well it is monday night alicia myself and colleen are cooking mashed potatoes and hamburger pattis. yum yum. Helped kids make bracelets today thanks Patti Hall and Mely they loved it. Going back tonight after dinner to help the older kids. Mosquitos are out trying to get dinner too that is not good. Went and did a little shopping today as well. Alicia and I fixed both swings i smashed alicia's finger and she hit her head then later i smashed my own finger. So all in all two black and blue fingers but the kids are happy. Timbo is getting the tire up as we speak. The relay games were awesome yesterday the kids were cracking up. hopefully i can attach some photos. thanks for reading

Hello my friends it is about 5pm here in Lusaka Zambia and I am pooped out. I will get you all up to speed on the past 3 days that is if I can remember. Lets start with Thursday. Every morning some of our team get up to take the kids to school they love it. It is like their family dropping them off and some conversation happens. Sorry cant remember what i did thursday I will have to get back to you. Friday most of the team walked kids to school I got up and headed to the kids house and learned to make scones. I got there and all of the kids were working either sweeping floors, doing dishes or doing the dishes. Even little norah I believe 4 yrs old was sweeping. I hung out for a half an hour cuz I was learning how to make scones. Well the recipe is 1 cup flour to 1 tsp of baking powder, to a little sugar, oil as you see fit and water but not too much. If you try it let me know how it comes out. Then they took about a half hour to cook ovens are a bit slow. After cooking I asked the kids to write notes to people who sent stuff with me. They wrote notes and o boy are they different as some kids can't write but it is from their heart. Then i taught norah who is four how to spell her name and worked with collins and norah with colors. Spent some time with Mercy an auntie taught her crazy 8, war and rummy with the cards. Also asked Mercy questions about why they aren't emotional or cry too much. She said Zambians don't want others to see their sad faces and they stuff their emotions down. there is more but you can ask later. Then Bishop Peter came by with Hilda and so I made Hilda a quesadilla it was hilarious listening to her trying to say quesadilla. Then I went back outside to play with the kids. Amy has been taking tons of photos and cropping and printing i think she is worn out but she is going to bed early tonight. Alicia is the Bingo queen because she gives gumballs out to the winner. Colleen is amazing listening,playing, and loving on the kids.

Saturday. We got up and readied ourselves for adventure park. It is a waterpark and the kids have been looking forward to that all week. Colleen, Nathaniel, and Kareen were the bomb. These three hit the treacherously cold waterslides with the kids. Nathaniel was hilarious the first time down. He was screaming especially when he hit the water then he screamed like a girl plus his eyes were big as saucers it was hilarious. Kareen went down with collins and i believe gift it was awesome.. I on the other hand was a wimp and there was no way i was going in that cold water. The kids played soccer, volleyball, went into an indoor play area and did the trampoline. I was tired by the end of the day. Then most of the team headed out for steak dinner it was only 10 bucks and was yummy.
Sunday. Up for breakfast alicia and myself made eggs and tortillas for our house while judy and kareen did the same for their house but they added potatoes because they the bomb. Most of the kids loved it others NOT so much. Then we did church and worship it was awesome check out the attached videos. Colleen face painted and did great i took a short siesta. Then after the siesta we did relays with the kids and it was hilarious. My team took last I know so sad and alicia's team took first. I am now exhausted. hope you enjoy the update

ted looking for pinata candy

july 15 zambia updates

When we first arrived some of the new kids were not certain of who we are. Little Oward, Gift, and Georgina to be sure. They were very shy and stand offish. We began to see their walls come down as kites, cupcakes, spa day, and baseball. I have not seen too many kids that have the joy these kids have.

Friday we woke up and began separating items to fill the backpacks up for out children. That was a huge undertaking. I thought a couple of hours but it took most of the day. Praise God that all of the kids received clothes. Note to self we need more teenage girl clothing and pj’s,for all of the kids.

Sunday we went to Bishop Peter’s church in Matero and Bishop’s sermon was pretty awesome. It was encouraging us to not be fearful and not to walk in that. God has us covered and will ALWAYS take care of us. Then we headed to internet and shopping at arcades.

It is Thursday morning in Lusaka Zambia. Woke up at 6:30 and most of the team walked the children to school They attend two different schools some go in the morning and some go in the afternoon. Most of the kids get up and walk with the team even though they do not have school until the afternoon. It is about a half an hour walk down dirt roads with cars speeding past shuffling the dirt up into the air. If the kids are late to school and the doors are closed they will not let the kids in and they have to come back. One day one of the schools was closed due to a death of a teachers’ wife so the kids walked to school and it was closed for the day.

We have been doing so much with the kids. Saturday we had a bbq and due to the fact the bbq was too hot some of the sausage got burned. It was comedy listening to the three woman on our team grilling and hearing one say too many cooks in the kitchen. I personally thought the fisticuffs were a coming. All in all the families had sausage rice and beans. Loveness and mercy are awesome cooks and the beans were the bomb!!!!

Last night we received news that the housemoms both had a family member pass away. Loveness lost a son in law and Mercy lost a 21 month old grandson. It was heart wrenching to see these two women having to go through this. We were able to pray for the house mothers and we are going to step in and help around the houses. I am definitely not helping with the cooking since I am not very good at it. In Zambia death is very rampant as you drive and see trucks carrying 40-60 people who are going or coming back from a funeral. Not one of the children at this village has not been affected by a death in their family.

Lots of stuff has been going on with the kids. The girls had spa day and they loved it. Diane was painting intricate flowers on the toenails. Colleen was doing the girls make-up, Alicia was doing hair and she did a wonderful job. The picture of Nora shows the skills of Alicia. Myself, Kareen, and Judy took the boys during spa time surprise surprise and we were teaching them how to hit a baseball and then we tried to teach them how to play kickball. They somewhat understood what they were supposed to do and it was definitely trying for the three of us.

We made cupcakes and let a few of the younger kids lick the bowl. They weren’t sure at first but colleen and I ate some and they tried and then they dug in like any kid would and the grins on their faces were awesome.

Today July 14^th of July our chickens laid the first two eggs. Wohooo the kids will be eating even better than before. As to what the kids eat: scones, fritters (like donuts), shima, rice, beans, fresh chickens and I mean fresh and they have tea in the morning as well.

Nathaniel is the real hit as he is teaching all of the kids how to dance I think a couple of the Zambian girls have their eyes on him. He has been so patient with Robbino, a young man in a wheelchair due to muscular dystrophy . He has been teaching him how to make cars with Legos. Robbino is definitely more sure of himself than in previous years. His smile will knock your socks off.

Mai has been teaching the kids how to sew and the housemoms too. She has been teaching the kids English and helping them with their homework. At night she brings movies to the kids. Sometimes Ted even makes popcorn for them.

Amy has been hard at work taking tons of pictures, walking the kids for half hour to get more foliage and different looks. Each kid gets to use a camera and take their own photos and then she brings them in to look at the computer to pick which photos get to go into their album. The kids love being a part of the process and she is developing some wonderful relationships with the kids.

As for me since this is MY blog I am well. I am completely amazed that My Heavenly Father would send me to Zambia to be His ambassador His hands and feet to pour the love of Christ out on to these children. They are opened armed and willing to receive as well as to love all of us back. To love someone who has not been loved is an amazing feeling and I am blessed to be a part of what God is doing.

Pray for us still while we are here. We need your covering as the battle continues. Miss all of you and hope you enjoyed the short little update. Hopefully I will be able to post pics along with video

Well Peeps finishing packing and am excited about heading to Lusaka Zambia. I am really excited about seeing the kids and playing carnival games, relay games and teaching them new skills. I am going to be the biggest kid there. Plus, I can't wait to see all the things that God is going to do while we are all there. We have tons of towels and tons of clothes for those young whipper snappers.