The home we are able to stay in temporarily here in Garneton is quite spacious and the yard is beautiful. Right now there are two families living in the house. Us and the Beaman family. The Beamans are co-workers and just arrived the middle of August. They are living here while they look for a home to rent. The house is big enough that each of our families has two bedrooms and a bathroom. The rest of the house is big enough to share space.
We are very blessed to have the privilege of staying here. This is the home of the Washer family who are currently on furlough. They are allowing us to stay here as the house is safer with people living here than empty. We will start looking seriously for our own home to rent after the beginning of 2008. The Washers will be returning in late spring or early summer.
The rose garden in the back, right outside the kitchen door, is lovely. There are a variety of different plants throughout the big yard. The Zambian worker does a great job caring for everything outside. He has been here as long as the Washers (more than 10 years) so he knows the property like the back of his hand.
Behind the house there is a large termite mound which the kids love climbing and playing on. It is unoccupied, except for the lizards, so it is safe. It is probably at least 15 feet high with a cement slab on top. It is a great lookout. We also enjoy the fellowship of Joy and Kristie Washer. They live in an apartment behind our home. It is the white building to the right of the termite mound. They grew up here and their brother's family normally lives in the main house. The kids love visiting in the apartment and playing with their kitty.
Besides the landscaped yard, there are raised beds for vegetables in the back yard and another garden in one back corner of the walled-in part of the property. In that garden there are numerous banana trees (though someone once told me that bananas don't grow on trees), and areas where other vegetables can be grown. Right now there are beets, carrots, and several other things planted. The worker planted some tomatoes from seed for us too. Also in the garden lives a large snake (we have not seen it personally, thankfully). For this main reason, we let the worker do the gardening and pick the bananas. Caleb has determined that the bananas in Zambia taste better than the ones in America. They definitely are fresher! In the yard there are other fruit trees too: papaya, lemon, tangarine, avocado and maybe some we don't know of. We are enjoying the papayas and lemons now.
There is no lack for American playmates for our children. With Central Africa Baptist College here, there is quite a team of missionaries (from two different mission agencies) to supply MKs (missionary kids). Shortly after our arrival at the end of June, Joshua and Caleb were able to enjoy a couple days with their new friends at MK Camp. It was held at our home and organized by Joy and Kristie Washer and their friend, Janelle Stokes. A couple of the men came to give challenges from the Bible. The kids had a great time playing games, singing songs and learning important truths from God's Word. 1. God's love for me is unchanging. 2. God's purpose for me is Christlikeness. 3. God's grace for me is sufficient. 4. God's Word for me is the final right answer. They even learned these truths in sign language. Almost two months later, the boys can still quote and sign them pretty accurately.
Caleb during Bible Time.
Just with our GFA missionaries here in the Kitwe area there are 15 children among the four families. We all gathered in one of our homes shortly after the Beamans arrived in August.
