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Update 09/04/10

Greetings from the land of wind and sunshine this month.

Whew, what a week! It doesn’t seem like anybody got to goof off this week and I just hate it when that happens :)

Papa Joe Gainey has keep busy this past week, pretty much just tearing things apart. He tells us he knows how to put it all back together and we are sure he does. For an old timer, opps, I mean valuable, wise senior citizen he works hard and doesn’t miss a beat. Kind of like my friend Eva Lou. Joe has torn apart the gator, the tractor and worked on the brakes on the white truck. We have now ordered some parts and await their arrival. After just one trip to Lusaka looking for auto parts and auto lube and stuff like that Joe was frustrated and we told him to just join the club :) Seriously, Joe is working hard and we do see progress in the right direction. I even showed Joe how to run our washing machine so he is doing his own laundry today. I volunteered to do it for him, but he declined. He told me his son Luke does this job at home so he doesn’t mind doing it here. Papa Joe brags about his family so much a person would think he is really proud of them :)

Please pray for Pastor Henry as he has been struggling with some major back pain. I finished painting the green oil paint, 2nd coat on the windows on staff house #13. Paul has the glass and screens installed in the windows. The female students are painting the outside today as part of their work scholarship hours. It is looking very nice.

The students are practicing their testimonies in front of people and also blessing us with the songs they will be singing at some of the churches in America. They will be such a blessing to the people who get to meet them and share in each other’s lives. The main concern is that the people will be able to understand them well enough, so they have been practicing slowing down when they are speaking English. Their second concern is eating properly at an American table. They don’t want to embarrass themselves, so Paul & I plan to buy some forks for them to practice with. They just so much want to represent the Lord and the college well. We are just so humbled by their servant’s hearts.

I called my fun sister Gayle and her husband Rod and sang them both Happy Birthday. Their birthdays are just one day apart, so that was fun to sing long distance. Please pray for my sister Gayle as she is struggling with knee, back and shoulder pain. I gave Jess a shower this week, to get her white parts a little whiter and she was not to happy with me. She pouted all afternoon.

I drove Betty, Samuel and Mocha into Chongwe one day this week. Betty needed to go to Lusaka for a check up on her Diabetes. Samuel is her and Arnot’s last born child and he will graduate from grade 12 this year. Mocha is her 5 year old granddaughter who has been visiting for a few weeks. I was able to get coke lite, fuel, stop at post office and get bread and eggs while I was in Chongwe. It was a good trip of driving for me and I did not get in any trouble :).

My friend Diana called this week and told us that there is an airline rate for $39 one way from our home town, Grand Island to Phoenix, AZ. That was great news and we asked Leah Nelms if she could get that booked for us. We plan on spending the last 2 weeks in Phoenix with my brother Dwayne and his family and then we will fly back to Zambia from Phoenix. The schedule looks great and we are looking forward to seeing our son Ben and all our extended family and friends. I know it will be fun, refreshing, tiring, exciting, renewing, encouraging and all those good things, and I also know it will be so sad when we leave, but that is part of the process when we are far apart. My brother Glenn is already planning to visit next year and is working on some other family members to join him in the journey to Zambia. That will be great fun and helps to already have a family visit to look forward too.

Paul and I made an all day trip to Lusaka or “Crazy land” as we like to call it. What a day. We took Jess into a veterinarian for a checkup kind of, and she was running a fever so the vet gave her 3 shots of anti-biotic and a worm pill. Poor Jess, she just cried and yelped when she got the shots. I held her and just talked to her, but she was not a happy camper. She then had to spend the whole day with us in Lusaka and that was not fun for any of us. We had fresh water for her and Paul or I stayed with her all the time. Paul had to go town “Crazy Land” to get electrical parts and some hardware plus a stop at the water pump office to pay the bill. It is just so crazy. I think this was the worst crazy driver’s trip we have had yet. Paul kind of joined the crazy drivers, honking, waving, and weaving his way through traffic. I just kept my seat belt on and held Jess. We stopped for pizza on the way home and arrived back to the college about 4 pm. We were exhausted and poor little Jess just looked a little shell shocked. She does not want to go back into town any time soon. We shared the pizza with Papa Joe, Chad & Amber. Amber had made brownies for dessert, per Paul’s strong request. We had a nice evening of fellowship, then early to bed. It has been windy and warm, the temps are not rising into the upper 80’s and I know this is just the beginning of the heat. I am just so thankful that we will be gone for 6 weeks of the hottest weather.

Paul & Henry drove over to the Headwoman’s home and looked at the well that Gospelink supplied the funds for. The well took 9 days to dig by hand and they now have a clean supply of water for that area. The well was dug around 50 feet and the workers make notches in the side of wall as they dug, so they would have them to climb up and down. It was amazing to see how deep it was and how nice and round they dug the hole. It is just like the old fashioned wells, where the people will drop a bucket on a rope down the well to get the water. This is a wonderful thing for the people in that area as the water supply is clean and they do not have to walk so far to get water. The Head Woman was very grateful to Gospelink for the valuable source of water that was provided.

Well, I best sign off and get some laundry done and plants watered. Thank you all for your faithful financial support, prayers and encouragement.

You are loved by Jesus and us.

Update 09/10/10

Whew, once again a busy week with no time for Amber and I to sit and crochet together. Paul & Chad are just making us work too hard. I did take some time to sit and help Betty shell a bunch of peanuts. I am such a wimp I got a blister on my thumb. I would not have made a very good pioneer woman. Another thing that I guess I am a wimp on. My feet seem to always get blisters when I wear shoe that are really made to wear with no socks, yet when I wear them with no socks, blisters. This is very frustrating to a fashion conscious person like me :)

I handed out a class picture to the sophomore students from when Pastor Matt Whitman was here teaching and they were very grateful. For some unknown reason I cannot find any pictures of Pastor Aaron Utecht with the freshmen class. I know I took some, yet they must be in cyber space on my computer, and I will continue to look for them.

When Pastor Dave Dressler was here teaching he taught the entire students the hymn titled “Make me a Pilgrim”, the students sing it all the time now. Sometimes they sing it the traditional way, but sometimes they add the drums and really get the song moving. It is fun to hear them singing the song Pastor Dave gave to them.

Sandwell, a 2nd-year student, gave the message Sunday at church and it was on the hope and peace found only in Christ Jesus. We had a wonderful service with different ones sharing what God had done in their lives that week. John 11:25 is the memory verse for the week. I must admit 2 Americans were called on to recite the verse from last week and were not able to do so, but one of the students rescued them and recited the verse for them. I must be sure and have this week’s verse ready to recite.

Well, one day this week, Papa Joe, Paul, 2nd-year student James and I all went to town looking for specific vehicle parts. What a day and what a Lusaka-adventure it was. We were all wore out at the end of the day. We stopped at 5 stores by 11:00 am and did not have even one single part yet. The good news is with Papa Joe’s patience and James' expertise driving and knowledge of Lusaka we found all the parts that were needed by 3:00 pm and we were back to the college by 5:30 pm. We were so thankful for a successful day and know God went before us in our treasure hunt. I learned more about tube fittings, gearing things, bore things and other such parts I know nothing about.

Get three men in parts stores and you can imagine I was very thankful I had brought along a book to read while I waited in the car. On this adventure in Lusaka we did go to some rough areas I had not been to before. It seems James knew someone, who knew someone, who knew someone and we did finally get the fittings that were needed. The place where we bought them from was really like a bad ghetto area and it felt like we were buying something illegal, not just auto parts, but we did get just the parts we needed and this added to the great adventure to Lusaka. We just never know what we might find or see on some of our trips into town.

We are having fun around the table with Papa Joe as he talks in his southern way and we talk in our mid-western way and it seems we eat a lot of different foods and talk just some different that it makes it a lot of fun. I still don't get that eating boiled peanut thing but that is alright.

On the garden front, the potatoes are really looking great and everyone is excited about the big crop that is coming, all the other veggies are doing well and we are picking some fresh tomatoes now to use with all the onions.

I must say my private strawberry bed is doing well for its first season. It provides just enough strawberries for one person, and since Paul can take them or leave them guesses who gets to eat most of them???? ME :) I am as excited about this as I have always wanted a strawberry bed and now I have one. God is just so good to care about the little things in our lives.

Paul & I continue to pray for our supporters who provide for us and meet all our needs. As we have been able to share meals with the visitors around our table we always thank God for our supporters who provide the support so the groceries can be purchased. Of course we could live off the land like so many of the Zambians do, but being Americans it is just so nice for us to go to the grocery store and purchase what we really like. Now, I did say what we like, not what we need. We once again thank all of you that support us so we can buy the foods we are most use too.

Some of our monthly support has dropped off, so if you would pray about supporting us and do as the Lord leads we would be very grateful. God is just so BIG and has brought so many new people into our lives that we know HE goes before us each step of the way.

Well, I best sign off and get the Friday cleaning done. Today is a deeper cleaning with taking a lot of stuff off the shelves and outside and spraying for bugs really well. As the heat rises so do the bugs wanting to get into the house. I will prevail with the bug spray and they will be sorry if they mess with me and my cute little cottage house. John is a big help on cleaning day as he always shake out all my rugs and scrubs them with a brush if he thinks they need it. He also washes the Toyota whenever he sees any dirt on it. He keeps us clean and on the straight and narrow.

Memory verse for the week - John 11:25

Jesus said “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying.

You are loved by Jesus and us.

Update 9/20

Love from the International Bible College in Zambia!

It has been a busy time here at the college with classes, gardening, clearing the big area for a new soccer field, fixing vehicles, planting trees and just stuff like that:)

Papa Joe Gainey has been working hard since he has been here. He has the gator running again and continue work on the white truck and some library prep work.

Papa Joe is a real easy man to be around. He has breakfast and supper with us each day and we are learning much from him as he sharse from a heart of obedience in walking with the Lord for many years. He has reminded us to have a heart of gratitude each day for all God provides for us. We love to hear him talk his southern talk and the unique way he has of putting things.

The students reminded me to thank all the Americans who brought over a twin set of sheets for them this past summer as they have been really nice for them to have. The students always thank us, like we are the ones helping them out with supplies, but we always remind them, it is not us but the gifts are from the Americans who love and support them.

Please pray for Samuel, one of the freshmen students, who has had some major health problems and is not at the college at this time. Also pray for Mex, another freshmen student who had prolonged malaria and needs to get all his strength back.

Pastor Arnot has challenged all of us with his messages on "Giving". We really enjoy it when he can teach and are always challenged to pay attention to what God's word is telling us. It has been a busy time preparing the students for their trip to America. They have worked hard on their testimonies and songs that they will share at the churches in Illinois, Iowa and Nebraska. I hope to get a schedule posted on the web site soon. They will be at our home church, Evangelical Free in Grand Island, Nebraska on October 17th at both services. If you need more information on this you can call our church office at 308-382-1898. We hope as many of you as possible can travel to see the students at one of the churches.

I waited in a Dentist office for 2/12 hours to have my hurting tooth looked at. He did an x-ray and irrigated the painful area and if this did not help he was saying a root canal might be needed. I am holding out on Advil until I get home to have it looked at again.

One day while we were in town getting parts for the John Deere I was able to visit with two men from India who were there to buy some John Deere tractors for their farming operation. I don't know but I think they were really wealthy and were very nice. I shared with them our work at the Bible College and introduced them to James one of the student's at the college and that the students are being grounded in God's word to share the truth of Jesus with others. The one man told me he has tried to read the bible many times but just reads the same 200 pages over and over. I told him to read the book of John over and over and prayed for him to know Jesus. Please continue to pray for this man and the many Muslims who live under such bondage of a false God.

While we were at the dealership Amber used the ladies restroom and got locked in!!! Some of the staff had to remove the door latch to get her out:) It made the 2 hours we had to wait there something to laugh about, which we needed. We have made 3 trips to town for different parts and each time seems to have been more frustrating then the last. What would take 2 hours of many stops in American takes 3 all day trips to town here:(.

It is just a reminder to us of how much God has blessed America in development, and in so many other ways. We pray for our home nation to return to humble itself, seek God's face and return to Him.

Please pray for the students and all aspects of their trip and their time in America. This is as much an evangelistic trip as it is a fund raising trip. I know God is going to work in the hearts of many people as they see the changed lives in the testimonies of these 14 students.

Our next update will be from America. Until then, (Papa Joe sends his love to his family, Sunday School Class and all his friends)

You are loved by Jesus and us.

Update 9/25/10

Dear Friends,

We are back in Nebraska dealing with some jet lag. The trip home with the students went very well, smooth flights all the way. The students did well and really enjoyed the in flight food service and the soft drinks were a nice treat for them. One fun thing we got to see them do was ride the escalator in the airport. None of them had ever done that so they took turns taking pictures of each other riding up and down:).

The evening before we left we had a nice pot luck for everyone at the college. Everyone appreciated the time of food, songs and prayer. I got up and sang a song with Lucy and Christine in one of their languages and it had a lot of hand actions with it and boy oh boy did the student's all laugh at my participation. It was a lot of fun. Next, Pastor David had the men get up and sing, so Paul had to go up front and sing with them. Singing is not his favorite thing but he was a good sport and joined right in. Papa Joe also went up front to sing along so the men were not out done by the women. It was hard for me to leave little Jess, but Papa Joe & Amber will be taking good care of her, but it was still hard on me and on Jess, she looked so sad.

Papa Joe got the brakes fixed on the white truck so we were all thanking God for Papa Joe and the hard work and success he had fixing the brakes. Paul & Papa Joe worked on getting a cross beam up on the library so I did get some pictures and hope to get them up this week. I will be working with Rae O. who does our web site and she will help me get some more pictures on the web page.

We are staying with friends Murry & Marilyn Christenson (I call them M & M) while we are back in Grand Island. They have opened their home to us and are taking really good care of us. They even had a good stash of diet coke in the fridge for us. We are looking forward to attending church tomorrow with our home church family and just some special worship time with the Lord.

Brian & Winnie Poland have let us use their new car, a very pretty red Camaro while we are in Grand Island. God is just so wonderful to meet all our needs before we even ask. Only God would allow us to borrow a REALLY nice car to sport about in! We will need to be very careful and not get a speeding ticket. Brenda Miller from church is also letting us use a car so we can each make plans and go different ways when we need to. Thank you both for this very generous gift to us. It is wonderful to have friends who love and care for us so much.

I was walking in the store and Theresa Marble saw me and she thought she was seeing a ghost.:) I assured her it was me and we had a good hug and I was invited to attend a Deaconess meeting this next week. I am keeping a calendar with me and will try to see as many people as we can.

Tomorrow we are having a big Knuth family gathering at Valentino's and I will get to see a lot of my side of the family and we just can't wait. I will get to spend 2 days with my fun sister's doing who knows what, but I know we will have fun, after all we are the famous "Fun Sister's".

I do have the student schedule but I don't have it as I am typing this so I will try to get it up tomorrow.

Thank you all for your prayers for the student's and their travel, it just could not of gone any better.

Looking forward to connecting with as many of you as we can.

You are loved by Jesus and us.

Paul & Lori