Sunday 3^rd March – Saturday 10^th March

Sunday:

On Sunday we visited Kamfinsa church and it was a special occasion because Tim spoke a word of encouragement and Jim preached. In between the upbeat and harmonious worshipping, there was a time for prayer against any evil spirits. We witnessed a demonic spirit being cast out of a young woman by Pastor Albert. This was a new experience for the majority of us and in all honesty we couldn’t keep our eyes off of this lady who was writhing on the floor being set free from whatever hold it had on her life.

Monday:

Our day off started with boiling hot sunshine and the washing of both vehicles. Jim left early to go to Isubilo to help again with the tiling and Jan started to sort out finances.  The rest of us thought we would make the most of the sunshine by visiting Hettie’s house who happens to have a swimming pool. It was just our luck that once we had got there and cleaned the pool it started to rain! Tim just about squeezed in a five minute swim before we all gave up and went to the internet café instead.

Tuesday:

 We started early with a fast paced run which saw Jan and Natalie set new personal bests! Natalie and Jan then went to Kamfinsa and spent the morning working in the local school teaching English to 6-7 year olds. They started by teaching them the jolly phonic sounds of ‘a’ and ‘s’ and how to write their names, coming alongside Enoch, the teacher there. Jo was supposed to have gone with them but got a cold (which lasted all week with her sniffing and snorting!). Yet again the team were called away from doing hut-to-hut because Tim had locked the keys in the car and Jan and Natalie had to bring them the spare! However before they arrived Jim located a local ‘mechanic’ that helped us to break into the car. Scary! In the afternoon we had another amazing lecture on giving thanks in every situation, something which we have really tried to live out in the past week.

Wednesday:

In the morning we cycled to Farm fresh to help them with their crops. Jim and the girls were busy hoeing while Tim mowed the huge lawn in the VERY hot sun. We really enjoyed seeing how much our hard work paid off, but enjoyed even more the traditional Nshima they prepared for us to eat for lunch! In the afternoon we went to Isubilo (minus Jo) to help out and play games and read with the youngsters there. We ended by playing a game of netball with the older girls who put us to shame with their natural athletic skills!

Thursday:

The day started with another fast paced run where Jan knocked another minute off her PB! With Jo still ill, Tim went with Jim instead to Kamfinsa to lead the Bible study.  Jim followed on from his sermon on joy and all 24 people there really enjoyed it, sitting in the shade of a banana tree.  At the end of the study, they were both given a bottle of coke- this was a huge gesture as it would have cost them so much! Meanwhile Natalie and Jan went to St. Anthony’s orphanage and spent the morning in the cerebral palsy unit, being taught by Milton- a fresh and eager physiotherapy graduate, on how to use physiotherapy to interact with them.  In the afternoon we had another lecture on HIV and AIDS which was very informative and should help us in the coming months to deal with this issue in a culturally acceptable way.

Friday:

Happy International Women’s Day! This apparently warrants a public holiday in Zambia… (Tim gets kicked by the girls). We couldn’t do our normal Friday ministries so we thought we would take the advantage of taking Hettie to a local nature reserve called Nsobe. We enjoyed a long walk in the countryside, admiring God’s creation and built up the appetite to demolish the cheap but tasty steaks in the evening! Jan held a snake and Natalie and Jo held a baby crocodile. Before we settled down for bed a HUGE storm started and we stayed up to watch it and play monopoly by candle light, as we had yet another Electricity failure.

Saturday:

In the morning we went to Isubilo to run some games, read some books and generally just hang out with the kids aged between 6 and 20. All of whom would just be roaming the streets and not attending school without this amazing charity that gives them a place to relax and pays for all 150 of them to attend school. Another fast paced game of netball was suggested and Tim could not resist being the centre! He then ‘accidentally’ ran into one of his own team mates and knocked her clean to the floor. It’s obviously not a game for boys. Natalie and Jo enjoyed watching the game, cheering from the side while having their hair plaited by some of the girls. After lunch we went to St. Anthony’s to visit the babies and the toddlers. The baby boy we met last week who was severely malnourished was already looking much healthier and had come on leaps and bounds in just a week! As we visited him he was full of smiles and was tucking into a bottle full of milk- thank you everyone for your prayers.

Prayer points:

                   Thank you for Jo who is over the worst of her cold.

·       The continued health of the whole team.

·       Discernment in deciding on new ministry opportunities.

·        For Hettie who  will be leaving Zambia in about a month’s time . She has a heart for Zambia Prayers for her future would be appreciated and that she could really hear what God is telling her to do next.

·       Please pray for understanding over the hut to hut ministry in Kamfinsa village that we do along side Pastor Albert- so far each time we have gone to do this ministry something has pulled us away.  

·       Since writing we have also heard the tragic news from Fred (our builder)  that his  sister was killed in a car accident at the Weekend and that her husband is currently in a critical condition in hospital. They have 6 children.   Fred is not only devastated by the death of sister, but also stressed and worried about how he will be able to look after more children if his brother-in-law dies.   Please pray that  he will know God' s presence  and  that we will know how to bless him at this time offering  any help,  and spiritual guidance he may need.