Inward Renewal

Crossroads Christian Church members supporting their missions team to Zambia have every reason to be proud.  From the very moment they stepped off the plane, we’ve been challenged by these four men.  Their humility, servanthood, hardwork, generosity and heart for people is a tremendous testimony.  Teams like this are a real encouragement to the missionary team here on the ground as well as the Zambians they interact with.  Just to give a picture of what I’m talking about, the following pictures tell it all!  Crossroads has and will play a very key roll in the development of a Christian camping experience in Zambia.

The top of the brick wall needed to fasten to the shade cloth windows so as to create a seal and shed driving rain from sitting on top of the wall’s surface.  Again, a concrete-earth mixture was used to create this top cap by using earth found on our property nearby.

After the brick wall work was finished by the Crossroads team, it was time to fasten shade cloth to the upper half of the chalet frame.  The story of me locating the shade cloth is a story in and of itself.  Without a doubt, God really aided me in negotiating a price for it that was half the fair-market price.  The Crossroads team was blessed to have George Ripley’s carpet laying experience as they pulled and stretched the screening into position without (ripples/loose spots).  Everyone was very impressed at the shade cloth’s ability to cut wind and retain some degree of warmth as well as shade.  Praise God for this work accomplished!

The brick walls that come up half way on each chalet had further need to be water-resistant.  So, we decided to “stucco” the exterior of the wall with a concrete-earth mixture.  Jailos and Boniface instructed the team on how to apply the compound to the walls.  Within 15 minutes the crew had gotten the hang of the process, applying it with their bare hands.  The finished product has a nice earth tone color to it and has hardened quite nicely.

The STT (short term team) finished building the waist high walls under the kitchen shelter in the middle of the campground.  The idea is that the campers will have a central shelter to cook under with braisers (metal containers that hold burning charcoal) made available to them for cooking.  The design is a simple one which allows for a lot of air flow, so that smoke does not get trapped underneath yet still gives sufficient coverage from the intense sun or pouring rain.  I thought that two walls could be constructed parallel to one another which would block excessive wind for the fire and would function as “serving walls” for food.  With the campground designed to accomodate 70 campers, a plan for feeding such a large number was imperative.  Campers can file cafeteria style on either side of the walls to grab a bite to eat.  The following photos show the progression of the wall.

Luke and I worked hard to stay ahead of the Crossroads team in framing out each of the chalets.  The team laid an eight course brick wall outside the perimeter framing.  The framing will serve to strengthen and protect the brick walls from being jarred or damaged.  It will also be the framework for contructing the bunkbeds inside each chalet.  Luke has put forth a tremendous effort with these buildings and he deserves many thanks.  Soon, very little of the framing will actually be seen on the outside of the chalet as screen/shadecloth will be used to cover the window frames on the top half and the brick walls will cover the bottom half.

Willy and Nilly are Ciyanjano’s new residential goats.  Purchased by Brent Roberts to help keep the vegetation down, they’re a motley crew.  Because they are an undisciplined an unmonitored ensemble, I like to check up on them once in a while.  Andrea and I took the kids out to see them and they chased them around and around.  Eventually, as goats love to do, they perched themselves on a lonely rock.  From there, Ian and Ireen could get relatively close for observation.  Ireen, who is usually terrified of animals, did extremely well with them.  Both of our kids were proud that they entered the “goat fence” and lived to tell about it.

Over a month ago now, in a disciplinary measure with Ireen, we took away her Barbies.  The Barbie family had been growing in size and multiplying faster than rabbits.  Ireens infatuation with them had also been growing such that all of her free time was consumed with their family dynamics and whatnot.

Every since the Barbie family “disappeared”, Ireen’s play creativity has skyrocketed.  She now builds with blocks, makes paper people, delights to read books, and has recently gone fishing with her fishing buddy Ian.  Yesterday they went fishing off “Couch Island” with her pop-bead dress-up neclaces.  Actually it was Ian’s idea, but Ireen caught the first fish.

As mentioned in our previous post, our family spent the night Sunday and most of the day Monday with the team from Crossroads Christian Church.  The men are doing well but do miss their families and long to share their experiences with family and friends.  Although we can’t post all their pictures and many of their experiences will just have to come from them, they did ask that we post a few of their pics for you to see.  These are pictures of the work at Ciyanjano as well as sites around town.

The kids have been excited all week to meet the men on the short term team from Vacaville, CA.  Tim has spent some time with the team and even spent the night on Friday night.  On Sunday afternoon we packed up the entire family for an overnight excursion.  Ian and Ireen both love being out at Ciyanjano and especially loved the attention of their new found friends from the States.  Sunday night we played a few games including a game that Tim recently ordered for the children based on Richard Scarry’s BusyTown.  The next morning the children mostly hung around the worksite and occasionally did something useful.  You can see in the collage above a picture of Ireen adding water to the mortar.   They also had their first encouter with Willy and Nilly (the two goats out at Ciyanjano).