Home Sweet Home...

We're currently staying in Villa 38 at Mulungushi Housing Village. It's actually a really nice villa compared to the one we stayed at in 2008 during our first visit to Zambia. We've been busy unpacking all of our things and making it as homey as possible. We're hoping that we get to stay in this villa for good, but we may have to switch villas in a couple of weeks. Here are a few pics of our place...

Villa 38...

Sleeping under the mosquito net has been interesting! Thankfully our bed is very comfortable!

Lots of storage space...

Large window (with awesome curtains) and vanity/dresser area...

Our bathroom....with a working shower head and hot water!!!! Life in Zambia is not so bad!

Josh is also updating his blog during our time here....he is in front of the computer a lot more than I am, so he will have an opportunity to update it pretty frequently.

joshrives.com

In Lusaka...

In Father of the Bride terms...."George, she landed." We are so excited to be on the ground safely in Lusaka, Zambia! Our flight from London to Lusaka was super easy...no problems at all. We were extremely lucky to miss the Heathrow closing due to the volcanic ash. We landed around 6:30am Lusaka time (11:30pm Dallas time). It took some time to get everyone and everything through customs. We made it to Mulungushi Housing Village (home sweet home for the next 8 weeks) around 9:30am. After unpacking the basics and putting some sheets on the bed, we took a much needed nap for about 4 hours. In the afternoon, we headed out to the Tree of Life Children's Village to see the amazing progress of the school being built there and to play with all of the kids. The highlight of my day....I finally got to meet our Agness!! When she saw us, she bee lined for Josh and I....it was so amazing! We spent a couple hours at the village with the kids and then headed into town to eat dinner. We ate at a delicious place called Mint.....they have wonderful sandwiches, salads, smoothies, etc. It hit the spot! Now we're back at Mulungushi unpacking and getting settled. We're trying to stay up as late as we can so we can get adjusted to the time change (we're 7 hours a head of Dallas). Tomorrow we'll hit the ground running unloading all of the containers that were shipped over and getting prepared for Camp LIFE to start next week. Beside being tired, I'm feeling great! I think that I'm starting to feel baby "flutters" inside! I will post an 18 week belly pic this week. I missed week 17 since we were so busy getting ready for our trip.

Back to unpacking!!

Lots of love from Zambia,
Mindy

Safe in London...

We had a great flight from Dallas to London and slept wonderfully in our Yotel at Heathrow. Now we're about to grab a bite to eat and get ready to board our plane to Lusaka, Zambia!! We cannot wait to get there.

Will update the blog as soon as I can in Lusaka. Thanks so much for everyone's prayers as we travel and spend 8 weeks in Africa!!

Packing Mania...

T minus 3 days until we leave for Zambia....it's really hard to believe that it's actually here. We have been thinking about and preparing for this trip since last summer, when God laid it upon both of our hearts that we needed to spend an extended amount of time in Zambia. My goodness, time flies! We have been busy little bees this week gathering everything we'll need for 8 weeks away from home....our guest room looks like a suit case hurricane hit...hard! They're everywhere....but slowly starting to get filled and zipped up! We get to check 3 bags each and we each get 2 carry on bags....so 10 bags total! No traveling light here!


Not only has this past couple of weeks been filled with preparation (and endless to do lists), but also with reflection on the amazing opportunity we have before us to serve the Lord and the orphaned children of Zambia. My heart is is completely full with gladness and gratitude. We are so blessed. Truly, God has taken care of every single detail....why do I ever doubt him. Thank you Lord Jesus for your faithful provision.

And never in a million years did we think we would would be traveling to Zambia with a baby on board! I love God's sense of humor. I'm resting in the promise that His timing is perfect. Since the day we found out that we were expecting, we've been fervently praying that the Lord would clearly reveal to us whether or not I was suppose to go to Zambia. He has graciously shown us His will and we feel 100% confident in that! Fear has a way of sneaking it's nasty little head in my heart at times, but my faith rests in God alone. He is my protector. He is my shield. He will walk before me during our time in Zambia. I'm so thankful for His promises!

The thief comes only to steal and destroy. I came that you may have LIFE and have it ABUNDANTLY. John 10:10

B is for Baby...and the birds & bees!

We celebrated the glowing momma-to-be and baby Rector on Sunday at a lovely "birds and the bees" themed shower at my mom's house.

The adorable invitation created by the one and only Penny Lane Designs...

Birds and bee decor...

We did a blessing branch and asked guest to write a blessing or prayer to baby Rector...

The blessing branch...

Yummy food {all things baby Rector craves right now}! We also did a parfait bar, but I didn't get any pictures of it...opps! We had strawberry, blueberry and vanilla yogurt....strawberry for those that think baby is a girl...blueberry for boy...and vanilla for undecided. Toppings included granola, mini chocolate chips, pineapple, blueberries and strawberries. It was a huge hit and so cute!

Root beer and lemonade...

Momma opening presents...

Somebody got a BOB!!!

Lots of fun loot for baby...

Group shot...

The hostesses with the mostesses...

DFW Events gang...

Fun friends...

Proud grandmomma and aunt to be!

Baby Rector....you are already loved by so many! We can't wait to meet you in July!