Greetings from Zambia!!!

Hi Friends! 

Its unbelievable to me that I am finally posting my first blog to you “from the field”.  Actually, this is quite literal right now and I wish that you could see the scene.  Drew and work team leaders Ray Scheepstra and Harry Reinders and I were up late tonight talking under the stars and now I’m sitting on a plastic lawn chair in the middle of the Esther School Road so I can catch an internet connection. Its been spotty so I won’t be able to post much for now, but wanted to give a quick update as I know some people were going to try to keep up with this trip through the blog.

Its a little after midnight here (I don’t even know what week it is there!)  The stars are the most unbelievable thing i’ve ever seen.  Hard to imagine you will all be looking at the same ones tonight.  Drew and I were just chasing an enourmous lizard around the kitchen.  its still in there and Drew says its as scared of us as we are it, but i highly doubt that’s possible.

 
Today was a work day and my body tells me we worked pretty hard although its hard to believe that if you see what we accomplished.  Things just operate so differently here and usually at a slow pace for us.  Tomorrow we have a “plan” to meet the chief in the morning which one of our expat contacts here says to believe only when we see him.  it sounds like we’ll be heading to the neighboring Bible College in the afternoon and will meet with someone else that we’ve had some contact with, so we’re definitely looking forward to that too.  We’re hoping to get our hands on some equipment because the soil is really hard to work and we have plans to get a few things in the ground before we leave – including the 12 fruit trees that Jan picked up.  

 
This morning i woke up before dawn and had some devotional and prayer time in our new “kitchen” then watched the sun rise.  Its pretty amazing to see our home coming together brick by brick.  We had a chance to tweak a few things and talk to Faisal (the Zambian work crew leader) about it some, and i think it will turn out very nicely.  Tonight after work and before dinner Drew and another work crew member and I heard children laughing off in the distance so we took off down the road and ended up at a large clearing between the government school a local orphan village.  There were at least 100 kids of all ages hanging out there and playing all sorts of games including soccer and what must be the Zambian equivelant of basketball.  Many of the kids were apprehensive to see 3 muzungus come walking up, so we kept our distance some.  We did get lots of smiles and waves and talked to a woman who lived down the trail a ways.  I can’t describe the whole scene but it was one of pure joy.  The children are absolutely beautiful and all so happy and carefree.  hard to get your head around it all.  in fact, i’m having a hard time so far processing and articulating all of my reactions and emotions.  I started tonight at group devotions to explain what we saw and how i felt at that scene and i could feel it all welling up so i left it alone for now.  i’m so exhausted and overwhelmed that i can’t quite deal with it at once, but i think it will hit me soon. 

already so far this has been an amazing experience.  We’ve said that we are getting  a more real sense of what will likely be very good and what will likely be very difficult here, but it all comes back to relying on God for everything.  My sense is that is something that most of the people here do very well and we have much to learn from them in that regard.

I hope to post more soon, including some pictures, but should probably head in soon – there’s something probably odd about a big white guy sitting on a cheap lawnchair in the middle of a road in Zambia typing on a laptop at 12:30 in the morning.  Plus i’m hearing all sorts of interesting noises coming from the surrounding bush.  Fortunately, the lizard is locked inside.  Unfortunately, I have to go in there and sleep.

Good night all – and thank you so much to all who are supporting us and praying for me on this trip.  Please continue to pray that God will open our eyes and our hearts to all that He has in store for us this week and next and for continued safety and protection.

 

Kevin

Faith.

Faith. This is a word we tend to throw around loosely. But what really is “faith”. The bible tells us in Hebrews that “faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” I  have a canvas hanging in my house with this description of faith:  When you come to the edge of all the light you have known and are about to step out into the darkness, faith is knowing one of two things will happen…there will be something to stand on or you will be taught how to fly.

I love this image. In our secular world we talk about “taking a leap of faith”. A “leap”…making the jump without being sure where we will land. I think way back with Abraham…when he was called to a foreign land…a place far away from everything he ever knew. He took a “leap of faith” trusting that God would guide him… provide for him… teach him how to fly. This is the same faith that we are holding on to now as our departure date approaches.  As we prepare to leave for Zambia, our humanness tends to surface. Fears and insecurities about the unknown take over leaving us with a sense of anxiety and uneasiness.

But this is how I feel when I’m depending on “me”…when I’m looking to “me” for the answers…looking to “me” to fix things. But God doesn’t call us to “fix our own stuff”. God calls us to live a life of faith. He tells us to lay our burdens at HIS feet. When I look to God and His word all my insecurities in this life melt away. God reassures us time and time again that He loves us!  “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Take a “leap of faith” today and trust in the Lord. God will provide a place for you to stand…or He will teach you how to fly. Sounds pretty good to me.

Homesick for a place I’ve never been…

“Homesick”.  That’s really the best way that I can explain how I’m feeling lately.  People often ask lately: “How are you feeling about moving to Zambia?”.  As a therapist, I have to appreciate a question about feelings, so I see it as my duty to answer responsibly! 

Over the past months (and even years) since God revealed this plan to us, we have actually experienced a very broad range of emotions, some with an intensity we had yet to experience in life.  Anxiety, fear, uncertainty, excitement, doubt, sadness, joy, anger, anticipation – all of these have been stops along the way of our journey thus far.  Part of the theme of God’s equipping and sustaining us through this process, though, has been a prevailing sense of peace.  Somehow even as we were in the midst of despair over this decision, pounding (literally) our hands on the table over having to make such a challenging commitment, we always knew that this was the plan and that it was a plan ordained by God.  In His wisdom and love, our Father stood with us patiently, even held us at times, as we traveled through the course of what He knew we needed to experience in order to have our hearts prepared for this call.

And now…homesick.  Odd really, since I’ve never been to Zambia.  Odd since before we learned to recognize the beauty of this call, and how it was an answer to so many prayers, we had no intention or desire to leave what we know as home now – especially to move to Africa!  Odd since our current home is so meaningful to us – our community, our home church, our kids’ school, our house itself, the land it is built on.  We had learned to put so much emphasis on establishing our sense of home and seeking comfort in what we had built that we couldn’t have imagined leaving it all behind. 

Another beautiful theme of how God is leading, though, us is to redefine our sense of home.  We understand in new and profound ways now how our only real Home is to be with God.  In his presence.  Within his will.  This is our true Home.  And, often, God calls us to “stay at Home with Him” by leading us through new and, sometimes, difficult places. 

I think maybe that’s why I have felt lately this sense of being homesick for Zambia.  At the risk of sounding naive, or of underestimating the intensity of the challenges that await us in our new home, I can’t wait to get there.  While I absolutely cherish my home and my life here, I long for a time and place where I will be even more dependent on God for providing for and comforting us.  I also, on a more simple and practical level, am eager to see where we will spend the next few years of this adventure called life! 

Next week, I will depart for a two-week trip to Zambia – arriving in Lusaka and staying in Chongwe at the Esther School.  In fact, the work team I will be joining will literally be assisting the Zambian work crew in the construction of our actual home!  I absolutely can’t wait to experience the sights, sounds, smells and feel of this new place – to experience the land and the people that I have, thus far, only heard and learned about from afar.  Please keep us in prayer as we travel and as we do our part to advance God’s Kingdom through the work of the Esther School.  We are so grateful for the love, support and prayer of all of you who are behind us in this.

Inspired

I woke up inspired this morning. Well, actually, I woke up to a 2 1/2 year old in my bed who wanted to turn the lights on. But after that…after I got my morning cup of coffee and I was sitting watching the beautiful sunrise, I just felt inspired. What a gift today is. Use that gift wisely.

I am constantly trying to get my kids to try new things. I want them to experience so much! I’ll suggest we go for an adventure in the woods and see if we can find any indians or arrowheads! The normal response I get is, “Nah…I’m fine in here.” Or I will make a great dinner or try some fancy new snack from pinterest thinking they’ll love it! And they just want the same old, same old…ramen noodles. I sometimes feel defeated! Don’t they know what they are missing? These things are so great! And then I am quickly reminded that I do the same thing with my Father, my heavenly Father. God has so much planned for us. He created us to do great things! And some days I can barely get out of my pajamas. We fear change, don’t we? Doing something completely out of OUR schedule terrifies some of us? Live spontaneously??? I have a house to take care of and three kids! But I read these words this morning from my devotional and this is where the “inpiration” came in:

Do not fear change, for I am making you a new creation, with old things passing away and new things continually on the horizon. It is easy to make an idol of routine, finding security within the boundaries you build around your life. Although each day contains twenty-four hours, every single one presents a unique set of circumstances. Don’t try to force-fit today into yesterday’s mold. Instead, ask (God) to open your eyes, so you can find all that (He) has prepared for you in this precious day of Life.

Are you going to life your life on ramen noodles? I hope not. There are so many greater things out there than that. Live a life of adventure today. Do something different, do something great, and most of all do something that makes God smile.

Howdy Strangers!

It has been much too long since we have updated our blog!  Like many of you, our lives here in North America move at near break-neck speed.  We are constantly spinning multiple plates – and sometimes they get a bit wobbly!  This is always a busy time of year for our family anyway and, for some strange reason, it seems that winding down our various commitments here and planning to move a family of five to Africa for two years adds some additional stress and responsibilities.

We certainly have our difficult days and, many days, it probably would appear to most that we were losing heart.  I must say, though, that we have been sustained and comforted in profound ways by our Lord, the Wonderful Counselor and the Designer of this plan.  I think we all struggle with keeping up with our stressful and hectic lives, but we are able to find so much peace when we submit to God’s specific will for our lives.  Ironically, our stress about the things of life – work, finances, chores, competing schedules – bother us most when we focus on them the most, and least when we give up the control of it all.

This is one of the things we are excited about when it comes to our call to serve in Zambia.  We haven’t even left yet, but we have already experienced God’s mercy and peace transcend our crazy lives.  While we anticipate significant challenges and struggles ahead, we also long for the opportunity to rely solely on God for our wellbeing and sustenance.

Lately, whenever I am able to focus exclusively on our call and the mission of the Esther School, I am refreshed and renewed for our task at hand.  Drew and I are off now to speak at a local church that has committed to supporting our call for the month of February, we are grateful for the generosity of that congregation (Fairway CRC) and several friends who made that connection happen.

I am also extremely excited for our upcoming trip to Zambia.  In less than three weeks Drew and I will join a work team and a training team and travel to the Esther School for a two week trip where we will focus on the construction of our new home, key meetings with several Zambian contacts that are key to the success of the schools launch this September, and several “recon missions” into the village to explore resources and the availability of supplies.

Please keep us in prayer over the next several weeks as we strive to keep our focus in the right place, to trust in God alone for our comfort, for travel safety and a warm reception by our brothers and sisters in Zambia, and for continued financial support of our work there.

Thanks!