Toddlers at Eric's House

Meagan Hawley's parents, Sally and Dave, have been visiting at Namwianga, along with their friends Gary and Kathi Lawrence. They brought new outfits for all the toddlers at Eric's House. Monday afternoon all the kids put on their new clothes and posed (sort of) for this photo.

Bernard and Brandon

Bernard (top) and Brandon are two of the Eric's House gang that we have grown fond of.

A Lap Full of Love

Since Sara went home I haven't had as much contact with the toddlers at Eric's House. This afternoon I grabbed my camera and headed up there to see how the kids are doing.

I arrived as the little ones were getting dressed after bath time. I stepped into the changing room and immediately had little arms reaching up to me. I plopped down on the floor and filled my lap with Brandon, Bernard, Carol, Adrian, and Glory. A few minutes later Itone, one of my co-teachers at the college, dropped by. As he came in and saw me, he exclaimed, "Ah, you are rich!"

Yes, with a lap full of precious little ones, I am rich.

Bicycle Evangelists

(David wrote this blog entry)
It’s the first of the month as I write this. I know what to expect this week. Men on bicycles will ride up to our house. They’ll come up on veranda bearing papers. Those papers will tell of churches planted, people baptized, and brethren restored. The papers will also list brothers and sisters in need of Bibles, songbooks, wheelchairs, crutches, food, and clothing. Those hand-written reports chronicle the work of dedicated bicycle evangelists working on the edges of the Kingdom in some of the most remote places in Zambia. It is the power of the gospel that takes them there. Their reports testify to the gospel’s enduring power to save and change lives.

Before these ten men had bicycles, they were walking distances of 10 to 20 kilometers (6 to 12 miles) from their homes to evangelize and plant churches in Southern Province. None of these men asked for bicycles. When we heard about their zeal and love for spreading the Good News, we decided to see what more they could do when equipped with bicycles. Church Development Team members Thomas Siafwiyo, Rogers Namuswa, Patson Siyula, and I invited them to come to Namwianga. We commended them for their work, and then each was presented with a new bicycle and commissioned to go even farther into the bush with the Good News. These evangelists are asked to proclaim the word, plant churches, baptize, teach, encourage, and give a written report each month.

We are on the lookout for more men who have established reputations for evangelizing and planting churches. More are out there waiting to be discovered. Whether walking or pedaling, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news" (Romans 10:15).

A Hostel Environment?

Here's how our guest room usually looks.

And here is how the guest room looked when eight guys were staying in it during the medical mission.


Now that everyone has gone home, we are having to adjust to a calm and quiet house--at least until the next round of company arrives. The welcome mat is always out.

Numbers for Medical Mission

Here are the numbers for the 2007 medical mission.
Medical 10,325
Dental 1,957
Optometry 3,295
Total number of people treated in ZMM clinics 15,577
Baptisms 143

Moses

Our first trip to Zambia was in 1999. We met Roy and Kathi Merritt then, and we heard about one of the new babies they had just taken in. Moses was a tiny, sick weakling who almost died during the time we were at Namwianga. A few months later we learned that Moses had been adopted by Mr. and Mrs. Hunter Siangandu. The Siangandus were undaunted by Moses' many health problems and were anxious to add him to their already large family of five birth children. Hunter traveled on his bike to Namwianga. Kathi gave him some last minute instructions about how to care for Moses' special needs, and then Hunter tied Moses into a chitenge on his back and cycled the 10 miles or so back to the village of Simpweze.

I visited Simpweze in 2001 and was delighted to find that Moses was thriving in the Siangandu family. This year I saw Moses again when he accompanied his parents to the annual Namwianga Lectureship. Now eight years old, Moses is happy, healthy, and enjoying primary school.

The Siangandus later adopted more children, including another boy named Moses. They also took in some orphaned nieces and nephews. The total count of children they have raised is somewhere around 15. Hunter teaches Bible at Simpweze Basic School and is one of the bicycle evangelists in his area. Humble workers like the Siangandus are making a difference in the lives of many--including little Moses.

More Photos from South Luangwa

The photo above shows just how close the lioness came to the vehicles during our game drive in South Luangwa. Our guide assured us that as long as we were in our vehicle we would not be considered prey.



This zebra colt seemed to pose for the camera.

Scorched Earth

Burned fields are a common sight this time of year in our region. The last rains were in April, so the vegetation is dry and brown. Some fires are accidental; others are set to clear the land or to force small game out into the open for hunting. The fires do not usually rage out of control or reach extremely high temperatures because there is very little undergrowth.

A fascinating phenomenon occurs when green shoots of grass spring up from the charred earth. Where do they get enough moisture to sprout? I'd love to know the answer!

Have GPS, Will Navigate the Bush

I neglected one very important piece of information about our trip to Chiili on Saturday. We did it by ourselves! On our past forays we have had Rodgers Namuswa with us to show the way. When we made the trip in June, we entered the way points on our GPS as we traveled, and this time we did it on our own. The people at Chiili were surprised and impressed when we arrived without Rodgers (our Bio-GPS as we call him).

Malaria Article Online

Faithful blog reader Mary Ann Melton found the National Geographic article about malaria online. Click on the above title to read it.

A scholarly but readable account of malaria's effect on history is found in Fiammetta Rocco's book Quinine: Malaria and the Quest for a Cure That Changed the World (Perennial Books, 2003).

Chiili Farewell

Today we made another grueling drive to Chiili to pick up Brian Siakuba, a GBCC student teacher who had been there since May. The community came to say goodbye and gathered for this final photo. Brian is on the left side in the front row wearing a white shirt.

The community leaders were sad to see him go. He had proven himself to be an excellent teacher and a great worker in the local congregation. The woman who serves as head of the village begged us to send more teachers from GBCC. We hope to do just that!

On the way home, I asked Brian to describe the greatest challenge he encountered. He told us about facing the start of the term alone. We had taken him to Chiili on the first Saturday in May before the term was to begin on Monday. No other teachers were there, but we assumed they would be arriving on Sunday. As it turns out, Brian was the only teacher at the school for the first two weeks of the term. One teacher arrived after two weeks, and the head teacher arrived three weeks after the term began. Poor Brian had to figure out what to teach without any guidance! He seemed to have taken it all in stride and recommended that we send more student teachers there next year.

We are proud of students like Brian and look forward to hearing more of their stories as they return from their first experiences in the field.

Malaria

The July 2007 issue of National Geographic features an article on the current status of malaria in the world, with specific attention given to Zambia.

It is hard for Americans to imagine the toll that malaria takes on the Zambians. Almost every day someone we know is sick with it. The National Geographic article points out the difficulties of dealing with this dreaded disease and the current efforts to eradicate it. I think you will find it a fascinating read.

Bernard at His Best

Sara brought Bernard home one night while she was here, and we quickly fell in love with this little guy. He loves wearing sunglasses, and he loves to be held. He and David became good buddies.

The Path of Pills

When we are doing the bush clinics, one of the big yellow buses becomes the pharmacy, or Pills on Wheels as it is affectionately known. Here is how it works.


The patient turns in a prescription at the front door of the bus. A pharmacy worker places the prescription in a blue bowl. Liz McClellan is shown here at her post.



Next, another worker takes the blue bowl down the aisle of the bus, stopping to select the medications out of red trunks placed on the seats. Sara had this job during the medical mission.


Then the prescription goes out the back of the bus to one of the Zambian nurses or pharmacists. The patient is called over and is given the prescription along with instructions on how to take or use the drug.

It's an efficient system that works very well. The bus keeps the wind and dust out of the pharmacy, and using the bus frees up other rooms for the medical and dental teams.

I don't have a good photo of Star Ferguson, but no description of the pharmacy is complete without mentioning her. Star works year round to collect, organize, and run the ZMM pharmacy. Her tireless and enthusiastic efforts have relieved the suffering of tens of thousands of Zambians. She's one of my heroes.

Home Again

We are home again and settling back into some sort of routine after a month of medical mission and traveling. Last week we did a trip to South Luangwa game park in eastern Zambia with Mark and Michele Broadway and nine others from the medical mission team. We spent four days on the road--two days to get there and two days coming back. Grueling is the word I would use to describe the journey. The scenery was gorgeous in several places, but stretches of the road were very bad, and the last four hours of the drive into Luangwa were on a rough dirt road. We did enjoy an overnight stop both ways at Mapepe Bible College to see our friends David and Lorie French.

South Luangwa Game Park was incredible and made the travel worthwhile. The game viewing has to be some of the best in Africa. We saw elephants, all kinds of antelope, zebras, cape buffalo, giraffes, bushbabies, civets, hippos, a leopard, and lions. We stayed right on the river and listened to the hippos bellowing to each other at night. An elephant strolled right by our chalet, and monkeys jumped in the trees over the roof. The giraffe and lioness above were within a few feet of our vehicle during a game drive.




Mark and Michele are finishing up all kinds of last minute projects for us before they leave on Thursday. I'm preparing myself for a letdown when the house is empty again after having so much activity in June and July. We won't have much time to think about it, however, as the follow up on medical mission contacts begins in August.

Family Picture

This is our family photo taken last week. John left with the rest of the medical team on Saturday, and we took Sara to Livingstone today to catch her flight home. The ache in my heart is a reminder of how wonderful it was to have them both here with us. We are comforted knowing that they are doing well in their lives as young adults and are faithful to the Lord.

Tomorrow we are taking off for a few days to rest and recover from the hectic pace of the last two months. We'll be back Monday night.

The Gregersen Guesthouse Gang

We managed to get 15 of our Guesthouse Gang together for a photo during our time in Livingstone. Front row: Brad Hamby, Me, Michele Broadway. Second row: Sara, Liz McClellan. Third row: David, Kate Click, Meredith Carter. Fourth row: Mark Broadway, John Gregersen, Aaron Carlisle. Top row: Kyle Robarts, Daniel Bynum, Jesse Bynum, and Mason Singleton. Not pictured: Meta and Alyssa Isenhower, Kayla McNiece.

Baobab Tree

Our last clinic was at Mabuyu which means "Two Trees." One of those trees is this magnificent baobab. You can see how small the people around the base of the tree look in relation to the trunk!

Mabuyu is noted for something else as well. The children of Mabuyu are well behaved, polite, and responsive. The teachers and workers in the children's program love to come to Mabuyu because they know they will have a great class.

Kalweza Women's Meeting

We had just gotten home on Saturday when Rodgers Namuswa came by to tell us that he had scheduled Cindy Robinson and me to speak at a women's meeting on Sunday. We recruited Michele Broadway to teach the children and Misozi to translate for us.


Sunday afternoon we headed for Kalweza where women from several area congregations had been meeting since Thursday. They had slept in the church building and in grass enclosures and had cooked all their meals over open fires. We arrived at 2:20 and found that they had not yet had their lunch. Rodgers asked the women in charge what they wanted to do and they said, "We will feed on the Word of God first and then we will eat our food." How humbling it is to find such receptive and eager listeners!

There were about 150 women gathered inside a grass shelter--perhaps much like the brush arbor structures used for revivals in America's past years. Rodgers told us that the women gathered the grasses and the men cut the poles and lashed them together. Photos above show both the outside and inside of the structure. The women sat on mats made of feed sacks.

Update - July 22

We spent Wednesday through Saturday in Livingstone with the medical mission team doing some sightseeing and relaxing. Most of the team--including our son John--left for the US on Saturday afternoon. We still have Sara and the Broadways here at our house.

Sara could hardly wait to get back to Namwianga and see the toddlers at Eric's House. She brought home Cynthia and Moshe last night, and tonight we have Jason and Bernard. Mark and Michele wanted to take the little guys home, so they let Jason and Bernard try out the carry-on bag to see if they'd fit.

This and That

We have had 18 people living with us since July 8, although we have only been here four nights during that time. It has been a wonderful group and we have thoroughly enjoyed them all. Here's the guest list: Kayla McNiece, Kyle Robarts, Aaron Carlisle, Meredith Carter, Alysa and Meta Isenhower, Kate Click, Liz McClellan, Mark and Michele Broadway, Brad Hamby, Daniel and Jesse Bynum, Mason Singleton, and the four of us Gregersens. Sharing bathrooms and living space has meant some patient waiting--the last person finished taking a bath at 11:00 last night!

Today we are leaving for Livingstone for sightseeing and rest. Most of the team flies out on Saturday. John will be with that group, but Sara and the Broadways will be here for a few more days.

Link to Zambia Medical Mission

You can read more detailed reports of the medical mission by clicking on the title above. ZMM Director K. B. Massingill has written daily accounts of our clinics and activities.

New Faith

Many Zambians wear beads that they believe will help them to ward off evil spirits and stay healthy. This lady studied the Bible with me and decided to become a Christian and put her faith in Jesus rather than beads and witchcraft. Before her baptism, she willingly let me cut off the necklaces and bracelets she had been wearing.

Pharmacy

Our daughter Sara is shown in front of the Pharmacy Bus, or Pills on Wheels as it is affectionately known. Patients turn in their prescriptions at the front of the bus and pick up their medications at the back.

Eye Clinic

Daniel Bynum worked in the eye clinic part of the time. This team had a very rewarding job as they witnessed the joy the patients expressed when they were able to see well.

Take A Number, Please

Jesse Bynum worked in the front lines of the clinic. Here he is putting a numbered sticker on one of the patients. The numbers are color coded so that anyone can tell at a glance if the patient is to go to the dental, optical, or medical area. The numbers also help us get patients seen in an orderly way and facilitate record keeping.

Dental Work

Our son John worked in the dental triage area. Here he is shown with Zambian translator Oliver on the left. Karan Bridgwater looked in each patient's mouth to determine which teeth were to be pulled. Then John directed the patients to the dental clinic area.

Triage

Mason Singleton worked in the triage area of the clinic weighing patients.

Clinics End

We arrived back at Namwianga yesterday evening. We traveled to Nazibbula on Saturday and spent the night. After a worship service on Sunday morning we opened the first of two days of clinics there. We stayed in our tent city until Tuesday morning when we packed up and left for a one-day clinic at Mabuyu. We finished there around 5:00 and headed for home--tired, dusty, and full of memories.

The medical, dental, and optometry clinics saw more than 15,500 patients during our six days in the bush, and we had 143 baptisms from our spiritual outreach efforts. The organization and teamwork was amazing, and God richly blessed us in many ways.

Sponsorship Reception

The ZMM team spent Friday at Namwianga. One of the special activities was a sponsorship reception. All those on the team who sponsor students or who are from congregations that sponsor students had an opportunity to meet and get acquainted with those students. The upper photo shows Michele Broadway with some of the students who are sponsored by members of Brentwood Oaks Church of Christ in Austin. The entire sponsorship group is shown in the lower photo.


Other activities of the day included soccer and netball games with the ZMM team playing Namwianga--ZMM was defeated in both games, but players and spectators had a great time.

Friday evening a reception for the ZMM team and the Namwianga community was held. A highlight of that event was a presentation by the combined secondary choirs. Their singing was incredible, especially since not one of these gifted singers can read music.

We are packing up on Saturday morning and heading out for another set of clinics at Nazibbula and Mabuyu.

Back from the Bush

We arrived back at Namwianga yesterday after four days out in the bush. We left on Monday afternoon and traveled to Njabalombe, our home base for the next three nights. Our tents were ready and waiting, thanks to the Advance Team who had gone out earlier in the day. We did two days of clinics at Njabalombe and left early Thursday morning for Katungu where we quickly set up and conducted another one-day clinic. Late in the afternoon we packed up and headed home, stopping at Rod and Sue Calders for dinner.

Everyone at our house managed to stay healthy, and for that we are grateful. We were also very grateful for hot baths and showers last night!

Today is a Project Day at Namwianga. Our team members will work on campus here doing repair jobs, preparing for the next clinics, and having fun with the people who live and work here. This morning some of the Americans will be teaching classes at the secondary and college. In the afternoon we will have a reception for sponsors so that they can meet their sponsored students, followed by soccer and netball games.

Tomorrow we'll head out again for another round of clinics.

Clean Delivery Kits

This young mother-to-be holds up a Clean Delivery Kit that she received during our Njabalombe clinic. This zip lock bag contains just a few simple items that can make the delivery of her baby safer and help ensure that she will live to raise the child. Generous donations from some of you made it possible for these kits to be distributed.

Communication and Transportation

I've said it before--communication and transportation are our constant challenges. Here is yet another example.

We went to Lusaka June 26-27 to buy formula for the orphanage. The Cowbell Company's warehouse was out of stock, but the manager in charge assured me that they would deliver 18 cases to Namwianga. He got on the phone to the driver in Livingstone and told him to drop off as many cases as he could spare the following day. I asked him several time if I needed to give him directions to the orphanage, and he told me that they had delivered to Namwianga many times and knew where it was. We went back to Namwianga and assumed all was well.

A week later I contacted Cecelia at the orphanage and found out that no formula had been delivered. I called Cowbell in Lusaka and talked to someone who knew nothing about it but promised to have the manager call me. Then on Thursday evening Sue Calder stopped by and asked me if I had gotten the formula that had been delivered to the Internet Cafe in Kalomo. Apparently six cases had been sitting there since June 28. I still had no idea where the other 12 cases were.

Today Don Oldenburg called from Kalomo. He had just walked into a store in the market, and the clerk had asked him if he was from Namwianga. When Don said yes, the clerk told him that 12 cases of formula had been delivered the previous week, and he asked Don to take them to the orphanage.

So all is well. The orphanage has the formula and once again we have overcome the challenges of communication and transportation.

A Happening Place

All kinds of things are happening at our house today! Since Monday we've had Mark and Michele Broadway and Mason Singleton from Austin staying with us. Leonard, a sign painter from Zimbabwe, has also been here, and last night we added Brad Hamby. Tonight two more team members move in, plus we have a toddler from the orphanage with us.

The living room was a workroom for children's ministry projects this afternoon as some of the younger team members prepared crafts for the medical mission children's classes. A card game or two was held around the dining room table.

At another time this afternoon the living room was a showroom for local crafts. Two different Zambian friends are making tote bags, skirts, tie chitenges, and aprons. I sell them to members of the medical mission team and take $1 from each sale for needy student sponsorships.

Our toddler from the orphanage is Adrian. Sara and Meagan and I went for a visit at lunchtime and found Adrian feeling terrible. He is usually very vocal, demanding, and active. Today he was feverish and lethargic and too miserable to even whimper. We had Dr. Neese from the medical mission team come take a look at him and get him started on an antibiotic. Sara looked at me as we stood over Adrian's crib and said, "We can't leave him here like this, can we?" I checked with Dr. Neese and he agreed that it would be fine for us to take him home and give him some extra attention. So Sara and I have been making sure Adrian gets lots of TLC. Tylenol and liquids perked him up pretty quickly, and we hope by tomorrow he'll be well enough to go back to the orphanage.

Tomorrow John flies in with the rest of the medical team, including Daniel and Jesse Bynum. Daniel, Jesse, Mason, and John grew up together in Austin, so we are thrilled to have them together here in Africa. Also arriving tomorrow will be Kate Click and Liz McClellan from Austin. They are students at Brentwood Christian School and will be sponsored here by Mark and Michele Broadway. Kate was in my second grade class years ago and is the first former student of mine to come to Africa, so that's exciting for me.

Expected population at the Gregersen house tomorrow night is 18. We'll keep you posted!

Keep on Biking

Christopher earned a blog entry by becoming the first bicycle evangelist to wear out a bicycle. He was one of the first to receive a bicycle last year, and he has faithfully used his wheels to minister and evangelize. We get tired just reading his monthly reports. His area is on and around the dreaded Kabanga Road, so it's not surprising that his bike was due for a trade-in. He received this new set of wheels so that he can keep up the good work.

News from the Front

Liston Sibokkolo stopped by during the lectureship to tell us about his student teaching and his work with Mukaziwa and Sandy Hill congregations. Sandy Hill lost almost all its original members in the last few months. It is a farm congregation and the workers got transferred or lost their jobs. Liston started going on Saturday afternoons to hold Bible studies and has now gotten a small group of new members attending on Sundays. He came by to get some help to organize a weekend meeting. It was a joy to see his enthusiasm and his concern for the people of Sandy Hill. He is exactly the kind of worker we try to train at George Benson Christian College.

Yesterday Thomas Siafwiyo brought back reports from the students who are working with the Northreach effort. He said that the student teachers he had talked to are doing a great work with their congregations. Thomas also reported that one of the headmasters gave him glowing compliments about the student teachers, saying that he would be asking for them to come back as full-time teachers when they graduated.

News like this gives us encouragement that GBCC is accomplishing the goal of training self-supporting church planters and leaders. To God be the glory.

The Ladies of Sichikwalula

I did finally teach my 3:00 ladies' class on Saturday afternoon--at 4:30. Some women asked if they could do a short play before I spoke, and I readily agreed. They put on a hilarious skit with a great underlying message about being a good wife and mother. I knew they looked familiar and found out they are from Sichikwalula. These ladies were baptized on the medical mission in 2004 and worked with Rodgers Namuswa to get a church planted in their village. They are still going strong and are a great reminder that we should never underestimate the influence of dedicated women who want to serve the Lord. You can read more about these ladies in an earlier blog entitled Sunday Surprise in the Bush.

Lectureship and the Brittells

Namwianga is hosting its annual four-day lectureship right now. The first Monday and Tuesday of July are national holidays, so Namwianga has a Friday through Monday program of speakers and classes. The students all get a long break so that the people who attend the lectureship can stay in the dormitories. I think there are over 1,000 people on campus right now.

David spoke at one of the keynote sessions on Saturday morning and introduced the lectureship theme of Holiness. I was scheduled to speak to the ladies' class Saturday afternoon at 3:00. I went to the auditorium at 2:45 just in case the 2:00 class ended early. As it turns out, the 2:00 speaker was still going strong at 4:15, so my class didn't begin until 4:30 or so. I was glad that I was able to be in the earlier session, though, because I got to hear Jacob Sianungu preach in English as Aaron Brittell interpreted in Tonga. These men have an interesting life story. They were raised in an orphanage at Sinde Mission by the Brittell family. Augusta and Jesse Brittell moved to Africa with their two adult daughters, Gladys and Elaine, in 1946 to start the orphanage. Their son Orville was already working at Sinde Mission. The Brittell women did all of the day-to-day care of the babies and spoke to them only in English. Jacob and Aaron sound exactly like Americans as they speak even today.

I have read a book about Augusta Brittell entitled "Mother of Eighty." She was a woman of great faith and evangelistic zeal for the lost. She died in 1964, but her legacy lives on in the men like Jacob and Aaron who were raised by her family. Jacob is a preacher in Livingstone and also runs an orphanage. Aaron lives in Kalomo and is a church leader. We have been on several outreaches with him and his gospel singing group.

The story of the Brittells is fascinating. After Augusta died, her daughter Elaine continued caring for some of the orphans. She moved into Livingstone and became known for her works of kindness and her involvement in the community. One Zambian told me that Elaine would go to the hospital and find a patient who needed care--someone who was a stranger to her. Elaine would bring a mat and sleep on the floor next to the patient's bed for as long as necessary. Some people called her the "Mother Theresa of Zambia."

She lived in a room behind the Central Church of Christ building in Livingstone. In the early 80s, she was murdered as she slept. The killer was never found. I have heard stories about her funeral. Those who were there say that the entire town lined the streets as her coffin was carried in the procession. The line of mourners was so long that when the first people in the procession reached the cemetery a mile outside town, the end of the line of mourners was just leaving the downtown area of the city. Today there is an area of Livingstone named Elaine Brittell Township.

I would love to know more about Elaine and the Brittells. If anyone reading this happens to have information or knows any of the family, please let me know.

News and Notes - June 29

We have been limited in our internet usage this week. We managed to use up almost all of our monthly bandwidth by the 18th, so we've had to be very careful these last few days. Tonight I'm using Ellie Hamby's wireless connection. If you've e-mailed and not heard back from us, just wait until July 1 when we get our new monthly allotment.

On Tuesday and Wednesday we were in Lusaka. Sara had never been there and wanted to see the capital city. We also needed to buy formula for The Haven and wanted to get a luggage rack put on our vehicle. Sara got to see Lusaka, but in true Zambian style we didn't get the other errands accomplished. The warehouse was out of formula, and the place that was making the luggage rack had a power outage and couldn't finish the job. We did get to do some shopping and enjoyed being with some of the Americans who flew in to Lusaka for early work on the medical mission.

Sara has been bringing home a toddler or two at lunch time and occasionally has one spend the night. I have fallen in love with every one of them, and both Sara and I missed the babies when we were in Lusaka.

The annual lectureship starts at Namwianga tonight and Christians from all over southern Zambia will be gathering for fellowship and teaching. David is speaking at tomorrow's morning session and I'll be speaking to the women tomorrow afternoon.

Sara's Kids

We have new excitement in our lives now that Sara is with us. She’s working at the toddler orphanage and brings home a different child each day at lunchtime. We’ve fallen in love with every one of them. The one pictured here is Adrian. He loves to be held and was quite content to sit in my lap while I graded papers.

We love to hear the stories Sara tells us about the kids' antics. She never has a dull moment keeping up with 12 toddlers!

News from the Coop

“You are a REAL chicken farmer,” my neighbor told me the other day. I was showing her the newest additions to our flock. The Red Hen sat on a nest of 12 eggs and had 11 chicks hatch on Sunday. That same day a man who works for us had seven chicks hatch, but then his hen was stolen. We found out about the theft on Monday morning and decided to try to merge his new chicks with ours. David drove into Kalomo to get the chicks and we put them in with Red Hen and her new flock. Alas, she did not turn out to be the nurturing kind and began to peck the little ones that were not hers. One died, and another was badly injured before we rescued him.

All those years of living on a farm in Missouri taught me a few things that linger in the recesses of my memory. I got a cardboard box, attached a lamp over it, and set up a mini-hatchery in the pantry. We worked to try to save the hurt chick. David rubbed antibiotic ointment on his wounds, and I figured out ways to get him to drink a few drops of water now and then. He perked up after the third day, giving us hope he might pull through. At that point we dubbed him T.C. for “tough chick.” He took a turn for the worse on Thursday, however, and died. We also lost four of Red Hen’s chicks the first night—probably from the cold. (It’s the middle of our winter here with temps in the 40s and 50s at night.) Now we have seven little fluff balls with Red Hen in the chicken pen and five little peepers in the cardboard box.

The Big White Hen is once again sitting on a nest, but this time it has six eggs in it. I have decided that she may not be the sharpest hen in the coop. She had been in the nest next to Red Hen for a week or so. After Red Hen and her chicks moved out of that nest, Big White Hen decided that’s where she wanted to be and settled in there. I guess she forgot about the eggs she left behind in her old nest. David saw the eggs in one nest and Big White Hen in the next one and put them together again. The saga continues!

Kalenga

The top photo shows where we worshipped with the newly-formed Kalenga congregation in 2005. We sat on logs under this shade tree. The middle photo shows the building they have now. It was filled completely on Sunday. The building also houses a Christian community school for grades one and two.

Photo Magnetism

Sara drew quite a crowd at Kalenga on Sunday with her camera. She began taking photos--or "snaps" as they call them here--and the children immediately ran from all over to be in the picture. They were amazed when she showed them the digital images on her camera. I'm sure some of them had never seen a photo of themselves before!

Visors

Two of the Bible class students at Saturday's Kalweza outreach are shown here. They are busily coloring visors lettered with "Jesu Ulandiyanda," which is Tonga for "Jesus Loves Me."

The little guy in the bottom photo was easy to keep up with. His shoes played the faint strains of "Twinkle, Twinkle," "Happy Birthday," "London Bridges," and "My Darling Clementine."

Jason and Sara

When Sara came home for lunch today, she brought Jason with her. He is adorable! Jason loved looking at our chickens and saying both the Tonga and English words for chicken. He is known for his very serious approach to eating--Sara says he tries to be the first one to the table at lunch time. At our house he was content to snack on a cracker and take a nap before heading back to be with his buddies at Eric's House.

News and Notes - June 17

Our life has been a whirlwind of activity this week! The Northreach Medical Mission leaves tomorrow and the Merritt household has been busily preparing for that. Ellie Hamby and crew are getting things geared up for the Zambia Medical Mission in July. Sara started working at Eric's House orphanage with the toddlers and quickly fell in love with all of them. See her blog for some great pictures.

We did two outreaches this weekend. On Saturday afternoon Cindy Robinson, Sara, and I went with Rodgers and a group of college students to Kalweza. Cindy taught the women and the rest of us taught the children. It was a large group of 89 children of all ages. They were involved and enthusiastic, so we had a great time teaching them.

On Sunday we took a different group of college students and traveled to Kalenga, a two-hour trip that bumped and jolted us over some really bad roads. We had visited Kalenga in 2005 when the newly planted congregation had just begun meeting under a large shade tree. Today they filled their new church building with 139 people. After the church service the ladies served us the traditional Zambian meal of chicken, nshima, and greens. This was Sara's first experience with "village" chicken and eating with her hands, and she loved it.

I'll try to post pictures tomorrow.

How Are We Getting There?

Cindy Robinson has been a wonderful blessing during her stay here at Namwianga. She has taken advantage of every opportunity to teach the Bible. Last week Rodgers Namuswa invited her to go with him to Kalomo Hospital and teach a class for family members of the patients. She hesitated just a little when she found out that her transportation into Kalomo would be on Rodgers's motorcycle, but her desire to teach overcame her trepidation about the vehicle and off she went.

Cindy taught a very appreciative group of women who are staying at the Family Shelter while their loved ones are in the hospital. The ride must not have been too bad--she's going again this week.

Dinner Guests

Last week we had an interesting dinner with several of our short-term workers on the mission. Rachelle, Alana, Olivia, and Amy are spending some time here at Namwianga before going on the Northreach medical mission. They were our guests for dinner, along with Cindy Robinson, who is doing some teaching here before she goes to Mumena for a medical mission, Meagan Hawley, and the Oldenburgs. Rachelle, Alana, and Olivia are shown in the picture holding Adrian, Brandon, and Lola, the toddlers they brought from Eric's House. In the back are Amy, Meagan, Cindy, and Don Oldenburg.

One of the greatest blessings of our work here is getting to meet so many wonderful Christians who share our love for the Lord and His people in Zambia.

Sara in Africa

Our daughter Sara arrived on Friday after two LONG days of travel. She had arranged her flight months ago using her frequent flier miles. As it turned out, she ended up flying from Paris to Livingstone on the same flights as Ellie Hamby, who was also flying on frequest flier miles.

Sara went with us on the Saturday afternoon outreach. She plans to start working with the toddlers at Eric's House next week. Click the link on the left if you'd like to read her Africa blog.

As you can imagine, we are thrilled to have her with us in Africa again. Our son John arrives with the medical mission group in less than a month!

Outreaches

Last Saturday and this Saturday Rodgers Namuswa arranged afternoon outreaches. Cindy Robinson taught the ladies and I organized a children's Bible school class. Last Saturday I took three girls from the secondary school along to help me. One of the girls is Misozi Muyumbwa, shown in the top photo on the right and in the bottom photo on the left. Misozi is following in the footsteps of her mother who attended Namwianga in the eighties. Misozi's mother often served as a translator for Ellie Hamby on outreaches.

Last Sunday the Oldenburgs helped us transport a group of high school and college students (middle photo) on an outreach to Najinka. We jolted over rough roads for two hours to find this congregation. The members were delighted that we had come so far to visit them. We had quite a long day, though, with four hours traveling and almost three hours in the morning worship assembly!

Today Rodgers, Cindy, Misozi and I took some visiting American college students with us for an outreach to Kanyaya. Shown above are Rachelle Martindale and Alana Smith with Misozi.

Shared Shoes

Students at all high schools in Zambia are required to wear uniforms, including solid black shoes. Students who don’t have the correct uniform can be sent home. In my role as sponsorship coordinator I am often asked to help students get uniforms, especially shoes. Thankfully, there are generous friends in the US who occasionally send me money for things like this, and usually I can help the students who are truly needy.

Chester came on Saturday asking to do some extra work to earn money for school shoes. I had just received word that a dear friend had deposited money in our work fund to use for student needs, so I decided to get Chester the shoes.

Tuesday morning I dropped by his school and asked the head teacher if I could buy some shoes and leave them in the office for Chester. The head teacher said, “Why don’t you just take him with you to buy them so they will be sure to fit?” He sent another student to get Chester out of class.

Chester ambled over to where I was standing. As usual, he wore a beaming smile. I looked down at his feet and saw a nice pair of black dress shoes. “Chester, those shoes look fine. Are you sure you need new shoes?” I asked.

“These shoes are my young brother’s,” Chester replied.

“Doesn’t he need them?” I prodded.

Chester’s quick reply left me speechless. “Madam, his classes are in the afternoon.”

I swallowed the lump in my throat as we headed for the vehicle. Thirty minutes later Chester had his own pair of school shoes.