We leave one week from today for the long drive to Zambia. Pray for us. It is not the safest of journeys and the scheduling is terrible. Thursday (10 Sept) through the following Sunday or Monday will be the key days. If we survive that, it should get better for a while.
September 14 through October 29, Thayer will be teaching two classes at George Benson Christian University, while also continuing to teach one Online course for West Nigeria Christian College. The Online course began three weeks ago and will continue into December.
Starting an Online Class ur journey to Zambia will take us through South Africa and Botswana. This is considered a safer route than going through Zimbabwe, but it is still no small undertaking.
Each time we cross a border, our phones will stop working. In South Africa it is fairly simple to get them working again, but in Botswana it has proven impossible. In Zambia it is a time-consuming process, and we will not have much time.
Border crossings also mean potential hassles and delays. The rules for crossing even the Eswatini/South African border have recently been tightened. We do not know what to expect, or how long it may take. Since we need to drive eight hours the first day, we hope the first border crossing goes well. The Saturday crossing (from Botswana into Zambia) is also of concern. The last time, that crossing took over three hours. We need a speedier crossing this time. Otherwise, by the time we reach Livingstone the shops might all be closed and we might not be able to get our phones working or buy the supplies we will be needing.
Many Africans are not great at planning in advance. After asking repeatedly, we were finally told what courses Thayer would be expected to teach. But we still have not been told what days of the week or time slots will be used. If all goes very well, we will reach Kalomo on Sunday afternoon. We don’t know if Thayer will be expected in the classroom Monday morning or not. Since George Benson is supposed to be training teachers, we are hoping to instil better attitudes toward planning at some point. As it is, the students are getting the message that there is no need to prepare one’s teaching – just pop into the classroom at the last moment and start talking. Kind of like some preachers. 😊
All this teaching will put most of our writing projects on hold for a while. But classroom interactions are needed if the textbooks are to be kept relevant to the students’ needs. When we go to Zambia, we are also encouraged by seeing former students and the work they are doing.
Speaking of former students, here is a photo of something that happened at Timbutini recently. To us, this was highly significant. Here we see Mluleki Mhango, the son of a former student, preparing to baptise one of his neighbours into Christ. He baptised two that day.
Praise the Lord!
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