It has been far too long since I have
updated my blog, but I finally have a moment to rest so I thought I'd
dedicate it to this! So much has gone on since I last wrote, and it
would be pretty boring to go back and comment on everything, so I'll
just highlight the major stuff as I get back into the blogging swing
of things!
The most major piece of news is that we
MOVED! It became very clear to us that the house we were waiting for
was going to take at least another year to be completed- and to
prevent a complete and total meltdown we decided to start looking for
something new. It is VERY difficult to find accommodation here, as
it's an area that is still developing- so if a house is vacant it
stays that way only for a night or two!
In God's providence, Sydney was called
to be the speaker at a youth camp in Samfya, which is about 4 hours
or so from Mpika. We took the drive up there with our deacon and his
wife, who were attending a separate couples conference in the same
town. The camp went very well, it was a “pilot” camp and there
were about 60 or so kids there from all different denominations, and
the word was well received. (Not to mention it was at the beach :) )
As we were driving home and dropping of our deacon, we passed a very
large house on his street and noticed there were no curtains in the
windows- a signal that a home is vacant. Again providentially, our
deacon is an old friend of the landlord to the house, so he said he'd
call for us that very day.
The next morning, he called and she
confirmed it was vacant but she had already told someone they could
go look at it. We decided to go and peek in the windows to see the
inside, and from what we could see we loved it. That evening, we met
the agent there, but at the same time the other lady came to also
view the inside. She, however, wanted them to lower the (already low)
price, so favor was given to us!
The house needs a lot of work, as the
previous tenants completely trashed/vandalized the place- but its
nothing we can't handle with some patience. Every single tap on the
sinks and tubs needs to be replaced (we actually have a brick keeping
one of then=m off or else it just pours out water.) They are
expensive, so we are pacing ourselves. The landlord gave us about 100
bucks to start doing repairs, but there’s about 1,000 dollars worth
of work to be done, so it will be slow going, to say the least. Boxes
are slowly being unpacked (after YEARS) and we are making purchases
of door handles, taps, toilet seats etc one at a time. It's
frustrating to want shelves in the pantry and a dining room table and
paint on the walls and tile on the floors and want it NOW, but since
we can only swing about one purchase a month- we are still being
taught that lovely lesson of patience!!! But we have room, and space,
and peace of mind, and security and a fence is being put up-
privacy!!!
The other major thing we'd love to do
is have a water tank put up. We get water every other day, and
looking at the time it takes to collect and fill up buckets to last
us through the “off” days, it seems like a very good investment-
and worth the money to have water 24/7! We've got our hearts set on
that so it's save time!
Another reason why we need to save...
and why unpacking is a bit slow going, is because I can't do any
heavy lifting! We are having a baby!!!!! We are very excited and
truth be told I am terrified, but I think that's all part of the
adventure. I am trying not to think about delivery- the how and the
where of it, cause that's where the “terrified” comes in- but
instead I am enjoying the excitement! (Any fully qualified midwives
or doctors want to come live in Mpika in April?? :) ) We are due in
April, but we are NOT finding out the sex (although I have all my
fingers and toes crossed for a girl) and probably wont have as many
ultra sounds as I would if I was in the states, but we did have one
in Lusaka last week and all was well.
Last month, in the midst of finding out
we were pregnant and moving houses, we had an intern from LBC staying
with us as part of his internship. We were not at the top of our
“hospitality game” in the midst of a move and my exhaustion (and
discovering that the power level in this part of town during dinner
time is too low to run the stove- and turn on half the lights in the
house, another adventure all together!) but we enjoyed our time with
him and we believe he was also blessed by his time with the saints
here at church.
Last week, we attended the Annual
Reformed Baptist Conference in Lusaka at LBC. It was very refreshing,
and although it completely wiped me out- it was worth it! It was the
25th anniversary of the Conference and we were fed by
Voddie Baucham and Ken Jones (from Florida). We were so busy getting
to meet people, catch up with people, celebrate my birthday (I was
spoiled all day- breakfast at our favorite blue moon cafe where we
had our first date, lunch and shopping at Manda Hill Mall (although I
almost had a complete pregnancy meltdown- I got so tired and
overwhelmed walking through shop rite that I almost started crying
from sheer exhaustion and came VERY close to needing to lie down on
the floor right in the dog food aisle!), and also doing some shopping
both for the house (curtain rails, but no curtains on this trip- I
may have to send Sydney alone next time to pick out curtains.... not
thrilled about that prospect....) and for church- the ladies ministry
collected money all year to raise enough for curtains for church, and
we were finally able to get them!
So much more has happened but it would
be impossible to put it all here. Church programs have been going
well- we are on “holiday” for literacy class and will start up in
a few weeks. Two of the teachers are pregnant and will need
significant “time off” eventually and we are in desperate need of
more so please pray in that respect!!! We also had Holiday Bible Week
for all the Sunday School Kids which went very well, I was only able
to attend one of the days but I had a blast- wish I could have been
there all week!
Bemba service is steadily growing, we
have anywhere between 10-20 people each Sunday. We also have a large
number of people attending the Baptismal class, and have baptisms and
new members to add soon! We are amazed by God's faithfulness and are
humbled that He has allowed us to be here at such a time to witness
what he is doing in Mpika! Please continue also to pray about the
mosque- the doors are open, and the people from Pakistan have arrived
to run it. They have already started handing out jobs and food and we
pray that people will not be blinded by their false message.
(Apparently they held a rally in town a month or so back where they
were explaining why their God and the Christian God is really the
same thing, and you are not abandoning your faith to go to the
mosque. I am glad I wasn’t there to witness it.
Please continue to pray for us,
especially my health and the anxiety we are facing at the prospect of
being parents, for patience as we slowly get settled in the new
house, and especially for the church. God is doing wonderful things
here and we never want to take that for granted or overlook the mercy
and grace he is showing us as a little group of sheep. Thank you for
all your love and prayers!
