A new adventure is quickly approaching for the Zambia Schwertfegers. We are moving (or shifting in Zamglish) to our new home on the Overland Missions base on April 21st, which is just a week from now! Our “Advanced Missions Training” will begin on May 3rd (a great birthday present!) So, we decided to make the move a bit early in order to get ourselves and Sunda settled and take care of a few details before we enter missionary boot camp for the next 3 months. We had the opportunity to visit the Overland base last week and chat with our director for awhile, as well as hang out with a few of the staff members. We left even more excited about future ministry with Overland, and anxious to get started with the Missions Training. I got a chance to speak with our director’s wife, Sharon, about quite a few practical issues (which always sets my heart at ease.) I had been prepared to hire a Zambian woman to care for Sunda during some of the day so that I could attend class for the first 3 months that we’re on the base. But Sharon quickly reminded me that it will be a bit more than “some of the day.” We won’t have a lot of freedom during those first three months, and classes are packed pretty tight. In other words, I need to find someone to care for Sunda from 8-5, Monday-Friday. Just like a normal workweek. We will be participating in the training earlier and later than that each day, but we really need to be focused and on target during the meat of the training, which will happen between 8am and 5pm. I didn’t expect this news to be as difficult as it is to swallow. I mean, many kids are in daycare while their parents work. We will still see her for every meal, get to say hi often throughout the day, and have our evenings and weekends with her. But it’s such a change from both Jacob and I being with her all day, every day. And, it won’t be daycare. She will be cared for by her own personal nanny . Just her. Not 15 other kids vying for attention. So...why did I burst into tears when I realized that getting a nanny was my only option?
Well, not it’s really my only option. I could opt out of the training. I could spend the whole day playing with Sunda and wandering around the Overland base, trying to catch what snippets of information I could from what the rest of the class was learning. But I really feel like it’s important for me to get this training. I feel as if I’ll regret it later if I just put it aside. There’s so much good teaching that I’m going to have the opportunity to absorb in the next 3 months, and I know that I’m doing myself a disservice to opt out. And, I keep telling myself…it’s only 3 months. A child isn’t emotionally scarred from not spending enough time with their parents for 3 months, are they? But, you know, she’s two. And she acts a little crazy sometimes. Is she gonna know that she can get away with stuff with her nanny and then be totally off every time we get back around? Or, is she going to grow socially from a situation where she isn’t around the same two people all the time? I realize this whole dilemma might sound very funny to all of you who haven’t even known Jacob and I as parents yet…because we’ve been here. But this little girl has been the biggest part of our life for the 7 months that we’ve been back in Africa. And I personally have not spent more than 4 hours away from her since she came to stay with us in late November. So. It’s a little emotional. But, this is probably a good thing. It’s forcing me to admit to fact that I absolutely cannot do it all. If I want to attend this school in order to be a better trained missionary, I am going to have to give up some of my ideals as a mom. At least for a few months. That doesn’t make it any easier. On the other hand, Jacob and I have put many, many days of fulltime work in, amidst caring for Sunda all day. It’s quite a challenge to keep her out of the village fire, water supply, and away from the dogs while teaching Bible study and leading worship. We spend a lot of time juggling, trying to keep her entertained and complete our to do lists. So, maybe this opportunity will be good because when we are with her, we won’t be working. We’ll just be with her. And when we’re not with her, we’ll be able to focus completely on the task at hand instead of trying to do both at once, which is probably not good for either party. It’s quality time that matters…not quantity…right? Anyway, at the end of day, we’ll be back to our normal lives after 3 months. (I’m not exactly sure what constitutes a normal life for us…but, you know what I mean.)
This week, we’re busy wrapping up business at Sons of Thunder. Organizing, packing, storing. I’m hoping we can forgo goodbyes since we’re not really going, just moving. If we had acquired the tourist VISA for Sunda, we would be eating Drover’s wings on the 21st of April, and I would be depending on grandparents instead of a nanny. Just saying.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Happy EASTER!
Happy Easter!
Greetings to all of you in the name of Jesus Christ! We apologize for the LONG delay in posting anything new, but this has been one of our toughest months to date. As many of you had probably been told, Jessi, Sunda and I were planning on coming home at the beginning of May to visit home for a few months. It was going to be a time of updating our churches and supporters as to what we are doing here in Zambia as well as a time to show off our daughter to anxiously awaiting grandparents and family!
After many trips to Lusaka and a lot of fees we had finally secured Sunda’s passport (in her current name since the adoption is not yet finalized) and we made our trip to the US embassy where we had been previously assured that getting her a tourist visa was our best option. Upon arrival, all of those hopes came crashing down when the US embassy denied Sunda a tourist visa due to Jessi and I being volunteers and not owning enough in Zambia to ensure we would return with Sunda (since the adoption is not finished). This was very hard news for us (not to mention the grandparents), but what could we do. It wasn’t tragic news because we weren’t being separated from Sunda, but our plans were definitely changed.
In this month’s upcoming Sons of Thunder newsletter there will be an article updating our future plans in Zambia. After much prayer and contemplation with several close friends and family, we have decided to transfer our work under a new ministry here in Zambia called Overland Missions. Though the reasons are many, our greatest is that our heart is to get out into the bush and disciple followers of Jesus Christ. Overland Missions sole purpose is to reach unreached people groups all over the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ. They have a base just outside of Livingstone (one hour from our present location) and they have been mobilizing teams in unreached areas all over the world for ten years now. While Sons of Thunder is doing a tremendous job with the orphanage, school, clinic and the families on the farm, we were having a difficult time building a new outreach program when there is a fully developed one just down the road with Overland Missions.
Sons of Thunder has given us their blessing in this transfer and understand why we have decided to move. With that said, I’m sure many of you supporting us would like to know a bit more about Overland Missions and our particular assignment with them. The following is Overland Missions mission statement:
Overland Missions is a missions organization committed to empowering the third world indigenous church and bringing the gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth. Through expedition-style missions we lead teams into locations that would otherwise remain neglected or unreached (a condition usually caused only by an area's lack of accessibility). Based in Cape Canaveral, Florida, Overland Missions' motto is, "Any Road, any Load, any Time". We believe this statement to be indicative of our commitment and our approach to meet the needs of the third world. We utilize the best equipment technology has to offer, the expertise of over 15 years of reconnaissance experience, and the revelation of the New Creation purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ. Overland mobilizes young adults into more than 30 nations. We take God at His word and believe by faith to see the book of Acts continued in the earth today. We claim every nation, every island, every tribe, and every soul within our jurisdiction to reach, teach and empower with the Gospel.
Jessi and I have made a five year commitment with Overland Missions here in Zambia to oversee the discipleship of the Masokatwane chiefdom; a large area in the southern province of Zambia that is in great need of outreach, discipleship and evangelism. Our focus will be to establish relationships with every pastor in every denomination of this chiefdom in order to disciple and strengthen the foundations of those churches. Virtually nothing will change in the vision we have previously shared with you, which is to live with the people in order to reveal Jesus Christ to them through any and all means.
Overland offers an advanced missions training that will better equip us to thrive and survive out in the bush. The training offers courses in the bible, diesel mechanics, welding, GPRS navigation, off-road techniques, cultural understandings, and many other areas. As I am sure many of you may want to know more, please visit Overland’s website at www.overlandmissions.com . It is a very informative website that should answer most of your questions. I (Jacob) will also be traveling home on May 22nd through June 10th in order to meet with as many of you as possible and hopefully share at a few churches.
Overland Missions has set up a personal account for Jessi and I so the same process will work for those who have been supporting us. We are asking all of our supporters to please begin sending your support checks to Overland Missions beginning in April at the following address:
PO Box 566, Cape Canaveral, FL 32920
Please DO NOT put our names on the memo like before, but write our following 4 digit account Code on the check or envelope: #3027. Make the check out to Overland Missions. You will begin to receive a newsletter from Jessi and I beginning in May that will keep you updated with all of our endeavors here in Zambia.
If any of you have questions or would like to know more before sending to Overland then you can also send your support checks to my parents, Norm and Jeannie, who will deposit directly into our account as well. Their address is 290 Northview Rd. Wellsburg, WV 26070. In this event, simply make the checks out to Jacob Schwertfeger.
Jessi and I cannot stress to you how indebted we are for the continued support you have shown. We have been stretched beyond all seemingly capable limits this year in some ways, but it is because of you that we are able to remain. You must know and believe that you are enabling the gospel to reach the ends of the earth. THANK YOU!
We would also really love to begin an e-mail correspondence with all of you to better know how to pray for you and to better know you. Our e-mail is jakeandjessi@gmail.com. We are asking that you would write us an e-mail with your name so that we can keep in touch in a more one-on-one way.
Jessi and I will begin our Advanced Missions Training at Overland Missions base in Zambia on May 3rd and it will carry us through to August. During that time we will also be planning and preparing for the beginning of our work in the Masokatwane chiefdom. Please keep these things in prayer as well as the finalizing of the adoption (the government has banned all adoptions temporarily).
With all of that said I hope and pray that you take serious time today to celebrate and contemplate the fact that Jesus Christ laid down His life so that you could enjoy eternal fellowship with God. Man can’t hold him down, nails can’t hold him down, death can’t hold him down. Jesus is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He is worthy of us losing our lives to glorify Him in all things!
We love you all and look forward to seeing you in the States with our little one in God’s time!
Jacob, Jessi and Sunda
Greetings to all of you in the name of Jesus Christ! We apologize for the LONG delay in posting anything new, but this has been one of our toughest months to date. As many of you had probably been told, Jessi, Sunda and I were planning on coming home at the beginning of May to visit home for a few months. It was going to be a time of updating our churches and supporters as to what we are doing here in Zambia as well as a time to show off our daughter to anxiously awaiting grandparents and family!
After many trips to Lusaka and a lot of fees we had finally secured Sunda’s passport (in her current name since the adoption is not yet finalized) and we made our trip to the US embassy where we had been previously assured that getting her a tourist visa was our best option. Upon arrival, all of those hopes came crashing down when the US embassy denied Sunda a tourist visa due to Jessi and I being volunteers and not owning enough in Zambia to ensure we would return with Sunda (since the adoption is not finished). This was very hard news for us (not to mention the grandparents), but what could we do. It wasn’t tragic news because we weren’t being separated from Sunda, but our plans were definitely changed.
In this month’s upcoming Sons of Thunder newsletter there will be an article updating our future plans in Zambia. After much prayer and contemplation with several close friends and family, we have decided to transfer our work under a new ministry here in Zambia called Overland Missions. Though the reasons are many, our greatest is that our heart is to get out into the bush and disciple followers of Jesus Christ. Overland Missions sole purpose is to reach unreached people groups all over the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ. They have a base just outside of Livingstone (one hour from our present location) and they have been mobilizing teams in unreached areas all over the world for ten years now. While Sons of Thunder is doing a tremendous job with the orphanage, school, clinic and the families on the farm, we were having a difficult time building a new outreach program when there is a fully developed one just down the road with Overland Missions.
Sons of Thunder has given us their blessing in this transfer and understand why we have decided to move. With that said, I’m sure many of you supporting us would like to know a bit more about Overland Missions and our particular assignment with them. The following is Overland Missions mission statement:
Overland Missions is a missions organization committed to empowering the third world indigenous church and bringing the gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth. Through expedition-style missions we lead teams into locations that would otherwise remain neglected or unreached (a condition usually caused only by an area's lack of accessibility). Based in Cape Canaveral, Florida, Overland Missions' motto is, "Any Road, any Load, any Time". We believe this statement to be indicative of our commitment and our approach to meet the needs of the third world. We utilize the best equipment technology has to offer, the expertise of over 15 years of reconnaissance experience, and the revelation of the New Creation purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ. Overland mobilizes young adults into more than 30 nations. We take God at His word and believe by faith to see the book of Acts continued in the earth today. We claim every nation, every island, every tribe, and every soul within our jurisdiction to reach, teach and empower with the Gospel.
Jessi and I have made a five year commitment with Overland Missions here in Zambia to oversee the discipleship of the Masokatwane chiefdom; a large area in the southern province of Zambia that is in great need of outreach, discipleship and evangelism. Our focus will be to establish relationships with every pastor in every denomination of this chiefdom in order to disciple and strengthen the foundations of those churches. Virtually nothing will change in the vision we have previously shared with you, which is to live with the people in order to reveal Jesus Christ to them through any and all means.
Overland offers an advanced missions training that will better equip us to thrive and survive out in the bush. The training offers courses in the bible, diesel mechanics, welding, GPRS navigation, off-road techniques, cultural understandings, and many other areas. As I am sure many of you may want to know more, please visit Overland’s website at www.overlandmissions.com . It is a very informative website that should answer most of your questions. I (Jacob) will also be traveling home on May 22nd through June 10th in order to meet with as many of you as possible and hopefully share at a few churches.
Overland Missions has set up a personal account for Jessi and I so the same process will work for those who have been supporting us. We are asking all of our supporters to please begin sending your support checks to Overland Missions beginning in April at the following address:
PO Box 566, Cape Canaveral, FL 32920
Please DO NOT put our names on the memo like before, but write our following 4 digit account Code on the check or envelope: #3027. Make the check out to Overland Missions. You will begin to receive a newsletter from Jessi and I beginning in May that will keep you updated with all of our endeavors here in Zambia.
If any of you have questions or would like to know more before sending to Overland then you can also send your support checks to my parents, Norm and Jeannie, who will deposit directly into our account as well. Their address is 290 Northview Rd. Wellsburg, WV 26070. In this event, simply make the checks out to Jacob Schwertfeger.
Jessi and I cannot stress to you how indebted we are for the continued support you have shown. We have been stretched beyond all seemingly capable limits this year in some ways, but it is because of you that we are able to remain. You must know and believe that you are enabling the gospel to reach the ends of the earth. THANK YOU!
We would also really love to begin an e-mail correspondence with all of you to better know how to pray for you and to better know you. Our e-mail is jakeandjessi@gmail.com. We are asking that you would write us an e-mail with your name so that we can keep in touch in a more one-on-one way.
Jessi and I will begin our Advanced Missions Training at Overland Missions base in Zambia on May 3rd and it will carry us through to August. During that time we will also be planning and preparing for the beginning of our work in the Masokatwane chiefdom. Please keep these things in prayer as well as the finalizing of the adoption (the government has banned all adoptions temporarily).
With all of that said I hope and pray that you take serious time today to celebrate and contemplate the fact that Jesus Christ laid down His life so that you could enjoy eternal fellowship with God. Man can’t hold him down, nails can’t hold him down, death can’t hold him down. Jesus is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He is worthy of us losing our lives to glorify Him in all things!
We love you all and look forward to seeing you in the States with our little one in God’s time!
Jacob, Jessi and Sunda
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Another Trip to Lusaka
Jacob is heading out for Lusaka on the night bus tonight. AGAIN. During this adoption process, we have had to make more trips to Lusaka than I ever thought possible or necessary. Jacob has been the one to make the quick trips necessary to sign a paper or fill out a form. I think this is trip number 6 or 7.
I never thought, in a million years, that I would be so dependent on the man that I spent so much time away from during our dating and engagement. However, I am absolutely despondent at the idea of him leaving again. Jaime brought it all into perspective the last time he went, saying, “You have such a good husband. He just makes those trips to Lusaka to deal with the adoption without question. And he never complains about it or hesitates to go.” Meanwhile, selfish me is thinking, “Why does he have to go???? I’m so BORED when he’s not here. And it’s HARD to take care of Sunda without a relief squad.”
Meanwhile, Jacob leaves at 7 pm, sits on a cramped bus that smells distinctly African for 7-8 hours, endures countless stops, and stays on the bus once it arrives in Lusaka because it’s not safe to be walking about until at least 6am. He then walks to the Social Services office to save cab fare and sits outside, waiting for the social workers to show up so that he can accomplish whatever he has been requested to show up for. Whenever he gets whatever he needs, signs whatever paper needs to be signed, or talks to whomever needs to be talked to, he grabs some lunch, checks email, and gets back on the bus to arrive home in the middle of the night. Because it’s 3am when the bus drops him off at our farm, he often walks the 3 km to our house (once carrying a mini-stove purchased in Lusaka) to avoid me having to leave Sunda alone sleeping while I pick him up in the car.
So, as you can see, he really has the raw end of the deal. But, it seems to me that every time he leaves, the Zesco (power) goes out and the water tank runs dry and I’m left hauling water up the steps. Besides, it’s SCARY to be by yourself in Africa. I mean, it’s really very safe. But, if a cobra would show up in the house, who would I call?
All of this has made me realize that I would be a terrible military wife. Or a traveling shoe salesman’s wife. It’s true that I don’t really crave “alone time” very much. To me, alone time is someone sitting beside me and leaving me alone. They don’t have to leave. As long as I can still read my book, then we’ll do fine. And Jake is great at that.
When I was young, I hated to be the last person in the house to go to bed. I would race up the stairs while Sam was still brushing his teeth so that I didn’t have to turn out all the lights and creep upstairs in the dark. Nowadays, with all of this living in Africa and power outages, I’m much better with the dark. But I still don’t like to be the last one to go to bed. And when it’s just me and Sunda, well…you know the rest.
Needless to say, Jacob is leaving for Lusaka tonight. I am not a happy camper. Can someone come and stay with me for a couple of days?
On much more important and less whiny news, we have had a terrible elephant infection on this farm. You know how they say that elephants have good memories? Well, it is TRUE. We had never had elephants on this farm until last year when a herd wandered through and discovered some maize in the Southern corner of our property. This year, despite the fact that the rains were heavy and there was water everywhere (which should have prevented them from coming this far away searching for it) they came again, in higher numbers. Just last night, a herd of 200 elephants completely trampled the fields of the villages in the Southern Corner, destroying their harvest totally. As Padmore, headman of Mubuyu village quotes, “You can now walk through our fields with no problem, as if there was nothing planted there.” The elephants were so many that they ended up walking their way through the actual village, among the huts and kitchens and fires. We just spent a week at this village…in a TENT. No one was hurt. It’s just so hard because it completely ruins your philosophy for helping people here. “Don’t give money, don’t give away food…TEACH the people how to farm. TEACH them how to make their own profit.” Well, now they’ve spent MONTHS laboring in their fields so that they can feed their families and maybe sell some crop at a profit. And one herd of elephants with a good memories have destroyed everything. Melodramatic? Maybe. Fact of life? Absolutely. But STILL. It pretty much destroys all of my opinions about teaching people to work hard and save money and be smart. If I worked my butt off for two seasons in a row and two seasons in a row my maize was harvested by elephants, I don’t know that I wouldn’t sit by my kitchen fire and talk about how “poor we are in Zambia” too.
The problem here is not AIDS, or poverty, or elephants…it’s hopelessness. Poverty (which I know nothing about living with) breeds hopelessness. Take the case of the woman who is in the clinic right now, nursing her 2 ½ year old back to health. What is the child sick with? An extreme case of malnutrition accompanied by edema (swelling of the skin), and a skin infection caused by sitting in her own urine for hours at a time. How does a mother let this happen to her child? My theory? The mother gets so wrapped up in hopeless poverty, she doesn’t even realize that she could do something to change, at least, her child’s situation. There has never been enough to eat. There has never been enough soap. There has never been anyone that cares. And so why take her to a clinic while there’s still a chance that she can recover? (the baby is still touch and go) It’s not your fault that the elephants ate your maize. It’s not your fault that there is no employment to be had. And it’s not your fault that you haven’t had anything to eat with your nshima for 4 days. It’s just the way it is, and there’s really not anything you can do to change it.
How blessed I am. Not just because I’ve never been really hungry. Never not had enough money to buy a Coke. But because, I’ve never been through anything that has made me say, “Oh, well, that’s it…there’s no more hope in this situation.” I come from a culture that lives on hope. I know that Jake and I have expressed before that really, that’s the reason that we’re here. To spread HOPE. Not in a liberal, “be who you wanna be” way, but in the way that Jesus is our hope. Poverty might not change. Sickness might not change. But if you have the HOPE and the PROMISE of the fact that God loves you and has a PLAN for your life, you have everything.
Recently, Jake and I have been feeling like the elephants have been trampling OUR maize. We’ve had a lot of trials these past months. But ultimately, I am persuaded. I am persuaded that He is able. And my problems seem really small next to some of my Zambian friends. Are your problems actually pretty small too?
I never thought, in a million years, that I would be so dependent on the man that I spent so much time away from during our dating and engagement. However, I am absolutely despondent at the idea of him leaving again. Jaime brought it all into perspective the last time he went, saying, “You have such a good husband. He just makes those trips to Lusaka to deal with the adoption without question. And he never complains about it or hesitates to go.” Meanwhile, selfish me is thinking, “Why does he have to go???? I’m so BORED when he’s not here. And it’s HARD to take care of Sunda without a relief squad.”
Meanwhile, Jacob leaves at 7 pm, sits on a cramped bus that smells distinctly African for 7-8 hours, endures countless stops, and stays on the bus once it arrives in Lusaka because it’s not safe to be walking about until at least 6am. He then walks to the Social Services office to save cab fare and sits outside, waiting for the social workers to show up so that he can accomplish whatever he has been requested to show up for. Whenever he gets whatever he needs, signs whatever paper needs to be signed, or talks to whomever needs to be talked to, he grabs some lunch, checks email, and gets back on the bus to arrive home in the middle of the night. Because it’s 3am when the bus drops him off at our farm, he often walks the 3 km to our house (once carrying a mini-stove purchased in Lusaka) to avoid me having to leave Sunda alone sleeping while I pick him up in the car.
So, as you can see, he really has the raw end of the deal. But, it seems to me that every time he leaves, the Zesco (power) goes out and the water tank runs dry and I’m left hauling water up the steps. Besides, it’s SCARY to be by yourself in Africa. I mean, it’s really very safe. But, if a cobra would show up in the house, who would I call?
All of this has made me realize that I would be a terrible military wife. Or a traveling shoe salesman’s wife. It’s true that I don’t really crave “alone time” very much. To me, alone time is someone sitting beside me and leaving me alone. They don’t have to leave. As long as I can still read my book, then we’ll do fine. And Jake is great at that.
When I was young, I hated to be the last person in the house to go to bed. I would race up the stairs while Sam was still brushing his teeth so that I didn’t have to turn out all the lights and creep upstairs in the dark. Nowadays, with all of this living in Africa and power outages, I’m much better with the dark. But I still don’t like to be the last one to go to bed. And when it’s just me and Sunda, well…you know the rest.
Needless to say, Jacob is leaving for Lusaka tonight. I am not a happy camper. Can someone come and stay with me for a couple of days?
On much more important and less whiny news, we have had a terrible elephant infection on this farm. You know how they say that elephants have good memories? Well, it is TRUE. We had never had elephants on this farm until last year when a herd wandered through and discovered some maize in the Southern corner of our property. This year, despite the fact that the rains were heavy and there was water everywhere (which should have prevented them from coming this far away searching for it) they came again, in higher numbers. Just last night, a herd of 200 elephants completely trampled the fields of the villages in the Southern Corner, destroying their harvest totally. As Padmore, headman of Mubuyu village quotes, “You can now walk through our fields with no problem, as if there was nothing planted there.” The elephants were so many that they ended up walking their way through the actual village, among the huts and kitchens and fires. We just spent a week at this village…in a TENT. No one was hurt. It’s just so hard because it completely ruins your philosophy for helping people here. “Don’t give money, don’t give away food…TEACH the people how to farm. TEACH them how to make their own profit.” Well, now they’ve spent MONTHS laboring in their fields so that they can feed their families and maybe sell some crop at a profit. And one herd of elephants with a good memories have destroyed everything. Melodramatic? Maybe. Fact of life? Absolutely. But STILL. It pretty much destroys all of my opinions about teaching people to work hard and save money and be smart. If I worked my butt off for two seasons in a row and two seasons in a row my maize was harvested by elephants, I don’t know that I wouldn’t sit by my kitchen fire and talk about how “poor we are in Zambia” too.
The problem here is not AIDS, or poverty, or elephants…it’s hopelessness. Poverty (which I know nothing about living with) breeds hopelessness. Take the case of the woman who is in the clinic right now, nursing her 2 ½ year old back to health. What is the child sick with? An extreme case of malnutrition accompanied by edema (swelling of the skin), and a skin infection caused by sitting in her own urine for hours at a time. How does a mother let this happen to her child? My theory? The mother gets so wrapped up in hopeless poverty, she doesn’t even realize that she could do something to change, at least, her child’s situation. There has never been enough to eat. There has never been enough soap. There has never been anyone that cares. And so why take her to a clinic while there’s still a chance that she can recover? (the baby is still touch and go) It’s not your fault that the elephants ate your maize. It’s not your fault that there is no employment to be had. And it’s not your fault that you haven’t had anything to eat with your nshima for 4 days. It’s just the way it is, and there’s really not anything you can do to change it.
How blessed I am. Not just because I’ve never been really hungry. Never not had enough money to buy a Coke. But because, I’ve never been through anything that has made me say, “Oh, well, that’s it…there’s no more hope in this situation.” I come from a culture that lives on hope. I know that Jake and I have expressed before that really, that’s the reason that we’re here. To spread HOPE. Not in a liberal, “be who you wanna be” way, but in the way that Jesus is our hope. Poverty might not change. Sickness might not change. But if you have the HOPE and the PROMISE of the fact that God loves you and has a PLAN for your life, you have everything.
Recently, Jake and I have been feeling like the elephants have been trampling OUR maize. We’ve had a lot of trials these past months. But ultimately, I am persuaded. I am persuaded that He is able. And my problems seem really small next to some of my Zambian friends. Are your problems actually pretty small too?
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Change of Weather, Change of Attitude
For now, the monsoons that plagued us for almost 3 months have ceased and abated and replaced themselves with only occasional storms. The sludge that dominated the better half of all of the walkways and roads has dried to form deep ruts and cracked soil. The roads aren’t any better to drive on, but you can effectively walk from point A to point B without needing a shower at the end of it. People are outside more (or maybe it just seems like it because we’re outside more.) Because of the early and heavy rains, the fresh maize that they pick from their fields before they harvest for the season is ready very early. Everyone is walking around with fresh roasted maize. A common gift is a few ears of maize that can be roasted or boiled. Jeff also has delicious sweet corn growing in his garden that we have been enjoying as if it’s August in the States. Sunda likes the roasted maize better than sweet corn with butter and salt. Typical. Very Zambian.
With the change of weather comes a change of attitude. In Jake and I, and in the people, it seems. It’s almost like the first week of sunshine after a long winter at home. Everyone seems...Happy! Happy that we can sit outside and chat with friends and neighbors. Hopeful that the harvest will recover from long rains and no sunshine. Relieved to see a little bit of color on our white faces. This is the season when visitors start to come. So, a long stretch of no “outsiders” on the farm will quickly transition into a bustling guest house and bi-weekly trips to the airport to pick up work teams and volunteers.
The sun has brought with it an important change in Jake and I too. It has been difficult to do outreach because of terrible roads and vehicle availability. And because of continued vehicle difficulty, it will remain difficult to leave the farm for long periods at a time. Not willing to be defeated, Jake and I have set up our tent in one of the villages on the farm. We are headed out this afternoon for a week of ministry on “The Southern Corner” otherwise known as “Graham’s village.” When we’re at home, we often get comments like, “Why do you go to Africa, there are people who need help right here in the United States?” True. While here, God seems to be drilling into us, “Why are you searching to go far and wide, there are people that need me right here on this farm!” Our schedule will include two daily teaching sessions and an evening fellowship time for our weeklong stay. It’s such a blessing to get to know the people that we have been living with for so long. And it’s wonderful to hope that they actually believe what we say because we’ve lived it among them before preaching it to them. I told Jacob the other day, “I think we can be confident that we are finally integrating effectively.” “Why?” He asked me. “Because,” I explained. “The women let me do the dishes now.” Isn’t that the universal sign of true friendship?
Sunda is growing like a weed and can now actually wear the 18 month dresses we brought with us. She’s even pushing her way into the 24 month ones! Her hair is long enough now to be plaited, so she has a cute new hairstyle every week courtesy of one orphanage “auntie” who can make her sit still long enough to do it. She has just enough vocabulary to make sure that we are obeying her every command. And this week, she has been introduced to the terrible “Time-out.” As with any especially talkative, clever, and enjoyable two year old, she can throw a fit with the best of ‘em. But, she is now learning that it doesn’t get her very far. The problem with being here in Zambia is that they are not the strictest parents. They don’t really believe in disciplining kids until they are at least 6 or 7. So, if she throws a fit in front of one of our Zambian friends, they immediately pick her up, comfort her, and give her whatever she wants (all the while glaring at me as if I’m an insensitive monster for ignoring her.) It’s kind of like having a bunch of grandparents around, all the time.
I could ramble on and on…but what I would really like to know is: What are you interested in? Do you have questions about Zambia or the things that we do? I would love to share things with you that are interesting and relevant, but sometimes I take extraordinary things for granted. For example, I totally forgot to tell you about the elephant that was just roaming around in one of the fields that Jaime and I were walking by. When do you ever get to see an elephant just hanging around? Anyway, please feel free to post any questions or subjects you’d like to hear about. If nothing else, it will keep me from writing about Sunda’s poop stories, which you definitely don’t want to hear about.
Have a wonderful week…enjoy the sunshine…or, we’ll enjoy the sunshine. ;)
With the change of weather comes a change of attitude. In Jake and I, and in the people, it seems. It’s almost like the first week of sunshine after a long winter at home. Everyone seems...Happy! Happy that we can sit outside and chat with friends and neighbors. Hopeful that the harvest will recover from long rains and no sunshine. Relieved to see a little bit of color on our white faces. This is the season when visitors start to come. So, a long stretch of no “outsiders” on the farm will quickly transition into a bustling guest house and bi-weekly trips to the airport to pick up work teams and volunteers.
The sun has brought with it an important change in Jake and I too. It has been difficult to do outreach because of terrible roads and vehicle availability. And because of continued vehicle difficulty, it will remain difficult to leave the farm for long periods at a time. Not willing to be defeated, Jake and I have set up our tent in one of the villages on the farm. We are headed out this afternoon for a week of ministry on “The Southern Corner” otherwise known as “Graham’s village.” When we’re at home, we often get comments like, “Why do you go to Africa, there are people who need help right here in the United States?” True. While here, God seems to be drilling into us, “Why are you searching to go far and wide, there are people that need me right here on this farm!” Our schedule will include two daily teaching sessions and an evening fellowship time for our weeklong stay. It’s such a blessing to get to know the people that we have been living with for so long. And it’s wonderful to hope that they actually believe what we say because we’ve lived it among them before preaching it to them. I told Jacob the other day, “I think we can be confident that we are finally integrating effectively.” “Why?” He asked me. “Because,” I explained. “The women let me do the dishes now.” Isn’t that the universal sign of true friendship?
Sunda is growing like a weed and can now actually wear the 18 month dresses we brought with us. She’s even pushing her way into the 24 month ones! Her hair is long enough now to be plaited, so she has a cute new hairstyle every week courtesy of one orphanage “auntie” who can make her sit still long enough to do it. She has just enough vocabulary to make sure that we are obeying her every command. And this week, she has been introduced to the terrible “Time-out.” As with any especially talkative, clever, and enjoyable two year old, she can throw a fit with the best of ‘em. But, she is now learning that it doesn’t get her very far. The problem with being here in Zambia is that they are not the strictest parents. They don’t really believe in disciplining kids until they are at least 6 or 7. So, if she throws a fit in front of one of our Zambian friends, they immediately pick her up, comfort her, and give her whatever she wants (all the while glaring at me as if I’m an insensitive monster for ignoring her.) It’s kind of like having a bunch of grandparents around, all the time.
I could ramble on and on…but what I would really like to know is: What are you interested in? Do you have questions about Zambia or the things that we do? I would love to share things with you that are interesting and relevant, but sometimes I take extraordinary things for granted. For example, I totally forgot to tell you about the elephant that was just roaming around in one of the fields that Jaime and I were walking by. When do you ever get to see an elephant just hanging around? Anyway, please feel free to post any questions or subjects you’d like to hear about. If nothing else, it will keep me from writing about Sunda’s poop stories, which you definitely don’t want to hear about.
Have a wonderful week…enjoy the sunshine…or, we’ll enjoy the sunshine. ;)
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Trials, Scandals and the Grace of God
We are so sorry that it has taken so long to post a new blog, but after this entry I’m sure you’ll understand why things have been a bit hectic on our end!
First off I just want to say that I love my God. He is eternally faithful and He has always been there for us. I am daily in awe that He would look upon me with desire and love in spite of my continual blunders!
So here is another one for the books…Two weeks ago Jess, Sunda and I went into town to do some grocery shopping for our outreach to one of the villages on the farm. We parked at one of the busiest spots in Livingstone, the post office, and jumped out to go to a couple shops. Twenty minutes went by and I had enough bags in hand to need to return and dump them off with our Land Rover. Upon returning, I found that one of our windows had been forced open in the back of the vehicle. Well, you know how you get that sick feeling in your stomach when you know you’re about to hear/see some really bad news…let’s just say my heart was beating out of my chest. I unlocked the back door and to my astonishment found that someone had gotten into our vehicle, gone through our things and stolen our laptop. Immediately I jumped out and began questioning all of the venders who are set up RIGHT IN FRONT of our vehicle. Of course, their response was “I saw nothing…” At this point I realize that I’m going to lose control on someone (the great missionary that I am) and so I return to the vehicle and wait for Jessi. She returns and I give her the story and we sit down for a minute speechless. Now I understand that some of you are thinking…it’s just a laptop…but when that small machine operates as our database for ministry, music, and entertainment in the bush it had become a whole lot more central to us than ever before. Our first discussion revolved around notifying the police, which here is quite frankly useless (a day full of questions and paperwork in a Zambian police station would have only escalated my frustration). We decided to spread the word to some of our Zambian friends in town and let God bring it back to us if it was His will.
We went on to have an excellent, but difficult week out in Peter’s village. Excellent because we had some great times fishing, eating together and studying the word of God. Difficult because living in the bush brings on a whole new dimension of living. It is a “slower chaos” as Jessi puts it. It’s like putting all of your effort in a day just to…survive. Cooking takes a lot more time when you are doing everything over a fire and sharing that fire with other families. The chickens, dogs and cats constantly trying to steal whatever they can get also poses as a constant nuisance. Zambia has also declared a national emergency due to more rain than people have ever seen here so simply keeping out tent clean from mud was a chore (especially with a silly, excited 2 year old!) We returned from our outreach very excited and very worn out all at once, but we managed without a laptop and we knew that things would work out.
A few days after arriving home I arranged a trip to Lusaka in order to try and get our adoption further along. I arrived and after a long conversation with our social worker I had to accept that Zambia has simply put a temporary hold on adoptions. We are legally fostering Sunda right now, but the adoption will have to finish once the ban is lifted (please pray hard for this!) After that meeting I went to Lusaka’s nice shopping area and visited the internet parlor. I had spoken with a missionary friend who told me he had done lots of purchases off of eBay and that I should check there for a laptop. I had been doing some research and decided that Jessi and I were going to switch to an apple laptop because of several reasons. I knew the prices of most of the apple set-ups and so I began searching through eBay to find a deal. After just ten minutes of looking around I came upon a fully loaded, brand new apple laptop that was been sold a nearly a fourth of the price. The ad said the seller wanted to be contacted through e-mail in order to discuss things with the buyer. I contacted the seller and asked why it was so cheap and all of the details with the purchase. We agreed that we would only make the purchase through eBay, but the seller from Romania asked me if I could please pay using Western Union because of the difficulty with drawing money using Paypal (which we understand the difficulty drawing money thing). I agreed and received a confirmation email from eBay indicating the item had been sold to me and all of the directions for payment (all verified by eBay). The item was purchased at $1200 (a laptop at $4400 value!) and I sent the first $1000 through Western Union immediately. I returned to the farm that night by bus and the next morning I told Jeff, our director, all about my great purchase. I believe his first words were, “you didn’t send the money did you!?!” You know that sick feeling I talked about earlier…well it returned. “Of course,” was my answer. He went on to tell me about how anyone requesting to use Western Union on eBay is usually a scam. I assured him that eBay sent me a verification that it was all done through them and I was protected. He told me to check it all out. I went into town in order to check e-mail and I looked over the verification e-mail from eBay and was convinced that all was ok. I got onto my eBay user name and it said that I had made 0 purchases on the account. This was puzzling. eBay had sent me verification to my e-mail and yet my account said I hadn’t purchased or won any items. I began to open a bunch of the “common questions” on eBay to find that people are able to send “fake” eBay verifications to your personal e-mail and that you are only supposed to go through your eBay message board. As I continued I came to find that if you use Western Union then eBay has no ability to get your money back if you are swindled. So there I was, laptopless and now swindled of $1,000. I thought I was going to bust. GOD…WHERE WERE YOU ON THAT ONE…was one of my first thoughts. WHY IS THIS HAPPENING TO ME! Was probably a close second.
I went home angry and sad and confused all at once. But I also had another thought in the back of my head. It seems that every time these kind of catastrophes happen in life, we have a chance to learn something incredible from God who is never closer than at these times. I just spoke a message concerning the grace of God and how it is actually the grace of God in our lives at times when bad things happen to us. Well, this was one of those times.
I was preparing for a bible study the next day and totally clueless as to how I could teach anything with the way I was feeling. And then I had one of those moments. You know. The kind of moment where God reveals himself to you and “sobers you up” from that woe is me garbage. He simply asked me the question, “What really matters?” I was stunned and excited. I knew it was a rhetorical question that my Father was eager to show me. I sat there in silence and that inner voice began to remind me of a verse that has carried me through so many times in the last several years.
“But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ…” -Phil. 3:7-8
To know Him. To be invited to gaze upon and know the One Who has no end. Paul had it all. Popularity, prestige, wealth, power. And what does he say? It is ALL rubbish compared to knowing Jesus. If everything I own is taken from me tomorrow, I can stand without offense in my heart because no one can take my knowledge of God. No one can separate me from my King. He even says in Bible, “No one can snatch them (his children) out of my hand.” God set me free in that moment. I have every ability to fall more and more in love with Him every day and I don’t need money or a laptop. I don’t even have to know the right words to say or pray. I don’t need to have a perfect theology. I just have to have a desire to know Him and follow Him. He leads me from there. He reveals Himself to the one who cries out to Him. I get to wake up every day and journey into the never-ending depths of God. Love Incarnate. Mercy, Justice, Truth. He is the essence of reality. And He has chosen to reveal Himself to me. To us! And this is my life: consumed with one thing, namely, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord (Psalm 27:4). I will gladly lose everything that I may gain Him.
We had a great bible study. I was able to thank God for the mishaps because they brought that fresh, new perspective into my life. You can’t take Him from me. Hah! I win! God wins!
So with that long blog I invite you just as Jesus invites you:
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I wil give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
If you can relate. If you are tired and overloaded. Cry out to Him. Just say God I want to know you! He is closer than you think!
With all of my love,
Jake
First off I just want to say that I love my God. He is eternally faithful and He has always been there for us. I am daily in awe that He would look upon me with desire and love in spite of my continual blunders!
So here is another one for the books…Two weeks ago Jess, Sunda and I went into town to do some grocery shopping for our outreach to one of the villages on the farm. We parked at one of the busiest spots in Livingstone, the post office, and jumped out to go to a couple shops. Twenty minutes went by and I had enough bags in hand to need to return and dump them off with our Land Rover. Upon returning, I found that one of our windows had been forced open in the back of the vehicle. Well, you know how you get that sick feeling in your stomach when you know you’re about to hear/see some really bad news…let’s just say my heart was beating out of my chest. I unlocked the back door and to my astonishment found that someone had gotten into our vehicle, gone through our things and stolen our laptop. Immediately I jumped out and began questioning all of the venders who are set up RIGHT IN FRONT of our vehicle. Of course, their response was “I saw nothing…” At this point I realize that I’m going to lose control on someone (the great missionary that I am) and so I return to the vehicle and wait for Jessi. She returns and I give her the story and we sit down for a minute speechless. Now I understand that some of you are thinking…it’s just a laptop…but when that small machine operates as our database for ministry, music, and entertainment in the bush it had become a whole lot more central to us than ever before. Our first discussion revolved around notifying the police, which here is quite frankly useless (a day full of questions and paperwork in a Zambian police station would have only escalated my frustration). We decided to spread the word to some of our Zambian friends in town and let God bring it back to us if it was His will.
We went on to have an excellent, but difficult week out in Peter’s village. Excellent because we had some great times fishing, eating together and studying the word of God. Difficult because living in the bush brings on a whole new dimension of living. It is a “slower chaos” as Jessi puts it. It’s like putting all of your effort in a day just to…survive. Cooking takes a lot more time when you are doing everything over a fire and sharing that fire with other families. The chickens, dogs and cats constantly trying to steal whatever they can get also poses as a constant nuisance. Zambia has also declared a national emergency due to more rain than people have ever seen here so simply keeping out tent clean from mud was a chore (especially with a silly, excited 2 year old!) We returned from our outreach very excited and very worn out all at once, but we managed without a laptop and we knew that things would work out.
A few days after arriving home I arranged a trip to Lusaka in order to try and get our adoption further along. I arrived and after a long conversation with our social worker I had to accept that Zambia has simply put a temporary hold on adoptions. We are legally fostering Sunda right now, but the adoption will have to finish once the ban is lifted (please pray hard for this!) After that meeting I went to Lusaka’s nice shopping area and visited the internet parlor. I had spoken with a missionary friend who told me he had done lots of purchases off of eBay and that I should check there for a laptop. I had been doing some research and decided that Jessi and I were going to switch to an apple laptop because of several reasons. I knew the prices of most of the apple set-ups and so I began searching through eBay to find a deal. After just ten minutes of looking around I came upon a fully loaded, brand new apple laptop that was been sold a nearly a fourth of the price. The ad said the seller wanted to be contacted through e-mail in order to discuss things with the buyer. I contacted the seller and asked why it was so cheap and all of the details with the purchase. We agreed that we would only make the purchase through eBay, but the seller from Romania asked me if I could please pay using Western Union because of the difficulty with drawing money using Paypal (which we understand the difficulty drawing money thing). I agreed and received a confirmation email from eBay indicating the item had been sold to me and all of the directions for payment (all verified by eBay). The item was purchased at $1200 (a laptop at $4400 value!) and I sent the first $1000 through Western Union immediately. I returned to the farm that night by bus and the next morning I told Jeff, our director, all about my great purchase. I believe his first words were, “you didn’t send the money did you!?!” You know that sick feeling I talked about earlier…well it returned. “Of course,” was my answer. He went on to tell me about how anyone requesting to use Western Union on eBay is usually a scam. I assured him that eBay sent me a verification that it was all done through them and I was protected. He told me to check it all out. I went into town in order to check e-mail and I looked over the verification e-mail from eBay and was convinced that all was ok. I got onto my eBay user name and it said that I had made 0 purchases on the account. This was puzzling. eBay had sent me verification to my e-mail and yet my account said I hadn’t purchased or won any items. I began to open a bunch of the “common questions” on eBay to find that people are able to send “fake” eBay verifications to your personal e-mail and that you are only supposed to go through your eBay message board. As I continued I came to find that if you use Western Union then eBay has no ability to get your money back if you are swindled. So there I was, laptopless and now swindled of $1,000. I thought I was going to bust. GOD…WHERE WERE YOU ON THAT ONE…was one of my first thoughts. WHY IS THIS HAPPENING TO ME! Was probably a close second.
I went home angry and sad and confused all at once. But I also had another thought in the back of my head. It seems that every time these kind of catastrophes happen in life, we have a chance to learn something incredible from God who is never closer than at these times. I just spoke a message concerning the grace of God and how it is actually the grace of God in our lives at times when bad things happen to us. Well, this was one of those times.
I was preparing for a bible study the next day and totally clueless as to how I could teach anything with the way I was feeling. And then I had one of those moments. You know. The kind of moment where God reveals himself to you and “sobers you up” from that woe is me garbage. He simply asked me the question, “What really matters?” I was stunned and excited. I knew it was a rhetorical question that my Father was eager to show me. I sat there in silence and that inner voice began to remind me of a verse that has carried me through so many times in the last several years.
“But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ…” -Phil. 3:7-8
To know Him. To be invited to gaze upon and know the One Who has no end. Paul had it all. Popularity, prestige, wealth, power. And what does he say? It is ALL rubbish compared to knowing Jesus. If everything I own is taken from me tomorrow, I can stand without offense in my heart because no one can take my knowledge of God. No one can separate me from my King. He even says in Bible, “No one can snatch them (his children) out of my hand.” God set me free in that moment. I have every ability to fall more and more in love with Him every day and I don’t need money or a laptop. I don’t even have to know the right words to say or pray. I don’t need to have a perfect theology. I just have to have a desire to know Him and follow Him. He leads me from there. He reveals Himself to the one who cries out to Him. I get to wake up every day and journey into the never-ending depths of God. Love Incarnate. Mercy, Justice, Truth. He is the essence of reality. And He has chosen to reveal Himself to me. To us! And this is my life: consumed with one thing, namely, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord (Psalm 27:4). I will gladly lose everything that I may gain Him.
We had a great bible study. I was able to thank God for the mishaps because they brought that fresh, new perspective into my life. You can’t take Him from me. Hah! I win! God wins!
So with that long blog I invite you just as Jesus invites you:
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I wil give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
If you can relate. If you are tired and overloaded. Cry out to Him. Just say God I want to know you! He is closer than you think!
With all of my love,
Jake
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