simply grateful

It has been some serious work, but we are finally getting everything settled in.  The mission kindly provides us furniture while our crate is in process.  What that means though is that when the crate arrives you have to pack up and move all the mission furniture/kitchen items/ etc... to make room for your personal items.  So it is both a time of packing and unpacking.  Here are a few more pics of the house with our own furniture in place.  

745 days after packing it, our crate arrived at our home in Zambia.  We were thrilled to find after unpacking that nothing was damaged, not even a scratch!  For missionaries, getting your crate is like Christmas as we often forget what we packed.  I thought you might enjoy some pictures (click on pictures to enlarge) We were told the crate would arrive on Monday, but were not told when.  We received quite the surprise when the truck showed up at 6:45 a.m.   The kids were still asleep, but quickly woke up and it was a bit like Christmas morning! We were given a sheet of paper and told to circle the numbers as they pulled items out of the crate.   The movers opening one of our crates.   The kids loved playing in the paper as I unwrapped the items.  Makayla was great at helping drag the paper out to the back porch.   Poor Rameses and Raider had to be chained up while they were unloading.  (The dogs are still...

A.W.A.  Africa Wins Again.  It’s a common saying among missionaries in Africa when we experience days of frustration of living in a different culture.  Some days, all you can do is shake your head and walk away and hope that tomorrow will be a better day.  Like those days you realize the difference between the words “to fix” and “to kill” in your language is only distinguished by one letter difference, which is a “h” in the middle of the word (don’t want to get that one wrong at the hospital!).  Or the times you get frustrated with the lack of adherence to lines in a store... or on the road.  Or when you get robbed, get food poisoning, have to eat strange foods, go back to turn in paperwork for the 139th time only to find out they you are missing the newest required document, etc...  Africa wins again.  We say it just giving ourselves over to the realization that despite our best efforts we will never completely fit in or understand the cult...

We are trying to update the blog more often and since many of you asked about what life is like in Lundazi, we thought pictures would help give you a good idea.  (click on pics to enlarge)  Ladies carrying things on their head.  We have seen them balancing everything from firewood to a can of coke! David frequents the bakery to buy bread and practice his Tumbuka.  This day we brought the kids in so they could meet the workers.  The workers loved it and wanted pics!   This is a typical scene in the shopping area of Lundazi.  We also have a more traditional market area but this is the area with shops.   Padoko padoko.  Means "slowly, slowly".  We also use these same words to express our our language acquisition is coming along.  We love this little store as they are the only place we have found here that sells butter and yogurt! "How many people can you fit in a car here?"  One more.....

Eliza Dolittle. If you don't know her name, you may not be a big fan of "My Fair Lady".  This is one of my favorite movies!  IF you are not a fan, maybe you have at least seen the scene where the Professor is trying to get Eliza to speak correctly.  It is painful to watch.  The Professor says a phrase correctly, and poor Eliza pushes through, obviously trying her best, but making a mess of it all. Yep, that is pretty much how our language lessons went for me this week.  It was a challenging week with Tumbuka, but our teachers were gracious and MUCH more patient than the Professor in "My Fair Lady"!  Thank you so much for your prayers in this. The weather is turning cooler here.  We even have one tree dropping leaves!  So, one afternoon I took the camera outside while they played in our yard and had fun shooting pictures of some of my favorite things! (click on the pictures to see them larger) This is a Frangipangi tree.   If...