A Typical Day...

One question that I got over and over again in the USA was, "What does a typical day look like for you?" When running an orphanage, there is no "typical day", but to help answer that question, I will give you a glimpse into our lives yesterday. :)

The morning starts at 7am as we all pull ourselves out of bed. Our kids usually get up before 6, but everyone is still recovering from jet lag, and I'm not complaining! Our mornings are the usual rush of breakfast (cereal or oatmeal), teeth brushing, throwing on school uniforms, fixing hair, finding shoes, etc. before Blu, Caedmon, & Cambree head out the door at 7:40am. They walk down to the school and Blu drops them off and then continues on to the shelter for the morning devotion.

I stay behind with Cason and do my Bible study (No Other Gods by Kelly Minter). I then hurriedly clean my house before my house cleaner comes. (If you know my personality, this will not surprise you!) I feel her job is to remove dirt, not to make my beds or pick up my kids toys! Lois arrives at 8:15am, followed by Justin, our yard worker. Lois works until lunch and Justin works all day. We have a great garden of lettuce, tomatoes, eggplant, etc., but yesterday he spent most of the day slashing (mowing by hand) outside to keep the snakes away from our house! Yesterday was also laundry day so I pile everything up on our porch and Sarister and Joyce arrive at 8:30am to begin hand washing our clothes (they finish at 1:30).

Now that my friends are settled into their jobs, I sit down and realize that it is February 1st - I have to write the prayer newsletter!!! So I sit down and spend about an hour doing that.

While this is going on, Laurie is at her house finishing up the recording of the January receipts so that she can turn the financial books over to me. Wes is at the orphan house building screens so that they can keep their windows open at night while keeping mosquitoes out. Debbie is spending her day in the New Day store, learning Tonga, visiting with customers, and seeing how Cecilia keeps books. Diana is observing in the schoolroom from 8-10am, and Carolyn is observing from 10-12am.

Meanwhile, Blu is walking around the land collecting registration cards (identification cards) for our workers because we have to start paying retirement for them. He brings them to me and I fill out what I can on the retirement forms. We then load up into the car with all the forms and go and ask each of these workers details about their spouses, children, beneficiaries, and have them sign. We also take a big box of old clothes and shoes over to the store to sell for dirt cheap - most of them are gone by lunch!

It's back home for me, while Blu takes Cason to the orphan house to play with Axer. Blu helps Wes with screens until lunch, and Laurie brings over the receipts, so I get busy entering them into Quickbooks. I first have to find the exchange rate for that certain day, convert the kwacha into dollars, and then enter them in. Whew!

The kids are home from school at 12:30, and we have a quick lunch of peanut butter & jelly sandwiches. They're off to play and Cason is down for a nap. Blu rests for about 30 minutes and heads off to build screens. I now take all of the January receipts and glue them to typing paper for our record books. At 2pm, Caedmon & Cambree are back to school for an hour, and the house is quiet again.

Laurie spends her afternoon walking down to talk to Margaret and Michelle and organizing the many boxes Wes has brought from the container in Lusaka. She usually would have a new believers' Bible study with Michelle on Wednesday afternoons, but it was cancelled yesterday. Debbie is still in the shop, and she discovers that one of our chickens has laid an egg, which made her happy :) Diana & Carolyn are working in their house on the student assessment they will give each of the kids next week, and they wait for Hildah & Abby to show up for a meeting at 3:30.

I am also waiting for a visitor at my house - Pastor Maxwell's wife, Priscilla. While I wait I clean out the boxes in my guest room (mostly clothes for our orphans) and organize things into plastic tubs and footlockers. I also periodically check on the laundry hanging outside and fold clothes that are dry. Before I know it, it is 4:30 and time for my daily call to my mom. We talk for 5 minutes and I go and visit Carolyn & Diana. Still waiting for Abby & Hildah! Debbie is cooking supper for them tonight, so they continue to wait. Abby & Hildah finally show up to meet with Carolyn & Diana at 5.

I start supper as I realize Priscilla isn't coming when she finally shows up at 5:15pm! AAHh!! Staff Bible study is tonight and I have to get supper going! Luckily, Priscilla is a close friend so I am comfortable with continuing cooking while she sits and we visit. I give her all of the gifts we brought her from America and she stays about 20 minutes. It is now almost 6pm and it is getting dark. The generator should click on in 30 minutes, but it is already almost dark outside and the wind is blowing. Supper is ready (chicken & rice) so we eat quickly as Bible study starts at 7pm. But at 6:30 the storm has blown in and thunder, lightning, and strong winds have hit. I run outside to grab the rest of the wet clothes on the line, and I run over to the ladies' house to tell them we have cancelled Bible study. I call Wes & Laurie and they tell us that 1/4 of their fence has blown down! We have some tree branches in our yard.

After sitting in the dark for awhile, Blu heads down to Mulenga's house to turn on the generator at 7. We heat a little water for the kids to take a lukewarm bath and get them in bed by 8pm. Crazy night!

When the kids are in bed, Blu & I take showers (cold, but it feels good!) and play 2 games of Bananagrams. We then head to bed, where we usually watch an episode of 24 but tonight we are too tired. Wes & Laurie call at 9 looking for their house keys but soon find them. Everyone is sound asleep by 10pm, and we are ready to start another day at New Day.....

We are HOME!!! :)

We definitely had an eventful trip back to New Day! We rented a 30 seater bus to take our family and the 3 ladies back. We had about 27 pieces of luggage, plus about 16 carry-ons. When the bus got there (30 minutes late...), we saw that the trailer they said they would bring would fit about 5 suitcases!

So we crammed everything on the bus and barely had room for us each to have a seat!




The trip was going well, and at Monze I was so excited to realize we would be at New Day in less than 2 hours!! But that came to a halt about halfway down the Pemba road....a short 30 minutes from home......when we got to the river. Yep, there was no way we were crossing that!

The driver wanted to do it, but Blu assured him that we would be swept away. So we turned around, drove 2 more hours (Cambree burst into tears at this news), and finally got to New Day in time to unload and throw together a quick supper!!

The reunions were amazing - I should have taken pictures but I wanted to just enjoy them. The kids gave the biggest hugs to each other and it was awesome!
After about an hour I heard this loud commotion outside, and it was all 14 kids piling onto the trampoline! :)


Giving our gifts to the staff was so fun - everyone gave me huge hugs but Mrs. Choma probably topped the list. She threw herself on the ground and started rolling around, then jumped up again and lifted me off my feet and nearly flung me over her shoulders. This is all for the set of 4 tupperware and chronological Bible storying cloth I got her! It was....an experience. :)

Internet is working but not fast. My kids went back to school today and were so excited to be there. My 15 trunks are unpacked and things are almost organized.

When I walked down to the orphanage part of New Day this afternoon, all of the kids were on the soccer field, running, yelling, and laughing....and as cheesy as this sounds, it felt like all was right in my world. :)

New Background!

In honor of our return to Zambia, and the fact that a downpour of rain welcomed us (we even had to take buses from the airplane to the terminal!), and since it IS the rainy season...I have changed my background to pretty blue raindroppy looking things..for your own enjoyment :)

Culture Shock!

Today we threw our ladies into the tornado of Zambian cultural experiences by taking them grocery shopping at Shoprite...on a Friday.. :) We had four shopping carts and were exhausted by the time it was over! Forget jet lag - I think they'll all sleep good tonight! :)

I had a great picture of Carolyn holding an umbrella and a toilet brush - the necessities! :) My computer is being third world and won't upload it :(

We made it!

Our last few days in the USA are a blur, especially now after the plane rides back to Zambia! The flights were rough with the kids, and we are SO exhausted, but we are glad to be back and ready to get to New Day!

Last pic of the cousins (minus AJ and Brenden!)

Hugs for Paw & B-Maw


Us at the DFW airport with Diana, Carolyn, & Debbie, our 3 full-time volunteers!

BB & Joanna came to see us off!


Recovering from jet lag and heading to New Day on Saturday! Thanks for praying!! :)

Our trip to the USA....in numbers!

109....days we were in America

16...number of churches we spoke at about New Day

21....number of beds we slept in

11....states we visited

28...number of pounds we gained

4....number of grandparents our hearts hate to say goodbye to

8...number of orphans we can't wait to wrap our arms around!!!!!!!


We leave tomorrow for Zambia, so I wanted to go ahead and write my last blog from this side so that I can enjoy family time tonight! I want to say a special thank you to anyone who has fed us, housed us, babysat for us, prayed for us, and given to us these past 3 1/2 months! We had a great time here and are eager to get back to our home at New Day! I apologize to anyone we missed and we hope to see you next time!

I will try to blog at least weekly from New Day so that you can keep up with what is happening! We appreciate your prayers for safe travel for our family and the 3 new volunteers: Diana, Debbie, & Carolyn!

Signing out from Texas!

Tough Day!

Today was a day of many tears as we attended our last church service in the USA and said goodbye to Mama Dee & Grandpa. In the midst of the sadness, God reminded me that we have so many blessings and so much to be thankful for. I am grateful that we are so close to our families and that they support us and love us. We will miss them more than words can say!

Dad getting ready to preach! It was a really good sermon from Jonah - the book of Jonah is about disobedience, surrender, and triumph!

The kids last children's sermon in the USA!

It was Carolyn's commissioning service today - what a privilege to get to be there and pray around her with the church!

Caedmon giving Jessica a hug goodbye

We'll go ahead and arrange this marriage between Ty and Cambree :)

My mama :)

My daddy :)

Crazy Chaos!

The last few days in Temple have been chaotic! We finished our speaking engagements by visiting Heights Baptist in Temple. It is always great to meet people excited about New Day and who are praying for us! Here is what has kept us busy the rest of the week....
Just realized today that Cambree's passport expires in April!! I can get it renewed in Zambia but some of the paperwork and the passport pics are easier to do here - isn't she cute? :)

My mom laughed when I told her I was going to try to pack the kids toys in one trunk--she was right! It took two. With two birthdays and Christmas here in the USA, we have accumulated some toys!

In the midst of all of that, we finished up another week of homeschool!

The kids are completely wired and excited with all the packing, so today we took them to Walmart to spend their "USA money", and then we hit the mall to see Beauty and the Beast!



We will get to attend Carolyn's commissioning service :) and say goodbye to Darbi's family :( on Sunday. Thanks for your prayers!

A LONG drive back to Texas!

We are back in Texas after a 12 hour trip yesterday! Our 11 day road trip was a blast and we had fun together and getting to see and meet tons of people who love New Day!
Jess and her mom-in-law, Bert :)

Cajun!! Crawfish etoufee and shrimp salad :)

We stopped in the DFW area on our way home to see the Daniels. Jason & Blu were good friends in Alvarado and the Daniels love New Day too! :)


In 7 short days we will be on a plane back to Zambia. Please pray for us as this is a crazy, chaotic, and emotional time as we pack up and say goodbye to our families. I won't be blogging for awhile as I enjoy the people around me, but you'll hear from me before we head back :)

Mississippi!

After a quick stop in Collierville, Tennessee on Wednesday night to speak there about New Day, we finally made it to Purvis, Mississippi to stay with our VERY good friends, Landon & Jessica!! (Remember I came back for Jessica's wedding August of 2010!) We are staying with them for 3 days and then speaking at Landon's dad's church in Hattiesburg on Sunday! Fun times!!
Landon is the new full-time music minister at Good Hope Baptist Church in Purvis! Jess is subbing and hoping to get a teaching job in the fall. Jess was in the 10th grade when Blu was her youth pastor so it's kinda weird to see her all grown! :)

Landon & Blu looking up dumb trivia stuff online...

I was super excited to get a Taylor Swift cd from Jess! :)

Apparently this is a scentsy. I've always wondered what those were! (Blu put some Tabasco in it to see if it would blow it up :)

We ate some yummy chicken fingers at Raising Cane!

Hugs! :)

Pics from New Day!!

I got tons of pictures from Josh & Christy Moran from their time at New Day!! Here are a few to whet your appetite :)

Love these smiles!!

Sisi and Cynthia

Ready for school!

Alabama!

Well here we are in Clanton, Alabama, home of some of our favorite people :) (and this really amazing peach water tower!!!)

We spent one night here and had fun playing Settlers of Gatan and Monopoly Deal with the Morans, the Karns, & Nathan!

Here we are with Steve & Trish

Remember these faces? The Morans got back about 3 weeks ago from Zambia so we loved talking to them and hearing about all of the things happening at New Day!! We are so grateful for them going to work and serve at New Day for those 3 months!



Time to hit the road again - headed to Collierville, Tennessee today!

Oklahoma!

We have enjoyed our time in Oklahoma! We were able to meet with 3 different groups about New Day! The first was our Oklahoma Baptist University mission team that is coming this summer! The boys will most likely be doing a soccer camp and soccer games/evangelism and the girls will be doing children's ministry and evangelism/survey work!

Our connection to OBU is this sweet girl, Dayla, who we met at our mission training in Virginia in 2003! She was a 16 year old missionary kid then and is now a missionary serving at OBU leading mission teams!

The team asked us if they should wear chacos in Zambia. Um... sure! (What are chacos?) These are chacos! Yes, you can wear these! (Must be an Oklahoma thing??)

We then drove 2 1/2 hours to Sayre, Oklahoma to see McKenzie!! McKenzie spent 2 1/2 months with us in Zambia for a summer in 2004. We had such fun together, and now her husband is a youth pastor and they are bringing a team to New Day in July!

These youth interns, Jacob & Shauna, reminded us of us back in the day :)

And then we drove 2 1/2 more hours to Purcell, to visit Lance/Staci and speak at Union Hill Baptist Church! Lance & Staci came to Zambia last year and we got to meet them. They are also bringing a team next summer - two sisters Madison & Mackenzie. Mackenzie is the International Brahma Queen! (it's a cow thing..)

This church is so supportive of us and we walked away with $3000 in donations (which brings our van fund down to $2280 remaining!!!) Lance & Staci also gave us a new Kindle Fire! Yay - now Blu will leave my Kindle alone!! :) We were amazed to see the area they had set up in the youth room to raise money for New Day!


Thanks our sweet Oklahoma friends for your support of New Day and love for us! We now have to hit the road to head to Clanton, Alabama to catch up with some friends and then on to Tennessee & Mississippi!