Sorting and Settling In

As I had expected, it has been more of an adjustment getting used to life on this side of our trip! It's wonderful to be home with family and friends, but I feel somewhat scattered in my life these days and there are times when my heart longs for the slow paced life of Zambia, where deadlines are rare, appointments are few, conversations are unhurried, walks are regular and waiting is expected and natural...and even enjoyed (most of the time!)

Don't get me wrong - I am glad to be home! I also loved Zambia, though, and I guess I was there long enough to appreciate their way of living, that does not come close to the proverbial "rat race"! So if you can't find me, don't worry - I'm just somewhere trying to slow down a bit, and I will return shortly! (Just kidding - I am a homeschooling mom and I couldn't really escape if I wanted to!)

I have been trying to sort through our many pictures, choosing the best ones to be shown after church this coming Sunday at our fellowship meal. Fortunately the guy doing it upped the number from 30 to closer to 100 - that works for me! It has been fun seeing the pictures and reliving some of our wonderful experiences. As I pass over the many pictures of people, I have had to pause and offer up prayers for them, praying that God will encourage their hearts as they endure the many hardships and challenges of their lives. At the same time, I recall that so many of them trust in the Lord for their daily bread and for daily strength, and that brings joy to my heart as I think about them.

My parents are doing pretty well, but as the time draws nearer for my mother to leave, please pray for her. As much as she loves her family, when she is there in Nahumba, she feels at home and loves it, and finds it hard to leave. Having been there, I now have a little understanding of her emotions and the pull at her heart. They are having some folks in for dinner over the next few weeks. Emma went to Lusaka for her son's graduation from college this week.

Here are some pictures that I took during our final days in Nahumba ...

Sunrise in Nahumba

Emma and me

Maudie gave me this chitangi dress the night before we left

A final hug with Given at the airport

Catching Up

Well, it sure feels strange posting on this blog from my home computer. I can't help imagining my Dad sitting at the computer in Nahumba right now, where I used to write these posts from. As I work my kitchen, I continually picture the kitchen in Nahumba, where my Mother and I so often worked together, and where Emma often helped wash the dishes, baked bread, and washed our clothes. I even had to stop and think where my spices were the other day! I am slowly adjusting to home life, but my mind so often wanders to the dear Zambian people I quickly came to love. My mind often goes to what their life is like, and I'm not very motivated to buy things right now. I wish I would remain that way, but I know myself too well, and fear that the impact of their meager way of living will fade all too soon as I become a true American once again, consuming more than I need. I hope and pray there will be lasting changes; we'll see.

I wanted to share a funny story with you.....Monday morning I woke up a little before 5 AM (an hour before my alarm ) and I thought I heard Matt, which is quite early for him...for those of you who know how hard it can be to get him up in the morning....anyway, he walked out in the hall, was wide awake and looking perky. He looked at me inquisitively and asked, "Is there any reason why I am so wide awake so early?!" I laughed and said, "Yep - your body is saying you should be awake...it's almost lunch time in Nahumba!" Welcome to what they call "jet lag"! By today, it wasn't as early, and we are slowly getting adjusted to America-time once again.

I haven't had time to get my pictures organized or even on my computer yet, but hopefully in a few days I will be able to put some on.

I heard from my parents and they are doing well. I made some extra baked oatmeal (my Dad's favorite) and freezed it so they could have it for a few weeks. They are enjoying it and will soon be heading into their last 2 weeks in Nahumba, which is hard to believe.

That's all for now...not that life is boring in the burg; it's just not stuff you all would be interested in! So many of you from church commented on how much you enjoyed the blog. Thanks for participating in this wonderful season of our lives. I'm glad you could share it with us, even in the comfort of your own home! I will never forget my wonderful experience in Zambia and I have all these posts to remind me...thanks again Sarah!!

Home Sweet Home!

Yes - we are home, and it sure is sweet! There is much to catch up with, since we did not have easy access to the internet this past week. Thanks, Sarah, for letting folks know we were alive and well! Ryan and Hollis picked us up from Dulles after a good flight of 18 hours, with a quick stop for re-fueling. Driving up to our home was more emotional than I expected. It hit me just how long I was away as everything seemed familiar, yet strange. But thanks to my sister and some friends, it was clean and fresh! And thank you Deb, for the wonderful, homey, comfy look - fresh flowers, mums in a big pot and chocolates on our pillows. Then in the fridge was dinner she made for us, food to get us through a number of days, and in the freezer were some more meals. It was wonderful not having to go to the grocery store today! Tears flowed as I felt a rush of emotions that seemed to say, "It is so good to be home!"

Driving home, I couldn't help think:
- it's odd seeing pick up trucks with no people in them
- there sure are a lot of cars driving around...and where are all the people that walk on the streets??
- no one is selling anything along the side of the road
- these roads are so smooth
- I miss 2 very familiar faces...I wonder how my dear parents are doing.

I did talk to them once this past week, and they are doing well. They took this weekend to visit some dear friends of theirs, the Siadeebe family (I don't think I spelled that right!). Their daughter Esther was named after my Mother 18 years ago.

South Africa was interesting...
- clerks from the rental car company discouraged us from driving at night to our destination (said they don't drive at night, even with a man, but we made it fine...thank you Lord!)
- security guards with guns at grocery stores
- men approaching us in parking lots offering to watch our car
- people encouraging us to lock our cars at all times

But it was beautiful too....
- we saw the BIG FIVE: buffalo, leopard, lion, elephant, and rhino, plus others like giraffes, zebras, monkeys, antelope, hippos, kudu, crocodiles, ostrich, etc.
- wonderful variety in the land: forests, mountains, plantations, grasslands, canyons, waterfalls, farmland, lakes

Thanks for your prayers. My heart is full as I think back over the past 15 weeks. I will try to write some things this week, but I also know my schedule will pick up as Matt gets orientated to school once again, as we try to catch up 3 weeks into our charter school. I hope to put some pictures on the blog as time allows. I'm sure there will be days that I will long for the slow paced life of Zambia, but it is good to be home.

Tomorrow will be a very special day...I get to see our daughter's family and our son's family...and our 5 sweet grandchildren. Oh what joy that will be!!! We are all gathering for a short but sweet reunion at Ryan and Hollis's home.

I must get to bed; it's been a long day! I got a few hours of sleep on the plane, but stayed up all day today, and now I am ready for some shut eye.

Coming Home ...

Dad, Mom and Matt landed safely this morning (after a nice 18 hour flight!) and are on their way home! Mom hopes to give a little update later today.
Thanks for your prayers,
~Sarah

South Africa!

Just a quick post to let everyone know that Dad, Mom and Matt have arrived safely in South Africa and are doing well. They currently don't have internet access, so I'm not sure when you'll hear from Mom. She sends her love to everyone and is looking forward to seeing you all soon!
Thanks for your prayers!
~Sarah

Final Night in Zambia

Greetings for the last time from Zambia! My next post will most likely be from South Africa, as long as we can get internet access.

First of all, I want to let you know that Mother has been doing much better the second half of the day. She is pretty much back to herself, although she has been a little teary today as the reality of us leaving is evident with an almost empty bedroom! We thank the Lord for the strength she is regaining.

What a fully packed day we had! Dad and Ken visited with Enock Shamapani in the morning, while Emma and I did our final loads of wash. Then later in the morning, I visited the compound, saying my good byes and handing out some final items to the pastor's family. There were 3 little girls, all from different families, that I bought dresses for, and today I delivered them - what a joy to see their faces light up in appreciation! Upon saying good bye, I was moved to tears quite a few times by the love expressed by these dear people.

This afternon, I assisted a 5th grade teacher for an hour and a half. He asked me to read to the class and I chose a book entitled "The Wise Decision". It felt a bit risky, not knowing anything the book was about, but as it turned out, it was a perfect choice! The Lord's hand guided me on such a good path and I thank him for his presence, even in little choices like picking out a story to read to a class! As it turns out, it was a great book about sexual purity, temptations, resisting peer pressure, AIDS, and abstinence. I was able to have a very candid discussion with the 15 students about these topics and they participated very well. We talked about fearing God, not just a disease, and we talked about having boldness to say "no" to sex, especially to get money. Having seen how many are affected by AIDS over here, has increased my passion to get the word out to the young people on sexual purity, and it was so fulfilling to have this opportunity on my last day...thank you Lord! We handed out quite a few of Randy Alcorn's book, "The Purity Principle", to folks here, so it is good to know that material is getting out (Thanks to Ken!).

After class was over, I was talking with a few of the students, and I thanked one young man, Brave, for his participation in class. I sensed a call upon this young man, to be a leader and influence for good among his friends, and told him that I belive God was going to use him as a godly example. I encouraged him to be bold and take a stand for righteousness. He thanked me and said that he has wanted to be a pastor for many years! That led to a time of encouraging him in his desires and gave me another person to put on my "Zambia prayer list", which has been growing every day!

Given blessed Matthew with a shirt and matching cap, that he also bought for himself and his nephew, who works with him. It was a kind expression of Given's appreciation to Matthew for helping him do some work while he was here; how thoughtful!

Moses and Noria, a dear couple that I have mentioned earlier, walked quite a few miles to say to good bye to us, knowing it was our last day. She came with yet another gift to me....she had given me some gifts the first time I met her! Moments like these, one does not have adequate words to say thank you.....

Emma presented me with a Chitangi tonight. She doesn't have much and to give anything is such a sacrifice....I love that gal!

This evening, we had the wonderful privilege of having dinner at Maudy and Guyden Makini...I have mentioned them in the past...they have nine children and he is the Headmaster at Nahumba Basic School. What a lovely evening, with cabbage, rice, Nshima, beef, and Mother's yummy mashed potatoes. Before we left, Maudy surprised me with the most gracious gift, and one that was hard to receive! The last time we were at their home for a meal (when Doug, Dar, Mindy and Brent were here), she wore a lovely chitangi outfit. We all commented on it's beauty and took pictures of her wearing it! Well, she handed the whole thing to me tonight as her gift to me! What generosity, what love, what kindness.....that's the kind of people I am leaving...that's the kind of people that I have come to love here in Nahumba. The list could go on and on...

We fly to South Africa early afternoon Friday and will remain there for a week. Given is driving us, and I think Emma is going along, so we will have a full vehicle as we ride our final bumpy ride to Livingstone. What a wonderful time this has been. Stay tuned for further updates from South Africa.

And to our dear friends and family...it won't be long! Yeah!!!

Final Day in Zambia

Well, it is hard to believe that today is our last day in Zambia. Tomorrow morning we fly to Johannesburg, South Africa, and will spend one week just outside Kruger National Park before we fly home on September 21.

Last evening, my dear Mother was feeling quite exhausted and went to bed before 6 PM. This morning she was still very tired, although Emma and I encouraged her to take a bath, which perked her up a little, before she fell asleep again around 9 AM. Please pray for her. In the last few days, she has shed some tears thinking about my departure, so she is emotionally a bit weak as well. I'm sure she will be fine, but we sure would love to see her up and around so she can be strong for the trip to Livingstone tomorrow morning.

I will still continue to send Sarah updates while we are in South Africa, as well as when we return, through the time my parents come home. That way, those who know them can stay informed with how their final weeks are going. If I have time, I hope to post more pictures for you to see as well, but that will depend on how my adjustment to home goes!

A number of the local pastors joined us for lunch yesterday, and we had a good time interacting with them. Their job sure is different than the typical pastor in the states, and they live on very little. Their passion for the gospel to be spread is great, and one of them shared that with so many dying here, he lives with an urgency to share the Gospel with everyone he meets, since one never knows how many days they might have. I was affected by his comments, and realized that we should live with the same urgency, since we don't know either. When Ken asked them how many funerals
they do a year, they all sighed and shook their heads as if to say, "how can we keep track of so many?" I think one of them estimated somewhere around 40, but they all mentioned that few of them are members. The majority are for relatives of members. Ken gave each of them some books that he had sent here from our church, and it was like they received gold. One of them said, it is like giving them money; he feels rich with them. Moments like that, we realize anew how blessed we are.

Last evening we enjoyed our final Bible Study that was held in the pastor's home. We discussed some miracles of Jesus and were reminded of the great miracle of salvation. They prayed for our trip home and were kind in their encouragement.

Today we are washing for the last time, and saying our goodbyes to the dear folks in Nahumba.

Thanks for lifting up my Mother in prayer.