Hello everyone, I just wanted to take some time to talk a little about our trip. First off let me tell you that it was VERY difficult getting updates on here. There was no internet access in Kasempa save a little rigged laptop with a cell phone modem, and then when we got to Lusaka, the two internet cafes I went to were so slow that I couldn’t even load this site in order to update. So I apologize for the lack of posts, but truly this time it was beyond me! Let me also write a special thank you for all those that had been praying for us. Our entire team felt your prayers, and we were all so encouraged to know that our CC Philly family back home was interceding on our behalf. So many things that could have gone wrong and slowed down or stopped our progress were bypassed by the Lord. I’ll just mention a couple so we can all praise the Lord for His mercy on us.
1. Around 10 hours into our 13 hour trip there (driving from Lusaka) I noticed a steep lack in power with our van. We kept driving thinking it was because we were going up some big hills, but later after we arrived we found a huge problem with our fuel filter. We should have been stranded in the middle of the bush (at night) but the Lord carried us that last 3 hours to our final destination. And I won’t even talk about how the Lord gave our guys wisdom on fixing the problem with the rubber from a stethoscope!
Also, 2. one of the key pieces for us to set up the radio tower, a 10 ft. steel jib pole was not in the container when we got there. We just happened to find a 10 ft. piece of pipe in someones back yard there in town. This was a huge miracle, as metal like this is pretty much non existent in this small village in Zambia. This enabled us to set up the pulley system to pull each 10 ft. section up to the top of the tower.
3. The rains were held off during the day. Ron and Bridget told us that each rainy season there is usually a week or two where a reprieve is given and it doesn’t rain during the day. It just so happens that those two weeks where when we got there to set up this tower! If it had rained (poured) during the day everyday as it usually does during this time, we wouldn’t have gotten the tower up. I could talk about tires that were down to the metal and still not blown, or crucial pieces needed for the radio station that were missing, and how we found them in Lusaka, and then how we found a driver ( from a nearby hospital) that just “happened” to be 13 hours away in Lusaka, and driving up to Kasempa the day we needed the parts ! From every angle it was clear that the Lord was guiding us every step of the way, and we thank you guys so much for laboring in prayer for this trip! It couldn’t have been the success it was without your prayers!
So when we left Kasempa to head back to Lusaka, it was 4:00 A.M. on Thursday. As we pulled out we saw the light on top of the 100 ft. tower blinking. We passed the radio station which was working at 100% capacity, and we turned our radio to 90.7 F.M. to hear Pastor Joe sharing the Word! It was a moment that I will not soon forget.
I will post more on the visit to the leper colony, our day with the orphans, and the times of teaching in a couple of days. Also, look out for a couple of guest posts from some of the team that were on the trip.
Blessings,
Carlos