Excitement is in the air. . .

Okay, you’re probably thinking I’m talking about a something profound like I just signed a three book contract (okay, so that would be great too) but no, I’m talking about excitement over a new grocery store. Or at least a new improved one.

You have to understand when we left Joburg last year to move to Duiwelskloof I went through a bit of culture shock. Gone were the big grocery stores, movie theaters, and McDonalds, and in their place was a small town with little amenities to offer. For the most part, I’ve had little to complain about. The people are friendly, and I never tire of the mountain views and tropical setting.

But then there was the day I want to look for a bag of apples.

I stopped first at the main grocery store in town, but all I found were a few bags of bruised fruit. So I trudged on to another small store I’d never stopped by before. Again, it was the same thing, but worse. I found a broken down cardboard box, with a few very rotten apples. There was one last store to check. I stepped inside and scanned the small room. Canned goods, milk, chips, and a row of open deep freezers. . .but no fruit. Something did catch my eye though as I started to turn toward the door. In the freezer was. . .a cow’s head. No kidding here. Someone had shoved a cow’s head, horns, blood everywhere, and all, into the open freezer.

I remember flooring it home and wondered why in the world we’d left behind the ease of city life.

Needless to say, I don’t do a lot of shopping in our small town. Instead I drive into the town of Tzeneen about twenty minutes away where I can find most everything we need. Until now that is. Our Spar, a chain store in South Africa, is totally renovating inside and expanding, and I have to say I’m quite excited. We’ll see in a few weeks if what they offer is really an improvement, but being the optimist that I am, I’m saying it will!

Until then, enjoy a few pictures of our town.

Coming soon. . .The price of gasoline and other such commodities.

Be blessed,

Lisa

Our new Spar grocery store














A local clothing store














One of two gas stations














The butcher shop

A baby who doesn’t cry, doesn’t get any milk. . .

I recently spent time doing extensive research for a historical novel I'm writing that’s set in southern Africa, and in the process, discovered a gold mine of African sayings and Proverbs. From stories like ‘Why the Zebra has no horns’, to sayings such as ‘Even a wise man can’t catch hold of a shadow.’

The one in my title came from one of our new Christians who was asking me a number of questions after church. He told me that some people had criticized him for asking too many questions, but I assured him that asking questions were the way to learn.

So, if you’re ever afraid to ask a question, remember this:

Ngoana ea salleng o shoela tharing. . .or a baby who doesn’t cry, doesn’t get any milk!

Blessings,

Lisa

Hope from the heart of Africa

(Our internet has been down for four days, so I’m posting last Friday’s a bit late)

I hadn’t planned to add commentary to my slide shows, but tonight I wept openly and felt the need to share. I brought in Gabriel, my nine year old son, to sit in my lap and together we watched the story of Alone through a slide presentation from the New York Times. His story ripped my heart into pieces.

Alone is nine years old, the same age as Gabriel, and lives in Lusaka, the capital of Zambia. It’s a place we’ve been to many times. His mother died in 2001, and he hasn’t seen his father for years. He lives with his grandmother in a one room, cinderblock house. At night he sleeps on the cement floor. During the day, he rises at six thirty in the morning to go work in the query crushing rocks. He works for two hours, with no breakfast then goes to school. At school, he has a hard time concentrating. He’s hungry and tired. At one o’clock, he returns to the query and works for another five hours until it’s time to walk home. Supper is his only meal of the day.

Nine years old, small, undernourished. . .and truly, alone.

There are three hundred children from Alone’s school who also work in the query. Barely making enough money to help their family with a place to sleep, one meal a day, and enough water to survive.

I first thought I’d entitle today’s slideshow Tears from the Heart of Africa, but instead of tears, I’ve entitled it Hope. Hope from the Heart of Africa. As much as I don’t want to admit it, I realize that I can’t change the whole world. I can’t take away poverty. I can never insure that each child has three meals and a warm bed at night. I can’t give a loving home to every child who’s taken into child labor to work as a prostitute, a miner, a street vendor, or a full-time servant. But I can still make a difference. Each one of us can, one person, or one child at a time.

I doubt that anyone reading this post will go to bed tonight with no supper. We have shoes on our feet, and warm beds to sleep in. We are blessed. Because of this, go out and make a difference in one person’s life today. . .and tomorrow. . .and the next day. A neighbor, a friend, someone who’s lonely and needs a phone call, someone you see on the street, someone who needs a friend, a hot meal, a shoulder to cry on. . .and start changing the world, one person at a time.

Be blessed,

Lisa

Link to the New York Times slide presentation on child labor: http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/world/20060814_ZAMBIA_FEATURE/blocker.html?th&emc=th

A BRIEF LOOK BACK

Memories from the Heart of Africa

Flying over Victoria Falls

Photos from the heart of Africa

Sunrise over Mozambique

Photos from the heart of Africa

Driving through the Bush

Photos from the heart of Africa

IYKDWYBDYKGWYBG. . .

Okay, no, my title is not a typo, but can you pronounce it?

Scott just returned from a very productive ministry trip to Zimbabwe where he and Allen met with about thirty church leaders for a three day, intense conference. “Can you pronounce it?” was one of the first questions he asked the group.

Why? Because this ‘word’ describes the problem he wanted to address.

“If You Keep Doing What You’ve Been Doing, You’ll Keep Getting What You’ve Been Getting.”

Scott’s focus for the weekend was the importance changing our way of thinking from survival mode to intentional evangelism and church planting--and becoming fishers of men. He shared on the importance of finding a person of peace, like Lydia and Cornelius, and how from the very beginning, we want our house churches to be groups that are evangelistic. We want our cells to have a group DNA that includes the urgent mission to reach out to “ALL.”

I won’t go into all the details of his talks in my post, but the power point he put together was absolutely fantastic, and I’m excited to see how God will use this information to motivate the churches here throughout southern Africa for His glory.

As for happenings at home, life is never dull. Our internet is finally up after being down for two days, we have limited water for the next two weeks (complete water outages from time to time), and some nasty pluming problem. All of that and another snake! But spring is in the air and we are all healthy, so there are no complaints from me!

Next week I plan to post a slideshow of photos each day. . .from the heart of Africa. So stay tuned!

Blessings,

Lisa

Playing catch up. . .

I thought it was time I took a breath and sent a post. I've discovered that with Scott out of town, life gets very hectic for me. I temporarily become the parent, chef, chauffer, mentor, disciplinarian, tutor, pal. . .the list goes on and on. These last few days have been no exception. With school in full swing, life is good, but full.

Today, Gabriel played his first field hockey game, and wouldn't you know I forgot to bring the camera. I'm hoping he will have more so I can take a few pictures. He certainly loves his sports and does very well. He's concentrating on swimming right now as he's recently joined a swim club, something we feel will be good for him. Mariah continues with her ballet, loves spelling and reading, and Jayden just loves to play and be around people.

I have a bit of good news; I just sold my tenth book! This latest sale is the second book in my cozy mystery series. I can hardly believe it, and feel so blessed to have the opportunity to write as part of my ministry. I still feel like a newbie in the business, though, and know I still have so much to learn!

In the next day or two, I'll share about Scott's trip into Zimbabwe. They've crossed the boarder back into South Africa, so I'm praising God that not only did their trip go well, but they are safe.

Blessings,

Lisa

If you died tonight. . .

I continue to be excited about the growth God is bringing us through our cell group. We are specifically reaching out to the domestic workers in our area, a group of people often overlooked. I’m constantly amazed at their excitement as they learn stories from the Bible that they have never heard before. Often David, who translates for those who don’t speak English, gets so drawn into the lessons that he forgets to translate. His enthusiasm is refreshing.

In the African cultures, it’s considered polite to receive gifts with both hands as a sign of thankfulness and honor. One of the questions we often ask people is if you were to die tonight, would God receive you with both hands. We asked the question on Wednesday night to our group. Two of the new Christians said yes, but the other three said no, they didn’t believe that God would receive them.

This led to a time of David sharing why he could confidently say yes, God would receive him. Our goal is not to simply make converts, but to train disciples. Disciples that will develop a deep relationship with God, an understanding of God’s word, and who will in turn express the joy of their faith with others. What a wonderful experience it was to watch as David shared why he was confident that God would accept him with two hands. Their conversations continued after our own study and onto the next evening as David continued to share with them.

On another note, please pray for Scott and Allen as they are now in Bulawayo teaching a number of our leaders. The situation in Zimbabwe continues to worsen by the day, so we ask for your fervent prayers for their safety during this time.

Blessings,

Lisa

TWELVE DAYS IN AFRICA

(To be sung to the tune of the Twelve Days of Christmas)

On our recent trip through Africa we saw the strangest things. . .

Twelve lazy hippos

















Eleven elephant crossings
















Ten armed police checks
(no photos allowed)




Nine million kwacha
















Eight border crossings
















Seven plates of Nshima

















Six shopping malls
















Five. . .malaria infested mosquitoes.
















Four-wheel driving

















Three thousand miles

















Two weeks of cold showers






















And a troop of monkeys in a baobab.

Prayer update and a BIG thanks!

GRACE AND MARTIN

Grace is now home from the hospital after delivering the baby. We found out that the reason the baby died was that it was severely deformed. Please pray for this family as they work through the loss of their child.

INTO ZIMBABWE

Scott and Allen leave on Friday for a week of teaching and training of a number of our church leaders from Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Zambia. We ask for your prayers as they go into Zimbabwe as the country continues to fall apart. Most services are at a stand still and gas prices have doubled the past week. People can hardly afford a loaf of bread. The list could go on and on.



These two pictures I’ve posted are of our first visit to Zimbabwe four years ago. Plans at that time were to move to Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, but because the government offices were shutting down, we were unable to get any visas. Four years later the situation is only worse. Please pray for the people of this country who are facing enormous difficulties right now. Please pray also for Scott and Allen’s safety, and that the leaders of the churches will be encouraged and will take to heart the things that they learn.


THANK YOU!!!

I think I mentioned earlier that we are in the process of selling our house in Dallas. We’ve had renters in the house since our arrival in South Africa, but are needing to sell now. Scott’s dad graciously drove down to Dallas last week and has been fixing up the house and getting it ready to sell. We appreciate his help so much. I also want to give a big thanks to Lynne, Jane, Meredith, Matt, Amy, Tory, Duane, Diana, Rick and Jackie from our home church in Dallas who spent time cleaning and repairing the house as much.

You all are a big blessing to us and we are humbled by your generosity!

Thank you so much!

Lisa

Prayer Update

We just recieved word that the baby has died. Martin and Grace are a big part of our ministry as missionaries to the Lozi people in western Zambia. We ask for your prayers as Grace waits to deliver the child and as the family goes through this difficult time.

Blessings,

Lisa

Urgent Prayer Request

We just received word that Grace Mulyata, the wife of one of our church leaders and the coordinator of our orphan program in Zambia, has just returned from the hospital with possible problems with her unborn baby. Grace is nine months pregnant and they could not find the baby's heartbeat. Her husband said that they are planning to induce this afternoon.

We are concerned not only about Grace and the baby, but the medical care she is receiving as well. Please pray for these dedicated servants of the Lord.

Lisa

INTO MOZAMBIQUE. . .

Scott recently traveled with Allen and part of the team that helped us at the medical clinic to Mozambique where we are starting a work among the Tonga. The Tonga are one of the unreached people groups in Mozambique with less than one percent claiming to be Christian of any kind.



In our recent survey of the tribe, with the help of a local Christian, we learned that the most common reason stopping the Tonga’s from become a Christian is that they are happy to serve the witchdoctors and continue with their ancestral worship. They have not been receptive in the past to the Gospel of Jesus Christ because they are content to keep their relationships with the ancestors and witchdoctors. We have discovered the tremendous need the Tongas have for a living Savior who will deliver them from the bondages of witchcraft and syncretistic Christianity.






Inhambane is located on the coast of Mozambique and we can get there in one day’s drive. Much of the group’s time was spent meeting government officials to get permission for us to start working in the area, a very important step in the process. Time was also spent talking to many of the local people.


















One man, Eduardo, gave his life to Christ during this time. He is planning to go back to his family’s village and share with them his new faith. This is exciting for us as we prayed for a ‘man of peace’ who would help to open the way for us into the country and give us a place to start our first home church. Scott and Allen will be returning next month for follow up and more teaching for Eduardo and his family.





Some of the people they met.



















African Outreach Ministries is a non-denominational ministry whose goal is to reach unreached people groups with the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are currently needing people who will partner with us both financially and prayerfully. Please contact me for more information if you are interested in being a part of this ministry.

I'll share more in my next post.

Blessings,

Lisa

FRENCH TOAST, HOT BUTTER, AND . . .KETCHUP?

I like to think that I'm doing a pretty good job adjusting to life in South Africa. For the most part, I know my way around. I've learned a ton of new words in English, like bonnet, braii, and drimac. I've learned to drive on the left hand side of the road, celebrate Christmas in the middle of a heat wave, and eat fruit chutney, biltong, mealie-meal, and bobotie.

Perhaps because of this, I noticed that I haven't had any culturally profound things to write about lately.

Until Sunday.

Gabriel had a friend spend Saturday night with us, so I decided to get up early and fix French toast, a special treat for our family. We all sat down to eat and after I'd passed out the food to everyone, our South African guest asked for a bottle of tomato sauce (Ketchup).

I cocked my head. Tomato sauce. . .on French toast. Obviously, he'd never had French toast. Especially French toast dipped in a batter with cinnamon and vanilla!

I started to explain that this was French toast and we put butter and hot maple syrup on it. He wasn't impressed and insisted he wanted the Ketchup. This of course was fine with me, as long as I didn’t have to eat it. I did finally convince him to try and my homemade syrup which he (thankfully) said he liked.

I talked to his parents after church because I thought the idea of ketchup and French toast was so humorous. They then explained that to a South African, French toast is a savory dish so adding ketchup, cheese and other such items is the norm.

I explained that most Americans that I knew would roll over and die before putting Ketchup on their French toast!

Coming next: Into Mozambique

Be blessed!

Lisa

ZAMBIA PART FIVE: GAME DRIVE

Before I jump into sharing a few photos from our game drive and a river boat safari along the Chobe River, I have to pass one some really neat news.

Yesterday I mentioned David Livingstone in my post. Livingston was a famous Scottish explorer and missionary across Africa who lived back in the 1800’s. I was captivated by his life after doing a bit of research for a fictional book I’m writing set in Africa. After I finish my current deadline (August 1st!!) I was planning to read his biography. Today I heard from a cousin of mine who is doing an extensive genealogy that includes my family, and she told me that David Livingston was the great, great, grandfather of my mother’s first cousins. As a missionary to Africa who’s heart has been captured by the people of this continent, this was REALLY cool news! Thank you, Alene!

Okay, onto the photos. Seeing the animals up close is always such an awesome experience for me. I love going on the game drives and could spend hours just watching the animals. We saw a family of monkeys, hippos, crocs, birds, elephants, giraffe, wild dogs, hyenas, lots of buck, buffalo, and I’m sure I’ve missed a few. We were also able to go down the Chobe River in a boat where we saw these elephants crossing the river (these are for you, Ronie!) and the hippos. The picture of the wart hog wasn’t a kill, the animal is just sleeping. LOL

Enjoy,

Lisa

ZAMBIA TRIP: PART FOUR

For those of you following my posts on our time in Zambia, after ten days of travel and ministry, we wanted to treat our hardworking team from the States (and us as well) to a couple days of tourist stuff. So, after leaving Mongu, we headed for Chobe National Park in Botswana.

Instead of taking the grueling twelve hour route on an unpaved (very bumpy) road, across one border, and over one ferry like most of the group, I was blessed to be able to fly on one of Missionary Aviation Fellowship's (MAF) planes with the kids. While I’m not fond of flying, I have to say, I loved going up in the small plane. You could look out and see miles and miles of Africa. The highlight, without a doubt, was a once in a lifetime experience--a chance to circle Victoria Falls by air. I first saw the falls four years ago when we took a survey trip across southern Africa. I’d seen photos of the natural wonder, but NOTHING comes close to actually being there. It’s indescribable. Seeing it from the air, gave me an entirely different perspective. One I’ll never forget.

























We later drove about an hour from our hotel in Botswana, through another boarder and into Zimbabwe to view the falls up close. The Victoria Falls are said to be one of the world's most spectacular waterfalls. They are situated on the Zambezi River, between Zambia and Zimbabwe, and are about one mile wide and 420 feet high. David Livingstone discovered the falls in 1855. While at the time they were known as Mosi-oa-Tunya, meaning the "smoke that thunders" Livingston renamed them after Queen Victoria.






























After seeing the falls, we enjoyed high tea at the Victorian Falls hotel.













Tomorrow: The game park

Blessings!

Lisa

PRAISES AND PRAYER REQUEST!

Zambia Trip Update:

We just received some fantastic news! If you’ve been following my reports on our Zambia trip, you will remember the four month old baby that we sent to Lusaka. (Check out Zambia Trip: part three). The surgery was successful and the baby has returned home and is doing fine! I’m so excited to hear how one life was dramatically changed through God’s mercy and healing hand. The family went to church on Sunday to share what had happened and to thank the congregation for their help. Please pray that this family will come to know God fully.

Prayers:

We still have a house in Dallas that we were unable to sell before moving to Africa. Thankfully, we have had renters in the house since we left. The time has come, though, that we have to sell. The renters moved out in June and now the house is up on the market. Houses are moving very slowly in the area the house is located, so we ask for your prayer that God will work a miracle and the house will move quickly.

Coming soon:

Flight over Victoria Falls
Report on Mozambique trip

Blessings!

Lisa

Map of Africa

Because I always refer to several countries, I thought I'd post a map to show exactly where we are working. Right now, our work extends from South Africa to Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi, and into Mozambique. I recently mentioned our flying over Victoria Falls. It is on the border of Zimbabwe and Zambia. And to answer another comment, the Sahara desert is across northern Africa, so we aren't actually near it.

Facts:

1. Mongu, Zambia is 70 kilometer’s from Angola.

2. We have orphan programs in both Mongu and Bulawayo, Zimbabwe

3. Our new church planting work is among the Tonga people in Mozambique.

4. We work with about 80 churches throughout Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Malawi

5. We are focusing on leadership training in South Africa

Blessings,

Lisa

Zambia photos

Scott returned home last night from his trip to Mozambique with a renewed excitement for our dreams for the Tonga people. Lots of incredible things have already started happening (faster than we ever imagined!) Absolute proof that God is moving through this and not just us. I will be sharing what’s happening in Mozambique this next week.

Alene, you were right about Victoria Falls! We were blessed to see this natural wonder from the air and even received permission to circle over it. Wow! A photo doesn't begin to do justice, but if you look at my new blogger header you will get a peak of what we saw. I'll share more pictures from Victoria Falls and our trip home through Botswana soon.

For now, I want to share a few more photos of our time with the church in Mongu.

Blessings,

Lisa






Here's our wonderful group!










One of the baptisms.










The church invited differant groups to come and share a song. Here are the Bridges and Marcus from Sugar Creek teaching the congregation a new song.








Me with two of our hard workers during the clinic.








Unpacking the medicines that finally arrived just in time!

Zambia trip: part three

The baby needed 300,000 Kwacha to live.

The family had been told when the twins were born that this is what they had to do, but they didn’t even have enough money to transport the mother and child the six hours to where the surgery could be preformed.

300,000 Kwacha is less than one hundred dollars.

One hundred dollars to save a child’s life. There was no way we could say no. We quickly made arrangements to have the mother and child sent to Lusaka. The family was gathered together and prayed with and ministered to. They left with smiled on their faces and plans to leave Sunday morning. They promised to let us know how the surgery went when they return home later in the month.

This situation was one of the things that really struck me. I spoke with several of the Christians about how so many die because they can’t afford to go to the doctor. And if they can pay for the doctor’s visit, then they can’t afford the treatment. Even the hospital doesn’t have the necessary resources it needs to treat the people. While the clinic we held was only a small ripple in all that is needed, it was exciting to see the smile on people’s faces. To see them being prayed for and see a bit of hope in their future.

By Friday night we were still waiting anxiously for news on the medicines coming from Lusaka. Again, we had stepped out in faith and told everyone to return Saturday at two o’clock to receive their medicine. Joseph, one of our evangelists, was in the capital doing everything he could to get the medicine released, but every time we thought we were done with the process they would inform us about one more missing piece of paper.

We finally received the good news late that afternoon that the medicine had been released! Now it was just a matter to get it to Mongu in time. Six hours plus by bus.

On Saturday, we treated the Christians. The church was holding a conference, and people had come from all over Zambia, many walking for two days. Throughout the morning, I watched the clock, knowing that in a few short hours people were expecting the clinic to turn into a dispensary. At one o’clock, a shout of job erupted as Joseph arrived with the boxes of medicines from Holland!

Quickly, we worked with the doctor to unpack and sort through the medicines, knowing that people would start arriving by two. And that they did. I thought it was funny, because time is pretty irrelevant in the African culture, but at two o’clock I looked up and there were about fifty people literally swarming our pharmacy.

God’s timing is always perfect. I was amazed at the week progressed at how things rarely went the way I had planned, dozens of things went wrong, but through it all, God was faithful. On Sunday, we witnessed ten baptisms and enjoyed a five hour service full of praise and joy. Only He knows how many seeds were planted and how many lives were touched. To Him be the glory!

I want to extend a big thank you to Dr. Prem for all his hard work for the people of Zambia!

And to the others who came on the team from the States--THANK YOU!

Next. . .a bit of R and R on the way home, including a spectacular view from the air of one of the seven natural wonders of the world. Can you guess which one?

Lisa

ZAMBIA TRIP: PART TWO

NO ROOM IN THE INN

So there we were, nine o’clock at night and no place to stay. And let me mention, Lusaka isn’t exactly the place where you want to be stuck. There is no Holiday Inn around the corner, or Motel 6 down the road.

Scott talked to the manager of the hotel, trying to figure out what had happened, especially since he’d talked to someone to make sure they didn’t give our rooms away. Scott had stayed at the place we were at and had taken their number, planning to return. What he didn’t plan on, was that the number belonged to the manager. . .who now worked somewhere else. Turns out we did have reservations, but at a completely different place, and thankfully, they still had room.

THE CLINIC

The next day, we left for Mongu. Mongu is located in Western Zambia about 70 kilometers from Angola. Sand is everywhere, and four wheel drive is a must. We arrived at dinner time with plans to get the clinic ready the next day, but at this point, not only where the medicines still stuck in customs, we found out about another problem. The plane transporting the doctor was broken down and six of the teams bags were lost, including most of the alternative medicine that had been donated knowing what we’d bought was stuck in customs.

We made plans to go ahead with the clinic, in faith, believing that God would work out the details. They found four bags, but a second plane had mechanical problems. Finally, a smaller plane was sent in and the doctor, four bags of donated medicines were found by the airlines, and left South Africa and headed to Mongu so we could go ahead with the clinic.

We opened the doors Thursday morning with no doctor and no medicines. You can imagine how excited we were when we heard that about nine o’clock the doctor’s plane had finally landed. By the end of the day we’d ministered to over fifty people. Each person was not only treated physically by the doctor, but an evangelist met with each person, praying over their individual needs, sharing Christ, and often studying the word with them. Several accepted Christ and came back for discipling.




Our missionary pilot, Brian, prays with one of the patients.









Bia, a professional artist on our team, drew many of their faces, then gave the picture to them as a gift.











By early Friday, we were running out of medicine and there were no guarentees that the large shipment of medicine held up in customs was going to be released in time. Still, we kept treating patients. The local hospital gave us a prescription pad and promised to honor all prescriptions given. We in turn, would give all the medicine coming in to the hospital. This would fill all the presciptions and give them plenty of extra medicine for their own resources.





Our makeshift phamacy where we filled all the prescriptions












Scott teaching on Saturday







By Friday afternoon, I’d already given out the fifty spots and pushed through a couple more hating to turn anyone away. A young mother came with her family and her four month old twins. Immediately I could see that there was something seriously wrong with one of the twins. Her head was swollen and she was limp. Not able to turn them away, I let them in the end of the line.

Soon after examining the infant, the doctor spoke to me. The baby had hydrocephalus, a situation where the cavities inside the brain would have to be drained and a shunt put in. She would die if not treated in Lusaka.

The cost? 300,000 Kwacha.

Tomorrow I’ll tell you what happened to the little girl and her family.

Blessings,

Lisa

Slide show experiment

After two weeks of travel and ministry, I'm trying to take the day off and rest. (something I'm not very good at). In the midst of unpacking, tons of laundry, and a looming book deadline I'm going to put off for another couple of days, it's the perfect time to fiddle around with something new on my computer. I've put in a slide show and would love to get some feedback on what you think.

Scott has just arrived in Inhambane, Mozambique, thus all the pictures are from Mozambique. Please pray for him and the team from America as they are going to be meeting with government officials to get permission to start a church planting movement in the next few months. We have targeted the Tonga tribe where LESS THAN TWO PERCENT of the population belong to an evangelical church of any kind.

Please pray as they spend the next few days traveling, meeting people, praying through the towns, and sharing Christ.

Blessings,

Lisa

Zambia Trip: part one

I want to share with you some of the highlights of our trip to Zambia. It will give you a bit of an insight into what we do on a trip, a glimpse into the culture and people, and especially how God works miracles!

We left on July first, Scott's birthday, with three days of travel ahead of us. So with the car packed with Jesus Film equipment, items for the medical campaign, clothes for the orphans, as well as our own luggage, we struck off across Africa. The medicines for the medical campaign were still stuck in customs, but we were going ahead in faith that God would work out the details.

BOARDER CROSSING

Unfortunately, I couldn't take a picture at the Zimbabwe boarder, but it's not a sight for the weak at heart. Imagine crowded busses, piles of luggage, long lines of people, cars, and policemen with machine guns. Typically it takes about an hour and a half to cross and that's on a good day. I noticed a couple interesting signs hanging on the wall inside.

1. PUBLIC NOTICE: NO LOITERING OR WAITING

Comical when you have to stand in line for an hour plus.

2. PLEASE DON'T OPEN THE WINDOWS AS IT INTERFERES WITH THE AIR CONDITIONING

Air conditioning? Even if there was air conditioning, there were no doors so why would it really matter if the windows were open?

LIVINGSTONE

Our first stop was Livingstone, Zambia where we spent the night and visited with a new church. It was exciting to see the passion in the eyes of the Christians as they sang praises to God in their language. Allen preached and used the time to encourage the men and women we met with as well as give them some good teaching. Afterward, we ate lunch with the leaders, a wonderful meal of their traditional cornmeal mush and sauce. Our kids had fun playing soccer outside with the neighborhood kids. With a six hour drive ahead of us, we managed to leave around two o'clock and headed for Lusaka.

Scott called the hotel we were booked into and told them we would be late. They assured us it was no problem. We arrived at the capital of Zambia around eight o'clock that night, ate dinner, then headed off for the hotel. When we arrived, though, we discovered that there had been a huge mix-up, we didn't have a reservation, and the hotel was full. So what do you do at nine o'clock at night with eight foreigners and no where to stay?

I'll let you know in my next post on Monday. . .

Blessings,

Lisa

Book Winners!

Congratulations to Patty and Anthony for winning a copies of my latest book, Rebecca's Heart.

Look for more contests in the coming weeks.

Enjoy!

Lisa

Home Again!

Thank you all so much for your prayers for us the past couple of weeks! God did such amazing things on our trip in spite of three broken airplanes, lost medicines and many other difficulties. But God is good and we were able to run the clinic and ministered to over 150 people.

The medicines didn’t arrive until Saturday (the last day of the clinic) but the local hospital was gracious enough to give us a prescription pad. In faith we told people to come back on Saturday at two and gave our prescriptions for the medicines that will still locked in customs. God did a miracle (one of many) and the medicines got to the clinic at 1:00 Saturday afternoon! At two o'clock, about fifty people arrived (at once!) ready to for their medicines and we’d just finished sorting them.

God is good!

I'll be sharing some of the highlights from the trip as well as pictures throughout the next week, starting in the next day or two. I'll also anounce my June book give away winner!

Blessings,

Lisa