August 2026 update

Greetings from Zambia! We hope that you all are well. This is a brief update on the last few months of work and life in Zambia, as well as our plans to travel home for the upcoming birth of our fifth baby. 

The work at ACU

Since our last update at the end of term 1, term 2 has come and gone. Isaac taught Soil Science 2 (soil fertility and plant nutrition) and History of Thought 2 (philosophy). Isaac has really enjoyed teaching in his discipline and sharing his professional knowledge and experience with the students. The labs on soil nutrient testing, pH, EC, and comparing fertilizer sources have also been very enjoyable and profitable. The agriculture club (which was formed at the end of last year) has been quite busy with field trips and soil sampling both near Lusaka and in other farming regions. 

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This term Isaac is teaching Foundations of Science (philosophy of science) and Environmental Science. Thankfully both of these are less intense classes. He will be teaching the second half of the term online from the US as we will be traveling home midway through the term. 

After shopping around on Facebook marketplace, we were able to buy a 2006 Land Cruiser 105 which nominally seats 10 (This Is Africa, so we have fit many more than 10). This was a big answer to prayer as it allows us to take more students on field visits (our minivan only seats 8 and the suspension has been suffering from all of the farm visits). 

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Much of our work at ACU continues to be in the areas of discipleship and mentorship. This includes everything from questions about personal finance and relationships to the purpose of singing in worship. We continue to host student night at our house which is a wonderful time of refreshment and fellowship for the students. Faith has also been meeting with the ACU women's boarding houses, and has some very deep and meaningful conversations with the young women arising from these times. 

Family

On the homeschooling side of things, Korinne and Dietrich have both recently passed their reading levels, and are very excited! They are both slowly and steadily improving at reading. Korinne will even read aloud to her siblings on occasion! 

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During the first weeks of August we had visitors (Iona and Flora) from Christ Covenant Church in Wallowa County. It was fun showing them around Lusaka, then taking them out to Livingstone for a week. In Livingstone, we stayed at the Overland Mission base and had a wonderful time there fellowshipping with many other missionary families, resting, and enjoying the beauty of the Zambezi river gorge! 

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Last week we attended the annual Reformed Family conference hosted by the Reformed baptist churches in Zambia. This year the conference theme was the Puritans. Dr. Joel and Mary Beeke along with Dr.Stephen Yuille and pastor Tim Iamaio were the keynote speakers. The conference was very good and we were greatly encouraged by the talks and the fellowship! 

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Our church (Christ Church Lusaka) is a small church and our pastor serves on a voluntary basis as he is on faculty in the school of divinity at ACU. Because of this we have taken on quite a few roles at church with Isaac leading the liturgy, occasionally preaching, serving as the treasurer, and leading a small group at our home. Faith also frequently accompanies the singing on the keyboard. 

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Traveling Home: 

Last, but not least, after much prayer and advice from our mentors and pastors, we finally made the decision to come back to the U.S. for the birth of Madsen baby #5! Faith and baby boy are both healthy and doing great, but we thought it would be best to be somewhere with better medical care for the birth (not to mention being closer to our families and church community!) 

We fly home September 28th and will be in Idaho and Washington until we fly back to Zambia on January 17th 2027. 

It's a boy!

Prayer requests:

• Pray that we’re able to accomplish everything that we need to here before traveling.

• Pray that Isaac would be able to teach philosophy of science and environmental science with excellence as we prepare to travel. 

• Pray that our travels go smoothly, and for Faith especially as flying in the 3rd trimester is going to be exhausting and not very comfortable.

• Pray that our time home will be restful and that the birth will go well.

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