Kalene at last

I arrived at Kalene Mission Hospital yesterday afternoon following a rather jam-packed morning in Lusaka. We were told by Immigration that our missionary work permits would be ready Wednesday morning at  the earliest.  But being familiar with the way these offices are run, we expected that we would either have to spend a couple more days in Lusaka, or fly up to Kalene, returning at a later date to pick up the permits.  We prayed a lot for these permits to be completed on time, as the cost and time of flying down to Lusaka would not be desireable. The Lord came through, as we knew He would. Our permits were completed less than an hour before we were scheduled to fly! After running through Immigration, we stopped at a grocery store for our last opportunity to by cheese and yogurt then went straight to the airport.
The flight took over 3 hours from Lusaka to Kalene. It rained, allowing for a smoother ride than the previous one I arrived on 3 years ago.  No one was sick on the flight, although the sick bags were readily available!
I was taken on a tour of the mission station and hospital...so much has changed in the past 3 years! Most of the staff at the hospital were recognisable, but the school of nursing has had 2 new intakes of students since I left. The hospital itself has had several renovations, including a new theater block and several new staff houses.
We also were taken to visit the Chief today, the meeting went well, and in closing he invited us to come back anytime, provided that we would preach God's word. This is very encouraging, as there have been times here, recently, where this wasn't the case.  One of the missionaries offered to close in pray, praying for the Chief and his family.
All in all, it's been a great week since I left the Great White North.
Rachel
All in all, it feels like I'm home. The settling in process has begun and the work will start bright and early tomorrow morning.