We were greeted by purple trees

One of the first things about Zambia which captured me was the beautiful purple trees which lined the road from Ndola (where we flew in) to Kitwe (where we live). The blossoms are larger than the leaves at this point. Though upon a closer look, you can also notice the tiny bright green sprouts of the leaves. My favorite colors--our wedding colors--in full display, greeting us as we arrived in our new home.

These beautiful trees are Blue Jacarandas which are said to herald the spring. It has been winter and relatively cool here prior to our arrival (lows get to 48 degrees), and is now beginning to get hot. Though I don't relish the coming hot season, I certainly enjoy how beautifully this changing season is announced.

I will post some more photos of TEEZ where we work below. Views of our flat will come later--we are still very much moving in. We are living in a different flat from the Raskas, and some of the things from their place will move to ours when they depart on Monday. We also went to the market today and bought groceries and other needed household goods.

If you'd like to send us mail, please address it to:

Molly & Ryan Dowell Baum
c/o TEEZ
P.O. Box 23054
Kitwe
Zambia

This second photo is us outside the TEEZ building (can you see the "Z" below?). This is the view of TEEZ from the main road in MEF (Mindolo Ecumenical Foundation). MEF is both the name of the compound in which we live as well as the name of an ecumenical NGO. The compound is home to six sister institutions, including TEEZ, MEF, YWCA, an Anglican Theological Seminary, the United Church of Zambia (UCZ) Theological College, and the UCZ Copperbelt Presbytery Headquarters. There are also residences inside the MEF compound, which house students or staff of the sister institutions, and some private renters.

The third photo is Ryan standing in front of the entry to the TEEZ building. Then in the fourth, we are busily working in our office. We brought along our little red netbook, and a Mac laptop which belongs to MAPC. TEEZ has wireless internet! Though it is a bit slower to download/upload things.

In the fifth photo, you can see us next to a cool fountain on the campus of the UCZ Theological College main entry way. We like it because it has a map of Zambia on it!