We Made It!

We arrived in Macha on schedule with all our bags in tow! That was a miracle in its self.

You see, once we left Minneapolis every leg of the journey seemed to get us a little bit behind. By the time we would arrive at each destination on our flight itinerary we found ourselves literally running to the gate to catch the next flight. Each time we would flop into our seats and pray “Lord, please have favor on our bags, that they would make it to this plane.” When we arrived in Lusaka (capital city of Zambia) we were surprised and delighted that all of our checked bags appeared on the carousel!  God’s Favor was so evident.

Once we located our bush pilot, Guillermo, with Flying Mission, we were back out on the tarmac and soon on our way to Macha. Visibility was diminished by the smoke from many wildfires. We’d found out that there hasn’t been much rain since April and most of the landscape is a dry, tinderbox. From the air we could see the fires and their damage. At night the glow of fires can be seen off in the distance. This is something that everyone is aware of but until it is close enough to threaten, no one gets too worked up over.

Adjusting . . . Takes More Than You’d Think

For the past two nights we have found ourselves sleeping 12-14 hours each night! It’s crazy that you can wake up in the morning well-rested but just a couple hours later need a nap. We really never even saw the students on Friday as we’d slept through most of the school day.

By 1:30 we were off to Choma to buy groceries for the next week. It’s now a one hour drive to Choma, now that there is a blacktopped road for two-thirds of the journey. When first arriving in Choma we immediately went to a small convenience store to buy beverages. It is difficult to find public restrooms, so by purchasing our drinks we were entitled to use their facilities. Then off to Spar, the local food store chain. Much smaller than what we are used to, and packed with people, made it difficult to manage three filled-to-overflowing grocery carts. It was a good thing that there were seven of us to help push and then load. This is just one of our responsibilities for the next two months. Clearly we will be recruiting help for the weekly shopping trips.

Today, in about 100 degree heat, we have toured the school and boarding house facilities, taken a good look at the new dorm building that is targeted to open in January with the new school year. We also visited the Redicopps that live just a couple hundred yards away. Guillermo Redicopp was our bush plane pilot.

We are learning our way around the house, the kitchen, how to find water when none comes out the taps, and internet. We’ve become friendly with Zaka and Boya, the Krause’s two house cats. We are babysitting Merrel and Elmo, two Dutch students while their parents are in South Africa for a conference.

We have yet to go to the local market to buy tomatoes and other vegetables today. As I have been writing to you, the others have slipped away for a nap. Looks like I need to get moving and get mine before we are off again!