A much needed vacation

Andy and Ashlee were at the Provincial house when we spoke on Sunday evening watching a Chinese movie subtitled in English. Just relaxing for the evening. They had returned from their cross country travels to see their friends Trevor and Lisa in the NE province. Ashlee said visiting them was like visiting themselves. They too are stacked with American food from their loved ones. Andy and Trevor took several long bikes rides, around 200 K, while Ashlee and Lisa knitted and quilted at the house. They also went on several long hikes together. Ashlee said it was a much needed vacation and enjoyable to spend time with another couple.

Trevor has been frustrated with the work that he has been doing, so they have been reassigned to another position. I am uncertain if they will be moving or not. They are the only other couple in the region and they are in their late 30's so they are more mellow like Andy and Ashlee. Lisa taught Ashlee how to make pizza on the brazier, so they were excited to get home and try it. Good thing I sent pizza crust mix, pizza sauce, olives, mushrooms, pepperoni and Parmesan cheese in their last box. I told Ashlee about what I sent and she said she can't wait to see Andy's face. That is exactly what he has been craving. Somehow I keep managing to pick the exact things they want or need. I guess God does work in mysterious ways.

Their original plan for the trip was to attend an annual festival that is held in the region. They did travel through the festival, but decided it was best to keep moving. The festival was about 75% men and about 80% of those men were completely wasted. Ashlee said it was not a place that she she be. Several of the women and men were dressed in their native costumes, which was interesting to see, but the underlying purpose of the festival was to drink a lot of alcohol.

They are now staying at the Provincial house to paint for a few days. Ashlee said she has been painting ceilings for a couple of days and it is hard work. A portion of the roof had to be replaced as there was significant water damage. They said it was okay to do a different type of work for a while. Andy painted a large rainbow like image down the hall, so I am sure he is enjoying himself.

Ashlee was telling me about carbon trading in Zambia. This is an international program where countries exceeding their allowable carbon footprint can buy or trade carbon "points" from countries like Zambia who have little carbon footprint. I am not sure how the points are purchased, but here is a link to some information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emissions_trading

They are trying to get some of the funds from these programs to pay for the seedling tree for the tree farm Andy has been working on. I think this may be what Trevor will be involved with in his new position. Andy is also going to be doing some radio programming. His experience working at the Andrews University radio station will be coming in handy. It seems like the variety of skills Andy has picked up over the years are definitely coming in handy.