- Jan 25
- 8 min read
The Start
Nearly 10 years ago Mallory had a dream of she, the children and myself living in Africa. In the dream we received our family for a visit and were sharing with them the amazing things that God had been doing in Africa. A few years after the dream I was praying and felt God ask if we would go anywhere we were called. I eagerly said we would go. Prostrate praying, I was encouraged to lay my family at God’s feet, next to lay down my ego (what I and others thought of myself), and finally our future as a family. When I had laid down my life, God encouraged me to ask to go to the places where people said no to going. I prayed this prayer for the next few months. I asked to go to places neglected, needy, and numb: to places which felt spiritually dark. This prayer began to sow love in our hearts for locations all over the world. In the process of falling in love with the places and people we got a glimpse of the love of God for people. God is in everyone and there is no place devoid of God’s presence. We were hungry to go, but God had years of preparation in mind.
We have since spent 5 years moving around Indiana looking for places to serve and fall in love with people. This journey has meant being nomadic, strange, and even offensive to others who are very thankful to be rooted in their current community. No part of me wants to diminish what God wants to do in local people in local places. It has been a pleasure getting to know people in the towns and cities where we have lived. During our call to go, we have had 3 children: Roman, Olive, and Charlie. Mallory started home schooling Roman when it became apparent we would be moving often. All the children are doing well with this kind of education, but at times wish they had more contact with other children. Each place we go, they find friends quickly and enjoy connecting with adults as much as they do other children.
Mallory and I have undergone our own training in the years leading up to this moment. Mallory has researched health and cooking, even going to school at the Institute of Integrated Nutrition, where she received a certificate in health coaching. She has passionately pursued ancient practices of cooking, with fermentation, natural food recipes, different methods of cooking. The love for food, health, and sustainable practices has grown and matured. When hosting a friend from India, she worked on spice mixes, and culturally appropriate meal planning. She has explored other cultures in cooking practices and in wellness. She has also looked at the lifestyles of those overseas who live longest and with a great quality of life which has helped us prepare to live sustainably. Mallory's love for learning as helped prepare us to live in many diverse environments.
Similarly, I have been given a heart to study people groups from all over the world. Delving into cultures has often meant finding out what drives and inspires people in these places. This study of faith, governments, and living and dying practices, has pushed me to go and see what the practices look like. Each week for several years I have been sent into new places to find people who live differently and experience the ways they live. It is difficult not to appreciate a people when you experience their love, their devotion, and their family life. God has planted love in my heart for people through these experience and prepared me to go into new places in Africa with no fear of the people or the place. This is the preparation God has taken us through to prepare us to go into the world with a love for all and a wonder for all we can learn. But why Zambia?
Why Zambia?
2 years ago I was asked by a good friend to go to Zambia to a pastors’ school led by Kafakumba Transformational Outreach that goes on during a few months a year. We would only be going for 2 weeks, but he assured me it would be well worth the trip. I was reluctant, having traveled a lot already that year (just getting back from a 2 week trip in India) and not being too keen to be away from family for another 2 weeks. When praying about it, I felt God asking for me to go and decided to go. My friend, myself, and my childhood pastor went on the journey to Zambia. During the trip I was overwhelmed with feelings of desire to have my family with me in the places we went. The longer we were there, the more sure I was that I would have to come back with Mallory and the children. Many things happened during the days when we were in Africa, but in general, I love being everywhere I go. At the time I loved traveling in India, in Pakistan, the Dominican Republic and many other places, but I never thought of bringing my family to a place I had traveled until that trip. Many of the missionary families had children my kids’ ages and many of the people I met were so loving and kind, it was hard not to imagine our life in that community.
When I arrived back home in Indiana, going back to Zambia became the focal point of life. I still worked at a church in Indiana had friendships and family to pour into, but knew that getting everyone to travel back was the most important thing. It took nearly a full year for this dream to come to fruition, but last spring we were given the opportunity to take the whole family to Zambia for 10 weeks. This time would be spent discerning our call to the people there and to see if our very first-world kids could survive in a very different environment. I went into the trip believing we were being called there, but it was important to me for Mallory to feel the same way and for the children to feel at home there. All of these things were deeply on my heart as I prayed into the trip. The time came to leave and we took the 30 hour journey. The flight time is about 20 hours, but with layovers it is just over 30 hours. The children, having never flown, were very excited to travel. I will admit that I had propagated them to believe that travel was wonderful and they believed it would be. The journey being so long took a toll on them, as travel is essentially waiting in different places to arrive at your destination. Despite the pain and suffering involved in waiting, they arrived safe and our friends greeted us kindly at the airport in Ndola.
The pain of travel did not end for several weeks, as we lived 6 hours ahead of our biological clocks. Mallory and I battled the time difference with the children getting up in the middle of the night assuming it was day, and we pushed them awake at each nap time. The Kafakumba team put us up in a 3 bedroom house on the Kafakumba campus. It had electricity, internet (when there was electricity), and running water. It was a beautiful place to call home, and felt as comfortable as our house in the US. The children thrived on an environment which was driven by the lush outdoor spaces and the friendly people who lived and worked around us. We arrived in March at the tail end of the rainy season and got to experience a few African rains. The kids dancing in the rains of Africa is a memory that will stick with me. The first few weeks the kids discovered a lot of plants, animals, and bugs. Some of those experiences were a little painful, but most led to fascinating discussions of God’s awesome creation. I began driving a van we were afforded by the organization. This gave us the chance to learn how to shop the local markets, and businesses. With patience these were wonderful experiences. The longer we stayed the more “at home” we felt. Mallory had been cooking from scratch for several years at home and all those skills were called upon as there are very few ready-made foods there. The local diet is mostly a corn meal called nshema, set off by vegetables and a protein if you can afford it. We enjoyed African food along with Indian cuisine Mallory had in her repertoire. Each day of life was an adventure filled with new friends, the pains of normal living, and frequent new experiences.
I set out to learn to do as Zambians do in as many ways as possible. Taking to doing laundry by hand and trying to use local tools when I could. The Kafakumba team went to painstaking efforts to include us in dinners and parties. We loved spending time with the team. It was wonderful to get to know their families as we acclimated to the new environment. By the time pastors’ school started, we were at home in Zambia. 100 pastors come from Zambia and the surrounding nation to learn for 9 hours a day for 6 days a week for 1 month. Tanzania, Namibia, Congo, and Zambia is represented. Many pastors speak several languages but have not received any formal theological training. Kafakumba brings the folks in who are seeking this training; vets them, pays for travel, feeds them for a month, and provides teachers and translators for their education. I was so thankful to be one of the facilitators at the school. During the month we worshipped, learned, and lived together. Dormitories are given to the pastors coming in and meals are shared between the students each day. This was my second year with the students who range in age from 20s to 60s. Many of them come from different tribes and nations. The time spent with them was precious. By the end of the month I was praying it would not be my last.
Back in the United States
We had only a week or so after Pastors’ school to prepare to go back to the United States in June of 2025. It was bitter sweet to leave, but it felt like God had done what was needed in that time. As we went home we found that our family missed living in Zambia. We missed our friends, the culture there, and the environment. While it was difficult being back in the United States, this time did allow us to care for our extended family in the US who went through loss, grief, and displacement during that time. During the next 6 months we spent considerable time discerning whether that longing to go back to Zambia would go away, or whether it meant Zambia was where we were called next. At the end of October I asked Mallory if she still thought about going back. She said she did. I thought about it all the time. The kids talked about it constantly. We decided to talk to God as though we were going back in 2026. The leaders of Kafakumba came stateside and it became apparent in our conversations that going back to Zambia is what God was asking our family to do. When Mallory and I accepted this, we felt so much peace. The past few months has been a whirlwind of pursuing the coming season in Zambia. Filling out paperwork, getting shots, raising funds, and many more activities became steps towards the life that God has promised and called us to as a family. The closer we get, the more I see what God has done in preparing the way for us to go.
It is now one month from the time when we will fly on February 24th to our new home. We are so excited to do what God has laid on our hearts. Our love for the people there, and for the process of being transformed pushes us to say yes over and over again. I want to thank you who are reading for being a part of our journey. Each step has not been flawless, but it has been wonderful. We are looking forward to seeing what God can do with our family in a place like Zambia. Please pray for us as we seek to learn languages and customs. We want to love people where they are. Pray also for the funding to do all God has called. And finally, pray for our families and friends back home to be comforted and know the peace of God as we take this leap. God will provide in each of these areas. Thank you for being a part of the journey!