Mushili--One Year Celebration

We had the privilege of celebrating the first anniversary of the Tower of Worship Foursquare Church in Mushili back in July. Yes, I'm a month late getting this posted. Mushili is one of the poorest areas in Ndola but its people are rich in heart and purpose.

This church is particularly special to us because we saw it begin with a call upon Pastor Charles and Petra Sande, move into a vision, and finally sent them out officially here. Both Charles and Petra were a part of Ministries Training Institute when Jason taught in Ndeke. They learned and applied those teachings with great passion.

Setting up

Jason and Pastor Charles before the service.

Pastor Charles and his translator

The service had been going for almost an hour but the covering was still being assembled. Everyone just takes it all in stride.

Pastor Jennifer Nkandu
National Overseer for Foursquare Zambia

Isata recited Psalm 1

Finally, the tent was placed and everyone moved under it.

My favorite part of it all was the children.

Aren't these little boys adorable?

After seeing themselves in my camera, they became quite photogenic! We had lots of fun together during all the speeches.

Of course, I'm especially partial to the charming five children picture below. It's hard to believe how much they have grown during our two years in Zambia.


Watching this church develop from the beginning has been a privilege and huge encouragement for us.

***

We now have less than two weeks before our flight leaves Zambia. There is still much to do and many goodbyes to be said before then.

It's hard to believe that two weeks from now, we will be with our son and daughter-in-law in Livermore, California, which is a world away from our life in Zambia. We are excited to go home but grateful for our two years here. Ahhhh...this will have to wait for another post.

Until then...

Blessings and joy,
Beckie

Dinner Fun

We have the pleasure of hosting Pastor David Dively from Louisville, Kentucky while he teaches at the Theological College of Central Africa (TCCA) for two-and-a-half weeks. He had looked forward to sharing this time with the Wegener family but was stuck with us instead. For this we are immensely grateful as he is a breath of fresh air to our entire family. We've enjoyed getting to know him and from what I hear, his students at TCCA are blessed as well.

No introduction to David Dively would be complete without mentioning that he is a devoted Steelers fan. Since we will have the privilege of watching football this year (HOORAY), we will certainly be thinking of him and cheering on the Steelers from our side of the country.

Now to the dinner. We wanted to give David a true Zambian meal complete with nshima, Zambian style meatballs, relish, and chicken. So we coerced Partner (our beloved taxi driver's wife) into preparing the feast. I'll let the pictures do most of the talking now.

It was Isata's turn in the kitchen but on big meals, everyone pitches in. Here they are making meatballs. Isata is standing on a stool; she hasn't grown THAT much!

We were quite surprised by the steps used to cook chicken. First it is boiled, then fried in at least an inch of oil on high heat. The strange thing is that this method shrinks the chicken pieces by at least 50% and at least that much of the flavor is dumped down the sink with the broth. Does anyone know why chicken is boiled before frying? We've asked but have been told, "This is how we prepare chicken in our culture". Well alrighty then...

When Partner dropped the first chicken thigh, taken directly from boiling water, into the hot pan of oil everyone jumped back as grease splattered everywhere! See photo below. (No worries Terri, your kitchen is all clean now but I was doubtful there for awhile.)

In the meantime, tunes filled the kitchen, thanks to DJ Steven, while Sia and Shauna (below) performed along with Celine Dion. Sia's stage, (twelve inch stool), makes her even taller than her siblings.

You gotta love those microphones. This kitchen is equipped with rubber spatulas, oops...microphones, aplenty for all the kids.

All of this singing and dancing is happening while Partner and Isata cook, although Isata did break out in song and dance several times in the process.

Below, relish preparation begins by frying fresh tomatoes and onions before adding the spinach-like vegetable called "rape"...see why I prefer to call it a "spinach-like vegetable"?

Back to the entertainment below...

The Sibley Five
Steven 12, Isata 15 this month, Sia 11, Shauna 15 in October, and Carlin 13.

Ta Daaa!

Here's Isata!

Steven keeps the tunes playing and contributes his own vocals to the mix. Carlin is the drummer...and the girls? Well you can figure that out for yourself! Partner did not mind the noisy distractions.

And now...the grand finale...nshima, Zambia's favorite staple. I have cooked it many times but rumor has it that I do a lousy job, which is why I let Partner do the honors for David.

Nshima is very thick and difficult to stir at this stage (see below). I have about as much arm strength as a fish so have not been successful at preparing the perfect batch.

Now that the nshima is fully done...

...dinner is served.

Here is the whole crew pictured with David moments before diving into the meal.

***

Oh my goodness, there is a ton of stuff to share with you but it will have to wait. We leave Zambia exactly one month from today. Lots to do between now and then...

Blessings and joy,
Beckie