So here I am...back in Zambia. It's good to be back. Many things are the same and in some ways it feels like I've not been away for so long. The strangest thing is the weather. Instead of the baking hot sun you would expect, we have turned up in Zambian winter...it's much like an average summer day in England... windy and cloudy with the sun breaking through the clouds. When the sun is out it's warm but when it's cloudy you need a jumper.
Having arrived at midnight on Tuesday after a 20 hour journey we travelled by road to Mkushi on Wednesday. We're staying at Jon and Jude's now completed house and we have the guest wing (a tent!) We had a planned slow start which worked out well as both Frank and I had mild food poisoning from something and spent a day feeling rather sorry for ourselves! All better now and we've enjoyed being able to catch up with friends here over the weekend.
Tomorrow we are setting off into the Bush...but not to Lubutu as we thought. Plans have changed ...(as they do) and we are going instead to a village just outside Kabwe. Jon will give us a lift as far as Kabwe where we will meet Bernard and Margaret, 2 members of the Central Impact Team. We'll take a bus to the village and maybe walk the last bit (I'll tell you afterwards!) We will be camping in the village for a few days and running Dignity's 2 day training course that helps villagers understand more of what it means to follow Jesus and what this might look like in our day to day life. Our hope is that the 30 or so people we are working with will start Life! Groups in their villages and in turn teach others what they are now learning. If you want to know more about the diffence Life! Groups are making check out the news feed on Dignity's website... www.dignityonline.org.uk
And that's it really. We've had the luxury of a gentle start which is great as the next 3 weeks promise to be rather more hectic! After lunch I'm off to pack my rucksack with camping stuff for the next few days, reread the training materials and spend some time praying for the village we're going to and the people we will be meeting. If you're praying maybe you could pray for the right peoples to gather (life can be very unpredictable here and people can be waylaid very easily), for safety and for God's spirit to be present and speaking to us all.
