Singletons Leave on HMA

ACTION Zambia bids farewell to Tracy and Karen Singleton who are heading back to the US for their HMA (Home Ministry Assignment, a.k.a. furlough).  They are very much looking forward to seeing supporters, family and friends in a very full 3 month schedule.  They will be flying first to Seattle, Washington where ACTION USA has their base headquarters.  From there, they will head to northern Illinois which they consider their home base.  Please pray for them as they speak and seek to be refreshed.  Pray also for Tracy’s pastor leadership development colleague Steve Allen who remains on the field, as he carries an increased work load now with Tracy’s absence.

Departure

The Evangelical Free Church of Mt. Morris short-term team departed this morning.  They will start off on their long journey home with a mandatory overnight stay in London before catching their next flight to Chicago.  Please be in prayer for them, that they will be able to get on that next flight.  Due to the volcano plume from Iceland affecting travellers all over Europe, there may be delays.

Before sending them off, we went to the Mumbai Cafe and ate Indian food.  The team got a primer course on cricket from the owner of the restaurant since a cricket tournament was showing on the flatscreen tv.  It was a wonderful way to relax with the festive atmosphere.  Enthusiastic supporters of the Indian cricket team were screaming and yelling while the rest of us looked on.

Action Zambia was truly blessed to have them serve alongside of us.  We will miss them and are praying that they and/or others will come next year.

Chalet & Nsaka Roofing Complete!

The Mt. Morris team has accomplished what they set out to do.  The last 10 days have been jam-packed full of hard labor, cultural experiences and Christian fellowship.  Last night, the Action Zambia team put together an all-team braai (cookout) where the finished work project was celebrated.  Good food, fellowship and a time of worship were a great way to end the work week.  With the team set to depart in less than 24 hours, I’ve put together a special video recapping what God has done in our midst.  Check it out!

Team Interviews

Listen to short video clips from different team members around the Ciyanjano chalet work site!

How the Chalets are Being Built

The following slideshows have been organized in a chalet by chalet progression.  I’ve also included some photos of other activities as well, like visiting missionaries’ homes, attending church, etc…

Work on Chalet #1 was started on Friday, 16 April (the day after the STT arrived in Zambia).  It took some time for them to get used to the scaffolding that they would be using for the duration of the project.  Lee felt like the wood platform needed to be strengthened up a bit (ironic, because our Zambian staff thought that they had fortified the work platforms sufficiently for “old” muzungu   Our Zambian workers had begun coating the timber pieces with black creosote paint, which caused fits for Dave who couldn’t see his mark points.  The building team decided to abandon the wood preservative for the time being.  Steady progress was made securing the joists, and rafters.  Pastor Bruce and Boniface fed, Lee, Pat and Dave 2×2′s which were needed for lateral support to fasten the meta roof to.  It was a good feeling for the whole crew, when Chalet #1 framing was complete.  Chalet #2 would be finished in half the time as the first.  Given the fact that I had taunted the team that I didn’t think they could finish the job before leaving Zambia, the men felt very proud that they had two Chalets under their belt after the first day.  (NOTE: Continued Below)

Work on Chalet #2 was also started and finished on Friday, 16 April.  With team members, cutting, measuring, hammering, painting and holding timbers in position, the second chalet was finished ahead of the threat of rain.  The Lord was gracious in that the work continued without event.   (NOTE: Continued Below)

In order to make the best use of the visiting team’s time, Jailos, Richard and Boniface worked on setting the header boards after Luke had notched out slots.  Poor Luke was using a simple mask while he used the angle grinder to cut slots in the asbestos/concrete pillars.  Covered with asbestos dust from head to foot, Luke valiantly volunteered to take the health hazard job in order to save the mission money.  He couldn’t justify the mission hiring out that work to a contractor so he did it himself.  Bruce & Lee pulled off a few stunt up in the rafters of Chalet #3 out of respect for their Hollywood namesake. The work day closed with a partial roofing of Chalet #2 with tin.  The team then cleaned up and headed into town to the Hilty home where Megan, Tim and Andrea hosted them for dinner.  Ian and Ireen enjoyed the extra attention immensely.  Pastor Bruce read them their favorite books before night-time.  Bruce and Lee spend the night with Singletons in Makeni while Dave and Pat spent the night at the Hiltys.  Dave was gracious enough to fix a few computer problems we were having with one of our laptops.  Sunday proved to be an interesting day, with Pastor Bruce preaching at True Worshipers Church.  Tracy and Karen took them for the day and treated them to Makeni hospitality.  Tracy & Bruce got up in front of the church to do the chitenge dance, pulling a few moves out of their worship closet.

(NOTE: Continued Below)

Chalet #4 was completed by noon on Monday.  I made another trip to TAP to pick up some more concrete/asbestos pillars for the tonga kitchen structure in the middle of the campground.  More 2×2′s needed to be purchased to finish the addition projects that we were going to add on to the week’s agenda.  Rather than sending Luke into Buseko’s timber market, I recommended that the whole STT come along.  Piling into a flat-bed pickup and Megan’s land cruiser, we headed towards a cultural experience.  The team marveled as we begun to wind through the catacomb maze of the market.  Finally, we all piled out when we came to the timber sales section.  Thankfully, Luke had already scoped out a seller beforehand so he knew what he was doing.  Nevertheless the STT got mobbed by a crowd wanting to sell.  Dave got to get a first hand look at Zambian carpentry and joinery.  The machines being used were old and archaic, but craftsmen could still make a nice finished product.  On the way home, the team got an eye-full when they came across construction scaffolding for a brand new building.  Timber poles were tied together in a massive web of wood.  Children along the water-logged Kasupe Rd. were out having fun with their toy creations.

Pastor’s Conference Videos

Here are a few short video clips of Saturday’s pastor leadership development conference.  Pastor Bruce McKanna, Elder Jamie Collins and PLD instructor Steve Allen were all guest speakers at the half day conference.  Rumor has it that the muzungu short term team from Illinois were dancing during praise and worship!