news!!!

Our container cleared the border!! Duty free!!! We got the new residents rebate, no questions asked!!! PRAISE THE LORD is all we can say!! (Sorry, I don’t follow the exclamation point rules!) We were told today that there is a possibility (we'll see) to offload at the school on MONDAY-like 2 days from now! WOOHOO!
Just one real last “detail” to figure out-we need to arrange the crane to be at the school, and pay them. This crane service has been to the school twice before, so we know about how long it should take to get there and they know where to go-it is just to get the driver and the crane there at the same time. So please pray HARD for just a few more days!

We also received word the other day that the Zambian President died last week. Here are a few things we have found out (thanks K.R. & D.M. for the info!)-
-Pres. Mwanawasa was a godly and righteous man and a wonderful president and the nation is mourning right now. We have 21 days of mourning and the radios and television will not play anything but Christian music or preaching during this entire time out of respect to his memory. He was born again a couple of years ago and was a member of one of our Baptist churches in Lusaka. He was the real deal... several people who were involved in discipling him. He was greatly loved by all and will be missed by all. As far as the future is concerned, they will have another election 90 days after his burial on September 3rd and then it is all up for grabs. People are mourning and we are going through an extended state funeral process... not many people are thinking too far beyond today.
-We were told that the President’s body had to travel to each of the provinces before the funeral. Part of this may be because some areas are remote enough that they may not even know he had died yet. No radio, no TV., so no real forms of communication.
-When Brian was there this summer, he noticed that every business had a picture of the President at the back of the store. He wasn’t sure if this was customary for all presidents, or a testament to Pres. Mwanawasa. When the President first had his stroke and it was announced he died, Brian said the national pastors were visibly upset about his passing (which ended up not being true at that time).