Malaysia

I was happy to fly again.  I had my fair share of buses lately and I was overjoyed for hot towels, food items, and plane movies.  And after an uneventful 8 hours to Dubai for our layover, I ended up buying a postcard for my brother, taking a picture of the tallest building in the world, and eating at McDonalds, all from the airport.  (Gross right!  I don't typically crave McDonalds...but I hadn't had it in 7 months, so there you have it.)

We took another 8 hours to get ourselves to Malaysia on another plane.  Landing in Kuala Lumpur at 11:00pm got us on a bus for the hostel for the night.  At 12:00am, one of our boys screamed, "There's a snake on the bus!" and pointed down as we all hopped on top our seats.  Once the screaming stopped, he yelled, "April Fool's"!

That was a good one... And as I finally placed my feet on the ground, I thought about April.  Wow!  We are in the Spring in America..and I left in the fall.  But those things mean nothing as I travel, other than marking the time I am gone.  And knowing that my family's lives have gone on another winter without me.

We stayed in a hostel with no windows and the comfiest beds and hot showers any poor African Missionary could ask for.  And I had the best night of sleep that I have had in months. (Plus there was Air-Conditioner which made  big difference too!)

Then a bus ride to Kuala Lipis where we are now staying at the Center we will teach in.  We sleep in the classrooms and will move our things out every time we teach.  But don't worry, we don't seem to have much teaching time.  So I am looking forward to seeing a little more of the country as we have a little more free-time this month.

I am happy to be back in Asia.  I missed this place.  But I am also struggling with some things and could use prayers.  I need God's strength because I often am just so tired and lonely that I want to give up.  But I can't quit...I won't quit.  But I can't do it on my own.  Please pray for a fresh wind, joy, and a better relationship with my team.

Feeling More Like a Family

One of the benefits of living with a family here in Zambia is the joy that comes with doing family-like things.  It was slow going at first which is to be expected when seven foreign 20-somethings suddenly start living in your home.  I have been able to help when possible with the baby or laundry; however I haven’t done much other than that.  But recently, I have been blessed by our hosts.

Two days ago we invited the family to a meal.  Kaycie our fearless culinary leader made chili, rice, and lentils.  They politely accepted the food but I could tell that it was far spicier than they were used to.  We had a little bit of awkward dinner conversation and then parted ways for cleaning dishes.

This I believe opened the door for more.  I have lingered more in the kitchen asking cooking questions (and I am so going to try that recipe for steamed pumpkin leaves when I get back to the States!) and I have made more small talk with the niece who lives here.  Our host’s wife, Miriam, and her niece sat with me and a teammate to play an interesting version of Crazy Eights…which I lost at quite often.  And Miriam gave us fresh baked scones.

This morning I was washing clothes in my bucket when Miriam came out in exercise gear (a blue velvet sweat suit) and asked me to walk with her for exercise.  We ended up going down to the market which was full of vendors and fresh veggies.  While buying she spoke in Bemba (the language of the copper belt…here they speak a different dialect) with a vendor who was very impressed that as a white person I had such nice hips.  Later Miriam told us about her conversation and said that it was good that I was larger.  Ha ha…I never considered that to be a good thing, but I will take it.

On our walk today, we discussed many things.  Later I will be showing Miriam how to thread her sowing machine and perhaps she will let me hem my Chitenge wrap.  I am just so happy to be with a family these days.  I don’t know what the next few weeks will hold but I am happy.

Below are some photos of my time here in Zambia:

Miriam Showing us How to Wrap the Chitenge

My Students and Me

Teaching my class.  Bishop Alec came in to take this Photo.