A Fun Week

Don't Give Up, Pray!
Persistent prayer was the theme of this year's mission prayer retreat. We had an awesome time with our mission family, sharing, praying, praising, and even a little playing. God is so good!

One of the highlights of this year's prayer retreat was a look at the persistent prayers of the past, as we celebrated 50 year of Baptist missions in Zambia. Two of our seasoned missionaries, Franklin and Paula Kilpatrick, shared the many answers to prayer throughout our history. It was a good reminder that many of us are in Zambia today because of the persistent prayers of those who came before us. We are thankful for those who prayed and did not give up!

As you can see in the picture, we have a large mission family in Zambia these days, and many of them are truly "young." Wes and I are now among the "older" missionaries--where have the years gone?
After the prayer retreat, we headed back to Lusaka to celebrate Thanksgiving with our mission family. We were truly a close-knit family as we met together in a small conference room. Although we did not have turkey, we had roasted chicken and all the trimmings.

It has been a great week, and ended with a graduation ceremony where two of our missionaries walked across the stage with their Zambian brothers and sisters receiving their diplomas, while Wes received his degree in babysitting--read the next article!


Who Me? Baby Sit?

Wes did'n't hesitate when I asked him if we could carry MKS, Lily and Easton, to the graduation ceremony. Their daddy, Kendall, was graduating and mommy, Joy, needed some assistance. She thought Easton would listen to Uncle Wes.

On the way to the graduation we enjoyed a detailed description from Lily of what everyone in the family was wearing. She informed us that her daddy was wearing a suit and "Zambian" shoes. It was the beginning of many smiles for the day.

When we arrived, Joy asked if Easton could stay with his Uncle Wes. Sure, no problem. We decided that the back row of the sanctuary would be best. I sat down, but Wes and Easton decided to wander around a little bit until things got started. They disappeared for awhile, but it wasn't long and they came back in. Wes was carrying a pair of little boys undies, and Easton had a wet backside. Wes didn't know that Easton had his own style of using the potty. Needless to say, things got a little wet.

I made room for the two guys on the bench, and the program began. I could see that Easton was going to be restless, so I suggested to Wes that they might want to go outside where he could move around. Wes thought this was a great idea; I don't think he was too keen on sitting there for three hours either.

After two hours of sitting on a hard bench, I got up to go check on Wes. He was outside in the parking lot playing with Easton. I asked him if he was okay, and he assured me that he and Easton were having a great time, so I left the "boys" alone.

I decided not to return to the sancturay, but stood outside visiting. Suddenly a Zambian friend came and told me I was needed by "Dad." A bit confused, I followed her to a forlorn looking Wes who was in the doorway of the Men's Room cleaning up a little boy who had made a big mess of another kind. Thankfully, another missionary who had a lot of experience with kids, came to the rescue.

I asked Wes at the end of the day if he would baby sit again. He said, "Sure, Easton and I are buds."