Our Flat Mates!

Art and Corina Kung

These are our friends. Before we moved into their house we were over there almost every day anyway, so the transition to living with them was very easy and natural. It's going really well actually. I think vinj and I have gotten used to living with other poeple over the past 5 months. its somthing you really have to grow into i think. anyway, they are both awesome people who encourage us and bring so much life to life!

The NEw Locks

The Beautiful Blond

The Crazy Red Head.... it only last 2 hours this time.

The ned result, a rich dark auburn for Kathryn... what do ya think?

I first dioed it what was suppose to be a dark auburn, but I guess my hair had never been so blond before, so ti turned VERY RED, which maybe in my teen years would have loved, but not so much anyway more, so we went back to shoppers and died it again:) Dar Brown. So here it is. It's fun, I was nervous though because my hair was so light. I like it alot though.

Trisha my friends from toronto dyed my hair. as most of you knwo I am secretly very picky about my hair and who touches it, but she did an awesome job! Thanx trisha!

P.S I feel like this is very useless information compare to the many problems in the world... but I guess it's ok to be girl some times:)

Calgary

P.S- I have posted about 6 things today... scroll downa dn check out the other posts!

How's Calgary?

Well, right now we are going through somthing very serious and hard in YWAM calgary. So there have been some extra meetings and prayer this past week. This has made things a little emotional and trying. Details aren't nessesary in this situation.

Work?

I, Kathryn am wokring at a coffee shop working 8 hours a day, I like it... it's ok, not my favorite way to spend my time... but it is a gift from God to have a job in this season in our lives.

Music?

Vinj has been woking alot on our music, we preformed at a community night in McKenzie Towne last Sunday night. We did an acoustic soung, I played guitar vinj rapped and I sang. It was great. (Chris vinjelu's frined played a box drum with us as well, its was awsome) We are also sending some of our music to studios and producers... so we'll see what happens.

Home Life?

Home is good, we're living with a family, it's great living with them. We have enough privacy... or maybe it's cuz we're used to living other poeple by now... I don't know:) anyway, we get alog really well with this family and have always loved spending time with them.

but we will be getting a few days in the house by our selves! it will be fun to be alone for a while, we haven't spent time alone in a house since May! So it will be a treat i think. so don't call on the weekend:) heehee

Any Questions... ust ask.

Oh, Rob if you read this I used that budget data baes, it's great! very easy to use and revamp for personal use. Thanx for sending that!

Madalisto and Gwanire Kolombe

By Kathryn

Tobias-Gwanire-Vinjelu Muyaba

Love, sweet love....

Gwanire and Madalitso on their wedding day

Photo's take By Kathryn

Beauty of a culture

This was quite a family night, left to right: Madalitso's head (vinjeu's brother in law)-Gwanire(Vinjelu's sister)-Faith family sister- Wendy our best friend- Philip cousin- Tobias vinjelu's brother- Vinjelu... and me(but I'm taking the picture).

somthing I love about this picture is it's a picture of the culture in some way, you don't have enough chairs for everyone... "so what" just make room on one of your chairs for the extra people. You don't stress cuz you don't have enough seats, or have some people sit in the living room. No you jusy simply make room with what you have. This is a picture of that culture, make somthing amazing about what you have, I do think there is a positive and a negative to this actually... some people never get out of the servival mode, but others use this attitude to actually make it further and to make the most of life. It wa ssomthing beautiful I found about some people, makes you feel like anything in possible in some way...

Family house in Lusaka Zambia

This is the small 5 acre Muyaba Farm. This is where we stayed while in Zambia (Well when we were in Lusaka) it's quite a nice house, 4 rooms, lots of room for people. it was mostly full while we were there. Thats a Mango tree in the front there. One of my favorite parts of the house in the front portch, you can watch the sun go down every night, and also sit out front in the morning with coffee or tea with the hot sun shinging right on you. Really beautiful.

Calgary News October

We are now finding our feet in Calgary. Kathryn is working at Tim Hortons ( coffee shop) . She began with a really stressfull first week, but she is beggining to find her feet. vinjelu has been having a little culture shock being back in Calgary and finding rythm with Ywam. YWAM is a bit on a slower pace than usual. We are re-evaluating our programs, re-vamping our filing system, and also praying through some big decisions that need to made in the next year. We are also cleaning out the office and so ther is alot of practical work to be done. Vinjelu is helping with facilities (making sure that everything has a place to go!!)

Right now we are trying to see where God is leading us. We actually don't have enough Mission Financial support and so the issue of raising supporters comes round again. But since we believe that support should be relationship based, it is a problem that will not go away any time soon, since relationships take time.
We are living with a Canadain Chinese couple (Art and Corinna Kung). They are very easy to live with . We occupie two rooms. One is our office, the other is our bedroom. Here are some photo's!

As you can see we are still moving in, soon we will have photo's and pictures on the walls, and it will be our home untill March 2007! Come and visit if you can, we're in south East Calgary!

Victoria Falls

Now that we're home we can post a few favorite pictures from Zambia! So here's the first one. This was one of the two holiday days we had while in zambia.

Being Home- Kathryn

Since coming home two weeks ago, we've been visiting family. It's been amazing seeing them again, I love how you get to know your brothers and in-laws better and better every year... and I love become my mom's frined more and more.

I have been sick for about a month... actually a bit more then a month, the doctors found out after some testing in the past week that I have a parasite in my intestines. Witch has been making me feel sick, and other side effects... I'm sure you can imagine, I was actually kinda relieved, cuz I thought I had worms.

I have an interview/orientation on monday in Calgary. Going to strat work at Tim hortons, I had some opportunities to work with Autistic Chidlren, but felt I would get to busy again volunteering with YWAM and working that high stress job. So I am taking the easy route with Timmies. I am starting out as a supervisor, so thats nice, and I am making more an hour than I ever have... (interesting..) I get to smell like a tim bit again (Yeah). Good thing I don't like dougnuts!

Today I attended my Great Auntie's funeral. She died of Cancer. It was very sad to see her go, she was only in her 60s. It reminded me of how precious people are, and how precious it is to know people, really really know people. They are so beautiful. I was so privilage to know my Aunty and be touched by her true kindness and peronsl interested in my life.

So in the next few months we will be with YWAM Calgary, involved in our House Church, working on our music, and hopfully taking a church planting course. Look out for our news letter with all the details.. (if ur interested in getting our news letter just e-mail, or drop a note on the blog!)

I'm out...

We're Back in Canada!

leaving Zambia,,,,

This is quite hard. We are excited to come home... for things like meat and potatos and gravy... but we're leaving behind so many people. 3 months has been long, becoming part of a communities every days and then goign back to a completely different culture. crazy...

Leaving so many poeple in the same place or worse then you found them, is hard as well, the vision we have for Zambia just grows stronger because of that, people's stories and faces now inspire vision even more.

Good bye Zambia....

Zikomo Maningi Victoria!!!!!!!!

Victoria, thank yuo so much for frist of all checking our blog and finding out we needed some help woth tickets to toronto! And secondly for booking and paying for them in the mean time! That mean so much to us, we really needed the help with booking and all that, so thank you so much!

and for looking up those flights from London! Mom got the one, so we're hooked up!

Love you VERY MUCH! Give your self a hug from me!
Kathryn

My Mom...

Mom I forgot in the bustle of the day yesterday to write this.
On the bus very early in the morning, over all the bumps and dust in my face I was thinking about our childrens names (our children to come)... then thinkking about how serious it is to be a mother... then was thiking about my memories as a child right to the age of three... and how I always felt loved, cherished, safe, cared for, all the time. I didn't go through abandonment which is so rampant here. I was almost in tears as I was thinking and remembering your love.

The day before yestersay there was a small boy walking in Balastone park (the farms where we live) when he saw our bus stop breifly he was cry asking for 500K (14c) ... people laughed and the bus started off agian, the boy with tear streaming down yelled/cried out loud and ran and ran after the bus BEGGING for 500K (14c) ... People said he was fake crying, even if thats the case it is a travesty, so terrible to see that desperation in a small child as old as Emma (6yrs).

Thank you mom for your love, the wholistic love you showed me. In the coming years when vinj and I start a family I will remember what you were to me and be that to my children. I want to love like you loved me. I love you and appreciate you more then any of the words in this world could ever express, really.

Love
your daughter,
Kathryn

Last weeks here....

Hey Kathryn here...

Well we had a big family gathering these past few weeks, because of Vinjelu's sisters wedding. Gwanire and Madalits got married on the 26th of August. It was quite an exeriance.

There was family demanding the bride price (Labola) from Madalisto's family, but vinj and Tobi (his brother) already refused that tradition for different reasons, one main one being Gwanire didn't want to be paid for. That was quite an upset lots happened, and all of their family from their biological mom's side didn't come to the wedding, because of the bride praice not being paid.

For people interested the bride prices range from 3 million Kwacha to 10 million Kwacha, and even higher.

alot of poeple had problem with the tradiation not being in the wedding, it was almost imossible for them to have it thought because of the bride and goom coming 12 days before the wedding day... so the wedding looked a bit like a canadian wedding, although there were some Zambain tradiations.

So the wedding was beautiful, but not without problems.

Now we are getting ready to leave. On that note PRAISE god vinjelu got his visa!!!! Now we just need a flight from London to Toronto... been looking and looking can't find at the moment...

We are doing our last bit of recording in the next few days, we may be leaving Zambia on Sunday with Vinjelu's mom. We will stay in JOhannesburg with some friends, and will both be flying out on the 6th in the evening.

We will be back in Canada on the 7th... as for now our flight back to edmonton was cancelled and so now need to find a different flight home, it may have to be a few days later... I don't know I have to look into that again. Anyone interested in looking for us? The money we get back for that is about $500.00 for two flights from toronto to Edmonton.

There are alot of stories to tell, pictures to be shown... video to watch... see you poeple in Canada soon.

MARRIAGE.

These past two weeks have been straining because fo the wedding and all the fmaily stuff, straining on our marriage that is, vinj has to be here and there and so did I. It has been nice to have a few days alone, not sleeping with my mother in law in our room, or cousins! We have our room back untill we leave. Please just pray for unity to be there and appreciation for one another. Time, stress, full days all that puts a strain on us.

Feeling at Home

I-Kathryn

Am feel much more at home, able to get around knowing where I am, and also the language is a big thing as well... wich I am getting to know more and more everyday. It feels just normal waking up here and the rutine you go through in the morning. (Exceot boiling water for 10 people in the mornign to bath takes HOURS!!!)

The sounds, the gecko's, spiders, weirs flying things every where.... I'm used... it's nice actually. People have come to know me and even some to love me, it's comforting, and I am very thankful. I know that I fit into this make shift family here, and that toughes me deeply. I wondered what ti would be like being in a family with no mom and dad, it's interesting. But other poeple fulfill those roles some how... I look forward to having long chats with Vinjelu's mom about how life was like for her here... in amongst different culture, family, oh ya and color.

Gotta go...

Kath

Staggette for Gwanire!

Hey guys,

Yesterday was Gwanire's staggette... I was pleasantly surprised that all of the girls I invited came, there were 15 of us in all.

Gwanire was SOOOOO touched, excited... so much that she almost cried when thanking me. I dressed her us as a "tribal Princess" , with the short skirt and little top out of cloth. You will see photo's soon.. anyway it was great, and lots of people brought gifts, really was an amazing night for her, they made her feel very specail. It was amazing I got all those people when I didn't know half of them! :)

So today we are buying decorationd for the wedding, and possibly catching a movie later.

Thursday we are going to YWAM Lusaka again to visit and sleep over.

Trinah Vinjelu's cousin is staying with us for the week!!! Very cool, she was my first friend in Zambia, and so is very specail to me, and obveously vinj, being that they are related...

We are also finishing up some recording and hoping Trinah can do some as well.

Vinjelus mom is coming on Saturday! This is goignt o be so exciting! The last few days have been great wioth all the family around, we have a VERY full house! And it will be even more rich with Muka here as well.

I think thats all for now.

P.S- I Kathryn and getting much better at speaking Nyanja... I am so chaffed... :) heehee I am also getting very good at hustling for stuff... like taxi etc... :) Truly Zambian.

Victoria Falls- Sun Set Cruise Zambezi

Well, wendy arrived on Tuesday, it's been so great having her around.... for the last three days we've been talking non stop, definatly not bored with eachother. We've had alot to catch up on from the past two years. Wendy is a great frined of our, whom we met in YWAM a few years ago.

Again, we were not able to post photo's, sorry. (Mom we are storing all our photo's on the laptop:)

We went on a Sun Set Cruise on the Zambezi river yesterday, it was beautiful, really amazing, on a prettyubig boat, we had drinks (local beer) and food served to us. We sat on the top lervel of the boat, we saw hippo's, crocks, elephant, birds, impalas, water bucks... and a beautiful Sun Set.... all of which are on video now.

Today we went to the victopria falls. I got in as a Zambian, because we had our marriage cert with us. Thankfully, so I got in for 0.50c instead of $15.00. Wendy had to pay though.... Anyway, we took many pictures and had an amazing afternoon at the falls. it was beautiful, of course. We taped some of it as well. Oh, on the wya back form the falls we saw a whole hurd of Elephants on the side fo the road, and one in paticular was VERY close, so we got pictutres and video again. Really awsome!

Livingstone as well has the BEST ice cream in Zed! SOOOO good and cheap, wich is shocking cuz everything else hwere is very expensive beacues it's such a tourist city.

Tonight we're hitting some pubs checking out some of the night scene a bit.

We willo be back in Lusaka on Friday evening in time to pick Gwanire (vinjelu's sister) form the airport on Saturday.

Livingstone etc...

Well we have been traveling around alot!!! Haven't been home for two weeks and still will not be home for another week or so.

Last week we were recording in Lusaka East, very far from home, so we stayed at a friends plcace the whole week. The recording went pretty well, it's hard work... but we managed to record about 6 songs so far. SOem of them need re-recording. They have not been mixed yet by the producer, so there is still alot of work to be done. the quality is okey, but ofcourse it is not the best considering the amount it cost. Most of the music has been re-made ( all the beats and things are different) so it was abit hard to let go of all the beats we had made. But they sound good! We stayed with a friend who used to be very close to me (vinjelu) , he is now in the army so i cannot disclose any more info..except that he gave us the best hospitality yet. He gave up his really nice room and we got to sleep in a confortable bed.

We were also staying about 5 minutes from Naomi's (Joshua's mom) parent's place. So we got to see Naomi almost every day. We even got to baby sit Joshua for a whole day!!! It was fun! Not hard work at all, although Kathryn did most of it!! She was really in the role of mother and stuff. People were staring at this white mom with her black baby. SO it was an experience3, i think we will make great parents .

We will post pictures tomarrow hopefully. Becauser we have been traveling and stuff we haven't had much time to sit and write and wait the two hours to post two photos.... so maybe tomarrow.

TOMARROW- Wendy arrives one of our best best friends, she is coming from Namibia to stay with us untill the end of the month. We are SOOOOOO excited for her coming, I Kathryn havent seen here for 2 hyears... vinj just saw her last year. So thats gonig to be great!

It's going to be nice to be away from the studio for a change...

We will be visiting YWAm for a few days as well... goign to the falls... maybe check out world visions stuff here as well. For njow we are staying with one of vinjelus aunties form his moms side. So it's free accomidation, we wanted to see if we could stay in a lodge for a night for fun... we'll see, we have friends with a lodge and might be able to get in on that connection.

We have been discussing alot of things for when we come bacjk... where we'll live, how it's going to work.. all those things. And honestly feel we knwo less form before we came:) Funny huh.. so we will be praying alot about thia and just seeking God on different things.

Thats that for now. Love ya all..

Oh and our anniversary was nice. We went out for Indian food, went to a big african market, and saw the Lake house (with wightson) it was great fun, we have pictures as well.