On the Road to Zambia

Oh, my! What a trip that was!

First, we packed and packed and packed for days. I prepared food, packed snacks, and 
organized. The day and night before we left, we loaded the truck and trailer. 
Everyone had their own space. 

Five full-grown people, a German Shepherd, a fluffy white dog, and 
a skittish cat.....we were all prepared....well maybe the humans were prepared. 

The alarm would go off at 3am. We slept in our clothing so 

we could get out the door in less time. 

This road is never easy.
We tried to explain this to our pets, but they didn't comprehend until we got there.

Nala was very alert.

Not too far down the dirt road, we stopped to check on everyone.
Ode, the white fluffy one, had just scared us to death from his homemade crate.
He had somehow gotten his tooth hooked on one of the bars and began to screech in fear and pain.

Lilly's cat was also freaking out.
Apparently she was so scared when she started bumping around that she wet her bed.
So, Dad and Lilly tried to comfort her and get her something dry to lay on.
All the while trying to not let her escape her crate into the African bush.

A girl and her dog!

It was a nice break from the crazy road.

Ode never did get back in his crate. We just used it to store some of the stuff that was under our feet.

The rest of the trip Ode stayed on laps :)

That was the end of Day 1. 

We made it to the Baptist Guest House around 8pm. 

The 16 hour journey was free from problems, except for my back. 

For the last several hours of the trip I was in terrible pain from sitting for so long. 

I needed to get out of that car. The problem was that we just couldn't stop as many times 

as my back needed us to. It took 30 minutes of pain, like 

I have never had, to get out of that car.

We ate our delicious KFC that our precious friends bought for us and we went to bed. 

The next morning we slept in a bit, both because of my back and we didn't have as far to drive the second day. The problem was that we did not imagine the amount of time that our border crossing would take going into Zambia. 

So we pulled up to the Border Post.
That first door is where you go in, purchase your VISA , get your passport stamped, and off you go.
Not this day! We had 3 pets that we wanted to legally bring into the country.
We totally could have snuck them in,
but we wanted to do it according to the law. We wanted to do the right thing
and we wanted to know how to advise others to navigate the official channels.

We think we are the first people to ever bring pets in legally at this border post.
It took 5 hours! There was all kinds of red tape, along with 2 hour lunch breaks for some vital employees.
So, Lee sat intermittently under a tree with a customs official and a national policeman while he waited for the process to move along. Emma had significant stomach issues that required multiple long trips to the outhouse facilities. I spent several hours laying down in the back seat. And the girls sang, talked, and napped. 

Once we got back on the road, the sun was already low in the sky.
It would be a late arrival in Lusaka!

My sweet girls sat doubled up in the front so that I could stay laying down for the rest of the trip.

Ode enjoyed having Mom in the back!

Dad enjoyed having his talking girls in the front!

Before too long there was a beautiful African sunset to usher us into the evening.
Many hours left to go. I don't understand how my husband does it.
We arrived at the Baptist Guest House in Lusaka at 11:45pm.
Praise God for a safe journey to our new hometown!!

Much Love,

Tracy