Zambia 2009 Pictures - Here and There

The white cloud just above the trees is mist from the Mosi-O-Tunya (The Mist That Thunders) as it is called locally - Victoria Falls - as seen from the Zambia School of Biblical Studies campus. It is also about as close as Jimmie got to this incredible wonder of the world. He had seen it so saw no reason to see it again.

A Typical bush house

Rock formations
Zambian roads

Charcoal sellers along the road to Siamafumba

His & Hers chimbuzi





Lunch at Kalomo

Trees and countryside

And spectacular sunsets

Finally, on the way home - the airport at Livingstone

Zambia 2009 Pictures - Siamafumba

The travel-weary wheels that got Jimmie and Ron into the bush. Keeping it together was the trick.

Webby (with a little help from Jimmie) had to repair the universal joint before leaving for Siamafumba . . .

then stop on the road to replace the rubber gromet around it using a seat belt he cut from inside the truck and some bailing wire. Being able to improvise is an important skill in the bush.

But they reached Siamafumba safely.

Siamafumba School of Biblical Studies

Jimmie's sleeping quarters during this 4-day meeting.

Jimmie didn't have a pillow so at night he would put his carry-on bag under the mattress to give some height. The first night he was awakened by a critter investigating this bag just under his head, and then a bag beside him. Jimmie waited until the critter noises were coming from the other side of the room before groping for the flashlight by his bed. (Black mambas and cobras - 2 very deadly snakes - are both common in the the area.) Fortunately, this critter turned out to be a very LARGE mouse. It quickly scurried back to the nest it had made inside the door of the room, while Jimmie went back to sleep, relieved that it was a mouse rather than a snake. The next day the brethren removed the door and took it outside.

Cooking stations

and scenes around the meeting area



The brush building built just for this gospel meeting.

Notice that the brush structures are really not very tall. The church building was actually shorter than Jimmie. Fortunately, there was depression behind the pulpit he could stand in to preach.

Imagine sitting on these pews hour after hour.

Ron trying to get warm at one of the tea stations.











Preaching at night.

There was no electricity or running water at Siamafumba, only a generator that produced enough power to illuminate 4 light bulbs. The one over the pulpit shed enough light to read sermon notes, but the crowd of almost 2,000 souls listened in total darkness.

One other exciting thing about Siamafumba was that 5 of Ron's students in the International College of the Bible graduated with a BA in Bible. Jimmie said it was amazing to have a cap and gown graduation out in the bush.

Zambia 2009 Pictures - Misika. .

When Jimmie described Misika as out in the bush he meant it literally. The "buildings" pictured here were constructed from brush just for this 3-day Gospel meeting.

But children get curious and excited everywhere, and always seem to find a way to have fun.

Ron Gilbert makes annual trips and the kids remember, so they wanted to greet him.

The church building at Misika - too small to hold the crowd of almost 1,000 so it became sleeping quarters for many of the visitors, including Jimmie and Ron. That's a stack of mattresses leaning against the back wall.


Taking a lunch break. A typical meal every day in Zambia was enshima and collards, or enshima and beans, or enshima and soup. The side "relish" varied but enshima is a staple. It is made from ground corn rather like finely ground, thick grits for us Southern folks.


The brush arbor used for the lessons.

Brush buildings are easy to construct with materials readily available, so this is typical for large meetings in Zambia. Unfortunately, they come with all the dust and bugs that were already present.

Notice the PA system - a bull horn.

Jimmie preaching at Misika.

One of the baptisms.

Zambia 2009 Pictures - Livingstone

They say a picture is worth a thousand words . . .

Zambia School of Biblical Studies

Livingstone, Zambia.

These 2 buildings have it all - classroom, office, library, kitchen, dining, student dorms and a small apartment for visiting instructors.

Jimmie teaching in classroom

Lunch with the students

These instructors at ZBOBS were also students in Ron's school, International College of the Bible, an accredited distance learning program. They graduated with an MA in Bible.

Jimmie with ZSOBS

Jimmie and Ron did a lot of teaching and preaching while in Zambia, but there was more to do as well.

Ron sorting through the Bibles, books and other Gospel materials they took for distribution.

The clothing donated by loving brethren in the States to be given to the preaching students



And, of course, there were bicylces to buy. Walmart hasn't made it to Zambia yet so it took many days and many shops to find the number of bicycles needed.

These are heavy-duty bikes built to ride the rough, dirt roads the young preachers will need to travel.

By the end of August Jimmie and Ron had managed to purchase and distribute 30 of these bikes - due to the wonderful generosity of brethren back home.

Just a few of the new bicycles. The brethren were very happy to receive this useful tool for their work of spreading the Gospel.