40/40 Orientation

We are having a blast at 40/40! We have been divided into teams of 3 including a Zambian assistant. Ricky and I are on different teams so that we can experience different things. Our first 2 days of going out into the communities were very interesting. Ricky has seen most of the fabric shops and hair salons in Zambia, and he visited a woman's home where they were getting ready to have a "kitchen mending party." When a woman receives new kitchen dishes, she invites over her friends and family and cooks a meal in the new pots. The 2nd home Ricky visited they saw a 2 year old girl who had her right eye taken out because of an infection. She was there in Lusaka with her mother to see a doctor. There was no bandage over her eye, so this was very hard to deal with. Please keep this girl, Michelin, in your prayers.

We are walking from the seminary into the communities along this very long dirt road. I visited the home of a lady in a rather large community where she attends a Baptist Church. The church has started 2 other churches in the area since their membership had gotten close to 500. They are doing cell groups during the week in area homes. This was a great example of what we have been learning about Church Planting Movements (CPM). The lady of the home was very hospitable to me and my team. We learned a lot about building relationships. As we walk around the communities, we get a lot of stares because we are WHITE PEOPLE (mzungu is the term used here, but it is not meant in a negative way). We draw lots of crowds as well.