My Wonderful Mother and the Fire

My Mother sure loves Zambia. I enjoy hearing her tell the Zambians how much she loves it here. She describes it as her second home; her home away from home. I also enjoy hearing her tell stories from her former visits to Zambia. They are some of her favorites and so many of them tell of God's faithfulness and love. I think one reason she loves it here is because the people are so relational, and they take time for you. My Mother takes time for people. She loves to serve, she loves to bake, she loves to set a beautiful table, she loves to chat and she is very kind. She has a big heart. Her friendship with Emma is very special and I enjoy seeing them laugh and have fun together. Often I have seen my mother give things away, whether it's food, clothing or other items she brought to give away. She works hard in the kitchen and loves a clean house. Given has given (ha!) her the name "Mrs. Clean" ...and she is quite deserving of it! Since we have been here, she has been trying to extinquish the family of ants that seem to have invited themselves into our kitchen. She is succeeding quite well, and now we are only seeing a few stragglers here and there! The other day during our breakfast my Mother read a devotional excerpt to us that encouraged us to think Big thoughts about God. I am so grateful to have a Mother who trusts in God. Not only is she my Mother; she is also my very dear friend. I thank the Lord for such a wonderful Mother.

Well, I misinformed you a bit about the tall grass burning; tonight Emma set us all straight. The conversation began when Emma came to the door and told us to look outside. Directly opposite our house, the entire field was aflame! The tall grass was burning, all the way along the dirt path that led to the church, and stretching along the lane directly in front of our house. To us Americans, it resembled a forest fire, and we were a bit concerned. Emma then began to tell us that children set the field on fire, and typically that is what happens when we see the tall grass burning. In October or November, before the rains come, some farmers might burn off the stalks of crops, but when fires like this are set, children are playing around, and will seldom get caught. They do it because they like to see the fire, and it starts fairly slowly, so by the time it really is blazing, the children are nowhere around. When my Mother asked if the police would come and look for the kids, my Dad reminded her that most of the police here don't even have cars! "TIA". It will be interesting to see the fields in the morning; this field covered a large area. Emma said that if it would have been done in the daytime, the farmers would have tried to put it out. It will be sad for the cattle; they will have to find another field to graze in, further down by the stream, where the grass is green and would not have
burned. It might be the talk of Nahumba in the morning, but then again, it might not be big news for anyone except these 4 white folks who don't have many answers to things like this....only more questions!