This is the rest of us as we filed into the church after marching and walking around the church with palm branches. It was amazing to march with the entire church (and secondary school) singing praises to God! They sing so beautifully... it feels like everybody in the church can harmonize and they blend together like a choir! I was wondering why I was never part of a church that did something like this in the States, and then remembered that weather might have something to do with it! I've only been in Africa for 3 months, and I've already begun to forget what the cold weather is like:-)  

Girls from the local school dancing on Palm Sunday as marched into church! 

Meaning of the title "Bwana Asifiwe"

My father just asked me what the title means. Bwana asifiwe is the Swahili phrase for "Praise the Lord". You can also say "Mungu asifiwe", which means, praise God.

Dear friends,

We're going to be posting our news letters on this site as well as emailing them. Below is the first!

Dear friends,

The big news this week is of course our match for Abby's family practice residency - We are headed to Lawrence Massachusetts for at least the next 4 years, probably 5 years. Josh hopes to go to Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and work at Faith Baptist in Hollis, NH! We are excited about this, are eager to see what God has in store for us there, and are anticipating yet another transition as we move there on our return to the States.

Meanwhile, in Zambia...
... we have adjusted quickly to life in Macha. Our week and a half in the cities (Nairobi, Kenya followed by Lusaka, Zambia) helped us to transition between Kenya and Zambia. The week in Lusaka living with the Zambian family and their 12 orphans helped us understand Zambian culture, food, and lifestyle so that as we are in Macha we already have some understanding of the people we are living among.

Our living arrangements are again very nice! We have our own flat with a shared kitchen, CLEAN running water, hot shower, etc.! Abby walks about 10 minutes to the hospital down a lovely winding dirt road, Josh works mainly out of the house on computer stuff for the Malaria Research Institute - data entry, etc. Abby is focusing on pediatrics here and is learning a lot about malnutrition and malaria, among other tropical ailments!

We enjoyed Palm Sunday today - the entire church (including the large girls' boarding school in the area) paraded around the community waving palm branches, singing, and celebrating - it was really a neat experience!

Praise:
Safe travels to Macha (even through a riot in one town!)
Health (Abby has gotten over a cold very quickly)
Residency match
New friends
Old friends staying in touch
Email to keep in touch!
Warm weather

Prayer:
Macha needs rain - drought and famine are impending
Learning
To be a blessing in Zambia
Language learning (Tonga)

Thank you again for your prayer and support!

To God's Glory,

Josh and Abby