Safely Home!

The 2012 team arrived uneventfully this morning. The return flight included an hour on the ground in Dakar for refueling and changing the crew.  Our trip in to Livingstone from the bush was not uneventful as the Landie developed front bearing problems about 30 minutes into the trip out - the team in that vehicle went back to the house; where Steve and Jako worked to get the bearings re-packed and the vehicle safe for driving. Those of us in the Hilux continued on as Alyssa had 2 friends arriving from America around 1 pm.  God watched over the repairs and the team was reunited just in time for the sunset cruise on the Zambezi - what a sweet blessing it was - we had a boat to ourselves; wonderful refreshing drinks of "orange cordial"  which is a mix of an orange drink and Sprite as well as delightful appetizers and a light meal. We all enjoyed the wildlife and the time on the river. The next morning we awoke early and loaded on a bus for Botswana and Chobe National Park for a water safari, lunch and a land safari.  What an amazing time that was! Elephants, giraffes, hippos, sea eagles and crocodiles! Then yesterday morning before we left for home Jako took some of us to see Victoria Falls - what an amazing creation God has made there! After our tour we began our journey home!  It was hard leaving Amber, Jako, Jakob and Jeremiah. We are all grateful for your prayers and support. There are other mission teams from church still heading out so join us as we pray for the team going to the Dominican Republic followed by the Haiti team.

Eye glass clinic

Thanks to God’s intervention and your prayers regarding the eye glass clinic we had a successful morning! We were up early and at the clinic by 8:30 to 9:00. We did 64 vision examinations today and also introduced people to Christ. We were able to help most of the patients with glasses, several more with instructions on making “tears”. Women here spend many hours of the day cooking over fire and by evening when they go inside to knit, crochet or sew their eyes are burning, making dry eyes a common complaint.  A few patients we referred to the eye clinic in Zimba when the doctors are back in September. Others we were able to reassure that their vision tested “normal.”  We had 7 local men who worked diligently as translators through out the clinic from obtaining demographic information, translating the vision tests, working with the “opticians” and finally working with the counselors to introduce the people to Christ.  We saw people of all ages from the elderly to young children.  It was a heart warming experience to see people be able to read text or to see items at a distance – their smiles were truly a delight.  We had served all the people who desired a vision test by 12:30. Thank you for your prayers – they made all the difference.
Tomorrow we will break camp early for Livingstone and begin some R & R with a hot shower – for most of us our first since we arrived; then we will have a sunset cruise.  Wednesday we will do a day trip to Botswana and Chobe National Park.  Then we will begin the flight home to all of our family! We can’t wait to see you all again; share greetings from friends here and tell you of our adventures. 
With Love from Zambia,
Barbara, Chris, Deb, Denise, Jim, Richard, Steve, Alyssa, Rachel, Amber, Jako, Jakob, Jeremiah

Restful Sunday

Happy Birthday Sean Turner from the Zambia Team! 
Yesterday, with God’s provision we completed our primary tasks here at Mission of Love. We mixed and poured concrete to complete the snack shade at the preschool as well as secure the post for the swing set. Richard drew a plan of the preschool and orphanage: measuring the fence line and buildings and Chris took pictures for the plan while Deb made the dry mix for the concrete. Deb and Barb did a Bible Study for the house mothers on the story of Ruth – the house mother’s chose this book.  Chris, Denise, Amber, Rosemary and Maggie did 2 hut to hut visits.  The first was to a widow named Modesta, she has been without her husband since 2005; she has her daughters, and their children living with her as well as her remaining children – a total of ten.  Modesta and her last child are both “positive.”  Modesta may have been missing many physical needs but her spiritual strength was evident – her focus was on providing care for her family. Amber was able to identify ways that assistance could be provided. But please pray for Modesta and her family – they are just surviving.  We prayed for God’s presence and strength that she would know she was a beloved child and that He has a plan for her and her family.  The second visit was to a neighbor of Rosemary’s – Daniel.  He too is “positive” as well as his 3 wives. But Daniel’s circumstances were so different from Modesta’s.  His family’s living circumstances were comfortable by comparison – there was evidence of plenty there. However, he was spiritually poor – afraid of death, and his prayer request was for more.  The approach in speaking and praying for him was different from Modesta.  We returned to an incredible spaghetti dinner cooked over the fire by Alyssa.  After dinner as we sat around the campfire and admired God’s creation in the sky, Jako shared his testimony with us.  It was a moving day for many of us.
Today, we worshipped at Mukumba church, Richard spoke and shared his experiences in Indonesia and Russia.  Then Jim and Ennis and Pillow Head shared two songs with us followed by Deb, Barb and 3 of the women from the church – we hopefully have video of all of this.  The men prayed for Francis, one of the local men with and infection – he stopped by in the afternoon for medication but needs our continued prayers for healing. Then the church invited us to share our experiences with them – that was a blessing.  We got home again to a delightful lunch of tomato soup, grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato and cucumber salad. Barbara, Deb went up to see the preschool with Alyssa after lunch.  We are all having a restful afternoon enjoying the warmest day yet.  Tonight we will have dinner with the orphanage children one more time.  Then Monday, we journey to the clinic for the eye glass ministry. Please pray for this event, the area we are going is full of dark spirits and witch doctors.  I will try to update the events tomorrow evening. Then Tuesday we break camp to begin the journey home – that will be a bittersweet day for all of us!
Have a wonderful, blessed Sunday!
With Love, the Zambia Team

Saturday update

Good Morning from Mukumba!  Today is a brisk sun filled morning – we started our day with “slop pop” and fruit, coffee and tea.  Thursday was another flexible day – we were hoping for help from the locals so that we could finish pouring the foundations, but there is a Thursday commitment to clearing land for the school so there weren’t enough people to help with mixing concrete to work on that task. So, we moved on to working on the fence around the orphanage – digging holes for the posts.  Deb and Barbara continued their Bible study for the house mothers and the women started the day with a Bible study while the men got the fires and breakfast going. The third funeral occurred so Rosemary wasn’t available for hut to hut.  We met Charles as he headed over to the school field work, Tenson stopped by and worked on the fence in the afternoon.  Jako and Steve spent much of the day repairing the generator that wasn’t working right – prayers were answered when their hard work was rewarded with the generator starting so we had lights in the evening. Yesterday we saw progress toward completion of tasks – the footings for the school foundations were completed by the end of the day and the work on the setting all the posts for the fence as well. Once again the women started the day with Bible Study and then Deb and Barbara had a Bible Study with the house mothers. They  have requested a discussion on Ruth today. One of the orphan’s is named Ruth – she is such a quiet, introspective child, often choosing to sit alone but she is quite observant of all that is around her.  Amber, Rosemary (a local midwife),Maggie another local woman, Chris and Denise went on 3 hut to hut visits with ill individuals: Albert – an older gentleman who has known he is HIV positive for a year and is on treatment but is quite thin, Charles – to praise God for his healing hand and encourage him in his faith, Timothy – an older man whose primary diagnosis he is unsure of at this time, but severe headaches – feeling out of his mind and a very bad cough – he has an appointment next week to help him understand what is wrong.  All three visits had a different flavor and the Holy Spirit lead us in how we were to proceed with each.  Unfortunately there was little turn out for the marriage class after the first day – impacted by the 3 local funerals. Each day is closed with a meal around the camp fire, a de-briefing on the day’s events and one of the team sharing their testimony.  Some evenings we sing songs and then we are off to bed – the day starts early today we got a bit of extra sleep as we slept past 5:30 am.  Will, Alyssa said Friday was  “snap” – yes she did share that story during dinner.  :)  Ethan, I hope you had a blessed birthday – I thought of you often yesterday – many people here send you their greetings. Today we are hoping to finish the fence around the orphanage and perhaps start on the sofits.  Thank you for your prayers – we feel them strengthening us as we have all found ourselves uplifted at just the right moment.  Have a wonderful Saturday!

5 am Sand Run and other fun

Monday we continued work on the fence for the school and digging the footings and did 2 sand runs with Alyssa at the helm. Somehow Chris missed that experience on her first trip here, but now she can mark that off her “bucket list.”  Once the sand runs were completed and Alyssa returned to school, the rest of us joined in the work.We prepared for eye glass ministry on Tuesday, Rachel trained to join us as a “doctor.”  The team got a late start for the clinic where we were going to do the eye clinic which was an hour drive away. Communication problems can occur anywhere; so we should not have been surprised to learn that the clinic had not received word that we were coming.  However, in God’s providence we were able to pray with Timbo, the clinic officer and the nurse midwife who was on duty. Chris, Deb and I also prayed with a mother, whose newborn son died at birth – fortunately God provided the words for that prayer. We also prayed with a mother whose daughter was born the same night and was healthy. This is an area with witch doctors; and dark spiritual forces at work which are impacting the clinic’s ability to stay adequately staffed and supplied to provide care. People are afraid to even to go work there. A plan was made with Timbo to come back next Monday,  and conduct the eye clinic.  We have prepared the ground with prayer – please continue to raise the eye ministry up in prayer.  Being FAT (flexible, adaptable and trainable) plans were made to continue work at the school – fencing in the grounds was next on the list. We also got two more large sand runs completed. The stars were particularly beautiful last night around the campfire. Jim, Rachel, Deb and Barbara went to the orphanage to do a Bible study last evening before the day’s debrief. Today we did a 5 am sand run, the sun rise was so beautiful driving home. When we were almost back to the school Jako noticed that that one of the trailer tires had gone completely flat. Blessedly we were able to make it to school and off load the sand, but for now the trailer is sidelined until another tire can be located.  The “road” we were on is not a paved thoroughfare like you think of when you think of a road, rather it is a dirt trail, barely one car width often filled with sand and difficult to drive in.  Those of us on the sand run returned to a wonderful breakfast of pancakes and fried corned beef – food never tasted so good.  For those of you new to the blog – almost all parts of the meal are cooked over a cooking fire – even the pancakes today – thanks Steve!  Today we again are being FAT – plans for the day were to have several of the local men help with the mixing of concrete and pouring the footings for the school. Then Deb and Barbara were doing a Bible Study for the house mothers while others entertained the children.  At the same time Chris and I were going to go out with a local midwife, Rosemary to do some hut to hut ministry for the ill and terminally ill in the area.  But when we awoke this morning there had been 3 deaths overnight – a new mother and her child and a young teen age boy who was a relative of Rosemary’s.  So Chris and I will see if we can do the hut to hut another day.  Today, is day 1 of the 3 day marriage seminar that Richard is leading for the locals. Whether it starts today will depend on how many can come because of the funerals.  Please pray for this ministry over the next 3 days – Richard has worked hard to prepare – let the message be that that God would have the local people hear. The weather here has  been chilly in the morning and evening but the sun warms nicely in the day. Tonight we are having dinner with the orphans, n’shima and kapenta with cabbage relish.  Tomorrow work continues on the fence for the orphanage this time as well as the Marriage Seminar. 
With Love from Zambia!  Keep us in your prayers!

We are here and busy

Blessings from Zambia!  We are sorry to have be silent for so long but the internet is quite precarious right now. We hit the ground running the morning after our arrival.  Our flight was long – it was non-stop from NY to Jo’burg into a head wind; currently it is the longest non-stop flight in commercial flights. There we said “good bye” to Ben and Ryan. Most of us have done well with the time change. All of our bags arrived except the post-hole digger which after Richard filed a claim has appeared in Livingstone. Jako will work tomorrow with Customs to obtain it’s “release” as we need it for working the fence line.  Our first day we were up with Jako and the rooster – yes,Kerry I did mutter “kill the rooster” but he is a handsome one.  We worked around the mission area, visited the orphanage and sorted through the supplies we brought.  On a personal note, I kept thinking heard Kerry talking somewhere on the home site – jetlag I am sure. :)  We had a traditional Zambian lunch of n’shima; cabbage and tomato relish and ground nut (peanuts) and pumpkin leaves – it was very good.  Yesterday, started very early – Jako woke us with some praise music – boy was it dark! The women had a prayer and Bible Study time while the men started the fires and breakfast prep. We went to the cattle farm for inoculations and dipping.  In large part due to your prayers there were only a few minor scrapes and bruises. We used the shoot to do most of the cattle.(Just a reminder to families this may slow us through customs on the arrival home.) Then we returned and part of the team began work on Alyssa’s school house addition – measuring and digging the footers.  The rest played with the children and Barbara and I did a Bible Study with the house mothers that was a blessing to all.  Then the whole team continued work on the footings. We had dinner with the house mothers and orphans after our bucket showers in the enclosed outside shower rooms. The meal was so good,but made all the sweeter by a chance to spend more time with the children.  Isaac and Ruth look so good – I know many of you have prayed for them both.  We were quite tired at the end of yesterday. Today we had a slower start and did preparation for Tuesday’s eye glass ministry before heading to church. Richard spoke about the upcoming marriage seminar we are offering Wednesday through Friday this week.  Jim, Alyssa and Rachel did children’s ministry and Jim lead us in worship songs – he sends his love Liz. :)  We rode on the tractor and walked back while the tractor went to get poles for Alyssa’s hammock.  The goat was killed today – it is being cooked as I type but this year there is no contest – Alyssa’s friend Rachel had already asked to kill it and she did with Jako’s help.  Deb,Richard and I butchered the meat after it was skinned.  Chris has found a new friend in little Jeremiah – she is now nicknamed the “baby whisperer.”  Tomorrow will be a long work day as we are working to complete the footing dig and begin the fence around the orphanage. We feel your prayers sustaining our team as we work here – please keep them coming.  They are more important then the food we eat – they sustain us to the very core!
With Love from: Barbara, Chris, Deb, Denise, Jim, Richard and Steve along with Amber, Jako, Jakob, Jeremiah, Alyssa and Rachel

Today is the day the Lord has prepared us for

Nothing is a coincidence so I shouldn't have been surprised when the theme for this week's devotional "Devotional 365" (www.d365.org/todaysdevotion) was titled  "Power in Weakness".  Isn't that where our spirit should be as we journey into the unknown - willing to be weak?  Even those on our team who have made this journey multiple times will tell you that it is never the same, and what they encounter will be different then their prior visits. We can prepare to only a certain point and then we have to be willing to step into the unknown, like Peter did when he stepped out of the boat to reach our Savior.

Today's devotional asks me to consider my strengths and my weaknesses in light of which has the greatest potential in my journey of faith.  I am forced to answer that it is in my weakness because it is there that I meet God.  The gifts I "think" I am bringing, the places where I stand in "strength" most likely are not the gifts God wants me to offer. Am I prepared to be humbled by this experience? Sarah Turner's thought as she closes the devotional is a good reminder for this year's team:

Now as you journey into this day
Go understanding that it is not you, after all,
Who is powerful.
Any weakness you know only opens the door
For God's power to become evident,
And weakness to become your greatest strength.

Today we begin the journey, and we invite you to join us in prayer and by following us on the blog.  You can post comments at the end and we will share them around the camp fire at night.  It will be a couple of day's before I post again and then we will be in Zambia with Amber, Jako, Jakob, Jeremiah, Alyssa and Rachel and everyone at the Mission of Love Orphanage!

Preparations

You may wonder how do you go about preparing for a journey such as this? In addition to prayer and completing the lessons in our CultureLink handbook there are other things that need to be done. One of them is packing - we need to be adequately and sensitively prepared. Our bag is limited to 50 pounds and our carry-on needs to support us for at least 3 days if not the entire journey; sometimes checked bags don't successfully make it to Zambia! Just ask several members of the first trip.  The living room has become the Skinner family staging area; the tradition began with Hannah's trip and continues to this day.  Here is what that looked like recently:

This year, in addition to clothes and school supplies we are taking some basic medical items and I had that team bag to pack in addition to my own.  Yes that is a car seat in the lower left that we are going to put in another bag.  Each team member is responsible for their personal bag, carry-on and a team bag that will also weigh approximately 50 pounds.  Yes, some of us have been working out in preparation for navigating the airport with all this luggage!   

Tonight we met; weighed bags, re-organized the team bags so as not have too much of one thing such as medical supplies in any one bag.  The box in the back by the window is a post-hole digger. 

In preparation for the flight,  because music is important many will have their iPods along.  I asked the team for 3 songs they will be listening to, here are some of their answers:

Steve Rainwater: He has an "Imperials" theme going here: Sweet Sweet Spirit, He Touched Me and Growing Stronger

Jim Faison: Going for a bit different he says: I Win by Marvin Sapp; If I Could by The Pat Methney Group and Czippa and Ursanian Girl by Andreas Vollenweider

Debbie Arrington: Revelation Song by Phillips, Craig and Dean; Blessings, by Laura Story; and Your Name by Phil Wickham and Paul Balouch

Chris Turner: Give Me Your Eyes by Brandon Heath; Blessed be Your Name by Tree 63; and Jesus Friend of Sinners by Casting Crowns. 

A friend of Chris Turner's sent her this "Jesus Calling" devotional recently and I thought it was appropriate for our trip as a reminder that God has been preparing the path for our team:  Approach each new day with desire to find Me. Before you get out of bed, I have already been working to prepare the path that will get you through this day. There are hidden treasures strategically placed along the way. Some of the treasures are trials, designed to shake you free from earth-shackles. Others are blessings that reveal My Presence: sunshine, flowers, birds, friendships, answered prayers. I have not abandoned this sin-wracked world: I am still richly present in it.  Search for deep treasure as you go through this day. You will find Me all along the way.

We will be dependent on the greatest communication link that exists: prayer. Tonight we hugged Will, one of our team members who was unable to go because of health issues - as he hugged us he committed to be in prayer for us - what a blessing he was tonight! Your prayers will make a difference, they will sustain us, heal us, and embolden us when we need it most.  You do not have to make this journey to make a difference in Zambia, you just need to enter into God's presence and you will be united with us.  For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them. Matthew 18:20

The Final Countdown

This year's mission team training concluded on Sunday after everyone received the necessary immunizations and prescriptions. Can you say ouch!

Two weeks from tonight the actual physical journey begins; on the evening of Tuesday, July 10th we depart from Dulles landing in New York where we will spend the night, get our last real shower for a few weeks, and begin the 18 hour flight to Johannesburg, South Africa. From there we will board our connecting flight to Livingstone, Zambia; after clearing customs we will begin our overland journey to our final destination, the Mission of Love Orphanage.  But our spiritual journey has been underway since God began to change our "wants" so that our heart's desire became aligned with the plan He has for His people. Phil 2:3 NLT says it like this: For God is working in you, giving you the desire to obey him and the power to do what pleases him.   Please pray for all of us that our hearts will beat in unison with His, because our training manual calls this "crunch time."  There is still so much to do,  breaking in boots, spraying clothes with insect repellant, finalizing testimonies, packing, and re-packing. All these last minute details leave us vulnerable to worry and stress which we know can be used by the enemy in an attempt to separate our hearts from His.  

This week's lesson includes a series of Bible verses for us to reflect and meditate upon.  The one that speaks strongly to me tonight is John 15:15-17; most particularly this portion of the passage: You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit - fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in My name.  This is My command: Love each other. I am reminded that each of us was selected by Him for this moment in time - not just the FBCW team, but the people we will meet during our time in Zambia and together we will bear fruit for God that will last.  You too can join in this moment by praying for us - Richard will tell you from prior journeys that the team can feel your prayers - that they are as essential to the team as the flight to get there. I will close with this verse as your invitation to join us:  Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. 1 Peter 4:10.

30 Days and Counting

Thirty days from today the 2012 Zambia team will begin the journey to the Mission of Love Orphanage.  Today, as I served in the Monkey Room (think 3 year olds) Angela and I took them outside to play on the play ground.  But getting 3 year olds down the halls of the church and out to the play area is a process - engaging them in the adventure of the journey - we "snuck" down the halls, creeping past grown ups, with a goal of reaching the play area "undetected."  I watched those three year olds throw themselves totally into the journey - hugging the walls of the corridor, stopping to check around the corner to make sure no adults would see us, and dashing to the door to reach the outside.  Once on the play ground it didn't matter if the slide was a bit too warm, nor did the challenge of the jiggly steps stop them.  Down the slide they went, "Miss Denise, help me reach the next step" came the call for assistance - all of it was to be tested and tried.  Just for the joy of being outside at the play ground.

So, pray for this year's team to be like my Monkey class; that we prepare for the journey, abandon our worries, our fears and trust that our great God will help us across the "jiggly steps,"  that any physical discomforts will be overlooked as we serve God at the Mission of Love and that at the end of our journey, we have completely spent ourselves accomplishing what God would have us do.

This year's Zambia Team is: Deb Arrington, Barbara Clark, Jim Faison, Steve Rainwater, Denise Skinner, Chris Turner, Richard Wewerka.  Jim, Steve and Richard are Zambia Team veterans, Chris was on the first team and is returning this year; Barbara, Deb and I are the newbies.

Heading to South Africa to offer encouragement and support Johannes (a missionary who helps Amber & Jako) will be: Ryan Ervin and Ben Kronlein.

Prayer support from friends and family is critical to any team undertaking a journey for God.  Spiritual warfare has already begun as some of us continue to work diligently to raise funds, Jako has developed back issues that will impact his usual activity levels,  and we have lost a member to unexpected health issues.  Please pray for us.  We depart July 10 and return on July 27th.

I will close with Philippians 2:5-6 verses we have been studying in preparation for trip:

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who being in very

nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but 

made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.