Yes, we have arrived back in our home in Francistown...unpacking, doing laundry, starting school and language study. We wanted to share a little of our time at 40/40. This program is designed for all new missionaries who come to serve in the Central, Eastern and Southern portions of Africa. It is meant to prepare us to live like the Africans do so that we can better relate and understand their culture and mindset. It was a GREAT experience. It was hard, fun and exhausting as well! We are very thankful for the time we had ...also very thankful to be back 'home'. Here are some thoughts from Randy's journal he kept while we were gone:
PHASE I
The first two weeks we stayed at the Baptist Seminary in Lusaka, Zambia. Kelland and Luke had teachers there who organized their school times and lots of fun field trips (like a Croc farm and a water park!) during the day. Kb and Luke loved being with the other MKs and made many dear friends as well. The adults were divided into teams with Zambian helpers as our guides and went out each day on a Daily Field Assignment (DFA). I was on a team with Abusa (Pastor) Alfred Tembo as my helper. We had to walk down a long dusty dirt road to catch a minibus to ride to our assigned site everyday. I went into the area called Kalikiliki (means hurry, hurry). It looked like it was far beyond poverty stricken. The roads were pretty much humps, potholes and a few rocks. The ride to the compound cost 2,000 kwacha a person! Sounds expensive, but here 5,000 kwacha is equal to 1 U.S. dollar.
As we walked around each day, we heard several young children call out, "Mzungu!"
which means "white person". In the market area there were several kinds of shops. Many had food like tomatoes, fish called kapinta, goat intestines, mealie meal. Each day we visited various people to talk to them about their families, customs, and culture. On one visit, we went out to share the gospel using Creation to Christ. It takes about 20 minutes to share, a presentation that explains the reason Jesus came to be the sacrifice for our sins. Four adults prayed to trust Christ as their Savior. Kim shared C2C and 9 children prayed to trust Christ. Our Zambian helpers were to follow up on these decisions. We will never know the outcome until we get to heaven.
One of the DFAs was to visit people who were sick or who had a death in the family. I visited two people who had had strokes. Kim visited a family going through a funeral. She and her partner, Marci, got to help make NShema for the dinner they were preparing.
The first two weeks we stayed at the Baptist Seminary in Lusaka, Zambia. Kelland and Luke had teachers there who organized their school times and lots of fun field trips (like a Croc farm and a water park!) during the day. Kb and Luke loved being with the other MKs and made many dear friends as well. The adults were divided into teams with Zambian helpers as our guides and went out each day on a Daily Field Assignment (DFA). I was on a team with Abusa (Pastor) Alfred Tembo as my helper. We had to walk down a long dusty dirt road to catch a minibus to ride to our assigned site everyday. I went into the area called Kalikiliki (means hurry, hurry). It looked like it was far beyond poverty stricken. The roads were pretty much humps, potholes and a few rocks. The ride to the compound cost 2,000 kwacha a person! Sounds expensive, but here 5,000 kwacha is equal to 1 U.S. dollar.
As we walked around each day, we heard several young children call out, "Mzungu!"
which means "white person". In the market area there were several kinds of shops. Many had food like tomatoes, fish called kapinta, goat intestines, mealie meal. Each day we visited various people to talk to them about their families, customs, and culture. On one visit, we went out to share the gospel using Creation to Christ. It takes about 20 minutes to share, a presentation that explains the reason Jesus came to be the sacrifice for our sins. Four adults prayed to trust Christ as their Savior. Kim shared C2C and 9 children prayed to trust Christ. Our Zambian helpers were to follow up on these decisions. We will never know the outcome until we get to heaven.
One of the DFAs was to visit people who were sick or who had a death in the family. I visited two people who had had strokes. Kim visited a family going through a funeral. She and her partner, Marci, got to help make NShema for the dinner they were preparing.
I talked at length with one of the Zambian helpers. He had questions about weddings/marriage. I asked him about the same topic for Zambians. He said a man would pay a 'bride price' for the woman he wanted to marry. Men will pay the bride's father one or more cows. If they have no cattle, then men can work cultivating the fields of his future father-in-law. One man worked for three years for the bride price! Why is this price paid? Because it shows respect to the family and shows her family that he is committed to the woman. Look at the great Bride Price that Jesus paid for us: His death on the cross.
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