The People at My Door - Rodgers Namuswa

As much as we love being back in America with family and friends, we can’t help but miss our Zambian co-workers. Rodgers Namuswa is the one we work with the most. He is a member of the Church Development Team at Namwianga, and he is also the contact person for World Bible School in our area.

In 2005 Rodgers was given a motorcycle to help him expand his outreach efforts. What a worthy investment that turned out to be! Rodgers literally wore out that motorbike. He makes weekly visits to the Kalomo Hospital to counsel and teach the patients and their families. He goes out into the bush to arrange and publicize our leadership seminars. He is always going out to villages on weekends to teach and preach in the local congregations. He is a regular at the Namwianga clinic where he conducts chapel services, counsels and comforts the patients, and also coordinates a Wednesday evening Bible study. And his World Bible School work has multiplied exponentially in the last four years.

Rodgers has arranged places all over the Kalomo area that he calls “drop boxes.” In these places World Bible School students can pick up correspondence lessons. The students complete the lessons and then return them to the drop boxes. Rodgers collects these at regular intervals and mails them in bulk to the Brentwood Oaks church in Austin where instructors grade the lessons. The lessons are then mailed back to Zambia. Rodgers picks them up at the post office and distributes them to the drop boxes. The relatively quick turn around time for the lessons has encouraged more students to participate. These students have referred their families and friends, and the enrollment numbers just keep climbing.

When Rodgers wore out his first motorbike, the Brentwood Oaks Church of Christ supplied him with the new set of wheels shown above. I’m confident that Rodgers will log many miles continuing his good work in the kingdom.

Update - May 7, 2009

We are in Searcy, Arkansas, for the next few days spending time with David’s mother. Yesterday we were blessed to get together with the Harding In Zambia students—those from the past two years and some who will be coming in September. It was great to see and visit with them.

We shared an update on the elephant situation with the HIZ students. The Calders e-mailed us, saying that the elephants have stayed on the farm adjoining Namwianga for over two weeks now. Besides wreaking havoc in the maize fields and destroying the fences, the elephants have turned Maunga Lake into their swimming hole. The Maunga dam is right on the path that David and I walk and jog on every morning, so we’re going to have to find a new route if the elephants are still around when we get back.

Update - May 5, 2009

Today I had appointments with my medical oncologist and radiation oncologist. Both agreed that I am cancer-free. I told the radiation oncologist that I had not had any side effects from the radiation treatments--no skin reactions, no significant fatigue. He was amazed, saying, "That just doesn't happen." You may remember that last May I decided I would have "blest cancer," and I feel that's what I've had. I thank God for his goodness--all the time.

We have had a great time during our two weeks here in Austin. Last weekend we helped John and Leah move into their new house and enjoyed sharing that experience with them. We celebrated our 33rd anniversary on May 1 by spending time out in the country at our friends' log cabin. We have enjoyed many meals and good times with dear friends and our church family.

Wednesday we are taking off for three weeks of travel. We'll spend a week in Searcy with David's mother. A special treat will be meeting with the Harding In Zambia students, both those who have been to Namwianga and those who will be coming this fall. Then we will spend a week in Missouri with my family before going to Tulsa for a couple of days to help Sara get ready to move. She's landed a teaching job here in Austin for next year and will be moving at the end of May. We'll head from Tulsa to western Oklahoma for a visit with Richard and Angie Prather in Shattuck, and we'll wind up in Salado, Texas on May 24.

Our Co-Workers

We were delighted to get this photo from the InterMission Retreat we attended in South Africa March 20 - April 3. We grew very close to these missionaries who share our passion for the work in Africa. Countries represented are Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, and Namibia.

Ostrich Ride

Here is the video of my ostrich ride in South Africa. It was quite an experience!

Elephants!!

We received an e-mail from Rod and Sue Calder who live on a farm adjoining Namwianga. Last week they saw two groups of elephants going through their farm--a total of 12 plus a baby. The elephants have torn down fences in several places and have terrorized the farm workers. Rod and Sue report that many people were wide-eyed and shaking as they watched the elephants tromp through the fields. I wonder if homeowner's insurance covers elephant damage?

Back in the USA

I'm blogging from Austin once again. We left Zambia on Thursday for our furlough in the US. It's been almost a year since my cancer diagnosis, so we're back for my doctor's visits and checkups, as well as reconnecting with and reporting to our sponsoring congregation at Brentwood Oaks.

We arrived in Austin on Friday after having an adventure or two on the trip. At the Atlanta airport we had gone through immigration, reclaimed and rechecked our luggage, and had just gone through security when another passenger stopped us. She was an elderly lady in a flowing, tie-dyed African dress and head wrap. She held out her passport from Senegal and a boarding card and looked at us with fear in her eyes. "Help me?"

I tried to find out what she needed, but it was obvious that she didn't speak much English. She did say "Washington D.C. and Baltimore." We got the attention of one of the security workers and asked him what to do. He said he had to finish what he was doing and then he would help her. He told us we could go on, but we didn't think our new friend was ready to navigate the Atlanta airport on her own, so we stayed. The security guy looked at her boarding card and told us she needed to go to gate B31. We were leaving from B28, so we decided we would just take the lady with us. We gathered up her tote bag and rolling carry-on and took off. I told David I'd lead the way and he should come behind her.

The first hurdle was the escalator. It was obvious she had never been on one and didn't know what to do. She had a long flowing scarf around her neck that dragged the ground, plus her over-sized dress, so we had to make sure none of that got caught in the escalator steps. She watched me and cautiously followed us. We navigated the tram using hand signals and lots of "It's okay. Just wait" types of comments and gestures. Off the tram and up another scary escalator, we emerged in Terminal B. Gate 31 was at the far end, so we headed down the crowded corridor. At one point she stopped us, "I tired!" We were almost there, so we urged her on, finally arriving at gate 31--where passengers were about to board for Orange, California, not Washington and Baltimore. Turns out we got her there at 10:00, and she had already missed her 9:55 flight. The agent at the gate rebooked her for the 11:19 flight--which was to leave from Gate 4--at the opposite end of the terminal. We only had 30 minutes left before we were to board our flight, and I wasn't sure our new friend could stand another long walk. The gate agent advised us to wait for one of the motorized carts to come by and pick her up. After a few minutes of waiting, I asked the agent to call for one of the carts and she did.

We waited another 10 minutes, and no cart came. The original agent was now busy boarding the Orange flight, so David went to another counter and got the agent to call again. And we waited. The lady from Senegal began trying to communicate. In monosyllables and broken sentences we managed to tell her we lived in Zambia. She said, "My name. Write. Senegal." So I pulled out my notebook and pen and she wrote down her name and address in Dakar, Senegal along with three phone numbers. "You come to Senegal. You stay with me. I cook for you," she managed to say. I thanked her, and she went on, "You come. You good. Your husband good. Thank you."

Still no cart. At 10:20 I went back to the second agent and told her that we needed a cart quickly, so she called again. Nothing. By 10:25 I was stopping anyone who looked like an employee of the airport and asking for help. Five minutes later I went back to the first agent who had completed her boarding duties and told her to please get some help for this lady because we had to get on our flight. She called again, and said the cart was on its way. I looked down the corridor and saw the blinking light about 10 gates away, and it wasn't moving. Motioning to our friend to wait again, I sprinted down the terminal to the cart and told the driver to please get moving so this lady could get to her gate.

At 10:35 the cart finally pulled up and we settled the lady in the cart and gave instructions to the driver to make sure she made it to the gate and was taken up to the counter. Then we waved goodbye and the cart rolled a few feet as we turned to head toward our gate. The driver called after us, "Wait! She wants to talk to you!" So we turned back. "Your name! Your name! " our new friend wanted to know. "It's Linda," I told her. Then she held her hand up to her face with the gesture of talking on the phone and said, "You call me! Say Linda! Come!" I smiled and waved her on down the corridor as the cart took off.

I had to smile thinking how the phone conversation might go if I ever did try to call my new friend in Senegal!

We thought our excitement was over for the day when we made it onto our Austin flight, but we were wrong. There were thunderstorms all over the southern part of Texas on Friday afternoon. We had to divert to Houston to get more fuel and sat on the runway there for over an hour. Then just as we were about to take off, the captain got word that the Austin airport had closed due to the storms. He pulled us over the gate and we got off the plane. A couple of hours later, we lined up to get back on, but we could tell the sky in Houston was turning black in a hurry. Sure enough, just as the first passengers headed down the breezeway, the captain called them back. The storm from Austin had moved to Houston, so we had to wait it out. Our flight that was supposed to be in Austin at 12:30 finally landed at 6:30.

Even with all the delays and adventures, it wasn't a bad trip. We're already over the jet lag and enjoying our time with friends and family. We're here until June 5, with a few side trips along the way.

Weekend Outreach

Our GBCC students loaded up on the yellow bus for a weekend outreach March 20-22. We expect our students to work with local congregations during their student teaching experience May-August, and this was part of the effort to prepare them for that role. They have been meeting on Friday nights for training sessions, and the weekend outreach was the culmination of their preparation.

Sixty students divided into groups of five each and ministered to twelve different village congregations. The bus dropped the groups off at their assigned locations on Friday night and picked them up again on Sunday afternoon.

The students spent the weekend going door to door in the village communities holding Bible studies and inviting anyone who was interested to attend special meetings on Saturday night and Sunday morning. Some congregations had prepared lists of members who were sick or needed special attention, and our students visited and prayed with those people.

Many students admitted to being a bit frightened at the idea of the weekend outreach. When Angela unloaded her things on Friday night, she turned to director Kenneth Siaziyu with wide eyes and cried, "You're just going to leave us here! Only God knows what will happen to us!" But by Sunday afternoon Angela was glowing with excitement and full of stories about her experience.

The statistics are impressive: On Sunday morning 139 individuals in the 12 congregations requested prayers or were restored, and 13 were baptized. The average combined attendance at the 12 congregations is 690; on March 22 there were 1,297 who attended.

Easter Fun

We had a very happy Easter with the little ones shown here. Jason and George came home with me after church. Meagan brought Cathy (left) and Carol. Mayoba (far right), my neighbor's niece, saw the fun and came to join us. We had an Easter feast (complete with lime jello for the kids) and then dyed eggs. The kids didn't know what to think at first, but eventually they got into the spirit. The bunny ears were a last-minute inspiration (thanks to my many years of Mother's Day Out experience), and then it was time to hunt the eggs. After two rounds of hiding and hunting, the kids decided they would rather eat the eggs than hunt them, so that's what they did.

My mother used to call days like this "Making Memories." I hope the kids had as much fun making memories as I did.

Ready to Teach

This morning our students are heading off for a break. Those who are in their second and third years of training will be doing their student teaching May - August. We expect our GBCC students to do more than teach in a school classroom--we expect them to be active leaders in a local congregation as well. The women shown above attended a training session and received Beginner's Bibles and instructions for teaching children's Bible classes. It will be great to see how God uses their willingness and their abilities to serve the Kingdom.

Back from the Retreat

Refreshing! Encouraging! Inspiring! These are all apt descriptors of our time in South Africa last week. We were part of a new program called InterMission aimed at encouraging missionaries on the field, and our southern Africa retreat was the first of its kind. We didn’t know that until the last day, and we never would have guessed because the facilitators did such a great job. John and Beth Reese, Kent and Nancy Hartman, along with Fielden and Janet Allison are all former or current missionaries, and they know exactly what missionaries need.

We were with 14 other couples and four young singles, plus six missionary kids for the three-day event. The other missionaries were natives of South Africa, Zimbabwe, Great Britain, and the Congo as well as some fellow Americans. Our commonality was working in cross-cultural missions in southern Africa, and that drew us together quickly.

Someone told us that once you’ve been to the mission field, you never quite fit in anywhere. You’re no longer completely at home in America because your experiences have changed you so much, and yet you’ll never be completely accepted in your country of ministry. So it’s no wonder that when missionaries get together, they have an instant understanding and a deep bond. We loved making new friends and renewing our ties with former acquaintances.

The location for the retreat was Carmel by the Sea, a Christian conference center on the coast near George, South Africa. The views were breathtakingly beautiful in every direction.

In addition to presentations and discussions, our program included an afternoon for fun. We went to an area of the South Africa cape called the Klein Karoo and toured an ostrich farm and the Cango Cave. Believe it or not, I can add “riding an ostrich” to the list of weird experiences I’ve had in Africa—and I have the video to prove it! I may even post it on the blog when we’re back in the US and have more bandwidth.

We are very grateful for the opportunity to attend this retreat, and we feel very blessed by the experiences we had and the fellowship we enjoyed.

Off to South Africa

David and I are leaving on Sunday afternoon to attend a missionary retreat in George, South Africa. The Oldenburgs are going with us, and all of us are looking forward to a week of relaxation, renewal, and fellowship with other missionaries from all over this part of Africa. We do not anticipate having internet access during that time, so I'll be taking a Blog Break until April 6.

Containers!

On Monday FOUR trucks rolled onto the mission bringing four box-car size containers full of supplies. The rest of the day was spent unloading, sorting, moving, and storing everything from bicycles to baby formula to books.

I had a good laugh when I caught sight of this bench being unloaded. It seems we imported several years worth of Juicy Fruit, Doublemint, and Double Bubble along with the auditorium seat.

Sunday at Magrimonde

Last Sunday David was invited to speak at the Magrimonde congregation in Kalomo. Richard Musolo, shown here with his family, was instrumental in planting this congregation several years ago and is one of its leaders now. Richard graduated from Manzini Bible College (now African Christian College) in Swaziland. His training there has prepared him well to serve here in Zambia. We found the congregation to be organized, welcoming, and very evangelistic. They are growing numerically and spiritually and are having an impact on the community.

A pleasant surprise during our visit was finding Miller Muwelya. Miller graduated from Namwianga Christian High School last year under the sponsorship program. On Sunday he directed the Magrimonde singing group as they shared some songs with us after the assembly.

CBH and Haven Toddlers

Last Friday the CBH group made one last visit to the Haven to say goodbye to the little ones they had grown to love during the week. Meagan Hawley coordinated their work at the Haven and is shown on the far right.

CBH at Kasibi

I just found these photos on my camera. A week ago on March 15 we took the Camp Blue Haven group to Kasibi for Sunday worship. Leland Rose preached the sermon that day, with Mr. Simoongwe as his translator. Then after the service our CBH group sang for the congregation (below). They did such a good job on their first two songs that the congregation begged for another. We encountered several people from Kasibi during the past week, and every one of them commented on Leland's sermon and how much they enjoyed the CBH group.

Update - 23 March

We said goodbye to the Camp Blue Haven Counselors on Saturday. We had spent a fun 24 hours with them in Livingstone as we tried to squeeze some sightseeing in before they left. They were able to experience a ride on the Zambezi, a visit to Victoria Falls, and a game drive at Mosi-O-Tunya before heading to the airport.

On Friday night we had a de-briefing session and told them that our goal for their week with us was to create an Africa-shaped hole in their hearts so that they would always have a desire to help in the mission efforts here. I think that was accomplished, and we look forward to seeing how God works in their lives. Certainly their servant hearts and great attitudes were a blessing to us this past week!

While we were in Livingstone on Friday, we got word that John and Beth Reese had arrived at Namwianga a day earlier than planned. They had tried to call us but had our old number, and they couldn't get their e-mail account to work to send us an e-mail message. Well, our house was locked up, and the keys to the guest house were in our house. Louisa and Meagan saved the day and welcomed the Reeses to stay with them on Friday night. We were glad to see them and enjoyed getting caught up with their news of World Bible School as they stayed with us Saturday night.

On Saturday evening we got a call from Bart Bruington saying that he and Douglas Siampango were on their way from Mumena to arrange for a container to be transported and would be arriving some time during the night. We changed the sheets on a couple of beds and left a key for them with the night watchman.

As we often say, the welcome mat is always out!

Update - CBH Counselors

We've had a wonderful week with our six Camp Blue Haven counselors. They have tackled every task with enthusiasm and have endeared themselves to all who meet them.

On Tuesday they spent the day at the orphanages, dividing their time between the infants in Haven One and the toddlers in Haven Two. Tuesday evening the Heavenly Echoes choir came over to give us a personal concert on the verandah. I'm guessing one or two of the songs they shared will be added to the Camp Blue Haven repertoire this summer.

Wednesday morning was again spent at the orphanages. Wednesday afternoon they visited Namwianga Christian Basic School and taught lessons in the first and third grade classes. The children loved it, and some even followed the counselors home to our veranda. The photo shows Micah, Kathryn, and Britni learning some unique hand claps from their new little friends.


Laura Oldenburg enlisted their help at the clinic Thursday morning where their task was to sort and organize supplies. Thursday afternoon they joined Rodgers Namuswa at the Kalomo Hospital. They visited the patients in the wards and then conducted a devotional for the residents of the Family Shelter. Also on Thursday we had a visit from Deb and Karen, two of our favorite Peace Corps Volunteers who are heading back to the United States. The CBH group enjoyed hearing about Deb and Karen's adventures.

It's been our pleasure to watch these young adults as they go through these experiences. We can see a love of Africa and its people growing in their hearts.

Camp Blue Haven Counselors

This week we are enjoying a visit from six Camp Blue Haven counselors. Last summer we spent a wonderful week at CBH. We took the opportunity to do a presentation for the counselors, encouraging them to consider ministry in Africa. These six accepted the challenge and are spending their spring break with us.

They arrived on Saturday. Sunday we took them to Kasibi for worship with the congregation in the village. Leonard Sichimwa's family prepared a traditional meal of chicken and nshima for us, and then the Kasibi village band gave us a fantastic concert with their homemade instruments. The CBH group agreed with me that this was a "National Geographic Moment."

The above photo was taken this morning as they headed out for Simpweze village. There they met Supper (pronounced Soo-pah), a disabled man who became a Christian during last year's medical mission. They did some work in Supper's mango orchard and spent some fellowship time with him.

Tomorrow they will be spending the day helping Meagan at the Haven I and II orphanages.

We are having a great experience with these young adults. We've had great times reminiscing about Camp Blue Haven, we've had some deep talks about mission experiences, and we've had lots of laughter and fun together.

Pictured from left to right are Nathan Goodnight, Chad Baker, Leland Rose, Kathryn Warder, Britni Johnson, and Micah Bayles.

Cobra in the Kitchen

"That's not good," David calmly announced last night. "A snake just went under the stove."

He had left the kitchen door open when he went out to check on the chickens. As he came back in, he caught sight of the snake slithering under the stove.

I left him to keep watch on our unwelcome visitor while I drove over to college to recruit some expert help. Several college guys were standing around in front of their dorm, and five of them jumped in the vehicle when they heard about the excitement.

Japhet held up his six-feet long stick ready for the kill as two of the guys warily pulled the stove away from the wall. No snake. Perhaps it had crawled up inside the stove? We turned on the oven and the burners to try to force it out. The guys banged on the sides of the range. We cautiously opened the oven door and the stove's lower storage drawer. No snake.

No snake should be good news. But David knew the snake had gone under the stove, and he knew the snake hadn't come out. There was a snake in the house somewhere.

The guys were convinced the snake had crawled behind the kitchen cabinet next to the stove. The cabinet is nailed to the wall and has a wooden backing, so I wasn't so sure.

Then one of the guys found that he could slide a long, thin, piece of wood into the narrow space between the base of the cabinet and the wall. If the piece of wood could get in there, so could a snake. Besides, the wooden backing stopped about three inches from the floor. There was open space under the bottom shelf behind the front cabinet facing.

"We need fresh milk," Japhet declared. "Milk will drive out the snake." When pressed for his reasoning, Japhet just repeated, "Snakes and milk don't go together. If you'll pour milk around, the snake will come out."

How do you argue with logic like that when there's a snake in the kitchen? The guys poured milk on the floor and tried to splash some behind the cabinet. We waited. No snake.

Next step: Pull the cabinet out away from the wall. David and the guys carefully pried the cabinet loose and pulled it back. Japhet took the flashlight and and peered underneath. "It is there!" he announced. He jammed a stick against the back of the facing board a few times and then pulled out the mangled reptile.

Our snake experts identified it as a cobra and cheerfully posed for a photo on the back veranda--but they wanted David to hold up the snake!

We rewarded our brave rescuers with a bag of candy and sent them back to their dorm. I mopped up the milk and the cobra blood, grateful that David had seen the snake go under the stove and wondering where it might have turned up if he hadn't seen it . . .

Jack and Steve

Jack Bayles (right) and Steven Anderson were our house guests for the past three weeks. Jack is a regular visitor to Namwianga, but this was Steven's first time in Africa.

Both Jack and Steven are mechanical engineers, and their skills were put to good use in many areas. They supervised the construction of a new water system at Sinde Mission--a project that has been in the planning stage for years. As in the past, Jack checked on water projects at Namwianga and other locations in our area and did tests on many drinking water sources on the Mission. Steven assisted Jack as needed and also patiently helped me learn how to do some new things on the computer, repaired broken appliances, and did any other task around the house that we asked him to.

Jack has been hooked on the work here in Africa for many years. Steven now shares that passion. We were blessed by their visit and hope they will come back again.

Graduate Gives Back

Humphrey Syamate, a 2008 graduate of George Benson Christian College, exemplifies the best aspects of our training and sponsorship programs. An orphan with no one to support him, Humphrey came to GBCC under sponsorship and quickly distinguished himself in academics and leadership. Namwianga Secondary School recognized Humphrey’s potential and hired him to begin teaching math and science as soon as he finished his college courses.

In addition to his teaching duties, Humphrey now coordinates a math tutoring program for sponsored high school students. Humphrey trained George Benson college students to do the tutoring and then organized all the logistics of location and scheduling for the sessions at the secondary school. The college students are getting valuable teaching experience, and the high school pupils are thrilled to get some extra help in what for most is a difficult subject. Humphrey manages it all beautifully.

The training that Humphrey received at GBCC is now blessing the next generation of sponsored students at Namwianga.

Humphrey (far right) with the GBCC math tutors he trained

BIG news!

The big news in our area is ELEPHANTS! Small herds of elephants have been sighted on farms adjoining the mission. Last Sunday we visited the village of Kasibi where David preached for the morning service. Mr. Simoongwe, one of the elders, served as his translator. He told us that he had been late arriving for church that morning because he had been out inspecting the damage that elephants had done to his maize fields. This morning in chapel it was announced that elephants had been seen in Namwianga's back paddock. Schools are warning children to be careful when walking to school, and everyone is advised to be watchful.

The elephants in the photo above were seen in South Luangua's game park. I'll be quite happy if I don't have any opportunities to take photos anywhere else!

Singing at Kasikili

As I mentioned in our weekend update, I had an enjoyable session with the women at Kasikili on Saturday. One of the women was particularly enthusiastic leading the singing, as you will see in this video clip. The song’s meaning is something like this: “You are living in the darkness of sin. Jesus is the light. Go to the light to be saved.”

Weekend Update

Saturday David and I traveled with Rodgers Namuswa and Fortune Masiya to the village of Kasikili for an area-wide training seminar. Fortune and I taught the women how to teach children's classes using the Beginner's Bible, and David and Rodgers led sessions on the qualities of a Christian leader. We had over fifty women and nineteen men in attendance. It is always refreshing to get out into the villages to teach because the people are hungry to learn and so thankful for our lessons!

The women were quite animated and enthusiastic in the classes. We acted out the storm at sea, played a few games, and had a great time learning together. As we left they lined up in front of the building and sang a farewell song for us.

On Sunday David and I (with Jason along for the day) took the Amazing Brothers singing group on an outreach to the Twin Fountain congregation. These nine high school guys love to sing and love to share the word. They sang from the time they got in the Land Cruiser until we arrived at the church building. The congregation served us lunch after services, and then we loaded up to head home. They sang all the way home and were still singing as they got out of the vehicle at their dorms!

Seven of the guys are under the US sponsorship program, one is sponsored by Zambia Mission Fund Canada, and one is sponsored by another missionary. Without sponsorships, none of them would be able to go to school. What an encouragement to see such fine young men getting an education and learning how to lead.

Feeding the Hungry

It used to be easy to feed the hungry. In America, hungry people were nameless and faceless. They were somewhere else—certainly not in my neighborhood. I could feed them by dropping a can or two into a wooden box in the front hallway of the church. I could even feed the nameless, faceless hungry people in other countries with just the flourish of my signature at the bottom of a check.

Now it’s not easy. Now the hungry people are the faces that I see when I answer the knocks at my door. Now they are the names on my lists of who has come for help and who has been fed. Now they are hollow eyes and apologetic smiles. Now they are babies on the backs of their mothers, or toddlers hanging onto their mother’s skirts. And it’s not easy to feed them.

I confess that sometimes I want to close the door and cover my ears so I don’t hear the knocks, and I want to pretend that there are no hungry people at my door. And sometimes a voice in my head wants to scream, “Go away! I can’t feed every hungry person in Africa!” And when I hear those thoughts, I hear another voice, the voice of Jesus in Matthew 25 as he says, “I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat.”

So I open the door, and I try to see Jesus on each face. I feed the hungry. But it’s not easy any more.

One of the women who comes for food. She is in her seventies and is raising a houseful of orphaned grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Bicycle Outreach

Abishine (left) and Justin are college students. They came by this morning to pick up bicycles so they could ride to the Mawaya congregation to teach and preach. They brought the bikes back this afternoon, along with a report on their time with the congregation. We hope these new Zambikes will get a lot of use by students like Abishine and Justin.

The People at My Door - Benito

This has been a tough week for me. The Zambian educational system requires every student in ninth grade to take an exit exam. Only those who pass the exam can go on to high school in grade ten. There are not many high schools, and students who pass the exam are assigned to a school. High school is not free, and students must come up with the money for tuition and boarding in order to be accepted at their assigned schools.

The results of the grade nine exams came out a week ago. Since then there has been a steady stream of hopeful students at my door asking for sponsorship. I have turned away all but a handful—the fortunate ones who turned in applications last fall and were already selected by the sponsorship committee. The rest will have to seek for help elsewhere. Every one I turn down tugs at my heart, for I know that it may mean the end of the student’s schooling. A friend recently watched me say no to a prospective student. She later told me, “You have the worst job in the world.”

But Benito reminded me to focus on the ones I can help. He arrived on Thursday from Simalundu, a village 60 miles away, deep in a remote part of the Zambian bush. Kelly Hamby once told me, “You can’t get any farther out in the bush than Simalundu.” Benito had been accepted for sponsorship, had his acceptance letter with him, and was now cleared to start classes.

I knew that Benito was an orphan being raised by an elderly grandmother, and I suspected that he didn’t have many possessions. I asked him if he was ready to move into the dormitory. He hesitated a minute and said, “I think I need to go home and get another blanket. I only brought one.”

“How will you get there?” I asked.

“The same way I came. I will walk.”

(Gulp! Sixty miles? In the bush?) “How long did it take you?”

“Two days. I stopped and slept in the bush on the way.”

“Benito, how about if I give you a blanket? Then you won’t have to go all the way home and back, and you can go ahead and start classes.”

“Okay, madam,” he said, obviously relieved.

I went in the house and got him a crocheted afghan my mother had made years ago. I couldn’t help but think how pleased she would be to know her handiwork was keeping Benito warm! I handed him the blanket and continued the questioning. “Benito, what else did you bring with you?”

He looked down and shyly said, “Well, I brought one other pair of trousers. I have this shirt I’m wearing, and I borrowed this sweater from my nephew.”

It took a minute for me to let this sink in. “Okay, Benito. Let me see what I can find.”

I dug through my drawers and boxes of donated items and managed to come up with two brand-new T-shirts, a school uniform, a new pair of socks, and some personal care items: toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, lotion, and laundry detergent. I also found him some notebooks and pens.

Benito’s smile made it all worthwhile. He took his two sacks of new possessions and set off for the dorm.

And I went in the house and thanked God that I have the privilege of helping a few of the Benitos in the world.

The People at My Door - Mary

Mary and her baby knocked at my door one Monday in January. With her were a teenage daughter and the daughter’s friend. They told me they had come from a village some distance away and were looking for piecework in exchange for food. We gave them about two hours’ worth of work in the yard and promised them three small bags of mealie meal.

Two hours later the three ladies had transformed the front yard and accomplished as much as we usually expect from a full day of work. We fed them lunch, gave them their bags of mealie meal, and thanked them for doing a great job.

The next morning they were back. They had found an abandoned house to stay in for a few days. Mary asked to continue working for food, and the girls asked to work to earn money for school fees. We assigned Mary jobs close by in the back yard while the girls took slashers (blades with handles) and began cutting the four-feet tall grass in the empty lot behind our house. By day’s end the two girls had cut more grass than the three college guys who had worked the previous day!

They continued with us for the rest of the week. Mary and the baby stayed in the yard, where Mary weeded and edged every flower bed. Her baby played happily on the driveway or stayed tucked into the chitenge on Mary’s back. I never heard him cry or fuss. The girls slashed grass and did other chores, always working hard and often singing as they labored.

On Friday Mary and the girls were ready to go. School had already started back in their village, and they needed to go home. We paid them generously with bags of mealie meal and cash for school fees. They were delighted as they set off on foot.

Our yard looks better than it ever has, thanks to Mary’s work. As I walk through the grass and enjoy the flowers I often wonder about Mary. I hope she has enough to eat and that the girls are doing well in school. I expect them to be back when the school term ends--and there will be another knock at my door.

Our house after Mary's work

Hanging with the Chickens

Jason spent Sunday afternoon with us. Part of our usual routine when he's here is to go visit the chickens. He tucked his little hand in mine and we strolled through the back yard to the pen. We checked their food and water supply and watched them for a minute or two.

Then I caught sight of chicken feet--in the air! One of the hens was swinging from the nesting boxes by her foot! The plastic grain sack that the chickens use for nesting material had frayed into long strings. One of the strings had looped around the hen's leg and caught her when she jumped down from her perch. There she hung, swinging gently back and forth two feet from the ground, eyes wide with terror.

Jason and I bolted for the house yelling for David. I grabbed a pair of scissors and ran back to the pen. David arrived in time to hold Jason while I climbed inside to help the frightened fowl. She didn't fight me too much as I gently lifted her up and snipped the offending string off her leg.

The now freed hen limped around on her weakened leg. I guess she hadn't been hanging too long, because she was walking normally in just a few minutes.

The rest of the chickens in the pen were gathered on the opposite side of the pen, far away from their hung-up friend. These usually busy-body biddies had totally ignored her plight. She would have been dead in a few hours, but they seemed not to notice or care.

Hmm. Made me think about how we ignore our fellow Christians who get hung up in sin. I for one would prefer to move to the other side of the pen and pretend nothing is wrong when I see the danger signals that something is not quite right about a given situation. It's easier to look the other way than to confront the problem and risk the anger of the one we need to help. And the consequences of staying away just might be worse than those that were about to befall my feathered friend.

I've learned another lesson from my chickens. I think I'll remember that swinging hen the next time I'm tempted to ignore someone who's heading into trouble. I hope I'll have the courage to step in and help.

Back on her feet after a close call

Daily Routines

Brian Davis from Mumena Mission in northwestern Zambia shared this story with us and I thought you would enjoy it as well. Just another day in Africa . . .

A couple of weeks ago, a fellow missionary asked me, “So do you have a daily routine?” As I have pondered that question, yesterday seemed to stick out as a good example of my routine:
After sitting down at my desk in the morning to prepare some Bible lessons to be taught in April, my gardener burst into my office all out of breath. He said his mother was giving birth at the local clinic but had run into difficulties. Now they urgently needed transport to the hospital in Solwezi town, 60 kilometers away. I grabbed the keys to my truck and off we sped. After loading his mother into the back of the pick-up, we departed for Solwezi at full speed. Half way to Solwezi, we ran into a torrential downpour; I slipped the Three Tenors into the CD player to steel my nerves. Upon arrival at the hospital, I backed the truck up to the front door of the main building only to find out as we opened the tailgate that the baby was tired of waiting and on its way. The doctor and nurses just jumped into the back of my truck, and moments later, a little baby was born to the moving tones of Pavarotti singing Nessun Dorma.

"…I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing;
with pain you will give birth to children.”
Genesis 3:16 NIV

Being in labor for 45 minutes at 120 kilometers per hour in the back of a Toyota 4x4 brings new meaning to this verse for me. I asked my gardener what they were going to name the child. He replied, “Toyota Rain”.

A daily routine? I don’t think so.
Brian, Sondra, Noah, and Bryson



Pictured: One of the many precious babies born here under difficult circumstances.

The People at My Door - Gilbert

Gilbert knocked at my door recently--to show me his report card! At somewhere on the other side of 40, Gilbert took advantage of a new law in Zambia that removed all age restrictions on school attendance. He is now in the ninth grade at a school in a remote village, making all A's and B's. In fact, his report card noted that he is #1 in his class. You go, Gilbert!

The People at My Door

We have a constant stream of people at our door, so I'm going to feature a few of them in blog entries.

Daniel has been a frequent visitor for the past year. He is partially blind and lives with his mother some distance away. He had been seeking help for his eye condition, and we were working with his local congregation to get the funds for an evaluation. When he finally was seen at a special clinic, the doctor said there was nothing more that could be done for Daniel's sight.

Then Daniel asked for help to go to school. He had stayed home in 2008 because he didn't have the money to continue at the special school for the blind run by the Lions Club in northern Zambia. About that time a family in Austin sent us some funds to be used as needed. I managed to contact the school and arrange for Daniel to re-enroll. He had to have school shoes and funds for the two-day train ride to Ndola in addition to the school fees, so I arranged all that.

The day came for Daniel to leave on the evening train. He would be traveling alone for two days and two nights, so there was obvious danger that his money might get stolen. Some of my Zambian friends gathered on the veranda as we debated the best way to safeguard his funds. One who had survived a robbery on the train thought he should keep the money in his socks. Daniel was afraid it would fall out. The zipper on the back pocket of his jeans didn't work, so that was out. We finally decided that he would keep out only what he needed on the train, and the rest went into an envelope that we safety-pinned into his front jeans pocket.

We said a prayer for Daniel and sent him on his way. If he was fearful, he never showed it as he headed off on foot for the train station in Kalomo. I'll see him again in April when there's another knock at the door.

Pumpkins

I plopped Jason on top of these pumpkins so you could see how huge they are! This pile by our front door is causing quite a stir around the mission. The Zambians have never seen anything like these pumpkins, and certainly have never seen any this huge. We got the seeds from the United States, but the package is long gone so we're not sure what variety they are. They were bright yellow before they began to ripen, and since we picked them they have continued to turn deeper shades of orange. Our Zambian friends say that it's too bad the agricultural show is in August--they are sure these beauties would win first prize in the pumpkin category!

Starting School

Laiford Muleya (left) is the uncle to young Current, seen here in the wheelchair. Way back in 2006, Laiford and Current met up with Sheryl Ramsey on the medical mission. Sheryl wanted to help Current get started in school and enlisted my help after she returned to the US. Thus began a long, complicated journey through the fledgling special education program in Zambia. Laiford, the official guardian for Current, lives hours away from Namwianga in a remote village. He has no cell phone, and even if he did, there is no cell signal in his area. Every time he needed to communicate with me, he had to come to Namwianga on one of the public transport trucks that go to his village only three times a week. He would have to find a place to stay in town and walk the four miles to my house. He did this several times carrying Current before we were able to get the boy a wheelchair.

After investigating several possible schools, we located one in Monze that agreed to take Current in 2007. Laiford and Current arrived, only to find that the headmaster had over-enrolled the class and there was no place for Current. The headmaster guaranteed a spot in January of 2008.

January of 2008 came and went, and there was no word from Laiford. I had no way of contacting him and had no idea what had happened. In September, he came again. He had been sick in January, he said. He brought with him some phone numbers for officials in Lusaka who had agreed to help Current. To help ease the communication difficulties, I gave him money to buy phone time and sent word to a mutual friend in Nyawa, a town closer to Laiford's village. I asked the friend to let Laiford use his phone as needed to keep in touch with me.

I made calls to Lusaka and got no response. I called every special education contact I had and found no program for Current. Laiford came again, and I sent him to check at another special education school in Choma. That school referred him to Maamba, a mining town about four hours away. Laiford and Current made the trip to Maamba and Current was accepted to start school in January.

Last weekend Laiford and Current came by to see us on their way to school. Current is now 12 years old and beginning first grade. He will be in a boarding facility and will have a personal caregiver to help him bathe, dress, and eat.

In some ways, the saga of Current has ended now that he is in school. In another way, it is just beginning. Laiford worries because Current has never been away from him before. He will have no way to communicate with him until the term ends in April. The story will go on, and we pray for a happy ending.

Welcome Week

The school year starts in January here, and the college opened this week. Last weekend the Welcome Week committee arrived on campus to prepare for the new students. I hosted a dinner for the 25 student committee members last Saturday night. It was another near disaster because, once again, the power was out for most of the afternoon as I was trying to prepare the meal. This time, however, the problem was only at our house. I took the rice over to Sheri Sears’s house for her to cook there, and David grilled the chicken outdoors, so we weren’t in too much trouble.

We did have to call in the electricians to fix the problem, though. The two guys arrived just before 6:00 and announced that they needed a ladder, and the ladder was missing from the maintenance department. David was busy cooking the chicken, so I loaded the electricians in our vehicle and we went on a ladder hunt. We traced it to the compound at Wasawange, about a mile from our house. There is no official road into the part of Wasawange where they thought the ladder was, so I carefully threaded the truck through the 4-foot tall grass on a foot path to get as close as I could. The electricians walked the rest of the way.

They came carrying a 20-foot ladder and we headed back to our house with the ladder sticking out the back of the pickup. It was now almost 6:30—the time the dinner was supposed to start—and the sky was turning black with storm clouds. I hurried around finishing up the meal as the electricians climbed the electric pole near the house. Most of the students had arrived when the storm hit. The thunder rolled, lightning flashed, and torrents of rain hit the veranda as we served the meal. The electricians managed to avoid the lightning, and before we finished eating, the power was back on.

Welcome Week turned out to be a success. The committee members formed teams and met the new students as they arrived to show them to their dorms. The teams worked on campus projects with the new students and offered informal orientation to campus life. We had special evening activities, including devotionals, Bible study, two movie nights, and a showcase for singing groups. One of the highlights for the students was the prize giveaway. I had collected an assortment of T-shirts, ball caps, stationery, chewing gum, and other assorted goodies to give away. We held drawings every morning after chapel and every evening at the group activity to give the items away. The students loved this and begged for more!

The photo above shows the Welcome Week Committee at their dinner last week. They loved having blue caps so that they could be easily identified as committee members.

Update - 25 January, 2009

I apologize for not posting lately. We've been incredibly busy!

We had a visit from American superintendent Richard Prather and Zambian board member James Crowder January 15 - 22. They may have set a record for the number of meetings conducted in one week, but we enjoyed spending time with them in between meetings.

The secondary school opened on January 12. We've been welcoming back our sponsored high school students and helping them get settled back into school routines. Every time I ask, "What did you do during the holidays?" I get the same reply: "Plowing!" December is the time for plowing and planting the maize crops. Even city dwellers get in on this activity as they are sent to the rural areas to work on the farms for their aunts, uncles, grandparents, and cousins.

The college opened on January 19--a week later than the originally scheduled date. The new women's dormitory wasn't quite ready, and there was no place to put the women, so at the last minute the decision was made to push opening back a week. A few students didn't get the message in time and arrived a week early. They didn't seem to mind having a few days of relief from plowing!

The opening of school means that many families are scrambling for money to pay school fees and buy uniforms. We've had a constant stream of knocks on the door from people wanting to do piecework. We have employed all we can manage, and as a result our lawn looks the best it ever has! We've also used workers to slash the tall grass in areas around our house and the dorms to get the campus looking nice for the start of school.

I was glad when we finally started having classes this week. I'm teaching educational psychology this term in addition to my English classes--a welcome challenge and change for me.

I'll post some other news in separate blog entries.

It Makes Perfect Sense--In Africa

Just had to share this story from our fellow missionary Brian Davis who works in northwestern Zambia:

On New Year’s day, our team planned to go to a local hotel and share a meal together while the kids swam. Dropping by the bank to get some cash for the restaurant, I was rudely confronted with a slip from the teller machine telling me that our account was K25,054,847 in debt. Having a negative balance of that size was shock enough, but what of all of the ministry and personal funds that were now missing?
After an un-enjoyable meal and a sleepless night, Sondra and I arrived at the bank at the opening hour. After seeing the negative balance on the slip, the bank manager smiled and said, “Yes, Mr. Davis. It seems that your card has expired. A balance reading of – K25,054,847 is our little code that lets us know that you need a new card….” WELL SURE; WHY DIDN’T I THINK OF THAT? After a couple of minutes, we left the bank with our new card and our old balance. No problem.

“…Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?”
Luke 12:25b-26 NIV

Good Question. I found out that by worrying, I can deduct an hour or two from my life!
Brian, Sondra, Noah, and Bryson


Pictured: Our communications satellite dish… that the company disconnected for the past week… because we OVERPAID our bill.

Moses

This handsome little guy is Moses Siangandu. When we first visited Namwianga in 1999, Moses had just arrived at the Merritts as a very sickly orphaned baby. His health was so precarious that he almost died several times. Eventually he grew healthy enough to be placed for adoption. Hunter Siangandu, a teacher at Simpweze Basic School, and his wife decided to add Moses to their already large family. Hunter arrived on his bicycle to get baby Moses. He tied the baby onto his back with a chitenge (2 meter strip of brightly colored fabric), and off they went for the 30 kilometer trip to their home in the bush.

Now a charming ten-year-old, Moses is much loved by his older sister Loreen. Loreen recently graduated from GBCC and was given a teaching job in Western Province. She didn't want to go alone, so she took Moses along to live with her and keep her company.

The Siangandus won't be lonely back at home. Hunter and his wife have five birth children and have adopted several more--including two boys named Moses. They are also guardians for some of their nieces and nephews whose parents have died. Their two-bedroom house is often bursting at the seams with the 17 family members!

That's My Picture

The calendars featuring the children from the orphanages at Namwianga are gorgeous! Jason was with us for the day recently and found ours sitting on an end table. He recognized himself (he's in four of the photos) and his buddies, and he had a great time looking at the pictures and jabbering to me about them.

Off to Teach!

Communication and transportation are the two constant challenges we face in our work here.

Today was the day a group of just graduated George Benson College students were scheduled to head off to eastern Zambia for new teaching assignments. Shadreck Sibwaalu was in charge of getting them there, and he had reserved two of the Mission’s Land Cruisers for the journey. I took my camera and went to see them off early this morning.

Loreen was there waiting to leave. She didn’t want to be posted in strange territory alone, so she was taking along her nine-year old brother, one of her sisters, and the sister’s baby. Getrude, a single mother, had her two children plus a nephew with her.

Sam was there, Nicholas was waiting just up the road, Fikoloma would jump on in Livingstone, and Auditor was meeting the group in Zimba--with a wife and two kids. The passenger count was at 15, plus two drivers. The Land Cruisers will seat a total of 22, but that’s without any baggage. All these passengers were staying for three months, and their luggage included everything from mattresses to sacks of mealie meal to bags of charcoal--even a hobbled chicken was waiting to be loaded! There was no way it was all going to fit.

I ran home and got David to come offer his advice. We called Shadreck, who by now was headed north with another group. Shadreck suggested that they ditch one Land Cruiser and take the Coaster bus instead. One of the drivers agreed that might work, but informed us that the Coaster couldn’t get to a couple of the schools that were off the beaten path—four-wheel drive would be needed to reach those sites, and the Coaster would get stuck too easily.

David decided that the best solution would be for him to drive our vehicle which will comfortably hold five passengers in the front and lots of baggage in the back. He went home to pack his bag for the overnight trip while the drivers loaded up everyone else’s things inside and on top of the Land Cruisers. An hour or so later the group was ready to leave.


David called me later to tell me about another surprise. It seems Shadreck had agreed that another teacher could have a ride from the clinic, and of course the teacher had his wife and two kids along. As it turns out, Auditor’s wife and kids stayed at home, so there was room for the extras.

David had his group of teachers, relatives, and baggage delivered to their posts by early evening and made it back to Livingstone to spend the night.

Communication and transportation—always the challenges of living where we live and doing what we do!

Kasaka Outreach- January 4, 2009

Sunday was a day of surprises and encouragement! We weren’t scheduled for an outreach, so when our friend Andrew Sibwaalu called at 8:00 and asked us for a ride to the Kasaka village congregation, we were glad to go.

We had been at Kasaka in April of 2007 when the congregation was meeting under the trees and using logs for benches. Today we drove up and found a spacious, new brick building with a metal roof and brick benches (still not comfortable, but better than logs). There were less than 30 people in attendance when we gathered in 2007; today there were 79. We enjoyed our worship time with the group and then stayed around for some fellowship and snacks. Andrew and his family had worked all week to gather enough mangoes to share with the entire congregation.

The next surprise was finding five sponsored students in the congregation. Three of them are shown above. Fleming Kaango (left) graduated from GBCC in 2006 and is now part of the Westreach evangelism effort. He and two other GBCC grads teach at Sesheke High School and work with a new church that they planted in the town. Fleming reports that the new congregation in Sesheke has 30 members now. Wisborn Siatubebe (center) just graduated from Namwianga High School. He was the song leader for today’s worship service and did an outstanding job. Riffar Kaango is Fleming’s sister and a 2007 graduate of Namwianga High. Riffar recently attended one of the Sunday School training classes, and today she used her Beginner’s Bible to teach the 23 children in Bible class.

What an encouragement to see these Christian young people at work for the Lord, and to see a new congregation growing strong!

What's for Dinner?

Take a look at what's growing in our garden right now: zucchini, green peppers, onions, tomatoes, yellow squash, eggplant, and carrots. Not shown are the purple hull peas, pumpkins, and watermelons, plus 70 ears of corn already in the freezer. And we have a 10-foot sunflower plant towering over it all!

We have so much zucchini that I've had to get creative finding ways to cook it. For New Year's Eve we invited friends over for dinner and I made a zucchini pie that tastes just like an apple pie.

We are blessed with this bounty.

End of Year Newsletter

Here is our end-of-year newsletter that goes out to anyone interested. Regular readers have seen it all before. If you'd like to be on our e-mail list to receive periodic newsletters, send us a message at dlgregersen@mac.com.


Namwianga News
David and Linda Gregersen


Blessings and Challenges

As 2008 draws to a close, we reflect on a year of blessings and challenges. We were blessed by the addition of a wonderful daughter-in-law when our son John married Leah Vickers in June. We faced the challenge of my diagnosis of breast cancer in May and then were blessed abundantly during our extended stay in the U.S. as we had opportunities to enjoy time with friends, family, and our sponsoring congregation at Brentwood Oaks. I was again blessed with no side effects from the radiation treatments (in spite of the dire predictions of my oncologist).

In August just as I was finishing my six-weeks of radiation, David’s father was diagnosed with acute leukemia. We were blessed to be able to spend a few days in Arkansas with David’s parents before heading back to Africa on September 2. When Mr. Gregersen passed away on September 21, we were blessed to be able to return to Searcy and join family and loved ones in remembering a life well lived. It is a tribute to Mr. Gregersen’s legacy of faith that his sons, grandsons, and sons-in-law conducted the funeral service.

There were many challenges and blessings when we returned to Namwianga after five months away. Our friends and co-workers gave us a warm welcome, and then we set to work catching up on all the projects and activities that needed our attention.

Student Teachers

The college students who had been doing their teaching practice during the second term (May – August) returned to campus about the same time as we did. We gathered them together to hear about the blessings and challenges they had faced. Sponsored students are expected to do more than develop their teaching skills during their practice teaching; they are also expected to be active in planting a new congregation or encouraging an existing one. Some were sent to northern Zambia where their first challenge was to learn the Bemba language so that they could communicate with the local people. Other student teachers faced opposition from community members who thought they were Satanists. Most had to overcome logistical problems with housing and transportation. In spite of the difficulties, much good was accomplished. Three new churches were planted, and many more congregations and individuals were strengthened.

One effort involved a coordination of the sponsorship program and the Church Development Program (CDP). The head teacher of the school at Kasukwe is a graduate of George Benson Christian College. She contacted the Church Development Program and asked the leaders to send some teachers to plant a congregation at Kasukwe.

Two weeks before the term began, five of the evangelists who usually go out on bicycles were recruited to go to the village of Kasukwe. For the next two weeks these men went door-to-door making contacts and holding Bible studies. They also invited people to attend an evangelistic meeting. From their efforts, a new congregation began meeting in early May. As planned, the evangelists left just as three student teachers from George Benson Christian College arrived. The students spent the next three months at Kasukwe helping the new church to grow and become firmly established as they also did their student teaching practice. The head teacher of the school had nothing but praise for the student teachers. She reported that they performed well in the classroom, were models in their behavior and lifestyle, and were effective leaders in the congregation.

Graduations

The school year in Zambia runs from January through early December, and the tradition is to hold graduation ceremonies in November. As in past years, I volunteered to be “Mom for the Day” for any secondary student who had no family members in attendance. This year my “son for the day” made me especially proud when he was given the Bible award in recognition of spiritual leadership. His gift was a bicycle, and he was encouraged to use it in spreading the gospel to surrounding villages. Many other sponsored students received awards for academics, leadership, and athletics.

The college graduation recognizes the students who finished their courses in 2007. The system requires a “gap year” in which the final diploma exams are graded. We were thrilled to see many of our students return to the campus with stories of their teaching experiences and evangelistic work.

Outreaches

Sunday outreaches continue to be a big part of both the secondary and college campus experience. Buses, trucks, and Land Cruisers full of enthusiastic students head off to surrounding villages every Sunday morning. The students preach, teach, and lead singing at the congregations they visit, giving the students valuable experience and giving local congregations fellowship and encouragement.

GBCC students continued the prison ministry that began in January. Regular visits by our students have resulted in over 20 prisoners accepting the Lord in baptism.

The bicycle evangelists keep the good news spreading into the far reaches of the bush. They gathered in September for a three-day training seminar conducted by the Church Development Team. We recently discovered ZamBikes, an aid organization that provides sturdy bicycles at a very reasonable cost. We have purchased several of these so that we can send out some new evangelists and also replace the bicycles that our current bicycle evangelists have worn out as they travel on the rough bush roads to teach and preach.

The Welcome Mat Is Always Out!

Phil Gardner from Peoria, Illinois, came to Zambia in August to help fill in for Don Oldenburg and for us while we were in the United States. He stayed on after we got back in September, and we enjoyed our time with him very much.

Brian and Sondra Davis and their sons Noah and Bryson visited us in September, along with Bart Bruington. The Davises and Bruingtons work with Mumena Mission in Solwezi. Besides having a great time with these good folks, they also did some work here. Brian and Sondra talked to the HIZ students about the life of a missionary family, and Bart offered advice on upcoming construction projects. As always, their visit was too short!

We had an enjoyable week in October with Dr. Dick Bedell of Project C.U.R.E. He stayed with us as he evaluated the needs of the clinic and arranged for a shipment of medical supplies.

We hosted seven Peace Corps Volunteers for Thanksgiving. These young women are near and dear to our hearts, and we loved pampering them during their stay. It doesn’t take much; we just gave them lots of home-cooked American food and access to soft beds, hot baths, and Internet.

Our holidays were brightened with a visit from new friends Jerry and Claudia Templer. The Templers moved to Lusaka in October. Jerry is a retired physician who is helping to train doctors at the University Teaching Hospital. Claudia, the daughter of long-time missionaries J.C. and Joyce Shewmaker, grew up at Namwianga and has connections to many of the families here.


Harding In Zambia

The second Harding In Zambia (HIZ) group arrived on campus September 4. The 21 Harding University students immediately became part of all facets of campus life. They joined sports teams, sang with the GBCC choirs, taught secondary and elementary school classes, worked at the Namwianga clinic, and took care of babies at the orphanage. On Sundays they were often out in the villages for outreaches. David and HIZ leader Shawn Daggett took a group for a weekend outreach in September, and another HIZ group was part of a church planting effort in October.

The HIZ students and their teachers were a great blessing to Namwianga and to us personally. We were sad to see them leave in November, but we are confident that many of them will be back, and all of them will have unforgettable memories of their time in Africa.

We look forward to another year of blessings and challenges in 2009.

The Lord is the strength of his people, a fortress of salvation for his anointed one. Ps. 28:8