Day Two

Another day of school…another day of God’s rich blessings. It was just as exciting today to see those little white shirts and khaki pants or jumpers walk down the dusty path as it was yesterday. The kids were not as shy and were so eager to jump in to all the different activities in the classroom! As I helped wash all the kids hands at the hand washing station (which are awesome by the way…we need these things in the US!) and got them ready for their breakfast I started thinking about each of these children and how they will each be paired up with a sponsor. Then a momma walked down the line and handed a boiled egg to each child which they immediately gobbled up…and I thought, “What a gift for someone across the world to be able to provide a breakfast for this one child…to provide a uniform…a clean pair of socks and a new pair of shoes…a brand new backpack…and school supplies.” To be able to be a part of this…the Esther School…has been such a humbling experience. If you feel in any way that you would like to join us in this experience, student sponsorship is a great way. You can find out more information at http://www.estherschool.org and click on the tab “Get Involved”. There is no pressure in any way as I have no doubt in my mind that each and every one of these students will be sponsored…probably by the end of next week! I just wanted you all to know of this awesome opportunity and offer up a way for God to use you in a very real way. Please enjoy these pics…I just can’t get enough of these smiles.

The Esther School Opens!

It has been a glorious day! We woke up early to join in prayer with many of you back in the States, Canada and around the world to pray for the opening day. It was so empowering knowing how many people were on their knees in prayer at the same time in the name of Jesus. So unbelieveably powerful. Thank you all so much! I must say, your prayers were felt! Opening day was amazing. All 50 children arrived in their uniforms, new shoes, and backpacks. Such a sweet sight.

The first day of school is something we’ve been talking about for quite some time. Back in 2008 when I, Tina, first visited Zambia, The Esther School was still yet a dream! We were here training GEMS leaders and “on the side” looking for land for the school. Never in a million years would I have believed you if you told me that four years later I would be the one present on opening day! What a gift! We have been so busy around here trying to get things ready that I hadn’t really been thinking about how I would feel on this day. It started settling in as Arika and I each held a hand of a little girl named Jane. Jane is adorable…and is in Ms. Rachel’s kindergarten class. When we arrived to the preschool/kindergarten building the kids were busy washing hands and getting their breakfast. After breakfast I was able to help grandma jean by escorting her little preschoolers into their new room. As I held their tiny hands and walked with them into their new classroom I just watched their little eyes light up. After the final student was in and busy with their table time Jean walked over and gave me a giant hug! And with that, it was real. This day was finally here. After years and years of dreaming, praying, and planning. Years of designing posters, promotional packets, and bulletin covers. These children were no longer a picture on my computer screen halfway around the world. They were here, at the Esther School, holding my hand and so happy…so excited…so full of hope. It was just a grand day…I’m having a hard time expressing it in words (plus my eyes are getting teary)…so I will let you enjoy some photographs of the day. Please keep praying for these tiny little souls. For the teachers as well, and the administrators. There is still much to be done so your prayers are greatly needed. Blessings!

Day 1

(sorry, this failed to post this morning!)

We are headed off for a time of prayer with the team and some community members here to seek God’s Presence and Blessing on the first official day of class here at the Esther School. At a personal level, it is quite overwhelming and humbling given that the past several months and, really, year and a half have been spent preparing for today. God has been with us the entire way and we thank those of you who have as well. A special thanks to those who are joining us in Spirit and in prayer back home and across North America today. We have shared this with the people here and I can’t tell you how much it means to them to know that they have your support. They truly are grateful, as are we.

Today’s prayer and worship meeting

Join us for prayer

We would like to let everyone know about a couple of opportunities to join with our family, the team here, and the local community for some specific times of prayer. At several times throughout the next week, we will be gathering as a community here to pray for the start of the Esther School and for the students and families that will make up the first ever two classes. We thought it would be a very beautiful and powerful thing to have friends and supporters of the school and our work here to join us from around the world to lift up the school in prayer.

Unless you caught it on another blog, you may actually miss the first time of prayer that will be happening this morning. Just down the road is My Father’s House, an orphanage run by Every Orphan’s Hope, an organization with which GEMS has been partnering for several years. This “orphan village” consists of several individual homes, each of which houses two non-traditional families created by bringing 8 orphaned children together with either a “momma” or a couple that serve as the house parents. Not only have our respective organizations been working together collaboratively in the village, but many of the people at the orphanage have become dear friends and allies in our work. Several of the house parents lead in the village church that we attend, they have been indispensable in helping us plan and translate meetings for the school and, in fact, three of the children from the orphan homes will be attending the Esther School.

“The mommas” as they are simply known around here, are also unbelievable prayer warriors. They meet every morning at 4am for prayers over their children, the orphanage, the village and now the Esther School. They can often be heard praying and singing from here during one of their regular all-night prayer vigils. In fact, I have never met a more Spirit-filled and -led bunch than this. Just the other day, they called and asked if they could stop by for something very important. They arrived later in the day to tell us that they felt led to come and pray with us. Today, they have chosen to fast and pray all day for the Esther School, and are coming here again, along with the GEMS club that meets in their church, to pray with us at 9:30am. Again, that means that you will likely not receive this message on time to join us as it will be 3:30am for most of you there (EST), but I would like to invite all of you to join with us in prayer at some point throughout your day today.

I’ll also give a little better advance warning about two other times that we will be praying collectively next week. Next week Wednesday (9/26) will be the orientation day for the first Preschool and Kindergarten classes. parents and students will be coming to explore their new classrooms and pick up their uniforms, but not before we all meet at 8:00am for a time of prayer over the children. Again, the time difference makes this challenging for most of you, but we invite any who are willing to stay up or set their alarms to join us at 2am EST so that prayers can go up collectively from around the world.

Finally, we will be meeting as a team – the staff of the Esther School and a few parents of students – the following morning at 6am to pray for the first day of school which is Thursday September 27th. Those who would like to stay up until midnight or get up to join us are welcome. We would love to let the people and the students here know that they are literally being prayed for or with by people around the globe.

Thanks in advance to those willing to join us and for those of you who already pray regularly for us, the team, and the school. This really does mean the world to us and to the people here. The other day we held a meeting for parents of selected students and there was a question about fees for uniforms and books, etc. When we told them that the costs for these items were being covered by friends from throughout North America they responded with tears and applause. It was one of the more moving moments from our time here. (shameless plug: if you are interested in the child-sponsorship program, by the way, please check it out on the newly launched Esther School website: http://www.estherschool.org or GEMS’s website: http://www.gemsgc.org. For $50 each month, you can be partnered with one of the new students from preschool or kindergarten. Your support covers their uniform, backpack, shoes, daily meal, books and other hard-costs. You will have a chance to see pictures of, correspond with, and pray for your specific child and follow them throughout their progress here at TES)

Thank you all and many Blessings!

In HIM

Our first pet

Well, we officially have (had) our first pet. The kids woke up to find this sweet box turtle in one of their toy dump trucks. Our dear Thompson, one of the young Zambian guys who are on our work crew, caught it on his way in and gave it to the children. This is the same guy who taught the kids how to make a rat trap! He is quite a guy. We did end up letting the little guy go…his name was Lightning…the kids named him that because they said he was really fast for a turtle! We have also had some unwanted pets (see pictures below). For some reason these creepy spiders seem to love coming into the house at night and run across our feet! Rachel, our kindergarten teacher has become quite the spider stomper. I’ve added some more random pictures of our time here. Enjoy! Move in day is tentatively scheduled for Monday. I’ll post some before and after pics of the house after we are in!

Unloading day!

What an exciting day! We felt so blessed by the God’s goodness and his perfect timing! We did indeed open the container yesterday morning and believe it or not had it emptied by noon! It was amazing watching everyone work together to unload. We had a team of fellow zambians helping us as well, and a flat-bed truck (which they call “canters” here) that we would fill up and they would deliver to the library, clinic, and classrooms. It was so fun to unload all of the things that we packed so long ago…the kids were ecstatic to get their bikes off and began riding them immediately! It was also so amazing to see all the school supplies! Tables, chairs, shelves, blocks, crayons, curriculum…it was like Christmas! Arika and I (Tina) were able to unload bins and organize our kitchen and get most of the things into at least the right rooms. We had an “epoxy” team today working hard! The first coat is on the floors and the second coat goes on tomorrow. Here are just a few pics from the day…

Thank you to everyone who donated items for this container…furniture, tools, epoxy, lumber, sporting goods, school supplies, and so much more! Thank you! God bless!

Finally…

It’s 5:30am here in Zambia and I’ve given in and gotten out of bed after lying awake for some time.  This morning we will open the sea container for which we’ve waited 4 1/2 months.  In it are the supplies we need to open the school and the administrators’ duplex.

Yesterday we were able to work with officials from Zambian Customs to be granted permission to open the container.  It has been teasing us by sitting on site since being delivered on Tuesday, but we were told we could not break the seal until a Customs agent arrived to conduct a full physical inspection and verify the contents.  This could have taken any number of days as most agents do not have their own mode of transportation from the capital city and agencies such as this are often very inefficient and slow to respond.

Apparently, though, for a slightly higher fee, one can order a full physical inspection report that does not require a full physical inspection.  We have, therefore, been given the green light to open and unload the container.  Unfortunately, some of the team didn’t arrive back from the city on time last night to begin, so we are starting at first light this morning.  What a joy to be able to finally see and assemble and utilize so many things that were procured or donated back in the states.

Some more updates:

We have our students!  After testing nearly 100 students last week, we poured over the results of their assessments to determine which were most ready to begin school.  We then met with a committee including myself as administrator, Pat DeHaan as a learning consultant, the two American teachers and three community leaders from the village to weigh the readiness of each student, along with several other factors (proximity of family home to school, capacity of family to use their gifts to serve the school), and select the first 48 students of the Esther School.  This was really a beautiful process; one bathed in prayer in which we sought not to make our own decisions but to seek God’s will in discerning which children He had already chosen. 

I was very encouraged by seeing the ability for Americans and Zambians to work together well and share each one’s gifts towards the work of the Kingdom.  I am very impressed by the wisdom, faithfulness and selflessness of the people we are working with here and am very grateful, especially, to Chapman Zambara, Jessie Kabaghe and Peter Silungwe who have proven not only to be great friends, but wonderful, Godly examples of leadership in this community.

I’m also thankful to Pat, Jean and Rachel for their hard work in sorting through the results and serving on the selection committee.  I was very moved by the manner in which we carried out this process and am very confident that we have been given the correct children and families with which to work. 

This weekend we will announce through the churches and post the results on Monday.  We will then hold a parent meeting on Wednesday, orientation day the following Wednesday (9/26) and officially begin classes the following day on Thursday 9/27 at 8am. (or 27/9 at 8 hours as we say here!)  Please pray for God’s hand of protection and grace during each of these critical next steps.

 

Yesterday we said goodbye to Pat and Ron DeHaan, Jan and Dale Boone, and Tim and Lauren Swieter.  We are so grateful for their willingness to share their time and gifts with us and move this project forward.  They (and we) were disappointed that they were not able to assist with unloading the sea can – even after we delayed several of their trips – but they were able to do some very critical work that prepared us for this point.  In fact, we have again noted the blessing of God’s timing in all of this as the delay has allowed us a more manageable process of preparing for this point.  A HUGE thank you to these people and prayers for their safe return home.  We are also thankful to Barb Miedema who offered to delay her return to the states by another 2 weeks to support us during this time.

 

We are all doing well  and looking forward to this important day.  Thank you to the army of prayer warriors who have ushered the container in this far and continue to support our efforts!

 

Zikomo kwa Mulungu!

IT’S HERE!!!

With the thousands of prayers for it’s safe arrival far outweighing the hundreds of snags and delays, our sea container finally arrived on site this morning!  It’s journey lasted over 4 1/2 months and took it from a loading dock in Zeeland, Michigan via semi to Chicago, Illinois, then by rail to Virginia, boat to Biera, Mozambique and again on a semi truck through Mozambique, Zimbabwe and finally to Zambia where it will spend it’s retirement basking in the African sun.  This event was much anticipated as its contents will provide us with much needed furnishings and supplies for the homes, school buildings and grounds here at the Esther School. 

Thank you for all who have prayed it through thus far.  But we’re not done yet, of course…

-First, we need to stop to offer as much thanksgiving as we have petitioned for the safe arrival.

-Second, for safety and strength as we unload.  If loading was the process it was – and we benefitted from the expertise and equipment of our friends, family, and our friends at Inontime, Inc – we can only expect unloading to prove to be an ever bigger challenge.

-Third, that the impact on the local people would only be positive.  Many here do without what they need much less the things that would be considered luxuries.  We have been humbled by this experience and are often self-conscious about the impact we make when seen unloading a vehicle full of groceries or supplies.  Please join us in praying that the contents of this container are recognized and received as blessings only.

-Finally, we really aren’t done yet.  We received word that Zambian Customs has ordered a full physical inspection of the container which means that not only can we not break the seal and open the container until an agent arrives, but that they have the liberty to delay and complicate this process as much as they care to.  In Zambia, this could mean anything and, as this process and others have proven thus far, will likely cause more delays.  As always, we are working diligently to navigate the red tape and expidite the process, but please also pray that this step can move quickly.  We have even prayed that we will have an opportunity to witness to the agent by allowing him or her to see what it is that God is doing in this place and with His resources.

 

Here are a few pics from this morning…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

…and blooming.

I had to share this simple but beautiful message I (Kevin) received from my mother last week.  I hope it speaks for itself…

This bush is outside our window. We were told to pull
it out or cut it down, but for the last few weeks ten
beautiful flowers have been living right in the middle
of it. This past week two new flowers bloomed and I
just went out to take a picture and saw that there are
several more buds. Their environment looks harsh and
threatening  but they live and grow in spite of that.
In fact, the contrast makes them appear even more
beautiful. They are fulfilling their purpose of 
reflecting God's glory. They are surviving, even
thriving, under their circumstances (the sprinklers
don't reach them so they have gotten very little water
this summer). They bring me much joy and I thank God
for them daily. I even have new hope for the bush.

Aren't our flowers beautiful? I know that God has a
special purpose for them and finds them even more 
beautiful because they are faithfully fulfilling that
purpose.

Love, Mom/Grandma