Honestly, it has been a fairly rough 48 hours. Things have slowed down a bit at the farm. Chipata is in what is referred to as the Eastern Region in Zambia. For a region with a population hovering around 300,000 people, it sure is difficult to procure building materials. I have two teammates, Thomas and Matthews have been working at an incredible pace...trying to stay ahead of the construction guys. We were hoping to have the chickens in the poultry building by Wednesday, but now they are scheduled for Saturday morning. It isn't anyone's fault, it is just really tough to get over that last 10% of completion. But I'm told we are at 98% now, and everything will be ready for the birds tomorrow morning.
I'm told this becuase I was out again on another feast day. This time we made the 2.5 hour trip to Mambwe. This is one of our favorite spots, not because of any level of comfort or convenience; but because it is one of the toughest places on earth to raise a family. The numbers of destitute in this are are high. But we also have lots of great pastors and churches in the area.
Unfortunately, we also have some pastors who have been a bit misguided. One of the OT passages I'm introducing our churches to this year is Leviticus 25:35-38, it says this: "If your brother becomes destitute and cannot sustain himself among you, you are to support him as a foreigner or temporary resident so that he can continue to live among you. Do not profit or take interest from him, but fear your God and let your brother live among you. You are not to lend him your silver with interest or sell him your food for profit. I am Yahewh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God."
In a community where the pastors are as poor as the rest of the church, there is tremendous pressure to find the economic advantage that allows one to sustain or advance his own family. This is especially true for the younger pastors. That's why Paul instructed Timothy not to appoint a "novice" as a pastor. But in this area, it is nearly impossible to find a pastor who will live among the people. So the local bishop(s) took some shortcuts..."on the job training" we were told. As a result, a couple of younger pastors have injured some of our destitute. Honestly, it is heartbreaking. I really don't know how to deal with this type of situation, other than turn it over to God. We spent more time in prayer today than we have the entire trip.
And on top of the heaviness of the meetings today, we drove both ways on the only road in and out of Mambwe, and it wouldn't be allowed to drive on in America. I could barely keep my breakfast down on the way there, thankfully my translator switched me to the front seat. And we hit so many potholes on the way out that we had a 30 minute breakdown stop to repair the broken battery cable that couldn't take all of the jostling.
With all of that, God showed us some real beauty as well. Hopefully you'll be able to find a video clip of the local kids choir singing and dancing our welcome, I couldn't help but think about my grandkids...and the different lives they live. Also, I was able to provide 15 pieces of fried chicken to each of the local guys that worked with us on the national holiday. You would've thought I gave them each a winning lottery ticket. Oh, and Jose was introduce to Hungry Lion chicken burgers...we might be done eating stir fry!
All in all, 2 days of serving our King is worth it all. We have started praying whether next year's farm should be located in Mambwe or Solwezi. Feel free to add that to your prayer list. Who knows if He will allow us to complete a second.
Oh, I have an actual financial request. We have discovered that chicken feed is more expensive in this remote place than we had hoped. The cost will really eat into our egg distribution program. It will cost roughly $200 per month to feed our 100 birds. If you want to put an extra 750 eggs into hungry destitute children stomachs over the next year - a pretty great investment - reach out to my brother and find a way to get him $2,500.
I'm gonna try to get some sleep, only had about 4.5 hours last night. Please pray for that as well.
Here we go...
