A Boy's Best Friend

https://www.africafreedommission.org/mission-trips

We're sorry for not updating the blog lately. With trying to get ready to leave Zambia and sell our belongings, communication has taken a back seat.

Today was something difficult for our family. We placed our Labrador Aero with another family this afternoon. All of the kids went with us to make sure he would be happy. And he was. Thomas probably had the most difficult time. He asked if Aero could stay at our home for a few more weeks before going.

Pray for our kiddos. They are having to make a lot of sacrifices in order for us to move back to the States. This is home to all of them.

The Final Chapter

Roberts Ministry Update

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To say this update is important would be an understatement.  Please take the time to get caught up on what the Lord is doing in our lives.  Big changes are coming and we need your love, prayers and support now more than ever.  We love you guys!

Thank you,
Brent & Kerri

Overloaded

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Today marks the beginning of a 3-day worship outreach in Ngangula. We have over 20 friends from Lusaka joining our Love Africa team. Pray for us!

Above is a picture of my car. Wouldn't have believed I could fit 20 mattresses on and in it! We were quite the site driving through the bush to the village.

Little Brenty

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In the Zambian culture it is common for parents to honor others who they love and respect by naming their children after them. This afternoon, we found out that one of our workers was doing that for us.

Lloyd has been working for us for the past 2+ years. His wife Mutinta has been part of Kerri and Elise's monthly discipleship and has also helped us out in many occasions here on the farm. Both are very special to us!

Yesterday, Mutinta gave birth to their second child and son. She had been staying with her parents near the clinic the last week just to make sure she would have access to doctors when the time came. Lloyd, on the other hand, stayed here at the farm awaiting word on the safe delivery.

So, this morning after we knew that the baby had come, we expected Lloyd to be on his way to see his new son. Instead, he was back at work. Imagine!

Well, it didn't last long. I told him to get ready and we headed to where Mutinta was staying. As we walked into the small house, we found Mutinta and the baby resting. We didn't stay too long because Lloyd needed to get some things for her and the baby, but it was great having this tiny moment to visit with baby and family.

Then, as we were driving back to the market, Lloyd asked me a question. He said "Do you want to know the name?" I guess I should have asked when we were in the home, but I forgot. He then told me that he and Mutinta decided beforehand that if the baby was a girl that they planned on naming her Kerri, but if he were a boy, they were going to name him Brent!

I can honestly say that I never thought that there would be a little Zambian boy in the middle of the African bush named after me. But I am deeply honored by this act of love and respect.

This is Totally Our Experience

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Saw this and had to share.  This describes us to a "T."  Thought you would enjoy!

Habibi

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One thing I love about Zambia is the exposure we get to different cultures. Case in point. This is one of our friends at a local grocery store. He's a Muslim from Lebanon. Whenever we see each other we greet by calling each other Habibi, which is Lebanese for friend.

Here in Zambia we have a variety of friends from a variety of backgrounds. We have friends who are Afrikaans, British, Indian, Belgiun, and other parts of the world.

I'm so thankful for it too as it allows our kids such great opportunities to grow in their love and understanding for different people around the world.

In Home Visit

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This evening just after dinner, we received a call from one of our workers. A little girl in the community fell and hit her head splitting the scalp. Kerri was Dr. Kerri tonight.

It's nice to see our friends here are so trusting of us. I hope the little we do speaks Jesus to them in a real and refreshing way!

All Locked Up

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This past week, I had a new first in Zambia. One of the street boys that we've been working with was arrested for stealing a phone. It wasn't the first time I've had to deal with theft, but it was the first time that I had to visit a 13 year old child in a Zambian prison.

The day before, while Michael was shopping with Luke at the grocery store, a drunk police man came up from behind and grabbed him. When Luke objected to the treatment Michael was receiving, the person identified himself as a police officer, threw him in a cab and took him to the police station. Luke went down there to get the full story, but it was clear that Michael was going to have to stay the night.

That's when I came into the picture. I was already planning a trip into town. So, my morning plans were altered a bit to include trying to help this boy. When I arrived at the police station that morning, they allowed me to go back and check on Michael. I didn't know what to expect. It turns out that they have a single room with an iron gate that was locked with a huge padlock. I wish I could show you a picture, but they don't let us take pictures at the station.

But it was quite overwhelming seeing this small child crammed in with 30 other prisoners in a room of about 100 square feet. As I stood there all I could think to ask him was if he was ok. As he answered, the tears began to flow. This boy was scared.

Without making the story too long, I was able to track down the woman who had filed the charges and we were able to work out a solution that kept Michael out of prison and get him some much needed help.

So, pray for him. Pray for wisdom for myself and others in the church that disciple Michael. Pray that he will let us invest in him in a way that encourages him towards a faith in and love for Jesus! And pray for us as we seek to minister to his family. He comes from a really tough family life, but God can change it!

Home Visit

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Mark your calendars. The Roberts will be visiting the States Oct 16 - Jan 15. We'd love to reconnect with as many of you as possible! If you think about it, set aside some time for us!

Africa for Real, Africa Forever

https://www.africafreedommission.org/mission-trips

When we finally finished our accommodations for short-term teams last year, we had dreams. We dreamt that this property would be used to change lives, that there would be individuals who would come to Zambia and get wrecked like we did on a similar short-term trip to Kenya in 1995. So, when this team  finally arrived, it really felt like a fulfillment of some of those dreams.

As the week went by it was awesome watching these young men and women process all that God was showing them. Below is a blog written by one of the students. Take a minute and just listen how Jesus used Zambia and her time here with our ministry to open her eyes to more of Himself.

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I'm currently recovering from jet lag, and missing the sweet bush of Africa.

I'm currently missing my sweet team who only entered my life a short two weeks ago.

My heart is currently aching from the longing of wanting to be back in Zambia.

But let's rewind to two weeks ago.


My alarm goes off and I am wide awake. I know what today is. Everything is a blur as I grab my bag and my backpack and head downstairs. Today is the day I leave for Africa. I've been waiting forever for this moment and here it is. Mom, dad, and myself head to the airport and my stomach is in knots the whole way. I'm praying for God to show Himself in new ways and to do amazing things on this trip. Am I going to remember what my team looks like? That's a negative. I finally see a girl with a Love Africa sticker on her bag. I know that's my team. I walk over with a shy smile and am greeted with warm hugs and smiles. This is going to be good. "Hi, I'm Janie!" a girl says. It's instantly followed with a Madison, Kaylee, Nate, PH, Kaylyn, Taylor, TJ, and Mallory. Bye parents. See you soon. My stomach is back in knots. I haven't been on a plane in a while. What will I think of it? I am seated with Nate who is instantly warming with his fun personality and I relax just a little. Who are these people? What are their backgrounds? We land in D.C. Now we meet Devin who bursts with independence and looks fit from head to toe. 5 hour layovers feel like years. We all act friendly, but the awkwardness is still lingering due to us all being strangers. We begin #TeamSelfies which I find super entertaining. Now we are in line getting boarding passes. This time I'm with Mallory and TJ for 16 hours. Perfect bonding time. I'm extra scared for this flight. My stomach is twisting. I'm praying. My head hurts. 16 hours is going to feel forever. But we make it. We get to Africa. We are here. I feel relieved. This is real. This is happening. And I am so excited.

Now we are getting on a Mazabuka Girls High School bus with our driver Daddi....did he say his name was daddy? HAHA he did. The roads are bouncy and my bum feels a little bruised. We laugh with excitement until we reach our first hotel. The Chapa. We watch our first sunset in Africa in which words can't explain. Then we go to a little restaurant where I decide to order crocodile. I learn to salsa with Gracyn who is one of the missionaries little girls. We have an instant bond. I really like her laugh. I wake up excited and ready to see Victoria Falls....one of the seven wonders! Brent (one of the missionaries) says we will need a rain jacket. He's right. We instantly get soaking wet.

Guys this waterfall is amazing. You can hear the power of the water rushing over the side and it is unreal. And God created that. A picture can't do it justice. I am so thankful I got to marvel in God's creation with my team.

Safari time! I am super excited. Today we see a baby giraffe, a few zebra, and one baby elephant. I am amazed at these creatures that exist. They are beautiful.

Our next safari is a boat ride where hippos are everywhere. They lay on top of each other and they are super fat. I'm relaxed. I sit down with Taylor who I have yet to speak many words too. "My brother died right before this trip." I feel my heart drop. It aches. I've only known this girl for three days. I feel my tears well up. "Why did this happen? Why am I here?" Questions only our God can answer. We talk for a while about Jesus and the Bible and His perfect timing. I want to carry this burden with her. I'm sure of it. After our boat ride, we go on another safari where we see TONS of elephants. There's one, and another, and another, and another! They are beautiful. They are huge and majestic.
Tonight is our last night at the hotel. I'm ready to head to the farm. What is it going to be like?
We pack up on the Mazabuka bus with Daddi who at this point has become part of the family. 5 hours later and we are finally at the farm.

This is where the two missionary families live. The Roberts have 5 kids and the Whitfields have 6! They are all waiting eagerly for us to arrive. They immediately begin to love on us and drag us all over the farm. I'm excited and full of energy. So many names pouring into my head and their love immediately pouring into my heart. We put our bags in a storage container with bunk beds...it's awesome. Now what about food? I'm nervous we will hardly eat. Until the first night we have fajitas and lemon bars. I guess we won't starve? Oops. The fire pit is huge! We sit and sing and talk about Jesus. My heart is slowly growing for my team. We go to bed early so we can be refreshed for the village.

I wake up nervous. How will these kids be at the school? What if I we can't communicate?
We can't communicate. There is a language barrier. But love really is the one language everyone knows. We sing everyday with these beautiful African children. We sing with one another. I hug and squeeze every child I can possibly get too. My heart swells with much love everyday. My heart swells with so much love that on Friday when we leave the village for the last time my heart breaks and the tears come. All I can think is how those children will be waiting for us and how we will not be back. I want to go back. I need to see their smiles and hear their laughs. The time passed by and I didn't even realize. Sunday is our final night on the farm. We throw Gracyn a surprise birthday party. I love her. My heart aches with the thought of leaving her. We wash the feet of the Roberts and the Whitfields and I can't speak. All I feel are tears. Tears of happiness, tears of joy, tears of leaving, tears of sadness. They flood my face and I can't stop. I reach Daddi's feet and can't breathe. I can not thank him enough for driving us around and for impacting our lives in unbelievable ways. I do not want to leave him. I know he doesn't want us to leave as well. My heart is aching. How did I get so close to these people in such a short amount of time.

God completely wrecked my heart. What a humbling experience. To see people with absolutely nothing, be the happiest people I've ever seen is incredible. It's unreal. When I said goodbye to my team, I felt my heart break.

So now I'm here. I didn't even cover half of my trip but that's just because it's impossible too.

I'm recovering from jet lag & my heart hurts from being apart from my team.

but

my heart is satisfied with Jesus. I really learned the meaning of that the past two weeks.

Take the world, but give me Jesus.

Africa For Real, Africa Forever.

Jesus for eternity.

Last Day of Camp

https://www.africafreedommission.org/mission-trips

It's been so much fun hosting this team of university students  and pouring into their lives over the course of this week. It's also been a blessing to see how they've interacted and poured into the lives of these 1,100+ children.

Today marked the end of our 4-day kids camp and it finished with something really awesome. The headmen of Ngangula making a stand for faith in Christ! What a way to end a week of ministry!

Our First Team

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Our first team from is visiting with us over the next week and a half. They've come to assist us in running a kids camp for 1,200 children at a Primary School in Ngangula.

We're so excited to have these guys here with us. The team consists of 12 college students from 4 different states. Many of them are trying to figure out their longterm involvement with God on mission.

Pray for them this week coming up. Pray that God would use their time here to strengthen their passion for Jesus. Pray that He would do a specific work in each of their lives.

For those of you who don't know, it was a very similar trip like this to Kenya, which ultimately led our family to serve in Zambia.

A Lion Encounter

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Sheesh! We've really been spoiled this past week with African wildlife. This afternoon, our car had a hose bust. So, we had to make a stop at the vet's house for assistance. It turns out that he and his wife were rehabilitating 3 lion cubs.

Caleb and I decided it was ok to delay our departure a bit just to play with the little guys. ; )

Elephant Capture

http://youtu.be/v8MyNIfEC6w

https://www.africafreedommission.org/mission-trips

We really had a once in a lifetime experience this morning.  The team from Zimbabwe did an amazing job and everything went so smoothly.  The elephant was darted from a helecopter, picked up by crane onto the back of a flatbed truck.  Brought to a nearby field where another truck with different compartments were waiting.  There, it was pulled by truck and cables into the first compartment, then given some medicine to wake it up.  I was actually surprised that it woke up so fast.  Literally from being passed out to on its feet and alert within a matter of a minute.  After it was up, they were able to coerce it towards the front compartment which was already on the back of a tractor trailer truck.  And then within a few minutes, it was off to its new home in Kafue National Park.

I grew up watching National Geographic and similar shows thinking how fun it would be to do work like that.  Well, this morning, the kids and I got to see it first hand.  Great way to spend a Saturday morning!

If you would like to see a quick video with some video clips and pictures.  Simply click the link just below the picture above.

Coolest Guests Ever

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I've been in Lusaka the past few days. So, this evening was the first time I had the opportunity to meet the special guests we are hosting. It turns out that there is an elephant that has wondered onto a nearby farm. It's created such a buzz that the government has agreed to fund a game capture team from Zimbabwe to come and relocate it.

That's the team that is staying with us tonight. Tomorrow morning they will head out and attempt to catch this beast. And guess what? We're invited to come and watch! Can you say awesome? I'm sure there will be follow up pictures.

Our First Loss

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This past week we had our first theft at our property in the village. It wasn't much (3 bags of cement), but it did provide a good learning experience. I got to be part of something that I've never been part of before. A meeting with the headmen to discuss the theft and plan a way forward.

Zambian culture is definitely different than ours. To settle disputes in the village, you usually call 2-3 of the headmen and meet to discuss. This discussion went really well. Even though we didn't manage to get to the bottom of who took the cement, we were treated as part of the community. That was a big step in and of itself!

Preparing a Meal

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How do Zambians prepare their corn meal (Mealie) in the
Village? With a lot of muscle. Take a look at this video if you get a chance!

Isn't God Good?

Click HERE to view this video Update

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A while back, I shared about Yvonne, a young lady that we met while doing some leadership training in the villages behind Chikankata.  Yvonne was a girl tormented by the enemy!  She was in such bad shape and such a threat to herself and her commnity that her grand mother had chained her to a pole in their house.

A few weeks ago, we were challenged at church to be out in the community looking for ways to pray for people.  I immediately thought of Yvonne and decided that I would go back out to her home and see how she was doing and pray for her.  As I was speaking to one of my Zambian friends about going, he told me the best news!  Yvonne was well!!!

So, yesterday, I went back out there on my bike to try and record her story.  Above is a short video of me interviewing her sister Idris (on the left) and later Yvonne.  I hope this encourages you that God is still in the business of delivering!

We're Back

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We are so thankful for our time in South Africa. It was so nice seeing the beach, resting and getting recharged. The kids had a blast and so did the parents!

After arriving Saturday evening and preaching the Sunday Easter service, today we caught up on our sleep from traveling. Tomorrow it's back to the grind.

In just a little over 3 weeks we host our first team of the summer - a group of college students from Love Africa Mission. Can't wait to host this team and my friend Nathan Smith and his family.

So tomorrow the preparations begin: finding translators, last minute construction, grocery shopping, meetings in Ngangula, etc. missing the beach, but loving being back home!

We made it

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After 30 hours of driving through three different countries we've finally made it!

The kids are out on the beach as I type playing football and collecting shells. Can't believe we're here. Thanks for praying for safe travel!