Three full days

It is Saturday night, rapidly approaching midnight, and I'm not sure where to begin.  Since we last posted on the blog, we've had three very, very full days.  Thursday morning Angie, Grayson, Emma, Rachel and I went to Kalomo town to the market.  We wanted to buy chitange fabric so Angie & the girls could have skirts made, and Chris and Grayson could have shirts made.  Ruhtt helped us haggle and bargain so we could get a good price. I wanted to go along, because I wanted to see their reaction to the market.  I was not disappointed.  I handed the camera over to Grayson and he got some very good pictures.  I'd love to be able to post them, but the internet connection is very slow this evening.  Perhaps we will have more luck tomorrow.
Thursday morning became Thursday afternoon, and we decided to have lunch at El Pantano, a fabulous restaurant in Kalomo.  Ruhtt called ahead, and we had chicken wraps and El Pantano coolers waiting for us.  The food was delicious, and the El Pantano coolers, a fruit drink with a secret recipe, was a big hit.  The big excitement for me, was the gathering of church leaders from surrounding areas who were waiting near El Pantano to catch their ride to the Leaders' Meeting being held at 7-Fountains church over the next 3 days.  I met friends that I have not seen since our trip to Siamabele two years ago.  I was touched that they remembered me.  Soon, Shepherd arrived with the Lory to take the people to 7-Fountains, and the Stewarts and I climbed on board, too.  Angie said it was her first ride in a Zambian convertible.
The Leadership Meeting started Thursday afternoon and lasted until 1:00 p.m. on Saturday.  I lost count, but I think Chris preached 6, maybe 8 times in 48 hours.  That has to be some kind of record.  It is so encouraging to see how anxious these men and women are to learn how to be leaders.  They love God, and they love His Word; blessings overflowed!  Angie and I each took a turn speaking to the women, and Grayson, Emma & Rachel talked about the importance of teaching children when they are young.  They also helped the group learn songs the leaders could use to teach their children important facts, stories and concepts from the Bible.
Something really special happened on Saturday.  Angie was scheduled to speak, and there was no female interpreter.  Ba Wilson solved the problem by going to get one of the cooks, a young woman named Charity.  Angie had been praying through her anxiety about this event for months, and she did a fantastic job of speaking at just the right pace, with just the right pauses to make interpreting easy.  At the end of her talk, Angie turned to thank Charity, and Charity said, "it was my first time to interpret."  That was not at all evident; it was more like the two of them had practiced together for weeks.
Through these three days, we continue to enjoy playing with the babies at Kasensa.  We often have one or three joining us for the dinner hour, which is often by candlelight, solarlight, or flashlight.  Joan has cooked for us frequently, and the Stewarts have adopted a new saying, "Food tastes better in Zambia."  The fresh produce from the garden and fruit from the trees definitely adds to the wonderful flavor.  The absence of first world distractions, and good company, and being able to reflect on a day purposefully spent contributes to the enjoyment of food, as well.

Thanks for reading.  Thanks for commenting.  Thanks for praying.
~Marti