Zambia 2022 Whatcha been doing?

This morning, Pastor Joseph Phiri, the man Paul has been working with the most, came and brought a USB stick full of pictures.  I'm so glad!  Paul and Timothy have not been taking pictures, and I have stayed home from most of the schools.  

I have a few pictures, but these are more "boots on the ground" pictures from some of the schools where they visited.  

Pastor Joseph Phiri, shown here, was the one who made things happen!  He scheduled the meetings, guided us to the meetings, and translated if it was necessary.  God bless him.  He's good.

Paul and Tim shared the preaching responsibilities.  

The children tended to be well behaved, good listeners, though there were the exceptions.  :-)  

Tim giving a good stretch to show the people in the back.

Close fellowship!  

Paul's zeal is unabated!  He's planning to stop for a time in Zambia again on the way to Malawi.  

The Harvest is Plenteous!  The laborers are few.  We're glad GLAD to part of the few!  But praying for more.  
 

More Tract Meet Snippets---Gugulethu, Manenberg, Parklands, Lotus River, and Lavender Hill

  

 27/04/22

Every day it's something!  Today, Paul went up the street, while Tim and I went back the way we had come.  We walked right into a birthday party!  There was a crowd of kids, mostly girls, in the street, with a speaker, ready to dance to celebrate.  Being rather audacious by this time, we just waded into the crowd and began passing out tracts and talking to the kids.  They were maybe too excited to really talk to seriously, but we tried, and then moved on.  

I walked in on another party about 20 minutes later.  We saw a puppy that looked like it might die.  And we got COLD!  Winter is on the way!  April is chilly as darkness falls.  

We were heading back to the car and a boy was harassing a girl who was trying to beat him off.  I don't know what comes over me sometimes, but I grabbed the boy and did a little Judo throw on him.  I took one semester of Judo in college, over 35 years ago, and I certainly don't practice it, but that boy went down!  He would have hit the sidewalk if I hadn't kind of caught him.  

All this was done lightheartedly.  The boy was just being a tease, the girl was irritated, but not afraid.  I was just being myself.  I guess.  I don't usually flip people.   Just occasionally.  

So then I told the girl, "You need to learn how to defend yourself," and I kind of flipped her, just to show her.  My favorite part of this was Tim.  He just got laughing...rather shocked at his mother.  

Paul got quite the blessing by some guy.  It was a real encouragement, not like getting blessed out, like getting prayed for.  

 

Thursday, March 24, 2022

 

It’s after 7 PM, and we just got home from a “tract meet” where we meet to pass out tracts.  We really got into it.  We parked by a mosque and set off into a VERY people intensive street!  I doubt it was more than 4 blocks long, but it took us nearly an hour to get all the way to the end and back, with stopping to pass out the tracts and talking to people.  I had English, Afrikaans, and Chichewa to offer, but met no one who wanted Chichewa this time.  I used up all I had of the other two and had to get some from Paul!  That’s unusual.

 

Paul had a group of guys who prayed with him to be saved!  Plus, he gave out 300 or 400 tracts.

 

I gave two tracts to two cute young teen girls who were very obviously scoping out the guys.  They started reading “Which way are you going?” in a rather loud, mocking tone, and then suddenly Paul stepped up behind them!  Scared ‘em so bad, the reader ran out into the road and nearly got hit by a car!  Being girls of this age, this made them laugh all the harder.  Paul was SO thankful they didn’t get hurt.  Tim and I got laughing at her fright, and I saw others across the street taking in the drama. 

 

Last night I got home from Joy Club just in time to see the tail lights of our car disappearing down the street, so I missed the tract meet.  Paul and Tim had a great time.  Paul said the people were coming so fast and thick he couldn’t pass them out fast enough!  They went to Military Road which has a significant train depot which deposits hundreds of people coming home from work every afternoon.  Somebody called to Paul from a pickup in the stopped traffic so he went out into the road and gave a bunch to the riders.

 

As usual around here, a bunch of boys recognized Small Paul and ran out to greet him, some of them wearing robes and white hats which show they had been to a religious meeting.  Not important to them, they were glad to see him.  Some of them wanted to “share out” too, but Paul thought that wasn’t the wisest this time.  It would have been rather a mixed message going out there.

 

**** 

Rough times in the tracting department.  Tim got badly bit on the leg by a dog.  It was a small dog, so the bite is on his calf, but it shook us all up a bit.  Lots of blood, and lots of bubbles when we clean it with peroxide. 

 

The neighborhood where this happened was one of the druggist I’ve ever seen.  Small boys with eyes sort of glazed over really upset me.  On the busiest corner by the shacks is a local outreach, led by a brave lady who gives out meals and teaches people.  She invited Paul to speak to her people so he and Tim went back the next day after a school meeting, and set up his chalk equipment on the sidewalk and the people were in chairs on the sidewalk, and he talked to them.  Some passersby stopped to watch too.  It was a neat opportunity.

 

Another highlight was running into Dirk Noble!  Dirk and his family were at our house pretty much every week for three years.  They were like family in some ways.  It was nice to see him again.  His wife has died, his kids were put into foster care, but Dirk has new teeth!  May he follow our Lord. 

 

Last night’s we parked in a sewer sort of.  Charming.  My ardor for tract passing was dimmed by the stench, but the wind was up and so things improved as we got moving.  Tim and I went one way, while Paul went another.  The streets were SO busy.  Paul was standing still for awhile, passing out tracts as fast as he could, and still not getting everyone coming down the streets.  He ran out of English tracts and went back to the car for more, and then ran out a second time!  That’s a lot of tracts!  He wears Cargo Pants, with those extra pockets, and he fills up with tracts all over.  

 

Someone offered me their daughter for Tim’s wife.  He may be our last son to get married, but it’s not for lack of options  😊. 

 

I loved having Chichewa tracts with me!  The Malawians are so surprised and delighted when we can give them tracts in their own language.  There are many Shona people in that area too, but we don’t have a Shona tract.  Yet?   Their English is generally good as Zimbabwe had a reputation for very good education, and these people of their diaspora (they really call themselves that!) speak good English. 

 

Feb 2021...I just found the following Tract Meet Notes, and I don't think they made it on here.  If they make us laugh, we're sure you're going to like them too.  

 

Lady at Department of Home Affairs line in downtown Cape Town said, “No.” flat and blunt, and almost immediately, people came across the street to ask for more.  The Lord knows I’m a wimp about flat, blunt “no’s” like that, and it was encouraging to have a surge of askers come along right then.

 

In Manenberg, we had a little missy named Rezaan who is quite the little manager!  She was shouting to others, to come get a tract, and telling me which language to give it to them.  I doubt she was more than 8.  She was so pleased with receiving her tract, and told me immediately that she knew Small Paul, and I must say Hi to him.  When she found out he was in the neighborhood passing out tracts, she followed us to the car to greet him herself.  She asked when we’re coming to her school, and I suspect she’d like to arrange it with the principal.

 

It was the day for Paul’s “fan club.”  A boy I met told me, Small Paul is the artist of the century!  I told him I’d pass this along to Paul, as I thought he’d be pleased.  I think they both were.

 

Paul met four men who tried a little intimidation on him, “What are you doing here?  You’re white.”

 

Paul answered back, laughingly, “I can’t help I’m white.  I’m just doing the best I can with what I got.”

 

Then they thanked him, repeatedly, for coming over “to do some good for these people.” 

 

Sent from Mail for Windows 10

 

 

 

Sent from Mail for Windows

 

 

More Tract Meets

 Glorious summer is happening here, and school holidays are about to end, so we've been prioritizing passing out tracts.  Adventures abound when we launch ourselves all un-invited (but sent!) into neighborhoods.  

Christmas Eve was memorable.  We were tired, and I assume that's why Paul asked the Lord if we should go at all that afternoon.  "Yes!" came the guidance.

Should we go now?  "Yes!"

Then he began to ask about certain neighborhoods, and got a Yes! on Lavender Hill, which has one of the highest crime rates in the world.  We set off, and as we entered the neighborhood, we saw a big crowd.  It was a sober crowd, around a dead teenager on the sidewalk.  I later read on News24 that he was 15, and a 14 year old was also injured, and it was gang related.  We passed out tracts and talked some to people, prayerfully.  May there be revival in that neighborhood.  So many changes need to happen.

 Another day I met a guy in a wheelchair and asked him what happened to him.  "Crossfire.  2018"  His legs are paralyzed.  He gratefully received the tract and spoke in such a way that I thought he knew the Lord.  Apparently he came to the Lord as a result of his paralysis, a Romans 8:28 situation.  

I wish I'd taken a photo when Paul had a little meeting on the steps in a group of tall apartments in Lavendar Hill.  I think 10 boys, ages 10-20, for a guess, sat right there and listened to Paul speak, and they answered questions.  Some ladies were giggling out the window 3 stories above, but the boys ignored them. He led them in prayer, and I think all of them prayed to be saved.  May the Lord bless that stairstep group.  They could change the world.  

So many young people in these neighborhoods know Paul.  They call out to him "Small Paul" and I tease him about being a rock star.  They've seen him and "Tiny Tim" preaching and drawing in their schools.

Another day, Paul prayed again for guidance.  He got guidance to go to a certain area of Lotus River.  First he went alone, "to case the joint".  He passed out tracts to a group of about 8 kids, and then started to drive off a little ways.  A boy followed on a skateboard, and passed on the message,"The Uncle asked you to come back and have prayer with us."

We don't pass up invitations like that, so Paul went back.  "The Uncle" was another believer who had started a church in his house nearby.  Paul spoke to  him, and the little group which was larger now, and a bunch of them ended up praying with him to be saved.   Be-thorough (That's what Paul heard for his name.  Quite a Pilgrim's Progress name) said he wanted Paul to come speak at the house church sometime.  

This week, Paul was working upstairs by a window and saw a truck full of people stop directly in front of our house.  There were about 30 people, or 40, coming back from the beach, towing another little truck, and the rope broke between them, I think.  Paul launched out of his chair and headed down the steps, on the double.  He had to retreat to get the key to the Jeep so he could get the remote to open the gate to get to these tract-needy people who had landed on our doorstep!  "Help, Vicki!" he called to me.  I brought Afrikaans tracts, and he had English and Xhosa.  We really had to hustle because it doesn't take long to re-tie a tow rope.  

The people were a little surprised, but pleased to see us rushing out our gate with something for them.  We made it!  All were "served" before they drove away.  

Today Paul prayed for guidance.  He had a destination that the Lord had guided him to.  And a specific time he should go.  So he arrived at the spot at that time, to find a feeding program going on!  Many people gathered for free stew!  He went down the lines, passing out many tracts.  The people passing out the food didn't mind.  A few minutes later, the crowd was gone.  God had guided to the right place and the right time.  We're thankful.

  

The Days Were Accomplished---Our Birth Stories

A few weeks ago, our daughter Evangel told me about a podcast called @HappyHomebirthpodcast.  She asked if I would be interested in being interviewed on it if she could arrange it.  I didn't have to think long about that...YES!  I love talking about our babies even now when it's years in the past.  

During the interview, I told Katelyn that I had the stories written on our blog, but didn't realized it was a chapter in my blogbook 100 Houses which is at www.100houses.blogspot.com so I am pasting that chapter here as I had some issues getting into my own blog!  It was written in 2009.

The Days were Accomplished

The Days Were Accomplished

Back in my Peru days, I had been introduced to the idea of home births in a very favorable way. Paul’s brother had introduced him to home deliveries too, so we found ourselves in agreement right from the beginning that we would try to have our children as naturally as possible, outside of hospitals. We didn’t realize what adventures that would get us involved in.

In January of 1995, we had been married for over two years, and had no sign of any children on the way. Paul read in 1 Timothy 5:10 where widows are expected to bring up children if they are to be considered as someone to be cared for by the church. He deduced that God expects married women to bring up children even if they do not bear the children themselves. Paul is 18 years older than I am. As he meditated on this, he prayed and decided that if we did not expect a child that year, we would seek to adopt children. We were expecting later that month!

I have never heard of anyone else deciding to adopt for that reason, but we are rather used to being unique, and our plans for our own baby also progressed along unique lines.

When we found out we were expecting, we looked ahead to see where we were scheduled to be around the time of the baby’s due date. We were already scheduled to be in New Mexico and Arizona for the month of October. This was to be our first trip there, and so would be a little tricky to plan this birth since we hardly knew what to expect. We called our friends who had invited us to the wild West, to share our news and to ask advice. Carol Lewis quickly found another missionary who used midwives who could advise us. She gave us the names of two midwives, one across the border in Colorado, about two hours away, and the other in Gallup, NM, to the south, also about two hours away. Hmmm. Here was something to pray about.

So we prayed. We had been told that Juanita to the north was more highly trained, and more professional. We didn’t receive any direct guidance from the Lord, so I felt we should just make a decision to ask Juanita to help us. I spoke to her on the phone, and she was very cautious. She said she could not totally agree to be our midwife until she had met me, but she did tell me what tests I would have to take before she would even consider me.

It was like a scavenger hunt, gathering tests, results, exams, and vitamins from different doctors and midwives across the country, wherever we could find someone to help in our unusual situation. Apparently gypsies have gone out of style because our requests for help were a little disconcerting to some, but most midwives were more accepting of our situation.

We arrived in the west 16 days before the due date, and had a plan to meet Juanita soon. She had to cancel our first appointment as another lady was having a baby, so we postponed until the following Tuesday. Tuesday was still 10 days before the due date so that seemed to be no problem.

We drove down to Phoenix for services that weekend, and then decided to go see the Grand Canyon on Monday since we would be relatively close, and Paul wasn’t speaking in any schools because it was Columbus Day. On Monday morning my back hurt, and I wondered if it was a contraction, but many had told us about false labor, so we didn’t let it stop us from our sightseeing. I grew more uncomfortable as we went, but didn’t want to say anything until I was sure.

I had just about decided I was sure, when suddenly Paul announced that we would do a little flight over the Grand Canyon. It seemed sensible since we had so little time, as the best way to see the most, but what about this baby? It took a little while to get airborne, and then I had six contractions during that 45 minute flight. It was time to get serious!

We left the Grand Canyon after only one more stop (at McDonald’s,) and then needed to decide where to go to have this baby. Both Juanita and Emma looked about the same distance from the Grand Canyon, about five hours, but the one thing the missionary had told us about Emma was “she’d take anyone right off the street.” That was us! So we decided to head for Gallup.

Our baby girl was born about 8:30 p.m., 11 days early, and about two hours after we arrived at the house. Emma Estrada was a great example of hospitality. She welcomed us to her home (actually, to her daughter’s home as her own was getting the plumbing fixed), and I gave birth on a bed in the living room.

The next morning as we prepared to leave, Paul spoke to Emma about the Lord. With tears, she asked the Lord to save her, and we thrilled to be involved in another birth as she was born again. We sent out pink birth announcements with the joyful news of the birth of Evangel Lynn Young, and the re-birth of Emma!

Hanover, New York Two years and two months later, we came back from a trip to Africa, and I felt pretty bad. I took a pregnancy test, but it came out negative, so I thought I had picked up some African bug. Timmy turned out to be our African Bug. This time we had a midwife lined up in New Hampshire where my parents lived, and were planning to be all settled in there for a more tame birth. However, we were traveling up until the end of the pregnancy, and things don’t always go as planned.

Again, 11 days early, we were traveling in western New York State when my contractions started. Paul preached that morning while two-year-old Evangel and I packed at the hotel, and then we headed west to the Charity House.

It’s a rare thing in our travels that we get a whole house to ourselves. Most of our 100 Houses come equipped with friends, but the Lord knew our need that day. The Charity House had two bedrooms, so we had a place to stash Evangel for a nap, and to pray that she would stay asleep.

The pastor’s wife met us to get us settled in, and we hinted that perhaps I was in labor, but we didn’t elaborate, not knowing her well, or if she was sympathetic to home delivery. She looked me over and comforted me that I certainly had another week to go as I was “carrying high”, and then left us to get settled.

We checked the Yellow Pages for a midwife, and were amazed to find one. We thought at first that this was how the Lord had provided for us, but quickly changed our minds when the midwife began to lecture us on how irresponsible it was to be traveling this late in the pregnancy. “But I will come. That’s the kind of person I am,” she pronounced. We decided she was not the kind of person we wanted there, and thanked her anyway.

We took out the birthing kit we had with us, and Timothy managed to find his way into the world without any help from professionals. The Lord guided that day, and He calmed me in panicky moments during the delivery as I remembered His guiding.

Timothy was born about 4:30 in the afternoon. The pastor’s wife came back to check on us a little while later, and Paul went out to meet her. To her quick, “How’s Vicki?” he calmly answered, “She’s fine. We have a little boy.” Her jaw and pocketbook both fell.

I got worried about how the church people would feel about people popping into their guest house and having a baby. It’s just not your normal thing to do, but they were so sweet. They gave us a little baby shower the next day, sent a young pediatrician to give a medical exam, and have continued to call Timmy “the Charity House baby” every time we have visited through the years.

For our next two pregnancies, we did go to the hospital, but only as both of them were ending in miscarriages.

Rochester, New Hampshire Josh was on the way before we knew it, and we always laugh at how we found out. I had told Paul for an anniversary present for him, I’d eat no cookies, cake, or candy til I lost five pounds. I didn’t realize I was already expecting Josh, but I went for well over nine months before I lost those five pounds. I find it interesting that Josh is now our healthiest eater of the kids. My parents provided hospitality for his birth, and it was a special family affair with my sister and her family also on the scene.

My sister thought perhaps Joshua would be as special as John the Baptist because the whole house shook in the last few minutes before he was born. We wondered if was an earthquake to announce this special birth, but it was just that the garage got hit by a car! Names will not be mentioned as to who hit the garage and why, but they know who they are.

Cape Town, South Africa Cherish was our one and only home birth in our own home. She came along about two years after we moved to Cape Town, and was born the 30th of September, 2003. She was our quickest, easiest birth and was a blessing from the beginning, smiling at only three days old. I took 21 Cod Liver Oil pills the day before she was born, trying to get things started, and it just seemed to make everything go smoothly.

The Chocolate Soldier; Illustrated Reading.

I loved this Chocolate Soldier message the first time I heard it, so I am thrilled that our son Timothy loved it better than I did!  He is bringing it more to life for another generation.

C.T. Studd was a leader of his generation, a bold adventurer for the Lord, ready to go to any continent where the Lord needed him.  

Enjoy! and share it to inspire others to action.  

The Maine Event

 It's NO JOKE to get missionaries newly arrived from the mission field in your home.  They can be difficult guests!  I'll mention a few things that apply to us

--they are prone to wander around at 3 AM with jet lag

--they don't have their own transportation for awhile

--they don't have cell phones that work on this side of the ocean

--they get mixed up and drive on the wrong side of the road

--they can get emotional about seeing foods they can't get overseas

--they take a LONG time to grocery shop as they don't know what they're doing

My Mom takes us in with all these problems every chance she gets, and she acts like she likes us.  She's cautious about letting us use her car for awhile, and when she does she says, "Stay on the right!" as we head out the door, in the hopes we'll not smash her wheels.  She's a good Mom.  

We arrived about 2 weeks before Josh's wedding, and we did have to figure out America again.  We started in with meetings on Sundays and Wednesdays, and got ready to host the rehearsal dinner for the wedding party the night before the wedding.  

Mom and my sister Wendy and her husband Rick, moved  out of their cottage for three nights so we could have 5 overnight guests for the wedding.  

I just kept feeling like we didn't have enough time.  We wanted more time to get to know Cyrus, our one year old grandson, who had a bad cold when we met and really only wanted Mommy for the first few days.  I wanted more time with Evangel, who is 6 months along with her next baby, and could use some help at home.  It was good the time we had, but never felt like enough.

I wanted more time with Clarity reading her books!  That was my big plan, but it didn't work out.  

I wished for more time with my Mom and sister, even though we had the most with them.  I can't seem to get enough.

And Josh.  He's off on his honeymoon, all married now.  I wanted more time with him.  

But I'm thankful we got to come at all!  So many things could have made us miss all of them entirely, I am grateful!  Also grateful that they're the kind of people we want to be with.  

Now as we start traveling, spending time with pastors and churches, I'm feeling the same thing.  I want more time with them!  Conversations that leave me with multiple questions.  I guess that's a Heaven thing, unending time to linger.  

And in writing blogs, I also feel short on time, so I'll just go with pictures that are worth 1000 words each.  

Daniel Ford (Holly's brother) married Maisy the week before Joshua and Holly got married.  

Chronicles of Zambia-May 2021

 God answered prayer on our recent trip to Zambia in opening doors to schools, churches and pastors conferences.  We linked up with men who were eager to help get us into these places.  

One of these men was Pastor Enoch.  He had "the keys to the kingdom" in that he had government authorization that meant he could drive to a school, talk to those in charge and they would likely gather the students to listen, usually standing outside.  Cool!  Efficient!  

Pastor Enoch would also pitch in and translate at some of the rural schools where English was not so well known. He also took pictures and sent them to us later.  This first picture is mine, taken while I was holding the chalk board so it wouldn't blow away.  

Quite the tour of Zambian schools here.  They tended to be very respectful of Paul and everything he did.  He started with the one of his clearest messages, Two Ways, showing Heaven on one side, and the Lake of Fire sending up smoke on the other.  

Paul spoke once at the Baptist Theological Seminary.  Thankfully he had proper pants by that time.

We had to get negative PCR Covid tests before we could cross into Botswana and then Zambia.  The results took longer to get back than we wanted them to, so when we finally got them on our cell phones, we hurried out of the room we had rented, and got our stuff into the Jeep and trailer, and scurried to get them printed out so we could begin the approximately 18 hour drive from Mokopane, South Africa, to Lusaka, Zambia. 

We left for Botswana around 1 in the afternoon. It was not until we stopped after 9 that night, in Francistown, Botswana, that we realized we had left Paul's "hang ups" behind in that room!  Oops!  We couldn't drive back all those miles, cross the border  again to get them, so we would have to make do.  To make matters worse, Paul's pen had leaked into the pocket of his only pants at the Botswana border crossing, leaving him with a bruised looking leg, and a bright blue spot on his jeans.  I quick sent a desperate plea to our friends Koos & Jeni Basson who lived near that place where we had left the stuff.

The border crossing into Zambia took about 3 hours the next day.  If not for that, we could have arrived in Lusaka before it was completely dark, but because of that, and road construction, we ended up driving about 4 hours in the dark again.  We neared the place where we were to stay, the Baptist Mission of Zambia, and knew we were close, but we couldn't find it.  Our phones were not working as they still had South African Sim cards in them, so we couldn't call, but tried hunting, and praying, and singing our "Guide Me O, Thou Great Jehovah."  After nearly an hour of hunting, we were ready to give up.  We spotted a hotel and went to see about staying there.  The guy at the desk reeked of beer, but he was friendly.  He told us the hotel was full, and he showed us on his phone the way to the place we wanted to be.  We took off again, full of hope, and managed to get lost again, but when we passed the hotel again, we got our bearings, and the second time managed to find it.  It was just at 11:00 PM, way past our bedtime.  We are people who plan not to drive much after dark in between cities in Africa.  There are goats, cows, maybe elephants, and worst of all, people on the roads, without tail-lights!  We are so thankful we didn't hit anything in all the hours of night driving we had to put in on this trip.  

We settled in our own little cottage there, and got to sleep.  The next morning, we had to leave around 7:30 for the first appointment.  It was in Kanyama, a big "compound" (informal settlement to South Africans) in Lusaka.  

From there we were off and running.

Besides schools there were pastors' conferences.  One of the fun parts of pastors' conferences was when Paul would teach them object lessons.  Of course he did his beloved Liquor Bottle Object Lesson.  I'd love to know if any of the pastors use it.  Seems a leap, but I hope so.  Paul taught it to me on our first date, and I used it in my Sunday School soon after, so I know it's not impossible.  

He also taught them a soul winning lesson. He makes one row of people be "people who need to be saved" or "Satan's kingdom."  He chooses a "soul winner" (usually a boy around 12, but if you only have pastors, he chooses a small man) and a "devil" (This is also a boy or small man, but should be a bit bigger than the first guy).  Paul makes himself play the part of Jesus.  

The "soul winner" is instructed to lead the people in that one row to the front of the building, signifying that they are coming out of Satan's kingdom.  The "devil" guy is supposed to stop them.  They wrestle a bit, depending on how brave they are. The church loves this!  It's drama!  Surprises everyone that this is happening in the middle of church!  

Soon into the wrestling, Paul calls the soul-winner to himself, and whispers in his ear. He tells the boy to call "Jesus" to help.  He sends him back, but this time, when the "devil" tries to stop him from getting the people out, he turns to Paul, and Paul comes to his aid!  He grabs the boy playing the devil, and now the "soul winner" can work!  If the "devil" boy is small enough, Paul puts him right over his shoulder!  By now the church is laughing!  Thighs are being slapped!  Hands are clapped over giggling mouths!  It's so fun!  

And I'm ashamed I have no pictures of this!  I tried in one church, but the electricity was off and the lighting was horrible, and my camera was just my phone, so I failed.  

The Zambian part of the trip was only about two weeks. It was "nose to the grindstone" for most of the time.  No time to go off on safari or anything "African," so I feel grateful the Lord sent the safari animals right to us, in Botswana as we drove home!  

We saw 8 elephants and got the best wildlife video we ever shot!  As in, that elephant was acting like he was going to charge us!  Ears flapping, tail high, all accompanied by my voice in the background yelling to Paul, "Go!  Go!  Go!"

We saw a regal Mama/baby giraffe combo who gazed at us from beside the road with their long flirty eyelashes, wondering what we were staring at.  

We saw funny warthogs, and monkeys, of course.  We saw big bright blue birds we didn't know the names of, but they made us gasp at their beauty.  

And all this from the road.  Here are a few examples:

It wasn't all out in the bush as this glimpse of the Johannesburg skyline will show, but we were blessed in the city and blessed in the field (Deuteronomy 28:3).