Zack Ludwig and Zambia and Stuff

Just like a good 'ol fashon barn raising.

2009-04-23T14:06:00.003-05:00

So no new news on the Borehole. We started the day trying to lift up the tank stand. It was a cold rainy morning. No one was especially excited about what was before us, but with a few motivational words we all started lifting. It took a couple of hours, lots of chatting in foreign languages, and about a hundred different ideas. One broken rope and a couple dozed 6" nails, and one close call later, we had er up. there was much celebration. Daniel did some welding and is now rock solid. I went to the top tonight to see how shaky it was. it didn't move a bit. I'll get the tank up next week. Oh yeah, one last trip to lusaka to get a few things.

Well Drilling - please pray

2009-04-22T13:19:00.002-05:00

The Well, locally known as a borehole. We are finally getting one put in, or so I thought. They are pretty expensive, but I found a guy who was recommended by another american guy who does boreholes with a smaller, more portable rig that is cheaper to transport to remote areas such as ours. Everything was fine, the price, the timing, and i had the confidence that they could get it done brfore i go. One week now. They came on sunday and started drilling, they got about 1/4 of the way down and they hit hard rock, they repeated this three times before they came to me today and told me that they were giving up. Bummer deal man, for me. Now what? Please pray that I would have wisdom and that the right solution present itself. There isn't much time left.

The Tower

2009-04-22T13:10:00.002-05:00

So we had to build a tower to put the water tank on in order to maintain proper water pressure. This has been a hassle, because water towers are not in y realm of expertise, nor have I ever build, or put one up before. Seemed simple enough. with a little engineering help from Dahlberg, we got it all built. It is a tank, definitely not going to collapse. But moving it proved to be quite an ordeal. There were 50 people all barking orders in a language that I don't understand. At one point I told them that "I needed more Indians and not so many chiefs." they just looked at me with a blank stare, I guess when i said Indians, they were thinking of guys with turbans on their heads instead of the guys with feathers on their heads. Whatever. anyway, with the help of the truck we were able to move it. Tomorrow we get to tip it up. Hopefully that goes well.

Last trip to Lusaka

2009-04-17T13:34:00.002-05:00

The last few days I took what I planned to be my last trip to lusaka before I leave for Iowa. It was going to be a day and a half trip, it ended up being a two and a half day trip. Everything takes sooo long to get anything done. The first day we went to the embassy to get my new passport, that was uneventful, then off to immigration. still not a big deal, as we were leaving we went down one of the most busy streets in the city. They had the whole street blocked off, a marching band and about 1000 people were marching with "Labour Day 2008" banners. I was confused. Last i checked, it was 2009?? anyway we took a lot fo side streets to finally get where we were going. Finally, I asked someone if it was Labor day, Of course it wasn't. "why were they marching", I asked. He then informed me that they were Just practicing for the real Labor day on May 1st, and they will do it a couple of more times before then too. it is no wonder why this country is so messes up.
I was able to get another huge load of supplies to put together the next couple of weeks. This trip to Lusaka made me glad that i had Randy to do a lot of these trips for me. We are planning to have the well driller here tomorrow morning to start. We have the pump here ready for installation. The water tower is built and being painted. we will then carry it to the place and tip it up. It will be very good to have clean water. Please pray that we could get electricity to the site before I go.
It is kinda surreal to think that I am going to be heading home in 2 weeks. the time has gone fast. this is the great past though, seeing it all come together. next week the facility will host the pastor training. Of course there will be a lot of things unfinished, but it is better than the grass huts they used at the site last time.
I got a ticket for driving without a license the other day on my way to Lusaka. I had an international license, but it expired in January. I wonder what all of the other officers thought when i showed them since January? oh well, I was in the wrong, so i paid the ticket and I didn't want to argue that one.
Today was the first time since November that I have had a Nshima craving. Those of you that have been here know what that means, the rest of you, ?ask someone who has. So we had some for supper tonight. complete with cabbage and scrambled eggs.
My friend Jen, from Minnesota, is still here heading up the painting crew. She is doing an awesome job and is planning on coming back for a while in July to finish up and loose ends on the painting and finishing details.
The rains are now over. This is the best time of the year here. No rain, things are still green and the temperatures are mild. It is kinda like early fall at home. It is the beginning of winter here. it will continue to get colder at night and still be nice (70's) during the day.
Not sure it I wrote it or not, but i will be home on May 2nd. it will be bitter sweet. but more sweet.

It's a wonderful Life!

2009-04-04T14:09:00.006-05:00

Well, it doesn't always seem that way, but deep down, it really is(a wonderful life). The last few weeks have been a rollercoaster. I really don't remember where I left off last time, but we haven't let up on the building. Now we are painting, finishing floors, casting concrete counters, fixing doors, setting sinks and maiking electrical connections. It has been fun to stand back each day and see the progress being made.

I was fortuneate enough to have a group from Cornerstone church come to help with the work. They were a huge encouragement to Randy and I and help us accomplish a lot. I know that they were also touched by their time here. Also, my friend Jen, from minnesota is here visiting for a few weeks. She is helping with the painting and other fisinshes on the buildings.

During their time here we got to interact a bit with the orphans and their care givers. It was another reminder of why we are here doing what we were doing. So refreshing for that time to come now when the weight of the project and the "task at hand" gets so heavy. for more on this time check out the hope children's center blog. hopechildrenscenter.blogspot.com

When I picked up the group from the airport, I somehow lost my wallet which contained ,y passport, cash, credit cards, drivers license, etc. it was really embarrasing. Here I was, the leader of the group, the "guy on the ground" and Im the one making stupid mistakes. Oh well, humbling I guess. I went throught the process of getting a new passport, which was suprisingly easy.

We are down the the last few weeks. Randy leaves this wendsday. I have a couple more weeks and then i will be home. I should be in DesMoines on May 2nd. How has the time flown. I cant check out yet though, there is still a lot of work to do. I look forward to the day when the children will be cared for there. Already, some of the orphans have been stopping out the check the place out. They are blown away. Thansk to all who are making this possible for me and for the children here.

Pictures

2009-03-15T14:32:00.005-05:00

Thimgs are going good. We are getting what the locals call "the last rains" We are waiting for the group to come next week. Also my Friend, Jen from Minnesota is coming to help with the ministry. It is going to be a busy week.

Today was Jack's lst day here with us. It is sad to see him go back to Omaha. It is clear that he touched many lives during his time here.

2009-03-12T12:19:00.004-05:00

So last friday the reality hit me that the group coming from Ames would arrive in about a week. It was the first time that I thought "I'm running out of time" Now really, I have a lot of time left, bu it is officially crunch time. I spent the weekend getting caught up on paperwork, cleaning up at home and getting "ready" for being run over by this project. Monday, There was a new tone on the jobsite. There was no longer any time for messing around, no longer any time to put off the projects no one wanted to do. On a different side of things, Jack is on his final week here in Zambia. He has been taking advantage of each morning with the workers to teach them from the bible. That also set a more defined tone for the week. Overall, we have gotten a lot done. Lots of little projects, as well as beginning painting. That's kind of an exciting step, to get to paint stage. I'll post some picture soon.

Outbreak

2009-02-28T14:14:00.004-06:00

There is a small village not far from here. I guess "far" is relative. It is about 90 kilometers from here. All on bad bush roads. One English lady here told me it is about as far into the bush as you can get in Zambia. The place is called Chisomo, also locally known as "the valley". I visited there a couple of years ago with a team from Cornerstone. We traveled there in the back of a truck for about 6 hours. While we were there we showed the Jesus film and started a church. Pastor Navice has been working with the leaders there to grow the church.

Why am I telling you this? Well, as I was working today with one of the guys Willard. We saw some helicopters flying over. I thought that was kinda odd so I asked him what they were doing. He said that there is an out break in a village called Chisomo. He said it was cholera, and "people were dieing like animals". (he was surprised that I had been there, as he had lived here for his whole life and never been there) I later found out that they don't know what the problem is, all they know is that lots of people are dieing. The government is bringing in food, medicine and doctors to help out. I don't know a lot about this stuff but I do know that things have to be pretty serious to have this kind of relief come in. I know that there are many who are very sick.

Chisomo is a desolate place, frequent floods, poor farm ground, located at the end of a long, bad, road to nowhere there is little traffic from outside, little food, little medicine, and little hope. It is one of the most hopeless places I have ever seen. I was just talking with a government official about the village on tuesday, before all of this came up. I asked why they don't leave, with all the suffering and stuff? He said that the government had offered to relocate them but they refuse. They like looking at the mountain views, their ancestors are buried there, they can't leave. They will suffer and die there because that is where their forefathers brought them. My worker Willard put it well saying that "they are ignorant." The picture above is a picture I took there of their school when I was there August 2007.

Please pray for those who are dieing and suffering in Chisomo. Pray that God would use this to grow the church there and draw people to Himself.

Life in Serenje

2009-02-27T13:53:00.002-06:00

I know, I am long overdue dor a new post. The last few weeks have been pretty eventful.

The project: The roof is almost on the new building. The picture abpve is not where we are, just the most recent. We ahve begun putting the roofing sheets on the side showing. You can see in the picture the "mobile scaffold" in the back of the truck. It is pretty handy. We continue to plug along on several projects. Mostly roofing, plastering the walls and some plumbing and block laying on the guest house.

People: A lot of people have come and gone through here the last few weeks. Randy's wife came to visit. They spent some time traveling so i was at the site without him. Luckily I had James. Marlin Rice, A guy from our church who is an entomologist came to work with out farm manager to help grow crops for the children. It was great to have him around to invest some serious time with the Ag side of the project, and also to tell us what every bug was (and explain it's life cycle), and it was good to have someone to sip some wine with in the evenings.

Dr. Brian from Omaha and two other doctors, Karen and Abbie were also with us for two weeks. They worked in the hospital. They made a great impact on the community and helped save many lives. I was overwhelmed daily when they came and told stories of what they saw each day. I couldn't;t have done it. Kudos to them.

James, the superworker, has also left us. His sentence here was up so he went home. He was a huge blessing, and great company. Thanks James!

My friend Josh Jensen is here now and will help us get the roofs finished. He is only here for a short time though.

The work, and Life in general is more routine than ever. That doesn't mean that we don't get curve balls every now and then, but we are able to easily deal with them. The time also seems like it is winding down. There is a lot of work to do. I know we will get it done, but it is daunting to think of all of the details. Im glad I have good help. God is good, all the time.

I've been had!

2009-02-27T13:47:00.004-06:00

So a couple of weeks I posted a blog about one of the workers who had his house collapse, Rodgers. He was my benevolence case. He told me he was an orphan and was taking care of his younger siblings. He was also the one who had his house collapse. Well, I was suckered. He isn't an orphan, he isn't taking care of his siblings. He seems to be a crook that quit showing up for work when he was thrown in Jail. I wasn't the only one, several of the workers loaned him money and have not been repaid. They are very concerned about it all. Thankfully all he got out of me was a job. He actually earned everything I paid him. It just goes to show that even with time here I am still not without fault, and that people here will do anything to get a buck.

road trip

2009-02-27T13:37:00.002-06:00

So I finally took a few days to "get away" from things here in Serenje. I went down to Livingstone, the home of Victoria Falls, and then went to Botswana to Stay at a Game Lodge and did some safaris. It was a good break. My friend from Iowa, Josh Jensen is here not and went with me. I was glad to have a friend to travel with. We enjoyed seeing many of the animals and ate some awesome food. We were not without adventure as we crossed the Botswana/Zambia border we had a fiasco trying to get the vehicle out of the country, which we never did succeed and finally left it at the Border with some "trustworthy" people. It all turned out fine. I'm not sure the "vacation" was really relaxing, as coming back after being gone has made this week more chaotic.

Oh Man No.

2009-02-08T11:11:00.003-06:00

It must be a full moon or something. People keep dieing. I won't tell all the stories, but there have been several people who have died in the last couple of days. No one we really know, but people who are one step removed from us. One was a young man who we met at a church a couple of weeks ago. He had come to town (30 miles from home) because of a headache. He dies a couple of days later. Pastor Navice knew the young man. His family is from the bush and had no way to get the body back to the bush. We were already planning on taking the truck out to that area to pick up pastors for a training week in Serenje. Navice asked us to take the body back to the bush, I couldn't say no as it was costing us nothing and would be an incredible testimony to the family and the community. Randy and Jack offered to drive out. I didn't argue. I had my chance to use the truck as a hurs last time I was in Zambia.

Tomorrow, Monday starts a week of pastor training. This is a program that Navice came up with years ago and now Cornerstone has the privilege of helping out with. As I mentioned earlier, Randy went out with the truck to rural areas and picked up about 35 pastors for training. One of the men, a new pastor "student" who is leading a new church we planted two summers ago. He was very excited about the training school this week and had his bag packed, in hand, ready to board the truck to head to the training. Unfortunately, Pastor Navice had to inform him that he wouldn't be able to attend this time. These was a funeral he had to attend. His young son, who had gone to town the day before with the mother had died.

The teachers, who are from South Africa, are with an organization called, "walk through the bible". We are hoping it will be good as we have not utilized them before. Jack went with the minibus and filled it with cabbage, cornmeal, chickens (live) and an assortment of other things. It should be good.

The work is going good. Of course Sunday, today, is the only day this week it hasn't rained and of course none is working. We have worked the last couple of Saturdays to try to catch up. We are winding down on the time we have for James to be with us, he has been a Godsend. We are praying that he can stay a bit longer. We'll see.

Thanks for all who are praying for us daily.

Excuses

2009-02-05T14:15:00.002-06:00

So every day there are some men who don't show up for work. They are all what they call "peice workers" meaning they aren't really "employees" but they are regular workers, so I have to ask them the next day why they were absent. It is usually sicknesses with them or their children. Today I heard a new one. Rodgers, one of the slashers (grass cutters) didn't show yesterday. When I inquired, he told me that his house collapsed over the night. Thats the first time I ever heard the "my house collapsed" excuse.

It is bad that I find it kinda funny, because it isn't funny at all to him. He is a 20 year old guy who just lost his mother and his dad had died several years ago. He is caring for his brothers and sisters who are left orphaned at home. Please pray for Rodgers.

He is a unique worker, he came to me around christmas time looking for a job. I told him i didn;t have any more jobs, as I told the other 30 men that came looking for work that week. rodgers pleaded with me, almost in tears told me in broken english how he was desperate to feed his brothers and sisters. Now, every two weeks he says with a smile, "thanks, now we can have food".

Engineering Disaster

2009-02-05T14:08:00.004-06:00

Ok so it really isn't a disaster, but it kinda sucks. The septic tank walls collapsed the other night. We had really heavy rain and the tank was empty, so the pressure pushed two of the walls in. Luckily it wasn't in use yet. In fact it wasn't even finished. I still needed to put a top on it. I am confident that is would have held with the top reinforced and if it was full of water/other stuff:-) I'm only writing about this so you get a glimpse of what life is like here. The unexpected is always around the corner. I don't let it get to me, I try to learn from it and move on.

Progress!

2009-02-05T13:32:00.004-06:00

I know you all enjoyed the pictures of the progress the other day. It really doesn't do it justice. I need some areal shots. Anyone want to sponsor a plane Ride:-)? The work has been in full swing, we finally got the shop up and running at the site. It is great having all of our tools out there with us. It helps us to not have to drive home every hour to get what we need. Randy and James have been truss making fools. They have a great start on the roof for the Main building.

We are still having about 50 workers showing up every day. We work on everything from pouring conctete, placing pipes in the ground, fixing electric boxes in the walls, laying block, plastering, digging trenches, working on the road, cutting grass(slashing), building trusses, installing roof metal, pulling wires, shoveling stones, painting trusses....you get the idea. Most of these jobs are all going on at the same time, so it is a lot to stay on top of. I just want to reiderate that I am very grateful to have the help here that I do.

The picture above is of the trusses that Randy and james built today. I take for granted that we don't ahve to do this at home. We just place an order and they show up at the site. It is a lot of work, but worth it. It takes a long time to lay out each truss on the computer and determine all of the angles, and then transfer them on to boards. Then the guys make hundreds of cuts and tehy get glued and nailed together. The lumber isn;t straight so it make it more fun. People have stopped and marveled at the roofs we have built, saying that we are "changing the town", or "nobody in africa can build a roof like that". It feels good to have people awe at our work. I pray that people see that we are changing the town with more than just bricks and mortar, but with changed lives.

2009-02-03T12:45:00.006-06:00

2009-01-30T13:04:00.002-06:00

It is Friday night and there is nothing to do. We ate dinner, I gave myself a haircut and now I am long overdue for making a new post. Last week I left you with a train ride that we were anticipating on Friday. Well....we rode the train. I'll save that story for another post.
The work this week has gone well. (sometimes I have to stop and think to myself while I'm typing, "is that how we talk at home?" The English here is poor and I find myself talking like they do.) The rains didn't disturb too much of the work. We have finished filling the foundations with dirt. That was a Long process that was often interrupted by the rain. Now all of the concrete has been placed in all of the floors. This is a big benchmark to hit. This week we have also finished the roof on the shop, prepared the bathhouse roof for tiles, installed the garage door, plastered all of the interior shop walls, and countless other things. Tomorrow, Saturday, we will be working to try to catch up a bit. We hope to get the new shop set up so we can be more productive during the week.

Death seems to always hang over this place. This week two of our workers had their children die. One left home in the morning to come to work, his child was sick at home, by 8:00 he had received word that his child had died. I'm still trying to understand things here. Why don't people go to the Hospital?

We have started having short bible messages on some of the mornings before we start work. It is fun seeing the conversation that is provoked through this. We hope to make this time more purposeful.

Having the Hope Center complete is starting to be within sight. There are several of us who thought this would never come. Now that it is becoming close, there are a lot of things that have to be figured out. Staff, leadership, programs, accounting, etc. Please pray That we would make wise decisions in the months to come.

Great week!

2009-01-22T13:49:00.004-06:00

We have had a great week. Of course there have been many things not go as planned, but we plan on things not going as planned. This week we built the roof for the shop. The picture was from a couple of days ago, but it is the most recent I have. It had been awsome having the help needed to get things done. I feel like I am able to stay ahead of what needs done next, rather thatn running around doing damage control. We have also been able to get most of the walls for the main building up. There is still a lot of work to do, but is rewarding to see progress and begin to feel like I am getting over the hump.

This week Navice did a food distribution to the children in the area. As many of you know, there are 150 orphans the Cornerstone has been attempting to care for. This include providing some food to them through their caretakers. This time they each received a 25kg (about 50lb) of cornmeal (their staple food) and some dry beans. It is far from enough, but wil help sustain them. We are looking forward to having the Hope center built so that we can be feeding them Daily what they need.

Tomorrow after work, Randy , James and i are going to board an overnight train to Tanzania. Randy made friend with a Railraod emplyee and the next thing we

know, we are all boarding a Train tomorrow headed for the border. We will then Spend the day there and return Sunday Morning. Should be an adventure.

2009-01-17T06:58:00.002-06:00

The last few weeks has been productive. Randy has come back and James is now here to help us. It has been great having both here this last week. Combined with the dry weather this week, we have really gotten a lot done. We received another semi load of cement, which should finish out the project. We got trusses built for two of the buildings, and got a ton, actually, tons of dirt moved.

As far as walls go, the septic tank is built, the bathouse is almost finished, and the big building is half finished. next week we will work on the house and the rest of the big building and put roofs on. The weather is still an obstacle, but we have been blessed with many nice days. We take the good with the bad.

There have been a couple of days that have been tough, where things don't go good, people give me trouble, and i want to give up and go home, but i do continue to find strength in the Lord. I have had a few of my Zambian friends who have lost their children in the last couple of weeks. One was one of our workers who's wife had just had a baby. We were excited for him, went and visited them in the "hospital" and everything seemed pretty much fine, a small rash, but the baby died the next day. Another one of our friends, Geoffery, a pastor who we have known for many years lost his son to HIV. His son was older, in his 30's and had been fighting sickness for a few years. It is sad to see people loose their family. They are used to it, but it doesn't make it easier for them.

This week has been a lot more fun. There are 4 of us Americans here, so it is more lively after work. There is also a lot more help, which makes things a lot less stressful. there is a lot of work to do, but the end is starting to be in sight. I'll try to update more often.

Routine

2009-01-04T10:55:00.002-06:00

Well, it's been almost two months now. Things are starting to feel normal and routine. I know most of the workers names, and they know their jobs. The shop owners in town know us, and people are used to us being here. The police at the checkpoints on the roads are getting to recognise us. The staff at the hotel in Lusaka know us. We get up at the same time every morning, go to the same church(es) on the weekends, they are used to having us, we know what food we can buy here, and we are making the same meals each week. I forget about home, what I'm missing, and what's going on.

This is good in some ways, it helps things run much smoother; not smooth, just smoother. But it has it's down side too. It's not as much of adventure anymore. It's life. Things that used to surprise me are now normal. Things that were fresh and new, are now old and boring. It makes it difficult to write a blog because everything is seemingly "ordinary". I like surprises, hopefully I will be surprised soon. I'll let you know.

It has been slow going at the jobsite, not because people are not working hard, or things are going wrong. That's not the case at all. We have just been having short weeks. Two weeks ago we lost a couple of day to Christmas, Last week, we lost a couple of days to the New Year. This week, Randy and James come. We will loose a couple of days picking them up. Things will pick back up next week though. Randy will be back, and lot of the hard, but slow work has been done. Also, another guy from Iowa, James, is coming to help out for about 6 weeks. He will be a huge asset to help us move forward and get things done. We have also decided to build a 5th building, a house for the Director. I am excited about this, but it will add a lot of work. I need to work on getting it designed and submitted to the council. (yes, we have to do that here.)

Please continue to pray for dry weather. Pray that my spirits would be kept high.

Sunshine

2008-12-30T12:05:00.002-06:00

Thanks to everyone who prayed for sunshine. The last two days we have had it. Of course we have also had rain, but more sunshine. This had allowed us to move a lot of dirt needed to fill in our foundations. The months of "big rain" are still to come, so I need to work hard to get out of the ground. The picture is of a few of my workers unloading dirt. They load by hand, unload by hand. It is very hard work.

New Road

2008-12-29T11:50:00.002-06:00

Last week, Wendesday, the council came and put in our new road. This is a big deal in Africa. It is easier to move mountains than to get the government to do anything. so this is the new road leading into the site. Now we can work on getting the power company to get the power poles installed. Before the refused because they didn't know where to run the poles.

Today was a very dry day, great for building. we laid our first slab and have prepared two more. I am overwhelmed with the amount that is still remaining to do. Please pray that the right help will come with amazing efficiency.

Christmas Weekend

2008-12-28T12:31:00.004-06:00

Christmas was ok. Not really a big deal made it is here in the rural area. We went to a 3 hour service at a local church here. The I guess they don't mind sitting on a small plank for 3 hours, but I was numb after the first hour.

After Church we made dinner and relaxed for the afternoon. Friday, we set up the room next door for Jack, the new arrival, and James, another guy coming back with Randy in January.

Saturday morning we set off in the fan with a cooler full of food and a few essentials and headed North. We weren't really sure where we were going to end up, but we had some ideas. we were going to drive and sleep in the van and have a good old fashion adventure.

We ended up visiting a large estate set up by an Englishmen in the early 1900's He didn't like the way the English treated to Blacks so he tried to set up a "utopia" community. It was very neat to see old English architecture in the middle of Africa. The property also has some hot springs where we made home for the night. There was a small lodge near the springs with lush gardens and a few small chalets near the riverside. They were fully booked, but when we told them that we were going to sleep in the van, they offered us a spare room they had for a very low price. The hot springs were AMAZING. No sulfur smell, hot water, jungle like vegetation all around. We sat for hours soaking in the calming waters, and enjoyed some adult beverages. It was just like my hot tub at home. Kinda.

On the way home we Stopped at Kundulila Falls, the same falls I visited s few weeks ago, only it was a lot different this time, with all of the rain we have had, they were much more violent than before, it was still fun to swim under them. We bought some car tire tubes to float on, which was genius if you as me.

All in all it was a good relaxing weekend. There is a lot to see in Zambia, it was good to get out and see more of it. This week is another big week. We will start manufacturing trusses for our buildings. We also have a lot of dirt to move to backfill our foundations, please pray that the rains will hold off. Also, pray for those that heard the Gospel on Christmas, and that we could help them in their walk with the Lord.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-24T23:23:00.003-06:00

Well, today is Christmas, they don't seem to make too big of deal of the day. There will be a service at church later. We had a big feast with the men at the site yesterday. It was good. Again, they were VERY happy.

The rain has slowed us down a bit witht he work. We have been having some cool overcast days with all day slow rain. This isn't typical for here. usually a storm rolls in, bumps a few inches and moves on. When the sun come back out the ground dries up within an hour or so.

I am looking forward to having a long weekend to get some things done and relax a bit. I think we are going to go up north to see some waterfalls on friday or saturday. Maybe camp somewhere.

Thanks for all of your support and for keeping up with the project and me. Please pray for progress and sunshine. Have a Great Christmas!

Kazemba

2008-12-21T12:06:00.002-06:00

I was able to travel to Mt. Kazemba yesterday. I brought with me Jack, The new guy from Nebraska. Kazemba was the Place I live last time I was here for 8 months. It was good to be back. I got a very warm welcome from those who are staying there. I was surprised by the emotion of them, as they usually don't show much emotion. It was good. The place looked OK, pretty grown over from the rain. There is still a lot to do there. I didn't sleep well because I kept dreaming (nightmares) of all the work left to do there. I feel much better about the scale of our project in serenje. I am grateful for those who are committed to seeing the Kazemba project to completion. Tomorrow were going back to serenje for the week. For Christmas, I would still like to go to Malawi, but due to a permit needed I don't have for driving a vehicle out of the country, I'm not sure it will happen. If we cant do that, i suppose we'll jump on a bus to go Bungee jumping at Victoria falls?

I don't think there are coconuts in Bethlehem??

2008-12-18T12:30:00.004-06:00

So Zambians have an uncanny gift to transform something perfectly normal to into something horribly gaudy. Especially when attempting to make something "nice".

We came to Lusaka today because Randy is flying home tomorrow. Things are a bit different here than the rest of the country. I didn't remember there being palm trees in the Christmas story. the funny thing is that there aren't palm trees in Zambia either (except electric ones).

Being back here seeing the Christmas lights and hearing Christmas music have made it kinda real that I won't be home next week. Kinda a bummer. Today, as i sat in traffic, amidst the honks, smoking tailpipes and all around craziness, I sort of escaped reality and started singing Christmas songs. Then I had to get bank into reality so I didn't wreck. But it was good to be away for a few frames of life. Perhaps I'm starting to loose it? I don't know.

43 days down, and still no nshima. Those of you that have not been here don't know what Im talking about. those of you that have.....do.

This morning it started raining, it hasn't stopped.

We left the guys working while we came to Lusaka, hopefully that was a good idea.

No sign of the Rat for a while, hopefully we are in the clear.

Tomorrow, a new guy from Omaha is coming. He'll help us our wit the building. His name is jack and is from Brookside church in Omaha.

That's all for now.

Fun to Give

2008-12-14T14:12:00.002-06:00

The Men have been working very hard. On friday Randy and I had discussed providing lunch for the men, just as a good gesture. Many of the men do not eat over their noon break. We had a large load of cement to unload, a large load of lumber to unload and a lot of concrete to mix. It was a good day to provide lunch. At my morning address I told them that we would be doing Lunch together. You would have thought they had all been given the day off. They all cheered, jumped up and down. Huge smiles, old me giving me two thumbs up! I expected them to be happy, but the response I got was really fun. And all for about $25 to feed 40 men.

The picture above I took this morning of a 2 yr old boy who has been coming over to our house, opens the door and comes in. He speaks no english. His mother lives at the hotel next door. He is really cute and funny.

Today we went to Mukishi, a town about an hour away. There was a new church that Pastor Navice and his team had started. They had asked me to preach so I reluctantly did. I told an old Bemeba (their "tribe") and parralled it to the story of the Bible and Christ coming to save. It could have been better, but I got through it. When I was done, Navice asked for those who have givn their lives to Christ for the first time today to stand up. Of the 66 present, 11 stood up. It was good to know that my God has used me to bring his message to these people.

Big week this week. Randy leaves friday. We have a lot to do. Thanks for reading.

Divide and Conquer

2008-12-11T15:10:00.003-06:00

It only took one more day of chaos on Monday for me to know something had to be done. Men, moving around like ants. lots of work being done, just no way to keep track of what was being done. I don't know their names yet, their faces all look the same, some can understand me, most do not. It was nuts. I decided to take the few who can communicate and work hard and make them "team leaders" give them a 50 cent per day raise and have them report to me and be responsible for their team. Geneius. Im sure they teach this stuff in school, but not forestry school. the work this week still has its obsticles, but is much more controlled and makes it eiser for Randy and I to do something.

Yesterday i went to Ndola because we had bought every peice of rebar in this town. I also Bought a semi load of lumber for trusses. It was a very good trip. I had never been to this city before and had no iead how to get around or where to go to get my supplies. God provided a man that I met who offered to help me. What a help he was. i was glad to buy him lunch and pay him $5 for the full day of work for him. What a blessing. I was trying really hard to leave for home before 2 pm so that I could get home before dark. The roads get very dangerous after dark. That didn't happen. I pulled out at 7pm to find out that there was a deisel shortage. But luckily the truck had just arrived to unload. So, and hour later, i was off. It was the only time I think i was a little bit scared in Zambia. Not really sure what to expect. I had lots of goods in the truck, enough cash to....well it was a lot of cash. If somthing happend, i wasn't sure what would happen. But, they were our of rebar at the site and I had a load of it, so i pressed forward. Thankfully, everything went great.

Last Sunday, Randy and I took some time to get away from thinkinga bout blocks and concrete. We went to visit one of the local waterfalls. It was actually way better than I thought it would be. We hiked down to the bottom and spent some time swimming. It was awsome. It was one of the first times I had been able to go anywhere in Zambia where there were not people following me and no children hiding in the bushes watching myevery move. It was a good break.

Aside from building, which I understand well, I have been working with the local leadership on setting up the organization, keeping track of funds, and helping them prepare for a future pastor traing workshop. All of which take a lot of time, discernment and wisdom, for which I need your prayers.

I'll write more later Im tired and it is late. We have a load of lumber to unload tomorrow.

Testing

2008-12-08T12:21:00.003-06:00

The work at the site continues to go well. It takes all we have for randy and I to stay a half a step ahead of the guys working. There is always something keeping us on our toes. I am finding that the men are beginning to test us to see where the line is to see how much they can complain to get something else out of us. This morning I was doing my morning address to the 40 workers, they were asking for me to provide for them things that I had clearly told them that I wasn't going to last week. I finally had to revert to pointing behind me to the 20 men who came who didn't get a job and saying to my workers, "you see all those men, they would love to have your job if you are not happy with your wage." I thing that got the response I wanted. No more asking for more. I have to fire the first worker today. It went fine. It has been a huge blessing having randy here to help with keeping the guys going, running into town to retrieve items, and fixing special projects. By the end of the week we should be out of the ground with all of the buildings. Tomorrow, I am going to try to go to Ndola, a city about 4 hours away to secure some more materials and bring back a load of something. Please pray for a productive time. Also, please pray for me as I will be preaching this Sunday at a new church plant in a nearby community. I will be speaking on Salvation. I think it will be a good reminder of why we are here. Thanks for reading, I do miss friends , family, and deer hunting.

A tale about a Rat

2008-12-06T10:31:00.003-06:00

It all started about two weeks ago, it was one of the first nights that we were sleeping in our place we call home. Randy and I went next door to have dinner at the restaurant. We decided to come back home while we were waiting for our food to be prepared. I think Randy wanted his bottle if Heinz ketchup for the french fries of "chips" as they call them. I don't remember what I wanted, but I am sure it was essential what ever it was.

When we entered our house, I went into my cubicle, (our house is really and office) and the a rat ran out from under my bed. the concrete floor is slippery so his legs were moving much faster than he was. I wanted to try to step on him, but I had already taken off my sandals. I don't care how tough you are, you don't step on a rat without shoes on. He was big, I think I could have kicked him across the room and it wouldn't have phased him. I informed randy what was going on on my side of the wall and he just chuckled. We went back to diner and I proceeded to tell him rat stories from my last time in Zambia. After a while he stopped to correct me and told me that it was probably just a large mouse. I knew he was wrong, but not wanting to argue, I let him think what he wanted. We finished our diner and returned to our "house". I was in my cubicle/bedroom and he was in his. All of a sudden I hear I hear noises from the other side of the wall where Randy was. I don't know how to describe the sound other than a male version of screaming like a schoolgirl. Randy now knew that it was a rat that I was referring to. This time I chuckled.

Both times the rat was spotted, it crawled under a door that it has chewed on the bottom to fit through, and into someone else's house. we thought we should do something about it. The next morning Randy found where the Rat had spent the night in his clothes folded on a shelf. There was a pile of corn shells where the rat had been eating the seed corn we had in the next room. Obviously Randy was not excited about this, so we decided to buy a trap and some poison. The rat trap looked like it would do some serious damage to a furry critter. A large spring, 1/4" teeth, a inch long jugular spike right near where the head would be positioned. I carefully baited the trap with peanut butter, creamy, not chunky. and placed it near the door. I also mixed peanut butter with the poison and placed it around the room. That night I half expected to hear the horror of the Rat being caught. To my disappointment, I found the trap the next morning sprung with the bait gone. But there was no rat. some of the poison also had been eaten. We then tried boarding over the holes where the rat could get in.

After a few days of no rat I was thinking that the poison had finally gotten to Mr. rat. The next day though randy had found more evidence of the rat on the same shelf in his folded clothes. A few nights later I was awaken by Randy pounding on the plywood walls that make our cubicles. Not fully awake, I absurdly enquire what he was doing. Apparently, he was in his room reading when the rat runs into his room and plants himself right on the shelf perching over Randy. Once he figured out randy was there, he hid in the shelves, thus the pounding. This all leads up to last night, when i was again waken by randy making all sorts of ruccus. He was quick to inform me that the rat had visited again, this time running over the top of Randy's bare feet. Randy could feel the claws pierce into his skin as he made his way across. Now, it is getting not be so funny for Randy. There is something about the third shelf up in Randy's room that has this Rat coming back night after night. Today, The traps were reset, poison was placed, and randy is sleeping with one eye open. We'll see what happens..........

Progress

2008-12-05T12:11:00.002-06:00

We have made a lot of progress this week. The place looks a lot different than it did Monday morning. We stared monday with about 6 guys, we gained some each day and had almost 40 men working on friday. Key men continue to imerge in the group, it is very incouraging. The shop and bathouse footings are done, the footings for the big building are almost dug, and will be poured tuesday. The rains held off until about 3:00 friday afternoon. then the heavens opened and it poured. We are hoping to have a restful weekend, but it will not happen. As we look forward to Monday, there are a lot of things to get ready for. It is a bit overwhelming having 40 sets of eyes waiting for a greeting, a job assigment, instruction first thing in the morning. We want to be prepared. the licture is from last weekend, The cheif of police, John, and his new glasses that I brought from the US. He was like a kid a christmas when I presented him with his new glasses.

Sometimes you just have to laugh

2008-12-02T11:47:00.006-06:00

This is a story from last week I needed a bank certified check to take to immigration. I think to myself, "I should go to the bank for this" Seems easy enough, so I head down to the "nice part of town, where I won't get mauled by peddlers selling one shoe and a windshield wiper. I walk into the bank, there is about 30 people in the lobby, not unusual for Zambia. I choose the shortest of the two lines. I wait, and watch people, I like to watch people while waiting. As people go up to the teller, it is like they are telling secrets between each other, I am only a few feet (or about a meter as they say here) from the teller, but I can't hear a word, I see slight movement of the lips and eye gestures, but no sounds, I am still baffled by this. All the while while waiting in line people in front of me are coming and going, mostly to answer their phones outside, heaven for bid they answer their phone in the bank, after all, Zambia is the only place I have been where a pastor stopped mid sermon to answer an incoming call. Every time I think I am getting close, a few people come back from their phone calls and nudge their way back in line, all the while, not a word is said. Anyway, I finally make my way to the teller, i simple ask: "I am needing a bank certified check"
I said it at regular vocal level, I am sure the entire city block heard my request.
The teller politely said: "I am so sorry sir i don't know if we can do that here."
There is a long pause, I am waiting in anticipation.
I finally ask, with a smirk on my face, "well are you going to find out?"
She sheepishly says, "no we don't do that here"
The teller next to her says, "why don't you ask mrs, suchnsuch"
So she goes and asks, then I have to go to some lady's office.
We greet one another and I ask "I need a bank certified check"
Puzzled she thinks for a moment, "Oh we don't do that here" she says
"You have to go to the other branch for that."
"OK where is that?" I question
"across the street, bu they close in 6 minutes, so go fast fast" ans she motions with her hand.
So I take of across the parking lot, through the maze of minibusses and taxis, with divers greeting me with "boss, boss, can I take you this side?" I finally make it across the street and to the next bank just as the security guard is closing the door. I go in, stop at customer service and ask the usual question: "can I get a bank certified check?"
Again, I get the deer in the headlights look, "window four" he suddenly says. I go to window four. wait in line for a few minutes. When my turn comes, I say, "can I get a bank certified check?" again a pause......"You have to go to window two." So like a horse looking for water, I proceed to window two. remember, all of the staff is with in earshot of each other, and by now I am the only customer in the bank. I ask the teller at window two, I am needing a bank certified check" The woman at window two fumbles around a bit after I ask, and send me to window one. Well, there is no teller at window one, so i go back to window two, she says I have to see the manager. Now of course I have to go to the manager's office, she is on the phone, and i wait for a few minutes while she is talking, Finally I am able to ask, "I need a bank certified check" Oh she says, you have to go to window three. So I go to window three, there is no one there, just as I begin to go back to the manager, a woman comes, I make my request, and of course she has to get someone else, who then has to get someone else, he gives me a form to fill out, I spend some time filling it out, and hand it back to him. Now he asks, "what are you needing" "a bank certified check", I respond, "Oh", you need to fill out this form not that form. So I fill out the form, hand it to the man. he disappears, I wait for a while. soon the woman comes back and says, "would you kindly take a seat" That was the nice way of saying, "this is going to take a while" So I wait and finally after over an hour and 8 people, I finally got my certified check.

I had to laugh, because I knew that randy was going through the same thing somewhere. Everything here is a process, nothing can be done simply. I think they like to make processes long so that they can have jobs. sorry you read that whole story with no climax. Story telling is not my forte. This is just a glimpse of the life here

Beginnings

2008-12-01T11:45:00.003-06:00

Things have been going very well here in Zambia. We spent the weekend laying out the site for buildings, and continuing to get out "home" set up. Sunday was a much needed relaxing day after church. We spent the day napping and reading. Today, Monday, We started digging the footings for the first building. we didn't have as much help as expected, but we made due. I didn't want o recruit too heavy, because I was afraid we would have an army show up. We also hired a supervisor today. His name is Godfrey, he is a fifty something guy who has a lot of building training and experience. He is a contractor, but he will be serving as a supervisor for our project. He is very affordable, and grateful for the work. We are pleased to have him. I was also able to easily get loads of sand and stone brought to the site for building. All in all is was a good "first" day of building. tomorrow we expect a large crew. Things should begin to move fast. Thanks for all of your prayers.

A day to be thankful

2008-11-27T14:43:00.003-06:00

A lot has happened since I have written last, unfortunately, I find it difficult to put into words, so I will just have to laugh to myself. Today is thanksgiving, as you know. I find it especially easy to find things to be thankful for while living here. Not having to worry about having enough to eat for one, being able to see a doctor when i want, being able to have a job, and provide for myself. All of which is deprived from most of the people who passed by my door today as I prepared a turkey dinner. I am also remembering, as I am away today how thankful I am for my family and friends at home.

I wrestled today with my ability to show compassion, something that has always been a weakness of mine. An old man, barley able to speak came to me to ask for some money or food. This is pretty common, but he seemed to be different. He showed evidence of being in need he had recently had a surgery, indicated buy the incisions on his abdomen that he so humbly raised his shirt to show me. He didn't speak English well, so I had difficulty understanding him, but I gathered that he couldn't eat regular foods because of the surgery he wanted to get some bread, which is about 1/5 a days wages. (but this man was in no shape to work). I immediately wrote him off as another beggar, I left him behind. My fear was that if i helped him, he would be back every day, or wondering what I would do with the next needy person, after all they are all around. After wrestling with my conscience, i decided to give him 2,000 kwacha (50 cents) and a mostly eaten loaf of bread. When I approached him, perhaps 15 minutes after our first encounter, I touched his shoulder, and woke him, handed him the bread. What I saw in his eyes is something that i will not soon forget, it was the look, i could see in his eyes, he mumbled something, but I paid no attention,I just fixed my eyes on his saw it, it was an image of true thanksgiving. I think he as already written me off as another wealthy white man who wasn't willing to practice what I was advocating. Thankfully, God can even work through someone as cold hearted as me. Today I saw an image of thanksgiving that brought true meaning to what today is all about.

We did get to enjoy a turkey dinner. It was a good reminder of home. It is great having Randy here to share this experience with, but i do miss my friends and family at home. Thanks for all of your diligent prayers.

Getting somewhere

2008-11-23T11:29:00.003-06:00

After waiting for some funds for some time, We finally were able to get some dough. It took a three hour process at the bank, but they were able to issue us some money to buy a truck and some supplies. It was kinda funny leaving the bank with a backpack full of bills.

Home at last!

2008-11-21T14:49:00.002-06:00

Ok, not really Home, but a second home. Randy and I have been working to get out home set up the last couple of days. It is kinda like extreme makeover "Hut edition". Well it's not that bad. We have a room that was used as an office to live in. It is one room with 2 cubicles that are serving as our bedrooms. It has a small bathroom in the back. We have re-plumbed everything, built shelves, and built a kitchenette. Most of you wouldn't be impressed, even with randy, who can do anything, things take 4 times as long as home. It feels good to finally be settled. The building is on the main street that goes through town, really the only street that goes through town. This brings lots of traffic past our front door. People feel welcome to stop and chat and greet us. It is good, but kinda gets old. People are used to this building being an office, so they feel free to step inside and see what is going on. Now we keep the gate on the front closed to keep people out. It seems as though we may get some funds from the US tomorrow so we are planning to go back to Lusaka and secure more supplies and pick up our truck. You want to Pray for us? Some things have unfolded with some of the locals here, It wont do any good for me to go into it as I don't even understand it all. Just pray that I would have wisdom with meeting with some people tomorrow, that there would be unity in the church, and that people would understand each other. Thanks.

Back In Serenje

2008-11-18T14:09:00.005-06:00

We decided to leave Lusaka this morning. We were both anxious to get back to serenje to get our home set up and get organized. We had a relaxing weekend in Lusaka, we visited a good church, got caught up on some reading, and took a nap.

Sunday night, Randy decided to venture off at night with the vehicle to do some e-mailing at the local Internet Cafe. The cafe is about 2 miles from the lodge we are staying at. I stayed back to sort through some music. When 10:00 rolled around, and Randy hadn't returned, I started to worry about Him. I thought for sure he was lost or got in an accident and in the hospital. Come to find out he had stayed out too late and was chased after by a prostitute, why tried to follow him back to the Lodge, good thing randy was a fast driver. She couldn't catch up.

The rains have begun, it's not such a big deal for us as they haven't caused us any trouble yet. It is a big deal for the locals, their lives depend on the food these rains will provide. Some heavy rains have fallen outside of town , were many homes were damaged. (remember-mud walls, grass roofs)

We really do feel welcome here in Serenje, When we arrived from a week in lusaka, there were 7 men waiting to greet us, I'm not sure how long they waited, but it was welcoming. People are interested in what we are doing, people want to talk and share their ideas, it is a good feeling to be welcomed.

Please pray that Randy and i will make wise decisions concerning how to build things to make the most of the funds, make the orphan center functional, and have it look like something we want to put God's name on. We are having fun, it is no Disney land, but we are glad to be here. Miss you all

Getting cultured

2008-11-14T13:40:00.008-06:00

Today we were planning to Leave the city and travel back to Serenje. As is common in Africa, plans have changed. We negotiated to purchase a truck early next week. It takes a couple of days to do this. This being friday, It will have to wait until Monday. Staying here will save us from having to go back and forth, 6 hours each way and a couple hundred dollars in fuel at about $8 per gallon. We found a nice off the beaten path hotel to stay at that has air conditioning.

I am contunially trying to figure out this place. It is hard to understand why things are they way they are. Im constantly shocked at how much things cost, the flucation of prices, and how peole continue to survive. It is hard to have hope that there is a brighter future.

Today, I was in the city, people everywhere, dusty roads, unfamiliar languages, smoke billowing out of car exausts, horns honking. As I sat in the car, trying to send an e-mail, which is amazing in itself that I can do that here, I made a couple of calls to the US. It suddenly struck me. I felt like I was in a movie. Who gets to do this this? This is so far from what we know. yeah it's usually not too fun, not real glamourous, but there is somthing about it. Definetly hazardous to my health, but I feel pridvlidged to be serving here.

Another strange sight today. We went to a hardware store, when we park at the stores, people come up and try to sell cheap stuff to us. Sometimes we get som begging kids. today, I waited outside in the car to gaurd our goods. As i was there, just a few feet from me was an old blind man with a young kid begging. well, the kid was begging and the blind guy was just sitting there. It is common for cripples to have someone with then to guide them around and collect money. I then noticed that someone had given the boy a pizza, I assume to give to the blind guy. As I watched, I noticed that the kid wasn't giving any pizza to the blind man, as i continued to watch I noticed that the kid had the pizza behind the blind man and was trying to be very quiet when eating the pizza. He would also look around when taking bites to see who was watching. When he was done eating the pizza they both got up and left, but not without trying to get some money out of me. It was todays reminder of how desperate these people are, how sinful humans are, how curruption can begin at such a young age, and how much work ther is to do here. Please continue to pray.

Another Day in Lusaka

2008-11-13T12:01:00.002-06:00

Rany and I pull into the hotel gate, Randy comments on how exausted we are, yet it seems as though we didn't get much done today. Thought it seems like little, we actually did pretty good. We spent the day shopping in Lusaka again. Yesterday, we thought the van was full, the we keep finding space to fit things in. The wheels aren't rubbing on the fenders yet, so we still have space. We have everything from pot and pans, to table saw, to seed corn. I'll have to post a picture it is a sight to see. Now we are afraid we are going to get robbed if we leave the vehicle to shop in town. Tomorrow we have a few more shops to hit, negotiate purchasing a truck, and head back to serenje, where the last report said there was still no power. Thanks for all of your prayers. Please pray for the truck transaction.

One week Down

2008-11-12T12:44:00.000-06:00

Well, It's been a week since we boarded the plane in DesMoines. Things have gone pretty well, considering we are in a third world country. When we arrived, I only had 2 of my 3 bags, but that's pretty normal, so i wasn't surprised. The small van we have to drive around is working very well. We removed all of the seats in the back so we can haul our stuff around until we get a truck. We spent the first night in Lusaka and started off for Serenje early. When we arrived we found that they had no electricity. We spend several days there getting Randy acquainted with the project, checking out local supplies and making plans. We then came back to lusaka where we have been purchasing needed items and making contacts with suppliers we will need in the future. This has been an exhausting task. Please pray that we could find a truck and can get the other necessary supplies. Randy and I have been working very well together. We are both anxious to break ground on the buildings. The mosquitoes are worse than I have ever seen here (but still not near what they are in Iowa) and it is pretty hot. I suppose it is better than all the cold you are all experiencing at home. Please keep in touch. If you want, you can check out the Project Blog at http://hopechildrenscenter.blogspot.com/ or watch a short video about what we are doing in Serenje. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0gLKQWxWWU