Back in the swing of things

We are back from Johannesburg, South Africa. We had a good time visiting some places in Joburg that we have not been before.

One place was Monte Casino. Yes, they have a casino inside, but it's a really neat place. It's the neatest mall I have ever been to. You feel like you're walking down a village in Italy. The ceilings are painted with sky, stars, birds, etc. They have a Bird Garden outside that we went to and watched a bird show. We are not really big bird fans, but it was very interesting to watch the birds and learn some new things about each one. They also had other animals like mongoose, snakes, frogs, monkeys, but the kids really liked feeding the parakeets. One got on top of Austin's head and started pecking at his hair.

We also went to Gold Reef City, which is similar to Six Flags/Carowinds. The kids rode some rides twice because it wasn't very busy. Then it began to rain, so they shut down the rides, and we left. Unfortunately, no rain checks are given out during the rainy season.

Upon returning home we have been getting lots of rain. On 19 November we had 74mm - I think it rained all night. It really cooled things off, and we had to pull out the blankets for a couple of nights. Now, we are getting ready for a busy time at the guest house. The 40/40 training has just ended today and we have a group staying this weekend, then next week all of our missionaries come in for a prayer retreat rom 28-30 November. We are looking forward to hosting everyone here at the guest house in Lusaka. I have gotten a couple of ladies to join me in doing an interpretive movement, and I will be singing a solo for one session. Pray for our time together as a team that we may hear God speaking to us. We will be praying for our people groups who we serve in Zambia - Bemba, Nsenga, Tonga, Lozi, just to name a few.

Also, we encourage everyone to take part in the week of prayer for international missions 30 Nov-7 Dec. The simple truth is that we couldn't be here without your gifts to the Lottie Moon Christmas offering. Those gifts are the means by which we devote ourselves to full-time ministry, providing us with a place to call home, food, medical care - even schooling for our children. It is both a humbling and exhilarating experience to live life dependent on the faithfulness and generosity of Southern Baptists. Thank You! Please know that many people around the world are truly celebrating Christmas for the first time this year because of your sacrifice for God's Kingdom.

R&R in Joburg

We have been in Johannesburg, South Africa for the past few days. We had a few doctor appointments and then we wanted to stay for some R&R. Friday we went to Gold Reef City, which is an amusement park similar to Six Flags or Carowinds. The kids had fun riding rides, but then it started to rain and they shut down most of the rides. Then, we went to the movies, and we, of course, have been eating out at many restaurants, including McDonald's, Il Capo (Italian), KFC, Mugg & Bean, The Pancake House, Ichiban (Japanese), and more to come. We will return to Zambia on Monday.

Protea Lodge

The kids have been working very hard this week, so we wanted to reward them with a "field trip" to Protea Lodge this morning. Protea Hotel Safari Lodge is located north of Lusaka about 45km. Several people have recommended this to us, and finally we were able to get away for the morning. Unfortunately, we still had to do school when we returned from our trip.

Kelsey counted 8 zebra, but as we were watching we noticed there were more in the background behind the trees.

Male Puku (standing)

Red Hartebeest

Eland - we like his horns!

Male Kudu - this one had a beautiful set of horns, just perfect!

Kudu eating from the tree as the zebra look on.

Our driver stopped for the elephant to enter the road. He was having a snack of "tree branch."

They asked if the kids would like to sit on this 17 year old elephant. So they climbed right on as the rangers fed her.

As soon as the elephant rose up, Kelsey said, "Whoa! This is really high!" The elephant's skin was rough and very wrinkled.

They have a family of 4 lions which are kept in a large enclosure. This one in the forefront is the daddy, then the mother behind him. Notice that the daddy does not have a big mane. He lost it when his son took over. You will see the son in a picture below.

This is the daughter.

This is the "bad" son. He is being kept in this cage because he fights with his daddy when they are together in the open. The ranger led us to the cage, and as he was unlocking it, we were thinking we were going into his pen. Then we had to crawl in this pen to get to his individual cage. Austin followed the ranger, and Coby & Kelsey were right behind Austin. But when Austin got to the cage, the lion growled, and Coby & Kelsey backed up as fast as they could to get out of there. We couldn't see there was a door that closed his cage, because all the other doors we passed were open. It was kind of scary being this close to a roaring lion!

October = Suicide Month

Baking. Blistering. Boiling. Brutal. Burning. Cruel. Fiery. Flaming. Oppressive. Piping Hot. Red-Hot. Roasting. Scalding. Scorching. Searing. Sizzling. Steamy. Sticky. Stifling. Stuffy. Sultry. Summery. Sweaty. Sweltering. Thermal. Torrid. Tropical. Warm. White-hot.

They call the month of October in Zambia "Suicide Month" because the heat is so outrageously hot, and there's nothing you can do about it! Many have tried different techniques to become cooler in this dry, hot month. First, we PRAY. We pray for the rains to come and soon. Some have decorated their windows with aluminum foil to retract the heat. Putting blankets over the windows so the sun does not come in. Placing fans in front of the windows to pull in what little breeze may come by. Constantly taking a COLD shower to cool yourself off. Drinking at least 8 GALLONS of water! Laying on the concrete floor because that's the coolest place in the house. Going to restaurants just to get some air-conditioning. Putting ice packs on your body as you try to sleep. Taking another COLD shower cause you're hot again. Eating very little cause no one wants to turn on the oven. Changing clothes every few hours cause the ones you're wearing are wet from sweating. Staying in the shade when you're out and about. Keeping all windows open, but keeping the screens closed because of mosquitos.

Right now as I'm typing this blog, it is 86 degrees F INSIDE my house, and a cool 78 degrees F outside, according to our fancy, digital thermometer...AND it's 11:00PM (that's right, nighttime)! As we enter the month of November, we hope that the rains will begin soon. October was a loooong, HOT month!

Thieves

Okay, I've been in Zambia for over a year now, and I have never seen this. Where have I been? Here's what happened...


Tonight, Ricky and I were shopping at Mr. Price (it's a clothing store similar to Old Navy, but yet not really the same prices). Anyway, I was on my side (that would be the ladies clothes), and Ricky was looking for some clothes for the boys. As I was browsing the clothes rack, this lady who was sweeping the aisle began coming towards me -- backwards. That was weird. She was coming right at me, and so I said, "Excuse me." And she didn't move, she just kept sweeping (backwards) and pushed me out of the way. I was appalled! Then, one of the clerks said, "It's okay, she's a thief." I must have had this awkward look on my face because I didn't understand. As I stared at her, I noticed she had white paint on her arms, face, even in her hair.


Shortly after, Ricky comes to find me and proceeds to tell me he had the same experience on the other side of the store. So, there are 2 of them sweeping the store with paint on them. Weird? Ricky was getting restless and decides to go outside to wait on me. After checking out, Ricky tells me about the 2 girls who were sweeping. They went outside the front of the store and were sweeping, and as they were sweeping, people began to laugh at them and say things to them, like "theif". No one has really explained this to us, but the best we can put together from our observation is... these girls stole something from Mr. Price, and their punishment was to work and also to be embarrassed and ashamed for their actions. One of the girls was definitely ashamed, as she held her head down the whole time she was sweeping. Well, I guess this is a pretty fair way to treat theives, so that maybe they don't want to steal again.


What do you think? Click on comments below to tell us what you think.

Adventure City Again

Kelsey going down one of the slides

Austin going down with a water bottle after the water shut off

Coby going fast even though no water is running

We can't pass up the chance to go to Adventure City when invited. The 40/40 kids headed out Saturday morning to take in a day of the only "water park" in Zambia. The boys went to baseball and then we met up with everyone at Adventure City. I (Niki) kept the sunscreen going, except I forgot my back, so now I am sunburned - OUCH! Anyway, we had a great time hanging out with the other MK's and adults. BY the time we got home and cooked dinner, we were so exhausted that I fell asleep at 7pm.

The kids piled at the top of this slide and held the water until it filled to capacity, then they let it go, and it was more fun to slide down with a big gush of water.

Zambia's New President - Rupiah Banda

Today, the final results were announced that Rupiah Banda, the acting President after the death of Mwanawasa, has been voted to be the next president of Zambia. Following the announcement, an inauguration ceremony took place. We watched on TV as this took place. So far, everything seems to be calm and peaceful. You can read the latest on this website:

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE4A10O920081102

Also, the upcoming elections in America are near, and we pray that people will vote for the man God chooses to serve. PRAY. VOTE. PRAY.

Fun and Games

We were invited out to the seminary last night for some fun and games with the 40/40 participants. As you can see from the pictures, we ALL had fun! After we had played, they fed us a wonderful dinner of ribeye steaks, porkchops, and sausage. (I think I want to attend 40/40 again!) JK

Coby versus Niki in a race to get to the chairs for "Human Tic-Tac-Toe"

Coby got the "O" and Niki got the "X"

Kelsey makes her way to a seat

Austin chillin' out

Ricky getting ready for his turn

Ricky and Niki waiting their turn

Poor Coby! We had a couple of "sliders" in this game

Austin playing "Elephant, Fish, Kangaroo"

Kelsey getting wrapped like a mummy with toilet paper

Coby was also wrapped like a mummy. I hope someone saved that TP, cause that stuff's expensive!