The Leans have arrived in Lusaka, Zambia...

Well we have arrived!! 

We finished our lovely holiday exploring the UK and hit the ground running in Liverpool.  The week before leaving was quickly filled with medical appointments, vaccinations, shopping, packing and farewelling our dear friends.  It has been a very stretching but also wonderful 3.5 months. 

The final 30 minutes prior to leaving home for the airport were rather exciting.  We discovered that the scales we had been using were giving us an incorrect reading that encouraged us to put more kgs into the bags.  On final inspection (20minutes before the taxi arrived) we discovered we were around 10 kilos over.  How to get my heart pumping!  Thankfully we made it to the airport with a few less kilos.  Once we reached the Emirates desk we were notified that there was a possibility that we would not be able to fly into Lusaka due to visa issues. After a few calls were made by Emirates to Dubai and Lusaka, we made it onto the plane and with all the baggage that we had with us.  God is good.   We still have 2 jars of vegemite and 2 packets of maltesers in hand!! (ok…so maybe only 1 packet of maltesers once this blog post is finished!).    

The flights themselves were fairly uneventful, however both Toby and Zeke had difficulty sleeping on the plane. Needless to say there was not a lot of movie watching or relaxing going on for us. 

Our luggage @ Manchester Airport.  The art of balancing! 

The flight from Dubai to Lusaka

It’s hard to believe that we are really here in many ways.  So many mixed emotions for both Dave and I.  When departing Dubai Airport for Lusaka the thought of how easy it would be to just return home to Australia to what was a relatively ‘normal’ life did cross our minds.  How good it would be to be reunited with our family and friends back home and not have to not have to worry about living in a developing country.  Questions arise like:  Is it ok to sit your kids in the car without a car seat? Can I clean my teeth with this tap water? Is it ok for Toby to scramble around the floor and then pop his hands in his mouth? What am I going to cook for dinner? Where is my next supply of chocolate coming from? (joking on that last one),  and the list goes on.  Having said all that…along with these feelings rests a deep knowledge that this is definitely where God wants us for now.  We have a God that is big enough to look after all these questions and concerns that we may have.  We are excited to be here and to discover what it is that the Lord is going to have us do and learn here in Zambia.  

We were thrilled to be greeted at Lusaka Airport by some of our SIM reps.  How nice it was to be welcomed by a friendly faces!  We were driven to the compound where will be living for a week, before flying out to Mukinge Hospital on May 30.  Already Zeke has made a number of friends and has been having a great time kicking dirt, playing soccer, and eating passion fruit straight from the vine.  We are loving getting to spend time chatting with other missionaries that live here in Zambia and getting to know some of the locals. - m

A snap of Zeke standing outside the gate to our living quarters

Our place for the next week...notice the roses in the front garden - they smell amazing! 

Our street - just outside our front gate

The front door and lounge area