1 Day 2 Tires

Hey, hope everyone is doing all right over there. We have been doing very well the past month or so. Things have been busy. Let me tell you what is going on the with the family, with some new projects, and our lives in general here in Zambia.  I’m excited to tell you about this new update!

1 Day, 2 Flat Tires

10 weeks ago when praying, I had been asking God for ideas on what to do, and how to help people around where we live, I saw blue. For a week I saw blue. Then I started seeing a rickshaw, a kind of 3 wheel motorcycle. Small scale transportation around where we live is very difficult to find. There are few to no taxis. The buses are for traveling between towns, and require a full load to move. Some people walk 10 kilometers a day to work. This means waking up at 5 am to take a 3 mile walk, working until 4:30pm and walking 3 miles back home. I felt very clearly that God was asking me to get a rickshaw to help people get to and from work. There was no dealer for these vehicles when I started praying. The week I figured out that God was asking me to get one, a dealership opened in Ndola, 20 minutes away from where we stay. It took one more week to move funds and pursue it. Then it was one week for the paperwork to be done. At the end of two months we had our first rickshaw.

It has taken me a few weeks of driving it to get proficient, but in that time it has been so fun to pick people up and get them where they need to go. I am still praying about what the next step is. I believe we are looking for a driver who can make this their work and help some folks get where they need to go. Please pray with us for that. This has been a long setup for our story, but it will be worth it.

I woke up last Tuesday and attempted to drive Mallory to her Tuesday morning class with the kids at the school, (she does short devotions for each class individually). Both back tires on the Probox(our car) were flat. I looked to see what the trouble was, and see if I could refill them and take Mallory in quickly. Both had very noticeable pieces of metal in them. We live on backroads in Africa, there are all sorts of things we drive over, but two flat tires in a day is special. It may not sound funny, but I have been praying that God use everything we encounter to grow us and prepare us as a family. This felt like an answer to prayer. We live on a compound with 4 rental homes on it in a forest setting on about 10 acres. One of our Zambian friends, Patrick, who works around the compound came up to see how I was doing. We greeted each other and he said, ‘I can help with the tires.’ I thanked him and asked what he needed. He asked for my jack and told me not to worry. He would text me when he got to town for the money for the tire repair.

Patrick had called a few guys over and they had the tires off before Mallory and I had the kids settled into the rickshaw. The kids love it. No seatbelts, no doors, unlimited air and waving potential; what is not to like? They all piled in the back with Mallory and I chaffered them to the Kafakumba school 3 miles from our place. On our way we picked up fritters sold on the side of the road for K3 a piece. It is just fried dough in a ball. The kids and I ate and played around the school while Mallory taught her classes. There is a bathroom block nearby the school being built, which means a pile of sand there to use with the concrete. To an adult it may look like a building material, or even yard rubbish, but to Roman, Olive and Charlie, this pile is a full-blown playground. The next 90 minutes was spent in deep construction, destruction, digging, jumping and rolling. During that time I got a text from Patrick to send K200 for the tires. He had ridden it over to Baluba, (a town nearby) and gotten it patched already. K200 is about $11. I gladly sent it to him with mobile money. In Africa, many people use their phones as a wallet. You can keep your money in a mobile account and send it via your line when you need it. This means much less theft, losing cash, and only you have access to your money. So I sent money from my line to his with no issues at all.

Mallory finished up her class and we packed up our sandy, happy clan. We quickly headed over to the children’s ministry classrooms to check on supplies for Sunday. Mallory has been helping coordinate volunteers and organize lessons for the kids at church. Lately we have had 40 kids coming on any given Sunday. Between the kids and my youth choir of 12-20 kids, our church is 60 percent youth. It is cool to see what a youth church looks like. After getting what we needed for the classrooms, we headed back home on the rickshaw, glad that our hard-playing kids were in the open air. By the time we got home it had been about 2.5 hours. Both tires were patched and back on the car. Patrick and a few of our other friends had given us back our regular transportation.

Living in Africa, each day is a bit of a surprise. You are free to make plans, and those plans may even take place, but hardly ever in the way you visualize. It is a constant lesson in adaptability. There are no bad days when each one is held loosely. No matter what should take place, hold it gently and it won’t lead to disappointment. Laundry day is a great idea, but what if there is no power? (A consistently inconsistent problem). A day in town shopping sounds easy enough, but things like elections, road closures, fuel shortages, or illness can make simple things take a lot longer. Patience and detachment have been the keys to consistent peace. Zambia has so much to offer in its fertile land, friendly people, and freedom to try things. We are learning a lot and so thankful being here.

Family

The kids are loving school. Roman is reading so much and the girls are beginning to sight read. It is fun to see them grow and learn. Roman is continuing to work around the house with some of the Zambians who are doing construction around where we live. Olive is also continuing to make new friends. She has had so much fun with children’s programs and church time. Charlie is growing a lot in her storytelling and in her relationship with her brother and sister. The kids are beginning to connect with some Zambian children and learning some of the languages here.

Mallory is planning, God willing, on a new work at the school reading to children. She wants to spend time with different kinds of books designed to open up ideas and grow vocabulary. So far there is a lot of enthusiasm for listening and growing. Those of you who know Mallory well know she is very gifted at story telling and narration. She loves to bring characters and stories to life. In a place where story telling is highly valued, she is finding some cool opportunities to share her gift. We have enjoyed our time of rest while school has been off for the last month, but that time is coming to a close just now. As school starts back we are enjoying getting back into the rhythms of teaching with the students, with the teachers and with the medical staff. Mallory has also begun to do some admin work for the organization that we’re with and it also sounds like it’s going very well for her.

I began working with our youth group a few months ago, but it has turned into one of my favorite times of the week. In Zambia, youth age is from teenage years into mid-twenties. Those who are here are very interested in learning more. I love teaching and seeing how quickly they apply whatever is taught. We have been going over a prayer exercise that I will share with you later. Each week I grow in the context for teaching here and the youth teach me more about the Zambia culture. It is a very fun exchange. Their passion and humility to learn makes this time very precious.

Projects

We are working with some Zambian pastors and their congregations on farming projects in the northwest providence of Zambia. I am going up tomorrow to Munilunga, Kalumbila, and Solwezi to buy some seeds and meet the growers. Please pray for that travel. It should be good relationship building, and personal growth time. Nathan Enright  and I will fly up in his plane and then hire motorcycle taxi’s to the farmers.

We have also been working with some young girls here in a small venture where they can make things out of local cloth. I am very hopeful that this will become a steady income for them. We are still praying that God would show us which young women to work with in these early days of the projects. So far the ones who are starting the projects are doing a great job.

Life

Things are beginning to heat up here as winter is over. It is now 85-90 degrees Fahrenheit in the day and 75 or so at night. This is a bit of a transition without air conditioning. When it is hot, you are hot. We are learning to drink more water during the day and soak up the shade when it is available. We spend most of our time outdoors. The warmer weather has meant an increase in mosquitoes, but we will get used to that too. We are enjoying time together in the garden and with some of our new friends here. Mosquito nets are starting to come out again so that we keep the bites and malaria at bay.

Mallory and I are getting our Zambian driver’s licenses next week, God willing. Please be praying for that. You can drive for a while on an international license, but local authorities want to see a Zambian license after 6 months of living here. Our last test is next Tuesday.

There are monkeys living around our house and so many different kinds of birds and wildlife. Our garden periodically takes a beating, (the monkeys particularly like tomatoes and broccoli), but it is nice to live in such a vibrant place. Mallory found a fruit bat a few days ago. It was nearly as big as the monkeys. Reading, eating, and playing outside makes life very lovely. Living around a forest means there is always a lot to see.

I have been taking trips into Ndola and Luanshya to meet new friends and have enjoyed making friends with Zambians, Indians, and ex-pats. There are so many people to get to know and so many new friends to make. We love being in Zambia, but we are having serious times of missing people now. It is difficult to anticipate missing Christmas and not seeing family and friends. We are praying that everyone’s OK over there and we are trying to stay focused on the mission at hand while still keeping you in our hearts.

Some parts of life are not very easy, but we are thankful for God‘s work in our own lives.

Please keep praying for discernment on projects with Zambians, safety for our adventures, guidance as we take risks.

• Roman is trying a lot with tools and building: safety and creativity for him.

• Olive is taking her risks socially: discernment and grit for her.

  

• Charlie learning quickly to read and write: understanding and fun for her.

• Mallory is finding friends in some Zambians and others here: boldness and vulnerability for her.

• I am traveling to meet pastors and farmers in the next two months: safety and flexibility for him.

God continues to lift us up as we move. We love you all. Thank you for praying for us - Giving to us and these projects - Believing in us. We are so grateful!