A pair of socks=JOY

 We visited with Agnes in her small one room house on Monday.  She is actually from Lukulu which is in the western part of Zambia but said she moved to Lusaka about 5 years ago so someone could help take care of her.  

 Agnes told us she has no blood. Actually, that means that she has anemia.  Because of this, she mostly stays in her bed because she is very weak.  She said to walk even a short distance she feels like she will fall down.  She eats little and very seldom does she drink water.  Which as you can imagine leads to other ailments like dehydration and constipation.  The doctor at the clinic gave her something to take but I didn't recognize the name of it. I'm assuming it was a vitamin but I'm not sure. 

When we were giving her the BGR bucket she was so very excited!  When she saw the socks in the bucket she got a big grin on her face.  She said, "Just this morning I was praying and telling God how cold I was.  I never knew you were going to come and bring me socks but God knew."  Amazing that a pair of socks could bring such joy!

Agnes asked me to tell whoever had sent the bucket, "Thank you!"

6 Years

For the last 6 years Mr. Hebran has been lying in this bed and his wife has been caring for him.  He is very thin and not doing well these days.  We gave him a BGR bucket and he was very happy to receive it.  I sat on the bed beside him and began to share Christ with him.  When I started talking about Heaven he said he did not believe in Heaven.  He was a jehovah's witness.  When I shared my testimony and told him I was 100% sure that I would be in Heaven one day he just smiled and said they didn't believe that.  Pray for Mr. Hebran to trust and believe in Jesus before it is too late.

Justin is 20 years old!

 Today, we celebrate our son, Justin, turning 20 years old!  I remember this day like it was yesterday! 

Pray for Justin to have a good day today.  It's hard being separated from your kids on special days like this so pray for us too!

 Justin's first birthday!

Wish I had a dollar for every time he has kissed my cheek!

Hooked to an IV

Friday I went to visit several patients and all of them were real tough cases to see.  Perhaps the hardest for me to visit was a woman named Elaina.  She was 24 years old lying on a bed in a local clinic in the compound.  An IV was attached to her trying to give her some nourishment because she was so very dehydrated.  She was HIV positive and has been in and out of the hospital for several months.  She has been having diarrhea and vomiting for the last 7 weeks and she couldn't get better.  Hopefully, the IV helped!  What struck me when I walked in to the clinic room was how very small she looked in that single bed with the IV in her.  Her waist was probably about 18 inches around if that much. Her eyes were big but sunken in as well.  The look of hopelessness was in her eyes.  She was kind of out of it so we just visited with the family, prayed for her, and then left.  We left a BGR bucket with the family member so they could use some of the things in the bucket to help Elaina feel more comfortable.  The clinic ended up referring her back to the hospital this weekend.  Please pray for this young girl as you think about her.  Pray that the vomiting and diarrhea will stop and that she might regain some of her strength that has been lost.  Pray for her family who is trying to care for her.  Pray she will receive good medical care at the hospital. 


++ I just got word that she died this morning....4-28-2015

Answered Prayer

 

Friday I was able to go and visit a young woman named Mary.  She is 20 years old.  She has 4 children.  Her oldest is 10 and her youngest is 2.  Mary is HIV positive.  Her mother passed away and she, along with 3 of her children are living with her grandmother.  As we approached the small home Mary got up from where she was seated outside and came inside the house to receive the guests.  It was obvious she was out of breath as she sat down.  Rose, her caregiver, opened the BGR bucket and began showing her all the things inside.  The things inside will help her in the coming days as this disease makes it more difficult for her to live.  We shared the gospel and prayed for Mary.  The caregivers who were there with us could not believe that Mary was able to walk.  Just last week they had visited Mary with a volunteer.  Mary was so weak she was not able to walk just last week.  The volunteer prayed for her to be able to walk and be able to take care of herself.  After that team left Mary got up and walked.  Praise God!  Please pray that Mary will continue taking her ARV's and be able to eat nutritionally so that she will be able to care for her young children.  

As we were leaving I asked one of the caregivers how that was possible for her to only be 20 and have a child that was 10.  The caregiver said, "In this compound, it is possible."  I know this may break your heart as it does mine.  This is their reality but it doesn't have to be!  

I love this Chris Tomlin song below.  As you read these words please pray these things for Lusaka.

 "God Of This City"

[Verse 1]
You're the God of this City
You're the King of these people
You're the Lord of this nation
You are

[Verse 2]
You're the Light in this darkness
You're the Hope to the hopeless
You're the Peace to the restless
You are

There is no one like our God
There is no one like our God

[Chorus]
For greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this City
Greater thing have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this City

Masquerade Ball

 This past weekend Hannah had the opportunity to go to a masquerade ball with some other youth in Lusaka.  She loves to get all dressed up so this was a lot of fun for her.  My friend, Aretta, came over and curled her hair and  I did her make-up.  

 She looked so beautiful!

She had a great time!

Zambezi Cluster Meeting

 We recently returned from our cluster meeting at Lake Malawi.  As you can tell from the pictures, it is a very beautiful place.  All the missionaries serving in Angola, Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia gathered together for a time of renewal, teaching, encouragement, training, and fellowship.  It had been two years since we had all been together so it was fun to see everyone together again.

 Some of the rooms

 

 The younger kids enjoyed swimming in this little water park.

 Here are some of the younger mk's.

 Each day we heard missionaries share their testimony.

 This is the Mozambique sub-cluster.

 Herb led us in worship

 Many people got their service certificates for years they have served on the field.

 Tom Goodman came from Texas and shared God's Word with us.

 

 Sub-cluster reports can be quite entertaining!

 Tea time

 We had a special prayer time for each team.  

 Some enjoyed riding a camel

 A volunteer team from Hillcrest Baptist Church in Texas came to do VBS with all the mk's.  They all had a great time!

 

Mk's service awards 

 

Talent Show

We have quite a talented group!

 The journeygirls who hosted our talent show had the leadership team come up and lip sync a song.

 It wall all so much fun!

Zach and Megan's Wedding and Reception

Loved seeing these pictures!  Here is a link to see all the pictures of Zach and Megan's wedding and reception. Brings back such great memories!

 http://kjugarphotography.pass.us/zachandmegan