Some things are so different here than in the U.S. Intermittent power, clean water, lots of bugs and big snakes. Deadly snakes. Fences made from elephant grass which grows taller than most people, laundry done by hand in a bucket on the back porch in cold water. But there is also so much we have in common that it reminds me of the Church today. I see mothers playing kissy face with their babies, reaching out eagerly for children vitamins for their toddlers. I see girls having their hair braided and combed by older sisters and mothers, boys kicking a soccer ball around the field and I know this isn't different from back home. Zambians have a different culture, but their innate sense of loving their children and wanting what is best for them is universal.
So it is with the Church. Here a church service is so different than back home. Different language, different seating arrangements with the women on the right and the men on the left. Communion bread is anything from baked hard flat bread bits, to store bought crackers. Communion wine is usually just that,wine, diluted with water that may or may not be from a clean bore hole. Sometimes we only have one cup for the whole church. Not because of some theological interpretation but rather because that is all they have. There is always a "program " that is announced at the beginning of the service including those who will be participating in the worship. Zambians love order and announced programs for any event,even church. So would you feel at home in this Church service as you do at home? Should you? Is the intent of worship to feel at home? Is the worship meant to make us feel comfortable ? I would rather suggest that it is to see how glorious is the variety of God. How we can be different in the manner of worship and still be brothers and sisters. In this 200th anniversary of Campbell's Declaration the one thing I remember reading is the statement" Christians only, but not the only Christians". He said that the test of fellowship was belief in Jesus as God's son and our savior. That we should embrace and accept each other as Jesus accepted and embraced us. So as we worship in village churches, school classrooms, and open fields let us model the similarities not the differences. This will allow God to have what he desired most of all.....one in Jesus.
In Him we still live
Don and Laura
Monday, January 26, 2009
Saturday, January 24, 2009
God always goes before us
In Exodus Moses says to God: " If your presence will not go , do not carry us up from here. For how shall it be known that I have found favor in your sight, I and your people, unless you go with us. In this way we shall be distinct, I and your people, from every people on the face of the earth"
Don and I are once again in Zambia at Namwianga Mission. Truly we are so blessed by God because He has gone before us through this entire last year. The last blog was my frantic voice to God to once again save us. He did that in more than one way. Yes, all of the biopsy was negative for cancer. It was scar tissue from the radiation. So we proceeded to really enjoy the Christmas holiday with our family and friends. Once again the body of Christ reached out to us and shared their homes with us. One of our daughters, Kierstyn, has a friend who was going to be out of town during the holiday, visiting family. She and her husband graciously offered their home for the week of Christmas. This wonderful gift allowed us to have all of our daughters and their families together in one place. This was the first time in 13 years that this has happened. It was great. Hectic, busy and wonderful. Thanks Lora and Dave Hutson. But we have been the recipient of so many of these gifts. Ronnie McQueen and Ellie Hamby in Abilene loaned us cars, and places to stay while Don was going through the tests. Isn't God great as he draws all the believers together to help each other.
So now we are here, right where God wants us to be. It is warm and rainy and there is much to do. The hospital proceeds toward becoming inpatient. Right now we are asking for prayers for God to raise up a doctor. We really need one to come, American, Zambian or whoever God will send. Please lift this up . We have opened the mother's shelter for all who live to far to come once they go into labor. I have had one almost delivery with the Mom arriving in an oxcart. That ended well, but we don't want any more of that. Just last month we had a mom deliver triplets on the side of the road on her way her. G0d protected them all, and they made it here. But that sort of thing would happen less and more babies and Mom's would have healthy, clean deliveries if they are staying in our shelter as they near the date of delivery and could then just walk across the yard to the labor and delivery ward.
Don is so busy with the business office as Namwianga school year begins. He is working with tow great Zambians, Peter and Davies. He is teaching them management skills and priority setting. We love the people here and look forward to interacting as we all serve Jesus. Please keep us in your prayers.
In Him
\ Don and Laura
Don and I are once again in Zambia at Namwianga Mission. Truly we are so blessed by God because He has gone before us through this entire last year. The last blog was my frantic voice to God to once again save us. He did that in more than one way. Yes, all of the biopsy was negative for cancer. It was scar tissue from the radiation. So we proceeded to really enjoy the Christmas holiday with our family and friends. Once again the body of Christ reached out to us and shared their homes with us. One of our daughters, Kierstyn, has a friend who was going to be out of town during the holiday, visiting family. She and her husband graciously offered their home for the week of Christmas. This wonderful gift allowed us to have all of our daughters and their families together in one place. This was the first time in 13 years that this has happened. It was great. Hectic, busy and wonderful. Thanks Lora and Dave Hutson. But we have been the recipient of so many of these gifts. Ronnie McQueen and Ellie Hamby in Abilene loaned us cars, and places to stay while Don was going through the tests. Isn't God great as he draws all the believers together to help each other.
So now we are here, right where God wants us to be. It is warm and rainy and there is much to do. The hospital proceeds toward becoming inpatient. Right now we are asking for prayers for God to raise up a doctor. We really need one to come, American, Zambian or whoever God will send. Please lift this up . We have opened the mother's shelter for all who live to far to come once they go into labor. I have had one almost delivery with the Mom arriving in an oxcart. That ended well, but we don't want any more of that. Just last month we had a mom deliver triplets on the side of the road on her way her. G0d protected them all, and they made it here. But that sort of thing would happen less and more babies and Mom's would have healthy, clean deliveries if they are staying in our shelter as they near the date of delivery and could then just walk across the yard to the labor and delivery ward.
Don is so busy with the business office as Namwianga school year begins. He is working with tow great Zambians, Peter and Davies. He is teaching them management skills and priority setting. We love the people here and look forward to interacting as we all serve Jesus. Please keep us in your prayers.
In Him
\ Don and Laura
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
I read the last blog dated Nov 10. Now we once again are back in the States. We are here to see if the something that showed up on Don's PET scan is a return of the cancer. We went to South Africa to have the scan done. It was a routine checkup and the one thing we had been concerned about from a prior exam, a spot on the right lung, turned out to be just what the U.S. oncologist thought it was, scar tissue. However something unexpected showed on the scan, something on Don's tongue. So here we are again. It is 7:25AM and in three hours we will be in the ENT doctor's office. I don't expect to have an answer today. He will most likely need to biopsy it first. I have been praying of course, and so have so many of you . We have been lifted in prayers for healing since the beginning. What we went through all this year so far is easier than what we go through now. Recurrence is the worst thing that most patients go through. So I have been crying out to God to comfort me, to help me get through this and of course He has. I read Mike Cope's blog on Dec 3 and he talked about Peter walking on the water. He says Jesus never asked Peter to leave the boat and walk on the water. He said Jesus can walk on the water and He is headed for me in the boat. I needed to hear that Jesus wouldn't leave me thru all of this and prove my faith to him but rather just wait for him to come to me in my terrified state. Just like th apostles were terrified in the storm and Jesus was on his way to them, I know Jesus is on his way to me also. It isn't about me but about HIm. Jesus is the focus of my terror not the waves. Thank you God for coming in the spirit of Jesus just because you knew my terror.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Chicken and Shima
We have returned to Namwianga Mission. Finally... Although we have been back here since Oct 18 this is just one of many times I have tried to start this blog. We had to reconnect our internet, it had been turned off while we were gone. Then power has been very erratic. I got the whole thing typed and the power went off. It is early morning here and the sky is cloudy and a cool breeze is blowing. We are at the beginning of the rainy season. It has been very hot and dry and dusty. Everything is brown. The clinic has had many changes since Feb. An organization that is church sponsored here called CHAZ has chosen the clinic to be a site for treatment of HIV patients. They have enrolled 138 people already and the goal is 400. Chaz has provided equipment and people to gather the data they need and it has changed the face of our clinic. Of course we already saw around 2000 to 3000 people each month and now this number will increase. There is a devotional service each AM prior to opening of the clinic for any patients who are here and staff. Different men take turns offering the message. Unlike the U.S. Zambians depend on God first because they have no where else to turn. Don is busy with budgets and audits at the business office. We have already been out on outreaches to the villages with students from George Benson Christian College. They are so much fun. Worship at its best. Enthusiasm and friendliness among the people. Graciously the church provided us the best of what they had to eat, chicken and shima. Fellowship and hospitality of the best kind. I have been working hard on getting the wards ready to open for inpatient. But nothing ever goes easy here . But it is still so worth it. More later
In HIm
Don and Laura
In HIm
Don and Laura
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Answered Prayers
Greetings in the Name of the Lord
Much time has gone by since I last wrote anything. SInce that time many hard and hurtful events as well as many blessings have occurred in our lives. Don was diagnosed in Feb with Carcinoma of the right tonsil. We had returned to the US for tests and this was the outcome of those tests. Now 6 months later he has had surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. Also he has had to have 7 teeth pulled to prepare for the radiation and he developed bilateral cataracts. All from the chemo. So he has had both of them removed and can once again see. He had a very hard time with the side effects of the chemo and radiation. He lost weight, developed a terrible rash much like a severe sunburn combined with chicken pox. He got a yeast infection in his mouth and many blisters there also. Swallowing became hard and he became limited at times to yogurt and smoothies. But that was some of the bad stuff. The blessings have been incredible... We had our church here provide us with a home for 2 months and it came stocked with every thing we needed. It became our refuge and haven. Then our friend gave us her home while she was in Zambia and when her family came for the beginning of school another brother and sister in the Body of Christ offered us a place with them. Beyond counting the body of Christ has piled the blessings on us. Car to drive, food, money for expenses and especially prayers. Prayers like you couldn't imagine. Notes, calls and visits all gave us such hope and comfort. Also time for me to have alone and in places of creative beauty so I could have time alone with God. It has been such a healing time for us both. At first when all of this happened we wondered about our purpose at Namwianga since we had to leave for a long time. We had to be reminded that trails come from Satan and he isn't in charge but God is. If the apostle Paul was always in God's will for his life and still he had unbelievable hardships, how much more should we trust that even in the midst of these hard scary times we were still in God's will and now it seems as if we will be able to return to our work for God in Zambia. How precious is the love of God and how grateful we are for his gift of work to us. So now we plan on visiting family and recovering from the treatment and then around the first of October returning to Zambia. One of the thougts I received in this time says it best" Prayer is not getting what we ask for, rather it is being changed in ways that are unimaginable" Kathleen Norris. So this time we pray is God's way of changing us in ways we cannot even imagine.
Don and Laura
Much time has gone by since I last wrote anything. SInce that time many hard and hurtful events as well as many blessings have occurred in our lives. Don was diagnosed in Feb with Carcinoma of the right tonsil. We had returned to the US for tests and this was the outcome of those tests. Now 6 months later he has had surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. Also he has had to have 7 teeth pulled to prepare for the radiation and he developed bilateral cataracts. All from the chemo. So he has had both of them removed and can once again see. He had a very hard time with the side effects of the chemo and radiation. He lost weight, developed a terrible rash much like a severe sunburn combined with chicken pox. He got a yeast infection in his mouth and many blisters there also. Swallowing became hard and he became limited at times to yogurt and smoothies. But that was some of the bad stuff. The blessings have been incredible... We had our church here provide us with a home for 2 months and it came stocked with every thing we needed. It became our refuge and haven. Then our friend gave us her home while she was in Zambia and when her family came for the beginning of school another brother and sister in the Body of Christ offered us a place with them. Beyond counting the body of Christ has piled the blessings on us. Car to drive, food, money for expenses and especially prayers. Prayers like you couldn't imagine. Notes, calls and visits all gave us such hope and comfort. Also time for me to have alone and in places of creative beauty so I could have time alone with God. It has been such a healing time for us both. At first when all of this happened we wondered about our purpose at Namwianga since we had to leave for a long time. We had to be reminded that trails come from Satan and he isn't in charge but God is. If the apostle Paul was always in God's will for his life and still he had unbelievable hardships, how much more should we trust that even in the midst of these hard scary times we were still in God's will and now it seems as if we will be able to return to our work for God in Zambia. How precious is the love of God and how grateful we are for his gift of work to us. So now we plan on visiting family and recovering from the treatment and then around the first of October returning to Zambia. One of the thougts I received in this time says it best" Prayer is not getting what we ask for, rather it is being changed in ways that are unimaginable" Kathleen Norris. So this time we pray is God's way of changing us in ways we cannot even imagine.
Don and Laura
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Bulls, rain, rain and more rain and watered out
Hi
Greetings from Namwianga, Zambia , Africa. This new year started with a young bull in our yard staring at me and ignoring the barking dog. After much envcouragement from me and the dog he left. At least he didn't get into the garden or try to run us over. I am not sure he understood English but the frantic hand motions seemed universally understood.
We have started this year as we ended the last one, with a deluge of rain. As of today we have only had 2 days that it didn't rain. Some days it is all day long. The Zambians say this type of rain is unusual here for this time of the year. There has been flooding a few hours north of us. Our roads are a mess. They weren't very good to begin with and now it is like driving a bombed out path. Potholes are more like pot canyons and require much thought as to how you will proceed. Outreaches to the villages are on hold as the roads are totally impassable and under water. Even the hospital number has been down. The nurses tell me its because they are all busy planting maize or are unable to get here or both. I have been very busy with the hospital.We are busy building a sluice room( dirty utility room/laundry) in each of the existing ward rooms. Also doing some electrical work on lighting and call lights. We still have the nurse's station to finish and we have built shelves in the supply rooms behind the nurse station. I have been meeting with officials locally and will go to Lusaka next week to meet with some other ones. Many of the difficulties here originate from the fact that all hospitals are government staffed. that means they have to send the person you want to your facility. It takes a lot of time and paperwork to get that done. Because our working staff here at the mission is limited in number we get delayed in finishing work on the clinic because they get pulled to help out with emergencies re: water or damage to the homes or buildings from the rain.
We have been catching rain in buckets for 11 days now because the well caved in.... from all the rain. So I feel like a pioneer because we haul our water from a container they brought over to the clinic and then boil it for cooking and drinking and doing dishes. It is astounding how much water you use in a day. This isn't including water for bathing and washing clothes and flushing the toilet. But we are very grateful we have clean water. So when you are praying today or whenever, remeber for the fixin' of our well and for the new Bible class we start tonight.
We work in Him
Don and Laura
Greetings from Namwianga, Zambia , Africa. This new year started with a young bull in our yard staring at me and ignoring the barking dog. After much envcouragement from me and the dog he left. At least he didn't get into the garden or try to run us over. I am not sure he understood English but the frantic hand motions seemed universally understood.
We have started this year as we ended the last one, with a deluge of rain. As of today we have only had 2 days that it didn't rain. Some days it is all day long. The Zambians say this type of rain is unusual here for this time of the year. There has been flooding a few hours north of us. Our roads are a mess. They weren't very good to begin with and now it is like driving a bombed out path. Potholes are more like pot canyons and require much thought as to how you will proceed. Outreaches to the villages are on hold as the roads are totally impassable and under water. Even the hospital number has been down. The nurses tell me its because they are all busy planting maize or are unable to get here or both. I have been very busy with the hospital.We are busy building a sluice room( dirty utility room/laundry) in each of the existing ward rooms. Also doing some electrical work on lighting and call lights. We still have the nurse's station to finish and we have built shelves in the supply rooms behind the nurse station. I have been meeting with officials locally and will go to Lusaka next week to meet with some other ones. Many of the difficulties here originate from the fact that all hospitals are government staffed. that means they have to send the person you want to your facility. It takes a lot of time and paperwork to get that done. Because our working staff here at the mission is limited in number we get delayed in finishing work on the clinic because they get pulled to help out with emergencies re: water or damage to the homes or buildings from the rain.
We have been catching rain in buckets for 11 days now because the well caved in.... from all the rain. So I feel like a pioneer because we haul our water from a container they brought over to the clinic and then boil it for cooking and drinking and doing dishes. It is astounding how much water you use in a day. This isn't including water for bathing and washing clothes and flushing the toilet. But we are very grateful we have clean water. So when you are praying today or whenever, remeber for the fixin' of our well and for the new Bible class we start tonight.
We work in Him
Don and Laura
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Christmas thoughts
Merry Christmas to all
It is the day after Christmas here at Namwianga and much about Chtristmas is new and much the same as at home. We are enjoying the rainy season here and it is warm and muggy. Everything is green and lush and beautiful flowers are blooming in our yard. It is very hard to remember it is December and Christmas at times. A complaint I often voiced at home and one which is still around, is the fact that Christmas had gotten so commercialized and lost its meaning. Also that the stores all started putting up decorations way too early, right after Halloween, and how people had forgotten what the original meaning of Christmas was. Well let me just say, Zambia rights my perspective. The only Christmas decorations we have seen were in the stores in Lusaka, the capital. None in our small town near the mission and no incessant Christmas music played overhead in stores anywhere. The only way I knew it was Christmas was the calendar. We played our Christmas CD's and had dinner yesterday with other missionaries. No frantic shopping in the mall, no late night sessions of gift wrapping. In fact no gift exchange at all. Unless you want to count the money given out to buy formula for two babies whose Mom's are HIV + and so are unable to nurse their newborns. We did buy essentials for our workers, without whom we wouldn't be able to manage to get any other work done. That was so satisfying to see their faces when we gave them large tubs filled with mealie meal, sugar, salt, oil, beans and a tin of cookies. It is definitely much more blessed to give than receive. We did shop along the side of the road from the young kids selling baskets. The traffic was awful. We had to stop five times for goats on the road.But we did receive much. We shared the gifts of friendship, song, laughter, and good food with others. We received a cake from Charity our worker, who had baked it as a Christmas gift to us. We got to go to a lake resort nearby and spend three days with other missionaries marveling at the awesome creation spread out before us. We got to spend some hours in prayer for this mission and our work. We received messages via email from friends back home and thru the wonder of computers, got to skype our families on Christmas day. God has indeed blessed us beyond measure and we look forward to a busy, productive year in 2008. Please pray that His purposes will be fulfilled this year at Namwianga.
In the glory of the Almighty we live
It is the day after Christmas here at Namwianga and much about Chtristmas is new and much the same as at home. We are enjoying the rainy season here and it is warm and muggy. Everything is green and lush and beautiful flowers are blooming in our yard. It is very hard to remember it is December and Christmas at times. A complaint I often voiced at home and one which is still around, is the fact that Christmas had gotten so commercialized and lost its meaning. Also that the stores all started putting up decorations way too early, right after Halloween, and how people had forgotten what the original meaning of Christmas was. Well let me just say, Zambia rights my perspective. The only Christmas decorations we have seen were in the stores in Lusaka, the capital. None in our small town near the mission and no incessant Christmas music played overhead in stores anywhere. The only way I knew it was Christmas was the calendar. We played our Christmas CD's and had dinner yesterday with other missionaries. No frantic shopping in the mall, no late night sessions of gift wrapping. In fact no gift exchange at all. Unless you want to count the money given out to buy formula for two babies whose Mom's are HIV + and so are unable to nurse their newborns. We did buy essentials for our workers, without whom we wouldn't be able to manage to get any other work done. That was so satisfying to see their faces when we gave them large tubs filled with mealie meal, sugar, salt, oil, beans and a tin of cookies. It is definitely much more blessed to give than receive. We did shop along the side of the road from the young kids selling baskets. The traffic was awful. We had to stop five times for goats on the road.But we did receive much. We shared the gifts of friendship, song, laughter, and good food with others. We received a cake from Charity our worker, who had baked it as a Christmas gift to us. We got to go to a lake resort nearby and spend three days with other missionaries marveling at the awesome creation spread out before us. We got to spend some hours in prayer for this mission and our work. We received messages via email from friends back home and thru the wonder of computers, got to skype our families on Christmas day. God has indeed blessed us beyond measure and we look forward to a busy, productive year in 2008. Please pray that His purposes will be fulfilled this year at Namwianga.
In the glory of the Almighty we live
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