You know it is hot when....

Have I mentioned before that it is really hot in Zambia right now.  We are trying to patiently wait on the rains to help cool things off a bit and get rid of some dust but it is difficult at times to be patient.  Please pray for the rains to start soon!
Today after baking in a tin roofed church for two hours we decided that we must be WELL DONE!  Then when we got home we discovered the power was off which meant no fans.  As we were just sitting still in front of some windows which were not producing any breeze  I decided to come up with some ways which you know it is hot when.  So here is my list:

You know it is hot when.....

-ice melts in your drink before you sit down to drink it.

-if you are young you just walk around in your underware.

-if you have to change your clothes at least twice during the day.

-if you have to take a cold shower before bed just to bring your body temp. down so you can sleep.

-if you wear antiperspirant and deoderent but the antiperspirant doesn't work and you wonder what is the point anyway.  

-Baby powder is your friend.

-if you discover it only takes 2 fingers to drive your car.

-you turn on the cold water tap and only hot water comes out.

-you have to stare hard at the fan to confirm that its working, since it does not produce a cool breeze at full speed.

Leadership Training

This is written by Kevin:

One of the apprehensions that I had about moving from our former ministry in Chongwe to our present ministry in Lusaka was finding ways to serve the Lord outside of the office. Before, I was more of a frontline missionary involved in evangelism, discipleship, church planting and leadership training. Now, my role is more administrative, and while I don’t like to call it a desk job, I do more supervision and mentoring of other missionaries than I do directly engaging Zambian nationals. I constantly tell myself that in the big scheme of things I am having a greater impact than ever, but I still sometimes miss the kind of ministry that we used to do. In addition, there aren’t a lot of missionaries who are serving here in Lusaka and it is a city of about 2 million people. This has caused me to seek areas where we can have a regular ministry with Zambian nationals, outside of the work I am doing as the Associate Cluster Strategy Leader for Zambia. Witnessing opportunities are everywhere, but I have been wanting some consistent type of discipleship or training ministry as well. A few months ago I met with the associational leader for Lusaka and asked him to identify some needs that they might have, or some areas where new churches need to be started. He directed me to a group of churches in the Chipata, Kabanana, Chazanga and Independence compounds. We have started visiting these churches on Sundays and have also offered our help in any way that might be needed. This has evolved into several things over the last few months. First, I am getting to preach in different churches every Sunday which keeps me fresh spiritually and also helps me keep up with my language skills. Also, I am meeting people, making friends and developing a vision for other kinds of ministries and new churches in these areas. However, what has really excited me is that I am getting the chance to do leadership training with all of the church leaders in this area. The Lord has worked things out so that on the 1^st Saturday of every month, about 50 of these men and women (Pastors and Deacons as well as secretaries, treasurers, Women’s leaders and Youth Workers) are gathering together and I am leading a series of leadership seminars for them. It has been wonderful to be able to engage in “real” ministry in addition to my leadership role in the mission. My job is important and I like it, but being able to be involved in one on one ministry with Zambians is more like a gift the Lord has given me on top of the other things I do. Yesterday was the first time of the actual training and 33 people were in attendance.  These 33 people represented 9 different churches from these 4 different compounds.   Please pray that this will evolve into further training, more effective churches, more people reached for Christ and more new churches planted in Lusaka.

This is just a very small view of Chipata Compound where Kevin is holding his leadership training.  Just imagine, there are 3 other compounds just like this one(total 4) that are represented during this time.  I would say it is pretty important that these church leaders get some good biblical training.

Sorbet

This past week I made a blueberry, strawberry, and banana sorbet.  I thought I would share this recipe for others to enjoy on a nice hot day.  This is a modified version of the recipe I followed.

Sorbet

1 cup sugar

1 3/4 cup Mazoe-instead of straight mazoe I used 1 cup mazoe and 3/4 cup water

1/2 cup lemon juice

4-6 cups of frozen fruit (any fruit will do)

Heat sugar, mazoe, and lemon juice over med. heat until the sugar is dissolved.  Bring to a boil for one min. stirring constantly.  Let cool a bit.

In a blender add 1/2 of your fruit and 1/2 of the mazoe mixture and blend.  Repeat with other half of fruit and mazoe mixture.

Pour into a glass or metal dish and cover.  Freeze.  Then Enjoy!

My Day

I often times have people who will write and ask what a typical day is like for me as a wife, mother, and missionary.  I guess no two days are alike really so it is sometimes hard to answer that question.  I thought that I would write about what I did today so you could get an idea of what my life is like.
-I woke early to the sound of rain and praised God for it knowing this day would be cooler.
-had a QT.  I studied in Psalms today.
-exercised for an hour 
-showered
-did school with Hannah until 12:30
-did 3 loads of laundry
-talked to two friends on the phone
-made sorbet out of blueberries, strawberries, and a banana- we will enjoy that on the next hot day.
-oversaw some men coming in our yard to remove some branches from a tree that had been cut down.  They were loading all of these branches in a minibus(van)-interesting.
-a young 17 year old boy came by our gate today just to tell me a praise.  We first met Stewart a few weeks ago when he came by our house stranded in Lusaka and needing to get back to Mazabuka which is about 3-4 hours away.  We don't usually give out money but felt impressed to on that day to help him.  We did not have any money at the house at the time so I didn't know what to do.  Hannah heard the story and said she had money and she would give him transport money.  You know I cried and even Stewart had tears in his eyes when I told him the money was from our 10 year old daughter.  I really didn't think we would see him again but today he came by to just tell us how he was doing so well now and he is back in school.  God had answered our prayers and had provided money through the government for him to help with school fees.  You know lots of people come to our gate and ask for something.  This is one of the first times that someone has returned to say thank you and given a praise report about it.  I witnessed to Stewart and although he believes he will one day go to Heaven he has not yet repented of his sins and asked Jesus to come into his heart.  Pray for Stewart to even today get this most important decision finalized.
-I baked banana bread and oatmeal cookies.
-I delivered the cookies to some friends.
-I went to visit with my neighbor and took her the banana bread.  Hannah got to meet her daughter who is 11.  This is a big praise because we have been praying for a friend for Hannah.  We thought most of the houses on our block were businesses and have just recently learned there are some homes along this street also.  Isn't that funny, we have been praying since before we moved here for a friend and she has been here all along right next door! (There are walls around all of our homes so you can't see in) Please pray this will be a good friendship for Hannah.
-I answered email and checked facebook.
-I also fixed breakfast, lunch, and I'm about to cook dinner.
-After dinner I imagine we will watch a dvd and then go to bed.
Tomorrow will be different.  Some things will be similar to today but then it could look totally different.  Here is one of the Psalms I read today.  Hope that it will minister to you as it did me.

Psalm 100

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.

Can't believe it!

Last night Kevin and I went to see a movie.  The theater had about 25 people in it so it was not too crowded.  Right before the movie started a little South African girl came and sat two seats away from me.  After about 30 sec. she moved over right beside me and began talking.  She was a little girl so I thought she must be in the wrong theater because this was not an animated kids movie.  She told me that her mother had just dropped her off to see this movie while she went somewhere else.  So, she was in the right place after all.  She also told me she was 7 years old.  Within the first 5 min. of the movie she kept talking to me asking me questions about the movie or just making comments and she was not whispering.  Finally, I told her she was going to have to be quiet and watch the movie.  The whole time I'm watching the movie I am wondering what kind of mother would just drop her 7 year old daughter off at the theater and leave her unattended.  At the end of the movie she said, "It was so lovely to meet you.  I wish I had a pencil to get your number."  I did not have one.  As we are walking out I noticed she didn't have on any shoes. So thinking she had left them at the seat I asked her about it and she said she had just not worn any.  I asked her if her mother was supposed to meet her outside and she said she had to just wait for her outside.  I leaned over to Kevin and said, "You know I can 't leave this little girl until her mother gets here."  Evidently the woman who takes the tickets knew of the little girl because she told her that her mother was waiting at the restaurant across from the theater.  I asked her if this had ever happened before and she didn't know if it had or not.  I explained to her that this was not right just letting a little girl go by herself to the movies.  Thankfully, I was a nice person but what if she had chosen to sit beside a not so nice person.  I don't even want to think about that!!  The little girl asked the ticket woman for a pencil so I wrote down my number for the girl.  Then the girl went to wait at the restaurant.  After about a min. the mother came out.  She was dressed nicely and was obviously well to do.  The girl ran up to her mother and told her that she had sat beside me in the movies.  The mother thanked me and didn't say anything else.  I turned to walk away.  I was just so upset and angry over this situation.  Why in the world did that mother do that?  Then I was upset that I didn't/couldn't say anything to that mother because I hate confrontation.  I am not very happy with myself!

Fudgesicles

I know this post will not be very interesting to those experiencing cool weather right now but for those who live in hot climates such as us you may want to try this.  October is the hottest month here in Zambia.  There are no clouds, it's dry, and it is very hot!  The other day Hannah came to me and said, "Mom, I just want something cold."  So, I looked up a recipe to make something cold and we landed on fudgesicles.  Here is the recipe:

Fudgesicles
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tblsp.cornflour
3 Tblsp. cocoa
2 1/2 cups milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 Tblsp. butter

Cook sugar, cornflour, cocoa and milk until thickened, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat; add vanilla and butter.  Freeze in small paper cups or popsicle molds.  (Makes 6 1/2 cup popsicles) 
Then enjoy on a hot day!!

Lottie Moon Christmas Offering

The 2011 theme is “His heart, His voice, His hands – I am Southern Baptist missions.” It reminds us that as followers of Jesus, we – the Church – are called to be the body of Christ. We are His heart, His hands and His voice in the midst of a world filled with unreached peoples. We are part of the task to fulfill the Great Commission. And although we Southern Baptists have been praying, giving and going for 160 years, the task is far from finished.


Now is the time to take a fresh look at the challenges ahead and be ready to finish the task of reaching all peoples. Here’s a global snapshot of the work ahead of us:

• 6,744 people groups are considered unreached (less than 2 percent profess a personal relationship with Jesus Christ; as reported April 2011)
• 3,789 people groups are not engaged at all with the Gospel (as reported April 2011)
• More than half the world’s people live in cities. Most unreached people groups likely are represented in the world’s urban centers.
• 1.5 billion Muslims make up 22 percent of the world’s population

There is much work to be done. With more than 45,000 churches in the Southern Baptist Convention, the task is doable, but it will take all of us – starting with our your church!

Think your gift to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering® won’t make a difference? Every penny given to Lottie Moon is used to help support about 5,000 Southern Baptist missionaries serving overseas. Last year, those missionaries reported 360,876 baptisms and 29,237 new churches!  That is great news!  Don't you want to be a part of that?

The 2011 Lottie Moon Christmas Offering® goal is $175 million. That was also the goal for 2010 and 2009, but receipts for those years totaled $145.6 million and $148.9 million, respectively. These offering shortfalls have resulted in restriction of new missionaries being appointed.

I know it may seem early to be thinking about giving to The Lottie Moon Christmas Offering but really it will be here before you know it.  Please prayerfully ask God what He would have you to give this year to this offering.

To give online you can visit: 

https://netcommunity.imb.org/SSLPage.aspx?pid=229

What is your Giant?

For most of us, we go through seasons in our life when we are insecure about who we are, what we look like, or maybe we worry about what our future will hold.  We learn from the Bible that God has a purpose and plan for our lives.  We all face trials and challenges in our faith.  Being a Christian does not mean we will not have problems.  We don't get a "pass" on trials and neither should we want to.  It is through these trials that we grow closer to God and become more like Him.  Yesterday, I went to Bethlehem Baptist Church in one of the compounds of Lusaka.  I was so excited to be teaching women again.  It is something I have really missed since moving from Chongwe.  There were 20 women in attendance.  As we sang together I couldn't help but smile.  I was where I was supposed to be! 
I shared the story of David and Goliath and talked about how we as Christians are sometimes like the children of Israel in that when we hear threats of evil we often cry and retreat so we do not have to face our problems.  I tried to portray to these women that God is in control of each day of our lives and he can empower us to defeat any enemy which comes against us.  We only need to cry out to Him and trust that He is able to deliver us. 
The bible says that Goliath was 9 ft. tall.  That is a huge giant!  I can imagine that the children of Israel were afraid of him.  I would have been too!  However, David made the choice to not look at the size of the giant but at the size of His God.  So, instead of running away in fear, he went out to meet his enemy.  We all know that because David did not run away, Goliath was killed.  So, if God was big enough and powerful enough to bring down David's giant, He's still big enough and powerful enough to bring down our giants.  God has not changed.  He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow!  If we choose to focus on the giants in our life-we will stumble and fall but if we focus on God-our giants will fall.  
I had the women write on a piece of paper whatever they felt like was a giant in their life and they brought them up and placed them face down.  I taped them to a box and read them out loud.  We then all got on our knees and prayed for God's strength and help to defeat these giants in our lives.  After we prayed we went outside for a little visual and hands on reminder.  I brought with me a slingshot and some stones.  We then all took turns aiming at the box with all of our giants taped to it.  As you can see from the pictures below we drew quite a crowd of kids.  The women loved doing this and they were so funny.  They would cheer for one another when they would hit the box and slap hands with one another.  Then if they missed they would say, "second chance, second chance."  What a beautiful picture of how we should be as Christians encouraging those around us to face those giants and not run in fear or give up.  Let us cheer one another along in our Christian journeys.

 The women wrote down things like poverty, sickness, alcohol in the family, worry, and fear for their giants.

 They were so excited when they would hit the box!

As a side note I wanted to share something that happened earlier in the day before I went to teach.  As I was preparing to go I needed some good stones to take with me so I went out in our driveway and asked Anton are yard worker and man who just prayed to receive Christ a few weeks ago if he would help me to find some good stones for a slingshot.  I'm sure he thought I may have been a little weird so I did what I normally do and started talking to him explaining what I was doing.  I asked him if he had ever heard of the story of David and Goliath and he had not.  I then shared that story with him.  Here are his words to me after hearing the story. "Can you tell me where it is in the Bible so I can go and read it again. This is a very good story.  I see from that story that God used a young boy to defeat that giant.  That means even me, I can be strong in the Lord if I put my trust in Him.  David wasn't old or well educated and he was able to bring down that giant.  I am very encouraged by this story."  Praise God!!  Please continue to pray for Anton to grow in his relationship with Christ.  Also, pray for these women of Bethlehem Baptist Church to remember that mental picture of using a slingshot to bring down their giants the next time they find themselves face to face with another giant.