7-30-07

July 30, 2007

Last night the kids (we have a bunch of teenagers in this group!) saw a large glowing in the sky - a fire at a farm about 2 miles away.  Benedict called friends and they said it was next door to them and had crossed over onto their farm for a little bit.  Even though it was 2 miles away, you could see the flames where we were.  Some of us gathered in the kitchen and prayed that God would supernaturally extinguish the flames.  Those who were outside looking at the fire came in and reported that all of a sudden, in about 10 seconds, the flame just went out.  Benedict talked to our friend today and he said they were amazed when the flames just went out so quickly.  So God is answering prayers.

 

July 29, 2007

Time is going by quickly.  The team has arrived – 9 of them – and Aaron our nephew.   Much has happened in the last few days.  We have met with the teachers in preparation for our outreach at the school.  We had choir members from Pastor Zulus church over for a great time of sharing music.   About 16 of them came.  We attended their church this morning and sang a couple of songs from our church with guitars and a drum.

 

This evening we went outside after dinner and their was a huge glow in the skyline where there was a fire in a farm nearby.   It looked like it must have been very big.  Some of us came into the kitchen and prayed that the fire would supernaturally go out.  Brenda and some of the kids were watching it at the time and she came in saying that all of a sudden, about the time we were praying, it just went out.   It was like someone had just blown it out like a candle!

 

This afternoon the kids all went up to the little village on the road into where we stay and played soccer and duck,duck,goose with the children.   Sena held a baby for a while.  This was the same village where Brendan had given them a soccer ball the other day when we walked past.   The extreme joy and delight of the children deeply affected those who saw it, bringing tears to many eyes.

 

July 25, 2007

Although we have it easy in many ways, Kimberly and Kamau are being put to the test of their pioneer spirit.  Yesterday they moved to their new home on the farm in the Village of Hope.  However, there were problems with both the electricity and water.  Workers were trying to fix the problem today.  My phone here at the house is out of "talk time" so I can't call and check up on them. 

 

Today the young woman we hired to help with the house came.  Her name is Christine and she is a very hard worker.   She lives in Lusaka with her husband and 5 yo and 1 ½ year old.  Her father is the cook here where we are staying.   So she has come out to the country with the baby and will be staying with her father.   She will be going back into town on the weekends.  Her husband is out of work right now.  

 

I was amazed at how much she got done today; all the floors mopped and waxed, some laundry done, a rug cleaned (washed, rinsed, and drying on the line), dusting, washing and cleaning shelves and cupboards in the kitchen.   She is a great asset and help for me.  At one time she was on the Zambian soccer team and traveled to South Africa to play.

 

I'm here with Sena, Kelly, and Ben Olasky.  I anticipate that we will be up late waiting for the team to come.   The rooms are ready and so are we.

 

Zambia 7-25-07

For Blog

When I arrived, Kimberly gave me a "miner's" light.  It goes on your head and then it is a battery operated light.  That way you can do work and have your hands free.  Since the power seems to go out almost every evening for a couple of hours, it is quite handy.  I think I make a funny sight though. 

Although there is a washing machine in this house, it doesn't work.  The last couple of mornings I have spent the first 1 ½ hours of the day washing clothes by hand, rinsing, wringing them out, and them hanging them up outside.  This afternoon the girls, Sena and Kelly, decided they would wash their own clothes.  They discovered that when you mix colors you can end up with funny colors where they aren't suppose to be.  They also realized it is a big job to wash clothes that way.  I ended up doing the rinsing for them, then taught them how to hang clothes outside.  Some of these "arts" are lost for our children. 

We picked up some things at our Farmer's Market today – tomatoes, cabbage, eggs.  They do sell chickens but I told the young adults working there that I couldn't buy chicken from them.  I don't know how to wring their necks and pluck the feathers!  When you buy them there you are certainly getting a fresh chicken!

 

Zambia

We have arrived, along with all of our 13 bags!  Yeah!!!  My carryon bag wasn't accepted in London as a carryon, so it was put with all of the other bags.   After 2 nights on airplanes, we arrived in Lusaka at 6am on Thursday July 19.  It was fun to spend the day unpacking everything and settling in. 

 

Benedict and I are still not in the mindset that we will be here for longer than 2-3 weeks.  Then it hits us, we will be here for a longer while.

 

As we settle in, Kimberly, Kamau, and their children are packing all of their things up in the house and moving them to the cottage at the farm.  The cottage is almost done and looks so nice.  This week they have painted the floors, finished some cabinetry, worked on water supply, and brought in another wardrobe.  Their children, Kumani and Maliaka are excited since with the move they plan to get 2 kittens. 

 

At the Village, the watertower is now in place and they are finishing work on putting the pump in the well for pumping water into the tank.  Since the Kamaus need to be out of here by Wednesday when the first mission team arrives, they are working hard to finish the cottage. 

 

This has been a house with 2 children, 3 teenagers, and 4 adults.  Always someone to do something with, beautiful weather for being outside, lots of things going on at the Village to be part of.  And on Friday the action really begins with a team of 10 arriving!

 

 

On the Road Again

Our family’s road to Africa took us west before going east over the Atlantic. Even while our thoughts and plans are focused on Zambia, a country thousands of miles away, we are struck by the beauty, vastness, and variety of land in the US, and by the kindness and generosity of the people.

We made this trip in order to meet with churches and groups interested in AKCLI, as well as visiting with family and friends. Loaded in our van, Benedict, Sena, and I set out on June 15. On the 16th we stopped on the way through Chicago and met with Craig Muller at Warm Blankets. They have done amazing work, particularly in Asia, planting churches and helping local pastors take orphans into their homes. We are always blessed to find out about others who have a heart for orphans. They want to increase their work in Africa and they have asked if we will explore partnering with them to establish church based orphan homes.

As we drove through Milwaukee we stopped at the home of Kevin Reardon and his family, sharing with them about the work in Zambia. He had heard about AKCLI through Partners Worldwide and he and his wife and daughters began thinking of churches where they could share about the work.

The evening of the 16th we arrived at the home of Rick and Janice Ribbell in Neenah, WI. He is the mission pastor of Calvary Bible Church and he visited with us in Zambia last July. Benedict preached at both of their Sunday morning services and in the evening we met with their mission team of 8 who will be coming over in August. From young to old, the members of Calvary Bible Church are being faithful to live out the great commission to go into all the world and make disciples of all nations. At one of the services we were given a check for $700, presented by the girls in the 7th grade girls Sunday School class. All year they have been raising the funds, sometimes giving very sacrificially. What a blessing. While we were at Calvary Bible we were blessed at their enthusiasm for what God is doing in Zambia, and we are excited to host their team.

Monday July 18th we were on the road west again, through Wisconsin to Minnesota to Grandma and Grandpa’s. My mother and father, whose call to missions took him to over 40 countries with the Billy Graham Association, provided good food, a place of rest, and encouragement and love for our call to missions. While there we were able to meet with the mission committee of Zion Lutheran Church in Buffalo, MN where my sister and her family attend. We also spoke at 2 of their Sunday morning services, briefly describing the work and then answering questions after the service in the library. Aaron Squadroni, our nephew, joined us and talked about his experience in January. Aaron is a graduate student in architecture and did the site renderings for our 230 acre farm. On our MN visit he drew the layouts for our road front property near the produce market we opened in early June. He will be joining us in Zambia in July for 6 weeks.

Although it was a time of rest, Benedict was able to be in contact with the folks in Zambia and partners in this country as needed. He was able to meet with folks from Partners Worldwide and Sons of Thunder for an all day meeting near the Minneapolis airport to lay out plans for the development of agricultural training and orphan care on a portion of the 10,000 acre Sons of Thunder Farm near Livingstone, Zambia.

Thursday July 28 found us on the road again headed south to St. Joseph, MO. Jessica, one of our daughters, moved there on June 1 and is Children and Youth Pastor at Wyatt Park Christian Church. In addition to the joy of seeing her, we were able to meet her pastor and members of her congregation. Just as they have embraced and loved her, they greeted us. We were able to share with a group in the evening about the need and our work in Zambia. A man from India and his son who are part of a mission in India were also visiting the church and it was wonderful to fellowship with them as well.

Saturday July 30 we continued south to Topeka, KS staying with my best friend from high school, Veda and Kevin Journagan. We had a wonderful evening with their friends and Sunday morning spoke at 2 Sunday school classes at Topeka Bible Church. At this church, as with all the others where we spoke, God always brought several people forward whose hearts were especially touched and quickened to become involved in rescuing orphans. Often with tears, they would say something like, “Two hours ago I never thought I would want to go to Africa, but I want to go and help. I want to do something. What can I do?” Kevin is the general manager of a very large Kansas farmers coop. He will be helping us to organize a simpler version of the US Farm Cooperative model for our young adult farmers in Zambia.

Finally we were able to attend the Grist Family Reunion in Augusta, KS, and have a lunch attended by members of the Doornbos family. I come from a very large Grist family and close to 100 attended the 3 day event. One of the last activities of the long weekend was our sharing about the work in Africa. Family members from California, Illinois, Alabama, Oklahoma, Arizona, Missouri, and Kansas encouraged us, blessed us, and supported us as we head to another continent. Both sides of my family have deep roots in farming and they gave Benedict ideas for farming, raising pigs, working the land, etc.

So know we are literally on the road driving east to finish the final preparation for the big trip to Zambia. This trip exceeded our expectations in the enthusiasm of folks who care about the plight of orphans, in the richness of encouragement and caring of family, friends, and strangers, and in the feeling of unity we experienced with brothers and sisters across our country.

Over the next 2 weeks we will be packing, organizing, preparing for our own trip as well as for over 25 folks who will be coming to visit and help on short term mission trips this summer, and soaking up time with our children and grandchildren. God has made his presence evident over the last 3 weeks and we expect to see His hand at work as we continue the preparation for our leaving.