It Begins… April 19

April 19

So…we begin. I arrived in Lusaka on time yesterday afternoon. I had tried to post from Dubai but apparently that email did not go through.

The trip was in two legs. The first was 15 ½ hours from Houston to Dubai. I must say that it is the largest airport I have been in, bigger than Atlanta I think. I spent the night at the hotel in the airport. That was really convenient. I did not have to collect my baggage as it was checked straight through. I also did not have to pass through customs and the next morning we directly to the gate. The second leg from Dubai to Lusaka was 6 ½ hours.

When I walked out of the terminal Charles, Judith and Paul (the driver) were waiting for me. It was a happy reunion.

It is interesting that the Indian gentleman who has the well drilling business wanted to see me, so we stopped by the office to chat for a while. We will be purchasing most of our well supplies from him this year. Because we have done so much business with him he is giving us a good deal on pipes and rods.

After this we went to where we would spend the night to talk and rest before heading out to Siavonga. As Charles and I were talking the power went out. That is sometimes a usual thing here in Zambia. The lodge has a generator, so the lights came back on but some of the outlets were not working. It did eventually come back on sometime in the night.

April 20

Today I need to look at getting my Zambia phone up and running. That requires a SIM card which is required to be registered. After that I will purchase time for calling. I will not be using my phone from home. International roaming is extremely expensive. It is actually cheaper to call from here with the purchased time. I will also be able to text. I will post my phone number for any who would like to communicate (text or voice).

Today was spent shopping for some food for the week and then eventually heading out to Siavonga. The weather was pleasant in Lusaka but by the time we got down to Siavonga (4000 ft. lower) it was warm. I arrived at Eagle’s Rest about 3:30 pm.

When we arrived the Gospel Chariot was already here. They have altered their schedule and were set up in Kariba. They had done their program last night and there was one baptism. They are having a second program tonight.

After visiting a bit with friend at Eagle’s Rest we set off for the soccer field where they chariot is set up. When we arrived there was already a crowd gathered. As the evening progressed more people came. The presentation involves the showing of a film about Jesus in the local language (Tonga). During the film there is a pause and preaching takes place. Zambian (African) preachers have a style that is more like a machine gun. The preacher speaks and the interpreter interprets with little or no pause It sounds really fast moving Many of the preachers seem to almost yell.

There is an invitation given and there was one woman who came to be baptized. Getting a picture of the baptism was not possible. I will work on how to go about it. Later I will make some pictures of the set up of the chariot so you can see how it is set up.

April 21

Today was spent just visiting and getting ready for tomorrow (Sunday). All of the church leaders in the district will be here as well as a couple of the congregations. There will be a meal after and then I will meet with church leaders. Tomorrow evening the Chariot will have their program at the church building. I am scheduled to teach between the segments of the film.

I will post this tonight and hope it will be received tomorrow perhaps. If you would like to text me my number here is (+260962295754). Texts are easy.

God bless!

Charles

[email protected]