The Joubert's are back again from Zambia. In Jako's own words.
We were 5 brave souls that left for Zambia on the 24th of March. One of the brave ones was my mother that went up with us for the first time to Zambia. When she said she wanted to go with us this time, my first reaction was like doubting Thomas saying that I would have to see it before I believed it. Since she has never much enjoyed camping, I really did not think that she will go but to my surprise she did and did very well in deed. She was a real trooper and worked hard. So did the other two ladies’ that went with. Yes I was the only male with four women. Wow!
Thanks to God’s provision and your prayers, we got both the generator and the cement mixer in through the borders and customs without difficulty. What a huge sigh of relief that was. We arrived in Mukamba on Monday the 26th and had to set up camp for our time there and after all the practice from setting up and taking down the tents while traveling, the ladies were fast with helping to do that. The entire week we were in Mukamba we were busy from sun rise to sun set to try to get more things done on the orphanage property. As we wanted to continue working on the foundation for our permanent tent, we had to go and look for sand in the rivers where they were dry. That took a day on its own just to locate sand for the rivers are not close to us and the roads are not very good but God was good to us and we found two loads of sand and loaded the trailer with it. On the way back though, while going slowly through a hole in the road a protruding tree root sliced through the tire of the trailer. With close to 1 ton of sand loaded on it we could loudly hear the air bursting out and deflating. With where the tire was cut we ended up loosing one good wheel and put our only spare wheel on in it’s place and while I did that the women helped to full the hole in with dirt and branches to stop it from happening again. Since the spare tire was previously damaged but fixed, we prayed it would last and asked God to protect the wheels from now on and He did.
On other days we also had to go and dig stones out of the ground and load that on the trailer and that was also very hard work to do but once again God gave us the strength to do all of this. At least that location was closer to the camp. Then, once we got the full load of rocks back to camp, we had the tough job of sorting them into the right sizes. The locals put their full resourcefulness to use and used chicken coup wire folded over twice and attached to tree branches to sift the big stones from the little ones that I needed to build with. Then we had the problem of separating the little stones from all the dirt that came with it. A little cross cultural discussion was all it took and then a piece of corrugated roof sheeting, punched through with holes, proved to be the perfect tool. It took quite a time to do but the local men that came to help worked hard and were a sight to see. With the cement mixer we had brought up now working, the work was going like a perfect run machine. It was such a blessing to continue working with the men from the community, getting to know them better, and building relationships where Christ can be introduced.
While we men were busy doing that (getting rocks, sifting dirt, building the foundation) the women were clearing land in the area where we wanted to plant 50 young mango and 50 young banana trees. This was quite a task considering that we first had to find the “field” or as we refereed to it back in August “the brickyard” as not only the field was completely overgrown but also the path leading to it. It took them over a full day just to clear the path before they could even start on the field. With thick elephant grass as tall as their heads and only a hand held grass slasher (like a machete with an L shaped bend) and a few pruning tools, it was quite a different reality for them then they are of the “older” ladies retreated to the shade to bless us by completing several coats of varnish our new tables and chairs (made by a local friend in the village).
After working hard all week, Saturday was our last day to be able to go and dig up our baby mango and banana trees, even though only ½ of the “field” was completely finished (the whole area had been cut but only half had been able to be plowed). Since the villagers I had been working with now knew how to operate the cement mixer, generator, and brick wall mold, I was able to leave them in charge of that to retrieve the trees. We got back just in time to start planting them and even though we rushed hard to beat the rain, it beat us – at least for a bit. We took a small break while it poured but we rejoiced that God was watering the ground for us, and went back out when it was still raining but not so heavy. In fact all the women did – of their own accord, even though it was wet and cold, just to get those trees planted. We were racing against the clock as the sun was quickly setting when Nora, one of the ladies who was the most afraid of snakes shouted “snake! I came running over to find that it was a deadly poisonous puff adder. While they aren’t normally aggressive, that is normally their danger because in field like this, people accidentally step on them because they will just lay there, especially in plowed fields where they are hard to see. When I went to kill it I noticed several foot steps right next to it. I think it may have struck someone on their boots without us realizing it. We just thanked God for his protection and also for allowing us to SEE his protection. He could have just protected us without us even knowing but then showing us what He did for us was really sobering.
Sunday we had the privilege of worshipping with the Mukamba church and they were all VERY happy to be introduced to my mom. Nora told a story to the children and we all worshiped and sang together while I was given the blessing of preaching on Adam and Eve and the Serpent. After that the 5 of us, with four others crammed into the Hilux to go and look at a heavy duty trailer someone wanted to sell. It was quite far away but as it was a relative of good friends of ours there we decided to go. The trailer looked good and was very practical because it could be pulled by oxen or by a vehicle and while we were busy looking at that I noticed an old hand driven small tractor. Amber and I had looked at these in South Africa and they were very expensive so when I noticed one just sitting there, appearing to be not used I asked about it. In the end, I ended up purchasing both the old tractor and the trailer for the orphanage but as we struggled to load this heavy thing onto the trailer (that we had to jimmy rig with a chain to be able to tow it behind the Hilux) it began to rain, and pour, and rain and rain. I was soaked and it was a long, slow, bumpy and wet 3 hour ride back to camp. We were exhausted when we finally arrived back at night, but we thanked God for the much needed rain.
When we left early Monday, it was neat to see the foundation built up to its full height and the mango and banana trees planted. We could just see the progress that had been made and visualize the foundation slab/floor laid next month and the trees producing much needed fruit for the children in a few years. We were able to enjoy 2 days in Livingstone where we got the added blessing of seeing a lunar rainbow at Victoria Falls before heading back safely to South Africa. And the best of it is, my mom says she is up to coming again ….. Maybe not next month – but again. Thanks so much for all of your prayers.
Enjoy the pictures. One collage is of the cement mixer and generator that God helped us bring through without difficulty, hauling sand, sifting the rocks, and the foundation built to height. One is of us with the uncut field and the tools we used, the field cleared, a baby mango we planted, and us hauling the plants to the property. The last one is of Jako's mom (in the black top) and Louise varnishing our tables, Nora telling the children a story in church, Jako's mom (left) and Louise in Church, us by the Victoria Falls Lunar Eclipse). Thanks again for all the prayers!
Jako and Amber Joubert
Mission of Love Community Orphanage
The Jesus Loves You Project
On other days we also had to go and dig stones out of the ground and load that on the trailer and that was also very hard work to do but once again God gave us the strength to do all of this. At least that location was closer to the camp. Then, once we got the full load of rocks back to camp, we had the tough job of sorting them into the right sizes. The locals put their full resourcefulness to use and used chicken coup wire folded over twice and attached to tree branches to sift the big stones from the little ones that I needed to build with. Then we had the problem of separating the little stones from all the dirt that came with it. A little cross cultural discussion was all it took and then a piece of corrugated roof sheeting, punched through with holes, proved to be the perfect tool. It took quite a time to do but the local men that came to help worked hard and were a sight to see. With the cement mixer we had brought up now working, the work was going like a perfect run machine. It was such a blessing to continue working with the men from the community, getting to know them better, and building relationships where Christ can be introduced.
While we men were busy doing that (getting rocks, sifting dirt, building the foundation) the women were clearing land in the area where we wanted to plant 50 young mango and 50 young banana trees. This was quite a task considering that we first had to find the “field” or as we refereed to it back in August “the brickyard” as not only the field was completely overgrown but also the path leading to it. It took them over a full day just to clear the path before they could even start on the field. With thick elephant grass as tall as their heads and only a hand held grass slasher (like a machete with an L shaped bend) and a few pruning tools, it was quite a different reality for them then they are of the “older” ladies retreated to the shade to bless us by completing several coats of varnish our new tables and chairs (made by a local friend in the village).
After working hard all week, Saturday was our last day to be able to go and dig up our baby mango and banana trees, even though only ½ of the “field” was completely finished (the whole area had been cut but only half had been able to be plowed). Since the villagers I had been working with now knew how to operate the cement mixer, generator, and brick wall mold, I was able to leave them in charge of that to retrieve the trees. We got back just in time to start planting them and even though we rushed hard to beat the rain, it beat us – at least for a bit. We took a small break while it poured but we rejoiced that God was watering the ground for us, and went back out when it was still raining but not so heavy. In fact all the women did – of their own accord, even though it was wet and cold, just to get those trees planted. We were racing against the clock as the sun was quickly setting when Nora, one of the ladies who was the most afraid of snakes shouted “snake! I came running over to find that it was a deadly poisonous puff adder. While they aren’t normally aggressive, that is normally their danger because in field like this, people accidentally step on them because they will just lay there, especially in plowed fields where they are hard to see. When I went to kill it I noticed several foot steps right next to it. I think it may have struck someone on their boots without us realizing it. We just thanked God for his protection and also for allowing us to SEE his protection. He could have just protected us without us even knowing but then showing us what He did for us was really sobering.
Sunday we had the privilege of worshipping with the Mukamba church and they were all VERY happy to be introduced to my mom. Nora told a story to the children and we all worshiped and sang together while I was given the blessing of preaching on Adam and Eve and the Serpent. After that the 5 of us, with four others crammed into the Hilux to go and look at a heavy duty trailer someone wanted to sell. It was quite far away but as it was a relative of good friends of ours there we decided to go. The trailer looked good and was very practical because it could be pulled by oxen or by a vehicle and while we were busy looking at that I noticed an old hand driven small tractor. Amber and I had looked at these in South Africa and they were very expensive so when I noticed one just sitting there, appearing to be not used I asked about it. In the end, I ended up purchasing both the old tractor and the trailer for the orphanage but as we struggled to load this heavy thing onto the trailer (that we had to jimmy rig with a chain to be able to tow it behind the Hilux) it began to rain, and pour, and rain and rain. I was soaked and it was a long, slow, bumpy and wet 3 hour ride back to camp. We were exhausted when we finally arrived back at night, but we thanked God for the much needed rain.
When we left early Monday, it was neat to see the foundation built up to its full height and the mango and banana trees planted. We could just see the progress that had been made and visualize the foundation slab/floor laid next month and the trees producing much needed fruit for the children in a few years. We were able to enjoy 2 days in Livingstone where we got the added blessing of seeing a lunar rainbow at Victoria Falls before heading back safely to South Africa. And the best of it is, my mom says she is up to coming again ….. Maybe not next month – but again. Thanks so much for all of your prayers.
Enjoy the pictures. One collage is of the cement mixer and generator that God helped us bring through without difficulty, hauling sand, sifting the rocks, and the foundation built to height. One is of us with the uncut field and the tools we used, the field cleared, a baby mango we planted, and us hauling the plants to the property. The last one is of Jako's mom (in the black top) and Louise varnishing our tables, Nora telling the children a story in church, Jako's mom (left) and Louise in Church, us by the Victoria Falls Lunar Eclipse). Thanks again for all the prayers!
Jako and Amber Joubert
Mission of Love Community Orphanage
The Jesus Loves You Project
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