From the Field
News Update
July 2008
"The clock of life is wound but once
And no man has the power
To tell just when the hands will stop,
At late or early hour."
Anonymous
" Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom."
Psalm 90:12
Dear Friends
We greet you all in the precious Name of Jesus. Wow it has been a while since I last wrote. So much has happened both exciting and tragic that I would probably need to write a book to share all our experiences. This year so far has been a very unsettling and challenging year for us in so many ways. It started out by me driving the family down to Cape Town at the beginning of January. Lynne was expecting our 5th child in March and we felt that it was wise for her to be out of a malaria area during the last few months of her pregnancy. After the 6 day drive (4500Km, 2600miles) we arrived safely in Cape Town.
The Lord provided a wonderful place for us to stay and we thank Christine so much for letting us stay in her home while she was a way. After 3 days settling the family in, I returned to Mbala, by flying to Lusaka, Zambia and then catching the bus to Mbala. I believe that so much can be learnt about a country and its people when you use their transport system. It is both challenging and enlightening. While back in Mbala I was able to leave some work for the Bible Students for while I was away in Cape Town for the birth of Luke. Around mid February I then made my way back to Cape Town to be reunited with my family. On the 6th of March Luke Daniel was born to us and what a gift. We thank the Lord that a wonderful friend of ours from Kasama in Zambia was with us holidaying in Cape Town. She is a midwife in a Rural Clinic near us and often has to give our children their immunizations. It was such a delight for Lynne to have her there when Luke was born. We opted for a home birth and it really worked out so well.
During this time my Mom had a black out due to her blood pressure and smashed her ankle in the process. As many of you are aware she is fighting cancer and has been for the last two and a half years. She has been very brave and has been such an inspiration to me as she leans on God for her daily strength. As a family our plans were that we would be returning to Zambia around April, but due to my Mom's condition Lynne and I felt that it might be best that we spend some time with her. Besides breaking her ankle and having to move into a Frail Care Facility she was also informed that there was no more treatment available to treat her Cancer. Her body was rejecting the Chemo and the Oncologist advised that it may be time to cease the treatment. And so towards the end of April we headed off to Port Elizabeth to spend some time with my Mom. As a family we thought that this may be the last quality time that we have with her. As it turned out it was a wonderful time although mixed with a lot of emotion. Towards the end of June we decided that we had to return to Mbala and so we once again took the long road North. The trip went well and we praise the Lord for no break downs even though we were quite heavily laden. We arrived home to find that our staff had taken good care of the place, but despite this we had a dog and a cat that had died. One of our cows was bitten by a snake, but they managed to save that.
Returning again we were faced with the accounts of a number of folks who had passed away while we had been gone. When you leave they seem so healthy and then all of a sudden after a short illness they die. Every time we return we discover this and it is quite emotional as life just seems to come and go. As a family we took some time out just to settle and readjust. There was lots of unpacking and rearranging to be done. We spent a number of days in our vegetable garden to get it cleaned up nicely. So at the moment we have some vegetables, mainly lettuce and carrots coming in now. We also have a big field of onions which we transplanted before I left in February. Although we lost a number of seedlings due to the heavy rains we should harvest enough for the year. 
On the ministry front we are about to get going again. Ba Jonas, our evangelist, went to evangelize in a village about 30Km from us and was accused of being Satanists. This is quite common up here when folks enter and area and are not known in the area. It really is all about relationships. They were told once they are known they will be heard. Other exciting ministry opportunities are becoming available in the rural areas. The struggle that we face is that these areas are not close and require fuel for the vehicle to reach. Our current cost of diesel per liter is R 20.00 per liter or US$ 12.85 per gallon. I want to make some more diesel but my oil source has dried up so I need to find other alternatives. We do pray that we can find a solution to this challenge. The classes are about to resume in the next few weeks. I have just been informed that I need to return to South Africa again to spend the last few days with my mom. As soon as I return to Mbala the classes will begin.
We are still awaiting the result of a project proposal we were asked to submit regarding a poverty alleviation scheme using Soya Beans and manufacturing Bio Diesel. We have had a very positive response from the government, but now just await a formal reply. Fuel has become worth more than gold in these parts. I am sure that all of you are also having to adjust your finances due to the increase in fuels. The challenge out here is that your distances are so vast.
Another wonderful answer to pray is that Lorna Bucklow, Lynne's sister, will be joining us at the end of August on a permanent basis to start a reading and tape Library in Mbala. We have felt that this would be a wonderful resource for the believers here, but have just not had the time to get it going. She has also offered to help us with some of our schooling of the children. Do pray for her as she settles up things in South Africa and begins a new life here in Mbala.
Lastly, while we were down in Cape Town we were introduced to blogging. We have set up a blog site where we will post the newsletters with more pictures. We are restricted in our emails due to our very slow and costly connection speed. So if you would like to see more pictures then please see the link at the bottom of the page.
We must take this opportunity to thank each one of you for your prayer and financial support. We realize that under the current economic climate we are all having to readjust our priorities on where our hard earned money should be going. We thank you that you still consider us on that list. May the Lord bless you as you bless others.
Praise God for you!!!
Praise Items:
Praise God for the safe birth of our son Luke.
Praise God for the wonderful time we had with family and friends while in South Africa.
Praise the Lord that we covered so many kilometers without any incident.
Thank the Lord that the ministry continued in some areas while we are away.
Thank the Lord that we were able to spend a month with my Mom before she weakened too much..
We praise the Lord Jonas continues to minister faithfully in the villages.
We praise the Lord that we have good health.
We thank the Lord for each of you who encourage us, pray for us and help us financially, despite also having to face the struggles of daily life.
Prayer items:
Please do pray that the Lord may protect Lynne and the children while I return to be with my Mom.
We do ask you to pray that we may be able to find a solution to the ongoing increasing cost of fuel.
Please pray for Ba Jonas as he continues to reach out to villages with the Gospel.
Please also do pray that in some way we will be able to get to some remote villages on a regular bases for teaching.
Please do pray for Lorna, Lynne's sister as she comes up to join us at the end of August.
We ask you to pray for the new students that the Lord would give them a love for His Word.
Do pray that God may enable us to continue to be a light for Him in Mbala. May our actions and attitudes speak louder than our words.
"Witness for Christ with your life
As well as your lips."
In His service
Grant Schaefer
PS .Please note our new Cell number.
email: mbala5@yahoo.co.uk
blog: http://www.grantandlynneschaefer.blogspot.com/
homepage: http://www.taila.org.za/Cell: +260976152411
