I'll make this kinda short, only becuase I had a really long day at the farm. They actually had me doing some manual labor. I helped with some of the wire construciton on the perimeter fence...and it was pretty hot. I ended up sleeping in the van for about 30 minutes after that. What can I say, I'm getting old.
And we will be hitting the road for a 3 hour trip early tomorrow morning to Petauke to have a feast day with that crew. We have several long term churches/pastors in that area, and one of my good friends is a young pastor there. There are also a couple of new guys that I haven't met, I'm excited to get to know them. Also, my good friend will be returning to Chipata with us after the pastors' meeting...and will participate in the farm construction project with us for the next week. It is just another one of those great relationships that God allows us to have 1/2 way round the world, when we cooperate with Him in these sweet opportunities.
Also, the poultry building needs to be completed by the end of Tuesday, because the birds will be showing up looking for nesting boxes on wednesday. The cover photo shows William and Jose making plans this morning to be certain we hit that deadline. I'm telling you, the team God has put together for this effort is second to none. With all the skepticism that I heard around me when I told folks we were flying in and building a farm in 2 weeks, I've seen God do amazing stuff already...and it is all about His guys.
Anyway, just to let you in on probably the toughest thing about this trip, it is the 7 hour time zone difference. And the main reason that is an issue is all about relationships. There are several people that I want to communicate with every day. And here is how it works:
I'm sleeping 10 pm - 6 am Zambia time...so we can't communicate.
They are sleeping 6 am - 2 pm Zambia time...so again, no communication.
It isn't the time zones that are the problem. The problem is that we all need to sleep, and that happens at opposite times of day. So there is a window in my day of 2 pm -10 pm Zambia time that I'm available. And half of that I'm out at the farm, and my Verizon phone isn't living up to its billing currently during those hours. So really 6 pm to 10 pm Zambia time is go-time when it comes to communicating across the ocean, and that is the heart of the work day in Iowa.
Oh well, if that is the biggest hardship I'm facing, then I guess I shouldn't be complaining. So, it is off to Petauke.
Here we go...
