Will "The Real Africa" Please Stand Up?

Friday, June 15

We have completed our therapy days here and tomorrow is our good-bye day...what a time it has been. This past week was full of things that we had wanted to do but had put off until now as well. We watched a couple movies (with popcorn of course), had meetings about our travel week, got on top of one of the containers to watch the stars (which was one of the best nights ever, at least 12 shooting stars in the course of 3 hours), and learned the marriage traditions of Zambia. Don't worry, none of us actually got married, but we wanted to know what happens here. Our watchmen friends, Justin and Webster, who are both married already, were kind enough to act it out with us. Pretty sure I laughed until it hurt.

Other than working with the babies, it has been a week of minimal showers and lengthy blackouts. We have, until this point, had plenty of water to shower, brush our teeth, wash our face and use the toilet. As well as predictable blackouts on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but this week did not fit the mold at all. I don't mind because we are all in the same boat, but none of us want to get sick either. This group has been through the stomach bug, pink eye and ringworm. I only had nausea for one day, thankfully.

I will post about more deatils tomorrow. It is bedtime here. Comment if you want to know anything that I haven't written about :)

Worthy Soul

Sunday, June 10

Wow! I feel like I'm just now getting the chance to breathe. Today was amazing!

We woke up early to pack the Land Cruiser (Khaki Jackie), Land Rover (Red Fred), and two trucks for the drive out to Kasibi Church of Christ. I rode in the bed of one of the trucks, holding tightly the whole way of course. One of my roommates, Kathy, had never ridden in the bed of a truck so she had a blast. As they say here, "There is always room for one more", so along our back roads journey into the bush we picked up some more locals. The chilly wind woke us up quickly.
About 10 am, we arrived at the church and began Bible study. The women sit on one side and the men sit on the other. It was the smallest building and we were crammed in. The benches were wooden without back support, so three hours later we were stiff. Mr. Calder was the speaker today and his message was very good. It was relatable to Zambians and Americans alike. I truly felt like I was worshipping with my brothers and sisters today. Not that I don't always, but this was a smaller group.

After Bible study and service, there were special singings. They sang for us and then we got up there and sang three songs for them. One in English and two in Tonga...they seemed impressed. When all of that was done, we shook hands with everyone in a line and made our way to Leonard's house across the creek. He had prepared a meal for us, the town band came and we danced with the children. I am getting closer to their type of dancing but still not completely sure how to move like that! There will be videos and pictures posted when I return home.

Whew! After all that it was naptime. I have loved every minute of my time here and know there is so much more to experience. God has truly blessed me with friends, local and from the States, who are able to share these experience with me and show me new things. In the sermon today we talked about worth and what makes something worthy. I believe that we forget what is worthy, or Who is worthy, beacuse we are so surrounded by things to distract. We don't always wake up and thank God for the sunrise, water to brush our teeth, electricity to see our way around, the person sitting beside us, or the eyes that we use to take it all in. So what is worthy? Does our soul cry out of the glories we have seen or do we pass them by?

Love to each of you! Pray that we will give our best during this last week of therapy and that we would not discount the worth of our time here.

All Natural

Saturday, June 9

We went to Choma again today and this time we knew where we were going. My roommates and I have started a "Gift Exchange" while we are here. The goal is to find a weird, but usable gift for the roommate who's name you draw. Four of us will be be going to Livingstone next week but one is staying behind so we went ahead and got her gift...fake hair to weave in so she will not feel alone once we're gone....we'll see how she likes it :)

Tonight we headed out to Jordan's rock for Ian's birthday celebration. There were hot dogs roasted, s'mores and of course a cake made by Leonard. We took pictures and sang songs around the fire. What fun! It is a tradition here in Zambia to drench the birthday kid with water, but we were nice and just gave Ian a Dr. Pepper to drink.

Yet another blessed day in Zambia! Another full day awaits us tomorrow.

True to Your Heart

Wednesday, June 6

Not a whole lot of new happened today, but this was the first time that the girls of the group (majority) got togther to talk about our thoughts and experiences so far. I wasn't sure how people had truly been feeling and so it was nice to hear that I am not alone.

We told of our favorite experiences so far and the kids that had touched our hearts. Actually we have not only been touched, we have fallen in love with these children. One of the young supervisors voiced what I had been feeling...that I love mission work and also love speech pathology, so I wanted to see how they fit together. So far I have been pleased with the results and feeling. God can use everyone's passions for His glory anywhere in the world. We just have to be open to new things, new places and potentially uncomfortable situations. Being with an established group does help, but I think that it is possible otherwise as well.

Heath, Memory, Seth, Kurt, Marcus, Jonathan, Maleele, Lincoln, Joseph, JJ, Peace and Queen are some of the kids I will never forget. Some of them have a long road ahead medically and others are simply orphans, but I love them all the same. Each one makes me thankful for my parents and how I was raised. They make me excited about having my own children someday and watching them grow, getting excited about the small victories each day. Singing them the same songs about Jesus and how much they are loved as we do here. Hopefully the words "Yes, I know" will be yelled with the same conviction and pride.

Have I met my sappy quota today? Haha. Just being true to my heart.

Wanted: Bartering Skills

Monday, June 4

We worked the morning as usual and then headed to Livingstone to see Victoria Falls and the lunar rainbow. Everyone is so excited! Our hotel was so amazing…Protea at Livingstone. We were very fortunate to have hot showers and comfy beds for the night. In two weeks we will be back at the same hotel for a week doing the more touristy things.

We had time to venture out for dinner. I went with Mel, Kathy, Ben and Kara to a seafood place called Ocean Basket. Before that, we stopped at the store to buy chocolate…definitely a luxury (Cadbury). What a great group of friends to eat with and I would recommend the food as well. The lunar rainbow happens only 4-5 times a year and we went on the night that it was the brightest. If you have been following my blog since I went to South America, you know that I have seen Iguacu Falls in Brazil and Argentina…Victoria Falls did not disappoint either. Even at night they are immaculate! After watching the rainbow for a little bit we walked down with our flashlights and walked the path, getting soaked in the process. We were all whooping and hollering with excitement and joy. Can’t wait to go back in the daytime!

Once you leave the falls, there are shops outside at which the salesmen love to barter and trade with you for the items that they have crafted. We were thrown into this, having been warned, but not completely prepared this time. I had brought pens and hairties to trade, but did not have them with me…bad decision. They will literally trade for anything. I bought a few things knowing I could do better on a price but got away with little dent in my bank account. Whew! I will be more prepared next time!

Upon our return to the hotel we took our showers and went to bed. The next morning breakfast was a dream! We could order an omelette, have potatoes, beans, crossants, fruit, bacon, coffee, and several juices. Anything you like! We were stuffed and ready to return on the bus.

Full Cream, Skim Milk

Sunday, June 3

What a full day! Sunday morning church, children’s church, baking cupcakes, visiting the college dorms, watching a soccer match, evening church, talk about abstinence, and singing with Webster. Whew!

I would love to write out every detail about today but it would take a long time to type. I will say that baking cupcakes and the talk about abstinence were probably the most interesting parts. The title of my blog post today alludes to the talk and for those of you who wish to know more I can tell you. HIV-AIDS is a huge deal here in Zambia and church is a great place to talk about it in biblical contexts.  Our group was just not expecting to hear about it during our time here. Plus, it was taught by the missionaries here so we understood every word. Baking cupcakes was a blast and the icing was amazing. We did chocolate and coffee cupcakes with a cocoa icing (butter and powdered sugar based). I have walked enough to not gain any weight on this trip, but I still need to be careful. Lol.

Good, good life.

Faith Like Potatoes

Saturday, June 2

Last night we had our first group movie night on the veranda. The movie was Faith like Potatoes. I had heard of it before, but never seen it. The story started in Zambia and moved over to South Africa. I won’t spoil the whole plot for you, but I did cry in several parts and laugh as well (the mark of a great movie). It is based on a true story and the main point was that faith is a hard fought process. There are dry periods and plentiful periods. We must trust, listen, obey, follow, pray and speak. I felt that it was very appropriate to watch while in Zambia, so that I could appreciate it better. There have been times in my life that I did not want to give faith time. I wanted to speed up the process, but in most cases, waiting produced an even better result than I could’ve imagined.

I think I have forgotten the importance of hugs back home. Don’t get me wrong, I love hugs but I do not give them as freely as some people. The kids here need that sensory feeling, but even more so need the love that it conveys. I know I keep saying this, but the simple life here is humbling me and reminding me of what I value most. Toys here are pieces of plastic, rugs, dirt, rocks, string, and occasionally a soccer ball. I shouldn’t start naming toys that we have….