20 hours on planes and we are home!

After a 2 hour flight out of Zambia to South Africa and a sprint to the big flight of 18 hours, we all made it home safe and sound. 5 cases of giardia and and 1 case of malaria (now under control) didn't stop us for having a wonderful time and making home to see loved ones. Thanks to all who came to see us home.

I'll be checking my notes to see if there is anything else that didn't get posted.

To the Zambia team members, thanks so much for being such great friends and fellow missioners. Your support and love, 24 hours a day, will be missed!

To the folks that stayed home, be sure to join us on November 18th for our report. Lots of pictures, video, music and stories from our trip and information about the future of the Chande project and how you can help.

Hope to see you then,
Lindsay

Photos from our Dulles Airport arrival. Thanks to Eric for sending them. For a few more pictures from the airport, CLICK HERE

Billie's Fun Animal Facts #2

Did you know that hippos have purple sweat?It acts like a sunblock on sensitive backs!

-Billie

Photo from our safari in Botswana.

Prices in Zambia

Thought folks might be interested...

Our hotel in the middle of downtown Kitwe is $65 per night, which includes all you can eat breakfasts and dinners in a private meeting room. Hot water and air conditioning are intermittent.

Computer access at internet cafes is 100 - 300 kwacha (3-8 cents) per minute.

Material (seen in this photo) at the fabric shop is 4,000 - 20,000 kwacha ($1 - 5) per meter.

Gasoline is 7100 kwacha per liter (about $8 per gallon).

-Barb & Eric

Billie's Animal Fun Fact #1

Did you ever know that you should never run over African elephant dung?

The reason is because they eat plants that have thorns. The thorns are not digested and when you drive over the dung, the thorns will pop your tires.

-Billie

Kids in Zambia

Everyone is SO friendly in Zambia, especially the kids. After classes today, we played a bunch of Zambian games in the schoolyard. The kids are also very good singers. Later this week we are going to have a concert at church to sing both American and Zambian songs.

We also got to visit some people on the street and some in our group got to go into people's homes. The streets are really dirty in the township, but the homes were clean.

I hope we can make a difference to the school.

-Barb


Photo taken in the front school yard of the Wusakili Township Chande School. On the final day of class, we brought out some games.

The Art of Negotiating

It's been an amazing week!. I fell in love my 5th graders. It's going to be hard to come back. Today we went to the market, and you must "negotiate" the prices with the vendor. They find it offensive if you don't. Billie Males was helping me negotiate and I think we made a good team. Hope everyone is doing well.

Love, Michele

To My Family

Dear Family -

I just wanted to say 'Hi' to you and also I wanted to tell my Dad that he should watch Joel at all times. Also, I wanted to know if you are okay with me and mommy not being home? Then, my next question... Is Grandma helping Daddy with breakfast, lunch and dinner? Daddy, I want you to askLeaches comment to me on this post.

Yours truly,
Faith

Update from Saturday

Hey folks - Life is good here in Zambia. Internet access is not. So, sorry for the lack of updates. We've saved all of the post we wanted to make and will send them in time.

Today is Saturday. We are having a very nice lunch and visit at the Miller's home. There house is quite nice and we've had ham sandwichs and doritos, and ices tea and lemonade! What a treat!

All are well. Many are tired though. More on our busy week with the children later. Only a few mosquito bites, for the entire group, to speak of - it's so dry here. We leave for Livingstone on Tuesday morning. That will be a long, crowded bus ride. Excited to see the rest of the country and Livingstone, but not to leave Kitwe. It has really grown on many of us.

-Lindsay

Photo taken at the Miller's House. The game being played is called Nsolo, simliar to Mancala. Some folks bought smaller versions of the game to bring home.

Encountering the Face of God

We have had 2 days working with the children and leading teacher enrichment. There are so many kids - so many children inside the school and standing by as we are inside the school yard. The teachers are learning to play the recorder along with their students. It has been fun to watch them progress! The littler children are playing the kazoos. It is quite an experience. We have encountered the face of God as we have sung with the children and others here in Kitwe. We have encountered the face of God as we have experienced Zambian hospitality. We have encoutered the face of God as we have prayed with folks here and folks in our team. We have encountered the face of God as we have been greeted by great smiling faces. We have encountered the face of God through our hosts - Ba Patrick Chanda, Ba Vivan, Ba Dainys, the teachers, Ba Ed & Ba Linda. We have even enocuntered the face of God through reading the notes from our prayer partners. Please continue to pray for us.

- 'Ba' Trisha

Photo of Memory, she is in Grade 2 at the Wusakili Chande School

Update from Zambia

Mulishane -- hello in Zambian.

This is the FIRST chance I've had for internet access, down the street
from our hotel. The trip has been very productive already, as we saw
teachers at the school teaching new material to their students the SAME
day they received it! We're only 2 days into teaching. We've been
rehearsing music -- both recorders and singing. Thursday will be our first
concert at the church, which will include some joint performances with
Zambians.

Most of us have struggled a bit with the time change and the lack of
all night air conditioning, but most all are now up to speed. Food has
been plentiful and delicious.

The Males family is well. Billie is making friends with many of the
Zambian kids, as well as co-teaching the 5th graders ("grade 5"). Barb &
I taught reading today to the 8th & 6/7th grades using American
newspapers. I think the kids liked it and learned a lot about a different
country. Math is on the agenda for tomorrow.

Your prayer packet and my journal have been a welcome way to end our
long days.

-- Eric

First Day of School

The first day of school for us. What an experience and what a great team. After visiting Monday and observing over 400 students, pre-school through grade 9 in a room about half the size of our fellowship hall, flexibility was a must. Today began with the children standing outside waiting for us. Some classes met outside. All the children were excited with the new materials and new activities. They could move around so they had trouble controlling themselves. Our team hung in there, adjusting and trying to provide a happy experience. Can you imagine hearing some 250 children playing the recorder for the first time? With the sound bouncing off the concrete floor and vibrating up to the time roof, you needed to be prepares to cover your ears. It was amazing what Brian and the team accomplished in one hour. Come outside and listen to some 160 preschoolers, first and second grades playing the kazoo! Tomorrow will be another day of adjusting and flexibility. We moved furniture and made classrooms everywhere. I can hardly wait to see sparkling eyes and broad smiles as we sing, play and share with our new friends in Kitwe.

-Betty

Photo shows Trisha (and Brian, not pictured) working with the Chande teachers. They learned the recorder quite quickly!

‘Now we’re really white people…even Sonia and Faith.’

Thanks to Trisha for that great ‘quote of the day.’

We are called ‘Musungu.’ It’s generally a term for white ‘expats’ from European countries that now live in Zambia, and has been extended to Americans.

It translates directly to ‘peeled one.’

This was explained to us at our orientation today with Ba Chanda and Ed and Linda Miller, our hosts - missionaries who have been living in Zambia for 29 years. They are from Texas originally, and as Ba Linda says, you won’t get iced tea anywhere in Kitwe, but ‘you’ll get it at my house!’ (We are looking forward to it)

September 29, 2007

Meeting Ba Chanda

Hello All – We have arrived in Ndola and drove to Kitwe safely. We met Ba Chanda at the airport. He was glad to see us and wanted to thank everyone from Arizona Hills Church and McLean Baptist Church for praying for God to heal them after the accident. (Ba Chanda and his wife Beatrice were in a serious car accident, with friends, about a month ago. Ms. Beatrice was very hurt.) They said they could just feel the prayers come down on them and could feel God healing them. They are so grateful for all the prayers.

Keep praying for us as we begin our work on Monday.
NatalieSeptember 29, 2007

'Ba' What?

The word ‘Ba,’ as in ‘Ba Chanda’ is an additional word used to show respect for people. Like Mr., Mrs., or Miss, Brother or Sister, in our culture and like ‘san’ as an addition to a Japanese name like calling my friend Takako: Takakosan. Rev. Patrick Chanda is affectionately called ‘Ba Chanda,’ and our new friend Dainess (pronounced = dy-ness) is called ‘Ba Dainess.’ It can be used for both males and females.

In Zambia

Hello All - sorry for the lack of communication. The internet cafe was closed last night... but open now. We have had a nice night in our hotel that we will be in for the entire time we are in Kitwe. We are leaving soon for Sunday service at Chamboli Baptist where Rev. Chanda is pastor. We are planning to sing and play recorder, Tulemi Totela (We Thank you God), and the youngest team members, Faith, Billie and Natalie, will be playing and singing Amazing Grace.

More soon, with pics, now that I have successful access. (honestly, it's better than it was in South Africa)

Love to all -
Lindsay and Trisha!

Our Hotel Room in Johannesburg

Sleepness Night, Again.

I've haven't slept for 5 hours straight yet, but I'm doing OK. Probably just too excited :) The wireless is being difficult, especially with photos. I'll keep trying and keep you posted. Thanks for the comments, folks here were very excited.

So, an update from here...

We all had a very nice dinner las night at the hotel restaurant. Fish, lamb and vegetarian dishes all-around, but Faith went for the beef ribs, and finished a very adult portion for all but 2 ribs. And then we had dessert! Fresh fish, ravioli and creme brulee are not expected to be on our menu in Zambia, it was an unexpected treat to have. The weather here spectacular. We leave after breakfast today, with our dirvers, Life and Eugene, for the airport for our flight to Zambia. More from there!

-Lindsay

We've Arrived!

In case you were wondering, 15 hours on a plane is really a long time!

We all arrived safely and had no problems going through the airport or customs. All are well, minus many swollen ankles! We are now at our hotel. (I'm working at the business center.) It's a VERY nice hotel. I'll upload more photos from the plane, drive to hotel and hotel pics when I figure out the wifi situation.

It's almost dinner time here, though we haven't had our lunch yet. I'll make another post by the end of tonight.

-Lindsay

A First Glimpse of Africa

Departure Photos

Group Departure Photo at Dulles

Missioners Depart!

The Missioners to Zambia departed Dulles airport this afternoon. Look for departure pictures at this site on Friday morning. Be in prayer for all the missioners as they travel to Johannesburg before departure to Zambia on Saturday.
-Cameron Edgar

Leaving Today

The missioners leave today. Pray that all make it to the airport without problems and that the good-byes with our families will be sweet and not too sad.

Dianne, Deana, Don, Natalie, Barb, Eric, Billie, Trisha, Brian, Lindsay, Sonia, Faith, Karen, Rosanne, Michele, Betty, Harold, Carrie, Mary Margaret, Ray

Be sure to check back in to see what the missioners are doing and what they are writing about. To see something just from one missioner, click on their name on the right side of the page, under 'Topics.'

Hello from Kitwe!

Patrick Chanda and Ed and Linda Miller were waiting for us at the airport. From Ndola, we drove the orphanage van and arrived at our hotel around 5pm. The highway was called, shockingly enough, the “Ndola-Kitwe Road”. The first township in Kitwe was Guangon, and they were selling goods on the sides of the highway. (Homemade baskets, corn, tomatoes, folding chairs, twin bunk beds and the whole road was lined with purple-flowering trees the size of a full grown maple tree. (Picture to follow)

Lindsay and my room is currently 85 degrees (my clock has a thermometer in case you were wondering.) The front desk equipped us with a large can of the brand named “Super Strike Flying and Crawling Insect Killer” spray. We guess that’s good. Oh, and we saw some real “free-range chickens” on the drive here. (Michele won’t feel so bad if she has to eat those.) Lindsay is convinced she’s being bitten, but there is no evidence to prove this… yet. (I love you Mom.) And surprisingly, no one lost any luggage. That’s it for now. Got a meeting soon. Very excited about being in Zambia.

Michele and Lindsay
September 29, 2007

Dianne is a GO!

Confirmation came late in the day yesterday that Dianne will, in fact, be able to join us! We are all very excited, her absence would have been hard on the team.

Time and Weather

Check out the right side of the page for local time for Kitwe, and general weather conditions for Lusaka, Zambia's capital city.

Need More Pictures Already?

People are saying they are anxious for more pictures from Kitwe. I can't post them here without permission, but I can help you find more... CLICK HERE

Or, check out this photographer's work as well. Very Powerful. CLICK HERE


Enjoy!

-Lindsay

Save the Date - Zambia Report

Be sure to join us on Sunday, November 18, 2007, at McLean Baptist Church for a full report on the mission trip to Chande Orphanage in Kitwe, Zambia.

To find out more about regular church services CLICK HERE.

4 Days and Counting

Surely all are excited. We leave for Zambia on Thursday. Please check back here to get updates as we get closer to our departure date, and certainly, as many updates as possible while we are in Africa. Be sure to leave comments for us here on the blog, an easy way for all of us to communicate with each other.

-Lindsay

Learning to Play

Our group has been spending much time over the past 9 months, preparing for the trip Kitwe, Zambia. Many sessions have focused on learning to play the recorder. We hope to bring a new music program to Chande Orphanage.

In this photo, taken March 10, 2007, Brian has the new players hold their hands to their mouths to feel their breath. He wants us to play with the 'warm' breath to achieve a pleasant tone. Faith and Billie, our youngest members, play with ease.

-Lindsay