From the Kitchen Table
The Desk of Lynne Schaefer
PO Box 420032 Mbala, Zambia
November 2008
The Desk of Lynne Schaefer
PO Box 420032 Mbala, Zambia
November 2008
Dear Family and Friends
The end of the year is closing in fast. Where does the time go? I can remember as a kid how the days would drag by. Time seemed to be in no hurry at all. But now, as the years add up - it rushes past leaving me wondering where I will find the hours to get everything I need to do, done!
It's birthday month this month, with Joel and Hope celebrating their 11th and 9th birthdays. My, how they have grown! Joel has become a very hard working lad. Getting up early to first have his devotions and then head out to the garden with his Dad. Hope is rather like her mother who would prefer to stay up late and get up late. But, in the Schaefer house there is certainly no sleeping in. Some of us struggle with that rule - but others like Charley and Luke are happy to get up at 5am and start the day! With the on-set of the rains, the veggie garden needs more hands to keep the weeds out! It looks like we may all be getting out there before breakfast to do a bit of weeding before we begin the rest of the day's chores and school.
The end of the year is closing in fast. Where does the time go? I can remember as a kid how the days would drag by. Time seemed to be in no hurry at all. But now, as the years add up - it rushes past leaving me wondering where I will find the hours to get everything I need to do, done!
It's birthday month this month, with Joel and Hope celebrating their 11th and 9th birthdays. My, how they have grown! Joel has become a very hard working lad. Getting up early to first have his devotions and then head out to the garden with his Dad. Hope is rather like her mother who would prefer to stay up late and get up late. But, in the Schaefer house there is certainly no sleeping in. Some of us struggle with that rule - but others like Charley and Luke are happy to get up at 5am and start the day! With the on-set of the rains, the veggie garden needs more hands to keep the weeds out! It looks like we may all be getting out there before breakfast to do a bit of weeding before we begin the rest of the day's chores and school.
Music
Our home is usually filled with music. Sometimes it's the sounds of the kids practicing on their instruments or one of them playing music on the family computer. Charley particularly likes music. She is the one who will usually put music on to listen too. I try to exercise early in the morning when Grant and Joel are in the garden. The girls like to exercise with me. This morning, Charley was sitting next on the bed and Olivia asked if she was going to exercise too. "No", she replied, "I am only here for the music!” Joel is doing well on the guitar considering he has to teach himself. Hope and Charley are coming along nicely on the violin. Hope has a real passion for the violin and is doing very well. She prayed and prayed for a violin for a long time. Joel made her a "pretend" one out of a tennis racket and she would put violin music on and pretend to play for months that way. When she finally got a real one she was so excited, it has become a very important part of her life. We are blessed to have another missionary lady right here in Mbala that is teaching them to play.
Mega Mushrooms
With the rains comes the food. It's the season for growing crops. Most folks are busy preparing their lands to grow their maize, beans, groundnuts and sweet potatoes. It is also the season for gathering wild mushrooms. The first rains bring huge, delicious mushrooms that have a meaty texture and taste. Later in the season more varieties appear and are gathered and sold at the markets. I was given a gift of a very big mushroom, which I just had to take a photo of! It was delicious. Sorry that you never got to taste it.
Grant's Groundnuts
This year we will be growing groundnuts. We will press them for the oil to make our own diesel. We have been plowing our land in the late afternoons using our little Isuzu Trooper. It is such a great little car and does the job so well. Either Joel or I drive down the rows while Grant holds the plough behind. I have to watch that I don't go too fast. Sometimes I forget he is behind, but then I hear him shouting for me to slow down. There he is puffing and panting, running behind the car while I am inside thinking about all sorts of other things instead of concentrating of the job at hand! I do apologize of course for going to fast - with a little grin on my face!
Puppy Power - One More Blow for Evolution!
This month we found ourselves looking after 3-orphaned puppies. We soon discovered that it is an incredible amount of work and a very tiring thing to do. Their mother was unfortunately poisoned when they were only a few days old. We volunteered to try keep them alive by feeding them with baby bottles we bought in town. Every 2 - 3 hours we would all takes turns in feeding them and wiping their bottoms with a damp piece of cotton wool - to simulate the mothers licking - necessary to aid in .... Well you get the picture! After two days and a sleepless night, Grant decided that we needed another plan!! He called in our female dog, which had had puppies a year before, and showed the pups to her. After a short time, she lay down, and the puppies eagerly found her teats and started suckling. And guess what? She produced milk and has been feeding them and licking their bottoms ever since!! They are now fat, active, mischievous little 5 week olds. Isn't God amazing - just by watching and looking at nature we can prove him as Creator. Things like this don't just happen due to a big bang! Nope, only God could create such an amazing world!
Big Boat in Action...
Finally, after a few years of fixing, finding parts and redoing the engine - the ministry boat is on the water. It was a great day for us all to be able to go speeding across the great Lake Tanganyika to a remote village where Grant has started teaching. The people in the village asked him to come and start a Bible study once a month. There are men and women from a wide range of denominations. Grant will continue to go once a month. We as a family only went with him this time to test the boat and spend the weekend camping at a lodge near the village. We had a good time and the children enjoyed swimming and playing on the sandy beach. The boat is running well. We just need to purchase a bigger prop and it will be all set to do further ministry on the lake. The only down side is the cost of the fuel! Here in Zambia, one liter will set you back just over R20.
Other News...
Mbala Baptist Church, the church we attend here in Mbala, have finally finished their new building. I am so proud of them as the have constructed a huge new church building without much outside support. They as a church have given from their own pockets and raised the funds themselves. It is great to be able to go to church without an umbrella to protect you when it rains during the service, and to have space between your legs and the pew in front of you. They have demolished the old building, which was practically falling down and had a threadbare grass roof. They completed the new building just in time. Our rains have started in full swing! Grant has been preaching at the services for the past few weeks. Mbala Baptist does not have a Pastor at this time, but often ask Grant to preach on Sundays.
Lorna is working on setting up the resource center. Annel, a young man from Mbala Baptist Church, will be helping her with all the necessary arrangements to get it up and running.
Luke is growing fast! He has decided he is in no rush to crawl or walk. Why should he be when he has so many willing hands to carry him around? He does have a rather mighty scream that comes out of such a little person, but he will soon learn that it will have a serious negative affect to use it!
We are very grateful to the Lord for his continuous provision through some rough financial times. We know that everyone is struggling with the recession and pray that the Lord will also continue to provide for you all as he continues to provide for us.
Praise God For:
* Good health at this time
* For the cooling rains
* For our boat that is now complete for further ministry into remote areas
* For his continual provision
Please Pray for:
* Us to have a malaria free rainy reason
* For our financial support
* For our Children to grow strong in the Lord
* For Grant as he continues with many ministry opportunities
* For Mbala Baptist, that they will remain strong in the Lord and be a witness to the Mbala community
Thank you for yours prays and support. God bless you all.
With Love,
Lynne Schaefer and Family
Grant, Joel, Hope, Charley, Olivia and Luke
PO Box 420032
Mbala
ZAMBIA
Lorna is working on setting up the resource center. Annel, a young man from Mbala Baptist Church, will be helping her with all the necessary arrangements to get it up and running.
Luke is growing fast! He has decided he is in no rush to crawl or walk. Why should he be when he has so many willing hands to carry him around? He does have a rather mighty scream that comes out of such a little person, but he will soon learn that it will have a serious negative affect to use it!
We are very grateful to the Lord for his continuous provision through some rough financial times. We know that everyone is struggling with the recession and pray that the Lord will also continue to provide for you all as he continues to provide for us.
Praise God For:
* Good health at this time
* For the cooling rains
* For our boat that is now complete for further ministry into remote areas
* For his continual provision
Please Pray for:
* Us to have a malaria free rainy reason
* For our financial support
* For our Children to grow strong in the Lord
* For Grant as he continues with many ministry opportunities
* For Mbala Baptist, that they will remain strong in the Lord and be a witness to the Mbala community
Thank you for yours prays and support. God bless you all.
With Love,
Lynne Schaefer and Family
Grant, Joel, Hope, Charley, Olivia and Luke
PO Box 420032
Mbala
ZAMBIA
