Shelving, Stage Three

Because our house is cozy we try to make the best use of the space we have. Hiding behind our bedroom door was wasted space which before today had plastic totes and a clothes hamper. Bedding, tablecloths, napkins, and teaching supplies lay semi-organized in these totes. Needing something from the containers proved to be quite an ordeal~sometimes I just settled for what was on the top!

With Tracy's schedule, building the shelves has had to be a several stage process. But, with only two more stages to go~attaching
the facings and painting~I'm getting excited about arranging my linens. Ain't it grand having a carpenter in the house!

Now, where did I put that pillow
case . . . . ?

AZ's New Deputy Director

This week at staff meeting Action Zambia's board announced Tracy's appointment as Deputy Director. Last week the board met to vote on Tracy, and there was a 100% approval.

Two of their board members, Joseph Mbange and Charles Bota, met with the rest of AZ's staff on Tuesday to share its decision. Both Mbange and Bota shared encouraging words about Tracy being selected for this position.

AZ's Director, Tim Hilty, wrote a letter of affirmation as he is currently in the states on home assignment. He writes, "I believe Tracy will be an invaluable asset to the Zambia field. He has my whole-hearted support
and confidence . . . . Tracy's addition will help facilitate team meetings, board resolutions, signatories, as well as establish team leadership in my absence."

Please pray for Tracy as he assumes this role~that God would grant him wisdom and that He would be glorified.

(First photo, Joseph Mbange; second, Tracy and Charles Bota)

Just Like Home

On a recent trip to a market in Northmead we spied this take-out food wagon called "Meals On Wheels". When my children were younger we volunteered in the community by delivering meals to homebound and senior citizens. After seeing this cart, I knew I had to get a picture and share it with our followers.

Ciyanjano, Day 1 Revisited

Last weekend the northern corner of Ciyanjano was surveyed in preparation for the bulldozing and grading that took place Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of this week.

Fellow teammate, Luke Whitfield, oversaw the earth moving. The bulldozer operator was late by about four hours the first day, delaying the project. As you can see, the large anthill has disappeared and in the wake of the dirt's rearrangement a large, spitting cobra was aroused. Needless to say, it was quickly
dispatched and sent to snake, uh, . . . .wherever snakes go!

Future developments for this area include moving the goal posts, forming a berm, and planting trees. It's exciting to see these new developments to AZ's property. Please pray that God would continue to bless their progress.

Children--Chimosimosi Everywhere!

Chimosimosi~a useful and important word~means, "the same". While we
dethatched the insaka, children began to gather from the community.
They wanted to help. Sound familiar? And, what good workers they were, for a while anyway. Soon worktime turned into playtime and they began
tossing the thatch in any old direction. Because the mound of straw was
growing, we had to toss it so that it landed on the other side. Due to the
wind and lightness of the straw, the thatch tended to slide more towards
the insaka. I showed them how to make airplanes out of it by bending the
thatch in half. This added more weight on one end and sent it sailing over
the mound. Soon we were having contests to see who could throw it the
furthest.

Before long the children came and whispered, "Come see!" "Is it a
snake?" I asked. "Yes," was the reply. I cautiously walked over
to where they pointed. As I did, out popped Emmanuel, the boy with his arms raised. Everyone began giggling as they saw my
surprise. My startled expression quickly turned into laughter.
Children, chimosimosi, no?

Remember in the previous post I said the thatch was being set
aside for burning? After the pile had grown quite large two women
from the community came and began gathering the grasses. They
make brooms from thatch and sell them to earn money. These
brooms bring between 1-and 2,000 kwacha, or $.20-.40. While we
watched the guys work on the latrine, the women made several
trips back and forth carrying loads of thatch on their heads. I wonder how many brooms this mound of thatch will make? And, there's still another half a roof to dismantle!

After supper Tracy shared AZ's vision for pastoral leadership and
development (PLD) with a power point presentation. We then packed up our belongings and drove home to Makeni.

It was a long day, but a good one. We had worked hard~we'd laughed~and, we were ministered to by the Vacaville team. Thank you, Sean, Kelli, Dave, Marty, Nuvia, Kevin, and Ed, for your labor of love, your encouragement, and the goodies. May the Lord bless you and increase your joy in Him!

A Day At Ciyanjano, Part IV

Yesterday was a busy day and one which I thought I was going to have to pay for today by staying in bed. Thankfully, I'm not as old as I thought I was! Because termites caused damage to the insaka pictured here, it needed to be dismantled so it can be rebuilt. A number of us began by pulling out the thatching (grass) which covers the structure. As it was removed the thatching was discarded and put aside for future burning.

While removing it we had to bring out Doom (insect spray) to kill
the wasps and bees buzzing around. The guys on the roof had the
most fun as they could just pull the thatch out and toss it to those down below. Kevin and Ed soon began a competition to see who could pull out the most massive amounts. Unthatching the insaka was dirty work and we all felt like we were wearing a coat of dirt.

After half of the roof was removed, the guys began breaking up the
concrete which lined the peak. I do believe they also had a lot of
good, destructive fun with this.

Holes

Several other projects at Ciyanjano included holes for a pit latrine and for trees which will line the driveway. Chiseling away at the earth for the future campers' bathroom are Owen Thompson, AZ's
current intern, and Marty Bandvik. The team got news that morning that the pit they had dug the day before needed to be four feet longer and several feet deeper. Working in shifts, the men made quite a bit of progress on the comfort station. And, as you can see the soil in Africa is quite red!

While Tracy was sharing from Colossians, a few of the team members traveled into town, about 20 miles to purchase trees for the holes that were dug the previous day. Lining the newly realigned driveway will be jacarandas as well as several others. The community's children gathered around to watch
and soon began lining the newly-planted trees with decorative stones. Their reward~yummy ring pops!

Pictured in the second picture are Grandson and Jailos, Ciyanjano's friend and caretaker. The fourth picture is of Grandson, Kelli (from Vacaville), Jailos, and Megan Bloemker.