Progress!

(from Zack in Serenje)
The last few weeks has been productive. Randy has come back and James is now here to help us. It has been great having both here this last week. Combined with the dry weather this week, we have really gotten a lot done. We received another semi load of cement, which should finish out the project. We got trusses built for two of the buildings, and got a ton, actually, tons of dirt moved.

As far as walls go, the septic tank is built, the bathouse is almost finished, and the big building is half finished. next week we will work on the house and the rest of the big building and put roofs on. The weather is still an obstacle, but we have been blessed with many nice days. We take the good with the bad.

There have been a couple of days that have been tough, where things don't go good, people give me trouble, and i want to give up and go home, but i do continue to find strength in the Lord. I have had a few of my Zambian friends who have lost their children in the last couple of weeks. One was one of our workers who's wife had just had a baby. We were excited for him, went and visited them in the "hospital" and everything seemed pretty much fine, a small rash, but the baby died the next day. Another one of our friends, Geoffery, a pastor who we have known for many years lost his son to HIV. His son was older, in his 30's and had been fighting sickness for a few years. It is sad to see people loose their family. They are used to it, but it doesn't make it easier for them.

This week has been a lot more fun. There are 4 of us Americans here, so it is more lively after work. There is also a lot more help, which makes things a lot less stressful. there is a lot of work to do, but the end is starting to be in sight. I'll try to update more often.