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 14th 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.
Thanks for blessing me with your updates, good wordage!
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