Have you ever spent 2.3million on groceries? Well that was our bill at the checkout the other day as we prepare for the EMI team - they must be big eaters!! Wednesday Donald heads to Lusaka and the team arrives on Thursday. It will be all go then in making sure that their visit is as successful as we can possibly make it. Please pray that the team settles in quickly and has excellent insights regarding the sight and how we can use it and develop the best master plan possible.
Well this morning we had the most encouraging phone call from our home church family, Riverbend Bible Church. We were all able to talk to our church family. They were gathered for a Sunday evening potluck meal, especially to talk to us and they broadcast the phone call over the church sound system. It was so good to talk with ‘home’ and field many questions about the ministry here and life in general. Katie enjoyed saying hello to friends as did Gwen as she answered questions about her work here (and her fears of lizards, bats...).
The areas of primary need that we identified were the need of an administrator, the need of discretionary funding for the Bible School budget, the need of infrastructure development. As well as this we spoke of the village visitation programme and the need to make this even more effective by more regular visitation to the rural areas. It has been amazing how God has opened doors into the hearts and lives of the people here. This extended visit by our church has certainly deepened our partnership and enabled us to have an even more clear view of the issues that are faced in ministering in rural village life Zambia.
Well our formal spiritual training programmes are complete. We have travelled thousands of kilometres in bringing the Word of God to our brothers and sisters and the response has been a huge blessing. But the next two weeks will be pivotal as we face the future of our partnership here. The spiritual work continues (less formally) as we work together with our partners. Would you please pray that in the busyness of these two weeks that we will see an even greater bond and partnership established with the Bible School staff and board. Systems are being put in place, help in reporting, growth in friendship and love in the Lord. Your partnership in prayer is vital to all of this and the success of what we do together. Sola Deo Gloria
Monday, August 30, 2010
Fires around our house!
fire just down the hill
the water fight - amazing we had enough water!!As I am writing this Donald and Katie are outside having a water fight! I hope they don’t use up all the water! Oh Donald has now decided to have the soap outside with him and is having a shower under the hose! Katie is giving hem instruction on how to wash his armpit!!! I guess it is rather hot at the moment. They are having a lot of fun!
This morning at 7am we had a call on Donald’s mobile phone from our church back in NZ. It was so nice to talk to people from home and I must admit had a tear in my eye as I watched Katie smile from ear to ear as she watched us talking and then when she was able to talk to her friends. It was certainly a lovely way to start our day.
Today we went to the English Speaking Church which is at the Bible School. It is like going back in time with no music (just a brother to start the hymns). They also have the old redemption hymnbook and the Mission Praise Book. At least they were songs that we knew and for once could sing along. They have two services in the morning. At the first one everyone is there and then when ministry starts the children go out to Sunday School. The second one is the breaking of bread and it is really weird as there is hardly anyone who attends! It is also a very short service.
After church Donald decided we would go and check out the lodge in Samfya. He was thinking that maybe in the future teams could stay there. It was very nice and even has a restaurant (Samfya style). While we were there Mr and Mrs Fuller pulled up wondering what we were doing. We ended up all having lunch together there which was really nice. Then we headed off for a Sunday drive. We saw another beautiful lake but couldn’t figure out how to get to it which was a shame. There were lots of people living out there which was also a surprise. There was even a great big SDA Conference centre. The conference centre just had lost of sticks that people tied reads around to make themselves little huts to sleep in.
Well we are back home now and as I said Donald and Katie are having a water fight! I am now typing up recipes for us to use while the EMI team are here. The reason I am typing and not just taking the books down there is that Patricia (my interpreter) wants to learn all the recipes that I am doing. She is really lovely and really wants to learn – not only cooking things but anything that will help her with her walk with God and how to look after her family. She is a wonderful godly woman whom I have a lot of respect for. I think she is thirties. I have written about her and her family before.
Today I spoke to Lucy and told her that it is not long before we leave and told her that every time Donald comes home from Zambia people ask how she is. I also told her that she is not forgotten. She told me to tell everyone that she is happy!
Copper has just decide to have a stroll through the house! He is wet from the water fight! He is just checking out what we are doing!
Copper the dog is still causing havoc! Yesterday Donald and Katie went down the hill to the lake for a swim and tied copper to the tyre but didn't put the tyre around a pipe in the back yard. Well he dragged the tyre half way down the hill. I saw him with some children and not realising that he was still tied to the tyre called him to come home. He tried but then i realised that he was tied to the tyre and the kids had the tyre. Ummmm I wondered what was going to happen. The kids heard me call Copper and so decided to roll the tyre up the the hill to me! They just about go the tyre with Copper attached home when Copper heard Katie scream. Donald had picked her up and dunked her in the water. Well that Copper (we still don't know how he did it) he got off the leash and took off down to the lake. He had a blast swimming in the lake. On his way home he chased the kids who were trying to get him home and when they were out of his range, they giggled and squealed with delight! I gave the boys a drink and some biscuits for their efforts.
People have been asking for prayer points from me and Katie and so here are a few for our final weeks in Zambia:
• As Katie and I are working with women serving the EMI team that we would be a good example – for me as a Christian woman and also for the both of us as they see a mother and daughter serve together.
• We would like to be able to leave Samfya with the team so that Donald doesn’t have to do another trip from Lusaka and back. So we need to be able to organise another vechile. Katie and I would like to see if we could find another game park to go to... We really want to see a lion in Africa. I know, I know it isn’t a ministry thing but we would REALLY like to see some.
• For me as I prepare to leave that I don’t become frustrated with the way things happen here – like the power and water situation. I have been coping fine with it so far but I don’t want to blow it in our last few weeks.
• That I will be a good example in front of the other women as a wife, mother and servant as we serve the EMI team. (I know it is sort of a repeat of the first one but it is a bit different).
• As you know Katie and I reacted to the Anti-malaria drug and so have not been taking any. Please pray for the three of us and our general health but also that in our last days here we won’t get malaria! The mosquitoes are starting to come out a bit more at the moment. We have had a few tummy bugs but not many and none of any consequence so we are very thankful for our good health so far. My diabetes has been great with my readings between 5.5 and 5.7 (for those who know about the readings!).
• For safety in our travels. Donald has to go and pick up the EMI team from Lusaka which is about an 8 hour drive and then (hopefully) we will all be going back with him. Then we fly to Joberg to Port Elizabeth and drive to Jefferies Bay, then back to Port Elizabeth and back to Joberg. From there we fly to Heathrow, London and hiring a car and driving to Scotland and back. Then it is to Los Angles and then home to NZ. So as you can see lots of travelling to do between now and actually getting home to the Hawkes Bay!
Well I had better to and finish typing these recipes. We are going to meet at 10.00am on Monday to start baking. I have been so thankful for my Rally Cookbook, the HCS cookbook and my Alison Holst muffin book. They have been so great. I did bring a diabetic book here as well but can’t get most of the ingredients here – ummmmm oh well that hasn’t been an issue.
The neighbours have lit a fire just across the road to get rid of the long grass etc. The fire is quite big and we can hear the crackling noise it is making. I sure hope it doesn’t jump across the road and come up the hill to see us.
Oh well time to go. Again it was soooo nice to hear from church this morning.
Love
Gwen
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Mambalima Conference
Greetings all. I have just returned from two nights at the Mambalima Conference. Thousands of people were in attendance, all camped out beside the Luapula River. It was hot (35C as I left) and dusty, but they were all enjoying the fellowship, teaching and choirs!
I was able to teach two sessions on Christian Marriage, bringing the challenge to the people to let the Word of God bring changes to their culture, both as Zambians and also as members of CMML churches. There seemed to be good responses and it is so encouraging to see so many people taking notes as the Word is opened. I would say that the smaller leadership conferences are much more strategic and beneficial, however this was a wonderful opportunity to proclaim God’s truth and also encourage the work of Samfya Bible School.
Gwen & I are now in full swing to prepare for the arrival of the EMI team next week. Gwen will co-ordinate the food and we need to make a supply trip to Mansa. Thanks for your ongoing prayers, we are all in good health and enjoying the blessings of the Lord in this place.
I was able to teach two sessions on Christian Marriage, bringing the challenge to the people to let the Word of God bring changes to their culture, both as Zambians and also as members of CMML churches. There seemed to be good responses and it is so encouraging to see so many people taking notes as the Word is opened. I would say that the smaller leadership conferences are much more strategic and beneficial, however this was a wonderful opportunity to proclaim God’s truth and also encourage the work of Samfya Bible School.
Gwen & I are now in full swing to prepare for the arrival of the EMI team next week. Gwen will co-ordinate the food and we need to make a supply trip to Mansa. Thanks for your ongoing prayers, we are all in good health and enjoying the blessings of the Lord in this place.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
We are home
Hi there everyone,
It is now Monday night. We are back in Samfya and had a safe journey home! Gosh the entry into Lusaka was a bit difficult, but Donald did us all proud with no incidences – thank goodness. There were cars going everywhere, overtaking where they shouldn’t and having to push their way in. At one point Donald even pulled right over as the car overtaking cars in front of us almost had a head on collision! It really was rather scary! Also it is really hard to see people walking on the roads (and there are many), not only because their skin is so dark but also because is no road lighting or markings! Makes for very hard driving.
On the way we saw a bus that was in a ditch on the side of the road. It looks like the driver might have fallen asleep! There aren’t so many pot holes anymore on this part of the journey which is nice but there are still a few.
This morning we headed off to Lusaka Bible Society and picked up 11 boxes of Bemba Bibles which had 24 bibles in each box, and said our Goodbyes to Paul, Janet and Lily. Thankfully we were coming home with only the three of us with only one hand luggage bag so there was plenty of room. Katie at one point even stretched out and went to sleep in the back! The Atkinson’s will fly out tomorrow for home! It was really nice to have them here and sharing our home.
The Bibles are loaded in the car and Donald gets a phone call from our elders. So he stands outside the Bible Society as that is where he can hear the best (even then it was really hard). Katie and I wait in the car. Walking past was a man pulling a cart with what looked like a pie warmer on it and in it were some sausage rolls and pie looking items. I decide that I would like a photo but by the time I get the camera out and ready he had gone. Well this lady who was going past started yelling at me and asked me why I had taken a photo of her! I told her that I hadn’t then she was even more offended and said why didn’t you take a photo. I told her that I didn’t want a photo of her and motioned with my hands for her to go away. She kept yelling at me and (naughty me) said what a stupid woman! A man (who wasn’t even with her) asked me why I was picking a fight with that woman. I told him she was picking a fight with me and so he kept walking. What a lovely start to the day!
Well true to form so far for Donald in Africa he was pulled over by the traffic police AGAIN! This time however we had had some warning and Donald was making sure he was doing just under 100kms! They pulled us over, shook Donald hand and mine then tried to tell Donald that he was doing 112kms. He told them no he wasn’,t so the police officer said oh well I will only give you the minimum fine. Donald just looked at him and I said but he wasn’t doing that speed! He ended up just saying oh well just go – so we did. I think he thought we would just pay him – maybe he didn’t realise we were locals hahahahaha
We went through so many police stops today which really was a nuisance! At one of the stops the police officer asked where we were going and where had we come from. Then he waved to another guy and he came over. I thought oh what is he going to say now! He was actually an immigration officer and checked our Nationals cards and Donald’s work visa looked inside the car and waved us on. We think they were looking for illegal people as there are many and it was on the road that goes to Tanzania!
We get to the place where the bus was and took a photo. Donald looks across the other side of the road and some men who were sitting there we holding their hand out wanting money for us taking a photo! Donald just said you have got to be kidding to them and we left. They were just after a quick dollar!!
At the Serenji Junction we picked up a hitchhiker! She was a 24 year old American girl. She is with the peace corps here. There are so many of these people here. We dropped her off at the Samfya turnoff and she caught a taxi back to her village.
We got back to Samfya and Donald pulls into Peter’s house to find out when they (Donald, Peter and Francis) were leaving to go to the Mambelema conference only to find out that their accommodation has been paid for from tonight! So home we come, he packs his bag, while I made him something for dinner and he has gone. He will be back on Wednesday or maybe Thursday. He is teaching at 8:00am in the morning but wasn’t sure about when the next session was!
Donald had a tummy bug last week – I am sure it was because he had been doing so much. He also hadn’t had a good nights sleep for a while as for some reason
Copper had decided that he needed a toilet stop in the middle of the night. Thankfully he isn’t doing that anymore! I hope Donald will some time to rest before he goes to pick up the EMI Team. The arrive on 2nd of Semptember, So Donald has to drive to Lusaka again! It will be pretty full on until they leave and then he will have to take them down again, drive back and a few days later we leave!
It looks like I will be organising the catering for the team so while Donald is away will put together a menu and then we will be going to Mansa (probably on Monday) to get the supplies from Shoprite, then I will start baking for them for time they are here. Ummm looks like another busy time for us!
This week Katie will be trying to finish all her schoolwork. She will also have to do her job at SCCP. The American girls are leaving there this week so that means Katie’s job will also be finished!
Oh I don’t know if I told you but we met the Fullers the other day and went to their home for dinner which was a nice treat. We got to know them a little bit as well and hopefully they can come to our place before we leave.
Just after Donald left tonight the power went off and it is now 7:30 and it is still off. I hope it comes on soon. This is probably the part that gets to me the most – not having power as when it is dark there isn’t much to do when the power is off.
Well I had better stop moaning and go and tuck Katie in.
Good night everyone
Gwen
It is now Monday night. We are back in Samfya and had a safe journey home! Gosh the entry into Lusaka was a bit difficult, but Donald did us all proud with no incidences – thank goodness. There were cars going everywhere, overtaking where they shouldn’t and having to push their way in. At one point Donald even pulled right over as the car overtaking cars in front of us almost had a head on collision! It really was rather scary! Also it is really hard to see people walking on the roads (and there are many), not only because their skin is so dark but also because is no road lighting or markings! Makes for very hard driving.
On the way we saw a bus that was in a ditch on the side of the road. It looks like the driver might have fallen asleep! There aren’t so many pot holes anymore on this part of the journey which is nice but there are still a few.
This morning we headed off to Lusaka Bible Society and picked up 11 boxes of Bemba Bibles which had 24 bibles in each box, and said our Goodbyes to Paul, Janet and Lily. Thankfully we were coming home with only the three of us with only one hand luggage bag so there was plenty of room. Katie at one point even stretched out and went to sleep in the back! The Atkinson’s will fly out tomorrow for home! It was really nice to have them here and sharing our home.
The Bibles are loaded in the car and Donald gets a phone call from our elders. So he stands outside the Bible Society as that is where he can hear the best (even then it was really hard). Katie and I wait in the car. Walking past was a man pulling a cart with what looked like a pie warmer on it and in it were some sausage rolls and pie looking items. I decide that I would like a photo but by the time I get the camera out and ready he had gone. Well this lady who was going past started yelling at me and asked me why I had taken a photo of her! I told her that I hadn’t then she was even more offended and said why didn’t you take a photo. I told her that I didn’t want a photo of her and motioned with my hands for her to go away. She kept yelling at me and (naughty me) said what a stupid woman! A man (who wasn’t even with her) asked me why I was picking a fight with that woman. I told him she was picking a fight with me and so he kept walking. What a lovely start to the day!
Well true to form so far for Donald in Africa he was pulled over by the traffic police AGAIN! This time however we had had some warning and Donald was making sure he was doing just under 100kms! They pulled us over, shook Donald hand and mine then tried to tell Donald that he was doing 112kms. He told them no he wasn’,t so the police officer said oh well I will only give you the minimum fine. Donald just looked at him and I said but he wasn’t doing that speed! He ended up just saying oh well just go – so we did. I think he thought we would just pay him – maybe he didn’t realise we were locals hahahahaha
We went through so many police stops today which really was a nuisance! At one of the stops the police officer asked where we were going and where had we come from. Then he waved to another guy and he came over. I thought oh what is he going to say now! He was actually an immigration officer and checked our Nationals cards and Donald’s work visa looked inside the car and waved us on. We think they were looking for illegal people as there are many and it was on the road that goes to Tanzania!
We get to the place where the bus was and took a photo. Donald looks across the other side of the road and some men who were sitting there we holding their hand out wanting money for us taking a photo! Donald just said you have got to be kidding to them and we left. They were just after a quick dollar!!
At the Serenji Junction we picked up a hitchhiker! She was a 24 year old American girl. She is with the peace corps here. There are so many of these people here. We dropped her off at the Samfya turnoff and she caught a taxi back to her village.
We got back to Samfya and Donald pulls into Peter’s house to find out when they (Donald, Peter and Francis) were leaving to go to the Mambelema conference only to find out that their accommodation has been paid for from tonight! So home we come, he packs his bag, while I made him something for dinner and he has gone. He will be back on Wednesday or maybe Thursday. He is teaching at 8:00am in the morning but wasn’t sure about when the next session was!
Donald had a tummy bug last week – I am sure it was because he had been doing so much. He also hadn’t had a good nights sleep for a while as for some reason
Copper had decided that he needed a toilet stop in the middle of the night. Thankfully he isn’t doing that anymore! I hope Donald will some time to rest before he goes to pick up the EMI Team. The arrive on 2nd of Semptember, So Donald has to drive to Lusaka again! It will be pretty full on until they leave and then he will have to take them down again, drive back and a few days later we leave!
It looks like I will be organising the catering for the team so while Donald is away will put together a menu and then we will be going to Mansa (probably on Monday) to get the supplies from Shoprite, then I will start baking for them for time they are here. Ummm looks like another busy time for us!
This week Katie will be trying to finish all her schoolwork. She will also have to do her job at SCCP. The American girls are leaving there this week so that means Katie’s job will also be finished!
Oh I don’t know if I told you but we met the Fullers the other day and went to their home for dinner which was a nice treat. We got to know them a little bit as well and hopefully they can come to our place before we leave.
Just after Donald left tonight the power went off and it is now 7:30 and it is still off. I hope it comes on soon. This is probably the part that gets to me the most – not having power as when it is dark there isn’t much to do when the power is off.
Well I had better stop moaning and go and tuck Katie in.
Good night everyone
Gwen
This Weekend
Today is Saturday. The wind has died down and now it is very hot. Yesterday was over 30 and today I think is much hotter! This morning we went for a boat ride on Lake Bangweulu. The lake was so still and it was really lovely with a gentle breeze that kept us at just a right temperature. We tried to buy fish off the fishermen in the boats but they only had those tiny little fish! We took a photo of one boats catch of the tiny little fish and then just as we were ready to go the man asked for money as we had taken a photo. I told him no and that if it was going to cost us I would just delete the photo. So then he said he wanted the camera! I just laughed at him and said NO!
As we were going along we saw lots of people washing clothes, dishes and themselves. We saw lots of women with no tops on and one lady also decided to wave at us. She did not mind at all that she was topless. Along further and a very skinny old man was also bathing. Lots and lots of children who would wave out and yell hello!
Thursday and Friday a transformation happened to my daughter – she had her hair done African Style! Fanny came to our place and it took 10 hours to do Katie’s hair! She now has braids with wool woven in it. It has made her hair look very thick. She can’t even get a hair tie in it and it has to be tied back with a piece of wool! Lily is still in the process of getting her hair done as I write this. She is also having beads put in her hair. Katie’s hair has taken a lot longer to do as she has a lot of it and even though Lily’s hair is longer there isn’t as much of it! It will be interesting to see how long it lasts!
Tomorrow Donald is teaching at Mwamfule CMML Church then we will all drive to Lusaka. Monday we will say our goodbyes to the Atkinsons and we will pick up boxes of bibles from the Bible Society and then drive back to Samfya. Then on Tuesday Donald heads off to Mambelema to the big conference. He will be there a couple of days.
Soon the EMI Team will be here. Donald will drive to Lusaka again to pick them up! A few days after they leave, we leave Samfya! I got it wrong before. We now only have 3 weeks left here in Samfya! The time has gone fast.
Last night we had Lucy and Elizabeth Chama here for dinner and tonight we have Fanny and Chipampe. They are the girls who live at Agnes and Levy’s home. They have been very kind to Katie.
As I am writing this the power has gone off and Donald and Paul had gone down to the lodge at the bottom of the hill to watch the All Blacks v South Africa game! Ohhhh dear their generator isn’t working, I think I can hear them all coming up the hill so I had better sign off and get the dinner on the table. They are here now and have said that they had organised with the staff at the lodge to watch the rugby game. Then all the locals came in and they changed it to the soccer. Donald and Paul complained as they had organised it earlier. They did change it back for about 15 minutes then it got turned back to the soccer. They made a deal that Donald and Paul could watch the second half of the game but guess what – the power went off so they did not get to watch the end of the game!
Hi to all our friends out there,
Gwen
As we were going along we saw lots of people washing clothes, dishes and themselves. We saw lots of women with no tops on and one lady also decided to wave at us. She did not mind at all that she was topless. Along further and a very skinny old man was also bathing. Lots and lots of children who would wave out and yell hello!
Thursday and Friday a transformation happened to my daughter – she had her hair done African Style! Fanny came to our place and it took 10 hours to do Katie’s hair! She now has braids with wool woven in it. It has made her hair look very thick. She can’t even get a hair tie in it and it has to be tied back with a piece of wool! Lily is still in the process of getting her hair done as I write this. She is also having beads put in her hair. Katie’s hair has taken a lot longer to do as she has a lot of it and even though Lily’s hair is longer there isn’t as much of it! It will be interesting to see how long it lasts!
Tomorrow Donald is teaching at Mwamfule CMML Church then we will all drive to Lusaka. Monday we will say our goodbyes to the Atkinsons and we will pick up boxes of bibles from the Bible Society and then drive back to Samfya. Then on Tuesday Donald heads off to Mambelema to the big conference. He will be there a couple of days.
Soon the EMI Team will be here. Donald will drive to Lusaka again to pick them up! A few days after they leave, we leave Samfya! I got it wrong before. We now only have 3 weeks left here in Samfya! The time has gone fast.
Last night we had Lucy and Elizabeth Chama here for dinner and tonight we have Fanny and Chipampe. They are the girls who live at Agnes and Levy’s home. They have been very kind to Katie.
As I am writing this the power has gone off and Donald and Paul had gone down to the lodge at the bottom of the hill to watch the All Blacks v South Africa game! Ohhhh dear their generator isn’t working, I think I can hear them all coming up the hill so I had better sign off and get the dinner on the table. They are here now and have said that they had organised with the staff at the lodge to watch the rugby game. Then all the locals came in and they changed it to the soccer. Donald and Paul complained as they had organised it earlier. They did change it back for about 15 minutes then it got turned back to the soccer. They made a deal that Donald and Paul could watch the second half of the game but guess what – the power went off so they did not get to watch the end of the game!
Hi to all our friends out there,
Gwen
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Reformation!
Reformation!!
Wow!! What an amazing three days of training with leaders form Samfya area churches! God has been preparing hearts and enabling these people to receive and desire truth. We have worked through the entire booklet on eldership over many sessions, through principles of giving, youth ministry, music , expository preaching, men’s and women’s roles, marriage, church discipline, plus teaching through Revelation 2:1-7, 2 Timothy 1:6-10 & 3:16-17 and fielded what has seemed like an endless barrage of questions. The people have been like sponges soaking in truth!!
The comments I have received from some people is that they are wanting reformation and the teaching has helped them towards making significant changes in how they approach church ministry and life in general. It has been very humbling to witness all this going on. It has not been all plain sailing however. One particularly difficult person had much to say and concluded that African culture just cannot change. To say my response was forthright is very much an understatement - I had total liberty to address the Majestic character of God who is in the business of changing people for His glory and has all the power to do it. The response from the people was loud and supportive. I think they are tired of hearing excuses for poor behaviour under the guise of culture.
I started off this morning’s teaching saying “natotela pali iyi inshita eyo twasambilila ichebo ca kwa Lesa.” That is “thank you for the privilege of coming to share God’s Word.” Indeed it is a privilege and it has been exciting to see God’s Word powerfully work in the hearts and lives of His children. Thank you for your prayers that I am sure have helped in bringing clarity and opening hearts. Keep praying for the Conference in Mambalima next week, where thousands will be meeting for the major Bemba conference and I have the responsibility to teach on Christian marriage.
Wow!! What an amazing three days of training with leaders form Samfya area churches! God has been preparing hearts and enabling these people to receive and desire truth. We have worked through the entire booklet on eldership over many sessions, through principles of giving, youth ministry, music , expository preaching, men’s and women’s roles, marriage, church discipline, plus teaching through Revelation 2:1-7, 2 Timothy 1:6-10 & 3:16-17 and fielded what has seemed like an endless barrage of questions. The people have been like sponges soaking in truth!!
The comments I have received from some people is that they are wanting reformation and the teaching has helped them towards making significant changes in how they approach church ministry and life in general. It has been very humbling to witness all this going on. It has not been all plain sailing however. One particularly difficult person had much to say and concluded that African culture just cannot change. To say my response was forthright is very much an understatement - I had total liberty to address the Majestic character of God who is in the business of changing people for His glory and has all the power to do it. The response from the people was loud and supportive. I think they are tired of hearing excuses for poor behaviour under the guise of culture.
I started off this morning’s teaching saying “natotela pali iyi inshita eyo twasambilila ichebo ca kwa Lesa.” That is “thank you for the privilege of coming to share God’s Word.” Indeed it is a privilege and it has been exciting to see God’s Word powerfully work in the hearts and lives of His children. Thank you for your prayers that I am sure have helped in bringing clarity and opening hearts. Keep praying for the Conference in Mambalima next week, where thousands will be meeting for the major Bemba conference and I have the responsibility to teach on Christian marriage.
Gwen's Diary Update!!
Hi there again,
Hopefully this won’t be as long as the last update I did.
This last weekend Donald, Paul and Janet went off to a village, so Katie, Lily and I stayed home. The girls were hoping to do some girly things like straighten their hair, watch a dvd etc! Well they didn’t get to do any of those sorts of things as on Saturday morning the power went off and stayed off all day. It came on for 15 minutes at 6pm – thankfully I was organised with our dinner and had it cooked in that time. It came on again at about 8:30pm! We did lots of our cross stitch and the girls played card games and tried to occupy their time playing with Copper the dog.
On Sunday morning I woke early and the power was on so was able to get water boiled for doing the dishes (I saved the hot water for my shower), did the dishes and then the power went off again! Oh well now it was time to go to church anyway so off we go. Copper decides that he was coming to church as well. We kept chasing him back home but he wouldn’t go. Bwalya (the night watchman) came at him with a stick and that was it Copper wasn’t staying with him! He led us all the way to church then actually went into the church building. Some of the students were scared and weren’t even coming out of their rooms and Copper was making himself at home still inside! At this point I decided that that the best thing to do was to just go home and hopefully he would follow! He did for a time then he decides to go and say hello to three children on the side of the road. They see him and what do they do – they run! All three of us are yelling out “don’t run” but they run anyway! I probably would too if I saw a great big dog running towards me. Then we look up the road and these two men who were walking were running as well. They ran so fast. I thought man you should have been running down here to hit the dog so he wouldn’t run after the children but instead they ran away. Well we finally got him back and started on our way again. This time he likes the looks of two dogs. We call and call him but he won’t come so we just go home hoping that he would follow and eventually he did. When he got home we managed to tie him up. I must admit that I did wonder why Bwalya hadn’t done this in the beginning instead of letting him just follow us!
Ok now we are home and still no power. Bwalya has gone home and we don’t have water either now. Apparently there is a tap under the water tank that Morgan (the gardener) turns off when he is watering the yard. He had forgotten to turn it back on again so the tank was dry. I didn’t know how to fix any of those kind of things and Donald was due back so we just waited for them.
In the mean time Donald, Paul and Janet are on their way home from the village looking forward to having a nice shower and flush loo. The place they were supposed to have their wash in, Donald wouldn’t let them, as people had been using it as a loo! Gross I reckon!!!!
So now they are home and very disappointed. Donald finds out what was wrong and turns the tap on, but now the town water supply is off so we have to wait until Monday!
We decide it might be a good time to go to Samfya Beach to have a swim (well 4 of them anyway). Paul decides to take his soap and uses the lake as a bath. When he came out he had his soap in his pocket and all the bubbles were running down his leg! It looked really funny. We head off home but first we make a stop at the lake near us to get some water.
Oh dear Copper has seen us and has met up with us! We have to take the long route home as the road was too bumpy with all the water we had in the car. That Copper ran in front of the car the whole way home apart from when he was getting into fights with the village dogs! He is certainly a dog that has character but ohhhh so disobedient!
Monday now and yay we have electricity and the water is hot! The power stayed on all day and at about 9pm went off but came back on pretty quickly! This time when we went out we tied Copper up! Donald has a conference on for three days with the 5 Samfya Churches – their elders, deacons and deaconesses. He says it has been really good but he is exhausted. We went to the shops close to us as Lily wanted to post some postcards. They paid for it and while they were waiting for their change, the lady started to serve someone else. They asked her for their change and she said in a very surprised voice – oh you want your change? Then she disappeared out the back for 10 minutes before coming back in with her change! Then we went down to the other end of town to buy some meat and saw a bakery. We bought some buns for lunch and Paul paid and we waited for a long time for change again. This time the guy had gone out the back and gone into the market/town to find someone with change as he didn’t have any but he didn’t tell us. We kept asking for our change and people just said ok and went out the back!
Today we also had the women’s group meeting to start the cross stitch. It was sooo funny. I thought they could design their own bookmark. They didn’t seem to understand that even though the squares on the page were bigger than they squares on the fabric we would be working with both! In the end it was decided that I would just design one and give them the pattern and show them what to do on Wednesday!
Tuesday now and I have such a sore finger from colouring in cross stitch pictures. Paul has been very frustrated as Donald has asked him to find the boundary pegs for the Bible School. We had Peter and Patricia and their 7 children here for dinner. Paul paid me the biggest compliment he could have by saying that it seems that I am coping very well here as I had cooked the dinner for all 13 of us without any help (Janet was helping him find the beacons and the girls were at SCCP), with all the low power and the like.
I know that the only reason that I am coping so well here is all because of God. I know that so many people are praying for me. It was also the right time for me to come – God’s timing is always perfect!
As I was just typing that last line a lizard ran across the wall in front of me!! Yuck I still don’t like them!
Today we had another cross stitch session with some of the women. A lot didn’t come as they were with Donald is his session which is much more beneficial than learning how to cross stitch! It was certainly hard work to teach them this craft. The fabric is not the best and the thread has a shiny coating that makes it slippery! Oh well Friday we are back to doing our study on Titus 2!
That is it for now. Donald has an update on his time with the Elders, deacons and deaconess’.
See you all soon.
Gwen
Hopefully this won’t be as long as the last update I did.
This last weekend Donald, Paul and Janet went off to a village, so Katie, Lily and I stayed home. The girls were hoping to do some girly things like straighten their hair, watch a dvd etc! Well they didn’t get to do any of those sorts of things as on Saturday morning the power went off and stayed off all day. It came on for 15 minutes at 6pm – thankfully I was organised with our dinner and had it cooked in that time. It came on again at about 8:30pm! We did lots of our cross stitch and the girls played card games and tried to occupy their time playing with Copper the dog.
On Sunday morning I woke early and the power was on so was able to get water boiled for doing the dishes (I saved the hot water for my shower), did the dishes and then the power went off again! Oh well now it was time to go to church anyway so off we go. Copper decides that he was coming to church as well. We kept chasing him back home but he wouldn’t go. Bwalya (the night watchman) came at him with a stick and that was it Copper wasn’t staying with him! He led us all the way to church then actually went into the church building. Some of the students were scared and weren’t even coming out of their rooms and Copper was making himself at home still inside! At this point I decided that that the best thing to do was to just go home and hopefully he would follow! He did for a time then he decides to go and say hello to three children on the side of the road. They see him and what do they do – they run! All three of us are yelling out “don’t run” but they run anyway! I probably would too if I saw a great big dog running towards me. Then we look up the road and these two men who were walking were running as well. They ran so fast. I thought man you should have been running down here to hit the dog so he wouldn’t run after the children but instead they ran away. Well we finally got him back and started on our way again. This time he likes the looks of two dogs. We call and call him but he won’t come so we just go home hoping that he would follow and eventually he did. When he got home we managed to tie him up. I must admit that I did wonder why Bwalya hadn’t done this in the beginning instead of letting him just follow us!
Ok now we are home and still no power. Bwalya has gone home and we don’t have water either now. Apparently there is a tap under the water tank that Morgan (the gardener) turns off when he is watering the yard. He had forgotten to turn it back on again so the tank was dry. I didn’t know how to fix any of those kind of things and Donald was due back so we just waited for them.
In the mean time Donald, Paul and Janet are on their way home from the village looking forward to having a nice shower and flush loo. The place they were supposed to have their wash in, Donald wouldn’t let them, as people had been using it as a loo! Gross I reckon!!!!
So now they are home and very disappointed. Donald finds out what was wrong and turns the tap on, but now the town water supply is off so we have to wait until Monday!
We decide it might be a good time to go to Samfya Beach to have a swim (well 4 of them anyway). Paul decides to take his soap and uses the lake as a bath. When he came out he had his soap in his pocket and all the bubbles were running down his leg! It looked really funny. We head off home but first we make a stop at the lake near us to get some water.
Oh dear Copper has seen us and has met up with us! We have to take the long route home as the road was too bumpy with all the water we had in the car. That Copper ran in front of the car the whole way home apart from when he was getting into fights with the village dogs! He is certainly a dog that has character but ohhhh so disobedient!
Monday now and yay we have electricity and the water is hot! The power stayed on all day and at about 9pm went off but came back on pretty quickly! This time when we went out we tied Copper up! Donald has a conference on for three days with the 5 Samfya Churches – their elders, deacons and deaconesses. He says it has been really good but he is exhausted. We went to the shops close to us as Lily wanted to post some postcards. They paid for it and while they were waiting for their change, the lady started to serve someone else. They asked her for their change and she said in a very surprised voice – oh you want your change? Then she disappeared out the back for 10 minutes before coming back in with her change! Then we went down to the other end of town to buy some meat and saw a bakery. We bought some buns for lunch and Paul paid and we waited for a long time for change again. This time the guy had gone out the back and gone into the market/town to find someone with change as he didn’t have any but he didn’t tell us. We kept asking for our change and people just said ok and went out the back!
Today we also had the women’s group meeting to start the cross stitch. It was sooo funny. I thought they could design their own bookmark. They didn’t seem to understand that even though the squares on the page were bigger than they squares on the fabric we would be working with both! In the end it was decided that I would just design one and give them the pattern and show them what to do on Wednesday!
Tuesday now and I have such a sore finger from colouring in cross stitch pictures. Paul has been very frustrated as Donald has asked him to find the boundary pegs for the Bible School. We had Peter and Patricia and their 7 children here for dinner. Paul paid me the biggest compliment he could have by saying that it seems that I am coping very well here as I had cooked the dinner for all 13 of us without any help (Janet was helping him find the beacons and the girls were at SCCP), with all the low power and the like.
I know that the only reason that I am coping so well here is all because of God. I know that so many people are praying for me. It was also the right time for me to come – God’s timing is always perfect!
As I was just typing that last line a lizard ran across the wall in front of me!! Yuck I still don’t like them!
Today we had another cross stitch session with some of the women. A lot didn’t come as they were with Donald is his session which is much more beneficial than learning how to cross stitch! It was certainly hard work to teach them this craft. The fabric is not the best and the thread has a shiny coating that makes it slippery! Oh well Friday we are back to doing our study on Titus 2!
That is it for now. Donald has an update on his time with the Elders, deacons and deaconess’.
See you all soon.
Gwen
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
God At Work Through His Word
Greetings all - we are back in Samfya and about to begin the first of three days of training with the elders from the Samfya area churches. But first a quick update from the weekend - it was cold!! We have had a very cold weather front that has had wind and very cold temperatures and we don’t really have the clothes for this!! Oh well we have survived without difficulty and look forward to many hot days ahead.
The meeting with Chembe area churches was held at Kundamfumu and there were 13 churches represented with elders, deacons and deaconesses - totalling 120 people. We have again been able to work thought the teaching on Eldership, addressing many issues and problems that these churches face. The response was again humbling. It seems so many of these churches are ready to hear the truth about leadership issues after struggling with traditions for some time. They want and need to make changes and these visits seem to have been timed just right - God is certainly working.
I would say that the need for ongoing training and help is essential. It would be sad to see the momentum stall through lack of encouragement and assistance. This is not just our visits, but also the teaching of the Bible School staff - we need to fund them to get out on frequent visits to these churches. More Bibles are needed that help in this, more resources that can be place in the hands of these men & women.
We had the joy of meeting with seven graduates this weekend. We heard reports independently from the elders of their churches about the dedicated commitment that these graduates have to the church and the gospel ministry. Three churches have been planted including one in the Congo. They are active in training and many areas of ministry (women’s, youth, children, teaching, evangelism). Bicycles were a huge need, all but one had transport. Sleeping bags for ministry times... The stories are the same everywhere we are going. Gospel ministry is progressing but hampered through lack of resources. What a privilege we have to help these men & women.
Well back here in Samfya the day with the Samfya elders has turned out to be elders and deacons and deaconesses!! It started well and then we hit controversy over dress issues. It is a very difficult thing for a traditional culture to accept the changes that modern life is bringing. We got back on track and I have been blown away by the acceptance of teaching received as we dealt with eldership issues. Again it is as if God is opening the doors to the hearts of these people. They want to be men and women of the Word and they affirmed the teaching as we progressed through the scriptures together. At the end of the time I had one very old elder learn over and shake my hand to thank me for the day, a day which would have been difficult for him as we even addressed the need for some of the senior men to step aside and let the younger ones lead. What a blessing to have such open hearts. Please pray for the next two days together.
And God said let there be..... And it was so!
Warning - this is a long one!!
My goodness seeing Victoria Falls and Chobe National Park is amazing. And the Bible says that God just spoke and it happened.We have just come back from our LONG trip to Lusaka, Livingstone, Lusaka and home again.
We are on our way to Lusaka. It is Monday. We have just come to the Samfya Bridge which is the longest bridge in Zambia. There are police stops on both sides. As we approach we see a figure go running into the police office. We get to the stop and a hand waves us on. We crack up laughing as the figure we saw was the police officer having his bath on the side of the road. At least when he waved us on he had a towel around him!
On our way to Lusaka we stopped at Maple Hurst Farm which is just out of a city called Kabwe. Maple Hurst is run by New Zealanders working for Bright Hope Ministries. They weren’t there so we thought we would go and have a coffee at the cafe next door. Well who should we bump into but Kevin and Helen Henarae (oops I am sorry but I don’t know how to spell their name!). We stayed for a little bit then had to carry on to Lusaka as there is still quite a way to go.
We found this amazing place to stay in Lusaka (Mark and Carmen had recommended it to us). It is so lovely and it is around the same price as the little motels/lodges we have stayed in previously. This place just seemed so flash. The staffs were very helpful. Donald says that he will be bringing future teams to stay here. They also have amazing food of which breakfast was included in the price of the room. They will also pick up from the bus station and drop people off at the airport with no extra charge. Well let’s get on with the story. We spent the first night in Livingstone in a tent which was really flash (especially for a tent) with our own toilet and a shower which was actually outside!
Donald had not told us that we were staying in the tent and showed us where Fawlty Towers was and said he would show us around a bit. After we had booked into the Maramba River Lodge we went for a drive and saw some of the amazing really flash hotels. Outside one were some Zebras. The guards outside let us in to take photos. I really wanted to pat them but thought better of it as I didn’t want to get kicked. We carried on our way and saw elephants grazing on the side of the road! They are wild elephants that just roam. They can be a really big pest as they get into farmers gardens and eat their crop.
This blog is going to be long so go and get your cup of tea/coffee and a biscuit and relax and read.
LIVINGSTONE:
We picked the Atkinson’s up from the airport at noon and headed out to Fawlty Towers – yep that is what it is called. From the outside it doesn’t look like much, but it is a backpacker’s lodge and has a pool – much to the delight of Katie and Lily! We checked in and Donald took us for a drive to see what we could see. We went on a cruise on the Zambezi and they also served dinner. We saw hippos, crocodiles, water monitors and lots of birds then we went back to Fawlty Towers and went to bed.
We have to be up early. We are being picked up at 7:30am to go across the border to Botswana to Chobe National Park. Oh it is so worth getting up early! We head off to cross borders again. We have crossed so many borders now it is getting a bit painful but this time it was easy as we were part of a tour. Ok through the Zambian border and we head off again. This time we will catch an aluminium boat. It was fast and in no time we were in Botswana. Now to go through customs again. Ok done that and our tour guides are waiting for us. We head to a really flash hotel – even the toilets were flash with African Birds painted in the sinks! We get into another boat – a slow one – and we are now looking for animals. There were so many – crocodiles, elephants, wart hogs, hippos, different types of antelope, baboons, vervet monkeys and lots of bird life. We even got to watch elephants holding each other’s tails as they walked in a line to cross the river. Ohhhh photos and TV just don’t show how amazing these animals are.
We spent about 3 hours on the boat but it only seemed like 5 minutes! We were dropped back at the hotel and they had a smorgasbord lunch for us. Ohhhh the food was so good and we even got to taste Kudu pie! The meat was so tender. They even had dessert which for us was a real treat.
Finished lunch and now we head outside and there waiting for us was a safari vehicle – just like you see on TV! Katie and I hoped that we would get to see some lions but unfortunately they hid from us! We did see lots of lion paw prints so I guess we can say that Chobe National Park does have lions. We did see lots more animals including the giraffe and one even bent down in front of us and had a drink! The tour guide did his best to try and find us a lion! We were on there for about another 3 hours.
Ok now we are back at customs, on the boat and through customs on the Zambian side. Again this was a breeze. Man we are so tired and now we have to find somewhere for dinner. Ummmm Funky Monkey sounds like a good place. It was actually a pizza place, and was good. Then it was to bed.
Friday Donald went to the Livingstone Central CMML (Christian Missions in Many Lands –Christian Brethren) church. He was there all day, encouraging the elders. At first we all went then we were allowed to leave to go and do washing etc. The girls were happy and got to have a swim in the pool. After that we went to the Livingstone market just to look so we knew what was there. We picked Donald up later and then went out for dinner.
Saturday morning and Donald and I are off to a village called Kazungula. It turns out to be the border town we had been at to go across to Botswana. We were there all day. Frank’s daughter Katie came with us. She lives in Livingstone and had not even seen the border or Botswana before. One of the elders worked at the crossing so we all hitched a ride to Botswana and back again on the truck barge. Katie was so amazed at the busyness there and was so excited at what she got to do. I couldn’t believe that they hadn’t been there before it was only about 20 minutes up the road in the car. Katie Stevenson and the Atkinsons’ stayed at Fawlty Towers and also went for a walk. When we got back they had been to the supermarket and cooked us dinner which was really nice.
By now Lily’s ingrown toenail is causing her lots of pain. We were able to talk to Cathie Ellis and get advice on what to do and guess what – our doctor had given us the right cream for her! Isn’t God great? We were able to contact Cathie and we had the right cream!
Sunday was another big ministry day for Donald. We all went to church in the morning which was in a suburb of Livingstone called Dambwe. We were there for 5 hours! Frank (a Samfya Bible School Student) and his wife were with us. We got back to Fawlty Towers and raced across the road to shoprite to buy some lunch and then it was back to Frank’s church for another 3 hours. Oh Donald I don’t really want to go again can’t I stay back at Fawlty Towers I moaned! Boy oh boy what a bad attitude I had. The people there were so thankful for the ministry. They were even thankful that I went even though I just sat there (trying to stay awake!). They said we were good examples of a husband and wife in ministry together – boy did I feel bad for the attitude I had was not of serving the people but to just look after myself and my poor sore bottom!!! Both Donald and I were humbled by their thankfulness. We really take for granted all that we have in our church with the teachers that we have. These people were so hungry they could have sat there for another 5 hours!
Monday we were up bright and early again. Today we are going to Victoria Falls both the Zambia side and Zimbabwe side. Zimbabwe was first so, yes, it back through customs again, so we park the car and look at all the baboons on the side of the road. They are going through the rubbish that people leave –they are huge! They are quite scary too. There is even one on the top of a truck and one on the roof of the customs building! This time we walk along a bridge and there is the bungee jump that Donald did in 2006. Oh dear I can’t even look over the side of the bridge let alone jump it! There are a few men asking us if we want to jump – don’t they know that it is taking everything in me to just get over the bridge!!!
Well now we are over the bridge and still have a bit of walking to do. Everything is so dry and dusty. It is rather amazing that the women here (in Zambia and Zimbabwe) are able to get white clothes so white!
Now we are here at the falls. I can’t wait as we have been hearing it on and off while walking. Here is a man trying to sell us some light raincoats and Donald says it would be a good thing to buy. They cost us $1.00 US. Ok all set lets go... please!
Wow this is so amazing. The Zambezi River is very full. The speed at which the water travels is quite frightening. It is so fast. Wow this is amazing (I don’t know how else to say it) Incredible. The photos or movies just don’t do the falls any justice! I have heard so many people say that before but oh man incredible. We keep walking and seeing more and more of the falls. The falls just seem to go on forever! The falls are huge not just in how wide it is but how far it drops. The drop is 98m and we still get a sprinkling of the water that has gone over the edge! Ok more walking ewwwwww yuck there are striped mongooses on our path. Now if you know me you will know that I don’t like rodents. Thankfully I didn’t yell anything except Donald please get a photo! We have a picnic morning tea at the end of the walk overlooking the bungee bridge. It is so beautiful!
Ok time to go and finish our look around the falls area. No matter how much I look it still seems beautiful. Out of the falls now and it is time for lunch so we head into Victoria Falls town. The policewoman is asking Katie where she is going but Katie doesn’t hear her and I tell her that our guys are just up there on the hill in front of us and we are following them to get something to eat. She suggests a few places and lets us go. The place Donald thought of wasn’t there anymore so we go to a different place and now we have a policeman with us. Ummm I wonder what is happening so me being me I asked. He said they were tourist police. Ummmm I thought that maybe the tourists were being a problem but it was the street vendors. The street vendors were hassling tourists so much and even fighting each other and also the tourists. Ok I said. At the time I thought wow that’s a bit over the top as I felt quite safe. Finally he takes us to a nice place to eat and he was right. At this complex the street vendors aren’t allowed in. To get to the restaurant we have to pass a crocodile park sort of. They were behind fences but were huge. We were able to touch one through the fence as he was just lying there with his big mouth and teeth facing the other side! We were taking in the view outside the restaurant and there was our policeman. He waited for us and then took us to the market.
The market is another side to Zimbabwe. Now they are all calling us into their little booths. Donald tells females to go into this big shed so we did. There they sold all sorts of fabrics, tablecloths, runners etc and also some tops which they had crocheted. They were really nice but not my taste. I did see a table cloth that I kinda liked and showed Donald. He said to wait as there may have been other things I might want instead. The lady heard me and later on when I was standing outside came and showed it to me again. I couldn’t believe it! Janet found some things she liked and when she went back all of a sudden there was a sea of people trying to sell her the same piece of fabric – just amazing! Donald was right I found other things that I liked better than a table cloth. At one point there were a whole lot of men all talking loudly at me to buy something from their shop that I started to feel a little uneasy so I found our personal policeman and stood beside him. It was incredible they stopped straight away! Now where is that daughter of mine? She and Lily were having so much fun. They were just close to Donald so they were fine! One man showed be a wooden statue of the big five and asked me what I was prepared to pay for it. I told him I didn’t want it and he asked me why. I told him that I didn’t like it so I didn’t want to buy it and he told me that I did like it and what was the best price that I could pay him!
Our son and daughter in law for our three birthdays had given us some good drink bottles which we had with us. When they spotted it they wanted us to trade it for something in their shop. We had to KEEP on telling them that they were special gifts and we didn’t want to trade with it! But would they give up –NO! They even ended up asking Lily for the socks she was wearing! It is all just a ploy to get you into their shop and then they will tell you that you have to pay money on top of the trade!
Now when we were going to get our lunch there were some shops in the complex and Paul and Janet found a painting of elephants that they really liked so they bought it. They were going to package it up well and we would pick it up later. Well while we were there picking it up one of the street vendors was waiting for Paul outside and said that Paul had promised to look at one of his carvings. Paul went on his own to have a look. The guy had already packaged it up and was asking for a lot more than what they had agreed on. Our personal policeman realised that Paul was taking too long and went to look for him. Paul all of a sudden was standing in the middle of a circle of men all starting to get annoyed as Paul didn’t want to pay what they were saying. Paul ended up just pushing them out of the way and left, banging his head on the piece of wood in the shed! We don’t know what happened to the police officer but we didn’t see him anymore. We actually did look a little bit for him to say thanks but we had to get across the border again. Oh I didn’t tell you – I really wanted a wooden giraffe to take home a big one that can stand on the floor. Donald decides to go and get one and came back with two because you know you can’t just have one he was told!
Taxi Please!!! Oh here is one but it is only a car. How on earth can we fit 6 of us and the driver in a little Toyota Corolla!!! The driver said only one in the front! Because the police will give him a ticket otherwise. Ummm ok Paul hops in the front because Donald told him to and he says he will just walk and we can meet him on the other side. Ohhhh I don’t think so. Sooooo all 5 of us are in the back seat. Now did I tell you how hot we were in Zimbabwe? Donald is sitting on my knee bent over. My head is in his armpit and his head is hard against the window. We all have the giggles so much. Paul tries to get a photo but is too close! Even the taxi driver is laughing. What fun experiences we have had in Africa! All the back windows are tinted so the police can’t see in and see how many people are in the vehicle! Well we make it back to the border and then through the border into Zambia again.
Now we are to go to see the falls on the Zambian side. We are all tired and Janet decides that she will just stay in the car and wait for us. So Donald, Katie, Paul and Lily are going to see the falls again. This time we have to cross a walking bridge that is really high and the Zambezi River underneath. Ok I must do this so that I can see the rest of the falls as there is no other way to do it! Donald, Paul and Katie are long gone and Lily is behind me. Half way across I just screamed. It was like we were beside the sea and a wave came and got me wet and put so much water on my sunglasses that I couldn’t see and then the force it hit me took the hood off my head so now my hair is soaked! I was scared! Anyway I just had to keep going. Walking around the Zambian side of the falls you get a lot wetter than the other side. We were so hot and sweaty before and now we have had a shower. My eyes feel as though I have been swimming in the sea from the mixture of salty sweat and the water from the falls. Wow what an experience that was but I am so glad that I can say I have done it. Now where are the markets. Here we go again. There are only a couple of things that I want and everyone wants me to buy from their store! Katie and Lily really do love all the bartering. I wish, they would just have their price and that is the end of it! Oh dear here they go again wanting our shoes and drink bottles. The Zambian side is a lot nicer than the Zimbabwe side I will have to admit as far as the street vendors are concerned. I tried to tell them that I was a local as I live in Samfya and they would tell me that they would give me a local price but I am not so sure about that either. They all seem to think we have an unlimited amount of money to spend!
The end of an amazing day!
It is now Tuesday morning and we head to Lusaka. Thankfully a pretty uneventful day which is nice but it still took 6 hours to get there. We check into Kilimanjaro Lodge and all have showers. Again it is so nice to be there.
We are walking round Lusaka as Donald and Paul and Janet need to change money. Paul and Janet are also wanting to get a sim card for their phone. One of the street vendors kept asking me what I was buying as he could sell it to me. I told him that I wasn’t buying anything. He wouldn’t believe me and kept on pestering me. I had been telling him nicely and then his voice was starting to change and so I told him in a not so nice tone to “go away”. I thought Janet looked at me very shocked but when we were telling the guys later she said no she was just thankful that I did as she was starting to feel uneasy about him as well.
We went back to Arcades Mall for an ice cream – oh what a treat. We also updated emails.
Driving around and Donald gets pulled over by a police officer – not again! He is telling Donald that he was speeding. Donald was trying to tell the officer that it was the car that sped up and passed us but the police officer wouldn’t hear of it and sent us to see the other officers. Donald told them the same story and so they said that they would reduce his fine from K180, 000 to K80, 000. Donald told them he shouldn’t be paying anything as it wasn’t him. Anyway they were filling out the ticket and came to occupation. What is your occupation sir? Pastor Donald replied. They both looked at each other and then asked of what church. Donald replied CMML. They looked at each other and then said to Donald that he was forgiven and could go. Donald wasn’t going to be told twice and we drove away again ticket free!!! I should add here that Donald was telling the truth and that there was a car that had passed us at speed and the officer did just wave him through!
Wednesday now and Anne from Kilimanjaro Lodge had found out where we could buy some cross stitching fabric from. Not quite ada cloth but it will do and then we head off back to Samfya! Now I can teach the women who want to learn, how to cross stitch. Today we have an 8 hour trip back to Samfya.
On the way we stop at the Fig Tree Cafe (just by Maple Hurst which is run by New Zealander’s) for a coffee and toilet stop. We have our coffee and are heading out when Donald heard the owner telling some of the staff off. Donald was quite upset at the owner’s attitude and said he was even snapping his fingers at one of the staff to hurry up and get his jacket! It was not very nice to hear a Christian man talking to others in that sort of manner.
On the way again and we will be looking for places to buy some fresh fruit and veggies from. It is so hard to choose which person you want to buy from when everyone is selling the same things!
Oh my goodness is this rain on the windscreen. Surely not! Yes it is. In Zambia in the dry season and there is a drizzle of rain on the windscreen. Ohhh it is quite chilly as well. How weird.
We stopped in to visit Charles one of the Bible School Graduates and saw the school where he teaches carpentry, gardening and the girls are also being taught how to sew. They were also making bricks.
Here we are at the bridge again. Donald stops and lets the Atkinsons have a look at the Luapula River. Then we head across the bridge. The police officer waves us on but Donald decides to ask him if he was the one we saw the other day. Well when he realised it was us who saw him he laughed and shook Donald’s hand. All of a sudden we were his best friends.
We are now back in Samfya and driving up our driveway and who is that there happy to see us – Copper! He is so excited that he almost knocks Paul over. It is sooooo windy here. It feels as though the roof is just going to fly away! We are going to Levy and Agnes’ home for dinner and we are all thankful that we don’t have to cook after being on the road for so long! Wow what a meal they have given us – nshima, rice, chicken, fish and spinach! Whew we have very full tummies.
It seems as though I can’t eat nshima. Whenever I do I get bad tummy pains! Donald has said that I am not allowed to have anymore! I actually like nshima but I really don’t like the pain later.
Ohhh bed is so nice tonight!
Thursday morning and we are showing Paul and Janet around the Bible School. On our way there we pass the Fullers house and who do we see Spice. She was so happy to see us. We also saw Lucy as Paul and Janet’s home was the first home that Rogers and Lucy stayed at. Lucy was very pleased to see them.
It is now Friday and I have had the Ladies Study here again. Copper is tied up and doesn’t like it but it makes the Ladies feel safer. As I write this only Katie, Lily and I are at home as Donald, Paul, Janet, Peter and Levy have gone to a village in Chembe for the weekend. They will be going to meet with the CMML church there. Chembe is the Zambian border town buy the Pedicle Road in the DRC. They will be back on Sunday afternoon.
On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday Donald will be meeting with the elders from all the CMML churches here in Samfya. It will be a very interesting time. You will have to read Donald’s blog about all that happens there later in the week.
Today Katie and Lily started their job cataloguing books at SCCP (the orphans project that Mark and Carmen Brubaker run). They went on their own and then afterwards went down to the Bible School and bought us spinach (our silver beet) for dinner. At the moment they are both cross stitching.
Some sad news. On Wednesday it was really windy here in Samfya. A boat towing another boat sunk and with it 15 people drowned! As far as we know no bodies have been recovered yet.
One of the frustrations of living here in Samfya is the power. At times even thought the power is on it is very low which means to boil the jug could take over an hour. The power can also go off without warning. Today is Saturday and I wanted to get my blog updated but the power was off all day. The girls wanted to bake bread but no power. We couldn’t do dishes as there wasn’t any hot water. The girls didn’t even get to have a shower as there wasn’t any hot water. The power did come on at 6pm but only for 15 minutes! Thankfully I had everything ready, just in case and the elements were still hot when it all went off again to keep cooking our dinner. The power came on again just after 8pm! We have no idea on whether it was a routine power cut to work on lines or the weather. It is very windy and cold! Who would have thought this time of the year in Africa we would be cold! Oh well church tomorrow. Katie, Lily and I will go to the English speaking church at the Bible School.
Well I did warn you that this would be a marathon blog and it is. I will end it now.
I hope this has bought you up to date with our 10 days away.
Love to you all
Gwen
PS do you know that it is only 5 weeks until we leaving Samfya!
My goodness seeing Victoria Falls and Chobe National Park is amazing. And the Bible says that God just spoke and it happened.We have just come back from our LONG trip to Lusaka, Livingstone, Lusaka and home again.
We are on our way to Lusaka. It is Monday. We have just come to the Samfya Bridge which is the longest bridge in Zambia. There are police stops on both sides. As we approach we see a figure go running into the police office. We get to the stop and a hand waves us on. We crack up laughing as the figure we saw was the police officer having his bath on the side of the road. At least when he waved us on he had a towel around him!
On our way to Lusaka we stopped at Maple Hurst Farm which is just out of a city called Kabwe. Maple Hurst is run by New Zealanders working for Bright Hope Ministries. They weren’t there so we thought we would go and have a coffee at the cafe next door. Well who should we bump into but Kevin and Helen Henarae (oops I am sorry but I don’t know how to spell their name!). We stayed for a little bit then had to carry on to Lusaka as there is still quite a way to go.
We found this amazing place to stay in Lusaka (Mark and Carmen had recommended it to us). It is so lovely and it is around the same price as the little motels/lodges we have stayed in previously. This place just seemed so flash. The staffs were very helpful. Donald says that he will be bringing future teams to stay here. They also have amazing food of which breakfast was included in the price of the room. They will also pick up from the bus station and drop people off at the airport with no extra charge. Well let’s get on with the story. We spent the first night in Livingstone in a tent which was really flash (especially for a tent) with our own toilet and a shower which was actually outside!
Donald had not told us that we were staying in the tent and showed us where Fawlty Towers was and said he would show us around a bit. After we had booked into the Maramba River Lodge we went for a drive and saw some of the amazing really flash hotels. Outside one were some Zebras. The guards outside let us in to take photos. I really wanted to pat them but thought better of it as I didn’t want to get kicked. We carried on our way and saw elephants grazing on the side of the road! They are wild elephants that just roam. They can be a really big pest as they get into farmers gardens and eat their crop.
This blog is going to be long so go and get your cup of tea/coffee and a biscuit and relax and read.
LIVINGSTONE:
We picked the Atkinson’s up from the airport at noon and headed out to Fawlty Towers – yep that is what it is called. From the outside it doesn’t look like much, but it is a backpacker’s lodge and has a pool – much to the delight of Katie and Lily! We checked in and Donald took us for a drive to see what we could see. We went on a cruise on the Zambezi and they also served dinner. We saw hippos, crocodiles, water monitors and lots of birds then we went back to Fawlty Towers and went to bed.
We have to be up early. We are being picked up at 7:30am to go across the border to Botswana to Chobe National Park. Oh it is so worth getting up early! We head off to cross borders again. We have crossed so many borders now it is getting a bit painful but this time it was easy as we were part of a tour. Ok through the Zambian border and we head off again. This time we will catch an aluminium boat. It was fast and in no time we were in Botswana. Now to go through customs again. Ok done that and our tour guides are waiting for us. We head to a really flash hotel – even the toilets were flash with African Birds painted in the sinks! We get into another boat – a slow one – and we are now looking for animals. There were so many – crocodiles, elephants, wart hogs, hippos, different types of antelope, baboons, vervet monkeys and lots of bird life. We even got to watch elephants holding each other’s tails as they walked in a line to cross the river. Ohhhh photos and TV just don’t show how amazing these animals are.
We spent about 3 hours on the boat but it only seemed like 5 minutes! We were dropped back at the hotel and they had a smorgasbord lunch for us. Ohhhh the food was so good and we even got to taste Kudu pie! The meat was so tender. They even had dessert which for us was a real treat.
Finished lunch and now we head outside and there waiting for us was a safari vehicle – just like you see on TV! Katie and I hoped that we would get to see some lions but unfortunately they hid from us! We did see lots of lion paw prints so I guess we can say that Chobe National Park does have lions. We did see lots more animals including the giraffe and one even bent down in front of us and had a drink! The tour guide did his best to try and find us a lion! We were on there for about another 3 hours.
Ok now we are back at customs, on the boat and through customs on the Zambian side. Again this was a breeze. Man we are so tired and now we have to find somewhere for dinner. Ummmm Funky Monkey sounds like a good place. It was actually a pizza place, and was good. Then it was to bed.
Friday Donald went to the Livingstone Central CMML (Christian Missions in Many Lands –Christian Brethren) church. He was there all day, encouraging the elders. At first we all went then we were allowed to leave to go and do washing etc. The girls were happy and got to have a swim in the pool. After that we went to the Livingstone market just to look so we knew what was there. We picked Donald up later and then went out for dinner.
Saturday morning and Donald and I are off to a village called Kazungula. It turns out to be the border town we had been at to go across to Botswana. We were there all day. Frank’s daughter Katie came with us. She lives in Livingstone and had not even seen the border or Botswana before. One of the elders worked at the crossing so we all hitched a ride to Botswana and back again on the truck barge. Katie was so amazed at the busyness there and was so excited at what she got to do. I couldn’t believe that they hadn’t been there before it was only about 20 minutes up the road in the car. Katie Stevenson and the Atkinsons’ stayed at Fawlty Towers and also went for a walk. When we got back they had been to the supermarket and cooked us dinner which was really nice.
By now Lily’s ingrown toenail is causing her lots of pain. We were able to talk to Cathie Ellis and get advice on what to do and guess what – our doctor had given us the right cream for her! Isn’t God great? We were able to contact Cathie and we had the right cream!
Sunday was another big ministry day for Donald. We all went to church in the morning which was in a suburb of Livingstone called Dambwe. We were there for 5 hours! Frank (a Samfya Bible School Student) and his wife were with us. We got back to Fawlty Towers and raced across the road to shoprite to buy some lunch and then it was back to Frank’s church for another 3 hours. Oh Donald I don’t really want to go again can’t I stay back at Fawlty Towers I moaned! Boy oh boy what a bad attitude I had. The people there were so thankful for the ministry. They were even thankful that I went even though I just sat there (trying to stay awake!). They said we were good examples of a husband and wife in ministry together – boy did I feel bad for the attitude I had was not of serving the people but to just look after myself and my poor sore bottom!!! Both Donald and I were humbled by their thankfulness. We really take for granted all that we have in our church with the teachers that we have. These people were so hungry they could have sat there for another 5 hours!
Monday we were up bright and early again. Today we are going to Victoria Falls both the Zambia side and Zimbabwe side. Zimbabwe was first so, yes, it back through customs again, so we park the car and look at all the baboons on the side of the road. They are going through the rubbish that people leave –they are huge! They are quite scary too. There is even one on the top of a truck and one on the roof of the customs building! This time we walk along a bridge and there is the bungee jump that Donald did in 2006. Oh dear I can’t even look over the side of the bridge let alone jump it! There are a few men asking us if we want to jump – don’t they know that it is taking everything in me to just get over the bridge!!!
Well now we are over the bridge and still have a bit of walking to do. Everything is so dry and dusty. It is rather amazing that the women here (in Zambia and Zimbabwe) are able to get white clothes so white!
Now we are here at the falls. I can’t wait as we have been hearing it on and off while walking. Here is a man trying to sell us some light raincoats and Donald says it would be a good thing to buy. They cost us $1.00 US. Ok all set lets go... please!
Wow this is so amazing. The Zambezi River is very full. The speed at which the water travels is quite frightening. It is so fast. Wow this is amazing (I don’t know how else to say it) Incredible. The photos or movies just don’t do the falls any justice! I have heard so many people say that before but oh man incredible. We keep walking and seeing more and more of the falls. The falls just seem to go on forever! The falls are huge not just in how wide it is but how far it drops. The drop is 98m and we still get a sprinkling of the water that has gone over the edge! Ok more walking ewwwwww yuck there are striped mongooses on our path. Now if you know me you will know that I don’t like rodents. Thankfully I didn’t yell anything except Donald please get a photo! We have a picnic morning tea at the end of the walk overlooking the bungee bridge. It is so beautiful!
Ok time to go and finish our look around the falls area. No matter how much I look it still seems beautiful. Out of the falls now and it is time for lunch so we head into Victoria Falls town. The policewoman is asking Katie where she is going but Katie doesn’t hear her and I tell her that our guys are just up there on the hill in front of us and we are following them to get something to eat. She suggests a few places and lets us go. The place Donald thought of wasn’t there anymore so we go to a different place and now we have a policeman with us. Ummm I wonder what is happening so me being me I asked. He said they were tourist police. Ummmm I thought that maybe the tourists were being a problem but it was the street vendors. The street vendors were hassling tourists so much and even fighting each other and also the tourists. Ok I said. At the time I thought wow that’s a bit over the top as I felt quite safe. Finally he takes us to a nice place to eat and he was right. At this complex the street vendors aren’t allowed in. To get to the restaurant we have to pass a crocodile park sort of. They were behind fences but were huge. We were able to touch one through the fence as he was just lying there with his big mouth and teeth facing the other side! We were taking in the view outside the restaurant and there was our policeman. He waited for us and then took us to the market.
The market is another side to Zimbabwe. Now they are all calling us into their little booths. Donald tells females to go into this big shed so we did. There they sold all sorts of fabrics, tablecloths, runners etc and also some tops which they had crocheted. They were really nice but not my taste. I did see a table cloth that I kinda liked and showed Donald. He said to wait as there may have been other things I might want instead. The lady heard me and later on when I was standing outside came and showed it to me again. I couldn’t believe it! Janet found some things she liked and when she went back all of a sudden there was a sea of people trying to sell her the same piece of fabric – just amazing! Donald was right I found other things that I liked better than a table cloth. At one point there were a whole lot of men all talking loudly at me to buy something from their shop that I started to feel a little uneasy so I found our personal policeman and stood beside him. It was incredible they stopped straight away! Now where is that daughter of mine? She and Lily were having so much fun. They were just close to Donald so they were fine! One man showed be a wooden statue of the big five and asked me what I was prepared to pay for it. I told him I didn’t want it and he asked me why. I told him that I didn’t like it so I didn’t want to buy it and he told me that I did like it and what was the best price that I could pay him!
Our son and daughter in law for our three birthdays had given us some good drink bottles which we had with us. When they spotted it they wanted us to trade it for something in their shop. We had to KEEP on telling them that they were special gifts and we didn’t want to trade with it! But would they give up –NO! They even ended up asking Lily for the socks she was wearing! It is all just a ploy to get you into their shop and then they will tell you that you have to pay money on top of the trade!
Now when we were going to get our lunch there were some shops in the complex and Paul and Janet found a painting of elephants that they really liked so they bought it. They were going to package it up well and we would pick it up later. Well while we were there picking it up one of the street vendors was waiting for Paul outside and said that Paul had promised to look at one of his carvings. Paul went on his own to have a look. The guy had already packaged it up and was asking for a lot more than what they had agreed on. Our personal policeman realised that Paul was taking too long and went to look for him. Paul all of a sudden was standing in the middle of a circle of men all starting to get annoyed as Paul didn’t want to pay what they were saying. Paul ended up just pushing them out of the way and left, banging his head on the piece of wood in the shed! We don’t know what happened to the police officer but we didn’t see him anymore. We actually did look a little bit for him to say thanks but we had to get across the border again. Oh I didn’t tell you – I really wanted a wooden giraffe to take home a big one that can stand on the floor. Donald decides to go and get one and came back with two because you know you can’t just have one he was told!
Taxi Please!!! Oh here is one but it is only a car. How on earth can we fit 6 of us and the driver in a little Toyota Corolla!!! The driver said only one in the front! Because the police will give him a ticket otherwise. Ummm ok Paul hops in the front because Donald told him to and he says he will just walk and we can meet him on the other side. Ohhhh I don’t think so. Sooooo all 5 of us are in the back seat. Now did I tell you how hot we were in Zimbabwe? Donald is sitting on my knee bent over. My head is in his armpit and his head is hard against the window. We all have the giggles so much. Paul tries to get a photo but is too close! Even the taxi driver is laughing. What fun experiences we have had in Africa! All the back windows are tinted so the police can’t see in and see how many people are in the vehicle! Well we make it back to the border and then through the border into Zambia again.
Now we are to go to see the falls on the Zambian side. We are all tired and Janet decides that she will just stay in the car and wait for us. So Donald, Katie, Paul and Lily are going to see the falls again. This time we have to cross a walking bridge that is really high and the Zambezi River underneath. Ok I must do this so that I can see the rest of the falls as there is no other way to do it! Donald, Paul and Katie are long gone and Lily is behind me. Half way across I just screamed. It was like we were beside the sea and a wave came and got me wet and put so much water on my sunglasses that I couldn’t see and then the force it hit me took the hood off my head so now my hair is soaked! I was scared! Anyway I just had to keep going. Walking around the Zambian side of the falls you get a lot wetter than the other side. We were so hot and sweaty before and now we have had a shower. My eyes feel as though I have been swimming in the sea from the mixture of salty sweat and the water from the falls. Wow what an experience that was but I am so glad that I can say I have done it. Now where are the markets. Here we go again. There are only a couple of things that I want and everyone wants me to buy from their store! Katie and Lily really do love all the bartering. I wish, they would just have their price and that is the end of it! Oh dear here they go again wanting our shoes and drink bottles. The Zambian side is a lot nicer than the Zimbabwe side I will have to admit as far as the street vendors are concerned. I tried to tell them that I was a local as I live in Samfya and they would tell me that they would give me a local price but I am not so sure about that either. They all seem to think we have an unlimited amount of money to spend!
The end of an amazing day!
It is now Tuesday morning and we head to Lusaka. Thankfully a pretty uneventful day which is nice but it still took 6 hours to get there. We check into Kilimanjaro Lodge and all have showers. Again it is so nice to be there.
We are walking round Lusaka as Donald and Paul and Janet need to change money. Paul and Janet are also wanting to get a sim card for their phone. One of the street vendors kept asking me what I was buying as he could sell it to me. I told him that I wasn’t buying anything. He wouldn’t believe me and kept on pestering me. I had been telling him nicely and then his voice was starting to change and so I told him in a not so nice tone to “go away”. I thought Janet looked at me very shocked but when we were telling the guys later she said no she was just thankful that I did as she was starting to feel uneasy about him as well.
We went back to Arcades Mall for an ice cream – oh what a treat. We also updated emails.
Driving around and Donald gets pulled over by a police officer – not again! He is telling Donald that he was speeding. Donald was trying to tell the officer that it was the car that sped up and passed us but the police officer wouldn’t hear of it and sent us to see the other officers. Donald told them the same story and so they said that they would reduce his fine from K180, 000 to K80, 000. Donald told them he shouldn’t be paying anything as it wasn’t him. Anyway they were filling out the ticket and came to occupation. What is your occupation sir? Pastor Donald replied. They both looked at each other and then asked of what church. Donald replied CMML. They looked at each other and then said to Donald that he was forgiven and could go. Donald wasn’t going to be told twice and we drove away again ticket free!!! I should add here that Donald was telling the truth and that there was a car that had passed us at speed and the officer did just wave him through!
Wednesday now and Anne from Kilimanjaro Lodge had found out where we could buy some cross stitching fabric from. Not quite ada cloth but it will do and then we head off back to Samfya! Now I can teach the women who want to learn, how to cross stitch. Today we have an 8 hour trip back to Samfya.
On the way we stop at the Fig Tree Cafe (just by Maple Hurst which is run by New Zealander’s) for a coffee and toilet stop. We have our coffee and are heading out when Donald heard the owner telling some of the staff off. Donald was quite upset at the owner’s attitude and said he was even snapping his fingers at one of the staff to hurry up and get his jacket! It was not very nice to hear a Christian man talking to others in that sort of manner.
On the way again and we will be looking for places to buy some fresh fruit and veggies from. It is so hard to choose which person you want to buy from when everyone is selling the same things!
Oh my goodness is this rain on the windscreen. Surely not! Yes it is. In Zambia in the dry season and there is a drizzle of rain on the windscreen. Ohhh it is quite chilly as well. How weird.
We stopped in to visit Charles one of the Bible School Graduates and saw the school where he teaches carpentry, gardening and the girls are also being taught how to sew. They were also making bricks.
Here we are at the bridge again. Donald stops and lets the Atkinsons have a look at the Luapula River. Then we head across the bridge. The police officer waves us on but Donald decides to ask him if he was the one we saw the other day. Well when he realised it was us who saw him he laughed and shook Donald’s hand. All of a sudden we were his best friends.
We are now back in Samfya and driving up our driveway and who is that there happy to see us – Copper! He is so excited that he almost knocks Paul over. It is sooooo windy here. It feels as though the roof is just going to fly away! We are going to Levy and Agnes’ home for dinner and we are all thankful that we don’t have to cook after being on the road for so long! Wow what a meal they have given us – nshima, rice, chicken, fish and spinach! Whew we have very full tummies.
It seems as though I can’t eat nshima. Whenever I do I get bad tummy pains! Donald has said that I am not allowed to have anymore! I actually like nshima but I really don’t like the pain later.
Ohhh bed is so nice tonight!
Thursday morning and we are showing Paul and Janet around the Bible School. On our way there we pass the Fullers house and who do we see Spice. She was so happy to see us. We also saw Lucy as Paul and Janet’s home was the first home that Rogers and Lucy stayed at. Lucy was very pleased to see them.
It is now Friday and I have had the Ladies Study here again. Copper is tied up and doesn’t like it but it makes the Ladies feel safer. As I write this only Katie, Lily and I are at home as Donald, Paul, Janet, Peter and Levy have gone to a village in Chembe for the weekend. They will be going to meet with the CMML church there. Chembe is the Zambian border town buy the Pedicle Road in the DRC. They will be back on Sunday afternoon.
On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday Donald will be meeting with the elders from all the CMML churches here in Samfya. It will be a very interesting time. You will have to read Donald’s blog about all that happens there later in the week.
Today Katie and Lily started their job cataloguing books at SCCP (the orphans project that Mark and Carmen Brubaker run). They went on their own and then afterwards went down to the Bible School and bought us spinach (our silver beet) for dinner. At the moment they are both cross stitching.
Some sad news. On Wednesday it was really windy here in Samfya. A boat towing another boat sunk and with it 15 people drowned! As far as we know no bodies have been recovered yet.
One of the frustrations of living here in Samfya is the power. At times even thought the power is on it is very low which means to boil the jug could take over an hour. The power can also go off without warning. Today is Saturday and I wanted to get my blog updated but the power was off all day. The girls wanted to bake bread but no power. We couldn’t do dishes as there wasn’t any hot water. The girls didn’t even get to have a shower as there wasn’t any hot water. The power did come on at 6pm but only for 15 minutes! Thankfully I had everything ready, just in case and the elements were still hot when it all went off again to keep cooking our dinner. The power came on again just after 8pm! We have no idea on whether it was a routine power cut to work on lines or the weather. It is very windy and cold! Who would have thought this time of the year in Africa we would be cold! Oh well church tomorrow. Katie, Lily and I will go to the English speaking church at the Bible School.
Well I did warn you that this would be a marathon blog and it is. I will end it now.
I hope this has bought you up to date with our 10 days away.
Love to you all
Gwen
PS do you know that it is only 5 weeks until we leaving Samfya!
Friday, August 13, 2010
Your Prayers Valued
Just a quick update to thank you for your prayers. We have arrived safely back here in Samfya and the Atkinson’s have been getting used to low power, no power, and short showers!!
Today Donald, Paul & Janet, Levy & Agnes and Peter will travel to Chembe for training all weekend and then getting back to Samfya there is leadership seminars for all the Samfya area church elders (Gwen, Katie & Lily will remain home over the weekend). This is a very busy schedule and your prayers are valued that the teaching will touch the hearts of these leaders and that God’s Word would be exalted in the practice of these churches. Please pray that hearts would be open to the truth and that we again have the discernment needed to help our brothers and sisters.
Today Donald, Paul & Janet, Levy & Agnes and Peter will travel to Chembe for training all weekend and then getting back to Samfya there is leadership seminars for all the Samfya area church elders (Gwen, Katie & Lily will remain home over the weekend). This is a very busy schedule and your prayers are valued that the teaching will touch the hearts of these leaders and that God’s Word would be exalted in the practice of these churches. Please pray that hearts would be open to the truth and that we again have the discernment needed to help our brothers and sisters.
Monday, August 9, 2010
Wow- what a day!!
Gween Janet & Regina (Frank's Wife)
The ekders from Livinstone Central Church (Frank the Samfya Graduate is in the yellow shirt)Wow - what a day!! To say the speeches of gratitude were humbling is an understatement - there were tears in my eyes. This visit to these few churches in Livingstone has been a timely one. We have found people here who are hungry for truth and the application of the Word to their churches. The churches here are relatively young, being established since 1983. However they have come under serious criticism and pressure from a very legalistic section within Zambia. The teaching requested and the questions fielded reflected a leadership wanting help to navigate through troubled waters. They were full of thanks for the instruction and the honesty of teaching and responses that could identify the historical problems of our church heritage and bring the word to bear on those issues.
It would be a very prudent move to consolidate this teaching at their conference next year in August and help them make further progress in the priority of the gospel. As I have already indicated these leaders are visionary. They are looking outside of their city to the surrounding regions and countries. Church planting and outreach are on their hearts, but with that, churches that are soundly taught.
It is an amazing privilege to help these brothers and sisters. We have teaching and resources that are beyond imagination to the average Zambian church and leadership. With these blessings that we possess, comes great responsibility - that is why we are here on behalf of RBC. It is hugely challenging to grapple with the issues here and then be available to help. The teaching can be tiring, but it is rewarding to see the connections that are being made. Please keep praying that we would have wisdom and strength and discernment as we draw alongside these our fellow saints.
Tomorrow we get to take the Atkinson’s to Victoria Falls (& Gwen & Katie). This will be a lot of fun and beauty! Tuesday we drive to Lusaka and Wednesday back to Samfya. Please pray for safety in travel.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Kazungula
Well Yesterday in Kazungula was a real blessing to see a new church in action. There are just 30 believers in this new plant, but these men and women have a passion for the Gospel and a heart towards reaching into other nations around them. As always here in Zambia, resources are slim and the church is struggling to establish the new plot that they have purchased. They are actively moulding concrete blocks however and planning towards the future - it is always good to see churches that are getting stuck in and doing work both spiritually and physically and not expecting handouts from others.
Their vision for the work in Kazungula includes the establishment of the church buildings, starting a community school and establishing a clinic for orphans and vulnerable children. This is part of their strategy to touch their community with the gospel, the gospel which motivates us all in good deeds to all people. They expressed needs like getting a generator and PA system that they could use in evangelistic crusades which are effective tools in reaching out in these areas.
Well today will be another full day of teaching in two churches in Livingstone. Thank you for your prayers that sustain us each day.
Their vision for the work in Kazungula includes the establishment of the church buildings, starting a community school and establishing a clinic for orphans and vulnerable children. This is part of their strategy to touch their community with the gospel, the gospel which motivates us all in good deeds to all people. They expressed needs like getting a generator and PA system that they could use in evangelistic crusades which are effective tools in reaching out in these areas.
Well today will be another full day of teaching in two churches in Livingstone. Thank you for your prayers that sustain us each day.
Saturday, August 7, 2010
Teaching in Livingstone
Greetings from Livingstone. Yesterday I had a full day of meetings with the elders and church members from Livingstone Central CMML Church. This included some personal time with the elders which was very valuable. The teaching ranged from Church Discipline issues to Leadership Qualifications to Paid Staff to Womens Issues and a huge number of questions all the way! It was a rewarding time and these leaders are very active in the church and involved in outreach and church planting programmes. The home church has about 300 or more members.
Today we drive 60 kms to Kazungula where they have established a small church plant in 2007 and we have a full day of meetings. Sunday we meet with a daughter church in Livingstone in the morning and then back to the mother church in the afternoon. Please pray for clarity in teaching and the ability to discern and help with the real needs here. These leaders have asked if we could come to their annual conference which is late August - a time which may fit well for future team visits.
In talking with the leaders the passion they have for evangelism and church planting was evident. They desire to see all the regions in this area established with good churches - a venture they have begun to establish. They also have eyes on neighbouring Namibia and Botswana. The struggle they have is finances. One church plant in a town called Zimba is struggling because in the economic downturn they have not had the money to send their teachers and evangelists as they did initially.
To assist them in their work they are looking at the possibility of establishing a bookshop and even a poultry unit. I think that their initiative is commendable - they are not sitting back and waiting for others to help, but rather actively looking at ways to establish these works themselves.
The main church also has a lot of widows and orphans, something they take seriously in an effort to help these people. Praise God for a church with vision and passion and a heart for the truth!
Today we drive 60 kms to Kazungula where they have established a small church plant in 2007 and we have a full day of meetings. Sunday we meet with a daughter church in Livingstone in the morning and then back to the mother church in the afternoon. Please pray for clarity in teaching and the ability to discern and help with the real needs here. These leaders have asked if we could come to their annual conference which is late August - a time which may fit well for future team visits.
In talking with the leaders the passion they have for evangelism and church planting was evident. They desire to see all the regions in this area established with good churches - a venture they have begun to establish. They also have eyes on neighbouring Namibia and Botswana. The struggle they have is finances. One church plant in a town called Zimba is struggling because in the economic downturn they have not had the money to send their teachers and evangelists as they did initially.
To assist them in their work they are looking at the possibility of establishing a bookshop and even a poultry unit. I think that their initiative is commendable - they are not sitting back and waiting for others to help, but rather actively looking at ways to establish these works themselves.
The main church also has a lot of widows and orphans, something they take seriously in an effort to help these people. Praise God for a church with vision and passion and a heart for the truth!
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Training Needs
I trust that you were able to read the report from the six graduates from the weekend training. They are all doing well in church ministry and have a passion to help their churches. The more time I spend here the more and more I understand just how great the ongoing training needs are. These men are doing so well with what they have been taught, but so much ongoing training is necessary. It is vital that the Bible School staff are involved in regular village visits to see the training happen.
To this end we have developed a list of the various areas that graduates are from and have begun to prioritise where visits are needed. The problem is how many of these seminars can you run in a year? If you only do four then it will take about 5 years to get around. If you do ten or more how do you pay for all the transport costs not to mention the toll on the teachers!! There are no easy answers; however more Bibles and finances to make these visits happen is vital.
As I reflect on the last two weekends of training, there really needs to be follow up visits another year down the track. The momentum is there, the desire for truth is there, the need for change is clearly evident - would you pray about these vital leadership training opportunities. Pray that God would use then to bring real change to rural churches, leaders who are committed to truth, that graduates would have the wisdom needed to work in difficult places. I was saddened to hear that some of these men were not sending their own kids to school because they were not making enough money due to the time that they were trying to put into ministry. Now that is wrong, but the calling that many of these graduates have in their lives is unmistakeable!
The need for the second year to be added to the Bible School programme is undeniable. These men & women need further sharpening for the work that they do. This will mean the need for at least another staff member and the administrative burden only continues to grow! Please PRAY!
We are now in Livingstone worn out by two days of driving. The Atkinson family arrive tomorrow, we have 1 ½ days of R&R with them and then three full days of leadership training in three areas down here. Please pray for strength and discernment as we encourage the church members from this region. They have been actively church planting down here, so it will be interesting to see how the work is progressing.
To this end we have developed a list of the various areas that graduates are from and have begun to prioritise where visits are needed. The problem is how many of these seminars can you run in a year? If you only do four then it will take about 5 years to get around. If you do ten or more how do you pay for all the transport costs not to mention the toll on the teachers!! There are no easy answers; however more Bibles and finances to make these visits happen is vital.
As I reflect on the last two weekends of training, there really needs to be follow up visits another year down the track. The momentum is there, the desire for truth is there, the need for change is clearly evident - would you pray about these vital leadership training opportunities. Pray that God would use then to bring real change to rural churches, leaders who are committed to truth, that graduates would have the wisdom needed to work in difficult places. I was saddened to hear that some of these men were not sending their own kids to school because they were not making enough money due to the time that they were trying to put into ministry. Now that is wrong, but the calling that many of these graduates have in their lives is unmistakeable!
The need for the second year to be added to the Bible School programme is undeniable. These men & women need further sharpening for the work that they do. This will mean the need for at least another staff member and the administrative burden only continues to grow! Please PRAY!
We are now in Livingstone worn out by two days of driving. The Atkinson family arrive tomorrow, we have 1 ½ days of R&R with them and then three full days of leadership training in three areas down here. Please pray for strength and discernment as we encourage the church members from this region. They have been actively church planting down here, so it will be interesting to see how the work is progressing.
Weekend at Chipundu/Kapata
Hi all, The ministry weekend went well - I have copied a graduate report for you below and will make comments on the blog tomorrow. We are now in Livingstone to pick up the family coming up to Samfya - email in Lusaka didn;t work!!
Report form Past students from Samfya Bible School - Kapata/Chikunyu Zone
(slightly abridged and edited to flow!!)
To the Saints at Riverbend Bible Church, New Zealand
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. We are very happy tp see brother Pastor Donald Stevenson and the family come to us again. We still thank God for how He uses you people of New Zealand to help the people of Samfya. We even received the Bemba Bibles from you. We know that you are still remembering us people of Samfya. We also thank the teachers of Samfya Bible School for the servant spirit they have by helping people of Zambia by telling them God’s good news. We get knowledge from them. We are six past students in these zones:
Br. Francis Pengele from Kapata Central Assembly
Br. Dickson Chikundu from Kampolombo Assembly
Br. Dominic Chilufya from Chikunyu Assembly
Br. Davies Kawama from Chikunyu Assembly
Br. Lazarous Mwelwa from KAbende Mushi Assembly
Br Alfred Mutanda from Chisuku Assembly
What the Lord has done here:
We are conducting the following seminars
- Seminars for leaders
- Seminars for elders
- Seminars for Deacons & Deaconesses
- Couples Meetings
- Seminars for Youth Groups
We also preached to the people, “Repent and believe the gospel.” The people who believed His message and turned to follow him became his disciples, accepting Him as their Saviour. Praise God for the blessing.
We formed a youth group called Kamaka. It is a joy to see parents letting their children come to learn God’s Word. We have six assemblies were we started youth groups. When we meet together it is called Kamaka.
Sunday School is now done in most of the Assemblies in these zones. Three assemblies were started by the past students of Samfya Bible School...
Future plans:
- Sunday School Teacher Training
- Teaching the preachers how to prepare a lesson (27 churches in our region)
- Teaching those who have never been to school (literacy)
- Francis and Doreen Pengele planned to go and Evangelise in Central Province in Kapiri District in Sep/Oct 2010. The problem is concerning accommodation costs...”I spend most of my time in the work of the Lord. Only my wife supports the work...” (an appeal for assistance).
May God bless you all - signed by the six graduates.
Report form Past students from Samfya Bible School - Kapata/Chikunyu Zone
(slightly abridged and edited to flow!!)
To the Saints at Riverbend Bible Church, New Zealand
Greetings in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. We are very happy tp see brother Pastor Donald Stevenson and the family come to us again. We still thank God for how He uses you people of New Zealand to help the people of Samfya. We even received the Bemba Bibles from you. We know that you are still remembering us people of Samfya. We also thank the teachers of Samfya Bible School for the servant spirit they have by helping people of Zambia by telling them God’s good news. We get knowledge from them. We are six past students in these zones:
Br. Francis Pengele from Kapata Central Assembly
Br. Dickson Chikundu from Kampolombo Assembly
Br. Dominic Chilufya from Chikunyu Assembly
Br. Davies Kawama from Chikunyu Assembly
Br. Lazarous Mwelwa from KAbende Mushi Assembly
Br Alfred Mutanda from Chisuku Assembly
What the Lord has done here:
We are conducting the following seminars
- Seminars for leaders
- Seminars for elders
- Seminars for Deacons & Deaconesses
- Couples Meetings
- Seminars for Youth Groups
We also preached to the people, “Repent and believe the gospel.” The people who believed His message and turned to follow him became his disciples, accepting Him as their Saviour. Praise God for the blessing.
We formed a youth group called Kamaka. It is a joy to see parents letting their children come to learn God’s Word. We have six assemblies were we started youth groups. When we meet together it is called Kamaka.
Sunday School is now done in most of the Assemblies in these zones. Three assemblies were started by the past students of Samfya Bible School...
Future plans:
- Sunday School Teacher Training
- Teaching the preachers how to prepare a lesson (27 churches in our region)
- Teaching those who have never been to school (literacy)
- Francis and Doreen Pengele planned to go and Evangelise in Central Province in Kapiri District in Sep/Oct 2010. The problem is concerning accommodation costs...”I spend most of my time in the work of the Lord. Only my wife supports the work...” (an appeal for assistance).
May God bless you all - signed by the six graduates.
Just at home
My Goodness!
I have just sat down to play some games on my computer. I said to Donald that it sounds like it is raining. I didn’t think it was as this is the dry season. The noise outside is all the swamp flies that have hatched and are hitting the windows and roof! They are here literally in the millions and our pale yellow walls are black with the insects. Not so much fun! They come and buzz around us and land on us and the computer – time to go I think!
Also this afternoon Katie and I were watching the long version of pride and prejudice and I heard a plop sort of noise not far from me. When I had a look there were two lizards right by me!!! Then I went to go out the front door and there was another one just by the door handle! Needless to say I screamed and didn’t go outside!
Cultural Differences
Donald was talking to one of the men yesterday and he was telling Donald how he had a nasty rash on his armpit!
Donald asked him how he got it
Now wait for it!!!
He told Donald that after he had shaved his armpit, he put deodorant on and it had a reaction! That is right, you did read it right - he shaved his armpits!!!
Apparently here in Zambia married men shave their armpits!!
Can you hear the laughter when Donald was telling Katie and I!
Donald told him that in our society, it is a sign of masculinity - having hairy armpits!
The two of them were able to laugh about how different cultures can be!
Can you imagine a good kiwi bloke shaving his armpits hahahahahaha Now Donald you are in Zambia so you should do what the Zambian’s do hahahahahaha
Well for those of you who have asked – the photos on this blog are photos of our view from our house. Isn’t it just amazing! We see the lake as far as you can see. At night time it looks like there is a city out there with all the paraffin lamps glowing in the fishing boats. We tried to take a photo but it didn’t come out so well so you will have to use your imagination!
I thought I might point out some differences between Hastings and Samfya.
POWER: The electricity here is very inconsistent. It goes off most nights between 6pm and 8pm approx. Sometimes when the power is on, it is low so boiling a pot of water can take well over an hour or biscuits that should take 15 minutes can take nearly 2 hours! I must admit that when there is power on we make the most of it getting washing done and also the cooking. Because of the power going on and off people who have fridges quite often have to get new ones as they blow up!
ROADS: Although the roads to Samfya are tar sealed (careful of potholes) most of the other roads are dirt. It is very pretty though as it is red.
SHOPS: Shops always seem to be open even late at night. They are more like little booths and sell a variety of things rather than specialising in one or two things eg the dairy kind of shop will sell everything from an ice cold coke to BIG bags of grain, or some even sell pesticides as well as clothes. They also name their shops funny things (well they are funny to us but normal to them), God Given Investments is one (a diary type store), Back to My Roots (a shoe shop) is another one. The butcher here has all his meat in freezers thankfully. But he mostly just goes to the big towns and buys the meat and comes home and freezes them. The fish market is another tale. Nothing is refrigerated! And ohhhhhhhhhhhhh the smell. Whenever they see us white people (hehe) they want to sell us something even if we don’t want it! Sometimes they get a bit stroppy if we don’t buy!
LIZARDS: Well need I say more. Even while typing this, a lizard thought it might be nice to say hello to me! HA he got it wrong. I screamed and ran and Katie shoed him out under the door! They seem to think this is their place and they can roam as they please – inside and out!
SAFTEY: It is really safe to go out walking here. At home I would not let Katie and her friends go any distance on her own but when Lily comes they will be able to go to the stores up the road and I know they will be safe. There are a few mad men (yes I actually mean mad) but others would make them go away if they were being a problem. There doesn’t seem predators here like at home. I think if they tried anything on young girls the villagers would beat them to a pulp – hmmmmm maybe we should try that at home.
GREETINGS: Whenever anyone passes you when you are out walking (no matter what colour you are)they will greet you and expect a greeting back. At church you are made to stand so everyone can see that you are a visitor. After the first service every one leaves and stands in a line outside and as you leave you shake hands then stand at the end of the queue until everyone has gone through.
THE SUNRISE AND SUNSET: Ohhh man photos just don’t do them any justice. They are amazing and the colour of the red/orange is brilliant. You can’t even look at it sometimes as it is so bright. It is like nothing I have ever seen before! Absolutely beautiful!
FOOD: The fruit just seems so much sweeter here than back home and certainly bigger. I guess they haven’t been imported and have just been picked although I must admit to buying them on the side of the road not at the supermarket. The granny smiths there were gross. I don’t think they would even be sold as seconds at home! Needless to say we left them there. Bananas, pawpaw and watermelon is what we have had most of. Granidillas (a different variety of our passionfruit) just tastes amazing as well – they are light green when ripe not like our dark purple!
Then there is nshima. This is the staple diet here. We don’t mind eating it. I have had a lesson in cooking it but need more practise in making it! They eat it with ‘juice’ as they call it which is usually a tomato type sauce which they make by grating the tomato and then adding onions and boiling it. They would usually have some small chicken pieces with it. They also have spinach (we would call it silver beet), rape and Chinese cabbage. They would just have one and cut it up into very small pieces and add red onion and boil until cooked. They would however eat fish more than chicken. They love to drink Coke. I can’t have coke due to my diabetes but sometimes the shop will sell coke light. It doesn’t have sugar in it but I am sure it doesn’t taste like coke zero, or diet coke back home. Most times I just choose to have bottled water. They don’t usually have dessert or baking. They don’t have ice cream or cream here in Samfya. You can buy it at shoprite but that is in Mansa which is an hour away. They also don’t have cream that you can whip here.
Oh their lollipops are amazing too and I must admit I have had one. Katie really likes one brand in particular. Chippies and things like that they do have here. Some are nice but they are not like our bluebird chippies back home. We have not seen any twisties, burger rings or anything like that here.
DOGS: There are a lot of dogs here that just seem to roam around but people are petrified of them – in particular Copper and Spice. Copper and Spice are very big dogs though and if you run will chase you.
LAKE BANGWAULU is really big. The meaning is ‘where the water meets the sky’ and it is a fitting name. The water really does meet the sky when you look out to the horizon. They catch a lot of fish here – the most popular being bream. It really looks like it is the ocean. People here have never seen the ocean. I just can’t imagine that! They also think it is strange that the ocean would be salt water as the lake here is fresh. It is where they get their water from. It is very beautiful.
BIRDS: The bird life here is just so amazing. I wish we could get photos to show you all but they are just too quick for us! They range from being tiny to absolutely massive and everything in between.
HOUSING: Most people here would live in a shack with an iron roof. The walls are made of mud bricks covered with cement and then painted. You are fortunate if you have a concrete floor. Some are just mud. There are also lots thatched roofs, oooh yuck can you imagine all the lizards that live in those! Some people have quite nice houses as well and as people are getting more affluent the houses are getting better. Most people would still have a pit loo outside and have a wash from a bowl, and cook over hot charcoal! Even if you have electricity you would still have charcoal to cook with as a backup because of the power situation, but most of these homes would not have electricity.
TELEPHONES: No one here has a land line! Communication all happens with cell phones and there are cell phone towers everywhere. It is rather amazing that someone would not have a Bible but would have a cell phone. It is hard for me to get my head around that one.
COMPUTERS: Unlike NZ not many homes have computers. Most people if they need a computer will go to the Samfya Basic School to use their ones but most do not have any need for a computer or internet.
MALARIA is very common. Most people will have it at some point in their lives and more than likely more than once. It is caught by a female mosquito biting an infected person and then biting someone else. It is the leading cause of death here – even above aids. Prevention in the most part would be easy. Mosquito nets should be a must but a lot choose not to have them. They are readily available and are very cheap. The govt (or whoever it is who should do this) needs to put drains in to drain off stagnant water as that is where mosquitoes breed. These two things would reduce the amount of people who get Malaria. Education is also important. People don’t seem to understand how easy it is to do some things to prevent getting it. None of these are fool proof however and the only way not to get it is not to get bitten – easier said than done.
People with Malaria do get quite sick although the cerebral malaria is the worst as it attacks the brain. The other is like getting a bad case of the flue although can and does often cause death.
Well there are amny other things that are different as well, but as usual this blog has turned out to be a marathon. Sorry.
Gotta go and have lunch now.
Gwen
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