Nathan's 15th Birthday

Nathan's 15th birthday was spent in Livingstone. He got a Settlers Of Catan board game & he and the cousins played as soon as it was opened!! (by the way, Nathan won!)
We took Nathan to ZigZag for lunch. After his favorite dinner - time for cake! chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. yum!

Christmas in Zambia

Though our Christmas and New Year's celebrations were very different from what we've ever experienced before, they were still rich in their own way. Our two families had some fun time together. We even started some new traditions. A few days before Christmas we went to visit our friends, Daniel and Sky Scott, IMB missionaries in Sioma. It was a touch of home as we shared many of our American Christmas traditions together. We read the Christmas story and sang carols around the piano among other things.

On Christmas Eve Day the boys all went to the worksite. On the way, I was struck with the realization that we were closer than we've ever been in our lives to experiencing more of the reality of that first Christmas. City lights, Christmas lights and decor, shopping malls, Salvation Army guys ringing their bells, church Christmas productions, parades, and so on suddenly seemed very far away. Jesus Christ was born a third-world peasant, in a stable and placed in a feeding trough. These days I see these things all the time. So I felt a strange connection to Christ in a way that I'm not sure I can explain.

We experienced a surprise blessing later that day. Mr. Zulu, who used to be one of the deacons at Trinity Baptist Church was on his way from Livingstone to Mungu when he dropped by the work site just to give us a gift of juice and bread. How thoughtful. So we shared it with our workers and quit a little early that day.

When we got back to camp we found that the girls had decorated the camp with luminarias and paper chains and so on and we enjoyed a meal with Christmas music playing in the background.










On Christmas morning our family had Christmas in our tent. Had to use lanterns and headlamps to see! We gave thanks to the Lord for His provision and faithfulness to us in the past 8 months and reminded ourselves of the true meaning of the day. We opened stockings and gifts. We laughed and had a good time.










Later on Christmas Day about twenty of us had dinner out on the lawn at Mutemwa Lodge, (nine of us and then the Johnsons and their guests). The temperature was about 85 degrees F, and the breeze was blowing across the Zambezi through the Palm and Waterberry trees. It was nice to be reminded that there is still beauty in Africa.














On New Year's Eve day we had a devotion with our Lozi workers and I discussed Rev. 21:5 with them ;- And He who was seated on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new. Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." Trutstworthy and true. I was reminded that there will be a day when the Lozi nation, in part or in full, will be made new. This strange, dark land that has been destroyed by sin will be restored to original perfection for the glory and pleasure of God and His people.

We spent that evening back at the Lodge celebrating with the same group of people.
Here is a picture of the river at sunset. It was really beautiful. We are grateful to the Lord for His provision this last year. We are eager to see how He will work and move this new year in our lives and in the lives of the Lozi people.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

First Experience wtih a Black Mamba!

Last Saturday we were driving back to camp from the build site. Our families had spent the day on the lodge grounds with the Johnsons. We got a text message that they were watching a large snake in a tree, so we hurried to take a look. Sure enough, high in a tree near one of the tents (where we'll be sleeping for the next month looking after the lodge for the Johnsons while they vacation in South Africa) was a big snake. A few well-placed shots from Gavin Johnson with a high-powered pellet rifle paralyzed the snake and it fell to the ground. Two more shots finished it off. It was a 2.5 meter long (8 feet) black mamba, the most deadly snake in Africa. Also that day, the staff killed a stilleto snake in the lounge and Alicia saw what may have been a spitting cobra near the lounge where all the kids were playing. 3 venemous snakes in one day. Granted, that is extremely rare, and I don't tell this to be dramatic. But in case you haven't prayed for our safety lately, this would be a good reminder. We grow more and more comfortable here, but there are occasional reminders that we live in constant potential danger from crocs, hippos (our friend Vincent's brother was recently attacked by a hippo and nearly lost his arm), hyenas (their tracks are on the lodge road), leopards, and snakes. We are grateful to the Lord for His daily protection.











Thanks Sean, for text and Michael for pictures.