Birthday - A Day of Receiving and....Giving

Hadassah's friends came by to wish her a happy birthday and she decided to give a little piece of birthday cake to her friends.

So glad that she had the opportunity to give to others on her special day.

Into Double Digits

Happy 10th Birthday, Hadassah Grace!

Me and My New Gal Pals (plus Levi)

I was sitting outside while the kids played before Good News Club and all these little girls came up to sit with me. The little one sitting to the left of me was about 6 years old. She was taking care of the littlest one sitting beside her. It is so heartbreaking to see a 6 year old strap a 1 year old on her back like a pro. Mwangala, the one in the black dress by Levi, stuck by me the whole time. I practiced my Lozi on her and she practiced her very confused look on me. :)

All the Buna ladies need to note my shirt - which I wear quite often.

I Believe in Prayer

A situation came up on Monday.

Jeff had left at 8am to head across the river to do leadership training at Mukuma Baptist Church. He took off with one sandwich, one cliff bar and two good size bottles of water. To get to Mukuma, he first had to board the pontoon to take him across the Zambezi River. After disembarking on the other side, it is still an hour and a half drive to the church. He had a great time of teaching there at the church. On his way back, the vehicle got stuck. Even though he was in 4 wheel drive low, he had to pass through the muddy area and climb a small incline to clear the area. He got through most of the muddy patch but got stuck on the way out up the incline. After about an hour of working to get unstuck, he calls me on the satellite phone to tell me that he was not going to make it home that night - that he was stuck and as of yet, was not able to get out. All in all, NOT a good situation at all.

Needless to say, I was very worried and concerned about the whole situation. He did not have enough food and water to last the day, no blankets (it's still cold here), no mosquito net and no tent. Plus, I had no way to lock our front gate as Jeff had the key...

Almost as soon as I got off the phone with Jeff, his parents called to tell me that Jeff had gotten in touch with them and would not be home tonight. Just because of the stress of the moment and the total unknown, I broke down crying on the phone. On the phone, Jeff's dad prayed with me and assured me that they would start their church's Prayer Chain to pray about this situation.

I had also texted our fellow team mates and they began to pray. One dear friend, called to pray with me on the phone.

After two and a half hours, Jeff was finally able to get unstuck and now it was a race against time to try to get to the river bank so the pontoon could take him across to our side of the river. He called the pontoon conductor and (for an extra price) the pontoon conductor came across the river to pick up Jeff after dark.

ALL this to say that I truly believe in prayer. The Lord is teaching me every day to trust him more and put everything in His hands. I believe it was only through the prayers of the faithful that Jeff got home on Monday night about 8:30pm. I pray that through our lives here in Lukulu that we are also teaching our children to completely TRUST in the Lord.

The Red Sea Place

The Red Sea Place

Have you come to the Red Sea place in your life,

Where in spite of all you can do,

There is no way out, there is no way back,

There is no other way but through?

Then wait on the Lord with a trust serene

Till the night of your fear is gone;

He will send the wind, He will heap the floods,

When He says to your soul, “Go on.”

And His hand will lead you through–clear through–

Ere the watery walls roll down,

No foe can reach you, no wave can touch,

No mightiest sea can drown;

The tossing billows may rear their crests,

Their foam at your feet may break,

But over their bed you shall walk dry shod

In the path that your Lord will make.

In the morning watch, ‘neath the lifted cloud

You shall see but the Lord alone,

When He leads you on from the place of the sea

To a land that you have not known;

And your fears shall pass as your foes have passed

You shall be no more afraid;

You shall sing His praise in a better place,

A place that His hand has made.

Annie Johnson Flint, 1866-1932

Christian Poet

Shangombo Pastor's Conference 2011

Hello, Friends! Jeff has just returned from a trip to Shangombo. Go over to our team mate's website to see several posts and several pictures of the trip that Jeff made with Mark Wint.

www.markandmelynda.blogspot.com