Well, I’ve been 24 for a whole week now. Its been a good week on the whole—very busy, but a good week. I gave a math test, have been working on birthday party (Beth and I are nuts and volunteered to plan birthday party) and also on the end of term program. Of course in between papers are marked, cleanup is supervised, I make nshima for my dog, and all the little things of life go marching on. My birthday was a school day so I was busy pretty much the whole day, but I got a lot of cards, kind words, and even a phone call from my family, so it was a wonderful day. This is my weekend off, so I’ll have some time to breath and relax a little. Its kind of cool—this was my 4th birthday in Africa, and it ranks among my best birthdays ever. I hope to celebrate many more out here!

I can’t believe its June already—half the term is almost gone! I need to start planning a science unit... I think that will be a weekend project. Right in there with painting the backdrop for birthday party and getting all my marking done...

I found out on Friday this week that my great-Grandpa Baker finally passed into glory on June 3. While I have been praying for the past two weeks that the Lord would take him quickly as he was really suffering, at the same time its hard to deal with the fact that he’s gone. In a way I’m lucky because when I said goodbye to him in December the day I flew to Zambia, I knew I was saying goodbye for the last time.

This weekend I have been writing down memories of Grandpa and thinking about his life a lot, and one of the things that really stuck out to me was that he was a praying man. He prayed for everyone in his family by name every day, and when his children were little, he prayed that they would all be missionaries. Because of that prayer, all four of his children did spend time as overseas missionaries, and they have all been active in the Lord’s service for their whole lives. Because of that prayer, my mom grew up as a missionary kid, and then later went to the mission field herself with her own family. And because of that prayer, I grew up with the desire to be a missionary and now have the great privilege of serving the Lord in Zambia. The prayers of a righteous man truly availith much!

Note on Monday: I’ve been writing this update off and on for a few days now, and I have another entry I’m working on about what I did this Sunday, so stay tuned!