Our new house

Here are photos of our new place!  We are feeling a bit overwhelmed with the amount of work to do to make this home.  It's the little things you can't "see" - all the cupboards in the kitchen need to be replaced.  They are just particle board and I'm scared to put anything in them for fear of them breaking!

We moved in here on Saturday and there was at least 3 other MCC workers that came to help us get things situated.  There is a huge yard but it need a lot of work (some work was done before we arrived).

The water everywhere we've been in Zambia has been fairly safe - but probably not here.  Kate and myself are both sick.  We'd appreciate prayers (especially for Kate - she threw up 10 times last night).  She is keeping gravol medicine done and is doing okay but not hungry and not drinking much.  We'll take her to a doctor if it continues but so far the medicine is working okay.

Here are the photos you are waiting for!

The living room

Also part of the living room - it's down a couple stairs.
I think playroom?  Right now our internet is hooked up
in this room so it might have to be an office too!

The kitchen.  No appliances came with the rental so we got
a new fridge and small stove (still 4 burners) and a hand me
down washing machine that Andrew is trying to fix so it
doesn't leak.  

The kitchen has this really great pantry though! We ended up putting the
fridge in there too.

Hallway taken from the master bedroom
The living room is at the end to the left and the
kitchen at the end to the right.  The bathroom
is in the middle on the right.

The main bathroom

Sink and shower come separately!
There was no hot water when we got here
but the landlord came by and showed us
the switch.

This one is now the kids bedroom
They wanted to share still.  Two beds fit
but barely!  (We turned that one).  Note weird
"plant" decoration that had to be removed!

This one would be another room for the kids
if they decided to have different rooms.  Both
these rooms are next to the Master Bedroom.

The master bedroom - the nicest room in the house I think!

And the ensuite!  For real!  Though the sink is coming off the wall.
Everything is harder to "fix" here because the walls are solid concrete!
Andrew's thinking to build a cabinet under it to support it.

The front of our house!  It's on a bit of a compound - walled in.  The gate needs a lock though - we have one, but we haven't seen our neighbour yet (there's a house at the back that is rented) and I don't think he'd like us to put a lock on the gate and him not have a key!

Prayer Requests:
-That we can make this huge place feel like home.  3 rooms in the middle are not being used by us yet! We're hoping to have a guest room (small) and an office.  And the other room is also a guest room while the kids share.
-For Michelle and Kate to feel better.  It's hard to do anything when you feel awful!

Our first few days (in Lusaka, Zambia)

Thanks for your prayers!  The plane ride over went well.  The kids slept most of the first flight.  There was a great play place in the London airport that we spent most of our layover at.  Kate was asleep before the plane took off on our London to Lusaka flight.  Malachi was out shortly after.  They decided that it was merely nap time though so they were both up around 1am and did not go back to sleep.  The iPad kept them fairly quiet though.  Andrew and I did not get much sleep.

We arrived at the Lusaka airport and easily got our visas and all our luggage and cleared customs.  It was the easiest African airport I've been through!  Ron Mitchell, one of the Zambia country representatives for MCC, met us right away as we walked through the door.  We are currently staying at the "MCC House" in the "MCC guesthouse."

The backyard of the MCC house!  Can't believe
 everything is flowering so much in dry season!
Gorgeous!

Our flight arrived at 6:15am and we tried hard to stay awake all day.  We went to the mall in the morning.  Yep.  A mall.  Andrew got his first cell phone!  We had naps and at supper time the electricity went off so we went back to the mall to eat at Wimpy's.  It had burgers, wraps, breakfast food and a children's play place.  Our kids didn't eat anything.  They were ready for bed.  Malachi woke up around 2am but went back to sleep.  Kate woke up around 3:30am and did not go back to sleep.  Andrew dozed on the couch a bit.

Tuesday we played around the MCC compound for the morning.  A long morning (when you get up at 3:30am!)  We had brunch with the Mitchells, though it was more of a second breakfast for us!  I got to see the stuff for our new house in Choma that was packed up for us (well I got to see the furniture and was told what was packed up!)  The truck that was arranged to take the furniture and household items to Choma showed up - an 18 wheeler!  It didn't fit in the driveway.  There had been a misunderstanding, but they loaded the truck up and it was going to stop back at the depot to swap for something smaller before driving to Choma.  I also got to browse the MCC library.  The afternoon consisted of naps for the kids and reading over the orientation booklet for us.  We chatted with the Mitchells about our job descriptions and how to start.  Then we tried to wake the kids up... I fell asleep trying to wake Kate up!  We woke up in time to have supper with the Bishop of the Brethren in Christ Church (it is the BIC church that runs the schools I'll be working with).  The kids went to bed late (around 10pm) and us shortly after.  Andrew woke up around 1am and Kate shortly after.  While trying to put her back to bed Malachi woke up.  Only Malachi managed to get a bit more sleep after that (and me!)   The jet lag has been one of the hardest things - especially with the kids as our sleep depends on theirs in a way.

Wednesday was Kate's 5th birthday.  We went to a nice place called Jackal and Hide which was a cafe / restaurant / shop / organic farm.  We had coffee break there and lunch and were able to chat with the Mitchells a bit more as it also had a playground for the kids.  When we got back after lunch I tried so hard to keep the kids awake while Andrew went for a nap.  I looked over and Kate had fallen asleep.  I picked her up, bounced her around, put her down and she crawled over to the couch again.  I started chatting with Ron about finances and I looked over and noticed Malachi had also fallen asleep.  I decided to give them an hour tops!

We had a birthday supper for Kate and she was barely awake (it was very difficult to wake her up!)  There were the Mitchells and their two kids, another MCC family lives on this compound too - they have 3 boys, (the 5 kids are between the ages of 10-14 I believe).  Another service worker from near Choma was here visiting too so we had quite a group for Kate's birthday!  We served cupcakes very quickly after supper as she was fading fast! Here is a photo from the party.....

She asked to go to bed after and I put her to bed at 6pm.  I crawled into bed at 7pm thinking that I might have to get up with her at 1am!!  Malachi and Andrew followed closely behind.  Kate woke up at 4am but went back to sleep after an hour or so and slept until 8!  She was definitely more herself today and I think we hit a turning point in the jet lag!  (I hope!)

A much happier Kate... technically the photo was taken
only 7 minutes past her actually North American birth date
was over....

Today we played around the MCC guesthouse and did some laundry.  Then we had lunch with some traditional African food.  (I liked it, the kids liked the beans and the chicken, and I think Andrew liked it too - I'll have to ask him).  I forgot to take a photo though!  After lunch I went shopping with the ladies for a few more things for our house in Choma.  We went back to the mall and to a store called "Games" which was pretty much a Wal-Mart (I think the MCCers mentioned it's owned by Wal-Mart?)

Here is us playing around the MCC guesthouse today:

Ready for another nap!

The tire swing!

Tomorrow we leave for Choma.  We're planning to spend a night in a guesthouse while we organize our house to live in.  A couple of the MCCers are going to come down with us - which is good because though I feel I could probably drive our "new" vehicle.... I'm not so sure about driving on the left side of the road in Lusaka to start out!

Prayer requests:
-continual adjustment from the jet lag
-our move into our new home and making it feel like home
-learning to drive on the left side of the road, safety!

And we're off!

Our suitcases are packed up - all 9 of them!  (We could have taken 12!)

And we leave tonight!

This is what we've been busy with the last few weeks:

Our condo is all packed up and our boxes are in storage at a friends' place.   Thanks to Andrew's parents: Chris and Nancy, who let us live with them while we packed up AND took care of our kids for almost 3 days straight while we did it!

A big huge thank you to my Bible study ladies who came over to pack up the kitchen, wipe it down AND stuffed our prayer cards into envelopes!  We wouldn't have gotten it done without you!

We also had Kate's 5th birthday party (at the MCC relief sale and the park since our condo was empty)
It was pretty fun and it was great seeing lots of friends!

Facepainting

Bouncy Castle

Birthday cake!

We also had two wonderful farewell parties.  One in Abbotsford and the other in Didsbury.   (Thanks to Sarah and my mom for hosting them!)  It truly was a great time to say good-bye to friends and family.

Now it's time to go and we're feeling sad about leaving our friends and family, tired from packing up and moving, and excited about the new adventure that is awaiting!

We leave Calgary around 9:30pm tonight (Saturday) and fly overnight to London.  We arrive there around 1:30pm (because of the time change) and then fly out that evening, on another overnight flight to Lusaka, Zambia.  We arrive in Lusaka at 6:15am on Monday morning.  (It's 10 hours ahead of B.C. and 9 hours ahead of Alberta for those of you that want to know!)

Prayer Requests:
- Good travelling children and sleep for all!
- Transition of moving to Zambia and leaving Canada (friends and family) behind.
- Getting into Lusaka: Customs and trying to juggle 9 suitcases, carry on luggage, and two kids by ourselves until we get out of the first part of the airport.
-Adjusting to a new time change and a new place
-Moving into our new house in Choma, Zambia (probably next Saturday, after a week of in country orientation).

TICKETS!

photo by: Adam Sacco Photography (creative commons)

We've got the tickets now.   We're really going.  Before this I knew we were going but now it's feeling real.  Really real.  Now we have the tickets.  Farewells are being planned and we're really going!

YIKES!

So - here's the "plan"

Andrew's last day of work: August 30th

My parents and brother are coming out the long weekend to help us and have some fun

They leave Tuesday, September 3rd and we'll move in with Andrew's parents in Chilliwack.

We'll madly finish packing everything in our condo.

We are having a FAREWELL PARTY on Sunday, September 8th hosted by my friend Sarah.  Here are the details (you are all invited):  

Everyone is invited to join us in saying farewell to Andrew and Michelle Potts.

Date: Sunday Sept 8th 
Time: 3:00-5:30 pm (drop in)
Place: the Siebert's 5-4300 Shearwater Drive
Why:  the Pott's are off to Zambia with MCC for 3 years

We will be having a Blessings Basket - you are more than welcome to bring a card, a verse or financial gift to bless them!

No RSVP necessary.

Questions: email Sarah siebertsw@gmail.com

And I'm really excited we get to be around for the MCC Relief Sale in Abbotsford - so much fun! :)  Feel free to catch us there and say good-bye if you can't make it to the farewell party!  If you've never been come check it out Friday, September 6th (5-9pm) or Saturday, September 7th (8am - 2pm). Schedule and more info here: http://bc.mcc.org/getinvolved/abbotsford-festival   (All money goes to MCC - so you are supporting us as you eat pie, have coffee, let your kids jump in bouncy castles or climb the HUGE climbing wall).  Lots of fun!  (Bring cash for parking at Tradex, but entry is free to the relief sale - though you'll want to bring cash and buy ticket booklets - each $20 - to spend!)

Then we'll fly to Calgary the evening of the 8th or sometime on the 9th. (Tickets still to be purchased - we were waiting for the other ones to be finalized!)  And we'll spend time saying good-byes to my family and other friends in Alberta.  (Maybe we should plan a farewell party there too?!  I'll chat with my mom!) :)

Our trip to Calgary last Christmas

On September 14th at 9:35pm we leave Calgary and we fly overnight to London (we have about a 6 hour stopover on the 15th of September) and we arrive in Lusaka (direct from London - yeah!) at 6:15am on September 16th.  We'll be staying at the MCC guesthouse for a few nights and getting some in country orientation before we head to Choma.

Current prayer requests:

-That our condo will sell (we've lowered the price and had a couple more showings)

-That our car would sell (2005 Honda Civic - very nice car in great shape! More details here if you know someone who wants to buy it (price reduced for friends!): http://abbotsford.en.craigslist.ca/cto/4007163369.html

-For rest and making great memories during this busy time (fun family things would be good!)

-For our transition and the big new adventures

-And for the friends and family that we are leaving behind.  It's a big transition for them too.

Orientation, Reunion, and Vacation!

A sign at the Welcoming Place at MCC in Akron, PA

The last 3 weeks have been a bit of a whirlwind.  I can say I'm glad to be home (though the kids are letting it loose after being on their best behaviour for the last few weeks, which I'm glad they were!)

We left Saturday, July 20th and started the long drive towards Denver, CO.  It took 15.5 hours to make it to our hotel in Buhl, ID (near Twin Falls).   It said 11.5 hours on Google maps.  We pulled in very tired around midnight.  Luckily the kids fell asleep in the car about an hour before we got in so it was easy to move them to bed and crash!   The next day we thought it might take just as long (since we had picked the "halfway" mark).  Luckily it was only about 11.5 hours - and that included an almost 2 hour stop at a McDonald's playplace in Rawlins, Wyoming.

We arrived into Denver and we crashed at my good friends' place: Rachel and Ted.  (I felt like we used them as a hotel in Denver but we were very grateful for their hospitality!  And so good to see them again - and meet their newest little, now 6 months old).

I quite enjoyed my Monday.  Rachel had to nap (she's a nurse who works nights!) Andrew must have been watching the kids.  Or Malachi was napping too.  The kids played so nicely together with Rachel and Ted's oldest (she's a couple months older than Malachi).  I spent the afternoon doing my favourite thing: reading a book (this one was a good one about an evolving faith journey - I don't usually enjoy non-fiction, but this was a pretty easy read - I finished it that same day)!  The Dr. Pepper just made it that much sweeter!

On Tuesday morning we left really early for the Denver airport.

 Above: Sleeping Beauty is still cute when we wake her up! :)   

 Below:  The Denver skyline at sunrise (taken from the car speeding down the interstate!)

The airplane ride was delayed a bit but fairly uneventful.  MCC (Mennonite Central Committee) sent a driver for us and others.  We waited a bit in the airport but it was a good time to have our kids run around, eat some pizza, and take a break.  Plus it was pouring outside at one point!

In Akron, PA we got to stay at the Welcoming Place in the ASIA house (each house was decorated in a theme).  Each house had 12 rooms arranged in 3 wings.  We had 2 rooms next to each other.  Kate sure loved being here as we gave her more freedom.  She loved sending me ahead to the dining room (a 2 minute walk) and coming by herself.

The ASIA house

General Orientation started at 8:30 on Wednesday morning and went until 5:00pm with an hour and a half-ish lunch break.  Our kids did really well at the children't orientation and Malachi skipped his nap most days as they had fun events (swimming, park, etc.)  By Friday Malachi was about done though!  But we had a relaxing weekend (most everyone signed up to go to New York City on a day trip on Saturday but we had decided that was a bit crazy for us!)  Instead we went to Lancaster City and had some ice cream and played some pianos (they have them around the downtown area so that everyone can have music!)  Sunday we went to the park for a picnic and some frisbee.  Then we started up orientation again from Monday - Wednesday.

Some of the topics that were covered in our orientation:  

Theology of Peace and Theology of Service, 

MCC's Program Overviews: Disaster Relief, Development and Peace,

Power and Privilege, 

MCC's Advocacy work, 

Trauma Aware and Taking Care, 

Cultural Awareness, 

and other day to day MCC stuff that we need to know: finances, HR, computer, etc.   Some of the topics were deep and others were just things we needed to know.

We left tired and better informed about MCC and their work.  (Interesting tidbit we found out:  One service worker (me) costs MCC (on average) $21,000 a year to support.  So three years plus a family.... I'll let you do the math!

Feel free to donate to MCC through our giving registry!  

https://donate.mcc.org/registry/andrew-and-michelle-potts-choma-zambia

After orientation was over we left for the airport the next morning (even earlier than we left for the Denver airport!)  We were picked up by our driver at 4am EST.   We arrived in Denver and even got to meet my parents and brother at their gate as they flew into Denver about an hour after we arrived.   

Back to Ted and Rachel's (with the whole family!) We introduced my parents to the pastry shop where I had yet another chocolate croissant!  Yummy!

The next day we headed to Rocky Mountain Mennonite Camp, elevation 9620 ft.  It was here we met up with friends from 20 years ago at a Mennonite Central Committee Nigeria reunion.  (For those of you who don't know - my family served with MCC 20 years ago in Nigeria.  I was middle school age).

It was a good time with great people, some currently serving with Mennonite Central Committee.  There was a wealth of great wisdom, information and advice for us.  With lots of stories thrown in!

Having my parents around gave us a bit of a break.  My mom babysat for us a couple days so Andrew and I could go hiking.  (I was already gasping for air without exercising at that elevation!)   We went slow and quite enjoyed our time hiking.  I ate a few (okay, lots) of wild strawberries and enjoyed the view as I stopped every 5 steps to breathe!  

Here's a picture at the top of the second hike. (Photo by: Michael From)

Andrew even hiked up (and down) Pike's Peak (a 14,000 ft mountain); others took the train or drove up.  My mom, the kids, and I went DOWN into Colorado Springs to the zoo (goodbye altitude headache!)  There was a very cool giraffe exhibit with tons of up close and personal giraffes since people (including us!) were feeding them!  The kids were unsure at first but it became a highlight of our time away for them.  (They keep asking to go back!)  I was too busy holding them up to the giraffes to take photos of the cool experience- so I'll have to grab a photo (or the video she took) from my mom!  Here's a photo of the kids at the zoo at least!

We were at the camp just under a week and then we headed back to Denver for some time (that wasn't hotel time) with Rachel and Ted and their girls.  We decided to head back on the road on Friday to give us a day of rest on Sunday before Andrew went back to work.   The trip back went as smoothly as one can expect with young children.  (Yeah for the iPhones!)  We were tired the first day (and we made it 30 miles in 3 hours at one point.... sigh) so we stopped at a hotel in Ogden, UT (yeah priceline!  Boo for a cockroach in the bathroom at a 3.5 star hotel! Preparing me for the one thing I strongly dislike about Africa).  The next day was a long travel day and we arrived home around 1:30am PST.   It sure was nice to have a day at home to sleep and relax (and do laundry!)

That's been the last 3 weeks!  Hard to believe that we only have about 3 weeks left in Abbotsford. (No exact travel date yet - but we're hoping to finish packing the first week in September and then spend a week in Alberta and fly straight from there to Zambia).  I'll let you know when dates are finalized and tickets bought!

Prayer requests in the next few weeks:

1) That our condo sells (we had no showings in the 3 weeks we were gone but we have one this Thursday evening!)  You know - since we've messed it all up again!

2) Packing up the condo and packing up our stuff for Zambia (while having 2 littles around!)

3) Lots of appointments so we can switch over to MCC's medical plan.  Thanks to all my friends who have been babysitting so I don't have to take the kids to my appointments!

4) Saying good-byes 

Muttering Verse

So I picked this verse: Jeremiah 17:7-8 to mutter.  (If you don't understand you didn't read to the end of the post: Courage, Honest and Vulnerable).   Some of you might recognize the verse from the devotional I shared in the post "Trusting in the Lord."   It was perfect and I decided that this was my verse and the Lord had plopped it into my lap (he must know I'm sort of busy these days)! 

“But blessed are those who trust in the Lord    and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit." (NLT) Jeremiah 17: 7-8.

I kept coming back to this verse after I read the devotional.  I decided that it was perfect for my muttering verse.  Here's why.....  I need to remember that I cannot produce fruit without having roots into Jesus.  Pride is one of my strongholds and I need to stay plugged in to Jesus so nothing moves me, withers me or causes me to not bear fruit.  Bear fruit to me means loving people, sharing grace and mercy and forgiveness and the freedom that comes with it.  Working for justice.  Being a voice for the oppressed and the poor.  Helping lead people to Shalom.  Listening to Jesus and wanting to be obedient to what he asks of me - big or little.

If you hear me walking around muttering.....  you'll be able to figure out what I'm saying now! :)

Trusting in the LORD

This devotional was a great reminder for me to trust God no matter what.  And the importance of having a mature faith with deep roots.  Very good to remember as we continue to prepare to head off to Zambia in September!

"Life twists and turns and throws loops into those places we think will be flat and smooth. Because that's what life does. Sometimes it all just catches us off guard.

And at the end of the day, I guess that's why I don't like to be surprised. I can't stand to get caught off guard. It makes me feel exposed and afraid.

But slowly, I'm learning God can bring good out of feeling exposed and afraid.

That vulnerable place reminds us we have needs beyond what we can manage by ourselves. It reminds us we need God. Desperately. Completely."

"Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit." Jeremiah 17:7-8 (ESV)"

Read the whole thing here: 

 http://us2.campaign-archive2.com/?u=f63562b3be485ea0ae33acf18&id=0df456a1ff&e=ee78e8bfd2