Safe and Sound in Zambia!

Saturday March 22, we arrived at Mount Vernon First Church at 1:30 AM. We loaded up our luggage and supplies. After a brief team meeting Jim Gaston and Rob Elwood drove us in church vans to the airport in Columbus.

We flew from Columbus to Washington Dulles arriving about 7 AM. We made our way through the usual international lines and processes to proceed to our Ethiopian Airlines gate where they weighed our carry on bags to make sure they were under the 15 pound limit. Then we boarded our Boeing 787 and settled in for the 12 hour flight to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

On Sunday morning March 23 we arrived in a beautifully sunny and cool (70’s) Addis Ababa where we changed planes (another 787) for our final 5 hour flight to Lusaka International Airport. We arrived safe and sound in Lusaka at about 2pm (8am in Ohio). After gathering our luggage we met up with Penney, Lindsey, and Alyssa Sidle, our host missionary family. They took us to their house for our orientation then we went to the Baptist Guest House where we settled into our home base for most of the next two weeks.

The Sidles took us to dinner at a American Indian themed restaurant at the Manda Hill Mall, a location that looks like it could be in any city in the US.

Today, Monday March 24 after breakfast and devotions, about 7 AM nine of us on the team headed for the work site and 4 ladies stayed back to work at the home base on shopping and cooking for the team. The trip to the work site takes about 40 minutes and involves driving through the heart of the central business district of Lusaka. But about half way into the drive we reach the suburbs and then the country side to arrive at the job site. I’ll have to give more detail on the project later, but for now I have time to say we are installing ceilings and painting in rooms in the District Center that will serve as a meeting place for people from Zambia and surrounding countries. The facility is will be designed for the Church of the Nazarene to use, but it will also host groups from various organizations throughout the year.

After work Clement, our boss took us shopping for work supplies at a “Lowes” type store and “Game” a higher end version of a Wal-Mart, that is now owned by Wal-Mart. We got home about 7:30 for a late supper. While the ladies had to keep it warm for our late arrival, dinner was great. After working hard all day, the spaghetti dinner with dessert really hit the spot.

Everyone is jet lagged but fine. Jillian is doing her homework after getting most of the paint off from her day at work. Rook is being played by the usual suspects and a few of us are on the Internet at the Sidles. I will try to load pictures in the next couple of days when the connect is a little more stable.

Saturday 2AM team prayer before we depart from MV First Church

Waaaaaaaaay early to the airport so we were certainly first in line to check our tubs through to Zambia.

Some crazy Americans I had to spend about 20 hours of flight time with Saturday and Sunday

Shameless selfie in front of a 787 before boarding in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Safe and sound on the ground in Lusaka. Thank you Ethiopian Air!

Some scary looking mzungus  from Ohio beginning their Zambian adventure.