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So we were packed and ready for the start of our adventure. The parents showed up and we loaded the bags into the trunk on a mild Sunday afternoon in Missouri. We arrived at KCI and made our way to the American Airlines baggage check in. With itinerary and id's in hand we got to the counter just before 2:30pm. "What flight?""The 3:40 to Chicago.""There isn't a 3:40 to Chicago.""According to my itinerary we are scheduled on the 3:40 flight to O'hare.""Oh, well they probably changed the schedule. It leaves at 3:00.""Well no one notified us. Can we still make the flight?""I think so, let me check with my manager." "I can run their bags down to the plane right now myself. It's right there.""Absolutely not. The flight closes 45 minutes ahead of departure.""Please we are meeting up with our family in Chicago for an international flight.""No!" Grrrrrrrr..........So that was the start of it. Frustrated and getting frazzled we had no choice but to reschedule for the next flight. There is only 35 minutes for a connection, but they all but guarantee we can make it. Aundre did his best to get some customer service, but all the offered was a website that we could go to. Gee thanks, because we have a computer with us and your just standing there wasting air! Apparently down sizing has resulted in absolutely no phone support these days for good old American Airlines. So we sit in the airport restaurant and I munch some less than mediocre nachos while Mom nervously sips an iced tea. When we could handle the unbalance HVAC system that was dumping ice cold air on our heads the with force of one of the jet engines just outside no longer we trudged through security to wait the two more hours for our flight. Andrea arrived in Chicago while we were still in KCI so Aundre did a little bargaining with her to buy him the Chicago-style deep dish pizza that we was craving. He fell in love with it on one of our first trips to Chicago and had been going on about for days maybe weeks in advance. So with Pizza in hand Andrea met us at our gate with enough time to make a quick stop at the restrooms and then get on our flight to London's Heathrow Airport. After a crappy snack from our less than helpful cabin team and a single drink service they lowered the lights and we all put on our headphones, selected one of the movies and sunk into our seats as much as is possible on a commercial airplane in the Economy section. When we wake up it will be Monday morning in London and we will be on foreign soil for the start of our adventure.
Ashlee was excited to talk about the tour she had recently been on with the US Embassy. They went to a refugee camp and say lots of refugees from all over Africa including the Congo and Zimbabwe have taken up residency there. She said the conditions we good relative to how Zambians live. They had mud huts similar to their village, but there were many different languages being spoken. All of the village services are provided by the foreign aid and the UN so it is actually pretty nice. There are many more bikes around than is typical for a Zambian village. There are now 15,000 refugees down from 63,000 10 years ago. Many children have now been born and raised in these camps. I asked why they can't just stay and establish their lives there as so many of their homes have been destroyed, but Ashlee explained that they cannot get Zambian citizenship as it is difficult to attain so they cannot move out of the camps which makes employment if difficult.The primary role of the UN representatives is to travel around and visit the various villages, take photos and write reports. They also do things like showing the movie they did in Kasempa. Ashlee said that event went over fairly well. The movie they presented was about the national park and wildlife because they didn't think the people would speak English. Ashlee said there was a good response, but the people kept asking when they were going to show the Akon video, an American R&B artist who has become a favorite. My guess is because if his song Mamma Africa. Here is a link to the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2z8bH_pGm9QThey are now in Chalimbana, a village 40K outside of Lusaka, awaiting the new arrivals for training. They are staying at a Farmers' Training College that they are using for their training sessions. I am not sure the duration of the training, but they are planning to return home before traveling back to Lusaka to meet up with the rest of us in a few weeks. So far Andy has not able to get his tooth repaired but hoped to be able to on the return trip. Keep him in your prayers that he can get it fixed soon. Things happen on African time which can be frustrating, I am sure.
I could hear Ashlee's labored breath in the receiver. "Andy, don't forget your head light, we will have to walk back in the dark.....do you have your bag......" Mother hen clucking away at Andy. "Didn't you get my text message? I can't talk today. The Embassy is here to show the movie and everything is a cluster right now."They did run into a guy that had recently been with several NFL players visiting Zambia on their way to see some of the troops. Boomer Grigsby, Jared Allen, and one of the Cardinals that has dreads she wasn't sure who. Ashlee was excited to tell that much at least. Every reminder of home is exciting.They found out that Andy can get a ride to Solwezi on Monday so he will take off then and Ashlee will be able to get a ride in 'a very nice' vehicle which they can take all the way to Lusaka so that was big to them. Transportation is on of the biggest obstacles for them so a decent ride is always a blessing. I am glad we are renting a car for our visit. Just a few short weeks now and the excitement builds...
The rains finally subsided five days ago after months of nonstop rain. In fact, it actually rained every day for the previous two weeks and made it impossible to do practically anything. Ashlee has been sewing to pass the time. It was finally dry enough for a decent bike rides so they took off and went about 55 kilometers. They said it just felt good to be out in the open air and moving around.They are preparing for an upcoming visit by the US Embassy folks to the area and a trip to Lusaka to train the new arrivals. They have been giving a lot of thought staying on a while longer possibly in another capacity with the Embassy or PC. If they stay with the PC they could be located in Ulapa across the Congo. Andy would be the provincial coordinator and they would probably live in a provincial house. Decisions, decisions.....
The ancient festival dedicated to the god Mars, the Ides of March, had brought nothing but rain for days upon days to the jungles of Zambia and the Fritz's have been feeling the effects. Andy's clothes molded on the line and Ashlee was dismayed to say that she has fungus growing on her feet. She desperately tried to convince us that it was perfectly normal, but I am not sure any of us were buying it. The 'good bridge' and 'bad bridge' are no more. They have both been wiped out in the high waters. Andy has not visited his bridge since the last big rain but will be that way this week. I wonder if good old American construction will hold up. They have been trapped indoors most of the times since they return from their vacation and they had been day dreaming of home. Andy had been wishing for the old log bed at the parents' house and hoping it would be waiting for him, which of course it will be. Fuzzy Nut has gone missing. It was a sore spot so we didn't dwell on it. He disappeared while they were away and no one is fessing up. Frankly, I prefer to not consider the possibilities. It is hard to not get attached to a pet when it is part of your human fiber to love animals as God's creatures. Tosh is still around, however so the treats I sent will go to good use. Maybe Fuzzy will reappear and brighten their days sometime soon. Positive thoughts their way... They have decided to limit their efforts to a single project each. They have been getting burnt out with trying to do so many different things and the people constantly disappoint them. Ashlee said that after all the effort she went through to get knitting needles and yarn once she gave the ladies the tools they have never returned for classes. This seems to be the predominant attitude towards any kind of aid. They take what is given, but do not make any effort to really learn how to best utilize it or gain more knowledge. So Andy is an official tree farmer and Ashlee will be continuing her traveling work to education on nutrition and children's health. She has been fulfilled with that work and it allows her to travel to many remote places and make an impact as the hospital has a truck that they use for their site visits. One of the villages they are scheduled to visit is near a national park and they should see elephants there. They have trouble with them eating the maize in the area. Kind of a big pest to have to defend you crops against. I hope she carries a camera and a big stick. Something that none of us has figured out yet has caused there to be an evacuation of PC volunteers out of Madagascar several of which are being relocated to Zambia. Andy and Ashlee will be helping with the training of some of these new posts in Lusaka in a few weeks. They sounded excited to get some new faces in the area and participate in some group activities and I think a trip away from home is always welcome. There is a visit from some representatives of the US Embassy planning to visit soon. They are coming to see the projects that are underway in the area. They will be visiting the tree farm. They will be traveling with a large projection screen and will show a movie to each village as they go. Ashlee was hoping it would be Top Gun. No matter what the picture it will be a first for most of those they will encounter. I wonder what will be going through their minds that night.
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_tradingThey 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.
Only one room was ready when we arrived so we make a quick wardrobe change and set off on foot with a map of London to conquer the town. We made our round-a-bout way around to a bridge and crossed over the Thames as a sprinkle of rain passed through. We grabbed a baguette at a riverside cafe and made our way along the opposite side of the river from the hotel. We walked under the bridge and discovered a row of street performers earning their pay in the gentle dripping. We came to the Eye and despite the overcast sky we decided to give it a whirl. 
The view was amazing! So many of the buildings have beautiful courtyards that are not visible from the street and Big Ben and the Parliament were incredible from that angle. We came full circle and walked across the Westminster Bridge to the Parliament. There was a large group of protesters in support of Sri Lanka filling the center open space. We walked around the perimeter to the Westminster Abbey for a closer look, but didn't feel inspired to pay for a visit.
We meandered back past the Horse Guards through Trafalgar's Square and Piccadilly Circus. Basically we got lost, but it made for some great site seeing. We headed back to the Charing Cross for a shower and a little nap. Later in the evening we ventured off to the Covent Garden area for a bite to eat. We settled for the Maple Leaf, a local pub with fish and chips, steak and a veggie burger on the menu, which satisfied us all, so we sat around a heavy wood table with TVs playing soccer on ever screen and people watched for a while before heading back and succumbing to a coma-like sleep.
