Elephant Orphanage

 This week we took Justin to the elephant orphanage here in Lusaka.  They have 4 small elephants that they are caring for until they put them back out in to the wild after they get older.

 When they first come up their caretakers give them a bottle of milk.  They drink it very fast!

 

 This one was thirsty!

 I love how he had his back legs crossed while he ate.

 Justin

 

On the way home we passed by all these hay bales.  I think they look so beautiful when they are lined up like this for as far as the eyes can see!

Straws!

As we entered the small house we saw a very small man who was very sick.  He was all alone in this small room.  He is too weak to walk or do hardly anything for himself.  He doesn't feel like eating or drinking.  His name is Timwani and he is a 30 year old man lying in a bed with a disease that is killing so many people. 

He is HIV positive and has TB. His mother passed away so his father is the one caring for him.  He has a job that keeps him away a lot during the day.  Pray for Timwani to be well taken care of.  We were able to give him a BGR bucket, share Christ, read scripture, and pray for him.

 

 Praise God he is already a believer! 

We got him a cup of water to drink and left it beside his bed so he could easily reach it.  It was much easier for him to drink using the straws that were in the BGR bucket.  He was so very thankful for all the things in the bucket! He kept saying the words, "thank you," over and over again.

Update:  I just got word that Timwani died 5-29-15.

Update on Mr. Mwanza

May 9th I wrote on my blog: Please pray for Irak Mwanza whom we visited yesterday who has some kind of strange skin condition all over his body and is swollen especially in his face, hands, and feet. We'll follow up with him on Monday and take him to the hospital. As I shared Christ with him he began saying that is what he needed before I even finished. He said he went to church as a young boy but had not been since and he spent most of his life drinking. Praise God, he prayed to receive Christ yesterday! He is now a new Creation!
We took him to the hospital and they admitted him. We just took him home this past Thursday. I sat down with the dr and he told me that he had cancer of the blood vessels. He was scheduled for a biopsy this Wed. and then begin chemo. As we were passing by his house today we met his son along the road. We stopped and he told us that Mr. Mwanza died this morning. He wasn't great on Thursday but he was doing better than when he went in to the hospital. At the hospital someone was cooking for him so he was getting food regularly. At home he just didn't get the care he needed. We were shocked to hear this news and sad by it but are so thankful that he prayed to receive Christ on the 9th and is now in Heaven..

Justin is home!

 May 18th, our son, Justin arrived in Zambia.  He will be here until Aug. 1st.

 We are thankful for this opportunity we have to spend about 2 1/2 months with him.

 The dogs have really enjoyed him being here as well.

 Pray for some good family time while he is here and that this trip will be all it 

needs to be in Justin's life.

I think we look a lot alike!

23 Years Ago

 23 years ago I left our little home and went to the hospital to have our first born son, Zach!  Never in a million years could I have imagined how much our life would change on that day!  We are so blessed to have been chosen by God to be Zach's parents!

 Kevin teaching him to skip rocks.

I love this picture of Zach bringing me a flower!

 

 

 His first hunt

 He married Megan on March 14th.

 

 

 Zach and Hannah

mother/son dance at the reception

 We are so proud of you, Zach!  May God continue to mold you into His image!

Psalm 139:14-18  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

  My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

  your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

  How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them!

 Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I awake, I am still with you.

Follow-up visits

 The other day I wrote about a woman named Inis who prayed to receive Christ.  Today, we were able to do a follow-up visit with her and give her a BGR bucket.  She was actually sitting up today and could speak better.  She was still quite weak but it was good to see her out of bed.  

This is another patient we visited today.  Last week when we visited with her she was lying down inside the small house on the two-seater couch.  She is HIV positive and has TB.  She was lying in this small room with just a door and a very small window.  There were so many little children running around and several of her family members there also.  TB can be contagious so I encouraged her to be outside some during the day so that she could get some fresh air and not be cooped up inside spreading germs everywhere.  Today, we found her outside lying on the porch.  She did seem a little better today than she did last week.  The family was very happy to receive a BGR bucket.  These things will help them to care for this girl much better.  Thank you to all of you who have packed BGR buckets and had them sent overseas!

An Encouraging Day

Yesterday I went out with one of the caregivers in the compound and visited a few new patients and then did a follow-up visit with several patients we had seen last week as well.  All the ones we had seen last week were doing a bit better and even could chat for a while. It was neat to go into their homes again and see them using the things from the BGR buckets.
Please pray for Irak Mwanza whom we visited yesterday who has some kind of strange skin condition all over his body and is swollen especially in his face, hands, and feet.  We'll follow up with him on Monday and take him to the hospital.  As I shared Christ with him he began saying that is what he needed before I even finished.  He said he went to church as a young boy but had not been since and he spent most of his life drinking.  Praise God, he prayed to receive Christ yesterday!  He is now a new Creation! 
Another patient we went to visit, named Inis, was the daughter of a woman we visited last week.  She was now sick.  She was already HIV positive but now was down with vomiting and diarrhea.  She could hardly speak.  After I shared the gospel with her she also said she did not go to church anywhere and had lived a rough life.  She said she wanted to repent of her sins.  It was precious to hear her pray after me as she could hardly get the words out.  May she know God is there with her as she faces the days ahead.  May she feel His presence and comfort!  Praise God that she will now spend eternity in Heaven with God! 

Update on Amai Ngoma

This past week I was able to go and do a follow-up visit with Amai Ngoma.  If you will remember, a couple of months ago, we were going to visit her in Ng'ombe compound and the family that was staying with her were neglecting her.  They were not feeding her or washing her clothes and bedding.  The caregivers who I work with did what they could do to find other family members who would take her in and care for her.  Amai Ngoma ended up moving to George Compound which is in another section of Lusaka.  This family was doing a good job caring for her for a while but then we got word that they were also neglecting her so we wanted to go and see for ourselves what was going on.  The house she is now staying in is much bigger but she is put in a side room (maybe 8by12)with the only entrance being outside.  When we walked in she was lying with her head in the corner, sleeping.  We waited until she stirred some and then began talking to her.  We were in the process of asking her how she was being treated but then some of the family came in with us.  However, as we visited and shared we could tell that this family was doing a much better job caring for her than the other ones.  The room was clean and she was dressed and dry.  Someone is sleeping in the room with her so she is not alone.  She looked like she had been eating ok too.  She wasn't as small as she was the last time I had seen her.  So as we talked, the caregivers and I shared about how the last family had treated her and that I had wanted to get the police involved and how we couldn't believe that anyone could treat another human being like that.  I think they got our point!

We had a good little bible study together where I shared some scripture from Rev. and Romans.  Then we prayed and left.  We all left feeling encouraged about our visit.  Please continue to pray that Amai Ngoma will be well taken care of.  Pray that the Lord will give strength to the family caring for her because it is a tough job to care for someone who can not walk and all that entails.