Caterpillars that we ate

Day 5

Wow today was a great day full of work, excitement and good time. After our morning devotion we all set out to the field to continue work on the pit latrine. After an hour of working we were joined by the local children who helped dig, played games and spent time sitting with us.
At the same time a bulldozer crew and grader crew began to clear the area for the new Football Pitch (Soccer Field).
We also began the process of burning the thatched roof we had removed from the inzaca. During the burn the winds picked up and the fire jumped the fire line and started the surrounding grass on fire. The grass fire grew and everyone including the children ran over to pitch in.
Sensing that there was a true emergency Dave sprang into action pushing past Firefighter Ed. Taking a cue from the local children who had all grabbed tree branches and started beating the flames, Dave acquired his own branch and began to assault the fire. With team work the flames were extinguished and all was well.
After the fire Sean left and was able to meet with some local pastors who were participating in Action Zambia’s Pastor Leadership Development class. This class is sort of a bible college for pastors. None of the pastor here are full time pastors they all have full time jobs and then come home and make time for their family’s and serve their congregation. Some of these men get up at 3am every morning to study the bible before their work day. Because these men have no formal training one arm of Action Zambia is dedicated to training these men in proper doctrine and interpretation of the scriptures. Sean was able to meet with these men and was even able to teach a class.
After Lunch it was back to work. While we continued to dig the latrine we heard shouts from the children. About fifty yards away a large Cobra who had been disturbed by the bulldozer fled its nest. With screams from the children “njoka!!!!” (“snake” in Nyanja) every child on the football pitch without skipping a beat ran at a dead sprint in the direction of the snake. As they ran they scooped up rocks. With military precision the children let loose with an impressive savo of rocks aimed at the Cobra. The withering barrage kept the Cobra from raising up and spitting its venom. After several minutes the Cobra was dead and the children exploded in celebration. This was a great moment to share with these young Zambians and our bonds of friendship grew.
After a great day in the field it was back to the farm for chow. As an appetizer our hosts served us Termites which were very yummy. After dinner we were briefed on Action Zambia’s C.R.O.S.S. ministry which deals with assisting Zambians who are H.I.V. positive. The ministry also helps educate Zambians about H.I.V. prevention.
Prepared By Marty Bandvik

Day 6

We have enjoyed another incredible day in Lusaka, Zambia. We first received a briefing from Pastor Vincent of the Redeemed Church directly behind the Farm. Pastor Vincent explained that some of his congregation will accept Christ and believe that is all they need to do. No further action on their part and no compliance with God’s word for their life is required. He spoke of a man in the Church that refused to accept God’s word that there was to be one man and one woman in marriage (he had three wives). After the briefing we split forces, the women went with Megan to a clinic (more on that from Nuvia) and the men finished digging the pit-latrine (thank God!!!!) The men then met with Pastor Vincent at his church and we split into three groups, with each group going with a member of Redeemed Church. We went out on a four mile Evangelism trek through the countryside {inviting families to our Church meeting} at Redeemed this evening. Pastor Sean and Kevin actually met with a well known “Witch Doctor” and shared with him, inviting him to the meeting (he did not show). While meeting with the families we handed out care packages to families and children and they were very well received. We went to our Church meeting tonight and we met with well over two hundred adults and numerous children. Pastor Vincent was so delighted. On an average his normal congregation is about ninety people. Ed and Kevin gave their testimonies and they were very moving and powerful. Sean then preached a great message. An altar call was given and ten people came forward and accepted Christ (including one that had just come from the bars). The people that came to the Church meeting were so full of joy and they exude happiness and contentment. Here is an interesting fact I learned while walking the countryside with one of the Church Elders (Samson); if you have a serious injury in this Village or Farm area, you ride your bike to the clinic. If you can’t ride they put you in a wheel barrel and push you to the clinic. I was convicted on how well cared for we are in the Unites States.
-Dave

Kelli and I went with Megan to one of the community schools where Megan has been doing a Bible study for the teachers. It was very eye opening to see the classroom and the lack of materials they have. The kids were all wearing their yellow and brown uniforms and once again, they were delighted to have their picture taken. After the Bible Study, Megan took us along to the clinic where she was taking two kids from the orphanage that is right there at the school and one from the school along with her mother. One of them was a small boy who is five years old, but looks like he is two or three. The reason for taking the kids to the clinic was to get them tested for HIV. The boy was found to be negative for HIV, but lacking protein. He is such a joyful boy. This is the thing that has amazed me the most of the Zambian people, they rejoice over everything, even though they don’t have much. One of the girls and her mother were also tested and both were found to be positive for HIV. They will start treatment this week. The best thing is that the clinic is willing to go to the school and test all the kids – for free. Megan has to get permission from the parents and hopes to do this soon.
Like Dave mentioned above, tonight we went to church. I love church here. They are so joyful. They dance, and sing. They all seem to have a beautiful voice and their bodies can move! The neighborhood kids were all there and sat with us. Tomorrow they want to teach us to dance, we will see!
-Nuvia

Day 7

Today was a great day filled with quiet victories. We completed the hole we had been working on for several days for the pit latrine. This was no easy task as the whole was 5 feet by 16 feet by 9 feet deep. Eventually a latrine will be built on top of this pit and will last for approximately 20 years.
All though this seems like a simple project and not as flashy as some in the Mission field. The days spent digging it allowed us to work side by side with Zambians. It also become a focal point for the entire neighbor hood. For 7 hours a day we were surrounded by the neighbor hood children and got to know them well. If we had been away doing other things we would not have been able to form these loving friendships. Some of the children liked to sing and dance. Some of them liked to play tag and some of them just wanted to be held. All of them were filled with a love of Jesus.
Special acknowledgement should be given to Ed, Dave and Kevin who’s digging efforts went above and beyond the call of duty and as a result helped us greatly with this project.
Our next project was to finish taking down the Inzaka. The Inzaka’s framing had been ravaged by termites and now was an unstable structure posing a threat to the local kids who played in it. This was dirty work pulling the straw thatching from the roof and then ripping apart the framing. So the brave souls of Cross Roads Church with hammer in hand scaled the Inzaka and tore it down one timber at a time.

Prepared by Marty Bandvik

Day 8

Hi everyone! Today we accomplished many things. We planted 15 trees out by the soccer field, known as the “soccer pitch” out here. We cut down a tree that was being used by the locals as a bridge to cross the river trespassing into the property and we burned a lot of the thatch from the Insaka that we tor down earlier this week. We ate a great dinner consisting of meat loaf and mashed potatoes and we finished off with a class about ACTION Zambia by Megan.
A group of about 30 children are out here everyday with us virtually without any parental supervision. They range from ages 2-10 and they are all very eager to help. Our work area, that looks more like a construction zone out in the bush, has become a play ground for these kids. They are very resourceful, hard working and resilient. Some of them collect bundles of straw that they use for making brooms while others take them home for their moms to use
Among the 8 foot hole we dug earlier this week for the pit latreen, the lumber form the Insaka with rusty nails and the blazing piles of burning thatch, these kids are having so much fun out here. Luckily for us the older ones look out for the little ones. They run and do summer salts on the straw and they sing beautiful African worship songs to us. They are all very musically inclined with beautiful voices and incredible rhythm. They have great names like Gift, Faith and Grand Son. They seem to have grown very attached to us in the short time we’ve been here and we all enjoy their spunky personalities.
Jialos, one of the Zambian caretakers for the farm, stepped on a rusty nail this morning. His foot got swollen and he was in a lot of pain. We cleaned up his wound, gave him some Motrin for the pain and got him a Tetanis shot. Kelly and Grand Son even made him a very cool crutch with spare wood we had from the Insaka. We too have become very resourceful. =)

day 9

We have completed the work that we could do for this week. We finished burning the Thatch roofing by clearing out a field and creating a fire break and having a hose near by to soak the area. In part we had to burn some of the Thatch because one of the teachers from a nearby school was making her students come up to the farm and collect the Thatch so she could make brooms and sell them. In order to stem any riff in the community we decided to burn the Thatch. We also planted several trees and shrubs along the perimeter of the new Football Pitch. We have really enjoyed working along side Richard and Jailo. Jailo stepped on one of the pieces of wood from the Insaka and a nail went into his bare foot, Megan got him treated at a clinic in town. Missionaries Megan and Luke have shared Action Zambia’s vision with us for the farm. The vision includes completing a fence around the perimeter and rebuilding the Insaka. They hope to team with Churches from the U.S. to use short term mission teams and funds raised to complete the farm for the community.

We put a basketball hoop today and some of the local teenagers are very excited to be able to play basketball (thanks to Kevin and Sean and Ed). We are scheduled to go to a market place tomorrow to do some shopping and share with Zambians that we meet. We had a great dinner tonight as Luke and his wife and family joined us and brought with them a very wonderful meal. Luke’s family reminds me of a young Vidmar family (4 young children in Lusaka for the past two years and a love to serve others and spread the Gospel).

God has been very good to us and has allowed us to make some very memorable friends and share the word with many people in the community. Everyone is holding up well no injuries and no serious illness. We are in God’s word everyday completing a study that Sean had prepared for us. Pray that we can continue to make contacts in the days to come and to share the good news and give God the glory.

Dave

Day 4: Church and Our Zambian Feast

Greetings from Lusaka, Zambia on this Sunday evening. This is the day that the Lord has made let us rejoice and be glad in it. We have had a great day, we attended service at the Springs of Living Water Church and were greeted by very gracious and loving preacher and congregation. Pastor Sean gave a personal testimony and was very well received. The Church is very much alive and “on fire” for Jesus, the worship was fabulous and the preaching was right on point. Pastor wanted to pass on all the thanks to the Ripley’s and the Vacaville Christian School for their support and contributions over the years. The Springs of Living Water Church is undergoing a new Worship center construction project and are still $30,000 away from completion. The team went to lunch at the Arcades which was a very nice strip mall with upscale restaurants (upscale might be a bit of a stretch). In the afternoon Marty led part of the Team Crossroads to victory in a World Cup soccer match at the Pitch. This evening we had a cook out on the Farm with over twenty people in attendance including several of the local neighbors. What a great time, we had Chicken, and Shima and CATERPILLARS (yummy-not). We sat outside under a fire and sang worship songs for about two hours. We are back to digging the pit-latrine and moving the Football Pitch tomorrow, along with taking off the Thatch roof of the Insaka.
We thank you all for the prayers and support. Please pray for us for strength and energy and a continued love for the families we have been blessed to spend time with.
God Bless You.

Day 3 In Africa

Wow, am I tired! Today the team worked really hard at the farm of Action Zambia. We started with breakfast and devotions and then went out to the field to start a day of work. Kelli went with Megan of Action Zambia got trees for the farm and other supplies that were needed. The rest of us worked on digging a 16 x 5 foot hole in the ground for a pit latrine which is a portable toilet for the Zambians. Also our big hole is 3 feet deep with 6 to go. By the way, this has to be 9 feet deep!!! To say that we are exhausted is an understatement. The other half of the team pulled down the roofing of the Insaka (which is a big thatched roof meeting place). We got half of it down and we will get the other half later. Throughout the day we all took turns playing with the kids in the neighborhood, which is always the highlight of the day. We also got the opportunity to meet Tracy and Karen Singleton, leader of the Pastoral Leadership Development at Action Zambia. They also worked hard with us all day and then finished off the day eating of bowl of Karen’s famous chili and cornbread. Tonight will be a great night to sleep! Megan just brought a bowl filled with different parts of a chicken like a chicken foot, liver, intestine, head, finished off with a stick of fresh sugar cane. YUMMY!

Day 2 In Africa

Today we started our day off with breakfast around the huge butcher block table. It consisted of every cereal that everyone brought, toast and even coffee. Our conversation was in laughter about the events that occurred in the middle of the night. David fell out of his bunk bed, causing minor injuries to his head and shoulder, then Kelli decided to faint due to lack of sleep and jet lag. Ed definitely had his hands full with plenty of patients. =)

After filling our bellies and our soul with laughter we gathered around in the living room for some beautiful worship music and indulged in our bible study, “A call to die”. The bible study is going to stretch us to rely on GOD instead of our selves. The study challenges us to be less selfish, self-centered and worldly.

Dressed and ready to tackle our first set of chores, we headed outside the compound to dig 13 holes for our trees that we will be planting tomorrow. Megan picked out Jackaranda and red flame trees that will line the driveway to the compound. They will be absolutely beautiful when they are grown and in full bloom. While digging the holes, we were accompanied by Richard, Petty and Bonafas. All three of the men work at the compound and were a tremendous help in digging the holes. The holes were about 21/2 feet deep and approximately 11/2 wide. While most of us stayed behind to dig holes, Megan and Dave went into town to purchase more tools and finalize the deal for the tractor. As we attempted to dig the holes, Abigail and Gift, two little girls, played in the wheel barrel. Then of course, we got distracted and started playing with them, giving them wheel barrel rides and recited the English alphabet. Grandson (a local 15 year old boy) who Megan refers to as her “little brother” also helped dig the holes while barefoot and enjoyed every minute of it.

Around 1pm we stopped for lunch after digging all of the holes. Megan brought back several shovels (all short shovels), 2 picks, a rack and some other useful tools. We enjoyed tuna and egg salad sandwiches and flavored water.

After lunch, we went outside the compound to dig our new latrine. The hole consists of 5 by 8 feet in with and 10 feet deep. Sean, Marty, Grandson and Megan went down the road to pick up some steer manure. The manure owner only had two bags to put manure in and the team had to search for bags. We were able to borrow some bags from Grandson’s father and were able to get enough manure for the projects. It was about 4pm and lots of the older children were collecting water from a faucet near the manure place and carrying it home on their heads. As we collected the manure we were greeted with smiles from the passing children a wave and couple of “Hey Mzungu!!!!” (Which translates “Hey White People”). We have all learned the local way to shake hands which consists of a regular hand shake then rotating up to grasp the thumb and then rotating back to a regular hand shake. Marty and Sean shook all the kids’ hands this way at the manure spot and all the kids thought this was hilarious.

Needless to say, we did not finish the hole today. We managed to get down about 3 feet with the help of everyone! More kids from the adjoining neighborhoods came around and we must have had about 20 kids. It was so much fun playing with the kids. We played “duck, duck, goose”, “red rover, red rover”, tag and a couple of other local games the kids enjoy playing! Nuvia and I also got to experience how hard it is to carry a child strapped to your back. Little Gift (his name) is the youngest of 6 children who live down the road. His mother Joy is a single mom.

After a hard day of work, we got to partake in a large pot of chicken soup, left over crocodile bread and salad. Before the meal was prepared the lights went out and Megan got to cook the soup over a fire in the backyard and dinner was by candle light. Having the lights go out in this area is very common.

Authors for today- Kelli and Marty =)

Day 1 In Africa

So we are finally here and most importantly (at least right now), we arrived safely. The first part of the plane ride lasted 10 hours and then we had a 6 hour lay over in London. First about the first leg of the plane ride, it was super long, probably is be the best way to describe it. British Airways packed us in there like sardines and it was almost impossible to get any sleep. The London airport was probably the nicest airport I’ve ever been in. We got a bite to eat at a little café in the airport and then we went to lie down in the terminal to try to sleep a little and get some rest before our next “packing” job in the airplane. While resting, Kevin and I had the opportunity to talk to a Muslim and share Christ with him. It’s just another piece of evidence that the world thinks that their eternal destination depends on a “set of scales”. Thank God that He sent His Son Jesus Christ!! Then our next plane ride from London to Lusaka, Zambia was finally underway. We were all quite happy about this plane cause although it was smaller than the first, it actually had more leg room which resulted in a welcomed activity:
SLEEP. After another 10 hour plane ride, we finally arrived in
Lusaka. There we meet Megan, Steve, Owen and Tyler from Action Zambia who we will be spending most of our time with here on our trip. They first took us to this little bakery that was really, really tasty. I had a chocolate doughnut while the others had all kinds of different pastries. Then we went on a tour of the city which was very interesting. Some of the things that we saw were: women carrying 50 pounds of fruit and other things on their heads while carrying a baby, the US Embassy, the court house, military buildings, ministry of defense building, Zambians selling anything on the streets to make a buck, weird looking cars that I’ve never seen before. These are just a few things that we saw. My favorite might be the president’s house which was huge and he was there when we saw it. Megan said that if anyone takes a picture of where the president lives, if they get caught, they will go to jail, no questions asked. CRAZY!! Then we finally went back to the “farm” as they call it. We took a tour of the place, including where we will actually stay, took a quick hour nap, then went for a hike where we got to meet some of the city kids where they sang to us for about 20 minutes and then finally eat dinner. We are really excited to be here but I’ve got to say, we
are all so tired too. Tomorrow, we will begin to do some work projects and see what else comes our way. I won’t get to post the blog everyday, but I will write everyday and then post multiple blogs every 2 or 3 days, so keep checking back to see if a new one posted. God bless you as I am falling asleep as I type.

Sean