Our Week in Livingstone

This week was very different for us in MANY ways.  Obviously, we are living in Africa now-so duh, that is a little bit of a change. Ha!  Another difference was living in a guest house (hotel) for the week in a tourist town-Livingstone, home of Victoria Falls, but not being tourists.  It is a different week because the fact of the matter is, we are here for a year…and along with that comes getting used to random power outages, buying bottled water, taking taxis (since we STILL don’t have our car-don’t ask my hubby about that one at the moment-hopefully soon and no more taxis), doing laundry in the bathroom, learning how to grocery shop here, always quite the adventure, converting U.S. dollars to kwacha, sleeping under mosquito nets, using sunscreen and bug spray everyday, feet that can’t get clean, kids who need a shower every other minute (this dirt just seems to get ingrained into their bodies!), wearing longer skirts every day, trying to ignore the stench in the air (B.O. and trash burning), finding safe restaurants to eat at, and there is too much more to list.  Africa is so incredibly different than America. 

But the funniest thing about this week to me was that the weirdest thing to get used to was having a “normal” schedule.  This was weird for two reasons, 1 being Mickey is a firefighter as you all know and works a 24 hour on/48 hour off schedule so that is what we are used to, 2^nd because we have been either living in a motor home and moving every two weeks or we have been traveling.  So…strange for Mickey to eat breakfast with us every morning, then leave for his conference and return back around 5.  Totally normal for most of you, but not for us!  And I have to say…I Loved It!  Which brings me to the purpose of this post, below you will find my perspective and Mickey’s perspective for the week.  It was good, challenging, hard, and fun, for both of us for completely different reasons.

Q: What did you learn this week?

Mickey: I learned that there are several people on this continent, both white and black, who believe that the answer to poverty lies not in providing more aid or charity, but in education and training aimed at equipping those who live under poverty’s yoke.  Farming God’s Way is a weapon on the front line on the war against poverty.  There needs to be more people out there promoting this tool, along with a message of hope that God does provide for you, He weeps for the poor and genuinely wants people to thrive here on Earth and have life abundantly. 

Mandey: I learned that there are so many amazing people all over the world who love God. Sometimes I feel like I am in a little bubble in Ankeny, like we are the only ones.  But being here and meeting some of the folks from the Farming God’s Way conference, I was dumbfounded.  There were missionaries young and old from all over Africa, all trying to reach the same goal-bringing people to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.  This encouraged me so much-love being a part of the greater body of Christ. 

Q: What was challenging this week?

Mickey:  It is really hot and I am melting.

Mandey: It was challenging to be on my own essentially during the day.  Mickey was gone and without cell service.  I have to admit I was a little nervous about venturing out of our guest house, so I felt a bit stuck.  Didn’t have a car, so either had to walk or take a taxi-which walking with two kids in 100 degree weather or spending money on a taxi did not sound fun, so most days we just stayed on our little guest house compound.  We did go grocery shopping one day and I took the kids to a crocodile park.  The kids actually did really great which you will hear about in the next answer, but the problem was more loneliness for me-I am a people person in case you didn’t know.  ;) I love to chat and have fellowship.  So, 5 full days of no “friend” time was difficult.    (God did bless me with a sweet Canadian lady to chat with here and there as well as a night at a local missionaries house, a fellow mom!-more about these two ladies in a different post)

Q: What did you enjoy about his week?

Mickey: I enjoyed meeting people who have devoted themselves to the cause of relieving poverty.  It is rare to be in a setting of 40 plus people who are literally all on the same page about the end goal of ministry in Africa.  “Visioneering” was also fun.  I was able to bounce ideas off other people who have been working in this field for a while and God really helped me formulate a vision for the future, which is exciting.  I enjoyed hanging out with Heiko and Anita Held, who run Embrace the Grace ministry here in Livingstone and are a pretty cool couple.  I also had fun seeing the Cape Buffalos and the Gorge at Overland Missions.

Mandey: I really enjoyed the time with my kids and getting into a routine.  We have been traveling or staying with friends for about a month now-so even though we still don’t have a home, we were able to make it work here.  And in America, with Mickey’s job, our lives are never really routine.  But this week, he got to eat breakfast with us in the morning and he was home at supper time. I started homeschooling both of my kiddos, which went awesome.  They are both so eager to learn.  We spent time in the pool, watched movies together, played in the shaded gazebo area, made lunches together in the kitchen, they napped, I worked out, and Facetimed some friends and family.  I was so worried they would be bored and would spend the week complaining, but they didn’t at all.  God provided us with great quality time together and a relaxing week. 

Q: What did God communicate to you this week?

Mickey: God really encouraged me this week that He has bigger plans for us than just this year, that my family is an equally important place for ministry, that farming is both noble and in my blood and that He can use me with my limited knowledge of farming to benefit a lot of people.  He also communicated that I am a pansy and having an air conditioner in my apartment here was probably smart.

Mandey: That I need to pray more and really believe that He will answer prayer.  As most of you saw, Ev fell and hit his head this week.  His first concussion.  What was my first reaction?  Thinking about what WE should do.  Ice pack. Ibprofren. Turn lights down low.  Rub his head.  Hold him.  Yep, all stuff I could do… Did I pray immediately?  Sadly, no.  It wasn’t until the next morning when I realized my efforts weren’t helping, that he wasn’t getting any better, he was actually getting worse, crying out in pain from his head, that I thought I better start begging God for my little boy to be alright.  And that I did.  But being my stubborn self, I still didn’t think to ask other people to pray until the afternoon (although come to think about it, most of you were sleeping when it was morning time here!).  Wow, did God come through big time after many people were praying.  I had so many responses and I knew so many people were genuinely praying for my lil guy-that in just 2 hours after posting the need, Ev sat up and smiled for the first time all day.  I could see the whites in his eyes, he laughed, and he wanted to eat.  AMAZING.  Lesson learned this week.  Go to God first-ask people to join you.  God hears our prayers. 

Q: Any parting thoughts on Livingstone?

Mickey: The concept of having to do “power sharing”, which is essentially shutting off electricity alternatively to one area of town during peak hours so the other side of town can have power, is a bit odd here given the close proximity to a waterfall twice the size of Niagara Falls.  It’s called hydroelectricity Zambia.  Oh yeah…importing a car from another country into the third world is exactly as jacked up and stressful as you are imagining it to be.  Trust me!

Mandey: There were some highs and lows this week and I continue to adjust to life here.  I love it and hate it at the same time.  (if I am being honest) It was cool to see the Falls and for Mickey to learn so much at the conference, but I am glad to be heading back to Chongwe to set up our home, ministry, and get started on the adoption process.  It will be fun to come back here in January and April when our parents our visiting-the Falls will have a little more water than what it did this time!

Ev and Alea at the Falls!  They weren't too impressed actually since there is not much water right now-it is dry season!

Mickey's whole Farming God's Way group at the Falls-what an amazing collection of people!

Tabonina Guest House-this is the little pool where we cooled off each afternoon, we loved our little suite and all the workers, a great place to stay if you are in Livinstone.

New Friends

What a blessing for our kids to have instant friends when we arrived in Zambia.  If you know my son Ev at all, he LOVES playing with other kids.  That is when he is having the most fun, when he is surrounded by friends.  So, I thank God especially for the little boy here, who is only a month older than him-they are having a blast getting to know each other and being boys.
Here are a few pics of the fun the kids have been having while we stay with the Nelms in their guesthouse (our little apartment is just about ready and the container with all our stuff should be arriving any day now-we will then move in there but still see lots of the Nelms family!)

All the kiddos except for baby Eva!

Emma and Alea watching Doc McStuffins, one of Alea's favorites!

Joey and Alea eating lunch together, they are so cute together! Joey calls her "Ella"!

Little Emma

Sarah, the sweet girl staying with the Nelms right now helping with kids and serving with Give Life!

Trampoline time-seriously considering getting one of these for our house, with no parks, it is a great way for kids to burn some energy!

Ev and Josiah coloring dinosaurs, they are both obsessed!

Farming God’s Way

Briefly, we arrived via bus into Livingstone on Saturday.  It was an entertaining bus ride (picture an aggressive greyhound bus with terrible music and no bathroom) with one stop to pee during the 7.5 hour ride.  We made it alive and settled into Livingstone.  We spent this morning at Victoria Falls with the group from Farming God’s Way.  So…it’s the dry season. 

I didn’t know that the falls didn’t really fall during this time of year.  I immediately thought of Dumb and Dumber when Lloyd says “I thought the Rocky Mountains would be a lot rockier than this”.   Anyway, it was more like the Grand Canyon with a little water flowing down it, than it was a great waterfall.  The point wasn’t to come see this beautiful sight any way, it was to get introduced to Farming God’s Way.  We went on a prayer walk through the park and prayed over the country and for the mission this week.  It was super encouraging. 

We then took a military style caravan truck over a pretty rough road for about 9 km to get to Overland Missions for the formalities and preparations for the week.  It was Mandey and the kid’s first introduction to the African Bush.  Overland Missions has a base camp situated right on a cliff overlooking the gorge.  It was a breathtaking sight.   Had I not had sweat dripping down my face the entire time I may have enjoyed the view a little more (its hot down here, really hot!). 

I just want to say that I am beyond impressed with the group of people down here.  Grant Dryden, who is leading this week long session, has been working with Farming God’s Way for several years and is awesome to talk to and very humble to God.  There are people from all over the world; Kenya, Zambia, Mozambique, the Netherlands, South Africa, Canada, Germany, and the US all working together and learning from each other with the single goal of making disciples and relieving poverty through agriculture development.  While I have little experience gardening, this week will be very valuable.  There are a number of people here who have been doing this for a while and their success stories are encouraging.  They are a terrific community to work with and God is already at work stirring visions in my mind. 

The balance of the week will be spent doing in-field mentoring at various sights around Livingstone.  I will be spending time with a Pastor who has implemented this in his church here in town with considerable success.  More to come….

When you get a chance you check out both Overland Missions and Farming God’s Way.  They are two terrific organizations that are really getting it right.  I’m impressed. 

“And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food” Genesis 1:29

“The young lions roar for their prey, seeking their food from God.”  Psalm 104:21

http://www.farming-gods-way.org

www.overlandmissions.com

And the POWER is out…

Yes, yes, we have already experienced the joy (struggle) of the electricity just shutting down for an ENTIRE day with no reason, except they just shut it down.  There is no one to call and complain to like in America, there is no one working hard to get it back on, no newscast explaining the reason.  Just off and no idea when it might come back on.  As it is almost summer here in Zambia (opposite seasons from U.S.A.), by mid-morning it gets pretty zesty outside and with no A.C., we were all pretty sweaty and uncomfortable.  But against all these odds, I didn’t feel upset. I didn’t feel stressed.  I didn’t feel mad.  God’s power was alive in me.  I could feel it and I don’t know if I have ever felt this peace before.  You can ask my hubby, having no power for a whole day would normally send me over the edge and I would have a hard time controlling my attitude and my words.

There are a few verses I used in my Titus women’s Bible study group when we studied Peace as a Fruit of the Spirit that came to mind.  It has to do with the Power of Peace only God can give.

John 14:27.

“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you, not as the world gives do I give to you. Not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.”

Jesus was saying this to His disciples the night before He was going to be put to death.  Talk about a tough circumstance!!!  But He was at peace with it.  Because He is peace and when we know Him as our personal Savior, we have access to His peace.  The world tells us peace can only come when we have it all together, when everything is going our way…well, how often does that happen?  Not often for me and I have a pretty easy life compared to most of the world!!!  Praising God for giving us the Power of His peace DESPITE ANY CIRCUMSTANCE, which people who do not believe can’t even fathom. 

Philippians 4:7

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and mind in Christ Jesus.

His peace will help us.  It will keep us from bad attitudes and harsh words and conflict.  This is a promise He gives us in His word, not just here but other verses tell us this too.  So, why, if we believe in God, do we not always feel this peace?  Because it is still our choice.  God gives us free will.  His peace is there for the taking, but we have to activate it in our hearts.  If you are struggling right now with anything, take it to Him.  Let Him fill you with a peace you won’t even be able to explain.

This is what happened to me this day with no electrical power.  Not every day on our journey so far have I pursued His peace in prayer and it has gotten the best of me.  But this day, it was incredible.  I had a great rest time with my kiddos, some “hot” yoga with the girls, and some bath time fun with headlamps.  It was a long day but a surprisingly good day-thankful even when the power goes out here on earth, God’s power WILL NEVER GO OUT.

Getting Going...

Getting going….

After a lot of apprehension, planning and praying, my family and I finally touched down in Lusaka on Saturday morning.   Once we stepped off the plane and were greeted with red African sun, distant smell of burning garbage and the inefficiency of the border patrol.  It was then that the idea of moving to Zambia went from far off dream to reality.  The trip went well, the kids adjusted to the time change, we got to see some fun sights and we had a very encouraging time with our friends John and Zsofi Wilson, who serve with United World Mission in Budapest. 

We are so grateful to all those who have supported us on this journey.  Whether it is getting our mail, working a shift for me at the fire station, praying, purchasing a back pack, donating medical supplies, securing our transportation, love offerings, watching our kids so we could go on a date while we lived in the RV, giving us an RV to live in, taking us on helicopter rides, or supporting us financially, we have been genuinely overwhelmed and encouraged by your outpouring of love. The fact is that I have never felt so confident or empowered by a group of people than I do now.  I feel I owe a tremendous amount of work and focus to make a large impact as the extension of a large body of believers who have placed their trust in one family.

The reality of life here in Zambia is that things move slowly, very slowly, and that is frustrating to me.  The irony in my writing that statement is that even simple tasks such as blogging become monumental (I started on Monday) when faced with regular power outages and an undefined and chaotic schedule. I want so much to start headlong into work.  We spent a fair amount of time in the immigration office the other day just checking the status of my work permit, which is required for me to get my vehicle.  The good news is that it is done and tomorrow I “should” be able to get it.  We also spent some time getting supplies to finish making our house habitable.  The guys over here have done a great job painting and cleaning, which is awesome.  We have some work to do laying the countertops, fixing plumbing and lights, installing a bathroom sink and putting in exterior doors, which were in bad shape.  This should be completed this week in time for us to head to Livingstone for the Farming God’s Way conference.  The American, Type-A personality in me wants all this to be done so I can dive right in.  I think that God is trying to teach me something different.  Which brings me to…..

Relationships.  Relationships are something God has been putting on my heart, and for a reason.  We were made as social beings.  God wants us to gather together, the writer of Hebrews emphasizes the importance of gathering together and relating.  The reason is, that is where transformation takes place.   I have admittedly been poor at deep and meaningful relationships, though I crave them.  We have been placed in a situation here where they are both forced and necessary.  Forced because we are sharing a building with people from Zambia, Japan, and New York.  Necessary because if you want to transform people in a meaningful way we have to spend more than just a few passing moments with them.  I want to be relational because people can see my heart.  Only after building trust and communication will any words or information I may have become relevant. 

Pray for our relevance, for good training, for things to logistically go smoothly as to not sidetrack us too much and mostly for us to gel as a family during these first stressful and emotional few weeks.  We are thankful for great travels, cheap fresh fruit, real Coca-Cola (I’m gonna get fat this year), working phones and internet, warm weather and great community with Nelms family who live here, as well as Sarah and Amber who are here short term. 

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive and inheritance from the Lord as a reward.  It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”

Colossians 3:23-24