Zambia Mission highlighted in Washington Times

Great job, Ed Windhausen, for highlighting the Zambia mission work!

Plane Delayed in Johannesburg

8/7/09 Friday evening - 8:15pm

Richard has notified us that their flight from Johannesburg to London has been delayed at least 3 hours. They are concerned they will not make their connection in London for their flight to DC. Richard will be calling when they reach London to advise Montine of any change in flight arrangments. We will post any news as soon as we hear from him! Please check the blog or contact Montine at her home phone number before traveling to Dulles to pick up any of the Zambia team members in the event there have been any flight changes. Please keep them in prayer as they make their way home.

Back from Chobe

Chobe National Park was amazing, we saw all types of animals including a couple of lionesses with 3 cubs (about 10 ft away). We're back to the hotel and we're doing our own things. Some are golfing, jumping off cliffs, getting massages, shooting skeet, etc. Tonight we'll be dining at the Funky Monkey, a local pizza place that no trip to Zambia would be complete without. Tomorrow we're going to Victoria Falls for a few hours before heading to the airport to begin our trek back home to you. We're leaving here about 1:40pm and getting there about 24 hours later.

We all can't wait to see you again. Please pray for travel mercies for us.

Back in Livingstone

Sorry for not updating yesterday, but it was jammed packed full of activity. The rest of the foundation footers got poured and look great. The rest of the wood for the orphanage bunk beds got cut, and lots of small tasks that needed to get done before Jako and Amber left camp for a month (they're going to South Africa to see the baby doctor and get their first sonogram and determine the sex of the baby). It was a typical flurry of activity until late into the evening.

We woke at 5:00 this morning and broke down camp and left around 8:30. After an uneventful 6.5 hour (thank God) trip out of the bush, we arrived safely in Livingstone. We boarded a river cruise boat and took an amazing sunset cruise down the Zambezi River, something to remember for sure. We came back and had a great dinner.

Tomorrow, we will wake up early and head to Chobe National Park to go on safari. I think we're spending the night in the park with the animals, so I won't be updating the blog tomorrow.

We're all doing great and enjoying being out of the bush.

Weekend Update

Saturday

The plan of the day was to get the concrete poured for Amber and Jako’s house, with the help of the locals, we got about 2/3 finished. It’s 12 inches deep and 24 inches wide, that’s a lot of concrete to mix by hand. Keep in mind the sand comes from a dried river bed about 55 minutes away, the water has to be pumped by hand, and everything mixed by hand. Mandy also got some more painting done in the orphanage kitchen, looks great. Great news, Jako, the master of all things mechanical, got both generators working again (this is why this update is here).

Sunday

Kind of a slow day, went to church, and enjoyed worshipping with the locals one more time. Jako and Ryan did a bit of maintenance on the ’63 Land Rover. Everyone did a bit of this or that. We’re going to show the Jesus Film later tonight to a nearby village. Everyone is doing very well health and spirit-wise.

Kitchen paining (lots more of this)

hand mixing the concrete

Looking good!

Brother, sister, and husband at church

leading the kids in "Deep and Wide"

Happy Friday

Another team of folks visited the school today and had a blast. Made a few sand runs for the concrete we'll hopefully start pouring tomorrow. Lots of wood was cut for Jako and Amber to use long after we're gone. Hit a snafu with the mobile generator and the woodworking is on hold. In case you're keeping score, we're 0 for 2 for generators, so this may be the last blog update until we get back to Livingston on Tuesday (I'm typing on a computer powered by batteries charged by solar panels and the generator. Unless you hear different, assume the Lord is taking good care of us and we're healthy and doing great.

The team all say hi and we love you all. Please continue to pray for us and Jako and Amber.

School visit today

Today was another great day in Zambia. The footers for the school's foundation were finished today, because of the unevenness of the ground, it's about 4 ft deep in places. Some of the team visited the local school today and had a great time with the kids, Liz and Jim are pictured below with some of the children. More of us should be going again tomorrow. The cutting and working of the wood for the orphanage beds continued today, this wood is nothing like you buy at Home Depot. It comes about 20 ft long, 3 inches thick and really rough sawn, but with the aid of a generator and some power tools, we're making short work of it. Richard rode with Jako to Lusaka today to pick up Amber and Jako's work permits to stay in country for 2 more years. The tractor that Jako depends on so much here in camp is having transmission issues, please pray that it's a simple fix.

Challenging day for sure

Today the Evil One was on our heels, but the Lord prevailed. So many little things, like a generator going bad, a truck not starting, etc kept happening, but with prayer, He took great care of us. Ryan and Jako had to make a run to Colomo, a near-by town three hours away, to pick up supplies and materials. Some of the team started the foundation for the orphanage schoolhouse today and are about 2/3 done (thankfully the ground is softer there). A few of us continued with the woodworking for the orphanage beds, we made a lot of sawdust. All in all, things are terrific here and we’re getting so much done.

Hunni, I love and miss you much. Andrea, Ashley, Zack, and Josh, I think of you a lot here, miss you tons.

To Christopher, thinking of you during this time. May God continue to bless you. See you soon, Dad.

Andre cooking up something tasty


Camp life. Hi Candi


Mandie doing some painting


digging the foundation for the school


Our fearless leader Richard

Another great day

We had another great day in Zambia, very productive. The digging of the footers for Amber and Jako’s new house was finished today, tomorrow the runs to go get sand will start, and the next day concrete will be poured. We’re having a special guest for dinner tonight (a goat, yummy). The bunk beds for the orphanage got started today too, the lumber comes to us pretty rough, so the wood has to be planed, cut, and ripped. Surprisingly, there aren’t many Home Depots around the corner, go figure. Everyone is healthy, energized, and working hard, but it goes without saying that we’re all exhausted at the end of the day.

Enjoy the pictures.

Mandy says “I love and miss my family” and happy anniversary to Mom and Dad.

Planing the wood for the bunk beds

This is the generator Jako modified to work on the tractor


Footers are done



an ants-eye view of the footers

Here's Jako with our dinner guest

First full work day

Today was awesome, we all worked so hard. Our projects for today were to dig the footers for Amber and Jako’s permanent house (they’ve been living in tents for more than 6 years), modifying a generator so Jako can have a mobile welding machine, and clearing a field for the orphanage’s school. There’s so much to do here, and God willing, we’ll knock out a huge chunk.

To the Ervin girls, we are working really hard but we miss you lots. Love Mommy and Daddy. :)

To Ian, Chris, Nigel, and Olivia, we miss you, we love you, and we are working really hard. We pray for you every night. Love Mom and Jim

Kirkwood Presbyterian, Ed says “things are swell in the bush”, and we’re getting a lot of work done.

To the Taylors, Mom and Dad, we’re doing great, love you guys!

Josh, happy 13th birthday!


Here's some of the crew digging the footers

That dirt is rock hard!


Our ladies worked so hard today


Huge stump that had to be removed

Clearing the field for the school

What a great weekend.

Saturday

We started a bit late today as we were up until 1:30 in the morning. Amber prepared a tasty breakfast and off to work we went. Even though we took it a bit easy today, we got a lot done. Did some work around the team showers and potties today, installed temporary doors and built a "grey water" containment system (for the showers) for watering the orchard. Did some water pump maintenance, got the camp kitchen running and straight, watered the orchard, built benches around the campfire area, and several other small jobs. After dinner we adjourned to the campfire and practiced our songs we'd be singing at church the next day.

Sunday

We all got up this morning and had oats with apples and then headed off to church. What a blessing to worship with these amazing people. Jako led us in Bible study, we all sang and praised God for a while, then Richard preached about the parable of planting in different soils (very applicable here literally too). Today is God's day, so we're taking it a little light. As I sit here typing I can hear chopping of wood for fire, Ryan and Steve are doing some maintenance on the busted generator, and everyone is busy doing odds and ends. The sights and sounds of camp life are wonderful, this is great bunch of people to be in Africa with.

As promised, here are some pictures:

Amber and Jako enjoyed the baby shower. I think Jako enjoyed it a bit too much.

This is why we're here, what beautiful children.


Ed, Ariel, Ryan, and Mandie led Children's Church this morning. We're not sure who enjoyed themselves more, the children or Ed.


Candi shared her testimony with the church.


Jako and Pastor Petrus led Bible Study.

We Made It

We're in camp, tents are set up, trucks unloaded, and all is well. Thank you Lord for the travel mercies. It's 1:05AM and we're getting ready for bed. Tomorrow's a work day and we're ready to do God's will here. We'll post more later and upload some pictures. Good night.

We're in Zambia! Just a bit more to go.

It's 3:00 PM here, local time. We've gathered most of our luggage, two bags didn't make it all the way, but we'll have them Wednesday, fortunately they weren't anyone's private bags, just extra clothes and stuff we brought for the village. That last flight was llooonnnngggg, 13 hours. Praise God, everyone's feeling great and healthy. We've stopped in Livingstone to get a bite to eat and supplies before heading out for our ride into the bush. The bush ride is about 4 hours long, so it'll be dark when we get there. I'll try to update the blog tonight after the tents are set up to let you all know we got there safe and sound.

I know I speak for all the team members when I thank you all for supporting us while we're here. You're as much as a part of the team as the 14 of us here.

Half way there!

We flew into London Heathrow airport this morning, safe and sound. Richard had pre-arranged a tour bus for us and we spent the day seeing some of the typical London sites like Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, etc. Really nice day. Of course we had to stop for Shepard's Pie, and fish and chips for our meals, yummy! We're at the airport again and will be strapping in for the long leg of the trip to JoBerg (13 hours!). We'll get into camp late tomorrow night. Please say luggage prayers for us.

Code talk: Ed has 5

Last Team Meeting Before We Head Out

On 7/12 we had our last team meeting before leaving for Zambia. We talked about what to pack, setting up tents in the dark (so much fun), and tons of odds and ends about our trek. We also practiced our praise songs in both Tonga and English, talk about stepping out of comfort zones. For those of us that are returning, it's like going home, we're just chomping at the bit to get over there. For the rookies, it's a different kind of excitement, the thrill and wonderment of what God has in store for us. We'll be coveting all of your prayers and thoughts for us while we're gone. Many of us (especially me) are strangers to manual labor and the work will be very hard at times, but with your prayers and God's grace, we'll be able meet the tasks layed out for us.

Here's Andre and Jim leading us in song.

FYI, we're leaving FBCW about 6:30 PM on 7/22.

Missionaries update their blog

"Our" dear missionaries living in Zambia, Jako and Amber Joubert, just added a significant update to their blog!

Scroll down on this page to Links, and click on "Misison Of Love Orphanage Web Site" to read it!

Lots of info about the orphanage governmental approval processes and standards, clearing more land for crops to feed the orphans, blessings of healthy and growing herds of cattle and sheep, and lots more!

Team Meeting #2 with our Zambia missionary couple

On Sunday (Feb. 1) we had a joyous team meeting at team leader Richard Wewerka's home.

Our missionary couple, Jako and Amber Joubert, graced us with their presence, prayed with us, updated progress on the orphanage, and reviewed the various possible work tasks we would accomplish next July.









This photo is of Jako and Amber Joubert at our meeting. A sense of humor is a must for missionaries and they have no shortage of it. Of course, this photo belies the very difficult life they lead in the Zambian bush where there is no running water, electricity, or grocery store, so please continue to lift this couple up in your prayers!







So...what IS the status of the orphanage?
The structure and accompanying kitchen and outdoor bathrooms are completed. The next task is to build all the children's beds and other furnishings. Meanwhile, all of the myriad governmental approvals of the structures, the future staff, and operations of the orphanage are in process. Progress is expected to be slow with approvals but there is hope that all will work to allow the orphanage to be operating by the time our FBCW team arrives in late July.

Jako & Amber in DC late January!

We are so happy that Jako and Amber (the missionaries living in Zambia) will be in Washington at the end of January. They'll be with the Zambia mission team for its meeting on Feb. 1 and will speak at FBCW the same day.

Jan. 4 team meeting

Looking forward to seeing all 14 members Sunday at 2 PM at FBCW for our first team meeting.

2009 Team Members & Schedule Annoucement

Exciting news! The fourteen 2009 Zambia Missions Team members are:

Bill Dane (returning)
Ryan & Candi Ervin (Ryan-returning)
Ed Windhausen (returning
Kerry Skinner
Ethan Skinner
Hannah Stokes
Jim & Liz Faison (Jim-returning)
Mandie Johnson
Michael Hock
Steve Rainwater (returning)
Tom Kopko (returning)
Richard Wewerka (team leader;; returning)

The first-time Zambia Missionaries are welcomed with open arms! The returning members, well.... KIDDING! But that's the kind of hard-working, fun-loving team this has been! The first monthly training session is January 4, 2pm, at FBCW.

The Missionary trip is tentatively scheduled for July 21 - August 8, 2009.

All are reminded of the Support The Zambia Orphanage Mission Team page on Facebook as an outreach and fundraising method.