Farewell To The Ripleys

Last Friday our team said their goodbyes to Glenn, Liese, Gift, and Grace Ripley, who are returning to the states. Glenn and Liese have sacrificially served the people of Zambia for seven years. From his heart Glenn shared several thoughts from I Corinthians 15:58, “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”

After a season of prayer for the Ripleys we presented several gifts to them. Elise Whitfield, who is learning to make chitenge quilts, came up with the idea for this group gift which Liese is holding. Chitenges are brightly-colored pieces of cloth which are worn by Zambian women and serve many purposes~carrying babies, protecting clothing while cleaning house, wiping faces, etc. The Ripleys also received a book about Zambia from Megan and the Hiltys.

The second picture shows most of our team children holding up a gift they helped with on Mom’s Day Out. Each child chose a seed pod which I found on our safari trip to Mushingashi. After spray-painting the pods I wrote each child’s name on one side and on the other a personal message from that child to Gift and Grace. Tracy drilled the holes for the pods, then I lashed them together with twine to make this wall-hanging. Can you believe there are 18 children on our team, counting the Roberts’ expected baby? The wall-hanging was a hit, for which I’m thankful. God is good.