Greetings from Africa!!!

Hello there everyone!

Jessi and I are excited to announce that we now have internet capabilities on the farm thanks to Pam Dombrosky who gave us a christmas gift that enabled us to make the purchase!!! We will now be posting messages on a weekly basis on this site, which will contain pictures/stories/info on different nationals/and we may even get different nationals to write on this as well.

We just want to let everyone know that we are doing well. It would be wonderful if there was some way to fill you in on all that has happened in the past 4 months. There's no way we could ever include everything, so we will just start from now and try to fill you in as we go!

Right now, even during a slow season, there is a lot going on on the farm! Sunday evening, I (Jessi) was hit with an AWFUL toothache unlike anything I'd ever experienced before. It had admittedly been tender for awhile and bothering me, but I didn't know what to do about it here, so I was just hoping I could hold off until we got home in May. Well, my tooth was having none of that! Sunday night and Monday was filled with, hands down, the worst pain I've ever felt in my life. Any of you that have gone through this before...you have a new empathizer! Whew! Jake made some calls and found a good dentist in Lusaka (the capital, which is about a 5 hour drive away from here), and so we set off early Tuesday morning for an emergency afternoon appointment. Really, it was the best road trip I'd ever had. By that point, I was on so much medicine I barely knew my own name! I definitely didn't feel any bumps on the pothole-filled Zambian tarmac (highway)! I was terrified to have an operation in a dirty, unprofessional office. But, of course the Lord provided. The office was lovely, the dentist was an English man who was trained in London and just happened to work out of Zimbabwe. He decided a root canal was best, and the whole thing was over in less than an hour. Praise the Lord! I have felt very little pain after that, so he must have done a great job!

The trip to Lusaka was beneficial in more ways than one. We were able to pick up the card that allows us internet access here on the farm, which is something we had been really wanting. Hands down, the best part is that we got to buy an air conditioner! Pastor Jerry told us (and Sal and Renee) that he would reimburse us for an air con. if we could find one...that was back in August! It took us this long to finally find them! I have really been suffering from lack of sleep being that the cool night breeze is 90 degrees. Last night, Jake hooked up the air con. and I slept my first night straight through and had to be woken up at 7:30 this morning. Another Praise!

Right now, Jake and I have got to go rescue a broken down farm vehicle in town (the vehicle curse continues!). Then, I've got to get out my medical books and figure out (for real) how to deliver a baby. Sal is in Lusaka and there's one on the way! Just a typical day on the farm! We are so glad that we have a way to communicate our stories to you! We hope that you enjoy reading and that it makes you feel connected. Whether you're supporting us financially, in prayer, or just by being a friend, we are thinking about you often and wishing that you could be here with us, even for a short time. We would take you to a village where we would eat nshima and chicken. Then maybe go to Victoria Falls and have tea and watch the hippos. We could visit with the sick people at the clinic, or hold the babies at the orphanage. Later, we could eat one of those cakes I've had to learn how to bake! As long as you're willing to deal with push starting cars, getting a million interruptions, and constantly brushing off insects...we'll have a great time!

We love you guys and can't wait to hear from you! As Pastor Jerry always says to us: Be blessed and be a blessing!

Love, Jacob and Jessi