Random Musings, Info, and Update

Well, bet you were all wondering why in the world I haven't blogged in over a week!  Believe me, it is not because I didn't want to, but you see, here in Africa, the Internet is a bit of a crazy situation.  I have said before you pay for data and when you run out, you are dunzo.  Well, we apparently use a lot of Internet!!!  (Not sure how, we really don't do too much, and we definitely don't download or even run Facetime that often or anything, but anyways) We ran out last Monday and weren't planning on going to town, that is Lusaka, where you can buy more Internet, until Wednesday so had to do without for a few days.  At this point too, we were determined to check out some other options for Internet.  So, we ended up switching companies and getting a much better deal and package.  Phew....Big sigh of relief. Good for our pocketbooks and helpful to have more data so we can stay in better touch with all of you!  
But of course, nothing is ever too easy here.  :)  We got home and couldn't connect via hotspot from our phones to our computer.  And let me just tell you what a joke it is to call customer service here in Zambia-they were no help!  The last few days we have spent trying to figure it out since I didn't really want to type out an entire blog on my little phone and Mickey didn't want to do his grad school homework on a little phone either and finally, my amazing hubs figured it out today and we are on.  Anyways, we know this isn't a major problem in our lives, but we are grateful to have it resolved.  
On to our life here in Chongwe and our past week here-one thing that is cracking me up here is being stared at.  And I mean, no shame, keep looking no matter what, don't take their eyes off for a second, type of stares.  It is so un-American, in that we stare at people as well, but we definitely try to hide it! They do not! Ha!  Another thing that is quite funny is the crowds we attract on our walk down to the Nelms house.  We usually pick up about 5-10 children and they are usually shouting "How are you?" the whole time, since that is the only English they know.  Evan thinks this is hilarious.  He answers, "fine".  Then they ask again, and Ev usually just turns to me and says, "Why are they asking again?"  Except, by now, he understands that is all they can say so he will just answer the whole time. Whenever we drive through town as well, kids on the side of the road will wave and wave with huge smiles.   

The water situation has been pretty bad the last week, as in, we haven't had any consistent running water.  The Chongwe River is dried up so we think they are doing water conservation and only turning on water at certain times.  Even though it kind of stinks when you are in the middle of dishes, or wanting to take a shower, or can't flush the toilet, and it just goes off, we are blessed with a well in our yard where we can go get water to do these things as needed.  Most people are not blessed with a well in their own yard and have to walk a long ways to get water, then carry it in a bucket on their head the same distance back.  So yes, Mom and Dad, if you can believe it, your daughter now knows how to get water from a well.  I know you are laughing right now Dad.  :)  Rainy season is on its way though, so hopefully, my days of carrying the heavy water bucket into the house and heating it up to take a shower are almost over.
On a positive note, the electricity has been quite stable the past few weeks.  I know, shocker!  It has only gone of a few times and only for an hour at most!  We are so thankful for this because it has been zesty here as I like to say, like 100 degrees every day and sun just beating down on you.  And the way this house is made, it is like an oven when there is no air running.  So, hopefully, this will be an ongoing trend of consistent electricity!  :)
One last tiny, very short, minuscule, piece of info: I DON'T LIKE BUGS. (AND THERE ARE A LOT OF BUGS HERE-SORRY TO TELL YOU HEIDI). :)  

And now moving on to what went down this last week.  Mickey worked hard in the beginning of the week helping James and Moses get their land ready to plant.  Mickey is micro-financing them a loan so they can rent some land and learn how to farm.  They are really glad Mickey is here and willing to teach them.  They are awesome guys who not only want to learn farming so they can generate some income for themselves, but they also want to use farming as a platform for going into villages to teach about God. We love that by helping just two people, many people in Zambia will eventually be reached in the name of our Lord.  The ground is almost ready and they will plant soon as it is important for them to get it in before the rains come.  Tuesday night was spent celebrating our dear friend Amber's birthday Zambian style.  I even tried nshima for the 1st time!  They asked me to contribute an American cake, and it must have been good, the boys all had 3 pieces!   On Wednesday, we headed to Lusaka.  We set out to return to the Bill and Bette Orphanage, take our car into get fixed, change our Internet, and get groceries.  It was a pretty uneventful trip, except for the orphanage but more on that in another post.  Too much to put in this one!  Thursday, we got up early to head to the Esther School and the International Bible College of Zambia.  I was really excited about this!  I hadn't been to any other schools yet besides the preschool and the Esther School has quite the good reputation.  It definitely lived up to its rep!  The grounds were amazing, the set up was awesome, and the teachers were some of the best.  The kids that go to that school are so immensely blessed and their lives will be different because of attending that school.  Amber and I were both so impressed and inspired. We hope to take Teacher Doreen out there soon so she can get some good ideas and we can start making our preschool the best!  The Bible College was equally wonderful.  It was my first time so I couldn't compare it to anything, but it was Mickey's fourth, and he was amazed.  The clinic, library, farm grounds are all top notch. We also got to see where our friends, the Millers, will live.  So excited for them to get here!!!   Ok, I will stop jumping up and down now.  :)  The Evans family, who live at the Bible College had us for lunch, which was very kind.  They have 4 kids, and 2 of them were our kids ages, so they had great fun playing together.  At night, Amber, Sarah, and I had a mini-Christmas together! LOL. Since we won't be together for Christmas and I had been talking about Christmas music, we turned on the jams while making dinner, had hot chocolate, and watched Christmas Vacation.  So fun, thanks girlies for my Christmas fix!   And finally, Friday, I went to the preschool in the morning while Mickey stayed home with the kiddos.  It was Amber's last day there and I knew besides the fact that she needed someone to take pictures, she needed emotional support.  The kids sang her a sweet song and did some chants and cheers.  It made us both cry.  Those kids will surely miss her!   Friday night, we had a special good-bye party for Amber and Sarah with the Nelms at their house.  So sad to see them go...They are both dear sisters in Christ with me now.  Saturday was a catch up and relax day.  We had family movie night and it was the kids first time to watch Pinnochio!  They loved it.  And that brings us to today, Sunday.  We do "church" with the Nelms at their house and today we listened to a sermon online.  It was about how we worry so much about what other people think and what God thinks for all the wrong reasons.  We worry because we want their approval, we want their applause, their compliments.  There are two parts to how we stop this.  One, we should worry about what other people think, but not to boost our self-esteem.  It should be all about them.  I should worry about what my husband thinks of me because I want him to be happy and feel loved, not because I need him to tell me what a great job I am doing.  I should worry about how I can help a friend who is hurting, not because I need them to tell me that I am such a good friend, but only because I truly care about her and want to help.  Second is about the same as the first.  We should worry about what God thinks, but not because we need his approval. We already have it.  He paid the debt for our sins long ago. 
1 John 2:2 "He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but for the sins of the whole world."
 Doing what He asks should come from the overflow of love and gratitude out of our hearts, not because of a need to please Him and then feel good about ourselves.  When we live this way, the worry goes away, the need to please and feelings of failure that come when we don't feel people or God has noticed goes away.  Now, that sounds peaceful.  I definitely think the world would be a better place and there would be less insecurity if we lived this out.  
This is all for now-I know, super long post, and you want to know about the adoption.  I desperately want to speak more about it, but just know there is a lot we can't say right now and a lot of uncertainty in the situation, so we don't want to say too much either.  Please pray for us though as the next few weeks are pretty crucial.  THANKS AND MUCH LOVE TO YOU ALL!

The Esther School Preschool-snack time!

The Evans's kids and our kids!

A classroom at the IBCZ

The library

Mike and Dee Miller's future home!