Happy 30th Birthday Jessica!

Our oldest daughter turns 30 on the 30th!

We wish you a terrific day!

A special birthday card from Caylie

Here is Jessica and Justin in Portland a day or so before we left for Zambia.

All of our children Sep 2007

Our family September 2007

Clockwise from left: Jessica, Jason, Beckie, Carlin, daughter-in-law Lisa, Justin, Isata, Sia, Steven, Shauna, and Caylie

Water. . .

Have you ever thought about how important water is? When we lived in America, we turned on the faucet and water came pouring out EVERY TIME! You need water to wash clothes, to shower, to cook, to CLEAN, to brush your teeth, to wash your hands after using the bathroom! If the water is working, we must stop everything and do whatever we need to do before it turns off again. We just always hope no one has a head full of shampoo when it decides to shut off.

This morning the cold water was working. . .barely. Now when I say the water is working, I mean that water is dribbling out s-l-o-w-l-y. So we got the kids all together and said, "hurry fast and get your clothes washed."

Caylie, Sia, and Isata washing their clothes.

Here they are again. . .they are just too cute!

Behind the girls is one of the two men who work here at the guesthouse. Whenever I get my camera out, he wants in the shot. And then Shauna wanted in on the action.

I know that I've shared before how the Bible comes to life in a whole different way here in Zambia. I mean when Jesus says "I am the living water" I see that verse differently than I did from the comfort of my little home in Oregon. Water affects absolutely every thing we do as people. Without it we will die.

The life of Jesus has touched every area of our lives. Without Him, we would be a very different family. We certainly would not be chasing lizards out of our bedrooms in Zambia!

Blessings and joy,

Beckie

No water again. . .and lots of LIZARDS

Do I sound like a drippy faucet? (pun intended) We have no water at all. Jason says the process is so simple that there is no reason not to have water. There is a well here so we aren't dependent on city services.

For us this is a crisis. Yet, Zambians take it all in stride. Makes me feel like a real whimp!

About the lizards. . .they are everywhere. I mean everywhere including up on our beds! They are tiny little lizards and harmless but I don't want to sleep with them! I usually go to bed after the girls. There is one light in the room. You must walk all the way in the room to flip the switch on. I'm always concerned about stepping on a lizard.

So far, no snakes. How do I deal with the possibility of snakes getting in the house? I don't! I just won't even let myself think about it. There are plenty of spaces for them to get in so I'm counting on the wisdom I've heard all of my life: "They are more afraid of you than you are of them." Yeah well, I don't REALLY believe that but it helps me to convince myself that snakes don't want to get into the guesthouse any more than I want them to.

I don't know how close we are to getting to our own home. Jason looked at another house on Tuesday that would be perfect for our family. But it won't be available until January 1. Frankly, I don't want to be in limbo that long but we may not have a choice.

We spoke with the manager of the guesthouse yesterday about lowering our cost to stay there for three months. Right now this is a busy season for them because of conventions. But most conventions wrap up by the end of September. If we continue to stay until the other house is available, they would have an income--probably a lot more than if we left. But we cannot continue to pay what we are now. We just paid for our stay up through September 30. Jason gave her just under $1,700 for 24 days.

Again, I want to thank you all for reading my BLOG. It means so much to me and our family that you care enough to check for daily updates.

Blessings and joy,
Beckie

Life

I snapped this right outside the gate of the guesthouse. We walked to Kansenshie to access the internet. Once we arrived, we were told that the internet is down. This happens to us all of the time. Thankfully, I am persistant. There are some days that I may try four places before finding one with working computers and internet service.

Jason is preparing tea for me and instant coffee for him. Note the cloth he holds over the spout to catch the floaties.

Steven, Carlin, and Sia prepare lunch for the rest of the kids.

These are the two pots we use to boil water and to cook rice. We are trying to find stainless steel pots and pans for our own home but for now, we use these aluminum ones.

And here are two of my girls. They love having their pictures taken. Shhhh...don't tell them I told you!

Boiling our drinking water each day has become a several hour ordeal for Jason. He can't just boil it and put it directly in bottles for drinking. First the boiled water must cool for several hours because all pitchers and bottles are made of plastic.

The most efficient way is to boil the night before and let the pots sit overnight. By morning, the water is ready to pour into bottles. We flavor it with either tea or lemon as we are not use to the taste. But, we share the kitchen with at least 11 other people. Of course they do not understand our need for sanitation.

This morning Jason found the counter crawling with ants. We make sure everything is wiped down with bleach water and clean before leaving the kitchen. But when others use it after us, we must start all over the next morning before we can have our tea or even prepare breakfast. This is one of the frustrations of not having our own home.

I didn't manage to get my usual computer at the internet station. I've tried several times to upload photos to this post to no avail. And to top if off, I often have people standing behind me reading everything I've written. I CRAVE PRIVACY!

The kids all love living at the guest house because of all the wonderful people we have met. It's just Jason and I who long for peaceful evenings and mornings. Last night a musical group came. They are singing at the local Baptist church for the next several evenings. They got in late last night and were up at the crack of dawn this morning laughing, joking, having drumming contests, and just having fun. There is NOTHING wrong with this, it's just that we've been living this way for three weeks with no end in sight.

Thank you for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers. We appreciate you all!

Blessings and joy,

Beckie

A pulpit for Pastor Steve from the Sibleys!

My sweet friend Charity Marek captured these photos as Jason presented the pulpit he hand-crafted to Pastor Steve. These facial expressions are classic Pastor Steve and I'm sure all who know him will chuckle as you view each one.

We love you Pastor Steve!

Jason and Beckie

Isata, Shauna, Carlin, Steven, Sia, and Caylie

Our beloved home church

I had to travel all over Ndola to find an internet service that was working properly. I try to post daily except on Sundays when everything is closed. This is one of my favorite entries as I love and miss our church deeply.

From left to right: Devona, Ginny, Andrea, and Marilyn

These four precious ladies can always be counted on to make a party fun!

This was taken on the evening of August 19 at our going away party. Our family was blessed beyond measure.

When dear pastors Steve and Ginny arrived ten years ago, I was a very broken person. We experienced events in our lives that caused me to question God's love for me and my family. I thought I was broken beyond repair. And now I'm serving Jesus in Zambia! Who could have imagined such a turn around?

Our pastors accepted and loved me right where I was, yet always challenged me to grow. They believed God FOR me when I was too devastated to trust Him myself. This is exactly what I needed.

When we left the comfort of our beloved church for the unknown in Zambia, I was able to stand strong spiritually and emotionally because of the loving support I knew was just a phone call or email away. Equipping the saints for ministry, this is what Pastors are called to do. Thank you Pastors Steve and Ginny!!!

Pictures from Jedidah, Timothy, and Temba

Do you remember me sharing with you about a sister and two brothers who stayed at the guesthouse for a week right after we arrived? They live in the U.K. but were down here in Zambia visiting. We thoroughly enjoyed them all. Well I just received these photos from Jedidah and thought I would share them with you all. Aren't they all beautiful?

Here are all the guys. Steven and Carlin believe they are just as "buff" as any of the other guys. Interestingly, a local hotel allows non-customer to swim for a small fee. Jedidah and her brothers invited the kids to go along. They had a blast as you can probably tell by these photos.

Here are all of my girls showing off their muscles with Jedidah.

The kids watched these impala while they were splashing, screaming, and playing in the pool. I wrote more about this in the post "Only in Africa." You will have to look in the archives to read it.


Thank you Jedidah, Timothy, and Temba! We miss you all!!!

,

Teaching Asaria how to smile for the camera.

Last night, I saw Steven playing with 2-year old Asaria. They were jumping on the end of the log. Asaria loves being one of the big kids.

Now Carlin joins in the fun. They are trying to get Asaria to smile. He is always so serious when I get the camera out but he is a ham the rest of the time.

Master smiler Steven looks over to see if Asaria is doing it right.

Success at last! Now Asaria smiles like Sibleys. This was so funny that I had a hard time capturing the photo. I was just laughing too hard!

Jason to the rescue!

Jason had started to work on the water heater himself but when he asked to borrow tools, the man came back with a screwdriver which is the only tool they have here at the guesthouse! Even Jason can't loosen pipes with a screwdriver!

Even the plumber had very few, very worn-out tools to use on this project. But, last night we finally had hotwater! Thank you to everyone who prays for us. Truly, God hears and answers your prayers. You are all a very important part of the team here in Zambia!

This is a tree that blew down in a storm long before we arrived. It is still attached by a root and the end is an inch or so off the ground. All of the kids play on this log daily. It makes the perfect balance beam!

Hot Water

Okay, you've all "heard" me whining about the water heater being broken for the past several days. Doris, the manager, called a plumber she always uses. Instead of coming out himself, he sent two other men to work on it. They said they repaired the leaks and if it still didn't work, then they would replace the element.

Well none of that happened. Doris was very disappointed. Today, Jason got involved PRAISE GOD! The only reason he didn't before was because he did not want to insult anyone. But a week of cold showers has changed that. Doris was so happy as she knows that Jason is a man who can be trusted.

The water heater is a rectangle shaped box that sits in the rafters right above the shower. After the guys "fixed" it, it leaked worse than ever. So bad, in fact that water ran through the ceiling onto the light bulb causing it to explode. Jason was in the shower when that happened. He has decided to monitor the repairs from now on.

He helped the men get the water heater down from the rafters. After taking it apart, Jason pulled several pounds of white buildup from inside it. Even he was grossed out. We've been boiling our water but it still has "floaties" in it. So we bought a cloth to pour the boiled water through before putting it in our water bottles. After seeing the gunk that came from inside the tank, we now know what the floaties are.

I am down at the internet station right now but hopefully, by the time I get back to the guesthouse, the water heater will be fixed. Actually yesterday and today were warm enough that the cold showers weren't too awfully bad. Still, it will be nice to just have the chill knocked off.

Blessings and joy to you all,

Beckie

Our life in Zambia

Here is the infamous toothbrush I told you all about. If you leave yours at home, never fear! This one will be waiting for you!!

We all wash our own clothes. The kids thought it was fun at first. But of course that has changed. The boys vowed never to get dirty again so that they wouldn't have to wash clothes. That lasted until Warren came home from school.

The wash tub is cement and has ridges for scrubbing. What is absolutely amazing to me is that there is a perfectly good washer/dryer set just two feet away from this washtub but no one uses it. It's too much of a hassle! I couldn't believe it! Neither could Jason until I reminded him that he thought computers and cell phones were a waste of time as well.

All of the laundry, including sheets, towels, washcloths, table cloths, absolutely everything is washed right here by the two men who work here.

Laying sod Zambian style. This man works here at the guesthouse. He harvested these grass cuttings from other areas of the yard and now plants them here.

This was an all-day project. Power tools are not used here. In fact, even huge trees are cut down by simple axes.

We miss you all tons! Please keep us in your prayers.

Blessings and joy,

Beckie

Our Anniversary Dinner

Our sweet children told anyone who would listen that Jason and I were celebrating our 32nd anniversary. These two guys decided to prepare dinner in honor of us and our family last night. Of course the boys were a great "help" as always. They provided the entertainment. Notice Steven in this photo and Carlin in the one below. I never have to prompt them to act silly. That's just what they do naturally!

The menu was one chicken fried crispy along with a delicious vegetable stew served over spaghetti noodles. The dinner was quite yummy!

This is where are neighbors live. Warren, Amanda, Asaria, Asha, along with the rest of their family live here. We have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know them all. In fact everyone here at this guesthouse has been wonderful to our family.

This is the view right outside our porch. The house to the left is our neighbor's. I've mentioned these gorgeous trees before. When we first arrived, there were just a few in bloom. Now they all display these purple blossoms. Some of the streets are lined with them. Truly, they are beautiful.

This is our guesthouse where we are staying until we move to a home of our own. Jason and the boys sleep in the circular building on the left while the girls and I share the one on the right. The middle sleeps six. They are connected by a common living area.

Because there are many people coming and going at all times day and night, we do not feel comfortable leaving our children in either room alone.

Here are even more photos!

This is Caylie beating Papa at another game of "Go Fish!"

Doris is the manager of the Evangelical Church Guest House where we are staying. She is a true gem.

Carlin and Steven brought out the soccer ball that Sarah McKenzie sent with them. Here is Esther trying to inflate the ball.

This is a nearby street. The tree in the background is a name I can't remember but they are everywhere in Ndola and all are in bloom right now. Their beauty is stunning.

Caylie and Amanda became friends almost immediately. They are both six years old. Caylie was happy about that!

Here are Sia and Esther. Esther soon warmed up to all of us but she was just a tad bit unsure at first. She doesn't know any English.

Our sweet Isata Katherine Rose. She was being silly for the camera and I captured several hilarious shots but she made me promise not to post the funny ones.

And this is Asaria. Oh my goodness, what a charming little boy he is! He doesn't seem to know that being two years old doesn't give him the right to rule the world. He has us in stitches much of the time. He knows we adore him which makes him even more of a little ham.


I had to send these photos in several different posts. I hope they all came through okay! We love you all so much and miss ALL of our loved ones. We look forward to getting settled!

Please continue to pray about our water situation. We still do not have hot water. It's not warm enough at night to take ice-cold showers and it's been several days since I've been able to wash my hair.

Blessings and joy to you all,
Beckie

More Photos

The boys just discovered another lizard! This time it was in the garden. Steven and Carlin are thoroughly enjoying every inch of the property here. Usually Caylie is with them. This time, she was drawing in her learning book.

This is our kitchen.

Here is Shauna with 3-yr old Esther. Esther doesn't know any English but it wasn't long before she was part of the crew. She loves to dance! And she enjoys Shauna and Sia. She was visiting our neighbors for a few days when we first arrived.

And here is Miss Caylie being her sweet little self. She loves to pose for the camera!