untitled1

Update 12/06/09

Did you know?

Paul has l brother, Mark – 3 sisters, Sandra, Terry and Lori

Lori has 2 brothers, Dwayne & Glenn and 3 sisters, Gayle, Carol and Jolene

This is a long update, so put your feet up, grab your favorite beverage and read on.

I was busy cleaning our cabin and the cabin we use for a kitchen this am, laundry then off the paint department, (cabin #4) to pick up paint supplies. After lunch, Lucy, Christine and I painted one more cabin. Much laughter as some paint landed in Christine’s mouth so she decided she better keep her mouth closed. (It didn’t work). Whenever they started visiting in their native Soli language I would say “English, English” and it would work for awhile but they would forget until I reminded them again. Both of these ladies spent the morning planting two more fields, one with peanuts and the other one with more corn.

Men from the shipping company came out and unsealed the container and just skimmed the contents for damage, I think they took 5 minutes to do this then went back to town. These were the same men who came out with the container so they could of saved themselves a trip back out if they had just done it the day they delivered it. But you know what?? They did not ask my opinion. Maybe they just wanted to come visit the campus again as the student’s continue any clean up and landscaping getting ready for the end of the contest. The cash awards are awarded tomorrow before they all leave for their December break.

Paul is now making the screens for our staff house #1 and I am grateful that he has started this project. I think I will really like screensJ. If you can believe this I have made friends with the wasps and bees. I still do not like the flies, they really irritate me and seem to dive bomb me a lot. Poor me...

O.K. Rich from Minnesota, you know how I have a nice long handle on my broom and you said “What more could I want”, well I am really spoiled now, as Paul fixed the screens in our cabin so the flies are not attacking me while I am inside. I just wanted you to know.

We had a full day yesterday and unloaded the container in a little over four hours. With the students helping using the gator and white truck, many trips were made to the temporary library, storage containers and the shop. Everything went very well. There is a very nice selection of new research books, dictionaries, commentaries and others I am not sure what to call that came from our E. Free Church Sunday School classes in Grand Island, NE. THANK YOU, very much!! There were also many, many used books donated in every category. The students who helped me do a little organizing of the books as we unloaded them were just so amazing to watch. They could hardly help me with any sorting as once they picked up a book they would start leafing through it and would not want to put it down. The entire student’s were very excited to have the temporary library set up so they can begin using these books, until the large library is completed. We should not have let Kris, Bobby, Brad or Michael go as we sure could have used them to make more shelves. What were we thinking?? All the work went very well and everyone stayed safe. Another thing that is so wonderful about the student’s is that I never hear them complain. I mean we worked hard and they were all singing, laughing and encouraging us older folks to pick up the pace. I did ask one student how it was going and he smiled and said “Well, I am really hungry”.

3:00 pm was the “cash” award service for the student’s who worked so hard on the campus clean project. The following teams were:

Little Isaac, Gimbaza, Moses and Justin, they won first place with compound 5.

Luka, Sandwell, James & Joshua

Gideon, James, Clarence & Big Isaac

Both the 2nd & 3rd teams were just too close to call so they were tied for 2nd & 3rd place.

Before Paul announced the winners he shared from Hebrews 12: 1 & 2, and how the student’s all worked the areas with endurance and fixed their eyes on Jesus who is the author and perfecto of their faith. It was wonderful to see the unity and support each team had for the other teams.

The student’s did tell Paul that his compound #1 should receive lst place as it was from him that they got some of their ideas. Pastor Henry and Pastor David stood with Paul and shared that they were so impressed of the show of unity by the student’s and how a church, college, home could not function well without unity.

Then it was the students’ turn and they each chose one student to go upfront and share their experience from the contest. Each student was very grateful for the leadership at the college and for the idea of the contest as they had so much fun working so hard together. They shared that sometimes they didn’t feel like going out and working on their area, then they would see some other student or team working on their area, so this encouraged them to get out and get more work done. They shared that it really helped them take ownership of the college and they wanted to be proud of the campus and prepare it for the new students.

This day was a big day as after all this the students had to get packed and ready to go home the following day. Even with all they had to do they invited us down to have a farewell service with them after supper. It was very nice, and once again we had beautiful music and each student shared how they were ready to go home for a break, but that now they were family and would be anxious to return. We had a nice gentle rain in the evening.

Now today, 12/3 is Henry and Lucy’s 20th wedding anniversary. It is also Pastor Al’s and Beneta Haywood’s anniversary, so it was a time of celebration.

Another day in Lusaka, another day of practicing the fruit of the spirit “patience”. We went to renew the insurance on the white truck and it took over one hour for the untrained, unmotivated young lady to do her job. On the bright side this office was air conditioned. After this we headed to the mall to order pizza and to buy groceries and our Christmas presentJ. We bought a portable cd/dvd player that would play the region 5 movies that you buy here. The one we brought from the states would not play the movies we bought here. Besides, then Paul can watch a shoot’em up bang’em movie, while I watch a chick flick. Doesn’t this sound romantic and like a good evening of communicationJ. I can also use this new purchase to listen to my cd’s that arrived on the container. I am playing Amy Grant’s lst Christmas album which will always be my favorite. It is full of good memories for me.

We waited 45 minutes in Chongwe for the post office to open and good thing. We hit gold!! Two packages for us and a letter. As we were driving home I said, “We will wait until we get home to open these”, well a few minutes later I was opening them with Paul’s encouragement to look at the treasures that had been sent. Pat & Diana sent us a movie, instant tea, gourmet coffee, candy and even some dog treats for little JessJ, all wrapped in Christmas paper! The Monday evening ladies Bible study class sent us some Christmas spirit! Ornaments, snowman placemats, Christmas towels, candy, and some books. This was a good thing as I have not been in the Christmas spirit and was not planning on putting up any Christmas stuff, partly because it would take me forever to find any. Now I have ornament hanging up, snowman placements on the table/desk and the kitchen towels ready to use for dishes!! They also sent some Bear Creek soup packages and we had one for supper tonight. Paul says it was great, send more:) Thank you everyone who loved us with your thoughtful gifts.

8:00 pm so out and humid, inside and out that is seems hard to breath, not a breeze or a breath of air to be found. Paul, Jess and I are trying not even to look at each other, or say anything for fear if we acknowledge how awful it is, we would just all meltJ. With all this heat you can see why these cold weather Nebraska people are having a hard time remembering it is Christmas. I am sure my snowmen placemats will help us think cool thoughts.

Guess what is playing on the radio?? “Blowing in the Wind” by Peter, Paul & Mary, now this is African music at its finestJ I do find that the stores and radio station do play some American music, but of course more of it is the native music and then some stations do a nice mix of both.

Paul and I were eating supper, listening to the “Singing Christmas Tree” music, and it was so fun. Paul & Diana Hofrichter are the director’s of this pageant and they sent us the cd and the sheet music as they know Paul and I are both missing being involved with the SCT ministry this month. For those of you reading this that are not from Nebraska, the SCT is a full presentation of the birth, life and death of Jesus. The E. Free church in Grand Island, NE is known as the SCT Church as this has been part of the church’s outreach to the community for over 30 years!! Can you believe that?? God continues to bless this ministry in big ways and I think a part of that is because the message of the gospel is always clearly given. It helps so many to keep their focus on Christ, or to find Christ, or to return to Christ. It is a wonderful ministry to be involved in and we really do miss it. This is attended by thousands of people from surrounding communities, states and we have had many guests from other countries. We always extend a special invitation to foreign exchange students.

Our church has a very large sanctuary and stage. The tree frame is now made of metal with ladders up the back and sides for the choir members to climb up into the tree. Artificial greenery and lights are attached to the tree and it looks very real. About 80 plus people are in the choir with over 250 plus people in the drama. The people who sacrifice each weekend in December and all the practice’s are from the church. The choir start practicing in October and needs to memorize all the music. Each year there is new music with a few old favorites always included. It is a wonderful opportunity for people in the congregation to become involved in some way with the ministry that reaches out to so many people. There are: Light, sound, parking cars, drama, choir, food servers, food preparers, ushers, making of costume’s, men in black who do the change the scene’s and do the back stage work, baby sitter’s in people’s homes, people who do crafts and watch over all the children who are in the drama between scenes, leadership of the ministry and I am sure there are many more volunteers that I am forgetting to mention.

Please keep this wonderful ministry in your prayers this month of December that many people would hear the gospel message and walk from death to life.

Please pray for Paul and me also, that Christ will be even more in our hearts and minds while we are away from family. This will be the first time we will not have a celebration with family. I know God will fill this void as He has gone before us and meet our needs each step of the way. One big thing I missed this year was the annual Knuth Girls cookie bake the day after Thanksgiving. My sister’s and myself has gotten together for MANY years and baked Christmas cookies at one of our houses. We did it at our Mom’s house for years until she went home to be with Jesus in 2003. It is an important family tradition that has been passed down now to some of my nieces and I trust will continue for many years. This really helps me see how important family traditions are and how they can really tie a family together.

One day Paul and I started stacking all the boxes that were marked “Schlick” in the shop. There were more boxes then I remember packing. As the student’s unloaded the boxes one of them commented “Who has this many shoes”, I guess there were a few boxes marked shoes, go figure.

Well, I must confess, that half of what I packed was probably not necessary but I can use what we do not need to minister to others who have a need. I will have some extra shoes to hand outJ It is really weird to see all those boxes of cloths, kitchen/household stuff when we have gotten along fine with what we had in our suitcases for the last 6 months. Our little cabin does seem to be getting a little fuller. I know all the “stuff” I packed will not begin to fit into the staff house, so I will have some giving away to do. We hope to be in the house by the end of Jan, but it could go into Feb. Roof needs put on, ceiling installed, plaster spots repaired, painted, shelves put up, screens and glass in windows, so you can see we still have some work to do. We don’t need to be in a big rush, and we want it to be done when we move in. My plans are to decorate it with my things from home and not with African items, as I figure I can see Africa décor when I am outside and when I am inside I want it to feel like my home back in America. A place of rest and peace and when we have visitors they will know we are from American and we truly are American’sJ. It will be great to hang the curtains that our friend Nina made and we were able to bring them with us. When we hang the curtains that will be the sign the house is done and we can move in. Thank you to Nina for not only the curtains but she recently sent out our 1st newsletter too!! She is a whiz on the computer and makes things look so nice. We would be lost without her. Our friend Rae, is the one who keeps up our web site and we couldn’t communicate with so many loved ones without her. Go Rae!!

The 12 new students have been selected and wow are they excited. It was so cool to meet many of them during a special prayer time we had when they visited the campus. They were fun as when they left the campus they all said “We will pray we see you again”, because at this point they had not been chosen.

The rains, sunshine and humidity continue to make the crops grow. We see the students and staff families out picking something fresh for their meals each day.

Thank you to all of you, who have sent, emails, cards. Letters with pictures of grandchildren and love packages. We feel so loved by all of you.

May the grace of our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ be with each of you.

You are loved by Jesus and us.

Thursday 12/10

We continue to keep busy and time is flying by. Paul has gotten the roof on and the ceiling put in this week with the help of one on the national men named Nonie. It has gone very well and I praise God for their safety on this project. With some plastering to be done, screens and windows, paint and watch out, we will be moving in. We both kind of miss the bathroom without a roof view, but still with the roof we don't get rained on when we use the facilities.

Yesterday I spent most of the day opening and inventorying all the supplies that came over on the container for the clinic. WOW, you would not believe all the wonderful supplies that came over even so really good equipment, wheelchair, crutches, walkers, canes, commodes, stool risers and lots of good medication.

We need to continue to pray about a national nurse to run the clinic, visiting Dr's and Nurses' from the US to minister to the people. A Dentist could work for 2 weeks non stop just removing bad teeth. Paul and I sent a friend to a Dentist this week as she had 3 rotten teeth broke off at the gum line and severe tooth pain of course. Please continue for God to lead medical personal to minister here. Our friend John continues to work around compound l and 2 to make them beautiful, he is such a hard worker and always so positive. As I write this I hear Paul working in the house and whistling.

You are all doing such a great job of loving us. We have received packages with items wrapped in Christmas paper :). Of course we could not wait for Christmas to open them. We sat outside our cabin and were like little kids as we opened the gift. Here are some of our blessings in a box. Book 2 of Voice of the Faithful, 2 Christian fiction books for ladies :), 3 bike magazines for Paul, chain lube oil, instant team candy, gum, granola bars, a 60's Christmas music CD, 2 Christmas movies, A Charlie Brown Christmas (My favorite) and It's a Wonderful Life. Now as Paul & I watch them we will feel at home. We are waiting until Christmas is closer to watch them. We got a few medical supplies I requested which will be great for small abrasions. We were even sent a "First Christmas in Zambia" ornament! I use my Christmas towels that were sent earlier along with the ornaments hanging up in our cabin.

What fun we are having as we open the pkgs. You are all just loving us so well and it helps so much as we miss family even more this time of year. It broke my heart when our son said to us "You mean you are not coming home for Christmas"? We are making sure he feels well loved with a special gift and support from our families.

Please pray for the expensive table saw, that Paul can fix it as there was an accident this week with it getting knocked over. Paul was very frustrated when this happened as it pretty much stops some of the projects he had planned. He is good at fixing this kind of thing, again please pray for success with this.

Our little dog Jess continues to bless us and one of our friends even sent her some dog treats. She is not spoiled at all :) I am using the curtains for my house to pick out the paint colors. It will be fun to paint something using a color besides white. Well I best sign off as I have painting to do and boxes to organize. We feel your prayers and your love. You are just the best.

Have a special time this month celebrating Jesus.

Update 12/17

Little Know Facts: Paul’s family has always celebrated Christmas on Christmas Eve with Oyster & Chili soup. (Paul’s Dad, Ted was the only one eating the oyster soup.)

Lori’s family celebrates Christmas the Sunday before as then that frees up the families to go to the in-laws on Christmas. I have always thought that was a very unselfish gift my Mom gave her children.

Forgive me if I am repeating some of this stuff, I just got kind of behind and my order of events mixed up, so thank you for your understanding.

Joe and I helped putting the roof up. How you ask. Well someone had to carry around and lift the sheets of tin up to Paul, so that was our job and we were very good at it. We also helped move the scaffold, did site cleanup, took them cold drinks and encouraged them on how great it looked.

John is putting grass under my clothes line area so when I accidently drop the clothes on the ground they won’t be in the mud. That will be wonderful. John is cleaning up the garden in front of staff house #2 and transplanting some of the grass so there is no cost in getting the grass.

Paul cut the trim boards for the ceilings in the house today. Lots of sawing. We have had fun listening to the 60’s Christmas music CD that friends sent us. We are rocking around the Christmas tree, even if we don’t have one. I wanted to find the portable boom box I packed. I went through most of the boxes and I was so hot and sweaty I gave up without finding it. Of course when I packed I could have wrote boom box on the outside of the box, but that did not happen. I will look for it on a cooler day. Paul has me lifting, pulling, and pushing different things, so I will be glad when Kevin and the teams are here as he can work them like rented mules. I really am not complaining as I continue to lose the weight I need too.

We picked up Lewis Nelms, the Director of Gospelink, on Saturday and have been busy ever since. It has been wonderful having him here. The staff has all met together several times and it has been wonderful to prioritize the projects, go over policies, update policies and just spending time going over the campus, looking at the fields and seeing all the progress. Lewis brought us Christmas gifts and it was as special as Leah had sent gift bags & tissue paper and Lewis had they all fixed up so nice. The gift bags and tissue paper are a gift in themselves as I can reuse them when I give a gift. Paul was so excited about the pocket knife with a pocket clip as he did not have one. They just sent us some neat thoughtful items. My favorite was a scented candle as I have not had one of these since I have been here. It will really make my house more home-like.

Today all the men went to town for many errands and God went before them as every stop went quickly (this never happens) and they got much accomplished. I have been going through old files and sorting items of importance and throwing away the ones that are old and not needed anymore. You who know me best know my motto, “When in doubt throw it out”. This served me well in America, but now I am much more cautious of what I throw away, sense it can usually be recycled. Last pm for supper, Paul warmed up pizza on the grill!! How you ask? By using a cake pan filled upside down and putting the pizza on this. It worked great and was really good. Lucy & Christine are taking turns bringing over the evening meal to us and then we have gone to their homes for meals. I have been showing some of our new friends pictures of our families and of Ben of course. It helps me feel close to family as I show the pictures, but there have been some tears as this also reminds me of how much I miss them.

We had a sad morning this am. One of the village ladies came over to Henry & Lucy’s and just cried and cried as her husband had just divorced her to marry another woman. This dear woman has at least 8 children and a brand new baby. It was very hard for all of us as we cried and prayed with her. By law she should receive half of their possessions, but her husband bribed the judge so she gets nothing. She leaves her home with her children and some dishes. That is it. We were able to help here with some good used clothing that had just arrived on the container from American’s who had sent them over. Thank you to whoever donated these clothes as she was so grateful to get at least one outfit for each child and more items for the baby. Paul & I paid for the fuel to help her move back to her mother’s place. It is just very sad. I know this happens in American also, but it is just much harder here for the women. Please pray for this family. God knows who they are and your prayers will make a difference in her life. This dear lady sent home bags of fresh curry from her garden and lemons from her trees. Lucy, Christine and I each received a bag of these items as a thank you from her. We carried the clothes to her house, Lucy carried a BIG box of clothes on her head and it was heavy. It still amazes me how the women can do this.

Paul & Lewis are taking lots of pictures today for Lewis to take back with him and show the college supporters all the progress that has been made.

It is getting easier for me to ask Lucy & Christine’s children for help. I am just not used to having children to ask for help. They have all been wonderful and have helped with a great attitude any time I have asked. I could get use to this having helpers. Joe likes to wash our Toyota for us; the girls like to pick up any trash around the campus, and run messages and any items I might have to send to their Mom’s. I try my best to have a treat to give them for their help and I am sure that helps keep them coming back. They like to see Paul at the hardware store as every time we are in town he has a list of items to buy from them. The people in the area restaurants are getting to know us, as we hit the same spots when we are in town. The college campus is looking very pretty with everything so green and the flowers everyone has planted. It is different for us to have “Green” in the month of December. Kind of nice. I did have one day this week that I was not hot all day, but today it is back to heat, humidity & sweat. We received 5 love packages this week:) WOW, the postmaster loves us as we have to pay to pick up these packages. Not too much, but he still likes our business. I will list all the fun stuff we received next time. We had a blast opening these and will set our items on the table at Christmas to remind us how much we are loved by all of you. Thank you all so much for the packages, cards and the love.

As you all prepared to celebrate the birth of our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ know that we celebrate with you.

You are loved by Jesus and us.

12/24/09

We LOVE you and MISS you!!

What a year it has been. God continues to prepare the way for us and is so faithful to meet all of our needs and wants through all of you. Today is Christmas Eve and so many memories flood our hearts of past times with family & friends. Christmas is such a magical time. In the states you can hear Christmas songs played almost in every store, and many of those songs you hear the real message of Christmas. God says His word will not return void so even with people in the hurry of shopping they hear the truth of Jesus. We watched “A Charlie Brown Christmas” last evening and it was so special to hear the truth of Christmas from the book of Luke as recited by Linus.

We have gotten 8 ½ inches of rain in the last 3 days, and we thank God for this gift. I understand Nebraska is getting its fair share of snow, wind and ice. Well, I am sorry about that as now the sun is shining here and it looks to be a beautiful Christmas Eve day. We are missing family & friends terribly. Christmas time holds so many magical memories and we are both thankful for all our past Christmases. We are working hard on the house this week and are making progress. I did get our bedroom painted and I will start on the guest bedroom today. Paul has the screen frames on all the windows and screens completed in the bedrooms. He is making them nice and tight so we don’t have to spend as much time with the fly swatterJ

Well, guess what we did yesterday?? Did you guess??

We let our child within go out in the rain and play! We both just went out and got a bar of soap and some shampoo and took an outdoor shower, (fully clothed) in the rain. It was such fun. The rain water was much warmer than our shower water. I discovered I needed to stand under the roof where the rain came off a litter harder to get the shampoo rinsed out of my hair. The rain lasted a while but it was really coming down that hard. We really had fun and we encourage you all to do that the next time you get some good rain.

Even with the wonderful snow many of you are getting you could let your child within go out and make snow angels, snow forts, snow men or many other fun snow activates. Just be sure and have some fun during this Christmas time when you might have some time off of work.

The youth group is here yet today so I get to listen to them while I paint. What energy and laughter they bring with their music and their smiles.

David & Christine, Henry & Lucy’s families are all working hard finishing the planting and doing weeding in many of the fields. They get up as early as we do and get after the work that needs done. We continue to count down the days until Pastor Paul & Diana, and Cliff arrive here in January. Paul & Cliff will both be teaching and I have many plans for Diana to keep busy.

Thank you all so much for your love and support this past year. It will be exciting to see what God has in store for each one of us in 2010. No man knows the day or hour the Lord will return, so let us all be faithful at glorifying our Father and loving our neighbor as ourselves.

You are loved by Jesus and us.

12/21

Little Known Facts:

Paul broke his Brother Mark’s collar bone when they were boys.

Lori pushed her sister Carol out of a tree which we did have a rope tied on to, but Carol was just able to grasp the rope on her way down and received a nice rope burn.

And you thought Paul and I were always as sweet and kind as we are today :).

It has been a busy week with Lewis here and much was accomplished. We took Lewis to the airport on Sat. and we now know he has made it back to the states safely. We spent one day looking at rental houses in Chongwe for his son Steven and his family as they plan on moving here in February if their support is all raised. It was a good way for Paul & me to learn our way around Chongwe a little better. The rent here is high for what you get. You just never know if the plumbing/electrical are working or what the landlord will really be like. A step of faith is required to rent in Zambia. We received 2 ½ inches of rain last pm and it was dry so the crops were ready for a drink.

The ladies from this area are having fun making some items that the Americans can buy when they are over for the mission trips. It has been a lot of fun for the ladies to get together and work on different projects. We have gotten some great ideas for souvenirs that the ladies can make.

The college has plans to open up a small store soon to help the area neighbors so they don’t have to go clear into Chongwe for basic supplies. It will be nice for everyone to have a store closer.

The backhoe is here, the backhoe is here, Yea! It was again an experience getting the backhoe here and unloaded. The truck that brought the backhoe had no ramps on it for unloading. Paul & Lewis had to find a spot where the truck could back into for the unloading. The first spot the truck backed into the hiss so hard the backhoe broke the small ropes that were holding it on and almost tipped off the truck. Of course the truck then was stuck and didn’t get backed in at a good angle to get the backhoe off. Just like with the container, we got the reactor and pulled the truck out. Next we had the driver back into the big pile of white rocks. It took the driver like 3 times to get the truck backed in at the right spot. (Kevin Hiegel where are you?? We needed your truck driving skills! Paul was then able to back it off and all went well and we breathed a sigh of relief and thanked God that no one got hurt. When truck driver then pulled ahead and shut his truck off some part on it continued to run and would not stop. It finally did and all the men said it was the starter. So the men all pushed this BIG truck and then it started. The poor stressed out driver then went on his way and we pray he would make it back to Lusaka. It would be a nice change to do business with a company that had a truck that ran good, bad fuel in it, and a driver who would listen to instructions. Maybe next time.

Busy day, as I got the first coat painted in our bedroom and Paul got the screens made for the bedroom windows. We are making progress. The paint color for the inside walls is like a creamy taupe. It is very pretty if I do say so myself.

There are around 25 young people here from a church youth group in Lusaka. I was asked to share with the group and I really was blessed by this opportunity. Right as I was going to share the rains came. 5 ½ inches in one hour, it really came down and then the sun came out. I prayed for God to speak His work through me and the young people were very attentive and kind. I shared on what a real man and a real woman look like from what the Bible says. It was fun to answer their questions and I even got to dance with the girls up frontJ, yes it was a sight to behold. Their dancing and singing were such fun!! This group even had a keyboard so it was fun for me to hear that musical instrument again. What energy these young people have and what a love for the Lord. It was such a privilege for me to take part in this part of their retreat here.

Poor little Jess was so afraid of the thunder and all the rain, I took her with me to the classroom and when I was speaking I had one of the students hold her. All the young people acted afraid of Jess and I had to reassure them that Jess was a friendly dog and would not hurt them.

Paul and I received 4 packages this week!!!!! We felt so much loved. I just am going to list some items we received so you will know all the Christmas gifts we received:

Fun confetti that spilled all over our floor when we opened the box, I wonder who sent that??

Small pocket knife thing that Paul & I are fighting over who gets it.

Movies, Iris bulbs to plant, Solar lights that are really pretty and make our sidewalk look really good, Christmas statue, 2 books, necklaces for the kids, 3 TV series DVD’s, Positive quote book, pocket size tissues, beef jerky, trail mix, magazine, pretty delicate white hankie, John Wayne movies, War movies, Bonanza series, Red Honda hat, bear creek soup mixes, crystal light, canned chicken, crank flashlight, musical snowman, rosehips mixture with Christmas sent and additional oil, bracelet, angel ornament, tea, Bath & Body lotion, sample perfumes, cookies, cocoa mixes, coffee, stick candy, graduation pictures, anti-bacterial hand gel in purse size, colored flavored chap sticks, finger nail polish and file, playing cards, church services on DVD, world series and husker football games DVD’s, 2 movies, crystal light, book, lots of movies which included 3 Christmas movies that we are watching one each night this week before Christmas. The song I’ll be home for Christmas is really meaning more to us this Christmas. We really miss the traditions shared with family and friends. All the cookies, even the Christmas cookies and cakes they have here taste no good. We did buy some banana bread for a treat on Christmas day.

If we don’t get back to you before Christmas, we want you to all have a wonderful celebration of Jesus birth.

Know you are loved by Jesus and us.

12/29

Little known fact:

When Paul was little he started an empty lot on fire and boy did he get caught and in trouble.

Lori on the other hand, received a very bad third degree burn on her leg for spilling gas on her jeans and getting to close to the fire, that her and her brother Glenn were going to roast marshmallows once.

Do not play with matches!!

Happy, Happy New Year's Eve, Eve.

We have been working hard but getting lots done. We have the 2 bedroom's painted and today I will paint the big room first coat. Yesterday I got all the trim done in this room. We are getting so excited about getting into the house, we can hardly stand it.

Paul painted all the screen frames that he made and did the installation. He painted the front door and the screen door. I have allowed him to upgrade his work position to join the Painting Department for only a short time. You would not believe the training I had to do with this employee:) With our nice screen door we call our house "Any town USA", as in the olden days when I was young every one in the country any way had a wood framed screen door. For those of you who had one, can't you just hear the screen door slamming and everyone else in the house yelling, "Don't slam the door".

We have receive some "Bear Creek Soup" mix in one of our packages. WOW is that good! All you have to do is boil water, add the mix and you have great soup. We were so excited to have the potato mix last night and thought I best put this in the diary for you wonderful people who love to send us stuff.

I am really enjoying the ladies Christian Fiction Books that I have been sent. With only movies to watch in the pm, it is really nice to have some light books to read. Paul likes the bang up, blowing up, shoot'm up movies, so this way I can escape from watching those:) A friend sent him John Wayne's, Bonanza, and War Movies. Help me!!!!!!!!!! I do make him watch a chick flick me once in awhile.

Well yesterday I thought I would have a boiled egg for breakfast. I was standing in our kitchen area of our cabin, cracked the egg, which was not boiled:). What a mess!! I forgot how hard it is to clean up egg of the floor and plywood cabinet. I guess I better do a better job of separating the boiled eggs from the unboiled ones.

Paul and Henry to town all day on errands so Jess and I painted alone.

Jess if doing quite well now and loves her food and is getting nice and plump. Paul says he has two nice plump old girls that he likes. I will get back to you on this one!!!!!

I took our hired man John and his family to a clinic yesterday as his little daughter. had gotten bitten by something in the night and one of her toes, was swelled up and looked really nasty. They were able to open the area and drain it and get her on some antibiotics. I would ask prayer for the process of the medical clinic here to continue and for the right national nurse to come forward. There is lots of work yet on the inside, but Paul and Keven (and hopefully a plumber) will be able to get most of it done when Kevin comes in April. Please pray for a Plumber to step up and make the trip. We could keep a plumber busy for a while if there is one out there that wants to take a little trip to Zambia:)

On the way home from the clinic we saw a man pulling a pretty nice little trailer behind his bike with a man laying on it holding an umbrella to keep the sun off him. He was sick and the man on the bike was taking him to a clinic. Again, the clinic here at the college would of been much closer.

Thank you all for your prayers as we remain healthy and strong.

We'll talk to you again soon.