Sometimes you gotta love your country!

Kerri here! Today I had the amazing pleasure of getting my driver's license renewed. Fortunately my license expired while I happened to be here in the States, so I was able to take care of it on time! We all sort-of dread going to the DMV because you never know what kind of wait you might find and how long it might take. This time I was in and out in 20 minutes! 20 minutes! Let me tell you, after having the experience of getting a driver's license in Zambia, I will never, ever complain about the DMV here! Some of our AZ teammates, Kelly and Tricia Huckaby, documented the process not long ago and I thought it was so funny I'd let you read it too! (Check out the Huckablog for regular, hilarious - and often poignant - episodes of daily living in Zambia)

How To Get a Zambian Driver's License in 50 Easy Steps

1. Go to Road Transit Safety Authority (RTSA) on Lumumba.
2. Go to the "Information" desk.
3. Ask for a medical examination form.
4. Go to Makeni clinic.
5. Overpay an unscrupulous doctor.
6. Go to RTSA on Lumumba and be told that they no longer except exams from Makeni andthat you have overpaid.
7. Go back 3 steps.
8. Or skip numbers (4-7) and go to one of the following approved government clinics:

1. Kamwala
2. Chilenge
3. Kalingalinga
4. Chawama
5. Kanyama
6. George
7. Mtendere
8. Chipata

1. Make sure this list is current!!
2. Pay k50,000 if you have an ARC.
3. Pay k1000,000 if you do not have an ARC.
4. Make sure you are meeting with one of the doctors who is "qualified" to administer the exam.
5. Take your date stamped medical form and receipt of payment to RTSA on Lumumba.
6. Be sure to bring at least two copies of your: ARC, passport, work permit, and US drivers license.
7. Get in line for Room 1.
8. Be sure to ask around and make sure you are in the right line and that the people who appear to be standing in that line are actually in line.
9. Plan on being here for anywhere from 1 hour to 4 hours.
10. When you reach Room 1, show them your documents and explain that you are seeking aconversion license.
11. You will receive a form for a provisional license.
12. Fill this out.
13. Take this to Data Capturing.
14. Then go to Rooms 2 or 3 for photographing.
15. Try to smile, you're almost halfway there.
16. Go to cashier (room 15 or 26)
17. Pay k63,000
18. Exit RTSA and purchase a King Pie from the cart.
19. Eat pie.
20. Return to the same window after 24 hours to set an appointment with RTSA Ridgeway branch for a competency/conversion test.
21. Pay k47,000 booking fee.
22. On the day of your booking go to RTSA on Lumumba go early!
23. Go to Room 7.
24. Be told to go see Mr. Mwamba across the street.
25. Drive into the black gates where everyone is lined up in their vehicles.
26. Skip the line.
27. Park.
28. Go see Mr. Mwamba in the booth.
29. Arrange for a drive test.
30. Even if RTSA on Lumumba "booked" your test for a certain time, this means nothing, plan on waiting at least a few hours.
31. Pay someone k15,000 to outfit your vehicle with "L" plates for your drive (this may be optional)
32. Pray
33. Do your drive test.
34. If you passed, go back to Mr. Mwamba and give him your paperwork for stamping.
35. Take this paperwork to RTSA on Lumumba after 24 hours.
36. Go to Room 25 and give them your forms.
37. Go to Room 26 and pay k79,000.
38. Exit RTSA
39. Buy a King Pie (Ham and Cheese is nice)
40. Eat pie.
41. In four weeks you can pick your card up at RTSA on Dedan Kimathi Rd.
42. Celebrate.

Please Pray

Our dear friend and my host while I am here in Zambia, Warren Carr, was injured when he was run off the road this afternoon driving my motorcycle. He suffered a broken leg and several cuts and scrapes. He and his wife Vicki are at the hospital now. Please pray for him and his family during this time.

The gods are amongst us

I was at a bible study with some friends when I met a visitor from the UK. John Paul Witt is a missionary working up in Northern Zambia. He told us this story below which I copied from his website. Just thought you might enjoy reading about how the Lord is working here to advance His Kingdom.
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Sometimes you hear a story of God that stops you literally dead in your tracks. This is such a story. This story was told to me by 3 people yesterday at a Life area leaders day.

In October last year in the area of Kamwale, some 30km south of Nchelenge, Northern Zambia and close to the border of the Democratic Republic of Congo, children were mysteriously dying at a school. Nobody knew what was causing the sickness, 17 children in all died. It seemed to be some kind of disease that gave haemorrhaging and violent stomach pain. The disease was fatal.

People in rural Africa, quite rightly believe that mysticism and witchcraft has power and is not load of rubbish. Confronted with this situation, many believed that the chief of the area wanted to gain more power and had bewitched the children, to demonstrate his power. At this a mob rose against the chief, and went to his palace to beat him. There was one other group that the mob rose against and this was the group that my organisation Dignity, had helped Augustine to create for the community. The groups study the Bible, pray and work for the good of the community. They seek to bring together many from different groups and reach out to those who are ostracised. Earlier in 2010, the crime zone of the village had dropped dramatically in response to the conversion to Jesus of many criminals in the area due to the activity of the group.

As people paid more attention to the Life! Group, it caused opposition from church groups that see them as a threat and often they are branded satanists, simply for wanting to help. As such it seemed to some of the people in the village that this “new” groube could be satanic and be causing the deaths at the school.

At that time Jo Hardy who works with Dignity was visiting the area with Augustine, a community activist, as part of a visit to encourage those there. As part of their visit, prayer was held, and I don’t honestly think that Jo was aware of everything that was going on. That’s not a lack of observation, it can be difficult to piece everything together when working through translators.

The bottom line is this. They prayed in the morning, those that died before they prayed were the last children to die of the unidentified deadly disease. No child or adult has died since. People in the area, have literally referred to Augustine, Jo and some of the group as “gods”, when they saw in the days afterwards the answer to prayer. The funny and humbling thing is that Jo does not know anything about it. (maybe she does now)

The very much relieved chief has ordered all his representatives to talk to the group in Kamwale to look at starting groups in many more areas, simply because God has defended His people, His honour, and more than that, stopped the needless death of children from a merciless disease.

3 people told me this story yesterday, and I have checked it more than once. It is true.

This amazing story reminds of one of the greatest leaders in the history of the Church, Paul and his visit to Lystra. “In Lystra there sat a man who was lame. He had been that way from birth and had never walked. [9] He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed [10] and called out, “Stand up on your feet!” At that, the man jumped up and began to walk. [11] When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!”
Acts 14:8-11 (TNIV)

The other day a friend said that he would pray that God would show me something noble, something upright, something to encourage me. I think he has and God has answered his
prayer.

I’m very proud to be a servant of the Living God and my mission is to take His freedom, His message and power to everyone, everywhere I can.

Landed and Swamped

Packing our Home in Lusaka

Our Belongings Loaded into the Truck

The Truck the Next Morning

Unloading Our Belongings in Chikankata

I arrived in Zambia early Saturday morning and haven't stopped since. I've now been here over 108 hours and have only spent 12 of them sleeping. But we're finally moved! Monday night, we loaded a 17 meter truck bed with our entire home and drove to Chikankata. The driver was hesitant to drive at night because of thieves. Apparently, there was a stretch of road where some trucks drive really slow because of the steepness of the hills. It is here where bands of thieves will jump on board and take what they can. As we drove through this area, I was praying for extra power for the truck. I figured that if we didn't go slow enough for them to get on the truck, that we would be okay. Well, not only did we have enough speed, but we didn't see a sign of any thieves. We arrived safely in Chikankata (at 11:30 pm) after a short 2 hour trip.

Yesterday was a busy day as well. We had to unload the truck and put our belongings into storage - some into a room of the house we will be renting and the rest into a shipping container that us and the Whitfields are sharing.

The Roberts and Whitfields' Shipping Container

Moving the Shipping Container (Zambian Style)

Preparing the Foundation for the Container

We also had to offload the shipping container from a different truck that had delivered it the night before. This was a fun process. Being in Zambia and in the bush, crane operators and fork lifts are not available. So, we had to be creative. The farmer, whose houses we will be renting, had a loading dock nearby. So, we used one of his tractors to pull the shipping container from off the truck and then used this same tractor to drag the container about 1/4 mile to its final resting place. Once there, we used an adapter on the tractor to lift the container (one side at a time) so we could place supports underneath. After it was in place and on its temporary supports, we poured cement pillars under each of the corners. We will go back after they dry and lower the container on to these more permanent supports.

All this to say, even though it was not the best of conditions for a move, God was faithful. We are now moved out of our old home and beginning to move into the new one. Thank you for all of your prayers during this transition.

Leaving on a Jet Plane

On Thursday at 3:00 pm, I will be boarding a plane to return to Zambia for 2 months. I'm really excited to be going back to Zambia, but, at the same time, know that I am going to miss Kerri and the kids. Would you please be in prayer for our family over the next several weeks?

Please pray:

• For safety in Travel
• That I will be able to move our belongings 2 hours south to our new home in Chikankata
• For unhurried times with the Lord for both Kerri and me
• For our children, that they would be obedient and helpful in my absence
• That I would finish Strong with Action Zambia Ministries

Thank you!

That's not a Rat! This is a Rat!

Posted by our Director yesterday. All I can say is "that is one HUGE rat!"

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Some of you may have seen the rat that was killed in our backyard a couple months ago. It was rather large and I thought the gardener was a little crazy to suggest that there were larger rats yet…that is, until yesterday! Our gardener trapped it with his patented paint can method. We measured this rat to be 80cm from tip of tail to the tip of the nose that’s over 30 inches!! Half of the length was the tail and half the body.

Last November when I first saw this type of rat (Cane Rat) I freaked out and told Tim it was the size of a cat. He didn’t believe me. I told him it was as big as Tristan…again, he thought I was exagerating. At the time Tristan was two months old. Well…here’s the proof!

Hurrying to Process

This is a recent posting by one of our friends in Zambia.

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I never know quite what to expect when I go teach my three days a week Bible class. Sometimes, I go, I teach, I go home and its pretty normal. Other times, memories happen. Like, today, for example. I got there a bit early and we were talking about homework. My pastors aren’t super faithful about doing homework and I get frustrated about it at times. But, today I got a little perspective of the kind of “excuses” a pastor might have. Patson told me a story about what happened Monday night. This is a recent posting by one of our friends in Zambia.

Around 11pm, a women across the street from him starting yelling for help. Her nine year old son was not feeling well. Sadly, as Patson hurried over there and tried to get a taxi for her son, he died. Seriously. Patson thinks it may have been a double dose of medicine, one from the pharmacy and then one from the clinic, a lack of communication, and a lack of life, just like that. He wasn’t feeling well during the day. He dies at night. Patson, at midnight, took the body to the mortuary at the hospital, via taxi, with a few other guys. He gave some money to the taxi driver who was going to wait for them. The taxi driver didn’t wait. So, at 2:00 am, Patson and a few guys walked from the hospital back home. Probably a good 25 minute drive during the day turned out to be a two hour walk in the middle of the night. He told me that at the beginning of class. O.K., now teach. We talked about the book of Hebrews. I think it went o.k.

So, I gave Patson a ride home today. It is always such a significant time. Every time with Patson is significant. He starts telling me about his pastor’s fellowship meeting he goes to on Monday nights. The pastors switch off in preaching and the pastor who preached went way long and went here and there and didn’t have a point, according to Patson. Every since Patson took the preaching class I taught, he said, “I understand better how to preach and when people are not explaining the Bible right and how they should preach. I went up to him after and said that you need to put you in the message.” One of the five points of preaching that I taught is making sure that the message you preach affects you first. But I like how Patson put it: “You need to put you in the message.”

Anyway, we talked about doing a preaching seminar for a few pastors in his compound as we drove through his compound. . And then I get to his street and there are huge puddles covering the entire road, and people waiting at the community water station and then I see a crowd of women near Patson’s house gathering for the child who died. And, I am just overwhelmed, trying to smile for the 20 kids that are in the road yelling “Mzungu” and waving to me. Everything was a bit in slow motion. I drove home, slowly, through the poorest place you’ll never visit, listening to some slow, somber worship music, taking it all in. It is a different world, here. And, my processing is this blog, so please forgive if the grammar isn’t right and it doesn’t quite make sense. I’m not sure what does make sense these days. And then tomorrow, I start again. I need to hurry up and process because another day is coming.

Steve Allen

ACTION Zambia

The Details of Our Move

(Our Rental Home in Chikankata - Ready in November 2011!)

It's in the mail, but we also thought we would include it on our blog. Below is a link to our March newsletter giving all of the details of our move to Chikankata, Zambia. It is rather lenghtly (3 pages), but we wanted to make sure we covered as much as we could. Please take the time to read it and get caught up with how the Lord is leading us to this new work in Zambia!

Click Here to view our March 2011 Newsletter.

Foundations for Farming

Below is a post from Luke Whitfield on Foundations for Farming (a.k.a. Farming God's Way). When we return to Zambia, Luke and I will be trying to implement this program in Chikankata. So, I thought you might find his write-up about an international conference he attended in Zimbabwe interesting.

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Dear Friends,

It has been a while since our last update and so we wanted to take a few moments to fill you in with what has been going on in our lives. I, Luke, specifically would like to share about a recent trip I took to Zimbabwe to attend a week long seminar to be trained in conservation farming with a Christian ministry called Foundations for Farming. It was an amazing experience to be a part of a group that represented 16 countries including places like India, Mexico, Ukraine, Sudan and many more. One of the coolest stories was that of a very tall man name Michael from Southern Sudan. Michael shared about his dream to take what he had learned and begin teaching school children in Southern Sudan so that through the younger generation his people’s future might be a bit brighter.

I want to start by sharing some statistics. Over the past 50 years it is estimated that close to 2.3 trillion USD has been pumped into Africa in the form of aid. Africa also possesses 30% of the world’s natural resources. Sub Saharan Africa (where we are) has a great climate, bountiful rainfall, fertile soils and plenty of people to work the land. Despite these facts Africa’s total Gross Domestic Product only represents 1.3% of the world’s total. Poverty continues to grip the vast majority of the continent’s peoples resulting in Africa’s population growth exceeding agricultural production. Bottom line, Africa continues to be the hungriest and most malnourished continent on the planet.

Foundations for Farming is all about seeing Africans go from being the world’s beggars to becoming a blessing to the nations. Since the vast majority of Africa’s population are small scale farmers the vision is to teach productive farming techniques to these individuals with the net result being the production of enough food for families as well as extra income to aid in the development of economic growth. At the heart of this vision is a focus on achieving these outcomes through a heart change of the people. Based upon a Biblical perspective promoting stewardship with what God has given them the course encourages participants to farm on time, at a high standard, no wastage and most importantly with joy! This is a very simple explanation of what Foundation for Farming is all about and we would encourage you to take a second and learn more about this amazing and revolutionary ministry by visiting their website at: www.foundationsforfarming.org .

So why are we sharing all this with you? As we detailed in our February update, 2012 will see some major changes in our ministry focus. Upon our return to Zambia in January of 2012 we will be moving down to the rural area of Chikankata to begin full time work assisting the chief of that area in expanding the Kingdom of God amongst her people. As we have planned for this shift one of the unanswered questions has been what would be the best way to enter into the community and gain the trust of the Tonga people. After my trip to Zimbabwe we feel like Foundations for Farming is God’s answer to that question. Our hope is that as we are able to train the people of Chikankata to be more productive and profitable in agriculture a door will be opened to share Gospel of Jesus Christ.

We will be sharing many more of the details surrounding this shift in the months to come and are excited about this open door God has provided us with to reach the lost in Chikankata. Again thanks for your continued support and prayers. We love and miss you all dearly and are looking forward to reconnecting upon our return to the States in July 2011.

Blessings

Luke (for the fam)

Follow-Up Blog Post

We had almost completed our next mailing when the software on our computer blew up. We have ordered a software update and should be receiving it soon. So, once we receive this update, we will send our newsletter detailing everything that is happening as we transition our lives and ministry to Chikankata, Zambia. But until then, we wanted to provide some follow-up to our last email/blog post.

Answering a Common Question:

Since we sent our last email/blog post, several people have asked us the same question: Should we continue to support you through Action International Ministries? The answer is yes. We are currently missionaries with Action International Ministries. We are in the process of switching to another sending agency, but we have committed to ACTION Zambia to finish out this current term with them. In due time, we will share with you about the new sending agency and give you all the information you will need to change over your support.

Why the Switch:

ACTION Zambia is a wonderful ministry that has and continues to make significant impacts for the Kingdom in Lusaka. We have a tremendous amount of love and respect for ACTION Zambia and the men and women serving in this ministry. We are not leaving ACTION because we are upset or discontent with their ministry or because of any broken relationships. We are stepping away because ACTION’s philosophy of and approach to ministry in the city wasn’t a good fit for the ministry to which we see the Lord calling us in rural Chikankata. Again, shortly, we will be sharing with you all of the details, but we just didn’t want you to wonder about what was happening on that front.

Save the Date:

We want to be available to answer all of your questions. On June 26^th, 2011, shortly after Brent returns from a 2-month trip to Zambia, we will be hosting a gathering at our home church (Columbia Crossroads Church – St. Andrews Campus). We want the opportunity to share with you about our move to Chikankata, Zambia, and the ministry going forward. We will provide dessert and coffee, show a brief video, and then have a time for questions and answers. Our hope is to share all that God has done to call us in this new direction as well as to answer any questions that you might have concerning our new ministry in Chikankata. We will send out an official invitation as the date approaches!

Thank you:

Thank you again for being patient with us during this move. We cannot express just how much your love, encouragement & support mean to us.

Let's Reach A Kingdom

If you are receiving this post via email, CLICK HERE to view the video.

I've written about Chikankata in the past, but I wanted the opportunity to share this short 3 minute video with you. This is an interview of of a local chieftainess where she is discussing the spiritual and physical needs of her people. There are a couple of reasons why we are sharing this video with you. One being, we want you to hear from a Zambian chief, who loves Jesus, as she shares about the needs of the people that God has placed under her care. The other is because of a calling that we feel the Lord has given our family as it relates to this southern chiefdom in Zambia.

Just to refresh your memory, Chikankata is a 100 sq/km Tonga speaking chiefdom located about 2 hours south of Lusaka. In this part of Zambia, there are little to no evangelical churches and few Christian believers. Some of the villages in this area have had no exposure to the gospel in over 40 years! The people live in fear and bondage to witchcraft and animism, most live in abject poverty, HIV/AIDS still affects nearly 20% of the population and children die every day from preventable illness.

When we return to Zambia, we will be moving to Chikankata. We, and the Whitfield Family (Pictured Above), have felt God calling us to go to Chikankata to live and work full-time. We will be leaving the city and getting a taste of the country life. The ministry that we have been involved in over the past 2+ years will be changing as well. There are many things that the Lord has done to confirm His leading and we are excited for what the future holds! Our desire is to see Zambians, some for the first time in their lives, have the opportunity to know and love Jesus, for churches to be established and strengthened, and for the needs of the poor and vulnerable to be met.

Very soon we will be sharing all of the details with you, but we wanted to make this announcement so that you are aware that changes are in the works. Please be patient with us and in prayer for our family as we transition our life and ministry in Zambia.

Not Your Normal Baby Dedication

This past Sunday our home church, Columbia Crossroads, had a baby dedication. For those of you who don't know, all of our children have been dedicated at our church - all but one, Thomas. Needless to say, he was by far the biggest child dedicated on this baby dedication Sunday. We are deeply grateful to be able to dedicate our 5th child to the Lord and ourselves to raising him up to know and love Jesus.

Family Pics

We recently had the opportunity to take some family photos. A friend of ours, Lindsay Alexander, came to Columbia to help us get some shots of the children and the family. Just in time for prayer cards and other important communications : ). Anyways, if you're ever interested in having some photos made of you or your family, we highly recommend her work.

You can see some of her galaries at: http://www.lindsayalexanderphotography.com/

Above are the pictures that she took of our family at Riverfront Park. If you are receiving this post via email, you will need to visit our website to view the pictures: www.RobertsinZambia.Blogspot.Com.

Got Me Day (Friday)

This post serves two purposes. One, being that we are completely done with the adoption/immigration process. Thomas is officially a Roberts and officially a U.S. Citizen!!! Yayyyy!!!! Thank you to everyone who has prayed for our family and for Thomas during this process. We are so thankful with how things came together once we arrived in the States.

The other purpose of this post is to share about why tomorrow is a very special day in the life of the Roberts family. Tomorrow marks the 1 year anniversary that Thomas came into our family. Kerri and I were talking about it this afternoon. It just doesn't seem like its been that long since he joined us. It's been difficult at times and fun at times, and we are so thankful that God chose to make Thomas a part of this family.

Fear Not

A Post from the Allens:
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We Allen's had a busy day today watching three extra little ladies of some friends of ours who were moving. We had a blast playing spoons and making projects. But, that isn't what I want to blog about. Today I went with my friend Luke to pray for one of our pastors in our program. Patson's wife Patricia had been suffering with some pretty intense stomach pain for a while. So, we went to their house way back in the compound and into the church/school that he built. After finding out from Patricia what was wrong, Luke began to ask some questions. He asked if there was fear she was struggling with and then begin asking about dreams. He uncovered a lot of struggles going on in her life that were both physical and spiritual. The Holy Spirit gave him insight into situations that were more than just physical and she was so surprised that he could know things that he or she did not know. (Often here in Zambia, physical pain is a result of something going on spiritually. Maybe that is even the case in America as well. It is always good to think spiritually in these times, at least that is what I learned/am learning.)

Then Luke said, "Before we pray, I feel like the Spirit is saying that there is one more person in your family who is also struggling with fear and who also has problem with nightmares. Patson and Patrica looked at each other and both said together at the same time, "Joyce." So, they brought her in to the room. Joyce, a pretty little 10 year old, was understandably shy and nervous. Luke kneeled beside her and began to tell her that she was in God's hands and that no one could do anything to touch her because God would protect her. Right then, I had this sense that we shouldn't just assume that she was a Christian. So, I stopped Luke mid-sentence and said, "Do you want to make sure she is a Christian?" He stopped and said, "Yes, good point." We looked to Patson and said, "Is she a Christian? Are you seeing any fruit of the Spirit to signify that she is?" They both said, "No. She is not a Christian." Luke came back to sit by me and said, "Why don't you help her Steve to become a Christian." I was instantly reluctant because I didn't want to take Patson's place as both father and pastor. But, Patson said something like, "No, Steve, one thing you don't know is Zambian pastors don't know how to do this very well." In essence, what he was saying was that they knew how to pastor other people's children, but no their own.

Well first of all, that was a huge insight and helped me in terms of thinking on how to help this cultural issue with pastors and their own families that I had no idea about. But, secondly, I had a chance not just to lead her to Christ, but to help model how to do that for Patson. I asked for the Spirit to help me and I was given the amazing privilege to lead her into a relationship with Christ through her father as a translator. It was awkward, not really cultural and with words I have learned over the years. It was what it was. But, she prayed the prayer and even better, we were able to encourage her in her life. I saw something of a picture of her teaching one day in this classroom we were in. We prayed over her future as well. Anyway, that was amazing and we hadn't even prayed for Patricia yet. So, Luke wanted the whole family in so he brought them in and they all held hands. Then Luke and I prayed for her, for her stomach and her teeth that had been hurting. And guess what, her stomach pain was healed! I know this was real because she said her tooth still hurt. Sometimes when we pray for Zambians we wonder if they are telling the truth. If they are just trying to make us feel good after we pray... Well, in this case, we could see it. Not only was just healed from stomach pain, but I am confident that her dreams and fears were dealt with as well. Anyway, it was a really blessed hour we spent there... (Note: I just got a text from Patson that Patricia is free from the pain and Joyce slept through the night.)

Please continue to pray for Patson and Patricia who are on the leading edge of community development through their church and community school. Truly, a light on a hill!

God's Word Daily

In life, there always seem to be those people who God places in your life at just the right time and my life is no different. There are a handful of people, who I can point to, that have really played a key part in shaping who I am today. One of these people is Brad Bird. Now, hear me when I say that I'm not trying to idolize this man. He's a man just like me, but he is a man who has continually allowed the Lord to use him in the lives of others through his gift of teaching. And he's also a man whose life has mirrored what he has tried to impart to others.

Kerri and I met Brad and his wife Melissa over 13 years ago while attending a local church's college ministry. During this time, Brad made it a point to invest in my life through discipleship. He and Melissa were there to counsel Kerri and I through our engagement. He was the pastor who officiated our wedding ceremony. He was and is a person who I have always felt like I could be myself with, someone who was fun to be around, a good friend. We've spent countless hours on the golf course trying to beat each other and enjoyed ribbing each other whenever USC played Tennessee (Well, he did most of the ribbing). He and Melissa were there when Kerri and I went through a really rough patch in our marriage. In fact, he was the first person I talked to about it. He and Melissa have been there through the hard times and they've been there through the good times. Honestly, I cannot express to you just how much Brad & Melissa's friendship and Brad's teaching have changed both Kerri and my lives.

Brad is a gifted teacher who has an unswerving desire to "see the saints revived through the power of the Word." Recently, through his ministry, Brad released a daily video devotional. For 5 days a week, you can have a 5-7 minute devotional sent straight to your inbox. These devotionals are expository in nature (meaning they center on going through the Bible by book by chapter and letting the Word speak for itself). There is a small cost involved, but it is well worth it.

Brad is currently the head teaching pastor for Columbia Crossroads Church downtown campus. He is also the president & founder of Market Life Ministries. If you would be interested in finding out more information on how to receive his daily devotionals, you can visit: www.DailyVideoDevotional.com. If you would like to learn more about his ministry to the marketplace you can visit: www.marketlifeministries.com.

We know how much his teaching has affected our lives and thought it might have a similar impact on yours.

Rejoice in the Wife of Your Youth

Two years ago today, I was in a hospital emergency room watching my wife lose function in her arms and legs. I was scared out or my mind not knowing what was going on. Knowing it was serious, but not knowing just how serious. I still remember sneaking away from the room to cry - sneaking away so she couldn't see the fear in my face. I remember the fear of possibly losing the person who has and will forever mean the most to me (apart from Christ).

But today, a week before our 12th anniversary, I'm still waking up to my beautiful and vibrant bride. And I love her more now than I ever have in the past. A lot of times we learn the most through trials and this trial was no exception. This one event has truly opened up God's word to me in a new light. There is a verse in Proverbs 5:18: "May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth." This verse has taken on so much more meaning in my life. Today, I thank God for this gift He has given me and rejoice again in the love of my life.

May you also rejoice in the wife / husband of your youth!

1st Snow Ever!!

In Zambia, it doesn't, hasn't and will never snow. So, needless to say, this was the first time Thomas has ever seen the cold white powder. On Christmas day, we traveled to visit Kerri's brother and sister-in-law (Matt & April) in Knoxville. As we drove up, it started snowing in Spartanburg, but started sticking to the ground and roads in Ashville.

By the time we got to Knoxville, a few inches were already on the ground. And by the next morning, the children were raring to go outside and play. Aside from Thomas, it was also the first time Ellie and Maddie had an opportunity to play in the snow as well.

It was a good visit and we had a great time spending time with the Grimsley family. The only downside to the visit is that we had to cut it a little bit short because Matt got a stomach virus and we decided to "run for the hills" and hope that we were not exposed to the virus.

It's good to be home

It's good to be home. Here's a quick snippet of our children singing with the Brocks and Ballentines during church on Sunday. We sure have missed our friends and family and are so thankful to be home to see them again. We'll enjoy it even if it is only for a short time.

God sure is good!

If you are receiving this post via email, you can view the video at www.RobertsinZambia.Blogspot.com or CLICK HERE.

The Cat is Out of the Bag

Well, the cat is officially out of the bag! The last post about missing family during the holidays was a hoax. A few months ago, Kerri and I decided that we would come home for a surprise visit in December. The primary reason was to finish Thomas's adoption stateside, but it was an added benefit to get to see our family and friends over Christmas. Please forgive us for all of the lies. We've been telling everyone, including our families that we would be home in May, but we knew all along that we were flying home in early December.

Above is a video that we put together from all of the surprise visits we have made over the past few days. It started with showing up at my parents front door and ended at Kerri's mom's church Sunday evening. That surprise was by far the best. We had the music minister play a video from us in front of the whole church. She thought it was just a video wishing her a Merry Christmas from Zambia, but near the end of the video, we told her that we had one more surprise. At that point, the video started showing pictures from our trip home with Thomas looking at our plane. Finally, we all walked into the church and stood behind her until she realized that we were there!

It's been a blast seeing our friends and family again and we're so thankful to be home for the holidays. We hope you have a wonderful Christmas.

Many Blessings!

P.S. If you are receiving this post via email, you can view the video by CLICKING HERE.

It's Beginning to Look a Little Like Christmas

Well, Thanksgiving is over and Christmas is on the way. And in the Roberts house, it's beginning to look a little like Christmas. So far we have hung the stockings, not over the chimney, because we don't have one, but over the window facing the back yard. When our children were born, Mimi (Kerri's Mom) made each of them a stocking for Christmas. Thanks to the postal service, Thomas just received his and boy was he excited.

Now on to putting up our 3 foot tree and celebrating Christmas in 100 degree weather. No white Christmas here. Christmas just isn't the same without being around those you love : (. But we are happy knowing that we are here serving the One for whom we celebrate this special holiday. Blessings to you all this Christmas season.

A Zambian Worship Set

Sunday, two weeks ago, we had a great time of worship. So, we thought we would share some of it with you. This video is a condensed version of the worship service (about 7 minutes). Kerri is singing with the worship team on one of the songs. CLICK HERE to view the video.

Oops!

Thomas had his first big breakage playing football. He was in the back yard trying to kick the football over the house into the front yard. Needless to say, he missed! He put a whole straight through the girls window. This is the second window I have had to replace in the past 3 months. Caleb broke the other one.

I guess these boys are trying to give their daddy practice at being a window repair man. I must say that this is one of the easier fixes here in Zambia. You measure the window, drive to the glass shop in town, they cut it to the size you specify, you take it back home, you chip out the old glass and window putty and then put the new one in. Voila! Just like new.

Put that on my list of things I never knew a missionary did while serving on the field in another country.

Year-End Giving???

Are you planning on a project or ministry to give a one-time gift to this holiday season? Are you looking to do some year-end tax deductible giving? Well, please consider your favorite missionaries in Zambia, Africa. : ) Year-end gifts are a very helpful way to support missionaries and the work that they are doing overseas and we are no exception. We welcome your love & encouragment through financial gifts.

If you would be interested in making a donation, you can do so by sending a check to Action International Ministries at P.O. Box 398, Mountlake Terrace , WA, 98043-0398. Please specify that the donation is for Brent & Kerri Roberts.

You can also make a donation online. Simply CLICK HERE and you will be routed to our online donation page at www.Actionintl.org.

Learning About Home from Afar

"Sometimes you have to immerse yourself in an unfamiliar world before you can understand your own."

I heard this quote recently and it really got me thinking about all we have learned about ourselves since coming to Zambia. While we have learned a lot, here is just a snippet:

• Before coming here, I had ideas about the importance of family, but it wasn't until I saw the way Zambians value family (not just nuclear, but aunts, uncles, cousins, etc...) that I learned what many of us in the States are missing out on and what we seemed to have forgotten. Family matters!

• I thought I understood how well off we were in the States materially, but then I saw poverty first-hand. And I realized that I didn't have a clue. I didn't nearly understand the plight that most of the world struggles with on a daily basis and I didn't feel the responsibility that comes with such blessing ("To whom much has been given, much will be required").

• I thought I understood many portions of Scripture, but then I have been able to see these same Scriptures in a whole new light - through the eyes of another culture. It has really given me a more holistic view of God's word. I'm not saying that I understand it all, but I am saying that the Lord has used our time and experiences here to reveal more of Himself to us through His scriptures.

• Before coming here, I thought I understood sacrifice. But having to leave close friends and family for the sake of the gospel has made sacrifice a reality. While holidays are still celebrated and enjoyed, they just are not the same when you are away from those you love most.

• I thought I understood what it meant to trust Christ. But then I met pastors who go without food for days just so their families have something to eat. These same pastors are not walking away from their faith, but are praising God for his faithfulness. I'm beginning to see that I have very little understanding as to what it means to trust in the Lord, but I am learning p'ongono p'ongono (bit by bit).

The Best Kind of Ministry

Chieftainess Mwenda of Chikankata

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to take Caleb with me on an outreach trip. In a continued relationship with a chieftainess in Chikankata, we were invited down to show the Jesus Film (In Tonga) at a local market. Chieftainess Mwenda has a vision to see her entire kingdom (approximately 20,000 families / 100,000 people) reached with the gospel of Christ.

After visiting with the Chieftainess, we headed to the local market to setup for the film. Before sunset, we were really unsure as to whether or not people would show up. Just before it started getting dark, there were only a handful of people congregating around the movie screen. But after it got dark and we started the film, people started pouring out of the local village. By the midway point of the film, we probably had close to 350 people hearing the story of Jesus in their own language.

After the movie, we invited people up to the front, some to receive Jesus for the first time and some to pray for physical healing and release from spiritual torment. During the prayer time, I told Caleb to float between me and Luke and just be available to pray with people. At one point during the evening, Caleb ran up to me and said "Dad, we just prayed for this woman who was having leg and chest pains and when we finished praying, she was healed!!! Dad, she was healed the first time that we prayed for her."

As I reflected on this evening of ministry, I came away most encouraged not by the response to the gospel (which was great) nor to those who were healed and/or received deliverance through prayer (which were many), but I came away most encouraged about being able to participate in this wonderful ministry with my son Caleb. I came away with great joy after seeing just how excited my son had become while sharing the love of Jesus with these Tonga speaking people of Chikankata!

We Struck..... Water??

Construction is still underway at Ciyanjano. This past week, we drilled the 2nd borehole for our water project that is just starting. We have plans to run irrigation to the campsites and income generation side of the property. Above is a picture of the machine that drilled the 50 meter hole. Needless to say, they found water!

Lanton Zimbia

Below is a final update on Lanton from Steve and a thank you to the many of you who prayed for this dear boy:

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Just want to let you know that Lanton is doing very well. He is home, eating and becoming himself, again. I have never seen Mirriam so beside herself with worry, sorrow and desperation as I did at the hospital that night. She couldn’t even focus. It was as if she had seen this before and now it was her own son, and she was so afraid that she was going to lose her son. (This is such an awful reality here. I just can’t even begin to describe how often we hear about another child who just died because of some disease or illness.) And, then to have him miraculously recovered like that was an almost too incredible to believe...

So tonight she sent me this text that I wanted to share with you: "Thank you so much again for your help both spiritually and financially. I don’t know what I would have done without you. I know that there were a lot of people you asked to help pray for me. I didn’t have strength to talk to my God but you guys did it for me. What a miracle. I have no words that I can use to explain what has happened to my son. Thank you again."

Thanks again for partnering with us overhere in Zambia.

Steve

Njoka Maningi (Many Snakes)

Click Here to View the Video on You Tube

Mom, don't read this one : )

So, this week has been the week of many snakes. On Sunday, a lady who is staying on the Allen's property was walking out of her cottage in flip flops. When she stepped off the porch, she stepped either on or near a snake. The snake immediately turned and bit her flip flop an wrapped itself around her ankle. She quickly kicked her flip-flop and the snake with it into the yard. They weren't quite sure what kind of snake it was (they were guessing either a boomslang or black mamba both deadly snakes) so she was rushed to the clinic. Needless to say, she was undone!

Then yesterday, while I was at Luke's house, we got a call from Steve. He had a snake cornered in some bushes and needed help killing it. When we got there, we found a 4-5 foot mamba. Instead of trying to explain what happened next, I'll just let you watch the video above. But let me say, this is one of the fastest snakes that I've ever seen in person!

Then today, we got a call from some of our other friends, the Carrs, who live just down the road from us and the Allens. Their gardener found a cobra in their yard. I don't know why so many snakes are showing up at one time, but I'm glad that they have found a way to stay away from our home.

Thank you for praying

Wow, what a difference a day makes with lots of prayer. Lanton was discharged yesterday at 4:30 pm. Nothing short of a miracle. Lest there be any doubters out there, the symptoms were really bad. But today is a new day and he is in his right mind, eating and feeling o.k. Amazing. Thank you also for the prayers offered up on his mother's behalf. They were very much needed. In the midst of not knowing what was happening, she had to sit for her grade 12 exams. She's now 30 and decided to go back to finish up school. If she didn't sit for the exams, she would have had to wait another year to sit. So, know that your prayers also got her through this tough day.

As for Lanton, the tests showed no cerebral malaria, and they don’t think it was meningitis. But, they do think it may have been a type of malaria that stayed in his system from a previous bout. Anyways, we are praising God today for His faithfulness in watching over this dear boy and his family.

Please Pray

Please be in prayer for Lanton Zimba. He is the nephew of Dailes (Our worker) and son of her sister Mirriam (The Allen's worker). He is currently at a local clinic with what appears to be either Cerebral Malaria or Meningitis. Either of these are very serious and potentially deadly. Pray that God would heal this dear boy either by His power or through the wisdom of the medical staff attending to him. Pray also for his mother and family to be surrounded by God's peace during this time.

Thank you

You'll Love This One

Inswa! This is a word that means Termite. In Zambia, just after the first rains of rainy season, these bugs come out in droves. And they don't go to waste. Inswa is a seasonal delicacy here. The people love to eat them. So, this morning, while I was at our ministry center, I noticed a ton of Inswa crawling all over the place. Since I had never tried them before, I asked one of the workers if they had a container that I could use to take some of them home for lunch. He not only gave me a container, but he went around and filled it up with about 500 of these termites.

Needless to say, Kerri was surprised when I got home and the kids thought it was great. I asked Charles how to best cook them and then I went to work. Just a teaspoon of oil, some salt, cook them on high heat for about 5 minutes and voila! A delicious little afternoon snack. For what it's worth, they might look gross, but they actually tasted a lot like bacon bits. Anyways, here is a short video showing the bugs before, during and after being cooked. Enjoy!

Click Here to view the Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wvd-CyX6j4I

The Rains Have Come

Well another 6 months without any rains has ended! The picture above is from the beginning of last rainy season, but you get the point. Usually, you wouldn't be excited about rain, but when you go so long without it, it's kind of exciting. Kerri and I enjoyed watching our youngest, Ellie, experience her first Lusaka rainy season as a toddler. The expressions she made were priceless.

The only problem now, with rainy season being upon us, is that, I have to fix the broken window in the girls room. This past Sunday before church, Thomas had his first accident with a football and put a big hole in it. If it would have been during dry season, I could have procrastinated a little bit longer, but if I don't fix it soon, the girls might drown ; )

In other news, please be in prayer for our vehicle. It has been sitting in our yard now for about 3 weeks unable to run. There is a part that has gone bad that we are having trouble finding in Zambia. We may have to ship it in from S. Africa or have a friend bring it from the States. I am going to a parts store this morning to see if I can find it, but things do not look promising. Other than that, the Roberts are doing well!