Volleyball, July 4th and Kayonge

 The beginning of this week was a 2-day school holiday, so the Mumena B school hosted a sports tournament. This means the school building is a huge slumber party for 250+ kids. Yesterday, the tournament ended early, and the school teachers wanted Jason, Erin, Jeremy, the interns and I to play them in a game of volleyball. I was originally really excited about this idea, until I found out we were going to have to play with a soccer ball in place of an actual volleyball. We all suffered through the pain of using a soccer ball and played for two hours out on the school field. I really loved it, and we are scheduled for our next match this Saturday.

On Monday, our team celebrated the holiday by having an evening cook out. The 4th of July, being all about America, can make everyone a bit homesick so we ate lots of food, sang the national anthem and then lit corn cobs on fire that created the words "Happy Fourth!" Two girls that are working here in the peace core a few miles from us even came to celebrate. It was a great evening, even without hot dogs, fireworks and apple pie!

This past Sunday, Jeremy and I went to visit one of the main churches we work with named Kayonge. It was the best Sunday we have had there yet. Normally, Kayonge has been meeting in a school building. Their church building has been built of bricks for some years now, but still lacks a roof. This particular Sunday, the school where we meet was also having a sports day, so it forced us to use the roofless, lonely church building. As we sat on small stools, all huddled together, one of the church leaders began sharing some of the history of the Kayonge church and the hurt and abandonment the church members had been feeling. The two Zambian men who had started Kayonge church ended up leaving the church, giving out a terrible message, and therefore left only a small group of people remaining faithful to the Kayonge church. Most of this story we already knew, but this man couldn't help but get emotional because we were faced with once again meeting in this building that remained vacant and unfinished. Kayonge has been working to save money for iron sheets to build the roof, and they are so close to being ready. They will probably finish their church building next month-a huge victory!! Now, Kayonge consists of about five church leading men, four women and lots of children. One of the women is the wife to one of the church leaders who abandoned the church and his family. She was sitting in this church with us on Sunday, not knowing where her husband now lives. She is left with five children, one of which is not even one year old yet, but she remains faithful to the church. Jeremy and I were so touched and blessed by this small group of struggling Christians working to not give up their faith. Jeremy couldn't help but think of the story in Nehemiah of rebuilding the walls in Jerusalem and gave that message. He spoke of coming out of exile, not giving up and making the goal to rebuild. We left that morning feeling humbled and thankful for what the Lord had shown us through the Kayonge church that day.
-Whitney

A Ten-Minute Bike Ride on Zamtime!

For those of you that have ever been to a place where time is only a theory and not for practical life, you may relate to this story. For those that have been to Mumena and have walked the trails through the bush, you will also find this to be a bit funny. I was out in a village the other day visiting a friend. From there, I was due at a Bible study in a neighboring village. I was on bike and knew my way on the main path to get to the next village. It would have been an easy 30-minute ride. However, my friend informed me that there was a short cut through the bush that would cut my ride time by 20 minutes. Giving me more time to visit. As a good American, I was excited to know of a way to reduce my travel time and decided I would take this 10-minute trail. After hearing the directions, and feeling like it would be a very easy ride, I broke my rule of never traveling through the bush without a Zambian and ventured off to my next appointment. Needless to say, I shouldn’t have. Bush trails are extremely confusing and sometimes even hard to find. There may have been a trail that only took ten-minutes to travel on, but I certainly wasn’t on that one. I was riding full speed through the thick bush trail for thirty minutes when all of the sudden my trail ended and I had no idea where I was. On top of that, it was close to sun down and I had no flashlight, only half a bottle of water, and a vivid imagination of what goes on in the African bush after dark. Not a winning combination. So I immediately turned around and found the closest trail that looked the best and started riding hard thinking that eventually this trail will lead to civilization. After another 45 minutes of riding, I was blessed with a token of hope—an Officer packet (a small pouch sold locally containing a shot of alcohol). No this was not for consummation, but it was a sign that I was close to the village I needed to be at. As I followed the trail of liqueur packets, I finally got to my destination an hour and a half later. I missed the Bible study and barely made it out of the bush before dark. Lessons learned: 10 minutes = 1 ½ hours; never navigate the bush trails alone! -Jeremy

Where have all the white people gone?

The campaign group of 21 sweet visitors from the U.S. has come and gone. It was such a fantastic campaign, and I feel so blessed to have been a part of it. During the past 3 weeks we had lots of village visits, medical clinics, Bible studies and time in the Mumena B school. While Jason was busy leading a team of engineers to build a pavilion for our teaching facilities and Jeremy was taking a group out to work with church leaders in the bush, Erin and I had the pleasure of working with education here on site. My mom, Susan Mellor and Gail Rogers were working with the teachers and students of the school, which is just right outside our house. We had a blast with these ladies and were very encouraged by their words and actions. We had a great few weeks spending time with our elders and representatives from EB. We feel so blessed to be a part of East Brainerd, and it meant SO much to have some members here with us. Hillcrest members were also here, and I loved getting to see old and new faces from my home in Abilene, TX--such a great group of people representing Abilene!! We will miss everyone a lot. Here are some pictures of my family that were here as part of the group.

I'm back!!

It has been a couple of weeks since my last blog post. But as I had left it, I was headed to South Africa for the Come Before Winter womens conference. It was an amazing, indescribable week with 40 other women in ministry on the continent of Africa. Our theme, prayers and study for the week revolved around Psalm 103. We must have read that Psalm fifty times or more through the week. I developed some sweet relationships with South African women, women from the states that came to encourage us and a couple missionary women that are working in Rwanda. I was ready to return home by the end of the week to Jeremy, but it was such a blessing to experience what I did this past week. I have already received over 15 emails just in the past two days since we've been home from the women we attended the conference with- encouraging the whole group as we go back to the challenges of the mission field.
The campaign arrives this Thursday, June 9. For the next two weeks after that, we will be busy, and then I am sure at the end of June I will have a large post about the campaign. I am BEYOND excited to receive all the hugs that people in the states give out :). I am BEYOND excited to see my family. I am BEYOND excited to receive my precious cookbook that my grandmother has been putting together for me for over a year now.
Please keep us in your prayers as we work hard this month to spread the love of Christ with all of the extra help that will be here.

Chilly Weather

It has been a busy month as we prepare for the campaign to arrive (25 Americans are coming!!!). We are really excited about the month of June. We have been testing out air mattresses, hanging mosquito nets, preparing our Zambian friends and getting the schedule ready for the group that is coming in on June 9th. We will have 12 people coming from East Brainerd church of Christ in Chattanooga, TN (our supporting congregation), and the rest will be coming from Hillcrest in Abilene, TX. We are pumped!
Jeremy and I have an anthill back behind our house, and it was Jeremy’s dream to have a kensanza built on top of it so we could see out and watch part of the sunset. Of course, we cannot see all of it because a big termite mound is in the way. It is relaxing sitting under our open hut, and it’s best in the early mornings and at sunset.
On June 29, Erin, Sondra and I have an exciting trip to Port Elizabeth, South Africa. We were invited to a Come Before Winter retreat/women’s conference. I actually remember hearing about Come Before Winter in college. It is a retreat set up by Americans for women missionaries. They go to different locations all over the world to encourage them. I feel so blessed to be going. I was telling Erin today that it may be overwhelming to be around that many white people again. Haha, that sounds silly, but seriously--it has been awhile. I am so thankful we are going. It will be refreshing and such a gift. Jeremy will be left all by his lonesome in the bush. Except his Uncle Brian had pity on him and has invited Jeremy and Jason to eat at his house every night for the week. We will get back in to Mumena on June 5, a few days before the campaign begins.
As the U.S. is gearing up for the summer season we are beginning to feel the Zambian chill of winter. The coldest months will be June and July. This past week, I began meeting with the younger girls again for our Bible study. We had to take a break during April because they were on school holiday. We have a new girl who has joined our study. She is about 16 or 17 years old and has an 8-month old baby. She is not in school. I wondered how the younger school girls were going to take to this new change, but they welcomed her so sweetly. In March, I had taught them the card game “spoons”, and they have now asked if they can come early, play spoons for half an hour, and then begin the Bible study. How could I refuse? It is so fun watching them play.

Field Day

Last week Jeremy and I decided to ride out to a village and work with a family in their field. Most Zambians who choose to farm are working in their fields every morning. It is not the best time to go out and visit villages in the mornings, because you will usually not find people at home. Jeremy and I rode our bikes out to the village and left them at the family’s hut. The family had already been out for two hours working, so we began the walk through the bush to meet up with them in their field.

As soon as we came to the clearing, the family came running to greet us—they made us feel welcome. They had been out in the hot sun working for two hours already. Cosmas and Josephine were digging up their peanuts (in Zambia they are called ground nuts). Then, all of the children were collecting them and putting in a pile. Jeremy and I really appreciated the fact that the whole family was working together and enjoying each other’s company. This past week was a school holiday so even the older children got to help. Jeremy and I both tried out pulling up the ground nuts, but I mostly helped collect the crops. It was such a neat time to spend with this family, and I know we developed a deeper friendship that day. Jeremy and I had great respect for them to see how hard they were working and all of them spending together. They were very happy out in the field and couldn’t stop laughing the whole time we were out there. Most Zambians think white people are very fragile with our fair skin.

After we finished in the field, we all headed back to the hut, and Josephine fixed everyone lunch—nshema and greens. We visited for a couple more hours and then Jeremy and I went home. It was a fulfilling day, even though we were dead tired. I’m thankful for the time and days that go like this.

Spring in Mumena

The month of April went by fast, but we are ready to get back to our usual schedule in the bush. The Muzha wa Yesu seminar went very well. Jeremy spent two weeks teaching on the Kingdom of God and going through all of the important Bible stories that prepared the way for Jesus. We were blessed to be a part of the seminar this year. Three years ago when it was started, Brian Davis and others were planting seeds and battling with a culture that was twisted and confused. This year has been a break through on many levels, and we are starting to see the fruits of the labor from the past three years. We began to see church leaders tearing up because they are realizing the sadness in the world, and the need for Jesus. We saw men pleading with their fellow brothers in Christ to start digging deeper in their studies and teachings. It was a great month, and we are thankful for all of the prayers for the seminar.

Today is the first day of May, and we are excited! First of all, because May means June is right around the corner, when we will see 30 campaigners coming over from Tennessee and Texas. We are also ready to dive back in to language learning. Language learning had to take a back seat to the seminar, so Jeremy and I will begin working again with Cosmas for an hour each day. Yesterday, Jeremy and I went out to the soccer field to watch a game. Jeremy, of course, was asked to play and felt he was surely up for the task. He twisted his ankle after a few minutes into the game and had to watch from the sidelines the rest of the time. If you know Jeremy and sports, then you know I have been to the ER three times due to church league softball accidents. Well, we don’t have an “ER” in Mumena, so I was a bit nervous about my husband breaking his leg. While Jeremy watched with the team, I sat with my sweetest little friend, Linyondi. Linyondi is Cosmas’s son, and he and I just have a connection. He is only five years old but told his Dad this morning that he has really got to start learning English better, so he and I can spend time talking together.

The weather has completely changed! The rainy season is over, and we will not see another drop until November. The air is cool in the evenings and mornings, and the stars are bright at night.

This is Jeremy's group of first year students who he had in class for two weeks. Thank you for the continued prayers!