Kilometers for Kids

(Luke Whitfield, Brent Roberts, Steve Allen, Elise Whitfield, Megan Bloemker, Stephanie Allen & Kerri Roberts)

In Zambia, over 50% of the population is 16 years old and younger. Many of these children live in abject poverty. In Lusaka, the capital city, there are no parks or safe recreational areas. Children must resort to playing in garbage heaps, cholera infested waterholes and other dirty places where space is available.

(If you are receiving this post via email, go to: www.RobertsinZambia.Blogspot.com to view the above video. It's a must see!)

Action Zambia (AZ) is trying to address this issue. AZ has been blessed with a 22 acre piece of land (Known as Ciyanjano) on the outskirts of Lusaka. This past January, we started a three year development plan for this camp facility for Zambian churches and the youth in their communies. The vision is to have a place where compound churches (churches located in Lusaka's poorest districts) can bring children for week long camps to learn more about the love of God that is found in Christ and have fun while doing it. Think about it. Children who come from families where the average income is $1 or less a day, being able to escape their world for a short time and have a chance to just be a kid in a loving and safe environment.

August 29th of this year, 7 members of our team will be headed to Zimbabwe for a marathon. We will embark on the 26.2 mile (or 42 kilometer) race (The Victoria Falls Marathon) as a fund raiser for children camps in Zambia. We are calling the event Kilometers for Kids. Our hope is to raise enough money to build one of the two remaining camp sites for Ciyanjano. We have dedicated a website to the event: www.kilometersforkids.info. This site just gives additional information for the race as well as a place to make donations. Please take a look if you get a chance!

Before Megan, After Megan

We've had chickens disappearing from the yard over the past few weeks. While we knew the dogs were the culprits for most of the little ones, some of the bigger ones started to go missing. Well, yesterday we finally found out. An owl was up in one of our mango trees after a night of hunting in our back yard. So, we leave you with these two pictures taken before and after a visit from our teammate Megan.

Before Megan

After Megan

I think the chickens are safe now. I just don't know about the rest of Zambia!

Balipo Banthu

(To view the slideshow, please go to our website: www.RobertsinZambia.Blogspot.com)

In Zambia, when you go to a home to visit and children are outside, it's not outside of the norm to say Balipo Banthu. It means "are there people here?" It seems like a simple and innocent phrase, but it is fed by a large cultural issue that is really impacting the future of the church in Zambia.

Children here are often not recognized by adults. In a lot of cases, children are not seen as being able to understand the things of God until they reach their teenage years. Did you hear that? This means, that in a lot of churches, there are no ministries geared towards children. There is little to no investment in youth. They are expected to just come and sit through the service and be quiet while the adults, who can understand the things of God, attend the worship service.

Here is the catch. We live in a culture, where over half of the population is 16 years old or younger. The adults are the minority! By the time children reach the "perceived" age of understanding it is mostly too late. These children need investment now, because they are the future of the church.

This is the vision that a group of missionaries have caught onto here in Zambia. Some missionaries from ACTION along with other friends and other missionaries have started a movement named: "Called for His Purpose". Their intent is to minister to those who have been forgotten and neglected over the years. This past week, Kerri and Elise were part of a night of worship. The event attracted over 200 youth from the community who have a heart to worship God. There are other events planned in the future, but this was the initial launch of Called.

Please be in prayer for this ministry.

Waiting in Line for a Body

This past weekend was a tough one, but one that is all too common in Zambia. Our guard Charles's sister Barbara Kangwa lost her brief struggle with meningitis. Her husband had previously passed away, meaning that all 5 of her children are now double-orphaned. As I was talking to Charles the morning of the funeral, he said something that really shook me. It was very non-chalaunt in delivery, but the implications were significant!

He said that they had to get to the mortuary that morning very early, before it opened, because if they didn't, they would have had to wait in line for Barbara's body for a better part of the day. Did you catch that? Wait in line for a body? The impact that poverty, malnutrition, poor healthcare, and disease has had on this country is hard to fully convey. But even after his saying this, I didn't fully grasp its implications until we arrived at the graveyard. As you can see in the picture above, when we arrived there were a bunch of people. Probably close to 500. Barbara's funeral was one of several that were to take place that day.

At the grave site, the pastor preached a small message and then they lowered the coffin into the newly dug hole. After about another half hour of shoveling dirt, the hole along with the coffin were covered and family members were invited forward to place flowers on the grave. This was the toughest part emotionally, because the first to place flowers where the orphaned children.

As I thought about this situation, I was struck with the reality that this is life in Zambia. We live in a culture where people face hopeless situations on a daily basis, where people can't find work because of 70% unemployment and where children die from treatable diseases. Where almost a quarter of the population is HIV positive, where there over 500,000 orphans, and where life expectancy peaks at 38 years, a culture where you have to wait in line for a body because there are too many deaths!

And because of this, I am convinced even more about the need of the gospel for Zambians. Jesus Christ is their only hope! Without Him, there's suffering and then there's eternal suffering. Without Him, people here die and all they have to look forward to is hell. But with Him, there is so much more. With Him, there is Joy in the midst of suffering. With him there might be some suffering, but it will be far outweighed by the eternal reward that is awaiting in heaven for those who trust Him with their lives.

Please continue to pray for the family as they mourn the loss of Barbara. They are stuck with some tough decisions that they have to make concerning who will get the children. Most likely they will be split up amongst family members. Pray that they would have wisdom in knowing who to send them with. And pray for the family members that will be accepting these children into their homes. Pray that they will be treated with love.

Thank you

Update on Barbara

Thank you for those of you who have been praying for Charles' sister, Barbara. Unfortunately, last night at midnight, she passed away. She was 26 years old and she leaves behind five children (the most recent, a three month old baby). Please pray for Charles and his family during this time. Please, also, pray for us as we seek to minister to this dear family.

Thank you

Prayer Request

Please be in prayer for our guard Charles' sister. She is suffering from meningitis and is currently non responsive. This evening, she has been transported over to the primary hospital for spinal taps and medication, but things don't look good at the moment. Please pray for the family, for wisdom in seeking treatment and for peace throughout the process. Pray for healing from the "Great Physician." And pray for Kerri and I, as we seek to help, but not interfere.

Thank you for your prayers,

~Brent & Kerri

Funnies of the week

Lazarus doesn't rise again

Many of you were probably amused by the story of the chicken revival a week or two ago. Because the little chick was raised from the dead, we aptly named him Lazarus. Well, this morning, we found out that Lazarus doesn't rise twice. Apparently, the mother hen got into a shelter that the little chicks couldn't get into. Instead of doing something about it, she slept on the inside and they on the outside. Needless to say, we think Chiku (our dog) made a nice meal of them!

Can we get another?

Since we first brought Thomas Mwila into our home, he has had a habit of climbing into bed with Caleb in the middle of the night. Every morning, Caleb would wake up with a sleeping buddy and every morning, he would come to us to complain. We've been doing all that we can think of to try and encourage Thomas to stay in his bed, some nights with success, some nights without, but for the most part, he has still been doing it. Well, last night as Kerri was putting the boys to bed, she laid down with Thomas and just talked. She was telling him that we were going to have to start punishing him if he didn't stay in his bed. It was the second part of this conversation that got interesting.

Thomas asked "So, when you brought me home from House of Martha, what was that called?"

Kerri replied, "Adoption."

Thomas: "Adoption, yes, that was what it was. Do you think we can go back to House of Martha and adopt another boy?"

Kerri: "Why Thomas?"

Thomas: "So I can have someone to sleep with."

Needless to say, we died laughing.

A Terrorist?

One of our good friends here, a missionary with another organization has had problems getting his income wired from the States. After a month of various trips to the bank and getting to the point where they really were struggling to pay the bills, they found out why. Apparently, he had somehow been put on the United States Terrorist Watch List. If you knew our friend, you would understand how ridiculous that really is. I guess you should all feel safer knowing that our government is now putting missionaries on the Terrorist Watch list.

Flooding in Lusaka

The rains have taken their toll on many families in Lusaka. The picture you are seeing above is at Lusaka's Independence Stadium. Currently, there are over 250 families who have been forced from their homes because of flooding in the various compounds. They are staying in tents which have been provided by the Red Cross.

Our very own, Luke Whitfield, was visiting the tent town trying to determine how we might be of assistance, when he was approached by a local news station for an interview. The video shows the flooding and some of the families which are living in these temporary structures.

To view the video, click here.

Please be in prayer for these families and also be in prayer for our ministry. Our ministry exists to equip local churches for ministry to their communities. We are trying to mobilize the pastors and churches associated with our programs to help these people. Over the next few weeks, they will be trying to determine the best and most practical ways to reach out to the families living in these tents. Once they decide how they are going to help, they will then be tasked with motivating the members of their churches to participate both financially and physically in this ministry. Pray that God would provide these pastors and church leaders wisdom as they seek to minister to their community. And pray that the Zambian believers in their churches with will also catch the vision.

He is Risen!!!

Tomorrow morning we celebrate the most important day of the year to us as Christians. The resurrection of Jesus Christ!

Well, in light of the Resurrection, I thought I'd share a little resurrection story that happened here at our house yesterday. I'm pretty sure it will give you a laugh! I must preface with 2 facts about our household: 1) we have a lot of chickens, and 2) Ellie constantly escapes the house whenever a door is left open and we find her toddling around the yard getting into all kinds of trouble.

So, yesterday afternoon I was in the kitchen when I heard Brent say, "No, Ellie, no!" When I walked outside to see what was happening, I saw Brent standing with his back to me, swinging something in his hands and then hunching over whatever it was. As I walked around him I saw him holding a baby chick in his hands and blowing into its beak!! Yes, he was. Of course I was a little dumbfounded for a second, but then managed to ask, "What ARE you doing?"

"Ellie killed it, " he said. "She had it in her hand squeezing it really hard, and when I picked it up it was dead." (It was really limp and lifeless as I looked at it too) "So you're giving it CPR," I asked with a giggle. "Yes," he said, "why not?" So, there he stood giving the chicken mouth-to-beak and swinging it like we had learned to do with newborn puppies that needed to be revived. After a few minutes the chick opened its eyes and began to perk up. After a few more minutes it stood up in Brent's hand, and after a few more minutes it was back with its mother and siblings roaming around the yard scratching for food! Alive and well!

I thought only my husband would be so crazy as to do CPR on a dead chick. I certainly wouldn't have! It gave us a good laugh, but also demonstrated a simple spiritual truth: "But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved (Ephesians 2:4-5)." God picked us up when we were dead - not struggling, not sick, not dying - dead and unable to do anything to save ourselves. Then He breathed the life of Christ into us and brought us back to life. But not just any old life, life IN Christ. Just read through the first chapter of Ephesians and see what the life IN Christ means! What a gift! This is what we celebrate on Easter. Jesus is risen and we can be risen with Him to walk in a new life! Thanks for the illustration, honey!

Happy Birthday Zambian Style

If you know anything about the Roberts family, it's that we celebrate just about all of our birthdays in about two months time (March - April). So far, we have celebrated my mom's, Kerri's, my dad's, my niece Abby's, Caleb's and now Maddie's. We have started a tradition this year (partly because we have so many kids) of taking the birthday boy/girl on a date with mommy and daddy.

So, today, we took Maddie to an early movie and then to lunch at one of the local restaurants: Mike's Kitchen. This particular restaurant does a birthday song that I think all restaurants in the States should adopt. Take a look and enjoy!

If you are receiving this post via email, you can view the video at the following link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUcs9LHTkbY

Happy Birthday Kerri

In Zambia, they have a birthday tradition. On the big day, your friends and family will sometimes surprise you during the day by splashing you with water. It is a tradition that us missionaries have really taken to heart : ).

Well, yesterday morning, Kerri woke up to go running with some of her friends. After opening the gate for them to drive in, they had a surprise. Stephanie and Elise had buckets of water waiting to welcome Kerri into her 33rd year of life.

As you can see from the pics, they had a good time wishing their good friend a happy birthday, Zambian style!

Heavenly Benefits

Taken from: "I Never Made a Sacrifice" published on Desiring God Ministries website.

"Today is David Livingstone’s birthday. He was born March 19, 1813. He gave his life to serve Christ in the exploration of Africa for the sake of the access of the gospel.

On December 4, 1857, he spoke the sentence that has made the greatest impact on me. It is one of the clearest applications I have seen of Jesus’ words in Mark 10:29-30.

Jesus said,

Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.

Here is what Livingstone said to the Cambridge students about his “leaving” the benefits of England:

For my own part, I have never ceased to rejoice that God has appointed me to such an office. People talk of the sacrifice I have made in spending so much of my life in Africa. . . . Is that a sacrifice which brings its own blest reward in healthful activity, the consciousness of doing good, peace of mind, and a bright hope of a glorious destiny hereafter? Away with the word in such a view, and with such a thought! It is emphatically no sacrifice. Say rather it is a privilege. Anxiety, sickness, suffering, or danger, now and then, with a foregoing of the common conveniences and charities of this life, may make us pause, and cause the spirit to waver, and the soul to sink; but let this only be for a moment. All these are nothing when compared with the glory which shall be revealed in and for us. I never made a sacrifice."

(Cited in Samuel Zwemer, "The Glory of the Impossible" in Perspectives on the World Christian Movement, Ralph Winter and Stephen Hawthorne, eds. [Pasadena: William Carey Library, 1981], p. 259. Emphasis added.)

A Cooking First

Since this entry is about cooking, I have to start by letting you know this is Brent and not Kerri. We've probably mentioned it before, but in Zambia, the staple food is Nshima. Zambians take a type of corn meal known as mealie and mix it into boiling water to make Nshima. Just to give you perspective, Nshima is like grits, just much thicker. When it is fully cooked, you then, using a large spoon, divide it into smaller portions as seen above. These portions are then used to eat with other things like chicken, cabbage, greens, etc...

Well, we've been here over two years now. So, I thought I would give it a shot! Kerri was out one evening and I couldn't find anything else to cook for myself and the kids. So, I made chicken, tomato sauce for dipping and Nshima. Much to my, the kids & Kerri's surprise, everything turned out well. Yeah Brent : )

We Love Our Furniture : )

So, a couple of weeks ago, I was in the living room playing games with Caleb when I heard a loud crash and several screams. I immediately jumped up and ran into the bedroom to see what the fuss was all about. Well, we no longer have a desk. We knew it was on its "last legs," because it had been wobbling for weeks. But it finally gave way to the weight of the books and one small child trying to climb up into mommy's lap as she sat at the computer. Fun stuff at the Roberts household.

Happiness Depends On

This was posted by our director, Tim Hilty. I thought I would share it with the rest of you:

Last week a pastor in our mission’s pastors training classes passed through what most American’s would consider a tragedy. His wife gave birth to a baby boy via an emergency C-section operation. During the operation doctors and nurses told him to go home and wait for the outcome. They told him that the procedure was 50/50 survival for wife and child.

The next morning he returned to the hospital and found wonderful news waiting. His wife and child were okay… His boy was born with birth defects but the prognosis for future procedures seemed good. A week passed and all seemed well… He and his wife were exhausted from taking care of a newborn and recovering from the invasive surgery. Friday night they went to sleep and in the morning they found the baby struggling to breath.

They rushed to the government hospital but their son died on the way. The doctors pronounced the child BID (Brought In Dead). What started out as just another morning turned into a visit to the police, mortuary and hasty funeral service. In Zambia, children who are days / weeks old are not given the typical funeral. The pastor and his wife had not yet given the boy a name so the government documents indicated “son of…” Within hours, the death had been processed by the authorities and burial plot was given to the family in crisis. By 13 hrs. that afternoon, everything was finalized. The pastor and his wife returned to their home, stunned and exhausted.

I visited them the following day and sat with them in their home, me being mostly quiet. Lots of family members were packed into every room of the small house. Mothers, sisters, nieces, uncles sat on the floor and we all sat in silence. Communication was evident, soul to soul, spirit to spirit. Being surrounded by community like that would have been uncomfortable to me if I were the one loosing a child. I would probably want to be left alone. Not so in Zambia, the community shows profound solidarity and draws close to the grieving.

Looking around the room I saw the faces… and wondered how the happenings of the day before could possibly be true. The pastor was warm and appreciative of me passing through his place. He shared with me his deep conviction of the “supremacy of Christ” even in the midst of loss. He shared how he felt the tangible comfort of his Savior. As he talked I glanced over at his front door… A paper had been posted there at eye-level – no doubt put there deliberately. I’ll never forget what it read:

“Happiness depends on happennings, joy depends on Jesus.”

Already, the pastor had begun his fight for joy… in the midst of everything he had decided to soldier on.

Our Loss is His Gain

When Kerri and I first arrived in Zambia, we started visiting Capital Assembly church of Kingsway Christian Ministries. The pastor, Gilbert Masonde, trained at Columbia International University in the States and was a friend of two of the elders in our home church. While attending this church, we have made some new friends, including the Honorable Mishek Bonshe. The title is in reference to his position in the Zambian government. He was a deputy minister and appointed to Parliment by the previous president of Zambia.

About two months ago, Mr. Bonshe (Ba Bonshe, in Nyanja), was diagnosed and operated on for some type of intestinal cancer. The surgery at the time seemed to be successful, but as the past few months passed by, he seemed to get weaker. Saturday, a week ago, while on a trip to Nigeria, he passed away. Aside from being a leader in government, this man was a pillar in the church. He always seemed to have a kind word and had a very warm personality. He loved the Lord and wanted to see more of his Zambian brothers and sisters come to know Christ personally.

On Thursday, Kerri and I attended his funeral. I have visited a funeral home, but we've never been to an actual funeral in Zambia. And I have to say that this was not a typical Zambian funeral. There were over 200 government officials in attendance, including the Vice President of Zambia. There were police all over the place and I found out afterwards that all government flags were flown at half mass the whole day.

Ba Bonshe leaves behind a wife and 8 children and a church that dearly loved him. Please pray for this family. The government has had a tendency in the past to forget the family members of those who have served this country once they are no longer in government. Ba Bonshe has a few children that are in school (one in the UK getting her law degree) that will need the government to help if they are to finish. Pray that they would honor the commitment that he made to them by providing for his children. Pray also for the family. Pastor Masonde, encouraged them at the funeral from Romans 8:28 - that God works everything for the good of those who love Him. Pray that they would see His hand in this and rest in the peace & love that only He can provide.

An Unexpected Move

For the past couple of weeks, the rains have been pretty consistent. Just about every day, it has rained for at least a few hours. Because of this, flooding is pretty widespread across Lusaka. There are compounds where people have had to leave their homes because the water has reached levels where it is getting into the homes. And this morning, the flooding claimed yet another victim.

At 6:30 am Luke called me. He told me that our director (Tim Hilty) and his wife and family were having to evacuate their home. The flooding had gotten so bad that they had a foot of standing water surrounding their home and the septic tank filled up and began to overflow into their yard. They called some city officials to come and look at the extent of the flooding and the city declared their home to be unsafe for living.

So, our team had a move day. In just over 5 hours, we were able to completely clean out the Hilty's home. They have temporarily moved into a one bedroom flat in the same complex and are in the process of trying to look for other housing. Please be in prayer for them. Houses are very hard to find in Lusaka (especially ones at the budgets we try to maintain). Pray that one would become available soon. Pray also for Andrea. On top of expecting their third child and having to move out of her home, she also learned that her Grandmother passed away yesterday. Pray that God would give her and Tim a peace that surpasses all understanding!

Welcome to Our Home!!! (Must Read!!!)

We are so happy to introduce you to our newest addition! God has blessed us with a new son - a special, chosen son - and He has worked out all the details so that this dear one could be part of our family!

(If Receiving this Post via Email, Click Here for Slide Show)

Mwila was brought to the Department of Social Welfare about 2 years ago by a good samaritan. All we know of his past is that he was kept for some time by this "good samaritan" who found him abandoned. After placing him at House of Martha orphanage, Social Welfare tried to locate any and all existing family through news and television. No one ever came forward. Back in the early fall we started visiting orphanages to see if God stirred our hearts toward any children. Most of you know that we have had the desire to adopt for several years. When we visited House of Martha we told the house mother that we were looking for a boy under 8 years old who had no known family. She told us that Mwila was the only child they had that fit that description. It so happened that he was the first child both Brent and I had noticed as the kids were playing. Caleb had also connected with him. So from there we began to pursue him with Social Welfare.

Since the first weekend of December Mwila has been coming to spend the weekends with us and we have visited him at the orphanage on Wednesdays as we've waited for all the red tape to be cut and the paper work to be properly filed. During this time, he has really connected with our family and always cried when we took him back to the orphanage. Finally this week, the Committal Order was approved, committing Mwila into our care as his foster parents. We are required to foster him for 3 months before we can legally adopt him. As far as we are concerned, he is now an official part our family. We are so thankful.

(If you are receiving this post via Email, click here to view this video)

(If you are receiving this post via Email, click here to view this video)

Today we brought him home and we decided to make it his birthday (since he has no birthday). We received a document from Social Welfare this morning estimating his age to be 5. So, today we celebrated his 5th birthday. He will also be starting at the kindergarten level in school (some time soon!).

We have decided that his new name will be Thomas Mwila Roberts. Thomas is a special name to us. First, it is biblical and all of our kids have a biblical name. Next, it is a family name on both sides. But most especially, it is after my Dad (Wayne Thomas Roberts). We always wanted to use that name if we ever had another son, but, God chose to bless us with 3 girls in a row! However, now we feel like it's perfect for our adopted son to carry his grandfather's name - the name of a man who loves his family so constantly and unconditionally (blood related or not). A few weeks ago, Kerri talked to Mwila about changing his name and he was very excited. He says that he wants to be called Thomas. So, we'll start trying out his new name and see how it goes. It may take Maddie a while to stop calling him "Weeeeelah".

A special bonus is that Kerri's Mom is here with us right now, so she's getting to welcome her new grandson into the family as well! Welcome Thomas Mwila!

(If you are receiving this post via Email, click here to view this video)

Funnies from the week

So, life on the mission field is not all serious business. Sometimes funny stuff happens to us. These past few days have been no exception. Three funnies come to mind:

Missionary Twins

So, Luke, Myself and Steve Allen all showed up at the office this afternoon and were quite surprised to see how each other was dressed. The picture says it all. I promise we didn't coordinate.

Need a Ride?

Our car is in the shop. The engine overheated warping the engine block and damaging the head cylinder. So, transportation has been either by minibus or taxi. This really made church very interesting this past Sunday. Because Kerri's mom is visiting and having one extra child from spending the night, we were taking 8 people to church. We all piled into a compact car. Caleb held his spend the night company in his lap, Mom held Ellie, Kerri held Maddie (all in the back seat) and I held Gracyn in my lap in the front seat. Can't say it was the safest way to travel, but we got there.

A Shocking Experience

Sunday after church, we had the taxi drop Kerri and Mom at Arcades (a local shopping center) and I took the kids home for lunch. The problem was that I didn't bother to get the keys to the gate and house from Kerri. As we sat outside trying to figure out what to do, I decided to try and hoist Caleb over the fence. Our electric fence has been out for over a month (or at least that is what I thought). Unbeknownst to me, a few weeks ago, Kerri paid to get the electric fence repaired. So, to my surprise, but more to Caleb's, we heard a loud pop from the electric current hitting his knee! Can you say Father of the Year award!

Need a Ride2?

The other day, I was out jogging. I was near the end of my run heading toward the house when I heard a car horn. This man pulled up beside me and asked if I needed a taxi. I was dumbfounded. I was wearing running shoes, running shorts, and sweating profusely. I think he wins the Mister Observant of the Week award.

Need a ride?

The roof is underway! Today, Luke and I went out to supervise the installation of the roof for our new and improved Nsaka (or meeting place). We hope to have both sides finished by the end of next week.



But that's not why I am writing this post. I wanted to give a little insight into rural culture in Zambia. Whereas in the States, you would have to be brave to hitch a ride, here it is a different story. Many times, as we are traveling up and down the road to our ministry center (which is about 6 miles long), we pass children and adults who are looking for rides. And here, they don't hitch rides by sticking out their thumbs. Instead, they hold out one arm and wave it up and down.

Today, as school was let out, 8 children were standing on the side of the road trying to catch a ride. Most of these children were staying at a group orphanage for street kids called Kakabalika and needed to get back. Luke only had 2 open seats. So, when he pulled over, my thought was how are we going to decide which ones to take. But as you can see in the picture, we didn't have to choose. We squeezed and twisted them and managed to get all 8 piled into the vehicle.

There was really nothing special about the moment. But I just thought it would give insight into a part of the culture here in Zambia that you normally wouldn't hear about.

A Missionary is a Builder???

The month of December is supposed to be a down month for Action Zambia missionaries. Usually, we are breaking from our normal everyday ministries, trying to get some rest and trying to plan for the new year. Well, this past December was no down month. Central to all of our ministries is Ciyanjano - Action Zambia's ministry centre. It is used for Church & Pastor Conferences, Spiritual Retreats and Kids Camps.



Well, in order to have retreats and camps, you have to have a shelter to meet under. This past summer, due to damage to the existing roof and some other issues, a team from California came and tore down the old grass roof structure. The plan was to, at a later time, put up another structure in its place - that's where Luke, Brent & a few of our Zambian workers come in. As you can see from the pictures, this shelter (or Nsaka) was no small structure and the only one with experience building was Luke. So far, we've been working on it for about 3 weeks off and on. And I do have to say that I was surprised with the job we have done thus far. Tomorrow, we head back out there to begin putting the iron sheets on and hopefully, we'll be done in the next week or so. I sure never thought that part of my job description would be associated with construction.

Since our ministry focuses primarily on equipping churches in Lusaka's compounds (the poorer communities in Zambia), a facility like this can be such a blessing. We have already begun hosting church retreats and have scheduled some kids camps, but there is still more work to be done before the Center is fully operational. Please pray for its development and that it would be used to build up the body of Christ here in Zambia.

We're Home

If you are receiving this post via email, you will need to go to our website: www.RobertsInZambia.Blogspot.com to view the pictures.

We made it home safely after a two week vacation in Zanzibar. We want to say thank you again to the grandparents for making this trip possible. It was such a wonderful Christmas present.

It was a marathon of a vacation. To get there, we drove 3 hours north to Kaphiri Mposhi to catch the train to Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. After the 46 hour train ride, we hailed a taxi big enough to carry our 12 passengers and all of the luggage and tried to make a mad dash to the port to catch the last ferry to Zanzibar Island, but arrived 10 minutes too late. So, after a bit of discussion, we chartered a small plane over to the island. After arriving on the island, we boarded a taxi and drove the final hour of the trip to the east coast where our lodging was located.

This trip was full of adventures and we made many family memories that will last a life time. It was also a great time for rest from ministry and a chance to recharge our "batteries." I won't bore you with all of the details, but here were some of the highlights:

Beautiful Beaches:
We spent 10 days on the eastern side of Zanzibar Island and then the last 2 days back in Stone Town. The beaches were amazing! The water was clear and it had a very long shelf, which meant that the kids could go as far as they wanted out into the water and it never got over their heads. This worked out great for the little ones.

Village Rental:
The home we rented was on the edge of one of the larger villiages in Zanzibar, Jambiani. As you can see from some of the pictures, many of the children from the villiage would come to the beach in the afternoons and most of them were interested in the Mzungu (White people) children. Most of the time when it was time to come in for dinner, we would have children peeking through doors and windows. Only in Africa.

Portugese Man-O-War:
This time of year turned out to be the Blue Bottle or Portugese Man-O-War Jelly Fish season. These organisms are clear on top with blue tenticles and they hurt like the dickens when they sting you! Half of our group was stung at least once. For the Roberts, it was me, Gracyn and Maddie. For the Whitfields, it was Luke and two of his children - Payton and Macy. The good thing about these jelly fish is they tended to come during the afternoon high tide. So, if we stayed out of the water during that time, we were ok.

The Naked Swimmer:
Another interesting tidbit from our trip was the Naked Swimmer. Every morning at sunrise, about 50 yards down the beach, one of the men from the village would walk out, take all of his clothes off, walk into the water, dip himself several times in each direction, walk back to the shore, pee (sometimes poo), go back into the water, do another 7 to 8 dips, walk back to the shore, then put on his clothes and leave. We asked several of the villagers about him and they told us that he was Falla (crazy).

Midnight with Ali:
Zanzibar is prodominantly Muslim. Someone told us that it is approximately 98% Muslim. So, needless to say, we didn't meet many followers of Christ. The last night before leaving, Luke built a fire on the beach and we just sat out and talked. As we were talking, two locals joined us. One of them was named Ali. During our conversation, we got to talking about the Koran and the Bible. We talked about how Islam is about works and how Christianity is about grace. And we had the opportunity to share the gospel with him while leaving him with a New Testament. We encouraged him to search the scriptures to see who Christ really claimed to be. So, if you think about it, please pray for him. Pray that God would use that brief encounter to bring him into His kingdom.

Being in Zanzibar was refreshing in many ways, but I'm glad to be back home in Zambia. Our time there really helped us to refocus and appreciate Zambia in ways we haven't in the past. And it was great just to spend some quality time with the family without any interferences. Thank you to all of you who prayed for us as we traveled. Blessings!

On Holiday

Just wanted to let everyone know that we will be on vacation for the next few weeks. So, posts to the website will be sporatic. Our family and the Whitfields will be taking a 40 hour train ride to Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. I think the kids will think it is an adventure, but the adults will be trying to endure. After the train ride, we will catch a taxi to the port and then embark on a 3-4 hour ferry to Zanzibar island. We're taking the kids to the beach!

The funny thing is that we learned just this week that the island lost power on December 4th and it has yet to be restored. So, we're probably going to be spending our vacation on the beach during the day and in a dark house at night. But we're going expecting to have a good time.

Please pray for us as we travel. There is always the chance for thieves (especially on the trains) and when traveling with 4 adults and 8 kids, anything can happen. Pray for our health. Right now, Caleb has been battling pink eye. So, we're hoping it doesn't spread to any of the other children. Pray that we will enjoy some time connecting as a family and that we will be refreshed both spiritually and physically before returning to our ministry here in Zambia.

One Year Later

Yesterday marked one year since I was rushed to the emergency room and diagnosed with a stroke resulting from a blood clot that had formed in my brain. It's hard to believe a year has already passed, but I am SO grateful to have made it to this day. There's been a lot of healing along with some minor stuggles as I've adjusted to a new standard of normalcy. God willing, things will continue to improve and with time I will be totally back to normal. However, the majority of what I have been going through over this last year has been less physical and more spiritual and emotional. Recently I was sharing with Brent a journal entry I wrote back in October and he suggested that I share it with all of you.

We both truly believe that God has us here, not only for the work He is doing through us, but also for the work that He is doing in us. And in addition to that, we believe that what He is teaching us should be used as a means to encourage others in their pursuit of Him. So, I hope some of my personal reflections will be of some encouragement to you and will bring glory to the One who has been and continues to sustain me.

Journal Entry Dated October 6th, 2009

This morning I was listening to a song by Christy Nockels and these lyrics really struck me: “I may live and I may die; either way You’re glorified…”

These are words that I would have said or sung without hesitation before I actually had to deal with the thought of dying. Now, if I say those words, I'm not so sure if I mean them. If I get down to the core of my heart, I have been living in fear of death! Even though I’ve been dealing with this now for ten months, and constantly preaching the truth to myself and rehearsing God's promises, I still feel like I’m gripping my life. I’m saying to God, “Yes, I give You my life - I trust You with it and I KNOW that You know what is best,” but in my heart I’m feeling like, “BUT DON’T LET ME DIE!"

I remember right after the stroke, when I was so fearful, Brent and I were talking about what we really believe. I DO believe that God’s purposes are greater than I can know; I DO believe that His purposes are greater than my life; I KNOW that He loves my children and my husband more than I ever could and He already knows what every moment of their lives holds. I really have NO control! I had a moment where I felt the Holy Spirit asking me, “If it required you to lay down your life for your children to come to salvation, would you do it?” And of course, I have to say, “Yes Lord, I would.” His kingdom and their eternity is SO much more important than my life, which God’s word says is like a blade of grass.

But, the truth is, I LIKE my blade of grass and I’m SCARED of death! I think it comes down to a problem of unbelief! I always hear that voice of unbelief saying, “Do you really believe that you will be with God for eternity? Do you really believe in Heaven?” And I think I have to combat those doubts and lies with what I know to be true. I can only come to the Lord with a broken heart and say like the father of the demon possessed child, “I believe. Lord, help my unbelief!”

When I focus on what is true I know that God does not work in fear. He does not give us a spirit of fear. In fact He tells us constantly throughout His word that we should not fear. I really believe that if He were going to take me from this world, He would lavish His peace on me. But I DO feel like He is calling me to lay my life down. To stop gripping and fearing and to lay it all in His hands. I need to have that hope and that peace. I need to have that eternal perspective and that longing to be with my Father. (Lord, please help me to lay down my life without picking it back up and running away!)

A couple of years ago the Lord used this scripture to confirm His call to Africa and to give up my plans for my life, “Whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever lays down his life for my sake will find true life (Matthew 16:25, paraphrased).” I think now God us using this to challenge me to pray:

Lord, I lay down my life - not just my plans for my life and what I do with my life, by my very life itself. I want You to have complete control over my life. I know that You already have the control but I want to release my grip on my life! I believe Your word is true. I believe that Your purposes are greater than my understanding and that they WILL be accomplished. I believe that it is not Your desire for me to be fearful. So, I ask You to take my fear away as I cast my anxieties on You. Give me hope for eternity. Help me to love You so deeply that I desire Your presence over all other things. Give me a desire for Heaven. Give me peace!

I pray as I have prayed and journaled before that You would give me long life, that I might declare your goodness to the next generation, that I may see my children and even their children come to salvation - that our family’s legacy will be one of submitting ourselves to You and being changed by Your Spirit - raising up a generation that will glorify Your name and advance Your kingdom. Thank You, my Father for the comfort I find in Your word and for ministering to my heart even as I write. Let me not hold onto anything! Let me trust You with everything. Let Your will be done and help me keep my heart and mind stayed on You! For You have promised to keep me in perfect peace. I love you, my Lord!

Merry Christmas

Our first Christmas in Zambia has come and gone and while we missed spending time with family and friends back in the States, it was a good Christmas. A few days before, we visited a local orphanage and had a party with the children there. It was the first time in a long while that these children were able to have pizza and cokes! And since Ellie was turning 1, we combined the christmas party & her birthday party. She enjoyed her first cake.



Christmas eve, we went to the Allens and had a small church service. It was very nice, a few of our Zambian friends came, Kerri sang, Stephanie led the music and Steve preached. After the service, we came back home and put the kids in bed.



Christmas morning, our children were ready to start the festivities at 6:30 am. The grandparents sent some presents via mail and had us buy others here. We also had a visitor for the weekend of Christmas. You'll see him in a few of the pictures. We'll let you know more about him when we are permitted. All in all, I think the children and the parents had a very merry Christmas.



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When It Rains It Pours

Rainy season still hasn't hit full swing yet, but when it has rained, it has been quite impressive. There are a lot of areas in town that do not have proper drainage and therefore, flood. Case-in-point, Manda Hill. This is one of the two shopping centers near our home. I passed it on my way home from the office.

Normally, this trip (which is about 3 miles) takes anywhere from 10 - 15 minutes depending on traffic. But when it rains, it is a completely different story. This night, it took me 2 hours.

Passport Photos Anyone???

I just had to post these pictures. In January, we're taking the train up to Tanzania for vacation, but in order to go, we must get visas. To get Tanzanian visas, you have to have passport photos. Well, here in Zambia, things don't work quite like they do in the States. While they do have westernized photography stores, they tend to be much more expensive.

So, in order to avoid these costs, you get creative. On Thursday, our family and the Whitfields packed all of our children into the car and headed to town. On Cairo Road, the equivalent of Lusaka's main street, there are shops that advertise passport photo taking. We found such a store and had them prepare our photos.

As you can see in the picture, all it took was a white sheet and an old digital camera. Priceless!

Suffering

I received this from Doug Nichols, the founder and international director emeritus of Action International. They are statistics on a lot of the stuff we see on a daily basis here in Zambia.

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The following are statistics of suffering from the new book, "The Poor Will Be Glad" by Peter Greer and Phil Smith:

1. Hunger: Approximately 850 million people go to bed hungry every night and search for creative ways to ignore their discomfort. [page 25]

2. Child Mortality: Worldwide, eleven million children die every year before reaching their fifth birthday. That translates to thirty thousand children who die each day from hunger and preventable disease -- one child every three seconds. [page 25]

3. Drinking Water: Twenty percent of the world has no access to clean water. Millions more walk long distances to carry every drop of water to their homes. (Geography IQ, "Infant Mortality Rate," www.geographyiq.com/ranking/ranking_Infant_Mortality_Rate_aall.htm (August 19, 2008). [page 25]

4. Diarrhea: In the developing world, diarrhea wracks the thin bodies of tens of millions of children who have no access to diapers or plumbing -- and it kills between 1.6 and 2.5 million children every year. (University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, "Novel Compound May Treat Acute Diarrhea," Science Daily, June 21, 2008, www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080616170801.htm (August 19, 2008). [page 25]

5. Health Care: More than half of all Africans do not have access to modern health facilities. The result is ten million annual deaths from the four most common preventable diseases: diarrhea, acute respiratory illness, malaria, and measles. In many cases, one simple shot could save a life. (Mark Kinver, "Water Policy 'Fails World's Poor,'" BBC News on the Web, March 9, 2006, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4787758.stm (August 19, 2008). [page 26]

6. Women's Rights: An Afghan man was told that his sick daughter's life could be saved if he took her across a dangerous mountain pass to medical care in a city two hours away. "No, I don't want to do that," he responded. "Girls are free, but donkeys cost money." (Kirk Magelby, "MicroFranchises as a Solution to Global Poverty," December 2005, www.microfranchises.org/file.php?id=35 (August 19, 2008). [page 27]

7. Employment: In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, only 10 percent of the entire population is formally employed. There simply are no formal employment options, no "Help Wanted" signs, and no employers who are legally mandated to provide a minimum wage and other rights. [page 27]

8. Poverty: As of July 2007, there were approximately 6.6 billion people living on earth. Approximately four billion live on less than $4 per day, nearly all of whom live in developing countries. Their incomes are distributed in the following way:
a. One billion live on less than $1 per day.
b. Two billion live on $1 to $2 per day.
c. One billion live on $2 to $4 per day.

(For a more complete analysis of the breakdown of poverty and the difference between the countries moving out of poverty and those stuck in a poverty trap, we recommend The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries Are Failing and What Can Be Done About It by Paul Collier (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007). [page 29]

Peter Greer and Phil Smith, The Poor Will Be Glad (Joining the revolution to lift the world out of poverty), Daniel Literary Group, LLC, Nashville, 2009

Village Video

Steve Allen put together a short video of the trip to Chikankata this past weekend. They went to several different villages with the Chiefteness accompanying them. Take a look if you get a chance.

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Thanksgiving

I know this post is late, but because of our computer problems, I haven't been able to get access to our pictures or the Internet on a regular basis. This Thanksgiving was our first away from home. If you remember last year, we came home for the delivery of Ellie. So, it was a little sad celebrating a holiday that we normally spend with our families.

Any who... We did have a good time over the holiday. Luke and I took our kids (minus the little ones) out to Ciyanjano (our ministry center) for a pig roast. Luke downloaded the instructions on how to do a Hawaiian Pig Luau and we spent a better part of 7 hours trying to follow those instructions.

To prepare a pig this way, you dig a pit and burn wood for several hours. When you have a nice base of coals, you put in some large rocks and heat those as well. Then you put several layers of banana trees over the rocks, wrap the pig in banana leaves and chicken wire, cover with some more banana trees and a wet tarp and voila! 12 hours later a delicious pig picking - at least that was what we hoped.

Well, to my surprise and Luke's joy, it did work and for Thanksgiving day, our team enjoyed some good barbeque!

If you are viewing this post via email, you can click the following link to view the pictures: Click Here.

Chikankata

Well, today, two of our teammates along with about 6 Zambian pastors, are headed down to Chikankata for a weekend of outreach. They are eating dinner with the chiefteness this evening and spending the night in some traditional african huts. The chiefteness has been busy publicizing the weekend. She has had announcements in the local radio station and has sent word through her headmen that a group is coming. So, the schedule for the weekend should be very busy.

If you remember, I was supposed to be going on this trip, but we just found out yesterday that we will be hosting a very important visitor this weekend here in Lusaka. So, I had to back out.

Please be in prayer for this team of men this weekend. They will be visiting 3 separate villiages which have little to no exposure to the gospel and have no active evangelical churches present in their communities. They will be showing the Jesus Film, courtesy of Campus Crusade and will be speaking to several groups. Pray for their safety, for a good reception from those who they are going to see and for a successful weekend of ministry. Pray against the attacks of the enemy as spiritual warfare seems to be so prevelant in rural Zambia. Pray for the Zambian pastors, that this weekend would give them a vision for rural and cross-cultural missions. Pray that God would begin to call some of these men out in service to Him.

Living Without

It's official. Our computer has died. We would love to get it fixed here, but there aren't any Apple dealers anywhere in Lusaka. So, tomorrow morning it will be boarding a plane with some friends for a long trip back to the U.S. and will hopefully be repaired on that side of the ocean.

Therefore, for the next little while, we will be updating our site on a less frequent basis. We hope to have our computer fixed and returned as soon as possible, but will be relying on finding a visitor to the ministry with space to carry it back. Please be patient with us in the meantime.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today marks a milestone for our family. It is our very first Thanksgiving spent in Zambia. We were home last year for Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter, so our first American holiday here was July 4th. But this is the first "big one" - one where we are usually spending the day with our family enjoying delicious turkey and "fixins", sharing stories, laughing at kids, and relaxing together. So, our hearts are a little sad today knowing that our families will be celebrating without us. Y'all eat some extra turkey, dressing, and strawberry stuff for us, OK?

However, we are indeed thankful that the Lord has provided surrogate family for us here and that we are still able to celebrate! We are thankful that Shoprite stocked frozen turkeys (which they don't normally have), and that we have the flexibility to spend the afternoon and evening celebrating with dear friends. Brent will still be conducting his 2:7 discipleship class this afternoon since, after all, Zambia does not have a reason to acknowledge the last Thursday in November. But we will all be together tonight to eat and fellowship, and I'm sure there'll be a whole lot of laughing and relaxing! We will also have a big team celebration on Saturday at Ciyanjano, ACTION Zambia's ministry center.

We're mindful and thankful today for God's graciousness to us each and every day. We're thankful for healthy and thriving children. We're thankful for Zambia and what God teaches us as we live life here. We're thankful for our extended families, our fantastic team and our dear friends on both sides of the ocean. We're extremely thankful for all of you who support and pray for us so diligently. What would we do without you? Most of all, we are thankful to be loved by our God - the Creator, the Redeemer, the Sanctifier Who is over all, through all and in all. May He receive all the glory for every blessing we have! Happy Thanksgiving!

Rainy Days are Here!

We are finally experiencing our first Zambian rainy season! And they weren't kidding, it rains a lot! Just though you would enjoy seeing the kids all dressed up in their rain gear! Our family has really been enjoying the rain. It has brought a very welcome relief from the heat and is turning the world very green! We also get to enjoy crazy thunderstorms without having to worry about tornadoes!

However, the rains also bring suffering to the poorest of the poor in Zambia and that is never far from our hearts and minds. In the compound areas, where the water gathers and there is certainly no proper drainage, people die every year from disease. Children also commonly drown by falling into deep potholes that have filled with water. Please remember these dear brothers and sisters as the rains continue until at least February!

Please also bear with us as we are experiencing some issues with our computer. Gasp! Our ability to get on the internet has been really hit or miss. So, if you don't hear from us very regularly, this is why! Please pray that we can figure out how to get our computer serviced and have our means of communication back again!

KiliClimb For Kids

This December, two of our teammates will be traveling to Kenya and Tanzania to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro as a fund raiser for children in our community schools programs here in Zambia.  Below is a link to their brochure.  Take a look if you get a chance.

Click Here for Brochure

A Bible for All...

A posting from Steve Allen:

A few months ago, we were alerted to an opportunity by Tyndale Publishers of a container that they were sending over to Zambia full of NLT Life Application Study Bibles for only $9 dollars each.   When Brent and Luke were back in the states, they put the word out, and a few of us put out a few emails later, Owen when he came to do an internship, raised a bunch of money, and through all these gifts,  God raised through his people enough for us to buy over 200 bibles to give away here in Zambia.  We started out by giving them first to our pastors. They were giddier than a kid at Christmas.  It was great fun. I thought I would show you a picture of us giving the bibles away to the pastors. THANK YOU all for your gift to make this possible. 

A Visit with the Chief

A couple of weeks ago, we had the privilege of visiting with Chieftainess Mwenda.  She is the chief over Chikankata, an area located about 2 hours south of Lusaka.  Chikankata consists of many different villages accounting for approximately 20,000 families (approximately 100,000 people).  A majority of these families are unreached and have no active evangelical churches.  The Chieftainess is a vibrant believer who has a heart to see her kingdom evangelized and churches planted.

During our meeting, she expressed a desire for Action Zambia to help her in this effort.  We don't know exactly what God has in store, but we are stepping out in faith and seeing how He will respond.  During the first week of December, we are taking a group of pastors from our Pastors College and Discipleship programs for an outreach event that should last 3-4 days.  The plan is to go down there and camp on a piece of property that was donated to Action Zambia.  During the days, we will be visiting many remote villiages (some that have never even seen white people).  In the evenings, we will be trying to show The Jesus Film.

Please join us as we begin to pray for this outreach event.  Pray for the missionaries who will be leading the trip.  Pray for the pastors who will be accompanying us.  And pray for these people we will be sharing with during our time down there.  Pray that God would open the eyes and ears of many to come to a saving knowledge of His Son Jesus Christ!  Pray also for the Chieftainess.  It is very difficult being a believer and a chief here in Zambia.  She faces many challenges in ruling her kingdom.