Ain't God Good?

Our Cottage in Makeni

For four years Tracy and I have loved our little cottage in Makeni. Where we've been has been a place of refuge and beauty. Situated outside of Lusaka it offered quietness and an abundance of interesting and lovely plant life. 

Recently God literally dropped a new place in our laps, with so many advantages. Baptist Theological Seminary where I teach has a  missionary house that has remained empty for the past year, unknown to us. We had previously looked at it but didn't think we could afford the 

Front of the New House

Back View

rent. With my teacher's discount the house rents for the same price that we're paying now, with three times the amount of space! Instead of a commute of an hour and twenty minutes, I will have a three-minute walk to class. Driving is the most dangerous thing a missionary can do here, and this move will cut down on my endangering people's lives. :) It is closer to our mission's office as well. Our new digs have plenty of storage as this house was built when missionaries had to go to South Africa to purchase supplies. Having sold our container, we find this makes the move even more valuable. I'll be closer to my students and can help them after classes; Tracy is really looking forward to being in a seminary setting. 

In addition we will be hosting more people in the coming year. Since Tracy will be the only lecturer next year, he's enlisted the help of senior pastors in America to come over for short periods of time to teach in APC. The extra room is much needed as our Makeni cottage had only two bedrooms, the second being Tracy's 

Front Yard

study.
 
The massive yards and raised vegetable/flower beds have the wheels of Tracy's imagination turning. Working in the garden energizes him and provides us with fresh produce like strawberries, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and beets. 

Front View

The big downside to moving to BTS is that it is farther from the Hiltys and Dearths. We had hoped to move near them and had actually looked at several places in their area, with no success. This means we'll have to work harder at maintaining these team relationships~totally worth it! However, this move has had God's fingerprints all over it. We see this as a wonderful gift from a Father to His children~a reminder of His love and care for us. 


We move in during the month of January, so you can imagine that Christmas is a very busy time for us as we pack the contents of our house. Praise God with us for His provision! Pray for all the details of this change; pray that we will use this house for His glory and for the good of His people. Ain't God good?