Moving Day!

The day finally arrived for our girl workers to get to New Day! They had been waiting for months for us to finish their house, and it finally happened! They love it and are adjusting to life in the bush, as they are all "city" girls :) They are beautiful girls, inside and out, and we are blessed to have them at New Day as our employees! We have seen in a few short days that we are all a big family, and it's an awesome thing to be a part of!

Elizabeth and her daughter Machila in her room

Laurie showing off her new bed

Caedmon & Cambree on Machila & Purity's bed (sorry for the blurriness!)

Hildah, Racheal, & Laurie in their room

The kids already act like brothers and sisters!

Abby loves her new room and her "beautiful American decorations!"

Lightning Strikes!

Random things happen to our family..

We were on our way home yesterday from picking up our last girl worker, Hildah. The bridge had about an inch of water when we left in the morning, but when we got back at 4pm, it was completely impassable. So we backtracked and got home about an hour and a half later.

By this time, we could see that a HUGE storm was coming. We unloaded quickly and retreated to the safety of our house...or so we thought!!

All of a sudden, it sounded like a gunshot went off in our dining room at one of our outlets. We all screamed and then I felt burning in my finger right above my wedding ring. Cambree starts screaming in complete fear. We then realized she was leaning up against her metal bed frame and it burned the back of her leg (very minor, but she was terrified)!

I hold her and try to console her as we walk into the kitchen and it does it again. We all scream and ran to our truck to get out of our house! We drove the 300 yards down to the workers house where they were cooking on their porch. They said they felt it too and Abby threw the metal knife she was holding because it was burning her hand when it hit.

It was crazy!!! I will never think the same way about lightning, and I'm sure neither will poor Cambree! She was scared to go into her room last night and sleep in her bed! We are all ok though, with no major marks/scars to show for it this morning. What a night!

(By the way, because Blu's finger wasn't burned above his wedding band, he claims that I must have gotten him a fake ring ;)

Homeschool still in session!

We love our world map! We learn about a new country each week--what kids do there, religions, make flags, learn language, etc! So far we have learned about China, Zambia, South Africa, Germany, Egypt, and Mexico! Here is Caedmon doing a page of Horizons Math.

We also love our daily calendar to help us keep track of what's happening! The kids love hanging stuff up on their bulletin board (notice Abe Lincoln & George Washington for President's Day!)

The Lord's Supper

This past year living in Zambia, God has REALLY stretched me and made me think differently about things. One of the main things He has shown me is that MY way, the way I think things are supposed to be, don't have to be the ONLY way.

Since I was 7 years old, I have been participating in the Lord's Supper. Once a quarter, perfectly shaped square of tiny cracker, little plastic cup, red grape juice (or wine for Blu at Ocker, but that's another blog!), and even a fancy cupholder to put your cup in afterwards. That is the way it is "supposed" to be.

Last Sunday, I got the chance to participate in my first Lord's Supper in a Zambian church with Zambian believers. The pastor's wife came in late because she was baking the bread in her outdoor oven. She was also carrying the pitcher of bright green koolaid. I tried not to laugh, as I thought of the verse, "This is my blood which was shed for you.." When they passed out the big plastic coffee mugs, I wondered if mine had been washed, and in what kind of water. When I reached for a small piece of bread, I saw flecks of dirt on it and noticed it was covered in ants. I tried to inconspicuously wipe them off while inside my head I was freaking out. There weren't enough cups to go around, so half of us had to eat/drink and then wait for the other half.

As I ate my bread, and drank my juice, I thought of how precious these Zambian believers and their ant-covered bread and bright green juice must be to Jesus as they remember His death for them. And all at once I knew, that this is the way the Lord's Supper is "supposed" to be.

New Day T-shirts For Sale!

Temple, Texas artist Hope Casmer is coming to Zambia to paint a mural on one of our outside walls! To help support her trip (and New Day!) you can purchase one of these t-shirts that has the actual painting she will paint on the mural! Shirts are just $15 for adults and $10 for kids! Send your check (made out to Hope!) along with your sizes to:

Hope Casmer
916 S 21st Street
Temple, TX 76504

Picture Updates!

Caedmon loves to spend his afternoons helping Blu work (wearing his policeman uniform!)

Catherine worked all week helping me get the girls' house ready!

Girls house is ready to go!

Bathroom in the girls house

Mulenga putting window panes in the girls house

Weekly Update (with pics to follow!)

Hey everyone! I haven't written an update in awhile, and I know you are all DYING to know what's happening at New Day :)

Electricity: Still none. Last we heard, a head guy in Livingstone had to come out and inspect it for himself before he gave Lusaka the ok to give Choma the approval. It's like a maze! He told us to give him 2 weeks and he would be out here to inspect....

Water: Our water tank is on the ground again! Our tank stand was just too unstable, so we put the tank on the ground until we can figure out a better solution. Thankfully, Donny from our last team hooked us up a pump to the water tank to be able to pump water into the house, even when it's on the ground! Blu did figure out a better solution for another tank stand, by putting one of the thick electrical poles directly under the tank. So he has that tank up and has been working on plumbing for the girls/guys workers houses all week long!

Girls house: Most of our attention has been focused on the girls house, because they are coming to New Day this coming Wednesday!!! Their house is almost completely finished and they are going to love it! Darbi has been painting, cleaning, and decorating, while Blu has been plumbing!

Kitchen/Dining/Classroom: Once the girls are moved in, we are going to all work on things together. Our first step will be the classroom so that the kids can begin learning. From there we will move on to the kitchen and dining hall. Busy busy!

Social Welfare: Social Welfare is the department in Zambia that will give us guardianship of orphans. This past week, the Social Welfare officer in Choma asked to come out and see our place! He came and was very impressed with our facilities!! He said that there was nothing up to the New Day standards in the Choma area! He said that as soon as we are finished (with kitchen/dining/classroom and first orphan house) he will give us recommendation to get certified in the capitol city, and that as soon as that happens, we will begin getting orphans in as soon as one day! We are shooting for April for this, but it's going to be a lot of work!

Other things: We are beginning preparations to have another American couple join us as full-time staffers at New Day. This job is simply too big for one family, so we are relieved that God has called another couple to join us here! We had someone donate us a 20 foot container to have storage facilities at New Day! And, our store and grinding mill are still doing great! Darbi has begun 2 weekly Bible studies with 2 different groups of women in Mapanza! Blu has begun a Men's Bible study for our male staffers.

As you can see, we have been working/ministering like crazy, and we are ready for a little break! Thankfully, Darbi's sister and family will be returning from the USA on March 1st, so we will get a few days break in the capitol city!

Fun pics

Remember Racheal? Orphaned in December when her mom died, Racheal came to New Day to help us out with gardening because she had nowhere else to go. She got word that she did not pass her Grade 9 exams, so she is repeating Grade 9 here in Mapanza and living at New Day. She LOVES our kids and just brings such life and laughter to New Day! She wanted me to take a picture (this was at 6:30am!) of her on her way to school so that Dee, Sue, and Amber could see her uniform!

A very eventful night as Caedmon lost his top front tooth!

Cambree LOVES to make people smile!

Wherever Daddy goes, Cason goes!

In the Garden

We are having a great time in our garden in Mapanza! We currently have green beans, sweet corn, cucumbers, watermelon, onions, and lettuce planted and all are doing great! The kids have been apart of the process every step of the way-from planting to watering to picking the fresh green beans!

Kids say the funniest things...

We learned this week about babies, genes, mamas, daddys, etc.

Me: Cambree, do you look more like Mama or Daddy?
Cambree: Mama.
Me: Caedmon, do you look more like Mama or Daddy?
Caedmon: Grandpa. Well I used to look like Grandpa but now he has white whiskers.



Me: Who decides who a baby looks like? The mama, the daddy, or the genes inside the baby?
Cambree: GOD.



Me: What are you reading?
Caedmon: My Bible.
Me: What are you reading about?
Caedmon: Jesus.
Me: What is Jesus doing?
Caedmon: Making pancakes.



We are learning about Jeremiah in our Bible class in Homeschool. I asked the kids if they knew what a yoke was. Of course they didn't. So I said "Well remember yesterday when we were walking down the road and we passed an ox cart.." LOL It dawned on me that only in Africa could I use an example of the ox cart we saw yesterday... :)

I Am Hungry

When we greet someone in Zambia and ask how they are, they often respond with, "I am hungry." Now, sometimes they really are hungry, but more often than not they just want to see what they can get you to give them.

This morning I greeted my friend Catherine and she told me how she missed the Women's Bible study last week because she was sick. She then told me, "I am hungry. So hungry. I am hungry for Bible study."

Zambians are hungry, both physically and spiritually. As an American, I have never really experienced physical hunger. But it hit me that I should every day be HUNGRY for Bible study, and HUNGRY for my time with God, just as Catherine was. :)

Weekly Update

Well, we are back here in Choma this weekend to wash clothes and get groceries! I'll give you a quick update on what's going on at New Day!

Electricity: *sigh* Need I say more? We are still going through the red-tape of the government-owned electric company. For Choma to switch us on, they need approval from Lusaka, who needs approval from a head guy in Livingstone. We talked to him and he said he needs to come and inspect the line, because whenever private parties put up the lines instead of Zesco themselves, there are major problems. So now we are waiting for him to come (he says next week...) to inspect the line, give the go-ahead to Lusaka, who will then give approval to Choma to come and switch us on. It feels like a never-ending maze!


Our focus right now is finishing the girls' workers house, as the girls have been waiting to move in since December!! Darbi is painting color on the walls, while Mulenga is installing glass in the windows. Blu is working on plumbing and getting the bathroom up and running. We are also trying to get the kitchen and classroom in working order so that when the girls come, they have a place to cook, and school can start! The school year in Zambia starts in January, so we are already behind! We have given the girls a move-in date of February 26th, so hopefully we can get everything done between now and then!


It is refreshing for us to come out to Choma on the weekends, because it is non-stop work all day long during the week! We are feeling the pressure and stress and are so ready to have little Zambian kids running around at New Day! Please pray for strength for us as we work and perseverance to get everything done!