May 2026 Update

Greetings from Lusaka. We are fully back into the swing of things here. It almost feels like we were never gone! Although we’re feeling the heartache of missing friends and family back home more severely. 

Family Health: 

On the health side of things, we’ve had a bit of illness and excitement. Esther and Korinne got several putsi/mango fly larva (these are nasty, the flies lay their eggs on damp cloth, then when the cloth comes in contact with an animal or person the larva burrow into the skin where they stay until mature and ready to come out. They are quite painful and very itchy/uncomfortable, not to mention absolutely disgusting! (Google at your own risk!) 

Isaac hurt his knee while grappling with one of the students back in early March. He went for an MRI and there was partial tearing in the ACL and meniscus as well as some damage to the PCL. It will be a while before he is back to grappling, but he is hoping to start PT soon. Faith has been coughing at night quite a bit now for the last couple of months and we are not sure what is causing this. We would appreciate prayers for all these ailments. 

The work at ACU:

The work at ACU continues to be as busy as ever with teaching, field trips, and student nights at our home. Term 1 finished two weeks ago and Isaac was busy marking and submitting grades the week after that. In term 1, Isaac taught History of Thought (Philosophy I) and Introduction to soil science. He really enjoyed teaching soil science. We also had field trips with the agriculture club to farms in Lusaka, Kitwe, and Mazabuka. At most of these locations we dug soil observation pits which are wonderful learning experiences for the students, and a lot of fun for Isaac too. The trip to Kitwe was especially enjoyable because Faith and the kids were able to come along! Isaac turned 38 on the day we traveled to Kitwe and we celebrated with some store bought cake with the students at the lodge that evening.

Other than teaching and agriculture focused activities, we continue to be involved in university life. Student fellowship nights at our house resumed in term 1, although our oven is still broken which means that there have been no chocolate chip cookies (a favorite with the students). Thanks to some WhatsApp conversations with our wonderful friend Mary Franke, we think we’ve diagnosed the most recent point of failure on the oven and we are waiting for the replacement parts to arrive. Early in March ACU had its annual sports day. Sports day consists of all the students competing in various relays and races. Faith was a judge for the event and the kids had a fun time watching and hanging out with the students. We also attended story telling night which is a wonderful tradition at ACU. Several students and faculty shared stories -some traditional tales, some original compositions. 

This is the first week of Term 2 and Isaac is teaching Soil Fertility and Plant Nutrition, Chemistry II, and History of Thought (Philosophy II). Isaac is extremely excited to be teaching soil fertility this term!

Homelife and Community:

Our biggest and most exciting news this year… Madsen baby 5 will be arriving this November! We are all very thrilled (the kids ask about and pray for the baby every day!)! 

Faith has been feeling pretty under the weather with morning sickness, but is (hopefully) nearing the end of that as we’re approaching the second trimester. 

Faith continues to be busy homeschooling the kids, and hosting homeschool co-op. She also started leading a book study with a group of homeschool moms going through Mystie Winkler’s book The Convivial Homeschool, which has been very fun and encouraging. Isaac will also be teaching a science class for the ‘big’ kids at the homeschool Coop this term. 

We have also been very involved with our church as it is quite small and there is no full time pastor. Faith regularly plays the piano, and Isaac leads services when needed. We will also be hosting a small group for church in our neighborhood where we will be working our way through the “why” of our order of service. Isaac will be preaching on Ephesians 5 this week and next. 

Isaac leading service

We’ve also been facing a bit of a challenge on the vehicle front. Over the last two months there were at least two times that both of our vehicles were down. Isaac was able to get the older 1997 RAV 4 up and running, but we needed to hire a mechanic to get the minivan, a Mitsubishi Delica D5, up and running again. We are still waiting for some final replacement parts for that vehicle. Neither the minivan nor the RAV4 are really the right vehicles for the job and we are starting to hunt for vehicles with more off road capability and seats.

Our friends came to the rescue when our van broke down!

Prayer requests:

1. For improved health- especially for Faith's ongoing cough and Isaac’s knee.

2. For Faith and baby- that they would both remain healthy and that the pregnancy would go smoothly. Also that we would have wisdom in deciding what to do/where to go for the birth. 

3. For the work at ACU-that we would be an encouragement and a blessing to the students. 

4. For our church- that we would serve well and that we  might be able to have a full time pastor. 

5. For our kids- that they would cheerfully go about their work and schooling.