Zambia! (Please Pray!)

ZAMBIA

My husband, Tim, oldest son, Andrew, and daughter Kristen set out on the long journey to Zambia on Saturday! They will be visiting Tim's brother, David, and his wife, Terri, who have been missionaries in that country for many years with Mission to the World. We're excited for Tim and crew to be able to experience a small taste of the African Wegeners' lives and join in their work for two weeks.

So far the trip has been, well, eventful. The first flight from Indianapolis to Atlanta was delayed a couple of hours, just long enough to miss their connecting flight to Johannesburg. .... New arrangements were made - traveling through the United Arab Emirates, this time! After boarding that flight, mechanics discovered a problem, so all the passengers sat for nearly three hours before finally taking off for Dubai. Which is where my favorite travelers are as I write. After a pit stop of about 11 hours, they will resume their journey, landing in Lusaka Monday afternoon local time, Lord willing.

May I ask you to pray? The flight problems and 17 hour delay have caused upheaval in the intended schedule. My family members plus David and Terri were supposed to head to a remote college located in eastern Zambia near Petauke on Monday morning. David will be teaching several classes there, with Terri and Kristen doing a bit of teaching as well. Tim and Andrew are lined up for some electrical wiring and work around the college and farm. David says the work in eastern Zambia is difficult for many reasons. Opposition from the enemy is fierce.

Ephesians 6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 

Update: Andrew, Kristen, and Tim arrived in Zambia this past Monday, safe and sound, but sans checked baggage. They headed the next day to the "bush" for the work there. David and Terri's car, overfilled with the extra passengers, took a beating on the rough roads, adding an extra hour to the trip. Not having their luggage meant that each one had only one change of clothing, but that was OK. More of a concern, the suitcases were carrying important cargo for several missionaries. By Friday, though, all of the five bags had safely arrived with everything inside intact!  

This weekend the crew, augmented by the college librarian, have made their way to Livingstone via bus. (The van is in the shop after it's eventful trip to the bush.) There they will see the glorious splendor of Victoria Falls before heading back to Lusaka. The most intrepid of the travelers were talking about hang gliding over the falls, but I don't know yet if that was accomplished or not.