My Heart

We went and saw the boys today...it has been about 2 weeks since we visited.  Why, you might ask?  Honestly, this process of adoption has and continues to be such a crazy, twisted, up and down, spin you around journey, I just couldn't bare to keep visiting them and feeling my heart love them more and more, when I didn't know for sure if they would end up being mine.  And I wish I could say today, that I know for sure and that's why we went and visited today, but I can't.  Not yet.  We are making some headway, but not enough to be sure.
As I woke up this morning though and knew we were headed to Lusaka today for some errands, I knew I couldn't drive by where they were without stopping to see them. And I am so glad we did.  Little E ran up to me and hugged me, and J noticed us and waved with a big smile on his face.  This coming from the boy who didn't smile one time during our first two visits there.   E wanted me to hold him most of the time and J played soccer with Mickey, Jeff (our friend who just moved here), and Evan.  The boy loves him some soccer.  I taught E how to say Evan and Alea's names.  Neither of them speak very much English at this point, lots of work to do there, but I know it will come quickly, especially being around my two talkative kiddos!
J had some tears towards the end when he could tell we were getting ready to leave.  This is the second time he has cried when we have left.  So, after he walked away, we talked to one of the house moms about how they were doing.  We were so happy and so sad to find out that they have been missing us, asking when we will come back, and when they can go with us.
 Oh, my heart.
We explained to the housemother that we are trying our best, but the process is so slow, and to please talk to the boys and help them understand.
Please continue to pray for these two boys and for us, as we both wait.  For the boys to feel our love and more importantly, Jesus' love for them and for us, as we work on God's timing being best, not our own.  Knowing ultimately, that He is our loving Father who works everything for our good.

Isaiah 40:31 "But they who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not grow weary, they shall walk and not faint. " 

Romans 8:28 "And we know that in all things God works for for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose."

A Look Back at the Last Few Weeks in Pictures

Sorry I haven't blogged much the last few weeks.  My hubby is pretty much the walking wounded after his motor bike accident and soon after, he hurt his back...so that has left me pretty much holding down the fort.  He is also working on his final paper for his graduate degree in Apologetics, which means he has been a computer hog.  :)  Anyways, this is just a little glimpse into our life here in pictures.  This is another busy week with getting our friends, the Smiths, settled into life here, as well as trying to get this adoption in the books-more on that really soon I hope!  Hope you enjoy!

Helping at the preschool-they love when I bring Evan along!!!

Oh these little boys are too adorable for words!

Waiting at the mall killing time waiting for our social worker, she was only an hour and a half late!

Mickey's awesome wounds from his bike accident :(

Aby and her Bible study ladies at Chishiko Village, so glad I got to tag along! Titus2 Women Zambian Style!  

Thanksgiving Day cooks

Ev and Josiah, good pals

Kiddos at the Thanksgiving Day table

First glimpse at "our" boys-can't show faces just yet!!! We got to take them out to eat the other day...really crazy eating out with 4 instead of just 2!

Ev and Alea playing "Hullabaloo" on family game night, really cute interactive game

Alea still likes to snuggle after nap

Daddy doing school with Ev, he is learning to read and doing awesome!

Mickey talking to Watson, our groundskeeper

On our drive to Lusaka there are always young children walking alongside this very busy road!  I don't like it one bit!!!

There are a few Christmas decorations up at the mall-it makes our kids so happy!

Smiley girl out to eat for pizza pizza

Jeff Smith and his family arrived, we were so happy to pick them up at the airport

OH my dear friend Heidi is here...so happy to see her smiling face.  For those of you who don't know, we have gone to the same church together for the last 8 years and we led a Bible study together this past year!

Little Margaret showing off a pillowcase dress that was made in the states by some friends of GiveLife, love these dresses, they are so adorable!

Daddy snuggling his little girl

Who do you know-Kim Kardashian or Katie Davis?

When I say those two names, Kim Kardashian and Katie Davis, who do you know?  I can almost guarantee that every single one of you know who Kim is (maybe through no fault of your own), but I'm not sure you will know who Katie Davis is.  And there is a major problem with that. Again, I will say, this may not be through any doing of your own.  Unfortunately, people like Kim Kardashian are the newsmakers these days, and people like Katie Davis, are never mentioned in the media.  Let's look at some similarities and differences between these two ladies.

Similarities: Girls, born in the 80's, beautiful.

And that's about where the similarities end. You might find a few other odds and ends they have in common if you really searched.  But here come the differences and all I want you to think about is who should be in the public eye (not that Katie desires that and she says that in the foreword of her book), who should be a role model for our daughters, and who we should spend our time getting to know and learning from.  

Kim: became popular after a sex tape with her boyfriend was leaked, eloped at age 19 and got divorced soon after, stars in a reality television with her family-basically a show about nothing or at the very least extremely trivial and usually inappropriate topics, has posed nude for Playboy, starred in a workout video titled "Fit in your Jeans by Friday", guest stars as herself in various t.v. shows, has her own fragrance, designs clothing, has a wax figure of herself at Madame Tussauds, has been named among the highest of Hollywood's earners, supports women entrepreneurs/cancer foundations/Armenien genocide awareness, came out with a music single that was deemed horrible, married in 2011 to Kris Humphries in a lavish tv ceremony and filed for divorce 72 days later, media called the marriage a complete publicity stunt, owns a clothing store with her sisters, started dating Kanye West while she was still technically married to Kris, gets pregnant with Kanye's baby, they get engaged, gave birth to her daughter, and she is now planning another ridiculously lavish wedding while also getting another huge contract deal to continue filming her reality show with her family.  

Katie: went on a missions trip as an 18 year old to Uganda, returned the following year to teach kindergarten there, at age 20 started a child sponsorship program so orphaned and vulnerable children could attend school-the program now supports over 600 kids with food, spiritual guidance, school supplies, and medical care, established a non-profit titled Amazima Ministries International, a year later to help meet the needs of the poorest of the poor in Uganda, started a feeding program that feeds over 1200 children each week in the village of Masese(the poorest of the poor), so they can attend school instead of begging for food, let go of her loving boyfriend because she knew she couldn't leave all the people who needed her in Uganda and genuinely wanted to put others interests above her own, has 14 DAUGHTERS!, yes you read that right, she has adopted 14 daughters in her time there simply because they needed a mom even though she felt less than qualified to be a mom at age 20!, started a self-sustaining vocational program for women to make jewelry to be sold in the U.S. and all money supports these women and their kids going to school, wrote a book called Kisses from Katie that was on the 2001 NY Times Bestseller list and has 5 star reviews on Amazon, and continues to live and serve the poor and needy in Uganda.

I don't know about you, but I want a person like Katie to be in the public eye, I want my daughter to look up to Katie as a role model, and I want to learn more from her.  She is making an impact for eternity, while Kim's contributions won't make it past the grave. Now, I don't know Kim personally, I don't know her real story, and this is not to bash her.  This is about who our media spends their time reporting on and the reason they do it-because they know that is what we want to see on our morning news on our entertainment magazines.  How can we change this???  I don't have that answer, the media is a tricky business. But I do know, I can support people like Katie, I can try to spread her message and the message of many others who are focusing their time on this earth for something greater. Will you join me???  Who do you know that is abandoning worldly desires and following God with their whole heart?  Tell people, or better yet, be that person!  :)  

Colossians 3:2 Set your mind on things that are above, not on the earth.

Ephesians 5:11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but expose them.

Matthew 16:27 For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of His Father, and then he will repay each person for what he has done.


In case you want to start by reading her book, click on the link below:
Katie's book about her journey in Uganda!

(Info taken from Wikipedia, Kisses from Katie book, and Amazima Ministries webpage)

Short, but Sweet Adoption Update

First of all, thanks for all the questions about our adoption.  I hate to always be so vague, but still at this point, we have to be.  Nothing is for certain in a Zambian adoption, until you are on the plane leaving for the U.S.!  So this will be short and sweet because that is all we can give right now.  I mentioned the two brothers in a previous blog, and these are the two boys we feel God has for our family-after much wrestling with God about my inability and inadequacy to have 4 children, ages 3, 3, 4, and 4!  And three of these children being boys!!!  Yet, they have captured our hearts and there is no denying our love for them and our desire to raise them as our own, no matter what the cost.  
Here is where we are at with adopting them.  Their mother has passed and has family 11 hours from here, but no one has come forward from that family to care for the boys.  We still may need to get a relative to sign a paper saying they give up all rights.  Our social worker is working on that right now.  We are hoping we don't have to make an 11 hour drive-if you think that drive would stink in the U.S., you have no idea how bad it would be here!  Roads are not what you call straight, nice, necessarily safe or lined with food/bathroom options. :)  We will do it if need be though.
The father has given us permission.  He wants us to care for the boys and is excited for their opportunities with us.  He is very sick and doesn't have much time left, and also says even if he wasn't sick, he doesn't think he could care for the boys.  
Here is where we had a wrench thrown at us.  We took the boys, our kids, and our social worker to see the dad the other day so he could sign the paper, since he had already agreed and all he had asked was to say good-bye to his boys.  We are sitting there outside with all the neighbors in this little shanty neighborhood and they are all so happy and thanking us for wanting to care for these boys, when along comes the dad's sister.  
She hears what we want to do, and basically says no, I don't think so.  She says she doesn't think her brother is in his right mind to decide this.  At first, Mickey and I are thinking, wow, this would be a hard decision for an aunt.  She must really love them and will miss them.  But oh no no no!  This is not the case-come to find out (even though it was kind of difficult since they were all speaking Nyanja), that she never cared for the boys when they were living with their father, she doesn't even help her brother now when he is so sick, and the boys walked up and she didn't even acknowledge them!  The neighbor ladies were trying to convince her, the dad was upset, even our social worker was getting frustrated.  
So, now what?  Well, remember that whole, wait and pray blog?  Yep, back to that.  She wants to talk to her family and says she will let us know on Wednesday.  In the end, her decision may not matter since the dad is giving us permission, but the problem is he is so sick and may not be able to go to court and she would have to represent him.  
There you have it, like I said, short and sweet.  We are resting in God's providence for our family.  We love these boys and want to bring them home with us, but we know that if God has something else in mind, then we will need to be at peace with it.  
Again, thanks for questions, concerns, and prayers.  Please continue praying!  We will update again soon...

Proverbs 19:21

There are many devices in a man's heart; nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand.

Kalungula Orphanage and School

Kalungula Orphanage and School

Before we left for Zambia we did a fundraiser at Pizza Ranch in Ankeny for the Kalungula School and Orphanage.  I hadn’t been there before but had been referred by Don Ewing to this place as a viable orphanage in need of assistance.  Through the generosity of many, we were able to establish a feeding program there this weekend that will become a sustainable source of food and training for the children.

The Kalungula School and orphanage was founded in 2000 by Bishop Prince Musopelo.  He is a local preacher outside of the small town of Chinyunyu, some 100 km east of Lusaka.  He founded it on his own money and some small donations and runs it basically by the grace of God.  The situation out there was all too common for Africa.  All the teachers are voluntary, the food (when they have it) is donated, the curriculum is dated at best, no running water, no electricity, poor standards of hygiene, etc.  What they do have is a man that cares deeply about the villages that surround him and about caring for and training the next generation of Zambians. 

With a team of 15 Zambian volunteers, I met up with over 30 locals at the village and the Bishop at the school.  Last week we identified a key area of need for them as food security, as they often don’t have any to feed the 265 students during the day.  So we used the funds that we raise to purchase seed, hoes and fertilizer to plant a couple acres of corn. 

 

John 10:10b – I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. (NIV)

2 Corinthians 3:17 – Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. (NASB)

Galatians 5:13 – For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. (NASB)

It was a terrific opportunity to partner with a local community to help develop their lives.  We used the time to not only plant food security, but to shepherd and encourage the younger generation that was volunteering with us.  Each planting station represented perfection, doing things to high standards, letting our work be a reflection of our faith in Christ and taking pride in what we do so we can develop our lives.  It was hard work but the combination of meeting the physical and spiritual needs of this next generation of Zambians was immensely rewarding.  

There will be more work to do.  But this is the kind of partnership that I am glad to enter into.  This community poured out hard work alongside us to see development happen. They have a hand pump for water near the road, which would be an excellent source of irrigation during the dry season.  My hope is to return in a few months with enough funds to fence and irrigate about an acre of ground to serve as their year round garden.  This could perhaps be a small source of revenue for school fees as well. I would also like to see them clear more ground so they can have legitimate food security.  I’m told that we need about 8 acres of crops to provide food security for that many children during the year.  The work can be slow, but the combination of discipleship, instructing and serving physically is really rewarding and beneficial in the long term.  Kids learn proper agricultural technology, proper mindset to combat poverty and that God really does provide all the resources they need for abundant life. 

 

What perhaps is most important out of this project is proof that everyone is capable of doing something to help.  I am so thankful for those who served and came to Pizza Ranch that night.  Through the kindness and generosity of those people, this school will now have a sustainable food source for most of the year.  I think it is immensely encouraging to those of you who are on the fence about doing some kind of service.  It only took a few hours out of one night to raise enough funds to plant this field, with some left over for the future.  Even if God hasn't called you to come to Africa and serve, it doesn't mean that your actions can't literally impact hundreds of people.  So step up and put yourself out there.  You will be surprised of what you are capable of.  For me, this was my first big project here so far and it was a huge success.  It was successful because of people who took time out of their day to care for others.  It was a great partnership between Americans and Zambians.  I am incredibly encouraged and thankful for everyone who sacrificed their time and energy to impact the lives of the poor here in Zambia.

Can you Imagine?

"Can you imagine?"  This is becoming a common phrase here in Zambia.  It is the equivalent to Americans saying, "Can you even believe this?"  I will get back to this statement in just a minute, just let me give you the backstory.  
Yesterday, we headed to Kalunga orphanage and school to meet the headmaster, Bishop Prince Musepelo. Back in Iowa this last July, our community group all bused tables at Pizza Ranch in Ankeny for 4 hours to raise money for this specific place.  Much of our church came out and supported the fundraiser and we were able to come up with a good chunk of change to help.  The only reason we knew of this place was a past AFC church member stumbled across it while here on a short term missions trip with our pastor.  When we saw the pictures of this place, Mickey and I felt an immediate calling to make it part of our work here in Zambia.  And of course our awesome small group was up for helping!  Let me tell you, busing tables is not easy work either at a pizza buffet!  :)  So before I go even further, I want to tell those who either helped bus tables or those who gave to this cause:  THANK YOU!!! Every dime is going to help these people who are in desperate need.  You may not be able to be here doing the work on the ground, but WITHOUT you, the work wouldn't be possible.  You saw a need and filled it, without even physically seeing, just by hearing about it. The love of the Father is truly in you.

1 John 3:17 But if someone who is supposed to be a Christian has money enough to live well, and sees a brother in need, and won't help him--how can God's love be within him ? 1 John 3:18 Little children, let us stop just saying we love people; let us really love them, and show it by our actions. 1 John 3:19 Then we will know for sure, by our actions, that we are on God's side, and our consciences will be clear, even when we stand before the Lord.

Ok, now back to the statement, "Can you imagine?"  As we started talking with Prince about the school, orphanage and students. we quickly found out that no, we can't possibly imagine.  There are 265 students who show up at this village school each day.  Most are single or double orphans.  Some of these orphans might be cared by grandparents or other family, and some are just part of the village and no one really looks after them.  The school doesn't have enough funds to feed the kids every day.  Typically, they can give one or two meals of nshima a week.  All of these kids are already showing up very malnourished and hungry.  The teachers are volunteers since there is no money to pay them.  Because of this, they don't always show up and their work is pretty sub-par.  There are literally no materials.  Just a chalkboard and tables with benches.  They have a few poorly constructed outhouses for bathrooms.  They are trying to build an actual house for the village orphans to have a place to stay outside of school, but there are not enough funds to finish the structure.  And one of the final kickers for us was when he told us of how girls are being married off at 13, because they think then they will have someone to care for them, but they get pregnant, then the guy typically leaves because he doesn't want to care for the child.  Hello!!! When you are a 13 year old girl, you should be in school and hanging out with friends!!!  Seriously had to compose myself after hearing this-it is something you hear about happening, but when you are actually there where it is happening, it's another story.  

The school: this little building has 265 students inside daily, from toddlers to high school!

Now, the whole time, we were waiting for Bishop to ask us for money, to ask for help.  We have already had this happen quite a bit, since we are white and in Zambia, we must have loads of money to help everyone!  And we do have loads compared to them!  But alas, we do have to be careful, we want to give to those who are really honest, hard-working, caring people who have a vision and a heart for their cause.  I am happy to say, he did not ask us once.  We just talked and he showed us around, and was very hospitable.  And thank God, it was so clear that we should help him and the best way for us to help them at this time with the funds we have.  How awesome to look at him and say, "Prince, we want to help you."  "We have awesome people in Iowa who raised money to support you and the work you are doing here."  Oh how I wish all who supported this could have seen his smile and gratitude pouring out.  

They happened to have 2 perfect amounts of land: one the right size to plant maize, and one the right size to plant a garden.  We happen (well not really me, but Mickey-ha!) to know a little bit about doing this and we both really feel strongly that getting these kids foods in their belly every day is pretty important.  As a teacher, I know students can't concentrate at all without food in their bellies.  I know I can't concentrate without food in my belly!  So, this Saturday, yes, already, we will head back out to work on the field.  It has to be done now before the rains come, so there isn't a moment to lose.  Mickey will work on getting the hoes/shovels, seed, and fencing this week so we are ready to go.  Mickey only asked that people from the community come and help-this puts a little of the responsibility on them, which is important, so it is not us doing it FOR them, but WITH them.  

While there, we also met two middle school girls who were not attending school.  When we asked them why, they said they couldn't pay the fees.  I spoke to them for a while and made a deal with them: "we will pay for this term, but I will be back once every few weeks to meet with you and check up on you.  If your are doing well, we will continue to pay your fees.  We want you to get an education."  For a whopping total of $40, these girls will be able to attend the next term in January.  I think I can find a way to save $40 in the next month so these two girls can go to school.  Pray that I will be able to come alongside these girls and disciple them.  They don't have anyone else... 

And as you all know, we are trying to adopt from here.  We are still waiting to hear some information about the two brothers, but we did ask Prince to find out what young children would be available to adopt from here.  Praying God will make it clear either way in the next few weeks-we will let you know when we know!  

So there you have it, an exciting day.  Many blessings again to those who are making this possible.  And while I am at it, if any of you are inclined to raise funds again for this place and then come over on a missions trip to help us, there is much more work to be done there.  Please let us know.  

Mickey walking with Bishop to check out the borehole

Check out this view from the school-God's creation is indescribable!

The Kitchen, yes, the kitchen...

The kiddos are really adapting to Africa well. No toys?  Fine, we will play with sticks and dirt. :)

I couldn't resist singing a little song with the 1st and 2nd grade class.  They loved it even though they didn't understand a word I was singing!  Ha!  It was worth it to see some smiles on their faces.