Orphanage Building's Basics are DONE!

Anyone recognize this place?! It is "the" orphanage building that the team began digging the footers in summer 2007 and worked on summer 2008. Jako and local workmen put the roof on in October! The floor and wall concrete has also been put in. It's ready for government certification once the restrooms, kitchen and other supporting items are in place, besides furniture!

Updated Slide Show

The main slideshow was updated last week while I was on travel. Steve - thanks for the pictures so we could show what the 2008 Zambia Team accomplished while on mission in Africa.

Home, Bittersweet, Home

The team arrived safely at 12:45 pm at Washington Dulles. Again we were blessed by God with smooth passport and customs processes and no lost bags. (Kudos to British Airways, too.)

Thanks to all of the family and friends who met us at the airport!

A reminder to the team: finish out your malaria pills for the full 7 days after returning home.

I am sure that everyone was happy to return home, yet wishing to have been able to stay in Zambia to continue completing the orphanage, outreaching and witnessing to the Tonga people, and helping all of our new friends in Zambia. Praise God for his care and providence!

Goodbye to Zambia

We leave Livingstone on a 1:20 pm flight with bittersweet feelings, and many of us anticipating returning next year to help the Mission of Love Orphanage.

We arrive at Washington Dulles on Saturday Aug 2 at 12:45 pm. Customs and re-entry will take about 45 minutes to an hour, and then we will emerge to see all of our friends and family!

Our flights are: BA 6292 Livingstone to Johannesburg at 1:20 pm, BA 56 Johannesburg to London at 8:15 pm and then on Aug 2 BA 265 London to Washington at 9:20 am arriving 12:45 pm.

Please pray for our safe and uneventful travel! See you soon!

Sunday, and Work Day 9 of 9

Sunday, the 27th, was a hard-earned day of rest and worship of the Lord. We worshipped again at Pastor Petrus's church. Three people came forward to accept Christ at the end of the service. We arrived early and Petrus asked the team to sing songs while we awaited the 9:30 a.m. start. The service began with Jako's continuing bible study of the book of Ruth. Later in the service Jim, Faison led three songs, one accompanied by Amy Tromba. Ed Windhausen and Ryan Ervin led the sermon at Petrus' request. Tim Thomas gave testimony to God's healing powers in relation to his son Austin's serious boating accident and miraculous and quick recovery. Jackie and Amy led the children outside in some fun songs and acted out the fall of the walls of Jericho.

In the evening we showed The Jesus Film at the nearby soccer field and over 200 local people attended though these folks have seen the film many times. About 40 came forward with interest in deepening their relationship with Christ.

Monday, the 28th of July, was our final work day as we leave Mukamba early Tuesday morning. As the orphanage floor and lentels above the windows were completed last Saturday, the construction of the roof continued.












Richard led the construction and was assisted by Billy, Steve, Tim, and Brenda.








In this photo you can see the final progress on the roof before we have to leave on Tuesday morning. We praise God that we have been blessed with the physical strength and endurance, as well as the raw materials from nearby ground, to make so much progress in 9 working days.











Tomorrow morning, we will say goodbye to beautiful Mukamba. We feel bittersweet. The people of Mukamba have been so friendly and have volunteered much time. We have come to know and love many of them. Our bodies are tired and we miss home and family, but a part of us also would like to stay and see the orphanage through its final stages over the next few months.

God clearly blessed this mission and provided us physical protection, peace and comaraderie within the team, strong fellowship, and much grace.

We look forward to our flight on Friday mid-day which arrives back at Washington Dulles at 12:45 pm Saturday.

Work Day 8...of 9!

Today we saw the fruits of God's blessings as we passed two milestones in construction on the orphanage.

First, the excavation of baroche is finally over! We have been mining this very tough rock since we arrived last Friday to form the floor substrate of the orphanage. No one is quite sure how many were required, but it was around 35 hard-won trailer loads with pickaxe, breaker bar, and shovels. The whole team helped at various times, but the final crew at the pit were, pictured left to right: Pastor Petrus, Johannes Beukman (Missionary), Shawn Potter, Jim Faison, Patrick (local resident), Tim Thomas, Tom Kopko, in back: Ed Windhausen, Ronald (Orphanage Chairman), in front: Amy Tromba.



We are joyous in God's providence at the orphanage because today we also began to put on the roof! Richard Weweka led the roof construction and was assisted by Bill Root and Tim Thomas.

God is showing us how important Sundays are to rest, after 6 long days of physical labor. We look forward to video conferencing with First Baptist Church on Sunday.

Work Day 7

Today on the orphanage building we "checked a block" and are nearing milestone two other milestones! The Lord has blessed us with perfect weather and health to work hard all week and accomplish His calling for our team.

We accomplished our first milestone in that all of the wood for the roof, which arrived Monday night, has now been treated with presevative. The hired brick masons have been finishing the lentels and are far enough along that tomorrow, Saturday, we will begin emplacing the roof!


Back at the baroche pit to excavate this rocky substrate for the orphanage floors, we continue to be supported by local community members (Progress, on whose land the pit is located; Ronald, who is Chairman of the orphanage's board of directors, and many young men in their 20's: Drought and his two friends, Francis).

The orphanage board met at camp. Pictured is Tenson who is an Orphanage Director and another member Sanmaria.










The board joined us for lunch during which we sang songs for them, and the sang songs for us. Chairman Ronald expressed a touching, heartfelt thanks to us helping to build the orphanage as a blessing from God.




Meanwhile, some of the team went to the river again for sand to mix into the cement for the orphanage floor. The challenges of Africa never cease; on the return trip the Toyota Hilux got stuck in the mud and had to winch itself out.


Also we saw our first scorpion at the campfire tonight. Please pray for our continued blessings from God, safekeeping and health, and success in accomplishing all of our planned projects for the orphanage building before we leave next Tuesday morning. We expect to finish the baroche on Saturday!! Our church, family, and friends are in our prayers.

Work Day 5 and 6

This Wednesday and Thursday we visited the local community school and continued to excavate baroche for the orphanage floor substrate.

We arrived at the school at 10 a.m. and were greeted by over 200 elementary and middle school children.
















We did a dramatization of David and Goliath, they sang songs for us.

We ended in prayer when most children sweetly covered their faces while praying.
















Otherwise, the window lentels at the orphanage are being completed. We mainly focused on mining more and more baroche for the floor substrate

Work Day 3 & 4

The past two days, July 21 and 22, we have found the greatest need is to prepare the floor of the orphanage and applying preservative to the roofing wood.

Monday began with runs to a stream bed to obtain sand which will be made into concrete for the orphanage floor and window lentels. It ended with a 9 p.m. delivery in the dark of the wood.

In the afternoon some of us slashed grasses and small trees from the newly planted orchard that is 1.5 acres and has over 120 seedlings.

There are over 30 different types including 4 different mango types, beechy, lemon, guava, apple, mulberry, goosberry, many banana. These will feed the orphans once their building is done!





Kelli Shaver has a wonderful talen for artistry, and she has painted an intricate outdoor scene on Jako and Amber's private restrooms near their permanent tent.

Shawn Potter found this little friend in the orchard - a chameleon!

We worked by flashlight at 9 p.m. to unload the truckload of lumber with the assistance of Fanwell (the orphanage caretaker who lives adjacent to Jako and Amber).

Tuesday, we continued to excavate even more baroche for the orphanage floor substrate. In some places we must put in a full foot of baroche to reach the proper level for the subsequent concrete floor. This has proven to be the most laborsome task in completing the orphanage, and we are applying all available personnel to it. It may take all week to excavate enough of this tough, stubborn baroche material out of the ground which is extremely difficult.

We are applying preservative thinned by kerosene (called parafin here) to the wood for the roof. This is the best defense against insects especially termites. We first had to restack the lumber from the night before and then the painting could begin

Picture is Richard and Brenda at the end of the day painting the preservative, and our visitor from Star Wars (no, it's just Marissa!) taking a break with her surgical mask and water bottle.

Both evenings after dark (which begins almost suddenly at 6 p.m. so our meals and showers are mostly in the dark) the group is providing their testimonies and practicing songs for this Sunday's church service. Jim Faison will be leading all three songs and Amy Tromba has a solo accompanied by Ed Windhausen on harmonica. Jim's songs are spirited black gospel songs that we'll sing a capella and by memory; we know the congregation will enjoy singing these fun songs.

Worship and Evangelism Day

Today, Sunday, we worshipped at Pastor Petrus' church in the morning and travelled to the Governor's estate to show The Jesus Film.

At 9 a.m. we walked the half mile to the Mukamba community church service which began at 9:30 a.m. It began with Jako's bible study on Ruth 1:21, attended by about 20 residents.

Pastor Petrus (on the right in the photo) welcomed all of us, speaking in English for most of the service with Obey interpreting.




Richard Wewerka had been invited to preach and his topic was from the initial verses of Genesis about God's pre-existence and being separate from his creation, and also the supernatural quality of God who created everything on earth.

About mid-way through the service, the children went outside to pray and enthusiastically sing.

Our missionary group sang three songs we had prepared with the congregation, and they sang many wonderful songs, all with clapping and bongo drums. Wonderful worship! At the end, just as at First Baptist Church all the way back in Woodbridge, a couple came forward at the invitation having accepted Christ! The service ended at 1 p.m., frankly to our surprise as it did not seem long at all.

The afternoon was spent by most watching a match on the local soccer field, while others continued to repair the trailer's wheels or cooked.

As dusk approached, most of us travelled to the Governor's estate to show The Jesus Film which depicts the life and resurrection of Christ from the Gospel of Luke. The team was in continuous prayer throughout the film. We huddled at the end and prayed that God would speak to all 300 who attended. Nearly 70 people came forward to receive Christ! It was a magnificent harvest by the Lord! Petros prayed with them and they prayed long, wonderful-sounding prayers in Tonga. About 20 young women came forward to continue to study and understand their commitment. Petrus arranged to meet them on Monday at 2 p.m. An added thrill was the Governor asking his wife to prepare a meal for the team. She served large pieces of goat meat and of course nshema, and tea that was brewed, mixed with fresh cow's milk, and then boiled again. A real treat. We trekked home, on a overly-long shortcut, luckily by full moon..., and made it home by 12:15 a.m.

Work Day 2

PLEASE PRAY FOR US AND OUR EQUIPMENT!

We arose at 5:30 a.m., ate breakfast, and immediately broke into different work teams. The team pictured continued to excavate baroche (see yesterday's post to learn about it). These children came to visit and stayed for over an hour, during which we sang songs with them as we worked. Remember that this pile of material is mined stone!

On the walk back, we encountered a family from another village that is making bricks. The chief ordered eight villages to make 10,000 bricks each for the orphanage. In the background is a woman getting water to mix with clay to make bricks; hauling water is considered women's work here.

Here is a great photo of the orphanage building, awaiting lentels (concrete blocks over windows), after which final bricks can be put on, and then the roof can be started. A specific sand is required for making the lentels, located 1 hour away by vehicle, so it takes 3 hours to complete one run.

PLEASE PRAY FOR US AND OUR EQUIPMENT! After the first sand run, the trailer axles were binding and the wheels were unsteady. That team stopped to repair the trailer at camp. They performed a 20-Year service and replaced some of the wheel studs (which attach the wheel to the brake drum) with larger studs. The Landy's gear box is still broken from yesterday. Fortunately the Toyota Hilux and Johannes' Toyota Condor are available.

In the evening, Ed tidied up the tool storage room while Marissa helped to prepare the dinner of goat goulache (see yesterday's post!!) over rice - quite tasty - and salad of chopped cabbage, carrots, and tomatoes.

Tomorrow, Sunday, we of course will not work but attend Pastor Petreaus' church which can last several hours. In the evening we will show The Jesus Film at the Governor's property.

Work Day 1: Hard Work!

Enough of the traveling and airplanes, today was a true work day. The task today was to begin filling in a floor substrate in the orphanage, on top of which 4 inches of concrete will eventually be poured. The material is called "baroche" which is a hard rocky soil that we excavated from a site 100 meters from the orphanage.

The "Landy" (Jako's 1964 white Land Rover) transported it to the orphanage where others broke the rock to small pieces. They were placed on the floor and in the rooms of the orphanage, and graded in preparation for the concrete. It will take one more full day of excavation for enough baroche to fill the floor.

This was very difficult, physical work, but again our spirits were high in the work of God.

We then had our first lunch of nshema "sheema" which is made of ground maize. Amber and the ladies prepared a meat gravy. We ate African style by making balls of the nshema and dipping it in the grayvy. Very good!

Amy Tromba has made contact with the Tonga! She befriended this sweet boy, Morris, who was kicking around a little soccer ball near our camp.

Jako obtained a goat and Ryan and Richard slaughtered it, and Ed joined

them to cut the meat for Saturday's dinner.