So we have been in Kabwe the last week being apart of the different ministries there in Kabwe as well as enjoying the hospitality of our friends Hannes and Chrystel who let us stay with them for a week. We had a Braai (AKA a BBQ) almost every night...dare i say it was glorious. And it sure beats eating Nshima for a almost an entire week twice a day. They were both so great just to talk to and also to learn from. They have been on the mission field for two and half years now and its awesome to see how they live and what their lives are like. Its great because between talking with all the missionaries we have met and seen we see they all live differently they all do different things and it truly is an amazing picture on how the BODY of Christ works. That not everyone is a foot and not every is a hand, and you need shoulders that are connected to arms that help get the hands where they need to go. It has been one of the most eye opening things about being out here. Not everyone lives in huts (actually i havent met anyone who has yet) not everyone is preaching the entire time, and it really isnt the most super spiritual thing in the world. These people dont have 4 hr quiet times, throw Bibles at everyone, or sacrifice goats (well not quite...Hannes buys a goat, fattens it, slaughters it, then eats it...but still not sacrificing). ANYWAYS way off topic, my point it that the Worldly perception of the these missionaries is so way off that its crazy. they are normal people, that God has called and equipped to be where they are...simple as that, and they have all really enriched and blessed our lives in unimaginable ways.
The week we were in Kabwe we were all very tired. They villages had worn us out, and we felt like we jumped one ministry thing to another. We went to schools and did programs for them. One afternoon the girls observed some adult literacy programs that Pro Christo is involed in, and Micah and I did some manual labor at Pro Christo new land. We started off slashing (mowing the lawn by hit the ground with a blade like a golf club) yeah we were terrible at it, so they moved us to the Geological Relocation Division...we moved blocks of concrete. While the others, which were discipleship students of Pro Christo, burned an entire field as a means to mow it...pretty sweet. So when they are finished all of sudden we hear screaming. And people jumping around. So our first though is oh great...theres a snake in the field. But to our surprise two brown rats pop out and these people chased them down and stoned them. So i made the joke oh so you caught dinner. They laughed...and said YES! I was like WHOAH! So they got a good snack with the rats. Anyways, the following day we had an even bigger surprise. So we were told to do a program for about 20 disbaled children. Which we thought was easy. Yeah we can entertain 20 kids for a couple hours. What we didnt expect was that over the course of the hour 150 disabled men, women and children showed up. Not exactly what we were expecting and as we have learned since being in Africa. T.I.A. (This is Africa). The good news was that we had a lot of help, and it turned out to be a lot of fun. The leader of the event Christopher was the man. He was very good at getting them all organized. At one point he said lets play soccer. Which i thought was a joke, how in the world can we get disabled people in crutches to play soccer. But yeah, i had a mental put your foot in your mouth moment, cause they were awesome! Micah was the ref, I played on one team and Alicia played on the other. And so we had a combination of disabled and not disabled people playing, and im thinking that I have got to easy on them. Yeah that thought lasted for about 2 seconds. They were about 10 times as good as any of us. We had a blast playing with them too, even though we had a couple close calls with crutches to the face... but hey thats soccer for ya. So the rest of the week played out well. We went to a couple more schools and an AIDS hospice. It got harder as the week went on, cause spiritually, physically, and emotionally we were exhausted. But we finsihed it out hard
The surprise came on Saturday morning when we were driving to one of the schools. Well thats what we started doing. We thought we were going to go pray over these school, and then we realized, hey the school is five minutes from the house, and we have been driving for 30 minutes now. Andrew and Anneretha wanted to surprise us and they took us to a Safari Lodge about an hour outside of Kabwe. We were very relieved cause we needed a break, and time to debrief. We really enjoyed it. We got to go see all these animals, zebras, gazelles, impalas, kudus, heartbeast, from a safari truck. the coolest was the lions. Yeah holy cow. these things were massive, and different from the other park. the only thing between me and the lion was a fence. they were 2 feet away from us. Unbelievable. one laid up against the fence...i couldnt resist i touched it. Yeah, not the smartest thing ive done...but at least i can say ive done it. haha! So we enjoyed our time there as well as our lunch where Micah and I ate Zebra. Not as gamey as we thought.
That night we enjoyed a nice dinner with all the Pro Christo Staff and students. It was their way of thanking us and sedning us off. It was bitter sweet. We have enjoyed our time and its been great to meet all these people, but its sad to say bye to them.
The next morning we woke up at 3:00 so we could be on the road by 4:00. Yeah that was crummy. But we were making great timing. We were hoping to be in Botswana by that night...but God had other plans for us. But we really saw his hand in all of this. And for those who dont know...our drive up to Zambia, very difficult. So as we get to about an hour before we reach Livingstone, Zambia and the trailer breaks off. yeah just breaks off. So the good news is we have people by the side of the rode who help us. So we goback to the town before get some parts and then hook the trailer back on and get goin. Well 20 minutes later...again...trailer gets knocked off. The bolts break again. And again by the grace of God we find workers employed by the Chinese who has all the rigth bolts, bigger, stronger ones, and the right tools. We go back and Micah has to sacrifice the rubber from the sole of his TOMS to be a washer for the trailer. And so we are on our way again. We get about 8 miles from the border and the engine over heats...were not crossing tonight. We drive real slow back to livingstone find a place to sleep and we also find a great mechanic, but we cant see him till moring. So we get up, and Villie (our driver...one of the most patient and sweet people on planet earth) and myself go to see the mechanic, who gives us the news. No way we could leave in the next 2 days...so we gotta figure something out. The verdict comes from the leaders of Pro Christo to put us on a plane to get back to Pretoria, and amazingly we have exactly right money to get to all of us on a plane back. So within an hour we make it to the airport, get on a plane, and in a hour and a half we our back in Pretoria.
Incredible, Gods hand in all of it. I wish i was more detailed. But its one of those in person stories...but holy cow did God provide every break down, every bolt, every financial thing we needed at the right time. Its unreal how He does it, but he does. It may not be the way I want it...but its the way He wants it. He provides....haha...why did we ever doubt.
See you all soon!!!
Ben
AMAZING!!
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