24 & 25 April We trained teachers from neighboring villages Wednesday and Thursday. Fifteen of the anticipated 47 teachers appeared Wednesday morning. By afternoon we had an additional 3 teachers. Unlike Lusaka, most of the teachers in Eastern Province are male. Four female teachers joined the training. English proficiency was less than Lusaka as well. […]
BOMA Church Training
23 April Tuesday in Lundazi was again quite warm, 91+ in the BOMA church where I trained. The 3 top trainees from last summer arrived on time eager for training. The other 5 had not learned of the training. We discovered 1 of the 5 left his village and could not be reached. Kondwani phoned […]
Kataji, a Village Outside of Lundazi
Today we drove 30 minutes out of Lundazi to a village, Kataji, where there is a community school and a Strengthening Children group. The leader, Musipasi distinguished himself last summer by grasping the concepts. The children in his group sang, reviewed lessons learned in the group, and put on a play, “Bouncing Back to School.” […]
From Lusaka to Lundazi
Saturday we drove from Lusaka to Lundazi in Zambia’s Eastern Province. Kaunda, a Bemba named after the first elected president of Zambia, Kenneth Kaunda, drove Kondwani and me. We began at 0730 and arrived in Lundazi at 1800. We made several stops along the way but obviously we drove for a long distance. Along the […]
It’s Been a Busy Few Days in Zambia
16-19 April During day one of training I met with lay counselors I trained in 2012. Each had led a Strengthening Children group. I heard their perspectives on progress made in the groups and positive outcomes, including those who participated began to demonstrate improved school achievement. Sadly, pre/post data were not collected. I believe data […]
Thursday in Villa Hortencia
Thursday (Day 7) – Villa Hortencia (our village)Norma Nordquist posting… Galations 6:10 Therefore as we have the opportunity let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. Dear friends, Another glorious day with our Villa Hortencia friends. After trekking up a steep, rocky mountain path, we arrived […]
Does God hear our prayer?
I was frustrated with Larry’s idea of God’s provision when we were newlyweds. He believed that God could provide through unexpected checks in the mail and prayed accordingly. I was more like, “It’s time to take on a second job,” not sit around and pray. God would provide, certainly, via my hard work. Six years […]
Do You Have An Opinion?
Many of you don’t remember this far back. You are new to our church. But seven years ago or so, Chapel Hill went through a mid-life crisis. We had been growing in every way that impresses—worship numbers, membership numbers, financial numbers—but we suddenly discovered that we were disconnected from our congregation. We had become something […]
Tuesday in Villa Hortencia
Greetings from Guatemala! Today was another day full of God’s provision, faithfulness and love. This morning we read (1 Corinthians 13:1-3, 1 Cor. 9:20-22, 1 John 4:7-12) about God’s unconditional love for us and how we can love others with the love the God has so graciously showered on us. After another beautiful drive to […]
Pastoral Response to Boston Bombings
Pastor Mark had just preached on it: fear. Maybe you felt it yesterday. If you were like me, you were glued to the screen in horror watching the latest news reports coming out of Boston yesterday. Maybe you saw the video of the first bomb going off, the runner in orange stumbling, white smoke roiling […]