Country/Dates- Livingstone, Zambia. October 10th - November 8th 

Ministry site/Host accommodations- Africa 4 Jesus. Stayed at missionaries house in the Highlands. 16 hour power outages most days. Cooked meals outside on braziers.  

Weather- H.O.T. Rained twice. Cooler mornings which were glorious. 

(The only night I slept with my shetange over me because I was "chilly". 

Wifi- Kubu and Zambezi Cafe were our WiFi jam spots.

(We love Kubu. Mostly for their Wifi.)

Food- we had the same menu each week and cooking teams that rotated. We had a lot of oats, fritters and cereal for breakfast. For lunch a lot of pasta and PB&J or rice. For dinner we had lots of N’shema with an onion-y, tomato sauce, fried chicken, kale, or a rice dish with different sides. We got a lot of coffee and a few lunches at Kubu. We ate out twice as a team. Once to have an evening with just our team and one to celebrate Tiff’s birthday. 

(Making dinner. Get that N'shema Tiff!)

Hosts- Bright, Isaac, Charles, Inonge, and Daniel

Staff- our hosts were the only ones we did ministry with as the other leaders of Africa 4 Jesus and missionaries were all out of the country.  

Words/Phrases- we did a word of the day almost every day. Some of them include: goober, skeptical, flimsy, frenzy, commando, raunchy, sucker, skillet, willy nilly, yeet, Phlebotomist, fickle, jorts and creepy. Then basically any noises that Isaac made we repeated constantly throughout the month. 

(Our cooking schedule for the week and our list of the word of the day. Not sure why we came up with the team names 'honey' and 'milk' but they stuck.)

Ministry- we did door to door evangelism mostly during the week. On Saturdays we did a two hour kids program. Two days we spent at a Children’s Home and did some manual labor, helped serve lunch and in the school on the Children’s Home property we gave short lessons in a few of the classrooms and a 10 minute assembly to the whole student body. 

(Thankful to get to spend time with these two women from the church. What an encouragement they were to us in our walks with the Lord.)

Exercise- I ran a handful of times with Brite and Tiff out on the main road. It was about a 2.3 mile circle. On other occasions, Tiff and I would run around the property and did a few “natural resources” workouts (which basically means we used what was on the property to workout with like the swing, flower pots, the porch step, benches, tires, etc.) 

Holy Spirit- I was much more consistent and intentional in doing listening prayers this month during my quiet time. I got a vision for one of my teammates. He spoke through me on multiple occasions during times of outreach, at church, or to my teammates. 

The Word- finished Jeremiah, Daniel and Hosea. Started over in Psalms reading 2-3 a day. Began studying Acts. 

Team Overflow- it was a rough month in that there were a lot of variables out of our control making team time not as intimate as we have had the previous two months. It was also a slower ministry month which was good and bad. Good in the sense the weather was so hot I’m not sure we could have done more and bad in the sense I think we, or at least I, got lazy. We saw more of our true colors come out and had to work through those with grace and love. We were cumulatively ready to welcome month four with wide arms. 

(Happy and sweaty! Had a great night celebrating Tiff's Birthday.)

Health- another healthy month praise God! (Unless you count heat exhaustion:) )

Defining moment- my defining moment was spread over a period of three days. The two days I fasted and sharing about it at Sunday on the third day. It was amazing to experience God’s sustaining power in my body and was a moment in my life I will never forget. 

Answered prayers- always thankful for health and protection. Thankful for a ministry site I could work out in. Loved the space I had for my quiet time each morning. Great hosts who did an amazing job taking care of us and providing for each of our needs. Able to build relationships with the locals and point them to the Lord. 

(Going to Devil's Pool at Vic Falls was definitely a highlight of the month. What beauty and power!) 

Not what I expected- the intense heat and slower ministry. I also did not expect to be challenged as a team leader in so many different ways. 

How I feel going in to month 4- ready! Ready for the ministry pace to pick up. Ready for a new setting for my team and I to both regain and grow in our closeness with one another.  Ready to finish my time in Africa with a thriller! 

Areas I want to grow in next month- humility is my word for this month. Each of the seven teams in our squad got new team leaders. So obviously I am not the team leader this month which comes with relief and at the same time a fear I will overstep or not adequately support our new team leader. Hence my word ‘humility’ for the month. I also want to work on getting better at giving feedback to my teammates. This month I discovered I’m really good at taking other’s burdens upon myself but I’m very poor at then taking those burdens to the Lord and not carrying them myself. In Malawi I want to be quick to take my burdens to the Lord.  

Personal realizations- communication is critical. Communicate early and clearly. I don’t have to take responsibility for everyone’s feelings upon myself. I CAN’T let others steal my joy cause my joy is not found in man but GOD ALONE. 

How I’ve changed/grown- I’ve appreciated simpleness in a deeper level and I’ve loved it. I was reminded over and over again how much beauty and joy is in the simple and how much I desire to continue implementing it in my life. 

Prayer requests for Malawi- to find my new role as a leader on my team without the official title of “team leader.” HUMILITY! Sweet times with my teammates as this is our last month together before team changes will happen at the beginning of our four months in Asia. Special ways to use my gifts and natural abilities to serve those we minster with in Youth for Christ.