Our Mission Family

We have just returned from a wonderful time in Johannesburg, South Africa where we spent a week with our fellow missionaries who serve in Southern Africa with us. This was such a special time for our children to play all day and for us to be encouraged by others, pray with one another spend time in God's Word, and to fellowship. Here are some pictures of the Baptist Mission of Zambia missionaries, our mission family. We truly are family!

The Zambian cluster of missionaries
The Eastern Harvest Team

(Left to Right)

Lily, Kendall, Easton, Joy, Lauren Helgren, Lindy and Michael Howard, Mary and Van Thompson, Suzie and Kevin Rodgers

We missed Dwayne and Betty Mitchell and John McPherson in the picture!

The Kiddos

Another Wake-Up Call...

Today was yet another day of finding out that someone has passes away.

This morning a lady who lives across the street came to our gate and was gathering mealie meal and or money to take care of her family and her sister's funeral.

One thing that Zambians do very well is take care of each other in times of need and loss. The community has come together to help this family out in their time of need. In America, a funeral is a one day event, here in Zambia, the funeral begins the day the person passes away and goes on until the person is buried. The funeral of my neighbor began on Tuesday. She was a 34 year old woman who was pregnant and had tuberculosis. She gave birth to a baby girl in January. When the baby was 5 weeks old she died of TB. Sprewey passed away on Tuesday from this deadly disease, TB. I also found out that Sprewey has another daughter who is 8 years old who is now without a mother and a sister. Please remember this precious child in your prayers.

This afternoon at 2pm I went to Sprewey's house and sat with about 20-25 of my neighbors. During a funeral the neighbors and friends are to visit the family in the home. All of the furniture is taken out of the sitting room in order that there is enough room for visitors to sit. The ladies all sit in the home in silence or just talk to the family members to share their grief. The men will gather outside the home and they plan the burial.

At 5pm I went back to Sprewey's house to help cook a meal for the family. All of the neighbors pitch in their mealie meal and relish and cook for the grieving family. As I sat around the fire with the women of my neighborhood I realized the love and commitment that Zambians have for one another. As some cooked, others sat and talked, and some prepared bouquets of flowers for the burial. Inside the home the family wept together.

Tonight a fire will be built outside the home and loved ones and neighbors will sing from about 8pm until 5am in remembrance of Sprewey's life. She was a member of the Salvation Army church and no one from the church came, this hurt the family greatly. I pray that we would never forget the importance of being there for those in need or that are grieving.

Tomorrow I will attend the burial, pray that God would use me in a mighty way and that doors would begin to open for me to build relationships with these women in order to share Christ with them.

The Mwanza Family

Thank you all for your prayers as I went to visit Mr. Mwanza's wife today.
First, I went to the market to ask his son, Genesis, about where they lived and what they needed. Most of the time in Zambia, when you visit a family that has lost a loved one you take mealie meal (their staple food) or money to help them pay for the funeral and burial.
As Zeria and I talked with Genesis we found out that Mr. M's wife was Genesis stepmom. When she found out that Mr. M was sick she took all the mattresses, dining chairs, and all their money and ran away to her village.
Needless to say, I found out that Mr. M's oldest sister has come to help Genesis with his 3 siblings while he runs the stand at the market.
We were able to take 2 bags of mealie meal and help them with some relish to feed the family.
Today was an amazing day although the news of Mr. M's wife running away was heartbreaking. Genesis is going to come visit our family soon because today as we went our separate ways he said, "I want to know you and your family". That really meant a lot to me today.
Once again, I love Zambians and the simplicity of their lives and the openness of their hearts.

Seize the Day and Share Christ...

Today was my first day back out in the markets of Chipata since traveling to South Africa. Zeria, Easton, and I got out of our truck and walked across the road to Saturday Market, my favorite place to buy vegetables. Zeria and I were talking about how Mr. Mwanza was going to ask where my baby was when I saw him. As we walked through the market on our way to his stand, we did not see him and I asked Zeria if she saw him and she said no. We found his stand, it is marked with his name, and we approached the stand to find 2 of his sons running the business. Zeria then began to ask them where Mr. Mwanza was and from the expression on Zeria's face, I knew something had happened. Mr. Mwanza passed away on February 19. He fell ill on February 14. I stood in shock and the tears began to flow from my eyes as I realized that I had not been to see him before I left for South Africa and that all the times I went to see him I NEVER took the time to share Jesus with him! WHAT WAS I THINKING!!?? Today, I am humbled and heartbroken. As Zeria would say, "my head is spinning about Mr. Mwanza".

Tomorrow we are going to speak with his sons about where we can find his wife

and Zeria and I are going to visit with her.

Please pray that I will have the boldness to share Jesus Christ with her. Since we

have been gone, Kendall and I realize that we love the Zambian people and desire

more now than ever to see them come to Christ.

Please pray that our passion to share and our love for them will increase. This reminds me that life is short and I should NEVER waste time or put off sharing with someone who I have befriended or come across that I know needs to hear.

13 Ways To Bless A Missionary Without Going To The Post Office

Care packages are amazing and we thank all of the people who have sent us packages! But if you can't think of what to put in a package or can't afford it, here are some GREAT ideas that I stole from our friends, Ricky and Niki Cook who are missionaries with us here in Zambia! Enjoy the list!

Here are 13 post-office-free ideas to get you started, most of which you could do right now from your desk:

• Pray specific Scripture for them and their ministry, and then email it to them.
  
• Call or email their parents—holidays might be just as lonely for the ones at home as the ones away.
  
• Purchase phone minutes for an international calling card through an online service like OneSuite and email them the account number.
  
• Donate frequent flier miles to their parents or them!
  
• Purchase an iTunes gift card for them. Have it sent to you and email them the account number.
  
• Commit to pray for them on a specific day of the week for a year.
  
• Write a song or poem or story for them. Email them the text and a recording of you reading or singing it.
  
• Get friends and family together to create a video greeting for them using Google Video or YouTube. Include lots of people you know they miss.
  
• Make a gift through their missions board or agency.
  
• Western Union—the fastest way to send money.
  
• Call their local florist (not everyone is in the jungle these days) and have flowers delivered, or their local Pizza Hut and have pizza delivered.
  
• Donate to a charity that means a lot to them.
  
• Make a monthly commitment to support them financially.
  

(Remember to use discernment in written or video communication if your missionaries work in security-sensitive locations.)

What does the lion say???

OH BOY! We went to the Lion Park today as our farewell to Johannesburg. We had so much fun! Lily and Easton got to pet lion cubs and feed a giraffe up close and personal. I won't say anything else, but will let the pictures speak for themselves!

Kendall had just fed him...it looks as if the giraffe is smiling!
Very hard to get young children to look at a camera when a giraffe is near!
The trip home was very quiet!

Uncle Sam and A Flight Home...

We are so glad to post this...Praise the Lord....Lauren's passport has come in! Kendall and I know that this is the Lord because it only took 4 business days to process and print her passport! We are heading back home to Zambia on Thursday! Thank you all for your prayers in the quick turnover of these legal documents...God is in the small stuff and knows our desires!