Hurray!!! More Visitors!!!

Kerri and I have been looking forward to this next two weeks ever since we left Columbia.  This morning at 4:00 am (South Carolina time) 15 members from our home church, Columbia Crossroads, met at the airport to fly to Zambia.  They will be arriving tomorrow (our time) at 2:00 pm.  As you can see from the picture, Caleb has a couple of surprise visitors, of which we have not told him about.  Please be in prayer for our friends as they travel over the next several hours.  Also be in prayer for them as they assist us in ministry for the next two weeks.

What's in a name?

We thought we would add a little humor to the blog today and let you in on some of the interesting names we have heard since being in Zambia.  So we hope they are as entertaining to you as they have been to us.  This is not intended to be disrespectful to any Zambians.  We just thought it would give those who are not from here, more insight into the culture we live in.

10) Happy (Not to be confused with Gilmore)

9) Blessing

8) Purity

7) Sunday

6) Six  (Our safari guide in Botswana; he was the 6th born)

5) Shadreck, Mishack or Abendigo

4) Grandson

3) Progress

2) Limited

and last but not least...

1) Measurement

Prayer Request

This was posted by our friends and co-workers the Whitfields.  Please be in prayer for this family that they have been ministering to:

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Dear Friends

It saddens us to have to inform you that our house helper, Pauline Sakala, lost her youngest daughter Lizzy this past Sunday. Lizzy was born a couple days before we arrived back in Zambia in May. At only two months old, she died, per the official report, due to an infection of malarial and bronchitis. Although our time with Lizzy was brief, she had already attached herself to our hearts. Emma, was especially fond of her and would capture any opportunity she could to hold her for a few moments during the day.

Over the past few days our family has been exposed to an aspect of Zambian culture that is unfortunately all too familiar to most of our Zambian friends.  The funeral in the African culture may just be the most significant way to honor and pay respect to someone or a particular family. You can be excused from missing a wedding but everyone shows up for the funeral, even if you’re not invited.

Yesterday was spent making arrangements for the burial today.  Pauline’s husband Norman, and Luke spent the morning collecting the infant casket and burial permit. Transportation for around sixty relatives from the village and surrounding areas had to be arranged as well.  Most importantly was the need to purchase two fifty pound bags of corn meal, cabbages, cooking oil, two live chickens and two fifty pound bags of charcoal all used to feed those relatives and friends who came to mourn alongside the family.

Today there was the need for flowers and a wreath to be placed at the burial site(in the picture you will notice the flowers are broken at the stem….this is done so people attending later funerals will not steal the flowers from the grave of your loved one).  And lastly, the grave diggers (who dig while you watch and wait) needed to be compensated for their efforts.

Earlier this morning we joined Norman and Pauline in laying their two month old child to rest. Pictures could not describe what it is like to be surrounded, literally, by thousands of burial mounds, some large and some no bigger than a loaf of bread (all the mounds you see in the pictures are actual grave sites).  As we were waiting for the grave to be completed we noticed a family nearby digging a small grave and watched as they laid a small towel wrapped corpse in the ground. And of course we wept, as we listened to our dear sister Pauline cry out the name of her dead baby and watched on as she and Norman lay a wreath on the fresh grave.

Why are we sharing all this detail with you? We wanted to share this because all of you, directly or indirectly, were used by God to bless this couple today as they mourned the death of their little baby girl.

Paul reminds us in Galatians 6 that we are to “carry each other’s burdens” and “as we have the opportunity, to be good to all people, especially to those that belong to Body of Christ”. You were a part of living Galatians 6 out in the lives of Norman and Pauline and we just thought you would like to know that because of your prayers and support we were able to cover all of the funeral cost for the Sakalas. To them it was a monumental act of kindness, but you may be surprise to know the total cost for the funeral was $220.

Many of you may never get a chance to meet Norman and Pauline until we get to Heaven, but we know if they could, they would thank each one of you with a hug and smile.

If you are interested in helping out Pauline and her family or simply would like to write them a word of encouragement (we can print your responses and give them to Pauline) during this time please let us know. They will continue life with their three other girls and we ask your prayers for this grieving family.

God is good all the time and we thank Him for what He accomplished through His body today.  We love and miss each of you. Thanks again for being obedient to His voice; we could do none of this without your involvement.

His Servants

The Whitfields <>< 

Encounter with a Cobra

A couple of weeks ago, we had a team in from California. They came to do some work at the ministry center. One afternoon, while spending some time with them, we decided to play some basketball. As I was standing in front of the hoop, I took a few steps back into the grass. That's when I heard something moving behind me. When I turned around, about 5 feet away, a 3 foot cobra was raised up with its hood spread wide open ready to bite. It's not every day that you encounter something that can kill you.  I immediately backed away and warned everyone to move out of the way. Then the snake settled back down and crawled into a hole underneath a nearby tree.

These are not the kind of snakes you can leave to wander around the property.  For safety sake, we had to get the snake out of the hole and kill it.  So, for the next 30 minutes, several of us poked and prodded the hole with poles and rakes until we were able to get him out.  Above is a video of the slaying.  If you're receiving this post via email, you can go to this link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niQf_GS8sTE.

I still can't believe I almost stepped on this snake!  Only in Africa!

A Little Fun

One of the adjustments that our family has had to make in living in Zambia is the fact that we (Kerri and kids) stay home a lot more than we did in the States.   We only have one car and there's really nowhere to go - no parks, no playgrounds, no library, no Chick-fil-A :-).  So, when we came back to Zambia this time, we decided to look for a few ways to make our home a more fun place to be for our kids.  They spend a lot of time outside and to this point all we've had to play on is a tire swing.  

This week we found a used trampoline that was being sold by a missionary family that is relocating to the UAE.  We made the decision to buy it and I think it is already proving to be a great investment.  The kids LOVE it!  Since we got it and set it up, they've been on it non-stop - waking up early to jump before breakfast, jumping during every break from school, and even asking to eat lunch on it!  We've all taken our turns jumping and having fun together and the kids even got Charles and Dailes (our guard and house helper) in on the action.  Enjoy this little snippet of their trampoline fun!  It's hilarious!

What Not To Do

So, for some reason, our water has been going out daily for the last week or so.  Apparently, while it was out the other day, one of us (probably Maddie) forgot that the cold water tap in our bathroom had been left on and the drain had been plugged.  Needless to say, when the water came back on last night, it overflowed for nearly an hour before we discovered it.  Here's a picture of Kerri mopping up the damage with all of the towels in our house!  Oh, the joys of living in Africa. : )

Short Lived Experiment

Chickens are a huge source of income & livlihood for many families here in Zambia.  Many families have a few just running around the house for eggs and such.  So, I decided that I would get some for the kids.  I was interested in finding out more about what it takes to keep them, feed them, etc... in hopes that I might be able to use that knowledge to help some pastors, church leaders & or churches in starting viable chicken businesses.  Well, let's just say that it didn't go quite as I expected.  Both chicks, which I purchased for the equivalent of $1 (50 cents a piece) died within the first 48 hours.  What I found out, after the fact, is that you're not supposed to hold them too often whey they are very young.  Considering the kids were holding them all day, I don't think their chances for survival were all that great.

Street Kids Outreach

Last Friday, several of us went out with another ministry here in Zambia on a street kids outreach.  Our friends, the Moraleses and the Carrs, head up a ministry that reaches out to these vulnerable children.  We really didn't know what to expect.  We all met at a coffee house in downtown Lusaka and then walked through town to Saweto (a district of shops behind city market).  Once we got back in Saweto, we had to make our way through these small alleys between the shops to the back of Saweto.  As we arrived, it seemed like the children came from out of nowhere.  

As they came, the leaders of the group we were with, started gathering them towards the back of Saweto along a fence that borders the area.  Charles, a once street boy and known criminal in Lusaka, shared with them how Jesus Christ had changed his life.  Charles used to be one of the leaders on the streets.  He spent a lot of time in prison and was even used by prison guards to "thin out" populations when they got too full.  It was amazing to me to see how God had invaded such a hopeless situation and changed what many of us would deem a lost cause.

Most (probably all) of the boys were sniffing Stika the whole time we were there.  Stika is a cheap inhalant drug peddled to these children by local drug dealers.  The children put a little of the glue in a clear plastic bottle and inhale the fumes.  It has a deadening effect on all of their senses.  During the winter (which is now), it is the primary way that they endure the cold.  So, I don't know how much of what Charles shared was received by these children, but I do know that God's word never returns void!

After that afternoon, I couldn't get these children and this experience out of my mind.  So, when the Carrs invited us back out the following week, I was more than happy to go.  This outing was a little different though.  Instead of going out during the day, we went out at night.  Let me just say that many Zambians will not go into Saweto during the day, but most would never go at night.  And I think that it spoke volumes to these kids that we would be willing to meet them where they were.

Our charge from the Pastor this time, "Just touch the children.  Show them that you care for them and that God cares for them."  And that's about all we did.  We went and parked the car at a police post inside city market and walked back to the same place we had been the previous Friday.  This time, in addition to our just being there, we brought hot tea and bread for the boys.  The evening started with singing around a small fire the boys had already made (see the video above).  As we sang, many of them would come up and hug us and greet us in Nyanja.  After singing and a testimony by one of the teammates, we broke into smaller groups and fed the children.  The leaders wanted us out of there before the kids got too rowdy.  So, shortly after the feeding, we prayed and left.

I think the one thing that God impressed upon me during these outreaches is how little it takes to show God's love to another person.  Sometimes, something as simple as taking bread and tea to a boy in a hopeless situation is all He desires from me to show someone else His love!

Safari Monday

Today was a Zambian holiday. So, we decided to take Kerri's father to a safari lodge just outside of town for the day. This was his first African safari!  Yesterday also marked 2 months since we've been back in Zambia. It seems like we've been going full speed since we arrived. So, it was nice to getaway, even if only for a day. Anyways, here are some pictures from our day at Chaminuka. If you are receiving this post via email, you will need to go to our site (www.RobertsinZambia.Blogspot.com) to view the slideshow.

Grace for the Poor

During our weekly discipleship meeting for Navigators 2:7, Luke posed the following question:  "How do you pastors minister to people in your community when many times you can't even provide for yourselves?" 

Pastor Martin Phiri (pictured above), gave an honest answer which was humbling, a blessing, convicting, and challenging to me all at once.  He said, that us Azungu (Westerners) don't understand grace.  We have to depend on His grace for our daily provisions and it helps us in ministry to those we serve.  Here I was, teaching about grace, and it hadn't even dawned on me how many Zambian believers experience His grace in practical ways on a daily basis.  While saving grace is a topic that many Zambians have a hard time grasping, I'm learning that practical grace in our daily provisions is something I will be learning from these dear brothers in the Lord.

Health Issues

For the past month, Gracyn has been waking up with a rash.  At first we thought it might be an allergic reaction from the juice she was drinking.  So, we started giving her water.  When that didn't work, we thought it might be the soap she was using during bath time.  So, we switched to baby bath and shampoo.  That didn't work.  Then we were told to be on the lookout for bedbugs.  So, just the other night, Kerri went into her room at night with a flashlight.  We were told that if there were bedbugs, you could see them this way.  No bedbugs!  We were really racking our brains.  Benadryl wasn't working and the bumps kept coming back.

Well, yesterday, we found our answer.  Kerri took Gracyn to see one of our doctor friends who diagnosed it rather quickly.  Here in Zambia, we are supposed to take de-worming medicine every three to six months.  We've only been back for 2 months.  So, naturally we didn't think about it.  Kerri gave Gracyn her first dose last night and Gracyn was bump free this morning for the first time in a month.  Praise the Lord!

While on the subject of health, we do have a prayer request.  Kerri has been experiencing headaches for the past week.  We contacted her neurologist, via email, and he said that because of the stroke back in January, she could have symptoms like this from time to time.  Would you please pray that these symptoms would subside?

Thank you so much for your continued prayers.

Get Me Out of Here

Here in Zambia, our homes are surrounded by brick walls and electric wires (mostly to protect against petty theft).  Because of this, there is only one way into the property and one way out.  This has its advantages, but it also has its disadvantages.  The other night when we went to pick Elise up for bible study, we saw her face through the gate hole.  Luke was at the ministry center supervising some construction work (he had one set of keys) and Movety, their guard, had left for the day (he had the other set).  So, Elise and the children were locked inside.  Kerri and I got a good laugh.

Progress

(Grading of the Soccer Field)

Ciyanjano (Nyanja word for fellowship), is the name of our ministry center located just outside of town.  About 8 months ago, we temporarily closed the property up in an attempt to control some of the monthly costs until we were in a position to start developing the property.  Well, the time has come.  This week, we have had a team from California visiting.  Their project while they are here - start phase 1 development of Ciyanjano.

Action Zambia is a ministry that focuses on equipping local churches for the work to which God has called them to do here in Zambia.  We see the ministry center as a key to reaching this vision.  After development is completed, the property will be used for a variety of activities such as kids camps, pastor conferences, marriage seminars and possibly even some livlihood projects to help pastors and churches generate income.

Pit Latrine # 1

The team here has been wonderful.  They've been hard at work planting trees, digging a pit latrine, tearing down an old insaka, etc...  It's neat seeing a team from half way around the world catching onto and supporting the vision that God has given our team here in Zambia.

God's Goodness

Cool story about God's goodness here in Zambia from our friends and teammates the Whitfields.  See below:

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Dear Friends

Just wanted to share a huge opportunity for us to corportately praise God for His goodness. 

Last Sunday as we were going to home church with our missionary friends for father's day Luke saw a man utilizing a crutch outside our friend's gate. He felt that God was telling him to go and ask what had happened to this man and to pray for him. As he inquired he found out that Daniel had a bad infection in his leg that made it almost impossible for him to walk without the aid of a crutch. Luke prayed for him and then sent Daniel on his way. 

This weekend Daniel showed up at our friend's gate and asked for the big Muzungu (Luke has put on some weight if you have not seen him lately). Our friends the Allens directed Daniel to our gate and he informed us that his leg had been completely healed. Luke was gone the first time that Daniel stopped by and so was a little skeptical at the report. Today, Daniel stopped by again and Luke was amazed to see that this man's leg,that had been bandaged and extrememlely swollen, showed no sign of infection at all. 

We are writing this to encourage you all that if God can work through sinners like us, then He can work through anyone. Praise God with us as we rejoice at His goodness and mercy. What a great God we serve and may all glory and honor be unto Him. It is amazing what He is doing through our partnership here in Zambia. 

We love you all and so appreciate your love and support.

(We have included a picture of Daniel, his wife, and their child Emmanuel)


His Servants

The Whitfields <><

Welcome Bubba

Kerri's dad arrived late Wednesday night for the beginning of an almost month long visit.  He had been waiting in Atlanta after getting bumped from more than one flight and finally got a flight out on Tuesday.  The kids were ecstatic to see him.  I took Caleb and Gracyn to the airport to pick him up at 9:00 pm.  And we spared no expense in rolling out the Zambian welcome carpet.  Upon arrival he realized that his bags didn't make it and then this evening sat down for dinner without electricity.  Tomorrow, we'll see if we can have the water go out before he takes a shower : ).

Happy Birthday Charles

Our guard/gardener Charles Mutale celebrated his 30th birthday yesterday.  They have a tradition in Zambia for birthdays - a tradition that I have grown to love.  In Zambia, if someone celebrates a birthday, it is the responsibility of family and friends to splash the birthday boy/girl with water.  Well, yesterday morning was no exception.  I filled a 3 gallon bucket of water to the brim and waited just inside the yard out of sight.  Caleb had a water gun and hid in the guard shack.  And Gracyn hid behind a tree with two water balloons.

When Charles arrived, with Dailes, at 8:00 am he reached through the gate to unlock it.  Now, Dailes knew we were planning something.  So, she kept her distance.  As his hands were through the holes on the gate tinkering with the lock, I snuck up and dumped the bucket of water over the top of the gate right onto Charles.  He definitely wasn't expecting it.  Then, after getting the gate opened, Caleb and Gracyn chimed in with their water weapons.  Kerri stood across the yard and tried to video tape the whole thing, but the batteries on the recorder were dead.  Oh well!

After he dried off, we headed out for yet another surprise.  While we were in the States, Charles wrecked his bike on the way to work and broke it beyond repair.  So, we thought his birthday would be as good a time as any to get him a new one.  There is a ministry here called ZamBike which provides discounted mountain bikes for pastors.  We were able to find one just his size for a good price.  All in all, I think he enjoyed his birthday surprise (at least one of them)!

Please Pray

 Please be in prayer for our teammates, the Allens.  Their second born, Bradyn, has been very sick for the past couple of days and is now in one of the private hospitals here in Lusaka.  She's been running a very high fever and has been diagnosed with pneumonia.  The doctors are expecting to keep her in for the next several days for observation and antibiotic treatments.  Could you join us in praying for this family?

Happy Father's Day (Late)

Father's day is a day of mixed emotions for me.  On the one hand, it is a celebration of the precious gifts that God has given me in my four children.  On the other hand, it is a reminder of the huge responsibility that God has given me to grow them up in His nurture and admonition.  I pray daily that He would help & encourage me in this task and daily that He would forgive me for the many times that I fail.  I guess you could say that parenting, God glorifying parenting, would be impossible except for the grace of God!  So, my goal for this Father's day is to rely much more on His grace than my ability to parent for the next year.

Yesterday, we went to the Allens for Father's day.  Us, the Allens & the Whitfields herded our 12 children over to have some time for worship and reflection.  We listened to a sermon on YouTube from Louie Giglio called "Indescribable."   If you haven't had the opportunity to listen to this sermon, I highly recommend it.  There are 5 clips, each about 9 minutes in duration, which make up the whole sermon.  To view the first clip, (click here).  After the time of worship, we had a cookout and a time of games for the children in the front yard (led by Steve).  I couldn't think of a better way to have spent this Father's day in Zambia.

Nationwide Outage and a Bum Fridge

So, last night the power went out at around 8:30 pm.  It's a little unusual for it to go out at that time, but we didn't think much of it.  Then at 12:30 am, it came back on, only to go back off 15 minutes later.  This pattern of on again, off again persisted until the early hours of the morning until it went out for good.

I thought it might be just our neighborhood, but when I got to the office at around 7:30 am, it was out there as well.  It turns out that there was a nationwide power outage.  I remember being in the States a few years ago when New York city lost power to one of its grids and it was a major news story.  Imagine if that would have been the whole east coast or better yet the entire country.  Anyways, just thought this was an interesting tidbit about our day here in Zambia.  The power ended up coming back on at around 1:00 pm today.  So, we're back online.

On a similar note, the power was not the only thing to go today.  It seems as if our refrigerator is ionongeka (broken).  We called the store we purchased it from and they sent a repair man out to look at it.  Luckily, it was still under warranty.  They will come back tomorrow with a "loaner" so that they can take ours back to the shop to work on it.  So, if you think about it, say a prayer for our fridge.

A Challenge

So, this past week we met to go over the 1st session of book three for Navigators 2:7 discipleship.  As part of the program, the participants and leader must memorize certain passages of scripture.  As we were sitting there reciting the verses, a thought came to mind.  Here these pastors are memorizing these passages in English, when their own heart language is Nyanja.  So, I told them that as part of memorizing the verses, I would memorize in Nyanja what they were memorizing in English.

I had never looked at the verses we would be memorizing before making this commitment.  Mistake!!  A lot of times, it takes more words to express something in Nyanja than it does in English.  As I have been typing these verses up to make memory cards, I am seeing that this is going to be more difficult than I thought.  Anyways, I thought I would share the first verse with you and challenge you to do the same.  You know that one day multitudes will stand before the throne of God giving praise to him in their own languages.  Might as well learn a little before we get there : )

Here is a list of pronunciations for vowels in Nyanja:

A - Sounds like "A" in "Ball."  It doesn't ever have a long "A" sound as in English

E - Sounds like a long "A" like in the word "Base"

I - Sounds like a long "E" like in the word "Bee"

O - Sounds like a long "O" like in the word "So"

U - Sounds like "OO" in "Boo"

Other pronunciations:

C - Is pronounced "CH" like in Chair

R - R's are rolled like they are in Spanish

Th - Sounds like an aspirated T.  It is never pronounced like the "TH" in "The"

When pronouncing a word, you break the word down by the vowels.  For instance,

Dalitsa is pronounced Da-li-tsa

So, using these examples, try pronouncing and memorizing the following verse:

AROMA 3:23

"Pakuti onse anacimwa, naperewera pa ulemerero wa Mulungu"

Romans 3:23

"For all have sinned and fallen short of God's Glory."