A Day at home in Lusaka

Some have asked us what a typical day would be like here on our mission.   No day is the same with our Public Affairs calling, but we do have a schedule we try to maintain as far as our mornings before we go out.  We wake up around 6:30 am.  We can hear the neighborhood rooster as well as other songbirds.  The sky is bright and the sun will certainly be shining into our windows soon.  We have personal study time, where we each read our scriptures.  We sometimes do our exercises...we have our favorite breakfast, pictured below, take our doxycycline to prevent malaria, and our vitamins.  We dress and have companionship study, schedule coordination, and prayer, before leaving for the day or working in our home office.   This is the end of summertime or the warm rainy season here in Zambia so everything is green.  You can grow gardens year round here but you don't have to hand water during the warm, rainy season so that is the preferred gardening season.  We live in a new triplex, with young sister missionaries on both sides of us.  We have planted a little garden since there seems to be no other landscaping as yet.  That gives Elder Louthan some exercise.....he also gathers rocks to maintain the dirt road leading to our flat.  People here maintain the road by filling in holes near their property with pieces of cement or blocks, used tiles, rocks etc.  It works pretty well. 

Our Breakfast, Elder Louthan likes the 2% milk, Sister likes the Long Life.

Our Washer and Dryer:)

Our Cold (or Hot) Water Supply

Sister Louthan's fun table...paper cutter...keyboard...sewing machine!

Our Living Room...exercise mat...and where we read our scriptures and have companion study.

Elder Louthan at work on an article!

The outlet situation...not enough.  Adapters everywhere!

The "Throne Room".  We bought the shelves at the side of the road.  There are temporary businesses along the roadside everywhere.  This is hand woven and very sturdy and it smells good...kind of like cedar!  The curtains were made from some fun fabric I bought at market before I got the sewing machine....we needed them right away!

Our new car...just passed 1000 kilometers.

Looking out the back door....we have hung some screening over the metal gate.

Our Gyser (pronounced geezer) thermostat does not work;  we just turn it on when we want hot water and then turn it off right afterwards.  We hope for a plumber to come again soon.  Other repairs have been made below the Gyser.  Now we have cold as well as hot water in the shower.  Plumbing problems are pretty common here. Plumbers don't have as much training as in the US.  Many of the poor are still without plumbing at all so we are glad our water system works as well as it does.

Our bed with mosquito netting. A nice place to settle in at the end of the day!