Sunday, July 17, 2011

For those who don't know...

... My husband Daniel "Robert" Hall passed away on February, 22nd 2011 while working on a construction project in Zambia.

If you would like to follow the story of what happened you can look at the website: www.danielroberthall.net

This blog though still represents so much of who and what Rob and I believe to be true. We believe that God and your family are your biggest adventure. That to include small ones on journey's of the heart is imperative to them catching a spirit of adventure and life calling.

I hope that from reading this blog you will see that Rob lived what he believed, loved well and ate a lot of chocolate in France.

To all of you who have followed this blog and walked with us.

Live your adventure,

Kate

Sunday, February 20, 2011

a New Meaning to Home School


This week I have been priveleged to be going to see the different projects that Visionledd has been overseeing in Zambia. Our travels brought us to Mukukulu, where we held a massive party for the students of a community school. A community school that started with some humble beginnings.
Theresa, a teacher at a local government school noticed all the kids around her neighbourhood unable to go to school because they had no money for school fees. It broke her heart and she decided to do something about it. Unable to quit her job she began teaching the kids in her home after school and on weekends. The kids would sit on the floor and learn.
The week Richard Brown (visionledd director) came to visit, the students were huddled on the floor of the house. It was during the rains and the floor was basically a big mud puddle, but it was the only place the kids had for school. Now I am happy to say thanks to some Canadians there is a brand new community school for kids that wouldn't be able to go otherwise.
The day we came, we were able to hand out school uniforms, and through a huge party for the 3 room school that has 350 kids (do the math). It was hot and cramped, but it was a happy day- especially for Theresa.

Monday, February 7, 2011

Training leaders to Eat- our new motto

Don is a pastor from Montreal who has recently decended on zambia and our college here in Kitwe to begin a practical leadership school in Zambia. Leadership, mentorship, management are things that we learn to get better at. No one is born a Winston Churchill, or an Abraham Lincoln, these men had years of training, years of hard knocks prior to the iconic nature we now immortalize them in.

Zambia is in the generation of hard knocks. They are growing up into leadership of churches, communities and countries having been stripped of role models because of years of colonialism, followed by the devastation of HIV where many parents simply disappeared leaving kids to grow on their own.

Todays leaders have never had mentors. Many of the countries early leaders had to learn on their own and don't have the skill to pass it on. Over a nice meal at the local lake and his wife's amazing....AMAZING lemon tarts made with fresh lemon zest, we talked about what he was thinking. Although his focus and invitation is to work with pastors he feels it isn't theological training they need, but mentorship and good management training. Pastors need to pass on their skills, share their resources. Having heard my interests in being in Zambia he says, 'Rob I think that you are here at a very good time to help us see TTC become a training centre for all of Zambia.' That made me feel good, but here is why. Don sees that a primary thrust has to be helping churches start businesses, build skills into their churches will transform communities the very thing we think needs to happen.

I'm bottom line excited because I see a whole bunch of things coming together. It is nice to know that we aren't the only one thinking that these things are important. And feeling in many ways we may be in the right place at the right time. In February we begin building a skill training centre where we will begin training pastors and community leaders in this area, giving them business skills. I am beginning a class called the 'biblical basics of business' to help get students started on their own income generating schemes.

Thinking about Barry Ilunga (see today's other post) and his 2000 hectares needing development. I am overwhelmed with the potential that is sitting out there to be pounced on. So here is a plug. If you have skills to offer and want to come. Trades (electrical, plumbing, concrete, wood work, masonary) and want to come to do some training we would pull people together here and let you loose on them. Or if you are interested in investing in our not yet created business development projects and want to start with some seed money. It would be a tremendous gift.

Lean into the things in front of you and there you will find God's Kingdom.


cheers

Eating in the Dark

As we wander the maze of unfinished buildings Kate and I remember pouring the floor of the house of the Ilunga's. Then it was only a foundation in the middle of a field. We had brought our youth group from Guelph to come help the 10 child family, build their first home. The Ilunga's are church planters of amazing caliber. Without a car, they would pile their kids on backs of trucks to head out into the bush of Zambia and beyond telling people about Jesus. A lot has happened in the 10 years we have been away. There is not just one building at their home, but many. Barry shows me the frame of a new project which is to be a missions training center. We tour another nice finished house that is housing a woman from the UK who has come to help in the clinic the Ilunga's have started in the north that services 15,000 people.

If you haven't gotten the underlying picture yet, money is no barrier to this amazing family. When money comes in it is spent, building the things that God has put in front of them to do. As we talk around the outdoor fire as our cassava leaves are being cooked I marvel that for a couple that never has cash a lot has been built including their own house. We talk about the projects he has on the go I ask well how are you supporting yourselves?

Barry tells me how they have been given 2000 hectares of land and all they need is an investor. The land is virgin forest on the edge of a river. Barry is planning on building an executive lodge to cater to a nearby mine. He tells me how the mine has agreed to buy food locally if it can be produced. All we need is some start up capital he says. If we can start out then we can build another school and a clinic. 'I want to start by putting in 20,000 pineapples,' Barry says, 'I have 200 already.' Two hundred pineapples is no where near 20,000 but for him it is a start.

When we came to Zambia I had a feeling that what we were here to do was to help people like Barry build sustainable businesses that would help put money back into the rural poor and neglected communities of Zambia. For some time I have been saying to Kate, 'All I need is some land.' Here Barry is sitting on 2000 hectares of prime agricultural and leisure land.

We left Barry and his wife Frida in the dark after a great dinner- no power to pay the hydro bills I guess. As we drove home in the setting sun, I was wondering how I could help. What potential could be tapped to create jobs for Zambia's rural poor? Little did I know that the very next day another piece of the puzzle would be put in place when I meet with a new guy in town Don Mann and he tells me why he is in Zambia
.

Thursday, February 3, 2011

photo of the week


here is a shot of the tree that shades our new park. great sunsets in rainy season.....when it's sunny!

Thursday, January 20, 2011

old life in a dead tree

I met Aidan Mwewe today. I've seen him before biking around the college on his bicycle with a chainsaw strapped to the back of his bike. I went to see his work cutting down one of our large Jacaranda trees that had died. When I found him he was 30 ft in the air chopping a branch from one of the upper limbs. What surprised me wasn't that he was not tied in and merely clinging to the tree with his legs, but it was that Aidan is on the verge of his 64th birthday. I said to him in absolute shock, 'you're how old?'

Aidan has been cutting trees since 1974 when he bought his first chain saw. 'I know these machines very well,' he said, 'I can fix them very well, keep them sharp, and I know how to make them cut the wood fine.' Aidan I would guess has no retirement plan and when I asked why he still cut trees, he simply said, 'it is what I do.' It made me think of how many 60+ year olds who would be willing to climb a tree to cut it down. It also made me think of retirement and that I didn't want to be climbing trees when I was 60. Cutting trees I told him, 'was for young men.'

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

A maggot Tale


I should be prepping for my History of Christianity II course, but when pull a maggot from your leg.....you should take a minute to tell everyone. So here is how it goes. For a few days now I have had two growing pussy like boils on my thigh and lower leg. Cameron had a similar boil on his leg which made me think, it could be from a biting insect which is prevalent right now. Simply mosquito bites gone bad. I had tried to pop it, but to no avail and instead decided to treat it like a boil. My sister in law even called from Costa Rica to give a home remedy for boils. Take hot water every 10 minutes, apply compress. Apply anti-bacterial soap. Keep clean the advice reads.

Today loosing patience with the monumental size it was growing too, and the pain that occurred when the muscles were flexed I decided to take matters into my own hands-literally. At this point the diameter of each is about the size of a quarter, and there is a large white center. I would call it puss, but I know better now. Regarding the pain I knew that I would have to squeeze the boil hard if I were to release the pressure.

Taking both hands and using a tremendous effort with both thumbs I worked the boil. It was several painful attempts before I began to see progress and the boil begin to release liquidy ooze. Encouraged by this and somewhat happy that the self inflicted pain made my leg feel better, I pressed on so to speak. All of a sudden in one big go a large pussy-like center came from the wound. A little squeeze fully released this whitish, and somewhat pointy object.

What shocked me was the small mound lying on top of the quarter sized boil was itself-wriggling, much like a worm looking for it's hole. Under close examination it was a maggot looking for its hole. Surprised and disgusted I realized this too is what was growing on Cammie's back which at this point was causing him great discomfort. I ran to the living room pinned him to the couch and squeezed....Again- a nice white maggot erupted from the boil.

Now I have a background in entomology (the study of insects) and have for years been aware of the presence of parasitic larvae in Africa. Every laundry we leave clothes out to dry an extra 24 hours to prevent such infections. It is one of the ways in which our life here is nuanced by our location. Whether this insect living in my thigh is one from our laundry or from some other source the important thing is....it is out! But, it is now time for investigation. I invite all my curious and now disgusted readers to suggest both the insect and the mode of infection.

I usually tell people, if you are going on a missions trip, take me along because I will for sure be an attraction to whatever parasite is there. One more reason I should stay out of Brazil. Our neighbor Chris has just walked in, with a large boil on his face. We are preparing a boil party. Gotta run.
In closing I would like to say sorry to Niki, who for sure isn't going to visit us now. Happy hunting for our little white wriggling parasite, let me know what you come up with.

Saturday, January 8, 2011

'gentles'- photo of the week


Here is the sign on the guys bathroom. If you can't quite read it it says, 'gentles toilet'....... I wonder what they are refering too, and on the other hand it is for sure my view of it.