Diary11-10

Update 11/2/10

Dear Family & Friends,

This update is coming to you live from Phoenix, Arizona!! We cannot believe it is November 2nd already. In three weeks will be celebrating Thanksgiving in Zambia. We are planning on finding a turkey this year if possible.

We have had a great last week in Grand Island with family and friends. We were at our home church this past weekend and Pastor Mike had us share what some of the God sightings were in our lives since we had left and some of the blessings we had received during our visit back home. For me one of the biggest God sightings is the number and faithfulness of the village ladies who attend the bible study each week. Also the number of new friends we have met as brothers and sisters in Christ come over during the summer months to help minister at the college. Paul shared about the Blessings of support that came in for the student scholarships, monthly salary for the nurse at the clinic and a cash gift to cover the purchase of a hammer mill and also cash gifts to purchase needed medical supplies for the clinic. These are some of the larger gifts that were given but I don’t think I could begin to list all the gifts that were given to us personally and gifts that will benefit the college in one way or another. Thank you to everyone who donated gifts of love to the ministry of the International Bible College in Zambia.

I was able to have lunch with my Fun Sister Gayle and her co-workers one day this week and I was treated to Mexican food from a great local restaurant. It was a nice lunch and a good time for good-byes.

We had supper with friends Brian and Winnie one evening, along with Pastor Scott and his wife Hannah. Six children were present and it was a blessing to be around all the energy, laughter and fun the children were having. Winnie made a wonderful supper and the fellowship was sweet around the table with Brian & Paul telling lots of stories from their past days of working together. There was a lot of laughter during the story telling time and also watching the children playing and having such fun. I must warn you that the children seem to be trained or have a sixth sense in finding gum in their guests purses, so watch your gum closely if you visit their home :)

One morning at 6 am I was able to join “My Bridge Radio” station to help answer phones during their Sheraton. It was wonderful to see old friends again and to help support this vital Christian radio station that reaches all across Nebraska. \My friend Taryn is one of the radio announcers there and she purchased an iPod for me and put some of her and my favorite songs on it for me. She purchased the speaker for me too so I will be able to listen to music in the house and when I am outside working at the college. This gift means so much to me as the two boom boxes I have over at the college do not work, so once again I will be blessed by praise music and some great contemporary Christian music. Music can always fill my bucket up and I am so thankful to our God for the healing power of music. Thank you Rus & Taryn for blessing me with this gift.

I will need to do some re-packing to get all the gifts we were given into our suitcases. Thank you to all the ladies that gave me some craft ideas and supplies.

I went to the dentist once again and he opened up the problem tooth but was unable to get into the canal of the troublesome tooth. If this tooth gives me any more problems I will need to see a specialist. So far, so good. Thank you all for your prayers. My left eye pressure has not come down to a safe number so my eye Dr. put me on a 2nd drop that I will use am and pm and she feels this will bring down and keep the pressure at a healthy number. I was very well cared for by Dr. Gleason, Dr. Stines, Dr. Ruben and Dr. Hansen while I was home.

My personal secretary Nina Stickland and I were able to spend an afternoon together. We had a nice lunch and time for sharing our hearts with one another and it was wonderful. Nina is the one who sends out our weekly prayer and praise reports via email and that is a Hugh help and we have gotten many positive comments back from some of you about receiving this. A big thank you to Nina for all she does for us.

Rae Osenbaugh does our web site for us and she helped me work on my picture stuff. I hope to get some pictures of the students in our home church up on the web site soon.

I hope to get some pictures up soon but I know I have said that before :). When Paul and I eat out here in Phoenix we are trying to eat at different places then we did in Nebraska. My brother Dwayne is making BBQ ribs tonight and his famous guacamole dip. We ate out at a Mexican restaurant last evening with our Phoenix family and had a great time. Paul and I continue to get our internal clocks switched around but we seem to still get to bed early and get up early.

We are staying in touch with Lewis at Gospelink and Chad & Amber. Things are going well at the college and Kris and the visiting work team is getting some great work done.

“I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength to do his work. He considered me trustworthy and appointed me to serve Him”. 1 Timothy 1:12

You are loved by Jesus and us.

11/5/2010

Dear Family & Friends,

We have had a great last week in Grand Island with family and friends. We were at our home church this past weekend and Pastor Mike had us share what some of the God sightings were in our lives since we had left Nebraska and some of the blessings we had received during our visit back home. For me one of the biggest God sightings is the number and faithfulness of the village ladies who attend the bible study each week. Also the number of new friends we have met as brothers and sisters in Christ who come over during the summer months to help minister at the college. Paul shared about the blessings of support that came in for the student scholarships, monthly salary for the nurse at the clinic and a cash gift to cover the purchase of a hammer mill and also cash gifts to purchase needed medical supplies for the clinic. These are some of the larger gifts that were given but I don’t think I could begin to list all the gifts that were given to us personally and gifts that will benefit the college in one way or another. Thank you to everyone who donated gifts of love to the ministry of the International Bible College in Zambia.

One morning at 6 am I was able to join “My Bridge Radio” station to help answer phones during their Shar-a-thon. It was wonderful to see old friends again and to help support this vital Christian radio station that reaches all across Nebraska. My friend Taryn is one of the radio announcers at “My Bridge Radio” and she purchased an iPod for me and put some of her and my favorite songs on it. She purchased the speaker for me to so I will be able to listen to music in the house and when I am outside working at the college. This gift means so much to me as the two boom boxes I have over at the college do not work, so once again I will be blessed by praise music and some great contemporary Christian music. Music can always fill my bucket up and I am so thankful to our God for the healing power of music. Thank you Russ & Taryn for blessing me with this gift. Thank you Jan for giving Taryn some of your CDs to give to me.

I will need to do some re-packing to get all the gifts we were given into our suitcases. Thank you to all the ladies that gave me some craft ideas and supplies.

I went to the dentist once again and he opened up the problem tooth but was unable to get into the canal of the troublesome tooth. If this tooth gives me any more problems I will need to see a specialist. So far, so good. Thank you all for your prayers. My left eye pressure has not come down to a safe number so my eye Dr. put me on a 2nd drop that I will use am and pm and she feels this will bring it down and keep the pressure at a healthy number. I was very well cared for by Dr. Michelle Gleason, Dr. Mark Stines, Dr. Bill Ruben and Dr. Larry Hansen while I was home.

My personal secretary Nina Stickland and I were able to spend an afternoon together. We had a nice lunch and time for sharing our hearts with one another and it was wonderful. Nina is the one who sends out our weekly prayer and praise reports via email and that is a huge help and we have gotten many positive comments back from some of you about receiving this. A big thank you to Nina for all she does for us.

Rae Osenbaugh does our web site for us and she helped me work on my picture stuff. I hope to get some pictures of the students in our home church up on the web site soon. I hope to get some pictures up soon but I know I have said that before :).

When Paul and I eat out here in Phoenix we are trying to eat at different places then we did in Nebraska. My brother Dwayne is making BBQ ribs tonight and his famous guacamole dip. We ate out at a Mexican restaurant last evening with our Phoenix family and had a great time. Paul and I continue to get our internal clocks switched around but we seem to still get to bed early and get up early.

We spent a few days with Dwayne & Deb in San Diego and had a wonderful time. My brother Dwayne was able to get our motel rooms and things we did all at no charge through his company. This was a wonderful blessing and once again we see God’s hand going before us and providing us with some fun and some rest. We did a half day tour of the city then spent the afternoon touring ships and submarines at the Navel Museum in the harbor. We were able to take a two hour harbor cruise and that was informative about the naval base and we saw some of the naval ships that we docked at the base. It was like 98 deg the one day we were in San Diego and that was very unusual for it to be that hot. We just tried to stay in the shade and eat ice cream whenever possible before we headed back to Phoenix we spent time along a beach walking in the waves and collecting a few sea shells. Of course Deb and I were surprised by a wave so our pants got soaked and we needed to change into dry ones before we left. It was worth getting wet just once again seeing the ocean and the mighty power of God displayed. I love that song the songs that says “Who told the ocean it could only go so far”. There is just so much beauty and power in nature that I hear God shouting “I created this, look to Me for your own beauty and rest for your souls”. Matthew 28-11-30

We drove to Tucson to spend the day with our nephews Wesley & Dean, Dwayne & Deb's two wonderful sons. We went out to Old Tuscon and toured old western town where many movies have been done. Of course we are big John Wayne fans and we bought a book and DVD showing which movies were shot at the site. I must say the ice cream they sold on site was very good!!! We had a wonderful time with Wes & Dean and were so thankful they were able to spend the day with us.

Today we drove to San Carlos Apache Indian reservation. It is about a two hour drive from Phoenix. Duane & Susie Syx and Jamie with First Nation ministry work with the Apache people and especially focus on reaching the youth of the community. They have been there six years and have made inroads in building relationships, seeing lives born again through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and some of the young people have gone on to further their education.

I ask you to pray for Duane, Susie & Jamie as they labor for the Lord in sharing the love of God with the Apache people. The culture they live in is similar in many ways to Zambia. It is a whole new culture and people group for them to be ministering too, alcohol, drugs, poverty and poor education are all working against the people. Please pray for this ministry to reach the lost and hurting people of San Carlos and pray for Duane, Susie & Jamie to be fully supported so Duane can join the ministry full time and not have to drive back and forth to his job in Phoenix.

We are staying in touch with Lewis at Gospelink and Chad & Amber. Things are going well at the college and Kris and the visiting work team is getting some great work done. A big thank you to this ministry team who have worked so hard and accomplished much during their time of ministry at the college.

“I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength to do his work. He considered me trustworthy and appointed me to serve Him”. 1 Timothy 1:12

You are loved by Jesus and us.

Update 11/23/10

Greetings in the name of our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ.

We want to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving Day!!!

We are going to town for groceries the day before Thanksgiving and we will see if we can find a turkey or like last year a big chicken. We will still have our ladies’ bible study that day since Thanksgiving Day is not celebrated here.

I will give it my best attempt at updating you in somewhat of order on all that has gone these past few weeks.

My brother Dwayne, Paul and I joined Debbie for a Thai lunch. Thai food was ok, but like Chinese, I would never choose it on purpose:)

One weekend we were treated by John & Carolyn Johnson (Debbie’s sister and brother-in-law to a beautiful Roosevelt lake area trip. We all stayed in two cabins and took enough food with us to feed all the people in the area. It was a company owned resort area with about 25 cabins the employees can reserve for a vacation. Well let’s just say the cabins were really nice and the lake area surrounded by cabins was just so beautiful. The weather was cool in the am and pm and just perfect during the day. Johnnie gave us a tour of the dam that was built to control the water flow (of course) but to generate power for the power company that supplies power to the Phoenix area. Paul, Johnnie & Debbie walked up a mountain area and toured some old Indian dwellings and they really enjoyed learning about this. My brother Dwayne & Carolyn were riding their (pedaling) road bikes as they are in training for a 60 plus bike ride in a few weeks. My two nephews Wesley & Dean will be joining them for the bike ride that will be held in Tucson. We had some good fellowship around the fire as the stars came out and lighted up the sky. I must interject here that the night sky is much more beautiful in Zambia!! Of course one night Paul had to have his hot dog with Hormel Chili with No beans!! The dogs were good.

Mike, Deb and their children joined us on Saturday and we enjoyed meeting them and their three, very cute, very well mannered, very fun children. The resort area had a nice big game lodge with shuffle board, pool, ping pong, air hockey and the usual electric game things. The little boys loved the air hockey and the big boys had some fierce play on the shuffle board tab les. No prized were awarded, but I should have had some ready. Dwayne, Deb, Paul and I left on Saturday morning and had a really nice breakfast with everyone down at the lodge before we left. Of course they had a gift shop so the two families bought Paul two of these really cool short sleeve shirts, like the kind safari guides wear with the cool air pocket in the back. I bought Paul a third shirt as the next day was his birthday, and Debbie & Dwayne also bought him this old west cookbook that is really cool. It has some good sounding recipes but it tell about some of the old west heroes, outlaws and about some of the old western TV shows. I suppose now I will have to try some of the recipes! Yikes, me cooking some more, as those of you who know me well, know that is not my thing.

Paul and I were in a store that was all decked out for Christmas and I started to cry, I guess I was just remembering my favorite Christmas “things” that I don’t have. We did find some cute little battery operated colored lights so we bought some of those. Just knowing I could put those up in our cabin cheered me up. Even here in Zambia without the glitter & glitz it is still a discipline to focus our minds on the true meaning of Christmas. Father forgive me.

I did the last minute laundry and Paul & I did the final packing. We only had a few small items that Debbie & Dwayne will mail us. We flew home with 3 suitcases and came back to Zambia with 5 suitcases. We were just like the students who were gifted with so much we needed extra room to bring things back!

Our last day with Dwayne & Deb flew by. I was able to get some of the pictures developed on my camera to share with the students when I get back. My Fun Sister Debbie picked the all up and paid for them and it was a very nice gift as I had A LOT of pictures developed to share. Thank you Debbie! Dwayne & Deb had us at the Phoenix Sky Harbor airport at 7:00 am and we all shared a nice breakfast at the airport before our departure. We kept good-byes short so less tears that way. I always wait until after the fact when I can quiet down, think about the good-bye then I cry. I think saying good-byes the tears help me to put into perspective how very much I do love someone and how very blessed I am to have people who I love and people who love me. God is love.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have ever lasting life. John 3:16. Thank you Jesus for loving me so much that You willing gave your life for me. Thank you.

Our flights all were safe and smooth all the way to Lusaka, Zambia. Guess what? All five of our suitcases arrived when we did, how cool is that!! We got into Lusaka around 9:30 pm and stayed overnight. The next morning we did the errands that needed done. We first went to the mall named “Manda Hill” just to see what progress they had made on it. There was some progress made while we were gone but we thought there might be more. Some of the stores are open, but many of the old stores are still in progress. They do plan on an escalator and elevator in the mall; I think it might be the only ones in Lusaka. Then off to breakfast, get Paul’s phone working, buy talk time, exchange money, buy groceries and head for the college. We stopped in to let Henry & Lucy know we were back and we received hugs from everyone that was at the house which was quite a few people. As we drove into our drive way the students had were given a quick break to welcome us back and then they headed back to their classes. It was so good to see them all again. Our little Jess remembered us!!!!! She did her usual running around, jumping up on us and making her crying/howling noise. It was wonderful to see her and see how good she looked. Chad & Amber took such good care of her. Jess told me she was already missing them, but glad to have us home.

We met Lou, Iris & Luke Mancari late in the afternoon as they had been in town seeing to some of Luke’s health needs and getting groceries. We did some visiting but we were all so tired everyone crashed early.

Amber had left our house nice and ready for us to return, Thank you Amber & Chad for all you did while we were gone. You are in our prayers as you are now in the states raising more support so you can serve here long term. Please pray for Chad & Amber that God would go before them to raise the support they need. Also, please pray for Lou & Iris as they still need to raise more support. We know the economy is harder now in America but we know GOD is bigger than any economic trouble.

The next few days we did the battle of the bugs. It seems the cockroaches moved in while we were away. We took everything out of cupboards and sprayed everywhere we could think of. The bugs seem to like the heat from the propane fridge and hang around that area. I have not had too much experience with these pesky varmints but I am determined I will win the battle against the bugs.

We gave John, who works for us, the new radio we brought back for him and a lot of AA batteries to go with it. He was so grateful and said his whole family will enjoy the news and the music. John keeps great care of compound #1. The grass was completely filled in and the flowers and plants were all so green. Everything just looked beautiful. I have not been able to find my Zambia phone for 3 days and I prayed for God to guide our hands, Paul found it and we were so thanked our God. God does care about every aspect of our lives, even the seemingly little things. I am so glad to serve the one true God who is so very personal.

Amber and I always talked about having a ladies weekly prayer/devotional time but just never seemed to be able to get us all together at once. We did have our first ladies staff meeting this week, and we decided to have it Thursday mornings so we could pray for the ladies who would be coming to the bible study in the afternoon. We started off with prayer and then each one of us shared a short testimony on how we came to accept Christ. We had a good time of sharing and fellowship and pray we can continue meeting and praying. We will just schedule it and share/pray with all who can attend.

I must report that it has been hot and very humid since we have returned. It sounds like it has not rained much yet, but we know it is coming. Lou, Iris and Luke are doing ok, but it is a lot to adjust too. It is like camping 24/7 in very hot weather with no air conditioning. We are very thankful for the fans that Kris’s team bought last time they were here and then they left them. Thank you Kris & friends who left the fans. They are GRATFULLY appreciated. Lou has started early morning devotional time for the men on staff twice a week. Paul is enjoying this time and I am sure Henry, David & Arnot are too, this is a super way for the men to grow together.

One day I painted the first coat of green on the trim on the inside of Lou & Iris’s staff house. The inside of the house walls had been painted one coat already. Lou, Iris and Luke went to town with a goal of buying a fridge, but they ended up buying a propane freezer as not a fridge could be found. I am sure they can find one in the future. James was driving them into town and he was going to look for plumbing parts so Paul could repair the plastic pipes I broke under our sink. The next day Paul was able to fix it and really it was amazing, not that Paul could fix it, but that James was able to find the right parts!! To our God be praised!!

We had 30 ladies at bible study on Thursday and Lucy gave a great lesson on the behavior of a Godly women. We have women of all age ranges and I am sure we were all challenged to be a woman who walks strong with God. I provided the cookies and juice and a big thank you to Amber for providing the treats while I was gone.

Friday evening we had a nice 2-inch rain and we thanked God for providing this. One of our neighbors reminded me that water is life. With the rainy season come the thunder and our dear little Jess gets so afraid. She shakes and pants loudly the whole time it rains so I get to sleep with her in the other bedroom so at least Paul can get some sleep. Bless her heart, she can’t help it and I seem powerless to calm her. It would be hard to be that afraid of something and not be able to understand it won’t hurt you. This sweet dog is worth any amount of lost sleep. She is just the sweetest dog ever!! On a sad note we report that one of the wiener dogs we left in the states with friends got out of their back yard and was hit by a car and killed instantly. His name was “Big Jake” named after a John Wayne movie. He was like one of our kids and we are so sad to have lost him. Our dear friends Randy & Maureen will continue to give little Jess (the other wiener dog) all they love they can. They have other dogs so Jess maybe won’t miss Jake too much.

Sunday morning at the English service Pastor Lou gave his first message on the campus. The message was titled “What steals our dreams”. It was very special to hear him preach and to have an American style message given. I hope that doesn’t sound bad, I just mean it’s like having a little piece of home here at the college. Steven & Abby Nelms and their children were able to join us for the service and that was good to see them again.

Paul & I met with the students in the afternoon who made the trip to America as we had not been able to visit with them as a group yet. It was a fun time and I will list some of the comments they shared.

They felt very welcomed by all the people they met, but especially their host families.

The people they had been to the college that they were able to see again were just as nice to them in America as they were when they visited the college. That seemed to mean a lot to them.

Could not get over how supportive parents are of their children being in sports.

That people had rabbits just to pet and not to eat.

Those churches had the words to songs on overheads for everyone to see.

Loved all the music instruments in the churches but wondered if Americans can sing without instruments.

That American’s use machines for everything.

That American’s schedule their time so quickly, not to many breaks.

Like the fact that churches had separate rooms for Sunday school classes.

Like all the nice roads.

Thought the people were very humble.

That the people cared for them like they were their own children.

Were very happy to see the people again that had been at the college.

Surprised that some people had more cars then number of people who lived in the house.

Surprised that even 16 year olds can have a car.

Surprised that they saw no people walking on the streets, all driving.

It seemed the people were all aware and concerned for their health.

Had warm clothes for them and gave them some new warm clothes.

Liked the air conditioning and all the development.

All the farming equipment that was used.

Very grateful for all the student scholarships that were raised.

Liked the airplane travel.

Like the restaurants with buffets

Liked the Imax, science museum, zoo, camp/recreation area, Abraham Lincoln Museum, Playing Iowa state in soccer, Going to an American Football game, planetarium, Show about scary Greek island, volcano, bowling, carpet bowl, pool.

Liked the families taking them out for rides and out for food.

Liked the big pumpkin patch and all the corn fields they saw.

Liked all the photos people took and the photo albums that they were given.

Liked the BIG malls and could not believe all the stores.

Very thankful for the gifts that they were given from churches and host families.

Sharing their program of song and testimonies at many different churches.

Favorite Foods: Hamburgers, hot dogs, pizza, pork chops, bacon, scrambled eggs, donuts, Taco Johns, McDonalds, and bacon. They said America has the best meats!!

Did not like pickle’s or deviled eggs.

Could not believe that girls wore short shorts to church.

Made them very sad that they could not share Jesus in public schools. Most of them commented about this. One of the students was saved when a visitor shared the gospel in his public school. They said it was sad American was going away from its roots.

Some of the students wondered why some of the host families put them in the basement. I told them that when a family has a basement it usually has the guest rooms down there and it gives their guest more privacy. Since Americans like their privacy and Zambians like their visiting and being together all the time, the students didn’t understand why they were put in the basement. After I shared with them they understood this was a way the host families wanted to value them and give them some privacy. Culture difference :)

Tuesday – Up early, devotion time, then tried to tackle the paper mess on my African desk. It really is not a desk at all but a box that I use for a foot stool/desk to store all my paper stuff in. What a mess I had. Then Iris the girls and I went down to #13 Iris & Lou’s staff house and painted the 2nd coat of trim and the girls painted some benches. If Henry and Lou bring back some more white paint today the girls will do the 2nd coat on the walls tomorrow. Paul and I will be going to Lusaka for a day full of errands.

4:00 pm nice rain again with more coming our way according to the clouds and thunder. Poor Jess. After the rain it seemed the humidity went down. Can this be possible?? Well anyway it sure felt better and cooler after the rain. I don’t mean this as a complaint really, but I always feel compelled to share how hot & humid it is. Yesterday and today just were beastly. One of my friends who is very sight challenged, told me my skin looked so good and she was sure it was all the humidity I live in. I think she was just trying to win some pointsJ

Guess what?? Today the put together disc was pulled by our repaired tractor and the one student, James (who has a driver’s license) plowed up ground in 2 garden areas in just a very short time!! It was quite exciting. Thank you Papa Joe Gainey for your work on the tractor and thank you to a group of the students who put the disc together and hooked it up.

Well, I think I best stop typing as 7 pages should be enough. Never fear, there will be more fun, filled, action packed adventure coming your way via the Paul & Lori web page. I know I keep promising pictures, but I just can’t seem to get the internet to cooperate when I want to send some. I will keep trying, I promise.

II Corinthians 5:17 – Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

We pray you are walking as a new creature in Christ.

You are loved by Jesus and us.

Update 11/27/10

Dear Brother’s & Sister’s in Christ,

If you get a chance listen to the song “You Said” by Hillsong. It speaks to missions and praying for the nations. Let us all be in prayer for the lost people of this world, around the corner from us or across the ocean. Pray.

This past week once again has just flown by. Lots of work was done here at the college for the Lord. One nail in a board, one slab of cement poured, one room painted, one piece of roofing steel put in place, one generator running, one drill repaired, one house cleaned, one cut cleaned and bandaged, one anything done for the Lord is work well done. We of course got a lot more done then just one of things listed above but we needed the reminder that whatever we put our hand to in the name of Jesus is Holy and claimed for His Kingdom. When I walk around the campus I claim the college as Kingdom ground and the gates of hell will not prevail against what God has called His own.

Serah, Faith, Iris and I worked together this week on painting the inside of staff house #13. We were able to get it all done except for the floor needs a 2nd coat. Pastor Lou and his neighbor Alex did roll the first coat of green paint on the floor. Pastor Lou has worked hard getting the needed items to get the generator hooked up and running. Lou & Iris now have a freezer and have it hooked up to propane. We are going to share the cost so we can share the freezer and this helps us both out. The girls painted some of the nightstands that Kris made while he was here last year and painted one of the shelf units so Lou, Iris and Luke can use them. Starting a home from scratch is hard, but especially hard in the bush of Africa. If going into Lusaka wasn’t such a rough trip that would make it easier, but like my Mom used to say “If beggars were horses we would all ride”. I am rejoicing that in heaven we will all ride horses!! Gid-ee-up!

It does seem when I make a simple PBJ sandwich for lunch I am more grateful for the simple things. In America I wouldn’t have given much thanks for a fan, but here, I praise God continually for it. Weather in plenty or want, I will be in God’s will if I remember to be thankful and praise His name for all good things. Even fans. It has rained every day this week, but always the sun has been shining either before or after the rain.

Henry & Lou went to town one day for groceries and other supplies. They dropped off a few of the students at the clinic in Chongwe. One day this week I cleaned and bandaged a cut on one of the student’s hands. He cut it deep while in his attempt to peel a mango. I bandaged it really well so he would get lots of attention and have a reason to not work so hard. It is healing well and he will be fine.

Paul & I went to town one day to get groceries and the trip actually went very well. I did try to buy stamps at a posting/shipping store but guess what??? They did not have any stamps or any change when I tried to pay for a copy I made, Go Figure… If you advertise that you sell stamps and make copies but cannot make change or provide the services it would be nice if you didn’t advertise. Opps, sorry, I guess I was feely a little owly about the whole deal.

We set up an appointment to get the AC fixed on our Toyota our next trip to town. We bought a Fichus tree at the nursery and have it planted in the front yard it looks really nice. We took home 3 pizza’s to share with Lou, Iris & Luke. It was Luke’s 12th birthday so when we served the pizza we sang happy birthday and put a candle in the middle for him to blow out. We didn’t have any cake but Luke did get some cookies from town. Luke is allergic to eggs, nuts and milk so he has to be very careful what he eats, so Paul & I want to be sensitive to that and only get him things that will work for him. There is a health food kind of store in Lusaka and we were able to pick Luke up a few things. Paul & I gave Luke one of those mini tools that have a bunch of tools in one. He loved it. We gave one of these to each of the students who didn’t make the trip to America. Paul found them at Cabela’s and it was the perfect gift for them. We finished Luke’s birthday celebration with Luke getting to pick out a movie and we watched it on the movie projector for a treat. I almost forgot to mention that Lou bought Luke a little black puppy for his birthday while they were in town. It is really cute and Luke named her “Luna”. I sure hope she and Jess will be friends. It was super to be able to celebrate Luke’s B. Day.

Pastor Arnot had to go to town this week and get two teeth extracted. He had a rough time with it so please be in prayer for a full recovery. Their grandson Sampa had a major surgery and is recovering well. Betty continue to struggle with her diabetes so please keep this college staff family in your prayers.

On Thursday, Thanksgiving Day we had 25 ladies at bible study. Iris gave the lesson on how the Lord’s Prayer was left by Jesus to give us a model, not to be repeated over and over. She did a really nice job and I know she was a little nervous working with a translator. Lucy was translating and she does such a super smooth job that it goes really well.

Since it was Thanksgiving Day we decided to celebrate together with our new neighbors, Lou, Iris and Luke Mancari. Paul grilled the turkey on the grill, Iris & Lou did the mashed potatoes, I made the gravy (Poured boiling water into a package mix) I then proceeded to open a can of green beans (a favorite of Luke & me), I then boiled 4 corn ears, whew was I tired after cooking on 3 burners at one time!!! Oh, I almost forgot. I also tore up the spinach, peeled and chopped the cucumber, tomatoes and onions for a salad. It really is amazing I had any strength to eat Well God is so good and provided us with wonderful fellowship and a great meal. No dessert, but were all full anyway. Dear Iris helped me with the dishes since Amber is off in the states. I think if Chad were here he would have provided something good to the meal. It was a wonderful day of sharing with friends and thanking God for our dear families who are close in our hearts but faraway in miles.

Well, Black Friday in America, the biggest shopping day of the year. Not so much here: it was kind of quiet. In my family the day after Thanksgiving has been set aside for around 30 years to get together and bake Christmas cookies. My Mom, Donna Knuth, LOVED to bake so we all put on matching aprons that Mom bought for her four daughters and we baked ALL day. One year we even rented another oven to use and that worked great. I miss my Mom, who passed away in 2003, the most at Christmas time. She loved it. Well on this day I know my 3 Fun Sisters’, Gayle, Carol, Jolene and many of their daughters are together, continuing the tradition of baking Christmas cookies together. They know I am with them in spirit.

Well, speaking of Christmas. Paul & I found some tiny, tiny multi-colored Christmas lights that are battery operated while we were in the states. We only bought 2 small boxes but this week I got them out, put in the size “C” batteries and it was enough lights to go around one window. I am so happy to have them. Last night Paul & I just kept the lights off so my lights would show up more. Then when we went to bed I moved the lights into our bedroom and looped them over the clothes that were hanging up!! It was just too cool!!! It was just so special to look up and see them shining so bright and reminded me that Christmas is coming and that I can still have a few special lights to remind me that Christmas is a CELEBRATION of JESUS and to get the lights on and celebrate!! Paul looks at me as I am smiling really big and he says “You really like those lights don’t you!!) 

One neat thing this past week has been watching James drive the tractor with the plow behind it, plowing up all the fields and garden areas that need to be planted. Much of the garden space has been planted already but this year a lot more peanuts will be planted in the fields. The students did a super job of putting the plow together and thanks to Papa Joe Gainey the tractor is running like a clock!! A very good clock!

Sunday 11/28

Pastor Lou Mancari gave his second message at the English service today. It was once of the best messages I have heard on the steps to sin and the U turn God gives to get us back on the right track with Him. He gave us many challenges, one of the most important was to look into our own hearts and make sure we were really right with God.

It is wonderful having Lou, Iris & Luke here to fellowship with. I know God will use this family in many areas of ministry to give glory to Himself. It will be great to have the same pastor sharing the word of God each week. The students are doing a super job of learning new English praise & worship songs so that is very meaningful. The college is really in its first baby steps and I think sometimes my American thinking of “Instant” everything comes up against all I want to get done and see get done at the college. Please help Paul & I remember that things do take time to build, whether it is relationships or building. The progress done here at the college since 2005 is miraculous. TO GOD BE THE GLORY!! All of us who support Gospelink Pastor’s and this college need to remember how very much God has blessed this ministry and that lives are being changed from darkness to light, from death to life. I look out on the college campus from our windows and all I see is progress. All I see is the GOOD things that GOD is doing and will continue to do for years through the ministry of this college.

We just want to say “Thank you” to everyone who supports the college, or supports any of the staff here at the college, or who support Gospelink pastors. What and who you are supporting has eternal value, and guess what???? This is for all eternity!!!!

Thank you for your prayers this last week. It has been a super week at the college with safety and prayers have been answered.

You are loved by Jesus and us.

Paul & Lori