.  He and I went down to the river right in front of camp with the kids and went fishing for about an hour.  Luke ended up catching 3 fish which we had the cook prepare for everyone to sample.  Later, that night, I was in camp and decided to shine a spotlight on the river in front of camp--the same place we were fishing earlier.  That's when I saw 3 different sets of eyes reflecting the light from the water.  Yep, crocs!  In fact, the next day, we saw a 13 foot croc a little ways up the river.  Let's just say that the kids didn't join us on any more fishing expeditions the rest of the trip.

Night Safari

You guessed it.  It was dark, our spotlights didn't provide enough light and we didn't see much.  Whoever thought of going out to look for animals in the dark?

Sleeping in the Tent

After a long day of driving, setting up camp and exploring the wilderness, Luke and I had the task of trying to get 5 children to fall asleep in a tent without the assistance of the wives.  We managed, but sleeping that night was a chore.  The ground was very hard and me, Caleb and Gracyn were trying to share two sleeping bags that were a bit too small.  As the night got colder, I kept waking up.  I think I ended up getting about 5 hours of sleep.

Day 2

Safari Drive

Most of our other teammates got up and went on safari before 6:00 am.  Luke and I were still trying to recover from the previous night of no sleep and didn't get out on safari until around 8:00 am.  As we drove, Luke caught something out of the corner of his eye.  It was a lion.  At this point, we left the driving trail and tried to maneuver the car around rocks and fallen trees to get as close as we could.  In the car was Luke, myself and our 5 children along with the guard from camp.  As we drove back towards the lion, we realized that she wasn't alone.  There were 6 others.  This was the first time that we realized that the tent we were sleeping in the night before with 5 kids was less than 1/4 mile away from 7 hungry lions!

Relaxing Afternoon

That afternoon, we took several of our teammates back out to see the lions, and then went back to camp to play games and just chill out.

Dinner Surprise

As we were eating dinner, the man in charge of maintaining the camp interrupted us and asked if we would like to come outside and see the lions.  Those same 7 lions had left their place 1/4 mile from the camp and decided to walk in our direction.  When we got outside, we watched as all 7 of them walked through the outskirts of the camp.  At this point, Gracyn, Caleb, Caleb's daddy and even the camp staff, didn't like the idea of the campers sleeping in their tents another night.  So, they graciously let some of the ladies on our team use one of their chalets and me, Luke and the kids used the group room.

Lunar Eclipse

After all of the excitement from the evening, the team gathered around the fire in the middle of camp.  We learned that there was going to be a lunar eclipse.  So, we put the children to bed and then the adults sat and watched it.  Pretty great way to cap the day off!

What in the world was that?

After watching the eclipse, Luke and I headed back into the group room and went to sleep for what we thought would be the night.  But much to our surprise, at 1:00 am we awoke to a loud shriek just outside, a few feet from the building.  A hyena had ventured into the campsite and made this awful noise.  If you have ever seen "Lord of the Rings," it sounds like one of the sounds dark lords made in the movie.  Luke and I both sprung up ready to defend the little ones, but the hyena had already made its way off into the night.  Luckily the kids never heard a sound, but needless to say, Luke and I had a hard time going back to sleep after that.

Day 3

Leaving

Overall, we had a wonderful weekend and experienced things in God's creation that will last as memories for the rest of our lives.  After breaking down camp and team devotions, we jumped into our vehicles and headed back to Lusaka.  Kerri was happy to have her hubby and children back safely and we were happy to see her again after our first African camping trip!  Thank you for praying for us while we were away.

Pray for our Campers!

This morning at 7:00, Brent, Caleb and Gracyn shoved off with Luke, Macy, Emma and Payton Whitfield to meet the rest of the team and then caravan to Mushingashi Game Conservancy.  They will spend the weekend with most of the rest of our team camping (yes in a tent - a huge 3 room one, though) and driving their own safaris in the park.  We decided that it would be best for Maddie and me to skip this one.  She is at such a busy age and always getting into things that just the thought of having her camping in the "wild" was stressful to me!  So, she and I will be enjoying some one-on-one time together, and I'll be enjoying some more alone time than usual.  I have been craving time to myself for quite a while now.  

I can't wait to post the picture of the guys and kids packed into our car like sardines.  It was hilarious!  Our car seats 7, so they had every seat filled and all their stuff packed under, behind, between and around the kids.  Gracyn and Payton were in the jump seats in back completely surrounded with pillows and sleeping bags.  If they were to have an accident, God forbid, those two would be just fine!  The bigger 3 kids were in the back seat with absolutely no leg space, and in addition, the top of the car was loaded too.  It was a sight, for sure.  Incidentally, don't worry, they are all wearing seat belts!  Thankfully their trip home should be much lighter.  I just hope they make it there without any horrid leg cramps or puking!

I'm sure they are going to have lots of fun, and we'll post some pictures as soon as the crew returns on Sunday.  In the mean time, would you please pray?  

• Pray for the safety of all our team members as they drive far away from civilization and return on Sunday.
  
• Pray for all the vehicles to function properly and for an abundance of diesel (it's been short here in Lusaka lately).
  
• Pray for their safety and health at Mushingashi and that God would keep critters and reptiles at a safe distance from them all. 
  
• Pray that all who are on the trip have fun and enjoy relaxing and enjoying God's creation!
• Pray that Brent and Luke won't lose their minds with 5 kids and no Mommies.
  
• Pray that God will give me some refreshing time in His presence this weekend.
  
• Pray for Elise and Tazi Whitfield as they return today from a week-long ministry trip to the bush.    
  

Thanks so much!  

Going on a short vacation

Our team is doing a team retreat this weekend.  We're headed to a place called Mushangashi, about 4 & 1/2 hours west of Lusaka.  We were told to pack fireworks if we didn't have a gun because lions have been known to wander around the outskirts of the campsite.  We'll also be on the Kafue river and yes, the river has Crocs!  I guess this isn't like camping in the States.  Is it?  

Due to the increased risks of malaria, Kerri is staying home with Maddie, but me, Caleb and Gracyn have been taking our malaria meds and will be heading out for our first African camping trip tomorrow.  Should be an experience!  Please pray for us and our team.  Traveling in Africa isn't as easy as it seems and even though my dad isn't on these roads, they are still dangerous.  (Love you dad!)  We'll post some pictures sometime after our return.  God Bless.

A Nice Surprise!

This past Saturday, we were invited to a church fellowship day with Great Commission.  Pastor Kandela asked our family and the Whitfields to come and spend the afternoon, eating, playing games and just hanging out.  What we didn't realize was that they had organized the event for us.  When we got there, we went to one of the rooms onsite and had a time of worship.  After worship, several of the members of the church, including leadership, stood up and shared testimonies of how we had been a blessing to them.  It felt kind of weird, because I feel like they have been more of a blessing to us than we could ever be a blessing to them.  After an afternoon lunch and some basketball, we headed home.  All in all, it was a very nice surprise and a very encouraging time of fellowship.

Choices, Choices, Choices

Kerri's mom took this picture on her visit here to Zambia.  Just thought it would be a good representation of the different choices we have when we go grocery shopping.  Whereas in the States, you can choose from Cocoa Puffs, Fruit Loops, Rice Krispies, Lucky Charms, Frosted Flakes, etc... here in Zambia we don't have that luxury.  If you love Kellogg's Cornflakes, this is the place for you!

Devotional, Ministry Tidbits & Khoswe (a Rat)

"Blessed are the people of whom this is true, blessed are the people whose God is the Lord." ~Psalm 144:15

We were reading over Psalm 144 this morning before staff meeting. The psalm is 15 verses long, but it was the last verse that stuck out to me. Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord. It just got me thinking about the richness that I have in my relationship with the Lord, the spiritual blessings that were bestowed on me by the sacrifice of Christ on my behalf.

I, then, started thinking about some of the trials that I have faced here and how, in my flesh, I have been more prone to complain instead of rejoice in the fact that through it all my God is the Lord--that no matter what the circumstances, no matter what the trial, I'm being led through it by the Lord. The same Lord that the Scriptures show as faithful and trustworthy, slow to anger and abounding in love.

It was as if God was trying to re-center my thoughts and affections on Him by reminding me that I am blessed, not materially, but spiritually. Not for anything that I have done, but for what Christ did for me at calvary. Anyways, I just thought I would share this verse and what God taught me today. So that hopefully it would be an encouragement to you.

Ministry Tidbits

• The cell group ministry with Great Commission is going well. There seems to be a regular group of attenders and we've been getting to know each other a lot more in recent weeks. Two leaders have emerged in the group and Great Commission hopes to launch a new cell group with one or both of these leaders in the near future.

• I will be leading a presentation on Cell Groups with a group of pastors and church leaders for various churches in the Chilenje area. Please pray for the leadership in attendance, that they would see the value in using cell groups as a means to disciple members of their church.

• Our guard Charles and I did an inventory count on his store and figured out his first month's profit.  In a month's time, his family had a profit of close to 265,000 kwacha (about twice what they were making with his wife breaking bricks). 

• This past Saturday, I went with Alex, one of the deacons from Great Commission, to his property in a village east of Lusaka in the town of Chongwe.  He is trying to start a piggery in order to provide enough income for him to go into ministry full time.  We'll meet later this week to do some cost estimates for starting the piggery.

Khoswe!

Finally, the Rat, or Khoswe in Nyanja.  This morning, our guard Charles found this little critter in the bottom of one of our outside trash cans.  We see them all the time, but can never seem to catch them.  Unfortunately for this one, he fell into a can he couldn't get out of.  Gracyn didn't take it too well when I gave Charles instructions to destroy the varmint.  I think she thought it would make a great pet!

Duh...

Do you wonder what we do just about every night, after dinner, giving the kids their baths and putting them to bed?  Here's what it looks like for us.  Took this picture with the camera on our beloved, the computer.  We're so boring.

Chocolate Explosion

Poor Maddie! We just had to take a picture of our little cutie after a hard morning. Maddie is growing more and more independent and loves running around without being held on to or confined. Lately, however, this has caused her some bumps and bruises. After church this morning she tripped on a crack in the sidewalk and face-planted into the concrete. Within a few minutes she had a huge goose egg on her forehead and a red, swollen nose. A few minutes of laying her head on Mommy's shoulder seemed to make her feel better, but we thought that she might like a little "pick-me-up" and gave her a couple of chocolate cookies as we were driving home. When I turned around to check on her I found her this way...asleep with a chocolate explosion on her face!

Getting our Zambian Drivers Licenses

I'm trying to be as detailed with this as possible.  So, you can see just what we go through to do simple things here in Zambia.

The other day, Kerri and I went to get our Zambian drivers licenses.  When we arrived, we got into line, but it was at this time that I realized that the DMV needed xerox copies of our passports.  You see in Zambia, they don't have xerox machines in the DMV.  You must either copy them yourselves at your home (which we could not do the morning of because of lack of electricity) or you have go to a photocopy store to get the copies.  So, in a mad dash, I ran to the photocopy store next door to the DMV.  Unfortunately, they did not have any electricity either.  So, one of our teammates told us of another photocopy store down the street.  Instead of getting out of line, Kerri held our place and I ran to get photocopies.  Luckily I found the place and it had electricity.

Once in line, we were told that we might have to take a test, but we weren't told what kind of test it would be.  Megan, who was escorting us through this whole procedure, assured us it would be no big deal.  When we entered the room with the examiners, I sat with one guy and Kerri sat with another. The guy I was sitting with asked me if I knew the 10 rules to driving. I said, I knew a bunch of rules from back in the States, but wasn't sure to which rules he was referring. He then said, "The 10 rules that everyone should know regardless of where they come from." When I told him that I was still unsure to which rules he was referring, he told me to go and buy the highway code book, know the 10 rules and come back another day. Funny enough, the guy that Kerri was sitting with didn't make her recite any of the 10 rules and she walked out with the necessary paperwork for the next step in the process. 

The story doesn't end there though. After being told to know the 10 rules to driving, I went outside and found someone who was selling photocopies of the 10 rules. I  paid him 10,000 kwacha (about $3) and then headed back inside to study.  After getting in the back of the line, I had about 10 minutes to try and memorize the 10 rules.  I can't remember any of them to include in this post, but I learned all ten in those few minutes and passed the test.  I can now see why there are so many bad drivers here in Zambia. If all you have to know are 10 rules, none of which really have anything to do with actual rules of the road, something must be wrong.

After passing the test, Kerri and I had to follow "normal" Zambian procedures to finish applying for our licenses.  We went to one line where they entered our information into a computer.  Yes, I said computer!   We then stood in another line to have our pictures taken, and yet another line to pay for processing.  After paying for processing, we learned that we would then have to drive across town (about 30 minutes away) to get signatures on the forms that they printed for us during processing.  To this day, I still do not know what these signatures were for.

So, we headed out to the car to drive across town.  But just then, a police officer chased us down, on foot of course, and told us that we needed to speak with someone inside.  Apparently, before taking these forms across town, we had to get a signature which gave us approval to take the forms out of the main department of motor vehicles.  So, we complied and got the necessary signatures from the men in the very first room we had been in.  That makes sense.  When we got across town, we found a small office with two employees in it.  One read the forms and stamped them while the other provided his signature.  Seems to me that they could have stationed these employees at the main DMV, but who am I to question their processes???

After leaving this office we headed back across town (another 30 minute drive) to get back into the same line where we had paid for processing before.  We handed him the signed forms, paid some more money and were printed receipts.  Our official licenses will be ready in a mere 3 months.  For those of you who complain about the DMV in the States (which I definitely did) I am here to officially tell you that you don't have anything to complain about.  This process started at 9:00 in the morning and ended at 4:00 that afternoon, still with no licenses in hand.

Something Cultural

So, this evening, Kerri and I had Alex Mwilamwe and his wife over for dinner.  While at our house, we asked the usual "Get to know you" questions (how did the two of you meet, how long have you been married, etc...).  It was during this time that we also asked him to tell us how he proposed to Mrs. Mwilamwe.  For the next 15 minutes, we sat there and just listened.  We thought we would summarize his story for you so that you could see a part of the culture here that not many people get the opportunity to see.

Here in Zambia, when a man wants to marry a woman, he must speak with the woman's family.  But unlike in the States where the man asks for the father's permission, here in Zambia, he is entering into negotiations.  That's right, I said negotiations.  Alex, when he went to ask for his wife's hand in marriage took his cousin with him as an arbitrator.  When the two of them arrived, Alex kept quiet (as is the customary thing to do) while his cousin did the negotiations.  First, the father told them both that they wouldn't discuss anything until they had eaten a meal together.  So, they ate lunch.

After lunch, the father had his team of counselors come in for the negotiations.  You see, here in Zambia, the husband to be must pay a "bride price" to the family of the bride in order to have her hand in marriage.  The negotiations are over what price, usually in Cows, Chickens, Goats, etc... the man will pay for the bride--hence the term "bride price."  In Alex's case, the father wasn't even ready to discuss the bride price until Alex paid for the right to have the negotiations.  So, Alex gave his soon-to-be father-in-law money to buy a suit for himself and a chitenge for his wife.  After paying this, the negotiations began.

The first offer, by the bride's family, which was made only after a long prelude of compliments and displays of appreciation, was three cows.  After receiving this offer, Alex and his cousin went outside to discuss things and then came back in with a counter offer of 1 cow, which was also preceded by the same type of compliments.  At this point, the bride's family left the room to discuss it amongst themselves.  They came back in with a final offer of 2 cows, to which Alex happily agreed.  At this point, after both parties had accepted the terms, the family gave Alex his wife and they went home officially married!  A little different than in the States, huh?

I think Kerri walked away from this conversation wishing that I had worked that hard for her.  I came away glad that I didn't have to negotiate a bride price with her mother (who rightfully thinks that her daughter is the best daughter in the world :).  Trust me, it would have been WAY too high!

Zambia News

Ever want to know what's happening in Zambia.  From politics, economics, to sports and to peoples opinions of these things, we've found a great site.  Check it out sometime.  It has helped us to be informed and to understand what some of the people here are thinking about everyday life in Zambia.

Go to:  www.lusakatimes.com

Mom's Day Out

Several weeks ago one of our dear teammates, Karen Singleton, approached me about an idea she'd had to minister to us who are homeschooling on the AZ team. Karen has 4 grown children who she homeschooled and so she understands the ups and downs of schooling our own kids. She came up with an idea (a divine inspiration in my view) to have a Mom's Day Out once a month. On this day she would host all of the homeschooled AZ kids at her house for a day of learning and fun together, while we moms get the day off! Karen's thought was that it would not only minister to us moms, but also give her a "grandma fix".

So, this past Wednesday was the inaugural Mom's Day Out. Caleb and Gracyn attended and had a great time at Auntie Karen's house.

They had a great time doing some crafts and drawing in special books made just for them!

They learned about the Ethiopian who was the first missionary to Africa and even got to dress up in Ethiopian clothes!

Isn't she precious!

Isn't he scary! 

They played on the playground at Makeni Ecumenical Center, where the Singletons live, and had a blast together! All day long after I picked them up the kids were singing songs that Auntie Karen taught them and telling me about what they learned.

Brent stayed home with Maddie that day so I truly had the day off and hung out with Elise Whitfield the whole day...sitting and talking in a quiet house!

Thanks Auntie Karen!
 

Update on Water and Funny Story

Update on Water:
Just after putting the post up yesterday asking everyone for prayers, our water came back on. We all did a little dance in the kitchen when water started coming out of the sink. Thank you for your prayers.

Funny Story:
The other day, there was an article in the Daily Mail, a major news publication here in Lusaka. After reading it, we thought we had to share it with you. As you will see by the article, Animism is so prevalent in the culture that it even affects the headline stories here in the newspaper. I literally laughed out loud as I read the story.

Wizard Breaks Into Handymans

"A 80-year-old wizard from Nchelenge broke into Handymans Paradise last night. He was found in the early hours of this morning. Asked why he broke into the place, he responded that he needed a high powered welding machine to weld his flying broomstick and the only place he was sure to find it was at Handymans Paradise. He said he could not wait till morning because he only flies at night hence he had no option. He also said he could have got out on time but was mesmerized by the amount of high quality power tools stocked in Handymans Paradise such as Metabo. The proprietor of Handymans Paradise dropped all the charges against the wizard because he was convinced that the wizard was telling the truth about his shop and he urged everybody to come to Handymans Paradise for durable and high quality power tools. Handymans Paradise is simply a bond between men and hardware."

Letter from Us to You

Dear Friends and Family,

Thank you for praying for us over these past few months as we have been seeking the Lord for guidance as to where to deliver our fourth child this December. Since finding out about the pregnancy, we’ve kind of been all over the map.

At times, we felt like staying here and at other times, we felt like going home. But instead of basing our decisions off of our emotions, we decided to seek proper medical advice, pray and then let the Lord lead.

All of this being said, we’ve now made a decision concerning where to have the baby. The Lord has given us both peace about the decision and our ACTION leadership has given its approval and support. Certainly not least of all, the decision will make our families very happy :). On November 13th, we will be arriving in Columbia for a 2-3 month visit—to have the baby, catch up with many of you and also share with others about our ministry here in Zambia.

There were many things that led us to this decision, but please know that we wouldn’t have had the clarity we’ve had on this issue without your prayers. Thank you so much for continually lifting us up to the Father.

One of the benefits of us coming home is that we can now, with more clarity, share what God is doing in Zambia and how He seems to be using us in ministry here. If you would like us to come and share with your church, growth group or any other group, please let us know, as we will be putting together a schedule for our time in the States.

Thank you again for standing behind us as we pursue making His glory known here in Zambia. We look forward to being with you over the Holidays!

In Sincere Appreciation,
Brent & Kerri Roberts

Still No Water

Going on 4 days now without water.  Luckily, one of our teammates brought over a drum which we filled at another teammate's house, but life ain't easy.  The drum should last us about 2 days, but the kids and adults are being bathed out of buckets and we're running low on drinking water.  Please pray for this situation.  The water company hopes to have the issue resolved tonight, but that's also what they've been telling us the past 3 days.  Anyways, we're alive and well.  So, no complaints.  We're just looking forward to having running water again!

Interesting Tidbits...

Have you ever been in a car with someone who is driving for the first time?  Was that person nearing his or her thirties?  Well last week, our guard Charles and I were on our way back from town after doing some shopping.  When I got to our street, I kind of surprised Charles.  I stopped the car, switched seats with him and let him take a turn at the wheel.  I think he enjoyed it, but it was kind of a scary event.  In the 1/4 mile drive down our street, he almost ran over someone's shrubs and almost clipped the gate coming into our driveway.  But the smile on his face said it all!  I think he really enjoyed his first driving experience.

I tried to get Kerri's picture for this post, but she wouldn't let me.  We have now officially been without water for 2 days.  Something happened with the power company which disabled the pumps for the City Water department.  We've been borrowing water from neighbors up the street who were not affected by the outage, but it hasn't been enough to get everything done here at the house (i.e. shower for Brent).  They said that the pumps to our part of the neighborhood have been turned back on and we should have water soon, but the last couple of days have been a small trial!

Ministering to the Whole Man

Wilbur & Fern

Action Zambia works primarily with compound churches--usually the poorest of the poor.  I can't begin to tell you how many times we have heard pastors and church leaders share with us their daily struggle to make ends meet.  At a meeting, a few months ago, with several of these leaders, one pastor stood up and asked a question that has haunted me since that day and continues to drive me to find ideas of how to help these leaders provide for themselves and their families.  

He said, "Recently, I had a prostitute that said she wanted to come to God, but if she did, she would have to stop the only thing that was feeding herself and her children."  He then asked, "how do I tell this prostitute to stop what she is doing, when I'm not equipped to help her provide for herself and her family in a different way that honors God?  When I go without food sometimes days at a time and cannot provide for my own family, how can I help this woman?"  Tough question.

In Scripture, there are many references to ministering to the whole man, not only sharing the hope that we have in Jesus, but also looking for ways to better our brothers' circumstances.  You have references to caring for widows and orphans, looking out for the poor, bearing one anothers burdens, etc... the examples abound.  So, how can we come alongside a pastor like this and equip him not only for ministry, but also look for ways to improve his livelihood?  This is the million dollar question and the one which has been pushing me onwards to look for other ways of generating income here in Zambia.  

The first area of research: Pigs!!!

Apparently, piggeries can be a very lucrative business here in Lusaka.  One piglet can sell for as much as 100,000 kwacha (about $30 usd) and a full-grown adult can garner as much as 500,000 kwacha (about $150-$160).  My goal over the next several months is to document information on the costs associated with raising & breeding pigs as well as to find out as much as I can about the market here in Lusaka.  I'm trying to learn how the business works so that I might then be able to teach others.

Over the next several months, I hope, not only to find out about this industry, but others as well, all with the goal of ministering to the whole man here in Zambia.  Please pray for us as a team as I am not the only one researching ways for income generation.  We feel like this is an area of ministry that God wants us to pursue in the near future.  So, we are trying to be diligent in our research.  Pray that we would find effective ways of income generation in this broken economy.  Pray that we would then be able to equip pastors and church leaders to financially provide for their families.

Store Update

I just wanted to give an update on our guard Charles' new business.  As I wrote about a few weeks ago, he started a "Katemba" which is a small neighborhood grocery stand in hopes of providing a more stable income and less labor intensive job for his wife.  The other day, he took the time to do a count of his inventory and then we sat down and calculated his profits.  Through three weeks he has sold over 500,000 kwacha worth of groceries (approximately $150) and profited over 130,000 kwacha (approximately $40).  If his wife had been breaking brick for local cement mixers, she would have had to work 4 & 1/2 - 5 weeks to make the same amount of money!

Since opening the store, Charles has slowly been learning how to keep records for his business.  Each morning, we meet for a few minutes.  He prepares the books the night before and I check them for errors.  When we first started, he couldn't even get through one sheet without making several mistakes.  The past three days, he has made no mistakes and has finally grasped how to track inventory and calculate his profits.  I wish you could have seen the smile on his face when we reviewed the books today and found no errors!

Please continue to pray for this family.  Pray that the business would be a means of providing for this family.  Pray also for Charles.  He has learned how to use about half of the sheets that he was given for monitoring his new business.  Pray that he will be able to learn the other half.  Pray also for me, that I would be an encouragement to him both physically and spiritually as we learn together.

Outreach & Immigration

Outreach:

This morning, I was supposed to be providing transport for some of the leadership of Great Commission as well as a pastor who is visiting from the States.  They were scheduled to speak at a local high school and the visiting pastor was the guest speaker.  When I arrived at pastor Michael Kandela's home to pick everyone up, I found out that the pastor visiting from the States was on a medical mission in Chongwe and would be unable to attend.  So, as I drove to the school, it quickly became clear that Michael wanted me to take this man's place and speak to these high school kids.  

When we arrived, we were escorted to the Head Master's office to wait for the children to be assembled.  You see, when they told me that I would be speaking to a couple of classes, I thought that they would escort me into some classrooms to speak, but that wasn't the plan and the classes turned out to be entire grades (the 9th and 10th grades of this school).  So, unprepared, still with a "hat head" (I was wearing a baseball cap that I was instructed to remove) I was escorted in front of about 200 high school students.  I shared with them about how I came into a relationship with God when I was their age.  I also shared from Romans 6:23, which teaches that because of our sin, we earn spiritual death, separation, from God, but because of the gift that God provided in Christ through his sacrifice on the cross, those who repent of their sin and trust in Him can have eternal life.  

After I spoke, I invited those who wanted to respond to the message to stay around afterwards to talk with the leadership of Great Commission.  Many of the students stayed afterwards to find out more about the church and several of them prayed, led by pastor Kandela, to place their faith in Christ!  Please pray for these youth.  Pray that they will get plugged into a local church, if not Great Commission, another church that teaches the Bible.  Pray that the word of God that was planted in their hearts today will grow in good soil so that they will be firmly rooted and mature in their faith.

Immigration:

So, on a totally different note, a little before we arrived on the field, one of our teammates applied, on our behalf, for our work permit.  This past 5 months, I have had a routine.  I would visit immigration, scan the work permit book to see if my permit had been processed (Yes, I said book, because nothing here is computerized.).  When I found that our work permit had not been processed, I would go to desk # 8 (There are 12 desks each staffed by a person performing a different role for immigration) and get our visas stamped with an extension for another 30 days.  After about 3 months, I would arrive at immigration expecting to go to desk #8.  I really didn't expect to see my name in the work permit book.  Well, today, I got to go to another desk! My work permit had been processed and we are now officially legal residents of Zambia!

It's Difficult Sometimes

"Then Jesus said to His disciples, if anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.  For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it."  ~Matthew 16:24-25

This week has been difficult for Kerri and me in many ways.  This week we have had two close friends, back in the States, in the hospital for different reasons--one had surgery, and the other had her 3rd child.  Then on the tail-end of these events, Kerri's mom left from her visit here to return to the States.  I think the hardest part of being on the mission field is being away from those we love.  We both wanted to be at the hospital to support and encourage our friends and we both miss our family and friends very much.  That's why when we sat down to write about something tonight, this verse from Matthew came to mind.  

We're not trying to glorify our commitment to the Lord, but, in fact, share how uncommitted we sometimes feel.  Sometimes it feels like the walls are beginning to close in on us.  Sometimes it feels like we're all alone in a strange world.  It's during these times that we have to cling to this verse.  It's also during these times that we have to cling to the fact that you are out there supporting us and sustaining us through your prayers.  I think the events of this week have just made us a little "extra clingy".  

Since we mentioned them, we would like to ask that you pray for our friends.  Pray for Carrie Ballentine as she recovers from back surgery.  Pray for Jennifer Brock as she recovers from a c-section and also for their family as they welcome baby Elaina into their home.  Pray for Mimi as she recovers from jet lag and deals with missing her grand babies all over again.

Thank you so much for being such an encouragement to our family.  We truly couldn't be here doing what the Lord has called us to do without you!

Vacation Pics

Sorry for not posting the past few days.  As I said in the previous post, we were on vacation in Livingstone.  It was a nice break to get out of Lusaka and just spend time with family.  The first day of our trip, we visited Victoria Falls (also called Mosi-O-Tunia in the local language meaning "The Smoke that Thunders."  And as you will see by some of the pictures, we couldn't see the entire falls due to the massive amounts of mist (the smoke) that the falls created.  What we could see, though, was truly amazing.  

After visiting the falls, we headed over to Mosi-O-Tunia national park for a drive yourself Safari.  As we were driving into the park, a herd of elephants walked right out in front of our car.  They had just swam across the Zambezi river.  The park, though small, was packed with wildlife and was a good warm up to the safari we would be going on the next day.  Here are some of the pictures from our first day:

On the second day of the trip, we had arranged for a safari in Botswana at Chobe Lodge and National Park.  So, we got up early in the morning to take a taxi to the border.  At the border, we had to be shuttled over to Botswana by boat, because the two countries are separated by river.  Everything went fairly smoothly and we were at the park by 10:00 am.  The first part of the safari was a boat safari on the Chobe river.  We saw everything from hippos, to crocs, to lions, to African buffalo, to elephants.  In fact, on three separate occasions, a herd of elephants swam across the river right in front of our boat.  Chobe has one of the largest elephant populations in all Africa, topping 100,000.  So, as you will see by our pictures, we saw tons of elephants.  After the boat the safari, we ate lunch at the lodge and then headed out on a land safari.  On this tour, we saw wart hogs, giraffe, lions, more elephants and other various African game.  After finishing up at the park, we headed back to the border and back to Zambia.  Here are some pictures from our day in Chobe:

There was one interesting thing that happened at the end of our trip.  When we arrived at the Zambian border, our taxi driver, who promised to be there waiting for us was no where to be found.  So, we had to quickly find another taxi before sunset.  Everything went ok though and we made it back safely to our lodge that evening.  It definitely was a fun trip!

Picture of the day...

While we were visiting Victoria Falls, I took a picture of Mimi sitting down on some steps.  What I didn't realize, at the time, was that there was a sign on the ground behind her.  The sign read, "Baboon Sanctuary."  We all got a laugh out of this one.

Happy 4th

Just wanted to put a quick post on our site.  Mimi, Kerri, Myself and the children arrived in Livingstone, Zambia yesterday afternoon.  After 5 months of settling in and doing ministry in Zambia and Kerri's mother visiting, we thought it was a good time for a vacation.  Today we went to see Victoria Falls (one of the 7 natural wonders of the world).  The falls were absolutely breathtaking.  The pictures don't do it justice, but I'll post them anyway. 

After seeing the falls, we went on a drive your own safari.  While we were on the safari, a herd of 11 elephants swam across the Zambezi River and crossed the road in front of us.  Really cool!  Tomorrow, we drive to the border to go on a safari in Botswana.  We'll post a slide show with all of our pictures shortly after the trip is over.  So, please check back.

Ministry Stuff

This evening, we had our weekly cell group meeting at the home of Alex Mwelembwe's.  Alex is a deacon at Great Commission.  We mixed things up tonight.  Instead of doing bible study, we played a game "2 Truths, 1 Lie."  The object of the game is for everyone to share two truth's about themselves along with a lie.  It is up to the group to then figure out which statement is a lie.  Here is some of the things we learned about each other:

• Pastor Kandela has walked 100 kilometers in less than 18 hours.
  
• Deacon Alex, when he was a child, threw hot chili powder into the eyes of a girl at her birthday party.
• Another brother by the name of Michael wasn't involved in a minibus accident.
• Henry is 16, not 14 years old.
• Amayi Jenny doesn't have 4 children.
• Carol goes to Kafue National Park to do evangelism; and
• Abusa Kandela didn't eat a snake as his 1 lie claimed he had.

It was a good change of pace and very encouraging to see my Zambian brothers and sisters laughing and sharing stories about themselves.  Please pray for this group.  Pray that we would grow in our relationships with the Lord and with each other.  Pray that Luke and I would be able to equip these believers to also share with others what the Lord is doing in their lives.