Thursday, April 29, 2010

Warmth to the Orphans

What fun it was to end our trip to Zambia by giving warm blankets to 100 orphans living in the bush as they head into their "winter" season! The children were incredibly thankful to have received such a gift and were thrilled to pose for "snaps" to show them off!






Visiting Teta

How wonderful to visit a place half way around the world and be able to worship our God together!!! We could hear the Zambians' voices upon arrival at this church in Teta, all singing songs of praise! This will be the church that our July Zambia team will be putting a steel roof on! Everyone is so happy and excited and thankful for our efforts in doing so!








Kundalila Falls

As many would expect, one of the best parts about Zambia is the fantastic scenery! Trees, mountains, clear skies, gorgeous meadows, flowers, rock formations... Much of Navice's family, as well as the pastors who had come for training, had never witnessed one of God's most beautiful, yet closest creations just miles away, that is Kundalila Falls. We drove out to an area near the falls, hiked down into the valley, and saw one of the most amazing sights ever! Everyone had a blast climbing the rocks, playing in the water, crossing the falls and just spending time getting to know one another! We were so fortunate to have had that opportunity to visit Kundalila Falls with so many of our Zambian friends and to enjoy God's splendor, left completely untouched by man, together!










Friday, April 23, 2010

Message from Tim: Pastor Training




Pastor Training ended yesterday (Thursday) and it was a joy to make some new relationships with the first year students who came. But it was also good to see some students that were getting ready to graduate as third year students. I taught this week through the gospel of Matthew, I and II Timothy, Titus and the doctrine of the Church. I can see how the pastors are responding to the material and how excited they are to bring it back to their churches and expand their ministries here in Serenje. We also gave each of them a commentary of I and II Timothy and Titus. For some of them, that is the only book they have beyond the Bible. Each night, we have had an opportunity to eat at the Kalunga home with the entire family and enjoy a traditional Zambia meal including nshima, rape and caterpillar. Yum! Tomorrow (Friday), we hope to spend some extra time with them socializing. I'm really looking forward to getting to know them outside of the classroom setting. Please pray for these 23 pastors that have been a part of this pastor training as well as for their churches.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Smiling Faces










Smiling Faces. Hot sun. Teaching both with the orphans and pastors.

The first three days have gone by very quickly. The pastors have been very receptive and very appreciative of Tim's teaching. We joined with them Tuesday evening for cookies and soda. Chelsea did a great job of sharing her testimony!

Our energy levels dwindle by late afternoon as a result of the heat and playing with the orphans - they have so much energy and crave our individual attention. We have learned several new games. A different take on "Duck, Duck, Goose" and a game that appears to be called "In, Out". The goal is not to be eaten by the crocodiles!!

We have been sharing the story of Esther with them through puppets. They enjoy coloring and they so loved the bubbles, the giant beach balls and the squirt guns that have appeared throughout the different days.

We would cherish your prayers for relationships, effectiveness and energy!!

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Zambia Team Has Arrived!



The six member Zambia Team has arrived safely at the Hope Center in Serenje. The power and utilities have been down and there is no access to the internet like they had hoped. But, the Brookside staff has heard from the Zambia Team via text:

Who would have anticipated a Volcanic eruption in Iceland would disrupt the team's travel arrangements? The group was to fly out of Chicago on Wednesday night. Their flight was delayed 3 hours because the flight crew was late. Then, the plane took off. Two hours into the flight, the plane turned around and came back to Chicago because the London airport had been closed. The team was able to rebook their flight through South Africa and they arrived late Saturday evening in Lusaka. If the Chicago flight had not been delayed, they would have flown into London and still be grounded there. They would not have made it for the pastor training and orphan care. This is such a cool provision of God from something that they originally thought was such a hassle!

Tim Wiebe spent Monday training 23 pastors from churches in the bush - some just starting out in ministry. They also met the orphans on Monday and provided a program. There are some challenges on logisitics because of the rearranged travel. The group is tired but encouraged and feel very blessed to have made it there.

We'll write more when we get more texts.