Jan 27, 2009

We left this morning for the flight to London. Arrived London at 4:30 pm, took the Underground to the hotel. We had a nice dinner and are settling down to get some rest.

Jan 26, 2009

We drove around Son's of Thunder farm this morning to see what the growing conditions are. Then headed back to Lusaka with a short stop in Choma for gifts.

We were all delighted upon returning to Alfred and Muumbe's to see one of the banana plants flowering. You could see the little banana's growing inside!

We left for an evening service at Kanyama church. The music was once again wonderful! After praise and worship, Vera gave a small demonstration with the flannel board. She let several children put characters on it. When it was full, one little girl that was next in line began to cry quietly because she had missed out. We gave her put one baby Jesus character on her shirt and she was happy. We handed out our 110 school packets to over 80 kids and to the parents whose children were not there. We gave two soccer balls to the youth pastor who gave it to the youth. They were very excited. Other children from the community began to show up after we were done asking for the school packets.

We also saw where they had drilled the new well just outside the church. They were going to install the pump and water tank later this month.

Jan 25, 2009

Left Zimba early this morning for Livingstone. We attended church at
First Wesleyan Church. The worship was awe inspiring as only Zambian
worship can be. Josh spoke on the parable of the 5 talents. His
subject was finding your buried talents and dig them up to use in
service to God.

We ate lunch at Hamchlie and Mawli's home then left for the falls. The viewing was great with lots of water but not too much spray. We left to go to the game park to try to see some animals. We were fortunate to find many impalla, water buffalo, wildebeast, warthogs, baboons, monkeys and even one hippo.

We left to eat and spend the night at Son's of Thunder. Son's of Thunder is a 10,000 acre farm with clinic and orphanage. They also help the 7 local villages living on the farm to grow garden vegetables. The vegetables are sold as a cash crop.

Our hosts at Son's of Thunder, Sal and Renee told us there were 250 elephants roaming the farm. The elephants had been driven across Zambeze river by hunters in Zimbabwe. Now the river has risen so the elephants are staying on the Zambian side. They are destroying gardens knocking down other crops and generally creating havoc.

Jan 24, 2009

This morning we went just down the road from our accommodations to
Siansowa Village. This is the village where Alfred grew up and where
his mother currently lives. This village is located along Kariba Lake.

We purchased a fiberglass boat last year for their fishing project.
This boat is a supplement to the dugout wooden canoe type boats they
are currently using. They use nets for fishing and the dugouts would
overturn much to easily. With crocodiles and hippo's in the lake, this
was very risky. This simple unpowered boat has transformed their
livelihood.

We visited the church that was built a few years ago and then ate
another delicious traditional meal at the village. After lunch we said
goodbye and traveled back the 40-50 mile 2.5 hour drive then an
additional 90 miles to Zimba. We stayed at the Zimba mission house and
were served a delicious dinner.

Went to bed to get some rest so we could leave for church in
Livingstone early in the morning.

Jan 23, 2009 Update

Today we drove from Choma to Sichibeya School and Village. This is the
village where Muumbe's father lives. The trip was only 30 miles but
took over 2 hours to travel due to poor road conditions and required 4
wheel drive. This is the school that we are helping to build.

There are 460 children attending grades 1-8. There are currently only
3 classrooms, but more are in the process of being built. They meet at
different times and sit outside under a tree to accomodate the number
of children. It is inspiring to see this focus on education in a
village setting with no electricity.

We drove across the road to where the village is located and were
served a delicious traditional lunch.

We then drove back the 30 mile 2 hour drive then an additional 40 or
50 miles (2.5 hour drive) to Alfred's village. It was dark when we
arrived and we went to our accomodations to eat dinner and get some
rest.

2009 Arrival

We arrived safely this morning in Lusaka. We all had a safe trip and
are feeling fine. We gave out most of our gifts and half of our
packets. We are staying in Choma at a guest house tonight. We are
heading to the lake tomorrow. Thanks for your prayers.

Jan 2009 Zambia Mission Team Schedule

Jan. 22: Arriving in Lusaka on Thursday morning .

Arrival and breakfast at Alfred's and see the work of the tractors in Lusaka west with Patrick Mwenda (Mechanic). About noon travel to Choma and have a stop over at Simweendengwe to have Josh and Brent see the church and the school.

Jan. 23: Leave for Sichibeya to school the building you are sponsoring. This is a village where Muumbe's dad leaves. We will return to Choma for Lunch and proceed to Siansowa, Alfred's home village where you sponsored a fishing project. We will spend a night at a guest house in Siansowa by the lake. This is where we hope to have a banana plantation on a large scale, improve the fishing project and buy and raise cattle. This will be a trip to help you see the great potential of impacting the community.

Jan. 24: Visit Siansowa community, visit Commercial Fishing Farm, Croc Farm. Leave for Livingstone after lunch. Spend a night at Sons of Thunder (To be confirmed).

Jan. 25: Worship at Dambwa Church in Livingstone and game viewing in the afternoon.

Jan. 26: Travel back to Lusaka. Evening service at Kanyama.

Jan. 27: Depart.

We are all excited about your visit to a land where God has enabled you impact more people than you will ever know - school children, farmers, church planters, fishermen, women, children, and the list goes on.

Blessings,

Alfred.