Plan B...

Due to my cold becoming bronchitis, I've decided (well, actually been told by several people!) that there is no way I'll be able to make the long drive down to the capital this weekend, so I'm working on organizing another trip a bit later. The Lord has been very good though--there were some visitors up here who were able to take Hannah down with them, and she was even able to find a ride down to Lusaka!

So, while my plans didn't work out, obviously God is still in control, and this is all for the best. I'm resting, drinking lots of fluids, and getting a few things done around the house as I feel able. I'm so thankful that I live on a station with lots of caring and concerned people--while getting sick always makes me miss my mother, I'm being well looked after. This is also giving me a great chance to indulge in all that reading I've been putting off because I was too busy. So, it's not all bad!

Term is OVER!

Just a quick post as I'm still not feeling well, but term ended successfully, God gave me the strengths to get through the end of term program without excessive coughing or collapsing, and I've been hanging out in bed trying to kick this nasty bug. I'm just so thankful that I can rest before heading down to town on Sunday, Lord willing. I need to go renew my passport and pick my my drivers license as well as giving two young ladies up here a lift down. I'm just so thankful for these weeks of rest when I can hopefully get caught up with my letters, things around the house, and prepare for next term. God is so good!

Finals Week!

Well, today is the first day of our finals week, and the day when I plan to start on my report cards. I already have two final grades done, and after giving the literature exam today I hope to add that as well. Our report cards have undergone a streamlining process that has helped a lot with writing them, but it is still an undertaking that means several extra hours of work. I'm starting to think about and plan for my trip down to Lusaka at the end of term to get my passport renewed. I have until February, but because I need to get my new work permit before it runs out mid-January, and for that I need the new passport. Oh, the joys of keeping all your documents in two countries current! I've never been down to the embassy--should be interesting!

Fires and Sports Day

I was realizing the other day that while the ‘greater burning of Zambia’ is something that I have lived with for the last three years, it’s actually a pretty foreign concept to most people back home, so it might do well to explain it a bit more.

About a month or two into the dry season, the Zambians start to set fire to the now rather dry bush and burn off vast swaths of land. There are several purposes for this. First of all, most of our bush is covered in a tough grass that can grow to be over 6 feet tall. As this dries it becomes a fire hazard itself, but to clear it would very time consuming. The fires are a way to clear the grass and make room for the next years growth. Before they burn, the Zambians harvest what grass they want for thatching, and then they start their (mostly!) controlled fires. A second reason for the fires is the ash makes cheap fertilizer for their garden plots and for the bush in general.

Thirdly, though most people are pretty careful with fire during the dry season, it would not be hard to end up with a pretty devastating wild fire. So people burn fire breaks around their property and along the roads to create a safety zone. Our fire break was finished up last week, but there is still plenty of burning going on around us.

Little bits of black ash are all over and in the air right now—at night you can often see the pink glow on the horizon of another fire. Though you might not see them, there is normally someone keeping some sort of tabs on the fire; it’s very rare to hear of one getting out of control and causing a lot of damage. One of our short termers was a volunteer fire-fighter, and took her awhile to get used to the crackling sound of bush burning!

Tuesday was our sports day, and Mr. T. kept us busy all day. I was the scorer again, so I had my little tent to set up with my laptop in. I also was the one passing out ribbons which sparked an interesting controversy over whether red of blue was supposed to be for first place. Apparently it depends on if you are American or Canadian… Fisher didn’t win this year, but the kids did a good job. I wore my new yellow shirt to support my team, but I must say that there is a reason that I’ve never had a yellow shirt all these years! Not the best color on me... Now that the last of the big events is over, life goes back to normal now-whatever that is!

Only three more weeks…

Bonus picture of my fast growing puppy!

More snippets.

*My puppy got her ear caught in my screen door when she tried to crash through it the other night--maybe that will teach her to have more manners! The yelping she let out made it sounds like she was being devoured by a lion or something. I guess you really can't blame her, but STILL! *I had a nice long, newsy chat with my mom last night. It was good to hear about what's going on in our homeschooling friends lives, and just to hear her voice. E-mail is a huge blessing, but nothing can compare to the sound of a loved voice. I also got to talk to my dad who is in Germany this weekend; technology is so crazy! He could call from a computer in Europe to my cell in the bush! *We had joint prayer meeting with Kalene over here yesterday, and there were THREE babies present! Ha--no lack of aunties who were quite happy to take them off their mother's hands for a while... *Those of us who were off this weekend went to Ikelenge for church--I hadn't been to 'town' for awhile, and was interested to see the continued improvement work going on there. Since we are a boma (official market town), we are getting more government officials and some effort is being put into upgrading the roads and some buildings. We are the African equivalent of Siberia for government officials--we are so far out in the bush that the people we get out here tend to be 'exiled' rather than called. We are praying that all these new people and all the changes going on in our community will be for the best, and that the local Christians will stand out in their honor of the Lord. *The fire break around the school is pretty much finished now, but there are still fires all around. The other night the ridge across the valley was on fire, and it looked so beautiful. The little bits are black ash are all over, and there is a constant undersmell of smoke. That's how you know you're home when you step off the plane here--it always smells like smoke!

Still alive...just very tired

Just a quick note to say that

A. I am alive!

B. I had a fairly nice half-term--I didn't get as much as I wanted to accomplish done, but it was a nice break from the classroom.

C. My puppy is growing very fast--she might be a bigger dog than anticipated!

D. It is very dry here. So dry, that I have had to resort to Vaseline for the first time to heal a big crack under one of my toes. Nasty stuff, but it gets the job done... I don't intend to go whole hog and start smearing it in my part though...

E. The end of term is racing up like a tidal wave--I'm trying to get all the way up on my board before it comes crashing down.

F. The kingfishers outside the hall make me happy.

Please Pray

This weekend has been tough as we deal with a tragedy in our missionary community. Saturday the Chitokoloki plane went down into the Zambezi river and the young pilot and his wife were killed. It sounds like the plane was having trouble--witnesses say they saw it swerving as the pilot was following the Zambezi from Chavuma to Chit. Apparently they went under a cable that is across the river for the pontoon ferry, and the tail of the plane got caught, flipping the plane backwards and smack into the river. The Zambezi is very deep there, and as it was about 4:30pm it was shortly before sunset so there wasn't much that could be done yesterday. Today they have been shooting into the river to keep the crocs away while they dive to recover the bodies--by late afternoon they had both J and K's bodies. They were in pretty good shape, so it doesn't look like they suffered. They are leaving behind two little girls aged 3 and 1. The funneral is on Tuesday, and they will be buried here in Zambia; arrangements are being made for the two girls. I did not know them personally--I just saw Jay in passing for the first time on Friday when he stopped over on his way to Lusaka with another missionary from Chit. The couple were out here short term, and they had been out since February. There are several people here who met Jay and have a connection with the people who are dealing with the tragedy right now--it's very sobering to be reminded that no one knows the time when they will be called to glory. It must be really hard for Gordon Hanna at Chit in particular as he is overseeing the recovery operations and no doubt feels somewhat responsible. It doesn't look likely that the plane will be salvageable. Thanks for your prayers--I'm sure the families back in North America also really appreciate them.