40/40

First things first.  We now officially have water!!! Yeah!!!  Only 3 months but better than 4, right?  In short it went like this.  As usual, I went to the water office on Monday but this time I tried a new tactic.  The whole thing is really an exercise in patience and an opportunity to learn more about the culture.  I admit it had been painful but then again most higher education tends to be that way.  After our short exchange of pleasantries I said that I was new to Zambia and was not quite sure how to express my displeasure properly.  I said, “Back in the states, which I understand that Zambia and the states are very different, if I went 3 days w/o water that would be unacceptable.  Maybe 3 months w/o water was acceptable here in Zambia and if so could you please let me know.”  At that he said that 3 months was not acceptable.  He made a few calls and I was out the door with some workers to do some investigating American style.  That was at 0900 and by 1330 we had and still have water whenever we want it.  I can’t tell you what a joy it is to turn the water on whenever we want.  Thank you for your prayers concerning our water.  Prayer answered.

                Last week was my birthday and what a great week it was.  I am now 40 but sure don’t feel like it.  On Thursday night we had some of our mission family over and celebrated with dinner and presents.  Then Friday night we had some neighbors over and had dinner and played some games.  Then Saturday I woke up and found our truck and been tampered with during the night and was missing a piece on the hub.  It was operable enough to drive to Lusaka and get it fixed.  While I was there I picked up a package from South Side Baptist church, so that evening I opened up lots of birthday cards and partook of many of the goodies they packed.  Then, later that night Rusty and Amanda called me.  So I felt like I had a birthday party with my friends from South Side.  Then Sunday night my parents called.  I tell you, it was a great b-day. 

                Wednesday Lesley and I awoke at 0450, got dressed and headed to Lusaka.  We picked up some of the mission staff and caught a plane to Luangwa.  Our reason for going was to secure a possible house for us to live in while we are in Luangwa.  I will have to say, that was much better than driving the 5 or so hour journey.  We made it in an hour.  The house is not where we had hoped and until Wednesday, all we had were some photos taken via a cheap cell phone.  With very few expectations we arrived in Luangwa around 0845.  We spent about 3 ½ hours there taking measurements and looking over the place.  I am here to tell you that we so like the place.  There are no tress (not technically true, but what are there would not pass as a tree and never would with 20 more years of growth) and no grass.  The yard is a big sand box.  Tyler should love it.  It does have a big yard and that was important to us so that Tyler would have a place to play.  By the time we left, Lesley and I really liked the place.  It will be a while before we get there but it sure is nice to know that there is a place there for us.  It takes a little stress off the top. 

                Starting tomorrow, Thursday, we will be partaking in a program for all Sub Saharan African missionaries called 40/40.  It is designed to teach us about this part of the world culturally.  We will have an opportunity to do some witnessing in the city as well as in the bush.  We will have an opportunity to do a 3 day home stay with some folks from the village.  We will work with them and do what they do for 3 days.  Sounds pretty kool.  So this will be our last blog until we return on the 20^th of November.  We thank you for your prayers and covet them dearly.  Please pray for our health during this period as we will have Tyler with us the entire time as well.  We look forward to getting back so we can catch back up with everyone.  Until then, go tell someone about Jesus.

Rain! What’s that?

The week started off with a bang.  Lesley and I dropped Tyler off at the Rodgers’ and headed South to the Zambezi River.  What a great time.  It was so good that when we got back my mind couldn’t function in Nyanja for a few days.  The first few days of language was rough.  The good thing was that we had already made the relationships and trudged thru the first week.  Now it was like going to visit friends to chat.  By the weekend I was back on track.  Things are moving along at a pretty good clip.  I had a few rough days last week when it came to talking.  I could hear it all pretty good but my mouth just wouldn’t work right.  Oddly enough, Spanish comes out more than anything.  I only have so much room up top and it looks like the hard drive is getting full. 

 

            Saturday night the Wint’s came in.  They are our newest addition to the mission family.  We drove in and had a nice dinner reception for them.  It was good to see what we looked like 3 months ago when we arrived.  The whole day was a blur, so to experience it again from the other side this time, was nice.  We got in early and stayed til late talking about everything.  There were some other mission family’s there as well.  Then Sunday, the oddest thing took place.  After we got home from church and finished lunch we put Tyler down.  Then I put Lesley down while I got on the computer to work on some videos.  It was approaching miserably hot as I had on shorts with the fan on me at full blast and still sweating.  Then all of the sudden I felt it at the same time I heard it.  But this can’t be.  It’s not supposed to rain for another month.  Apparently it rains before November.  It came a gulley washer.  The winds were a blowin’ and down it came.  We had to shut the windows as it was blowin’ sideways.  It rained good for about 20 mins and let me tell you, when it was thru I had to go put some clothes on.  It felt so nice and cool.  I am sure it dropped down into the mid 80’s but from where it was, that felt cool. 

 

            The cable to our lap top busted so we are not able to post any pix this week but I am hoping to pick up some items at the store to try and fix it.  That way next week we can put some more pix up.  I am working on pix and videos for anyone who would like them.  All you need to do is send us a thumb drive and I will send you all that I can fit on there.  I am working on 2 thumb drives for my parents right now at a total of 12gig of space and am having to cut some things out.  So we have plenty things to share.  There are so many and all so big that it would take for every to post any of them.  So I thought this might be the best way to do it.  I am also working on a 1, 5 and 10 min video for anyone, more especially churches, who would like to share them with friends or the congregation on Sunday or Wednesday.  They give a good description of what all we are doing here in Chongwe for our first year. 

 

            I will finish with this note.  I went to buy another battery, as I do each month, and heard the lady who runs the place was in the hospital last week.  I have only spoken to her once and that was the first time I ever went.  I have been now on about 6 occasions.  I said my hello’s and then asked if I might say hello to the boss.  I went in and told her that I was glad that she was ok and not ailing from something life threatening.  With every intention of saying hello and leaving, she asked me how I was doing and how life was.  So I took a seat.  Usually it is I who opens up the can of worms, so to speak, but today she did the opening.  She asked me about church, the Bible and the work I would be doing in Luangwa.  Well, with an invitation like that, it was all I could do to contain myself.  I have been dying to share the gospel with someone who speaks and understands English very well.  She is Dutch by the way.  For 30 mins we discussed with great passion the validity of God and His word and why the need for it.  Please pray for her that God will work in her life.  Pray that He will soften her heart her eyes and her ears that she might hear see and understand who God is.  She is not a believer and is uncertain of God and not all that sure of Him speaking to hear.  I informed her that for 3 months I had only come in to say hello once and that I come by all the time.  Why was today different.  I told her that God was not only speaking to her in all of creation but that He was speaking to her right this very moment as sure as I was sitting in front of her.  I told her that TODAY is the day of your salvation.  I am excited to have been able to share but also sad to think that she might go to bed tonight in the same Spiritual condition in which she awoke this morning.  No one knows the hour of our Lord’s return so don’t waste anymore time, but go and share the Good News of Christ with someone today.  To God be the glory.

Sun rise on the Zambezi

0430 and a group of campers were wrapping up their gear and getting ready to move off to another spot.  0515, the birds began waking up for the day.  0530, I roused to bid farewell to the campers and get the fire going.  0615, the sun was peaking through the tress into our camp site and 0630 I found myself nestled right comfortably into a cushiony couch overlooking a huge bend in the Zambezi river.  The birds are chirping, the water is gently flowing as the sun creeps up from behind us to light God’s beautiful landscape when all of the sudden the motor from the fridge in the restaurant cranks up.  Besides the last bit, it’s still a great morning.  Let me digress for a moment.

                This past week has been a week of much progress.  We had a friend of ours take us to a few villages to introduce us to some folks who don’t speak English.  Lesley and I need to step up our program a bit and would like some conversation in the local language.  With so many speaking English to us it was imperative for us to open the lid and step out of the box a little more.  So, beginning last Monday, I got from 0800-1000 (sometimes 1100) to visit some folks and practice my language.  Then, in the afternoon for another 2 hours, Lesley and I along with Tyler head off to yet another village where we meet with a small family and practice under a tree in their yard.  The first place I visit is a little livelier as it is mostly guys and guy talk.  It’s usually a lot of boasting about this that and the other.  Kind of like fishermen do at the end of a weekend of fishing.  Our afternoon session is a lot more tranquil while we sit under a mango tree with chickens pecking the ground, some goats calling their kids to feed and a few pigeons buzz past us a few times.  Our only real disruption is little Tyler as he tries to catch the biddies and pokes the 2 dogs that are trying to sleep.  By the end of the week things were beginning to take shape in my mind as people spoke, whereas; at the beginning of the week I just smiled and laughed when they laughed.  As is always, the initial two days was a bit awkward.  Sitting with people we don’t know listening to a language we don’t yet know.  But God was gracious enough to give us the strength to endure and now we have made both progress and some good friends. 

                We have 2 weeks left until we go to 40/40 for a month and then at the end of that is prayer retreat and Thanksgiving.  That means we will be away from language study for almost a month and a half, so getting this much good conversation language in before is rather imperative.  We supplement the conversation we get with an intensive grammar book along with a mountain of flash cards.  We aren’t dreaming in Nyanja yet but we are making some good progress.  Now, when we get back from everything that is going on this next month we will be able to continue where we left off with our newly found friends.  Please pray for the guys I meet with in the mornings as I am pretty sure most all of them are lost.  This is a great place for me to be as I hope to have an opportunity to witness to them as time wears on. 

                Our crates finally arrived!  Not that we can open them up or anything, but just seeing them here and being able to touch them is rather comforting. =)  It just means that they aren’t on the bottom of the ocean or something.  We had packed a few items in the front of our small crate.  It was like Christmas.  I can’t tell you how excited we were to get out a computer, pair of shoes, a broken mirror (It’s not too bad), an ice chest, my bike and some clothes and toys for Tyler.  We won’t be getting the rest of our things out until we move to Luangwa next year.  Wait until you see that Christmas.  At present, our crates are parked in the mission’s garage.  Theirs is a little bit bigger than yours.  They will be safe and secure until we move and if we just have to get into one for whatever, they are so that we can.  What a blessing.

                Kevin came over this week and we went for a walk around the neighborhood to walk, talk and meet some folks.  We walked down to the river and found a man who was on his way to Lusaka so we walked with him for a way.  Kevin began sharing the gospel to him and he explained he was already a Christian.  In Zambia, that statement is as good as it is back home.  When someone says that you need to do a little exploring to find out what they mean by Christian.  It was a great opportunity to see the approach and presentation, not to mention getting to hear it in the language I am learning.  Turns out, he was a believer.  Amen.  Lesley had the opportunity to go to the Thursday women’s meeting at Chisomo Baptist Church this week.  (I am now acting scribe and Lesley is dictating)  It is a great opportunity for her to meet other ladies and interact in the language.  She took both her English Bible and Nyanja Bible and hymnal.  She probably would have been okay had she only taken her English Bible and Hymnal but the presence of her Nyanja Bible raised the teachers’ attention.  Somewhere in the middle of the Bible study when Lesley was caught between trying desperately to pay attention and the heavy fog that was rolling in on her mind the teacher said, “sdljh eiot vnifuvbe.  Amai Vines, plgnmnf quetwyug aytw qm?”  Eyes wide as saucers, perched at the edge of the seat, heart racing, and everyone looking my way, I said, “Excuse me?”  The lady next to her said, “She is asking you to read.”  So with grace and poise she rose to the occasion and read all 5 verses in Nyanja.  It felt more like 5 chapters.  She did so well that they asked her to read yet another time later on.  They were ever so gracious with their comments even though Lesley felt like she read like a second grader. 

                Here are some quick “one liner” facts.  Tyler is still not yet walking.  For me, he unofficially said daddy and knew what he was saying.  I have the tape so you can make the call.  The Kwacha is down.  Our driver’s licenses are in.  Everyone is healthy.  Still, no snakes.  It has cooled off a bit.  My birth day is next week.  We have no idea who is in the World Series or who’s doing what in college football.  Lesley looks better than ever.  We thank all of you who have responded to us via blog, e-mail, letter, phone calls etc.. You have been a great source of encouragement to us in ways and times in which you may never know.  We went fishing on the Zambezi and caught nothing.  Not even so much as a bite.  But what we did catch was a glimpse of peace and quiet.  We let Tyler stay with Kevin and Suzie for the night so we could get a way for a little while and though we caught nothing it was a peaceful time on the river.  We saw lots of birds, geese, hippo’s and some elephants.  I would have to say the koolest part of the trip on the water was listening to the hippo’s.  They are so loud and deep.  You could hear them from a long ways off.  As the sun was setting we began to make our way home and ran into about 6 elephants along the bank eating dinner.  We slowed down to a crawl to take some pix and then mosey (moe-zee) on home.  We ate dinner on the veranda overlooking the bend in the river.  All in all a wonderful day to get away for a short break before we head back after lunch to reality.  I hope you enjoy the pix and can feel the tranquility we felt thru our pix.  God bless.

I wish you could hear ‘em.

Kenny’s morning language helper

Our new friends who are helping us with language

Crossing the a smaller river to get to the Zambezi River

Nationals bathing and washing clothes on the river bank

Stepping It Up

We still have no water coming from the council. Lately we have gotten some late at night. And while it is not enough for daily living, we are thankful for what we do get. This past Monday I went to the water council again, as I do every Monday, and go the same promises I get every Monday. The one thing I can count on is them not coming out to do anything. (I am writing this on Sunday night) Tomorrow I will go again and say howdy. It has been a great class on culture. And what I am learning is not something that you can get out of a book or in some class. Unfortunately this lesson takes several weeks to really grasp. I think I am doing pretty good so far. My language helper has gone to another town for a few weeks to do some work so I am w/o anyone at present. So, this week I had to do some other things to try and get my language. I have been rather frustrated with the English that is spoken around here. It really makes it very difficult to learn Nyanja. Frustration, however, if channeled correctly, can be a good thing. My desire to learn has pushed me into new arenas of learning. I recruited a local to take me out into the villages to meet some folks and see if I couldn’t come out some time to just sit and chat. There are no tv shows, or news papers, or radio stations in the language. Lesley and I are about ready to move into the next step of our learning phase and we need to hear more of the language to do so. That means that from now until 40/40 (an African orientation course), which starts on 22 October, we will try and get out into the villages a few times a week and just sit and listen. It will be interesting to say the least. Lesley and I have a ton of flash cards that we are getting pretty good at but putting them together on the fly will be another story. Not to mention everyone’s own accent. Please pray for our ability to soak up the language and apply what we have learned. Pray also for our motivation. Pray that we wake up each day as excited to learn as the day before. I am not sure how hot it is right now as we have no way of telling. We don’t have a tv and we don’t get the paper. I heard from another missionary in the area that it was 100 already. Now I’m from Houston and am familiar with triple digits. That isn’t the problem as much as trying to study in the house when it those digits come creeping in and all you have to get rid of them is a fan. In fact, all the fan does is blow them around a little better. Nights are becoming a bit of a challenge. Lesley and I like it around 68-70 at night with a thick down comforter to curl up under. Those days have changed. I would say the night begins in the upper 80’s and in the next few weeks could jump up into the 90’s. I am amazed at how much we have adjusted to it. I am not sure I could have slept like this back home. I will say it is not near as bad as it was in Indonesia. What I would like to say through all of these “hardships” is that God is always at work. I love how He takes situations in which you would never find yourself to use as teaching opportunities. You definitely have to keep your ears open because it is easy to focus on the difficulties at hand. But I thank and praise God for the opportunity to be used and to learn thru these “hardships”. I tell you what cracks us both up. It’s like 90+ and we are both dying to be in shorts, flips flops and a T while the locals are dressed for a Minnesota winter. We have people tell us all the time that Tyler should be bundled up because he’ll catch pneumonia dressed like he is. The kid is sweating all over and they think he is freezing. =) My parents sent us a pretty good sized package in the mail. When we picked it up Lesley said that she had been waiting for it that it had a new bumper pad for Tyler’s crib. For whatever reason, I just didn’t think there was anything else in there. When we opened it up there were all kinds of goodies. It was like Christmas in September. What a joy!!! There were things in there that I forgot I had asked for. All kinds of things we could use and needed. But nothing in the whole box was better or worth more than the box itself. Tyler loves it more than anything. He will sit inside that thing and play with whatever we put in there. Because he goes 100 miles an hour all the time, it is priceless to have him sit in the same location for an hour. I would have paid what the box cost to be sent in a toy from Toy’s R Us but it would not have been as good as the box. Not too much this week. We are getting into a routine and have settled in well. Thanks for you encouragement and prayers.

The list

I am in awe  of the response we received from everyone on FB.  Several of you have asked us for a list of things we miss or want from home.  Since it is rather expensive to send things from home, we have created a list of items that we miss that are small or easy to send.  When you are so far from home, even the small things mean so much.  Here is a short list of things we thought of.

- Hotwheels, stickers,  (Tyler) your favorite recipe, your favorite joke, your favorite card game or any other game we could play, sermons on CD or MP3, a copy of your Sunday morning choir on CD or MP3, pix so that we can put them on the fridge, fridge magnets, if you are good with video it would be nice to get a DVD or thumb drive with some videos of back home, small LED key chain flash lights, light blue extra gum, anything Texas, If you just had to have the new iPhone and couldn’t figure out what to do with your old one-send it to us, if you ever wanted to come to Africa for a dream vacation – let us know about it and we will try and go live it out for you.  If we are able to we will take lots of pix and vids and send them to you so  you can live out your vacation vicariously through us.  Basically, anything nostalgic from home that is cheap and easy to send would be great. 

send to:

Kenny, Lesley and Tyler Vines

c/o Baptist Mission of Zambia

P.O. Box 50599

Lusaka, Zambia

Things are starting to heat up around here.

We had been wondering when summer was going to hit. Everyone around here says that October is the hottest month but here it was mid September and it was still cool. Well, this week someone left the door open and all the cool air got out. I am not sure how they would put it but I would say that summer has officially arrived. What is nice still, is that the nights are still cool. Let me catch you up really quickly on some past events. Our last tank had a nice size leak in it so we drained it and got a new one. I then spent the better part of the day going and filling up 4 250l containers of water and pumping them into the new tank to give us a ½ tank only to find out it had a nice size leak in it as well. On the verge of dawning my postal uniform, I calmly placed it back in the closet and went to language class. Some friends came over to apply some African ingenuity to the situation and were able to slow the process down substantially. We now have things resolved as much as they are going to be. The leak is minimal and we are happy. All we need now is to have the water council come out and fix our pressure problem.

We have declared Thursday to be our family day. That means that we go do something as a family and enjoy a day away from all the stresses of language study. We are not always so good at it but we are making a valiant effort. This Thursday we went to a crocodile farm nearby. They not only have crocs, but also poisonous and non-poisonous snakes. It was educational for Lesley so she’ll know what they look like in case we ever run into them. Of course, I loved it and would hold Tyler up to the glass so he could see them. In one cage they had 2 chicks in their left over from the feeding the day before. Something tells me that they won’t survive another feeding. The crocodiles were huge! One was lying right along the chain link fence. As we approached he slowly opened his mouth and, with his eyes, he looked at us and said, “Go ahead and jump inside”. This croc was so big; Tyler could have fit into his mouth whole. It gave us some good perspective on just what lies in the rivers where we will be moving. It was a great ½ day of excitement and just the right amount of get away time we needed.

Lesley’s girl friend Annie came back by with some of her classmates. We spent some time learning new games. We taught them Uno and Go Fish. They seemed to really enjoy Go Fish and kept asking to play again. Instead of saying “do you have any…”, they would say “Lesley, I’m asking for…”. I found myself doing the same thing. And instead of saying “go fish” they would say “I don’t have”. It certainly made Lesley smile. They also taught Lesley a game. They couldn’t really explain the rules to me, but I think she picked up on it. She even won a round.

Saturday morning I woke up to the sound of hacking. I went to the back window to see my neighbor cutting down the banana trees. The water council gives a new “Maybe” each week and last week the problem was the banana trees. They were saying that the main pipe ran underneath these banana trees and they were cutting the pressure to the pipe. For those of you using common sense and good logic right now, stop! Those don’t apply here. A bit frustrated with the expediency I decided to be proactive with my neighbor and help out. He told me that the owner gave the ok to cut the banana trees. I was sad to see them go but excited to be doing something. I must say, though, it was a lot of fun. If you have ever cut a banana tree down, then you know what I am talking about. We cut about 20 of them down. These were all rather larger as well. I would say about 6 of them were too big for 1 man to drag and or carry. They are very pithy and easy to cut. It was the perfect place for a little boy to practice his ninja sword skills. Well, we cut and dug only to find the pressure was just as bad as before. We ended up tracing the problem back to a neighbor’s house. On a side note, while we were digging we had our first chameleon come prancing across our back yard. It was the coolest and yet oddest thing of the day. So, Monday morning came and, as usual, I went to the council’s office. This time I told them all that went on during the weekend and that I had it all dug up and ready for them to come look. I will not hold my breath but will say that I am 1 step closer than before. I did get some valuable language learning in whilst I was working. The neighborhood kids did a great job lending a hand too. Speaking of neighborhood kids, we also call them Tyler’s fan club. They come to the door everyday yelling for “Tyla, Tyla”. That’s all they say. When we go outside with him they all come running up. They love to just sit by him, watch him and hold him. They’ll just sit at the door staring at him when he’s inside. He loves them, he’ll crawl up to the screen door and hold his hand up to it and the fan club will do the same. It’s so cute.

Let me tell you a little of how church goes for us. We are the only ones who drive and usually get there before anyone else. If you are lucky, the pews are made of dry mounded earth that had hardened. They are usually very close together so that you have to turn your feet at an angle so that they will be flat on the ground. Your waist is lower than your knees and unless you have been blessed with some extra padding in the back you will be the first to stand and the last to sit when we sing. After 3-4 hours many things begin to go to sleep. The singing is the best. Usually there are no instruments. If there are any they will be home made drums. Most of the kids are used to being carried around on their mother’s back. They all seem to have a much calmer demeanor. Tyler, on the other hand, comes shootin’ out of the crib and goes non-stop until he collapses from exhaustion. You pray that he collapses during the preaching. Lesley is the one who takes care of him. She has an arsenal of tricks. He will usually crawl around and or make a small scene and if it gets too bad Lesley will take him outside. This week, during S.S., he crawled up to this 2 to 3 year old little girl with pig tales. She was a picture of stoic and did not move a muscle. He crawled right up to her, stood up, looked her right in the eyes and with both hands grabbed her pig tales. He’s pulling and wobbling and stammering to get his feet under him while she didn’t budge. When he loses his balance he falls right into her and grabs her shirt to steady himself. The pastor is doing all he can to keep his composure while the church is slowly losing it. I was biting a hole in my lip trying not to laugh so hard. So, I grab him and bring him back to our seat and then Lesley opens up the bag of tricks. First, she started with a book. Then she moved to a book and some small snack and then it was just snack. Follow that up with a few drinks and (He has now discovered that when he is done he simply puts his sippy cup down) sippy cup retrievals and he was going down. What a blessing! Asleep at last. Well, at least ½ of S.S. was pleasant. That is more than I can say for BIG church. ½ way thru the service she had to take him out side. They apparently went to the truck because about 2 mins after they left I heard Tyler lay on the horn. I am not sure if those people were happy to have us out there or not. =)

James 1:2-4 says, “Count it pure joy my brothers whenever you face trials of many kinds…” God does not place these trials in our path for no reason. James says that God does it so that we may “develop perseverance” which “must finish its work so that [we] may be complete, not lacking anything.” If that is the case, then I must thank God each and every day for the trials that He places in my life. I have been extremely blessed to be counted worthy of such trials. You may think our hardships are more than you can bear. Some of you are thankful that God didn’t call you to live the life we are living. Regardless of whose trials are “worse” I would ask you how you are handling them? Are you able to focus on the end product of maturity in Christ and count it pure joy. Or, do you get caught up in selfishness and complain? I am not saying it is easy nor am I saying that I am a Job or a Paul but simply a sinner saved by grace who would like to encourage you today. May you live your life today in such a way that people would see Christ in all that you do.

EEK! I see a mouse….again.

So again, we’re sitting on the couch one day when to our surprise ANOTHER mouse runs out of the bottom of the couch and into the dining room.  This time we decided not to be so diplomatic with it and sent it to its permanent home.  Kenny had a broom and a stick.  I had a broom.  You would be glad to know I kept more composure this time.  Mainly because I was just there in case he got past Kenny.  The mouse didn’t stand a chance and now he’s resting for good.  We think it might have been the same mouse.  We’ve checked the couch and fortunately there’s not a family in there and no more signs of a mouse presence anywhere since we got rid of the mouse for the second time.  Hopefully we’ll have no more mouse sagas.

Language is going well.  We both feel we’re making progress with the concepts.  However, putting it into use is another story.  We have greetings and closings down well.  For me, there is a gap between the end of their statement and me speaking, as I’m trying to figure out how to say it in another language.  That should get better with time however, hopefully. 

Tyler is growing up so fast.  He’s not walking by himself yet, but seems to be making progress.  He’ll walk farther distances when he’s hanging onto us and he’s even done it a few times just holding on by one hand.  He loves crawling around outside and always let you know it when we begin to bring him back inside.  I think he’s going to be like his daddy and love all things outdoors.

We had some visitors this week.  Three girls from  a local boarding school.  They had walked past the house the first week we were here.  I greeted them and introduced myself and that was the last we had seen them.  Until they showed up at our door 6 weeks later and she remembered my name.  The one girl in particular stuck out to me, her name is Annie and she attends the Roman Catholic church.  She actually lives at the boarding school, whereas the other girls with her don’t.  I think she must get board and lonely on weekends, as she asked us to come visit her.  I ask for prayer for Annie, as we get to know her and that God will use us in her life.

For those of you keeping up with the water situation, there are no more leaks in the tank.  We still don’t have water coming in from the city, but we have been able to put some water in it ourselves by getting our water from the Rodgers.  So we have running water, it’s just that we have to provide it ourselves.  Of course, we are also being extremely, very, incredibly conservative with it.  Kenny keeps a constant eye on the tank and at what level it is.  Living here has really helped us define what a need and a want is.  We are extremely thankful for the water and the role our fellow missionaries, the Rodgers have played in us having it.

We’ll say good-bye the way they do in Chinyanja, which means stay well, so until next time “musale bwino”.

You missed a spot

Do you remember going to the beach and diligently applying sunscreen all over your body?  You could never accurately determine if you successfully applied ample amounts of sunscreen to every exposed portion of your body until the day was over.  The problem with that is, by then you are already burned and it is too late.  When our tank ran dry due to the leak, I applied copious amounts of “Wonda Fix” and waited 24 hours for it to set.  That night, for only the third time since we have been living here, we received water from the council.  Yeahh!!!  The problem is, as you may have figured it out already, that I managed to repair the tank about 95%.  So, the next day we woke to water in the tank and yet another leak.  Once again, we filled up what jugs we had and depleted the tank.  This time I disconnected the pipes from the tank, turned it over on its side, bought more “Wonda Fix” and repaired it again.  After another 24 hours of curing I flipped it back up right, connected all the pipes and poured that water from the jugs back into the tank to test it out.  Now keep in mind that the tank is only about 1% full at this point and does not have the full burden bearing down upon it, however, there are no more leaks!  Now all we have to do is get the council to come out and fix the pipe problem.  I go each Monday and register a complaint and each week they give me the same reassurance.  It is difficult to express your displeasure in this culture and often times you just have to roll with the punches and live without water for 2 months.  All in all, it has been a great time of learning for Lesley and me.  We have done a great job keeping focused on the task and not letting the water problem wear us down. 

Our language is moving along smoothly, or so say I.  We each meet with our tutors 3 times a week for 1 hour.  We have been getting lots and lots of vocabulary words and trying to cram them in.  I feel like I am in Greek class back in seminary again.  The language is beginning to come alive for me.  I am able to hear the words in sentences now.  Like when we are at church we can hear some of the words we have been studying.  Thankfully, Nyanja is a relatively easy language, especially when we hear some of the other languages our other missionary friends are learning.  The structure and grammar are fairly simple and straight forward.  The most difficult part is that everyone here speaks English.  While it has been very helpful in answering a lot of starter questions, it is beginning to wear out its usefulness.  My helper is married with 5 kids.  The youngest being 7 month old twins.  His house is, no lie, as big as a walk in closet.  He is about to start building a new house right next to it and I will be helping.  He will begin in about 2 months.  Hopefully by then I will have a lot more command of the language so our time building will be a great opportunity to hear the language spoken and practice all at the same time.  I will let you know more about that endeavor as the time draws near. 

(Lesley)I was sitting on the couch one day when I saw a mouse run under our door and head behind a box in the dining room.  Since Kenny wasn’t home, being the “brave” woman I am, I decided that I would get the mouse to come out from behind the box and trap it under a trash can.  I gently moved the box and the mouse came running out in my direction.  Here comes the bravery.  I proceeded to jump out of the way, scream and not even come close to trapping the mouse.  It ran into the kitchen and was not able to be spotted.  (Kenny) About a week goes by and we’re curled up on our couch watching the Dukes of Hazard after dinner, when out from under the couch came flying the little field mouse.  He had apparently, after further investigation, made his abode inside our couch.  Now, you must keep in mind that our floor is finished concrete with a sealant on it that has been waxed and polished to a shine.  All that means is that when he came flying out, he wasn’t so good at rounding corners.  We both sprang into action.  He finally made his way back to home plate safely and into the couch.  We unlocked the door in the living room and cleared everything out.  When we tipped the couch over we found the hole in the bottom and heard the action inside.  Lesley held the Big Bertha driver (A.K.A. the kitchen broom) while I wielded my knife and commenced to cutting out the bottom of the couch.  He was racing back and forth inside the couch and then, all of the sudden, like a gunshot, he came barreling out of the shoot.  I leapt over the couch as Lesley tossed me the driver.  Our friendly intruder put the hammer down while rounding 1^st but forgot to ease off the clutch and stalled out over the pitcher’s mound.  With feet spread shoulder width apart, knees slightly bent and shoulders square, I drove our intruder so far John Daly would have been jealous.  You will all be happy to know that Mr. Mouse was not injured and scurried off into the night.  Yes, we did finish watching the Dukes. =)

I went to the Baptist Fellowship of Zambia’s Annual General Meeting last week.  You will be happy to know that it is pretty much just like ours.  I am not sure if they model themselves after us or if meetings are conducted the same worldwide.  There were some really good workshops in the morning followed by some good preaching and some more preaching after dinner.  In between was the business.  It was a very educational experience for me.  I learned a lot about their culture and how they handle each other when they get hot around the edges and disagree.  There were minutes read and exec committee reports, voting of new members and messenger reports.  I was simply an observer.  Since there are 73 languages in Zambia the meeting was conducted in English.  Since Zambians are so relational, this meeting was really good for me as we begin our time and ministry here.  I met lots of new people from all over the country.  I can’t wait to get to Luangwa and begin working with those I met.  Lesley went to a church ladies “tea”.  It was a tea with teaching sandwiching it.  Fortunately the speaker delivered her message in English with a translator.  So I not only could understand everything, but since we are always put up front and everyone can see you it’s easier to actually pay attention.  We will leave you with some things that we love about Zambia:

1. Eating with your hands (that’s just Kenny)
2. Sunsets
3. $7.00/month water bill no matter how much you use
4. Stopping for a troupe of baboons to cross the road
5. Battery back-up when our power goes out
6. Watching Tyler grow up, every day all day.
7. Seeing Tyler interacting with the neighborhood kids
8. The waves and smiles we get from the neighborhood kids as we drive by
9. Seeing the face of a Zambian light up when you greet them in their language
10. The big, fat, huge, deep purple sugar cane

Friends, No water and a flat tire

  Another week has gone by and new adventures were had.  We started the week in Lusaka at the guest house and visited with Jeff and Robyn Lowe while they were in from Mongu, Zambia.  We met them at our appointment service in March and were with them for our 2 months in Virginia.  It was great getting to spend time with them again.  I just want to say Happy Birthday to Robyn.  I hope it was a good one. 

     When we returned from our one night in Lusaka we found that our water tank had a leak in it and we had lost several inches of water and, of course, the leak is at the bottom of the tank.  The leak started Monday and the tank was empty by Friday.  The only way to fix it is to drain the tank, let it dry out, seal it, let that dry and then we can put water in it again.  However, that requires water to be flowing through our pipes to get water back into the tank.  The city did finally come and try to check out the water problem after many complaints by us and the neighbors.  Which is promising, as promising as it was for Abraham when he was going to have a son.  We just hope we don’t have to wait as long.  However, the Lord is gracious through everything.  Our fellow missionaries, the Rodgers, are gone for the week and have been kind enough to let us use their house to wash clothes and bathe while they’re away, so we can make the appropriate repairs to the water tank.

     We went to Luangwa this week for the Bible school that takes place 3 times a year.  It takes about 4 hours to get there.  The first 2 hours are on a asphalt road that is mostly smooth, but the last 2 hours are on a bumpy, pot hole filled, dirt road.  About half way down this dirt road we had a blow out to one of the front tires.  It’s our first, with a large potential for more.  That’s why we have 2 spare tires and not just one.  Fortunately, my husband can fix almost anything and is a pro at changing tires.  (I’m sure you noticed a change in writing styles. Yes, Lesley is writing this and not Kenny this time.  I’m sure you’ll start to hear more from me.)

     While in Luangwa we met some new friends, whom we’ll have a great bond with when we move there.  They were graduates of the Bible school and still live in Luangwa.  They are helping us look for a house and gave us a tour of the town.  It is not big, but certainly has most of what we require to live.  It has a market, gas station, and a beautiful view of the rivers.  We saw some potential places to live, but more searching is required.  Despite the flat tire, we had a great time and feel it was worth the trip.

     Through our struggle with water I have found some new uses for baby wipes other than diaper (or nappies, as they call them here) changes.  We can thank Pampers for this list.

Cleaning your hands

Bathing Tyler

Cleaning the high chair

Cleaning the dishes

Cleaning spills off the floor

Cleaning sinks

Cleaning bathtubs

Wiping Tyler’s face

Wiping down the grocery cart

I keep a pack at the dinner table, the kitchen sink and a mobile pack for the other rooms, as well as in my purse for travel.  The list could go on.  I’m sure all the moms have a few to add to the list as well.

     We thank you all for keeping up with us.  We wish we could do more at times, but we only have internet access while in Lusaka which is once a week, so if you email us please be patient in waiting for a response.  Language is going well, we ask for continued prayer with memorization. We’re just trying to memorize lists and lists of new words.  The Lord has blessed us with a good attitude about it and we’ve been able to laugh at the continued struggle it has been.  We request that you pray for us to keep that good attitude.  For Tyler he is teething and some mild congestion which has been causing a cough.  The wind has picked up greatly and it’s become even more dusty which isn’t helping.  We ask for his continued health.

Muli Bwanji

Our first full week of language study and we are learning the proper greetings.  What I find humorous is that we are supposed to be learning Ceŵa but where we live they speak Nyanja.  They are similar and you can use Nyanja to get around.  When we move to Luangwa they will speak Nyanja, Chikunda and Nsenga.  It seems, at times, like we are learning Latin to learn Spanish.  Speaking of Spanish, it was easy to learn when I lived in Spain because no matter where you went, they all spoke pure Castillian Spanish.  Here, they speak a little of everything, including English.  You may think that is good but not when trying to learn a new language.  Plus, their English is the British English mixed with both a British and Zambian accent.  So, sometimes they will speak English and I recognize that it is English but I have no idea what they are saying. 

A quick update.  We almost have our water problems sorted out completely.  Our pressure pump works now and with a little tweaking we will have it set just right.  The electricity is not a problem and until it becomes one, we will not reference it again.  I will say, however, we purchased a deep cell battery and an inverter and hooked it up to the junction box to the light circuit so that when the lights do go out we simply flip 2 switches and the lights are back on. =)  It’s only enough power to run the lights for a few hours before charging but it sure beats walking around with a candle or flashlight.  It sure teaches you to make sure you turn off the lights when not using them (thanks dad). 

Shoprite was on strike the 2 times we went into town for items and had to try some other places.  Since there aren’t really any places like a Wal-Mart or mall where you could potentially do some one stop shopping, you have to be thrifty in your shopping.  Sometimes it takes a while before you can locate all the goods you are looking for at the best price.  I wasn’t quite sure how it was going to work but shopping once a week for food has not been as traumatic as I had first envisioned.  You definitely have to plan ahead and there is very little, if any, wasted food.  We are still working on a good system and it will take some time but I think by the time we move to Luangwa I will be ok with going to the grocery store just once a month.  One thing that weighs on me is when I find out that most people only eat meat about twice a week.  They just can’t afford it or can’t keep it before it goes bad.  Then I go and have meat 3 times in a day.  It weighs on me, just not enough to eat less meat. 

I went to an associational meeting with Kevin yesterday.  This place was way off the beaten path.  This was one of those locations you think about when you think of doing ministry in Africa.  The dirt roads here are not like the dirt roads back home.  They are actually main roads.  We are working on a classification system for them.  When we first got here, what we thought was a bad or not good dirt road is now a really good dirt road.  Well Kevin and I went down what I would now consider to be a not good road which turned into a bad road before the end of the journey.  In fact, at one point we crossed a dry creek bed and then turned down a walking path.  At the end of the path was a church that was no bigger than most people’s living room with about 85 people in it.  Kevin and I walked in and straight up to the front.  There were 2 chairs up front and we sat in them facing everyone.  Can I say all eyes were up front. =)  On occasion I would hear my name and then a slight chuckle from the audience.  Then they ask you to stand.  I love the way they welcome you.  They rub their hands together like they are trying to warm them up and then they go thru a series of claps while they sing a song.  It is so warm and welcoming.  The singing is all acapella and man can they sing.  The best part was when the meeting was over they served lunch.  Kevin said we will stay through lunch and then leave.  That was great because I was starving.  The next thing that ran through my mind was, “What are they going to have for lunch?”.  These are the situations that missionary nightmares are made of.  Here is where the missionary prayer of, “Lord, I’ll get it down if You’ll keep it down.” comes into play.  It wouldn’t be too bad because I had already done my homework and knew about what to expect.  I had also already tried some of what I was sure they would have.  Not to mention I don’t mind a little coon in my stew either so I figured I would do just fine.  They served all the men leaders in the church first and there were about 15 of us.  We sat down on the “pews” and the dishes arrived covered.  I was more nervous of the etiquette and customs that I might be breaking or abusing than what I was going to eat.  They poured water in a basin so you could wash your hands.  After the prayer, the lids were removed to reveal the surprises.  There were the usual suspects, nshima and greens.  Then there was a bowl of goat meat, which I had heard of.  But the last bowl was an interesting site.  It was a bowl of minnows.  They do have something like this called kapenta that Kevin likes but this is something that even he wouldn’t touch.  I asked him what is was and he said what it was (I can’t remember) and then said it means, “it will kill you.”  Then all eyes were on me as they offered it to me and chuckled.  I tried it.  Now I can say that I have tried it and I don’t care for it.  It was tough, oily and very, very fishy.  But the rest was good.  When I tell you the goat was good, I don’t just mean good, I mean I would have eaten the whole goat it was so good.  At the end they bring in the back of the chicken and give it to the guest of honor, which was us.  I just happen to like chicken back so I was in luck.  It was hard to eat it, though, knowing that they don’t get much and I could go home and eat all I wanted.  There are some things that are hard to handle when our two cultures collide.  God is gracious in giving me opportunities to learn and be stretched.  I forgot to mention, you eat with your hands and everybody digs out of the same bowl.  As soon as lunch was over and before they began conducting business again, we departed.

This week we will be going to Luangwa, where we will serve, to see how the T.E.E. (Theological Education by Extension) school is run and meet some of the leaders in the church.  We are super excited.  We will actually stay there for the night and get to see a lot more of our future home than we did last time.  A note on the internet.  Getting sattelite internet here in Chongwe isn’t an issue.  The issue lies in getting sat coverage in Luangwa.  In short, we would need a different coverage and set of equipment in Luangwa than we would need here in Chongwe.  We are still unable to pull that trigger at present so we are looking at other slower options.  Hopefully we will be connected to the world and will be able to update our blog more than once a week.  There are so many things to tell and doing it all once a week is just not fair.  Please keep Lesley and me in your prayers as we delve deeper into our language studies.  Pray for Lesley as she goes into the market to have the courage to engage in conversation with people she doesn’t know in a language she is just learning.  Pray for Tyler to have continued good health.  Pray for me that I might be able to rapidly learn the cultural customs so that as I meet some of the elders of the church and community I will not make some potentially hazardous mistakes. =)  Typically those are the stories everybody loves to hear when you come back, but I would like to have as few of them as possible.  We thank God for giving us the grace and strength to stand firm where He has called us for His glory.  His mercies are new every day.  To God be the glory.