Happy Easter!

Many of our missionaries were staying at the guest house for Easter weekend before we all left for Jo'burg. Our Easter morning began at 8:30am at Woodlands Baptist. Then we made a video for Denmark FBC to send to them for their Easter service. We had a big covered dish lunch with our mission family, followed by an Easter Egg hunt.

T.A.B. Get Used to It!

That’s Africa, baby! Get used to it! I heard this expression from a fellow missionary who has lived in Zambia for 11 years. We try not to question “why” things are done a certain way, but sometimes you just have to wonder “what are they thinking?” Hence the following story:
We had placed an order for mosquito nets from a company in Zimbabwe. They agreed to ship the nets to us in Lusaka, but we had to go through customs to receive the goods. After calling the airport trying to figure out where we need to go to pick up the cargo, Ricky decided he would just drive out to the airport and deal with it face-to-face. We knew the cargo was being shipped through Air Zimbabwe, so that was his first stop. However, when he arrived at the counter, the staff was busy handling an incoming flight (the only one that day), so he was told to wait until they finished unloading the plane and reloaded it to take off again. He actually had a good time sitting in the airport for 1 ½ hours watching each plane take off and land. By the end of his wait, he was able to tell which plane would take off at a certain point on the runway depending on the size of the aircraft.
Finally, Ricky was able to talk with someone, who just sent him in another direction. He proceeded to the clearing customs area and was bombarded with private clearing agents who wanted to help him. He bypassed this crowd and headed into the clearing office. The lady explained the process to him, but he didn’t know what to do. She wanted him to pay all these charges, and then there was the option of using one of the private clearing agents which would cost money as well. So, Ricky left and decided that he needed to talk with me (Niki).
When he explained everything to me, I called the lady and talked with her again, having her explain the process to me. It was so confusing! Well, we decided to go back to the airport and attempt to get our nets.
We arrived at the clearing office, but this time no clearing agents approached us, so we thought we would try clearing customs ourselves. From the 1st lady to another building to inspecting the goods to receiving the nets, all in all we saw 15 different people in different buildings, BUT we got the nets after 2 hours spent filling out paperwork, getting papers stamped, and signing our name more than we cared to.
So, that’s Africa, baby! We are getting used to it!

Tragedy in the Village

When Ricky was in the village delivering the mealie meal, they were told of an event that took place just about a month earlier. A woman of this village was attacked and killed by a lion. As soon as Ricky heard the story, he remembered hearing of the tragedy through the news. They had no idea that they were standing in the village where this had taken place. A man took them to the scene of the incident and retold the story. This man (they find out later) was demon possessed. He happened to be the first person on the scene to try and rescue the woman. He told about not being able to see the blood on the woman because of the demons inside of him.
The woman was lying with her husband inside a kitchen (this is a hut with no walls and a thatch roof). The lion was injured and probably kicked out of his pride, and he was starving. He saw the sleeping woman as easy prey. This was a very large male lion. The Zambian Wildlife people did end up killing the lion the next evening after the terrible killing. This story just shows the dangers that the people of Zambia face every day living in the bush.

If you look closely, you can see where the lion rubbed against the posts of the hut, tearing off the bark.

Lunsemfwa River Project

On Monday, March 10th, the truck arrived at the office compound to load the mealie meal for distribution. There were many people who helped out in loading, and even Coby wanted to help. The bags weighed about 60 lbs.
Bright and early Tuesday morning (6am), Van Thompson and Ricky headed to the village area in the Eastern Province about 3-4 hours east of Lusaka. They met up with the Rodgers family in Chongwe and picked up 3 Zambian helpers. The 2 vehicles made their way to the area, traveling about 2 ½ hours on the tarmac (paved highway), and then 1 ½ hours off-road deep into the bush. As soon as they arrived, the job was to unload the mealie meal off the truck and near the campsite. Then, they proceeded to inflate the boat. Kevin drove Ricky and the two Zambians, Luke & Martin, up the river. As they traveled up the river they saw a “monster” crocodile. Later, they saw the largest hippo that any of them had ever seen, including the Zambians. A large monitor lizard fell out of the tree (probably frightened by the sight of the white people) and scurried up on the bank of the river. The rest of the day, Kevin drove up and down the river bringing the mealie meal (no more than 10 bags at a time) to the village where Ricky, Luke, and Martin were stationed. This village is about as far in the bush as you can get. Corn is their main source of food, and the last corn crop was wiped out by the heavy rains and flooding. These people were on the edge of starvation. All they had to eat was beans (we call them “cow peas”). This was all they had been eating the previous week. This village is so remote that the children have no education. It is too far from any school, so they just don’t attend. Sometimes in Africa, the children walk to school even if it’s a great distance away, but this particular area is abundant in wild animals so it is too dangerous for them to walk a great distance. The closest church to this village is about a 1 ½ hour walk and only a few families attend the church. After a good-sized crowd had gathered in the village, Ricky, Luke, and Martin began a worship service. The people sang a couple of songs, and then Ricky gave his testimony and Gospel presentation. Luke followed with an invitation. Around 30 people came forward during the invitation to accept Jesus as their Savior. After the service they continued to distribute the mealie meal the rest of the day.

At the edge of darkness they started back down the river toward the campsite. This was probably the most dangerous part of the trip. It was total darkness and having to feel their way down the river, but they arrived safely at the camp.

The next morning they started out delivering again. This time Ricky stayed at the camp area. Ricky and Van went to visit the chief of the area, but the chief was not home. They left him a gift of mealie meal just for letting them come into his village. They were still able to have a short service with the people who were there, and they in turn gave Ricky & Van a gift – a LIVE chicken! They returned to the campsite and took everything apart. Kevin continued delivering the mealie meal until he ran out of gas. The last 10 families were going to hike to pick up their bags. This could take all day for them as they travel by foot.

This was a great experience for Ricky as his first time in the bush doing ministry. To see the people react the way they did and come to know our Lord for the first time was amazing.

You may want to see more pictures on Kevin & Suzie's blog: http://www.therodgerstribe.blogspot.com/

President Viewing

It's not every day we get to see the President of Zambia. This was not our first time seeing His Majesty at Twin Palm Baptist, but this time we got photos to prove it. I hope Mr. Mwanawasa approves of our blog. We are happy to know that our president is a Christian man devoted to his country.

In a Blogging Mood...

We arrived home late tonight after a concert at the seminary. The Sprayberry's son is visiting from the US and he has been traveling around Zambia doing music ministry, so we went to his last concert tonight before he leaves tomorrow for the States. When I got home, I wanted to get a blog done since we have been lucky enough to have power the last few days. I guess I am having so much fun blogging that I can't stop. I just get so excited about the experiences we have that I want to share them with my friends and family back home. So, here's a few pictures we recently took. They have no common theme, other than this is what our life in Zambia is like.

Subway Truck at Arcades Mall

Austin & Isabelle

Our staff at lunch

Austin riding the "trick bike"

Coby (aka Daredevil)

Coby doing "tricks" on the bike

Kelsey & Matilda making tortillas

Austin's Photography

Austin enjoys taking pictures. So for art class this week, he went around the guest house taking pictures of flowers. I thought he did an excellent job, and the flowers are so beautiful right now. I should post some of his artwork as well (maybe another blog).

He has real talent in drawing and photography. I know the flower lovers out there will enjoy seeing the types of flowers we have in Zambia.

Home School Co-op

Last week we were invited to a home school co-op where we met lots of new families that have just arrived to Zambia (like us!). It was so nice to know that I'm not alone here. The host family are missionaries with Flying Mission organization in Zambia. The kids enjoyed the presentation by one of the pilots, and then a fun time swimming with all the new friends they made. I was able to meet other mothers who have the same struggles I have as well as the joys I have in home schooling. As another mother said, "We take it one day at a time." I like that! Anyway, we are looking forward to the next co-op meeting with anticipation.

Stuck in the Mud

Last weekend one of our missionaries headed out to a remote area west of Lusaka to begin preparations of starting a church in that village. It was early afternoon when Ricky received the call from Franklin telling him to get the 4x4 ready. Shortly afterwards, Franklin arrived at the guesthouse along with Pastor Jonathan. The 3 men plus Austin loaded in the truck and headed for the unknown.

Arriving on the scene, it was evident that Dr. Pack's truck was stuck in the mud. He and several Zambians had been trying their best to maneuver the truck out, but to no avail. Now that help had arrived, they were relieved... Until Ricky drove close to the truck and got his wheel stuck as well. Now, both vehicles are stuck in the mud.

After a lot of planning, Ricky, Austin, and many Zambian helpers played tug-of-war with one of the trucks and managed to get it out. That was the truck that Ricky had driven into the mud. This truck was equipped with a winch, so they were finally able to hook up to the other truck and pull it out successfully.

When I called about 5pm to check on them, they really weren't sure at that time whether they were going to spend the night in this village. But, praise the Lord, they made it home safely.

Both trucks received a good washing the next day!

TCK's (Third Culture Kids)

I received this article today from one of our journeyman in northern Zambia. He has really become part of our family in the last 6-7 months. Now that he is not close to Lusaka, we miss having him around. He has really been an encouragement to our children, our TCK's, and so I thought you might enjoy reading the 15 ways to serve a Third Culture Kid.
http://www.desiringgod.org/Blog/1105_15_ways_to_serve_third_culture_kids/