July 5 -- Arrival back to the US

Before I post these last two posts from my journal I would just like to thank Megan Timmer for a wonderful job of keeping my blog nice and tidy the last two weeks. She was truly dedicated and helped me with so many logistical issues as I had too slow of internet to post the blogs myself but only to e-mail to her.

Also a special thanks to Bianca Yuh for being just plain amazing. Your dedication this summer has been incredible, and willingness to follow God's call was something that I can't mention enough as an inspiration to me.. I regret not having the time to give you a few more shout outs on this blog along this trip, for without your careful listening and passion, this trip would not have been possible. 

It’s been over a week since returning from Zambia. As I describe how the last two incredible days went, I would also like to note how incredible our Lord God in Heaven truly is. Even as we left Zambia those last few days the Lord was watching over me. I woke up on the third with an incredible headache which worsened as the day went on. By this time Bianca and I had moved all of our luggage from Linda to the hostel here in Lusaka. Joseph Shawa and Nicholas came to visit us that afternoon to spend the night. In many ways it was mine and Bianca’s little way of showing our appreciation to all the hard work that they have shown to us including being our translators for sermons, surveys, and simply living lives where they lead by example. We treated ourselves to delights that we hadn’t had in many months that night, by having burgers at a fast food restaurant ( Steers, it’s a big deal), and even went to watch a movie in a theatre (prices here seem like a ¼ of what they are in the States, remember in 5th grade when tickets were like 5 bucks a piece?) 

Unfortunately I felt horribly sick after what was one of the strangest movies ( Green Lantern). We returned to Linda on Sunday Morning the 3^rd to complete some unfinished business. We ran into Regina, Bianca and Tiffany’s host from last year who had cooked us a delicious meal on Thursday. We also got to see the football team in action one last time.  For the first time that we had been  at LOH, the Football team  lost that afternoon. It was kind of a sour note to walk out on. But nonetheless  as Bianca and I hugged the players goodbye. Warren walked away clutching my letter in hand, ( he claimed he cried for a day last time I left). Francis hugged me and whispered in my ear how much he was going to miss us.  Amon (Also known as yellow because his skin is lighter) didn’t even realize I was leaving until we walked away from the field. 

We walked away in the same manner as we arrived eight weeks ago, with kids screaming “Eway Muzungu”(Which means, hey you white man!) all the way to even the bus stop. We were “welcomed “ by some drunk people on the bus on the ride home. It’s the little things that you remember

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Leaders at Baptist Bible Society of Zambia (Rev. David Berean and Rev. Luke Buleya)

The next morning sick I struggled to get up. Food just wasn’t going down.  In most situations I would have just stayed lying down on the bed before we left for the airport that morning, but there was one last thing that we had to do. I thought I had misplaced some of my receipts for the Baptist Bible Society bibles that I had purchased last week. When I arrived however at 9:00 there was nobody present at the society. I found my receipt around this point and was about to leave when the director of the society showed up. The director promptly felt lead by the spirit to donate 15 more bibles to the bible library of Light of Hope. It was not only a surprise, but a huge blessing from the Lord. Based off of our calculations, the number of bibles had stood at about 35, with little room to grow, these 15 more raise the # near to the number of individuals that had accepted Christ as their Savior. What a wonderful God we serve! 

We paid for a small mini-bus of people to escort Bianca and myself as well as Nick, Maines and Poso to the airport. (Nick Mainess and Poso as mentioned in a previous post are going to Ghana in a fully paid sponsored trip by MIT to the country of Ghana to learn about NGO work abroad. It’s their first time on an airplane and for many their first trip out of Zambia. How exciting! 

As we parted ways in the airport, I hugged Joseph on last time, come to think of it and as strange as it was, it was probably the first time that we had ever exchanged a hug. It’s a culturally thing I suppose, but I made sure I let him know how much I did value our friendship. Together we had conquered basketball matches together, prayed for the sick together, and he along with Robert Shawa translated countless messages for me before hundreds. I don’t think I’ll truly be able to describe how much his story has inspired me. 

My total transit from Lusaka Zambia back to Midland Michigan totaled 40 hours. Including over 20 hours of plane rides. By the grace of God my sickness had minimal impact on me and was able to return home to the open arms of my immediate family. As my plane lands here in Detroit and I finish these thoughts in my journal, I left one family to see a community. And returned with much lighter suitcases, many bug bites, a horrid neck tan. I also relived my soccer days there, learned to build the biosands filter, but most of all met and found more brothers and sisters in Christ than I could count. And that in itself makes it all worth it. 

The next few days I will write several more reflective entries and journals. Thank you for your loving prayers and willingness to accompany Bianca and I on this eight week trek in Zambia. Go in God’s wonderful blessing.