Our vehicle is supposed to arrive in Dar-es-Salaam tomorrow (Monday). After that it takes a few days to clear all formalities and we expect to be able to pick up the vehicle towards the end of the week. With a little bit of luck we might have it next weekend which would be a great relieve. The last two weeks Machteld has been using Sophie's vehicle which has been a great improvement in our overall mobility.
It was also our 28th anniversary on Wednesday which we celebrate with a nice dinner together since Lucinda was staying at the Esther School in Nyangwena. It doesn't happen that often that it is just the two of us so it was a nice coincidence that we had the evening together on our anniversary. We also realized that we have been living abroad longer than we lived in The Netherlands since we got married. It is almost 15 years ago now that we moved to France after having lived in The Netherlands our whole live. It also makes you realize that you`re getting older and looking at the girls we know for sure that we are getting "old" as Lucinda would say.
Also on Wednesday we got ourselves a nice anniversary present. It is a great piece of African ingenuity. A few weeks ago we saw some great hammocks on the Dutch Market which were very comfortable. We ordered two of them and we got them on Wednesday, our anniversary.
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The hammocks are made out of mukwa hardwood pieces through which they put ropes like in a normal hammock. But the advantage is that the hammock stays relatively flat and doesn't wrap around you as most would do. The guy that came up with the idea is Jerry and he is originally from Malawi and he has a Zambian helper (Robbie) to make the hammocks. It is a great piece of African ingenuity with the rigid ribs of hardwood keeping the hammock in shape. With the mattresses with local fabric and locally made we really feel privileged to have these great African piece in our backyard. I am sure that there would be a great market for these hammock in North America (I don't think the design is patented yet).
Finally, Gert started this week using Facebook. He has resisted for many years but finally gave in and is slowly getting into the use of it. Of course we will continue to use this blog to communicate with all of you as to have things are going. On Facebook we will probably give short updates whereas the blog we will go a little more into detail about what we do and experience here in Zambia.
We are slowly getting into our routines of working and playing with the kids, especially now that they have vacation till the middle of May, as well as in the office. We hope and pray that we can be a blessing to the people we reach out to and touch and that God's love for them may shine through us. Shining Light and Showing Love is becoming very real for us as what we are called to do every day. May this be true for all of us and you, that God may shine His light and show His love through us all!
Blessings and have a great week.
Hi Gert, Machteld and Lucinda,
ReplyDeleteIt's so great to know that things are going well there in Zambia. I hope that the paperwork for your vehicle is correct and complete and that you can take delivery soon. That will be a huge improvement I'm sure for you all when you can get around without having to work around other people's schedules. Yeah, isn't it amazing what people continue to come up with for inventions. I guess necessity is the mother of invention no matter where we are. Inventions are not restricted to any geographical location as these neat hammocks show.
Annie and I are in Myrtle Beach when I write this comment. We just had to get away from the cold wet weather in Canada and find some warmth and sun. So far, it's been great here, very relaxing and we enjoy the sunshine. We continue to keep you all in our prayers, also EOH and all the mammas and kids. It still feels strange not to have you guys around but I know that way is best since I know it's God's will for you. We love you all.