Ok... I am a little unnerved at the moment. They just killed a tarantula that was going into my bedroom! That just about sucked the last bit of energy out of me! It was the size of a fist!!!!

We started out the day by going to the chief's palace for an official visit for a photo. Yes, we bobbed and bowed while clapping and saying, "ba canabasa" (Mr. greater than I). It was great! The other officials were there, his assistant was dressed in a uniform, his wife was there, and the great one was in his robe (like a choir robe) and "crown"! Can't wait for you to see the pics! It was a pretty big deal. Justin had to promise to get him copies. I learned that he is the chief of all of Lusaka, kind of like a governor of a state. Then in each village there is a head man in charge of that village. The chief owns the land and settles disputes, mostly accusations of someone being a wizzard. ( Hold on, they are trying to kill another spider and they missed it) Then we went to another village. Today was the total opposite of yesterday! Thank God! He knew we needed it. When we went hut to hut several people accepted Jesus! The people were very welcoming too. We got a lot of benches brought out to us. They asked one lady how she believes someone gets to heaven and she replied, "by baptism." Then they were telling the story of Jesus on the cross and she said, "what's the cross?" So even if they know some things of the bible, they probably don't know much. Lunch time is always my favorite time because we play with the children after we eat. The kids, i don't know how to describe them in words. They just wanted to touch us and play with the frisby (thanks again Robert Brown!). I played catch with their trash condom "ball". Yes, i know. I am laughing even now. They blow them up like balloons. There was one boy, probably a teen. He was so smart. He could speak a good bit of english. He said it was because he graduated the 5th grade. I wanted to bring him back. I couldn't help but think of what he might be if he only had the opportunities people have in the states. The girls were amazed at Melissa. They noticed that me and Melissa had different Muzungoo skin. She is very pale, and I am looking more and more Mexican every day. My arms are going to be leather when I get back! They were asking for our empty water bottles, but we can't give anything away. If we do it will cause jealousy and they will always expect something from the missionaries. Even an empty chip bag is a prized toy! It is so hard. Even the translators want the bottles (they can sell them for a few pennies) but we refill them every day. Missionaries get a large water filter from the wmu (like a giant Brita filter). We just fill our bottles with it every day. Our bottles are so nasty now! The lids are cracked and the labels are red from dirt, and we don't care! They are precious! We were all under the mango trees telling the bible stories today ( the whole OT). They brought us chairs to sit in and they sit on the ground. Someone stole Bryan's bottle from under his chair. A few minutes later some kids brought the bottle back, right as they were teaching from the 10 commandments, "thou shalt not steal". I don't know if that was a coincidence but it was cool. Justin has taught there 3 times before to a small group, but today there were around 70. They were so interested. Justin told them he would be back to teach the NT, but it would be in 2 weeks because he was taking us to Lusaka to the airport. They were very sad. They were hanging on us as we were leaving. One man yelled, "i love you" to us. Bryan has so much fun playing with the kids. They are amazed by him. He is a "boy", but that means "friend". Melissa got pee'd on today. It was great, she just smiled. We had shema for the 2nd time last night so i was starving this morning. Tonight we feasted! Chili!!! But be in prayer...Friday we eat at Ba Chamba's hut! His wife is preparing dinner for us. Yes we signed a contract that we would eat what they offer and not make a face! But it gets harder, they don't drink while they eat. So we can't even wash it down. I'll be sure to let you know all about it.
Oh, I showed them a picture of the fam before we left. They are amazed! The pic is of the boys at Animal Kingdom. It's the picture of all of them at the bottom at this blogspot. They think that asian hut is our home and we wear those hats. They love Nathan's funny face. A woman asked if she could keep the picture and I said no and hugged and kissed it. They laughed and laughed. This was the best day yet!
Ken, Deven, Nathan, Ayden: we love and miss you very much.
Sunday School class: I miss you. Get the lessons from Jules and be prepared to teach at camp!!!
Mom: how are you doing with the boys?

Again: Thank you all for the comments! I love to hear from you.