HERE IS A GLIMPSE OF LAST SUNDAY'S BIBLE STORY ON LAZARUS AND THE RICH MAN!
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Sunday Bible Storying
BLU HAS RECENTLY LEARNED THE ART OF BIBLE STORYING FROM FELLOW MISSIONARY JEFF POWERS. IT IS A FUN WAY TO SHARE THE BIBLE WITH ORAL LEARNERS! BLU FIRST READS THE STORY ONCE OR TWICE, AND THEN THE ZAMBIAN CHURCH MEMBERS ACT IT OUT. THEN THEY CONCLUDE WITH APPLICATION.
HERE IS A GLIMPSE OF LAST SUNDAY'S BIBLE STORY ON LAZARUS AND THE RICH MAN!
HERE IS A GLIMPSE OF LAST SUNDAY'S BIBLE STORY ON LAZARUS AND THE RICH MAN!
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Swimming Pool Fun!
Getting the pool set up - can you feel the excitement??? :)
Summer fun!
I made Michelle come and help me watch the kids in the pool!
Cutie Sankwa loves the pool :)
Boys having fun in the pool!
Summer fun!
I made Michelle come and help me watch the kids in the pool!
Cutie Sankwa loves the pool :)
Boys having fun in the pool!
A Week of Blessings
I have been trying unsuccessfully to blog with pictures, but since that won't work, I'll at least update you!
This week has been AMAZING...
It started with the arrival of the GracePoint Church team from Bentonville, Arkansas. The team of 12 got here on Saturday, and on Sunday at church we got to walk 2 1/2 miles to the river to see 5 new believers get baptized from New Day Baptist Church!!!
Then on Monday, we started work with the team. The men began building picnic tables, screens, and kitchen cabinets. They are doing a great job, working in the SUN all day!!
The women, meanwhile, began our hand sewing class, teaching the local women how to make a bag out of a needle, thread, and a chitengi that they can buy in the market. They are loving it and we had 50 women show up today!! Chaos!!
And then on Tuesday....today...we received 2 little girls at New Day!! (They are the ones I previously blogged about). After obtaining a letter from the girls' father's mother releasing them and getting approval from the Social Welfare office, we were able to take the girls. They are 3 year old Axer (our youngest orphan - but perfect to give Cason a friend!), and her 5 year old sister Kelitah. They looked pretty terrified when they arrived, but we can already see them warming up. Believe it or not, the giant stuffed animal bunny rabbits helped :)
Oh wait - I said a WEEK of blessings and it's only Tuesday! Make that 3 days of blessings, and we can't wait to see what the rest of the week holds!!
This week has been AMAZING...
It started with the arrival of the GracePoint Church team from Bentonville, Arkansas. The team of 12 got here on Saturday, and on Sunday at church we got to walk 2 1/2 miles to the river to see 5 new believers get baptized from New Day Baptist Church!!!
Then on Monday, we started work with the team. The men began building picnic tables, screens, and kitchen cabinets. They are doing a great job, working in the SUN all day!!
The women, meanwhile, began our hand sewing class, teaching the local women how to make a bag out of a needle, thread, and a chitengi that they can buy in the market. They are loving it and we had 50 women show up today!! Chaos!!
And then on Tuesday....today...we received 2 little girls at New Day!! (They are the ones I previously blogged about). After obtaining a letter from the girls' father's mother releasing them and getting approval from the Social Welfare office, we were able to take the girls. They are 3 year old Axer (our youngest orphan - but perfect to give Cason a friend!), and her 5 year old sister Kelitah. They looked pretty terrified when they arrived, but we can already see them warming up. Believe it or not, the giant stuffed animal bunny rabbits helped :)
Oh wait - I said a WEEK of blessings and it's only Tuesday! Make that 3 days of blessings, and we can't wait to see what the rest of the week holds!!
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Culture Shock
We have now lived in Zambia for a total of 3 years and 4 months (combining our time from 2003-2005 and 2010 to now). But it doesn't matter how long you live somewhere - you still every now and then run into situations that just hit you over the head with "This is not America...."
We need 3 more girls for our Luyando House to be filled. We are hoping Junior's little sister will be found and will come live here with her brother. Today, we found out about 2 other sisters (ages 3 and 5) who are the nieces of one of our builders here at New Day. Their mother died 2 weeks ago, and when we asked about their father, this is the answer we received..
"He's not around. He stays far into the bush near Kalomo and last year I went looking for him and spent a whole month searching but never found him. Besides, he's already married and my sister was his second wife. But it's not a problem for you to take the girls. He never paid the bridal price for my sister, not even a small amount, so he has no rights to the children - the children are now the property of the woman's family."
Wow. Yep, definitely not in America anymore... Pray for us as we talk to Social Welfare and decide what we can do to help these girls!
We need 3 more girls for our Luyando House to be filled. We are hoping Junior's little sister will be found and will come live here with her brother. Today, we found out about 2 other sisters (ages 3 and 5) who are the nieces of one of our builders here at New Day. Their mother died 2 weeks ago, and when we asked about their father, this is the answer we received..
"He's not around. He stays far into the bush near Kalomo and last year I went looking for him and spent a whole month searching but never found him. Besides, he's already married and my sister was his second wife. But it's not a problem for you to take the girls. He never paid the bridal price for my sister, not even a small amount, so he has no rights to the children - the children are now the property of the woman's family."
Wow. Yep, definitely not in America anymore... Pray for us as we talk to Social Welfare and decide what we can do to help these girls!
Sunday, August 21, 2011
One thing we DON'T need at New Day.....
Every night in the Luyando House at New Day, the same sound can be heard just as Margaret, our house mother, turns off the lights after tucking the five children into bed.
THUNK. THUNK. THUNK. THUNK. THUNK.
It's the sound of five giant stuffed animals being tossed onto the floor, followed by whispers in Tonga about how "scary" the stuffed animals are, especially the giant monkey!
Who knew that our precious Zambian orphans would be so terrified of stuffed animals!? I keep telling Margaret she can put them away but she thinks they look nice on the beds, so every morning she gathers them from the floor and replaces them on the children's beds.
So, while we can always use kids' clothes and toys, the one thing we DON'T need is stuffed animals.. :)
THUNK. THUNK. THUNK. THUNK. THUNK.
It's the sound of five giant stuffed animals being tossed onto the floor, followed by whispers in Tonga about how "scary" the stuffed animals are, especially the giant monkey!
Who knew that our precious Zambian orphans would be so terrified of stuffed animals!? I keep telling Margaret she can put them away but she thinks they look nice on the beds, so every morning she gathers them from the floor and replaces them on the children's beds.
So, while we can always use kids' clothes and toys, the one thing we DON'T need is stuffed animals.. :)
One thing we DON'T need at New Day.....
Every night in the Luyando House at New Day, the same sound can be heard just as Margaret, our house mother, turns off the lights after tucking the five children into bed.
THUNK. THUNK. THUNK. THUNK. THUNK.
It's the sound of five giant stuffed animals being tossed onto the floor, followed by whispers in Tonga about how "scary" the stuffed animals are, especially the giant monkey!
Who knew that our precious Zambian orphans would be so terrified of stuffed animals!? I keep telling Margaret she can put them away but she thinks they look nice on the beds, so every morning she gathers them from the floor and replaces them on the children's beds.
So, while we can always use kids' clothes and toys, the one thing we DON'T need is stuffed animals.. :)
THUNK. THUNK. THUNK. THUNK. THUNK.
It's the sound of five giant stuffed animals being tossed onto the floor, followed by whispers in Tonga about how "scary" the stuffed animals are, especially the giant monkey!
Who knew that our precious Zambian orphans would be so terrified of stuffed animals!? I keep telling Margaret she can put them away but she thinks they look nice on the beds, so every morning she gathers them from the floor and replaces them on the children's beds.
So, while we can always use kids' clothes and toys, the one thing we DON'T need is stuffed animals.. :)
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Rambo
Rambo (ahem, I mean Blu) likes to find any reason to use his shotgun out on the New Day land. So this morning, when the Zambian guys came to tell him that there was an owl flying around in Wes & Laurie’s attic, he loaded up and was ready to go.
The guys out here are pretty fascinated with Blu’s shotgun, but add to that the fact that it was an OWL, and there was just chaos around here! Owls are associated with witchcraft in Zambia – for instance, some missionaries have had dead owls thrown over their fences in attempts to “curse” them. (I imagine the people here probably think Wes & Laurie are doomed since the owl was found in their attic!)
Blu took 3 shots at the owl, from 10 feet away, and missed. Aw…poor Blu.
But wait! After climbing up to investigate, it turns out the owl was hit! (Blu said it was a slow kill…) So after a quick English lesson to the kids (wings, head, eyes, feathers), Blu gave each kid a feather as a souvenir and everyone got back to work! Never a dull moment at New Day :)
UPDATE BY BLU: IN MY DEFENSE, IT WAS DARK, I WAS IN AN ATTIC, AND THE OWL WAS LOOKING STRAIGHT AT ME. SCARY... WHEN I FIRED THE FIRST SHOT AND HE DIDN'T EVEN BLINK, IT BECAME EVEN MORE SCARY. WHEN I SAW THE 17 HOLES THAT ARE NOW IN WES AND LAURIE'S ROOF, I WAS EVEN MORE AFRAID (OF WES, NOT THE OWL). ALL THAT TO SAY, IT IS NOT A COMPLETE SURPRISE, GIVEN THE INCREDIBLE CIRCUMSTANCES, THAT A BULLET OR TWO (OR THREE) MIGHT STRAY A BIT. (AND IT'S A RIFLE, FIGURED IT WOULD DO LESS DAMAGE THAN A SHOTGUN :)
The guys out here are pretty fascinated with Blu’s shotgun, but add to that the fact that it was an OWL, and there was just chaos around here! Owls are associated with witchcraft in Zambia – for instance, some missionaries have had dead owls thrown over their fences in attempts to “curse” them. (I imagine the people here probably think Wes & Laurie are doomed since the owl was found in their attic!)
Blu took 3 shots at the owl, from 10 feet away, and missed. Aw…poor Blu.
But wait! After climbing up to investigate, it turns out the owl was hit! (Blu said it was a slow kill…) So after a quick English lesson to the kids (wings, head, eyes, feathers), Blu gave each kid a feather as a souvenir and everyone got back to work! Never a dull moment at New Day :)
UPDATE BY BLU: IN MY DEFENSE, IT WAS DARK, I WAS IN AN ATTIC, AND THE OWL WAS LOOKING STRAIGHT AT ME. SCARY... WHEN I FIRED THE FIRST SHOT AND HE DIDN'T EVEN BLINK, IT BECAME EVEN MORE SCARY. WHEN I SAW THE 17 HOLES THAT ARE NOW IN WES AND LAURIE'S ROOF, I WAS EVEN MORE AFRAID (OF WES, NOT THE OWL). ALL THAT TO SAY, IT IS NOT A COMPLETE SURPRISE, GIVEN THE INCREDIBLE CIRCUMSTANCES, THAT A BULLET OR TWO (OR THREE) MIGHT STRAY A BIT. (AND IT'S A RIFLE, FIGURED IT WOULD DO LESS DAMAGE THAN A SHOTGUN :)
Happy Birthday Eness!
Eness (works in the New Day kitchen) turned 46 yesterday! I will never get tired of seeing someone celebrate their birthday for the first time EVER!
Blu innocently asks Eness to sit outside in a chair holding her cake for a photo...
And then he quickly rescues the cake.....
She thought getting this blanket was the best gift ever!
Blu innocently asks Eness to sit outside in a chair holding her cake for a photo...
And then he quickly rescues the cake.....
She thought getting this blanket was the best gift ever!
Thursday, August 11, 2011
6 more weeks!
Wes and Laurie will be here soon!! Here is a glimpse at a typical day of work on their house!
Crispin building the master bathroom shower
Kalenga finishing up the brick varnishing!
Mrs. Choma cleaning the paint off the floor (oops!)
Water tank ready to go!
The guest bath (the one my kids will be using when they spend the night ;)
Looks good!
Working on the guesthouse too - trusses are up!
Crispin building the master bathroom shower
Kalenga finishing up the brick varnishing!
Mrs. Choma cleaning the paint off the floor (oops!)
Water tank ready to go!
The guest bath (the one my kids will be using when they spend the night ;)
Looks good!
Working on the guesthouse too - trusses are up!
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Orphan Cow!
Imagine walking into your living room and coming face to face with a COW!! Ok, I guess that's hard to imagine, but that's what happened to Margaret as she was washing clothes in the orphan house bathtub and walked into the living room!
She tried to shoo him out, but Margaret keeps the floors so shiny with wax that the cow couldn't get his footing!!
She finally called a nearby worker to come help he, and he pulled the cow out by his tail! Thankfully the only damage done was a broken armchair!
And that goes to show you...our orphan house is so nice, even the cows want to live there! :)
She tried to shoo him out, but Margaret keeps the floors so shiny with wax that the cow couldn't get his footing!!
She finally called a nearby worker to come help he, and he pulled the cow out by his tail! Thankfully the only damage done was a broken armchair!
And that goes to show you...our orphan house is so nice, even the cows want to live there! :)
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Field Trip!
First of all, I know that for all of my faithful blog stalkers (ahem! I mean followers...), these once a week posts just aren't cutting it for you! I'll try to do better next week!!!
We celebrated the last day of school on Friday with an overnight trip to some fellow missionary family's house! The Langston family (from Wynne, Arkansas - although James was an MK in Zimbabwe & Marci an MK in Guatemala) live on Lake Kariba, about 2 hours from us. We had a great time with them, and our kids had a blast! We are thankful for American missionary friendships!! (and Marci's coconut cream pie!!)
Cason plays hard--ran full speed into the corner of a counter and almost knocked himself out! (and wanted a picture of it the next day!)
Darbi & Marci playing Phase 10 Dice
Cambree, Emily, & Taylor playing Barbies
Micah & Caedmon playing Wii Star Wars
James & Blu went tiger fishing! (they didn't catch anything--these are from James' catch early in the week!)
Sidenote picture - This is what I came home to after my 2 Thursday Bible studies--yep ladies he's a stud AND he can cook!! :)
We celebrated the last day of school on Friday with an overnight trip to some fellow missionary family's house! The Langston family (from Wynne, Arkansas - although James was an MK in Zimbabwe & Marci an MK in Guatemala) live on Lake Kariba, about 2 hours from us. We had a great time with them, and our kids had a blast! We are thankful for American missionary friendships!! (and Marci's coconut cream pie!!)
Cason plays hard--ran full speed into the corner of a counter and almost knocked himself out! (and wanted a picture of it the next day!)
Darbi & Marci playing Phase 10 Dice
Cambree, Emily, & Taylor playing Barbies
Micah & Caedmon playing Wii Star Wars
James & Blu went tiger fishing! (they didn't catch anything--these are from James' catch early in the week!)
Sidenote picture - This is what I came home to after my 2 Thursday Bible studies--yep ladies he's a stud AND he can cook!! :)
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