Ronda Krause, Director of Macha Innovative Christian School, MICS, which serves the Macha community in the bush, sent us this report recently. Flying Mission Zambia is proud to be able to help in situations like this.

Last week I was talking to God about the fact that we needed more textbooks. You see, the ones we have been using for the last five years were already secondhand when we got them. A school in Botswana was so kind when they gave us their used books to get us started. The other day I noticed the condition of the books as I was getting some reading books for the fifth grade class. Yikes! Most of them were falling apart!!

Submitted by Flying Mission Zambia Pilot Rick Rempel

It was a dark time at Macha. While we were in Botswana working on a Flying Mission Zambia plane, we heard of a car accident that killed four people from that rural village in Southern Province, where we serve. There were just two survivors, one child and an adult. Both were in critical condition. One of the people who died was Mrs. Kalambo, wife of the Macha Hospital Administrator.

Early this week the 'MICS Marching Band', along with all the workers of the UBUNTU campus' met at ABFA, the "All Blessings From Above" airstrip in Macha. They were welcoming home the van Stam family, back from a 2 month leave in their homeland, Holland.

The family arrived safely with Flying Mission Zambia (FMZ) Pilots, Dave and Guillermo, who brought them in for a safe and smooth landing.

The band greeted the family with music, cheers. streamers, and dancing.

Our Macha partners have shared this story with us:

Macha was blessed just recently by a team of 10 wonderful people from the State of Virginia, USA. They spent their time visiting government schools and showing love to the children. They also did evening outreaches where they showed the Jesus film and many people were changed by it.

At the same time, the visitors were learning about the Tonga culture through interaction with the local people and a 'village live-in'.

They painted the Assembly of God church in a beautiful Zambian blue inside. They had a young people's day at church for the teens and the unmarried 20-30's. They visited the hospital and saw the new hospital playroom for children.

I wonder what you get excited about. I would guess it's unlikely to be a mud-encrusted truck piled high with corrugated iron sheets. But that was exactly what did it for Macha folk this week, because the opening of their school depended on the safe arrival of that particular delivery.

Ronda Krause heads up the MICS (Macha Innovative Community School) deep in the bush in Southern Province. There at Macha they are building new premises for the school. When Ronda and her husband Gil returned from USA after Christmas to open for the new term, they found that the building was missing a vital component: the roof!

Children at Macha’s Innovative Christian School (MICS) are participating in twice weekly ballet lessons. With professional ballet dancer Lauren Brim serving in Macha, the children have been able to experience something completely new to them, and they are learning fast. From pliés to glissades they all give 100% effort and concentration, and even the older boys enjoy every minute of their lessons. It is these kinds of activities that enhance these children’s learning even further.

A typical day for the pilots here at Flying Mission Zambia...

It's ...Wednesday... and the schedule in the Flying Mission Office reads: FLCG-ABFA-FLCH-ABFA-FLCH-ABFA. Rick Rempel is assigned to do the flight from Chilongolo (FLCG), Flying Mission’s base near Lusaka, to Macha (ABFA) which is home to the 'Brethren in Christ' Mission Hospital. Macha is located in the bush a 5 hour drive from Lusaka and is a regular destination for Flying Mission planes.