Along came a spider and sat down beside her

Last thursday I woke to a very sore blob on my thigh.  By lunchtime it was extremely painful and a line of redness was tracking down my leg.
After a swift visit to the Mary Begg Clinic/Hospital (one of the best in the whole of Zambia), I had it confirmed that I had indeed been bitten by a spider.

 A few mornings before i had been waken by the dog playing with a reasonably sized one on my bedroom floor, it had seemed to have killed it so I went back to sleep.
After much research it appears I was bitten by one of these beasts

A zambian baboon spider...

or an African wolf spider.....


I got diagnosed many tablets and cream and had a couple of injections.  After 6 days of feeling really quite ill, my skin was on fire, blisters of pus, fevers and at times in and out of consciousness.
I am now glad to report I am back on my feet, even if its limping.

Today I am grateful for 

Dr Lion (yes, that really was his name) and the team at Mary Begg
That I had the sense to get it checked out when I did
Pernille, Malene, Anne-Mette and the team who have cared for me here in Zambia
Friends overseas who have talked with me, written emails, sent photos to entertain me, prayed, let me process and loved and cared for me from there. I am so grateful to have friends like you.

I Thank God for you all.

Archie and I taking it easy

Well Baked

Its been a tiring couple of weeks.

• We have started a kids church in the village on the border of Dr. Congo, (great fun and exhausting)

• you will have met my new dog, Mackie, last week, 

• we are working on ideas for developing the Orphans Project next year (we are opening a bike fixing business for our older kids in February 2013) 

• we have seen 9 people healed by God after prayer in the last 2 weeks.

And I have also started baking bread everyday because its easier, cheaper than shopping in town and they taste nicer.

Today's Oat and Carrot rolls

Yesterday was the last day of school for some of my kids and Brian, one of the grade 12’s came to see us in the afternoon.  As he came in the door he dropped to his knees and clapped his hands (both signs of respect here) and emotionally explained whilst kneeling how grateful he was that he had achieved his dream of finishing school. 
He is an orphan from a very poor background who has been staying at one of our 3 “older kids houses” in town and attending one of the local high school for the past 3 years. Brian has done really well at staying focused on his dream of becoming someone and having enough education to get a good job and provide for any family he may have in the future. 

It was very touching to see him now, a grown man so aware, mature but also so grateful.
 
Here is Brian with Mrs Chomba.

Mackie

So I got the puppy...
Her name is Macchiato, Mackie for short.
I got her from the local SPCA (not Royal)
She is cute and soft and snuggly and I think Im in love!

so here she is.

 She is 4-6 months old and has big ears! Apparently she will grow into them!

Bush and Trees

We have been out to the bush-bush for the past few weeks, out to villages that in a few weeks will be completely cut off by road because already the "roads" are being eroded fast by the rains. Traveling to remote huts on “roads” that at times are scary to drive on, steep angles that take courage to attempt to navigate and potholes that could give you whiplash has been a great privilege. We have been taking fertilizer to a few of our families to help with their maize harvest after receiving a donation from some children in England and giving out food parcels.
Yesterday Mrs Chomba commented that I drove like a man which I think was a compliment!
Bringing fertilizer is great as it helps families towards self sufficiency.

Its the season for Imfongo, a small plum like fruit, that dries up your saliva as soon as you put it in your mouth but is everywhere and people love.  I found one of my 5 year old boys up the tree next to my hut office so high I was terrified he would fall but he shim-med down with pockets stuffed full of the orange red fruits as if he was an expert.

 

 I realised this week on a deeper level how amazing my team are as we visited a very down mother of 7 who was in a very low state, they spent good time encouraging her and talking to her in such a gentle and loving way, as I sat and watched I felt just happy to be here with such great people.

Do pray for us next week as we prepare to run a kids church in Kamalasha, the village 2km away that is on the border of the Dr. Congo and where about 200 of our kids live.