New Year, New Beginnings
Greetings family and friends
For us, the year 2020 was a year of preparation. We were praying through fears of returning to
Zambia, actively packing and sending supplies, we had many conversations with close friends about the condition of our heart, and prayed through areas
where we needed to grow in trust and obedience to Him. We experienced the highs
and lows of being caught up in truth vs lie in regards to Covid, the election,
and etc. We personally were being challenged to seek the Lord. As the definition
of what was "essential" kept changing, we realized
that our mission, our vision, does not change like the circumstances that were around us. We are still called to
obey God, make the name of Jesus known, to disciple, and further His name. Our God
has the power to redeem it all.
December Highlights
We are praying for you all and we want to extend our
greatest gratitude as we know many of you are praying for us as well and that
brings comfort to us as we all are still adapting.
Nate started working on the solar panel system right away.
He got the metal frame welded and all 11 panels up and running. We were thankful to have Jako's wisdom for
how to best set it up, and help us through a few issues we had. Unfortunately,
some of the batteries that were donated stopped holding a good charge so we are
unable to use them as they will drain from the good batteries. As it is disappointing not to have them
working, we still have enough power to run what we need in our home on most
days, especially now that we have added 4 more large solar panels to our system at the end of January. With the rain and cloudy skies, we quickly realized we needed to add to our system, so we currently have 15 now. With the future hope of eating more meals at our house, Nate worked hard at getting a sink up for me so that I could clean dishes and pans more easily, which then turned into an idea to have an outdoor patio. I am excited to use this space once it is completed. Nate was also able to renew his 8 year old Zambian license without having to retake the driving test. We were ecstatic about that!
As I mentioned previously, the men working on the land rover
paperwork promised us the vehicle on Thursday Dec 24th. Unfortunately, they were unable to
complete the insurance and fitness test so that meant our stay would be
extended to at least that next Tuesday. With Lusaka being 8 hours away it made
more sense to wait and stay then go back and forth.
Since we had an extended stay in Lusaka, it did help us learn where things are, and we got better at finding our way around the city. We were also able to pick up all the school supplies for the children at the orphanage, and the materials the teachers would need for the new year. It was quite the comprehensive list, but praise the Lord we were able to find most of what we needed. By Monday Nate was able to get the insurance and the vehicle passed all the tests needed for us to be able to legally drive the land rover. We to left early Tuesday morning, but we made it 2 hours out of Lusaka before the vehicle began acting up. After calling a few people, we had the suspicion it was the fuel pump. We realized our best option was to turn around and try to make it back as close to Lusaka as we could so that we wouldn't have to tow the vehicle so far. By the grace of God were were able to get it back to Lusaka, and then to the mechanic. Thankfully, it was just dirt in the fuel tank. So they emptied and cleaned it out. We began our journey back to the Mission of Love on Wednesday, and we made it with no mechanical issues. It ran beautifully.
The kiddos and I seeing the Land Rover for the first time. I think they approved 😊
There was a fun park located by one of the malls that I shopped at. While Mommy shopped, the kids got to play.
Amber worked many hours preparing these backpacks full of goodies. So much care and concern went into these lovely gifts and letters of thanks to the housemothers. The pictures show the handing out school supplies and bags full of goodies for kids and housemothers. Everyone was all smiles!
I (Melanie) had hopes of training the teachers before school
began on January 4th. With our extended stay in Lusaka that time was cut short
initially, but due to some government recommendations they required all schools
to open January 18th. Which they later postponed again to February 1st so
that schools could be ready with the new covid guidelines. That allowed Amber
and I to work on the Zoo-phonics curriculum. We organized and looked through how we could continue to use this curriculum effectively. Zambia does not have a curriculum for
spelling/English, but strangely by grade 4 the students are supposed to be
proficient in English. Using the Zoo-Phonics curriculum as a guide, I am creating a spelling and language program. The teachers are eager to learn more about
Zoo-phonics, and I am excited to learn alongside them. Please continue to pray
for wisdom and direction with the school as
we desire the community to continue to be involved with the school, and
that the evidences of its blessing would be seen by the community. This year is
going to be seen as the rebuilding year as many of the kids were out of school
for five months or more due to the covid lockdowns. So much learning has been
lost. The teachers have quite the task before them this year as a result.
January update
Nate blessed me with some family time in Livingstone as a
part of my birthday present. We got to take the kids to Victoria Falls for the
1st time, and it did not disappoint. Due to limited tourists we were able to
have the trail to ourselves. They were
amazed by how much water comes crashing over the falls, the rainbow in the
mist, and the sound the water makes as it thunders down into the gorge. Our God is
so amazing! The kids were so happy we got see some baboons and hippo footprints, but unfortunately no
elephants this time. We were able to reacquaint ourselves with Livingstone, and tried to
see what different stores they have now.
We also had the opportunity to reconnect and have fellowship with the
family that spoke into our lives and who went the extra mile for us during the loss
of Elijah in 2013. It was good to see them in person again, and thank them for
all that they did during that time. The kids had a blast as well, and we are hopeful to
be able to see them when we go to Livingstone.
Pool Time!
Victoria Falls is so beautiful. Here are a few captures that we got that day.
We were gifted a chicken which is an honor as many locals could use that chicken for their own eating or sell for school fees or etc. Nate teased and said now that he has officially killed, defeathered, and cleaned out a chicken he can be considered to be called a man.😀
We also were honored by Obey(pastor and friend) naming his newest granddaughter Melanie. Now there are 2 Melanie's in Mukumba!
We can also praise the Lord that all 4 of our children are eating the local meal of nshima and sides without complaint. It is one of Hannah's favorite foods, and she is really thriving and expanding her liking of food which is such a blessing(especially for mom). It has been fun to see our kids want to help the 2 local women prepare and help serve the nshima to the workers. They are also becoming great helpers in the kitchen as they help us prepare the meal that night. They have also come leaps and bounds with the dogs and cats that live on the property. It was very difficult for them at first, but they are now getting more acquainted with them and working towards a healthier relationship with the cats and dogs.
Future opportunities
In the upcoming weeks Nate will be working on maintenance on the school and orphanage.
He also is exited to possibly go with Obey on
Tuesdays to minister and learn how they are bringing the Word to the people
around them.
He has also reconnected with 2 gentlemen in the community that are desiring to go through the Bible with him. He has his first meeting with them on Wednesday, please pray that these men will be ready to surrender and choose to follow Christ.
Praise Reports and Prayer Requests
+ Praise the Lord for beneficial rain that has fallen thus
far.
+ Praise the Lord for the Zoo-phonics spelling curriculum framework He has provided for us, and for the direction that the Lord has given us so far.
+ Pray for us to be able to build upon the opportunities we have to build relationships.
+ Pray for the strengthening of children's ministries that are currently taking place at church and at the Primary School.
+ Pray that we as a family would continue to communicate well as we discern what we need to do each day.
Below are just a few more pictures of our kids enjoying time with friends, digging, playing trucks, swinging on the tire swing, and playing house. Hannah is really enjoying all the attention she gets and has been starting to carry her babies like the Zambian women she sees daily.
Faith Assembly of God. Please write Zambia in the memo line and send it to:
5112 Lafayette Rd.
Elk Run Heights, IA 50707
If you are interested in giving online please follow these steps below:
Click on this link below and it will take you to the church website https://www.faithassemblyerh.com/
Locate and Click on Tithe to follow the steps and make a donation.
Important Note: Be sure to switch from Tithe to Nate Sweerin in the drop down window to designate the funds to us.
Thanks for the update. I like the addition on the back of the house to connect to the bathroom. So happy about the Land Rover, what a blessing that is. I appreciate the photos, so keep them coming, please. You all are in our prayers.
ReplyDeleteThank you Bill. We appreciate them so much!
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