July 2010

From The Kitchen Table

~ The Desk of Lynne Schaefer ~

July 2010

“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the Glory of God.”

1 Corinthians 10:31

Dear Family and Friends

They Came, They Played, And They Painted!

For nearly two weeks we hosted an amazing team from Hilton Baptist. Five amazing people filled our home with laughter and joy as they sanded and painted our rather dilapidated house. It was hard work, and there were some rather funny paint “incidents”. They ran a 5 day Bible club at the Luse Orphanage; the children were so blessed to have them. Our children had so much fun accompanying them to the orphanage and playing with the team in our yard. These were 5 very gifted people, with hearts that serve the Lord in all that they do.

 

The Early Birds Show the Soccer

The World Cup did not go by unnoticed in Mbala. Grant and our missionary friend Steve teamed up and decided to show the soccer World Cup evening games on 2 big screens for the local Zambian folks. Few people have TV’s and would miss the games. Zambians love soccer so they decided to show every evening game in the location area where most folks live. The only down-side being, that both Grant and Steve are very early nighters and get up very early to run together  and get other chores done. But, they did it and survived a month of late nights and it was very much appreciated by the locals. They used the 15 minute half time as an outreach, where various people preached a short message or gave their testimony. On average there were about 300 -500 people watching and hearing the testimonies.

The Lodge...

A couple days after the team left, we got a desperate phone call from our friend Rone who runs the Lodge on Lake Tanganyika. She had to rush to South Africa with her husband, Sean, as her mother was very, very sick. Sean also needed some urgent medical attention. They asked if we would be able to run the lodge while they are away. It is a very busy time at the lodge with many guests. The children and I are busy running things for her while Grant continues with ministry in Mbala. We brought all our school books and are enjoying a different perspective to our usual Mbala life.

Praise God For:

· The work done by the team from Hilton Baptist, and for their safe travel

· For the Bible messages and prayer given by the team at the orphanage

· For the World Cup Soccer outreach

· For his protection daily

Please Pray for:

· The Bible school grant is running this week on the college land

· For our continued protection as a family

· For the Lord to continue to provide for the Luse Orphanage

Grant is blogging his daily life as a missionary – A Missionary Diary at the web address: grantschaefer.blogspot.com.

See more great pictures at grantandlynneschaefer.blogspot.com

Thanks for your encouragement, your prayers and support of our ministry here.

God bless.

Lynne Schaefer and Family

Grant, Joel, Hope, Charley, Olivia, Luke

PO Box, 420032, Mbala, Zambia

 

 

From The Kitchen Table May

From The Kitchen Table

~ The Desk of Lynne Schaefer ~

May 2010

“Whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.” Matthew 5:41      

Dear Family and Friends

Twazwane

A couple of weeks ago I was able to deliver a load of goods to the Luse Orphanage from the community of Mbala through the Twazwane project. We have initiated the project to try and involve the community in the orphanages. Too often they are supported by well meaning folks overseas, but too often those well meaning folks withdraw their support leaving vulnerable, hungry children who have been dependent on their support. This is exactly what has happened to Luse Orphanage. Now the orphanage has no food or means to support the children. Through Twazwane, business men and individuals can give to the orphanage knowing that what they give is definitely going to the children. It is Zambian tradition that the community look after children in their community. That everyone is responsible for the children not just the parents. It is on this tradition that we feel the community is also responsible for the orphans, not just well meaning foreigners.

Snake Skinning Boys

We got home from a really great lunch at our missionary friends the Schwarz’s house, only to find the man who looks after our cows had killed a huge Puff Adder just by our pig sty. We had two extra boys, Tobias and Matthew who are both very good friends of Joel. Tobias had just got his first pocket knife ever for his Birthday. The boys were all very interested in the snake, but I was rather upset about it. The kids are often out by the pig sty and this was a huge, dangerous snake. I recalled a friend who grew up on the mission field telling us one day how his mother made him and his brother get to know snakes well, because they were always out catching them etc. She made them read a lot about them, and get to know the different kinds. I thought what a better way for these 3 boys to get some snake experience than to skin it and see its fangs, insides and so on. I gave them the challenge and in a short while they had the snaked skinned with their pocket knives, researched how to cure the skin, and had it curing in a jar!

Flat Out!

A really strange looking mosquito bit me at a friend’s place out by her gate one afternoon. Exactly 10 days later I came down with a really bad dose of malaria, and was literally knocked flat by it. I shivered and shook for a few days and when I was feeling better I went outside and tripped and sprained my ankle. We thought it was broken from the loud cracking sound it made. But, we thankfully discovered it was not after having to drive 160km to the nearest working x-ray machine.

The Team

A team of 5 will be coming this month from the Hilton Baptist Church in Natal, South Africa. They will be going to the Luse Orphanage to play games and do various activities, and to encourage the staff there. They are also giving us a tremendous gift – they will be painting the inside of our house! They are bringing the paint and supplies. Our house is in a serious need of a paint – with the ceiling paint falling off, the mud walls showing through etc. Please pray for them as they prepare for the trip up, they will be driving.

We also praise God for a donation from a church in SA for us to be able to purchase ministry materials, to be able to finish fixing the boat, and to be able to build a small guest house here to accommodate all our visitors.

Missionary Diary:   Grant has started a blog diary. He will be recording the events of his days and his ministry, you can check it out at: grantschaefer.blogspot.com

Praise God For:

· The donations for the guesthouse, boat and materials

· For my recovery

· For the team that is coming

· For His protection daily

Please Pray for:

· The Team to travel safely

· For our continued protection as a family

· For the Twazwane project to really take off and the community to take full responsibility of the orphanages

Thanks for your encouragement, your prayers and support of our ministry here.

God bless.

Lynne Schaefer and Family

Grant, Joel, Hope, Charley, Olivia, Luke

PO Box, 420032, Mbala, Zambia

From The Kitchen Table March 2010

From The Kitchen Table

~ The Desk of Lynne Schaefer ~

March 2010

 

Living the Dream!

As a child all I wanted to be was a wife and a mother.  I knew that someday I would live on the mission field. Not a grand thing really. Not a Scientist or Doctor, or a professor of this or that.  Nope, just a wife and mom, with a house full of kids.  A nightmare to some, but a dream to me!

 

We just got back from a long hard trip down to South Africa. We broke down on the way down in the desert in Namibia.  Our good friends convoying with us had to tow us for 300km. It took us the whole day. We then left our car in Namibia and took the bus to Cape Town where we continued with our deputation trip around South Africa.  We were so blessed and encouraged at the different churches we visited.  We then spent a long time in Cape Town trying to get our vehicle back in shape. And after some weeks we headed back up here to Mbala.

Seven days on the road in the heat of Namibia with the kids trying to keep busy in the car. With a sucker sweet stuck to the shoulder of my shirt. A huge heat headache and a piece of sandwich stuck to my shoe, I remind myself that, actually, I am just living my dream! It certainly is not an easy road, but “I took the road less travelled by.” We have had our hills and valleys, thunderstorms and sunshine.  After 8 days on the road we arrived home to no electricity, but missionary friends had left bread and biscuits in the kitchen for us and welcome home notes and signs were everywhere. It’s good to be back, and with God’s help I will continue to live the dream!

 

This trip we brought a young man back with us.  His name is Robert Martin and he is here with us for 5 weeks and will be making a DVD for us of our ministry here.  He is a very talented young man, but his health has not been good the past few years, please pray for him.

 

Praise God For:

·         Our vehicle that is running well again

·         For a safe trip

·         For his provision while in South Africa

·         For the encouragement and support from our supporting churches

 

Please pray for:

·         Us as a family as we adjust to being back in Mbala and get ready to start ministry and school again next week.

·         For our vehicle to continue to run well

·         For Robert’s health and for him as he helps us here for the next month

 

Thanks for your encouragement, your prayers and support of our ministry here.

 

 God bless.

Lynne Schaefer and Family

Grant, Joel, Hope, Charley, Olivia, Luke

PO Box, 420032, Mbala, Zambia

Blog spot: grantandlynneschaefer.blogspot.com