this morning

This morning was one of those mornings.

I woke to the sound of Erik filling the toilet tanks with water hauled in from outside to force them to flush. Apparently we still had no water. We haven’t had water since yesterday at about 9 a.m. Things were starting to get stinky in all the bathrooms. I put the pillow over my head. It’s Saturday and I wanted to sleep till past 7 today.

No such luck. “Hey Mom! Guess what? When dad opened the toilet tank he found a tree frog living in there! Cool, huh? I put him in this jar and we are going to keep it moist so we can watch him for a few days to see what he does. Except, he has a weird looking bump on his back, what do you think its from?”

“Perhaps from living in a toilet tank??” I said as I stumbled out of bed.

When I finally made it to the kitchen, a precarious stack of dishes greeted me from the sink and countertop. I looked closer. Ants. Everywhere. I didn’t want to spray my dishes with Raid or Doom (the popular insect spray here) because that stuff smells so noxious it can’t be good for you. I found my organic insect spray made with essential oils and began spraying like mad. It worked! Ants were curling up all over the place. Erik got me some water from outside again and I began heating it in our electric teakettle. (one of the coolest inventions ever!) I brushed ants off of the dishes and dropped the dirtiest into a bucket of water to soak for awhile.

Oh right, breakfast! The kids would love pancakes. I’ll do that. I went to the fridge for milk and eggs and was so thankful to feel it was cold. (last month, it wasn’t working…we moved it and discovered the coils needed cleaning...also we found a very large, dehydrated mouse). Grabbing a bowl from the cupboard, I checked for bugs, mouse poop or any other foreign object. Phew…clean! After getting the rest of the ingredients, I began mixing. Suddenly, the electricity went off. Argh. Well, we have a gas stove. No problem. I checked the pantry. Yes! We still have some almond flavoring left that we brought with us from the States! The kids love almond flavored pancakes so I poured some in the batter. A few more stirs and I began to drop batter into the skillet.

The pancakes were cooking nicely. A little too nicely. I am still working to figure out the right settings for cooking different things on the stove. I burnt every single pancake in the first batch. As I went to dip the second batch out, I found a flour bug. I shrugged, dipped it out and kept on cooking.  Unfortunately, I burnt the entire second batch as well. The kids were nice and told me they liked burnt pancakes anyway. When I started dipping the last batch, I noticed an ant in the batter. Oh well. Too late now.  I scrutinized my flour bag and found nothing. By the final batch of pancakes, I finally had the temp right. Woo hoo!

I turned to the sink and with a surge of optimism turned the handle. Thank you Jesus! Water! The fact that He is the Living Water has taken on an entire new level of meaning here! “Guys…quick we have water! Someone get in the shower! And get a load of laundry in the washer! (It’s been piling up because of the water issue and because the woman who helps me out with laundry has malaria). Hurry and wipe off the table and go flush all the toilets again! And we have steady pressure so you can really scrub that syrup off your hands and faces!

In a flurry of activity, we got all the dishes done, and 2 people got through the shower. We didn’t make it out to the washer in time. When I got my turn in the shower it was still warm, but just a trickle was falling. Who cares? I’ll take it.

Glancing at the clock, I saw it was just past 8. Wow. It’s going to be a long day.

And that is the norm here. The days seem to drag on forever…but the weeks just fly by. It’s a weird phenomenon. Thanks for reading about our morning. I know many of you can relate to the chaotic feelings of morning and this probably doesn’t feel too different from where you are!

This simple post was not written to elicit sympathy in any manner;  Just to give information about daily life as an American living in Africa. Although…if you want to send packages with chocolate and candy after reading this…we would accept!

Grand Adventure

Over the weekend, we decided it was time. High time for this family to get out in the bush and do some exploring!

We as a family have always enjoyed backyard birding. In the States, we set up a feeding station and throughout the year, waited to see what would stop by for a visit. It’s amazing to see all the winged wonders that live in Indiana.  Yeah, it’s okay. We’ve been called bird nerds before…I know you were thinking it.

When we read in our Zambia travel guide book about a place called Chembe Bird Sanctuary not too far from where we live, we decided to go for it. When we finally arrived, we decided it was a great place. The views were breathtaking and we were pumped to do the drive all the way around the lake. The man running the sanctuary was named Bonaventure (Good Adventure) in French. From his heavily accented English we learned that the road around the lake was open, because as you may remember…it is currently the dry season. We ate a quick lunch while spotting a few cool birds with our binoculars. No crocs yet, but surely we would see some before the day was through!

We piled into the van with the kids hanging out the sunroof. We were having a grand time yelling out our discoveries to each other as we bumped along the rough road. After about 20 minutes we came to a spot that looked a little treacherous. We got out of the van to look it over and thought for sure we could take it, no problem. Climbing back in, we all braced ourselves (EHO y’all!!). 

Erik gunned it, we came to a grinding halt. Nothing. Stuck. In the muck and the mire. Assessing the situation, we were unsure how to proceed. We were in the bush about an hour away from anybody we knew. We had no shovels to dig ourselves out. No tractors in sight so that option was out. As we stood there, we realized the ground we were standing on was actually quite boggy. The longer you stood…the more you would sink. Suddenly from the bush, children began to emerge. They all came and shook our hands. With their limited English, we exchanged greetings. They walked around our car chatting to each other, smiling and pointing. No offers of help came. I don’t know if they could have said it in English anyway and with our limited knowledge of Bemba we couldn’t have understood them.  Soon, a young man appeared who spoke pretty good English and knew just what to do.  He got a shovel from the village and we began jacking up the van on sticks and placing additional sticks under the tires to raise it off of its frame.  As time wore on, more and more people began showing up to watch the show.

The kids started playing in the water. I was trying not to freak out but the creek they were playing in is known to be infested with bilharzia. I told myself, "no need to worry, they aren't drinking it and their faces aren't even in it." But no surprise...Claire completely fell in a short time after my self talk...causing this mama to relinquish control once again and to trust that He has it ALL in control.

While work continued on one side of the van, play went on in the creek. The kids caught a ton of tree frogs.

After about an hour and a half, we got the van to the point of trying to get out.  As Erik backed up, the van slipped off the solid ground back into the swamp, stuck worse than before.  Undeterred, our Zambian helpers began jacking and adding sticks just like before.  Following another 90 minutes and several unsuccessful tries, we finally got out.  Erik coated a few Zambians and myself in mud as we worked to get out. It was crazy. 

Part of our crew that helped us.  And just a few minutes before additional challenges.

Our helpers said they would show us a way to the road without going back through the swamp so we began to follow them through the bush.  We only went about 100 meters when a loud POP signified additional trouble.  We had blown a tire on some sharp stumps in the path.  No problem, get the spare.  As Erik reached up under to loosen it he realized it would be no help. It was flat.  So we drove on the blown tire up to the village.  Someone knew someone who had a bicycle pump so they went and fetched it.  Another 45 minutes of pumping and beating on the tire with sticks to get it settled on the rim, and we were ready to depart. 

In the meantime, our girls were teaching the village girls to jump rope.  Jonas had been running around barefoot and got a thorn stuck in his foot. The ladies and girls were all trying to pull it out.I finally remembered I had a tweezers in the car. They were totally impressed by my handy tool.

It was really insightful for us to see how simply these people live.  And we were impressed at how helpful they were.  Perhaps these crazy Muzungus were a welcome distraction to a life of constant survival.

The very best part of the picture is the red hair net falling to the ground. Our kids wear these when they are harvesting in the fields. We gifted them to the girls and they got a good chuckle out of it.

As the good Word says,  Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth. (Proverbs 27:1) Little did Bonaventure know what the Author of Grand Adventure had in store for us that day!

Lessons learned:

1. Make sure you clearly understand what you are hearing.

2. Clearly establish the ground you are driving on is indeed firm.

3. Ensure your spare tire is inflated at all times.

4. And most importantly…LEARN the local language.

The spiritual correlations here are obvious, but this post is already way too long. I will leave it for your own reflection.

Insaka-the Meeting Place

Ever since Erik and I visited last year, I have had this wonderful structure stuck in my mind. The kids saw pictures before we moved here and begged to have one built by our house.

An Insaka is a round structure with a thatched roof. The sides are sometimes left open or mud walls are built halfway up. To me, an insaka encompasses what I think of when I think of Africa. It reminds me of the front porch scene in America before we all had air conditioning and television. The insaka serves as a meeting place and socializing area for the traditional Zambian household. It can serve as an outdoor kitchen during the hottest parts of the year. Those who find it hard to sleep in the heat of the house will often use the insaka as their sleeping quarters.

In a Zambian village, each household often has their own insaka. As evening falls, the family will gather there. The elders take advantage of this time to teach the young ones traditional values and responsibilities. Skills, folklore and tales are passed over to the younger generation. Oral records of events are learned here, in the insaka.

(See more at: http://www.zambia-advisor.com/insaka-the-traditional-zambian-meeting-place.html#sthash.bZ23jKan.dpuf)

So, call me slightly romantic and highly idealized, but I find these structures very endearing. I love the lesson the Zambian people are teaching me of taking time talking about what matters with our children. When we arrived, we learned an insaka was being constructed on the farm. 

getting the thatch ready

thatching the insaka

inside the insaka looking up, this was before the thatch was finished.

Jonas in the nearly finished insaka

Whenever I pass the insaka I think of the responsibility we all have to our children and grandchildren; the people we work with, the people we live near, the people we rub shoulders with each day, the people we love and even those we don’t always feel love for J God gifted us with language to pass on the wonderful account of the life of Jesus. He has given time and grace today to speak of who He is and what He has done. We can use the insaka to remind us of the exciting task He has set before us of being about His business of teaching others His wonderful plan of Salvation. May His name be glorified!

a new normal

As we settle in, we begin to recognize our new normal. Things still seem very foreign and unusual at times, but we are beginning to notice some patterns. Because pictures are worth a thousand words, we will begin with these.

The kids have coined a new acronym. EHO. They are constantly yelling out when Erik or I are driving. Whenever someone yells “EHO!” they grab the nearest handle. If you haven’t guessed yet, EHO stands for Everybody Hang On!

We have discovered you never know what might be lurking in your kitchen sink. The kids found a special surprise last week. I heard someone yelling from the yard. “Sweet! There is a Tropical Gecko in our sink!” Apparently, they found a field guide to African lizards the night before and had been reading up on what they might catch in the yard.

This child absolutely cracks me up. I kept trying to explain the jar was distorting her face but she didn't understand.

Here in Zambia, all the phones are pay as you go. When you are out of minutes, you stop by a little hut by the roadside, tell the person manning the booth who your phone provider is and buy a little slip of paper with a code on it to add more time to your phone.

It is the dry season here. It is extremely dusty. Our kids have never been afraid of dirt and at the end of the day they look it. I have seen all of them form a new interest in cleaning out their ears with Q-tips. It is a great thrill to see who has the most red dust for the day.

A freshly mopped floor...er maybe not...

We enjoy seeing all the animals roaming around the bush and speculating who they belong to.

When we went to check out the new hectareage  addition to Lifesong Farm, we saw this shepherd.

The house we are living in came with a trampoline in the backyard. Recently all the workers rehung the trampoline because a lot of the springs had ripped through. The kids jump on it incessantly. Last night they came dashing in at dusk screaming. “Mom,” one of them said, “I don’t think I can get used to seeing rats run right past me when I am in my backyard!”

Coming inside at dusk is another thing we are adjusting too. We try to be inside by about 18:30 because of mosquitos. They are not too bad yet, but when rainy season arrives, we will be thankful we have formed the habit. The above sentence shows another thing we are working on. When the kids ask me how soon will dad be home for lunch and I reply 13 hours…they think I am being mean and sarcastic. They don’t realize I simply mean 1:00 p.m.

When we drive down the road, we see scantily clad people bathing in the creeks along the road. And when I say scantily clad…I’m being generous. Another thing, public urination is acceptable here. (much to the delight of some of our children!)

Another new norm, doing stuff by candlelight, hopefully with a charge on my laptop so the kids can listen to Odyssey or Lamplighter Publishing stories.

Of all the things pictured here (and this is only a few), I hope we never quite get used to the poverty we witness. We pray we do not become calloused to the plight of those living just outside our walls. I think of the ladies we pass on our way to the farm digging in the ditches beside the road. They dig all day hoping to find stones that can be used in people’s landscapes. The hopes of a few kwacha for their family fuels their labor. I think of the constant steam of people stopping by Lifesong Farm asking for “piece work” meaning a “piece of work”, work that has no strings or attachments for the long term. Just something to do for a few kwacha to meet their immediate needs. We trust the Lord for wisdom and discernment as we begin to form new relationships and interact more with the Zambian people.