Getting the Hang of Things

It has been about 2 1/2 weeks since we set foot in Zambia, and so much has happened!  We have been abundantly blessed with a smooth transition so far, and we don't take that for granted at all.  Thank you so much to those of you who have been in prayer for our family.  We have needed every one of them, and God has been answering abundantly.

Let me give you a glimpse of our timeline so far.
October 12:  We arrived in Livingstone, Zambia with all of our 20 bags!  We breezed through customs and out to the waiting trucks.  We were picked up by our dear friends, the Haytons and taken to their house where we stayed for our first week.
Throughout that first week we shopped in Livingstone for many of the things we would need to set up house in Choma, got over jet lag, and reacquainted with that part of Zambia.
October 14:  Our first Sunday we visited Siambalele Baptist Church.  The Zambian congregation held a prayer of commissioning us to be their missionaries to Nambaaza and the surrounding areas.  What a blessing!
October 17:  We took our first load of luggage, furniture, etc, to our house in Choma.  We were able to purchase a stove and refrigerator in Choma and have it delivered to our house that day before we had to leave to get back to Livingstone for the night.
October 18:  Back in Livingstone we purchased more things we couldn't find in Choma and packed our final load.
October 19:  We made our final trip to Choma and spent the first night in our new house!
October 20:  Our first Sunday at Salvation Baptist Church in Choma and we went to our first Zambian football (soccer) game!!  A wonderful experience.
October 23:  We made the trip to the capitol city, Lusaka, to turn in the paperwork for our work permits.  They were accepted with no complaints or questions!  That was a miracle!
October 27:  Visitation with Salvation Baptist of Choma and a birthday party that night for Pastor Arthur and Chester (our employee who takes care of our house and yard).  It was a wonderful time of fellowship and learning Zambian culture.

As you can see things have been very busy, but in a relaxed kind of way...  Sounds weird, but welcome to African life.  Things move slowly, but somehow you still end up accomplishing more than expected!

This Thursday we will be driving out to Nambaaza for the first time in over two years!  We are going to be meeting with the believers there, and have a very important meeting with Chief Shezongo.  Please keep this upcoming trip in our prayers.  We aren't sure what to expect, but we know that God has it all under control.

In answer to many of your asking...  We seem to be adapting well so far.  It can be a bit lonely not having other Americans to fellowship with right now, but we are learning a lot about building relationships with the Zambians and their way of doing things.  That is a huge blessing and what we need.  The kids seem to be adjusting well.  Please pray for them to develop friendships and to pick up the language quickly.  They are enjoying the opportunity to play with the Zambian children, but are nervous about it at the same time.  But they are doing extremely well at being patient with the whole process.

All in all we are blessed beyond measure, filled up, and overflowing!  I know this isn't a very exciting update, but I'll put some pictures on the end to try and liven it up.

Jorja had her dreams come true.  She got to sit by a Zambian at church!!

At the airport in Chicago ready to go!!

The commissioning prayer over our family at Siambalele Baptist church.

Getting used to being stared at everywhere we go.

We are so thankful for all God has done and is doing, and is going to do.  We are thankful for your prayers, encouragement and support.  We can't do this without you.

Step By Step

I remember the first time I found out we were pregnant.  Months of praying, researching, reading books, watching other parents with their children, and, of course, watching A Baby Story on TLC.  When that first test came up positive what I remember most was thinking, “Wait a minute, God!  I’m not ready for this!  I was just kidding!  I just liked the idea of being a mommy!!”  But God does not arbitrarily make life.  My sweet baby was His will for my life.  I had no idea what I was doing, but had to follow Him each step of the way.

That was very much the way I felt as I stepped off the plane in Zambia yesterday.  I was assulted by an entire gamut of emotions.  Suddenly all these years of praying, training, reading, hoping, talking to other missionaries, and imagining what it would be like was becoming reality.  I had an overwhelming sense of inadequacy.  “Wait a minute, God!  I’m not ready for this!  I was just kidding!  I just liked the idea of being a missionary!”  Deep breaths.  But I did not arbitrarily make it to Zambia.  This is God’s will for my life.  I have no idea what I am doing, but God does and all I have to do is follow Him each step of the way.  

Let me share with you some ways God has gone before us in this journey.  Our family left for Chicago on Tuesday, October 8.  God provided a van and an awesome aunt and uncle to drive us and our 20 bags there.  The trip couldn’t have gone smoother.  We have a supporting church just outside Chicago who housed us for the night and took us to the airport the next day.  

It turns out that buying a luggage scale is a waste of money.  We weighed meticulously (remember, I’m married to Jamie) to 48lbs which was 3lbs lighter than the required 51, but somehow they ended up weighing a bit, sometimes a lot, more than that.  Thanks to a wonderful check in agent we were able to redistribute the weight and didn’t end up paying for any overweight bags! 

All our flights were on time and went crazy smooth.  Our biggest obstacle was going to be going through customs in Zambia with a one way ticket and all our bags.  Also, we had purchased 3 year visas last time we were here and there was a chance they would be denied.  No big deal, really.  We would just buy new ones.  But they accepted the visas and just watched us as we rolled 4 carts of luggage (all 20 bags, another miracle!) out to our truck.  No questions, no searches, no second looks!!  AMAZING!!

So, here I am at 4:45am Zambia time blogging while my kids are wide awake.  Yay!  Changing time zones!!  When I think of the overwhelming reality in which I sit I really don’t know what to do.  So, I have to take this moment by moment.  I’m exhausted, but the reality is that my kids bodies feel like they just had an afternoon nap and now they’re ready to go.  The reality is that I only have a few days of this as all our bodies adjust.  One day at a time.  Moment by moment.  The ultimate reality is that God has gone before us, is here beside us, and will follow behind us.  He is confirming to us that this is what He has for us over and over.  We have a faithful God Who will never take us where He can’t sustain us.  

We can’t thank you enough for all your prayers for our trip.  There is still much to do until we are “settled” in, but we are praising God for His amazing provision and protection.  We’ll keep you updated as we see all God will continue to do.