Around the House

Since my last post was a bit heavy, I thought I'd lighten the mood with some photos illustrating a few of our routines.

We bought a push mower since those with an engine are over $1,000. I can honestly say that our grass is cut using pure Sibley "man" power! Notice the chicken? Yep, we still enjoy them. Each one gives us an egg every day. It costs hardly anything to feed them since they forage for bugs, fruits, grasses of which we have ample supply. Eggs are about twice as expensive here than in Central Oregon. We have eight more hens coming within a week or two which will help our cut protein expenses. But if truth be told, we enjoy the chickens so much, that we want more. Since they earn their keep, why not?

I also want to point out the beautiful greenery. When I left for the States the last day of September, everything was covered in dirt and dust. Most vegetation was dead or dying. Then the rainy season came and washed it all away. The country looks completely different at this time of year. Who would have thought that Beckie Sibley would enjoy RAIN?

Shauna and Sia are hanging sheets and towels to dry. This is part of our back yard.

Above Steven mows the football field. This push mower is much more efficient than the slasher. Most gardeners in our area use a machete like tool to hand slash the grass. While I've seen some of them cover a lot of distance, it is still much slower and not nearly as uniform.

Today was Isata's day in the kitchen. We have five avocado trees in our yard. The largest one is producing the most delicious fruits ever! If you don't believe me, just come on over and taste for yourself. The other four are different varieties that will begin dropping avocados later in the season.

Our mango trees are finished and the guava is on it's way out. It is such a treat to have fresh fruit growing in our own yard. The kids are in heaven.

I included the photo above so that you can see the transmitter responsible for our internet connection. It is the little white square near the top of the pole.

And then there are the gorgeous Zambian skies. During the rainy season, the sky is a beautiful cobalt blue. The clouds are in constant motion. Once the dry season is in full swing, the air is polluted. So, we soak up all the beauty we can during this glorious season.

Thanks to Linda Burwell, I have the DVD she recorded the Thursday night I shared our Zambian adventures with our home church, City Center Church in Redmond, Oregon. Watching it brought back so many warm memories. Thank you to every single person who attended. I was overwhelmed by your love for our family and your interest in our work.

Truly, we are supported by the most loving people ever. God blesses us deeply through our relationships. I love and miss you all more than you can know.

Blessings and joy,
Beckie

Cultural Differences in Money Matters

Sometimes it feels like we take three steps forward then two steps back as we relate with a culture so different than our own particularly when it concerns money management.

A book that I consider required reading for anyone planning to live and work in Africa is African Friends and Money Matters by David Maranz. Although I read it before we left for Zambia, the insights shared within its pages really began to jump out after we found ourselves trying to set up a home and establishing our ministry once we arrived.

Nothing could be more different between American and Zambian cultures than the way money is handled and managed. Some things considered completely ethical in one culture definitely are not in the other.

For instance, in our American mindset, money is set aside for budgeted expenses. A person may have a thousand dollars in his account but knowing it is all allocated to pay bills, will consider himself to have no money to spend. If someone approaches him with a need, no matter how intense, he will not take funds allocated for the budget. And...this is considered being a wise steward of one's finances. In fact, not paying the bills because the money was spent elsewhere, is considered unethical.

Not true here in Zambia. If money is set aside, it will be spent as needs arise. If someone comes wanting money for food and you have money set aside for rent due next week, you are expected to give it to the immediate need and worry about what is due next week at that time. Not giving someone money if you have some set aside for any reason is considered selfish and unethical.

Okay, now imagine these two cultures living together. There are times when both sides consider the other to be mishandling funds due to the very different ways money is managed.

Every time we leave our home, we are asked for money. Several times a month, people will knock on our gate asking for money for various reasons. Since we began looking at buying a car, it is assumed that we have disposable income sitting around so again, we are asked for money, large sums of it in fact. We are constantly asked to give, often by total strangers. If we say no, we are perceived as being selfish and unethical.

On the other hand, when we give money toward a specific cause, we expect it to be used for exactly that and require records and receipts. When we discover that it was not used as allocated, we consider this a misuse of funds and as such, unethical. And we are disappointed.

Please pray for us as we continue to navigate these cultural differences. It can be exhausting dealing with this on a regular basis. Need I say we are feeling weary right now?

Thank you for your continued love for me and my family. No matter what goes on in our daily lives, we know we are treasured by many of you reading my blog. I appreciate you more than you could ever know.

Blessings and joy,
Beckie

A Thriving New Church

What joy it was to visit the Tower of Worship Foursquare Church yesterday. You may remember our commissioning Pastor Charles and Petra Sande to plant a new church in the huge Mushili compound, an extremely poor community of Ndola. That was only six months ago during Dan's visit. If you are new to my blog, click here to read all about that blessed event.

Pastor Charles invited Jason to deliver the morning sermon. Of course he was honored to do so. All of us were thrilled to finally visit this little church in Mushili.

Sharon, Debbie, and Dan have all met this dear couple. I only wish I could share them with the rest of you! They are delightful, growing, and applying biblical truth to their personal lives. And it shows! The church is filled with people of all ages. Petra teaches Sunday School to elementary-age children and is doing a spectacular job. The day's lesson focused on Joseph, his coat of many colors, and all that happened as a result of him receiving that coat.

The children participated enthusiastically. Although Petra had never taught children's church before, she does an excellent job and is obviously well loved by her students.

Edited to add: The church meets in two classrooms in a private high school.

(Above) Pastor Charles introduced Jason as his "father in the faith".

(Below) Jason shared the Word while Pastor Charles translated.

Below is Petra with her Sunday School class. Aren't they just the cutest!

I snapped this during the closing prayer. Notice that not everyone was praying. This little guy kept his eye on me the whole time. Petra uses colored chalk to illustrate the lesson on the board. I absolutely adore her, can you tell?

Below is Jason and Pastor Charles after the service. Charles is holding the third MTI book. The class completed just before Christmas.


Notice the leather briefcase that Jason is holding. It was a precious gift from Sharon Nicholson as it belonged to her late husband Don. Sharon and Don served on the mission field together for several years. Truly, Jason and I are blessed beyond measure.

As you can imagine, this was a fun post to prepare. I hope you enjoy the photos and if you ever happen to come to Zambia, we will most certainly take you to a Sunday service at the Tower of Worship Foursquare Church in Mushili.

Blessings and joy,
Beckie

Time to Shine in 2009!

Okay, so it sounds a little quirky but hey, it rhymes.

Seriously though, I am excited about what this new year holds for our work in Zambia. We prepared for and then transplanted our Central Oregon roots to the African continent in 2007. Year 2008 was jam-packed with challenge, victory, sorrow, joy, disappointment, and celebration. All these life lessons equipped us to live and contribute effectively in Zambia. Not that we have it all figured out, far from it. But we have many of the important things settled.

Like what, you may ask. Well, we know who our friends are and how to recognize people with ulterior motives. We learned how to shop for food and where to buy good meat. We know how to keep the laundry in check which is a huge accomplishment considering the way it needs to be done. We know how to flush the toilet and how to conserve water when the community supply has been cut off. We know when to go to the store and how to buy items that are not already spoiled. All of these hurdles did not exist for us in Central Oregon and take more brain power to maneuver than you can imagine.

The largest obstacle we've managed to overcome and the one that has the most impact on our sanity is that our house is now fully functional. We no longer fight to get/keep it working. Jason and I have time to relax, reflect, recharge. For several months, this was a luxury we only dreamed about. Now we live it. This is essential to survival in a culture not our own.

Over the past year, we finally learned to run for distance instead of speed. I use this analogy simply because the two disciplines require different training styles. Speed is great but cannot be maintained for long. Distance training focuses on running a sustainable pace for a long period of time. True to "Jason and Beckie" style, we hit the ground running for speed as soon as we landed in Zambia. Sixteen months later, I can say that we found a pace that we can manage for the long haul.

Kawama school, (click here for Dan's post on the school) opens next week with a class of 30 students. This little school sits in the heart of one of the poorest areas in Zambia. It offers children a basic education along with a nutritious meal. I am very excited and can hardly wait to meet the students. You can count on lots of pictures when I do.

One of my main goals is to foster a love for learning while teaching students and adults how to gain reliable facts and knowledge. As Americans, we take for granted our accessibility to the latest information on virtually any subject. Imagine not having a public library. Or worse yet, having a library with no books. Ahhhhh, this is for another post.

I thoroughly enjoyed visiting the Vima Lupwa home and family while our friends Marlena and Mallory were here. What is exciting for me is that I have been invited to visit, read stories, monitor chicken care, and simply enjoy the children even now that Marlena and Mallory have returned to Central Oregon.

The pictures below were captured December 26. I'm sure many more will follow in the months ahead.


This structure contains a well. It uses kid power to transfer water from the well into a huge container on the top of the tower. Water is fed to the outside faucets by gravity.

Sixteen year-old Muchemwa and her daughter Ruthie.

The children thoroughly enjoyed the mangoes we brought from our own yard. We have 3 mango, 1 guava, and 5 avocado trees. All are producing tasty fruit right now. Mmmm good!
This is one of the sweetest 7 year-old boys on the planet. Alick loves mangoes!

A fun place to be! Can you see Isata and Shauna in this photo?

As usual, there is far more to share than I have time for in this post so I will bring it to a close. Thank you for your love and faithfulness to us and our ministry.

Blessings and joy,
Beckie

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

It is officially 2009 here in Zambia! All of us managed to stay up, eat junk food, watch movies, and cheer in the new year. Fireworks are sounding off all around us and have been for several hours. Music is playing and people are partying. It is a time of celebration for our neighbors and most of Ndola.

For the Sibley family, we are feeling successful that we kept our eyes open until midnight. And now that we have accomplished that goal, it's off to bed.

We will be waking up about the time many of you will be welcoming 2009. Isn't that amazing?

I appreciate you all more than words can express. Thank you for your love, friendship, faithfulness, encouragement, and humor! We are a family rich with relationships that we cherish beyond measure. We thank God for each of you and the unique way you touch our lives.

Blessings and joy,
Beckie