E-News and Daily Updates

Below you will find updates on our progress as we work to care for orphans with intellectual disabilities.  We hope these updates will enable you to pray more specifically for these orphans, and for us as we speak and act on their behalf.

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Events, May 1-8 , 2010 (The first week in Lusaka, Zambia)

Saturday May 1st

arrived in Lusaka Zambia, and began to get settled. Tired.  Exhausted.  Tired of shlepping stuff, and ready to spend time with people!

Sunday May 2nd

fought incredible jet lag, grocery shopped, and started driving on the opposite side of the road (Eric was the first brave one to do this), figured out the money differences ($1=$4600Kwacha), Maggie and Holly were quite sick, cooked a little bit, explored the area around our current home for a few hours in the afternoon

Monday May 3rd

went on first real excursion to the Town Center Market in the downtown area of Lusaka (see blog for more details), bought bread and yummy fresh pitas at a bakery, and ate great Indian curry lunch out.  Purchased a taillight for the truck we are borrowing, and seriously shopped for ant traps to no avail. Went for a walk up and down our street to be friendly, to meet people, and for exercise so everyone would sleep since our bodies are on US time.

Tuesday May 4th

We tried to buy ant traps and roach traps, again, to no avail. It seems there are so many ants and roaches in Zambia, as soon as the traps hit the shelves, they are snarfed up.  If anyone wants a lucrative business….this seems to be a good one!  Walked up and down our street buying fresh foods from the little stands (called stores) in front of people’s homes on the streets all around ours.  We bought bright red tomatoes, eggs, dried beans, and bananas.

Wednesday May 5th

Went to Sandy’s Creations,  20 minutes south of Lusaka, which was a combination nursery, playground, cafe, and botanical garden.  It was lovely, and we had a restful time which learning more about the people, and the flora and fauna.  This took us 1 1/2 hours to get back home (we live on the northern end of Lusaka, so we had to go right through the busy central area), and we got home well after dark.  That was interesting to see!  Beth had good practice driving through rush hour traffic at dark, with pedestrians, and on the left side of the road!  The boon of the day is that we bought an avocado tree for approximately $6.30 !!! That is like one bag of avocadoes at Sam’s in the US.  If it produces just a few avocadoes, it will have earned it’s keep.  For Mother’s Day, my family bought me a Meyer Lemon Tree!

Thursday May 6th

Went to a Crocodile Farm, where they not only have crocodiles of all sizes, but they also had snakes….all venomous.  We did this as Eric’s birthday present, since he loves all things reptilian, and we were learning the lay of the land, so it was a good combination.  We ate crocodile burgers, and learned a lot about the snakes of southern Africa, as well as tortoises, and other creatures.  Settled more of our belongings at home, to make it feel more like home.  Ate banana cream pie, and sang Happy Birthday, much to the kids’ delight.  Holly drove this day, and somehow, we all made it home alive, and safely, at that!

Friday May 7th

Went on an excursion for dog food for the dogs that live in our yard as security/rat/snake protection.  Bought roach killer! Had our first Nyanga lesson, with a wonderful tutor named Nancy, who is a Zambian special education teacher.  We have learned basic introductions, and some simple words.  Maggie and Mollie and Sam can say Zikomo, which means thank you, and they have impressed folks with their Nyanga.

Saturday, May 8th

Everyone but Mom went for a walk and shopped for Mother’s Day, and I settled more of our things so we can find them.  Walked up and down our street, and used a little Nyanga, since we are learning how to speak, and folks are gracious in helping us. Bought eggs.  Priced buying a chicken.  Muzungu price was too high.  We definitely need to go back with a Zambian.

The Start of Week TWO, May 9-16th

Sunday, May 9th went to church, with lively, wonderful worship, that our kids loved.  Not a soul talked with us.  Interesting.  After church we went to a once-weekly market to look at handcrafts, and saw some beautifully-made items, like salad tongs, fabric of a variety of colors, carved animals, beaded jewelry, and lots of plants (kind of like a Zambian ‘Southern States’!)  Home for lunch, and Mom was treated to incredibly delicious dinner made by Beth, “aided” by Maggie, Mollie, Sam and Eric.  Molten Lava Cakes with Hazelnut Ice Cream and Chocolate Almond sauce at the end! An incredibly delectable treat that my children have never been able to accomplish before!

Monday May 10th

we went to the Register of Societies, to register Special Hope as a “Society”, which is similar to a non-profit in the US.  We need to apply for a work visa, which will be easier if we are a society first.  We are learning that one errand in a day takes much longer than we are used to.  In the US, we could do an errand in 20 minutes.  Here, it ranges from 2-3 hours. Stopped at Toyota to price and compare vehicles.  We are currently borrowing a vehicle from generous missionaries, and need to get our own.  This one has five seats, and there are six of us, so one person is always out of a seatbelt, and on one or more laps- not comfortable on the bumpy roads.  We are currently pricing 6-10 seat, 4wd, diesel trucks, both new and used.  Today was a first step.   Home for dinner and bed.

Tuesday, May 12th

Whew! We read our Bibles, exercised, did some laundry, made phone calls about visa and society applications, and then went to a compound (a word for a very packed neighborhood with thousands of very small homes in a small vicinity) for our 2nd Nyanga lesson with Nancy our teacher.  She graciously welcomed us into her home, and taught us more words after giving us a quiz on last Friday’s words.  She served us drinks, so we might have our first parasites!  Yippee!  Glad to get that over with.  Did our lesson, had an eye-opening tour of her home and garden, and then drove home (by some miracle, we made it, with fairly no street signs, and about 40 turns between here and there).  We practiced our Nyanga greetings on all her neighbors and the neighborhood children.  Had dinner,  kids to bed, and now working on updating each of you, and making flashcards for our new language, and learning about household lizards (they eat bugs so we like them!) all at the same time.

Wednesday May 13th

What a day of fulfillment of God’s call on us.  We had two appointments on this day, from the two men we met at the shopping center a few days previously.  At 12 noon, one family arrived, with their 8 year old son in their arms.  We did a basic assessment, and played with him for about 2 hours.  He hadn’t been out of his house in a very long time!  Then, we drove the family home, walked them to their house, saw what resources they have for positioning their son (not much, so we’ll need to be creative), and then drove home to pick up the rest of our family, and on to the next appointment, at 4 pm.  We drove and drove, and reached the next family, in another compound, called Garden Compound, and met and assessed him as well.  He, too has very little for positioning his body in any position except for slouching on a sagging couch. He was a joy, and clearly enjoyed our visit and attention.  We need to find a better seating arrangement for both of these boys, and at least one wheelchair.  Our kids were troopers through all our shlepping and assessing, so we ate out at a nice outdoor sandwich shop, since Mom was so tired.  Home, and bed for the kids.  What a day of fulfillment of the need, evidence of children hidden away, and the tremendous need for resources and a network to link the resources together.

Thursday May 14th

Met with Bishop Sakala, and another Bishop of the Zambian Assemblies of God church at a coffee shop this morning to discuss the best way to get our visa/immigration status for long-term work here with orphans.  What an answer to prayer this meeting was.  He agreed that this is an area where the Zambian church has not lived up to Scripture’s teaching, and that our ministry is sorely needed.  He will help us to get a 3 year visa! Praise God!  Friends coming for dinner tonight.  80 degrees and sunny and breezy.  Gardenias blooming.  We are adjusting.

Friday May 15th

Saturday May 16th

We went to meet with a carpenter who wants to try to make Rifton-style chairs for us.  Oh, how I wish we had brought just one with us for him to see how sturdy and wonderful they are for positioning a child, or adult who doesn’t have the trunk strength to hold his body up.  We showed him pictures, and described why the chairs have the adaptive parts they do, so he would understand the basic seating ideas of each part of the chair.  He will make a prototype for us that we’ll check on Thursday of this week.  If it looks good, we are in business locally, supporting the economy, and can customize better for each child we meet.  If it doesn’t look good, well, you all need to start praying!  And there is no velcro in this country that we’ve found yet!!! EEK.  Hard to position without it. After that we took a bag of books and toys to our first little guy, in his compound.  He was thrilled to see us, and thrilled with the toys.  His Mom offered to braid our girls’ hair.  Walked home through the compound as the sun was setting, past an outdoor worship service being conducted in Nyanga, and the only thing we could understand was that he was preaching from Job!  Stared at some more.  We are just so LIGHT!  We had a 3 year old in our home this week that was terrified of us.  He had never, ever, in his whole little life, ever seen a person with white skin.  We won him over by the time he left (books and toys helped).

The Start of Week THREE!

Sunday May 17th

Went to Lusaka Baptist Church, where we were welcomed.  It is getting cooler, and they are building a new church, having expanded beyond the seating of their old church, so we were in pews on a cement slab, under a huge white tent.  I wanted to take a picture for you, but that wouldn’t have been very worshipful at all, so I didn’t.  But, I can tell you that being completely surrounded by joyous folks singing To God Be The Glory was something I will never forget in all my days.

Monday May 17th

Went food shopping with a veteran missionary, who took us to places to buy bulk healthy foods, like whole wheat flour, dried fruits, wheat germ, oat bran, etc.  It took us FIVE HOURS.  So, I know now what you can pray for us most for….patience, and not completely losing it when things that you desire to accomplish in an hour takes FIVE.  And, we spent at least four times what I would have spent for better quality food in America.  And, the variety was much less (really, I promise you, that even though I am prone to drama, I am not exaggerating), no dried fruit except raisins, no nuts, no wheat germ, bran, oat bran or large bags of rolled oats.  The fellow that proclaimed he knows grain well, since he grew up in agriculture, didn’t know what wheat germ or wheat bran are.  So, I’ll need to adjust.  First, my heart, second, my cooking, and third, my shopping!  I can’t spend all day shopping for food!  How do families eat here?  No wonder people are eating nshima, and dying of malnutrition.  The contrast between food availability here and in the US is quite striking.

Tuesday May 18th

Today we went to a Compound before our Nyanja lesson (I’ve spelled it incorrectly previously, I believe).  We had appointments with three families who have children with intellectual disabilities.  We assessed their needs, and tried to help them figure out what their child needs most.  One of the most surprising moments was when I told a Mom of a 25 year old that it seems her child has Autism, and she’d never even heard of it! My brain has trouble wrapping around that idea.  One of the most lighthearted moments was when we were in the home of our Nyanja teacher, and they served us hot tea and fried sweet potatoes for a snack, and Maggie (of course) was thrilled, Sam did his famous bum-wiggle, and Mollie stood up and did her rather violent twisting dance move, all in excitement over the snack.  Clearly we don’t feed them enough.  Ha!

Wednesday, May 19th

Went to Toyota this morning to enact the first stages of purchasing a 4wd, very heavy duty truck-style vehicle.  The vehicle being loaned to us generously needs to be returned soon, and we need to start the slow process of buying a vehicle.  Were stared at so furiously in Toyota that I’m sure the quality of work produced in that entire business stopped for an hour.  Mollie decided that was a terrific place to completely lose it, anger-wise, over the fact that their large screen t.v. was playing the news instead of Babe.  So, while having an audience, dealt with a teenage mood of the Nth degree (pinching, screaming, crying, hitting), to the point where she ripped off her glasses and threw them.  Hmmm.  We are really affecting the culture, I’m just not sure in the ways we were expecting.

Then we went to buy cellphones, get cake baking products at the store for the girls’ birthday tomorrow (17!!!), and look for some of the resources for the kids we’ve met over the past week.  Then home to decompress (Mollie actually fell asleep, so maybe tiredness was a part of the tantrum at Toyota???), make a Pooh birthday cake (chocolate with peanut butter frosting), and work on our truck purchase, and visa details.

Thursday, May 20th

Grandma and Maggie and Mollie’s birthdays!  Grandma is in the US, but thanks to technology, we sang to her, and she sang to us.  Maggie and Mollie had their first birthday in South America, the next 15 in North America, and their 17th in Africa.  If someone had told me 16 years ago where we’d be today, I wouldn’t have believed it.

I couldn’t find a cake mix in Lusaka, so we made a devil’s food cake from scratch, with peanut butter frosting, which Maggie requested, talked about relentlessly, and then ate off the top, first. We worked on visa requirements, and bills, and getting the requested therapeutic equipment for the kids we’ve seen so far.  Tomorrow we go with all our visa information to apply for a work visa.  Pray!

Friday, May 21st

Applied for our 3 year work visa, at Bishop Harrison Sakala’s office.  He has been a tremendous encouragement to us.  He is the Bishop for The Assembly of God churches in Zambia, a humble and godly man, who offered to speak on behalf of our ministry to help us with our extended visa.  We spent the morning getting our documents together, filled out and organized, and truly livened up his very quiet office.  He wrote a cover letter for us, and will take it to the immigration folks for us.  Productive day!

Saturday, May 22nd

We did work around our house in the morning, and then explored a new area around Lusaka.  Before we get too busy, and while we are dealing with adjustment (and while we still have a vehicle loaned to us!) we are trying to see all the different areas of Lusaka.  It is a rather large, spread out city, with distinct neighborhoods (compounds) with shopping areas in each.  Don’t picture a US neighborhood in the suburbs and a shopping or strip mall.  Picture a whole bunch of cement sheds with small dirt yards, lines for drying clothes, and dirt “roads” (they are so full of rocks, holes and kids, they aren’t really meant for driving) with small “stores”, which look like ramshackle lemonade stands with whatever produce is currently fresh on them.  I’ll take a picture, for it certainly is memorable.  These are spread out all around, through and in the city.  This day we drove North on the Great North Road for an hour, and saw some mountains in the distance.  We saw trees we’ve never seen in our whole lives!  Anthills were the size of small homes.  It was an interesting day.  We stopped at a safari lodge and saw lions closer than we’ve ever been in our lives.  We’ll post video of it shortly.  It was amazing!

Beginning of week 4!

Sunday May 23rd

Today we went to Tabernacle of David Assembly of God church in the very heart of Lusaka.  Pastor Sakala preached, and had Eric speak about our ministry.  It was an amazing opportunity to share, and have seconded by the Bishop what Scripture teaches about children who have an intellectual disability.  We were welcomed, and the service was very loud and worshipful, which our kids thought was great.  Very biblical, life-altering preaching.

In Africa, unlike most of the US, when someone wants to visit, they just stop by, so in the afternoon, we had a surprise visit from the cute little guy in the red shirt from a few days ago on the main blog page, and his Mom (Amai in Nyanja).  They came to make sure I was still planning to attend their Physiotherapy session (Physical Therapy) Monday morning at 8 am with them, and, of course, to visit and play with us, and our toys.

Monday, May 24th

I (Holly) went to physiotherapy with a family this morning, and it was an amazing time of confirmation of our presence here, and the incredible need.  I introduced myself as a Mom and Teacher of children who have special needs, and, of course, I took a family picture to make the point!  Each person, from the therapists, to the Moms to the administration was abundantly welcoming to me.  I was able to ask questions about their needs, and find out what services are provided to them.  All told, I spoke with, interviewed, and played with about 20 children under the age of 5, all from one area of Lusaka.  Each was adorable, and was a treasure to be with after all the moving and shlepping to get here.

Next we went to a bunch of different errands, for our visa, our chair-making, our car-purchasing, and buying cleaning supplies and fruit.  At each place, we are building relationships with folks, trying our language out (to extremely gracious responses), and supporting the women trying to support their families by selling fruit.

Our last errand was to reintroduce Eric and Special Hope to the Director of a local teaching hospital, a man who Eric had met on his last trip here.  He actually remembered Eric and was thrilled to have us here.  We have an appointment on Thursday!

Tuesday, May 25th

Today we went for a Nyanja lesson in the afternoon, at our teacher’s home.  She made us traditional Nshima with two of the many possible toppings, sauteed greens, and soy patties.  It was much more delicious the way she made it than the way I attempted to make it.  The funny part was that you roll the nshima (polenta-like, grits-like…) in a ball in your fingers, and then scoop up the toppings with your fingers and put the whole pile in your mouth.  Maggie and Mollie and Sam were actually funnier doing this than the adults were.  Beth isn’t really fond of soy, and so she soldiered through the soy pieces very gallantly.  Sam couldn’t get over his fingers being messy, and kept making faces about his gritty fingers.  Mollie wouldn’t even eat it, just waiting for someone else to put it in her mouth, which, our instructor willingly did, to Mollie’s delight.  Maggie just kept grimacing the whole way through, as if the texture was just wrong!  I wish we had a picture of her face.  It was a keeper!

The most compelling thing about this meal, was that it isn’t just an African meal, but is THE meal most people eat at EVERY meal.  Different toppings, but not much variety.  Tomatoes, onions, greens, little dried fish, reconstituted dried soy, and a few other options.  I, as a completely normal American, cannot fathom eating the same thing for every meal.  But, if you don’t have money, and you don’t have options, what else will you do?

Wednesday, May 26th

I started the day at 8 am going to the Italian Orthopaedic Hospital with a boy and his Mom.  He can’t walk, and has some cognitive disability, and has never been to school.  He rides his Mother’s back everywhere he goes.  We went to meet a man who makes supports, braces, and prostheses, among other tasks.  His name is Isaac.  He was tremendously kind, dropped what he was doing, examined our boy, and casted him right then and there for braces so that he can walk.  We sang (alas, it was my American repertoire of songs, which I’ll need to add to with some African), and distracted him with pictures I brought along.  He was very afraid, but bravely allowed both legs to be casted all the way up his thighs.  The supports will be made in the next week, and then we’ll go back to pick them up and have them fitted. I drove them home, and they were encouraged and joyful.

After that, I came home, picked up everyone else, and we went to look at two potential homes for us.  Both were too expensive, so we’ll need to keep looking.  More details done on vehicle, insurance, fun for our kids, and plans for tomorrow.

Thursday, May 27th

Busy Day!  At 8 am we met with the Director of Chainama Hills Hospital, which is a teaching hospital, and one of the only places in this large city that has a classroom for children who have developmental delays.  He gave us much information on teachers in Zambia, and the difference between a Certificate, a Diploma, and a Degree, and what a typical special education teacher would have for classwork.  He also said he would introduce us to the Director of the special education classroom there next week, and would take us to the only school that certifies teachers in special education ( a certificate program).  Then we went out for a snack, before our 11 am appointment at IJM.  The International Justice Mission is a tremendous organization which deals with any sort of injustice, and we wanted them to know that we are in town and willing to help with any issues with children who have disabilities.  After that, we came home for lunch, and then Holly went out to pick up a Mom, son and niece who have not been to PT in over 3 years.  The boy has CP, and needs stretching, therapy, seating and stimulation.  He is the first boy we met here in Lusaka, and he was VERY excited to go in the car with us.  I met them on a road, picked them up and took them to a therapy clinic where there were at least 30 parent-child combinations waiting for the one Physical Therapist, and two assistants to help them.  It was quite a sight.  Similar to the one I attended on Monday, but so much bigger, with so many more kids.  I got home, and was bone-tired.  Dinner, and a collapse.

Friday, May 28th

Today we went to look at an area of Lusaka we hadn’t yet seen- Lusaka West.  It was a lovely spot, and we walked and walked, all around the property, and even saw a monkey! Two lizards, too, but thanks to Mollie and Maggie’s noises, they were long gone by the time Eric got to look at them, to see what kind they were.  When we got home, we had our Nyanja lesson, and a friend started to braid Maggie’s hair (half is left for tomorrow), and for some reason, we are exhausted!  Tomorrow morning marks exactly one month that we’ve been here.  Remarkable.

Saturday, May 29th

Today Maggie’s  hair is finished, and she looks wild and beautiful.  I’ll try to post a picture for you.  We went to look at a potential place to live once we move out of this house, and the good news is that they haven’t had a snake on that property in over 4 years!  We are trying to visit different areas of the city while looking at potential homes. It is a good excuse to get acclimated to this city, and see all the different areas.  Some areas look similar, and some are very different.  It is extremely difficult to find a home under $1,000 USD per month through a realtor. Most realtor-listed homes are $2000 USD and up.  So, word of mouth is the best way to go, but that takes time.  Please pray with us that God would clearly show us the house He has already picked out for us.  Thanks.

Sunday May 30th

Tried a new church today, so we are four different churches with four different Sundays at this point!  We were invited by the fellow that runs Chainama Hills Hospital, and we were warmly welcomed.  We were asked to stand, introduced to the WHOLE assembly (clearly the letting-new-people-slip-in-quietly-the-first-time-American rule doesn’t stretch to the continent of Africa!), and told what our ministry is all about.  After the service we were given cookies and juice, which every church so far has done for first-time visitors.  Maggie’s vote is that we just keep this up, so we get cookies and juice after every service!  At 3 pm we were due to have visitors come who wanted us to assess their child, and after getting all the toys set out, house cleaned up, and iced tea made, they didn’t show up- plans had changed, and, so, we adapted!  We were able to write a long-overdue thank-you note to our faithful monthly partners.

Monday, May 31st

We went to look at two potential properties to rent for our next year of life here in Lusaka.  Prices are high, and we are trying to walk a very fine line between safe, and the smallest house we need vs. all the other ones out there.  There are many vacant homes, in higher priced areas, with crazy rents!  We need to spend as little as possible on our living, so that we can care for more kids who have intellectual disabilities with the rest.  Worked a bit on the Nyanja we are learning, the switchover to our new website, and writing email updates to those who have signed up for our monthly updates and haven’t received them.

Tuesday, June 1st

Met the family that was due to come on Sunday, a little 3 year old girl, and her parents. They came to be assessed, and to see what they could be doing for their child.  Promised to go to their home to see what can be used for therapy in their home, write an educational plan of sorts (NOT EasyIEP like in Charlottesville), and have ongoing interaction with them.  Heard that one of the landlords from yesterday will work with our price and detail negotiations, and will meet with the landlord and the realtor tomorrow.  Holly gets to go out with a new friend for breakfast!  Mollie gets to have her hair braided tomorrow.  More language study.  Checked on our vehicle today.  It is on its way, partially through customs, and the registration process.  Work Visa application is in, with receipt to prove it. Had another text message from a realtor that her colleague has a child with CP, and would we please provide therapy for her child?  So, a bulletin for all the PTs out there reading this, you should make your plans to get to Zambia! The need is tremendous, but the pay probably isn’t as good.  Intrinsically rewarding is better than money, don’t you think???

Wednesday June 2nd

Today was another productive day on many fronts.  We were able to pick up the receipt for the application for our work visa, which we can show to anyone concerned about us being here, and working here.  Until that point, we were just tourists, which made hands-on care for children hard.  Holly went out with a friend for breakfast (don’t worry, Missy and Katy, you’ve not been replaced!), which was a wonderful “first” here.  After that, we met with the landlord of a property we have been praying about renting for the next year.  It was a favorable meeting from both sides, with mutual agreements about changes needing to be made, and appliances needing to be purchased, so that we felt God’s hand on the situation, and will be moving to this home on July 1st.  It is much less expensive than most homes we were looking at, and it has some wonderful parts, #1 fruit trees, including mango, guava, avocado, lemon and orange!!! #2 it has a pool!  #3 it has all been freshly painted, and looked relatively bug-free (we didn’t see any elephant-sized roaches there).  So, then, to end our day, we went to get two Boerboel puppies, who will be our guard dogs outside the home.  It will help for safety for our children, and our home when we are away, to have them in the yard, woofing away with their deep barks.  And, so, the training begins….  We are well versed in stubbornness, from our previous large breed, stubborn dogs, and a few children who have Down syndrome that we know well, so hopefully, it will be a tad easier this time around.  We’ll see.  (If you live in Charlottesville, do not tell Zuzu we’ve replaced her, please!)

Thursday, June 3rd

We blissfully had a day at home, which hasn’t happened yet.  We worked on our language study, studied our Bibles, played with our kids, and the new puppies, and had our first day that didn’t include going out and caring for other people, as of this date.  What we didn’t expect, was that we would get a lesson on dying from our gardener, which I will put in the blog section.  We certainly got a cultural lesson, even though it wasn’t a planned part of our day!  I also added up all our costs for the month, and was surprised that costs here across the board are MORE expensive than the US, with only one exception- fruit and vegetables that are in season.  Right now, bananas, tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, pumpkins and squash, watermelon, papaya, and not too much else.  Everything else gets shipped in, and is astronomical.  So, please pray with us that we would be wise, find whatever bargains are to be had, and generally, just eat less!

Friday, June 4th

**we cancelled our language lesson due to the funeral of a one year old child, the third child in one family to die at about 1- 1/2 years old.  Can you imagine?

Holly went to physical therapy at Chelstone Clinic, where I was one of three volunteer Physical Therapists working with approximately 20 children throughout a two-hour time period.

Eric and Beth worked on their Hebrew lessons, and studied Nyanja (very different languages, and for very different purposes!)

Maggie, Mollie and Sam read every book we brought with us (oh why oh why didn’t we bring more?), wrote letters, and colored.  Even did a bit of play dough.

We have joked that everything in Zambia takes three hours.  Well, for real, with no exaggeration, Eric took us out tonight for dinner, and we got there at 5 pm, ordered, and were served at about 7:45 pm, and left at 8.  It was a 3 hour dinner, and by some African miracle, our kids were fine with it???!!!  There is no explanation for that.  Just sheer grace.

Saturday, June 5th

We stayed home, especially because we got to bed late, from our 3 hour dinner, studied Hebrew, Nyanja,and Beth and I went to the home of a family who has a 3 year old we are writing a very simplified educational plan for.  Good thing Beth is a quick study, because I taught her the basics of what to look for in a child who appears to be delayed, and how to determine areas of strength and weaknesses.

Sunday, June 6th

Went to Chisoma Baptist, which meets at a boys primary school, in one of the classrooms.  We had to walk by at least 7 other churches meeting in other classrooms before we found the right church.  It is funny to think that in America, one church meets at one school, and in Africa, or at least in Zambia, one school can house 10 churches or more.  We were very welcomed, and the service was half Nyanja, half english, (even the sermon, can you imagine that?), so our Nyanja was a little useful, although we know so little now, it wasn’t TOO useful.  Can you imagine being the Pastor, and holding one thought, saying it in two languages, and then moving to the next thought, saying it in two languages, and so forth?  He invited us home with him, and we went, even though everyone was hungry, and not wanting to sit and visit.  The kids did well, (and we did, too, in case those who know us well know how grumpy we can get when hungry!), and by the time we left the visit, drove 1/2 hour home, and made lunch, it was about 2:30!!

We walked to ‘downtown’ Chelstone, which was a VERY long walk, in the hot sun, and once we got to the stores where we needed to buy eggs, we were the ONLY folks with white skin, and we made such a spectacle that folks came out of all the shops to look at us.  It really does make you humble when everyone is staring.  I am used to blending into a crowd, so this is really a new thing.  Surprising them by saying hello, how are you? in Nyanja is quite fun, though.  People are very kind, and correct our pronunciation in the nicest way.

Monday, June 7th

Mrs. Daka here, who works in our home.  She hugs each girl, and expects them to say Mwauka Bwanji! to her, which means, good morning! She waits patiently until they say it, and she also wipes their mouths, and dotes on them!  She works for the missionary who owns the home we live in.  She cleans, and cares for our clothes, and walks both to our home, and back to her home.  Brings new meaning to “hard-working”, for sure.

Today I went to the Italian Hospital all afternoon with a little guy and his Mom to pick up his leg braces.  Thanks to the generous supporter who paid for these!  He can now stand upright, and is practicing 1/2 hour at a time, every few hours all day long, to build up strength.  He is 4 years, 2 months old.  This took from 1-6 pm!

Tuesday, June 8th

We had our language lesson in Chunga, at our Nyanja teacher’s home.  She served us sweet potatoes with groundnuts (peanuts), so Maggie was in heaven!  We also had hot tea.  This family has so little in the way of resources, and is so hospitable, and gives us so much.  I will try to post a picture of the boatload of kids in the house reading all our books.  Again, why didn’t we bring more books with us?  This time, a few of them asked if they could have them.  It feels so selfish to say no, but if we gave a few away every time we were with kids, we wouldn’t have any left!  So, please send good children’s books to our container, so we can give books away.  We now actually have need of chapter books, so if you want to donate classic children’s literature in the form of chapter books, we could use those, too! Can you imagine a house with 5-10 children, and not a single book or toy?

Wednesday, June 8th

In the morning, we went to pick up one isolated boy and his Mom.  He has CP, and last week I took him for therapy with his Mom.  They sit home with nothing to do (quite literally) all day, so I asked them if they wanted to come play with us, and on the way we took them to the carpenter who is making our adaptive chairs.  He remeasured him, and checked out his work so far.  Then they came home to our house, and played with us, ate lunch with us (they had NEVER EATEN A PEANUT BUTTER SANDWICH!!!!).  They said it was ok.  Funny, huh?  Maggie’s favorite meal, and they’ve never even eaten it.  We took them home around 2 pm, and went to pick up our next Mom and son team, to go buy shoes and socks for the little guy who got the new braces on Monday.  We found shoes!  Thanks again go to the donor who provided them.  This family has absolutely nothing.  They are SO grateful for everything.  We took them to buy them some food, and the four-year old had never been in a shopping cart before and thought it was the coolest thing ever.  He couldn’t stop giggling, and loved it so much.

Dinner, bedtime, and now update the website, and then bed.  Whew!

Thursday, June 9th

After our busy day, we stayed home all day (Holly and Sam and Mollie), and Maggie and Eric and Beth went to Toyota to push along our vehicle, which we haven’t gotten yet, went to 3 hardware stores to try to find bolts for our Zambian-made Rifton-like chairs, and then International Justice Mission to meet with them about a child with Down syndrome who had been hurt.  Maggie did a good job pushing Toyota to find our wayward salesperson (nothing like “AAAAHHHH” sounds in the middle of a completely silent, tiled, echoey salesroom to move along people toward finding the fellow in demand!!!).  Bolts- success!  Our new carpenter (the first hasn’t panned out yet, so we’ve commandeered a second fellow, close to home, so we can go by often) couldn’t find the bolts to make the tray stay on, and the footrest to be movable.  And, she was a minister of the gospel at the International Justice Mission, as the lawyer Eric and Beth were speaking with was moved to offer our family’s help to this family in need.  She lives in a compound we go to frequently, so hopefully we will meet she and her family this coming week.    Mollie and Sam and I had a great time at home, organizing, reading books, listening to music, and talking to some of our favorite people…. Grandma, Auntie Julie, and Missy Martin.  I am so thankful for technology!  How did the missionaries of old do this separation thing God has called us to???

Friday, June 10th

This morning we studied, helped one of the families we told you about in the main blog post, buying food for a family (we can’t figure out how many kids this one friend of ours supports, though we’ve truly tried to count!), delivering it, and doing some of our American bills, our Zambian bills (funny to owe money to people on two continents!), and the regular adjustment things, like how everything is taking longer to do! Technically it is winter here, or the beginning of winter, and yet, it is nothing like the winter we all just went through in the US.  No snow, no need for coats, hats, mittens or boots.  55 degree nights, and 80 degree days full of sun.  I shudder to think how hot summer will be if winter is this warm! Beth and I had a fun outing at night, though if you read the blog post, you’ll note it was a bit harder to enjoy after our conversation with our language tutor.  Since we don’t have a tv at home, we watched a little of the World Cup at a local restaurant.  It was a nice change from being home or with all 6 of us all the time.  Beth is fun, and we had a great time.

Saturday, June 12th

We are trying to explore in and all around Lusaka, to see different areas, and different ‘neighborhoods’ each week.  We have been fairly busy seeing to the issues God has been bringing to our doorstep, and so, today, we thought a family outing to a new area would be a nice change.  We went directly East, on the Great East Road, for an hour.  We saw agricultural areas, chicken farms, some small villages with huts close enough that they looked like groupings of families.  We saw “shopping centers” of small lean-to style huts with vegetables for sale by the hundreds.  Each one seems to have whatever is in season, which at the moment, is ripe red tomatoes, onions, sweet potatoes (both orange, and the more common white sweet), and the occasional watermelon.   We went off the main road to see the Village of Hope that is being built in Chongwe, which is coming along nicely, and is in a beautiful location.  Our friends who have been so welcoming and helpful here are in charge of building, staffing, and all other aspects of this Village.   Mollie had enough sensory input from the bumpy roads, she was grinning the whole way (and before she left, she was on, what we affectionately call “a rampage” when no brother or sister is safe in her near vicinity), so it was, all in all, a wonderful afternoon together.

Sunday, June 13th

We went to another church, all in Nyanga, so we didn’t even know when the Pastor told all visitors to stand to be welcomed!  He laughed, and changed to English, so we would know what he had said.  There was a wave of giggling around us, which was lighthearted and funny.  We learned today, that no matter how easy the directions to a place sound, they will NEVER be that easy.  I had called earlier in the week to find out directions and time of the service, and had been told what sounded like simple, easy directions.  But, here in Lusaka, on the map the pink roads are paved, and the white and black roads are not.  Most roads don’t have names on the map.  The pink ones do, but most white and/or black do not.  So, you do the best job you can following the map, or people’s directions, and then you start rolling down your windows to ask folks where the destination you desire is found.  This time, 2 out of 3 people we stopped were helpful, and one would have sent us to the wrong school if we hadn’t had a good sense of direction.

So, the question for today is, do we go to worship for us, or do we go to worship to take our family, with children who so obviously have special needs, out to infiltrate, and somehow shake up the culture here?  That seems to be the question.  We have found that churches that believe that God is sovereign are going to be good places for our children to be, but other churches will try to “pray” the Down syndrome out of them- heal them, if you will.  What we are called to do has yet to be determined.  Five churches in five weeks, no settling yet.

Monday, June 14th

Today we worked on our language, in preparation for tomorrow’s lesson, and drove to the southern side of town, further than we had gone before.  We were going to go to Kafue (say Ka-fooey), or if you are Samuel, (KA- Flooey), but we found a wildlife preserve/botanical garden on the way.  They allowed us to eat our picnic on the grounds, so we ate our peanut-butter sandwiches in a lovely spot.  At one point, Beth looked up and sort of screamed.  Above our heads, across some lovely bouganvillea, was a gigantic spider web, with two HUGE (or as Sam says, FUGE) spiders in the middle.  So, we ate our picnic while warily looking up to make sure they hadn’t moved at all.  They hadn’t.  We saw some of the most beautiful trees we’ve seen yet, truly enormous, old trees with giant roots, sort of like a banyan tree.  Beth took a picture of Sam on one of the roots.  We’ll try to post it, though posting pictures here is taking a coon’s age!  Fun day.  We saw a leopard, warthogs, a bushpig, zebras, ostriches, and an army of ants that had made a trench in the dirt floor, which, of course, Mollie had to step in, so she became part of the parade of ants, across her sandals and up her legs.  Much yelling and stomping ensued.

The most interesting thing about Zambian ‘touristy’ places is that there are lots of workers, and lots of security, and almost no people ‘touristing’, so that every part is extremely slow, and they seem unused to doing their part of the job, like purchasing entrance tickets, making food, or doing other jobs that are important parts of whatever place we are in.  So, it seems, they are great places to employ many people for the odd occasion of a ‘wealthy’ tourist to come visit.  We only saw two other paying folks the whole time we were there (about 3 hours).  As Maggie would say, “fun day!”.

Tuesday June 15th

We have some stomach issues going on, definitely different than sickness in the US!  Some aren’t hungry (a very good thing for us!), some with other, less public issues.  Seems that activated charcoal works for all these issues, so I went out and bought a box.  Only 4 out of the 6 of us went to our Nyanja lesson today.  Such a bummer.  We are trying to take things slowly, and adjust, and not push ourselves too much, but I guess we can’t help the odd ‘microbe’ or bug!  No energy to add a new blog post, so will do it tomorrow.  See new prayer requests under the prayer tab.

Wednesday June 16th

Went early (7 am) to Toyota to get the oil changed in the vehicle we are borrowing.  Met with the Non-profit salesperson who sold us our truck, to try to move along the process, so that we will actually see the vehicle we have purchased and been promised.  Some missionaries we know have waited as much as 6 months for theirs.  So I took two apples, and a Maggie-colored card for motivation. He said he’d know something in a few hours, and I promised I’d be back….

Sat and waited, and read my Bible until 9 when a friend came to pick me up to go out for breakfast and a visit.  She has lived in Lusaka for many years, and each time we talk, I learn more about the culture, customs, and other helpful tidbits.  It was nice to be away from the regular things I do every day.  After breakfast, when it was almost lunchtime, we went to the FENZA center, which is run by a Catholic Church, and is a center that has classes on assimilation into Nyanja culture, Nyanja language classes, Bemba language classes, and a library with many theological books.  We were warmly welcomed, and offered that we could join them for studying whenever they are open.  Next we went nextdoor to the Bauleni Street Kids Home, where there are orphans with intellectual disabilities- kids who have autism, have Down syndrome, are deaf-blind or have other disabilities.  We were excitedly welcomed, and met with the Vice Project Coordinator in charge of Home Based Education for children who have special needs.

Then we left and went back to Toyota, where I used my kindest, and most persuasive wiles to try to procure our truck, which we paid for and purchased about a month ago, and it still hasn’t made it through customs.  We have upped our calling, visiting, and pursuing our salesman quite nicely though mercilessly, because we need to give back the vehicle we are borrowing by Sunday, and after that we’ll be without a vehicle!  Renting a truck is prohibitively expensive here.    Home to pick up the family, out to the bank to get cash to pay for vehicle insurance (need to think ahead because the ATM’s limit the amount you can withdraw in one day, and we need to pay the bill for the year tomorrow), make dinner, eat dinner, clean up dinner, ready for bed, write post, whew!  We have no tv, so Eric is listening to the World Cup via radio.  Puppies are chewing on Beth. They are up to 5 kg and 6 kg.

Thursday, June 17th

Started out so hopeful, that the Special Hope Truck would be ready at 10, so Eric, Beth and Maggie (she is very useful for her noise and effect in moving people along!) left for Toyota right after breakfast.  Our truck was due to be ready at 10 am.  But, due to the laws of Zambia, which seem to be constantly in flux, the ZRA rules had changed, and since we are a non-profit, all the forms Toyota had done up to this point had to be redone with new forms, but this wasn’t figured out until after Toyota had promised it would be ready at 10 am, then 14 hrs (2 pm) and then 15 hrs (3 pm), and Eric, Beth and Maggie had livened up the quiet lobby of Toyota for many hours.  The good thing is that we have already learned about waiting times (picture everything you try to accomplish being like going to the DMV in the US), and we don’t go anywhere without books, our Nyanja flashcards, snacks and drinks.  Our bag is always at the ready! Between the promised times, they went to price internet service for our newly rented home, and cheaper phone possibilities.  Unfortunately, the news wasn’t good.  Internet is expensive here, but, for us, necessary.  Cellphones are the only way to communicate with people because copper in the regular phone lines is stolen for cash, and if the line IS working, which is rare, the static is so bad, you can’t hear the other person and what they are saying.

We are closer to having a vehicle, but we don’t know how close.  Today, we thought it would happen, so please pray!

Mollie, Sam and I stayed home, studied Nyanja (Sam has almost 1-10 memorized!), read books, listened to music, put our mound of laundry away, cleaned our house, did some Special Hope work of various forms, including website updating for our new website, and other business related to that, as well as networked a bit for tomorrow.  Our Nyanja lesson this afternoon was good.  We now have a grammar book with rules that is making learning so much easier.  I bought it yesterday when I was out at the FENZA (Catholic resource here, which was wonderful) location.  I bought the grammar and a dictionary, which have both proved so very helpful, and they were fairly inexpensive!  Made dinner, plumber came to estimate fixing many broken and leaky faucets in the house, cleaned up dinner, toyed with the idea of taking our ipod and speakers to Toyota’s lobby tomorrow to have a dance party (wouldn’t THAT just move them along???), put kids to bed, and now writing to you.  Very productive day, and one more day towards adjusting to this place, this new culture, and new language.  Thank you for your care for us!

Friday, June 18th

This morning, Sam and I went to the Chelstone Clinic to see the first baby with Down syndrome they’ve seen in SEVEN years!  He was absolutely adorable, with big brown eyes, and a happy face.  Sam was a good emissary for Special Hope, talking with mothers and playing with the babies.  The power went out, and we were plunged into complete darkness (we were in a room without windows), but kept doing PT.  When we could tear ourselves away, we left, promising to be back, and went to our friends’, the Irelands, home.  It was lovely, and we had a good visit, talking about how to hire staff (a must here, in order not to be seen as selfish Americans), how much is customary to pay, hours, hiring details, and other helpful tidbits.  Then we came home and had lunch, still no power, so had a cold lunch, and then off again to liven up Lusaka Toyota.  Eric, the kids and I all went, and Beth stayed home to work.  When we walked in, even the security guards welcomed us like old friends!  Our non-profit salesman was at customs, trying to get the new form copied.  Our friend from Villages of Hope had to go in this morning in person to sign the new form, and then the power went out, and our salesman was there all day!  Poor guy, I don’t think the gift of an apple would be enough for that!  He called and said it should be ready by 15:30, so we were there by then (3:30 pm), but no salesman.  We called him, and he didn’t know when it would be ready, so we went for a walk, with his promise that he would call if he got the form, and was able to leave the ZRA (like the Zambian IRS).   We went back to Toyota at 4:30, and he still wasn’t there, BUT the World Cup was on, and since we don’t have tv at home, we sat and waited while watching a bit of the US play Slovenia, and, of course, livening up the quiet Toyota lobby again.  This time, though, the head guys came out to talk with us, and gave us Toyota caps, which I’ll post on here so you can see.  At least, though we’ve lost hours and hours to the Zambian laws, rules, and bureaucracy, we DID get Toyota hats!  We left at 5:30 with the promise that we’ll get our vehicle in the morning.  At 10.  So, if all you US folks can pray that at 4 am your time, we are handed over our vehicle, we would be grateful!  We lose our loaned truck on Sunday, and then will not be able to serve those we are called here to serve.  Got home.  Beth made a yummy supper, Skyped Grandma, bathed scary guard dogs (7 week old ones…)got kids ready for bed, answered business emails, wrote on site, time for bed!

Saturday, June 19th

We drove south to Kafue, where there is a river, a picnicing area, and a boat you can take down the river for a ‘cruise’ (don’t picture one of those large cruiseships!).  We took a picnic but got too hungry, so we ate our picnic in the car.  The river was lovely, and very undeveloped.  There weren’t any waterside burger joints, or ice cream stands.  Just the river.  The steamboat was a 3 hour boatride, and wasn’t inexpensive, so we decided to wait for another day when we could go at the noon hour, so our whole ride home wouldn’t be in the dark.  Did I already tell you that it gets dark here at 6 pm every night?  Like clockwork!  Light at 6 am, dark at 6 pm.  So, if we had done the 3 pm trip we would have needed dinner, and the whole ride home would have been in the dark.  The countryside on the south end of town was rolling hills into mountain ranges further away.  Really beautiful.  We bought the biggest avocados we’d ever seen, and so far have enjoyed them immensely.

Sunday, June 20th

We are struggling with whether to go to different churches each week, to force the issue of children with disabilities being welcomed into churches, or to find one church, and stick with it, to be a part of a church family.  All three of our kids strongly chose this week to stay home for church, where Papa preaches, Miss Beff does the worship songs (and surprisingly chooses Maggie, Mollie and Sam’s favorite hymns….hmm….), and Mom picks the Scripture.  Everyone has to say some memorized Bible verses.  So, our preaching was understandable this week, from Isaiah, in English! It was also nice to not have anything we needed to do today, or any timed places we needed to be.

Monday, June 21st

Eric and Beth went to Immigration, to check on our work visas.  Met the meanest person we’ve met in Zambia so far, so maybe US Department of Motor Vehicles, and Zambian Immigration folks are trained at the same place?  No work visas yet.  They went to set up our internet for our new home (as of July 1st, we have a new address, so everything needs to be set up this week).  They have set it up, so hopefully, unlike our experience with the truck, we will have a seamless switchover.  But, if you can’t contact us after July 1st, you’ll know why!  We had  a meeting with a Zambian who wants to work with us, to talk over our calling, and where we feel God leading us.  She knows tons of people here, works in the Physioclinics, and knows many parents.  She is a great person to network with, and her son had CP.  He died at 2 1/2 years old.  So, she loves children with special needs, and is fiercely advocating for children’s needs.  We made guacamole with Mollie’s gigantic avocados today.  Much happiness was had at dinner.

Tuesday, June 22nd

We had our Nyanja lesson with Nancy this afternoon, Eric and Beth did Hebrew for awhile, and the best news:  Eric got a wild chameleon!  He had printed out Posters with pictures of chameleons and our cell number on them.  The ‘reward’ for finding one was 5,000 KW ($1).  He had four boys find the chameleon, so he paid all of $4 for a beautiful big, healthy chameleon, that already has a home in our laundry basket that has a top on it.  He looks happy, and the boys are happy to each have 5,000 KW, and Eric is happy to have another lizard.  Our Nyanja teacher was so afraid of him that Eric and Beth and Sam had to drive to Chunga compound to pick him up because she couldn’t bring him.  She was terrified!  Skyped our wonderful Gordon Myers tonight (MYSERS!), and writing you.  We are hopeful that our truck will be available tomorrow.  Please pray!

Wednesday, June 23rd

I got to go out with a friend for lunch, and she took me to a fabric store to see what was able to be purchased here in Zambia.  We have to return our truck, which was loaned to us free, tomorrow, so we have made a deal with a local missionary group to borrow their truck for $100 per week.  We picked up that truck today.  We were texted, just as we were leaving to go to Toyota to pick up our truck to tell us not to come, that it wasn’t ready.

Thursday, June 24th

Friday, June 25th  Zamboozled!  Eric and Beth started out the day at Immigration, but when almost to Immigration, got a call from Toyota that our truck was held up due to one small tidbit- a form that needed to be signed, and a $10 fee paid by the folks who ordered our truck for us, since we aren’t a non-profit here in Zambia yet.  So, we asked them to come, sign the form, they got the fee waived, I believe, and then Eric and Beth were working on Hebrew in the Toyota waiting area, while the kids and I food shopped nearby in case they needed picking up.  To make an extremely convoluted story short, we left them at Toyota, because the truck was due to be ready at 3:30, for sure, absolutely, without a doubt.  The kids and I drove home, and then we found out that the non-profit fellow at Toyota was just hopeful about getting the car, and really didn’t have all the forms needed to hand over the vehicle.  At this point, Eric nearly lost his patience, pacing back and forth across the now-familiar lobby of Toyota, while Beth curled up on their chair and went to sleep, to the point where the head fellow came out of his office, and paid a driver to drive Beth and Eric home, just in time for supper. He was, it seemed, upset that we thought we were closer to getting the vehicle than in reality we were.  He promised to follow the chain of scheduled documents until we had our vehicle, which is a relief.

It felt like a lost day.  It felt like a day to increase patience, but why, in such a way?  No vehicle, no chance to get to immigration, no visiting the clinics, or serving families today.  So, we trust God that the day wasn’t wasted, and that we are further toward being the people God wants us to be, instead of closer to what we want to do.  But, it is hard.

Two Months Here!
Saturday, June 26th

We were invited to a local Pastor’s home today.  We met him at the physiotherapy clinic, where his son attends, who is 1 1/2 years old. This Pastor goes to work with, and encourage all the mothers at the clinic.  He actually prays with all of them before they go home!  So, we were invited to their home for a visit, and Eric, the kids and I all went.  Beth stayed home to work on a project she was working on.  We were welcomed, treated to hot tea, served on our laps (picture the scene, Maggie with hot tea in a cup on her lap on a couch!), and little tea sandwiches.  They prayed for us, served us, treated us to tremendous hospitality, and really encouraged our hearts.  We have tons of great pictures, because their son Sam loved our camera, and kept taking pictures of everyone!  Thanks to digital, we could let him.

Sunday, June 27th

We were going to go to a new church today, but most of us woke up under the weather, so we stayed home, and had our service at home.  Eric preached, Beth led the worship and we all grew from Isaiah’s words in the Old Testament.  We attempted to really rest, since last week was so crazy, and this upcoming week, with our impending move, also promises to be crazy as well.

Monday, June 28th

We went to our new house, since they were supposed to be coming to install the internet service to our house, but alas, if you read the blog post about being Zamboozled, you know the outcome.  After paying for a whole year’s service, and hearing nothing about this potential whatsoever, it seems they have NO modems in the whole country.  They are due to arrive at the border on Friday, will then need to pass through customs, and then maybe they’ll be here by NEXT Friday!  There is a waiting list, though, so we don’t really know when we’ll get the modem, which means there may be large gaps on our updating the site, since we’ll have to go to internet cafe’s and pay by the minute!  We met our landlord, who is a great fellow, and is making changes to his house to make it nicer for us.  That was the opposite of the zamboozling we’ve been having.  His kindness, and care were bright spots for us.

Tuesday, June 29th

Eric, Beth and Mollie went to Immigration first thing this morning to check on our work visa status, which will give us the official go-ahead to go to work, even though we have been doing work up till now.  After our work visas are given, we can work in a more official capacity, even going to the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Health.  We found out this morning that Eric and I were given 2 year work visas, and Beth’s will most likely come through tomorrow.  The kids are under us, so they get to stay, too, which is good, since I don’t think they’d like to leave just yet!  Sam and Maggie and I went to a fabric store (oh, joy!!!) to buy fabric and room-darkening lining for our new home, for curtains.  Sam’s is red and white checked, he picked it out, and he is VERY excited about them (clearly not a typical 15 year old boy, but very fun to shop with!).   The sun rises here at about 6 am, and sets at about 6 pm, so, our light-sensitive kids will awaken at 6 am if they don’t have some good curtains.  A friend had taken me last week to a fabric store, which has about 100 times the fabric of stores in the US, for about $5 per meter (approx. 60 inches, so comparable to decorator fabric width in the US), which is pretty amazing!  Our home worker is a gifted seamstress, which is good, since my sewing machine isn’t here, and she’ll make them on Wednesday for us, so that when we move into our new home on Thursday or Friday, they’ll be ready.   We had our Nyanja lesson this afternoon, and learned all kind of practical words and phrases, like, “I’m lost!”, and “How much does that cost?”.  We ate Nshima for dinner, so we are, after two months, becoming a little bit more Zambian.

Wednesday June 30th

Thursday, July 1st

The day we thought we might get our Toyota, but when Beth called, she was told that it probably wouldn’t happen today, or tomorrow, and then with the holiday on Monday and Tuesday, probably not until next Thursday.  So, we continue to wait, as patiently as we can.  We were also due to move into our new home today, but we don’t have internet, or transformers, or adapters for our computers and a few other daily-used gadgets from the US that are quite crucial to our life.

Friday, July 2nd

Beth and Eric went back to Immigration to see whether Beth’s work visa came through.  It hadn’t, so she got a letter from immigration to put in her passport in lieu of an extension of her tourist visa, since she is no longer a tourist.  The kids and I played, sang, packed, and prepared to move….again.

Saturday, July 3rd  We woke up, and quickly got ready to get half of us to our new home to meet the internet hook-up folks there, and Beth and I went to get fabric for our new home (the stores are open until noon, and then, due to a holiday, not again until Wednesday), and then to a big sale at an expatriate’s home.  See blog for more details.  After that, we went back to our new home, where we have internet, but no wireless, and lovely surroundings.  We settled some of our things, and then went ‘home’ to play and relax after our busy day.  We got home just in time for supper!

Sunday, July 4th  We went to Kabwata Baptist Church, and had a great time of worship.  A friend’s son called us before church to ask if he could go to church with us, so we picked him up on the way, and after church he took two loads of our things to our new home.

Monday, July 5th We went to our new Landlord’s property, south of Lusaka, for a game drive, picnic, and fishing expedition.  We had a great day, bouncing about on roads that do not look able to be traveled, seeing Kudu, Impala, Duiker, and other Antelope.  We all caught fish, and the sight of Mollie and Sam trying to hold a flipping fish who wanted to get back into the water was a great sight.  Beth caught the biggest fish, though, of course, the arguing duo had to fight over whose fish was bigger.  This time, Eric lost by a fraction.  Beth’s was bigger.  We brought them home, and Eric and Beth descaled them.  We then drove back to Lusaka to a bonfire gathering of some US and Canadian missionaries, orphan workers, Bible translators, nurses, and others.  We roasted hot dogs over the fire, ate potato salad and other US foods, including yummy cake!  Then there was singing of all sorts, everything from kids songs to patriotic to worshipful, and watched fireworks go off in the yard.  Everyone got to bed super late, and we move tomorrow, so we can’t be grumpy!

Tuesday, July 6th

We move to 31A Mulungushi Rd. Lusaka, Zambia, our final (we HOPE) move for the year 2010.  We have hired some Zambian staff, with much care, and wisdom from folks who have done this before, and are more seasoned than us.  We must do this to benefit the Zambian economy, and after being here, if we could come up with enough work for 30 men, I would definitely do it, if it would mean food and schooling for their wives and children. Before we came, I didn’t want to hire staff, and use money raised for orphans with intellectual disabilities for people to work for us.  But now I see that by hiring staff, we not only are freed up from the daily tasks that must be done around the house so we can do more ministry(mowing, laundry, dishwashing, planting vegetables, etc.), but we are also supporting families that otherwise would not have ANY income. One of the families also has a child with significant disabilities.

Wednesday, July 7th

Well, maybe it is due to 6 moves in 6 months, but we couldn’t do it on Tuesday, so the official ’shift’ as they call it here in Zambia will be tomorrow, Wednesday the 7th.  Tonight (the 6th), is our last night in our very comfortable, first Zambian home.  Tomorrow night we will be, hopefully, and as God wills, in our home for the next year.  We will post pictures as we take them.

Saturday, July 17th
Recovered a bit from busy week, read our Bibles longer than usual, which was definitely good for our hearts. Eric did laundry! Organized papers, which we sure have a lot of, due to Special Hope receipts, and family receipts, and all the new paperwork and contacts we’ve met here. There are a whole bunch of places we’ve heard of that care for orphans that might have orphans with intellectual disabilities, but we’ve heard of them by word of mouth, and we are organizing our week so we can visit them all soon. As I wrote previously, phone calls, and website work is not the way to do research here. Most businesses either don’t have anything on their website, or don’t have one at all. And, the phone system is too expensive to research that way. Everything must be done in person, which takes a lot of time. This is compounded by the fact that the mapping system is really not developed well. Maps have streets on them with no names, and streets might or might not have street signs. So, as you get close to the place you believe an orphanage or school will be, you stop and ask people. Very different than in the USA.

Sunday, July 18th
Had very restorative worship this morning, reminding us Who we are here to serve and why we NEED to be serving. God is so clear in His Word that we are not primary (though we each typically act as if we are the most important thing in our life), and that He and His Glory are the primary goal of our lives. We look forward to remembering this during the week when our plans are thwarted time and again, to see whether we’ve really been grown and humbled by the learning of this day.

We bought a little charcoal ‘grill’ ($2), which is most people’s only cooking device, and tonight, Beth is going to grill us a yummy supper for the first time since we’ve been here. Mollie is sitting in the sunshine listening to kid’s worship music while Sam is standing up rocking and listening. Funny how sometimes their happiest days are after we have worship. Each of you should be awaking soon as i write this at 6:43 am your time, so we will pray that you would hear God’s word spoken to you this morning as you worship.


Monday, July 19th,
18 years since my Dad died, and 16 years that we’ve had our girls, Maggie and Mollie. Really unbelievable. I feel like it was just yesterday that I heard my Dad’s voice, and so often wish he was still here to bounce ideas off of him, and yet, in other ways it feels so long. He never knew any of our kids! So, in some ways it was a pensive day, while we continued to accomplish steps toward our ministry’s effectiveness. We took our truck to Benbar to have some adaptations made to it, to make it easier for kids with disabilities to access. It will have a lower step on the back added to make it easier for them to get in, and some handles inside the back door for them to grab to hoist themselves in. We are also having a roofrack added which will hold the spare tire, luggage, and anything else we need to strap on (wheelchairs?, kids?, pieces of lumber? equipment?). Just kidding about the kids. We always joke about that. If anyone decides to have a tantrum in the car, that is our threat, and usually just saying it stops the issue.

It was hard to leave the truck at Benbar for four days, after just getting it. We did drive it over some VERY rutted roads yesterday to check it out, and it does a great job weaving through traffic on paved roads as well as bouncing over the ruts on the dirt roads ( which are many). We do have a strong recommendation for Benbar from our landlord, Roger, who is friends with the fellow that runs the Benbar company here, and so we were given a discount, and a promise that we’d have it back on Thursday. This is good, because we owe rent weekly on the truck we are borrowing, and we borrowed it on a Thursday, so if we get it back on Thursday, that would be great!

Tuesday, July 20th
Little Brighton is up to 3 bottles during the day, 1 1/2 at night, and breastfeeding throughout the day at other times. He is smiling, and ’satisfied’, and we look forward to weighing him and taking a picture of him on Friday morning.
We went to the Tuesday Market, where out of town farmers bring their produce to sell. We were able to get some tremendous deals, as well as buy some spices and dried lentils and even some almonds! It was a horrible experience in some ways, and wonderful in others. It was horrible in that people are so desperate for money, they mob your car when you pull up to park, to try to get you to pay them to “watch” your car so nothing happens to it. I actually had to use my New Jersey upbringing, combined with years of teaching, to strongly tell them to back up, away from the vehicle! The other horrible thing is that there are hungry kids who want to carry your bags for you, for pay, and they don’t take no for an answer. I offered to buy them a piece of fruit or two, but they didn’t want that. So, being wise is hard, and I feel that we are learning it slowly. I wish I could know now what I will have learned in a few years, since I feel like my learning curve is so slow!
We went to the Chilenje clinic to find out the times and day of their physioclinic for Loveness, the girl we took last week to have braces made. I met the PT, and found out the times and days, and then we drove to her dad’s welding shop to tell him what we found out. He is going to take her older sister to the clinic in the morning, so that after Loveness gets out of school, she can take her to the clinic on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons. If they can manage it, they are welcome to attend the clinic three times a week!
Home for lunch, Beth, Maggie and Mollie and I went to Nyanja lessons, and Eric and Sam stayed home for two meetings with people. Then one more person stopped by in need, dinner on hold for an hour while we met over his need (probably to soften my heart toward his family’s hunger!), ate dinner, cleaned up, bedtime, write on website, and, to bed. Good night!

Wednesday, July 21st
Started out the day getting things done around the house, which have been needing to get done, since we’ve been out a lot. Planted a large garden with our gardener, and talked about what it would take to get chickens. Started planning chicken coop. Then I went to pick up a 15 year old with CP and his Mom to take them to Manasseh our carpenter, who was expecting us. Due to Zambian laws of time, he wasn’t there, and when I called him, he was a really good bit away from where we were, so Sam and Hassan and his Mom and I had a good visit. Then we called Katherine, a mother and PT volunteer at a local clinic, who happened to live across the street from where we were standing. We had a good long chat about Zambian history and what has been done for children with disabilities in the past. It was helpful, and gave much insight. Manasseh showed up, measured Hassan, and will have the chair done by next Wednesday. We look forward to seeing it done!


Thursday, July 22nd Went to the Chilenje Clinic with Loveness to check out what the PT there is doing with her, and to make sure her sister understands what to do at home during the week. Went to Benbar to pick up our truck, now that it is adapted for kids with special needs. They added a long, steel step to the back, as well as two handles, so that kids with limited mobility can grab the handles, and hoist themselves in, instead of us pushing them up and in from behind. This will also work well when Grandma comes to visit! They moved the spare tire from the back door to the top roof rack, because over time, the hinges can’t take the weight, and start to give way, and the truck door is harder to close. We also added window tinting to make it cooler, since the back doesn’t have vents (did we express to you that this is a very bare-bones model, with no automatic anything?). It has manual locks, manual window cranks, and a manual antenna. It will serve us well, will no added comfy perks!
Friday, July 23rd
Beth and I started the day at the Chelstone Physiotherapy Clinic where we weighed Brighton, and checked on the other kids we’ve been following a bit. Brighton is up to 4.1 kg!! So, his Mom, Jennipher, will keep up the bottle feeding/breastfeeding regimen so that he will put on more weight. Bedson is wearing his braces for 3 hours each day, in a standing frame, and will slowly be upping the time in them, as he gets stronger. He has no sores or bruising, so they were made well, and he is tolerating them well. Little Francis, the first baby we met with Down syndrome was there, and we (really you, our supporters) gave his Mom some transport money to get to and from the clinic since she lives fairly far away, and has to walk very far to a bus station, and then do the same thing in reverse to get home. We did a bit of therapy to help out, since no certified PT’s were there, and then left for home. On the way, we went to have keys made for our home, and almost an hour later, we were on our way. Surprise, surprise, almost all of them worked! We weren’t zamboozled, as happened the first time. This time, only two didn’t work. Then we came home for Hebrew lessons for Beth, lunch making for me, and then Nyanja lessons for all in the early afternoon. Our Nyanja teacher was going to bring a friend who braids hair, but since her previous braiding took too long, neither of them came, and we had an afternoon at home, with no constraints, which was nice for Beth and the kids and I, but not so nice for Eric, who had to chase down our license plate and title for our vehicle, that was supposed to have been produced by Toyota earlier in the week, and hadn’t happened. So, Eric had a bummer of an afternoon, but we now have the title, and a legal plate for the vehicle.
Saturday, July 24th
Today was an unZambian-like day of accomplishments. We were able to check a bunch of important things off our to-do lists, and part of that is due to the fact that all the things we got done were under our control (not including any Zambian offices). We also didn’t have any appointments with folks today that could be stood up, or made late. So, we know all days can’t be like this, but we catch up with a day like this every now and again to make the less productive days more manageable. We delivered more formula to Brighton’s family, as well as some fruit from the trees in our yard, and a pineapple we bought for them yesterday. They were very thankful. Then we drove to a few places to get some functional things we need (food, desk drawer handles, hooks for keys, etc), and we had a fun time getting these things. Our kids love to shop! All this, and then two complete hours of Maggie and Mollie tag-teaming me with their incredible moods, which require constant intervention. Just so you can picture it, after I told Mollie that anything she did to hurt Maggie, Sam, or the puppies, I would need to do back to her, to remind her what being a friend looks like, and to hope to hinder any violent behavior. So, she stormed off with very dramatic stomping to hit the palm tree in our front yard. The tree is about 30 feet tall, and about 1 1/2 ft in diameter. It wasn’t scared, or affected by her drama.
Sunday, July 25th
A Day of Rest, for all of us!
Monday July 26th
This morning, Beth, Eric and Sam went to the GPS folks to price the cost of getting gps service, and mapping for the compounds around and in Lusaka. We are hoping to go door to door to find out where the children with intellectual disabilities are, so that they can be counted, so that they can count. We are hoping to pick one medium-sized, safe (or relatively so, with our Zambian compatriots) compound to completely go through, to then be able to extrapolate that information to the other compounds (we don’t even know how many there are, because there are some that are not on any maps), to find out how many children with intellectual disabilities are hidden in and around Lusaka.
This afternoon we had another Nyanja lesson, while Mollie’s hair was braided quite beautifully by a friend of our Nyanja teacher. It took between 3-4 hours, and the braids are so tight, it looks like she had an eyebrow lift! By the time they left, it was dark, and it isn’t really safe for them to be out after dark, so Eric drove them to a bus station, and paid their fare home.

Tuesday July 27th
This morning Mr. Daka and I went to the Tuesday market to buy fruits and vegetables for the week. I decided after last week’s ridiculous swarming of our car by young men to “protect” our parked car, that it was time to bring out a Zambian to shop with us, and move back the threats (real or just perceived). And, he was very helpful to carry bags of fresh produce, too. Since it is winter here, there are very few good fruits and veggies along the roadside, the produce in the Shoprite and Spar is very expensive, and the variety is quite limited. So, this Tuesday market brings farmers in from the far provinces, outside of Lusaka by many hours drive. We are able to buy avocadoes, pineapples, limes, green beans, broccoli, cauliflower, and many other yummy vegetables we have been missing. I even bought a bunch of cilantro for only 300 KW (4600-5000 K equals $1!). So, we now have ALL the ingredients for guacamole, minus the chips.
When we were gone, our hair braiding friend had been braiding Maggie’s hair, and she looks beautiful! It took about 4 hours for a hairstyle that would have cost 2-300$ in the US, and let’s just say, was a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of that here.
And, the greatest part of the day? Part of our offering, until we find a church, is to give to those in need, and people are desperately in need of food. What we would spend on vegetables a week in the US for our family of 5 was between $40-60. Today for approximately $40, we were able to send home backpacks full of vegetables and fruits with the three families that work for us, as well as Brighton’s family, and the family of our hair braider. So, we were able to give, thanks to each of you, vegetables and fruits for a week to six families (including ours)! Isn’t that amazing? And thanks to Mr. Daka, who was a tremendous help, and freed up Eric to do other tasks, which are just as, or more, important than food shopping.
Wednesday July 28th This morning, we started out the day with Samuel and I going to the Italian Hospital to meet Loveness, whose brace for her leg was ready to be fitted. Her sister and she arrived at the same time we did, and we went to meet Isaac our prosthetist, and now friend. He pushes me to speak Nyanja, so Sam and I spoke for a little while in Nyanja, and he was very impressed that Sam knew so many words. They cut the brace to fit, and added velcro straps to two places on it, and we were ready to go. I drove the girls home, and Sam and I got home just in the knick of time to add the rest of the family into the car to go to the airport to pick up Beth’s sister Emily, who has just arrived for a visit. We ate a snack on the way, since it was lunchtime, at the airport had a missionary reunion of sorts, since it just so happened that Emily was on the plane with relatives of two local orphan worker-type friends here in Zambia. One of these families is the one family that loaned us the vehicle for so long and helped us out in so many ways. That was a nice surprise. While we waited for everyone to come through customs we were able to visit with friends! Then, we took Emily to the Kalimba Reptile Park to see the crocodiles, snakes, and have a picnic lunch. Unfortunately for Mollie, the tortoises (her favorite) were hiding, and we didn’t see them. But, she DID get to swing, which she has been sorely missing. We came home in time for supper, and are now getting work done around the house. And, thank you, Uli and Stu for the 5 liters of olive oil, and other goodies you sent, especially the flowered cushions for our chairs! They are comfortable, and look so much like ‘home’. Thanks for caring for us in such practical ways.
Thursday, July 29th
Today we had a very busy day. Eric, Beth, Emily, and Sam went to visit Police Posts to get permission to go through the compound called Ngombe, which is near our house. We plan to go house to house with small teams to try to find the “least of the least”, or those children with intellectual disabilities that are currently hidden away. We not only got permission, but offers of help from the police officers, which might come in very handy at some point.
At 12 noon we met our Nyanja teacher Nancy at the main Post Office in town, so that she could pick up her stove she has been paying toward for 6 months at a store, while we have our truck! After that we had plans to meet a family with a child with a disability (extent unknown) in her compound before our nyanja lesson. We met Nancy, picked up the stove, and drove to Chunga compound to a tiny little house where we met a boy with severe disabilities, in every way. He is physically affected and intellectually disabled. He is 18, and needs a wheelchair. His Mom carries him wherever he needs to go. She is a widow, and can’t leave him, so they also have no food. I can’t begin to describe the humbling affects of sitting in a tiny little home in a dusty compound in Lusaka, hearing a Mom ask for two things- a wheelchair, and some food. Nothing else. No day at a spa, no manicure, no treat, just the basics- conveyance and sustenance. Joseph, her son, is sick, coughing, and who knows what else. So, tomorrow we will go back and take them to a doctor. Today we got them food. A drop in the bucket of these two lives, for sure. Oh, to be able to me more useful to them!
Our next stop was another home in Chunga, a fellow teacher with our friend Nancy at the school where she teaches. When we got there, he jumped in the truck (now with Eric, me, Mollie, Beth, Emily, Maggie, Sam, Nancy, all the food, and Nancy’s stove!!!), and took us to his brother’s home close by. We didn’t know what to expect, but we entered, and met a 13 year old boy, his Mother and Father. Going blind into situations like that are so tough. Dad speaks english, Mom, doesn’t, but usually Moms know more details! So, Nancy helped us to figure out whether this little guy, Lukwesa has intellectual disabilities, or physical, or none at all. He doesn’t attend school. We are going to look into talking with a PT friend of ours who can help us determine whether what he has is neurological or physical development. I can’t tell you how frustrating it is to be in a home where parents want their child to be in school, and yet, he is not allowed due to his inability to keep up with the other children.
Next we went back to Joseph’s home to drop off the food, and then to Nancy’s house for our lesson, but by this time it was 4 pm, and we were all exhausted! So, they helped us to buy charcoal (the muzungu price is so much higher), we took some more pictures of their family, and we said our goodbyes, at around 4:45, just in time to get completely stuck in traffic. We came home, and grilled our crocodile chunks we purchased yesterday at the crocodile farm, and are now quite crashed, not moving, fatigue has set in.
Friday, July 30th
Paid our home workers. Sam and I went to the Physiotherapy Clinic to weigh Brighton, meet with a nurse who works with World Vision, and check up on the other children who need therapies and schooling so desperately. Sam was a great help, and we were able to weigh Brighton, who is now up to 4.5 Kg, so in two weeks, he has gained a whole Kg! His mom, Jennipher is thrilled with this, and hands him over to me as soon as she sees me, which, of course, is just fine with me!
The World Vision nurse was not able to attend, which was disappointing because last week in Zambia there was a Measles Prevention week, with vaccinations for all children, and she was going to give us data on all the children with special needs she saw, including contact information. So, I’ll call her, and try to get together. It would have been great if we could have met in person, though. We also handed out pictures of the kids and their mothers, which many of them treasured immensely. I’m not sure how many of them have even one picture of their child, and we were able to print out for about .25 cents (US) pictures from previous weeks. Today I took pictures of all the children I didn’t have pictures of today, so that all that attend will have pictures. It is such a small thing, and something I never thought would be special! I was just taking pictures for you, our reader, and it turned out to be something really special for these families. Then, I drove Katherine and her son, Francis home. Francis is the first child from a compound we’ve seen who has Down syndrome. He is 8 months old, and completely adorable (of course I would think so!). She proudly took me to her home (approx. 5 ft wide by 8 ft. long), and to meet her husband, Matthew. It was good to see where she lives, so if she can’t attend the clinic, I can go to pick her up, or just check on Francis. (Say it “Froncees”!!!)
At the same time, while we are continuing to rent a vehicle (while Beth’s family members are visiting), Eric, Beth, Emily, Maggie, Mollie and Aliston Zimba (who speaks Nyanja fluently), went to pick up Joseph and his Mom, who were dressed in their best outfits, to go to the doctor. He needed antibiotics for bronchitis, and an antifungal for a skin condition on his face. Mollie sang to him and held his hand while they drove along, and Eric sat on the floor of the truck with Joseph as they went. Hopefully he will heal from his cough, cold, and not have it turn into pneumonia.