A certain man was taken by his friend on an exploratory drive outside the city away from where anybody lived. They left the main road and drove for a while until they found a secluded and seemingly insignificant expanse of land. A few tired shacks remained, and some animals grazed peacefully. The friend, Walter, turned off the engine and got out of the vehicle. He started visualising and describing the incredible plans he had to develop the area. He was offering his friend Arthur the opportunity to buy the surrounding land and make a killing in the process.

But to Arthur it seemed ludicrous. He questioned Walter “Who on earth is going to drive 25 miles into the middle of nowhere for this absurd project? The logistics of the venture are mind-blowing.” Walter explained to Arthur, “I can take care of the main project myself. But it’ll use up all my money. This land bordering it, where we’re standing now, will in just a couple of years be jam-packed with hotels, restaurants and convention halls to accommodate the people who’ll come to spend their  entire vacation here at my park. I want you to have the first chance at this surrounding acreage, because in the next 5 years it’ll increase in value several hundred times.”

Looking  back on the offer, Arthur reminisced, “What could I say? I knew he was wrong. I knew that he had let this dream get the best of his common sense, so I mumbled something about a tight money situation and I promised that I’d look into the whole thing a little later on.”

As they returned to the car, Walter sighed and warned Arthur, “Later on will be too late. You’d better move on it right now.”

And that is how Art Linkletter missed out on the opportunity to buy up all the land that surrounded what was to become Disneyland. His friend Walk Disney tried to talk him into sharing the dream, but Art thought he was crazy.’

This made me think a lot about vision- where do I see various aspects of my life going? What is the vision God has given for it? How is the vision being out worked? Am I dreaming big enough?

What about you? 

James Turner (SAQ 2011) is one of the guys determined to help Kamfinsa raise the money for their hammer-mill! He is pictured below running a marathon for that cause.  We still need more funds!!  If you think you can help raise support too, please do it soon.  We want to have the hammer-mill in place for the next harvest and the rains will be here in the next few weeks if not before.  Once the hammer-mill is in place, it should help motivate more people to grow food on their land all year round.  It is a big step and big steps need support.  Thanks again James! 

We have just returned from the best safari experience ever.  I think this was the best one I’ve ever done!

God really did create some crazy creatures! To watch them makes you stand in awe of our Creator. Such beauty and creativity.

On the way into the park one day I was just talking to God and saying how awesome it would be if I could just see some lion cubs or lions eating a kill. Little did I know that would happen within a few hours. At seeing it, joy and praise flowed from my heart. It was a truly awesome sight! Here are some pics...

We've been involved with Kamfinsa for a little while and got to know various people. Mary is a lovely lady who goes to the church there. She had a baby a month or so ago. Not long before the baby was born I asked he if she had any baby clothes, to which the answer was no. So I gathered some bits together to give to her. It was quite cool to hear yesterday that she was so touched by our act of kindness that she named her baby after Tim. W

A teacher's nightmare is quite possibly what I'm becoming. Having been a teacher in the UK you would think that would be the last thing I would do, however I think it's that experience which is turning me into a nightmare.
This morning I had a meeting with the head and deputy of our local school. The majority of the kids we support in KOP go to this school and a few weeks ago it was the 'Open day'.  It was my first experience of such an occasion, it's like a parent's evening with a weird Zambian twist (which can't really be fully explained, although parents had to pay before seeing the teachers). I think I was like one of those 'nightmare parents' who asks far too many questions and ones that you, as the teacher, don't really know the answer to. I don't think Zambian parents really ask too much other than how their child is doing or ask what grades they got. Cutting a looooong story short 'my' kids had not done well. In fact their results would be more aptly described as awful. Well, to be fair, a few of the kids did actually do well. The ones who haven't are being followed up.

Along with the results papers, the teachers handed out some of the exam papers. Bad move on their part. They didn't know who they were giving them to! Without boring you with all the details the exams were shocking; bad questions, wrong answers marked right, right answers marked wrong, etc etc. Even I would have failed to get 100% on the Grade 5 English paper because it was so insanely ridiculous! Don't let me get started on the maths. But suffice to say that I'm not surprised that the kids are failing. It has also been brought to my attention that it's a common occurrence that some of the teachers are drunk, and more shockingly that Grade 8 and 9 girls' grades are affected by their reciprocation to the advances of their male teachers (which is scarily common here in Zambia). All in all a mess! Sadly in this area the 1400 pupils have no other choice as to which school they attend.

So this morning, as I said, I had a meeting to address these issues. Man alive. They were grateful for my input, however I may have bitten on more than I can chew! The issues are massive.....lack of English (which enables the kids to access the curriculum), lack of staff (27 teachers for 1400 kids), huge classes with cramped space, hungry children, lack of resources, lack of facilities (toilets etc), vandalism, poor attendance, the list goes on. And somehow they think I am going to help them address all these issues. Wowzer.

Wouldn't it just be easier to start a new school?