Newsletter Mar/Apr 2010

Hello friends and family-

    Well, I know it has been some time since you last heard from us.  I am sorry about that, life just seems to get ahead of you sometimes.  I think I will keep this short because we are coming home for an extended period of time in just a few short days.  I hope to see all of you while we are home and share with you what God has been doing in Zambia and in our hearts in person. 

    Lets start all the way back to March.  Life was the same as usual for most of the month.  The most exciting news of that month was that Mat had a birthday, Ba Chanda made it home safely from his travels to the USA, and we received our hydraform brick maker!  We celebrated Mat’s birthday with some missionary friend of ours fishing in the Kafue River.  We did not catch anything but had a great time.  We then went back to our house for some brownies and ice cream; it was a lovely evening.  Just a day or two after Ba Chanda came back to Zambia from a one month visit to the USA the brick maker arrived.  It was a sight to see.  This is a very big machine, it took about 10 men an hour to move it from the truck safely into the orphanage.  Ba Chanda also held a leadership conference shortly after he returned at which Mat gave a talk about the brick maker.  The people of the churches here were very excited to learn about it and are very ready to give of their time and energy to supporting this new form of ministry and business.  We were all very blessed and are excited to see the Lord move as he opens new doors for Chande Orphanage.

    April was a month of great blessing and busyness.  Chande had two teams from America.  The first was a large group from Texas who came to Chande to do a vacation bible school with the children.  The children loved it.  The team also brought a full bible for every child that attended which blessed me so much to see.  It was nice getting to meet so many new people.  I got to know a few of the women during their stay here.  Their testimonies and the time they spent just chatting with me blessed me so much.  They were a great encouragement to me.  I have been feeling lately (long before the teams came) that God wants me to go through a season of deeply studying his word on what it means to be a godly wife and mother in preparation to teach the young women in Zambia who are preparing for marriage.  One women I got to know from Texas gave me a book she had brought with her about the mission of motherhood. I was so touched by this gift and thanked God for giving me another tool to dive deeper into his word.  The same day the Texas team left we were blessed by the presence of  a small team from Wyoming. This team was made up of some old friends and a couple of new faces.  The men on the team went to Congo to do a pastors training conference and the women stayed in Kitwe to teach the women from the book of Esther.  Both Mat and I were asked to teach alongside these teams.  It was such an honor and a blessing to join them as they brought God’s word to so many people.  The team in Congo had a wonderful trip and came back with many stories of God’s awesome work being done there.  My time with the women was amazing.  I love my Wyoming sisters in Christ and was so thankful to spend time with them.  The teaching from Esther also went well and I think it was a time of growth for Americans and Zambians alike.  I also can see God opening the doors for me and teaching the women here.  I know I must spend time sharpening my sword first, but I am encouraged to see the way God used both these teams to open doors for ministry to come. 

    The team from Wyoming left just over a week ago.  Since that time we have been getting things in order for our journey home.  It has only been one year but it is already so hard to leave.  There is a lot to arrange for while we are gone and I know I will be missing my Zambian brothers and sisters very much.  I am, however, very excited to see all of you as well.  It has been equally as difficult to be away from you.  We are leaving for Lusaka after church on Sunday and flying from Lusaka on Tuesday.  We arrive in St. Louis Wednesday morning.  We will spending a week in St. Louis getting our sweet little boy adjusted to his new environment  before we head up to Chicago for my sisters wedding on the 30 of May.  After that we will spending a good chunk of time in St. Louis and a good chunk in Wyoming, all the while traveling here and there to speak at churches that will have us and visit loved ones.  Mat is retuning (God willing) to Zambia alone from late July to late September to continue in our work here in Zambia.  He is then coming back to USA for the birth of our second child due on October 15th.  We will be traveling back to Zambia as a new family of four in late November (God willing yet again).  Please pray for us during this time.  We have seen God work many miracles in providing for our family physically and spiritually and have faith that He will do it again, but prayer is an essential part of life and we need all we can get. 

    There is another prayer request and praise I would like to share with you all.  My brother Ryan and his wife Amber had the their first baby on Mother’s Day.  The gave birth to a baby boy named David Ryan Kinner, who I hear looks just like my brother.  Right now David is in the baby intensive care because he is having some heart problems.  I am told that he is doing well and the doctors think that he will pull out of it on his own, but please keep this sweet baby boy and his parents in your prayers.

    Thank you all so much for your prayers and support this past year.  God has used you all in a mighty way and for that we thank you very much.  God bless you all and hope to see you very, very soon!

Love,
Amy, Mat, William, and baby Peanut Kountz