This is my first attempt at a blog so bear with me and let me know how to improve if you are an experienced blogger person!
Well, we have our plane tickets and head out to Mwandi on March 2nd. We will fly from Louisville - Chicago - London - Johannesburg - Livingstone, Zambia. Total trip time is about 36 hours. The kids are excited about the plane ride- we have told them they get lots of snacks and can watch movies and play video games unlimited... Alicia is excited about our 8 hour layover in London where we hope to leave the airport for a little while and see a sight or two (quickly). Today we are laying our suitcases and starting to see how much room we have for things- we are allowed one large suitcase each plus carry on. We'll see how that goes!
We plan to get into Livingstone and take a day to rest and let the kids see Victoria Falls and maybe some wildlife before heading down to Mwandi the following day. Through the Mwandi Veterinary Project we have acquired a vehicle in which Dr Toby Hudson will pick us up to bring us to our new home for the year. Toby will be staying for a couple weeks to get us started and then heading back to the states. He and his wife, Kay, have been such a great help to us in all this!
Our house in Mwandi is mostly finished up, there will still be a few things to work on once there but I understand it will be snake and mosquito proof at least (only requirement for now).
The cattle AI (artificial insemination) project is ready to roll with supplies and funding being donated by World Renew so we will hit the ground running getting farmers organized to set up meetings and times to do the breeding and herd maintenance care in March and April. This will likely take up a lot of my time initially the first couple months and I am also anxious to see what opportunities arise in other veterinary areas and start relationships in Mwandi and surrounding villages.
Homeschooling is going well and Alicia plans to continue this in the mornings and take the kids to the OVC (Orphan and Vulnerable Children Center) in the afternoons. She loves kids and I think our kids will have a good time being around the other children there.
I plan to send out something short each week with a picture or two to let everyone know what is going on. Feel free to let us know what we are missing in the states as we would love to hear from you too.
If you are praying for us please pray for wisdom to see where God is working and how we can join Him. Let us know how we can pray for you too!
Ephesians 2:10
-paul
I know you have all seen this picture but it is my favorite from August- new ones to come!!
