The Crane

We love to hear stories of how God is working in amazing ways at Namwianga! This week we received a report from Ellie Hamby who has been there since early June. The mission is trying to get a radio station up and going. The tower and other basic equipment were sent over from the US on two different containers. One container has already arrived, so Ellie and Andrew Sibwaalu, the maintenance supervisor, have been trying to get the tower erected. Here is Ellie's account of what happened.

It is interesting doing anything in Zambia, and the scenario surrounding the erection of the radio tower was no different. The company that we contracted with to build the tower was having no luck getting a crane company from Lusaka to come to Namwianga to assist in erecting the tower. They could get one to come, but the company wanted to charge $500 per hour. It would take at least 6 hours for them to get here and that was just one way. The tower team working at Namwianga talked to our maintenance director, Andrew Sibwaalu, and asked him to help them locate a crane. Andrew came to me on Wednesday to see if anyone was going to Choma (about 40 miles away). I told him no and suggested he take a bus or a taxi and go see what he could do. To my surprise, a huge truck with a crane arrived at the tower site three hours later!

Here's Andrew's story. He hired a taxi in Kalomo and was on his way to Choma. As they were driving toward Choma, he was amazed to see a big truck with a crane meeting them on the road headed toward Kalomo. Andrew got the taxi driver to turn around and catch up with the truck. Andrew asked the crew on the truck where they were going and found out they were headed for Livingstone (another 100 miles down the road) to do a job. Andrew then asked, “Would you mind taking a small deviation and go to Namwianga to help us erect the first four sections of our radio tower?" They said they would and agreed to do it for a very reasonable fee. They came to the mission and worked for about three hours and then left for Livingstone. While they were there, I (Ellie) talked to them and asked if they would move the other container that is going to house the studio to a place near the base of the tower. They said they would stop on their way back from Livingstone on Monday or Tuesday and place the container in the right spot. Again, they agreed to do this for a very reasonable price. God is amazing to arrange a crane appearing on the road between Choma and Livingstone at just the right time. I (Ellie) have been on the roads in Zambia many times over the years and have never seen a crane being moved.