God is GOOD in our messed up life

I have abandoned this blog for a while now, and because I'm terrible about writing and blogging, I doubt this blog will see many more posts. But I did want to share some news with whoever is reading this.

In less than one month we will say “farewell” to our New Day family in Zambia. Our pathway continues as we follow God’s call to Rift Valley Academy, Kenya. This is the boarding school that our children, Coby & Kelsey, have been attending, and now we will join the staff at RVA in August 2015. We don’t know all the details of our work at RVA just yet as leadership puts the pieces together, but we have been called to serve RVA with our gifts and talents in administration, support, leadership and logistics.

When we joined the New Day family almost two years ago, we created for ourselves a home to live in for as long as God allowed us to stay. We all create life plans or goals for ourselves and specific areas of focus in our lives. As humans we try to plan for the future that includes a certain career, a specific geographic location, and maybe even a level of income. We all have life plans in our head as we imagine our future. For me, I want my life to mean something or to have a purpose. To reference a well-known author who seems to get quoted a lot, I don’t want to waste my life.

But there are many times when God intentionally messes up our life plans. And that’s a really GOOD thing! As I was having my devotion one day, I was reminded about Joseph in the book of Genesis. God really messed up Joseph’s life plan. His brothers threw him into a dry well, then sold him into slavery. The wife of his Egyptian master tried to seduce him and when he refused her advances, she turned him over to the cops. He spent years in prison, which I doubt was included in his life plan! Finally, after many years of painful waiting, God exalted  him to second in command in all of Egypt. So, God messed up Joseph’s life plan, and it turned out a really GOOD thing. God did for Joseph what Joseph could never have done for himself.

My daily reading led me to Genesis again, when God messed up Abraham and Sarah’s life plan. God allowed Sarah to be infertile and barren for years. He took them out of their homeland, away from their family and friends, and then after waiting, God promised them a son. But then God made them wait some more. Finally, their hopes and dreams were realized when their son, Isaac, was born. But then God told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. Talk about a wrench in the life plan! After God rescued Isaac, and all was said and done, God made Abraham the father of many nations. God seriously messed up Abraham and Sarah’s life plan, and it turned out to be a really GOOD thing. God accomplished for Abraham what Abraham could never have accomplished on his own.

These examples gave me hope and peace in knowing that God knows exactly what He is doing. Now, He usually takes longer than I would like sometimes, and He often leads us through strange territory. Sometimes He even defers, or destroys our dreams and plans. This is what it feels like leaving New Day and the kids we have grown to love and adore. But God, our loving, tender, delightful Father, knows exactly what He is doing. Because He is accomplishing more in and through me than I could ever think or imagine.

As I think about the places God has called our family to serve, and the place He is calling us to serve now, I don’t think this would have been in my willfully chosen life plan. And yet I know that God has not deserted us in this time and He hasn’t forgotten us. He hasn’t made any mistakes along the way. He knows what the Cook family needs and where we need to be because His life plan is always better than mine. God has arranged every step of our journey. Each step in our lives has been guided by our Father. We know Who is in control of our life! We know that everything that we are and everything we have is a result of what He has allowed in our lives. We are so thankful for the moments in time that God has given us to make relationships with people all over the world. We have been blessed beyond measure in the good times and the tough times. I also recognize that God has given Ricky & I a gift of service, and He has opened doors for us to be used by Him and for His glory. We both pray that we will use our gifts to work through our Father to minister to the world and draw people closer to Him.

How can you pray for the Cook family?

·         As Coby & Kelsey finish this last term of their 10^th and 8^th grades, pray for them to be steadfast in their studies and finish strong on July 14.

·         Pray for Ricky & Niki as they pack up the house and sell their belongings (once again!). There are many logistical things that have to be completed in a short amount of time.

·         Pray for goodbyes we will be sharing with everyone at New Day Orphanage and the surrounding villages of Mapanza.

·         Pray for safe travels as the Cooks fly back to America to visit family and friends this summer.

·         Pray also as the Cooks return to Kenya and begin this new ministry at RVA in August.

·         And pray for Austin, who will be beginning college life in August.

A New Well at Kabanga Village

Kabanga Village, in the Southern Province of Zambia, is a remote village hidden deep in the bush of Africa.  It is located about 5-10 minutes from New Day Orphanage, where we serve.  Ricky and others from New Day visit this village once a week on Thursday afternoons to do Bible study under a beautiful shade tree.  The small group consists of the elderly man, Manuel, who is 96 years old, along with his wives, children, and other relatives.  They have been storying the Bible for over a year now in Kabanga and are hoping to start a church soon.

Kabanga Basic School is also located in this village.  LifePoint church from Seneca, SC did a Bible School this past July for over 500 children who attend this school.  In addition, a Pastor and his wife from LaGrange, GA, volunteered in Kabanga school for three weeks teaching the children mathematics while also teaching the Bible.  This school is understaffed with only 4 teachers and a principal currently working Grades K through 7.

There is currently one well in Kabanga, and it stays quite busy with supplying water to the estimated 1500 people, plus approximately hundreds of cows and other farm animals.  Most people travel by foot between 3-4 miles with a bucket or two in hand, and then back home to attend to their daily needs.

A couple of weeks we received funding to begin the process of putting in a new well for Kabanga.  The first step was to hire a drill company to come out and find water.  Once the contract was agreed upon, we visited the headman of Kabanga to discuss the plans of where to place the well.  We walked with Headman Hakwelele from his home to a nearby soccer pitch (field) where the kids play.  It was determined that this area was central to the majority of people who have to walk long distances to the nearest well.  As the huge drilling truck drove the narrow, dusty roads that lead into Kabanga, the people were curious as to what was happening in their community. They began to follow the truck to the site, and after some time a large crowd had formed.  The drilling company began scouting the area for the best spot.  One gentleman held a gourd-type round object in his hand, and as he walked the site the object began turning in his hand.  This was where they decided to start drilling.  As the onlookers watched, the truck lowered the drill into the dusty sand.  It took only 90 minutes before they hit water!

The next step in the well project was to protect the site until a pump could be installed.  The guy installing the pump (Pride) came out to get everything in working order.  Once the pump was installed and water was flowing out nicely, the people began filling their buckets and laughing with joy.  They repeatedly thanked us, saying “Twalumba” over and over with huge smiles on their faces.  We will be using the remaining funds from this well installation to repair the current well so that it will perform better.

Bible study in the village, working in the school, and now providing a much-needed water well will help us in evangelism efforts in Kabanga.  Meeting this physical need will help us to meet spiritual needs within this village and surrounding areas.

Once the concrete was set, the pump was locked for several days to ensure clean drinking water.  There is a water well committee put in place to oversee the well functions and security.  The people began building a fence around the well to keep the animals from destroying the pump.  Opening day at the well is set for Saturday, 8 November.  Watch for more updates here or on our facebook page.

April 2014

April 2014 was a busy month for us. Not only was Coby at home for his month long school break, but we had several volunteers serving at New Day. Once New Day school was out on break, we took the Long-term volunteers to Livingstone for some fun and rest.  Coby & Jenna (intern from Nebraska) took the plunge at the Zambezi Gorge, while Haley (intern from Florida) took a dive off the Victoria Falls bridge.

Jenna & Coby listening to their instructions

Zambezi Gorge

Jenna is all hooked up and ready!

Getting some last minute instructions before heading to the drop-off

This company has a 100% safety rating

No turning back now!

3, 2, 1 ...

Free Fall...

And this is where they landed safely

The toughest part was hiking back out of the Gorge

Victoria Falls Bridge

Haley getting ready for her Bungee Jump

After our trip with the Volunteers to Livingstone, we got back to New Day in time to celebrate some birthdays.

Axer, Debbie, and Purity all celebrating birthdays

Now it's time for some water pouring

Looks like Debbie is soaked, and she's getting revenge!

Mulenga getting Debbie really wet!

On April 18, we welcomed another team, Prosthetic Promises, from Texas.  They arrived just in time to watch the Redeemer Drama, performed by our New Day kids.

With one more week remaining before we depart for the States, we made one more grocery trip to Choma. Except we had a big tire blow-out on the way.  We were trying to make it to Choma early enough to visit a friend who was scheduled to go before a judge in court, but we were delayed because of the tire.

The jack would not lift the car high enough, so we had to locate some large rocks to help get the car high enough to get the tire off.

Miss Carolyne and I searched the roadways for large flat rocks.

Finally we recruited some help.

And we had an audience

Since school was out on break, we organized a soccer match with our kids and a local team in Mbabala. The New Dy team had fun playing futbol (soccer) and the staff enjoyed cheering them on.

Malilwe

Kefbert & Cason giving the chest bump

On April 23, we celebrated Kelsey & Ricky's birthdays with a joint party.

Coby joined in the fun by soaking his sister and daddy (along with a few friends)

Kelsey received a new wallet for her birthday (one she had chose in Livingstone and I bought it as a surprise)

Prayer & Praise service on our last night at New Day before traveling to Lusaka. Coby is showing the kids the video he made of them using his GoPro

On April 26, Coby returned to RVA, Kenya to begin his 3rd term. Debbie, our agriculturalist, flew out on April 28, and then Ricky, Kelsey and I flew back to the States on April 29.