Baby Elijah

 Just over a week ago a fellow missionary friend opened her front door walked outside to open the main gate to allow her husband entrance onto their property, while she was outside she heard a baby cry.  She walked closer to the boundary wall and the sound came louder as she looked closer she found a bundle under a tree and it was a little baby boy all wrapped in a chitange.  

After looking around to see if anyone was around she brought him into the house.  In Zambia when you need to report something you cannot call the police and give your report,  you need to go to the police station and pick them up, so Tammy and her husband went and reported the abandoned baby and they were told to take him to the hospital.  

At the hospital the baby was checked and assumed to be about 6 weeks old and in good health.   

Considering it was the weekend, Tammy asked permission to take the baby home and keep him until social services was open on Monday morning.  She named him Elijah.  After visiting the social services they were told that the office would call around and look to see if there was space in any of the orphanages around town.  Abandonment of a child is a criminal offense in Zambia so if the mom had come back she would have been arrested and put in jail.

On the right it Tammy and Joe the couple that found Elijah and on the left is Justine and Preetika the couple who will adopt him

Justine and Preetika with Elijah close to the tree where he was found

Once again Tammy asked if she could keep Elijah at her home until further decisions were made.  Surprisingly the authorities said yes and she was able to keep the baby and care for him while waiting to hear the next step.

A few days later a couple that serves as missionaries in Livingstone during the last 4 years called Tammy and asked about the baby.  They were home in the US on furlough but had been praying for an open door to adopt a baby.  Well to make a long story short, the couple is now back in Livingstone and have chosen to adopt baby Elijah.

God is amazing and it has been such joy to watch this story unfold.  Tammy and her husband Joe have loved and cared for Elijah weeks now and as soon as paper work happens Justine and Preetika will welcome baby Elijah into their home as their son.  For now they are spending as much time as possible with him.

In Zambia abandoned babies are not common especially in the Southern Province where we live and adoption is very difficult as well, but doors have been open and God's favour has definitely been shown all around!  

What an absolute blessing~~

The things you do for growth!

So this is one of the toilets at the base, I had not been there for a few days and then today I walked in and thought what? Does someone have UTI?? If so that is alot of urine to save!!


I went into the office and asked around and then saw a huge smile on Sherrill's face :0)))))))))


Sherrill Aucker is an ECHO intern that is working with the SAM Project and she says that urine is a good fertilizer, so the boys were brave enough to save theirs for the gardens.

In Memory of Betty Ncumbe

Betty, the other kitchen staff and myself

This past week I had the opportunity to go to a Zambian funeral.  One of our kitchen workers Betty Ngumbe passed away.  Betty was 8 months pregnant with her 7 child and was a diabetic.  Sadly she lost the baby and while she was left to deliver her stillborn child she passed away.  Not too much information was given to us about what happened as this is the Zambian Culture.

Betty is on the right dancing away at a festival we went to

In Zambian culture family from far and wide come to the funeral house and stay there all week, the entire village and people from the villages close by also show up on the day of the funeral.

Betty’s husband Mr. Teddy also works for us as our human resources manager. As staff of Overland we helped out in whatever way possible, from providing food for all the people that came to transporting the people from the church to the burial ground.

These are all the people going from the church to the burial site

Betty worked with Overland for the past 6 years and always had a smile on her face.  She was known for giving the Americans their Zambian names and she loved to dance.

Groceries Trip to Katima

Every few months we go to Katima, Namibia for bulk grocery shopping.  Most of the basic supplies like flour, sugar and oil are cheaper.  Things like canned stuff is also cheaper and there is just more variety of supplies which always makes it easier for the cooks in the kitchen.

It is about a 3 hour drive and and once we get there it is crazy because you in this big warehouse trying to get as much as you can.  This time around I did a record shop with the help of Nathan and 2 workers that packed our carts.  In 1 1/2 hours I was done!!

Keeping cool

October is the hottest month in Livingstone.  You wake up sweating and you go to bed sweating, water never stays cold, well when you in the bush so we just sweeten it with gaterade/ propel so that we I drink sweet hot water instead of just hot water.


Every so often well about 2 a week I go into the grocery store and learn against the freezers to just cool down, I also walk slowly around and around the milk/yoghurt/cheese aile.

In the picture here Kelly, Christine, Renee and I were in Shoprite with our hands in the freezers, they were empty and oh so tempting to just jump right in.