The Cooks in Zambia

Leaving on a Jet Plane

2009-01-09T09:24:00.000-08:00

Today is our final day in Zambia, as we board a plane back to South Carolina, ending our term as guest house managers. We had a wonderful time of fellowship with our mission family last night and were very grateful for the many words of encouragement. We have loved serving in Zambia and serving amongst our heroes (those who take the gospel to the ends of the earth). We will ALWAYS cherish our experiences here and will never forget the people we came to love. We will miss so many of you who have touched our hearts, and we are hoping that we will have the opportunity to return to Zambia soon. Thank you, Zambia, for loving us so much!

Me and my best friend, Suzie Rodgers

We will arrive in South Carolina, USA, on Saturday, January 10th.

This will be our last posting to this blogspot. Please go to

www.cookdaysofourlives.blogspot.com

for new adventures in the States, updates from our children, and more.

Gift from Denmark VBS

2009-01-08T09:12:00.000-08:00

Goliath (on the left) and Patrick (on the right) with the 3 new chalkboards used for teaching Bible school in the bush.

Last summer the First Baptist Church of Denmark raised some money during their VBS, and we have been looking for different ministry opportunities to help out with. After talking with some of the missionaries on the Eastern Harvest Team, we decided to use some of the money to build chalkboards for the teaching in the bush. Patrick Mutale, who has helped do some of the tile work at the guest house, was able to find a carpenter willing to make these boards in record time before we left Zambia. Goliath, the carpenter, did a very nice job in making 3 chalkboards which will be used in 3 different areas in the bush to teach Bible school to young men aspiring to become pastors in Zambia. The Bible schools are led by 3 of our missionaries, Kevin Rodgers, Van Thompson, and John McPherson. I know these men are thankful for the gift from Denmark FBC, and will enjoy using these boards to teach the word of God.

Lunch (Zambian Style)

2009-01-07T08:52:00.000-08:00

The one and only opportunity for my parents to eat a Zambian meal was during lunch one day at the guest house. We invited the staff to help prepare the meal and eat with us outside in the Lion's Den. Elistina and Esnart prepared and cooked several Zambian traditional dishes. We had nshima (mealie meal), fried chicken, rape (greens), tomato and onion sauce, chiwawa (pumpkin leaves with ground nuts), and inswa (fried termites).

This is Kelsey's reaction after eating the termite! Everyone, except for my mom, tasted one (yes, only one, that was enough to taste it).

Kalimba Farms

2009-01-06T08:46:00.000-08:00

The kids wanted their grandparents to visit the crocodile farm while they were in Zambia, so we took them out for a visit. The Rodgers family joined us there and we had lunch together. The grandparents were NOT interested in holding any snakes!

Coby holding a turtle.

Orphans of Zambia

2009-01-03T12:03:00.000-08:00

My parents brought greetings from some of their friends back home in Denmark, SC, and one family decided to send some gifts to the orphans in Zambia. I began calling a few of the places where I had been before to see what kinds of things they needed. One place called the House of Moses is an orphanage for babies aged 0-2 years. Some have lost both parents, and some are abandoned. We were able to use the gifts from the Cornforth family to provide milk formula, mealie meal, and cleaning supplies for this orphanage. The staff was very appreciative of this gift, and we enjoyed delivering it to them and getting to see all the babies.

After this visit, we went to another home where one lady, Elizabeth, has adopted 15 orphaned children, and she takes care of them in her home. The oldest is 16 years and the youngest is 2 years old. They are a special family, and we delivered mealie meal, rice, juice, cleaning supplies, and school supplies to this family. We enjoyed a wonderful song from these children and enjoyed talking with them and learning from them.

Our last visit was supposed to be to the community school of World Child Care, where I have been before trying to start a ministry. Unfortunately we did not get to actually go to the school, but we met with the directors and presented a supply of first aid care for the children at this school. Many of them are orphaned or vulnerable children and the school provides education for over 150 of these children. First aid was a challenge for them and we were happy to bless them with the gifts from the Cornforths.

Thank you so much, Cornforth Family, for spreading your wealth in Zambia. We were privileged to share in your blessings by being the deliverer of these gifts. The people we spoke to and listened to are very grateful for your generosity.

Flying Mission to Namwala

2008-12-31T21:34:00.000-08:00

After our trip to Livingstone, the following day Ricky, Dad, and Randy Greenwood flew to Namwala to work on a mission house. Dad had never flown on a small plane before, so this was a first for him. Once they arrived, they surveyed the work to be completed that day. They were able to build one door to a closet and two closets in the bathroom and hallway. Now we all know that it was probably difficult for Wyman not to have all his tools there with him, so this was an experience in itself! They stayed all day and flew back before dark. On the way home, the pilot flew over the Kafue Flats and they were able to see hundreds of animals, mostly impala, zebra, lechwe, hippo, and crocodiles. It was too hard to get good pictures from the plane.The Namwala house (below)

Bedroom closet fixed

Bathroom closet before...

Bathroom closet after...

Views from the plane

Random Pics from our trip to Livingstone

2008-12-30T11:49:00.000-08:00

Coby & Kelsey with the zebra at Zambezi Sun
Meme with the zebra
An overturned truck we passed on the way home (that's a lot of mealie meal)

Women carrying their goods on their heads, and babies on the back

Coby, Kelsey, and Ricky at the top of the Falls

Meme and Kelsey at the top of the Falls

Coby doing a handstand in the pool

Kelsey running out of the pool

The bridge between Zambia and Zimbabwe which is used for bungee jumping (and where Ricky would have gone if I'd have let him!)

A beautiful bird we saw on safari

The many trucks at the border of Botswana waiting to pass customs

Victoria Falls, of course

2008-12-30T11:17:00.000-08:00

Yes, the reason we came all this way was to see one of the 7 wonders of the world - Victoria Falls! As soon as we arrived on Sunday we put on our raincoats and headed to the Falls. Being the 2nd time we have seen this wonder, I was able to watch my parents as they saw it for the first time. Their reaction to the greatness of God's creation was priceless. I enjoyed taking the pictures (underneath my umbrella, of course) of Mom and Dad and the kids. Enjoy our favorites!

Safari Day to Botswana

2008-12-29T12:20:00.000-08:00

Early to rise to meet the bus for our all day safari in Botswana at Chobe National Park. First we had to ride the bus 45 minutes to the border between Zambia and Botswana. Here we had to go through immigration office for stamping of the passports. Then, we met a boat to ferry us across the Zambezi River. On the other side of the river, we had to make another immigration stop and cross over the cleaning mat to clean off any "foot and mouth disease" we had carrying with us on our shoes. After arriving into Botswana, we went to the Chobe Safari Lodge where we boarded a cruise boat for a 2-hour river game cruise. We saw lots of birds, hippo, elephant, lechwe, one crocodile, and we even got to step into the country of Namibia while watching the cape buffalo. Niki was so excited from being in Namibia that she hit her head coming into the boat. Ouch! After everyone was sure Niki did not pass out or have a concusion, the cruise continued. After the cruise, we had lunch back at the Chobe Safari Lodge, and then it was off to the Park for the game drive. We were greeted by the baboons and impala. This is the time of year for impala (and all of the animals) to have their babies, and, boy, we saw lots of babies! We saw more elephants (and baby elephants), warthogs (and baby warthogs), sable, giraffe, and kudu. One exciting part of our game drive was seeing 2 elephants fighting, or at least, one defending his territory. After our game drive with our guide, Rambo, we returned to the ferry to cross back into Zambia. Because Mom and Dad had single entry visas into Zambia when they arrived on the 20th, they had to pay AGAIN for another single entry visa when coming back from Botswana. Dad thinks they should spend the extra visa money on fixing the roads! Our day ended about 6pm when we returned to the Zambezi Sun Hotel, just in time for the kids to take a quick swim before dinner. You can check out all our safari pictures in the previous blog on the slideshow.

Chobe Safari in Botswana

2008-12-29T07:48:00.000-08:00

Trip to Livingstone

2008-12-28T11:29:00.000-08:00

We left Lusaka at 6:00am for our drive to Livingstone. We packed a lunch of sandwiches for the long ride ahead. Along the way, we saw many "new" things for Mom and Dad including this man carrying straw on his bicycle...

We did have to make a couple of pit stops along the way. We stopped at the Golden Pillow Lodge where they have a restaurant and bathrooms...

The road was fine until we got to the detour...

The detour took about 30 minutes, and we could see the main road to our left, so it was like we were on the frontage road. The workers have removed all that was left of the tarmac (pavement) and have begun grading the road for new pavement. The detour road was actually not that bad, only a few "humps" (speed bumps) every few meters. And we laughed at all the road signs...

After the detour, we were headed for the worst road ever. It was a bumpy 35 minutes along the last stretch before arriving into Livingstone...

Finally, after 7 long hours, we made it to Livingstone, arriving at the Zambezi Sun Hotel, where we were greeted by the tribal dancers...

Stay tuned for more stories from our trip to Livingstone!

Baptism Video

2008-12-27T07:41:00.000-08:00

Kelsey's Baptism

2008-12-25T12:20:00.000-08:00

Today, Christmas Day 2008, Kelsey was baptized in the Chongwe River in Zambia! We were joined by Kelsey's grandparents (the Abstances) and the Rodgers family. Kevin Rodgers gave the opening, then Ricky got to baptize Kelsey, and her Pop Pop gave a closing prayer. She was very excited to have her best friend, Hannah, there to witness this special occasion in her life. The water was a bit chilly, but when she came up from the water, her words were, "That was cool!" And she wasn't referring to the temperature of the water, she was stating what an awesome experience that it was to be baptized. Thank you Kevin and Suzie, Zach, Justin, and Hannah for sharing with us your home and your time! Kelsey will always remember her baptism on Christmas Day in Zambia.

Here we are traveling across the river rocks to find a good spot for the baptism.

Uncle Kevin explaining about baptism.

Best friends - Kelsey and Hannah

Merry Christmas

2008-12-25T00:00:00.000-08:00

Before... (around 6:30am)

During...

After... (around 7:00am) - Now it's playtime!!!

Parent's Day 4 - Christmas Eve in Zambia

2008-12-24T13:03:00.001-08:00

On this rainy Christmas Eve we stayed around the guest house mostly. Dad and Ricky went downtown to buy more tile for the project going on here in one of the rooms. Mom and I made chocolate covered pretzels. We were also busy making a video to send back to Denmark for their Christmas Eve service. It took about 6 takes before we got the video complete. The kids wanted to take Meme and PopPop over to the showgrounds and show them the horses. So while Ricky & I stayed at home to prepare lunch and wrap a few presents, the kids took the grandparents for a walk across the street and into the muddy pasture. They saw the baby colt and loved on all the other horses. They also gave Edward (their friend at the stables) a New Testament Bible that PopPop had brought from the States.

Dad is checking out the fleet of BMOZ vehicles parked at the guest house.

Boys will be boys! Ricky and Dad playing Wii.

Tonight, we went to the Marlin for our Christmas Eve dinner. We took the kids here last year on Christmas Eve, so I guess we made a tradition.

Christmas Singing in Zambia

2008-12-24T00:16:00.000-08:00

Parent's Day 3 - Shopping

2008-12-23T11:42:00.000-08:00

Tuesday, our day started out by shopping at Game. We were buying another refrigerator for the guest house, and so we gave Mom and Dad the opportunity to visit our "Walmart" for the experience. Game is located at one of the shopping malls - Manda Hill. They were very busy this day, so we decided to get the refrigerator delivered so we wouldn't have to wait on it.

After going to the shopping mall, we went to the "real" shopping of Zambia - in the open market. First, we passed the vegetable section, then it was on passed the lady getting her hair done (under the hair dryer), then through some mud puddles in the "aisle" (actually we had to jump a few). We arrived at Albert's wood working shop to purchase a few goodies. We made our way down the aisles to where the ladies were cooking all sorts of things, but we had to pass by the ladies cleaning fish (which Mom did not fair well smelling that), and across the way, a lady was cleaning and chopping up a chicken - fast food! We showed them the many different types of food you can buy ready to eat at the market, like caterpillars, inswa (termites), kapenta (dried baby minnows), all with a side of chips (french fries). YUM! Mom and Dadloved the experience of the market - with all its sights, sounds, and even the SMELLS!

After the open market, we had to make a trip downtown Lusaka, which was very busy. Here is the main round-about leading into the downtown area.
We ended the night with a Subway sandwich and a movie rental (from Blockbuster, of course). These Subway employees thought we were really weird taking pictures of the menus and the food. They thought they were celebrities. Mom & Dad said it wasn't the same taste as Subway of Williston. We couldn't get Wyman to leave the mall because he was videoing the Christmas music sung by a church group outside the mall.

During the movie, Mom kept the mosquitos away with our handy tennis racket/bug zapper. She was very entertained the whole night!!!

Parent's Day 2 - Protea Lodge

2008-12-22T12:07:00.000-08:00

Protea Hotel Safari Lodge is located about one hour outside of Lusaka. This is the rooftop of the main reception area where we ate lunch.
This is an orphan elephant from South Luangwa Park. Her name is Mkumvu (I think this is the spelling), and she is 17 years old. Mom was a little scared of her when she came up to the truck and sniffed everyone out!
Coby is trying to feed her.

A couple of zebra running away from our oncoming safari vehicle.

This bushbuck decided to eat from the foliage around the reception area. Pop Pop was a little brave and petted it, but he advised Kelsey not to get too close since he bit Dad on the hand.

Everyone is looking on as the bushbuck eats.

The lions were hard to see today. This is the son... the daddy was locked up.

This is the momma lion.

The kids talked the guide into climbing on the elephant like before. He was kind of dusty, but the kids didn't care about getting dirty. Mom and Dad refrained from climbing on!

Goodbye, Mkumvu!!!

Hartebeest

We saw lots of baby animals today, as this is the season for babies being born.

Sable

Eland

Parent's Day 1

2008-12-21T11:06:00.000-08:00

The parents slept well the first night. We even had to wake them for breakfast! We attended Twin Palms Baptist for worship, and were surprised to find the children leading the service this morning. They had a Christmas play and the children led the music.

Dirt road leading to the church

Twin Palms Baptist Church

Children's Christmas Play

Leaving the church, we took the parents through Kalingalinga area which is where you can buy almost anything - on the side of the road. This was a good picture of a part of Zambia and how people work and live. They saw people breaking rocks, pushing charcoal, and selling all kinds of things.

These buckets are made for washing your hands, like a sink!

These people are crushing rocks one by one with either another big rock or sometimes a hammer. You can see by the mud puddle that we are in the rainy season now.

This guy going across the road is carrying charcoal. You can see the metal gates for sale in the background. The blue van coming down the road is what we call "mini buses."

After church, we went to one of our favorite restaurants, Rhapsody's, and enjoyed a delicious meal. Dad took my advice on the Chicken Espatada!Then we ventured through the market to find some souveniors. Dad and Mom even found their way to the Subway to check it out. We went back to the house to give the parents a nap, and then we ended our night at our International Bible Study. After bible study, we watched a live interpretive movement from College Street Baptist Church via Skype. (Thanks CSBC for including us in your worship service!)

They are here...in Zambia!

2008-12-20T11:04:00.000-08:00

Well, my(Niki's) parents, Wyman and Jan Abstance, have arrived in Zambia. It has been 17 months since we have seen any family, and we are so excited they are here to visit us. They had a good flight - on Ethiopian Airways - and everything arrived safely. They were only delayed about 40 minutes, but other than that it seems all was good. We have kept them up all afternoon so that they can get their time clocks adjusted to Zambian time. We will keep the blog posted about all our adventures while they are here for 21 days. They are fighting sleep as I'm blogging this, and it's just after 9pm. They should get some rest tonight, unless they wake up in the middle of the night from our neighbor's (see previous blog).

Sorry for the man's head in the way... the airport was so busy with people everywhere. You see their luggage behing Mom made it to Zambia without any problems! Yeah!

Up On the Rooftop...

2008-12-19T23:19:00.000-08:00

Click, Click, Click...

No, it wasn't old Saint Nick!

At 5:45am Ricky and I awoke to this clicking sound on the roof. When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter. Away to the window I flew like a flash,Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash. Ricky actually didn't open the shutters since the windows are already open, but he arose and rushed to find the school field next door covered in white birds. There must have been several hundred. When he returned with the camera, most of them had flown away. We tried going back to sleep, but kept hearing the clicking noise on the roof. Finally, Ricky went outside to find these crows on top of our roof. I guess they were angry at the white birds, and were showing their frustrations by banging on our rooftop. Needless to say, we were wide awake and could not go back to sleep. And this happened to be the night that we were kept awake until 3am with our neighbors partying, and then to be awakened by these early birds!

With Great Sadness

2008-12-19T12:06:00.000-08:00

Psalm 107: 6-9 "Lord, help!" they cried in their trouble, and he rescued them from their distress. He led them straight to safety, to a city where they could live. Let them praise the Lord for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them. For he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.

We are resigning our term with the IMB as guest house managers in Lusaka, Zambia, and plan to back in Walhalla, South Carolina, in January 2009. We have truly enjoyed our 15 months serving in Zambia, and this decision has been one of the hardest decisions we have ever had to make. You have been our prayer partners for this mission endeavor, and we are encouraged by your continual prayers and your commitment to partner with us in the work.

Why are we returning home?!!!

Ever since we arrived on the field, we have struggled with home schooling. All three of the kids had attended public school in the states, and as much as we tried to home school, it just did not fit our family. The fact that we were running the guest house out of our home and trying to home school three children (ages 12, 10, and 7) amongst the chaos was not cohesive.
Also, shortly after arrival to Zambia, our son, Austin, was diagnosed with severe anxiety. He was then diagnosed with asthma. Our two youngest, Coby and Kelsey, were hit with allergic reactions which caused them to go on allergy medicine every day to prevent breaking out in rashes. Still, after Satan’s attacks, we were still obedient. It seemed that we were traveling for medical purposes every couple of months. We were encouraged to try some different methods of home schooling, and it was recommended that we get the kids into a school system. This year has really been tough on the whole family, and we began to “cry out” for help.

We began the process of searching for better options for our children, but in the end it was determined that the best decision for us at this time would be to return to the states. After much counsel and many, many tears the Lord has drawn near to us in this time, and He has given us a peace about our decision and a grace to not only be okay with our situation, but even be excited about what He has planned for our family.

We still covet your prayers as we seek what the Lord has in our next chapter. Nothing has changed in our hearts. Our desire is still to serve our Lord and be obedient to Him. All that has changed is our geography. We love you all and look forward to keeping you posted. Thanks to all of those who have already responded in prayer to God and encouragement to us.

We have known throughout all of the change of our plans and throughout this time of struggle that God has not left us. He is ever-faithful. He always has been and always will be. We see this as another chapter in our lives. As stewards of our children, we simply desire to aid in the molding and shaping and forming of Austin, Coby, and Kelsey’s hearts and lives in a way that is most pleasing and honoring to the Lord. Please pray that God will grant us grace and mercy and wisdom and discernment to be the parents that we need to be for our children.

Friends

2008-12-19T11:44:00.000-08:00

Today was our last day of home school as we get ready for the holidays. We spent the afternoon and early evening in Chongwe with our good friends, the Rodgers. When we arrived, Hannah had to give Kelsey a present - the apron you see her wearing in the picture. Hannah has a matching one, so they wanted to cook something. Here they are after making chocolate pudding. They licked the bowl and spoon afterwards.

I wish we would have gotten pictures of them after dinner, when they went outside to play in the mud! They were so dirty! Coby and Kelsey had to have baths when we got back home. We had wanted to leave before dark so we would not travel in the night, but we left a little late and the sun had already gone down. On the way back to Lusaka, which is only 31km, we passed 4 cars without brake lights, and we came up on one big truck broken down on the partial side of the road. We were lucky that we saw the branches in the road marking the signal that a truck was in the road broken down. Added to this, there are no street lights and no lines on the road, so you have to guess where your lane is. That is why it is so dangerous to travel at night in Zambia!

We praise God we arrived home safely!

Austin being funny

2008-12-10T06:15:00.001-08:00

Austin took this picture with the webcam and sent us this email today with the words "Bubblegum!" Thanks Austin for showing us your bubblegum.

Hannah's Birthday Party

2008-12-09T21:17:00.000-08:00

All the kids: (back row) Callie, Anna, Zach, Austin, Troy, Justin; (front row) Trent, Daniel, Coby, Kelsey, Hannah, Dorcas, Deborah

Kelsey's best friend, Hannah, had a birthday party at Adventure City yesterday. As soon as the kids finished school, we met everyone out there. Shortly after arrival, Coby finds a chameleon. He played with that thing the whole time we were there. The little critter entertained the adults, too, by catching the flies on our table. Coby insisted on bringing her (Camille) home, so I agreed. She is now living somewhere in their tree house. I was actually considering letting them keep it inside, but we read that it's very hard to keep them alive. Everyone had a great time at the party. Thanks, Hannah, for having a birthday so we could all celebrate with you!

I am a C-H-R-I-S-T-I-A-N

2008-12-06T05:28:00.000-08:00

On Friday, December 5, 2008, Kelsey asked Jesus to come into her heart. She is now a Christian! We have been talking with her for quite some time and now she is finally ready. We are so proud of her for making this important decision in her life. Please pray for Kelsey as she grows each day in her relationship with the Lord, our Savior.

Chongwe River

2008-12-05T05:09:00.000-08:00

We took a break after school on Friday to go visit our friends in Chongwe. As always, the kids love to go down to the river to swim. The boys enjoyed climbing the trees and rocks and jumping into the river, while the girls hung out on the banks to test the waters. We drew a crowd of children who were very interested to see what the mzungus (white people) would do.

Kelsey attempting to get on the float while I held it from floating away.
The on-lookers!

Austin jumping out of the tree into the river.

Austin jumping off the rock, and Coby is following by example.

Coby jumping out of the tree into the river.

Ladies Retreat

2008-12-02T00:15:00.000-08:00

On Monday following the Prayer Retreat, the ladies got to go away for 24 hours to a lodge outside of Lusaka. We had so much fun laughing and talking with one another. The theme for our retreat was "The Hats We Wear."

Ladies group before leaving Lusaka

Me with my "hat" - I didn't know I was wearing it incorrectly until I got home and the kids told me how a knight wears his helmet. I guess I should've researched more on that!

Songja Pack

Lindy Howard

Suzie Rodgers

Dawnya Kimbrough

Gerri Helton

Our Hat Group

Prayer Retreat 2008

2008-12-01T08:06:00.000-08:00

We have just been through a weekend Prayer Retreat with our Zambia Mission Cluster. Several of our team members are serving Stateside right now, so can you imagine how many of us there would have been? It was a wonderful time to share with our mission family, and with our Maker and Redeemer. The Prayer Retreat was held from Friday to Sunday at the Guest House, and a volunteer team from Longview Heights Baptist Church in Olive Branch, Mississippi came to minister to us and our 21 MK's. Here are some pictures from our weekend:

Baptist Mission of Zambia

Volunteer Team- (back row) L to R: Chase House, Alan Wilson, Chris Clark, Michael John Clement; (front row) L to R: Adam Clark, Sarah Puddephat, Zach Medlock, David Windham, Amie Clark, Billy Wilson. Thanks to our Ministry Team!!!

The Younger Kids

The bigger kids

Zach

Coby and Hannah

Lauren

Hutch

Isaac

Kelsey & Hannah

(back row)-Austin, Amie, Anna S., Alan

(front row)-Lily, Anna B., Adam

David & Austin

Michael John - our worship leader

Austin
Michael John, Daniel, Caleb, Kelsey, Abby, Hannah, Isabell, Coby

Zach was a big hit with the "girls"
Daniel, Caleb, and Coby singing

And we all loved the Dr. Peppers and all the other "goodies" given away!!!!!!!

Back in the swing of things

2008-11-21T00:14:00.000-08:00

We are back from Johannesburg, South Africa. We had a good time visiting some places in Joburg that we have not been before.

One place was Monte Casino. Yes, they have a casino inside, but it's a really neat place. It's the neatest mall I have ever been to. You feel like you're walking down a village in Italy. The ceilings are painted with sky, stars, birds, etc. They have a Bird Garden outside that we went to and watched a bird show. We are not really big bird fans, but it was very interesting to watch the birds and learn some new things about each one. They also had other animals like mongoose, snakes, frogs, monkeys, but the kids really liked feeding the parakeets. One got on top of Austin's head and started pecking at his hair.

We also went to Gold Reef City, which is similar to Six Flags/Carowinds. The kids rode some rides twice because it wasn't very busy. Then it began to rain, so they shut down the rides, and we left. Unfortunately, no rain checks are given out during the rainy season.

Upon returning home we have been getting lots of rain. On 19 November we had 74mm - I think it rained all night. It really cooled things off, and we had to pull out the blankets for a couple of nights. Now, we are getting ready for a busy time at the guest house. The 40/40 training has just ended today and we have a group staying this weekend, then next week all of our missionaries come in for a prayer retreat rom 28-30 November. We are looking forward to hosting everyone here at the guest house in Lusaka. I have gotten a couple of ladies to join me in doing an interpretive movement, and I will be singing a solo for one session. Pray for our time together as a team that we may hear God speaking to us. We will be praying for our people groups who we serve in Zambia - Bemba, Nsenga, Tonga, Lozi, just to name a few.

Also, we encourage everyone to take part in the week of prayer for international missions 30 Nov-7 Dec. The simple truth is that we couldn't be here without your gifts to the Lottie Moon Christmas offering. Those gifts are the means by which we devote ourselves to full-time ministry, providing us with a place to call home, food, medical care - even schooling for our children. It is both a humbling and exhilarating experience to live life dependent on the faithfulness and generosity of Southern Baptists. Thank You! Please know that many people around the world are truly celebrating Christmas for the first time this year because of your sacrifice for God's Kingdom.

R&R in Joburg

2008-11-15T04:56:00.000-08:00

We have been in Johannesburg, South Africa for the past few days. We had a few doctor appointments and then we wanted to stay for some R&R. Friday we went to Gold Reef City, which is an amusement park similar to Six Flags or Carowinds. The kids had fun riding rides, but then it started to rain and they shut down most of the rides. Then, we went to the movies, and we, of course, have been eating out at many restaurants, including McDonald's, Il Capo (Italian), KFC, Mugg & Bean, The Pancake House, Ichiban (Japanese), and more to come. We will return to Zambia on Monday.

Protea Lodge

2008-11-07T03:35:00.000-08:00

The kids have been working very hard this week, so we wanted to reward them with a "field trip" to Protea Lodge this morning. Protea Hotel Safari Lodge is located north of Lusaka about 45km. Several people have recommended this to us, and finally we were able to get away for the morning. Unfortunately, we still had to do school when we returned from our trip.

Kelsey counted 8 zebra, but as we were watching we noticed there were more in the background behind the trees.

Male Puku (standing)

Red Hartebeest

Eland - we like his horns!

Male Kudu - this one had a beautiful set of horns, just perfect!

Kudu eating from the tree as the zebra look on.

Our driver stopped for the elephant to enter the road. He was having a snack of "tree branch."

They asked if the kids would like to sit on this 17 year old elephant. So they climbed right on as the rangers fed her.

As soon as the elephant rose up, Kelsey said, "Whoa! This is really high!" The elephant's skin was rough and very wrinkled.

They have a family of 4 lions which are kept in a large enclosure. This one in the forefront is the daddy, then the mother behind him. Notice that the daddy does not have a big mane. He lost it when his son took over. You will see the son in a picture below.

This is the daughter.

This is the "bad" son. He is being kept in this cage because he fights with his daddy when they are together in the open. The ranger led us to the cage, and as he was unlocking it, we were thinking we were going into his pen. Then we had to crawl in this pen to get to his individual cage. Austin followed the ranger, and Coby & Kelsey were right behind Austin. But when Austin got to the cage, the lion growled, and Coby & Kelsey backed up as fast as they could to get out of there. We couldn't see there was a door that closed his cage, because all the other doors we passed were open. It was kind of scary being this close to a roaring lion!

October = Suicide Month

2008-11-03T12:56:00.000-08:00

Baking. Blistering. Boiling. Brutal. Burning. Cruel. Fiery. Flaming. Oppressive. Piping Hot. Red-Hot. Roasting. Scalding. Scorching. Searing. Sizzling. Steamy. Sticky. Stifling. Stuffy. Sultry. Summery. Sweaty. Sweltering. Thermal. Torrid. Tropical. Warm. White-hot.

They call the month of October in Zambia "Suicide Month" because the heat is so outrageously hot, and there's nothing you can do about it! Many have tried different techniques to become cooler in this dry, hot month. First, we PRAY. We pray for the rains to come and soon. Some have decorated their windows with aluminum foil to retract the heat. Putting blankets over the windows so the sun does not come in. Placing fans in front of the windows to pull in what little breeze may come by. Constantly taking a COLD shower to cool yourself off. Drinking at least 8 GALLONS of water! Laying on the concrete floor because that's the coolest place in the house. Going to restaurants just to get some air-conditioning. Putting ice packs on your body as you try to sleep. Taking another COLD shower cause you're hot again. Eating very little cause no one wants to turn on the oven. Changing clothes every few hours cause the ones you're wearing are wet from sweating. Staying in the shade when you're out and about. Keeping all windows open, but keeping the screens closed because of mosquitos.

Right now as I'm typing this blog, it is 86 degrees F INSIDE my house, and a cool 78 degrees F outside, according to our fancy, digital thermometer...AND it's 11:00PM (that's right, nighttime)! As we enter the month of November, we hope that the rains will begin soon. October was a loooong, HOT month!

Thieves

2008-11-03T12:35:00.001-08:00

Okay, I've been in Zambia for over a year now, and I have never seen this. Where have I been? Here's what happened...

Tonight, Ricky and I were shopping at Mr. Price (it's a clothing store similar to Old Navy, but yet not really the same prices). Anyway, I was on my side (that would be the ladies clothes), and Ricky was looking for some clothes for the boys. As I was browsing the clothes rack, this lady who was sweeping the aisle began coming towards me -- backwards. That was weird. She was coming right at me, and so I said, "Excuse me." And she didn't move, she just kept sweeping (backwards) and pushed me out of the way. I was appalled! Then, one of the clerks said, "It's okay, she's a thief." I must have had this awkward look on my face because I didn't understand. As I stared at her, I noticed she had white paint on her arms, face, even in her hair.

Shortly after, Ricky comes to find me and proceeds to tell me he had the same experience on the other side of the store. So, there are 2 of them sweeping the store with paint on them. Weird? Ricky was getting restless and decides to go outside to wait on me. After checking out, Ricky tells me about the 2 girls who were sweeping. They went outside the front of the store and were sweeping, and as they were sweeping, people began to laugh at them and say things to them, like "theif". No one has really explained this to us, but the best we can put together from our observation is... these girls stole something from Mr. Price, and their punishment was to work and also to be embarrassed and ashamed for their actions. One of the girls was definitely ashamed, as she held her head down the whole time she was sweeping. Well, I guess this is a pretty fair way to treat theives, so that maybe they don't want to steal again.

What do you think? Click on comments below to tell us what you think.

Adventure City Again

2008-11-03T12:21:00.000-08:00

Kelsey going down one of the slides

Austin going down with a water bottle after the water shut off

Coby going fast even though no water is running

We can't pass up the chance to go to Adventure City when invited. The 40/40 kids headed out Saturday morning to take in a day of the only "water park" in Zambia. The boys went to baseball and then we met up with everyone at Adventure City. I (Niki) kept the sunscreen going, except I forgot my back, so now I am sunburned - OUCH! Anyway, we had a great time hanging out with the other MK's and adults. BY the time we got home and cooked dinner, we were so exhausted that I fell asleep at 7pm.

The kids piled at the top of this slide and held the water until it filled to capacity, then they let it go, and it was more fun to slide down with a big gush of water.

Zambia's New President - Rupiah Banda

2008-11-02T12:20:00.000-08:00

Today, the final results were announced that Rupiah Banda, the acting President after the death of Mwanawasa, has been voted to be the next president of Zambia. Following the announcement, an inauguration ceremony took place. We watched on TV as this took place. So far, everything seems to be calm and peaceful. You can read the latest on this website:

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE4A10O920081102

Also, the upcoming elections in America are near, and we pray that people will vote for the man God chooses to serve. PRAY. VOTE. PRAY.

Fun and Games

2008-11-01T12:30:00.000-07:00

We were invited out to the seminary last night for some fun and games with the 40/40 participants. As you can see from the pictures, we ALL had fun! After we had played, they fed us a wonderful dinner of ribeye steaks, porkchops, and sausage. (I think I want to attend 40/40 again!) JK

Coby versus Niki in a race to get to the chairs for "Human Tic-Tac-Toe"

Coby got the "O" and Niki got the "X"

Kelsey makes her way to a seat

Austin chillin' out

Ricky getting ready for his turn

Ricky and Niki waiting their turn

Poor Coby! We had a couple of "sliders" in this game

Austin playing "Elephant, Fish, Kangaroo"

Kelsey getting wrapped like a mummy with toilet paper

Coby was also wrapped like a mummy. I hope someone saved that TP, cause that stuff's expensive!

Random Blogging

2008-10-27T06:38:00.000-07:00

Coby, Austin, and Kelsey climbing a tree at the Tea Garden (where we have lunch occasionally)

No real reason for this blog. I can tell you that the weather here in Zambia is quite unusual for October. Last year when we stepped off the plane on 17 October 2007, we were dripping with sweat. Thankfully, the rains have come early this year, although we haven't had many rains, it has been a whole lot cooler. Today, it is 86 degrees with a nice breeze to keep everyone cool.

Ricky and Justin hanging out at the guest house

Austin playing on my computer just before it CRASHED. The guy brought the laptop back on Friday, and basically he says I need to restore the hard drive. He says I have a corrupted VG card and my network card is also corrupted. I have been backing up all my documents and pictures to the other laptop, so it is still working, but the graphics are just distorted. Thank you for those who were praying that we didn't lose everything. At this point, I am searching for other solutions instead of restoring. If anyone has any clever ideas, please email me at cook@bmoz.org. I have been able to find one website that had this problem happen to someone else, so I am looking into their suggestions.

Croc Farm with 40/40 Kids

2008-10-27T00:08:00.000-07:00

Kelsey and Hannah

Coby petting the baby croc

The 40/40 Safari Orientation has begun, and the kids are getting to know some of the new MK's. We were invited to go with them to the Croc Farm in Lusaka. Of course, Austin, Coby, and Kelsey love to go here, so they didn't pass up the chance to go hold some snakes. Austin brought home another snake skin for his collection. Our cat, Isabell, was not too happy to see the new snake skin! We enjoyed our time with the new MK's and the boys enjoyed eating some croc burgers.

Austin and the other boys doing some fishing.

Computer Problems

2008-10-21T01:50:00.001-07:00

On Friday last week, our main laptop started giving a blank screen. We began to panic because we had EVERYTHING on this computer, including the guest house reservations and all our pictures and video from our one year in Zambia. The whole day was spent working to get the computer back running and when we finally got it back up on Saturday, we did some backing up before it went out again. We discovered we had a virus and began to get this resolved, but the computer was still not connecting to the internet and it was over-heating which caused it to shutoff several times. Finally, we called someone and they have taken our laptop to try and fix it.

Please pray for everything to be fixed without losing all our important information. This has been the lesson we have learned from this experience... BACK UP ALL IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS EVERY DAY!!!

Welcome to IHOP

2008-10-17T04:12:00.000-07:00

This morning we made IHOP pancakes and invited Justin and his parents over for breakfast. Ricky did the cooking and I made the coffee and juice, and set the table. This was Bill & Sondra's last day in Zambia as they leave for the States tomorrow. We enjoyed having them visit at the guesthouse, and we appreciate all the love and encouragement they give to us as we serve in Zambia. I know they enjoyed their visit with Justin and seeing the "Real Africa - Zambia!"

A Busy Day

2008-10-16T12:39:00.000-07:00

Today has been a full day in Lusaka, Zambia. Our morning began at 6:30am with breakfast and then school to follow at 7:15am. Sounds pretty normal, right? Well, it gets better!

We had planned for another visit to the World Child Care center in Mutendere East this morning. Matilda helped me prepare the juice to take for the snack, and we loaded the 2 vehicles with all our "stuff". I was taking the Drummons with me to visit the children at the orphan school. Justin Drummons is a missionary in Kaputa, Zambia, and his parents are visiting from Alabama this week. Ricky ended up having to stay at the guest house while me, Coby, Kelsey, and the 3 Drummons went to share at the school. We stopped on the way to pick up Pastor Phiri, who was going with us to the school.

Sondra is getting ready to teach the Bible story. (Sorry, Bill, you didn't make it into the photo...Coby is taking the pictures!)
The school kids were so excited to see us again. It has been almost 3 months since we've seen them, but they remembered Coby - who could forget Coby Cook? Sondra and Bill had never been to a "real" Zambian compound in Lusaka, and I think they came back with a change in their hearts. Sondra told the story of baby Moses, using one of Kelsey's dolls as the baby. In the meantime, Justin and I got the snack ready for the kids. These kids usually come to school without having eaten anything, and they are starving while they are there trying to learn. Imagine trying to fill over 75+ cups of juice and handing out cookies to each child as they lined up outside the doorway. It was such a blessing to see their faces light up with joy after having a drink and snack.

We learned a little more about the school while we were there, and it seems that the landlord is wanting the school to purchase the property they have been renting. The leaders of "Amazing Voices" would like very much to purchase the place so they can expand the school to enable more students to come, but without the funds available, they are forced to remain renting and hope the landlord does not sell the property. Justin and I urged them to find help with a NGO in Zambia that helps schools get the funding needed to complete such a project. Please pray for this school and the funds to be made available for purchasing a permanent place. The majority of the kids are double orphaned, and many cannot afford to go to government schools. If they don't have money to pay for school, they end up spending their time on the streets. World Child Care offers free education to those who are orphaned or vulnerable.
Kelsey is helping to fill the cups.

After returning from the school, Coby & Kelsey got back on their home schooling. Austin arrives home from his school to announce that he has a basketball game in one hour. He rushes to find some lunch and then heads back over to the school to get ready for the game. Ricky then leaves for an errand to the airport while I get the cameras ready and head over to the school to watch the game. Coby is somewhere outside playing with some kids staying at the GH. Kelsey was still finishing her school, so I asked Sondra (a retired school teacher) to come sit with Kelsey as she finished her work. I think Sondra loved it more than Kelsey!

Anyway, I get to the game and (shocker) the game has not started on time. TIA! After 30 minutes, the other team finally shows up and then they have to go change clothes. The game finally started 45 minutes late. I am videoing and taking pictures, AND I was the only parent at the game! I'm texting Ricky every 5 minutes with updates from the game.

Ricky gets back to the GH and finds someone wanting to get into their room because their roommate was not there with the key, and they were sick and needed to get into the room. Oh, the joys of running a guest house! I was waiting for Ricky to come to the game, and by half-time he had not showed up yet. When I called him he told me everything that was going on, so I came back to the house to help with the chaos. Once we got everything under control at the GH, we returned to the game to find it over! Oh, well!

After this, Ricky heads out for another errand and I take Sondra and Bill shopping at the market. I have called this my "gift". I love to shop, and what better way to serve others than to take them shopping for gifts from Zambia. I have made some friends at this market in town, so we go straight to my friends' shops. As soon as we get started shopping, it begins to rain. It was fun to shop in the rain because we didn't have to leave the shop we were in. If we wanted to buy something, we just told them what we wanted, and they went to find it and bring it back to us. Sondra and Bill got some good items for some really good prices - I was the negotiator, they were the shoppers!

We ended our busy day with a nice dinner at the Marlin. Oh so good! Guess what tomorrow is? Our 1 year anniversary of living in Zambia - Yahoo!

The Rains have come!!!

2008-10-11T01:24:00.000-07:00

Friday, October 10th marks our first rain in 7 months. This was an unexpected rain, which started out as hail, then turned to blowing hard rain, thunder, and some lightening. The kids had a fun time running in the rain, dancing in the rain, turning cartwheels, etc. They were so excited to finally see some rain. It rained for probably an hour and a half, and that cooled us down for a while. The flame trees were just beginning to bud the red flowers indicating that rains are on their way.

Traffic Police & 2 For 1 Special

2008-10-10T10:25:00.000-07:00

This post is about several incidents that have happened over the 1 year we have lived in Lusaka, Zambia. We were telling this story to one of our friends, and he suggested this would be a good blog.

Our first traffic stop occured only minutes from our house on our way home from Livingstone back in January. We did not see the woman waving us down until the last minute, and we were pretty sure we were not speeding (if we were, it was only a few km), so we paid the fine. In Zambia, the police set up speed traps where they stand on the side of the road and shoot an ancient radar gun, and then if they suspect you are speeding, they step out into traffic and hold up their hand to wave you down to pull over. Not sure what they would do if you just kept on going, perhaps get your license tag. Anyway, this was our first experience of getting pulled over (and Ricky was driving). Since that day in January, I (Niki), have been pulled twice, and Ricky has been pulled four times.

I was going to Chongwe with the kids one day, and I had just told the kids that there may be some police up the road where they usually sit, so I was watching my speed very carefully. Lo and behold, the woman steps out in front of me and motions for me to pull over. I did so, and waited in the car. No one came, and I kept wondering what they were waiting on. Finally I see them waving me to get out and come to them, which was across the highway. I did as I was told, and began talking with the officer. First, we did the normal greetings (How are you? I'm fine. How are you?) Then, he wants to know who I am and what I do here in Lusaka. I'm driving a BMOZ vehicle, so that was obvious that I am a missionary. Anyway, I explain to him that I was NOT speeding, and that I knew they were sitting there. This goes on back and forth for a while, and then finally I convinced him that I was being honest, and so he let me go.

The next time that I got pulled, Ricky got pulled also - that's because he was following ME! We pulled over, unsure what speed we were going, and one officer began talking to Ricky while another came over to my vehicle. We were both in BMOZ vehicles as we were taking one of the trucks to the shop for fixing. The officer who was talking to me said I needed to pay her 70,000 kwacha, and since I didn't have that much money with me, I asked her if I could walk over to my husband's vehicle to get some money from him. She laughed, and told me to wait there. In the meantime, another officer was telling Ricky he owed 70,000 kwacha, and when he explained that we were together, the two officers got together and decided they would only charge us one fee of 70,000 kwacha. Yeah, a 2 for 1 special!

The other 2 times that Ricky has been pulled, he knew they were there and he was watching his speed. Now how dangerous is that to be constantly watching your speedometer? They want to charge you even if you are going 1 km over the speed limit. This time when Ricky was pulled, he remained inside the vehicle waiting for the officer to come to the window. Finally, they came and told him he was supposed to get out of the car. Ricky explained that in our country, it's not safe to get out of your car when stopped for police. The officer said he was admitting his guilt when he didn't get out of the car to run over to the radar and check his speed. Go figure! Anyway, Ricky wasn't so lucky this time convincing the officer that he was not speeding, even though one of our workers was riding with him and verified that he was going 10km UNDER the speed limit because someone had flashed their lights warning him they were there. The officer would not give in, so Ricky had to pay the fine anway.

Our worker who was riding with Ricky stated that the police pulled him over because he was white. They knew they could get money from him. We have heard many stories of friends getting pulled over for no good reason, and most of the time they end up paying the fine to get out of an argument. One friend told me she didn't have any money once when she was pulled, and they let her go to the ATM, but when she returned to pay them, they were gone. Ha!

*By the way, this picture was taken from Google Images. I did not take a picture of the police officers.*

Back Home

2008-10-03T11:19:00.000-07:00

We are back home in Zambia!!! It is great to be back home, but it sure is HOT here. We left Joburg at 75 degrees and arrived in Lusaka at 94 degrees. Major difference. Yesterday, while in Joburg, we actually saw a few drops of rain. It has been 5 months since we have seen rain. Hopefully, it won't be long until we see some rain in Lusaka.

Thank you for praying for Austin while he saw many doctors during his time in Joburg. Many of you know our situation and so I will not go into detail here, but please continue to pray for him.

It was back to business when I arrived in Lusaka. I am so proud of our housekeeper, Elistina, who took over GH ministry while we were away. This ministry is definitely important to our missionaries here in Zambia, and we are happy to serve them. It's almost time for the next 40/40 orientation to begin, so pray for all the logistics to go well, and for these new missionaries who will be training.

Lion Park in Johannesburg, South Africa

2008-10-02T04:31:00.001-07:00

The first thing we did was feed the giraffes and "touch-a-cub". They have 2 giraffes that you can pet and feed. These giraffes would not stop eating! There was also an ostrich trying to eat out of our hands, but it kind of hurt when he went to grab the food out.

Coby's 1st Kiss!
Then we went to pet the lion cubs. These cubs were abandoned by their parents, so they have been brought to this area to survive.

Then we went on a self-drive through the park to view the big lions. Most of them were sleeping! This big boy was still having his dinner from last night.

These are white lions. Each lion camp had a different pride. We also drove past some zebra, springbok, ostrich, and black wildebeest.

Blog Block

2008-10-02T04:12:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to write a blog to let you know that we are are ALIVE and WELL. It has been a while since I last posted a blog. This has been due to several reasons, which I will try to explain.

First, on Wednesday, September 17th, Ricky and Austin traveled to South Africa to seek some medical advice on Austin. They have seen several doctors, but have not come to a consensus on a diagnosis.

Secondly, in the absence of Ricky and Austin, myself and the other 2 kids remained in Zambia. We were patiently waiting for our guys to come home. On Saturday, September 27th I took the kids to our gym for a relaxing and fun time at the pool. As we were enjoying a great sunny day, someone stole my wallet from my purse as it sat beside my chair near the poolside. When I realized it was missing, I immediately ran to security and management. They helped me search and ask people who were around if they had seen anything. No one wanted to help, even though one lady said she saw some kids near my things while I was at the pool. So, after filing a police report and cancelling all my credit cards, I phoned Ricky to tell him I was coming to South Africa to join him and Austin. On Sunday, we flew to Johannesburg.

In the meantime, we are still consulting with doctors here in Johannesburg, and obviously, being together as a family has been the greatest reward. Also, we found out by email that someone found my wallet stuffed behind a toilet at the gym. Only the money was gone, but all my credit cards and ID's were amazingly still there. What a relief!

While in Joburg, we have tried to do some fun thigns with the kids. They enjoy shopping at the market, but we also took a short trip to the Lion Park - see next blog for pictures. Hopefully, we all will be returning to Zambia very soon.

Tache House Ministry

2008-09-20T10:13:00.000-07:00

Tache House is a place where about 16 kids ages 8-16 years old live with their Auntie Elizabeth. Most of them attend school during the day, and then they come back to the Tache House where Elizabth takes care of them. Today, the kids and I joined our youth group for a ministry time there. We all brought activities to do with the kids. First, we played this game of passing a box with a note on it. While the music played, you passed the box, like a hot potato. Once the music stopped, if you were holding the box (or present), then you must unwrap one layer and read the instructions. It was hilarious! The funniest was Brandon trying to do ballet. Here are some pics from his debut performance:

Then, we broke up into groups of activities. Kelsey & Hannah had planned a coloring activity for the smaller ones, and then they wanted to paint fingernails, but only one brave soul was willing. Callie Shaw, Johanna Blonde, and Holli Ann Johnson got together a group to play a game of cards. Catherine Blonde and Kelsey Craig taught a cooking class on baking cookies. The boys stayed outside playing soccer.

I became the official photographer of the youth group outings, so this is why I am not in any pictures.

After all of the fun, we sat down for a devotion time, reading Hosea 7: 8-16, where we learned that spending a lot of time with our friends is good, but we must make sure our friends are the right ones we should be imitating. Our friends' habits can sometimes change our attitudes and actions, and God reminds us that we need His direction in our life for happiness and fulfillment. Only God can truly satisfy the deep longings of your soul.

Baseball in Zambia

2008-09-20T10:06:00.000-07:00

Last week baseball started at the American School. We have a group of people who just get together, and a few dads coach. Whoever shows up on Saturday morning, they divide into teams and play for 2 hours. This morning Coby was hitting very well. He even hit a HOMERUN from a grounder that went past short-stop and passed the outfielder. Way to go, Coby!

Fun in the Sun

2008-09-18T10:01:00.000-07:00

After school on Thursday, the kids were begging to go swimming. So, we loaded up and went to Barclay's gym and I read a book while they feared the cold waters. They ended up playing more on the trampoline than swimming, but it was a fun day of getting out of the house.

Biodanza

2008-09-17T10:55:00.000-07:00

BIODANZA...The Science of a Party!
DISCOVER THE JOY OF LIVING! DISCOVER YOUR TRUE POTENTIAL! DISCOVER THE DANCE OF LIFE!

www.biodanza.co.za/zambia

It all started in the 60s with a birthday party and from there, Rolando Toro has created a system of expressive dance that incorporates music, movement and emotion all rolled up in to one big party!
It allows you to let go of stress, tension and mundane routine while having fun and relaxing.
Biodanza is a fun way to to feel healthy and alive,
opening your sense of joy, self-esteem and self-confidence.
Everyone can do Biodanza!
There are no set ways of dancing, no choreography, no age limits and no fitness required! Kids especially love the freedom of Biodanza where they can express their inner creativity through movement. It's a safe space where they can access their joy, spontaneity and creativity. It improves co-ordination and motor skills, develops flexibility and increases capacity for action and rest. Most of all, it's good FUN!!!

So, that is what it is... now see it in action! Kelsey began this dance class yesterday, and her friend, Hannah was invited to join the group. They had a wonderful time dancing. Kelsey will continue taking this class for the next 6 weeks (once a week on Tuesdays).

This is Kelsey's teacher! She teaches French at the American International School, and this is her classroom where the kids take Biodanza. Sometimes they go outside in the grass and do their dancing.

Today's class theme was "going to the beach" and the girls were pretending to be crabs. They finally got on all fours backwards and crawled around.

This is Kelsey's favorite part of biodanza - resting! She was tired after her one hour of creative dance, and the teacher played beach sounds for the girls to rest like whales on the beach. I almost went to sleep watching them, it was so peaceful. Really I was dreaming about having some crab, or shrimp, or any seafood for that matter! I can't wait to see where the class "goes" next week!

Thankfulness

2008-09-16T01:07:00.000-07:00

What a JOY to know that people back home in the States are thinking about us in a special way. Our Sunday School class at College Street Baptist got together this trunk load of goodies to send to us. We especially thank the Haney Family for taking charge of this project and making sure it got to us. We would like to thank Randy and Sharon McManamay for delivering the trunk to Virginia for the volunteer team to bring it to Zambia. I would also like to thank Holli Lowe for sending me some much needed Mary Kay makeup (you can't find that in Zambia!), and for all the others who made a contribution to our goodie package. Thanks too for the willing volunteers who brought the trunk to us at the GH.

Coby especially liked the Slim Jims, and Kelsey was excited to finally get some JIF Peanut Butter (we have been out for a few weeks). It's the simple things we get excited over! We are so thankful to have special friends and family who are praying for us as we minister to those in Zambia. It means a lot to us that our church supports us and cares for us in this special way.

Another surprise we received today was a package from my sister, Laurie. She was the person responsible for getting us hooked up LIVE to Megan & Mitchel's wedding on Aug. 2nd. She also did a DVD of the wedding, Megan's dress, reception, her (Laurie's) house, and our land in Walhalla. We couldn't wait to sit down and watch the whole thing. Thanks, Laurie!

Friends & Fellowship

2008-09-16T00:18:00.000-07:00

This week we are keeping Hannah Rodgers while her parents are in Nairobi, Kenya. Since Kelsey and Hannah are both doing Abeka Academy and in the 2nd grade, they get to do school together.

I spend most of my day making sure these girls are paying attention to their teacher on the video, and not TALKING!
We have had 2 of our missionary families in this week at the GH. The kids really enjoy getting to play with their "cousins" (after school, of course). Below on the slide are (from top to bottom): Lily Helgren, Anna Bowman, Easton Helgren, Caleb Bowman, Hannah Rodgers, Kelsey Cook, Coby Cook, Daniel Shaw, and Austin Cook.

Last night we had a braai. No special occasion - we just decided at the last minute to light the charcoal and everyone was invited to bring their own braai meat. We ended up having 30 people in attendance for some good food and fellowship. A volunteer team arrived from Virginia, so they joined us.

Guest House Training

2008-09-13T05:09:00.000-07:00

As we manage the guest house we meet all kinds of people. One particular friend who visits often began asking us questions about managing the guest house. Tuesday Musaka works up in the Copperbelt with the Mpongwe Baptist Association and they have a small guest house that they run. This weekend Mr. Musaka sent 3 of his guest house managers to stay with us in Lusaka and spend some time learning from us. They are impressed with our guest house and the operations. Now, we are not experts by no means, but we have made many improvements to the guest house and with our background in operating a business, we passed on what we have learned. We taught them a lot about running a guest house and what we thought was important for them to take back with them. One thing they were most interested in was the computer software we use. I was able to teach them the basics of computer software so they may make a decision about their own purchase. It was a wonderful experience to know that we could share something that may improve their way of serving others in their own community.

Mug & Muffin in Chongwe

2008-09-13T04:40:00.000-07:00

Back row: Lee Shaw, Mary Thompson, Linda Miller

Middle row: Lindy Howard, Amy Bowman, Suzie Rodgers

Front row: Niki Cook, Hannah Rodgers, Kelsey Cook

The ladies of the Baptist Mission were invited to the Rodgers house on Saturday morning for a mug & muffin. This is something that Suzie used to do in college, so she thought it would be fun for us to get together for some muffins and a cup of coffee or tea. We had a wonderful morning of food, fun, fellowship, and a devotion by Linda Miller. This is Linda's last year in Zambia, after her and Ed have served in the Copperbelt for 30 years! It was good to hear stories from her experiences and how she has loved the people of Zambia for so many years. We will miss them when they retire, but I am thankful to have the opportunity to be encouraged from a true servant of Christ.
Kelsey was invited to come and play with Hannah during our time in Chongwe. Hannah got to show Kelsey the baby rabbits that were recently born. We (especially Kelsey) are looking forward to next week when Hannah will come stay with us while her parents go to Kenya. They will (hopefully) do their school work together. Pray that I can keep them focused during school.

Happy 10th Birthday, Coby!

2008-09-09T08:47:00.000-07:00

Today we celebrated Coby's 10th birthday at Adventure City in Lusaka. He invited some of his friends for an afternoon of fun at the water park. Unfortunately, the big slides were closed since they were doing maintenance on the pool. But they had fun at the smaller slides and the climbing rocks, and the trampoline. We couldn't find any candles to go on the cupcakes, so we improvised with a match lit only for a few seconds while Coby blew it out.

Funeral and Burial of late President Mwanawasa

2008-09-03T08:40:00.000-07:00

Today, 3 September 2008, has been declared a public holiday. All businesses and schools are closed. Everything has come to a standstill in the country of Zambia as the president, Levy Mwanawasa, was buried today. People in various parts of the country abandoned their usual activities and stayed indoors to watch the funeral procession which was televised in national television. Those who don't have TV were given the opportunity to watch the funeral at several community halls across the country. There were 4 giant TV screens set up in Lusaka.

As we watched the funeral on our TV, we could also hear the 21-gun salute and see the 5 jets that flew formation right over our house. It has definitely been a quiet day outside, as there are not many cars going up and down the roads or people going here and there. The president's body was lowered into the ground in a copper-plated coffin - Zambia is Africa's biggest copper producer.

At least 12 Heads of State and Government and several other foreign dignitaries arrived in Lusaka for the funeral and burial, which was by invitation only. Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe was one of the African leaders present, even though Mwanawasa had criticised him. The mourners were led by the First Lady, Maureen Mwanawasa, and their six children. He was buried at Embassy Park, near the presidential offices, after a service at a church in the grounds of parliament. In his prayer, Parish priest Father Edward Mutale, said President Mwanawasa will be remembered for promoting reconciliation, forgiveness and maintaining peace and unity in Zambia.

Beat BAMA

2008-08-30T02:44:00.000-07:00

One of our missionary friends is a big Auburn fan and loaned Ricky this shirt for the Clemson-Alabama game today. The game will start here at 2:00AM (Will Ricky get any sleep tonight?!).

From our family in Zambia, Africa to our Clemson family in South Carolina,

GOOOOOO TIGERS!!!

Words and Expressions

2008-08-26T12:12:00.000-07:00

In the 10 months we have lived in Zambia, I have not gotten used to some of the words and expressions. I make mistakes all the time! I feel so dumb when I ask for a napkin at a restaurant and they give me this look ?? because napkin means diaper here. Or when I want french fries, but I have to order "chips". Some of the terms are easier to remember than others, and some are just down-right hilarious. For instance, pacifier is called a dummy, cotton candy is called candy floss (yeah, tell your dentist about that one), or calling a dump truck a tipper. Here is a list of words and expressions frequently encountered in daily conversation. The majority are English terms translated into Americanese.

American Expression - Local Expression
Eggplant = Aubergine or brinjal
Swimsuit = Bathing costume
Odds and ends = Bits and pieces
Cookie = Biscuit
Blind spot (traffic sign) = Black spot
Where government business takes place = Boma
Hood of car = Bonnet
Well = Borehole
Outdoor barbeque = Braai
Meat Market = Butchery
Boss = Bwana
Cotton Candy = Candy floss
French fries = Chips
Movies = Cinema
Drug store = Chemist
Dead end street = Close
Kitchen stove = Cooker
Cornstarch = Cornflour
Thread = Cotton
Absorbent cotton = Cotton wool
Zucchini squash = Courgettes
Party favor, paper cylinder = Crackers
Day nursery = Creche
A semi-circular road = Crescent
Potato chips = Crisps
Chinaware = Crockery
Thumbtacks = Drawing pins
Pacifier = Dummy
Trash can = Dust bin
Garbage men = Dustmen
Mid-morning snack = Elevenses
All gone = Finished
Floor above ground floor = First floor
Bangs on a hairdo = Fringe
Mark of punctuation, a period = Full stop
Overpass = Fly-over
Window screening = Gauze
Hot water heater = Geyser
Peanuts = Groundnuts or monkeynuts
Rubber boots = Gum boots
School administrator or principal = Headmaster
Horn in car = Hooter
Garden hose = Hosepipe
Ice cubes = Ice blocks, rocks
Notices or notifications = Intimations
Jello = Jelly
Sweater = Jersey or jumper
Luggage, personal belongings = Katundu
Servant’s quarters = Kaya
Underpants = Knickers
Sour Milk = Lacto
Run in stocking = Ladder
Gravel for driveway = Laterite
Roadside rest stop = Lay-by
Elevator = Lift
Toilet = Loo
Truck = Lorry
Sitting room, living room = Lounge
Raincoat = Mac (Macintosh)
Very much, many = Maningi
Supervising nurse = Matron
White corn = Mealies
Corn meal = Mealie meal
Hamburger (ground round) = Mince meat (steak mince)
Bassinet = Moses basket
Medicine = Muti
Tangerine = Nachies
Diapers = Nappies or napkin
Staple food made of corn meal = Nshima
Staff nurse = Nurse
Auto body repairman = Panel beaters
Kerosene = Paraffin
Clothespins = Pegs
Gasoline = Petrol
Take or steal = Pinch
A bag = Pocket (of vegetable or fruit)
Show up, attend = Pitch up
Toilet = Public convenience
Flat tire = Puncture
Put to sleep = Put down (an animal)
Line up = Queue up
Study, review = Revise
Traffic light = Robot
Traffic circle = Roundabout
Eraser = Rubber
Garbage or trash = Rubbish
Baking powder biscuit = Scone
Table napkin = Serviette
Registered nurse = Sister
Exit or entry road = Slip road
Fashionably dressed = Smart
Laundry detergent = Soap powder
Wrench = Spanner
Use the toilet = “Spend a penny”
Doctor’s office = Surgery
Candy = Sweeties
Desserts = Sweets
Swimming pool = Swimming bath
Bathing suit = Swimming costume
Tennis shoes, sneakers = Tackies
Faucet = Tap
Asphalted road or surface = Tarmac
Television = Telly
Can (of food) = Tin (of food)
Dump truck = Tipper
Flashlight = Torch
Sanitary napkins = Towels
Molasses = Treacle
Refreshment stand = Tuck shop
Pick-up truck, small truck = Vannette
Sleeveless undershirt = Vest
Do the dishes = Wash up
Rubber boots = Wellingtons
Windshield = Windscreen
Radio = Wireless

There are over 72 languages in Zambia, but many people speak English in Lusaka. The most common language spoken in Lusaka is Nyanja (Chinyanja). We have learned a few helpful words and sentences in Nyanja, but it's very tempting to just use English. But even then, I have to think before I speak. Which is actually a good thing to do, right? The Bible says in Proverbs 21:23 to "Watch your tongue and keep your mouth shut, and you will stay out of trouble."

If you find one of the words or expressions funny, feel free to make a comment. Comment, you ask? Yes, you are welcome to make comments on our blog! Even if you just want to say "hi".

Austin's Weekend

2008-08-24T10:33:00.000-07:00

On Friday, Austin was invited to a birthday party of his friend, Ethan. Now, Ethan's family are missionaries with Flying Mission in Zambia. So, Ethan's dad was coming back into Lusaka Airport for fuel and decided to pick the boys up and take them to the birthday party in style!

Austin has never flown in a small airplane before, but he liked it very much. He has always wanted to be a pilot, and so this was a neat experience for him. From the airport, it's only 10 minutes to their house, but they flew around Lusaka a little while, and they got to see Adventure City from the air, which was way cool!

After spending the night and having a great time at the birthday party (where they ate lots of junk food and stayed up 'til 3am), Austin went to play Capture the Flag with our youth group from 2-5pm on Saturday. When he got home at 6pm, he collapsed on the couch. We had to wake him for dinner, and after eating he went back to bed and slept until 8:30am Sunday morning. He had a full weekend!

Funeral Program for the late President Dr. Levy Mwanawasa

2008-08-23T04:24:00.001-07:00

This morning at 9:00am the body of the late President arrived on special aircraft escorted by the Zambia Air Force. The body was placed on the saluting dias, the national anthem was sung, and then a 21 gun salute. Later, at 10:30am the body arrived at the Mulungushi International Conference Center, and then a wreath laying ceremony by the First Lady and Vice President. The President's body will remain at the Conference Center until Monday, August 25th.

Ricky was at the airport this morning dropping off some missionaries going back to the States, and he said it was very busy. The airlines called everyone who was flying out of Zambia to encourage them to arrive early for departure since the President's body was arriving. They have decorated the whole airport road on both sides with flags and streamers to receive the body. People are expected to line both sides of the highway in order to get a glimpse of the body.

Beginning Monday, August 25th, the body will be transported around the country to all provinces for the people of Zambia to pay their respects. They will return the body back to the Conference Center on Friday, August 29th, and prepare for the burial ceremony to take place on Wednesday, Septmeber 3rd, which would have been Mwanawasa's 60th birthday.

The country originally was under a 7-day mourning period, but that has increased to 21 days. There continues to be church services held at the Showgrounds (just across from our guest house), and these will continue every day until his burial on Wednesday. Last night, our mission family met together to pray for the First family, the country, and the future of Zambia.

President of Zambia dies

2008-08-19T13:15:00.000-07:00

President Levi Mwanawasa of Zambia died today in Paris as the result of a stroke he suffered at the end of June. President Mwanawasa was in Egypt at the time he had the stroke, was stabilized there and then flown to Paris for treatment. His illness has brought the nation together spiritually as seen in the many prayer meetings being held all across the country. Please pray for his wife, the First Lady, Mrs. Maureen Mwanawasa, their children and the extended family. Also pray for the people of Zambia who have lost not only a great leader but a great man, a man who loved the Lord and sought his will in everything he did. Zambia will be observing a seven-day period of mourning beginning today.

1st Day of School

2008-08-18T10:20:00.000-07:00

Another school year has begun here in Zambia. Austin started Grade 8 (or 7th grade in the States) at International School of Lusaka (ISL). We just walked right next door and he was off to find his homeroom. He came home the first day talking non-stop about how much fun he had. He has 19 students in his class, and his subjects include English, Music, Spanish, Math, Social Studies, Science, Art, Drama, and Information Technology. He begins at 7:05am and comes home for lunch at 1:15pm. He will begin after-school activities in a few weeks.
Coby & Kelsey are continuing to home school using the Abeka DVD Program. Coby began 4th grade while Kelsey "splashed" into 2nd grade. This year's theme for 2nd grade is a pond and we use all kind of pond animals in our learning. I enjoyed decorating her classroom (I mean, bedroom) with all kinds of posters and motivational signs. Currently, we are waiting for our DVD players to arrive from the States, so she is doing her school in the living room. Coby is currently using a laptop in his room. Both seem to be enjoying this new DVD program (it's better than Mrs. Brain!!!).

Our first day turned out to be a flexible one. Our power went off at 6:30am just as I was putting grits in the microwave. So, Austin had potato chips for breakfast! We began our home schooling on time using the laptops, but about 2 hours into the lessons, the batteries gave out. So, we had recess until the power came back on at 9:30am. Once Austin got home at 1:15pm he was STARVING. We gave him money to buy snacks at school, but he decided to play soccer during his break instead. Of course, Austin didn't want any pictures of him going to school. But Matilda noticed him playing on the soccer field, which we can see from our back door, so Coby, Kelsey, and I yelled and waved at him. He was so embarrassed! He told me when he got home to please not do that again!!!

Highlights of our trip to Kafue Park

2008-08-16T07:22:00.000-07:00

As we were leaving our lodge we came across this African Rock Python on the dirt road. It was about 7 ft. in length. We contemplated in the car what to do: Option 1 - drive on by and think nothing about it; Option 2 - Try to kill it by running over it; Option 3 - get out of the car and wrestle the snake and use your knife to cut it's head off and then cook it for dinner. We finally chose Option #2 (you can guess who's idea #3 was!?) ... but after running over the killer snake, he somehow escaped into the woods. Oh, well, we had a good plan anyway!

Once we got back home, the boys were watching NatGeo channel and guess what they were catching... African Rock Pythons. It turns out that this snake we saw was a youngster compared to the big daddy of 20 ft. in length. They are actually non-venomous, but very deadly. That's all I have to say about that!

Here's the trophy fish back at camp. We thought we would get them cooked for dinner, but I guess the chef had other plans. It might not have been enough meat on them to feed our family. Nevertheless, Coby & I were proud fisherman/fisherwoman.
This is our OUTDOOR shower. I was a little nervous taking a shower outside, with no door, and with hippos wandering about, but after you took the first step to get in, it was actually quite refreshing. It was cold in the mornings, but the staff heats the water with a fire right outside our chalet. Every morning the guy would come put more firewood into the "oven" to heat our water.
Getting to the lodge we had to cross this "not so stable" bridge. We only looked underneath it AFTER crossing the last time out. It was not a pretty sight. Only trees were used to build this bridge.
We saw many impala, puku (like this one), and duiker. On our night drive we had hoped to see either a leopard or a lion, but they just would not show themselves. Several guides had heard them roaring in this one section, but we were not as lucky. We did, however, see 3 Kudu in the woods both at night and the following morning. They were all females from what we could tell, since none of them had any horns. This was our first time seeing the Kudu.

Another first for us on this trip... while coming down the tar road, while still inside the GMA, we saw this officer waving his hand for us to stop. We stopped and he asked us for a ride to the police post just ahead. The kids squeezed in the back seat and let him in. He was all decked out in his uniform and carrying an AK-47. He says that he was dropped off at that point 6 days ago, and he and his fellow scouts were roaming the GMA looking for poachers. Now it was time for him to check-in to his post. We arrived at the police post and let him out. Then we all had to get out of the car so they could spray our car and clean our hands and feet to protect from Hand & Foot Disease. That was a first, and we had to explain to the kids what Hand & Foot Disease was.

Fishing on the Kafue River

2008-08-15T11:07:00.000-07:00

Our first morning after breakfast we decided to take a fishing adventure. Our guides, Mike and Morris, were very patient with us. We would ride until we found a good bank to pull up on. Even though the hippos would be snorting nearby, we just kept on fishing. Mike was pulling up to one bank and a croc slipped into the water right where we were pulling into. We asked, "Are you sure this is safe to be fishing right here where this croc was?" He said, "No problem!" I tended to wait until I saw the croc was all the way across the river before I got out of the boat.

Coby was the first to catch a fish. He is always that lucky! He caught a small bream. He was very excited. Then, at the last place we stopped, I decided to try my hand at fishing, and, what do you know, I caught something! It was a small silver catfish. I was happy, but I tried not to be too excited since some others had not had better luck. Ricky says after I caught my fish, I began giving advice to everyone. I don't think I was "giving advice" but I was making some observations.

We stayed out fishing all morning, and upon our return we saw this male elephant on one of the islands taking a dust bath. This ended up being our only elephant we saw on this trip.

Rock Climbing and Rapids Swimming

2008-08-15T02:22:00.000-07:00

After lunch we took a short walk to the rapids. It's not very big rapids, but the kids were told to wear their bathing suits and there might be a place to swim. They were excited about that news because it has been a while since they have been swimming. We are coming out of our winter here in Zambia, but the water is still VERY cold. You can see from the pictures how cold it was. Check out the many faces of Austin!

Before school get-away

2008-08-14T10:31:00.000-07:00

KaingU Safari Lodge sits on the Kafue River in the Kafue National Park. It is a beautiful setting, and a very peaceful place to stay. We were lucky they had room for us since we made a last minute decision. The drive took us from Lusaka toward Mongu in the western province about 2 hours on tar road, and then we turned off into the GMA (Game Management Area) and continued on dirt roads for the next 3 hours. Once we began driving on the dirt road, we began to hear some rattling underneath our vehicle. The cover that goes over our gas tank to protect it was hanging and had come loose from the bolts. Getting out of the vehicle to look at it was horrific - all the tsetse flies swarming around you and biting you. Ricky thought he was able to tighten the screws enough for us to continue. But later down the dirt road it began coming loose again, this time it broke from the bolt and was unfixable. We stopped and took the cover completely off so as not to have it just hanging there. We finally made it to our destination.

The lodge has been here since 2004. We ate all our meals with the owners here in the boma. The staff was very nice and provided us with as many activities as we wanted to do.

This is our view from the deck in front of the lodge.

This is our chalet we stayed in for 2 nights. It had an awesome view of the river!
We took a sunset cruise the first night. The river is full of huge boulders and there are numerous channels feeding the river. We stopped at one island of rocks and had a refreshing drink and the kids loved climbing on the big rocks.

Look at this gorgeous sunset!

Cat Nap

2008-08-12T13:30:00.001-07:00

Sickness and Medicines

2008-08-12T06:06:00.000-07:00

This past week our dear friend, Lee Shaw, came down with an awful sickness. She is in a lot of pain. She thought it to be strep…but now the doctor says granular pharyngitis. The ‘granular’ is grains of infection…actually open blisters on her throat. She's been on antibiotic and pain killers for 4 days and nothing seems to be touching it. She went for her 3rd injection of antibiotic yesterday. Please pray for our friend and fellow missionary that God would heal those terrible blisters in her throat.

Lee's son, Daniel, is a friend of Coby and Austin's, and he's been hanging out at our house for the past week since his mom isn't feeling well. Not that this is related, but the last couple of days Ricky has not been feeling well either. His throat began to hurt and then his ears were clogging up, and he has lots of congestion. He began taking some Penicillin as soon as he felt the symptoms coming on. He took the last pill last night, so this morning we went to the chemist (pharmacy) and told them what his symptoms were. They sold us antibiotic right over the counter - no prescription necessary. WOW! This is something that we've had to get used to with living in Africa. You can go to any chemist and get most medicines over the counter that would normally be prescription only in the US. And, not only is the medicine readily available, but inexpensive too. It's amazing how much we spend for groceries, restaurants, and housing, but yet medicine is very reasonably priced. He got 5 days of antibiotics plus some pain medicine to use as needed for 45,000ZMK (approx. $13). So, if you can diagnose your own sickness, then there's no need to visit the doctor, just go straight to the pharmacy.

Basketball with Dad

2008-08-09T05:35:00.000-07:00

During our school break, it has been a struggle keeping the kids busy and out of trouble at the guest house. We try to keep them active as much as possible. They have enjoyed taking tennis lessons for the past 6 months, but that is starting to become boring to them. We are members of a gym close by our guest house. Not only do we work out at the gym, but we can also play tennis or basketball too. Ricky took the boys for a little practice while Kelsey & I went to the grocery store (see blog below). Here are some pics from the gym and of the boys doing basketball drills with their dad.

Groceries in Zambia

2008-08-09T02:37:00.000-07:00

When we first thought about coming to Zambia, we wondered how similar the grocery stores would be compared to the US. We were very surprised that the two main grocery chains are very well stocked. Yes, there are times when you can't find a certain ingredient for a particular recipe, but all in all the grocery stores here have what we need. BUT, with the exchange rate of 3400 Kwacha to 1 US dollar, things can be quite expensive. I've been saying this to many people, and so now I have some pictures to prove it. I looked quite funny carrying a camera into the grocery store, so I only took a few pictures of what I thought you'd be interested to know. Kelsey got to push the miniature shopping cart around, so she was happy! I really don't see how our other missionary families survive out in the rural areas without Spar or Shoprite. They have to stock up soooo much when they come into Lusaka. We are lucky that we can just drive to the grocery whenever we are out of something. We are very thankful many days to have this convenience.

Long Life Milk (in a box) - $1.09 (500ml) We have cold milk in the half-gallon size, but it spoils really fast.

30 eggs in a crate (notice how they do not require refrigeration) - $5.72 for 30

Rice Krispies - $4.96 per box

Zambia Brand Cereals - $4.41 per box

Corn Flakes (the cheapest cereal) - $2.56/box

Pillsbury Cake Mix - $8.03/box

Pillsbury Muffin Mix - $9/box

Nesquik Chocolate or Strawberry Flavor - $5.19 (500G)

Ketchup (375ml) - $3.02

Miracle Whip Mayo (normal jar size) - $7.21

Eet-Sum-Mor (cracker/cookie) - $1.82 (best price for snack food)

Taco Shells (12) - $6.43

Taco dinner (includes 12 shells, sauce, seasoning) - $9.93

Baked Beans (Spar Brand) - $1.34 per can

Raid Insect Killer - $2.59

DOOM (Zambian Insect Killer) - $4.15

JIK (aka Bleach) - $1.62 (500ml)

OMO (washing powder) - $2.40 (500g) or $5.04 (1kg)

Handy Andy (all-purpose cleaner) - $2.15

Snickers Candy Bar - $1.21

Snickers Minis - $3.85/bag

Skittles - $1.21 (40g bag)

Peanut M&Ms - $1.56 (45g bag)

Doritos - $2.04 per bag

Lays Chips - $2.19 per bag

Lays Stax - $4.91 per can

Congratulations, Megan & Mitchel

2008-08-02T12:13:00.001-07:00

Tonight, 8pm our time, and 2pm their time, our friends (who we consider family) got married. We were watching LIVE from Zambia! Is that cool or what?! We did have some evil spirits trying to prevent the Skype from happening... first, our power went off right at 6pm, when my sister, Laurie, was scheduled to call us to set-up the camera system and make sure everything was working. Once we realized that power may not be restored for a while, we walked over to the office building which has battery back-up and internet stays on as long as the batteries do. We were back online by 6:45pm and Laurie was able to get connected at the church. Then, we just sat around waiting for the wedding to begin. It was an off and on experience, and bless her heart, Laurie was trying everything she could to keep us connected. We saw a few clips of the bride and groom, and Kelsey got to see the final kiss at the end before we lost connection again. We were able to reconnect once more to wish Megan & Mitchel all the best, and we snapped this picture of them while talking. It's not the best quality picture, but, hey, this is the best we could do on such long distance. The wedding was held at our home church in Walhalla, SC, USA.

Thank you Megan, Mitchel, Sue, Jim, Mom, Laurie, Mark, Randy Mc, Mike B., Paul, Mary, and everyone else for letting us be a part of their special day! We look forward to seeing more pictures later...

Learning to Ride a Bike in Africa

2008-08-01T08:01:00.000-07:00

Before we came on the field, Kelsey had not had the opportunity to learn to ride a bike. So, now that we are in Zambia, she gets her chance. We went out to the Baptist Seminary which has a large open space of dirt. This is where the kids used to play when we attended 40/40 last year.

Kelsey put on her safety gear and was ready to go...

Uh-oh! Looks like she's getting ready for landing...

She's a tough girl! But daddy, why didn't you catch me? YOU GO GIRL!

Update on Denmark VBS

2008-07-31T12:41:00.000-07:00

Now that our movie making days are over, we are very proud to announce that Denmark First Baptist collected $1400.00 at their VBS a couple of weeks ago to go towards ministry work in Zambia. Thank you to all the generous kids and adults who graciously gave to the people of Zambia. Last year, they collected $425 which was used this year for buying food for a starving village, helping an orphan school with school supplies and food, and sending a teenager to school for one year. They have given us a big challenge this coming year, but we feel confident that the Lord is preparing the opportunities for us to meet those needs. Here is the last video we sent to Denmark FBC during their commencement service. In the video, you will see how the money was spent from last year.

Way to go Denmark FBC! Thank you very much!

We're BACK!

2008-07-28T03:58:00.000-07:00

We are back from Jo'burg, and Kelsey has returned from Chongwe. She had a blast with the Rodgers Family, and we appreciate so much them helping us with her while we were away. I think she had more fun than we did, as you can see from the pictures of her and Hannah with their baby dolls strapped to their backs - just like the Zambians do.

One doctor that we had to see while in Joburg was about an hour away from the guest house. Our appointment was at 9am, so we left early Saturday morning to make our way to this appointment. We had not eaten breakfast, but had figured we would eat closer to the place where we had to go. Once we arrived at the exit, we could see a McDonald's just beside a gas station. In South Africa, the eating places off the interstates are called "oasis" so you just pull off the interstate and go on the oasis for gas or eating. Well, we didn't realize until we were on the oasis, that we could not get back on our road, we had to get back on the interstate, going back the way we came from. So, a learning experience here as we travelled back the way we came, in order to get off at the next exit to make our turn around. That being said, once we arrived at the doctor's home (a lot of doctors work out of their homes) the secretary came out to inform us the doctor had gone to a conference for the day, and would not be able to meet with us that day. What a shocker! We had planned this appointment specifically for our trip to Joburg, but there was nothing we could do. We had driven an hour to see this doctor, and now we find out that she wasn't there. Shame! But, the good news was that gave us more time for shopping, since we were behind on our shopping list and this was our last day in Joburg. We were so excited that we were getting some extra time to shop that we assumed we knew the way back to town. Wrong! We mistakenly took an exit to the south of Joburg about 30 km outside the city. We began to see open farm land and COMPOUNDS, and this clued us that we were going the wrong direction. Once we arrived at a toll booth, we stopped and asked someone how to get back, and they told us we needed to turn around and go back the way we came. After turning around and trying to make our way back, we ended up downtown Joburg, I mean amongst the skyscrapers. OMG! Finally, Ricky recognized a road that he had been on before, so we took that exit, and pulled over to call for help. The only person we had a number for was Jane (our BIMS nurse), and luckily, she was able to get us back to the guest house. Unfortunately, we wasted 3 hours of driving around Joburg for nothing. At least we got to see the compounds... we were wondering where they were since Joburg doesn't look like most of Africa. Next time, we will ask for a GPS before we go to the unknown.

All in all, we had a good time in Joburg, but we were very rushed with all the doctors appointments to do and get some shopping in as well. You would not believe how expensive Lusaka is compared to South Africa. We had to buy Kelsey a lot of clothes since she has grown so much since we arrived in October 2007. We have a Mr. Price clothing store in Lusaka, so we took Kelsey and tried on clothes in order to get her sizes. Then, we went to a Mr. Price in Joburg and purchased her a new wardrobe. The same shirts that cost $20 in Lusaka, cost only $4 in Joburg. She was so happy to see all her new clothes. The boys also got some new duds. We also buy food and medicine there too since it is less expensive.

We almost always have airline trouble going to or from Zambia. We know from experience now to wrap our luggage in shrink wrap and to lock all our bags before putting our bags through Johannesburg Airport. Theft is very common at this airport, and so we were prepared this time in leaving Joburg. Once we arrived in Lusaka, we noticed none of our luggage came on the plane, and we were not alone. There were 40 pieces of luggage that mistakenly went to Harare, Zimbabwe instead of Lusaka, Zambia. We're not sure how this happened, but we had to go back to the airport today (Monday) to get all our luggage. Thankfully, it all came in one piece, and nothing was broken into.

We are glad to be back home in Zambia!

From Johannesburg

2008-07-24T10:48:00.000-07:00

We have been in Johannesburg since Tuesday morning... well, at least four of us have. Kelsey stayed in Zambia to run the guest house (Just kidding). She's spending this week with the Rodgers family in Chongwe. Ricky had the first doctor's appointment at the dentist on Tuesday, and everything is fine with him. Niki went to the doctor on Wednesday, and other than some dry skin and a few ringworms, she is doing fine. Today we had a free day, so we took advantage of some shopping. It is nice to be in a country where you can find clothes that are not too expensive. Lusaka has really become an expensive place to live. We have 2 more appointments for Austin and then we will return to Zambia on Sunday.

Unfortunately, we forgot the memory stick in the camera, so we will not have any pictures from Johannesburg this time. We are enjoying eating out at the many choices of restaurants - especially McDonald's. This morning for breakfast Ricky had a double cheeseburger and an apple pie. Yes, they do that in South Africa! We will post again once back in Zambia.

Making Movies

2008-07-16T07:12:00.001-07:00

For the past few days we have been making some videos of our children to send back home to Denmark First Baptist for their VBS week. Denmark FBC raised money last year for some ministries in Zambia, and we are giving them reports on where their money was spent. We have a few more videos to produce that we are working on, but I would like to show the kids' movies that were made this week. They did such a great job telling others about their life here in Zambia. Thanks Denmark FBC for all you do in supporting missionaries like us.

Wonder Woman!

2008-07-14T07:25:00.001-07:00

And the princesses too!

World Child Care

2008-07-09T05:51:00.000-07:00

Today we went to a poor compound in Lusaka called Mutendere East. We went with some friends, Mr. Phiri and Mr. Felix, to visit a school called World Child Care. This school was started by the singing group, Amazing Voices, which I have posted videos before. The group decided to give back to the community by starting a school for orphaned and vulnerable children in Lusaka. Mr. Phiri is the leader of Amazing Voices, and I have been trying to help him with promoting this school via internet. They had produced a documentary about their school on DVD and I have been trying to upload it to YouTube, but I am having some difficulties. (If anyone can help me with this upload, please email me at cook@bmoz.org)

So, we arrived at the school during the morning session. The school is currently located in a rented house with 2 rooms. One room is about 8 ft. by 15 ft. and the other about 10' by 10'. They use both rooms during the day as classrooms for the children. There is only grass mats on the dirt floor and a few benches for sitting. The volunteer teachers have the morning session from 8-12 and then another session from 12-4. Previously, at the church they were using, they had sometimes 300 students, but now that they have such a smaller space, they have to turn children away. Today there were about 60-65 children in this house for the morning session. The childrens ages range from 4 years old to 11 years old, and most of them are double orphaned, which means they lost both parents (maybe to AIDS or something else). Some of them have at least one parent, and others have parents, but cannot afford to go to school. The government schools in Lusaka are too expensive for a lot of children to attend. World Child Care has just been registered with the government, but because they are not funded by the government, they do not receive much, if any, school materials.

Upon arrival, the kids loudly sang to us... "Hello, Welcome to our school!" We got to talk with the children asking questions about their life and school. Ricky spoke with one group while Niki spoke to the other. And then Coby read a Bible story for the children. We sang a few more songs, and then while we talked with the teacher and Mr. Phiri, Coby & Kelsey began playing soccer with the kids. Before we left, we presented the school with a gift from Denmark FBC. Their VBS 2007 offering will be used to help provide books, materials, supplies, and even food for the students at World Child Care. They were very appreciative of the gift, and we intend to go back and volunteer in the school, maybe helping the teachers with lessons, and just being an encouragement for these children.

Below is a photo of Mutendere East as far as the eye can see. It is a compound having more than 5000 people in just a small area.

Snaggle Tooth

2008-07-09T00:12:00.000-07:00

In the past 3 days Kelsey has lost 2 teeth - one on the bottom, and one on the top. The one on the top has been crooked for a while trying to make its way out with the help of the tooth behind it, and finally this morning while taking her medicine, it just fell right out. Check out the before and after pictures.

Before...

After...

Finally, Part 2 Video Lower Zambezi

2008-07-06T05:23:00.000-07:00

Finally, the video has uploaded, and you can see the continuation of our trip to Lower Zambezi. This video features the many hippos we saw, and the big crocodiles, plus an awesome sunset over the Zambezi River.

Happy 4th of July

2008-07-04T04:56:00.000-07:00

It has finally warmed up a little bit here in Lusaka. Today it was 79 degrees outside in the sun. This morning Austin found a snake skin behind one of the guest houses. It seems to be a spitting cobra about 6-7 feet long. We have just had a huge pile of trash compost removed from that area, and so our guess is that the cobra was living in the brush pile. Yikes! We'll be more careful walking around at night!

Tonight we celebrated the 4th with our mission family. We had an All-American cook-out with hamburgers and the works. After we were all stuffed, we played our favorite card game "Hand and Foot". Kelsey was excited that Hannah was here for the night, and they plan on having breakfast in the morning.

Technical Difficulties

2008-07-04T03:36:00.000-07:00

I have been trying to upload our 2nd video of our trip to Lower Zambezi, but apparantly I am having some technical difficulties. Sorry! We are having internet problems as well so I am lucky to be getting this blog out today.

Instead of posting Part 2 of Lower Zambezi, I have decided to post an older video that I promised I would put on the blog. This video was taken during our trip back in April to South Luangwa, and it features 2 impala fighting. You can read more about impalas here: http://www.africanwildlifeguide.com/species-guide/mammals/antelope/impala

Enjoy the video!!!

Video of Lower Zambezi Trip - Part One

2008-06-25T00:01:00.000-07:00

We took so much video on our trip to the Lower Zambezi, so I have complied the best clips into shorter movies for your enjoyment. Part One consists of our chalets at Kiambi Safari Lodge followed by a section of our sunset cruise we went on the first evening. Because we saw so many animals, it was hard to decide what to publish in the movie. This video features the elephants we witnessed during the sunset cruise.

Yee-haw!

2008-06-22T04:49:00.000-07:00

Look at all our goodies!
Our trunk has arrived! Thank you everyone back home who contributed to the items in the trunk. The volunteers from Mobile, AL arrived last night with trunk in hand (thanks Mr. Chambers). We were so excited to open it and find all kinds of goodies for us. The kids thought it was Christmas! We are so grateful for our family and friends who care about us enough to send us things from the states that we cannot get in Lusaka. Thanks especially to Sue Maher for organizing this project and putting the trunk together for delivery. This was definitely a "love" package! And we love you for sending it to us.

Kiambi Safari Lodge

2008-06-19T22:52:00.000-07:00

Some friends from Siavonga told us about this lodge right on the Zambezi River. We opted for the tented chalets, and they were better than what we expected. The food was the best part for Kelsey (as usual), and all of us enjoyed the 7 hour game cruise. Getting there was bit of an adventure. Once we came to the border of Zimbabwe, we were supposed to take a gravel road to the left, but we could not find the correct road. After asking for help, we were pointed in the right direction. This road took us to the river crossing, where we drove onto a ferry which carried us across the Zambezi River. That was fun!

We didn't go into the Lower Zambezi National Park, but we drove the boat all the way to its border, about 60km down river from Kiambi. We could say we were inside Zimbabwe, since the middle of the river is the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. It was such a beautiful boat cruise and we saw lots and lots of hippos, crocs, elephants, and the occasional water buck and impala. The most exciting part of our game cruise was finally seeing the buffalo. Now we have seen 4 out of the Big 5. Just the leopard remains to be seen.

Once we got to the Park and turned around, we found a shady place to park the boat and eat our lunch. I think the lodge thought we were eating for 10 by the amount of food they packed for us. Once we began our trek back up river, we were warmed by the sun and the kids fell asleep on the boat. This was such a neat experience to see the animals in the water and on the banks of the river, and be so close to them in their natural environment.

We stopped off at a fishing village camp on the way back and were able to talk with the people in this village. They come to the river's edge and camp for about 2 weeks while they fish. They then go back to their village or to the city and sell their fish. They had make-shift huts and dug-out canoes along the bank of the river. There were about 30 families living in this village, and the head man told us that the nearest church was about 12 hours away (by foot, of course). As Ricky was talking to them, they thought we were coming there to build a church for them. We found out they live just nearby in a small village, but there's no church there. We encouraged him that we have missionaries working in that area, and hopefully, one day they will have a church.

I began talking with some of the ladies while Ricky was talking with the men. I found out that 2 of the ladies, Matilda and Rhoda, were from Lusaka. They sell their fish in the city market and just come to this village because they have family here. I told them I would try to come see them one day at the market. While I was talking, Kelsey interrupted me to tell me she had to go to the bathroom. I carried her into the bushes, and as she was doing her business, an elephant came just near us. I was saying, "Hurry up, Kelsey, there's an elephant right there!" The men were chasing the elephant away from the village, but we could see him through the bushes.

Our stay at Kiambi was very relaxing and enjoyable, and we would recommend this place to anyone. The staff was very nice and treated us like we were the only guests - well, we were one day! Ha! Right before our departure, we were asked by one of the staff members to make a delivery to his family back near Lusaka. His family lives at Mapepe Bible College just off the main road into Lusaka. They were calling him to tell him they were out of food, so he wanted to send them some money. We found his wife waiting by the side of the road, and when we pulled over she said, "You are the express!" Okay, so I guess we were like the delivery express vehicle. She was very thankful for our service and even invited us to her home. We declined seeing that we had just driven 2 1/2 hours with 3 kids in the back, and they were a little anxious to get home.
The drive to Lower Zambezi was not what we expected. I mean, the roads were actually paved without any potholes! It looked as if this project had just been completed since they were still in the process of painting lines on the road. That was another funny thing... the lines didn't make sense. We would see some solid lines with just white paint, and then, all of a sudden, there would be white and yellow painted lines in the center. There was no rhyme or reason for their painted lines. We watched them paint the center line by holding a rope at one end and painting along the side of the rope. They actually had a painting machine, but I have seen where they paint by hand, too. The scene was mountainous and very similar to our drive around the Blue Ridge Mountains back home. At one of the police check-points near Siavonga, the police officer was wanting to know about a church that he could attend. He said he came from a Baptist church in Mansa (north of Lusaka) and was very happy in that church. But now since he has moved, he is still searching for a good Baptist church to attend. He asked for prayer to find a church home. I wish we would have written his name down for you to pray for him as well, but you can just call him Chi (his name started with that).

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Just click on the slide show above to see all our photos from the trip. Hope you enjoyed reading about our adventure to the Lower Zambezi. We have great video too that I hope to blog later.

Get-away to Lower Zambezi

2008-06-19T14:01:00.000-07:00

Since school was out and we have been so busy at the guest house, we decided to take a small vacation to Lower Zambezi. The place we were staying is about 2 1/2 hours from Lusaka, so not a bad drive for our 2 nights away. The route goes all the way to the border of Zimbabwe before we make our turn down a gravel road to the river crossing. While at the border post in Chirundu, many people are selling their Zim dollars to make a profit. We thought it would be neat for the kids to have one of the largest Zim dollars and one of the smallest Zim dollars in existance today. We were able to trade our Zambian Kwacha for the 50 billion Zim dollar (the largest) and the 1000 Zim dollar (not the smallest, but the lowest we could find). We paid about $15 USD for that 50 billion Zim dollar - you do the math!!! The last we heard was $1 USD was worth 3.2 billion Zim dollars. Can you imagine going to buy a loaf of bread? You may need a wheelbarrow just to carry your money.

The Zimbabweans really need our prayers this coming week as elections are supposed to take place. Pray for peace and safety for this country.

Birthdays and Celebrations

2008-06-15T14:27:00.001-07:00

Yes, I have turned another year older. Tonight my mission family celebrated with me by having cake and ice cream after our Bible study. It was good to have my friends and "family" to wish me a happy birthday (on the 10th of June). My first birthday in Zambia seemed rather normal, but I did miss my family and friends back home in South Carolina. And I've never had a birthday in winter, so that was different.
And today we also celebrated "Father's Day". Coby and Kelsey helped me prepare omlets this morning for Ricky. We would like to let our fathers know how much we appreciate them for who they are, and for the example they have been in our lives. We love you, Dads!

Soccer Champions

2008-06-14T14:08:00.000-07:00

Today was the semifinals and finals of the Saturday Soccer League. Coby's team was in 3rd place in the regular season. Their first game ended in no score, so they had to settle the win by penalty shots. They won the semifinal with a score of 3-1. Then, Coby's team faced the #4 team in the finals, and again this game ended in no score. It was a nail-biting ending, but Coby's team finished 3-2 for the champions in their division. Usually, Coby plays in the goalie position, but his coach moved him into offense during both games. He did a great job, and was very excited to win the championship. Each player received a medal and the winners and runner-ups received trophys. Congratulations to Coby's team - Wilderness Safari Team!

True Love Waits

2008-06-08T14:38:00.000-07:00

On Friday, June 6th, Ricky and I attended a meeting of the True Love Waits Zambia team. We are investigating ways that we can be a part of this ministry. We received a briefing on the program, updates on program activities, and feedback from facilitators in and around Lusaka. We learned a lot about this program and what's being done in Zambia to encourage abstinence and hopefully prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS. Right now, they are looking for someone to help update their website. I have offered my assistance in training one of the volunteers on uploading pictures and getting their website up-to-date. I am excited about this oppotunity to help, and Ricky and I both feel that this program could be a possible ministry that we will continue working with.

Graduation Day

2008-06-07T01:06:00.000-07:00

Kelsey – graduated 1st grade
Favorite Subject: Reading
Favorite Book you read: Sis & Bif
Hardest thing to do in Math: Counting money
Favorite After-School Activity: Funky Movers dance
What you are looking forward to about next school year: Reading more books

Coby – graduated 3rd grade
Favorite Subject: science
Favorite Book you read: The Legend of William Tell
Hardest thing to do in Math: Division
Favorite After-School Activity: Karate
What you are looking forward to about next school year: Reading

Austin – graduated 6th grade
Favorite Subject: Science

Favorite Book you read: Mystery of the Roman Ransom
Hardest thing to do in Math: Fractions
Favorite After-School Activity: Chess
What you are looking forward to about next school year: going to a new school

School's Out

2008-06-06T11:04:00.000-07:00

Today was the last day of school at Cook Academy in Zambia. No one was more excited than me (the Mom). For our celebration, we made a cake and shared it with our staff at lunch.

As the kids were thinking about the end of school, Coby played this song from HS Musical. Here’s an excerpt: What time is it? Party time! That's right say it loud! What time is it? Time of our lives! Anticipation! What time is it? School's out scream and shout! Finally Summer's (Winter in Zambia) here, Good to be chilling out, I'm off the clock, The pressure's off, Good-bye to rules, no summer school, I'm free to shop 'till I drop, No more waking up at 6 a.m. Now our time is all our own, We're out of control!!! School's out, lets show it!Champions we know it! Let's say it loud! All together! That's what the summer is all about!Summer's here! Summer time is finally here, Lets Celebrate! We want to hear you loud and clear now! School's Out! We can sleep as late as we want to! It's our time! Now we can do what ever we want to! Summer's Here! It's our time! Celebrate! Come on and say what you know!Summer's Here! It's our time! Celebrate! The time of our lives!

After lunch, the kids played games in their own "Field Day" events. They used their imagination in creating these games, and even had to use tools to make some of the games. Upon arrival to Field Day, Kelsey was hidden in the tree and dumped leaves on Austin and Coby as they arrived. Then we went on an animal tour of the guest house, searching for wild animals like lizards, and the famous cat "Isabelle". Cousin Abby joined in the fun as they played tug-of-war and ball toss. Then it was time to get wet when they bobbed for apples. Sorry I didn't get pictures of this.

Croc Farm with 40/40 Kids

2008-05-31T10:18:00.000-07:00

Almost a month ago, we visited the croc farm with the 40/40 kids. Coby was so excited to come here again, and he could not wait until he got to hold the python (see below).

Coby with a brown house snake
Baby Crocs Staff person getting the python out

Coby got a little anxious trying to pick up the tail-end of the python, and before he knew it, the python released his bowels!
Big Crocs
Finally, Coby gets to hold the python!

Cooking Nshima

2008-05-27T14:16:00.000-07:00

We were put to the test of making the nshima for Elistina and Matilda one day at lunch. They do it so well, but they wanted us to give it a try. It is not as easy as it looks. Angela had fun trying it for the first time. Joy and I have done this before, but as you can see it took both of us -- one to hold the hot pot and the other to stir. This is a technique that is hard to learn!

Nshima is the staple food of Zambia. Our workers eat this every day for lunch. You must first get the water and mealie meal to a rapid boil while covered. Then, you begin adding more mealie meal and stir like you've never stirred before. It begins to look like mashed potatoes at this point, but you keep adding more mealie meal, and then you must do this fast whipping action with a large wooden spoon. Finally, you allow it to sit and thicken and then you make large spoonfuls for everyone to enjoy. It tastes rather bland by itself, so its necessary to add some kind of relish - and not the American relish you're thinking about. They fix this collard green stuff called "rape" with onions and tomatoes that goes great with nshima. If you ever come to Zambia, you've got to try it!

Senior Youth Banquet

2008-05-26T02:13:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, May 24th we were invited to the Senior Youth Banquet held at the Guest House. The youth did an awesome job decorating our conference room in black, white, and silver. The place looked so elegant and beautiful. When we arrived inside, we were to find our place setting by the name or phrase on our place card. Ours said "Subway" for Ricky, and "Love that twang" for Niki. It could have gone either way, but the youth get a kick out of our Southern accents.

Ricky & I dressed up for a change!The youth group with some of the youth leaders.
The youth who served and the leaders who helped in so many ways.
The Seniors who are leaving us.
We learned 3 line dances, one of which I knew, the electric slide. The other one was "God bless Texas", and then we learned the Swing dance. The youth told me afterwards that they didn't know I could dance!

Carnival at International School

2008-05-22T00:54:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday Kelsey and I went next door to the International School for a carnival. It was just like those good-ole carnivals we used to have at elementary school with games and prizes, food, and face painting. They even had a dunking booth for the students to dunk their teachers. Entertainment was provided, and we watched this traditional African dance performed by some young people of Zambia. And the food was awesome! They had African food, Sri Lanka food, Indian food, and even cotton candy!

Kelsey could not decide what to have painted on her face. She finally chose "Miss Muffet" from the nursery rhyme.

The highlight of the day was riding the horse. Kelsey has always been fascinated with horses, and she has always wanted to ride one. She spent most of the ride petting the horse, and when she got off, she said, "This horse is very soft!"

Saturday Soccer League

2008-05-22T00:40:00.000-07:00

Coby has been playing in the Saturday Soccer League at the American School. The league last for 8 weeks. He has enjoyed getting to play soccer and meet some new friends at the same time. He has also been attending a professional soccer coaching lesson on Saturday mornings. His coach spent 5 years with Manchester United and coached at Rotherham United with professional footballers. The coach is presently the Athletics Director at the International School of Lusaka and coaches the Women's National Soccer team of Zambia! What an opportunity for Coby while we are serving in Zambia!

I know he doesn't look happy in this picture. I think the other team had just scored a goal!

Blind Snake

2008-05-21T11:10:00.002-07:00

This is a blind snake that the boys found at the Guest House. They tried to convince me to let them keep it IN THE HOUSE! Of course I denied their request. They had fun making it a temporary home in a cardboard box and playing with it for the day. But at night, we had to let him go.

New Playset at Guest House

2008-05-21T05:00:00.000-07:00

For the past month we have been building a new playset at our Guest House. It is almost complete, but the kids are already enjoying it. We've had many guests staying this month, and so the playset is getting used a lot. It took about 3 weeks to build. One man was mostly doing all the work himself, but he had 2 other assistants who helped him when needed. The roofs of the 2 "playhouses" are done with the straw like a real African hut. We are waiting on the slide to be custom-made, but we have a wobbly bridge, a tree house, and swings.

Photo Shoot

2008-05-13T14:02:00.000-07:00

One of our missionary familes were staying at the guesthouse this week, and their son who is in college is here for a 3 month visit. He is a very good photographer, and so me and my friends, Joy and Mary Margaret, had the kids outside for a photo shoot. Just thought I would share some of these awesome pictures of the kids. Thanks, Enoch!

Yes, Kelsey has lost her 3rd tooth in the 3rd country, and on the 3rd continent she has been in. Her first tooth was lost during our training in Virginia, USA. Her 2nd tooth she lost during our 9-hour layover in London, UK. And now she has lost her 3rd tooth in Zambia, Africa. The 2nd tooth was lost in the swimming pool in London, and now this 3rd tooth came out while she was jumping on the couch and we couldn't find it anywhere. She wrote the tooth fairy explaining the situation, and they were very grateful to leave her a little something without taking a tooth in exchange!