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.

Tuesday Market

The ladies at the guest house took me this morning to the market. They bought their fruits and veggies while I observed. Here are some pics from my experience.

A heaping pile of red peppers.

Lots, and lots, and lots of veggies!
Hauling cabbage out of the van into a pile that will eventually be sold.
Dried fish! (enough said)

Life at the guest house

We are finally coming out of the fog of jet-lag and starting to see what our new life in Zambia will be like. We have been overwhelmed with hospitality - different missionaries have fed us at lunch and supper every day. Tonight the whole team had a covered dish supper for us - Southern Baptist style! All the children have met very good friends and these are 2 of Kelsey's friends - Peyton Davis and Hannah Rodgers.



This is Isabel - the guest house cat. So the kids are now happy that they have a pet. She stays outside only, and we will feed her just a little so she can hunt during the day. The International School is located next door to the guest house, so we hear all the kids during the day playing outside. We are learning all the names of the guards and housekeepers, and we drove to the mall today by ourselves for the first time and didn't get lost.



Here is our Ford Everest (sorry dad, it's not a Chevrolet). It has a 3rd row so it can seat 8 (well, more if you are in Zambia). In Zambia, only the front seat people have to wear seatbelts. In the back seats, you can pile as many as you want. Let's pray this vehicle stays on the correct (left) side of the road and remains dent-free.








This is one of the biggest culture shocks of living in Zambia. We knew we would have to do it, but it is very strange sleeping under a mosquito net. Kelsey has done good staying under her net, but Austin & Coby have struggled to stay underneath theirs during the night. We haven't seen many mosquitos, but we know they are out here so we are still taking precautions.


We will post once more before heading to 40/40 on Wednesday, October 24th. The kids will begin their homeschooling there, and many people are telling us that the kids will enjoy this training more than us adults. We look forward to sharing our adventures with you!

First Sunday in Zambia

I apologize that I do not have any pictures of the service today. We attended the International Baptist Church in Lusaka. The kids had their own Bible story time while us adults had an awesome study of Hebrews 11 with the Pastor. Then we had a time of worship together with the children. We sang praises, read scripture, had prayer, and listened to the beautiful sounds of the young people singing. The kids had a wonderful time meeting some Zambian kids. Next time, I promise to carry the camera.

Kelsey's wrist

I forgot to inform everyone that Kelsey's arm is doing well. She got her cast off the Friday before we left for Zambia. She has a brace that she wears for 2 weeks, but the fracture has healed completely. Thank you for lifting her up in your prayers!

Hello Lusaka!

The trek from Columbia, SC to Lusaka, Zambia is finally over! Praise God we made it safely and all our baggage made it too. The layover in London was a nice respite from the 8 hour flight from SC to London. We met up with Justin at the airport to do some sightseeing, however, after looking at all our options and the amount of time we had left, we decided to visit the Health Club at the Hilton Hotel which is connected to the airport. The kids enjoyed the indoor pool, while the parents took a nap in the lounge chairs by the pool. Kelsey lost her tooth in the pool. Then we had a nice shower and went back to the airport to eat and wait for our departure. The 11 hour flight to Lusaka was a full flight. The kids slept most of the way, but it was getting old after the eighth hour. Those last few hours were tough for all of us. Kelsey and Niki had been suffering from a runny nose since we left Washington, DC. At 6:15am we arrived in Zambia and were welcomed by our BMOZ Team. We were thrilled to see everyone, but we were also exhausted. The kids are adjusting well. Some TCK's (formally MK's) are here with their dads for the week while the moms are at a homeschooling conference in South Africa. We are having the normal on/off internet experience, so I am sorry if the blogs are random. I am told this is to be expected while in Africa. The weather is warm with a nice breeze. They have had no rain since May, but we are entering into the rainy season.

As I write this, I am looking out the window at a flame tree with beautiful bouquets of red flowers beginning to bud. This is a sign of rain to come. Ricky and Niki went this morning for their first driving lesson around Lusaka. That may sound weird, but have you ever driven on the right side of the car and the left side of the road. Ricky had a hard time with the blinker. It is on the opposite side, so he kept turning the wipers on. The shifting of gears took some getting used to with the left hand. No accidents - so I guess we passed. We saw another Subway while out this morning at the mall. We have been to 2 grocery stores and we ventured inside the "Game" (aka. Walmart) store just to look. Yesterday, after we exchanged money we went to buy some groceries and spent 1,500,000 Kwacha (which is only $40-45 US dollars). But it was funny to see that we spent a million and a half on food. Last night we had dinner with the Tutens (who are the current guest house managers). Mrs. Tuten made the best chicken and dumplings, slaw, green beans, tomatoes, and pineapple upside-down cake, oh... and sweet tea. And this morning (I know this is hard for some people to believe) Niki cooked breakfast ... eggs, bacon, and toast.

This afternoon, Coby and his friends have been catching lizards and taking pictures of them. Austin is enjoying sharing video games with his friends. And Kelsey has been playing dolls and makeup with her friends. So, our journey has begun in Zambia, and we look forward to sharing more stories in the near future.

Departure Time

Today we depart Columbia, SC and will arrive in Lusaka, Zambia early Thursday morning (well, Midnight SC time). We have a total of 20 trunks weighing 50 pounds each. Pray that each trunk arrives to Zambia when we arrive to Zambia. We will try to write again when we arrive (but, there will be jet lag). We can't wait to see our Zambia Team!

Our training days are over...for now

Well, friends, our 8-week training in VA has come to a close. It was a bittersweet day! The kids had to say good-bye to all their TCK friends and that was sad. Our commissioning service went well and we had a great reception. Now it's time to start traveling around SC - stopping in Walhalla to visit and say our good-byes, and then back to our home town of Denmark. We will be well commissioned before we leave for Zambia. The training in VA was indescribable. The amount of information they have poured into us in the last 8 weeks was remarkable. We are looking forward to meeting our Zambia family in 2 weeks and begin another training. This is the life of a missionary - a life long learner!