It's time to wake up. It's 7 o'clock in the morning. (British Accents only)

Adjustments.  Adjusting to the time change.  Adjusting to the weather.  Adjusting to the cuisine.  Adjusting to a new bed.  Adjusting to the British lady's voice on my African cell phone waking us up in the morning.  Adjusting to someone else doing my laundry (can I get an AMEN?).  Adjusting to being so far from home and family and friends.  I could go on and on, but you get the picture.  Everything is an adjustment.  You just wake up in the morning, when the clock says its morning, and just go with the flow.  No expectations.

Our days are full of the OVC, the agriculture center, Live School retreat, staff counseling, devotions and just whatever we can get into that looks fun, which is pretty much anything around here.  When you have no idea what is being said or how people are reacting to you being there it frees you from any pre judging on your part.  It leaves the field wide open for me to be happy within my own skin and focus on the people around me and the task at hand rather than my own self awareness.  It’s amazingly free.  Everyone says hello here.  Not the southern hello, bless your heart kind of hello but the sincere hello, hey stop and let’s talk about the day kind of hello.  Adjustments to sincerity, both in those around me and in myself.  Feels good.  But truthfully, being sincere with myself has helped me to understand the sincerity of those nearby and I’m sure I have been missing out on those beautifully sincere people back at home by my preoccupation with self.

Jet-lag is not for sissies, by the way.  If you have never traveled internationally or to another time zone altogether, then you’re missing out on this lovely physical reality called jet-lag.  Ick.  It’s a lot like altitude sickness to me. Headache, queasiness, dehydration, loss of sleep, etc.  It’s a joyful time had by all….NOT!  I didn’t realize it would take quite so long to adjust to the time difference.  Don’t know how people do it working nights instead of days.  It’s got to be a similar change.  Adjusting.  By Sunday evening my body seemed to have adjusted to the time and I slept the first good night’s sleep since we left.  Just in time for our week to start.

I’ve met a wonderful lady, Anna, who heads up the sewing center at the OVC (Orphans and Vulnerable Children Center).  The first day I showed up she asked me what I was going to teach them.  No pressure, right?  I helped cut out patterns for the bags they sell to raise money for their sewing center the first morning, but by afternoon was sewing with Anna!  I was a little nervous walking in and seeing a dozen treadle sewing machines lining the room and thinking, “uh oh, I am going to sew my fingers together!”  Thankfully she has two electric machines that she and I used for the bags.  The treadles are for the students since most do not have electricity in their homes, so what they learn here is what they can use at home someday.  Adjustments.

David has really jumped right into his duties here.  He’s helping out at the agricultural center and is even doing devotionals with the guys.  He said it’s good to get out of his comfort zone.  My husband is an amazing human. 

Funny though, he finds this pace painfully slow and frustrating at times when you just lean on the shovel waiting for the gravel to arrive, that may not make it til afternoon or tomorrow or whenever.  He says next time he wants to bring a watch.  I don’t think that will make it better personally.  Adjustments.  God is good.  He is faithful.  He is merciful.  He likes to hand out the adjustments.  My hubby is handling his very well.

Most residents of the village do not have electricity or running water in their homes or huts.  It is, however, such an odd sight to see a tv or some other electronic device hooked up to some places that look like they’d fall down if a big wind came.  Everyone without water must walk to the river or to the wells in their areas and carry their water back in large containers.  It’s carried mostly on their heads.  Adjustments?  I would need a chiropractic adjustment if I tried to do that.  Maybe I’ll try with something a little less weighty.

Everyone adjusts to doing whatever it is you must do to get the necessities taken care of around here.  It really is that way everywhere, but here it’s such a simple life it seems a lot easier to see how adjustments are made.  No one talks about how to adjust, why to adjust, the right procedure to adjust, if someone should seek counsel on the right adjustments, they just adjust.  Adjustments.  But is it always a good idea to just adjust?  Should a person just give up and do what everyone else is doing?  Is the adjustment good for those around you?  Or are you adjusting for the convenience of self?

If God calls us friend and calls us to Love one another, what adjustments must happen in our lives to make this possible to be Love to each other?  We do nothing to deserve the Love of our Heavenly Father and all he asks in return is to Love each other.  

Our devotionals came from John 15:15-17

I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his mater’s business.  Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.  You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit – fruit that will last – and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.  This is my command:  Love each other.

The birth of a believer

Blessed.  Yep.  That’s how I feel this very moment.  Sitting alongside the Zambezi River in Mwandi, Zambia listening to the bugs and the birds sing the evening into existence.  The air is dry, but so very cool and the breeze teases.  Pulling into the village this evening was so surreal.  How did we get here?  What are we doing here?  Dear Heavenly Father, are you sure you we’re the ones you meant to call?  All of these questions enter in and out of my mind while taking in the view of this amazing people.  The hustle and bustle of villagers on the road, the smiles and waves by the children as we pass through, all quiets the questions of why.  I am humbled and honored at the faith of those who invested in this trip for us, financially and prayerfully and reluctantly, for some.  We left this totally up to God to show us how and he certainly provided a way.  I was delightfully curious to see how all hands play a part in one person’s life, like a kid staring through the glass at the bakery.  It’s a wonderful sight watching the hands and feet of God prepare you for your trip across the world to a place some have never seen and never will see.  Faith.

We started out four days ago stepping onto the plane, trusting our instincts and praying we packed correctly.  Turns out it doesn’t matter how you pack, it matters that you lay down your nets and just follow him.  Jesus doesn’t care if your tshirt matches your pants.  Ha!  I was dressed for a two day travel adventure…yoga pants, duh.  The flights were amazing and heart pumpingly close together.  Kept us on our toes and away from scary expensive airport food.  We had not one minute to spare on our connecting flights.  The 15+ hour flight sandwiched in the middle was, well, long.  My back and shoulders argued with me for 48 hours about that airplane seat.  We arrived at our final destination in Livingstone, get this, on the day the brand new airport was being commissioned into service!  Dancers and drummers performing on the tarmac.  Airport personnel handing out free hats.  Mimosas awaiting us on the inside while we waited for our visas to be processed.  The place was beautiful!  Not at all what Doug had previewed for us.  He warned us of the small space and the heat of the building while waiting hours for our visa.  He was pleasantly surprised, although there was still only one line, one clerk processing visas…. They finally opened up another lane like Target at Christmas!  It was all good we didn’t mind standing after all of that time in our plane seats!  Although, David and his plane neighbor had quite a lovely discussion about Jesus.  I love to hear my husband get so passionate about his relationship with Christ.  It’s a beautiful thing.  I met a sweet lady on our last flight who traveled all the way from San Francisco to JFK to Johannesburg to Livingstone!  Good gracious.

Like the plane ride and the airport in Livingstone, we were also given an account of what to expect for our first few days accommodations.  I had been on their website and looked it over as well, but we had also heard from many of our friends that have done this trip before.  “A hostel” atmosphere.  “Nice, clean, modest”.  It was like when someone asks, “is she pretty?” and the answer is, “she’s nice and she’s very smart.”  Oh boy, what to expect.  Let me give you a bit of information at this point.  The UNWTO, United Nations WTO is meeting in Livingstone starting on Saturday for five days.  Dignitaries (other than us, lol) will be traveling here from the far corners of the world.  Everything in Livingstone was freshly painted and newly planted and looked fabulous, hence the commissioning of the airport.  So, we go to Fawlty Towers and check into our room.  As we put the key in and open the door I was taken aback.  What?  This can’t be our room?!  It was amazing.  Beautiful!  Newly remodeled “deluxe” rooms.  Why?  Oh heavens, we were in heaven.  We were certainly feeling like we were suffering for Jesus, NOT.  

We traveled to Victoria Falls the next day and ended the day with a sunset cruise on the Zambezi.  What a day.

Some of you at this point are thinking, “wait, what are you doing?  I thought this was a mission trip?”  I get that.  I’ve said that in the past hearing stories myself.  Seeing how God prepared the way for David and I to come and then heaped blessing upon blessing onto our trip at every corner has been so wonderful and has made our hearts so grateful watching it unfold right before our eyes.  Doug and Abby and David and I have never spent ANY uninterrupted time together, EVER.  To be heading out into the village was scary for me and exciting, but getting to know our team leader and his wife was crucial for the success of this mission.  I had to know them.  This was that time.  I thank God for how he even orchestrated that into fruition as we waited for our ride to Mwandi for four and a half hours.  TIA – This Is Africa.  No one is in a hurry here.  I could learn from that.  We should all linger in the blessings of God every once in a blue moon and prepare our hearts for the hard stuff.

Since the planning of this trip, I have had a heart of finality linger on my thoughts.  We, David and I, made sure we crossed our t’s and dotted our I’s with our families.  Making sure they knew how to function in the house, with the bills and if something should happen that would prevent our return or snatch our last breath, everyone would know what we wished for.  I know it sounds a bit morbid, but a harsh reality when you travel and leave your precious loved ones behind.  I say that to say this, I know that death hovers, but it’s not a feeling of a physical death.  It’s a sure feeling that I will die to self on this trip.  That the person that traveled here will not be returning.  It will be a different me.  Hopefully one that surrenders herself, finally and fully, to Christ’s urge of her spirit.  One that listens to the Holy Spirit more and walks in the steps ordered for her.  One that puts self aside and looks fully into the face of the Heavenly Father knowing that He is where my helps come from.  Somewhere in this trip I hope to write the obit for her and in the same breath tell you about this new life born returning home to love you more gracefully than you’ve ever known before.

1 Corinthians 13:12

¹² For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.