Sibling Adventures

In our last post I failed to mention a major recent event. My sister Maeci, and brother in law, Daniel, visited in May! They flew here on Emerates airlines flying to Dubai then on to Lusaka. They have been the luckiest travelers to visit us thus far because they got randomly bumped up to business class on their way here. Also, because they had an overnight stay in Dubai before getting to Zambia they had the least amount of jet lag I have seen yet. Needless to say, we were able to meet them in Lusaka (the capital city) and hit the ground running showing them around Zambia. We spent a full day in Lusaka then headed to Livingstone. We took them to see the amazing Victoria Falls and they went on a safari at Chobe National Park in Botswana. Jason and I used their safari day (which happened to be our 2 year anniversary) to rest and relax at Zig Zag Bed and Breakfast in Livingstone. The last days of their trip were spent at home sweet home Mumena. We spent lots of time visiting, cooking, eating, and playing games. It is always so encouraging and warming to see familiar faces and to be able to have family visit is a tremendous blessing and comfort. For some very odd reason I only have ONE picture of the four of us, and it's a phone picture, so a little fuzzy. My sister is a talented photographer and has lots of pictures of their trip that I'll have to steal from her to better remember our sibling adventures in Zambia. I really kind of like that the one picture I do have comes with my favorite memory of Maeci and Daniel's trip to Africa. 

This picture actually sums up our biking adventure pretty well.

While in Livingstone the four of us decided it would be fun to rent bicycles and cycle to the crocodile farm that is about 2 miles from Zig Zag (where we were staying). As you can see, Daniel is very tall. He was a trooper and didn't even let the fact that his bike was way too small for him phase him. In fact, he rode in the road instead of the sidewalk, most of the way because he felt so comfortable moving with the flow of traffic. As we were getting nearer to the turn off to the croc farm we could see MANY baboons all along the roadside. Naturally, Maeci and I were very fearful that the baboons were going to run up to us, knock us over, steal our belongings, and ride off on our cycles. Well luckily, they didn't pay any attention to us and carried on with their business as we rode by, phew. We had a few other hiccups on our bike ride, like, my tire flattening like a pancake and Daniel's pedal falling off multiple times but that just made our adventure all the better!

Maeci and Daniel, We loved getting to see you and had so much fun making memories with you! We appreciate your visit more than you know! We love you both!

Saturday Fun

Today Jason and I took a stroll about 2 miles down the road to the Kimpalumba village. Two men in this village are working with Jason doing a pig production project. They were required to build their own pig pens then have been gifted with a bred pig in return. The men and their families will feed and care for the baby piglets, along with the sow, for 6 months then be able to keep their profits from selling the piglets to invest in the next years production. Our hope is for this project to help two qualified farmers have a better means of supporting their families through pig farming. Here are a few photos of the new piggies!

Our reason for visiting the Kimpalumba village today was to check on the new babies but as an added surprise we got to observe some of the fun these families have on an average Saturday. The kids invented their own slide to ride down one of the termite hills. We were very tempted to want to take a ride as well but it was pretty steep! Looks pretty fun huh?

The women were mostly sitting under their kinsanza's preparing their relish for this evening's meal (pumpkin leaves). But Edward's wife was "polishing their house." She mixed red dirt with water, making a paint, then she painted a stripe around the bottom of their house. Next to her on the right is a little one who made herself a pouch to carry around her roasted ground nuts to snack on while she waited for her turn to slide down the termite hill.

We loved getting to spend part of our Saturday with a village full of people we have grown to love over the last year. Although the weekend activities of the Kaonde people may look a bit different than we experienced growing up it is neat to see them have family time, fun time, and relax time in their own special way!

One Blessing after Another

It has been a great April so far! The Muzha Wa Yesu (Slave of Jesus) Seminar is almost half way through. The church leaders have been working very hard sitting through classes from 8am-5pm everyday for the past two weeks as they seek to grow in their knowledge of the Word so that they can go back and teach their congregations. We have had three visiting teachers this session from the US. Two of those visiting teachers are from our sending congregation in Chattanooga, TN, Dave and Susan Mellor, and Ron and Gail Rogers. Dave is teaching the Hebrews class while Ron has been teaching on "The heart of an elder." While the seminar has been going on during the day Susan and Gail have been spoiling Whitney and I with many cooking lessons, sewing lessons, and lots of love and attention. It has been such a blessing to see familiar and comforting faces. Today we ladies ventured out to visit the wife of a church leader who is attending the seminar because she has a new addition to her family! Susan brought a handy little picture printer to Zambia so we wanted to take some snap shots of the new baby to gift his Mama with. He is so precious and tiny, and slept through the majority of our visit.

 More updates on the Muzha seminar to come!

Thankful

Today I write with a thankful heart for Jeremy and Whitney. They have had an abnormally rough week dealing with the results of a traumatic car accident. We are so thankful the Lord was watching over them and that they are okay. In order to give some reassurance to others that love them I awkwardly made them let me take a couple pictures of them today. : )

Jeremy and Whitney, we love you and are so blessed to be able to share our first years in Africa with you!

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!

Light up the sky

In about a week Jason, Jeremy, Whitney and I will be on a plane headed toward Zambia. It is a little surreal at this moment. We have already said many goodbyes in Texas and have more to say now that we are back in Chattanooga until our departure next week. I have neglected our blog because of the craziness of the past month, travels, holidays, and lots and lots of to-do lists. Seems like I set out to get 10 things done many days but only succeed in checking a few things off the list. But I have faith that everything will be okay even if I do not get to put as many check marks down each day as I would like. 

Our last training module with The Halbert Institute was just great. We grew a lot as an apprentice team over the weekend and were greatly blessed by the sessions our supporters attended. Thank you to those of you that prayed for that time, our prayers were definitely answered. 

We said goodbye to Texas early early Christmas eve morning. Jason drove the first few hours then woke me up to take over. He fell fast asleep immediately so I had a some alone time on my hands. I started to get a little sad thinking about how I will miss so many friends and loved ones in Texas. I had my ipod on shuffle and just as I started to let the sad feelings overwhelm me the song "Light up the Sky" by The Afters came on. Some of the chorus lyrics are...

You light, light, light up the sky

You light up the sky to show me that you are with me

And I, I, I can't deny

No I can't deny that you right here with me

You've opened my eyes

So I can see you all around me

You light, light, light up the sky

You light up the sky to show me that you are with me

As this song was playing the sun was rising...and it was the most beautiful sunrise I have ever seen.  I took this picture with my phone so I could remember this amazing moment when I was reminded no matter where we are or where we are going, God is is with us. 

"...great is your faithfulness" Lamentations 3:23

I hope this is encouraging to at least a few. Please be in prayer for our families as we get so close to leaving them and finish our sweet goodbyes. Blessing to everyone for the new year!

Roanoke Days

So, we have been in Roanoke for the past weeks with my family and it has been so great! Time is flying by, can't believe we are almost a month away from leaving for Zambia. One special blessing about being in Ft. Worth is that Jason and I have been able to talk about Zambia with one bible class so far, and hopefully a couple more from The Hills Church of Christ. They helped support our one-time cost fund through their Greater Things campaign so we have just been really excited to have time to spend with another loving, supportive, and missions minded church who is partnering with our team.

We are looking forward to all that is planned for the last couple of weeks here, more time with friends and family, shopping for last minute supplies (I love shopping for anything, even the mundane i.e socks, slime bike tubes, and travel toilet paper), the supporters module with Halbert Institute of Missions, and of course the family Christmas which we will have early since Jason and I will be in Chattanooga on the 25th.

While I have been keeping myself pretty busy catching up with friends and preparing for goodbyes Jason has been working at the ranch with my Dad doing what he loves to do. Today they "worked" calves, which gave me the perfect opportunity to take pictures of the precious little babies. If only they could stay small and cute for forever, but then again that wouldn't be too good for the cattle business I suppose. I will leave you with a few pictures from today.

I hope everyone is getting into the Christmas spirit and enjoying December!

Thankful for Thanksgiving

I am thankful for thanksgiving because it gives us an opportunity to think about what we are thankful for. This thanksgiving I am thankful for oh so many blessings, my wonderful husband, church family, my friends, and for my supportive and loving family. God is good, All the time!

"Give thanks to the LORD for he is good; his love endures forever." Psalm 107:1

The trip from Chattanooga to Roanoke and vice-versa seems to get longer and more tiring every time we make it...please note we arrived 10 min before Thanksgiving lunch started, perfect timing?  It was a whirlwind of a day but it's great to be home. We have 4 giant dogs (3 weimaraners and a great dane) and a jack/rat terrier here at my parents house right now so it is quite the circus but I love it and I am happy to be here!

I will probably introduce you to more pets during the month we are here but for now meet "Sorrely" (pronounced sar-lee). He is quite the character to say the least.

I hope everyone had the chance to take time to be thankful yesterday and be reminded of the abundant blessing our Lord showers us with. Happy day after Thanksgiving!

Home Sweet Home

Although in a few months I may miss very different memories in the midst of culture shock, I still wanted to go ahead and brainstorm what I will miss about my family and home in Texas.

• My Mom's early morning happy go lucky attitude. I am not a morning person (in fact, I usually do not speak until after breakfast) but my Mom literally wakes up smiling I think. 
• My Dad calling me when there is a full moon to make me walk outside and look up at the same time as him, just to know we are looking at the same sky, and really are closer together than we think.
• My sister's broad depth of knowledge. She has the smart genes in the family for sure. I text her often asking random questions, usually about veterinary care for my child/puppy, Rex. But whatever I ask about, I always know she will either have the answer or the intellectual drive to find it for me.
• Sitting on the front porch swing with Mom watching Rex play with Gus and Spanky (Rex runs in circles around the yard, large fast circles) 
• Rex, in general of course. For the past three years he has been the source of so much delight.
• Walks with Cheree, Mrs. Peggy, and my Mom in the evening
• Checking cows with my Dad, even though I am not the reliable counter of the family. I don't have great eyes for one, and for two, they always move right when I am almost done.
• Movie nights. Love, love, love when we all go to the movies together. I get my coke-a-cola and peanut m&m's and I am set.

Although there will be many people and things I will miss while we are in Zambia I still cannot describe the overwhelming gratefulness Jason and I have for the opportunity to spend two years striving to live our lives in a way that spreads the Kingdom in a foreign place. The Lord opened this door for us so quickly that we could not ignore the tug at our hearts to follow Him, in faith, to a new life different from what we are accustomed to here in the States. Please be in prayer for us as we prepare these last couple of months for the big move.

Davis Family Vacation

Over fall break Jason's parents took us to their time share in Freeport. The Bahamas were beautiful. The water was crystal clear, skies were blue everyday, and we were in a quiet area equipped for walking straight into the water to snorkel anytime we pleased. It was a fun and memorable first official "Davis family vacation" for me. There were many games of shuffleboard (Whitney and I were quite the champs I must say), hours of reading while laying in the sun, and of course, multiple Texas Ranger game viewings. What a blessing it was to be able to spend time relaxing with family in an amazing setting when we are only a couple months from being across the pond from many of our loved ones. Here are a few highlights...

The view

Jason and the giant snapper

I love that my husband makes friends with a fisherman one day then spends the next two days learning the spear fishing trade while bringing back yummy fresh fish for everyone to eat.

The whole family

We have been married for 5 months now. Time flies when you are happy in love being married to your best friend.

Lobster...mmmm

Just the cutest and happiest sea creatures in the world. My own opinion of course. But when I see them I can't help but giggle with delight