Weren’t you going to adopt while you were in Zambia???

Yes, yes, we are still planning on adopting.  But as we are learning here in Zambia, things don’t exactly move in “American” time.  It is more like we have all the time in the world here, so why the rush???  But that’s just it, even with over 10 months still to go here in Zambia, we do need to step it up just a notch. So here is the latest for you all you wondering minds…

We turned in our home study, approval letter from the U.S. stating we can adopt, as well as copies of passports and work permits to the Zambian government about 2 ½ weeks ago.  We found out that they would let us self-identify a child.  We also discovered that we would be able to work with the social welfare office here in Chongwe, where we live.  This was great news because it is a 45 minute drive each way to Lusaka and you have to work with social welfare quite often.  We set up a visit to an orphanage called House of Moses in Lusaka-a place that houses 0-2 year olds.  This is not the age range we have in mind, but we wanted to be open to what the Lord has for us.  Another couple from America had told us about a particular child there that we wanted to meet just in case it is the little person for us.   I can’t really share any more information about this child, but we went and brought our kiddos and the two girls who are here working with GiveLife, Sarah and Amber.  As we walked into the nursery complete with 15 cribs, it was a little overwhelming!  That’s a lot of cribs in one room!  The babies were really unsure of us at first, but as we started getting them out of their cribs and my kids started bringing them toy after toy from the closet, they warmed up rather quickly!  One little baby girl didn’t let go of Sarah the whole time!  It was so sad and precious at the same time.  Evan really hammed it up for the babes; it made my heart sing.  He tickled them, played peek a boo, handed out hugs, and just loved on them.  It was a really good visit and we are now praying about this certain child from there and praying that all the babies there find their forever families.

Our next step will be to visit the Bill and Bette Center, which houses about 15 2-4 year olds. This is happening tomorrow!!! Stephen and Aby are going with us this time and we are leaving kiddos behind with Sarah and Amber.  My mind is racing tonight with thoughts of possibly meeting our child in the next 24 hours!  We are also planning on visiting a few more off the beaten path orphanages next week if we can (or if we need to J ). The only issue with those is the records are not great like the other two I mentioned, but we know that if God leads us to adopt from an orphanage like that, then He will open the door for us to adopt from there.

So this is where we are.  We wait.  Getting to be the theme here in Zambia.  But we rest in the fact that God always has a purpose in everything He does and it will be revealed to us in time.  We know without a shadow of a doubt that there is a child here who God has set apart to become a member of our family.  All though Satan has done his best and tried to attack this in my heart several times-thoughts like “why are you messing up your neat perfect looking little family?” “how are you going to love this child the same as your biological children?” “you are not going to get it done in time!”  But so thankful for God’s word where it says in James 4:7: “Submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”  I have had to speak this prayer out loud several times to get that pesky voice out of my head and it has worked!  I refuse to let Satan cause me to doubt God’s will for our life.  And God has helped me defeat that voice and even reassured me further with thoughts like: “you are giving your biological children another sibling-they will love him or her” “you are teaching and showing your kids to be the hands and feet of Jesus through this adoption” “I will fill your heart with love for your new child-it will flow from Me” “I will make all things work together for good in the exact timing that you need.” 

So, little child, whoever you are, wherever you are, we are coming and we are so excited to ask you to join our family.  We can’t promise you a perfect life, but we can promise to love you and to teach you of the greatest love of all-a love that is only possible by the One who created you and died for you.  

John 14:18 "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

Into the Bush…

The past few days have been a bit of an eye opener for me.  We trekked out into the bush for a 3 day camping adventure to do evangelism and survey needs of a remote village.  What we found was a village with a huge amount of needs, both physical and spiritual.  We drove east about 100 miles, close to the Mozambique border, then turned south off the main road into Lower Zambezi National Park.  After the 10 mile long off-road driving adventure that would have been challenging even on an ATV, we arrived at the village soccer field, which made for a rather unassuming entrance to the town.  The town had a “main drag” complete with about a half dozen tiny mud huts used for selling cheap food items and booze.  We drove past it to the school, which was comprised of 2 open air huts with benches and an outhouse, to the church where we set up camp.  I’m told that children walk anywhere from 5 to 12 miles each way to get to this community school.  

 Water and food- It was about 105 degrees when we arrived at the village, which lies in a valley below 1000-foot mountains.  Our group of 12, mixed company between Zambians and Americans, went through water pretty fast.  We were informed by our local contact that we would have access to water for bathing and cooking, however when we were brought our first jug we realized that this not the case.  They gave us a jug of the dirtiest water, leaves and all, and a chlorine tablet to sterilize it.  The man who brought it was trying to be hospitable when he generously dumped the tablet into the water.  I couldn’t believe anyone could even drink the water.  It was inconceivable to even use it to bath.  I fortunately brought a small water purifier, which we quickly put into overdrive.  It took forever just to pump the water because the ceramic filter would get plugged every couple of minutes. 

We brought most of our food and all the cooking utensils, but the highlight of our culinary experience was getting a fresh kill of impala.  Locals had gone out and poached an impala (don’t tell the Zambian DNR) and offered to sell it to us.  I negotiated half of the impala for about $16.  I cut the legs up with a knife on the back of a tailgate and we made steaks and later impala chili with it.  Once you put out of your mind how long the meat had been out in the heat and how many flies had been on it before it was cooked, it was surprisingly tasty.  

The local watering hole

Fresh kill of the day

Thank you MSR for filtering the water and saving our trip!

The outreach: We focused our time on door to door evangelism during the days, did a sports outreach with a soccer game (I suck at soccer by the way), put on the Jesus film at night with a message, as well as built some bridges with local community leaders.

Giving the team a pep talk for a sport I know nothing about

The village school

The situation:  The village is facing some serious issues.  At first glance you see the obvious; extreme poverty, lack of clean drinking water, no health care, poor school system etc.  But there was much more.  The ladies who did a school outreach noticed even preschoolers singing inappropriate songs about sex (with the encouragement of the older male teacher), the men we visited with were hopeless and unmotivated, food sources are limited and poorly managed, alcoholism ran rampant, HIV was prevalent (along with dysentery thanks to the water), there was a possible situation with child prostitution, the local church was struggling, among other things.  In short, the trip for evangelism has opened up a whole mess of things that require investment from the church.  And here is the other thing: literally nobody is working there.  This area is out of the jurisdiction of literally every organization, both government and Christian. 

Kids excited to see the Muzungas (white people)

So…what is the response?  I could write for hours on what should or could be done, but I want to take time and listen to what God wants.  I feel a sense of urgency because people are literally dying out there.  For example, our contact’s wife (9 months pregnant) walked a difficult 6 miles over mountains to reach the nearest hospital so she could deliver their child.  I can tell you the walk was no joke and somebody at full term has no business walking that far over that kind of terrain.  With that in mind, I am committed to praying over this situation about how I can be useful in the future.  My Zambian friends were equally as disturbed by the situation out there and are also committed to a long-term solution.  

I know this much.  God’s plan for salvation and redemption involved sending His son to live and dwell amongst the people He was trying to reach.  It takes involvement, relationships and time in order to radically transform people.  Just because these people live in a harsh and remote place doesn’t exclude them from the Gospel or from an opportunity to an abundant life.  As Christians sometimes we must face critical choices.  Who is willing to go live amongst such a people in such a place?  Who is willing to sacrifice resources and time to reach a forgotten people?  If the Church isn’t willing to get down and meet people where they are, what is the Church here for? 

Limping home... its raining on our dirt road, my turbo is out, we are low on fuel and overloaded with passengers

It was difficult to reach this place this week.  It took time, resources (I blew a turbo and Stephen a fuel pump on this drive) and a sacrifice of comfort to make change in people’s lives.  We all have people placed in front of us that can benefit from our involvement.  The extent in which we as Christians are willing to get uncomfortable is directly related to the depth of our reach as a church.   This is where God took me this week, and it was uncomfortable.  Where does God want you to go that might be uncomfortable for you?  God doesn't promise a comfortable life, but a full and abundant life if we walk with Him.  

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! 

All I Have Needed Thy Hand Hath Provided

It hit me this past weekend like a truck.  I was about to start swirling down the complaining spiral.  Another week had went by and still no container.  The container that we were shopping for exactly one year ago to date.  The container that we filled at the beginning of this year.  The container that left Iowa in March and arrived in Mozambique in late July.  The container that has yet to make its way here to Chongwe, Zambia.  The items on this container include a table and chairs for us to eat on, our queen bed, 2 futon sofas for our living room, 3 futon beds for the kiddos, pots/pans/utensils/plates/cups/silverware for the kitchen, toys and homeschool items for kids, blankets and pillows, and other such things that would really help make our house easier to live in and plain and simple, more homey.
As I looked around our little place this weekend, God quieted me before Him.  And a line from one of the greatest hymns of all time entered my mind: "All I have needed thy hand hath provided"...
And I realized, I don't "need" these things from the container.  God has provided me with a bed to sleep on, beds for my kids to sleep on, a little kids table for the kids to eat on, a few pots and pans as well as a few dishes and silverware.  He has provided me with food to eat, a safe place to live, clothes to wear, soap to keep clean, medicine if we are sick... He has provided abundantly more than I even think I "need".  My Jesus Calling devotional put it best: "The one thing you absolutely need is the one thing you can never lose: My presence with you."  Praising God today for always being there, for never leaving my side, for always providing, for saving my life through His work on the cross.  If that is all God had ever done for me, that is enough.  But that's the cool thing about God, He doesn't ever stop blessing us-He is too good and too caring to stop, we just have to have the right perspective and recognize the blessings instead of always thinking about what we don't have.
I told you that this would be an ongoing lesson for me this year, the complaining spiral can drown you if your perspective is off.  Watch for some coming stories of people here that are helping shape my perspective and maybe they will help you too.

  Great is Thy Faithfulness

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father;

There is no shadow of turning with Thee,

Thou changest not, Thy compassions they fail not,

As Thou hast been,Thou forever wilt be.

Refrain:

Great is Thy faithfulness!

Great is Thy faithfulness!

Morning by morning new mercies I see

All I have needed Thy hand hath provided

Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me!

Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,

Sun, moon, and stars in their courses above;

Join with all nature in manifold witness,

To Thy great faithfulness, mercy, and love.

(Refrain)

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,

Thine own great presence to cheer and to guide;

Strength for today, and bright hope for tomorrow

Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside.

Listen to it here! Click below:

Great is Thy Faithfulness

Electricity, Water and TOMS

Over the last few weeks we have been settling into our lives in Zambia and beginning ministry.  One of the fun things about living here is the unpredictability.  The utilities here are pretty inconsistent.  The water is on, then it is off.  The power is on, then it is off.   So we put in a water tower to keep water 24/7, which the landlord kindly deducted from our rent.  Then I started noticing bad smells around the house. The problem? No P-trap.  That’s right, just a straight pipe from the shower into the sewage.  Plus we still have poor water pressure.  The problem?  I don't know really, probably just a reality of our existence here.  The other problem is that the A/C won't function correctly.  It never seemed to have enough power to run it.  The problem?  There really isn’t enough power to run it.  The entire town suffers from a lack of voltage and it likely wont run during the day until about 10 p.m.  

I know these are relatively first world problems to deal with.  We clearly did not move to Zambia to be comfortable.  I just wanted to make things easier on my family for the transition.  But God is trying to teach me a lesson in all of this.  

What is it?

As we move towards a goal of equipping the poor for a more fulfilled life, God is teaching me that it is important to remember that it is His will and not mine.  In the same way I can bring “western” or first world things like A/C or constant water and find that Africa just isn’t prepared for them, we can find ourselves in the development field bringing things that people here just don’t need or aren’t completely relevant. 

Such was the case as I was walking down Cairo Road in Lusaka the other day.  People sell all kinds of things on the streets, from airtime on cell phones to food to clothing.  I stumbled upon a few pairs of TOMS shoes.  I was like “whaaaaat!”  I couldn’t believe they sold TOMS here.  Apparently I AM as naïve as advertised.  TOMS doesn’t do business here, they donate here.  And the result was the other end of the buy one-give one being sold on the streets for something more useful.   Imagine the irony here: I almost bough a pair of TOMS for $20 on the street… the same pair that was hypothetically donated to the African selling these shoes after I purchased a pair for myself in the States. 

Sometimes people don’t really want what we have to bring.  Sometimes “the west” isn’t really best.

What kind of relief and development did Jesus do?

He was into doing acts of service no doubt.  He fed 5000, healed the sick, raised the dead, etc.  He did awesome miracles to prove his deity.  But He was also miffed when people kept coming to him for food after He fed the multitudes.  He corrected them by saying He is more than just a handout, He was a way to have life abundantly.   God wants more for people than to just receive a handout.  The billions in foreign aid and donations that have landed on this continent have done nothing to eradicate poverty.  It still exists.  There is even a micro-economy centered on handouts from the west. 

What else did Jesus do?

He invested in people, 12 people to be exact.  Only 11 panned out, but that’s not the point.  The point is that Jesus more than anything cared about people through relationships.  He was clearly relational with the disciples, cutting to the core of their existence, getting authentic and serving alongside them.  He equipped the disciples, a ragtag bunch of sinners and misfits, to spread the Gospel to literally every corner of the world.  God would rather us invest in people than projects.  What is needed here isn’t to pity the poor, but to partner with the poor.  Money shouldn’t so much be about special projects, though there is a real need to care for the widow and orphan, but rather to equip the poor through investing time and information. then they can lay claim to the abundant life that God has for them. 

What if someone told you the only thing you are capable of is trying to survive between handouts from governments or NGO’s?  Can dignity exist?  Can hope really exist?  Can you really have life abundantly? 

God is molding and purifying a vision for the long term here in Africa.  It is an exciting time. 

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.  I came that they may life and have it abundantly”  John 10:10