Greetings from Africa

Greetings from Zambia, Africa! Megan and I arrived safely from the United States on December 23rd right on time. All of our flights were on time and we were truly happy to land in Johannesburg, South Africa which marked the end of the really long flights. An hour and a half later we were in Lusaka, Zambia (the capital city) where Alex (Megan’s sister) met us at the airport.
After loading our things up into the Land Cruiser we set out for Riverside Farm Institute (the place where Alex lives and works). We stopped at a Subway for dinner. Yes, there really was a subway in Africa. Four subs at the Zambian Subway cost about 30,000 Kwacha (Zambian currency). While it sounds terribly expensive the conversion rate is about 4,700K to one US dollar. This made dinner really only cost about $10.

The next morning when the sun cam up we were able to take a look around where we were staying. We are staying in the guest room attached to Alan an Pauline Knowles house (the Student Missionary Directors at Riverside). We have a flush toilet and hot water shower. Our bed has a mosquito net and is really quite nice. Megan and I have commented several times that it feels like we are living at a summer camp or maybe just plain camping.
After getting a quick look around in the morning we were off for the first adventure. We hopped in the Land Cruiser, loaded some supplies and were off to a bush clinic. It took abount two hours to get there and only 40 minutes of the journey was on paved roads as the rest was on dirt roads. This may be a good time to explain that when I say dirt road I really mean an oversized “trail” complete with rivers, falling rock, and excessive mud. None the less we made it to Lushomo (the name of the village where the clinic is located).
Above you can see Alex and I along with Chaluphia (the Zambian sent with us to serve as the clinic “doctor” or “nurse,” perhaps both). At the clinic babies and children were weighed (in kilos) and charted to make sure they were properly gaining weight. For those children who were not gaining weight we supplied additional food to their mothers to take home and use. We also administered vaccinations for tuberculosis, measles, HIB (diphtheria) and OPV 0-4 (whatever that is). We also gave vitamin A and MEB (a pill used for deworming, yeah, that one sounds gross but I guess from what we have heard it is quite common and not that big of a deal if treated). After we finished our work with the clinic patients we were able to meet and talk with some of the women and children who came to the clinic.
Megan and Alex especially loved seeing all the mothers and small children. I of course was reminded by Megan (my lovely wife) that she too would some day want children…not that I ever really hear the end of that one (thanks for all the reminders though Mom).

After journeying back on the treacherous “road” we stopped and bought some mushrooms from some of the locals selling them along side the road. There were gobs of mushrooms for sale. Folks here don’t buy just a small container of mushrooms but rather sacks of them for hardly nothing. No joke, you can buy a sack (larger than a grocery bag) for under $5.
The next day we were able to sleep in a little bit as it was Christmas day. Megan and I were so happy to get some rest that we certainly didn’t put up a fight to wake up really early. Anyway, after we woke up we immediatey started making Christmas dinner with Alex and Darby (Alex’s roommate here in Africa who is also a student missionary). We made a walnut loaf, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes (which are white as they don’t have orange ones here…although they taste exactly the same), chopped salad, regular salad and apple pie. We ate around 1pm (that’s 13:00 on this side of the world) and made new friends with Lori, Rodeka and Dean (missionaries from South Africa I believe). After wrapping up dinner we headed to the admin building, logged on to Skype and communicated with the families for a few hours. It’s really hard to believe that you can see and talk to family on the side of the planet!

After saying all our “goodbyes” and “Merry Christmas’s” we gathered up some of the presents we brought over from the States that Megan and Alex’s mom had purchased and went to Elias’s house. Elias is a man that Alex has been doing physical therapy with on his left arm which was caused by a tractor accident. He has a wife, two sons and two daughters. They are also providing for an orphan girl named Unice. Below you can see one of the presents we gave out to Tami, the youngest boy. Curious George seems to be a favorite regardless of where you are in the world.
Today we were off to Ellen’s house for construction. We took pictures but I forgot to grab the cord that connects our camera with the computer so the next time we post I’ll add pictures for everyone. Things are coming along great though. The concrete slab has been poured and there are 4 lines of brick up that make up the walls. The house will have three rooms when finished. Ellen and her family are extremely thankful and very excited about the new place to live.

Well, we need to get going for tonight (it’s already 9pm here…21:00 local) and we need to be getting off to bed. Please keep checking in with our blog as we begin to post pictures from Ellen’s house. Happy Sabbath!