A Week in Review and a Look at the Week Ahead

Another week has passed by…

Time is strange here, it seems to go by so slow, but then all of a sudden, the week is over.   I feel like most days in America are a race to the finish line and weeks pass by in a blur.  I have time here to really sit and think and reflect.  Which can be good and bad.  The problems here are so immense to me that it is just too much at times. My mind searches for solutions and there seems none to be found.  No immediate, tangible, answer to help all the people who need help here.  And that pains me.  Ever since I was little, I didn’t like seeing people hurting or sad, and I love helping people.  One time, when my little brother was going to get a spanking, I even tried to help by putting 10 pairs of underwear on him!  Ha! (love you Nate!)

So, I prayed, I asked God to give me wisdom. 

Of course, the answer is immediately clear. (James 1:5) His Son is the answer.  Love like Jesus.  That’s all I can do here.  God doesn’t expect me to adopt every orphan or give every child I see with no shoes a pair of shoes, or figure out how to change the unhealthy diet of the Zambian people, or feed every hungry person I see!  But every day, I can love like my Savior loves me, with grace and compassion.  I can read His word and see how Jesus helped those around him and try to imitate Him how He loved people.  I can take the weight off my shoulders now and trust that He is taking care of the big picture. I just need to do my part.

This past week was full of those little parts. 

Mickey started getting the field ready to plant a garden, which will hopefully help feed the students at the pre-school.  It is dry season right now and the dirt is just rocky and hard so as you can imagine, it is slow going.  Especially without American equipment!  But it is a start to the bigger problem of nutrition and hunger for these little ones. The extra cool thing about this field too is that it is right in the heart of Chongwe, so the hope is people will stop and want to learn about how to garden and farm.  A couple of boys already did, they wanted to be paid to help which obviously isn’t an option on our missionary budget, but Mickey did invite them to the youth group at the team house and they were interested in coming! He also talked to them about how even if he paid them that day, that would only help them one day, but that they were welcome to help and learn so they could farm on their own one day.  So, another small part. Praise God.

I spent a day at the pre-school getting to know the kids and what they are learning right now.  Again, one of those things that I want to just jump in and fix it all and ensure they are getting the same education the kids back in Ankeny are getting, but one thing at a time.  I need to get to know these students and let them get to know me.  I need to develop a good relationship with teacher Doreen so that we can partner together instead of her feeling like I am the American coming in and telling her how to do everything.  She is already doing a great job and I want to make sure she knows that!  I don’t think I could do what she does, the preschool goes from 8:00-4:00 every day!  Yes, you read that correctly.  That is longer than a high school students day in the states.  And she has no helper, no associate, nothing.  She teaches, feeds them lunch (there is a cook that cooks it), puts them down for nap, everything!  More on her in another blog-I am really enjoying getting to know her.  So, have I helped the pre-school in any great way yet?  No…but being there for a full day was another small part.  Praise God.

We have been having a little girl, Margaret, over here quite a bit if you are friends with me on Facebook and Instagram.  Margaret is the half-sister of Doreen, but if you ask Margaret, she will tell you Doreen is her mom.  And that’s because she is.  You see, Margaret’s mom died when she was a baby, and the dad wants nothing to do with her.  He has never even asked about her.  My heart breaks even writing that.  So, Doreen, who is only 25 years old, took her in as her child.  I asked her the other day, will you officially adopt Margaret as your own?  And the answer was an emphatic “yes”.  So cool.  I am thankful God has provided Margaret with a family member to care for her.  Well, Doreen and Margaret live in the GiveLife team house, which is literally steps from ours and Margaret just loves coming here.  I think for one, she is fascinated with our family and how we do things, and for two, my kids just treat her like a queen when she is here.  It is so cute.  They know Margaret’s story so they just want her to come play with their toys, jump on our trampoline, watch movies with us, and so forth!  It is amazing to see my kids begin to understand the world of hurt some kids have and to watch Margaret be so happy to have “siblings” for now.  So, another small part.  Praise God.

Mickey also was able to spend a lot of time with James and Moses this week (they graduated from the Gospelink Bible College and are working with GiveLife at this time) and found out from them they really want to learn how to farm.  Watson, our groundskeeper, informed us he has land that he doesn’t have money to do anything with at this time and would be happy to rent it so that Mickey has a place to teach James and Moses.  This is huge because the best way to spread the gospel here is through other Zambians and a great, effective way for Zambians to spread the gospel in Zambia is through teaching farming methods that work and using farming as a platform to talk about God.  So, Mickey may only be helping 2 guys right now, but these guys are going to go throughout the land with what they learn.  Another small part.  Praise God. 

We were also able to turn in our adoption paperwork.  I know many of you have been wondering the status on that.  The truth is, we were waiting on our container to arrive so that we would actually have our house set up before we add another child to the mix…but the container has yet to arrive and we just couldn’t wait any longer.  So, Mickey turned it in last Monday and they were actually really helpful!  And we found out there is an office in Chongwe where we can do a lot of the paperwork (awesome since Lusaka is a 45 minute drive each way).  They also told us we can self-identify, which we are really excited about.  So, one child, very soon, will have a mommy and daddy who will love and care for him the most we possibly can instead of growing up an orphan.  Another small part.  Praise God. 

Ahhhh, this was good for me to write down.  I was getting down today on how slow things were going here.  I still have that American mindset of “it all needs to happen right now!”.  God is teaching me it is all in His timing and He has the bigger picture, I am just a small part and He needs me to keep going and not worry so much. 

A little sneak peek at the week ahead:

Monday-going to Lusaka to visit the orphanage House of Moses!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can you tell I am excited?  We could possibly find a child tomorrow!  Hopefully more on this really soon!  Pray God makes it clear and that He makes a way! 

Tuesday-Thursday- Mickey is going out to the bush on a camping trip for a village outreach while I hold down the homefront.  Pray they are able to speak God’s truth to the villagers and that the kids and I survive without Daddy! 

Friday-I will be back at the preschool to help.  Pray I can keep getting to know these kids and assess the needs of the school!