Dear Family and Friends,

Greetings again from Zambia. We have just returned to Livingstone from 4 weeks in the bush working on our camp shelter. After a month of working, cooking, eating, and showering outside, it feels weird to eat in a house with electric lights. The rainy season has finally arrived in Southern Africa, so the last couple of days have been cloudy and a bit cooler (thank the Lord!).

Well, in our perfect dream world, we had hoped to be finished with framing and roofing our camp shelter by the beginning of the rains in November. In the real world, we are not even quite halfway in framing! And this is a small structure - what will building 2 homes be like? Shannon and I have to constantly remind ourselves that this structure is a learning exercise, a practice experiment for the big project. In terms of a progress report: we have constructed the stone retaining walls and leveled the foundation and floors; we have half the teak pole frame in place (No, HeartCry is not being extravagant in building materials. We can get 6 inch diameter teak poles 10 feet long for $3 each. Try that at Lowes!); we have most of a 9 foot high earthbag wall done; and we have gathered smooth stones for the floor from the river (in shallow, swift water safe from crocs).

Construction progress has been painfully slow, and we're learning to celebrate and thank the Lord for every small accomplishment. Shannon and I will soon be instituting devotions with the small Lozi crew helping us. Hey, it certainly can't hurt our productivity! We must remember that we're not here to build a building, but to watch the glory of Christ transform Lozi lives. Strange how trivial issues can consume us. As the hottest part of the year passes, I am pleased with how well we have acclimatized to Africa. I am working harder and feeling better than I did in my late-20's.

I have to tell you my tire story. My vehicle had 8 flat tires in my first 5 months here. Two of those were blow-outs at highway speeds (1 tire ruined, 1 in bad shape but still serving as a spare). My Cruiser was outfitted with old-style split-rim wheels and tube tires. Shannon's tubeless tires had not suffered a single flat. (No, it's not because he's a better driver than me!) The wisest choice seemed to be to outfit my vehicle with tubeless tires that match Shannon's, so we can interchange if necessary, but that would also require new wheels for me. We agonized over the expense, then presented our need to the Lord, and to HeartCry. HeartCry approved the expense and sent the money.

Meanwhile, I found wheels and tires across the border in Namibia that were significantly cheaper (I suppose imports are cheaper because Namibia is a coastal country, while Zambia is landlocked). The money from HeartCry arrived, and I excitedly crossed the border to get my new wheels and tires. Instead, I was told, "Oh, sorry, the wheels are 14", not the 15" you need. And we only have 4 tires. (I needed 6) Our truck should bring them later this week." The next week we crossed the border again. "Oh, sorry, the truck never came. The tires are stuck in customs in South Africa." We returned to our bush camp from our second failed attempt to get tires. One hour after reaching camp, my rear tire was flat. Out of the 6 original tires, I was down to my last 4, with no spare.

10 days later, we made our third trip to Namibia. I was quite nervous starting the 2 hour drive on that tire-eating bush road without a spare tire. When we reached the tire shop, I was overjoyed to see my new wheels and tires. Now, I'm not making this up . . . as they jacked up the front of my Cruiser to put on the new front tires, one of my old rear tires was going flat!! Does our Father have perfect timing?! He made those tires last just as long as they needed to.

Please pray for the owner of the tire shop. He is an Indian Muslim. The Lord seems to be striking up a relationship in my 3 visits to his shop. He has been far more kind and helpful than most of the white Afrikaaners that I've met in Namibia. Could be an interesting witnessing opportunity, not exactly what I expected in Africa.

I would also plead with you to pray for our friend Joseph. I wrote about Joseph in my update back in September '08, after Dr. Berry and I visited Zambia. Joseph is a close friend of Dominic's, and last year I had a wonderful conversation about the Gospel with him. Since then, he seems to give good evidence of genuine conversion. For the past year, though, Joseph's health has progressively declined, and the last few months he has been in and out of the hospital with Tuberculosis. We tried to visit him a couple of times, but always missed him.

2 weeks ago, Shannon and I were in the village looking for more teak poles to buy. Our friend Vincent said, "Joseph is greeting you." Sure enough, Joseph was waving to us from his hut. Our reunion was sweet, but we were shocked at his condition. One of the side-effects of the TB medicine is extreme weakness in his legs, causing him to move like an elderly man.

A couple of interesting things came out in our conversation. Joseph commented that members from the New Apostle cult (their building is next to his home) had visited him a day or two earlier. They told Joseph that his illness was God's judgment for leaving them. They reminded him how he had been a "priest" and a fine preacher, and this was God's way of telling him to come back. Shannon and I were horrified and begged Joseph not to return to what he knew was false teaching. His response came as a thrilling surprise. No, he wasn't going back to the New Apostolic. But he was considering that his illness might be God's discipline for disobedience. Joseph said that after his conversation with me last year, he came back to Ilwendo feeling that God wanted him to travel with Dominic to the villages of Makanda and Ngweze to preach the Good News. But rather than becoming a co-laborer with Dom, he moved to another village to make more money as a carpenter. Ever since then, his health had declined. Hmmm. . . is it possible that God is using the TB to redirect Joseph's life? We counseled Joseph to seek the Lord's will and to spend this time of weakness in studying the Bible. If he truly is called to preach, he must know the Gospel that he is preaching, and this time of illness need not be wasted. Praise the Lord for the confidence we have that all things work together for those who love God and are called according to His purpose.

If God takes Joseph's life with TB, He is wise and good, and Joseph is better off. But please pray with us that the Lord would restore Joseph's health and strength, which would mean fruitful labor with us. You see, Christ seems to be making it obvious that we are to hold 2 Sunday meetings each week in 2 separate villages. But, for Shannon and I to split up, we need a second interpreter besides Dom. We have been unable to find a second reliable interpreter . . . until Joseph returned to Ilwendo. He could be trusted to interpret for us. We long for the Ilwendo area to see Jesus' strength displayed in Joseph's weakness.

Thanks so much for your partnership with us in prayer. Please remember that we are preserved only by Christ's power. We refuse to manufacture something in our flesh. If God does not move, this work will abort.

Soli Deo Gloria,

Sean