More on the work in Mumena

Things here in Mumena are going great so far! God is blessing all of the work we've been doing. I am starting to feel very at home, here. The preschools we are starting are right on schedule for the first week of September, and I am getting anxious to start. To get the children from the area used to me, I have been going to two different villages and teaching them about God and telling them stories from the bible. They seem to be very receptive to me and they are all very excited about being taught by a "muzungu" or "white person". I love to teach them and watch them hear these things for the first time. It is truly a blessing to be here and be a part of the Kingdom work!
On the side I have been putting together Sunday school lessons that can be taught using materials in the area. Once I get them all put together, I will be going around to different churches and presenting the material so that they can teach their own children. We are also leaving them enough materials to get started. They are the ones asking for the material and that is a good thing! It means they are ready to start taking part in their churches, and that's a huge step.
I have one bible study going with a young girl (18) in the next village (I have an interpreter--she speaks very little English), but it's hard to know when she is going to show up to learn. When she does come, she seems to be very interested. I've found that often times out here, they are too busy working, hauling water, and doing other various chores, to make time for education and bible studies. I am tutoring a young Zambian girl in her schooling. She is seven and very behind on reading. She comes every morning and we work on her letters. Yesterday she didn't come, but I did see her walking back and forth with a bucket of water on her head and her baby brother tied on her back. My heart went out to her because she is so young to be working so hard. She is so small and looked even smaller underneath the heavy bucket. That's how it is out here, though. That's life for these children and their parents.
This has certainly been eye-opening for me and I will never forget some of the things I have seen. Please pray for our work here and hopefully all of the small things we do will come together to make a big change. Thank you for your support and prayers. God is definitely omnipotent! Praise Him.

Mumena Update

Hello, all! Everything here in Mumena, Zambia is going great! I am learning so much about the culture and how to teach the bible cross-culturally. I have attended a few training classes and it is all so interesting, yet challenging. Plans to start a preschool for one of the villages is coming along and we are planning to start in September. Everything we create here we want to be self-sustaining once we leave. Because of that, I will be training a local to teach the preschool and eventually take over. The children don't speak English so I have to have an interpretor, but I have already learned a great deal of Kaonde--their native language. Our goal is to teach them the bible along with all the basic knowledge that preschoolers need when they enter school. We want them to be able to speak English, also.
On top of that I am planning on starting a few one-on-one bible studies with the women in this area and there are a couple of other children's ministry projects that are in the works. I will update more on those as we go.
One thing that has become very clear to me as I spend more time with these people is that Americans as a whole have forgotten what's important in life and I love the simplicity out here--it is so refreshing. It's not as convenient, but it doesn't matter. They don't have any concept of time here and it's a big change for me, but I already like it. I love the people, too. They are friendly, caring, and so eager to learn about our loving LORD.
God is great and his blessings continue to pour out as we work in His name. Praise Him for He is GOOD!