Warning....this is heavy one!

There has been a small dark cloud over the last couple of days as Lifesong School deals with losing one of its own.....and while I didn't know him very well, my heart grieves just the same....for the loss of a child.

I met Andrew the first week I was here....when Mitzi and I went by the hospital to bring food to the Grandmother so that she could eat while staying to monitor her grandson.  He was in the hospital for pneumonia and a heart issue....such a cute little thing, only 7 but already reading and writing....which is a big deal around here!

Andrew was in and out of the hospital over the last couple of weeks...but this weekend, it just became too much and God called him home....at 7 years of age.  But why?

I have been here for almost 4 weeks and have dealt with 3 deaths, been to 2 funeral houses and 1 funeral...death is a part of the culture....a part of life in the compound....but my heart is raw and my emotions are on edge because it has not been a part of mine....not like this.

When we arrived at the funeral today, there was already a large crowd that had formed under the mango tree.  Had I not known it was a funeral, I think I might have thought it was a party for all of the brightly colored chetanga fabric worn by the women.  It wasn't until I opened my door that I began to hear the wailing.  The group was circled around the family as the small casket was carried from the van to the center of the crowd.  There was a time where a couple of men spoke (in Bemba), a group of people that sang and then a time for wailing.

The crowd began to move, move into a single line to pass under the mango tree and before the casket....the open casket with sweet Andrew lying inside.  My heart is broken as we pass by and pay our respects and then walk on to the buriel plot.  What I saw next, I could not have been prepared for....this was not your typical cemetary with old and young buried together....families sharing a headstone.  This was a children's cemetary...and I found myself having to navigate between the mounds of dirt where infants and young children that had been taken so early had been layed to rest.  So many plots already filled and unfortunately so many that had already been dug in anticipation of what was to come....death is a part of the culture....a part of life in the compound.

The service then followed traditional, local Zambian fashion, laying the body to rest, young and old men that knew Andrew working hard to finish the buriel and then a time for groups of Andrew's loved ones and friends to pay honor....laying flowers on his grave.  It was a sweet time...while still rubbing me raw as again I asked why?

When Shane got up to speak on behalf of Lifesong, he made a statement about Andrew being in heaven playing football and laughing with the other boys and girls which he wasn't always able to do while he was here.  I am reminded that Andrew's body is healed....no more difficulty breathing....no more limitations because of a heart issue.....no more lack of water or food or a clean place to lay his head...and as I type this, it makes me think of the Audio Adrenaline song "Big House".....

I don't know where you lay your head

or where you call your home

I don't know where you eat your meals

or where you talk on the phone

I don't know if you got a cook

a butler or a maid

I don't know if you got a yard

with a hammock in the shade

I don't know if you got some shelter

say a place to hide

I don't know if you live with friends

in whom you can confide

I don't know if you got a family

say a mom or dad

I don't know if you feel love at all

but I bet you wish you had

[PRE-CHORUS]

Come and go with me

to my Fathers house

Come and go with me

to my Fathers house

[CHORUS]

It's a big big house

with lots and lots a room

A big big table

with lots and lots of food

A big big yard

where we can play football

A big big house

Its my Fathers house

All I know is a big ole house

with rooms for everyone

All I know is lots a land

where we can play and run

All I know is you need love

and I've got a family

All I know is your all alone

so why not come with me?

Not sure if they were singing about American Football or soccer but I have no doubt Andrew is playing it!

Christ told the disciples.....Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.  In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you.  I am going there to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.  You know the way to the place where I am going.  (John 14:1-4)

Oh yeah.....I'm not supposed to be content here. We are only passing through.  I am supposed to be about doing what the Lord asks of me.....but this is not my home.  Andrew is home....I do wonder what those first few hours and days were like....seeing things he had never seen here or that any of us could even imagine for that matter!  That brings me hope in the midst of the saddness....a lifetime with Christ...healing our bodies....drying the tears....fulfilling his promises while we get to worship him.

While I still ask why, it is less out of desparation and more out of a lack of understanding for his plan and seeing his bigger picture.  I will rest tonight...praising my Lord for another day in Africa....doing what he has called me to.....and looking forward to what is in store for tomorrow.  There is still so much week left.....and with the 50th year Jubilee celebration on Friday, celebrating Zambia's indepence, there will no doubt be more stories to tell.

I'm sorry for the heaviness of this post....I look forward to being able to share many happy stories....but for tonight, it is Andrew's time....pray for our little ones....pray for protection....for a place to lay there heads and for food in their bellies.....but especially, pray that each one would come to know the saving grace of Jesus Christ....because, as death is a part of the compound.....joy, that only comes from Jesus, can be as well.

Africa hot....is stinkin' hot!

Now I recognize, that this venue is not intended to be a place to fuss, gripe or complain.  And I have no doubt that when you come to my blog you expect to hear all of the fabulous things that God is doing in Africa.  But for today, I am going to do a little fussing, because today…..well actually for the last few days….and from what I understand, the rest of the month or so…..it is hot!  Not just hot, but Africa hot….no air conditioning or ice cubes in your drink kind of hot!

To quote the late, great Robin Williams in Good Morning Vietnam (with language altered just a bit), "My name's Roosevelt E. Roosevelt." Roosevelt, what town are you stationed in?. "I'm stationed in Poontang." Well, thank you, Roosevelt. What's the weather like out there? "It's hot. Dang hot! Real hot! Hottest thing is my shorts. I could cook things in it. A little crotch pot cooking." Well, can you tell me what it feels like. "Fool, it's hot! I told you again! Were you born on the sun? It's dang hot! I say - It's so dang hot, I saw little guys, their orange robes burst into flames. It's that hot! Do you know what I'm talking about." What do you think it's going to be like tonight? "It's gonna be hot and wet! That's nice, but it ain't no good if you're in the jungle." Thank you, Roosevelt. Here's a song coming your way right now. "Nowhere To Run To" by Martha and the Vandellas

Like I said….hot!

On Wednesdays, our Lifesong family gets together for brinner….for those of you that don’t know what I am talking about, it is breakfast for dinner.  Love!  This is a great time for us all to gather around the table and chat…chat about the day, the farm, the school….whatever!  Today, my roommate Sheila decided to make cinnamon rolls to take to brinner….delish!  And not just one kind, but decided to try two different kinds!  In order to make the cinnamon rolls, she had to gauge the temperature of the milk prior to using it in the dough….so, she went and got the thermostat from the farm.  Did I tell you I live on a strawberry farm?  That is a story for another day…..anyway, she got back from the farmhouse with the temperature gauge and that is when it hit us.  89 degrees inside the house…..99 degrees outside of the house….without air conditioning!  I knew it was hot….but somehow when you put a number to it, it is almost unbearable! 

To make matters worse, I have been sick….with strep.  Something about me and Zambia….I came home last year with strep.  So, here is the part where I move beyond the fussing and become extremely thankful.  I am thankful that God provided antibiotics “just in case” before I left the states.  I was able to start these right away and am already on the mend.  I am thankful for the provision of other missionaries, already on the ground when I arrived, that have quickly become family and have checked on me over the last couple of days.  I am also thankful for fans…don’t laugh…I have been at home during the hottest parts of the day since being sick and have had 3 blowing on me.  I have one at the school that I use when I am there (which also helps to mask the smell of hot children).  This temperature would be rather intolerable without them. 

So, I guess this blog today is about what God IS doing in Africa….providing….providing pharmaceuticals, friends and family and fans (tried to make it an alliteration….ha!).  Throughout the process of getting to Africa and even once here, I am constantly reminded that our God can always be found even in the smallest details.

A week in Zambia, Africa

Where do I begin...the wonderful wedding celebration...shopping at the market in the compound for vegetables...with International Teacher's Day at the dam...with the driving experiences (and I thought Dallas drivers were crazy)...with the beautiful children I get to work with...with the funeral house I went to today?  It has only been a week...7 days...but I feel like I have already lived a lifetime in Zambia.  Strap in...I'm going to try to cover it all!

The wedding celebration was a wonderful mixture of America and Zambia....I'm told this celebration was mild in nature but was still something to behold.  One of the teachers MC'd the evening which added a layer of entertainment that none of us could have predicted.  The young married couple danced in following Zambian couples, dancing traditional dances...I'm pretty sure I haven't seen hips move like that except maybe in a Shakira video or two!  As a sign of approval, there were women rolling on the floor in front of the dancers and others waving their chetanga fabric in the air....what a sight!  We ate like kings (grilled chicken, rice, cole slaw and soup.....oh the soup!) and the event ended with all of us dancing and eating cake....cupcakes that is!  Still trying to gather pics and videos.....

Shopping in Zambia is a trip....when you step beyond the traditional grocery store that is (thank goodness for Pic and Pay and Supa Save).  We had to do some shopping for the meal for the teacher's celebratory meal on teacher's day.  We did most of our shopping in town but went to the market in the compound for produce.  20 kwacha (a little less than $4) goes a long way in the compound market....it will buy you a plastic walmart bag full of tomatoes!  But, as I am waiting on Shane to buy the tomatoes, I decide to take a look around....the first thing I notice is this adorable boy playing with his "truck"...made out of a beer box and bottle caps.  Such creativity....and when you look around, all of the young boys have them....some of them single cabs, some of them trailers....some of them even train sets being pulled down the road.  Not a matchbook car in sight but it hasn't slowed these guys down a bit!

And then I notice the kapenta fish....multiple varieties to choose from....all covered in flies but a Zambian delicacy just the same.  Don't you wish you could try them???  I did, last year....pretty sure I can still taste the after taste that will keep me from eating them again!

So we take our tomatoes and cabbage and set out making a savory meal for a wonderful group of Zambian teachers.  I made cole slaw the Zambian way...and they seemed to like it....while Shane grilled up chicken and sausage and bri (spelling?) sandwiches.  Bri sandwiches are delish!  Buttered bread, sliced onion, sliced tomato, a little cheese, all grilled up and toasty....like I said, delish!

Our time at the dam, with the teachers, was so much fun....there were games, swimming, charades, prizes to the winning team (mine, of course)....and awards for the teachers.  They laughed and played like children.....such a delightful time!

Don't have a checkered board? Make one....

 

 

 

 

I heard that there would be many sad moments, mixed in with the happy, as life in Zambia is hard.  Tuesdays at Lifesong School traditionally end with home visits in the compound.  Teachers are expected to visit each child's home at least once each trimester.  This includes a long walk to the compound, locating the family's home, visiting with them and discussing their child's progress in class and then walking back to school.  I decided to make the trek with a couple of teachers today to take a peek behind the curtain that is life in the compound.  But, today was not to be any ordinary visit....today was a visit to a funeral house to pay honor to a family of one of our Lifesong kiddos.  This little one came to school today not knowing that her father had died in the night.  

 

 

 

A funeral house is a room within the family's home (of which there are usually only 2)...inside the dark, cramped room sat the women that are present to pay their respects to the family.  Lining the four walls, sitting on the floor with their feet stretched out into the center of the room (the only empty space), the women sit, about 20 in this particular room once we join them...sitting quietly, still...not speaking...until someone begins to cry and then another until the room is filled with wailing and tears.  Then, after some time, the crying stops and the room quiets again, sitting still...not speaking. 

 

I wish I could have taken a picture of the room and the women found within its walls.  With all of their feet pointing to the center (which is where, I am told, the body can usually be found....but thankfully not this time since he died in the hospital), young and old, comforting one another by being close.  One of the teachers asked if I would like to pray for the family....she prayed first in bemba...and then I prayed...praying for comfort....praying for peace....praying that the family would trust in the Lord even though they don't understand why the father was taken when still so young.

 

Traditionally, the funeral house usually lasts for 2 days and the body is buried on the third.  Poor little Helen, a single orphan now...being cared for by her mother...life has just gotten a little harder for her.

 

A bright spot though....after leaving the women as they mourn....were the sweet faces of the children that line the streets of the compound.  They think I am funny, of course, with my white skin and red hair and funny way of saying "I am fine" in bemba with a southern accent.  They lighten the mood as the teachers and I head back to the school, taking tire swing to a whole new level...

 





 

 

There is so much more I could tell you....about my time at the school this week....the pizza, Mexican food and samosas I have eaten....about the sunsets that are unlike anything I've seen...the strawberries and jam I have eaten....about my house and the very modern conveniences I have been blessed with....and don't even get me started on driving on the wrong side of the road and the wrong side of the car.  But for now, it is time to rest....it has been a long day and full week....I am thankful I am here....thankful for the people I get to do life with...thankful that the Lord chose me!

 

Ephesians 3:14-21

Giving thanks...

What a whirlwind the last couple of days have been...packing...spending time with friends...spending time with family...repacking when I thought there was a chance it might not all be able to be checked.  Whew!  So the first leg of the move is done and I am sitting in the London Heathrow Admiral's Club enjoying a hot cup of tea and posting to my blog as I promised my friend Cindy I would.

As I sit here, I am thankful for so much that has happened during the last few days...

• thankful for parents that were willing to come and hang out with me and help me repack, just in case I could only take 3 bags.
• thankful that, even though I repacked my bags on Saturday, the man at the counter didn't even flinch when I told him I needed to check 9 bags.
• thankful that the man behind the counter only charged me for 5, when he could have charged me for 6 (I was to get three free already....thank you British Airways). After learning that I would be traveling to Africa, he said that all of the atheists should be gathered up and sent to Africa.  He believed that surely after seeing the people and the work being done there that their hard hearts might be changed for Christ.  Sweet thought.... 
• thankful for great friends that joined my parents at the airport to see me off.  This was a special time of laughing (and crying) and praying before working my way through check-in and onto the plane.  These sweet friends and family helped me stay focused and didn't allow me to be a blubbering mess for too long!
• thankful for the shower that I was able to take once I arrived at London Heathrow and even more thankful for the friend that helped to make that happen!
• thankful for the many well wishes and prayers from friends and family that I found on Facebook once I was able to hit Wi-Fi again!

But most importantly, I am thankful for how my God has continued to be found even in the smallest details.  I have no doubt that he is the one that gathered that group of friends and family at the airport.  I have no doubt that he is the one that opened up the line that led to the man behind the BA counter.  I have no doubt that he is the one that sustained me and cared for me in the last few days, at the airport, on the first leg of the flight and even now as I sit in a very comfy recliner awaiting my next flight (did I mention it is 11 hours???).

I am so thankful for each of you that will be going on this journey with me (and if you are following my adventures, you are with me).  I have no doubt that I will have many adventures to share.....happy, sad, frustrating and rewarding....and I also believe that this adventure wouldn't even be possible without you!

So for now, I will say cheerio...I will relax for a little while longer....and prep for the next long leg of travel!  See you once I reach the other side of the equator!

I just wanted to take a moment to thank you so much for this opportunity to share my story and mission with you.  I have been called to go to Kitwe, Zambia and am anticipating the Lord providing the financial resources necessary to get there...but I wanted to share a little of my story with you as to how I got to today.

The last 2 summers, I have traveled to Africa on short term missions trips.  The first year I went to Namibia with my youth group.  The adults and students (about 25 high schoolers) worked in schools, an orphanage and a soup kitchen for children in a very poor area of Walvis Bay, Namibia. I was so touched by the children but also by the pleas of the teachers (once they found out I was an educator) to share resources and teaching techniques with them as they don’t receive professional development once they leave their training, as we do in the states.  So, I made plans to return the following year to Namibia to provide professional development at two of the schools where I had been the previous year.  Although the professional development didn’t necessary look like I thought it might, it was just what the Lord had planned….flexibility is the name of the game in Africa!

While in Africa again, I decided to make a stopover in Zambia to visit friends and help at Lifesong School for Orphans.  I spent my week with Mitzi and Sandy (two of the Lifesong missionaries serving in Zambia) giving tips on pulling small groups and adjustments I would make in the classrooms based on my very quick observations.  It was a wonderful time.  Mitzi and Sandy asked me to stay but I needed to return home to see what God had planned for me in Mckinney.  Very quickly, God closed doors that I thought had been opened just for me and made it very obvious that I was to return to Zambia (the writing on the wall I had asked for).  After about 4 months of denial (ha!), I began to pursue a move to Africa, working with Lifesong for Orphans and my church, First Baptist McKinney, to become a missionary in Zambia.  The process did not move as quickly as I would have liked but has kicked into high gear now. 

While in Zambia, for the next 18-24 months, I will be working at Lifesong School for Orphans as an instructional specialist.  I will be working with teachers (training them in new teaching techniques…especially for reading, writing and second language acquisition), Luke…the headmaster as he learns the primary piece (having 14 years of secondary experience) and with students…pulling small groups to help speed up their grasp of the English language through reading and writing.  Lifesong School has as its mission to share the love of Christ with children in the Kitwe community by providing education and provision to the future leaders of Zambia.  I am getting the opportunity to help with this mission through my love of education.

At this point, my biggest challenge is fundraising.  In order to live in Zambia for 18-24 months, I must raise about $100,000.  My church has sponsored a fourth of the need, and I have begun the task of fundraising with friends and strangers alike.  I know that my God will provide for what he is called me to do, and I am so appreciative of you for giving me the opportunity to share my story with you through this letter, in order to tell the story of Lifesong, orphan care and my plight to raise the funds necessary to go.

As of today, I have raised about two-thirds of the amount needed to go.  The money raised will be used to pay my monthly expenses…a salary, if you will, while I live in Zambia.  The expenses include rental of a missionary home and a share of a car, household expenses such as electricity and internet as well as food, medical insurance, supplies that I might use at the school and other needs as they arise. 

Would you consider partnering with me?  You may not be able to go but can support the work being done with these sweet children by giving to my mission in Zambia. 

There are 3 ways that you can support or give to this mission that God has called me on:

First, you can pray…pray for God’s provision so that I can do the work he has called me to.  Pray for the hearts and souls of the young children and teachers with which I will be working.  Pray for the long term impact on Zambia as we work to train up future Christian leaders to work in the government and high offices in order to exact change throughout all of Zambia.

Second, you can give a monthly or one-time donation through the Lifesong for Orphans website at…

Monthly:  https://www.lifesongfororphans.org/get-involved/support-a-lifesong-missionary/monthly/?missionary_choice=Cobb

One time:  https://www.lifesongfororphans.org/get-involved/support-a-lifesong-missionary/one-time/?missionary_choice=Cobb

Or, third, you can send a check to Lifesong for Orphans (include my name on the memo line, Kristie Cobb) to:

PO Box 40  
Gridley, IL 61744

When you give to my move (or sponsor a child) through Lifesong, 100% of that donation comes to me.  Lifesong administrative costs are underwritten by an outside company so that they do not have to hold back funds that could be going to children and/or the missionaries they send.

I thank each of you for your prayerful consideration…and how you can help me get to Zambia.  Thank you again so much for your support on this venture.