On Easter Sunday, Kristin and I went with John Chitambo and his wife Victoria out to Chisamba, where John has planted a Church. (John is one of our colleagues in the CROSS Project.) The new church plant is located at a government school that is 100km out in the bush. We started off at 8:50am and drove on Great North Road (that heads up to the copper mines and the Congo) for about 75km. Then we turned east onto a dirt road and drove another 25km to get to the school.
Getting there was probably the most fun I have ever had on an Easter morning drive to church. We got to drive on dirt, clay, sand, through a river, over a small makeshift log bridge, and through tall grass. There were about 15 people at the church, mostly women and small children and a couple men. Even though we didn’t understand most of the service since it was in Bemba, we really enjoyed being able to spend our Easter Sunday worshiping the Risen Christ with this small group of believers located out in the bush in Zambia! It again reminded me of my previous blog post about what it must be like from God’s perspective to see the world on a Sunday.
We were also very thankful to be able to support John and Victoria. Most of the time they make this trek in a small, broken-down van with one of its engine mounts missing. After going through the river-part of this journey with our vehicle, it is no wonder that John and Victoria spend some time praying before they ford the river! I was a little worried for a second, even with our four-wheel drive, that we might have some problems. Afterwards, Kristin spent a little bit of time talking with some of the mothers about medical questions they had for themselves and their children. It is about a 30km walk to the nearest clinic, so most of the people at this church don’t see medical personnel on a regular basis. Please pray for John and Victoria and the Chisamba church plant, that God would bring more people to himself and especially that God would bring more men in the surrounding villages to see their need for a Savior and for fellowship with other believers.
Derek and Kristin Dearth 
A motor mount problem can be dangerous depending upon the vehicle’s make, model & engine. I had one motor mount break on a Buick on an in-town freeway or expressway in Rockford, Illinois. There in about 5 lanes of north bound urban rush, the accelerator locked to the floor board and the transmission shifted into reverse! The tires were screaming and I tried to push both my feet against the foot brake as hard as I could. Soon I was able to get the powerful engine shut of. Phew! My Christian mechanic friend across the Rock River immediately knew what caused the problems & quickly remedied it. Bill at ACTION USA
What a memorable Easter for you—one that you will remember for years to come. All of those firsts in your adopted land will be special, so what a good way to capture them and keep them as you write in your blog. One of my retirement projects is to go to the attic and dig out all of our diaries and journals of our early days in Taiwan. Lots of memories and things to thank God for as we look back. In case you don’t know who I am, Dick and I are friends of your Dad’s from Owen, WI.