Photos!

Carlin brought out the Legos for the boys to play with. They all loved them! It was fun to watch little boys and even a grown man discover Legos for the very first time.

Here are all the kids including the little neighbors who live here on the property. The first round building in the background is where the girls and I sleep.

Here is Carlin's and Steven's new buddy, Warren. He is one of the sweetest 13-year old boys I've ever known. The boys play soccer with Warren every day.

This was the first day Carlin and Steven brought out the Legos. Even the men were amazed by them. As usual, Legos are a huge hit--even in Zambia!

Here is little miss Caylie. She absolutely loves Zambia!

And finally, this is Steven all ready for bed under the net. The nets were quite the novelty when we first arrived.

I will have to create a new post to get the rest of the photos loaded.

Please let me know if you can see the photos. It is taking a long time to load. I had started earlier from my usual internet station when all of a sudden the power went out. Jason was down there as well and had composed a long email to Sharon when "poof" it was all gone.


At least I wasn't alone in my frustrations.

Just a bit discouraged. . .

It appears as though the man who agreed to rent the house to us now has "other interested parties" as well. As you might imagine, this is terribly disheartening. The house has been empty for at least a year. Frankly, I doubt there are other people wanting to rent it as very few, if any, Zambians can afford the $1,000/month. And. . .we must pay three months in advance.

I made the mistake of showing my enthusiasm for the house when we walked through it. Now that the landlord knows we want it, he is positioning himself to ask more than even the agreed amount. There is no way a house like that would rent for $1,000/month in Redmond. When I said the house needs a lot of work, I wasn't exaggerating.

The lot is full of trash that must be cleared. Here in Ndola, there is no garbage service. So people designate an area of the property as a kind of landfill. With all the work being done to the house just to make it livable, trash is virtually everywhere. And yet, this is the best we could find.

We looked for refrigerators, stoves, and household furnishings. All of you who know Jason and I realize we aren't looking for high-priced items. But everything here is high priced! For example, a refrigerator that is less than half the size of our other one is priced at more than $1,000. A stove is another $750. These are tiny appliances. And then there was the washing machine. No wonder Zambians would rather wash everything by hand. The washer was more than $1,000!!!

We don't want to pay these prices just to live here. Especially if we are only going to be here for three years. Who would we sell this stuff to?

Today is our 32nd wedding anniversary. I could not have imagined where we would be 32 years after that glorious day. I've always been one for adventures. Well, this is certainly an adventure!

There is another house around the corner from the guesthouse that is empty. But it is for sale. It's a 3-bedroom house but is on a large lot with a guesthouse AND servant's quarters. Another plus about this house is that it is fully furnished! It was owned by an elderly couple until the husband died. Now the house is in litigation to put it into the wife's name. The owner of the house is from England and now lives there. So the house has no one living there. The fact that it is already furnished is a huge plus.

Jason said the appliances are old but it looks like they work. So. . .we are hoping and praying that it works out for us to rent this particular house. We'll wait and see.

Now for some good news. . .we are in the process of purchasing a 1992 Toyota Landcruiser. We are purchasing it through the church denomination that owns the guesthouse we are staying in. The price is $9,500 which is several thousand dollars cheaper than if we went to Lusaka to buy one. Still, we miss our van A LOT! We should have the Landcruiser sometime after the first of October.

We continue to battle water issues. Now there is no hot water again. It appears that the element is out of it. Ughhhhhhh

Thank you to all who keep us in your prayers. And thank you for your private emails. They really bless us all.

Love to all,
Beckie

I keep forgetting to let you know. . .

Our video camera was stolen from our bags during our journey to Ndola. Unfortunately, we had an 18-hour layover in Johannesburg. With all of our computer and camera equipment, we couldn't put the video camera in our carry on bags. It was really tough to pick up the little case in which it was stored only to find it very light. They didn't take the tapes, just the camera.

We rejoice that our two hard drives weren't stolen. That would have been a terrible loss.

Blessings and joy,
Beckie

My, oh my how priorities change. . .

You may remember one of my first posts here in Zambia was about not being able to lock the shower room door. I thought that was terrible and I just wasn't going to take a shower without someone outside making sure no one else came in. Showers ceased to be pleasant for many reasons.

And then, we lost our water supply. Time is very different here than in America so when the manager said the water would be fixed "soon" we were more than a little concerned. No water that night.

The next day, we had water but no hot water. So we all showered in cold water. Of course, no one liked it.

The water was out all the following day as well. Oh how I longed to wash my hair and go to bed clean. I didn't care if the water was cold. The water was working again by that night and I was thrilled. And then, much to my surprise and delight, there was hot water!!! Oh my goodness, I thoroughly enjoyed that shower. It didn't matter that the door was unlocked. It didn't matter that it was a VERY public shower. It didn't matter that there was very little water pressure. I had hot water to shower with.

Amazing how things change. . .

Church in Zambia

Our church here in Zambia is a blessing to us. The women have welcomed me with open arms and hearts. They can't wait to show me how to make nshima, Zambia's staple food. I know how to make it but I do not even begin to have the arm strength required to prepare this dish. Never the less, I must learn as nshima seems to be more than just a food. Zambians ALL love it. It's almost as if you cannot be Zambian if you don't eat nshima at least twice daily.

Worship is incredible. At this point, it is difficult for us to concentrate on worship as we are very aware of the African words and accents. It is truly beautiful.

Jason spoke yesterday and I must say, he is a natural. He isn't as loud or active as other preachers here, but he connects with the people in a powerful way. How incredible it is that the Holy Spirit transcends all cultures are language differences.

The Bible is very real to us here in Zambia. So much about the life of Jesus is revealed to my own heart as we press in to a new culture. We can identify with Jesus' life here on earth more than ever before. I could go on and on about this. Perhaps I will journal it all so that I may share it with you someday.

We should hear from our new landlord about a more definite move in date. Our house is being remodeled right now (and ohhhhh how it needs it). If I were to send you photos, every one of you would flip. But the landlord seems to be a man of his word. It will be wonderful to be in our own house. Right now, we have no privacy. Jason sleeps in one room with the boys. I sleep in another with the girls. There is a third room with six beds that are usually full of other people each day.

We love and miss you all. Even in Zambia, certain situations or people remind us of our loved ones at home. Thank you ever so much for praying for our children. They are loving Zambia life. Even when we were without water, the boys were especially happy. They see no reason for daily showers anyway.

But alas, we now have hot and cold water and for this we truly Praise God. We do not take water or food for granted here.

Thank you for your personal emails. They mean the world to me and to our family. Thank you also for your love and prayers. I know I've said this before but it is really true. We do not take your partnership with us for granted. Thank you!

Blessings and joy,

Beckie