Sunday Encouragement and Monday Kiddos

Sunday Encouragment:

Yesterday we witnessed a wonderful testimony by one of the church leaders from the Kampande church. Aaron was preaching about the blessings that come with being in the Light and focused on the blessing of not having to live in fear of witchcraft, as many here do. He told us that his wife was having health problems recently so his mother-in-law advised for their family to move because she believed there were too many witches in the area and that is why Aaron's wife was having health problems. With a joyful smile on his face he told us that he does not fear witchcraft and instead of moving to a new place he and his wife were turning to the Lord for care and comfort. What an encouragement it was to see the faithfulness of this church leader and his family. 

Monday Kiddos:

One of my good friends here, who is a teacher, has been working very hard decorating the walls of her classroom so I wanted to show my appreciation for her devotion to her classroom by stopping by this morning to visit her and her kiddos. The children in her class are so obedient and respectful of visitors. When I walked in they stood up and said in unison, "Good Morning Madam." As I sat for a short while I took a few pictures of some of the sweet faces that are influenced by this devoted teacher everyday. I am so thankful for Zambian teachers who truly want to make a change in the lives of the children they teach.

 

Happy Monday from Mumena!

1st First Year Reflection

A year ago Jason, Jeremy, Whitney, Sam, Ellie, and I all stepped off a plane into a foreign country with a new culture and language much different than our own to begin our two year apprentiships with Jason's uncle Brian and his wife Sondra. Our first year as apprentices has given us the freedom to learn about the culture, build relationships, and explore how our gifts can best be used to serve the Lord through our work with the Kanode people. Although this year has been filled with new and at times difficult experiences, God has blessed us throughout with his steadfast love and mercy. This month we hope to make a few blog posts with refelctions of our first year. Here is our 1st first year reflection:

Some of the ladies from the Kampande congregation

This morning Jason and I rode our bikes to worship with the Kampande congregation, whom we have spent many Sunday's with other the past year. I remember sitting with our team around this time last year talking about the congregations we were the most interested in getting to know. Jason and I were eager to worship with and encourage our brothers and sisters at Kampande because Jason knew he would be working in Ag projects on-site and they are the second closest congregation to the outreach center. Kampande is a small group made up of some of the most loving and humble people Jason and I have had the privilege of working with. They have faithful leaders and a wonderful group of devoted women. In the coming year they really want to work at reaching out to the lost in their community and want to grow in their knowledge of how to best reach them. This morning the church discussed having a once a month campfire devotional where they could invite their friends and family. We are very excited about this program being carried out. Hopefully over the next year we will have updates about seeds being planted by the Kampande church members!

Fun in Livingstone!

Jason and I have spent the last few days with my parents in Livingstone. It was such a great trip filled with lots of fun and good family time. We went on a day safari at Chobe Naitonal Park, visited Victoria Falls (always seems as amazing as the first time I saw it), and went rafting on the Zambezi River. Mom and Dad left this morning to head back to Texas and Jason and I will head back to Mumena tomorrow morning. What a blessing it was to see my parents for a couple weeks. They were such troopers, it was their first trip overseas and coming to Zambia isn't the easiest first overseas travel experience. I miss them both already but am so thankful for the time we had together this month! Here a few pictures from the safari and rafting.

 Rafting on the Zambezi River:

It is high water season right now so we had to get out and walk around one of the rapids (it was a class 6). The rest of the 18 rapids ranged from class 3-5. Lots of fun!

We love this picture because Dad claims when we flipped on this rapid Jason pushed him in...in-law abuse. From the looks of this picture (Jason and Dad are in the front) that may have just happened! Mom is in the back next the guide and I am behind Jason...falling to what felt like a near death experience.

The arm you see sticking up in the middle is mine. This photo was taken just before the raft landed on my head and I was trapped underneath the boat until the guide pulled me out. That was a first! : ) But we all survived and have some great memories!