T.I.A. This Is Africa....

Life from the other side of the planet..........


Mulishawni again from Ndola, Zambia Africa.

Well, it's been another full day so we thought we'd send a note to keep you posted. 1st of all, this is my last night to write for awhile. Starting tomorrow each of our team members will fill you in from "their" worldy perspective of life in Africa...that's the cool part about being on a team...sharing. And we've done a ton of it.

So, what do: visits to airports, blue toilet paper and "dealing in the millions" have to do with each other ?

The answer: "TIA" meaning That Is Africa.

The money here is in kwatches: 4000 to the $1.00. Get's difficult when you start dealing in money beyond $50.00. Doesn't take much to become a millionare here...in kwatches that is.

Blue toilet paper - just haven't quite discovered why blue ??? Must be covering up something.......

Visits to Airports - awh...so glad you asked.

Ok, here's the new update. Of the 24 bags that we started with, 22 arrived. Yeah, you guessed it, the 2 that didn't arrive belonged to Tim & I . One was fabric for the Zambia Project, the other personal. In my personal was something I really cared about: my cd player with our worship music for the team. Team 2, arriving next week, has a few worship leaders, but we don't so I brought my cd player.
Ok, so after 3 country border crossings, 3 different airline contacts and countless times of being told that "your luggage has been found", it really was found.....kinda. Of the 2 bags we got 1,and of that guess what's missing ? You guessed it. Our worship music and cd player! ARG! Well, we can only image that the theif will enjoy getting to know Jesus since all the music is about Him. What the enemy tries to use for bad, God will use for good. :)

We had an amazing day in Mapalo today with 10 million kids. WOW...our hearts were touched and broken by the children and the poverty. It's both simple and difficult to love in situations such as this.

Some of the team had a chance today to go to the Village Quansee to be a part of some hygeine and sanitation training. We hope to go again on Saturday.

Our team and our hearts are being bonded daily with each other and with the Zambians. Each night we spend a few hours together around the table just being real and vulnerable. God is moving. We came with no expectations and it's a good thing, because each day is a new day of the unknown of what may happen that day. We're learning to trust God in what His plan is and not ours. Today's devotion was the scripture "cast your burdens on the Lord, because He cares for you". We had a really sweet time understanding the depth of that scripture and encouraging each other.

Our cultures are vastly different and learning to do life in Africa is much different than life in America. There's no Home Depot here. Our power goes out on Thursdays. You don't always flush the toilet paper, you brush your teeth with bottled water, you always carpool and normally with at least 6 others...no matter where you're going. BUT, the common bond...love. God's love. It's why we're here. We're not only building a building, we're building a church...a foundation...a light in the darkness...a place for people to come and be loved. We're helping plant seeds in fertile soil. Thanks for helping us all be a part of the Zambia Project :)

Well, that's it for now. Know that we are praying for all of you. We are all well and excited for what each new day brings. It's truly the unknown. :)
Tempe & Team Zambia