What do you do when your big brother comes home?

Yes, Zach is finally home!! We are so excited to have him here. He arrived on Thursday, the 22nd, which just so happened to be Thanksgiving day also. We are so thankful he will have until Jan. 2nd. with us. In the last three months he gained 10 lbs. and grew about 2 inches taller. It has been fun to hear more details about his life at RVA since he has been back. Pray he will have a fun and relaxing time while he is here.

You go for a ride together on the motor bike.

You go down the water slide even though you are a little scared.

then you all have lots of fun.....

You even do a hand stand!

Give Thanks!

Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth,

Worship the LORD with gladness;

come before him with joyful songs.

Know that the LORD is God

It is he who made us, and we are his;

we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving

and his courts with praise;

give thanks to him and praise his name.

For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;

his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Psalm 100

As I was having my QT this morning I came to this portion of scripture. I thought of two different things as I read this scripture. 1-How am I like sheep? Sheep are very dependent animals. They need a shepherd to protect them and guide them to good pasture and water. Like sheep, I need someone to lead me. When I follow the Lord, I find spiritual safety and nourishment. However, if I had chosen to follow my own sinful desires, I would risk eternal death caused by spiritual predators. 2-I have so much to be thankful for: my salvation and my relationship with God, my family-both here and in America, good health, good friends all over the world, good food to eat while so many around me have so little, electricity(most of the time), water, a nice home, a great job with lots of benefits, and Zambians to work with and minister to. I could go on and on with everything I have to be thankful for but I won't because sooner or later you would stop reading. Remember all that you have to be thankful for also. Sometimes when we are struggling and going through tough times it is hard to think of our blessings but I would encourage you to do that anyway. Maybe I have listed a few things that can get you started and then you can continue on from there. The next time you go to church enter in with thanksgiving and praise!

Crocodile Farm

Today I took a group of kids aged 5-12 to the Crocodile Farm in Lusaka. It was a hot day but the kids had a blast. We saw snakes, crocodiles, turtles, and a monitor lizard. We ate lunch there and the kids got to swim some too which felt good on a nice hot day. Our family has been here many times but today is the first time that Justin got to hold a snake. He was thrilled beyond words.

Justin and Austin holding a Python

A brown house snake

There was even a trampoline

This is Hannah and Kelsey. Kelsey just moved here from America. She is also 6 years old.

There are some really big Crocodiles here

Mphamvu Baptist Church

Sunday we went to Mphamvu Baptist church(see website for story). This is a fairly new church that meets in this small school room. They said they usually have around 60-70 people in this small room to the left(see below). After church the women asked me if I would come to their women's meeting on Thurs. I was able to go this afternoon and spend some time with these women. I taught them a lesson about the prolem of unbelief. Then we sang and danced some. On the way home I dropped one of the women at her home. She wanted to show me her garden which was full of onions, okra, and corn. I'm always amazed at Zambians generosity. I came home with a bunch of onions. It was a fun day!

Mphamvu Baptist Church

Chimbudzi(toilet)

Power lines that go beside the church. (see website)

These are the women that came to our meeting today.