We are on our way...

Today at 1:40pm we start on our journey to America. We are so excited!!! Please pray for us as we travel. We will arrive in Raleigh, NC Friday morning around 9:20am.

Kids

It's always fun having kids around to watch what they do and hear the things they talk about. Hannah's friend Evie came to spend the night last night and she got to stay and play most of today. I think they talked non-stop the whole time they were together. Then the Lowes, new missionaries to Zambia, came for lunch today. They have 3 kids and then add a few neighbors and you have a house full of kids. Here are a few fun pics. from our day.

Deborah, Hadassah, Evie, Hannah, and Dorcas

Our friends Sky and Daniel also came today. Sky and Justin enjoy playing Hangman together. Justin likes to come up with some really hard words that you have never heard of before but are usually in the dictionary.

Levi

Dorcas, Mapalo, Levi, and Deborah

Dorcas and Deborah taking turns pushing Zoe.

School Is Out!

The school year is over for us. Justin completed 8th grade and will be heading to RVA in Aug. Hannah finished 2nd grade and I will continue to homeschool her. We are very proud of all that they have accomplished this year. On pizza night I made a big choc. chip cookie to celebrate. Yum! Also, we used some of our lechwe mince on the pizza with some pepperoni's, pineapples, and mus hrooms. It sure was good!

Creation to Christ

For the past two Thursdays I have been sharing the gospel at the women's meeting at Kamilulu Baptist Church using a method called Creation to Christ. Basically, it is sharing short stories from the Word of God beginning in Genesis up through Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection. I shared half of it last week and finished it up this week. Thankfully, this wasn't just a time to teach the women how to share their faith. One woman, Adalyse Mwanza, came up and sat beside me right before we started practicing the stories. She told me she needed me to pray for her in an area she was struggling with. We talked about it for a while but when I asked her if she had ever repented of her sins and prayed to receive Christ she said she had not but wanted to right then. So right there in the middle of our meeting she repented of her sins and asked Jesus into her heart. Please pray for Amai Mwanza to grow in her relationship with Christ and that God would help her overcome that sin area in her life that she shared with me.
It has been so exciting the last two weeks because the third church, Namphande, finally joined us. I'm picking up about 11 women from that church and traveling to Kamilulu to meet with them and the women from Chinzete. So we have been having about 25 women. I will miss teaching for the whole month of July so please pray for the women as they continue to meet in their own churches until I return. Pray that we will be able to pick up where we left off in Aug.

Becoming a Man

Justin is 14 years old and growing like a weed. Monday we took him out to Lochinvar to hunt his first animal. We had thought it would just take us about 3 hours to get there but instead it took 6 because the roads were so bad. One section was 17 kms. and it took us one hour to go that far. By the time we got there and set up camp it was night so there would be no hunting on that day. The next morning Hannah and I stayed at camp and Kevin took Justin out and they both killed a Lechwe. When they came back to camp they were so dirty because the one that Kevin shot shot took off in the water before he died. They had to drag it out of the water for 2 kms. They were worn out! After taking down camp and eating lunch we had a little ceremony where Kevin talked to Justin about becoming a man and what that meant. Then he shared some scripture with him from 1 Cor. 13. He gave him a pocket knife with his initials on it and we prayed together. It was a special moment.

Justin climbing a baobab tree near the ZAWA office.

We had picked up a guide that was supposed to be taking us to the hunting guides place but as we were driving out in the middle of nowhere he said go towards that big tree. When we got there he said that we had arrived. We were very surprised because we didn't see any kind of office or home. He told us that this is where we would camp. There was no water, toilet, or much wood for a fire. So, we unloaded everything and Kevin took off with this guide to go find the other place and then go back those 17 kms. to the ZAWA office to take him back. Let me tell you, I would not have won the "Happy Camper" award that we give out during 40/40. We ate lunch at 3:30 and then started setting up camp. Kevin arrived back just at dark.

This was our view over the flood plains.

I would say that Hannah was deep in thought but this pose lasted about 30 sec.

Around the camp fire at night.

This was our camp.

Before Justin could go out Kevin showed Justin a few different ways to shoot the gun.

Justin and Kevin with their Lechwe's. Kevin's is so dark because of dragging it through the water and mud.

Kevin

Justin

This is where Justin shot the Lechwe.

Update on Zach

Lt.-Rt= Zach, Nathan, Andrew, Straton, and Matthew

This picture was taken during Zach's midterm break a couple of weeks ago. The Hatfields so graciously open up their home to all these boys each midterm. It is so much fun for the boys to be in a home and have home cooked meals, play video games, watch movies, and just hang out. Thanks so much Mark and Susan!
Zach was in a talent show at RVA this past weekend with his friends Caleb and Adam. They played a song on the guitar that they had written. They came in second place.
Zach has been teaching guitar lessons for the last few weeks and has actually been getting paid for it. We are so proud of him.
Please pray for Zach as he finishes up his Junior year at RVA. He has about 2 1/2 weeks left before he meets us in the states for a month long vacation. Pray for him as he takes his final exams that he will be able to remember all that he has learned from this year. Pray he will sleep well and get plenty of rest. Pray for him and the two other s he will be traveling with to America to travel well and make their connecting flights.

A Quick Visit to Nyimba

This week we went to visit our friends the Helgrens for a couple of days. We had wanted to see them before we left for a month but was having a hard time finding a good time that neither of us were too busy. So it was kind of a spur of the moment trip. We had a great time with them in Nyimba. They live about 3 hours from where we do. It was great to hear all that God is doing in their ministries and how He is working in them. If you would like to visit their blog go to: http://helgrenhideout.blogspot.com/
One of the things we did while there was walk to one of Joy's friends home and have tea and pumpkin bread. It was fun to visit with one of her new friends. These two pics. were taking during this time. I got to carry Lauren on my back. It had been a long time since I had carried Hannah on mine. I just love this pic. of Lauren. Then the other pic. is of us walking back to Joy's house. The Helgren's have precious children and it was fun spending time with them too!

Good Stuff!

I'm doing a bible study by Beth Moore called Stepping Up. "Good Stuff!" is what I wrote beside one of the sections in the study the other day. I have been wanting to share this for a few days but just haven't had the chance. Hopefully this will mean something to someone other than just me.

"Imagine standing on a battlefield all alone facing an angry army of 1,000 men, each breathing torturous threats. Suddenly you feel the earth pound beneath your feet like the hoofbeats of 10,000 horsemen. Your heart nearly melts with fear as you prepare yourself for the ever-mounting foe. Then you realize it wasn't 10,000 horsemen after all. It was one. Your gaze lifts higher and higher as you try to focus on His face with the sun in your eyes. He looks 100 feet tall atop His stallion, and His very presence emanates authority. He is stunningly beautiful. Staggeringly powerful. His horse gallops onto the battlefield, kicking up the earth. The rider firmly pulls the reins and brings His horse to a halt right beside you. The horseman then looks down at you and says, "Proceed into battle, mighty warrior. I am on your side."

I just love the way she writes. God has really gifted her in such a way to help you to really picture what she is saying. Oh, how I pray that daily as we step onto the battlefield we Know that God is on our side.

She continues...
"When we call upon His name, God promises NT believers that same kind of power and victory in the far more terrifying battles of the spiritual realm. He didn't just promise we'd be conquerors. He promised we'd be more than conquerors. Why aren't we living with that kind of confidence?"

"Regardless of how long we've been Christians and how deeply we've studied God's Word, most of us don't really believe down in the marrow of our bones that God is entirely, wholeheartedly, and unwaveringly on our side."

"We live most of our lives unconvinced that God is really for us. We have little trouble picturing ourselves on God's side, but for the life of us we can't picture God stooping down enough to be on ours. Even though we'll say things and sing things to the contrary, we live as if we believe down in the hidden places of our hearts and minds that God at best tolerates us.

We may rarely admit it, but our actions, anxietes, fears, and insecurities suggest something else. Perhaps some of us don't so much feel as if God is against us as we just don't necessarily feel as if He's for us.

I'm hammering the point because I'd like to suggest that in our humanity we tend to determine whether God is against us, for us, or tolerating us based on how He appers to act in our circumstances. In other words, our litmus test for whether we think God is really for us is circumstantial evidence. If I don't get the promotion, God was for the other guy. If the relationship doesn't work out, God didn't root for me. If the cancer treatment doesn't take, I'm not a big priority to Him.

God knows when something glorious in the future necessitates something difficult in the present. Because He knows the glory will be worth it, God will risk being misunderstood. Yes, God wants us to have joyful, satisfying lives, but He also wants us to have crowns to cast. Rewards to receive. Character to develop. Compassion to give. Testimonies to tell. In the midst of those painful processes, God makes bold promises.
Read Romans 8:28-39
These are promises Dear One. Promises God made straight to you. He is not against you. He does not just tolerate you. He doesn't stick around because He feels obligated to you. God is on your side because He chooses to be."

I don't know about you but this sounds like good stuff to me. I am amazed at how much God loves each one of us! We are surrounded by people who are like this. Prayerfully, they will see Jesus in us as we minister in this country. Pray that as we teach, witness, and love that God would reveal Himself to the Zambian people and that they would know down in the marrow of their bones that God is entirely, wholeheartedly, and unwaveringly on their side.