Settling back into life in Zambia

It has been almost two months since my last blog update and boy, has a lot happened!  It has been quite the emotional roller coaster.  I got this quote in an email earlier this week and it seems to nicely sum up what I have been processing:  "God is still on the throne. He’s controlling the mix of joy to sorrow, peace to conflict, loss to gain, want to satisfaction, tragedy to triumph, with your best interests always foremost in His mind." - Pastor Emeka Mbelu


We transitioned from the States back to Africa in early April.  We had an easy international flight with the kids and were able to spend time with supporters in Germany for 48 hours on a long layover, which was really fun!  Dan also passed a kidney stone while we were there = OUCH!


We spent almost three weeks in South Africa and enjoyed connecting with friends  and taking a family vacation during that time.  We were blessed with an offering for our house project from a church where Dan preached and then that money was stolen when someone busted our truck window and rummaged around inside while we were playing on the beach. 


Seeing the ups and downs?!


We feel like we have been blessed beyond measure with 72% of what we need to build our house already in our account.  Thank you to all our friends and family who have given to us!  We are settling back into life and ministry in one of the most beautiful places on earth.  God is moving in the ministries all around us and we are thrilled to be here.


On the other hand, jumping back into the rugged life here is a process for me.  I gave myself a couple days of grace as this city girl shrieked and jumped at spiders (I killed 20 big ones in one day, Miesha killed 1!!), and now I am slightly more at peace about the remaining ones living in my space since they do eat mosquitoes.  There have also been more snakes than usual around.  Dan, the mighty hunter, has “relocated” a torantilla/baboon spider to a place further from our tent, he killed a scorpion, and two spitting cobras in the last week and a few other guys have killed several snakes also.  (Dan skinned the 4ft cobra and the skin is now in our freezer till he figures out something cool to make with it!)  


This one is the gold medal winner: this python was killed in Sukuke by these Zambians last Wednesday not far from where our friends are ministering and building a home.  (No, we weren’t there!!)




We are blessed to be able to house sit for two weeks while we get our tent sorted out and ready to move back into.  As you can imagine, in dusty Zambia, a tent left standing for 5 months needs a little scrubbing before it is inhabitable again.  Also, while we were gone - our tent was burgled.  They used a knife to slit a gash in the side and took about $1500 worth of things.  This was not the best way to be welcomed back to the base, but I have almost finished washing all the muddy footprints off of our bed and linens and even as I write, Dan is at the police station because they believe they have identified the thief.  There is a chance a few of our things may be able to be recovered.


We were also intensely blessed to have visitors from the states already!  Tom and Bonnie Kopp  with their pastors from Radiant Church John and Pam Vredevelt came to spend a long weekend with us.   Tom and Bonnie introduced Dan into missions and Zambia in 1994 on a mission trip they led and it was amazing to have them visit us as our lives have come full circle to living and ministering in Zambia ourselves.  Bonnie and Pam asked great questions and helped me process some of the recent challenges which was such a wonderful gift.  We went to the Victoria Falls with them and the Musi oa Tunya Game Reserve and saw some amazing wildlife.  Dan and John went into Sukute on Saturday and did some hut to hut evangelism and we also went to a women’s meeting on Sunday evening which was really fun.   We have been talking about Zambia for months with you all in the states, and it is just wonderful to be back and be here to minister.

We are currently in a preparation mode as our first class with 14 Advanced Missions Training students arrive on May 9^th.  We are also trying to figure out some house details – we’d love to begin building soon!

Will you please keep us in prayer?

-       for peace and joy in the final transition into the tent

-       for our 14 AMT students

-       for wisdom and insight as we teach and coach them

-       for our visas– our request for our two year business visa is currently under review.  We would love to have a hassle-free and quick approval!

-       We hold our belongings loosely, but it would be really nice to have back what was stolen from our tent.

We are still needing about $200/mo in monthly support.  If you’d like to contribute towards a part of this or give a one time gift for our house building fund, please email me at Janell@overlandmissions.com for details.

 

Thank you for your love and prayers for our family!

Love,

Janell