Hello Everyone! This is Jordan.


We taught the pastors on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Word got out on what we were teaching, so we also taught a group of schoolteachers on Wednesday and a group on Thursday!!

We have another 2 teaching assignments next week, besides again teaching the Pastors Monday, Wednesday, and Friday!!

I am still teaching school to Bradyn each morning. That is going really well and has been lots of fun.

Please pray for her, as she is suffering from a fevor and neck pain.

Every afternoon, we play games with the girls. I don't know how many times I have played the card game Rat a Tat Cat. We are now making up our own rules. Whenever I sit down to play, I have 1 or 2 girls asking to brush and plait (braid) my hair! I don't mind as it is very relaxing for me to have my hair played with.

The orphanages are still a mix of joy and sadness for me. It is so nice to know that I am touching a life, even if it seems as if a few minutes wouldn't do much to help them. The kids are so adorable and ... well, I would take them all if I could. It is so hard though to see and know that most of them will never have the joy of having a family. Also, several of the babies each week are hot to the touch.

One girl is blind in one eye. At least one child is hydrocephalic (sp), several of the babies usually have a fever. One little child came to the orphanage so malnurished that he was just skin and bones. When we went back the next time, we were told by some people that he had died and by some other people that he was in the hospital, so we aren't quite sure what happened to him. Most of the kids come to the orphanage malnurished. I was holding one boy and he couldn't stand at all. I was thinking by his size that he was about 5-6 months old and by his strength that he was 2 months old. He opened his mouth and I saw at least one tooth. So, he could have been 5-6 months like I guessed, but even if he was only that old, his strength sure didn't match his age. Most of the kids follow this description....they just seem really small or weak compared to what they should be at their age.


I can't believe how fast time is going!! Uncle Steve has been taking us out to see a new part of the city each day. It is amazing how different it is here then in the bush!!

One of the differences here is that there are compounds- really poor, dirty, stinky places- alongside the middle class Africans. The middle class here is probably equal to the low class Americans, but still very rich compared to the poor.

Another difference is that here, like where the Allens and other missionaries live, the houses are surrounded by brick walls and electric fence. There are big tall gates that block the driveway and have to be opened from the inside. Then inside the houses there are big iron gates that can be pad-locked.

There is boxed milk here. Cheese that is cut in slices and packaged.
This is just a start, but I have to go eat dinner and I wanted to get this posted! :)

In the heart of Africa!

Hello to all. I know that it has been awhile. During their travels, there was little communication and then my computer crashed. Yesterday, I was able to talk on the phone with Jordan and Corbin for and hour! It was great. I started to get a glimpse into all that they have experienced. God has provided more diverse cultural experiences and opportunities with many different missionaries then we could have ever hoped for!

A recent note from Corbin......

Today Jordan and I taught WTTB twice!! Once to some school teachers, we had only an hour so did just a shortened version of Jesus' life. We Then did the class with the pastors, they are now to number 28. We will teach them again on Friday, next Mon., Wed., and Sat. Tomorrow we will teach another group of teachers at about 10:30 am. I enjoy teaching the pastors the most. This is something new to them, as one pastor put it, (but not in his exact words) kids in Sunday-school do hand motions now we are laughing because we are doing it to! The pastors realy get into it. They treat us with alot of respect even though it is different here for some as young as we are to be teaching someone their age

They have both said that no amount of movies, books or stories could ever bring to reality what it is like to be there. Jordan did say that she may not have much patience upon hearing complaints from people in our blessed country as she has now seen what a "hard life" really can be.

When they first arrived in Africa......

Zambia!!

Hey everyone!! ...... this is Jordan

Greetings from Zambia!!! After saying goodbye to about 35 new "family" members, we got in the car with the Moyers and had a fun ride with them from Mumba, Tanzania, to Kabwe, Zambia. Okay, so the "fun ride" is a little exagerated, but we did have a great time getting to know the Moyers and other missionaries!!! We stayed at a lakeside resort with them for a full day which was so fun. We learned how to snorkel and went canoeing/kayaking!! Beautiful scenery and a very pleasant place. There were people fishing at night using nets and old fishing boats, which reminded me of what the boats must of been like in Bible times. Corbin and I were getting ready for bed when a car drove past the window and honked it's horn. I looked over at Corbin and exclaimed, "A car!!! It went right past our window!!!!" It is very different being here in the city, to see Mzungus (white people), cars, signs in English, to walk into a store is amazing.....and just a little shocking. Reverse culture shock is surprisingly more obvious to me, then culture shock was.

It is so exciting to be with our Aunt, Uncle, and 5 cousins. We are having a excellent time with them. We have 5 requirements while here. 1. Teach Pastors 2. be Aunt Stephanie's teaching assistants 3. set up a chicken coop 4. love on the kids 5. visit the orphanage.

Teaching pastors is going to start this Monday. This is my second day of teaching Braydon and Julia their school. Corbin is working on the chicken coop and as I talk, he is explaining his drawing to a carpenter. Loving on the kids......well.......that is just really easy to do!!!! We visited the orphanage for the first time yesterday. It was our second orphanage that we have gone to.

This one is a lot bigger then the one we went to in Mumba. It is a mix between joy and sadness when we go there. It is so fun to pick up the kids and know that we made a part of their day, but to put them back in their cribs and hear them scream, is so heartbreaking. The workers try to hold and love, but there are so many, it really makes it impossible to give them the time they need...everything is done on a time schedule. We will be going there every Thursday.


Kwa heri -for now! (Good bye for now)

Here is the update as to where they may be in Africa..........

Hello Mom,

We are in Mumba right now with the Bentons, Caroways, Brook, Shermans, Rabenolds, Kesslers, and Moyers. There is a field meeting going on, that is why everyone is located in Mumba. We will be leaving Mumba with the Moyers on Sunday. Being here in Africa, you have to be totally flexible. I hope this helps. I have no clue where we are going yet after we leave with the Moyers. Aunt Tina and Uncle Dan made some plans last night, but Uncle Dan had some new ideas this morning, so, now I don't know what we are doing.

Thank you so much for your prayers.
Love and miss you too!!
Jordan

A note sent to Steve Allen (where they are staying once in Zambia) from Dan Moyer who is driving them from Tanzania to Zambia.

Our plans right now are to reach Kabwe tuesday night, you can pick
them wednsday.
More later, m in a meeting :)
Dan

It is hard to figure out where they are???......

Hello Mom,

I am so sorry to hear about the computer. (our computer died) I sure hope that it can be fixed easily. It is looking like we will be leaving this Saturday so don't expect an email until the following Saturday. If I can write before then, I will, but I am not sure how long the travel is....sounds like it will be at least 3 days.....then we might be staying with the Moyers for a couple days until Uncle Steve can make it over to pick us up. The Moyers live about 3 hours away from them. We will be traveling with Uncle Dan and Aunt Tina and Natalie, their daughter; plus two married missionary ladies, plus a young man named Scott. I hope everything is going well for you there. Things are going well here. I was really saddened to think that I would have to be leaving the Bentons and other missionaries here, but I am beginning to look forward to a crammed ride with the Moyers!! If you think that we have ever ridden crammed or gone over rough roads, think again!!!! We will stay at least one day at a beautiful place on a lake. I will have to give you more details on it once I see it. We are planning on being able to take a 45 minute boat ride for free!!!

I love you guys and miss you.

I will try and get you an email right before we leave, but if not, please don't worry about us at all. We are in good hands, both with the people we are around and then of course, God's hands.

I am getting excited to wrap my arms around you all!!!

Only one month and we will be in Salt Lake!!

Blessings,
Jordan

Please pray for travels....we are on our way to Zambia!

Hello

We will enter Zambia either the 6th or 7th of November with the Moyers. We will transfer over to the Allens on the 10th.
Zach is doing well. He is not in much pain and Uncle Ted will pull the pins out in a couple of weeks. He is starting to put a little weight on his leg. It will be 2 weeks since he broke it tomorrow.
I am going to a wedding tomorrow. We went to one already and I really enjoyed it. The Bentons don't seem to enjoy them as much so they aren't going and Jordan is staying with them. Uncle Ted and Aunt Kim Rabonold are taking me. It is in a different tribe so there will probably be some different customs in the wedding and they said it probably won't be as plush as the last one. I want to experience as much about Africa as I can before I leave.
We fixed Zach's pellet gun today. Praise God!! It was a big project.

I can't wait to see you all and the other family at the wedding! I am glad that something else will be going on when Jordan and I first get back as it may give us time for everything to sink in and to become more readjusted. I may have to work on being content with America life after living here.
Wow, Salt Lake has got snow! Sorry about the cold. I am loving the heat although it can be quite warm sometimes.
I have taken lots of pictures and videos so far. Please let friends and family know as many requested them!
It is getting so close to the time that we leave the Bentons. I am already getting sad. At least we will go from here to the Allens which may help with the sadness as I can't wait to see them. Then from there to the wedding back home where friends and family will be. Then Christmas! It is like our vacation goes on and on! I look at this trip as God's story!
Love you all
It is 12;15 a.m. so I had better get to bed

Corbin


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Understanding reverse culture shock

Information from a young missionary that Jordan stayed with when Zach broke his leg.

Reverse culture shock, re-entry shock.
Is a syndrome, symptom very common to anyone that has spent time overseas.
Your kids have been in a different culture for enough time to struggle when they get back.
They have had a different diet, different people, different ideas, different social statuses, etc. surrounding them.

One area that you can help is to be willing to listen. They will want to share for hours but you will want to listen for minutes because it will be overwhelming information. Most people they meet will only give them 5 min to tell of months of adventure. This is very frustrating. They will feel people don’t care about what happened to them here and what they learned. They will struggle with seeing the wealth of the US in contrast to here and will constantly be saying things to compare it. They may start to be judgmental about the US’s mindset of so much when they saw people with so little here. They will miss much of this life and struggle at how to adapt back there, even though it is home. They will go through a cycle of excitement and then depression and then struggle at how to keep part of their experience alive while still adapting back to the US and living there. Some go to one extreme or the other, where they either embrace the US and try to leave Africa behind or vice versa. These are all normal feelings.

That’s the most important part, it’s normal to struggle. They will need their family to listen and to try and ask questions. They will need time to sit and remember their time here and maybe make a video or album. It may hit a few weeks down the road or it may happen a bit sooner.

There is a lot more to explain but that is the basis. Hope that helps.